Winner of Esri Rose's Bound to Love Her

Congratulations to Anonymous, aka, SIRENA, who won the random drawing for Esri Rose's debut novel, Bound to Love Her! Sirena, please email your mailing address to me at marta@martaacosta.com and your prize will be sent to you.

Thanks to everyone who visited the blog and kept the conversation lively. I will be having more interviews and contests in the future.

And a very special thanks to Esri for being such a good sport about answering all of my questions and for dropping by through the week to talk about her writing. Good luck, Esri!

Q&A with Esri Rose & Contest for BOUND TO LOVE HER

"A sexy, Legolas type meets his match in Esri Rose's witty, fast-paced tale."

Colleen Gleason, author of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles

"This wouldn’t happen if I’d written about hobbits, but my publisher said women readers wouldn’t go for short guys with hairy feet."

Esri Rose

I've been e-pals with Esri Rose for some months now, so I'm delighted that she's my guest this week. Esri is one of the Boulder, Colorado writers who have ganged up to make their mark on the paranormal/fantasy market and her new novel, Bound to Love Her, will be released this week.

Esri let me read an advance copy of her novel and I have to admit that, yes, she did change my perception of elves. From now on, I won't automatically think, "Keebler." I appreciated the environmental theme, which is so timely, and I enjoyed all the local color. One of these days, I'll get to Boulder.

"A delightful fantasy sure to appeal to anyone who loves wit, mystery and magic!"

Kathy Love, author of Fangs for the Memories

Esri will be giving away a copy of her novel. And, while she did some publicity work for the Homebrewers Association, she declined to throw in a keg as part of the prize. (I made that up. I forgot to ask her about throwing in a keg.) If you'd like a chance to win her hawt elf action novel, just leave a comment. A winner will be chosen at random on Friday eve.

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MARTA: Welcome, Esri, and congrats on the publication of your debut novel, Bound to Love Her. Please tell us a little about your novel.

ESRI: It’s an urban-fantasy, romantic-suspense comedy featuring elves. The reviewer at Romantic Times Magazine (4 stars!) came up with a tight synopsis, so here it is:

Walking her neighbor’s dog leads Erin into the woods, where she discovers a dying elf. Galan’s ties to his land were broken by the usurper, dark-elf Fellseth. Now landless, he should have died, but somehow he bonded with Erin and it’s her life force that’s keeping him alive.

Once Erin grasps the reality of the situation, she’s determined to save this sexy stranger. But Galan doesn’t stay a stranger for long, since their forced proximity leads to some interesting situations. Not content with driving Galan off his land, Fellseth now sets his sights on Erin. How did Erin manage to get in the middle of an elf war? - Jill M. Smith.

MARTA: What is it about elves? Do you feel that they’ve been unfairly stigmatized as tiny and green? Does your book have a subterranean political message that elves are people-ish too?

ESRI: You know, there isn’t a day that goes by when an elf doesn’t come up to me and say, “Thank you. Thank you for setting the record straight.” I have medication to prevent this from happening, but I stopped taking it.

People do look confused when you say, “I’ve written a romance featuring elves.” You can see them sorting through the possibilities: Santa’s little helpers? Harry Potter house elves? Keebler? This wouldn’t happen if I’d written about hobbits, but my publisher said women readers wouldn’t go for short guys with hairy feet.

MARTA: Your story is set in Boulder. How did your setting influence your story and the ecological theme?

ESRI: Boulder has an interesting mix of environmental awareness and rampant consumerism. We conserve a lot of wilderness so we can consume it in the form of recreation and a healthful environment. In the ElvesAmongUs universe, elves represent the “pure, unchanging world” ideal, but the world changes with or without humans.

Humans represent “nature as a resource,” but it’s not a resource we have to use up. When Erin starts providing energy for Galan, she becomes a resource for nature, and it opens up new possibilities. Galan doesn’t have to die, although he changes, and Erin finds love in an expanded world. Together, they take a middle way. Did I mention that Boulder is also a hotbed of Buddhism? All that stuff is in the background and kind of seeped in. I just set out to write a fun book.

MARTA: What books, movies, and/or television shows have inspired you as a writer?

ESRI: Well, Orlando Bloom in "Lord of the Rings" inspired the hell out of me, but I didn’t watch any of the subsequent movies -- too many methyl-cellulose-coated monsters. If I were teaching a class on storytelling, I’d recommend Nick Hornby’s books as examples of theme, David Sedaris’ essays for narrative flow, and Jane Austen for character development. Jenny Crusie is really good with dialogue, as are you, for that matter. I’ve also been heavily influenced by "Seinfeld" and British television. I like the situational humor that results from the fact that we’re all imperfect and weird.

MARTA: Tell us a little about your path to publication? Was it straight-forward or twisted and dark, filled with shady characters?

ESRI: Pretty average, I think. Five books, seven years, skipping from genre to genre… I got my agent, Jennifer Unter, when she judged the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers mainstream contest category. Telling Lies won that for me, and she tried like hell to sell that book. Our rejections said things like, “unforgettable read,” “startlingly truthful,” “utterly clever and fun.” But publishers were bailing out of chick lit, I’m not a southern writer, and the book is funnier than most women’s fiction. It was difficult to categorize.

Then Kensington asked, “Does she have anything else?” I said I had a paranormal romance and I understood that genre was selling well. Bound to Love Her was only the second book I’d written. I wasn’t really thinking about elves anymore, but I’m back into that universe and enjoying it very much. Kutara (she’s the elven boss) makes it all worthwhile.

MARTA: What’s next for you? Will there be a second novel featuring Erin and Galan? Do you have any projects in other genres?

ESRI: I’m finishing the second book now. The pointy-eared gang and their human buddies from the first book show up in the second one, with a new romantic couple. I also have the first draft of a humorous mystery finished. I think, once I have a little momentum going and don’t have to spend every spare moment promoting myself, I’d like to have two different series going. What does anyone think about Loyal Clark as a mystery-writer pen name?

MARTA: You’re part of a group called The Wet Noodle Posse. Would you recommend that aspiring writers join a group? What are the best and worst things about being in a writers’ gang?

ESRI: Worst thing: Buying all your talented friends’ books can break the bank. Best thing: You learn so much, and it helps to know you’re not the only desperate crazy person with a doughy ass and a fetish for office supplies. Seriously, they’re a great group of women. I owe them a lot.

One thing I haven’t done is find a critique partner. When I first worked with Danielle Chiotti, my editor, I was like, “This is great! She tells me what to fix!” But I didn’t form that relationship until I had to. Up till then, family members were my only readers.

MARTA: Where can readers find you on the internet and keep up with your books?

ESRI: ElvesAmongUs.com. You can win stuff, watch a video where I interview an incubus-possessed ring, and see pictures of Musette La Plume, my cat. Come on by.

MARTA: Gratuitous inane question. Let’s say that some genius wants to cash in on the elf trend and the dog trend, so he plans to make a live-action film of your novel featuring dogs with voice-overs. (Yes, it is a brilliant idea!) What kind of dog would play what role? (I.e., an Afghan hound could play Galan and be voiced-over by Matthew Broderick.)

ESRI: You’re killing me. Do people get to ask you these questions? Okay, here goes.

An Afghan is exotic, but a bit too frilly. Galan is laid back and sexy, and he will joke about almost anything, including the prospect of his own death. For him, I see a sleek Chocolate Lab voiced by Chris Noth from Sex in the City. Erin, my heroine…she’s energetic and a little nervous, with red hair and a tendency to jump at life. She’d be a Shiba Inu voiced by Claire Danes. Fellseth is the villain – sly and seductive. He’s a Weimaraner voiced by Rupert Everett.

MARTA: Anything else that we desperately need to know?

ESRI: Everyone should know how to perform an emergency tracheotomy. Also, too much sun is bad for you. Stay inside and read a book.

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Thanks, Esri, and that emergency tracheotomy tip can come in quite handy!

For those who'd like to win a copy of Esri's novel, leave a comment. Esri will be dropping by through the week to answer any questions or comments you have.

Winner of Night Huntress Book Contest

Congratulations to Aile, the winner of the contest for Jeaniene Frost's Halfway to the Grave and One Foot in the Grave! Aile, email your mailing address to me so we can send your prize.

Now, following Aile's blog address, I discovered that she's Linda M.S. Mason, an urban fantasy writer. Be sure to visit her site and read sample chapters of her novels.

Thanks to fabulous Jeaniene for contributing this books for the contest, and thanks to everyone who participated. I hope she'll be back when the third book in her series is released!

Next week I'll have an interview with very funny Esri Rose and she'll be giving away a copy of her debut urban fantasy romance, Bound to Love Her. Hope you'll come by.

Jeaniene Frost Interview & NIGHT HUNTRESS Series Book Giveaways

"Jeaniene Frost has written a kickass book with a heroine who fascinated me, a hero who was delicious, and a slowly escalating sense of terror and sexual tension that was very difficult to put down."

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

I'm very happy to have Jeaniene Frost, the NYT bestselling author of Halfway to the Grave, as my guest this week. The first novel in her Night Huntress series quickly became popular with urban fantasy readers, and her second, One Foot in the Grave, will be released this week. Her first novel was also won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in the urban fantasy category.

Jeaniene's fans have been eagerly awaiting One Foot in the Grave, and reviews indicate that they will not be disappointed. According to the Romantic Times, "Proving that her first book was no fluke, Frost ratchets up the action and stirs up the suspense big time in her second Night Huntress novel."

Jeaniene will be giving away copies of Halfway to the Grave and One Foot in the Grave! To enter the contest, just leave a comment on this post. The contest closes Friday evening and the lucky winner will be announced next week. She'll also be stopping in to answer your questions and comments.

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MARTA: Congratulations on the breakout success of Halfway to the Grave. Can you tell us a little about this book and the Night Huntress series?

JEANIENE: Halfway to the Grave is the first book in the Night Huntress series. It introduces Cat Crawfield, who’s on a mission to rid the world of the undead. She’s strong enough to kill vampires, since she’s half-vampire herself. Cat’s been raised by her mother to hate anyone without a pulse, but Cat’s perceptions are challenged when she’s captured by Bones, a Master vampire who shows Cat another side to life after undeath. Bones teaches Cat that vampires, like humans, can be both good and evil. But just as Cat is starting to embrace her half-vampire nature – and Bones – she’s caught in the crosshairs between a murdering undead crime ring, the government, and her family.

MARTA: What can fans expect from your new release, One Foot in the Grave? What kind of adventures will Cat and Bones have?

JEANIENE: One Foot in the Grave shows Cat in her new position of Special Agent for a covert branch of Homeland Security. Cat’s run from her past, but it – and a certain vampire she left behind - has finally caught up with her. Like my first novel, One Foot in the Grave has lots of action and danger, but it also has more humor, new characters, revelations about Cat, Bones, her father, and, well, a steamy scene that I’m sure I’ll be hearing about from readers ;-).

MARTA: Who or what inspired you to write urban fantasy?

JEANIENE: Wow, it’s really hard for me to give you a short answer on this one. For one, I’ve loved horror movies since forever, and many horror movies have supernatural elements, so I’m sure that was a big factor. Then, I’ve been a big vampire fan since before that became trendy, lol. Add that to my love of romance novels, humor, and strong female characters, and there you have the recipe for the Night Huntress series. I didn’t even find out what genre it fit into until after I sold. People would ask, “What kind of book did you write? Horror, romance, humor, paranormal, or action?” and I would shrug and say, “All of the above.” Later I was told I’d written urban fantasy, or urban fantasy romance.

MARTA: Urban fantasy and cross-genre fiction has been on an upswing lately. Any theories – and I don’t mind if they’re half-baked.

JEANIENE: They will be half-baked theories, because I can’t say for sure why certain trends are hotter now than others. I can guess that the popularity of paranormal TV shows like The X Files and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer contributed, as well as the success of the Harry Potter series, which had a ton of fantasy elements in it and rocked the publishing world in countless ways.

MARTA: You’ve got a story included in the upcoming anthology, Weddings from Hell. Does it also feature Cat? Do you think any story about a wedding automatically falls into the “horror” category?

JEANIENE: Ha ha, yes, weddings CAN be scary events. My story in the anthology is called "Happily Never After," and it features new characters Isabella and Chance. Bones has a very minor role in the story, but Cat’s not in it at all, since it takes place before the events of One Foot in the Grave. I had fun writing this story, so I’m eager to see how readers respond to it. It’s a lighter, funnier take on my vampire world – though okay, a villain’s head does get ripped off in it. I just couldn’t help myself *evil grin*.

MARTA: I hope that this isn’t too personal, but what about cookbooks scares you? Are you afraid of any particular type of cookbooks, or the entire species of books that cook?

JEANIENE: The entire species of cookbooks, of course! Know why? Because they have recipes in them that I’m supposed to cook. I am a terrible cook. Really, I’ve made myself sick on some of the bad meals I’ve prepared. Since I’m not trying to punish my husband, it’s better for him – and me - if we get pre-made meals from the grocery store, or order in.

MARTA: What do you think is the weirdest thing about publishing and/or your career?

JEANIENE: The uncertainty of it all. In a regular job, you (usually) have a decent idea if you’re performing well, how much you can expect to receive for your efforts, and whether you have any kind of future with your company. In publishing, however, that’s all up in the air, and it changes with every book. An author can be a bestseller today and a flop tomorrow. It’s a bit surreal.

MARTA: Can you sum up your books in haiku form for our readers with ADD?

JEANIENE: Oh ye gods, this’ll be awful, but if you insist...

A half-dead redhead,
an English vampire,
and a world with fangs, ghouls, and phantoms
makes for a wild ride
on the undead side.

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Sigh. See why I didn’t try for a career in poetry?

MARTA: What’s next for you? Do you have a five-year-plan or are you just in a piña colada state of mind?

JEANIENE: There are still three more novels in the Night Huntress series to polish and/or write, plus a new anthology story I’m doing for Eos, so I have my work cut out for me in the next year. After that, I have a five-year DREAM, but I wouldn’t call it a plan, due to that whole uncertainty in publishing thing again.

MARTA: Where can readers find out more about your books? Websites, blogs, all that stuff.

JEANIENE: I have oodles of stuff like deleted scenes, creature mythology, excerpts and more on my website. Then I have two blogs, one on MySpace and one on Livejournal. In addition to that, I have a fan chat forum, and a newsletter. If someone doesn’t find out more than they’d ever want to know about me and my books from all those, then they can contact me and I’ll do my best to fill in any blanks.

MARTA: Everyone thinks your book covers are totally bitching. Who did the artwork? Are you happy with it or did you want, I dunno, scary clowns or something?

JEANIENE: Thomas Egner, art director for Harper Collins, did the artwork for both my covers, and count me in the group that thinks they are totally bitching! I am thrilled with my covers. The first cover conveyed sexy, spooky, and a kick-ass heroine all in one glance, and the second cover is even cooler in hard copy, because it has all that, plus the entire front flashes a hazy gold in the light and the fog around the bike seems to glow. I couldn’t ask for better covers. I may owe Tom my kidney for them – I’ll let you know if he ever cashes in on that.

Thanks so much for taking the time to interview me, Marta! Vampire writers rule!

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Thanks, Jeaniene, for answering my questions, even the silly ones!

If you'd like a chance to win copies of Halfway to the Grave and One Foot in the Grave, remember to leave a comment.

New Reviews

I wanted to share a few new reviews I've received. The first is for Happy Hour at Casa Dracula from Crystal's Book Reviews:

"Marta Acosta’s Happy Hour at Casa Dracula is enchanting, wickedly witty, and undeniably fantastic! Ms. Acosta has a way with interjecting so much life into her characters, making it impossible to close the book until you are finished...Five Hearts"

The Trillionth Page also had a review of Happy Hour at Casa Dracula.

"... it’s easy to resonate with the narrator, Milagro. Her delightful and funny narration is part of what makes this book so enjoyable... a quirky, very clever and fresh take on the genre I'd shelve with favorite authors like Evanovich or Josh Lanyon."

On Monday, I'll be posting an interview with Jeaniene Frost, author of the NYT bestselling Night Huntress series, and a book contest.

New Book Deals

I'm very happy to announce that Simon & Schuster/Pocket has bought two more novels. The first, to be published in 2009, is Nancy's Theory of Style. This social satire follows Nancy Carrington-Chambers, a party planner, and her hilarious plummet from grace. My fifth novel will be another in the Casa Dracula series.

Some of you will remember Nancy as Milagro's flighty, fashion-forward friend from the Casa Dracula books. She makes a bigger appearance in The Bride of Casa Dracula, and I've always had so much fun writing about her that I wanted to base a book on her.

To celebrate this two-book deal, I'm giving away a book a day this week on Vampire Wire. One copy of the new mass market edition of Happy Hour at Casa Dracula will be given every day to someone who leaves a comment. Hope you'll drop by!

Ay, caramba! Winner of Immortality Bites Novels

PamK must have been sending some serious "it's my birthday" brainwaves, because she won the random drawing for Michelle Rowen's wonderful Immortality Bites novels!

Congratulations, PamK! Please email your mailing address to me at marta@martaacosta.com, and your prizes will be sent to you.

Thanks to all who entered.

Next week, I'll be giving away a copy of the new edition of Happy Hour at Casa Dracula every day and announcing some good news.

Cherie P, if you're out there, please send me your mailing address! You won the contest for MaryJanice Davidson's Unwed and Undead a few weeks back.