Update on Available Books...

Yay!! Some of my books have been claimed. But I still have a bunch of books for anyone who wants them. No charge to you - I'm even picking up shipping! All you have to do is email me and tell me what you want. How can you go wrong? Free books. Free shipping. It's a great deal.

So, still up for grabs...


Hardcover

White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison
Something Deadly This Way Comes by Kim Harrison

Trade Paperback

Jailbait Zombie by Mario Acevedo
Pack of Lies by Laura Anne Gilman
Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Jennifer Rardin
Shades of Gray by Jack Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge
Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

Mass Market Paperback

Staked by J.F. Lewis
Heaven's Spite by Lilith Saintcrow
Fatal Circle by Linda Robertson
Blood Magic by Eileen Wilks
Mortal Sins by Eileen Wilks
Death Most Definite by Trent Jamieson
Managing Death by Trent Jamieson
A Flash of Hex by Jes Battis
Hexed and the City by Simon R. Green
Circle of Enemies by Harry Connolly
Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding
Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn
Green Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells
Valiant by Holly Black

Nobody entered my contest :[

It was (I thought) a good idea - having a contest to give away all my duplicate books. They were all brand new. They've been neatly shelved and in a smoke-free home. They even still sport their price stickers. Geez.

One week and not one entry. (Can you picture my sad face?) I'm actually bummed that not one person thought it was worth doing. So, I'm putting it out there...these books need a new home. Check my list on the previous entry for what I have available. Email me at unseelieme(at)gmail(dot)com if you want any of them. Whatever is left, I'm going to sell to either Powell's or Amazon.

Doesn't anyone want free books??!????

THANK GOD FOR MY ADD CONTEST is here!!!

I promised a list of books that I'm giving away. So ... here it is! (Now, its entirely possible I'll find more books as I reorganize my shelves. If I do, they'll be added to the list but for now this is what I have. These books are all brand new, guys.

Hardcover

White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison
Something Deadly This Way Comes by Kim Harrison

Trade Paperback

Jailbait Zombie by Mario Acevedo
Vampires by John Steakley
Pack of Lies by Laura Anne Gilman
Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Jennifer Rardin
Shades of Gray by Jack Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge
Into the Darkness by Delilah Devlin
Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill
Immortal: Love Stories with Bite (anthology) edited by P.C. Cast

Mass Market Paperback

Staked by J.F. Lewis
Heaven's Spite by Lilith Saintcrow
Fatal Circle by Linda Robertson
Blood Magic by Eileen Wilks
Mortal Sins by Eileen Wilks
Death Most Definite by Trent Jamieson
Managing Death by Trent Jamieson
A Flash of Hex by Jes Battis
Hexed and the City by Simon R. Green
Circle of Enemies by Harry Connolly
Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding
Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn
Beyond the Pale by Savannah Russe
Green Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells
Valiant by Holly Black
Hexed (anthology)

That's 26 BOOKS! Yes, 26 books that need new homes.

Rules: post something ridiculous that you're thankful for. If you can't think of anything ridiculous, you can say something heartwarming, too. I'm not going to be picky. If I get less than 10 entries, I will divide the books among the entrants. If I get more than 10 entries, I will pick 10 winners at random (my genius kid will create me a random number generator program for fun and I'll use that). I will divide the books among the 10 winners. Contest closes at 8pm on Thanksgiving Day (that's next Thursday) and is open to anybody who posts. (If you're outside of the US, I'm going to ship the cheapest way possible - so it could take a while to get to you.) I'll notify winners Friday, Nov. 24 and start shipping books immediately.

I'll start off with saying that I'm thankful for: my ADD because everything is always new to me, the person who discovered chocolate, my gold eyeliner (its seriously cool), every author who ever took pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) especially Edgar Allan Poe, boy's briefs for girls (TMI - I know), animal shelters (the best pets come from them), and my newest passion - Jun dolls. (See, not so hard...)

Happy Thanksgiving! Now, come on, enter the contest. And don't forget to give me an email address in your post like this: unseelieme(at)gmail(dot)com.

Karen

Introducing the "Thank God for My ADD" Contest

Seriously, in the spirit of Thanksgiving - where its important to look at all the things you're thankful for in your life - I have decided to create a contest to clear out some books!

I don't have the list of books finalized yet. I'm busy going through my shelves and pulling all my duplicates, which is why I'm calling this the "Thank God for My ADD Contest". See, before I started keeping a log of books (and even after, I have to admit) ADD has caused me to buy duplicates (and in at least one case triplicates) of books. Why is this a good thing? Well, for me each book I discover is like a little slice of goodness, so when I buy it twice (or three times) because I don't remember buying it, it's a little bonus slice of happiness for me.

(Okay, some of them are duplicates because I won contests or have signed books...<3<3 to authors who sign books...)

And for you, those of you who follow my blog, or those who just pass by in a drunken haze wondering who the whack-a-doo is who likes vampires and unseelie fae and calls herself emo, you get to be thankful because I'm offering up FREE books!! Not only that, I'm shipping them to you FREE if you win. Isn't that awesome?!? (FYI drunken wanderers - my books are ALL urban fantasy/uf romance.)

Now, I'm making up a list of the duplicate books - there are hardcovers, trade and mass market paperbacks - and I'm going to list them here in a post tomorrow, so you can see all the titles. (Hint: Trent Jamieson, Kim Harrison, and more!) I'm up to 18 books! But I know there's more...my shelves are just teeming with them. So check back tomorrow to see what I've uncovered.

As for how the contest is going to work. I'm going to pick up to ten winners. Yes, that's right. If I get ten or more responses (come on, I only have 6 followers, I'm going pie-in-the-sky here), I will be picking ten names. And I will divide up the books among those ten winners. All you have to do is post something ridiculous (like ADD) that you're thankful for.

If I get less than 10 responses, then I'm dividing the books between those of you who post. That's right, if only one person responds, you're getting the lot of them! Do with them what you will -- read them, give them to friends, pass them out to strangers on the street for all I care -- I just need space.

The contest is going to run until 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. That's one week to come up with something totally ridiculous to be thankful for - something like ADD or bite size Snickers or gold eyeliner.   (I love my gold eyeliner!) So post, people. Win free books!!

Oh, and don't forget to include an email address like this: unseelieme(at)gmail(dot)com so that I can contact you if you win!

Karen

* throws hands up in the air * (aka a frustrated vent)

NaNoWriMo, I give up. I throw in the towel. I walk away in defeat....sigh

Two years ago, I discovered NaNoWriMo. I participated unofficially (in other words, I didn't sign up) and actually managed to meet the 50,000 word goal.

Last year, I participated officially and had an absolute blast. I love writing almost as much as I love reading, so it was fun to test my mettle, so to speak. Meeting that 50,000 was easy - I had a story in my head, time on my hands, I type 125 wpm (yes, you read that right), and things were good with my kiddo. I not only hit 50,000 words, I went well beyond.

I signed up again this year with high hopes. But I didn't have a story in my head, so I was going into it with more of a challenge than the last two years. I started out strong ... got 7,400 words down in 4 days and ..... nothing. For three days, I looked at that story and God help me, I couldn't write another word. It sucked. It sucked so bad that the thought of writing another word made me physically ill. I deleted it.

I spent the next two days typing a line or two and deleting them. And then a story hit me. I dove into it with crazy enthusiasm. Over the last 6 days, I've been trying to write it.

But my son and husband figured out I was participating. Suddenly, I've become the most needed person on the face of the earth. Every time I sit down to write, one of them suddenly needs my full and undivided attention immediately.

If I get up early in the morning, my husband gets up and sits beside me asking me what I'm writing, can he read it, and then talking my ear off until I give up.

During the day, I'm running around - I'm shuttle bus back & forth to classes, animal caretaker, housekeeper, laundress, grocery shopper, dishwasher, etc., etc. I haven't even been able to sit down, never mind turn on my computer. (I'm on a very short break between kid's classes right now.)

If I stay up late, they're both talking to me. And they've started staying up until I go to bed!! (I used to get from 10-12 to myself.) They want to talk talk talk. Did I do this? Did I do that? Where is this? Where is that? Can you find this? Can you get that? Blah blah blah blah blah on and on and on and on until I want to just scream at them to leave me alone for five fucking seconds.

(Oh dear, I sound a little hostile there, don't I?)

So, here it is - an hour break for myself. Husband (who for some reason stayed home & worked at the dining room table this morning) finally left. Kiddo is on campus (I've dropped him off and picked him up and dropped him off and picked him up and dropped him off again). One hour. The story is still there. Brewing. But I can't write. I'm sitting here looking at it. And ... nothing. It's like all my writing energy has been sucked out by evil writer blocking vampires.

I have 14,000 words on this new story. It's a good story. But it's done...I'm done...I give up. They win. I'm just going to go read.

*wishing I could take a month long vacation by myself to someplace warm & sunny, where they serve pina coladas *

Reckoning by Lili St. Crow (Lilith Saintcrow)

Gets 6 big, beautiful, bright shiny stars. I love this book. I love this series. I love Lilith Saintcrow.

This is going to be a very very spoilery post. If you haven't read this series, for god's sake, don't read this!

SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
(Because I serious HAVE to TALK about this book!!!)

I've said it before, with Lilith you never know how the stories are going to end. In all honesty, she truly understands that happily ever after is NOT "boy and girl end up together with no problems and sunshine and flowers the rest of their natural days". That's an unrealistic ending and frankly, I think it's a cop out when writers do it.

That's not to say her stories don't have a happy end. They do -- in their own way.

I have a feeling a lot of people are NOT going to be happy with the end of this series.

So why do I find it such a beautiful ending? (I hope, if you didn't heed my warning before, you will now...)

This series starts with Dru, a teenage girl who has been hauled around all her life by her father (who hunts monsters), having to do the unthinkable. She has to kill her father. In shock, she goes to the mall where she is approached by Graves, another teenager, who lives at the mall because his home life is horrible. They're attacked and Graves is bitten by a werewolf which begins his transformation to loup-garou. And they're rescued by Christophe, an old damphir, who looks like a teenager but is NOT.

As the series progresses, Dru and Graves are thrown into unimaginable circumstances and through it all the cling to each other for sanity. Dru discovers things about herself, her father and mother, that change her world. They suffer. They break. And they piece themselves together and keep going. Through it all, Christophe is there helping Dru along and attempting to drive a wedge between her and Graves. He wants her. But love (at least the HEA love) is NOT what this story is about.

Some authors would have taken the easy road at the end and gone with the pretty flowery ending. Dru would have chosen Christophe or Graves. It would have been a cop out. Because, here's the thing: Dru is a TEENAGER. She's matured quite a bit by the end of the books, sure, but she's still so young. And so is Graves. And Christophe, well, he's just OLD. And more than a little creepy. Sorry Christophe lovers, but come on - he trained and had a relationship with her mother! That's just fucked up.

This story is about clinging to life when it would be so easy to lay down and die. It's about fighting for survival and finding that one thing to hang on to when all else is lost. It's about growing up and making hard choices and accepting not just those choices, but who and what you are. And its a beautiful story because of that.

Did it break my heart when Graves left in the end? You bet. Do I think he's coming back to her? I don't know. My gut says he's not coming back. Yes, he loves her and she loves him. And yes, they have been to hell and back together. But they're so young. And they're both so damaged in their own way. Graves was damaged long before Sergei came into the picture. He may never be whole. But realistically, even if he comes back some day to her, she will be different and he will be different. I don't know if they'll ever be together.

But if he had stayed and the book had ended with them together, I wouldn't have been happy. Because love, at that age, isn't usually permanent. Sure, some people find their true love at that age, but its rare. And they still have a lot to sort out - things they need to sort out separately.

Do I think Dru will end up with Christophe? God, I hope not. She said it best when she told him how she felt. She knows he loves her and she cares about him, but to be with someone who's been with your mother? That's just a little much. It feels, to me at least, a little incestuous. Ick.

In the end, the story ended as it should have. Dru, Graves and Christophe survived the worst experience of their lives. They found a way to keep each other moving forward. They're all still standing. And now they need to step back and find a way to heal themselves without leaning on each other. They need to grow.

Will I go back and read these books again, knowing the end? Absolutely, YES! I think I'll enjoy it more, too, knowing how it ends.

Magic on the Line by Devon Monk

I love Allie Beckstrom. She's a fantastic character. Vulnerable, brave, hard, kind. She does what needs to be done, no matter the cost to her physically or mentally. And then there's Zay (Zayvion Jones) her super hot boyfriend, Guardian of the Gates, badass, strong and silent. Yum. And Shame, wise ass, tough as nails and with serious issues. And Terric. And Davy. And Stone, Allie's pet gargoyle. And Daniel, Allie's dad, who I'm not sure is downright evil genius or just evil or maybe self-sacrificing and good. Cody. Nola. Stotts. The relationships make a fantastic story that much more enjoyable. The world is fascinating (magic cisterns, a secret magical authority, veiled, magic technology). It's incredibly well thought out. And each book flows beautifully into the next.

So, what happened in this book? Seriously? Do you honestly want me to give it away? Cause I'm not going to...sorry! Let's just say, I was very very worried through most of the book - not just about Allie, although she had me very worried, but about all of the characters and the choices they were being forced to make - and as it drew to an end I stopped being worried... and then WHAM... all hell broke loose and now I'm in a total panic. Things happen in this book. Bad things. Scary things. Things that make me think that not all the characters are going to make it to the end of this series alive. I love that!

So, this is book 7 of the series, which will have 9 books. I recommend them highly. You will not be disappointed.

Drink Deep by Chloe Neill

This has got to be a record ... three posts in one day. (Procrastinating much? Who me?)

I just finished Drink Deep by Chloe Neill. You may remember my post regarding the last book - which left me a complete and total wreck. The cliff hanger was a killer. I was literally too upset to read anything for a day after finishing it. (Thanks Chloe. I love when a book hits me like that.)

In Drink Deep, Merit is dealing with the emotional repercussions of the end of the last book (damn, its hard not to give away anything). There's a Receiver in Cadogan House from the vampire council who is making life hell for all the vampires. His mission? To take down the House. Not good. Mallory, Merit's best friend, is acting super bitchy as she begins her magical testing. The Red Guard is working to get Merit to join them.

What I loved about this book ... In the beginning, Merit seems to just be going through the motions as Sentinel. Her emotions seem almost muted. But as the story begins to pick up speed, she begins to deal with things and find a strength within herself that she needed to learn was there. She discovers other things as well (not saying - sorry). And then all hell breaks loose.

This book took some serious twists that I was not expecting. And I am no longer traumatized. Although, I am shocked. And one thing I can say, magic comes with a price. And while Merit might be happy now, I don't think she's going to remain that way. Another excellent cliffhanger.

These books should be on your shelves, people!

Drink Deep gets 5 stars.

Angel Town by Lilith Saintcrow (oh soooo good!)

Angel Town is the final book in Lilith's Jill Kismet series. Can I say it was a powerful, satisfying end to Jill's story? Good. Because I have serious love for Lilith Saintcrow. She can create worlds that I'm able to lose myself in. In fact, I've been known to tell my yakking husband to shut the fuck up when I'm reading one of her books. I'd never say that to my son - however, I have been known to take her books into the bathroom, lock myself in, sit on the floor and read so that I can enjoy them without interruption. (It's the ONLY place I'm allowed any privacy. :p)

Soooo, Angel Town ... How can I describe it? Maybe some of the grittiest, darkest, most graphically satisfying tumble of words I've ever had the pleasure to read. That might MIGHT come close to describing how visual this book is. Jill is, as usual, a total mess. Actually, in this book (if you've read Heaven's Spite, you'll know why) she's pretty much a disaster area. She's lost, she's confused and she's hurting. And freaking Perry - OMG - he's a sadistic evil monster - does his evil best to use her. Thank God for Saul - and Jill's love for him - even if he's a total mess, too. He's the one thing she has to cling to. And can I say, I was clinging to him, too? Because I wasn't sure how this book was going to end. You NEVER know with Lilith - Dante Valentine didn't end up so well. (That was probably the most haunting series I've ever read. It still weighs on me.)

I'm not going to share much about this book. Let's just say things move at a rapid pace and the end is very satisfying.

Now, about writing styles. I'm a huge fan of dark fantasy (I'm a dark kind of girl) and Lilith Saintcrow knows not only how to deliver ... she knows how to deliver with a breath-catching in-your-face brilliance that I don't think is matched by any other author I've read. Her characters are so emotionally charged, they come to life on the pages. I not only understand them, I can feel them. Her worlds are amazingly well thought out and flawlessly delivered. And her writing style? It's visual. Each word, each phrase is chosen with such care that it's like poetry to my emo soul. And Angel Town may be her best book yet.

Thank you Lilith for delivering another wonderful, beautiful, dark tale of life, despair, hope, redemption and love.

Books Read in October - a little late, but hey...

So, my reading log isn't great for this month either. HOWEVER, I read some truly phenomenal books. I've already blogged about a couple of them, so I think I'll keep this short (besides I want to blog specifically about a couple more). Without further ado, here is my reading for October:

Soul Thief by Jana Oliver (5 Stars)

Spider’s Revenge by Jennifer Estep (5 Stars)

Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (5 Stars)

Mob Rules by Cameron Haley (5 Stars)

Skeleton Crew by Cameron Haley (5 Stars)

Angel Town by Lilith Saintcrow (6 Stars)

Yeah, it was a good month, never mind that I only read six books. They were six awesome books! 

Barnes & Noble - you know where this is going, right? (a vent)

Today there are a boatload of new releases I'm itching to read. My local B&N (in Hingham, MA) is the most unpleasant bookstore in the world. Last week, when I ran there, they didn't have the latest releases for Richard Kadrey or Julie Kagawa (as well as several others). In addition, they'd shrunk their romance section to half it's size, their sci-fi section to 1/3 its size & the young adult to maybe half it's size. Basically, 1/3 of the store is high end home shit & children's toys, 1/4 is their "Nook Department", and the books are crammed in the rest. I won't go into the stuck up, snotty attitude of the employee's because I could spend HOURS on that.

There's also a B&N in Braintree, but its half the size of the Hingham store & is shrinking in the same way.

So, based on the luck I had hunting down books last week (don't ask), I decided I wasn't going to risk it. I was making the run to B&N in Burlington. If you don't live in MA, that's about a 47 mile drive from where I live. Yeah. Up Rtes. 24 & 128 which is under construction. But damn it, Lilith Saintcrow, Devon Monk and Chloe Neill all had books coming out & I know that B&N Hingham doesn't have either Lilith or Chloe's books.

I think they think anyone that reads urban fantasy is a satan worshipper. I know they think everyone that walks through the door is part of the unwashed masses they have to avoid. Perhaps we're a zombie horde. I don't know.

Aaaanyway, I drove 45 minutes (do the math - I was flying) up to Burlington. I found last week's releases easily enough. None of this weeks releases were on the shelves. So, I forced myself to approach an employee (generally, they're okay in this store) and asked. She had five carts of books in front of her, loaded with teen, sci-fi and romance books. In addition, there were several sealed boxes. I knew KNEW this was where I would find today's releases. In fact, Lilith's book was right there in plain sight. So I asked for it. She wouldn't let me touch the stack, but deigned to pull the book out of the stack and give it to me. Then I asked for Devon's book. She told me it was with the new releases. It wasn't. I went back to her. She allowed me to look at the books on the carts (but not touch). I found Chloe's book, which she removed. She put it in my basket doing her best not to even interact with me. But Devon's book wasn't there. She finall,y with a big huff, looked it up on the system. Turns out it was in one of the boxes right there at our feet.

She refused to open them.

I explained that I'd driven an HOUR there and had an HOUR drive home and that I did that for these three books. I told her she wouldn't even have to look for it, I would do it. There were four boxes, none of them big enough to hold more than 20 mass market paperback books.

She again REFUSED to open the boxes. When I pleaded with her, she told me to take it up with the front counter. Maybe one of them would be willing to come up & find the book in the boxes since she was busy SHELVING them. WHAT??!?

Yes, you heard that right. She was opening these boxes and shelving these books. She knew the book was in one of the five unopened boxes. She was going to have to open those boxes eventually. She had them laid out to be opened. She knew I'd made a two hour round trip drive. It was her job to open those boxes and shelf them and she REFUSED to help me.

I left B&N without the damn book. Can you believe that?

On the way home I stopped at New England Mobile Bookfair, an indie bookstore that is both amazing and overwhelming (they shelve all their books by publisher). They were more than willing to look for Devon's book for me. They found Hannah Jayne and Celia Jerome's books (which were probably in those unopened boxes at B&N as well). But they hadn't received Magic on the Line yet. (They were expecting the shipment late afternoon.) They apologized profusely, offered to hold a copy for me, offered to ship the book to me (when they found out how far I drove). That's customer service.

Unfortunately I still don't have Magic on the Line by Devon Monk. I don't even have anyplace else to go to find it around here. (I miss Borders so much.)

Now all I can do is order it from Amazon and wait another few days for it to come. Once again B&N employees have proved to be complete and total douchebags. I hope they go out of business. (And that's saying something coming from me.)