the league of reluctant adults

And it involves the League! Fans and followers of Literary Escapism have probably seen this, but I figured it deserved its own post right here on the League blog. Jackie (not our Jackie, LE's Jackie) is hosting a New Authors Mini-Challenge with League authors as, um, victims? No, that's not right. Targets? No... Anyway.... Run over here to read all about it ! Nutshell: From February 1-28, 2010, read up to five Leaguers you haven't read before and post a review online during that month. And freebies! Don't forget freebies! There are prizes being offered for participating. If you're reading this, I assume you've read at least one of us. But with twenty Reluctant Adults in the asylum, finding a couple you haven't read and giving them a try should be easy. I will hang my head in shame and admit I haven't read every single Leaguer (*eyes the evil TBR pile*). This is a great excuse to dig into those books I've been meaning to get to. Although if there a...

So Loving Husband and I were on the way home from New Jersey, and I pitched him a story idea. (Yes, I pitch ideas to my man. This is sort of like foreplay.) In the story that I pitched, a baby gets killed near the end of the tale. When I was done, he said, "Wow, that's dark." So that got me to pondering: What's too dark? Is there such a thing? Are taboos meant to be broken (in the literary world)? Or are they there for a reason? Yes, this is what I think about on a Saturday night. Thoughts?

The fabulous ladies of TheBookSmugglers.com are hosting a two-day event for me. First, they posted this rather wonderful, and very thorough, joint review on NICE GIRLS DON'T HAVE FANGS. They've also posted an interview here where I talk about the warped upbringing that led to my writing career. Leave a comment or ask me a question and you could win one of two complete sets of the Jane Jameson novels! P.S. When did we get switchblades? Did I miss a meeting?

Nah, that can't be her name. But, sheez, dontcha think it's time for another girl wonder? Wait, I don't mean a sidekick. I'm talking about a straight shooting, criminal nabbing, almost all powerful lady-with-a-cape. Not that I'm petitioning Marvel Comics necessarily, although that would be pretty dern sweet, but just in case you guys are following, here are my ground rules: 1. Her costume must have straps. Don't tell me Wonder Woman didn't spend half her work day worrying about falling out of that ridiculous getup. Seriously. Nobody's boobs are big enough to hold up a strapless onesie when the fists are flying. 2. She cannot wear three-inch heels. Never mind the medical implications to the tendons, high heels won't allow her to run without risking serious ankle injury, plus as soon as she transitions from concrete to grass, she's sunk. Literally. 3. It's okay for her to cry. Not much, but some, because that's how girls relieve...

I've blogged about how piracy (and not the fun kind) affects all of us, over at my site . Please take a minute to read this, and pass it on to any pirates you may know . . . unless they ARE the fun kind. You can tell those pirates to continue their ravishments. ;-

So... in hopes that I'm not the only goober who is absolutely enraptured by the whole Conan O'Brien/Jay Leno/NBC thing, here are my Top Ten Suggestions for who, other than those already involved in the debacle, should host The Tonight Show... 10. The Tonight Show with… The League of Reluctant Adults This one is a no-brainer. We just share it. Though to be honest, I think Jeanne, Mario, and Mark should get most of the face time. If you guys have had the chance to listen to Mark Henry really cut loose on a panel. Squee! We could all take turns bringing in great bands that would never get tapped for The Tonight Show otherwise and we’d try to interview Mike Mignola, Joss Whedon, and Neil Gaiman at least once a month. :) 9. The Tonight Show with… Bruce Dickinson and Nicko McBrain Okay, so maybe I'm the only one who cares, but Bruce is the lead singer of Iron Maiden and he and Nicko are main reason I keep buying Iron Maiden DVDs. I just love to hear them talk. Unleashed ...

Nicole: Hello, League! I know I haven't done an interview in a while, after someone's lawyer claimed I try to "set her client on fire" because I'm trying to kill off the League's possible competition. Whatever! Such slander! It wasn't my fault there was a bucket of gasoline dripping above her head. Or that I had just taken up smoking. A series of coincidences! Nothing more! But I'm gonna get back into the interviews, now that legal says I'm good to go. In a few weeks, I'm going to launch a "Everybody's Writin' YA Including Yo' Momma" blog event, but for right now, I'd like to introduce one of the NEWEST Urban Fantasists in town, Mizzzzzzzzz Carolyn Crane! Hi Carolyn! Carolyn: Hi Nicole! Thanks so much for having me. Wow, it's really gloomy in here. Is this your league clubhouse or something like that? Nicole: Gloomy, what are you talking about? The decor is torture chic! It's the newest thing in Sweden. Ph...

Oh, hello there. Umm... (ouch, stop poking me, Mark!) So yeah, hi... my name is Kat and I'm a reluctant adult. I didn't used to be a reluctant adult. Oh, no. Let me tell you, back when I was eight or so, I was all ready to do that, but, you know, eventually it just became a massive burden. But then it was too late. I was wearing suits and heels, jockeying a desk, going out for lunches, and all that adult stuff. It really pissed my fifth grade teacher off. We had a talk. You know: The Talk. But it didn't help. In fact, nothing helped until I hit college. that's when I met my best friend in the fight against adulthood: drinking. And its buddy procrastination. And I've been working that team like a plow horse ever since. Now, alas, I do occasionally have to act like an adult, put on the suit and heels, take a lunch.... But I make sure I take my buddies along. May I have another whiskey, please?

Hi everybody, I just did a fun interview with the fabulous Christine at Over the Edge . She's giving away two copies of Nice Girls Don't Live Forever. The giveaway is open until Jan. 24. Good luck!

Items you may or may not know yet: Jackie Kessler Enters The Buffyverse The February edition of "MySpace Dark Horse Presents” will introduce a new writer to the comic book field, dark fantasy/supernatural romance author Jackie Kessler, who will pen a short "Tales of the Vampires" episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8" titled "Carpe Noctem." Kessler, whose novels include "Hell's Bells,""Black and White," and several Young Adult titles under the name Jackie Morse Kessler, is joined on the comic by artist Paul Lee. * * * * Winners of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's 2010 Book Awards, which were selected from more than 200 nominated titles by Northwest authors and published in 2009, are: The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the NorthwestJack Nisbet (Sasquatch Books) Boneshaker ...

Holy craps. Listen up! Why? Trust me... Urban Fantasy - Lyrics by Abner Senires Thanks Abner!

So around this time last year, we had a huge ice storm in Kentucky. "Ice Storm 2009" basically paralyzed my hometown for weeks. We're talking no power, grocery/gas shortages, price gouging on generators... male neighbors shaving their heads in their driveways because they were tired of cold shampoos/showers. I spent a week camping out in my in-laws' living room, in front of their fireplace, with two children under the age of five. We all made it out alive, but just barely. During that time, I used being trapped by frigid, icy weather, in the dark, to get in the right frame of mind to write 20 (longhand) pages of a werewolf romance set in Alaska. My agent just sold the still-untitled werewolf book to Pocket Star. And just as I started writing the sequel, also set in Alaska... it started snowing heavily in Paducah. My first thought: If I have to sleep in someone else's living room again, one of us isn't getting out alive. Though it snowed heavily for two days an...

Or, as they like to say on BBC America , you can follow me on Twittah. (I love how that announcer talks. He could make a toxic waste dump sound like a Day Spa.) So, yeah, click in and follow me...but I have to warn you we'll just be knocking around inside my head until spring. It's January in Illinois and the winter gods are prepping to dump about half a foot of snow on us. Okay, we may take a few trips to the greenhouse to cheer ourselves up, thus preventing marital spats and the odd smashed plate. But, pretty much, we'll be imagining weird crap until I can make it out of the house again sometime around March. Which may be why I became a writer. Purely out of self defense. So, while we're in self-discovery mode, tell me...why did you choose your particular career?

Hey folks! I am offering myself up for a public heckling this coming weekend by attending my very first book signing for THREE DAYS TO DEAD. I'm not much of a public speaker, and Nicole can probably tell you how nervous I was about doing that one panel at Dragon*Con, so this should be quite the...experience. So if you live in the Philadelphia/Wilmington/Western New Jersey area (it's right off 95), come by and see me. Buy a book, even! January 9th, 2010, 1:00pm Barnes & Noble 340 Christiana Mall Newark, DE 19702

Happy New Year-- this is a pic of the fireworks on the Mall last night. What this doesn't show is how fucking cold it was-- 28 degrees. Anyway, HNY from Team Denver!!