At long last a LiveJournal by Jeri Smith-Ready

Last week of Blogtoberfest-y prize-riddled goodness!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:00:18 GMT

The month-long, mega-YA-author giveaway at my blog is almost at an end. But there are still six open drawings, plus five more to come, including Jennifer Echols (tomorrow), PC Cast (Thursday), me (Friday) and Rachel Vincent on Saturday.

And then--AND THEN, the grand prize, featuring over $300 worth of YA novels (i.e., the books the authors are giving away).

Yesterday's guest was Stephanie Kuehnert, the amazing author of gritty YA novels such as I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone and this year's Ballads of Suburbia, which she's giving away this week. Her blog post on what Halloween and Homecoming mean to her and her main character is touching and truthful.

Today's guest is Carrie Jones, author of the wonderful pixie novel Need. She's giving away an ARC of Need's sequel, Captivate.

For a full schedule and details, including entry rules, read the introductory post. Please stop by to say hi to these wonderful authors!

Blogtoberfest Day 6 - Nancy Holder

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:14:37 GMT

Today's Blogtoberguest is New York Times-bestselling author Nancy Holder, who is giving away five (5!) signed books, including her creepy new YA novel, Possessions. Come join the party (but not late at night when you're alone, because even her post is spooky).

Blogtoberfest Day 4 - Sarah Beth Durst

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:47:55 GMT

One of my favorite authors and persons, Norton Award-nominee Sarah Beth Durst, is blogging about the meaning of home and giving away a signed copy of her brand-new (as in TODAY) release of Ice, today at the Blogtoberfest.

Hey, that was a one sentence post. Until now.

Blogtoberfest Day 3 - Saundra Mitchell

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:42:06 GMT

Novelist and screenwriter Saundra Mitchell wrote a wonderful little extra from the world of her debut YA paranormal novel, Shadowed Summer, a signed copy of which she's giving away at my blog right now. Come join the party!

Kittens having kittens!

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:10:08 GMT

I think LJ was down last Tuesday when I posted this on my regular blog, so here it is!

I'm way overdue on updating you on our current foster cat, Twinkle. I assure you, it's not because we want to hide her from the world so that no one ever adopts her. Really.

We've had her since mid-August, nursed her through a case of Coccidia (don't ask) as well as a spay operation, the recovery to which went more slowly than usual because she wouldn't take it easy afterward and ended up with some swelling around her sutures. You try to keep a nine-month-old kitten "quiet and still."

What's she like, you ask? She's a terrible, horrible, naughty kitten. She chews on boxes, and she--um, well, uh....

Okay, she's pretty much perfect. She gets along well with Misha and Meadow, she's cuddly, playful, well-behaved at the vet's and when getting medicine at home. She's so cute, it almost makes my head explode.

(Click for larger version--hold onto your head.)

But that box-chewing thing. You don't want her. She should just stay with us indefinitely, for the next sixteen or seventeen years.

Instead, let me direct your attention to her four lovely kittens. Poor Twinkle got knocked up during her first heat when she was only six months old. She showed up at the Howard County (MD) animal shelter ready to pop. They immediately sent her to the vet to be spayed and the kittens aborted, since their shelter was already chock full o' kittens.

The morning of the surgery, the vet walked in to discover that she'd given birth during the night. (Twinkle, not the vet.) So these kittens were Meant to Be.

I met the whole litter at the foster cat coordinator's house when I picked up Twinkle. Jet was my favorite--the runt of the litter, he's a little feline dynamo. He never stopped moving or playing the whole time I was there. He's much cuter than this picture.

His favorite sibling is Andy (who was called Annie when I met her--I mean, him). Andy is gorgeous, and quite the adventurer. I would love to see them adopted together. Here's a really bad picture of Andy. He doesn't usually look this drunk:

Then there's Onyx. Sweetie pie Onyx. The polar opposite of Jet--he's laid-back, happy to just hang out and be petted. Perfect for a quieter household. Here he is with his favorite sibling, Tootsie the Tortoiseshell. Tootsie is like a miniature version of Twinkle, personality-wise: friendly, affectionate, playful, and a Collector of Things. It would be great if Tootsie and Onyx could go home together.

If you live in Maryland, Northern Virginia, DC, Delaware, or south central Pennsylvania and are looking for a kitten (or two--they're better in pairs), or know someone who is, please consider one of these babies. (Click on their links for more info on adopting from Tails of Hope.) It would make me so happy to see Twinkle's kids go to good homes.

Note: This is not an "OMG SAVE THE KITTENS!" plea. They will stay in foster care until they're adopted. But they'll be four among a mess of kittens (there were 15 when I was there), and I would love to see them go to a Forever Home where they can have their very own people.

Just like their mom. Little box-chewing, heart-stealing minx.

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Now playing: The Blues Brothers - Peter Gunn Theme

Blog-tober 2nd - Shannon Reinbold-Gee

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:56:50 GMT

Today's guest at my Halloween & Homecoming blog party is Shannon Reinbold-Gee, who won the 2008 Textnovel contest with her werewolf tale, 13 TO LIFE, which was later snatched up by St. Martin's Press in a three-book deal! She's giving away an ARC, so come read a "behind-the-scenes" scene from her novel and make this debut author feel welcome.

Blog-toberfest kickoff: Rosemary Clement-Moore!

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:23:29 GMT

Rita-award winning author Rosemary Clement-Moore is giving away a copy of her brand-new paranormal YA novel, The Splendor Falls. She discusses her favorite (sort of) Halloween costume and how she was once mistaken for a "nerd." Come party with us!

Halloween & Homecoming: a Blog-toberfest!

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:12:30 GMT

(I am somewhere in this Homecoming photo from Loudoun County High School. Click the picture for a larger version. First person to find me gets to make fun of my eighties' hair.)

To celebrate my five-year blog anniversary and the not-so-far-off-anymore release of Shade, I'm hosting a month-long, mega-bonanza-giveaway blog party for fans of YA fiction.

Every weekday (and maybe a weekend or two), a fabulous author will blog about Halloween or Homecoming, and also give away a signed book or ARC to one lucky commenter.

Then at the end of the month....

The grand prize....

A package of every single book in the contest, delivered to the winner's door, courtesy of moi. That's over $250 worth of reading bliss.

The Schedule:

October 1: Rosemary Clement-Moore
October 2: June 2010 debut author Shannon Reinbold-Gee
October 5: Saundra Mitchell
October 6: Sarah Beth Durst
October 7: Megan Crewe
October 8: Nancy Holder
October 9: Kelly Parra
October 12: Amanda Ashby
October 13: Shana Norris
October 14: Linda Joy Singleton
October 15: Linda Gerber
October 16: December 2009 debut author Alexandra Diaz
October 19: Melissa Walker
October 20: Sydney Salter
October 21: Christine Marciniak
October 22: Tricia Mills
October 23: Simone Elkeles
October 26: Stephanie Kuehnert
October 27: Carrie Jones
October 28: Jennifer Echols
October 29: PC Cast
October 30: Me

Schedule is subject to change.

The Rules:

1. Contest open to U.S. residents only. This isn't because we're cheap and don't want to pay international postage--some of us are international ourselves. It's because I'm trying to keep this contest legal and can only keep track of one country's laws at a time. Sorry!

2. To enter the daily contests, simply comment on that day's post. After a week, a winner will be drawn using a random number generator. All daily contest commenters will be automatically entered in the grand prize drawing.

3. Retail value of grand prize: $261.68. Retail value will increase (and be updated here) if more authors join the party. Retail values of individual prizes will be listed on each post.

4. Odds of winning depend upon the number of participants.

5. Names of winners will be posted in the comments of that day's post, and in the post that appears the day after the drawing. Winners have one week to claim their prize by contacting me via e-mail at jeri AT jerismithready DOT com. If the winner does not contact me by that time, I will draw another name at random.

I didn't have any Halloween photos on my computer, but here's Meadow looking pretty scary!

See you tomorrow, and the next day, and next week, and--well, you get the picture.

Kindle news and release date updates

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:35:30 GMT

Great news for Kindle lovers: Wicked Game and Bad to the Bone are finally available for your cherished device!

Other electronic formats should be available shortly, and of course I'll let you know when that happens. Or you can let me know, if you see it first.

The third book in the WVMP Radio series, Bring on the Night, will be released on August 1, 2010. I know, it's a long time after Bad to the Bone, but the good news is that the fourth book, tentatively titled Lust for Life, will be released six months later, in Spring 2011. So your patience will be rewarded! They'll also all be in mass market paperback (and so will Bad to the Bone as of February 23, 2010), so your wallet will thank you, too.

The change in schedule is due to the release of my first young adult novel, Shade, on May 18, 2010. My publisher wants to space out the releases so they don't compete with each other and so I don't, you know, go insane.

Two interviews & book giveaways

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:50:59 GMT

Quick post between vet visits (nothing serious, just routine checkups):

For the few people who are actually on the internet this close to the holiday weekend, your diligence is rewarded! I have two interviews up with two different signed books being given away.

Furthermore, I did not repeat myself ONCE between the two interviews. Although I may have used the word "and" in both.

Jocelynn Drake's giveaway of Wicked Game continues through tomorrow, and is now joined by a short interview about the WVMP series. Then Brooke Reviews has a longer interview where I discuss entirely different things, and where I'm giving away a signed copy of Bad to the Bone.

Yes, I forgot this was Labor Day weekend. I'm an idiot. But hey, those of you who actually check it out will have an even better chance than usual to win, because you won't have to compete with people who are out having fun.

Not that reading an interview with me isn't fun.

Anyway, have a great weekend, holiday or not!

Win WIcked Game & see the kitten!

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:16:37 GMT

Actually, you don't have to do one to do the other. That's why this is a great country.

Jocelynn Drake's fabulous ongoing book giveaway contest continues this week with Wicked Game. The contest runs through Saturday, then Sunday she'll announce the winner post an interview with me. All you have to do is comment at her contest post to enter.

Got that? OK, now you may see the kitten (click for larger, cuter version):

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Now playing: Great Lake Swimmers - Various Stages

First the forest, then the trees

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:47:47 GMT

This blog post started off as a brief hey-this-is-what's-new-with me post, and turned into a whole essay on the the different kinds of edits. This is why I have trouble finding time to blog--you cannot shut me up.

I turned in my rewrite of Shade on Monday. On Friday, my editor will give me her line edits, and the final version will go to the copyeditor on September 9.

What are line edits, you ask? (Let's pretend you asked, so that I don't look pretentious.) There are usually two stages to an editor's actual editorial work on a book. The first one is called...hmm, I don't know what it's called. Let's call it the Global Edit, because that sounds very impressive and sort of humanitarian. The Global Edit^TM tackles the Big Issues, such as:

-- Character X feels underdeveloped and pointless to the story; maybe s/he can be combined with another character to serve the same purpose? I mean, does the protagonist really need TWO drama-riddled, arachnophobic, Vespa-riding best friends? Hmm?
-- Subplot Y fails to be resolved. We never do find out who made those crop circles in the shape of Dick Cheney's head.
-- The pacing of Chapters 5-9 was so slow, I sold them to a pharmaceutical company as a powerful anesthesia agent (patent pending).

So the writer gets the Global Edit and spends at least a few weeks (God willing) doing a rewrite. For all of my books from Voice of Crow through Bad to the Bone, this stage involved giant overhauls to the plot and characters and took about two months each.

For Shade, this major rewrite wasn't necessary, and here's why: A month before it was due, I gave the oh-so-rough draft to a pair of beta readers who should be awarded medals of valor. It gave me the chance to see the big-picture problems with it, which I fixed to the best of my ability before turning it in to my editor at Simon Pulse (Annette Pollert) on June 1.

Anyway, then the writer submits the rewritten version to her editor (which I did this Monday). Sometimes the editor sends back this version with "line edits." At this stage, the editor flags specific details in the writing--clunky dialogue, weak descriptions, or other Things-That-Make-Her-Go-Eww. Usually he or she won't correct things like grammar or spelling--that's the copyeditor's job.

So if the Global Edit is the forest, the Line Edit is the trees. Books are made of trees, which come from forests, so...there.

Keep in mind that not every editor works this way. Some will combine the global edit (you're used to the term now, so we're switching to lower case) with the line edit. My editor at Pocket, Jen Heddle, does this. The lovely part is that I can then ignore half of her line edits because they apply to scenes that I've axed. Efficient (for me, at least)! She also does a second line edit on the new version, but it's combined with the copyeditor's review. So that manuscript will have notes for me in two different handwritings and colors. Pretty!

As for copyediting, we'll leave that for another post. I hope this has been an enlightening glimpse inside my little corner of the publishing process. As you can see, building the perfect book has many steps, several of which involve colored pencils.

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Now playing: The Distillers - Coral Fang

Smart Chicks Kick It Tour

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:17:28 GMT

Last week I was thrilled to receive an invitation to join phenomenal authors Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, and Alyson Noel on part of their Smart Chicks Kick It Tour in September 2010. After I stopped cartwheeling, I said yes.

What makes Smart Chicks different from other multi-author tours? Well, for starters, it's run by the authors, not by a publisher or publicist (not that there's anything wrong with those--I'll take one, pretty please, any time *winsome smile*). That's why we can announce it now, before all the details are set in stone.

Not only that, but readers get a chance to have a say in what they want from a tour. Readings? Signings? Q&A? Photo ops? Swimming with authors dressed as dolphins? We're even taking suggestions on where we stop. So if you live in a small city that has yet to receive an author visit--or, say, a second Dairy Queen--come ask us to stop by!

All the information and discussion forums can be found at SmartChicksKickIt.com. You can read even more about it at Melissa Marr's blog.

As you can probably see from the current roster, all of us write young adult paranormal, though many also write an adult series or two.

Aaaaaand, speaking of which, my revisions to Shade are due on Monday, so I better get back to that! But I shall leave you with a cute pic of our new foster kitty, Twinkle, who got spayed yesterday, so no more mommy duty for her!

Book giveaway and upcoming appearance

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:53:46 GMT

Sorry, not at the same time.

But today and tomorrow you can comment at the blog of phenomenal NY Times bestselling urban fantasy author Jocelynn Drake to win a signed copy of Bad to the Bone. Go forth!

Next Saturday I'll be at the Waldenbooks at the Lebanon Valley Mall in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Not just me, and not just signing (not that there's anything wrong with just me just signing): from 10-11am, I'll be on a discussion panel on How to Get Published with fellow authors Megan Hart, Mindy Klasky, Savannah Russe, and Maria V. Snyder.

Then from 11am to 4pm I'll be signing, along with the above four authors and many others who write for all ages in all genres (quick note: if you want to see Megan, come before noon).

EDITED TO ADD: Twenty percent of all the day's proceeds go to benefit the Lebanon Library. How cool is that?

Hope to see you there!

The Ballad of Shane McAllister

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:12:03 GMT

I'm back! Bring on the Night is finished and turned in. Forks sticking out of it and everything. I am very happy with how it's turned out so far (realizing, of course, that I am in for the usual massive rewrite). For the second book in a row, I came up with an ending that changed almost everything I thought was true about its sequel. All part of the adventure, right?

Anyway, appearing today at Stephanie Kuehnert's blog, "Life, Words, & Rock 'n' Roll," is the hero of my WVMP Radio urban fantasy series, vampire DJ Shane McAllister (why I feel like I need to keep introducing him to you is beyond me. But you might be new, so hi!).

Shane is sharing his "ballad," a story of a pivotal point in his life and the music that formed the background, or, in his case, the foreground. It's all part of Stephanie's cyber-launch party celebrating the release of her amazing new novel, Ballads of Suburbia (which I talked about a few weeks ago).

Shane discusses how seeing Purple Rain changed his life, and not in the way he planned. If you leave a comment at Stephanie's blog, you can be entered to win a choice of Wicked Game, Bad to the Bone (signed, of course), or $20 worth of WVMP merchandise (new stuff added recently, including dog T-shirts and "Feed the Need" baby bibs).

Only three weeks until my next deadline (revisions for Shade), and loads of e-mail, etc., to catch up on before I go all hermit again. We should be getting our first foster cat either this week or next, so I'll have fun stories about her. In the meantime, go visit Twinkle's page and say, "Aww!"

Two interviews and book giveaways

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:34:39 GMT

I think as of this morning, I'm finally caught up on sleep! Yay! I need the brain clarity, since Bring on the Night is due in a week (technically next Saturday), and I have a lot of plot work to do. Little things, like what the hell does the villain want?

Also, for the first time I am finding it a major inconvenience that the vampires can't go out during the day. The timeline for Bring on the Night is so tight, and events happen so quickly, it's hard to wait for sunset to get stuff done. But I'll work it out eventually; somehow I always do. (Of course, with every book comes the fear that this time the plot will kick my ass instead of the other way around.)

Anyway, today two blogs are interviewing me (luckily with mostly different questions), and each of them are giving away a signed copy of any of my books. Winner gets to choose from my vast library of published work. (OK, maybe not that vast.)

At the first one, Smexy Books asks you to answer the question, "Kick Ass Chick or TSTL?" Since TSTL stands for Too Stupid to Live, it seems kinda like a "Cake or Death?" question to me. But whatever. Just go leave a comment to enter.

Then over at Star-Crossed Romance, you can find out Ciara's all-time favorite song (it might surprise you) and a little bit more about my YA series. Leave a comment to enter to win any of my books, signed and personalized by me!

I might drop in next week if I have any major news (well, I have major news, but I'm sort of saving it for an awards round-up post next month), but otherwise I'll be trying to finish Bring on the Night. Wish me luck and much caffeine!

Ballads of Surburbia release day and cyber-launch party!

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:14:49 GMT

Every few years, or maybe once a decade, I read a book that humbles and crumbles me, a book that cores my psyche with the jagged edge of a diamond drill. A book that reminds me why we write.

Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert is one of those books. If you read my blog, you know that Stephanie and I are friends, and we have the same editor, Jennifer Heddle. But I have a lot of writer friends, and while most of them thrill and entertain me with their stories, and I will happily plug their books on my blog when I get special enjoyment from them, this is a whole other realm of awe.

Ballads tells the stories of several teenage characters growing up outside Chicago in the 1990s, but the book centers around Kara, an intelligent, ordinary girl who escapes the pain of parental alienation, friendship betrayals, and abusive romances in ways that are sadly all too common.

Yet the telling of the stories is anything but ordinary. Ballads opens with Kara returning to her Oak Park home at age 22, fearing that the toxic environment she left behind will pull her back in. We learn that she left the area when she was 16 so she could survive and make something of herself after a heroin overdose. She encounters the man who helped her down that near-fatal path and left her to die.

How did she get here? Kara's story is told in flashback, interspersed with a series of "ballads," first-person pieces scribbled in a notebook that gets passed from friend to friend. In each of the stories I recognized little pieces of myself--not so much because I grew up in the suburbs, but because I'd once been a confused young woman figuring out who I was and where I belonged (still working on that one sometimes).

It takes a lot of guts to tangle with hard emotions such as grief, guilt, and anger to the extent needed to produce great fiction. It's easier to skim the surface or make a funny. Stephanie's book has given me the courage as a writer to dig deeper, punch harder, peel away more protective layers, even as the very thought of doing so brings tears to my eyes.

Anyway, I was lucky to receive an early ARC of Ballads, but now the world has the privilege of experiencing this book, too, because today is the release day!

Stephanie is holding a cyber-launch party (which started last Monday, her thirtieth birthday), featuring a month's worth of authors sharing their own personal ballads. Here's a little promo for it that shows some of the folks stopping by:

I (or possibly Shane) will be appearing on Stephanie's blog some time in the next month, and Stephanie will come 'round here on the same day for an interview, at which point I'll tell you more about this fantastic book. But you should definitely stop by her blog each day to check out all the great authors, artists and musicians. And win stuff!

Today Stephanie told her own ballad of how she came to write this incredible book. Oh, and you can also see her very first "vlog," her ballad of a birthday tattoo, along with a live reading from her book. She is incredibly sweet and real, as a writer and a person, so go check them out!

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P.S.: I'm uploading photos from ALA and RWA one by one to my Twitpic page, and after I turn in my book next Friday I'll do a little montage here on the blog. Stories, I got stories!

WVMP 3 has a name

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:47:16 GMT

At ALA now (actually, I'm writing this before I leave, but let's pretend). When I return home more than a week from now, I have ten days to finish the third WVMP book, which is now officially titled....

BRING ON THE NIGHT

after the song by The Police.

I am very jazzed that they let me keep my original choice for the title, as it fits the storyline even better than the titles of my other books.

Bring on the Night still has no official release date. I only know for sure that it will be 2010 and definitely not May, because that's when my teen fiction debut, Shade, will be released. Since publishers like to space an author's books at least a couple of months apart, I expect BotN to come out somewhere between July and September of next year.

I know, it's cruel to make readers wait more than a year between installments, but the good news is, your patience will be rewarded, because Book 4 (tentatively titled Lust for Life) will be released in Spring 2011 (I'm guessing February or March), thus giving you two WVMP books in about six months. Happy times!

This ramped-up publishing schedule means my writing schedule has also gotten busier, but I promise I won't forget my loyal blog readers (both of you). I have a fun event planned for this September to celebrate my five-year blog-iversary.

Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend!

ALA/RWA schedule

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:42:53 GMT

I'm leaving tomorrow for ten days, for two conferences. Even though I'm in total stress mode, I am incredibly excited about these events!

The first one is in Chicago, and I'll get to hang out with one of my favorite writer friends, the brilliant and way cool Stephanie Kuehnert, who has a new amazing book coming out in a couple of weeks (I read an ARC last month--yes, I am a lucky dog). You'll be hearing more about her next week (the book, not her personally, unless she has something she wants me to share).

Then Sunday I fly back to DC for three days of behind-the-scenes tours of the FBI, State Department, Postal Inspectors, and CIA, with my mystery/suspense chapter of RWA, Kiss of Death. Oh, and then the other conference, most of which I will probably sleep through after that long week of excitement.

I will try my best to blog at least once a week (I have a couple posts loaded up in the queue), but if you want updates from the conferences, you'd be better off checking my Twitter page.

ALA (American Library Association National conference) schedule:

Sunday, July 12, 8:30am-10am, YALSA's Young Adult Coffee Klatch

Sunday, July 12, 1-2pm, signing/book giveaway at Simon & Schuster Booth #3326.

Both events are open to conference attendees only.

RWA (Romance Writers of America National conference) schedule:

Wednesday, July 15, 5:30-7, Readers for Life Literacy Autographing (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC--ALL PROCEEDS GO TO CHARITY)

Friday, July 17, 9:45am-11:15am, Pocket Books Signing (OPEN TO CONFERENCE ATTENDEES ONLY).

ETA:

Also Thursday from 7-8 I'll be at the FF&P Gathering, picking up a PRISM award (first, second, or, most likely, third place) for Wicked Game in the Light Paranormal category. Then I'll be hopping off to the Pocket Books party. And Friday night, of course, will find me slamming the dance floor at the Harlequin party. Other than that, I'll probably be catching up on sleep or work.

Oh, who am I kidding? I'll be in the bar.

See you there!

Tails of Hope dogs needing adoption

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:05:34 GMT

Just got this message from the foster coordinator for Tails of Hope, the animal rescue organization we volunteer with:

We have a number of dogs in rescue right now and will NOT be taking in any more until some of these are moved. Please talk to people that are considering adopting, friends, neighbors and relatives. Please help these kids, because until they are in homes, we cannot save any others:

Ryan...nothing wrong with him except he needs to play... a family dog with kids is perfect – he’s good family dog and needs training.

Katy – the little prima donna but cute and cuddly if she’s an only dog

Pumpkin – needs to be only dog...but loving, friendly, and walks nicely on lead, housebroken

Tiffany – had thousands wanting her before now, needs to be only dog.

Josef, Derek and Sparkles...we need to get these kids out of the kennel...they are shepherds and super dogs...

Pearl - this lovely sweet girl needs that special home... and she’s beautiful too!! [Jeri's note: Pearl is being fostered by a friend of mine, who says she's awesome]

Karma – her ONLY bad thing is she’s a black dog...otherwise, she’s perfect!!! And another great family dog. [Jeri's note: Black dogs have nothing wrong with them--it's just that for some reason people are less likely to adopt them (and black cats) than any other color. Seriously. I don't get it either.)

So if you live in Maryland, DC, south central PA, Delaware, northern VA, or West Virginia, and are looking to adopt or foster a dog, please consider one of these pups. For more information on the application process, visit Tails of Hope's adoption page.

Tails of Hope currently has 26 cats and 53 dogs for adoption. They are also always looking for new foster homes, other types of volunteers, animal sponsors (like Ciara in Wicked Game), and donations of all kinds.

And if you apply, tell 'em Jeri sent you!

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Now playing: Led Zeppelin - Black Dog
via FoxyTunes

Ciara & Shane interview--win a book, any book (of mine)

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:38:43 GMT

Ciara and Shane from Wicked Game and Bad to the Bone were interviewed over at Amberkatze's Book Blog, where Amber is generously giving away a copy of YOUR CHOICE of any of my books. I will send to the winner:

a) a signed bookplate--the next best thing to an autographed book
b) a signed coverflat of Bad to the Bone
c) a cool little metal bookmark engraved with a paw print and quote about dogs (or cats, if you prefer):

Because Bad to the Bone has animals and it's, you know, a book.

This is Shane and Ciara's first joint public appearance. The contest runs until July 3 (that's next Friday). Enjoy!

Forever books & food moods

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:11:20 GMT

Over on Facebook, my friend Kayley tagged me on a meme that I couldn't resist (which is saying a lot). The instructions were:

Don't take too long to think about it: fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. Make sure it's the first fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

Then we were supposed to tag 15 friends, but I didn't do that. I have a (nonexistent) sign on my (nonexistent) desk that says, "The Meme Stops Here."

With each of these books I remember something different--a scene, a character, a concept, or the way it made me feel in that moment. With most, I can remember where I was when I first read it, the same way I associate certain songs with certain stretches of highway where I first heard them (or where I played them on infinite repeat).

In no order other than when they popped into my brain:

1. Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker
2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
3. Call of the Wild by Jack London
4. Stupid and Contagious by Caprice Crane
5. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
6. "Notes from the Underground" by Fyodor Dosteyevsky (technically a novella)
7. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
8. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
9. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
10. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engel
11. Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
12. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
13. The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
14. L'Etranger by Albert Camus
15. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Rather than discuss the rationale for each one (because it was meant to be quick, after all), I wanted to point out one book that I was just thinking of a few minutes ago (which led to this blog post): Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel.

In a central scene, the novel's protagonist Tita is forced to cook the wedding food for her older sister Rosaura, who is marrying the man Tita loves (and who loves her back but for custom's sake has to marry the oldest girl because the youngest has to stay home forever and take care of her mom--bogus!).

Anyway, Tita cries bitter tears as she's preparing the cake, and the tears kinda get mixed into the batter. At the reception, everyone who eats the cake starts crying. These episodes continue throughout the book, as Tita's repressed anger and passion infuse her cooking.

Takeaway message: the spirit in which food is prepared affects its taste. So ever since I read this book, I try to be merry or at least calm when I cook. I have certain carefully chosen CDs that can play while I make dinner. (Most of my favorite music would make food taste really nasty.)

Oh, and a glass of wine or beer helps a lot, but not until I'm finished with the knives.

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What are your "Forever 15" books? If you only have a minute, give me five, or even one, and tell me why. Which parts of the book will you always remember--the characters, a scene, the philosophy, or the feelings it gave you?

Tomorrow's signing, book clubs, and Shane's Cat & Muse interview

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:59:28 GMT

Quick reminder: I'll be at Constellation Books at 303 Main Street in Reisterstown, Maryland, tomorrow 3-5pm. There'll be a reading, signing, discussion, and most important--cookies.

Last night I went to a book club meeting in Central PA where they were discussing Wicked Game. I had a ton of fun (and pizza)--it was great hearing everyone's thoughts on the characters. Really motivated me to keep writing!

If you have a book club in the mid-Atlantic area (within a reasonable drive of my house) and would like me to visit your book club, let me know. I'm also available to talk to book clubs over the phone (within the U.S.) or Skype (anywhere in the world).

As an aside, on the way up I heard The Killers' "Read My Mind," which is one of the first songs on the Wicked Game playlist. It made me "homesick" for the beginning of that book, when Shane and Ciara had just met. Things were so simple then. I'm working on Book 3 now, which takes place three years after their story began in Wicked Game. They're still together (and always will be), but their world has grown a lot more complicated. Such is the nature of a series where characters change and grow and make bargains with paranormal paramilitary organizations.

Anyway, there's a fun interview of Shane from the WVMP books over at Jackie Kessler's Cat and Muse blog. Our boy managed to keep out of the clutches of that former(ish) succubus Jezebel. A testament to his devotion to Ciara, or maybe Jez just isn't his type. He'll never tell.

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Now playing: Kasabian - Reason Is Treason
via FoxyTunes

Wha happa to Meadow?

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:53:12 GMT

I've been promising this post since late last year, partly as a way to explain why I got so quiet online between October and January (other than Twitter, which was a lifesaver) and even canceled a few appearances, and partly as a PSA for other dog owners.

This is Meadow, for those of you who haven't met her. She's a retired racing greyhound who entered our lives on May 1, 2003. As you can see, she is a huge fan of teddy bears:

Forgive this post for being long and rambly, but at least I've shut up about my books for once.

Flashback, Fall 2004 (hmm, wondering if there's a presidential election tie-in to Meadow's symptoms--note to self: apply for research grant). Meadow was having mysterious pain that made her jump up and cry out for no apparent reason. At first we thought it was her stomach, but a veterinary internist palpated her spine and discovered the source of the ouch: a herniated (or ruptured) disc.

We kept her on "crate rest" for twelve weeks (I put it in quotes because it wasn't strict, which is probably why it took twelve weeks to heal), and she eventually recovered.

Last year she started having these symptoms again occasionally, and they got much worse after a particularly rigorous session of fetch on September 7. Same symptoms as before, but unlike before, she showed no response whatsoever to four different vets pressing down on her spine (not all at the same time). X-rays, ultrasounds, bloodwork showed nada, other than a possible Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever exposure.

The pain got worse. She would just be lying there, then suddenly jump up and scream. She'd run up and down the hall, jump on and off the couches, in a desperate attempt to get away from her own body. We took her to a neurologist, who examined her, then did an MRI and found four (4!!) ruptured discs. Since she had no neurological impairment (could walk, pee, feel her feet, etc.), he prescribed conservative treatment, i.e., crate rest.

Again the pain got worse. We tried acupuncture. Meadow hated it--she cried and even snapped at the vet, something she'd never done before. We tried two more treatments, since acupuncture can sometimes take a while to succeed. She just got worse. She was on an anti-inflammatory, a muscle relaxant, and two painkillers (oh, and her allergy meds and an antibiotic for the RMSF, as well as some herbal calming stuff that didn't work).

Our vet was starting to murmur about "quality of life." He and Meadow's acupuncturist thought that if Meadow were this sensitive to pain, she would not handle surgery well. I was crying all the time, so angry that something like a ruptured disc could end up killing my eight-year-old dog, and so guilty over the mistakes we'd made in her care. The pain of losing Tiggy was still fresh, and that had been after a long life and a normal disease of old age (kidney failure).

(Meanwhile, I'm trying to do a major rewrite on Bad to the Bone, occasionally typing through the middle of the night as Meadow literally stood over me, wild-eyed shivering. There's a scene where Ciara goes half-insane with fear (in a funny way, of course), entirely inspired by those long, dark nights of my own soul.)

(A musical aside: During these weeks, I would put Loreena McKennitt CDs on repeat to help Meadow relax. I never want to hear Loreena McKennitt again.)

But then...the neurologist saved our lives. I took Meadow back to him and he scheduled her for surgery the very next day, November 21, and said she had a 75-80% chance of a full recovery (meaning not only no pain but zero neurological impairment). He put a pain patch on her (Fentanyl, which is like morphine) and said to bring her back in the morning.

So yay! We're on the road to Happy Days, right? Ehem. Little did I know the worst night yet was ahead of us. See, the Fentanyl patch started to kick in around 6pm that night, and man, did she look stoned. Called the vet, who said to peel half of it off to cut down on the meds. But it's sticky, right? Imagine the world's most adhesive Band-Aid, and someone's trying to peel it off your raw, furry skin. She wouldn't let us touch it. So in the car we go, back out into the boonies to the neurologist's office, where the overnight vet tech peeled it off while I held Meadow tight in my arms. She cried. It was heartbreaking. I looked at it the place where the patch had come off, and the skin had a thousand little cuts on it. She had literally been flayed! (Yes, I thought of Evil Willow from Buffy.)

We came home to the longest night ever. Whether it was the half-peeled Fentanyl patch or just the pain from her back, Meadow cried all night long. The only thing that would keep her quiet was me petting her and talking. I rambled on nonsensically for hours, just saying the next words that came into my mouth, which often had no relation to the words that came before them. I probably sounded like I was stoned. Eventually I made Chris join me on the couch to help comfort her. Time has never moved so slowly. I kept telling Meadow, "Just four more hours, baby. Just three and a half more hours. Just three hours and twenty-seven more minutes."

Eventually daylight broke and we took her to the neurologist's. She gave me a look of panic as they led her back into the hospital, a look that screamed, "Mommy, nooooo!"

It's all good from here. The doc did dorsal laminectomies on five vertebrae. That means he sawed off the top protrusion of each vertebra (the bony part that sticks up if you're a dog, or out if you're a human standing up). This gave the swollen disc material some space so it would stop cramming itself against the spinal cord and causing pain/impairment.

She actually got up and walked the day after the surgery. This is apparently unusual. Many dogs after this surgery can't walk and can't even feel when they have to pee and poop. But I guess Somebody had decided Meadow had been through enough hell. She came home three days later, her entire back shaven and two lines of staples (a long one on her back and a short one on her butt). Because greyhounds have thin skin, the razor had made a lot of cuts and scrapes. She looked pathetic.

But she was out of pain. I mean, other than from the surgery. Before she went in, she'd been on 6 Tramadol a day. After surgery, one Tramadol. And no yiping or crying, period.

So we embarked upon the eight-week Stage One of her recovery. Complete crate rest. I set up a very nice pen for her next to my side of the bed, with a big orthopedic dog bed and a few blankets for nesting (she likes big fluffy comforters, but I wanted her to lie flat). We stapled a dog bed to the wall to shield her from the cold air.

For the first few days, all she wanted to do was sleep. Our Thanksgiving was very quiet. We watched the Macy*s parade on the main TV, with a video monitor next to it featuring MTV (Meadow television). A week after surgery, Meadow turned back into Bratty Pwincess, barking when she got bored.

For the next six weeks, I relocated my office to the bedroom to keep her company. I listened to a lot of classical music, especially Christmas hymns. It was a peaceful time. I pretty much did nothing for the months of November through January except take care of Meadow (5-6 meals, a bajillion pills and several hot compresses a day), work on my proposal for the third and fourth vampire books, and then write the first half of Book 3. This is why I got so far behind in blogging, e-mail, contests, everything. Sorry (not really).

By the end of January, Meadow was off all her medications and allowed to go for ten-minute walks. By the end of February, it was two ten-minute walks a day. She had several hydrotherapy treatments (where she swam, or rather, floated), which helped with her pain and muscle redevelopment. Here's one of the few photos we have of her recovery period (I put myself in her place and thought I'd never want to be photographed in that state):

Meadow turned nine years old today. She went for two walks, visited with the neighbor's kids and horses, and even chased a rabbit in the backyard. Seven months ago, we weren't sure if she would ever see this day.

For more information on canine disk disease, check out Dodger's List. The group was a huge help to me during and after Meadow's surgery. But the biggest savior was the neurologist and his wonderful staff. If I had a million years, I could never thank them enough for giving us back our girl.

Hug your pups and kitties tonight.

Appearance at PetSage Alexandria VA tomorrow

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:11:41 GMT

Just a quick reminder that I'll be at Petsage, the wonderful holistic pet supply store in Alexandria, Virginia, tomorrow from 11:30am to 1pm. We're starting with some refreshments and a social half hour, then I'll do a reading and Q&A about writing and dog rescue, and then the book signing.

Yes, a pet supply store, not a bookstore. I did an event there a few years ago, after the manager read my Aspect of Crow series and thought her friends and customers would enjoy the animal magic in those books.

Now, of course, there's Dexter the vampire dog in Bad to the Bone. Ciara herself is involved in dog rescue as a sponsor (people who pay for shelter dogs to move to private kennels to get them out of the shelter and make room for other pets; and who often teach the dogs manners to make them more adoptable).

I know this is late notice, but I hope you can make it!