Jaye Wells's Blog, page 14

Fun news! A new blurb for DIRTY MAGIC just landed in my inbox this morning. I’ve published several books, but each time I get a new cover blurb I still squeal like a kid on a Ferris Wheel. IN this case, the blurb happens to come from an author whose work I greatly admire.*happy dance*

 

Jaye Wells raises the urban fantasy bar with DIRTY MAGIC, a hard-boiled series debut as unique and surprising as the creatures and characters peopling it. Kate Prospero is charged with policing the Cauldron, a magical world so fully realized, and so gritty, it gets under your nails. Wells is known for deftly weaving non-stop action with no-holds barred humor, but the unique and deeply drawn relationships are the real alchemy here. DIRTY MAGIC showcases seasoned pro, Wells, at the top of her game, and establishes newcomer Kate Prospero as the urban fantasy heroine to beat. 

-Vicki Pettersson, NYT Bestelling Author of The Signs of the Zodiac and Celestial Blues series

For the last five days I’ve been at the RT Book Reviews convention in Kansas City. Today was the massive public book signing, which was totally fun, but also exhausting. The whole week is fun and exhausting, actually. For people who spend the majority of our time alone and in comfy yoga pants, spending a week with thousands of people and also wearing Spanx and high heels takes some serious effort. But it’s all worth it because even though it can be tiring, it’s so great to hang out with other readers and writers and remember why we do all this in the first place.

As always, it’s been great to catch up with old friends and make new ones. The readers are as enthusiastic as ever. And the panels have all been interesting and well-attended. I haven’t done a lot of the parties and special events this year, but, as always, the bar has been an interesting spot for industry gossip. I think the next 18 months are going to be verrrrry interesting, but that’s a blog for another time.

This year’s con has been especially awesome because I won an award. I have never won an award for my writing before, and to win one for writing the best book in my genre for the entire year of 2012 is pretty friggin’ amazing.

 

There are two other cool things about this award.

1. Blue-Blooded Vamp was the fifth and final book of my Sabina Kane series. If you’ve never writing the last book of a series, let me tell you it’s pretty nerve wracking.Not only are you dealing with the normal nerves and stresses that come with publishing any book, but now you’re also dealing with needing to make readers feel like the entire journey of the series was worth their while. So, winning this award means a lot of people enjoyed Sabina’s wild ride. That makes me very happy.

2. Blue-Blooded Vamp was the book that I finally dedicated to my dad. He passed away 21 years ago last week, and his death left a huge hole in my life. If you’ve read BBV, you might remember that there’s a huge part of the narrative dedicated to Sabina’s relationship with her own father. Writing this book allowed me to work through some things I’d been carrying around since I was 17 and woke up to find out I’d never get see my dad again. So, yeah, winning an award for this book in particular was pretty meaningful.

I don’t get the chance often enough to stop and express how blessed and lucky I feel to be able to write stories for you. Readers are the best people in the world, and telling stories is my absolute passion. Thank you for reading mine.

Next week it’s back to deadlines and carpool, but for now I get to hang out with really cool people who love books as much as I do. I hope wherever you are tonight, you’ve got a good book to keep you company.

 

Happy Friday, party people! I’m gearing up for next week’s book bacchanalia aka RT Booklover’s Convention in Kansas City. I’m super excited about this year’s festivities because in addition to all the panels and parties, I’m also winning an award. The last award I won was a  Chuck Palahniuk bookmark made from fake anal beads  for coming up with the best fake porn name in a contest hosted by Mark Henry.*  This award is a little bit of a bigger deal–although I’m fairly certain the award itself won’t be as much of a conversation piece–so I’m super psyched.

For those going to the convention, I thought I’d share a handy quick reference for all the panels and events I’ll be participating in. Also, if you see me at the con, don’t be shy. I’m there to hang out with readers, so please come introduce yourself. Especially if it’s in the bar and you want to buy me a drink.

 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013


3:45pm - 4:45pm
Marketing/Social Network
Make the Most of Social Media, Without Making a Mess




THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013


10:00am - 11:00am
Reader
Vampires We Love to Hate




FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2013


10:00am - 11:00am
Reader
Anything Goes in Urban Fantasy: Authors Tell All


3:45pm - 4:45pm
Reader
Vampire Social: Meet, Greet & Play


5:00pm - 6:00pm
Craft
Organizing and Outlining Your Soon-to-Be Bestselling Novel

 

*For the record, the title was “Lawrence of the Labia.”

The Storyteller’s Creed

We believe in the power of Story, the prose almighty. And in creativity, the first begotten product of imagination.

We suffer for this art, we bleed for it. Because we will eventually die but our stories will endure.

We believe in the power of the Word everlasting. With its power to heal and to harm, the rend and to sew. To inspire and entertain. To illuminate and obfuscate.

We understand the power of the Word and we will use it for good. For evil scribes use Words to lead readers down hateful paths.

We believe in the holy bonds forged with our readers. And we will honor this pact by writing the best stories of which we are capable.

We will honor our muses, be they real or imagined. We will feed them well and ply them with plentiful drink until the ideas flow.

We are Writers. Modern day troubadours and raconteurs, who ignore the false prophets and snake oil salesmen with their promises of green.

For the goddess Story is worshiped and glorified. An lo though she may doom us to a van down by the river, we love her now and forever.

Amen.

 

 

So I’ve been sitting on some news for a while. Technically I’m supposed to keep this under wraps until next month, but I’m a rebel (and the magazine went out today so the cat’s already out of the bag). Here goes:

RT Book Reviews Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Awards named BLUE-BLOODED VAMP the Best Urban Fantasy of 2012!! I’ll be accepting the award on May 3 in Kansas City at the RT convention

You guys, I am so excited about this. First of all, urban fantasy is a genre chock full of amazing writers. Despite this, there aren’t many awards for people who write books like mine. So it’s amazing to me that out of that talented field, my book won. Second, to know that the final book in the Sabina Kane series merited such praise makes me so happy. I am so proud of Sabina’s saga.

Thank you to all of you for reading the series and for telling your friends about them! Without you guys I would just be amusing myself, which while fun, isn’t the same as being able to entertain really cool people for a living. So thanks for helping me be able to keep telling you stories.

Any other Game of Thrones fans out there? In preparation for the start of the new season this weekend, they’ve released a fun toy. You can create your own house sigil with this online tool.

Here’s the sigil for House Wells. I love it so much.

As some of you may have seen a couple of weeks ago, Orbit posted a sneak peek at the cover for DIRTY MAGIC over at Bookish. I would have posted about it there, then, but I have been out of town (more on that in a moment). Anyway, in case you missed all that hullaballoo, here is the gorgeous cover in all its glory. The photo by Shirley Green, illustration by Don Sipley, title type by Chad Roberts, art direction & design by the ridiculously cool Lauren Panepinto, who donated her own personal alchemy set to the photo shoot.

If you want some more info about the book, check out the post at Bookish.  Find out there why I compare this book to, “spending a night in a magical dive bar.”

Yes, yes, I know! The book isn’t out until January ’14. Don’t yell at me. These things take time. Plus, the hope is that the longer wait now will mean you get new books in the series closer together. Hopefully the preorder buttons will be up soon so you can just click it and wait for it to arrive at your door or on your ereader like a gift from the publishing gods. Also, if you’re fretting because it’s such a long wait, remember that I have a story in the CARNIEPUNK anthology that’s coming out in July of this year. I also am hoping to have at least one novella published this years as well (hopefully two if I can pull it off).

Now, I mentioned I was out of town. Oh my goodness, people. I just had the best two trips ever. For once (or twice, I suppose) these had nothing to do with work and everything to do with fun. The first was a solo trip to Sedona, NM for a meditation retreat. Maybe it will surprise you to learn that I meditate. Maybe not. Regardless, it’s something I do fairly regularly to help stay balanced and not become a massive ball of seething stress and anxiety. In fact, I’d recommend meditation to every writer. The profession makes us spend way too much time in our heads and meditation, oddly, seems to help calm all that chaos. Meditation isn’t magic. It’s about being more mindful and in control of your thoughts. Something we can all use more of these days, hmm?

I’d never been to a meditation retreat before so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was awesome and I found myself very happy with the experience. Basically, I meditated, did yoga, chanted and ate really healthy food for four days. Heaven. I also met several lovely, inspiring people. The woman who ran the retreat is Sarah McLean, and she is pretty awesome. Liek studied with Deepak Chopra and Gary Zukav awesome. Like bicycled through the Himalayas awesome. She does retreats all over the place and has a book called SOUL CENTERED LIFE. Good stuff.

Okay, so the next trip was to Napa Valley and San Francisco with my boys for Spawn’s spring break. In addition to drinking wine and filling my belly with cured meats and delicious cheeses, this trip also had the bonus of letting me revisit some of Sabina’s old stomping grounds from RED-HEADED STEPCHILD. We visited Muir Woods, where Sabina and Maisie were born with the help of the faery, Briallen Pimpernel. We went to St. Helena, where the vampire vineyard was located. We also spent a lovely afternoon at the Palace of Fine Arts, where Sabina was picked up for her first meeting with Clovis. I have to admit, I got a little nostalgic. So I drank some more wine and everything was fine.

Now I’m back home and focused on writing Kate Prospero’s second book, CURSED MOON. It’s due in June, so I’m freaking out a little. Which is why I’m going to cut this post off now and go write like the wind.

But wait, I almost forgot! Tonight I’m hosting a live chat for Savvy Authors. The topic is The Right Idea, how to choose the best idea for your next book. The chat starts at 9pm EST and you have to register for the site to join in. But if you’re an aspiring writer Savvy Authors is a great resource for chats with published authors and articles on writing and the business of publishing. So check it out!

Cheers!

These 10 questions originally came from a French series, “Bouillon de Culture” hosted by Bernard Pivot. They’re better known as the questions that James Lipton asks every guest at the end of “Inside the Actor’s Studio” show.

1. What is your favorite word?

2. What is your least favorite word?

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

4. What turns you off?

5. What is your favorite curse word?

6. What sound or noise do you love?

7. What sound or noise do you hate?

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

9. What profession would you not like to do?

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Answer in comments!

So yesterday I turned in the final, final, final draft of DIRTY MAGIC along with the acknowledgements and dedication. This is always a very cool moment because the bulk of the work is done. I will still have copy edits and gallies to review in a few months, but for the most part it’s done. I wish this meant I have now earned a delicious hiatus from work to go recharge my batteries on a beach somewhere. Alas, there is another book to write. There always is.

As it happens, in addition to the second Prospero’s War book  (tentatively titles CURSED MOON), I’m also working on a few of novellas for you guys. Novellas are fun because you can write new stories in existing worlds as well as experiment in new worlds. Right now I have Kate Prospero, Sabina Kane and new dystopian vampire world novellas in the works. I’ll definitely let you know when they’ll be released once I know.

I also have some cool appearance information. This July I have a story coming out in the CARNIEPUNK anthology, featuring the coolest authors in urban fantasy (yeah, I’m biased). My good friends at Murder by the Book in Houston invited me to come down to sign it when it came out, but I had an even  better idea. I sent the bat signal out to the other authors in the anthology and several heeded the call. As these things normally go when you have a group of creative, easily excitable people, the original event grew into a book tour of sorts. We also invited our good friend Liliana Hart, whose first Urban Fantasy (BREATH OF FIRE) is coming out in June.

CARNIEPUNK Texas Tour Dates:

July 25 7pm A Real Bookstore in Fairview: Mark Henry, Nicole Peeler, Liliana Hart, Jaye Wells

July 27 4:30 pm Murder By The Book Houston: Kevin Hearne, Mark Henry, Nicole Peeler, Liliana Hart, Jaye Wells

July 29 Book People in Austin: Mark Henry, Nicole Peeler, Liliana Hart, Jaye Wells

Look, if you’ve never been to a book signing with this group of incredible people, you’re in for an experience. The last time Nicole Peeler and I signed together on tour we forced the entire audience to wear fake mustaches. The first time Mark Henry and I signed together, we drank from 40s of malt liquor while we talked. Kevin Hearne and I bought the entire book store a round of drinks and chugged beer from flagons at our last singing together. Can you imagine all of us together in one spot? I’m just saying maybe there will be shenanigans (there definitely will be shenanigans). So mark your calendars!

Also! I’ll soon be revamping my web site in preparation for the new series to launch early next year. Part of this process will be updating my FAQ. So if you have a question for me, be sure to leave it in comments and I’ll try to address it in the FAQ.

That’s all for now, folks!

Guys. Guys! I have something very exciting to share with you today. Something beautiful and maybe a little bit … evil?

Some of you may have heard that there is an anthology coming out next year called CARNIEPUNK. The brainchild of the deliciously witty Kevin Hearne, this anthology features such urban fantasy luminaries as Rachel Caine, Seanan McGuire, Rob Thurman, Jennifer Estep, Nicole Peeler, Mark Henry, and, yes, friends–me. Plus lots of other super cool people writing creepy as hell stories about carnivals.

Wait. What? You’re asking what’s so scary about carnivals? It’s the carnies, man. The carnies. Even Austin Powers is terrified of them. To whit:



The bad news is that CARNIEPUNK doesn’t come out until July 2013. I know. I know! BUT! Our fabulous editor at Pocket has agreed to share a sneak peek of the awesomely creeptastic cover for this tome of horrific delights. To see it, click on over to All Things UF http://wp.me/p2pnOI-2JD to check it out. This will be THE urban fantasy anthology for 2013. Trust!