New Release Tuesday Vlog - June 29, 2010

I had a bit of a shock this morning when I went to Barnes & Noble to pick up new releases. Three of the books that I wanted were not in stock and would have to be ordered! I picked up 10 books and came home to see if the books were available at the nearby Borders. Unfortunately Borders did not have them either. I did order them, and they should be here in a couple of days. They are listed below the vlog.







Books that I had to order:

Red Hot Fury by Kasey Mackenzie

Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix

Fatal Circle by Linda Robertson

July 2010 Releases

Here's a list of some of the books that you may see in New Release Tuesday vlogs. Please note that release dates are subject to change. Also note that I generally do not list YA or Teen books. If there is something that I've missed, please leave a comment with the information.



July 1, 2010

The Vampire's Kiss	Vivi Anna
Zombie Moon	Lori Devoti
Shadow of the Vampire	Meagan Hatfield

July 6, 2010

Dark Embers	Tessa Adams
Unchained	Sharon Ashwood
Demon Blood	Meljean Brook
My Way To Hell	Dakota Cassidy
Insatiable	Lauren Dane
Tomb With a View	Casey Daniels
Undead and Unfinished	MaryJanice Davidson
Chains of Ice	Christina Dodd
Blood Law	Jeannie Holmes
Unholy Magic	Stacia Kane
Double Dating With The Dead*	Karen Kelley
In Other Worlds	Sherrilynn Kenyon
A Glimpse of Evil	Victoria Laurie
Twice Bitten	Chloe Neill
Bonds of Justice	Nalini Singh
A Devil in the Details	K.A. Stewart
Discord’s Apple	Carrie Vaughn

* Originally published in Trade Paperback September 1, 2007


July 20, 2010

Black Magic	Cherry Adair
Dark and Stormy Knights	Anthology

July 27, 2010

Frostbitten**	Kelley Armstrong
Waking the Witch	Kelley Armstrong
Wait For Dusk	Jocelynn Drake
Face Off	Mark Del Franco
Water Bound	Christine Feehan
Eternal Kiss of Darkness	Jeaniene Frost
Captured By Moonlight	Nancy Gideon
Shadow Chase	Seressia Glace
Ghost Night	Heather Graham
Divine Misdemeanors***	Laurel K. Hamitlton
City of Ghosts	Stacia Kane
Shadow Fall	Erin Kellison
A Wild Light	Marjorie M. Liu
As Lie The Dead	Kelly Meding
Dark Warrior Untamed	Alexis Morgan
Entwined	Elizabeth Naughton
Bring on the Night	Jeri Smith-Ready

**This is the Mass Market Paperback release of the book. The Hardcover was released on September 29, 2009.


***This is the Mass Market Paperback release of the book. The Hardcover was released on December 8, 2009.

Photo Friday - June 25, 2010

Echinacea

Monarda

Chamomile

Daylily

Hens & Chicks

Centaurea macrocephela

more Hens & Chicks blooming

Ascelpius

The Curious Case of the Release Date & Giveaway

This morning, I spent some time at the Borders in the next town over. I had two coupons for 33% off 1 item that expired today. For those of you who are Borders Rewards Members (this is free) it's possible to get 2 coupons - 1 should arrive in your email; the other can be found by following @Borders on Twitter. The coupons have different codes. If you use them in the store, you'll have to go the register 2 times and use each coupon separately. It works. However, that's not the point of this post.

On my releases list for July 2010, I listed Shadow of the Vampire by Meagan Hatfield as a July 1st release. Online, Borders.com, Amazon.com list the release date as July 1, 2010. BarnesandNoble.com lists the release date as June 29, 2010. Meagan Hatfield, at her website, lists a release date of July 1, 2010.

I asked a Borders employee why the book was already out? I'm sort of obsessive about buying books ON or AFTER their release date. The employee checked their internal system and said it was released last week on June 22, 2010.

So I called Harlequin Books. It is a July title, however stores can sell the book starting June 22, 2010. So no foul on the part of Borders. I picked up a copy. But we all know or have a vague idea that books sold on or during the first week of release are the ones counted for various bestseller lists. And I'll never understand how preorders figure into this. Calculating bestsellers is arcane, I don't understand it, and I never, ever will. This is why I buy on release date if I can. Frankly, they'd save us all a lot of trouble if they started counting sales during the week before release date since so few books have what is called a hard release date. The book in that case can not be placed out for sale before that date.

So because I picked up Shadow of the Vampire early (at least in my mind). I'm going to give away a copy that I will purchase on or shortly after July 1.

Even vampires should never sleep with the enemy.

Vampire princess Alexia Feodorovna has been undead or 125 years, so it's been a while since any man has made her pulse race. Until Declan Black. One look at his bronzed body and a fire like no other consumes her. Then she discovers that he's a dragon lord come to take revenge on the vamps who killed his parents. And claim a crystal said to imbue its owner with incredible powers.

Alexia is ordered to torture and kill the dragon lord. Yet with each reckless encounter, she finds herself consumed by his fiery passion. A passion Declan battles, as well. Will he be able to resist the fire of lust she kindles within him and keep revenge in his heart? Or will he risk everything to quench the burning desire and claim the vampire as his own?


For a chance to win Shadow of the Vampire leave a comment telling The Qwillery about your release date or not buying habits. Do you try to buy releases of your favorite authors on the release date? Do you even pay attention to release dates?

If you tweet the contest, we’ll give you another entry for the tweet as well. You can tweet as much as you like, but it only counts once. If you also mention the contest on Facebook, we’ll give you another entry. You can mention it on Facebook a zillion times, but you only get one extra entry. You can also mention the contest on your blog (it must be your blog) to get another entry. So you can get your name entered a maximum of 4 times (comment, tweet, FB mention, blog mention). Provide us a link in the comments so we know that you tweeted or Facebooked or blogged.

The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm Eastern Time on Friday, July 2, 2010. 

New Release Tuesday - June 22, 2010

I only purchased one new book today - Shades of Gray by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge. This is the second book in the Icarus Project series. The first was Black and White.

AFTER THE FALL OF NIGHT

Jet and Iridium—best friends turned bitter enemies—teamed up to foil the evil plans of the rogue superhero known as Night, but in defeating him they inadvertently destroyed the secret Corp-Co transmitter whose frequency kept the metapowered heroes of the Squadron in line. Now these heroes have turned against New Chicago, ransacking the city they once protected.

Even worse, the powerful antisuperhero group known as Everyman has taken advantage of the chaos to fan the flames of prejudice against all superpowered men and women. Just when New Chicago needs them most, Jet and the small band of heroes who have remained on the right side of the law find themselves the targets of suspicion and outright hatred.

Things aren’t going much better for Iridium. When she springs her father, a notorious supervillain, from prison to help her fight the marauding ex-superheroes, she finds that Corp-Co still has some nasty tricks up its sleeve.

But when the most dangerous man alive, the sociopath known as Doctor Hypnotic, suddenly surfaces, Jet and Iridium will once again be called upon to set aside their differences. Yet in the process, deeply buried secrets will come to light that will change everything the former best friends think they know about each other and themselves.

The vlog will be back next Tuesday when I buy quite a few new releases.

Books I've Read Before You Were Born - WINNERS

The winner of the Books I've Read Before You Were - The Austra Vampire Series by Elaine Bergstrom is

Crazy Lady!


The winner of the Books I've Read Before You Were - H.P. Lovecraft is

WickedLilPixie!

Please contact me by noon ET on Monday, June 28th or we'll have to pick new winners!

Photo Friday - June 18, 2010

All of the Echinaceas (coneflowers) are budded. I can't wait until they bloom.

Echinacea bud

Echinacea bud

Garden decoration and Salvia

Penstemon

Wildflower

This is the first year that the Centaurea macrocephela has bloomed!! I love this plant. It's a bit odd, but very beautiful.

Centaurea macrocephela bud

starting to bloom

part of the entire plant

full bloom

New Release Tuesday Vlog Not - June 15, 2010

This is a not a New Release Tuesday Vlog. I did buy some books though.

Poll - What Should I Add to The Qwillery?

?

I've posted a little poll over there on the right side of the page. I'm wondering what I should add to The Qwillery? If there is something else that you'd like to see, just leave a comment. 

Thank you!

Photo Friday - June 11, 2010

There's not much going on in the gardens this week. However, I am absolutely thrilled that a Centaurea macrocephela that I planted 4 (!) years ago is finally going to bloom. It has very cool looking buds.

Centaurea macrocephela buds

Clematis

Clover

Coreopsis & Bee

Coneflower bud

Hens & Chicks Blooming

Centaurea dealbata

Thanks for looking!

Books I've Read Before You Were Born - H.P. Lovecraft

When I was a tween and teen I read absolutely everything I could find written by H.P. Lovecraft. It's been so long that I think it's time to reread his stories. Much from his writing has made it into popular culture, e.g. "Cthulhu for President - Why Settle for the Lesser Evil " bumper stickers. You can buy Cthulhu backpacks, cuddly plushes, and even Cthulhu slippers.

Cthulhu Plush Pillow - courtesy of Troll and Toad.com

There are comics, music, games and much more. Considering the sense of dread Lovecraft's stories can evoke, I find this amusing and wonderful.

After Lovecraft's death in 1937, other writers continued to write stories in the Lovecraft or Cthulhu Mythos - August Derleth and Brian Lumley immediately spring to mind. There are also anthologies - Cthulhu's Reign , Cthulhu Unbound, Vol. 1 and Vol 2, for example. There is even an H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival and Cthulhu Con.

I really am a huge fan of Lovecraft. His stories are not full of gore but they scared the hell out of me and cemented my love for horror. So I'd like to share some of his stories with one lucky commenter.

The Goodies:

One commenter will win The Tales of H.P. Lovecraft, selected and edited by Joyce Carol Oates:

That's Cthulhu on the cover.

AND

the winner's choice of one of the following necklaces from Cemetery Cat Jewelry's Lovecraftian World series:

Man O War

Knots of copper chain are sewn together to form a draping waterfall effect. drops of Czech glass, apatite, aquamarine and agate sway from the tendrils. The pendant is hanging from more delicate copper s chain and a copper toggle clasp is the final touch. 24"

OR

Whisperer in the Darkness

This multi-metal necklace is an homage to HP Lovecraft. Large gunmetal curb chain connects to brass hoops and a skully victorian pocket watch gear.A silver plate octopus and a huge algae green agate hold on to an Antique Victorian skeleton key form the UK. A true art piece. 20" plus pendant.

Photos and Descriptions courtesy of Synde Korman, Cemetery Cat Jewelry

How to enter:

Leave a comment for a chance to win the book and one of the necklaces (winner's choice) created by Synde Korman of Cemetery Cat Jewelry.

We’ll put all the names of all commenters in the DubbleBubble® receptacle and pull out a name. If you tweet the contest, we’ll put your name in for the tweet as well. You can tweet as much as you like, but it only counts once. If you also mention the contest on Facebook, we’ll add your name again. You can mention it on Facebook a zillion times, but you only get one extra entry. You can also mention the contest on your blog (it must be your blog) to get another entry. So you can get your name placed in the receptacle a maximum of 4 times (comment, tweet, FB mention, blog mention). Provide us a link in the comments so we know that you tweeted or Facebooked or blogged.

The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm Eastern Time on Monday, June 14, 2010.

New Release Tuesday Vlog - June 8, 2010

It was a really light release week for me - no Mass Market Paperbacks at all, just Trade Paperbacks as you will see!

Photo Friday - June 4, 2010

Here it is Friday again. Not sure where the rest of the week went!

New Release Tuesday Vlog - June 1, 2010

Here are the Mass Market Paperbacks that I bought today.

Qwill's Qwestions: Which books did you buy today? What would you recommend?