Thanks to the random number generator known as my colleague Sherrie, ubiquitous_a from LiveJournal is the Birthday Contest winner.

Thanks to all who participated!

w00t!!

Thanks to the wonderful John Betancourt of Wildside Press, my award-nominated short story, The Butler Didn’t Do It, is now available via the iBook store for the whopping sum of $.99! The story was originally published in Chesapeake Crimes 1 and garnered an Agatha Award Nomination in 2004 for Best Short Story.

If you’ve got an iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone – stop by the store and buy it. I think it’s a fun story.

In other news: still writing BLOOD SACRIFICE. More later.

Don’t forget about the contest!! Stop by and comment for a chance to win one of my books. Contest ends September 15, 2010.

Win a book!

Though I may be shaped like a hobbit, I’m not actually one…however, since my birthday approaches (Saturday!), I’ve decided to follow hobbit custom and give out presents to my fans/friends.

Comment below (or on my LiveJournal) on what you’d like to see happen to any of my characters (or how you envision the future) and you’ll be entered to win one of the following: (your choice)

A copy of MATTERS OF THE BLOOD
A copy of BLOOD BARGAIN
A copy of BLOOD KIN
A copy of BLOOD HEAT (hot off the presses on 10/26/10)

Contest will run through September 15, 2010. Winners will be chosen via random drawing.

Other cool news

:
For those of of you who follow my non-fiction work, I am pleased as all get out to announce: Whedonistas: A Celebration of the Worlds of Joss Whedon by the Women Who Love Them. Edited by the same wonderful team who brought you Chicks Who Dig Time Lords, Lynn M. Thomas and Deb Stanish. My essay: “I am Joss Whedon’s Bitch” is included in the anthology, along with essays by such fabulous writers as: Elizabeth Bear, Sharon Shinn, Jeanne Stein, Emma Bull, Nancy Holder and many more.

Whedonistas will be out March 2011 via Mad Norwegian Press, but is available for preorder now. Amazon B&N. The book is not yet listed at Indiebound, but I’m sure it will be shortly.

Hope all my US and Canadian buddies have a fabulous Labor/Labour Day weekend!! Please make sure to tell all your friends about the contest.

I was the uncool kid in English class–the one that loved Shakespeare. The plays, the sonnets: I was hooked. Mumblety years later, I’m still hooked. One of the very first apps I got for my iPhone was the Shakespeare app: all his works, ready to read on the phone. I can’t tell you how many editions of his works I’ve gone through, probably dozens.

My favorite play: The Scottish play
My favorite sonnet: Sonnet 18 (what, shaddup, I know everyone knows this one)

I love reading about Mr. S, biographies, essays, fiction books where he’s featured as a character. He’s kind of my not-so-sekrit dead playwright boyfriend. ::g::

He taught me to love language; that comedy and tragedy are part of the same coin; that love can be funny and dreadful; that words had multiple meanings and that 16 century humor isn’t all that removed from contemporary humor. He helped me discover my love of history, my deeply abiding respect and fascination with all things of his era (and that of his Queen).

Heck of a lot for a man nearly 400 years dead. Dude still rocks.

In other news:

1. Don’t forget to enter the Pocket display giveaway (open through the end of the month!). Take a pic of the display, buy any one of the books displayed and e-me a copy of the receipt with date of purchase and book title cleared readable and you’ll win your choice of any of my books.

2. In the Hunt Contest: Since there were only 2 entrants and both of them had right answers, the winners are:

zita_h  and beledibabe 

Please e-me with your name & snail mail address and I shall mail you a copy of the book. 

3. Malice Domestic – I’ll be there next weekend, Friday & Saturday. Hope to see some of you all there!

4. Still busy with a bunch of writing projects, so I’m posting less often than I want to. If you’re really wondering what I’ve been up to, I tend to post more often on Twitter or Facebook. Hoping to have a new Web site up soon. My amazing web maven has been swamped–yay for her.

And last but not least…
Over the past few months, I’ve been so busy, I’ve not taken time for my usual salon visit. The result? My hair grew fast & furious, so when I went in today, I decided to keep the longer length and just add fun, funky highlights.

Et voila!

From La Lima

What it looked like the last time I got a new do:

From La Lima

Happy Weekend, all!

• I’ve moved (yay!!)
• I can haz major pollen reaction (boo!!)
• I finished copyedits on essay & book (yay!)
• I got extension on short story (yay for extension, boo for not being able to finish)

Pollen in the DC area is beyond ridiculous, I’ve missed 2 regular work days now, plus 2 weekend work days because of it. I’m better today, thanks to the weather change, but had woken up with migraine (also thanks to weather change). I’m ready for the pollen to stop now.

This week marks the debut of my special book display at 700+ Barnes & Noble stores across the US. So, in order to celebrate: 

CONTEST!!!

Take a picture of the display at your local Barnes & Noble, buy one of my books.
Send me the photo along with a copy of the receipt (via email) and you’ll be entered in a random drawing to win a copy of one of my books: your choice.

The display ends on April 26, so hurry!!

Contest entries must be in to me no later than April 30. My email: mylima AT gmail DOT com

Cheers!!

And now, I am going to try to nap a bit. My eyes, they are unhappy.

Today is the official release day for BLOOD KIN, 3rd in the Blood Lines series and the first one that is BRAND new. Yup, a grand total of 2 people outside of the folks at Pocket (and me) have read this book.

It’s available at your local bookstore, your favorite indie bookstore and the usual chains (Walmart, Target, Amazon). It is also available in e-book format at the Sony store, Kindle store and at Fictionwise, plus via my publisher’s online store.

Also sharing my release date is Diana P. Francis’ [ ]new urban fantasy novel, BITTER NIGHT. Make sure to check it out!!

The contest is still brewing: take a pic of my books in the wild (store, at your house, library, etc.) or dress in costume and take a picture of you holding one of my books and enter. Details here.

Release week w00t:

• Guest blog up @ Amberkatze’s Book Blog & VampChix where I write about setting and what’s to love about vampires. Both lovely ladies will be giving away a copy of a book.
• Contest right here at my blog
• And tomorrow (drum roll, please….) BLOOD KIN sees the light of day for the first time ever!!

Stop by, read the essays at the 2 other blogs. Take pictures and enter my contest!

Whee!!

Release week begins in < 10 days!!
Sunday, October 25, guest blog at Amberkatze’s Book Blog and talk about why There’s No Place Like Plrtz Glrb*
Monday, October 26: guest bloggin at VampChix, where I talk about, what else? Vampires.
Tuesday, October 27: BLOOD KIN out in the wild!!

To celebrate my first completely brand new book with Juno/Pocket, I’m holding a contest.

CONTEST!!!!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

(1) Take a picture of one of my books in the wild (in a store, of you or someone holding the book, etc.)

OR

(2) Take a picture of yourself in your Halloween costume, holding a copy of one of my books.

WHEN?
Take pics whenever you like, but you *must* submit them no later than midnight Eastern Standard Time, Monday, November 2, 2009.

HOW TO ENTER:
– either email me the image (.jpg, .gif, or .png) and I’ll post for you; make sure to comment below that you are sending me the photo.
OR
– post the pic to your own photo hosting site and comment below with the URL for the pic.

PRIZES:

Best costume overall: a set of all 3 of my books
Best fantasy costume: choice of two of my books
Best funny costume: choice of one of my books

BONUS!!
– if there is an especially awesome photo in *either* category, this person will get the right to name a character in one of my upcoming books and have a set of my books donated to the library of their choice.

ETA: To cover legalities, I’ve modified the rules to include the following (thanks to for the disclaimer):

Contest restrictions: Because I don’t know all the various international laws (and thus don’t want to get in trouble for breaking any), contest is open to US and Canadian residents only. Any contest winners who cannot provide a US/Canadian shipping address will be disqualified and a new winnerdrawn.

* Thanks to Joss Whedon for the great blog post title.

Congratulations and thanks to all that played the game.

There are 3 winners total. We’ve assigned numbers to each of you and in order, you’ll get to pick 2 of the listed prizes.

Winner #1:

Winner #2:

Winner #3:

Please e-mail me your snail mail addresses. Also, , please include your prize choices. As soon as winner #1 picks, then I’ll notify winner #2 via e-mail and so on. [my email: mylima AT  gmail DOT  com]

Prizes:

* your choice of one of Lori Devoti’s books
* a copy of Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson
* a copy of Matters of the Blood by Maria Lima (yours, truly)
* a copy Would-Be Witch by Kimberly Frost
* a copy of Dancing with Werewolves by Carole Nelson Douglas
* a copy of Vegas Bites anthology from contributor Seressia Glass
* a copy of Demon Inside by Stacia Kane

Again, thanks for participating!!

JunoPalooza extended!!

Since many folks are vacationing, the contest has been extended through Friday, September 4, the natal day of our own Maria Lima.

Stop by, give us your questions to the quiz answers and be eligible to win one of the fabulous book prizes. Tell your friends! Please RT on Twitter and post to Facebook and LJ!

GO AND WIN!!

PRIZES:

* your choice of one of Lori Devoti’s books
* a copy of Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson
* a copy of Matters of the Blood by Maria Lima (yours, truly)
* a copy Would-Be Witch by Kimberly Frost
* a copy of Dancing with Werewolves by Carole Nelson Douglas
* a copy of Vegas Bites anthology from contributor Seressia Glass
* a copy of Demon Inside by Stacia Kane NEW! JUST ADDED!!