Where I Profess My Love For Urban Fantasy...

So....for my blog readers out there, Jaye Wells has declared October "Urban Fantasy Month". And she's offering up a massively cool list of books (signed!!!) to lucky winners. What do you need to do? Write a love letter to urban fantasy on your blog. (You know where this is going, right? Right?!?)

Dear Urban Fantasy,

I love you. No, seriously, stop laughing. I L-O-V-E you!

If you take some time and read this blog, you'll probably understand why, but since you're busy people and I don't want to take you away from writing (because I need more UF books like a crack whore needs her drugs), I'll give you a brief synopsis of why Urban Fantasy is my life saver.

I'm a middle aged housewife, raising a 16 yr. old with Asperger's Syndrome, who is currently a freshman in college. My husband works long hours and is rarely here - when he is, he's usually asleep in his chair or in his home office working. This means all of the crap that's come our way - shitty school system, doctors, therapies, etc. - falls on my shoulders. My world revolves around my son and his needs. I haven't been able to hold a job since he was born. My life is chaotic. It's stressful. Generally, it sucks.

For the longest time, I was so wrapped up in taking care of my son that I fell by the wayside. There was no time for me to breathe, never mind do the things I love. I'd forgotten what it was like to pick up a good book and read.

Enter Jennifer Rardin's Jaz Parks series.

I was at the bookstore with my son, finding books to help teach him something (I don't remember what) when I saw Jennifer's books. I picked one up and read the first few pages and fell a little bit in love. That night, I stayed up until 2 a.m. and read it. No, I take that back. I devoured it. And I remembered how much I loved to read. I dragged my son to four stores over the next 48 hours to find the rest of the series. Then I discovered Kim Harrison. And Lilith Saintcrow. And the Deadline Dames. And the League of Reluctant Adults (oh League, you make me laugh) .... and sooo sooo many more amazing urban fantasy writers.

I fell completely, irrevocably, madly in love with you, Urban Fantasy. I started this blog to talk about the books I've read and share my love with anyone out there who would like to do nothing more than lose themselves in worlds where kick ass heroes and heroines fight incredible odds to save the world.

I have so many Urban Fantasy books, my husband had to install IKEA shelves in the living room to hold them. See?...

And, yes, those books are two layers deep on those shelves. Worse, I'm putting shelves in the family room so that I have someplace to expand my library. In fact, I have so many Urban Fantasy books that I have a file called "Urban Fantasy List" which is currently 124 pages long. It's broken down alphabetically by author with columns (Author) (Released) (Own )(Format) (Title) (SF/Romance/YA, etc) (vampire/demon/were/etc) and (Rating). I follow up books I've read with a brief synopsis of the story. I also have a second folder called "Urban Fantasy Books Missing" which is 12 pages long, separate lists of e-reader books and anthologies, and a list called "Release Dates" (4 pages) that I use to keep track of all upcoming Urban Fantasy books. I carry the release dates and UF books missing lists in my purse at all times.

Is this a little obsessive? Probably. (I'm a little ADD and got tired of buying books I already owned.) Urban Fantasy are you scared of me now? Don't be. I'm not a stalker, I promise. Maybe a bit of a rabid fangirl. (Okay, I'm a definitely a rabid fangirl.) But my love for you is true.

Thank you for making my life more bearable. I love you.

Happy Urban Fantasy Month!
Karen