Late and Light

Yeah, I know. I don't know where my day has gone, but I've spent a good portion of it kicking ass on the third Downside book, so I'm feeling pretty good about it.

I have a couple of really exciting things to say today that do NOT involve me, though!

FIRST, my pal Stacey Jay, who write kick-ass, hilarious paranormal YA, has her first release today and OMGYOUMUSTBUYIT. YOU ARE SO UNDEAD TO ME was listed by Publisher's Weekly as a "Spring Galley to Grab" for 2008; Kidliterate Reviews called it ""...a cross between Stephenie Meyer and Joss Whedon.....high school angst with more than a dash of otherworldly danger."

Megan Berry's social life is so dead. Literally.

Fifteen-year-old Megan is a Zombie Settler by birth, which means she's part-time shrink to a bunch of dead people with a whole lot of issues.

And things are about to get even worse. Someone at school is using black magic to turn average, angsty Undead into flesh-eating Zombies and it's up to Megan to stop the zombie apocalypse...

Now...Stacey is awesome, and is one of my incredible crit partners. So I got to read this one waaaay back in the beginning; I got to beg for more when it was done, and I've realy read the sequel, UNDEAD MUCH, which is even scarier, funnier, and awesomer (I'm making it a word!) than the first one, which is already chock-full of scary, funny awesomeness.

And I'm sure I don't have to tell you all that while it's all well and good to buy the book from Amazon, it's even better to head out to the bookstore near you and buy it there. Stimulate the economy and save our bookstores, okay? Because we need them, bad.

Run, don't walk. I promise you, you will enjoy the book.


And after you grab that one, I have another one! An adult one. An awesome, awesome, totally kickass urban fantasy; STREET MAGIC, the first book in Caitlin Kittredge's upcoming "Black London" series.

Again, I was lucky enough to read this one in ms format, and I am seriously jonesing for it to come out in print. Seriously. WANT. It is, I believe, the best UF I've read, and I mean no disrespect to any of my beloved UF-writing pals. Just that this book has something I hadn't, and haven't seen yet, and I seriously loved it.

And you can too! Because although STREET MAGIC won't be released for a while yet--June 2, sigh; I'll be back in the US before I get to hold that gorgeous cover in my hands--if you are a book blogger or a commercially published author, you can get yourself a digital pre-ARC ARC! How's that for cool?

From Caitlin's blog:

Here's some excellent news for book bloggers and authors who blog:

St. Martin's Press, who publishes both of my adult series at the moment, is offering a sneak peek of /Street Magic/, Book 1 of the Black London series, to the blogging community as a way to say thank you for their continued support of my work.

All I ask in return is a little bit of blogging action about the novel.

Here's the flap copy:

/Her name is Pete Caldecott. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger-than-life mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete's eyes--or so she thought. Now a detective, Pete is investigating the kidnapping of a young girl from the streets of London...a case that brings her face to face with Jack./

/Strung out on heroin, Jack is a shadow of his former self. But he's able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget's kidnappers are hiding: in the supernatural shadow-world of the fae. Pete follows Jack into the fae underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget..and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago.../

If you're a book blogger or a commercially published author who blogs, and you're interested in reading an electronic, advance galley of /Street Magic/ (ARC's won't be printed for another couple of months), please leave a comment with a link to your blog and an email address where the galley can be sent.

NOTE: You need to leave a comment at Caitlin's blog, on this post here.


Seriously, you guys, I am not kidding. I loved STREET MAGIC. Passionately. And I loved YOU ARE SO UNDEAD TO ME. Passionately. Go to the bookstore. Buy UNDEAD. Hell, place a pre-order at the desk for STREET MAGIC as well, so that on release day you can trot on down and get a copy; trust me, after reading the digital ARC you will totally want one.

And that's basically it. I had more to say today, but my bloggy thoughts have all been erased by the fact that, in addition to having her school uniform sweatshirt (it's the uniform here; a sweatshirt with the school color and the school crest on it) STOLEN while she was in PE last week--they make the kids change into PE clothes and leave their own clothes in the classroom (don't get me started on that alone), today she was not allowed to participate in PE at all. Why? BECAUSE DURING THE WEEK, WHILE SHE'S BEEN HOME SICK, SOMEONE HAS STOLEN HER PE KIT AS WELL.

AND, her PE kit, because of the freezing weather, contained two of MY long-sleeved undershirts. So, two of my own tops, which I wear fairly often, AND her special frigging gym shoes, AND a pair of socks, AND her new warm-up pants, were stolen. While the teaching assistants there--who, I have been informed, should not be expected to do a good or responsible job because "they don't get paid much"--apparently were not paying any attention at all.

So, I am ready to scream and hit people and things, basically.



But you should still go buy YOU ARE SO UNDEAD TO ME! And contact Caitlin! And pre-order STREET MAGIC! AT THE BOOKSTORE!!! Because it's important, and you'll be glad you did.

And it just might help to alleciate some of my rage, if you do.