Joy Preble's Blog, page 44

Me and Sarwat Chadda at NCTE
Check out Billi on the cover of Dark Goddess - all that badass red in her outfit

All righty - my veggie breakfast taco from Berryhill and my two cups of coffee are percolating in my belly. It's raining outside but I'm in my cozy little office (pictures soon, I promise) typing away for the rest of the day. Have I mentioned the four !! bookshelves I have now? It's heaven. And on "date night at home" last night (this is what you get when your wife just blew your entertainment budget on new Haunted t shirts for giveaways at events), we not only ate massive amounts of pizza from Brother's (the best the Houston 'burbs have to offer) but also watched "Island City" (quirky and really good!) and two eps of season one of Dexter. (quirky, disturbing but oddly addictive)
That said, it's time for my interview with Sarwat Chadda. As I mentioned yesterday, S and I share a rabid adoration for Russian fairy tales and folklore figures, particularly the dreadful and terrifying witch Baba Yaga, who as most of you know, plays a crucial role in both the Dreaming Anastasia series as well as Sarwat's new Billi San Greal book, Dark Goddess. So we sat down - S in London and me in the Houston 'burbs - to have a little chat about this. Enjoy!
Joy: Why Russian folklore? What draws you to it?
Sarwat: Years ago I read a series of books by Peter Morwood, the first called Prince Ivan. They took old Russian fairy tales and wrote them as staright prose adventures. I was a huge fantasy fan at that point but getting bored with the usual 'elves and dragons' north European settings that seemed to dominate the genre.
Russia is mysterious and old. I love the architecture, the mix of East and West, the size of it and the vast, romantic range of it. Deep forests, wide empty steppes, the ice lands of Siberia. It feels the myths of the past still lie just below the surface. It's a land of extremes and that makes it the perfect setting for supernatural adventure.

Joy : As you know, I use Baba Yaga extensively in the Dreaming Anastasia series. One of my favorite things about this witch is that she is unpredictable. She might kill you; she might help you, depending on her mood. And either way, you won't leave her forest unchanged. How about you? Why Baba Yaga? And why did you choose to include her in Dark Goddess?
Sarwat: Baba Yaga is wise, generous to those that deserve it but a harsh judge. I wanted her to be someone who deserved awe, the closet thing you could get to a living divinity, but one who's lost patience for mankind. She's seen civilizations rise and fall and hoped mankind would get better, wiser. He's been given his chance and frankly, he blew it. Baba Yaga symbolises the judgement above humanity. We treat the planet and its resources as those it's ours, forgetting we share it with many others. Baba Yaga is inhuman, she represents those species other than mankind. And the question is, have any of those other species prospered under mankind's rule? I think not. I neede someone ancient, wise and with nature's cruelty and generosity. That could only be Baba Yaga.

Joy: So when you began your research into Russian mythology/folklore, any interesting generalities that stood out to you?Sarwat: My interest in Russia began over twenty years ago. I've stored little tit-bits of information throughout. For me the biggest impression of Russia is the rule religion plays there, especially now. After the subjugation of the Soviet ere, the churches of Moscow dominate the city, they are everywhere. They are bright and shining and golden.
Then you've the dark underbelly. Everyone knows about the Russian Mafia and I find that contrast, a world of extreme violence with the deep religious dedication, a perfect match for the world of my books.

Joy: Billi is a fascinating and definitely badass heroine. But then again, so is Baba Yaga. Strengths and weaknesses? (I'd definitely love to see a cross-over where we pair Billi with my character, Anne. No bad guys would survive that mash up!)
Sarwat: Billi's biggest strength is her determination. She will never give up. Her other strength is her doubt. She is not some blind follower who just does what she's told. She realises her responsibility, as a warrior and as someone capable and duty-bound to take life, but weighs up each action carefully.
Baba Yaga deals with the same sort of judgement. She's striving for balance in a world seriously out of whack. Billi's encounter with Baba Yaga is all about Baba Yaga recognising their similarities and tempting her to join her. Billi understands Baba Yaga's cause, even though she can't agree with it. There is great mutual respect, even between enemies.
Billi's weakness is her sense of loneliness. She wants to belong and will make mistakes because of that. She had no love during her upbringing so lacks that central understanding of what it is to be loved. That means she can be cold and heartless. Her treatment of Vasilisa, a young girl, is a case in point.

Joy: In Haunted, I will be introducing another Russian folkloric creature – the rusalka, which is basically a mermaid only really malevolent and tragic. No Disney-ized Ariel, that's for sure. I see that in Dark Goddess you introduce the Bogatyrs and the Polenitzy. Tell us about them.
Sarwat: A lot of the old Russian fairy tales deal with the Bogatyrs, a group of Christian knights. I thought they'd make a perfect match for the Templars, their cause is the same. However I wanted them to be a dark, corrupted version, a sort fo what might happen to the Templars if they're not careful.
The Polenitsy are another thing entirely. Russian legends mention a group of Amazons, called the Polenitsy. Dark Goddess is very much inspired by Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarrisa Pinkola Smith and Angela Carter's Company of Wolves. Both deal with female mythology and have been very influential in Billi's creation.
I wanted Baba Yaga's followers to be a homage to these two writers, an all-female tribe of powerful werewolves, the last of their kind. Then I discovered that the original legends about the Amazons came from Southern Russia and burial sites had been found with tall, armour clad women buried within. So the legends turned out to be true and in an instant I had the sisterhood who have followed Baba Yaga throughout history.
They are another counterpart to the Templars. Billi's surrounded by men so it was exciting to present her with an equally powerful, equally dedicated, female order. The sisters she never had.

Joy: Of course, we both use Anastasia Romanov in a fantasy/alternate history capacity. Tell us about this great -grandson of Anastasia in Dark Goddess. Very intriguing!
Sarwat: How could I not include Anastasia? Most of the fun I have in writing is mixing up legends, history and myths to create Billi's world. It was inevitable that, if I was going to set the book in Russia, the Romanovs would be a part of it. Tsarevich Ivan Alexeivich Romanov is the great-grand son of the princess. In my version of history she was rescued by the Bogatyrs. Since then her descendents have been leaders of the Bogatyr knights.
I'm also somewhat tired by the rebel bad-boy cliché. Ivan's bad, mad and exceedingly dangerous to know. But he's rich, elegant, cultured and royalty. That mix of nobility and lethality makes him a unique character, and someone who can match Billi.

Joy: And finally, in Dark Goddess you also introduce the character of Koschei the Deathless, whom I allude to in HAUNTED and use extensively in Again and Again, the third in my trilogy. (May 2012) Tell us about Koschei (or Koschey as you spell it) and what fascinates you about to him.
Sarwat: Dark Goddess includes Koshchey, Prince Ivan, Vasilisa and Baba Yaga. These four are the biggest characters in Russian fairy tales. I wanted them to remain iconic, so if you're familiar with Russian tales, you'll recognise them, but give them each a modern twist.
Koshchey is the current leader of the Bogatyrs. He's called the Undying because he's the ultimate warrior. He's fought everywhere, and come out of it alive. Afghanistan, Chechnya, the Balkans, Africa. He's served with the Spetnaz, the USSR's own special forces, and then he worked for the KGB. He's one scary fellow.

Thank you, Sarwat, for some very fascinating answers. For those of you in the Houston area, Sarwat Chadda and Rachel Hawkins will be visiting and signing at Blue Willow Bookshop on Friday night 3/4. I know I'll be there! (and the next day, you can follow up by joining me at Borders in The Woodlands!) Until then, start reading Dark Goddess, it releases in the United States on 1/25.

Book one of Sarwat Chadda's Devil's Kiss series
Sarwat himself, playing Templar Knight. (Or maybe he's not playing... Hmmmm...)


Before I begin the real post, let me just squeal mightily (squeeeeeeee!) that Amazon now has HAUNTED in stock!! And it's not even 2/1! It's really really really here. I am so excited for everyone to find out what Anne and Ethan and Tess and the gang have been up to!
On with the post!
So there I was, signing Haunted ARC's at the Sourcebooks booth at NCTE and having the best of chats with Kay and Melissa – two of my favourite Sbooks folks – when up comes Sarwat Chadda, who was signing his own books not far down the aisle at the Disney Hyperion booth.

Now let me say that for me, this was the equivalent of say, JK Rowling wandering over and saying – as Sarwat did – "Hi Joy. I've been anxious to meet you. When your signing's done do you have time for a drink and a chat." You could have bowled me over with the proverbial feather. If you don't believe me, ask Kay Mitchell; she will verify.

And here's the thing – we'd both – Sarwat and I – been google stalking each other. Because we'd both realized that quite independently from one another using the same Russian historical and folkloric figures – specifically – Baba Yaga, Vasilisa the Brave, Anastasia Romanov, and even Koschei the Deathless (whom you'll meet in my third book) Clearly we did have a lot to talk about.

Since then, we've joined forces; I'm appearing on his blog as part of his Kiss Me Kill Me Blog Tour (with most of my writerly idols like Maggie Stiefvater and Holly Black and Carrie Ryan!) and he's appearing here on my blog as part of the same event.

Tomorrow, we'll be chatting about Russian folklore and all the things we discussed as we sat on a bench at Disney World and realized that both had a great love for these characters, a good cup of tea and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's a writer match made in heaven, I tell you!

But today, I'm reviewing his first novel, The Devil's Kiss and giving you a description of the second novel – about to release here in the US – Dark Goddess.

First, here's Amazon's product description of Devil's Kiss:

There's Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself....And Billi SanGreal.

As the youngest and only female member of the Knights Templar, Bilquis SanGreal grew up knowing she wasn't normal. Instead of hanging out at the mall or going on dates, she spends her time training as a soldier in her order's ancient battle against the Unholy.

Billi's cloistered life is blasted apart when her childhood friend, Kay, returns from Jerusalem, gorgeous and with a dangerous chip on his shoulder. He's ready to reclaim his place in Billi's life, but she's met someone new: amber-eyed Michael, who seems to understand her like no one else, effortlessly claiming a stake in her heart.

But the Templars are called to duty before Billi can enjoy the pleasant new twist to her life. One of the order's ancient enemies has resurfaced, searching for a treasure that the Templars have protected for hundreds of years -- a cursed mirror powerful enough to kill all of London's firstborn. To save her city from catastrophe, Billi will have to put her heart aside and make sacrifices greater than any of the Templars could have imagined.

And here's what Joy has to say:

I loved Devil's Kiss. Billi's a great hero. We meet her as she undergoes her final challenge to become an official Templar. Let's just say it involves killing a big bad evil – in the guise of a little boy. After which she has to go home and do homework. I was hooked from that moment on. Billi's exactly the type of character I love best – conflicted, strong, intense. Her moral compass knows her true north, but she gets lost at times. Her father – for reasons you learn later in the novel and which I will not divulge – has not shown her much love. She's got surprising warm and fuzzy feelings for childhood friend and Templar psychic Kay, and she makes a huge wrong turn with mysterious handsome hottie Michael. It's okay to me that Michael's character screams 'bad guy' from the moment he appears. That's what I love about classic dramatic irony. The reader can shout at Billi to beware at the same time that we realize that she is going to make this mistake on her own – and that the consequences are going to be deep. Sarwat doesn't go easy on his characters: a true hero must sacrifice and Billi is no exception. When Kay carelessly unleashes a lethal power, Billi must help save the world from destruction. The results are heartbreaking – and set the stage for more Templar adventures and a hero who realizes that in the end she must rely on herself – that saving the world is a long and lonely business – especially for a teenage girl who should probably be texting her friends about boys and doing her math homework, not killing demons and vampires and werewolves and fighting fallen angels.

I also quite enjoyed the mixture of paranormal, religious, mystery and romance elements. As a genre-blender myself, I was right at home. I can hardly wait to dig into Dark Goddess and see what's in store next for Billi. Plus Baba Yaga appears in DG!! It's a must read!! Stay tuned for tomorrow's fascinating discussion w/Sarwat about all things Russian folklore.
And until then, make sure to stop by his blog for the rest of the Kiss Me Kill Me Tour. Each Monday, he's interviewing a different paranormal author (our books, not us... although...). This past Monday he chatted werewolves with the fabulously talented Maggie Stiefvater. This coming Monday is Cindy Pon's (Silver Phoenix and the forthcoming, Fury of the Phoenix) turn. I got to meet Cindy for the first time at NCTE, too, although we've been virtual chit chatters for a long time.
So link thee to the tour right now, gentle readers! Cause there are prizes!! Books! Swag! Really cool stuff! http://sarwatchadda.blogspot.com/

Haunted is really really almost here! Project Editor Kelly just sent me a picture of the actual book - an advanced copy from the printer - and it is so pretty. I want to hug it. Soon I will!

Lots in the works to announce soon - If you are an ebook reader, get ready for an amazing HAUNTED opportunity coming the week of 2/1. Seriously fabulous! That's all I can say right now.

And you know how I met author Sarwat Chadda (Devil's Kiss and the forthcoming Dark Goddess) at NCTE? Well, he is now my favorite Brit ever, because he has asked me to join him in his Kiss Me Kill Me Blog Tour, along with the "big kids" crowd. Yup, me and Aprilyne Pike, Brenna Yavanoff, Rachel Hawkins, Cindy Pon, Holly Black, Becca Fitzpatrick, Melissa de La Cruz, Ally Carter, and Carrie Ryan (who I got to meet at NCTE) Did I say I was excited? Sarwat and I have bonded over our mutual use of Russian foklore: we both use Baba Yaga, Vasilisa the Brave, Anastasia Romanov and Koschei the Deathless!! We'll be talking about this when I interview him on my blog next week and when he reviews DA and Haunted on his site.
Plus when he emails, he uses words like bloody good, chum, jolly and cream teas. This delights me no end.

Read more on Sarwat's blog:
http://sarwatchadda.blogspot.com/2011/01/kiss-me-kill-me-hit-list.html
Hope to announce a bit of a mini tour schedule soon, so stay tuned. Here's what I have planned for now:

--Saturday, 2/5: Launch Party/Signing at The Woodlands, TX Barnes and Noble - 2PM
--Saturday 3/5: Signing and Writer's Workshop at The Woodlands TX Borders - time TBA

--Tuesday 3/15 - Pilgrim School as part of their Visiting Artist/Writer's Series, Los Angeles, CA
--Saturday 3/26 - Champions Forest B&N, Houston ,TX - Signing and Book Fair with Banff School (time TBA)
--Saturday, 4/8 -Will be introducing my lovely editor, Leah Hultenschmidt at Houston SCBWI

--April, 2011 - TLA in Austin, TX - signing times to be announced

--Blog Tour - TBA

There are some other really cool events that I'll announce soon.
More soon!

I first met Cameron Stracher in New York at the Sourcebooks Fire Launch Party. Correction: I first met him at the dinner the night before. But as you can see in the picture below, it was a crazy big table. I was at one end and Cam's the guy to the left of the candles. But eventually we got to chat - and laugh. When he's not writing books, the delightful Mr. Stracher is an entertainment lawyer, so he definitely has some stories to tell. (not that's he's told me any. And I will swear to that in court)


Here's the official author photo, below.

And here's the book cover for his debut YA dystopian novel - The Water Wars.

The official product description goes like this:
Would you risk everything for someone you just met?

What if he had a secret worth killing for?

Welcome to a future where water is more precious than oil or gold...

Hundreds of millions of people have already died, and millions more will soon fall-victims of disease, hunger, and dehydration. It is a time of drought and war. The rivers have dried up, the polar caps have melted, and drinkable water is now in the hands of the powerful few. There are fines for wasting it and prison sentences for exceeding the quotas.

But Kai didn't seem to care about any of this. He stood in the open road drinking water from a plastic cup, then spilled the remaining drops into the dirt. He didn't go to school, and he traveled with armed guards. Kai claimed he knew a secret-something the government is keeping from us...

And then he was gone. Vanished in the middle of the night. Was he kidnapped? Did he flee? Is he alive or dead? There are no clues, only questions. And no one can guess the lengths to which they will go to keep him silent. We have to find him-and the truth-before it is too late for all of us.

Water Wars just released from Sourcebooks Fire on 1/1 and I can hardly wait to dig in. In honor of that, Cameron and I sat down computer to computer for a little interview. Here's what he had to say to the questions I asked. And btw, he never once pleaded the fifth!

1. Tell us a little about Water Wars and the inspiration behind writing it.

I wanted to write a thrilling adventure story for my son who was 12 at the time, but was reading sophisticated books like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Road, and the Golden Compass. I've always enjoyed near-future novels, where present day problems are manifested in some strange / interesting / frightening way. And, of course, one of our biggest current problems that most people are ignoring is water shortages.
2. If Water Wars was to be made into a movie, who would be your dream cast?

I think Vera would be Abigail Breslin. Plucky and adventurous, and also determined. Kai would be a young Leonardo DiCaprio, and Will would be a young Tobey Maguire.

3. Why dystopia for your first foray into YA novels? Is this a favorite genre?

Yes. As I said above, I've always loved near-future novels -- Blade Runner is a favorite. I love most everything by William Gibson. I was a big science fiction fan as a kid -- Dune, lots of book by Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, etc.

4. Which of your characters would your teenage self most relate to? Why?

Good question! I would want to kiss Vera.

5. I very much enjoyed your "Dinner with Dad" which chronicles your year of trying to find personal balance through cooking dinner for your family most nights. Are you still cooking? Are your kids still fans of macaroni and cheese? :)

Thank you! Fortunately, my kids have moved beyond macaroni and cheese. A big favorite now is gnocchi. Also, I make a mean homemade pizza -- or I did until our oven broke down (we're waiting for a replacement). Both my kids love my egg rolls, and my wife makes a great shrimp fried rice. I'm not cooking as much as before (I have to work unfortunately), but we're definitely eating better.


6. What about balance these days? How do you manage to write, practice law, parent, husband, run, and live the rest of your life? (because if you have a secret, let me know. Cause I'm finding that I'm sleeping less and less these days trying to keep up)

Less sleep, and lots of coffee! I write in the mornings and the evenings during my commute. I have 75 minutes each way on the train where I'm usually not interrupted and can get a lot done. The rest of my day is usually spent practicing law. If I can, I'll sneak out at lunch for an hour to run. Mostly, I do my running on the weekends.

6. One of the first things I learned about you when we met in person in NYC was that you're a runner. Why running?

Hard to say. I was not particularly athletic as a kid, but we ran the 800 meter in gym class in 8th grade and I won, and I guess I was hooked ever since. My best (fastest) days are behind me, but I still try to run as much as possible. I'm writing a non-fiction book about the running boom and the 1970s, and it's fun to re-live those days in my own mind.

7. In case readers are not aware, you have a fairly glamorous day job as an entertainment lawyer. What's the coolest thing that's happened since you began repping the rich and famous and tabloid-worthy?

I love my day job, but I do spend a lot of time responding to angry letters from lawyers for celebrities like Tom Cruise and Britney Spears. I think what's coolest about it is that I know the gossip before my 11 year old daughter, and so she doesn't think I'm a complete loser.

8. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Read, read, read. It's amazing (and sad) how many people want to write but don't read enough so don't have models on which to base their writing. You should read and think about what makes a certain story / character, etc., work, then try to copy it in your own writing. Eventually, you will develop your own "voice," but first, I think, you have to learn the basics.

9. What books are on your nightstand/downloaded to your ereader?

I share my kindle account with my daughter, so I have all 8 books in The Pretty Little Liars series, and I'm almost done with the first. I also just read Born to Run, which a lot of people have recommended to me, although I didn't love it. I also just re-read a book that might be considered dystopian fiction from the 1950s -- On The Beach. It's about what happens to the world after a nuclear war when the only survivors live in the southern hemisphere and the radiation is gradually spreading southward.

10. What's next for Cameron Stracher?

I have to finish my running book, as I mentioned above, and I'd love to write a sequel to The Water Wars. I also have another YA project I'm working on called "91," but I'm keeping the topic of it a secret for now!
Thanks, Cameron, for such a great interview!

So did you ever pick out something that you really really loved that everyone else really really doesn't? Like Ugg boots, for example - either you love 'em or you hate 'em and think they're selling only because of mass hypnosis. Or a movie that's your favorite - but your friends think is stupid. (see: my opinion of Black Swan in previous post; I just. didn't. get. it. But lots of people I love and respect think I'm oh. so. wrong.)

Well, the original font for Anastasia's letters in Dreaming Anastasia was like that. My lovely team at Sourcebooks looked for an authentically old-fashioned cursive font that would evoke Anastasia, Russia, a girl hidden away at a witch's house for years and years and years.... And they found it.

Only sometimes things can be TOO authentic. It was tiny and eye-damaging and dare I say it - really really annoying to read. When you start reading reviews that say the equivalent of 'I'd have given you that fourth acorn or star or apple or whatever if not for that horrible font' you eventually start to see a pattern. My favorite actually comes from this video review by a delightful reader and blogger/vlogger - http://bookielaura.blogspot.com/ who otherwise loved the book:




And so!! You guys complained, and Sourcebooks listened! As we approach the release of HAUNTED on 2/1, Sourcebooks has printed shiny, new copies of Dreaming Anastasia, this time under the Fire imprint, and with a brand new, equally shiny and very readable cursive font! It's still really cool. Still really old-fashioned looking. But much more reader friendly.

In honor of this, I'll be sending - SURPRISE!! - bookielaura a signed copy of HAUNTED when it comes out on 2/1!! Because don't you think she deserves it?? I do!

As for the rest of you, check out bookielaura's blog listed above. And if you see a copy of the new Dreaming Anastasia in the wild, take a picture of a page with the new font. (You'll know it's the right copy if it says Fire imprint on the cover) Send it to me (and tell me where you saw it!) at joy at joypreble dot com Who knows? Maybe another surprise giveaway is in your future! And hey, if you haven't read DREAMING, this would be a great time to do that! Cause you'll have found the book and all...

Been watching some movies lately. I am far from a movie critic; I like what I like and often it's not what everyone else is enjoying. But for what it's worth:

Jeff Bridges as Rooster C0gburn in the new Coen Brothers True Grit: Yes!! Fabulous. Enjoyed the hell out of this movie on Christmas Day. All due respect to John Wayne and all, I don't think I ever "got" the older version. The oddly formal language, the whole point... But somehow this time, it all made sense. Or maybe it's just Jeff Bridges, who just never fails to give a fine performance in everything. Have you seen him in the 80's movie, Starman? Such a quirky, romantic film.

Natalie Portman in Black Swan: Loved you, Nat. You play a good crazy. The movie as a whole? I was so anxious to see this film.... and now I just don't know. Was it serious drama? Real art? Over the top parody? All those jerky camera movements and close ups of nail cutting and bleeding and nail files... Makes me think twice about that post holiday mani/pedi I had planned. Nina goes from crazy to crazier... Not aching to see this one again.

Angelina Jolie in Salt: (which we rented from the $1 box): You look fabulous running Angelina. You are one badass spy. But I never did learn enough about the character to care one way or the other what happened at the end. Manchurian Candidate meets War Games. That's all I'm saying.

Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love (another $1 box rental). What can I say? It's Julia Roberts. I watched it last Tuesday afternoon. It was dark and gloomy outside; I had the beginnings of a sinus infection; I had laryngitis. It was me, the couch, a blanket, tea, and Julia looking beautiful in 3 diff. countries.

And in non movie news: I'm going to be hosting various fine authors during the next few weeks. First up on 1/3, will be Sourcebooks housemate and favorite entertainment lawyer pal Cameron Stracher, whose YA dystopian Water Wars comes out 1/1. You guys are gonna love Cam.

Later in the month, you'll get to hear from Crystal Allen, whose MG debut, How Lamar's Bad Prank Won Him a Bubba Sized Trophy, will be out in February. Crystal is one darn fabulous human and never fails to make me laugh. You're gonna love her, too.

Others will come as we get to spring, including Janet Gurtler and maybe the fabulous Roecker Sisters, although I haven't asked them yet so LiLa, if you read this, have your people call my people. Let's talk.

And as for me - getting ready for the last month countdown before HAUNTED comes into the world on 2/1/11. Plus writing, writing, writing on Again and Again. I love that I know how Anne and Ethan's story is going to end up. But the rest of you will have to wait until 2012 for that.

til next time...

If you ever lived in Chicago and ever watched WGN at Christmas time, a little trip down memory lane.

Two weeks to write, catch up, get ready. To have some quiet time - I hope. To stay up late and not have to get up at five thirty. Sounds good to me.

Looking forward to some uninterrupted writing time if I can get it. New territory, writing the third of the Dreaming Anastasia trilogy. Although I've always known in theory more or less where I wanted this story to go, I'm finding surprises and revelations as I push into this last installment. The old standby question to each of my characters: What do you want and how and why am I going to keep it from you and for how long? continues to bring me new answers. My critique group and I had quite the interesting chat the other night about whether we truly believe certain very famous writers when they say that they had every detailed plotted out from the beginning. Can you really do that? Don't your characters grow each time you tell their story? And your writing - it evolves, too. So can you honestly follow a blueprint to the letter years down the road?

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on that.

Beyond that, I'm gearing up for the Haunted release on 2/1. It's up for presale everywhere (Amazon, B&N, Borders... Walmart!, your favorite indie and more) and the ebook versions are starting to appear on the various sites as well, although interestingly the e version debuts a week later than the paperback.

A hearty thank you to bloggers who have already signed on for a blog tour; Publicist Paul promises another wild and crazy time. And I'll be traveling some too - more on that after the year turns. Maybe I'll be coming your way! (Yes, Joy, we'd love to see you. Please come to our city.) Push those presales in your city and who knows, maybe Sourcebooks will send me to you.

And if you're here in the Houston area, come to The Woodlands Barnes and Noble on Saturday 2/5 from 2-4 PM for the launch party. Book signing! Cookies! Coffee! Swag! Me!

Between new book and book in progress and the prodigal son getting married in late spring methinks that 2011 will be a busy year. Bring it on, I say.

Mostly I'm very much looking forward to getting HAUNTED out into the world. I am so excited about this story. Anne and Ethan's romance ratchets up. New boyfriend Ben adds to the mix. Tess gets to shine in the way that only Tess can. And Baba Yaga tells us some of her secrets. Plus the rusalka - I love my rusalka. Loved working with that bit of Russian folklore. Rusalkas aren't like Disney mermaids. They're sadder and more malevolent and definitely cursed. They can be saved - at least in some Russian tales - but it takes some avenging. HAUNTED is a story of secrets, of love and loss and hopes for second chances. It's about what we want and who we are and how we got that way. About family and destiny and love.

I hope you come to love it as much as I do.

In the meantime, feel free to post a response to my question above about plotting.
More soon. Hoping to have some guest posters of my own in the coming months. Some more interviews. A contest or two.

Until then - peace, joy, good tidings, health.

Thank you Tynga for asking me to write installment 6 of Dark Winter's Tale with so many other great authors for the DarkFaerieTales blog. I had a blast doing this. So fun to have to work with characters someone else created and to leave a cliffhanger for another writer to finish. What a fabulous idea! Plus there are prizes to be won - from me and others. A signed copy of DA, some Haunted swag... Check it out!



http://tyngasreviews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dark-winter-tale-part-6-with-joy-preble.html

Yup! It's official! Beyond my wildest hopes, dreams, and expectations, there is going to be a third Dreaming Anastasia book. I am elated. Thrilled. Overjoyed. Humbled. And absolutely delighted.

Here's the PM announcement, up today:

Joy Preble's AGAIN AND AGAIN, the final book in the DREAMING ANASTASIA series, in which Anne, having survived Baba Yaga's forest twice, finds herself bound by the witch to undertake a journey into past, present, and future that will determine her destiny - and that of everyone she loves, to Leah Hultenschmidt at Sourcebooks, for publication in Spring 2012, by Jennifer Rofe at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World). [email protected]

I'm going to pinch myself now to make sure I'm not dreaming. But the intrepid Agent Jen says it's really really true.

Til next time...