Win a copy of FAERIES GONE WILD

Want a copy of Faeries Gone Wild signed by ALL the authors?

I'm going to make you work for this one. You will need to find the book in a bookstore and take a picture of it. Yep, tote along a digital camera or your phone, and snap a shot of Faeries 'in the wild'. I want to see where it's been placed in the bookstore, on the shelf or on a front table?

Then, you have to Tweet me @michelehauf to let me know you have the pic. You can either post it online somewhere or after you've tweeted me I might email you and ask for it. I know, this is all very complicated, right? But if you want the book signed by all of us, this is what you have to do. :-) (Note: MaryJanice sent labels that she signed so we can stick in the book; I don't have any other means to actually get to her to sign it personally.)

The book should not be in stores until June 2nd! There is a street date (fingers crossed stores do not put it out early). But if you find it early, take a pic and Tweet me. I know you're thinking, "I'm not on Tweeter, so I don't qualify" Well, you can sign on to Twitter in less than a minute.

So go for it! I'll be watching for Tweets next Tuesday! (Or sooner if the street date gets broken.) Winner is, for sure, the first person to Tweet me, but I may pick more than one.
M

I'm a guest at DarkHour Vampires today. Stop by and check it out!
M

Talkin' about Friends and Tweets over at Riding today.

Familiar Stranger will be released Down Under in June! Ok, for a font freak like me, I am totally in love with the Nocturne logo on this cover. Small things thrill the heck out of me, and that font does it.  And this was the hero that, in my mind, looked like Jason Statham, yet on the cover he's so Mark Valley aka Keen Eddie.  I love Keen Eddie, so it totally worked for me.  Hope I get a copy!

Today's Inspiration

Time savers

Are you working on a Mac? Have you discovered the Spaces option yet? One click of the button divides your screen into four different screens. Then you can click on one of the screens, and it becomes full-sized. You can have four different projects going on at once, and keep them nice and orderly without the mess of having everything open on one screen. How much does this rock? A lot! I've currently got one of each of my stories from the angels trilogy open on each screen. I can flip back and forth between them with a click. Love.

And also if you're on a Mac, the Nambu application tidies up your Twitter feeds. No longer do I need to go online to Twitter, this application downloads them into a handy-dandy desktop device. You can view the latest posts. View only your posts. View only replies to your posts. Tweet directly from it. More love.

And since I'm just mentioning cool software today, I'll give a plug for Adium, which I've been using for a while. It compiles all your IMs together from various sources. So if you're on Yahoo, AIM, Google, or wherever, this application keeps it all tidy in another handy-dandy desktop application. And the duck is priceless.

M

Tweets and Twibes

So this whole plunge into Facebook and Twitter is interesting.  I had thought to use them as promotional tools, but now I'm thinking they'll just be fun.  We writers sit alone all day before the computer, so this will be my connection to the outside world.  That's my excuse, anyway.

So I created a Facebook page, but it's my family page.  I think I actually have to sign on with another email to make a page for readers/writers.  But, I did create a 'fan' page, that I think works the same way as a regular page.  Only problem is, I can't invite people to join it, and the requests I get to 'friend' people cannot be transferred to that fan page.  So I'm hoping people will just go search my name, and then sign onto the fan page which has Author after my name.  I'm not ignoring friend requests, it's just that I don't want to add you to my family page unless well, you're family.  So please search Michele Hauf or Michele Hauf Author to join my reader/writer page!  Pretty please?

So Megan Hart tweeted that she joined a Twibe, which I had to immediately go check out.  And that was kinda cool, so I created my own Twibe called VampChix.  Yep, it's for readers and writers who love vampires.  And you don't have to be a chick, you can be a dude, but dude, I like the name, so it's staying.  ;-)  So find that Twibe here:  http://www.twibes.com/group/VampChix

M

Books!

Just got my copies of THE HIGHWAYMAN. Still such a joy to get a new book. Had to take out a copy and look it over and read the back cover copy, and the inside stuff like the reader letter and dedication (I forget all this stuff because it's been since last winter since I did it). I feel like the actual cover art is a little darker than it should be, but it's all good. My first official 'guy only' cover, so that's fun. Whenever I fill out an art fact sheet I try to let them know what celebrity I had in mind for the characters, or if I have a picture of a model I'll post it online and link to it. I like to think the art dept. appreciates it, but who knows. Anyway, Jared Padelecki (Sam!) inspired the physical appearance for this hero, and you know, he's pretty close on the cover. :-)

I still haven't got copies of my June book, but that's with a different publisher. I'm so used to Harlequin sending out books almost two months in advance. I suspect most other publisher do not do that. It'll probably be closer to pub date I see copies of FAERIES GONE WILD. Bummer for sending out review copies, though.

So, I tweeted today! I know. Yay. Not. Maybe if I get more followers I'd tweet more? Who knows. And The Boy is going to help me figure out the Facebook scenario. Sounds like I can have my own private page for family and relatives, and then start a group for readers, authors, fans, etc. Not sure how that works, but will keep you all posted because I know you're just dying to invite me to be your friend. ;-)

M

Gilles came in second! Aggh!




So Harlequin Digital sends out these great posts informing authors of all the means to promote and market. They mentioned that even if you don't plan to use it now, you should sign up to get a Facebook and Twitter account simply so you have your name and someone else doesn't snatch it. Good idea. So I went and signed on for both, thinking I could set them aside and get to them at my leisure. Twitter kinda just gets you going right away, though, so, (see right sidebar) I am tweeting. Not often. My life is not exciting, I promise you that. I don't know what information would be interesting to the masses (heh) but I'll figure something out.

Also, Facebook starts to get you going, but I stopped. I'm not ready to sit down and create a page this very moment, but it could be soon. But I was surprised that as soon as I signed in there was a list of people waiting to 'friend' me. Cool. I'll get to that, again, as soon as I figure out what I want to use the page for. Exclusively promotion? Exclusively family? A mix of both? Can both be mixed and work? I have to think about this.

M

Angels and demons, oh my!

Alice Cooper as a psychopomp.  Oh, yeah, I am so feeling it.  I've always wanted to use Cooper as a character in one of my stories, and finally I've a part for him.  Even though I thought I had the whole story figured out and am 50K into it, suddenly the need for a psychopomp emerged.  And who better to play one than this fellow?  Love him.  Must see him in concert before he retires.  Though I suspect he'll be singing from his coffin, if he can figure a way to work that.  What a show that would be.  The master of the macabre remains unmatched, to this day.

So, I've got angels, demons, psychopomps, and halo hunters.  There will be vampires as well.  This world is slightly different than my previous Nocturne books, but the vampires will be the same.  I don't really want to combine the two worlds, because I want this series to feel new, yet I'm always aware that any creature I create can exist alongside any other creature from various stories.  It makes things easier that way, if you want to bring in vampires, for example, or a secondary character that might have appealed but doesn't deserve his own entire story.  

Mr. Cooper really adds a snazzy touch to this story.  I think it's all going to come down to vamps and Nephilim.  We'll see.

M

New stuff to listen to

Okay, not actually new, but it's like I need new music so desperately that I'm going backwards in search of it.  Someone recommended Sting to me a few weeks back.  I've never really been into solo male singers for some reason that I can't figure, and Sting has never appealed.  The song they said I needed was When The Angels Fall (because, heh, I'm writing about fallen angels).  Cool song.  But I downloaded a few more:  Desert Rose, I Burn For You, When We Dance, Mad About You.  And I loved the songs so much, well, I got the entire Fields of Gold album.  I think I adore Sting now.  The songs he sings in a minor key are amazing.  He's got this album of medieval songs I want but it isn't available.  Sigh...

Anyway, to carry the thread of not being interested in male solo singers, and yet, actually listening to them, I would listen to anything Chris Cornell sings.  Formerly of Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog, now he's on his own, and his voice, well, I can't even say what it can do to a person on this blog without getting nasty.  ;-)

My latest downloads are from his Euphoria Morning album, and I love Can't Change Me.  Other good titles by Cornell are: Flutter Girl, When I'm Down, 

Steel Rain, Part of Me, Take Me Alive, Scream, 

She'll Never Be Your Man, Ave Maria, well...you get the idea.

Check 'em out. If you think I might like someone else 

(who is similar to Sting or Cornell) please let me know!

M

Posted over at the Nocturne Authors Blog today.

FF&P writers

It occurs to me that I've never actually plugged the online RWA chapter I'm in: Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Romance chapter. For those writers who write that stuff, the chapter is awesome. We've got a great chat list, a website, newsletter, published and unpublished contest. We feature The Gathering, a get-together for all members at the RWA national conference, and also PRISM awards ceremony. And I happen to be VP of the chapter. Check us out at: http://www.romance-ffp.com

M

Only Once

A touch like that only happens once. The picture taken two seconds later is a blur of fur as Toast (cat lying down) lashes out at Max. He does not like the new cat one bit. His most common mood is grumpy, and he has perfected the grump growl.

Anyway, today I'm blogging over at Riding about spring and waiting to plant my garden. Got a pic of the 'upsidedown' garden my hubby is working on. Go take a look.

M

Dancing Upset

I was so ready to say goodbye to Ty Murray last night on Dancing With The Stars.  And then, and then!  They booted Lil Kim?  The outrage!  I realize half the scores are based on fan votes, but seriously, Lil Kim is ten times a better dancer than Ty.  Even Ty knows that.  She would have so given the other three a run for their money in the semi-finals.  I am just stunned.

M

New Things

So this month I begin a new project. I worked on it a bit last month. Got about 150 pages drafted, and some notes and a book read for research. It's always exciting to start something new. The energy level for the story is high. My thoughts are filled with scene ideas. I drive in the car, listening to music, and get ideas. Any uttered word, or flash of a scene on TV, or even a picture or article in a magazine will give me ideas.

I keep a stack of those pesky magazine renewal inserts that are always falling out of magazines on the table in the living room. I used to sneer at them. Now, I realize I can use them to jot notes on, so they've become my emergency paper. (Because isn't it weird that we writers never have paper available when we need it?) I also keep a notebook by my bed, and have one in the car as well. I don't want to lose anything that pops into my brain. My files for each book are generally stuffed with little bits of paper by the time I've finished the story. If I don't write it down, I will lose it.

I just signed both contracts for the Nocturne Bites and the Nocturnes. For the Bites I have freedom. One should be angel/demon themed, to go with the series, and the other two I can do anything. I've got a great idea for the first 'anything goes' Bites, too. I got the idea from Dancing With The Stars. Oh, baby, how can you resist Gilles? ;-)

The Nocturne series is tentatively titled OF ANGELS AND DEMONS. The first story is Angel Slayer. I think I'll call the second Fallen, and haven't a clue for the third. Don't want to think that far ahead, even though the whole shebang is due within a year. Oh, yeah, another busy year. And I figure I could fit in one more project, if need be, (and any of my current stuff out there sells). Gotta plan for stuff like that. Just in case.

So what's your favorite way of getting the creativity flowing? Creating those moments when ideas or snippets of scenes come to you? Do you write it down?
M

Happy Birthday Max

One year old yesterday. I think he's doubled in size since we got him five months ago. He's doing one of his favorite things in this pic. He holds the pull cords for the window shade with one paw, and then licks it. Yes, he's a cord licker. Weird.
M

Oh yes, yet another blog for you to add to your morning blog crawl. The URL is:

http://community.eharlequin.com/content/silhouette-nocturne-authors-blog

If you want to add the blog to your sidebar and would like a smaller version of the above logo, email me and I'll send you one that about 180 pixels wide, perfect for the sidebar.

M

The Ultimate VampList Winners

I got a LOT of entries for this contest, and want to thank everyone for either sending me a title missing from the list, or putting up a link on their blog or website to the list.  I was going to pick only five winners, but did six just because.

Winners:

Chris Silker

Michelle Millet

Blodeuedd

Bella McGuire

Kara Tulanko

Karen Morris

Please email me with your top two picks from these prize books:  (toastfaery@gmail.com)

The Monster Book by Christopher Golden

Pretty Little Devils by Nancy Holder

Wondrous Strange by Livingston

Broken by Kelley Armstrong

I Thirst For You by Susan Sizemore

Pale Immortal by Anne Frasier

Kissing Midnight by Emma Holly

Now, obviously if all six want Holly's latest, that means I'll have to pick and choose.  I'll send along one of my own books also.  And here's a bonus: I just finished going through some of my old VHS tapes and DVDs and have a few to giveaway.  I just want to get rid of them without having to throw them away.  So if any of the winners are interested in the following titles (and you still own a VCR), let me know, and you may get one of those in your package too.

Armageddon - VHS

Emma - VHS

Les Miserables - VHS

Vatel - VHS

Dangerous Beauty - VHS

Ricky Martin videos - VHS

Amadeus - VHS

Confidence - DVD

Soul Surivivor - DVD

Whale Rider - DVD

Congrats!

M