the league of reluctant adults

Call us self-serving, but as proud members of the League of Reluctant Adults, we're shouting the news. Take a look at this roster of Leaguer nominees for Romantic Times RT Bookreviewer's Awards. Vampire Romance: Michele Bardsley for Cross Your Heart Paranormal Fiction: Dakota Cassidy for My Way To Hell Michelle Rowen for Something Wicked Molly Harper for Nice Girls Don't Live Forever Though she's not a Leaguer, we have to give kudos to Biting-Edge ex-pat Marta Acosta for Haunted Honeymoon Urban Fantasy Novel: Jeanne Stein for Chosen             Carolyn Crane for                      Double Cross Urban Fantasy Protagnonist: Mark Henry for Battle of the Network Zombies And though they're not technically Leaguers, these nominees deserve special mention for being such awesome writers and cool friends (and generous when it comes to paying bar tabs): Young Adult Paranormal/Fantasy Novel: Paolo Bacigalupi for Ship Breaker Sci...

Once upon a time, travel by air implied adventure, romance, and elegance. Who would've guessed back then, that in the 21st century--despite intercontinental jets, computers, all kinds of gee-whiz technology--taking off our clothes, walking barefoot, and getting fondled would be part of our travel itinerary. Some passengers have had enough and so, another phrase enters the American lexicon of resistance to tyranny and injustice : I regret I have but one life to give for my country. We didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us. Tear down this wall! And now: Don't touch my junk! Homeland Security claims this humiliation is necessary to prevent another underwear bomber. But Janet Napolitino and her minions are strangely mute when it comes to discussing how they will stop the next obvious tactic intended to foil body scanners and the most aggressive of pat-downs: the Body-Cavity Explosive Device--aka the Butt or Cooter Bomb . Such an attack already happened back...

Some of you may know that I have another book coming out. Not relatively soon (the release date is March 29, 2011), but I've had it written for quite a while and I'm already excited. By the time March gets here, I might have exploded. Anyway - I like making trailers. So I made a trailer (way ahead of time) for Master and Apprentice. I even learned some new tricks with my video software for this one. It's shiny. I like shiny things. *G*

Rebranding the World.... Trailer for a movie I think is right up my alley... Cowboys and Aliens New Harry Potter-- who's going on Friday to see it? Ryan Reyolds = Sexiest Man Alive (?) Do you agree? I don't even know who this guy is.... Ready for Thanksgiving? I know, I know...short. This pesky writing business sometimes gets in the way of having fun... XO

This week saw me FREAKING OUT on both Facebook and Twitter over finding out about the release of two things that make me VERY excited. The first is the release of Brandon Flower's new solo album. I absolutely adore the Killers, and have been looking forward to their lead singer's solo release. And I am not disappointed! Here's the video for "Only the Young": And here's what has to be one of my all time favorite videos, for "Crossfire": It's like an urban fantasy novel, in a lot of ways, and I love what it suggests about female empowerment and the contemporary shift in gender roles. Plus there's the invocation of the tiny 20's stache, which is the only kind of stache worth attention. In the kind of excitement that makes me worry I might need a diaper, Mercedes Lackey--the woman who put the fan in my fantasy--is releasing a set of novellas that are all UF and include a Diane Tregarde story. It's called Trio of Sorcery : For those of yo...

We be pimping the awesome Baltimore expatriate, Cort McMeel. (Their loss, Denver's gain!) Don't let this pic fool you, McMeel is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. And he's plenty generous with beer money, which makes him a favorite at the Biting-Edge blog around quitting time. McMeel was the big man behind the acclaimed Murdaland mystery anthology. Short fiction noir at its darkest and most compelling. Now he's finally made it into the big league with his financial thriller, Short . Mark your calendars, as one of their Writer's Buzz presentations, Lighthouse Writers will host McMeel's book launch party, 7pm, Saturday, December 11 at 910 Arts, 910 Santa Fe Boulevard, Denver. Miss this and you might wake up on a pier wearing cement overshoes. Just saying. There's no doubt this publishing business is CRAZY! Try and figure it out, I dare ya! For example, the money. Hank Steinberg sold the screen rights, in the upper six figures, for a book that ha...

If you're a writer, the gossip is all about what you are doing as part of Na tional No vel Wr iting Mo nth. The goal: 50,000 words in 30 days. Simple math breaks it down: 1666.66 words a day. Doable, unless you slog at the keyboard like I do. For me, 1500 words in one day is a huge deal and frankly even that pace wears me out after a few days. Thanks God for Happy Hour to recharge the batteries. Now in full disclosure, I'm not really participating in NaNoWriMo because I have a manuscript due before Thanksgiving and I'm about ten chapters shy of finishing. And unlike NaNoWriMo which discourages you from editing if it interferes with the word count, I can't turn in my manuscript without beating it with my harshest editorial club. If you're intimidated by the blinking cursor on your monitor, there's a saying to help prod you into starting those first words: Give yourself permission to write crap. Well my first draft is so full of crap that I have to wear rubber b...

Why am I wracked with guilt? What is this "stereopticon pact" I entered into--and am I keeping up my end? Do I drain the tri-cock? Repeatedly? The answers to these and many other things you likely have NOT been wondering about me are over at The fabulous  Amber Scott Project, one of my favorite blogs.  Amber is approaching publishing and promo in a lot of cool, creative ways, including her "project pay it forward." I love what she's doing over there. This woman thinks out of the box!  Today I'm there with a hugely narcissistic: "Ten things you didn't know about Carolyn Crane" post. LOL.   Come say hi!

Now that Mario and I are Master Bloggers, how I love that, I was relieved to find a few articles of interest for this week's Master Blog. But first, a couple of personal items. Chosen was nominated by RT Book Reviews Magazine as Best Urban Fantasy Novel for 2010. Competition is keen: MAGIC BLEEDS by Ilona Andrews; TOTAL ECLIPSE by Rachel Caine; DOUBLE CROSS by Carolyn Crane; MOB RULES by Cameron Haley; DUST by JoanFrances Turner. Win, lose or draw, I'm honored. Second, HEXED, four novellas by Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Gaenorn, Allyson James and moi, is available now for preorder here : Here's the back cover blurb about my story: From national bestselling author Jeanne C. Stein comes "Blood Debt," where bounty-hunter-turned vampire Anna Strong is visited by three witches who ask her to right an old magical wrong. Anna will have to live up to her name to make it through alive... # # # # From Shelf Awareness: Powell’s Books, Portland, Ore., has purchased 7,000 ...

Cross-posted from my blog.... Squee! I can finally show you my cover! Though I suppose I could be accused of bias when I say "I LOVE IT!" it's true nonetheless. The cover for  Hounded  is awesome; Del Rey has captured Atticus perfectly! When Tricia & Mike (my spiffy editors) told me that Advanced Reader's Editions were on their way, they made one request: have someone take pictures of me opening the box. They know I've been waiting to be published a long time, and to see my book bound and printed for the first time would be, in the words of our vice president,  "a big f#%!ing deal." I agreed readily, not knowing what torture it would be... The box arrived on Friday; I arrived soon after. BUT NO ONE WAS AROUND TO TAKE PICTURES. I couldn't open it! I could have gone to a convenience store and made the clerk take pictures—I was thinking such things—but not seriously, because I wanted my family to be around when I opened it; they've been w...