the league of reluctant adults

A shroud of mystery has surrounded new league member Sonya Bateman...and, well, that won't do. Because, if the league of reluctant adults is anything it's a TOTALLY NOSY group of individuals. I volunteered to welcome our newest member and get the truth. What makes Sonya tick? How does she write those books? Does she have powers? Party tricks? CAROLYN: Sonya! Welcome! Welcome to the league. Hopefully the hood and robe have arrived in the mail, and I trust that you wore both when you placed the bag of ping pong balls in the night deposit box of your local bank, and also as you placed the “monster-head of success pentacle” decal on your front door per league diagrams. Mothicus will be looking for it. Now that that business is over, Congrats!  First off, can I just say, I love the concept of your book. You’ve got this unlucky small-time thief, and in an amazing, fun way, he gets a Djinn . LOL. But the Djinn has plans of his own. Dude, everybody and their brother seems to be lov...

Does this look like a proper breeding ground for a UF hero or heroine?  I’m not making some big, original observation when I point out that urban fantasy heroes and heroines are often challenged in the family department.  I myself killed off my heroine Justine’s mother, and her father lives in a heavily defended shack in the woods. (All the better to be prepared for that killer epidemic that's sure to come.)  And her brother is a llama herder in Peru or something - I’d actually have to go back and check what I made him, that’s how important he is!  Why is it so tempting for us writers to deprive an urban fantasy heroine (or hero) of a strong family?  Read on at Stella Ex Libris... PS...I'm also giving away a signed copy of Mind Games there ...international entrants welcome. Image: The Mokros Family, a public domain file  from  wikimedia commons

Gahh! It seems I'll be the League's only unpublished author for two weeks longer. The release date for Hounded is now May 3 instead of April 19. Release dates for Hexed and Hammered remain the same (May 24 and June 28), so that means I'll have three books out inside of two months. This has nothing to do with printing delays or anything icky; it's nothing more than marketing shenanigans, the inner workings of which are known only by My Publishing Overlords™. But you've gotta be careful pulling shenanigans on a Druid like Atticus. Let's see how he feels about the delay, shall we? Whoa. It's a good thing, Atticus, I promise! If you're in the Chicago area and decide to attend C2E2 from March 18-20, turns out Del Rey will be there for the first time and they're going to be giving away copies of Hounded , so if you'd like to score it early there's a hot tip for ya. :)

Right now I am revisions a book that will come out next year (Silver-Tongued Devil) and promoting a book that I finished last year (Green-Eyed Demon). It's kind of like being a time traveler, only with less paradoxes and more stress diarrhea. But if I were really able to travel back in time, I'd have a few things to say to myself before I started Green-Eyed Demon that wold have made today a lot less stressful. 1. When you go to New Orleans in a few months to research this book, be sure to take pictures. You'll kick yourself when it's time to promote this book and the eleventy blog posts you do on this trip won't feature one effing picture. 2. Speaking of that trip, do not go into the closet of your hotel room. It's totally haunted. Trust that shit. 3. You're going to worry about writing the chapter with the gimp and the midget. Relax. It'll end up being your favorite scene. 4. Have plenty of tissues ready when you write the last chapter. Trust me on ...

Hello, LRA readers! It is I, your humble Anton. You may know me from such books as Dead To Me, Deader Still, and Dead Matter, the first three books of the Simon Canderous urban fantasy series. You may also know me as the guy in the bar at the fantasy convention who borrowed five bucks from you, bought himself a drink, then ran off before paying you back. For that, I'd just like to say I'm truly.. hey, look! What is that ?! *runs off* Well, guess what? It's that time of year again. The fourth book in the series is out! See the shiny cover? If you order now, I'll send you the thumb for free! Actually, I may hold onto my thumb. It really helps with the space bar, and if I'm going to keep on writing, I'm going to need that damned thing. And you know what? If I want to keep writing, I need to keep getting the word out there about the books. However, talking about the new book here is a bit like preaching to the choir. I love you all and the support you ...

Hi, folk! I guess this is my first REAL post here at the League. I’ve been mostly quiet up til now, ’cause I’m hoping that if I don’t make any sudden moves, the League-ers will forget to haze me. (their vision is based on motion, you know) So I thought I’d start off my time here with a small confession. Nothing major, nothing earth shattering in any way. Ease my way into things. So here we go. I want to write something about komodo dragons. There. I said it. See, I was watching this special on them, the other day (The joys of having cable for the first time in all my thirty-four years. First thing I do is watch nature documentaries, and RuPaul’s Drag Race.). And suddenly, they (komodo dragons, not to be confused with drag queens) were fascinating (Not that drag queens aren’t fascinating. You know what I meant.)! Did you know that komodo dragons actually highly intelligent, and capable of reasoning and planning? The special I watched said they were “the primates of the lizard w...

Can you believe it?? Yes, this is my very first post at the League. Yes, I've been a very very bad Leaguer. And can you believe NO ONE has spanked me yet for being so bad? So, first off, I have the cover for my next book, My Life As A White Trash Zombie (the first book in a new series,) and it is SO AWESOME I WANT TO CURL UP AND DIE OF THE SQUEE! The artist is Dan Dos Santos, who also did the cover for Secrets of the Demon. I am seriously one lucky author!! I'm incredibly excited about this book and I'm really hoping that the anti-zombie folks out there will give this a chance. Trust me, it's not your typical zombie story! Second, you see that tattoo on her arm? Here's a close-up: I've decided that if by some friggin' miracle this book debuts on the NYT (i.e. the New York Times bestseller list) I will get that tattoo. Yes, you read that correctly. I, who have no tattoos at all to date, WILL GET THAT TATTOO! So spread the word and get this bod some ink!

***Winner of the signed copy of NIGHTSHADE is "Barbara E." Congrats! Please contact me at michelle@michellerowen.com to claim your prize. Thanks everyone for all the great comments!*** Yeah, so it's my birthday today. I cannot tell you how much this fills me with glee. If glee means angst and pain. No, no, it's fine. Really. I love birthdays. This one, though... Ugh. It's a tough one. It ends in a zero. And it doesn't start with a two or a three. Whatever. WHATEVER!! *sadface* All it means is I need to cheer my sorry, aging self up. A LOT. I want to give away a book! Yes, a book! Books make me happy! HAPPY HAPPY!! My latest release is NIGHTSHADE and it's the first book in my new urban fantasy romance series. It's about a woman named Jillian Conrad who is injected with a serum that turns her blood both poisonous and irresistible to vampires and the dhampyr assassin who wants her to use that blood to kill a vampire king. It's a bit of a darker tone ...

ACK! I missed my posting date here at the League. I have an excuse! (OK, I have a bullshit reason, which is not an excuse and I'm totally a dweeb for forgetting, which is not the same thing.) Well, sort of late and sort of an excuse because I'm supposed to post today--which I am, right now--but it was supposed to be by 5 AM. And y'know, it's like... not that early. 'Cuz I'm sooooo not a morning person and I was kind of... not thinking about it last night. 'Cuz I was busy ! Busy doing what? Well, y'know-- Hey! None of that! There was this leak, see? In the boat deck. The stern deck right over the bed. Right in front of the main hatch. And it's, y'know, leaking ! So... it's been raining. Because, y'know, this is Seattle in February. And it rains here. A lot. Especially in February. And I was distracted by the water that was sneaking in through the heater in the ceiling and trying to ruin my very expensive new mattress. And the thing abo...

Is just another day . . . or so you might think. Only it's not! Because it's the day Jaye Wells and I start back up at Babel Clash ! We'll be snarking and pontificating for two whole weeks, people! It's madness! So to inaugurate what will be a fortnight of Jaye and I twisting everything you once held sacred, and in honor of Valentine's day yesterday, I thought I'd give you one of my favorite twisted love songs: It's the Bravery with Hatefuck. Ohhhhhhh yeah . . . And if you're like, "Who the hell are you, Nicole Peeler? No one's been blogging on this site for so long, I don't even remember any of you bitches," fear not! You can find out who I am here . And next month, over at my publisher's , you can download my first book, Tempest Rising , for only $2.99. I'll post updates on my website, but my very own Orbital Drop should start March 1st. Let me and my publishers know what you think of this idea. Are you more like...

*waves* Hi, I’m Allison Pang and this is my first (and quite possibly last) post at the League of Reluctant Adults. >_<  Of course, it is Valentine’s Day, and that comes with its own set of issues…so I’m not actually going talk about that at all. Not that I’m against a holiday celebrating love or anything, but I’ve never been a fan of forced displays of affection for the sake of commercialism. *ahem* So, that means I’m going to talk about unicorn pr0n wtfkery instead, which is neither commercial nor anything romantic or particularly celebratory. (At least, I hope not.) In truth, my one claim to momentary fame has a lot to do with a certain panty-sniffing unicorn character that I write about. Part frat-boy, part Yoda, Phineas is by far the most popular thing to come out of A Brush of Darkness, and I’m often asked about how I thought up such a crazy character. Personally, I’m not sure he’s all that unique. I just took everything about unicorns that we generall...

Okay, so the title isn't true (to the best of my knowledge). But it got your attention, didn't it? I have a confession to make. My name is Kelly Meding, and I watch soap operas. Kind of. I never used to understand soap operas. The format confused me, as did the multiple, overlapping story lines. I thought the acting was goofy, the way it was filmed looked funny, and all people ever talked about was who was sleeping around on or betraying who. Granted, this was all from the perception of a thirteen year-old who'd spent part of a summer watching "The Young & the Restless" with her grandfather. Fast-forward seventeen years later, and my perception has changed quite a bit. Long story short, several coincidences via Twitter and YouTube got me hooked on a story line unfolding on "One Life to Live." As I went back and watched online eps, I found myself wanting to learn more—not just about other characters peripheral to this story, but about soaps in g...

I recently announced that I'm expecting a baby in August, which was met by a wonderful and overwhelming flood of kind notes and congratulations. It also triggered a few questions which weren’t entirely unexpected—such as if I'd be giving the baby a "vampire name" or buying the baby "vampire clothing." What's intriguing to me about this is how personal an author's work becomes in the eyes of many, more so than other jobs. No one suggested I get baby clothes with the Microsoft Windows logo on them, in honor of my husband's employer. And when my brother (who works at Pfizer) and his wife were expecting, no one asked if they were going to name the baby Rogaine. An author's job is perceived differently, and I think there's probably good reason for that. My brother doesn't need to decorate with pill capsules or consume all the drugs he manufactures in order to do his job well. There isn't an attachment there. But, I can say with certain...

There I was, minding my own business, writing with a blanket around my shoulders (It's frick'n cold in Alabama right now)... you know, the usual, when something happened. Eric, my angry, forgetful, brutally honest, and shamelessly unapologetic vampire was getting himself into trouble for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to wrong woman. I was sure she was going to throw a punch. Absolutely certain, but instead, the chapter ended. Now, that happens. In Crossed, I jumped back and forth between two characters in one of the big fight sequences. Or, in other places, a scene ends mid fight and I kick over to the next chapter either in a different point of view (maybe to Talbot, Eric's cat-like friend or Tabitha, Eric's bride and fellow vampire), or just to give Eric a chance to start the next chapter (and the fight) off with something funny and obnoxious, but not this time. This time, I jumped outside the fight scene altogether. I don't think that had ever h...

I'm in writing hell at the moment; my current WIP is giving me a case of hives--which, I suppose, is appropriate, considering that I'm writing about the Horseman of Pestilence. Still. Grrr. So I'm going to take out my frustration by kicking through a board. Well, point of clarification: I've previously kicked through the board when I was testing for my advanced green belt in tae kwon do. Tax Deduction the Elder recorded it. And so, I'm going to post it here for your viewing pleasure. I've been taking tae kwon do for a little more than a year. This is part of my training to be an urban fantasy heroine. Really. Can't you see me whipping off my glasses and standing on my tippy toes to kick someone in the shin? All I need now is some spiffy magic ability--which, frankly, could be the ability to wear leather pants A) without pantylines and B) with full range of motion--and then I'd be set. So: me, kicking through a board: (Hmm. Just tried to view on preview, ...

(Sorry, guys, this one isn't funny. I'm so mad over this I literally can't think of anything else right now.) Okay. Here's a little quiz for you. Let's say you're...a psychologist, who was once licensed and practicing but let your license lapse because you were doing something else. Let's further say you've written several bestselling books based on your gosh-golly sincere desire to "help" people. And how about adding a TV show to that, a TV show which trades on that gosh-golly-caring persona, and relies heavily on your former psychology practice, and all of that stuff. Let's say you have a website with advice and tips on how to report child abuse, help addicted family members, etc. etc. Got it? Okay. Now. let's say you're contacted by a woman who wants help because the "usual" punishments haven't succeeded in changing her seven-year-old son's behavior, and she's now resorting to things like pouring hot straigh...

Sometimes, when a writer's books don't do well, the best thing they can do is abandon their name and create a pseudonym. I created two. Daniel and Amanda. They don't always see eye to eye. In fact, sometimes they come to blows. Daniel enjoys YA books and writing teenage angst and secret love. Amanda gets off on hardcore porn and tripping the elderly. But somehow, these two found each other... (give it a minute, takes a few to load Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab! Come out and see both this weekend in Denver! Actually, I'll be there too, at the Broadway Book Mall on Friday and the Art Salon on Saturday. Until then. What do y'all think about pseudonyms?

FIRSTLY: we're getting our asses organized. Like, starting now, with this post, we're officially more organized than we were five minutes ago! If all goes according to the League's Multifarious Plans, we're going to stick to a Calendar Thingie and POST REGULARLY! Last I heard, you'll get a different author posting something every day from the 1st to the 21st of each month. And then, on those remaining nine days of each month, either CRAZY SHIT or ABSOLUTELY NOTHING will happen! There's nothing in between, see. I'm supposed to slap something up here on the 7th, so the next time you'll get a post from me is on March 7, unless I pop in and unleash some CRAZY SHIT during February's last chocolate-coated gasp of a week. Mark Henry's got the 8th of each month; Stacia Kane's got the 9th, and so on. We might start doing these posts with a theme, too. March might be SEX MONTH, for example, so you'd have 21 days of sex posts PLUS crazy shit at the ...

I was asked in a recent interview if creating visual art and writing fiction had anything in common. I answered that for me, my painting and fiction writing run on parallel tracks and have little to do with each other except to compete for my time. I added that our need to create may be a God complex, where we decide to create work in our image as a reaction against the circumstances of our existence. This creation is a means of self-expression and can take many forms: writing, painting, sculpting, music, cooking, knitting, sewing, customizing cars; basically you take some stuff and turn it into something else. What is this compulsion to create? When I was in college, my dad told me that art was a waste of time and since I personally didn't know any working artists (other than art teachers), I couldn't disagree with him. An office job was what I should aspire to. So I gave away my paints and sketch pads and tried to forget doing art. But I couldn't stop drawing or thinking...