At long last a LiveJournal by Jeri Smith-Ready

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!

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!

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!

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   

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!

Once again I'll be hanging out in good ol' Hunt Valley, Maryland on Memorial Day weekend at one of the best regional sf/f conventions in the country (as described by those "in the know").

Balticon's Guests of Honor this year include:

Author: Charles Stross
Artist: Kurt Miller
Music/Filk: Mary Crowell
Special Guest: Scott Sigler
Ghost of Honor: Edgar Allen Poe
2008 Compton Crook Award Winner: Mark L. Van Name

Here's the complete Pocket Schedule (PDF version).

My personal whereabouts are as follows:

Friday, May 22:
4pm: I Shot the Sheriff on the First Page (Hooking the Reader) with Mark L. Van Name, Joshua Palmatier, Elaine Stiles, and Gail Z. Martin

Saturday, May 23:
4pm, Signing (main lobby)
8pm, Are the Editor and Copyeditor the Writer's Enemies? With Ally Peltier, David J. Williams, Joshua Palmatier, and David Sherman

Sunday, May 24
3-4pm, Reading (from Bad to the Bone, The Reawakened, and maybe even Shade)

Hope to see you there!

I'm feeling strangely zen about the release of Bad to the Bone, maybe because I still don't know whether it officially comes out Saturday or next Tuesday. (Regardless, it's already shipping from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.)

Or maybe because I'm completely absorbed in writing the first in my YA series, more big news of which I'll have on Friday.

Or maybe I've matured to the point where I realize that I've done everything I can to write a good book, and the rest will just have to take care of itself. Shyeah, right.

A few tidbits on Bad to the Bone's release:

1. It was blurbed by the lovely Joyce Ann on Publishers Weekly's Beyond Her Book blog this morning.

2. I'll be signing copies of it for the first time at Borders in Winchester, VA, this Saturday, 2-4pm. All my other books should be on sale there as well.

3. I'm doing the Freaky Friday feature this week at Bitten By Books:

The apocalypse must be nigh, because not only are dogs and cats living together, they’re now interviewing each other! Dexter, the canine vampire hero from Jeri Smith-Ready’s Bad to the Bone will sit down (or maybe lie down if he gets tired) with his feline friend Antoine. They’ll discuss what it’s like to live with adventure-prone humans (the living and the undead), the best ways to beg for supper, and which end of a dead rodent to save for last.

As an added bonus Jeri is offering up a couple of great prizes! One Autographed set of Wicked Game and Bad to the Bone plus a 2nd prize for another lucky reader. A $25.00 gift card to PetSmart or Petco (winner’s choice). Contest is open to readers worldwide!

4. My quarterly newsletter will be going out this week, and two subscribers will win signed copies of guess which book? Signup boxes are on every page of my website.

5. I'll have another Spread-the-Word contest beginning tomorrow and running until the end of the month. The helpful person who won the last contest got a $50 Amazon gift certificate. Not bad, eh? I could definitely use some help getting the word out about Bad to the Bone, because my next book is due June 1. Ack!

And with that, it's back to work.

Whew! What a week. Finally got back from RT last night after a loooong train ride. I'll try to do a recap on the blog here, but in the meantime you can check out my Twitter comments, or just look at the pictures on Twitpic. I have a few more to upload today.

No time to rest, because I'm guest blogging at Lynda Hilburn's Paranormality blog on worldbuilding in urban fantasy. I discuss the two major types of UF worldbuilding--the kind where the paranormal elements are secret (like in Wicked Game and Bad to the Bone), and the kind where they've become a part of the world and created a sort of parallel universe to the one we know (like in my young adult series).

This is the first time I've discussed the YA series in any detail since the initial sale announcement, so if you're curious or want to see the kinds of questions I answer when I'm building my worlds, stop on by. One lucky commenter will win an ARC of Bad to the Bone. And then they'll all be gone.

The contest runs until tomorrow night. Hope to see you there!

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Now playing: Counting Crows - Colorblind
via FoxyTunes

Flycon 2009 is still going strong, with one more full day (plus some) of programming. Here's the full schedule, complete with links to each panel "room."

***NOTE: Anyone can participate--you don't need a login or a LiveJournal username or a secret handshake. Just reply to a response to comment on it, or start a new thread with a new question.***

My schedule today (copied and updated from Thursday's post, all times Eastern US):

Sunday 7am: I WOULD NEVER HAVE SAID THAT AND YOU KNOW IT. Writers breaking the fourth wall to interview characters: Some writers find interviewing characters and having characters ‘talk’ in posts fun, helpful, and others find it awful. Some readers love it when writers do it on blogs, others look away and pretend it never happened. Discuss character building and breaking the fourth wall. With Stephanie Gildart.

Sunday 11am: Families in fantasy. Many heroes are unmarried orphans without siblings or children. Why this is so common and what do writers do when they do give their heroes families? With Julia Rios and Devon Monk.

Sunday 7pm: Evolution of the vampire in fiction. Panel: Does it say anything about our culture, or just something about the shift in who likes to read about them? With Stephanie Gildart and Pati Nagle.

Sunday 11pm: Writing: Alpha and Beta Reading Process #2. With JC Runolfson, Moondancer Drake, and Pati Nagle. (note: this is basically the same panel as yesterday repeated at two different times, not a part one and part two continuation.)

Hope to see you there!

Flycon 2009 is in full swing! Here's the full schedule, complete with links to each panel "room."

***NOTE: Anyone can participate--you don't need a login or a LiveJournal username or a secret handshake. Just reply to a response to comment on it, or start a new thread with a new question.***

I have a few items today (copied and updated from Thursday's post--all times are Eastern US):

Saturday 8am: Editing. Writers on editing, editors on editing, writers on editors editing, and editors on writers editing. With Sharyn Lilley, Deva Fagan, and Sue Lange.

Saturday 10am: Recommend Me Something Good: Do recommendations work? Panel: the role of social media in driving recommendations & buying in relevant genres; roles of book reviewers online, pro and amateur. Do recommendations work? How directly do authors like their readers to talk back? With Sue Lange, Kasey Mackenzie, and Tamara Mazzei.

Saturday 11am: Writing: Alpha and Beta Reading Process #1 Panel: What are Alpha Readers? What are Beta readers? Who uses them, and how well do they work? The usefulness of writing partners, writing groups, and self-editing. With Megan Crewe, Chris Dolley, and Moondancer Drake.

Hope to see you there!

Flycon 2009 is officially on! This international, round-the-clock online convention began at midnight tomorrow Sydney, Australia time. (Hmm, that's weird--it "began tomorrow"?)

Here's the full schedule, complete with links to each panel "room."

***NOTE: Anyone can participate--you don't need a login or a LiveJournal username or a secret handshake. Just reply to a response to comment on it, or start a new thread with a new question.***

I have a few items today (copied from yesterday's post, but now with new, linky goodness):

Friday noon: When is Young Adult not really for Young Adults? Panel: sex and violence are standards now, what makes a young adult novel for kids? And what makes one really for adults? With Jana Oliver, Tessa Gratton, Jackson Pearce, and David Macinnis Gill. **And special guest: my phenom agent Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd., an expert in YA publishing, will stop by to discuss the topic**

Friday 3pm: Author chat. Just me. And you know, I'll probably give away a prize, because I like to bribe people into pretending to be my friends.

Friday 11pm: Banter: How much fun do you get out of it? Panel: who writes the best banter; favourite bits; when is the wiseass narrator a draw, or a drawback? With Harry J Connolly, JC Runolfson, and Lisa Mantchev.

Hope to see you there!

This weekend I'm attending a science fiction/fantasy convention at my house, and you're all invited! But bring your own punch and pie, because I'm not buying any extra food. Oh, and a tent, because I'm alsonot opening my door.

OR

You could just attend online, like the rest of us. Flycon 2009 is an international, round-the-clock sf/f convention, complete with panels, a dealers' room, and even a costuming track!

How is this possible, you ask? Go to Flycon's LiveJournal community page, where by tomorrow morning there'll be links to each of the panels, author chats, and other activities.

Attendance at panels is open to everyone (well, everyone with a computer and internet connection, which, if you're reading this, includes you).

Here's the full Flycon schedule (note various time zones listed on the left).

Here's my schedule (all times are US Eastern):

( Be there or be an equilateral parallelogram. )

Hope to "see" you there! Bring punch and pie.

This weekend I'm going to be taking part in Flycon 2009, an international, round-the-clock science fiction/fantasy convention here on LiveJournal. There'll be author chats, tons of awesome panels, and even workshops. You can check out the preliminary schedule here.

I'll list my full (and I mean full) schedule in a separate post once it's finalized tomorrow, but we need more participants in one particular panel. Friday at noon Eastern time is When is Young Adult literature not really for young adults? Here's the description:

Sex and violence are standard now—what really makes a young adult novel for kids? And what makes one really for adults?

We need more people to sign up for this panel before Wednesday (tomorrow) at noon, or the panel will be dropped, as I'm the only one who volunteered for it who was available at its time. This would give me a sad. I think this would be a great panel for all YA authors, published and nonpublished, as well as avid readers of YA fiction.

If you're interested in this panel, please read this post and leave a comment with your name and a brief bio.

Thanks!

If you enjoy single-POV, tunnel-vision accounts of major media conventions, read on!

WHAT I DID (SPECIFICALLY)

Had brunch with my agent (the indomitable Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd.) and my brand-new editor (the ultra-sweet Annette Pollert of Pulse, which is Simon & Schuster's young adult imprint) at Trestle on Tenth, a cute little cafe where they made perfect over-medium eggs (something I can only accomplish about 40% of the time at home). Admired the gorgeous view of the Lukoil, the car wash, and the bank of pay phones (still only 25 cents in NYC--a bargain!).

Picked up my badge at Comic Con. Under my name it said, "Professional Creator," which I'm pretty sure is the title on the door of God's office.

( Can you handle the More? )

If for some crazy reason you want an outside-the-Jeri bubble account of New York Comic Con, try today's Biting Edge, where guest blogger Krystn talks about all the free stuff she got. Books, comics, swag, etc.

Me, I got a God badge and a Twilight pen. And the priceless intangible of hanging-out-with-editors.

But seriously, New York Comic Con is great, definitely not just for comic fans. I highly recommend it, and next time, I might even go for more than a few hours! If you go, too, I hope to see more than a corner of your head.

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Now playing: Flogging Molly - Rebels of the Sacred Heart
via FoxyTunes

Just wanted to pop in to let you know that I'll be at New York Comic Con this Sunday, February 8, signing Advanced Review Copies of Bad to the Bone (sequel to Wicked Game) at 3:30pm at the Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster booth. Yay!

Technically my signing lasts until 4:30, but last year the books lasted about half that time, so come as close to 3:30 as possible to be sure to grab your copy. It doesn't come out until May 19!

Oh, and if you want to see the cover for the new book, Ciara seems to have a monopoly on the thing, on her Twitter profile. I'll be putting it up here soon. Swear. I'm a little behind on some of my promo tasks this year, due to all the, well, writing. Crazy priorities, I know!

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Now playing: Wonderwall - Oasis
via FoxyTunes

Last year at Balticon I read several excerpts from Wicked Game, and it turns out they were recording it! (Actually, I knew, and had to sign a waiver thingie, but then promptly forgot.) You can hear a lot more than just the first-chapter excerpt that I have posted on my website.

It was probably my best reading ever--not because of me, but because of the audience. It was a full room, and everyone was really into it, offering supportive smiles and not falling asleep. Anyone who's ever been onstage knows how much the audience energy contributes to a performance.

In this podcast, guest host and radio personality Jon "The Vicar" Stallard (host of Geek Radio Daily) gives what is probably the best summary of the book I've ever heard.

Check it out, and check out their other podcasts, which are some of the most professional productions I've ever heard. And if in you're in the Baltimore/DC area Memorial Day weekend, come to Balticon. You won't regret it!

I’ve posted the third story in my “Days the Music Died”/how-the-DJs-became-vampires series (thanks to Renee S. for the series title suggestion!).

At the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, Jim tunes in and turns on to a group of hippies who promise him the experience of a lifetime. The last experience, as it turns out.

Here’s the opening line:

The sixties are dying, and now, so am I.

Read the rest!

This story’s page features an Isle of Wight set list playlist, as well as a video of The Doors performing “When the Music’s Over,” the song they sang while Jim, uh, broke on through to the other side.

BONUS GIVEAWAY: Everyone who e-mails me at jeri AT jerismithready DOT com (or comments on this post) with their thoughts on Jim’s story will be put into a drawing to win a choice of ONE of the following:

1) a DVD of MESSAGE TO LOVE: THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL, featuring performances by The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Joni Mitchell
2) a CD of The Who’s Isle of Wight concert
3) a CD of Jimi Hendrix’s Isle of Wight act, which sadly was his final appearance before his death

The drawing will take place at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, December 2.

If you subscribed to my newsletter, you could've read it a week ago. I'm just sayin'. The signup box is on every page of my website.

Read the first in the short story series: “Crossroads” (Monroe’s tale).

And the second, “Rave On” (Spencer’s story).

I probably won't be blogging again until after the holiday weekend. I plan to spend the week catching up on e-mail, cooking scrumptious food, and nursing my convalescent post-surgical pupster.

For frequent updates, this week and always, come follow me on Twitter. You're more likely to see the real, spontaneous me there any day. If you need extra incentive, in February I'll be doing a Twitter-exclusive contest to win an ARC of Bad to the Bone. It's fun, it's quick, it's thoroughly non-annoying: it's Twitter!

(By the way, you don't have to be a Twitter user to follow me--my status updates have an RSS feed. But the contest will be for Twitter users only.)

Don't forget, I'll be signing books and doing a reading from The Reawakened at the Winchester, VA, Borders bookstore this Saturday, 3-5pm. Hope to see you there!


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Now playing: Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy
via FoxyTunes

A couple of quick notes before I dive into my main project for the day, catching up on all my e-mail, MySpace, Facebook, etc. correspondences before they saturate my alveoli. (That's not as dirty as it sounds.)

This Saturday I'll be signing all my books (including the new one, The Reawakened) at the Waldenbooks in Cumberland, MD, along with several other local fantasy/science fiction/horror authors. If you're in the area, please come out and say hi. Do your part to keep the economy from imploding.

Fellow fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss is raising money for a wonderful charity, Heifer International, an organization that really makes a difference in the lives of ordinary people by providing them with livestock with which they can continue to earn a living. (Obviously, it's animals like goats and chickens and sheep, which can produce without being slaughtered.) He's matching every donated dollar, and the thermometer thingy on his donation page is getting redder and redder.

Patrick has a similar philosophy toward charitable giving as I do:

There are a lot of worthwhile charities out there. Important causes. Things I feel strongly about. But Heifer is my favorite. Here's why.

Let's say by some miracle I raised ten thousand dollars to help fight cancer, or Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's. While it would help the cause, it would just be a tiny drop in the bucket. Enough to help fund some lab's research for a couple weeks.

But we don't need to research a cure for hunger or poverty. We know how that works. Heifer doesn't just hand out bags of rice, Heifer gives a family a goat and teaches them how to take care of it. Then that family has a continual source of milk for their children. They can sell the extra milk to make money. When the goat has babies, they give those babies to other members of their community, sharing the gift.

Heifer helps people become self-reliant.

As part of his fundraiser, he's giving away fabulous prizes, which will eventually include an autographed Advance Reading Copy of The Reawakened. (I've been saving a couple just for this purpose.) Stay tuned to find out more. The giveaways run through December 11, I believe.

Questions? Click here to read all of Patrick's Heifer International-related posts. Then go forth and give goats.

Popping my head up yet again like the proverbial Whack-a-Mole (though I can't think of any proverbs involving one) to let you know I'll be signing copies of all of my books at the Borders Express in Lancaster, PA, this Saturday, 1-3pm. It's a Halloween-themed event featuring several fantasy and horror writers from the area.

It also means there'll probably be candy. So yay.

Of course the featured book at the signing will be The Reawakened, which officially releases today!! Happy Birthday to my fifth published novel!

I'll be celebrating today by finishing my sixth published novel. That's the life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Due to circumstances beyond my control (by definition, if I could control them, I would do it, and thus become God), I won't be attending Capclave this weekend.

Insert giant sad face.

You should still go, if you're in the DC area, because it's a truly awesome convention. Say hi to everyone for me, and I'll see 'em next year.