the league of reluctant adults

From all of us to all of you, the happiest of New Year's Eve celebrations and a wish that all your resolutions don't go tits up by Friday! Just a quick note. Big changes are coming to the league in the new year. Possibly related to growth, or growths, whichever. Cheers!!!!

I will be a better blogger in 2009. I will. Promise. You see, I've solemnly sworn to use my iCal function on my computer, and Loving Husband tells me it can annoy me incessantly until I blog. So...yay! Barring that, I'll have to get a Hellion to remind me about all the administrative crap I have to do. (Not that blogging is crap. Well, MINE can be, depending on the day. And how much sleep I get.) Now, take into consideration that I am a Luddite, and I'm being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. (I'm! On! Twitter! What the hell's WRONG with me???) And I'm thinking that iCal won't be up to the dread task of keeping me honest and BLOGGING WHEN I AM SUPPOSED TO BLOG. (The whole reluctant adult thing? So totally me.) Anyone want to be my Hellion? The pay is shit (actually, there IS no pay). But hey, you would get constant emails from a wannabe famous author lady. And if you're an aspiring writer, I'd be, like, your mentor. The Batman to ...

Seriously , look at this little guy's garden. I tend the stupid thing each and every day. I grow virtual tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, strawberries, corn, pumpkins, and watermelons... Why do I do this, you ask? So that he can sell them and have kinzcash of course. And why, you may ask, is that important? Because when my sons want to bring their WebKinz to visit my WebKin ... they have to have cool places to hang out, right? Like for Christmas morning: ...and stuff. That's a necessity... isn't it? /sigh Who am I kidding? WebKinz really have eaten my brain. I even take Stanton, the white mouse, around with me to conventions. I do it because my youngest son asked me to do it, but still... Help! Help! The WebKin got me! And he's smiling, too!

...or book buying suggestions as the case may be. As well as, some places to go visit your favorite League authors this holiday season. As you know, this is the time of year that bloggers get lazy, you've seen it here at the League, too. I think last year we even shut down for a month during the holidays. We haven't gone to that extreme this year, but I imagine the posts will be few and far between. Still for you stragglers there'll be stuff for you. In the meantime, and I know you've done your best to finish all your holiday shopping in a timely and efficient manner, for those of you who've forgotten to get presents for the League of Reluctant Adults, I offer a solution! Preorders! There's no better way to show your love and affection than to tell our publishers how in demand our books are, and they listen--you bet your ass, they do. Publishers determine lots of things off preorders, like print runs and other stuff I don't understand. So, here's a ...

I haven't been there for you like I usually am. I'm sorry. That's all gonna change after daddy finishes this manuscript. Or the next one maybe. I'm nearly done with Joe Barkley and Battle of the Network Zombies is looming (the art department wants suggestions by the 2nd of January). But first I need to finish. You know what helps that? Not new music, that's for sure. I loaded Pandora onto my iPod and now, every few minutes I'm like who's that new yummy band I can't live without another second? This morning I've been listening to the Cocteau Twins station and now I'm loving Autumn's Gray Solace, Stars and The High Violets. I'm in full blown Nugaze. Now you can be too... Assuming you're into it. Are you? Now I must get back to the manuscript and happy suicides, old things and human tetherballs!

Ever wondered why urban fantasy is so hot right now? Check out Lilith Saintcrow's theory . Imagine me nodding vigorously and pumping my fist in the air. Hell yes, lady.

Well, maybe it's not really sexism. I'll let you decide. I am currently wearing thermal underwear. From neck to ankles, I am all thermal, baby! From the waist down I'm wearing "Long Janes" under my jeans and my 'O Basics' over-the-knee socks from Sock Dreams . (Which, btw? LOOOVE Sock Dreams socks, have over a dozen pairs, haven't been to the site for a while and OMG the selection is even bigger and I am totally drooling because I LOOOOVE Sock Dreams. Anyway.) So, the "Long Janes"; obviously, long johns for women. And they're okay. I haven't noticed that my legs are all that much warmer wearing them than they were when I had my Sock Dreams Ribbed M s, but the Ms do tend to slip and bunch up at the back of my knee, which is awful. (I hate having the back of my knee tickled or touched, so having a bulky wad of fabric there is hellish.) It's not the socks' fault, really; beneath black skinny jeans they don't have much chance....

Crossposted from my website . Time becomes very fluid and hard to grasp when you have none of it, between deadlines, real-life projects (like the kitchen, which is at least over with now except for things I have no control over, like plumbers) and social obligations. I've sprouted a surprising crop of friends in the last year or so, between Team Seattle and various other folks of my acquaintance who are the results of me finally stepping out of my shell a bit. (That shell was starting to become really claustrophobic. And it had an odd smell when the wind came from the east.) The result of all this is parties. Lots of parties. Three parties over three days. Well, one was a signing for Cherie's novel Fathom and my novel Pure Blood . In the midst of remodeling fun and parties, I also have four major projects due at varying degrees of Defcon Ohnoes! Page proofs for Black & White (not so bad) deadlines for Witch's Alphabet and Shades of Gray (mild concern) and l...

Okay, one of the folks in my writer's group sent me this and... I. Just. Have. No. Words. I've been " form websited " and the phrasing in places... "I really take pleasure in my Staked! Staked is such an stupendous product that I dont know how I've lived without it all these years." [wipes tear from eye] Heh. I'm sorry. It's just too funny. Anyone else have good example of marketing gone awry?

So I'm writing this book, right? And it's probably urban fantasy, but not in a strong heroine fights the good fight against evil kind of way. More like it's magical historically religious type creatures living in polite contemporary society. My thing is this, since it has incubi and succubi, I figure I'm going to go balls out sexual with it. Lots of fetishes. Bondage. A fair amount of bodily fluids are spilled upon the fertile ground, let's put it that way. I was beginning to think that the story was bordering on porn, with some of the medical fetish stuff I had planned. And then I saw this... Now. Before you think I've lost my mind, let me assure you. I've got no sexualizing paralysis or amputations (well there may be some limb removal, but not in an erotic context). But what I do want to capture is the foreign quality of what might turn a demon on. So I'm going on a sicko bender this weekend. I'm planning on picking up Quid Pro Quo, Cras...

I bought a new ironing board today!! Yes, I know. I can see you all scratching your heads now, wondering why in the hell I would bore you with discussion about a new ironing board, of all things. What in the world is cool or interesting about an ironing board? But here's the thing. Our old one came from a home-delivery-type store called Argos. And when Scooby Doo delivered it , I didn't really bother to inspect it, just shoved it in the closet. Only to find, when I took it out a couple of weeks later, that it had been badly dented in transit. One of the legs was smushed (still works, but flattened) and, much more importantly, the narrow end of it was crushed. Which means I could not iron on the end of it. Which has meant, for the last two years, that ironing has been much more difficult than it needed to be. Because it isn't just that I can't iron on the end, either, which makes sleeves--well, which makes everything--so much harder to do. Because the end is smushed the ...

Happy birthday to me Happy birthday to me Happy 38th birthday, dear meeeeeeeeeee Happy birthday to me!

This comes from my post over on LJ, but I think it bears repeating here as I know some of you, for reasons unfathomable, haven't drunk the Anton Kool-Aid yet.. (*sounds of wall crashing in* OH YEAAAAAH!) So I have this "friend" on Facebook who emailed all her "friends" for a call to action. It seems her manuscript has been over at Razorbill, one of Penguin's YA imprints, and since it's been about five months, she's asking EVERYONE she knows to write letters or email Razorbill to tell them to please publish it. She also encourages everyone to write multiple times to them! I'm not sure if it's obvious to you, but I think it bears saying nonetheless: People, writers-in-training, hopeful submitters...? Please for the love of all that is holy do not engage in this type of behavior. I happen to work in the adult side of the Penguin building (outside of being an Ace author). This type of practice is more likely to go terribly wrong a...

Yes, that's right -- Caitlin and I have been nominated for Romantic Times Reader's Choice awards! Caitlin is up for Best Urban Fantasy of 2008 (PURE BLOOD). And I'm in the running for Best Urban Fantasy Protagonist of 2008 for Daunuan (HOTTER THAN HELL). HUZZAH!!! To all those readers who have cast their votes for us -- THANK YOU!!! It's a thrill knowing that people actually read -- er, enjoy our work. FYI, Daun's up against Mercy Thompson, Cat Crawford, Joanne Baldwin, Anna Strong, Sookie Stackhouse and Marla Manson. So you know Daun's reaction, right? "Orgy time."

First, a bit of shameless drive-by promo: I'm doing an interview and chat-type-thing today at Bitten by Books , so come on by and say hi, ask me inappropriate questions, call me names, whatever you'd like to do! The interview will go up at 8 am PST, and I'll be giving away a $25 Amazon gift card, which you can use to BUY BOOKS. BOOKS, got it? No DVDs or CDs, no spatulas or bracelets or whatever. YOU WILL BUY BOOKS. (Lol. Of course you can buy whatever you like. But it would be nice if you bought books.) Second, since buying Chinese Democracy, we've been listening to it almost constantly--mainly because we are very lazy and will just leave the CD playing over and over in the car until we can't stand it anymore. I am pleased to report it's really grown on us. It's still no Appetite, but it's pretty good overall. It has hidden depths. Third...um. I don't really have a third, I guess. Hope to see you later! :-)

Please to enjoy " Eight Things I Know About Vampires Based on the Lost Boys ." Hilarious.

Well, folks, the holiday season is upon us. And what better way to celebrate than to catch up on all the recent news in publishing. On second thought, no, don't do it. It'll suck all the comfort and joy right out of you. Ah, hell, okay I'll tell you. But it ain't pretty. Publisher's Weekly is calling it "Black Wednesday" due to all of the massive layoffs today at major publishing houses. I've only been an author for a little under a year. But I've been a lover of books since I was too young to read. Books have entertained, informed, enlightened, amused, and comforted me through every stage of my life. And I hate to see what's happening to the great people who make these amazing stories available to the world. So I have a proposition. Instead of dwelling on the bad news coming out of New York, let's take action. And by action, I mean a little thing I like to call: BUY SOME FREAKIN' BOOKS DAY! Buy books for everyone on your holiday gift ...

The winner of the Michele Bardsley Interview contest is... Flip!!! Cough up an email to me (at) markhenry (dot) us with your real name and address and we'll get those copies of Michele's, Dakota's and Rowena's books right off to ya! ************ Can't get enough free books? Well my website relaunch is going on right now and I'll be giving away a copy of Happy Hour, a couple of ARCs of Road Trip and 2 mass market paperbacks of the runners up's choice. That's 4 chances to win (though one is a bit hidden and slightly more difficult. Just pop over to markhenry.us for deets!

So... I've been reluctant to post about this on my own blog, because I know the elders at the non-denominational church of which I am a former member occasionally check in on it and I'm not trying to start a fight. That bit is over and done. They won't eat with me or socialize with me and that's just not going to change. I'm not even trying to get that changed. This blog post is not about what happened. If you'd like to read more about what happened, I've answered that elsewhere (Note: the online discussion started here then here . I forwarded the link from Jason's site to Lindsay over at Urban Fantasy Land, which led to some discussion here and here . And then some folks were nice enough to blog their support here , here , here , here , and here .) But this blog is about the central question that I still have. Let me back up. I have always had problems knowing exactly where "the line" is. At Briarwood Christian School, when I was in, I don...

Paranormal funny lady Michele Bardsley joins me in the League Lounge today. Well..."join" may be too strong a sentiment. You see, someone's been spreading gossip about my League interviews. Telling "authors" that it's not exactly safe to come to the lounge for what is--in reality--perfectly harmless book and writing talk. I've got feelers out and have a couple of suspects in mind (WATCH YOUR BACK ROWEN!). Now. If you'll just take a moment and head on over to Amazon to order Michele's newest book, WAIT TILL YOUR VAMPIRE GETS HOME . That'll give us plenty of time for the ether to wear off. Me: Michele? Michele? *shakes her shoulder gently (cause I am...gentle, you know)* Michele: (groggy talk) I promise, Mommy! No more wire hangers! ... Wait. What? Hey, where am I? Me: So nice of you to visit today! Our League readers have been chomping at the bit to hear your witty insights. Are you coherent yet? Michele: Mark? What the hell did you ...

Season finale of True Blood... Your thoughts?

Sigh. That is no longer a line we can use in our house to indicate things that will never, ever happen. (Frex: "Cameron Diaz will win an Oscar? Sure. And they'll be releasing Chinese Democracy any day now." Hmm. Perhaps "Sure, and Cameron Diaz will win an Oscar" should replace it?) Anyway. I am a Guns n Roses fan. No, really. I actually think Appetite for Destruction is a great album, one of those rare albums where every song is worth hearing--others include Johnny Thunders's "LAMF: The Lost '77 Remixes" and the Replacements's "Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take out the Trash!" In fact, it's in part because I'm such a huge Replacements fan too that I was doubly excited about Chinese Democracy--or rather, I was less guardedly excited than I otherwise would have been--because Tommy Stinson, ex-Replacement and brother of the late great Bob Stinson (RIP Bob), is now in GnR. So. Of course the hubs went out yesterday to buy the album. And...

Another barely sane interview, this time with paranormal romance humortarian Michele Bardsley. There'll be a contest, too. So you'll want to get on some of the hot action!

May I offer...VIVA!!! Anna Biller is AWESOME!

The hubs showed me this yesterday, and I am so, so, so hoping it's a real movie, because the trailer alone is a million percent cooler than any movie I've seen in the last five years or so. At least.

Robert Pattinson's hair is___________.

I'm feeling unproductive and a little sad. Someone, give me a theme song! I need some iPod therapy...

Earlier this week, I was talking to Mark about the Romantic Times convention. Specifically, the costume requirements. the 2009 conference will be my first visit to the famous book event. I'll tell you right now, I like to play make believe. But I'm usually far more likely to be the person who does color commentary on those who dress up. But I figured at the very least, I could muster the energy to wear something fun for the vampire ball. After all, vamps are kind of my niche. To that end, I started research fangs. They're the cornerstone of any vamp costume and I figured it'd be pretty easy to just buy a pair, stick em on with some polygrip and --presto changeo--Jaye's a vamp. Um, not so much. Seriously, the variety is mind-boggling . Should I go with the basic, economy version? Or shall I bling it up a bit with gold fangs with Swarovski crystal insets (for the urban undead)? Shredders? Sabers? Blue, green, red? It's all very overwhelming. And I haven't even...

So, the other day I got my "Author Questionnaire" from Del Rey's publicity department. Very exciting, yes. Until I actually looked at it and realized...I got nothin'. I don't have a college degree. I'm not a member of any professional associations (oh, but apparently my faboo editor Liz Scheier mentioned me in the SFWA newsletter recently? Does anyone have a copy of that bit they could sling my way? I'd really appreciate it.) I don't have a public speaking platform. I haven't contributed to any newspapers or magazines. I have no hobbies, if you don't count cigarettes and booze. I haven't received any prizes, citations, awards or honors (again, unless you count the wonderful Paul Goat Allen choosing Personal Demons as #5 on his list of Top Thirteen Paranormal Releases of 2008 [note our wonderful Jackie Kessler is also on the list, which is awesome because she rocks!]; I count it, because I'm totally flabbergasted and awed by it, but I d...

I thought I'd share a list this week. It's something I used to do quite a bit on my personal blog and then I guess, just forgot that I liked to do it. It's sort of like Oprah, only I ain't givin' you shit. So here goes... 10. CAT'S CRADLE by Kurt Vonnegut. Subtle apocalyptic scifi by a master of satire. I had never read Vonnegut before and was totally ashamed to admit it. Now I'm hooked. His style is easy and accessible while the concepts are challenging and thought provoking. Most of all, it's funny. 9. Caitlin's Street Magic cover!! What? Look at Pete! She's totally bad-ass and Jack is buff as hell. I'm lovin' it! Plus it's super dark and London-y. 8. WORLD WAR Z by Max Brooks is blowing my freakin' mind. I'd tried to read Chuck Palahniuk's oral history attempt, RANT and just lost interest, but Brooks' interview format is just clinical enough that it shocks you when a character responds with something s...

Yes, yes, yes. I know Christmas is coming. Even without having seen wrapping paper in the stores for the last three weeks, even without lights going up in town, even without starting my own shopping. How do I know? Because the amount of freaking spam in my Inbox has taken a giant leap. I used to get maybe one email a month from Amazon. In the last week I've gotten almost ten. Cafe Press, Barnes & Noble, Godiva chocolates... anyplace I have ever done business with is suddenly jostling for space in my Inbox, begging for my attention, begging me to allow them to fulfill my holiday shopping requirements. It's not that I mind being alerted to sales and bargains. I often appreciate it throughout the rest of the year. No, honestly, I do. There's a reason why I haven't unsubscribed from these emails, and it's because I do sometimes find them useful. But oh...I'm already tired of deleting them from my Inbox, and then from my BlackBerry. Is anyone else noticing a huge...

Last night I went to a booksigning for Team Plano (soon to come: Team Plano vs Team Seattle cage match) friend Michele Bardsley . The event was to celebrate the release of WAIT TIL YOUR VAMPIRE GETS HOME ( go buy it now, please ). Michele offered snacks, coffee, prizes and a reading, plus she answered questions about the book and her writing. Fun times. It got me thinking about book signings in general. I've found that the best author events include a reading and question portion. They're more entertaining and interactive than the author just sitting behind a card table hoping someone will want a book signed. It also helps if they offer snacks--preferably chocolate. I have to admit that I never went to a book signing before I started writing. And it got me wondering about how often other people go out of their way to attend an author event at a book store. Unless you're a die-hard fan and follow an author's blog or web site, it can be hard to know when and where these e...

I've been slathering my yahoo group with big gloppy spoonfuls of the recent doom and gloom from the publishing industry. I try to be optimistic about most things, but when it comes to a situation that directly effects me as a writer AND a reader, I tend to take a dip into some pretty moody waters. Particularly when it's a problem I can't fix. Or can I? Hmm... I can BUY BOOKS. But more than that, I can buy NEW books, that makes an impact however small. I'll even give up a meal. Mass-market paperbacks are only like 7 0r 8 bucks, that's just one heart-clogging lunch to give up. And really, I could use the loss of calories. Also, if you know me, guess what you're getting for Christmas? And don't think of getting me anything that isn't on my Amazon wishlist! Are y'all in? We can save the publishing industry and lose weight while we're at it!!!

So as some of you may know, I have an arch-nemesis and ongoing blood feud with fellow fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss. However, because I am the bigger man, I am willing to put that aside for the moment because there's a greater cause at stake here- helping others in need out. In his own words: Heifer International is my favorite charity. It helps people raise themselves up out of poverty and starvation. All over the world Heifer promotes education, sustainable agriculture, local industry, and clean water. Back to my words... The full details are over here on his blog: http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/blog/2008/11/heifer-international-details.html This is a win-win situation folks. First and foremost, you're doing good, with a capital G (possibly putting you into the Fraternal Order of Goodness, who knows?). And if that alone weren't enough, Mr. Rothfuss will match your donation dollar for dollar (I assume he has a lot of money, earned no doubt by trampling the souls of his...

I finished the draft of my latest WIP!!! HAH! And HAH, again! Take THAT you freaking MUSE, making me write 43,000 words in less than four weeks! THPTHPTHPTHPT!!! No more middle-of-the-night gotta-write feelings! No more four(ish) hours of restless sleep! No more launching myself out of bed to get to the computer to write! HAH!!! DONE!!! But...wait. Maybe I should tinker some more. Make it better. NO, I'M DONE WITH THE DRAFT!!! But I could just give it a quick read. Maybe do a little polish. The last couple chapters were really flimsy... NO. HIT SEND TO GET IT TO THE CRIT PARTNER AND OUT OF YOUR MIND. But... NO! But... NO!!! This is me, not thinking about this damned book. Nope. Not thinking about it. La la la, I'm not thinking about it... (I wonder if my crit partner has read it yet...)

How are we all feeling about True Blood? I'm still watching every week despite some WTF moments and dubious casting choices. But I can't tell you how many of my friends are watching this show. Even those that wouldn't read a vampire book if you paid them (yes, I'm working on them). I'm curious to see if the shine has worn off for people, or if everyone's still excited about it. What say you?

Which is more deadly: a five year old farting on your lap, or a seven year old burping hot-dog burps in your face? Ah, parenthood. List your Monday evils!

I know I've mentioned my teen obsession with Clive Barker's Books of Blood, if not here then on my personal blog. Well. I'm pissing around the internet today--as I'm wont to do--and look what pops up on my friends-list... Holy crap, it looks awesome, too. It appears to be the central story that held the anthology together, though it's my understanding that they are filming several of the stories as part of this film. A miniseries for the theater, if you will--and believe me I am. This reminds me...I need to track down Midnight Meat Train... Hmm.

This morning, my boys taught me important things: - Dragons have wings, but most of us know that - Some of us don't know dragons breathe fire out of their mouths - They have patterns like eyes and teeth on their wings, to scare away predators - Castles have drawbridges - Jabba got killed - Luke got a robotic hand My boys showed me all of these things...in the BOOKS THEY WERE WRITING. Yes, that's right: the Precious Little Tax Deductions are writers! Oh, they make a mommy proud! (Tax Deduction the Elder explained that when he's done, he'll sell his book for thirty dollars. Because, as he said, he should make his own money so he can buy things. Rock on, you capitalistic creative child!)

I failed my willpower roll and now must compulsively share a video. A group named Moosebutter put this song together around the time of the Star Wars prequels. The idea sounds... well... odd: An a capella tribute to the music of John Williams with lyrics that are all about Star Wars. Just wait until you hear the Jaws bit. So... this is absolutely no use to aspiring writers except as an example that just because something sounds like it won't work, doesn't mean that it can't be executed brilliantly. I suppose the real secret is learning when to listen to the naysayers and when to ignore them. Anyone else have any examples of ideas (books, inventions, etc) that shouldn't have worked, but did?

Hello Leaguers! Hope everyone survived Halloween/Samhain. Now that another October has passed, it's time to buckle down before the craziness of Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hannahkuh/Kwanzaa/Festivus is upon us. That's right, people, it's time for Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). I've never participated in Nano before, but this year I decided to give it a try. Why? Well in addition to the aforementioned holidays falling in the middle of my deadline, I will also have the release of Red-headed Stepchild in March. That means February through May I'll be pimping. Thus, my deadline just got cut from nine months to about five. So I'm kick starting book three by trying to pound out a rough draft in a month. So far I'm on track, but we're only on day three. I don't normally write every single day, so this will be an interesting month. If anyone's interested in being my Nano buddy my Nano name is jayebird75. So tell me, are you doing Nano? Or have you ...

Hey y'all, hope everybody had a great Halloween. We're really happy with the League Halloween Spectacular and are really thankful for all our guests and readers for stopping by. A couple of contest winners have been announced so I figured we'd rap up the rest. First up, taking home the shiny signed copy of Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Jennifer Rardin... Summer!!! Summer, email Jaye (link on the left) with your address and she'll hook you up. Next. I hinted around that there might be some sort of secret contest in the works and sure enough, there was one. Though, to be honest, I had no clue what the prize was until last Friday. So without further adieu, the winner is... Jackie Ballway!!! And what might she have won? Oh this here nifty prize pack. That's the ARC for Road Trip (I like the red cover better than Happy Hour's blue), a cover flat of Road Trip and the hot off the presses cover flat of Richelle's new one, Succubus Heat. You like? Jackie, email me (...

We officially started out holiday shopping on Saturday. Yay us! The thing is, shopping here is a nightmare any time of year. Really. There's no parking anywhere. The stores are small and crowded, the aisles narrow and cramped. It's never a pleasant or fun experience. But the closer you get to Christmas, the worse it gets. And the stores run out of things! And don't order more. Or they close--I will never forget, our first year here, trying to order some Angelina Ballerina toys on December 10 for the Princess, and discovering that the online store with the widest selecton closed on December 5t and did not repoen until Jan 10th, "so the employees can spend the holiday with their families." Which is great, I mean, I'm all for employees getting nice long breaks, but it's frankly terrible customer service; what if something is broken or doesn't work? How do you survive with no Christmas shopping being done? Why not give your employees Jan 10th-Feb 15th off,...

Live from the Awake Way Too Late at Crisis*Con Club... it's time to annouce the winner of Phaedra Weldon's book: Spectre! The winner is...CHRISTINE MOORE!!! Congrats, Christine! Send me your contact information and I'll pass it along to Phaedra. Thank you to all the folks who stopped by to comment on Ghoul and an extra special thank you to Pheadra for the story!

Sorry folks, I was so busy shoveling candy into my maw that I forgot to post the winner for the Kelly Meding prize. As a refresher the prize is a $10 Barnes & Noble gift card and a copy of DARK DELICACIES. The winner is: JSB!!! Congrats. Email me at jayewells(at)gmail(dot)com with your snail mail address and I'll make sure Kelly gets your info. Hope everyone's having a spooky Halloween filled with tricks and/or treats!

Would it surprise any of you to learn that some of my fondest memories of Halloween are of hiding behind pillows with my middle-school friends while we watched wildly inappropriate horror films? After trick or treating or G-rated parties, we'd all gather in my bedroom and turn on some gorefest we'd found at the video store. And shriek at the scary bits until my mother came upstairs and told us to shut up and go to sleep. Ah, memories. Here are my top scary moments (inspired by Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments ). Feel free to jump in via comments! The Exorcist Not the vomiting scene or the scene where the priest's mom starts talking through Satan/Linda Blair. No, the thing that got me in Exorcist is when Father Merrin makes a tape (reel-to-reel, baby) of Regan's voice to be analyzed and finds out poor lil Devil Child is speaking English...BACKWARDS! Poltergeist Evil clown doll + girl who hates clowns = AIEEEE! The Watcher in the Woods As a disclaimer, I was si...

And now, a special guest post from Miriam Kriss, uber-agent from the Irene Goodman Literary Agency: Halloween in New York City is a big deal, the nearest thing we have to Marti Gras. Everyone, from the free-wheeling and scantily-clad Village Halloween Parade partiers, to the more innocent parade of young princesses, pirates and superheros that clog Brooklyn's Seventh Avenue, to the bag lady who hangs out on my friend's Alphabet City stoop, gets in on the act. So even in my poor college days I felt I had to make an effort for my first NYC Halloween. There's a great costume shop on Broadway, just down from the Strand Bookshop, that's a block deep and I went in there to find something fun. Most of the costumes were out of my price range and the ones that weren't looked it. Finally I settled on a pair of fangs, really nice ones that had plastic molds you melted then fitted to your eyeteeth, where they sat suspended as though they grew there. At twenty bucks I could swi...

Halloween wouldn't be complete without a few tricks, so I invited three of my most serious literary author-type friends to share their favorite holiday memories... ****************************** I love Halloween night. Maybe it's the crispness of the winter air, the fantastical costumes, the freaky faces in carved pumpkins, or the joy of whacking zombies with your cricket bat or shotgun. (I always go with the shotgun.) Okay, okay. I love Halloween because of the free candy. Well, the chocolate. Honestly I don't understand the point of handing out non-chocolate treats. SweeTarts? Might as well eat a piece of sugarcoated chalk. Candy corn? Blech. Licorice? Are you kidding me? And those pixie sticks are evil incarnate! Satan must sell those at a discount or something. Let's review. On Halloween, chocolate good. Everything else, bad. I know, I know. Zombies only rise from their graves once a year, but c'mon, would you rather go to the graveyard and waste your bullets or...

Happy Halloween! Today we have Jennifer Rardin in the clubhouse helping us celebrate. Jennifer is the author of the kick-ass Jaz Parks urban fantasy series. I love me some Vayl. For realz. Anyway, Jennifer's given us a treat to nibble on today. Enjoy! Zombie Jamboree by Jennifer Rardin Rindall Hunt leaned against the tallest tombstone in Browen Cemetery. Naturally the name carved across the base of the obelisk spelled BROWEN. Herbert John, born 1825, died 1899, slumbered on the south side of the plot. As far as Rindall knew, he'd never risen on Halloween, called or not. Neither had his second wife, Deborah Jane, R.I.P.ing on the opposite side of the stone. But his first love, Elizabeth Marie, who'd died in childbirth at the age of twenty-four, moved around so often that nothing grew on her grave but weeds. Rindall slammed his hand against the monument, wincing at the clacking sound that reminded him his digits hadn't quite fleshed out yet. He bellowed, "Rise...