December 2012 Releases

Here is The Qwillery's list of novels, etc. being published in December 2012. If there is something that I've missed, please leave a comment below. Any genre mistakes are mine. Leave a comment below if you feel that the genre is wrong. Also note that this list is always under revision. Publication dates change. I try to keep this as accurate as possible. The most accurate lists can be found for each week in The View From Monday posts. Please note that I use the publisher's publication date.




December  1, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Gauntlet of Fear	David Cargill	M/Su
Taming the Dragon (e)	Kendra Leigh Castle	PNR
Her Klingon Soul	Michael Jan Friedman	SF - Star Trek: Days of Honor 3
SPACESUIT: A History through Fact and Fiction	Brett Gooden	S/SF
Memoirs of the Damned	Yasir Hayat	H
Demon's Embrace	Elle James	PNR
The Circle	Bentley Little	H
Petrified (h2tp)	Graham Masterton	H
Grey Expectations (h2tp)	Clea Simon	PCM - Dulcie Schwartz 4
Daylight on Iron Mountain (h2tp)	David Wingrove	SF - Chung Kuo 2

December 3, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Lois McMaster Bujold: Essays on a Modern Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy	Janet Brennan Croft (ed)	Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy
How the Glitch Saved Christmas (e)	Stacy Gail	SFR
Winter Fusion (e)	Anna Hackett	SFR
A Galactic Holiday (e)	Anna Hackett Stacy Gail Sasha Summers Angela James (ed)	SFR - Novellas
Cyberpunk Women, Feminism and Science Fiction: A Critical Study	Carlen Lavigne	Literary Criticism and Theory
Galileo's Holiday (e)	Sasha Summers	SFR

December 4, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Brave New Worlds	John Joseph Adams	SF/Dys - Anthology (2d edition)
Enemies & Allies	Kevin J. Anderson	SF/Superheroes
The Last Days of Krypton (mm2tp)	Kevin J. Anderson	SF/Superheroes
Archangel of Mercy	Christina Ashcroft	PNR
Murder on the House	Juliet Blackwell	PCM - Haunted Home Renovation 3
Knight Awakened	Coreene Callahan	FR - Circle of Seven 1
The Accidental Genie	Dakota Cassidy	PNR - Accidentals 7
Guardians of Stone	Anita Clenney	PNR - Relic Seekers 1
Rising Sun	Robert Conroy	AH
Touch of Steel	Kate Cross	SPR - Clockwork Agents 2
Blood of Dawn	Tami Dane	UF - Sloan Skye 3
Heart of Atlantis	Alyssa Day	PNR - Warriors of Poseidon 8
Andromeda's Fall	William C. Dietz	SF - Prequel Legion of the Damned 1
Lesser Evils	Erin M. Evans	F - Forgotten Realms: Neverwinter: Brimstone Angels 2
Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess (h2tp)	Phill and Kaja Foglio	SP/F - Girl Genius 2
The Steam Mole	David Freer	SP - Cuttlefish 2
Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years	David A. Goodman	SF - Star Trek
Terminal Island	Walter Greatshell	H
Ink	Damien Walters Grintalis	H
Wayne of Gotham  (h2tp)	Tracy Hickman	SF
Deliver Me from Temptation	Tes Hilaire	PNR - Paladin Warriors 2
A Mermaid's Kiss (tp2mm)	Joey W. Hill	PNR - Mermaid 1
A Red Sun Also Rises	Mark Hodder	SF
The Ghost Pirates and Others: The Best of William Hope Hodgson	William Hope Hodgson	H - Collection
Darkship Renegades	Sarah A. Hoyt	SF - Darkship 2
The Complete Keeper Chronicles	Tanya Huff	F - Keeper Chronicles Omnibus
My Lord Eternity	Alexandra Ivy	PNR - Immortal Rogues 2
The Immortal Circus (e)	A.R. Kahler	F (Kindle Serial Novel)
Just Another Day at the Office (e)	Robert Kirkman	H/Z - Walking Dead Short Story
Alien vs. Alien	Gini Koch	SFR - Katherine "Kitty" Katt 6
Virus: The Day of Resurrection	Sakyo Komatsu	SF
The Mage's Daughter (tp2mm)	Lynn Kurland	FR - Nine Kingdoms 2
Elemental Magic: All-New Tales of the Elemental Masters	Mercedes Lackey (ed)	F - Short Stories
A Haunting Dream	Joyce and Jim Lavene	PCM - Missing Pieces Mystery 4
Down These Strange Streets (h2tp)	George R. R. Martin (ed) Gardner Dozois (ed)	F - Anthology
AZ: Anno Zombie	Peter Mark May	H
Robert Asprin's Myth-Quoted	Jody Lynn Nye	F - Myth Adventures 8
Mecha Rogue	Brett Patton	SF - Armor Wars 2
Morgue Drawer for Rent	Jutta Profijt	PM/Th - Morgue 3
To Protect (h2mm)	Mickey Zucker Reichert	SF - Isaac Asimov's I, Robot 1
The Doctor and the Rough Rider	Mike Resnick	SPW - A Weird West Tale 3
The Weird Girls (e)	Cecy Robson	UFR  - Weird Girls Novella
Nights of Steel	Nico Rosso	SPR - Ether Chronicles 3
The Lurkers	Kristopher Rufty	H
Tangle of Need (h2mm)	Nalini Singh	PNR - Psy-Changeling 11
Unstuck in Time: A Journey Through Kurt Vonnegut's Life and Novels (h2tp)	Gregory D. Sumner	Biography/Literary Criticism
Blood Vow	Karin Tabke	PNR - Blood Moon 3
All Fall Down	Harry Turtledove	SF - Supervolcano 2
Eruption (h2mm)	Harry Turtledove	SF - Supervolcano 1
Black Moon	J.D. Tyler	PNR - Alpha Pack 1
Nightbred	Lynn Viehl	PNR - Lords of the Darkyn 2
The Siren Depths	Martha Wells	F - The Books of the Raksura 3

December 5, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Witching Pen Novellas Omnibus	Dianna Hardy	F - Witching Pens
Moscow But Dreaming	Ekaterina Sedia	F - Collection

December 10, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Trying	Rebecca Gale	SF
The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf (mm2tp)	Molly Harper	PNR - Naked Werewolf 2
The Eye of Luvelles	Phillip E. Jones	F - Worlds of the Crystal Moon 2
Pirates (ri)	Linda Lael Miller	PNR/TT
Collision Course	William Shatner	SF - Star Trek: Academy

December 11, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Fortune's Hero	Jenna Bennett	SFR - Soldiers of Fortune 1
Kiss of the Betrayer	Boone Brux	PNR - A Bringer and the Bane Novel 2
The Lady of Secrets	Susan Carroll	HistF - Dark Queen 6
Zombies vs Robots: Women on War!	Jeff Conner (ed)	SF - Anthology
Foundation's Friends: Stories in Honor of Isaac Asimov	Martin H. Greenberg (ed)	SF - Anthology
The Wall (ri)	Marlen Haushofer	PA
Ash	James Herbert	H
Buffy: The Making of a Slayer	Nancy Holder	TV Show Restrospective
The Bones of the Old Ones	Howard Andrew Jones	F - Dabir and Asim 2
The Rise of Nagash	Mike Lee	F - Time of Legends: Nagash Omnibus
Snow Whyte and the Queen of Mayhem	Melissa Lemon	FT
Nightstalkers	Bob Mayer	SF - Area 51
Nested Scrolls: The Autobiography of Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (h2tp)	Rudy Rucker	Autobiography
Children of the Night (ri)	Dan Simmons	H
Peace (ri)	Gene Wolfe	F
The Tribe (ri)	Bari Wood	H
Dark Melody of Madness: Selected Supernatural Novellas	Cornell Woolrich	H - Collection
Temping Is Hell	Cathy Yardley	PNR - Necessary Evil 1

December 15, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Solar Flares: Science Fiction in the 1970s	Andrew M. Butler	Liverpool University Press - Liverpool Science Fiction Texts & Studies Series
The Abolition of Species	Dietmar Dath	SF
Animal Alterity: Science Fiction and the Question of the Animal (h2tp)	Sherryl Vint	Liverpool University Press - Liverpool Science Fiction Texts & Studies Series

December 17, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Weaveworld: 25th Anniversary Edition	Clive Barker	F
The Listeners	Harrison Demchick	H

December 18, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
White Horse (h2tp)	Alex Adams	F/PA
Tiger's Eye	Barbra Annino	PCM - A Stacy Justice Mystery 3
Leashing the Tempest (e)	Jenn Bennett	UF - An Arcadia Bell Novella
The Witches of the Blue Well (e)	Paula Brackston	F - Witch Short Story
The Folly of the World	Jesse Bullington	F
Dark Wolf Rising	Rhyannon Byrd	PNR - Bloodrunners 4
Black Sun Reich: The Spear of Destiny (D)	Trey Garrison	AH - Far Ranger Adventure Part 1
Keeper of the Night	Heather Graham	PNR - The Keepers L.A.
In The Shadow of Poe: Other Tales of Mystery and Imagination	Leslie S. Klinger (ed)	H - Anthology
The Merchant of Dreams	Anne Lyle	F - Night's Masque 2
Elfhunter	C. S Marks	F - Tales of Alterra 1
The Tender Mercy of Roses (h2tp)	Anna Michaels	SuM
Nexus (D)	Ramez Naam	SF
Body	Asa Nonami	H - Short Stories
Enchanted Ever After	Robin D. Owens	PNR - Mystic Circle 3
Code Veronica	S.D. Perry	SF - Resident Evil  6
Neferata	Josh Reynolds	F - Time of Legends
Scent of Magic	Maria V. Snyder	F - Healer 2
The Bookman Histories	Lavie Tidhar	F - Omnibus
The Killing Floor (e)	Lee Goldberg William Rabkin David Tully	H - Dead Man 15

December 22, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Complete John Thunstone	Manly Wade Wellman	H - Collection

December 24, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Unnatural Acts	Kevin J. Anderson	UF/H - Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. 2
Luck of the Draw	Piers Anthony	F - Magic of Xanth 36
All for You (e)	Dana Marie Bell	PNR - Nephilim
Cannibalism in Literature and Film	Jennifer Brown
Arctic Rising (h2mm)	Tobias S. Buckell	SF/Th
Chicks Kick Butt (tp2mm)	Rachel Caine (ed) Kerrie L. Hughes  (ed)	F - Anthology
Dinosaur Thunder	James F. David	Th/SF
The Trouble with Fate (D)	Leigh Evans	UF - Mystwalker 1
Ice Shards (e)	Yasmine Galenorn	PNR - Otherworld Novella
Latin American Science Fiction: Theory and Practice	M. Elizabeth Ginway (ed) J. Andrew Brown (ed)	Literary Criticism
The Bride Wore Black Leather (h2mm)	Simon R. Green	UF - Nightside 12
Earthbound (h2mm)	Joe Haldeman	SF - Marsbound 3
Sisterhood of Dune (h2mm)	Brian Herbert Kevin J. Anderson	SF - Dune
Exploring the Limits of the Human through Science Fiction	Gerald Alva Miller Jr.	American Literature Readings in the Twenty-First Century
The Lost Goddess (h2tp)	Tom Knox	Th/GB
Transnational and Postcolonial Vampires: Dark Blood	Tabish Khair (ed) Johan Hogland (ed)	H/Literary Criticism
What a Ghoul Wants	Victoria Laurie	PCM - Ghost Hunter Mystery 7
Angelique's Descent (tp2mm) (ri)	Lara Parker	H - Dark Shadows
Living Proof (h2mm)	Kira Peikoff	Th/GB
The Ramal Extraction	Steve Perry	SF - Cutter's Wars 1
Touchstone (h2mm)	Melanie Rawn	F - Glass Thorns 1
Gates of Rapture	Caris Roane	PNR - Guardians of Ascension 6
The Shadow's Heir	K. J. Taylor	F - The Risen Sun 1
The Power of Tolkien's Prose: Middle-Earth's Magical Style (h2tp)	Steve Walker	Literary Criticism
John Dies at the End (ri)	David Wong	H
The Hermetic Millennia	John C. Wright	SF - Count to a Trillion 2

December 25, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Spellbound (h2mm)	Larry Correia	SuN - Grimnoir Chronicles 2
Future Imperfect	Keith Laumer	SF - Collection
Kissed by Smoke	Shéa MacLeod	F - Sunwalker Saga 3
Warm Bodies (ri)	Isaac Marion	H/Z
Cobra Gamble (h2mm)	Timothy Zahn	SF - Cobra War 3

December 26, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Shattered Hourglass	J. L. Bourne	H - Day by Day Armageddon 3
Gilded	Karina Cooper	SPM - St. Croix Chronicles 2
Spiritual Seduction (tp2mm)	Desiree Day	PNR
Demon's Curse (D)	Alexa Egan	UF - Imnada Brotherhood 1
Blood Winter	Diana Pharaoh Francis	UF - Horgate Witches 4
The Frazetta Sketchbook	Frank Frazetta	F - Art
A Soul So Wicked	Sharie Kohler	PNR - Moon Chasers 6
The Body Electric	David Mack	SF - Star Trek: TNG: Cold Equations 3
Witchbreaker	James Maxey	F - The Dragon Apocalypse 3
A Love Untamed	Pamela Palmer	PNR - Feral Warriors 7
Ack-Ack Macque	Gareth L Powell	AH/SF/SP
Snuff	Terry Pratchett	F - Discworld 39
Last Kiss Goodnight	Gena Showalter	PNR - Otherworld Assassin 1

December 31, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Throne of the Crescent Moon (h2mm)	Saladin Ahmed	F - Crscent Moon Kingdoms 1
Magic Bites: A Special Edition of the First Kate Daniels Novel	Ilona Andrews	UF - Kate Daniels 1
Legacy (e)	Vivi Anna	SP - League of Illusion 1
Forbidden	Kelley Armstrong	UF - Otherworld Tales
Nell Gwynne's On Land and At Sea	Kage Baker	SP
The Wheel of Ice	Stephen Baxter	SF - Doctor Who
The Daemon Prism (tp2mm)	Carol Berg	F - Collegia Magica 3
Doktor Glass	Thomas Brennan	SP
Shifter's Wolf	Patricia Briggs	F - Sianim 1 and 2
The Goddess Collection, Volume One	P. C. Cast	PNR - Goddess Summoning 1 and 2
Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti	Bailey Cates	PCM - Magical Bakery Mystery 2
A Wild Ghost Chase (e)	E.J. Copperman	PCM - Haunted Guesthouse Novella
Ember: A Penguin Special from Roc (e)	James K. Decker	SF
Daughter of Regals & Other Tales	Stephen R. Donaldson	F - Short Stories
Murder Hooks a Mermaid	Christy Fifield	PCM -  Haunted Souvenir Shop Mystery 2
Home Improvement: Undead Edition (h2tp)	Charlaine Harris (ed) Tony L.P. Kelner (ed)	F/H/M - Anthology
Grave Sight: A Harper Connelly Graphic Novel	Charlaine Harris	PM - Harper Connelly
Between Their Worlds	Barb & J.C. Hendee	F - Noble Dead Phase 3, Book 1
The Dog in the Dark	Barb & J.C. Hendee	F -Noble Dead Phase 3, Book 2
My Lord Immortality	Alexandra Ivy	PNR - Immortal Rogues 3
Black Fallen	Elle Jasper	UF - Dark Ink Chronicles 4
I'm Not Sam	Jack Ketchum Lucky McKee	H
Death's Angel	Heather Killough-Walden	PNR - Lost Angels 3
Copper Beach (h2mm)	Jayne Ann Krentz	PNR - Dark Legacy 1
Dreamspinner	Lynn Kurland	F - Nine Kingdoms 9
A Taste of Ice	Hanna Martine	PNR - Elementals 2
The Threads of the Heart	Carole Martinez	F/MR
The Hunter from the Woods	Robert McCammon	F/H
Come in and Cover Me (h2tp)	Gin Phillips	S/F/Gh
Out of This World (ri)	J. D. Robb Laurell K. Hamilton Susan Krinard Maggie Shayne	PNR/SFR - Anthology
Sealed With a Curse (D)	Cecy Robson	UFR - Weird Girls 1
Touch of the Demon	Diana Rowland	UF - Kara Gillian  5
Valentine Pontifex (ri)	Robert Silverberg	F/SF - Majipor Cycle 3
Angels' Dance (e)	Nalini Singh	PNR - Guild Hunter
Battle	Michelle West	F - House War 5
Skirmish (h2mm)	Michelle West	F - House War 4
Ever After	Kim Harrison	UF - Hollows/Rachel Morgan 11

D - Debut
e - eBook
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
mm2tp - Mass Market to Trade Paperback
ri - Reissue or Reprint
tp2mm - Trade to Mass Market Paperback



AH - Alternate History
Dys - Dystopia
F - Fantasy
FR - Fantasy Romance
FT - Fairy Tales
GB - Genre Bender
Gh - Ghosts
H - Horror
HistF - Historical Fantasy
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
PA - PostApocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
S - Science
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SP - Steampunk
SPM - Steampunk Mystery
SPR - Steampunk Romance
SPW - Steampunk Western
Su - Supernatural
SuM _ Supernatural Mystery
SuN - Supernatural Noir
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
UFR - Urban Fantasy Romance
Z - Zombies

Guest Blog by Jennifer Harlow, author of the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigations - November 29, 2012

Please welcome Jennifer Harlow to The Qwillery.

Transcription of a Conversation with Special Agent Beatrice Alexander, F.R.E.A.K.
By Jennifer Harlow
NOTE: A few months ago I had the privilege of interviewing Special Agent Beatrice Alexander of the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad for an article in Government Secrets Gazette, now defunct due to budget cuts. Now, I’m forced to go freelance. I remained in e-mail contact with Agent Alexander in the interim and at my own expense flew back to Wichita in an attempt to uncover more information for future articles (or blackmail. Leaning towards blackmail.) We met at a Starbucks, and I secretly recorded the conversation. Here it as follows:

Jennifer Harlow (JH): Hi, girl! You look…um…

Beatrice Alexander (BA): Terrible. I know. *sitting* Sorry I’m so late. I just came from a memorial service, and I’m exhausted. I’ve been…taking care of a sick friend for a few days.

JH: It never rains but it pours, huh? Who died?

BA: One of the Squad. We just got back from Dallas on an Op. It was, well *chuckle* it’s been a tough week. A nightmare from start to finish. *More chuckling* God, I can’t believe I’m back here.

JH: Back where? Kansas?

BA: No, nothing. I just, exactly a week ago I met my brother in this very Starbucks right before the caca hit the fan.

JH: At least you got to see your brother.

BA: Yeah, no. It did not go well. I believe words like “monster” and “abomination” were uttered.

JH: Shit. Sorry.

BA: I expected it. We’re not exactly close.

JH: Still. If my brothers ever said those things to me, I’d kick them in the balls. Really I’ll find any reason to do that. Great cardio.

BA: I was tempted. Went the crying and vodka route instead.

JH: That works too. *a beat* At least you had work to take your mind off it. You said you went to Dallas? Why?

BA: Vampires. A group of them killing people. Then it got really complicated.

JH: Ooh, complications. I love complications. Do tell.

BA: I don’t know if I should…

JH: *a pause* No, I understand. Government secrets and all. Security clearances, blah blah blah. *sipping coffee* I’m sure you have tons of people you can vent these things to without them, you know, thinking you’re a few cigs short of a pack.

BA: *a pause* Okay, okay. You’re right. I need someone to talk to about this. I’m going nuts. And I know I can trust you.

JH: Of course you can! Of course. Yeah. *leaning in* So, vampires. Dallas. Give me the skinny.

BA: *looking around the café for eavesdroppers* It was an undercover mission. Oliver and I had to pose as a married couple to infiltrate the vampire scene.

JH: Oh la la, a married couple with a beyond gorgeous man who has centuries of practical seduction experience. That sounds like fun. Hope you took advantage of it. And him.

BA: It wasn’t like that. *Note: she was blushing while she said this* We had a job to do. Lives at stake. *sipping drink* It didn’t help we were staying in his ex-girlfriend’s house. His stunning ex-girlfriend by the way. Mariana.

JH: Bitch! I hate her for you already.

BA: Me too. And there were all these other vamps around who kept acting like they were lions and I was a flank steak. Then things got even worse. A house exploded, I got kidnapped. Again. The vampire ruler of Dallas took a murderous interest in us. I killed over a dozen vampires in twenty-four hours. *rolling eyes* Like I said, it’s been a heck of a week.

JH: Sounds like it. But he protected you, didn’t he? Oliver?

BA: *silence* Oh, yeah. In more ways than one.

JH: So you’re not annoyed with him anymore?

BA: No, I am *chuckling* on an almost hourly basis but…I do see him in a certain light now.

JH: Hope it’s a naked light. Often.

BA: You are so smutty minded, Jen!

JH: One of my many charms, Bea. *a pause* So, did you? Did Beatrice Do Oliver in Dallas? Get your freak on?

BA: I am not…continuing this line of discussion.

JH: Oh, you slut you, you so did. Muchos kudos, kiddo. *sipping coffee* So how is what’s his name, Will? How’s he handling your new “friends with benefits-ship” with the vampire?

BA: We are not…you really need to get your mind out of the gutter, Jen.

JH: *whining* But it’s so much fun in there. Beats the library where it normally is. *a beat* So? Spill. World War III time?

BA: Oh, Jen. It was so messed up from the start. He was away on his first vacation in years, and I couldn’t tell him I was going. When he found out...it’s just so complicated. And it’s getting more and more complicated by the minute.

JH: Ah, the eternal dilemma: the good or bad boy. *sarcastically* Poor you. Either way, you win, Bea.

BA: Or I lose them both.

JH: Only if your God is a cruel, dramatic bitch with a multi-book deal.

BA: What?

JH: What? I didn’t say anything. *checking watch then standing up* Crap. Listen babes, I’m so sorry, I gotta motor. My layover’s almost done. Long drive back to the airport. Have to catch a flight back to Virginia. I have to interview a witch in this small town, Goodnight. Mona McGregor? Ever hear of her? She’s like the most powerful witch in America or something. I’m doing this whole Occult/Magic set of stories. Can I e-mail you if I have any background questions?

BA: Of course.

JH: You are a doll as always. Can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me. Enjoy your vampire boy-toy! Kisses!

End of transcription





About the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigations

To Catch a Vampire
A F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation 2
Midnight Ink, September 2012
Trade Paperback and eBook, 288 pages

CLASSIFIED: F.R.E.A.K.S. Do Dallas

Beatrice Alexander, telekinetic special agent, is still adjusting to life among the F.R.E.A.K.S. while wiping out zombies and other supernatural threats. When Bea learns about her “special assignment” investigating a series of human disappearances with Oliver Montrose, her gorgeous but annoying vampire co-worker, she reluctantly agrees to go undercover. Disguised as a married couple, they infiltrate the gothic vamp scene in Dallas. While sniffing out clues, Oliver’s convincing public—and not so public—displays of affection have Bea swooning in her bustier and fishnets. Between contending with her fake husband’s ex-lover Marianna and feeling guilty for hiding the mission from her werewolf crush Will, Bea discovers she’s not the only F.R.E.A.K. keeping secrets. Clubbing with the undead turns bloody when Oliver’s old enemy, the Lord of Dallas, decides to seek his revenge. Caught in the crossfire, Bea is up to her neck in blood-sucking trouble.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Mind Over Monsters
A F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation 1
Midnight Ink, October 2011
Trade Paperback and eBook, 288 pages

Beatrice Alexander is no ordinary schoolteacher—she can move objects with her mind, an embarrassing skill she hasn’t yet mastered or embraced. After nearly killing her brother by accident, she joins the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad, the Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals. This top-secret branch of the FBI combats ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters threatening humanity.

With her teammates—among them a handsome former-detective werewolf and an annoying Don Juan vampire who’s dead-set on seducing her—Beatrice investigates her first case. Disgustingly dismembered bodies have turned up, bearing bite marks of the undead. Someone—or something—is raising a horde of hideous, bloodthirsty zombies. Armed with Bette, her trusty machete, Beatrice takes on the master of the flesh-devouring corpses, who’s guarding a horrifying secret . . .

Featuring a team of monster hunters with unique paranormal abilities, the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation series combines humor, suspense, and supernatural crime-fighting.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

About Jennifer

Jennifer Harlow spent her restless childhood fighting with her three brothers and scaring the heck out of herself with horror movies and books. She grew up to earn a degree at the University of Virginia which she put to use as a radio DJ, crisis hotline volunteer, bookseller, lab assistant, wedding coordinator, and government investigator. Currently she calls Northern Virginia home but that restless itch is ever present. In her free time, she continues to scare the beejepers out of herself watching scary movies and opening her credit card bills.


Website : Tales From the Darkside Blog : Twitter
Facebook : Goodreads : Pinterest

Interview with F. Paul Wilson - November 28, 2012

Please welcome F. Paul Wilson to The Qwillery. Cold City, the first novel in the Repairman Jack Early Years trilogy, was published on November 27, 2012.

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery. What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

FPW:  Prioritizing. I keep multiple projects running in various states of development – novels, novellas, some solo, some collaborative. (See below.) Then there’s interviews and promotional stuff, especially approaching pub time. Two or more always seem to need attention RIGHT NOW and so which do I choose?


TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

FPW:  I’ve always been a plotter, sometimes to the extent that it has sucked the juice out of the actual writing. I don’t let that happen anymore. I plot lots more loosely now – mostly with just story beats – but I always know where I’m going and I always know how it’s going to end. A writer owes his readers a cathartic finale.

I can usually spot a pantser book in its second half when it becomes obvious the author hasn’t figured out how to end it, and you watch it limp to the finish line. I find that annoying as all hell. I’ve invested time and effort in your novel and you let it end with a whimper? Your first half promised a bang!


TQ:  You've written many novels about Repairman Jack at various stages of his life. Does Repairman Jack still surprise you?

FPW:  He stopped surprising me in the mainline stories – I knew that Jack too well. But he was full of surprises in COLD CITY, mainly because he was a different guy. The Jack I’d been working with was a seasoned urban mercenary who knew who he was, and was aware of his strengths and weaknesses. This new Jack is a callow 21-year old who’s new to the city and is feeling his way along. He’s cut himself off from everyone he knows to create a new life, a new identity, a new Jack. I found it exhilarating and refreshing to work with him.


TQ:  Cold City is the first in a trilogy about Repairman Jack's early years. What constitutes Repairman Jack's early years?

FPW:  A two-and-a-half year period from late 1990 to early 1993. It’s a perfect place to introduce a newcomer to Jack. He’s 21 in COLD CITY and has just turned 23 by the end of book three. He started out with all sorts of things happening to him and ends up as a guy who’s making things happen. He meets all sorts of people who’ll be popping back into his life in the later books, and he’s learning from them. He’ll still have a ways to go before he’s the streetwise guy you meet in THE TOMB, but you can tell he’s moving along that road.


TQ:   What sorts of research have you done for Cold City?

FPW:  I will go on at length about this in the Tor newsletter, because it was a royal pain. In 1990, Times Square and the Deuce had yet to be Disneyfied – drugs, prostitutes (male and female) and grindhouse theaters lined the streets. But finding details was almost impossible. I could find all sorts of details about the Five Points neighborhood in 1860, but nothing about early1990s NYC. YouTube saved me when I found videos posted by people who’d been touring the city at that time.


TQ:   Without giving anything away, what is your favorite scene (or scenes) in Cold City?

FPW:  A lot of good scenes with Abe and Julio, and there’s this cool domestic abuse scene with a new character, Dane Bertel, but my favorite sequence is a series of scenes with the Mikulski brothers. They make their entrance as the two stoniest stone killers you’ll ever meet – and are fully intent on executing Jack – but by the end of the sequence you’ll want to buy them a beer.


TQ:  What's next?

FPW:  I just handed in DARK CITY, the second of the trilogy. I recently finished a Pellucidar novelette for an Edgar Rice Burroughs tribute anthology. Rhodi Hawk and I are working on a novelette for Chris Golden’s DARK DUETS anthology. Traci Carbone and I are revising a medical thriller for Tor. Tom Monteleone and I are polishing the first novel in a YA series. Sarah Pinborough and I are writing (in a catch-as-catch-can fashion because of our schedules) an apocalyptic novella; we’re about 25k words in with no end in sight and no buyer in mind as yet. (Prioritize…prioritize…)


TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.





About Cold City

Cold City
Repairman Jack Early Years 1
Tor Books, November 27, 2012
Hardcover and eBook, 368 pages

The first of three Repairman Jack prequels, revealing the past of one of the most popular characters in contemporary dark fantasy: a self-styled “fix-it” man who is no stranger to the macabre or the supernatural, hired by victimized people who have no one else to turn to.

We join Jack a few months after his arrival in New York City. He doesn’t own a gun yet, though he’s already connected with Abe. Soon he’ll meet Julio and the Mikulski brothers. He runs afoul of some Dominicans, winds up at the East Side Marriott the night Meir Kahane is shot, gets on the bad side of some Arabs, starts a hot affair, and disrupts the smuggling of preteen sex slaves. And that’s just Book One.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

For a full list of the Repairman Jack novels please visit the Published Fiction portion of F. Paul Wilson's website.





About F. Paul Wilson

F. PAUL WILSON, the New York Times bestselling author of the Repairman Jack novels, lives in Wall, New Jersey. In 2008, he won the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.








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Release Day Review - Cold Days (The Dresden FIles 14) by Jim Butcher - November 27, 2012

Cold Days
Author:  Jim Butcher
Series:  The Dresden Files
Publisher:  Roc, November 27, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 528 pages
Price:  $27.95
Genre:  Urban Fantasy
ISBN:  9780451464408
Review Copy:  Provided by Publisher

HARRY DRESDEN LIVES!!!

After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.

He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill.

Guess which Mab wants first?

Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make death look like a holiday.

Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own…His soul.

My Thoughts:

(Please note that this is a spoiler-free review and therefore I am limited in what I will say.)

Harry Dresden, wizard extraordinaire, trouble magnet and now the Winter Knight, is back in the 14th Dresden Files novel.  I confess that I'm a Harry Dresden fan. The Dresden Files is without doubt one of my favorite Urban Fantasy series. While Cold Days is a hefty novel, weighing in at 500+ pages, I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.  Reading a new Dresden Files novel is like hanging out with old friends... and then watching all hell break loose.  I would expect nothing less.

In Cold Days, Harry has to take on the mantle of being Mab's Winter Knight, reconnect with friends and family, and deal with another out-sized supernatural threat.  So it's pretty much business as usual for Harry.  His first order to kill from Mab (the Winter Queen) is a doozy.  However, carrying on is what Harry does best. Harry launches himself head first into figuring out what is going on with his usual aplomb (read a bit of bumbling and a lot of detective work).  Harry has several personal issues to deal with in Cold Days and is at times more introspective than usual.  I find this adds a great deal of depth to the novel without overwhelming the story.

The supporting cast is wonderful as usual.  Interesting things have been happening with some of them.  Plus new questions are raised about who some of them really are.  (No spoilers!)  The exceptional world of the Dresden Files has been built over the prior novels, but Mr. Butcher always treats us to something more, something that surprises Harry and us.  This is clearly the case with Cold Days.

The ending of Cold Days is both superb and unexpected.  No cliffhanger, but there is definitely more to come as Mr. Butcher, Harry and friends take on what happens next.  I must add the Mr. Butcher has achieved the near impossible with Cold Days: I almost like Mab... a little bit.

Cold Days is one of my favorite books in the Dresden Files.  It's full of action, twists and turns, Harry's trademark humor, and is an immensely satisfying wild ride.





While you can read Cold Days as a standalone, I highly recommend that you read the prior books in the Dresden Files.

Interview with Joseph Nassise, author of The Jermiah Hunt Chronicles, and Giveaway - November 27, 2012

Please welcome Joseph Nassise to The Qwillery. King of the Dead, the second novel in The  Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles, is published today.

TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Joseph:  I don’t write my novels in order. In other words, I don’t write chapter one then chapter two then chapter three and so on. I plan extensively ahead of time, so that I know what is happening in each and every chapter and then I write whatever chapter appeals to me at the start of a writing session.


TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Joseph:  Most definitely a plotter. I don’t begin writing until I know exactly where the book is going to go. I find the other process unfathomable. I wouldn’t begin building a house without knowing what I want it to look like down to the last detail. I don’t see books as being any different.


TQ:   What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Joseph:  Staying focused, I guess. My attention can wander easily and it takes discipline for me to sit down and focus for several hours in a row.


TQ:  What inspired you to write the Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles?

Joseph:  I wanted to write a dark urban fantasy about ghosts essentially. I started with the character of Jeremiah Hunt and his two ghostly companions, Whisper and Scream, then worked backward from there. Once I knew how Hunt saw the ghosts that surround him, the rest of the story fell into place.


TQ:  How did you choose Jeremiah Hunt's name?

Joseph:  Just plucked it out of thin air, to be honest. That’s how all my character names come to me.


TQ:  What sort of research did you do for the Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles?

Joseph:  I dug into a lot of things for the Chronicles – the history of various places, including Boston, New Orleans, and Los Angeles.; what daily life is like for the blind; ghosts and the ways to banish them, famous historical ghosts. Life in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The list goes on.


TQ:  Why did you choose to write the Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles as 'hidden world' urban fantasy?

Joseph:  I wanted to examine the idea that there is another world just beyond ours, just out of reach, so to speak. Laying an otherworldly ghostly realm on top of our own allowed me to play with that concept a bit. It also helped tied the world of Jeremiah into the world of the Templar Chronicles (another series) because the two share several characters.


TQ:  You've set Eyes to See in Boston and King of the Dead in New Orleans. Why did you pick those particular cities?

Joseph:  I picked Boston because I was very familiar with the city – that’s where I grew up. Boston is a city rich in history and full of ghostly tales, so it fit very nicely into what I was looking for setting wise. I chose New Orleans because I wanted a place where there was a residue of strong emotion, as that would play a part in the plot of KING OF THE DEAD. Given everything that had happened in the city, both historically and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I thought it was an ideal location for book two.


TQ:  In the Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles so far, who was the easiest character to write and why? Hardest and why?

Joseph:  Jeremiah was the easiest, actually. His obsessive search for his daughter is something that I could understand intimately and I was able to slip into his character without difficulty in that regard. Jeremiah also happens to be the hardest character to write, because of his deep isolation and real disregard for the people around him when book one, EYES TO SEE, opens.


TQ:  Tell us something about King of the Dead (The Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles 2) that is not in the book description.

Joseph:  Hmmn, let’s see. Readers will learn more about the history between Denise Clearwater and Dmitri Alexandrov before the book is over.


TQ:   Without giving anything away, what is your favorite scene (or scenes) in King of the Dead?

Joseph:  There is a scene near the end of the book that requires Hunt to carry out a single act that will have major repercussions in the future for him and those around him. I think I did a good job pulling out the emotion in that scene.


TQ:   What's next?

Joseph:  What’s next? Well Jeremiah Hunt #3 of course! I’m putting the final touches on WATCHER OF THE DARK next month and then it will be off to production. Hopefully I’ll be able to do more books featuring Jeremiah and his companions after that as well.

I’m also knee deep in a new series for HarperVoyager called The Great Undead War. It is an alternate history series set in World War One featuring steampunk and zombies. Yes, I said zombies. It has been great fun to write and I’ve just finished up book two, ON HER MAJESTY’S BEHALF, which will be out in June.




The Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles

King of the Dead
The Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles 2
Tor Books, November 27, 2012
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages

Joseph Nassise shook up the urban fantasy genre with Eyes to See, a novel New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry called “heartbreaking, deeply insightful, powerful and genuinely thrilling.” In a devil’s deal, Jeremiah Hunt sacrificed his human sight in exchange for the power to see the hidden world of ghosts and all of the darker spirits that prowl the streets. Hunt uncovered a world of murder and magic that took his daughter from him and nearly cost him his life, but that was only the beginning....

Now Hunt is on the run from the FBI, who have pegged him as a mass-murdering dark sorcerer. His flight from the law is diverted to New Orleans when his companion, a potent witch, has a horrific vision of the city under magical siege. When they arrive, they realize that the situation is more dire than they could have imagined: the world of the living faces a terrifying attack by forces from beyond the grave. King of the Dead, the second book in this groundbreaking series, promises more of Nassise’s electrifying writing that will enthrall readers looking for a supercharged, supernatural thrill.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Eyes to See
The Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles 1
Tor Books, June 26, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 368 pages
Hardcover (October 2011)

In Joseph Nassise's Eyes to See, an urban fantasy that charts daring new territory in the field, Jeremiah Hunt has been broken by a malevolent force that has taken his young daughter and everything else of value in his life: his marriage, his career, his reputation. Desperate to reclaim what he has lost, Hunt finally turns to the supernatural for justice.

Abandoning all hope for a normal life, he enters the world of ghosts and even more dangerous entities from beyond the grave. Sacrificing his normal sight so that he can see the souls of the dead and the powers that stalk his worst nightmares, Hunt embarks upon a strange new career—a pariah among the living; a scourge among the dead; doomed to walk between the light of day and the deepest darkness beyond night.

His love for his departed daughter sustains him when all is most hopeless, but Hunt is cursed by something more evil than he can possibly imagine. As he descends into the maelstrom of his terrifying quest, he discovers that even his deepest fears are but prelude to yet darker deeds by a powerful entity from beyond the grave…that will not let him go until it has used him for its own nefarious purposes.

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The Great Undead War

By the Blood of Heroes
The Great Undead War 1
HarperVoyager, May 1, 2012
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

Train them . . . Arm them . . . Then turn them loose on the zombies!

At the tail end of 1917, the Germans introduced a new type of gas to the battlefield, T-Leiche, or "corpse gas," and changed the face of the war by resurrecting the bodies of the dead, giving the enemy an almost unlimited source of fresh troops.

When the American ace Major Jack Freeman—poster boy for the war against the Kaiser's undead army of shamblers—is downed over enemy lines and taken captive, veteran Captain Michael "Madman" Burke is the only man brave and foolish enough to accept the mission to recover Freeman. Burke assembles a team of disparate members, from his right-hand man, Sergeant Moore, to big-game-hunter-turned-soldier Clayton Manning, who funds the mission for an opportunity to confront this most dangerous zombie game, to professor Dan Richards, one of Tesla's top men and the resident authority on all things supernatural. With the help of a highly advanced British dirigible war machine to infiltrate enemy territory, the team faces incredible danger as it struggles to reach the prison camp and strike at the heart of the enemy.

But they are pitted against the most deadly enemy of all: Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Having risen from the dead with his abilities enhanced but his mind on the brink of madness, Richthofen has plans for victory that give no quarter to soldiers or civilians.

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The Sharp End
A Great Undead War Story
Harbinger Books, April 23, 2012
eBook, 47 pages

March 1921. The War to End All Wars continues, with no foreseeable end in sight. The Central Powers control most of Europe, with only a thin stretch of French coastline still in Allied hands. A beleaguered Britain fights resolutely on, but everyone knows that without the continued support of the United States it would fall within weeks. Even that may not be enough to defeat the brilliance of the Central Powers’ scientists and the advantages their weird science gives to their troops as wave after wave of zombie troops are sent against the Allied front lines...

On May 1st, 2012 HarperVoyager will publish BY THE BLOOD OF HEROES, the first book in the new zombie steampunk alternate history series known as The Great Undead War by internationally bestselling author Joseph Nassise.

Here, for the first time, is the story behind the story. Follow the hero of The Great Undead War series, Captain Michael "Madman" Burke, leader of Burke's Marauders, in the early days of the war, when the Germans are just beginning their field tests of a new weapon.

A weapon that will eventually come to change the face of the war itself, that will resurrect the bodies of the dead, both friend and foe alike, and turn them into flesh-eating monsters. A weapon that will come to be known as corpse gas.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble

About Joseph

Joseph is the author of more than a dozen novels, including the internationally bestselling TEMPLAR CHRONICLES series, the JEREMIAH HUNT trilogy, and the forthcoming GREAT UNDEAD WAR series. He's also written several books in the popular Rogue Angel action-adventure series.

His work has been nominated for both the Bram Stoker Award and the International Horror Guild Award and been translated into half a dozen languages to date. He has written for both the comic and role-playing game industries and also served two terms as president of the Horror Writers Association, the world’s largest organization of professional horror and dark fantasy writers.

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THE GIVEAWAY

What:  One commenter will win a Mass Market Paperback copy of Eyes to See (The Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles 1) from The Qwillery.

How:   Answer The Qwillery's Question: 

Where (town, city, etc.) was the last Urban Fantasy novel you read set? 

Please remember - if you don't answer the questions your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

There are a total of 3 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry) and Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry).  This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook or Twitter mentions. You MUST leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Tuesday, December 4, 2012. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*

Guest Blog by Melissa F. Olson - What do Vampires Want? - November 26, 2012

Please welcome Melissa F. Olson to The Qwillery as part of the 2012 Debut Author Challenge Guest Blogs. Dead Spots (Scarlett Bernard 1) was published on October 30, 2012.

What do Vampires Want?

It’s easy, when writing about vampires, werewolves, and witches, to find yourself committing literary teleportation. As a culture we’ve been consuming entertainment about these creatures for hundreds of years: we’ve seen the movies, we’ve read the books, we’ve bought the delicious marshmallowy cereal. The rules of supernatural mythology are always going to be a bit flexible – some werewolves transform only at the full moon, for example, while others can do it whenever they want – but there is definitely a well-established archetype, an impression, that we all carry for each creature, and it’s so easy to just insert that guy into your work. Bam! Dracula Cullen is teleported into my new book. Easy peasy.

When I began writing my urban fantasy novel, Dead Spots, I realized that the real challenge isn’t just building a world – it’s escaping the archetype. It’s hard enough to write an original, believable, three-dimensional human character. How do you turn such well-known monsters into realistic people who became monsters? This has all been done so many times, in so many ways: how can I, as a twenty-first century writer, possibly turn out something that hasn’t been done a thousand times by people who are better and more experienced? It’s really very daunting.

The plan that I came up with was this: go back to basics. As I began writing Dead Spots, I sat down and asked myself what felt like a very silly question: If I were a 200-year-old vampire, what would I want? I know, I know – it sounds so rudimentary it’s stupid. But it’s actually a pretty tough question, because entertainment has been so saturated with vampires, that we’ve gotten pretty far away from a basic literary element like motivation.

So let’s stop and think. We all dream of doing things in our lifetimes, but we always consider what we can do within a human lifetime. If you don’t die or even age anymore, what happens when you’ve crossed off everything on your bucket list? You’ve learned languages, traveled (sunlight permitting), acquired riches, read books, secured a blood supply, etc. Then what? What exactly do you want to do with your eternity? Wait around for the next season of Dexter?

I have to tell you, that one simple question made me consider vampires differently. In other books and movies, the vampires seem to want power and blood. World domination, maybe. But when you really think about it, doesn’t world domination seem kind of…exhausting? Not to mention overexposed. Vampires are a parasitic species, after all. They’re predators who have evolved to hide in the shadows and take what they need. And for all their power, they’re also very, very vulnerable. It doesn’t matter how old or how many you are – you have to die, or at least sleep, during the day. There will always be that weakness, and it just doesn’t fit with a dictator/puppetmaster kind of lifestyle.

So I made the decision that my main vampire, Dashiell, wasn’t interested in ruling the world, or starting a human blood farm, or finding a cure, or any of that other nonsense. Like most vampires in my book, he has a great emptiness inside him, because when you’ve lost everyone and everything from your human life, you can’t help but lose some of your humanity, too. But in my world, that’s not the same thing as not having a soul—or a calling. Dashiell is the most powerful vampire in Los Angeles, and he has some old-fashioned ideas about power and responsibility. He makes it his mission to protect all of the weaker vampires in the city. That’s what he wants. But I didn’t figure that out until I sat down, held very still, and started asking stupid questions.

Once I had the vampire, it got easier. In my world, all three factions of the supernatural have a leader, and all three leaders are committed, above anything else, to taking care of their people. And I’d like to think that helps to –for lack of a better word – humanize them a little. Whenever I find myself picturing a shadowy, good-looking guy sneaking around in the dark with his fangs out, or a slobbering, uncontrollable wolf-monster, or a Disney-style wicked witch, I stop what I’m doing and think about the character’s actual, reality-based motivation.

After all…supernatural creatures are people, too.






About Dead Spots

Dead Spots
Scarlett Bernard 1
47North, October 30, 2012
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 293 pages

Scarlett Bernard knows about personal space: step within ten feet of her, and any supernatural spells or demonic forces are instantly defused—vampires and werewolves become human again, and witches can’t get out so much as a “hocus pocus.” This special skill makes her a null and very valuable to Los Angeles’s three most powerful magical communities, who utilize her ability to scrub crime scenes clean of all traces of the paranormal to keep humanity, and the LAPD, in the dark.

But one night Scarlett’s late arrival to a grisly murder scene reveals her agenda and ends with LAPD’s Jesse Cruz tracking her down to strike a deal: he’ll keep quiet about the undead underworld if she helps solve the case. Their pact doesn’t sit well with Dash, the city’s chief bloodsucker, who fears his whole vampire empire is at stake. And when clues start to point to Scarlett, it’ll take more than her unique powers to catch the real killer and clear her name.

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About Melissa

Melissa Olson was born and raised in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and studied film and literature at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. So…culture shock. Never one for beer or cheese, anyway, Melissa came to love her new city, especially the climate, the movie-watching opportunities, and the food, pretty much in that order. After graduation, and a brief stint bouncing around the Hollywood Studio System, Melissa proved too broke for LA and moved to glorious Madison, WI, where she eventually acquired a master’s degree from UW-Milwaukee, a husband, a mortgage, two kids, and two comically oversized dogs, not at all in that order. She loves Madison and it’s proximity to her family, but still dreams of the food in LA. Literally. There are dreams.

Her work has been published in the Daily Trojan, the Chippewa Falls Herald Telegram, The International Journal of Comic Art, The La Crosse Tribune, U-Wire, Women on Writing.com, and the upcoming compilation The Universal Vampire. She has also presented or been on panels at the Midwest Popular Culture/American Culture Conference, the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts Conference, and OdysseyCon 2012.

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The View From Monday - November 26, 2012

Happy Monday! I hope that everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a great weekend and that everyone else had a great weekend too!

There are a tremendous number of books out this week. Maybe do a bit of holiday shopping for yourself? You may find a printable PDF of this week's releases by clicking HERE.



November 26, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Dark Dealings	Kim Knox	PER

November 27, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Price of War	Daniel Abraham	F - Long Price Quartet
Darker After Midnight	Lara Adrian	PNR - Midnight Breed 11
Midnight Moon	August Alexander	F
Moonshifted	Cassie Alexander	UF - Edie Spence 3
Steel's Edge	Ilona Andrews	UF - Edge 4
Tales of the Otherworld (ri)	Kelley Armstrong	UF - Women of the Otherworld
There and Back Again: JRR Tolkien and the Origins of the Hobbit	Mark Atherton	Literary Criticism
Undead to the World	DD Barant	UF - Bloodhound Files 6
Bard's Oath	Joanne Bertin	F - Dragonlord 3
Power Play (h2mm)	Ben Bova	S/Th
Cold Days	Jim Butcher	UF - Dresden Files 14
Heaven to Wudang	Kylie Chan	F - Journey to Wudang 3
Shadow's Claim	Kresley Cole	PNR - The Dacians 1
A Fighting Chance (h2mm)	William C. Dietz	SF - Legion of the Damned 9
The Scar (h2mm)	Sergey Dyachenko	F
Angel In Chains	Cynthia Eden	PNR - The Fallen  3
Red, White, and Blood (h2mm)	Christopher Farnsworth	H/Th - Nathaniel Cade 3
After the Music (e)	Christine Feehan	PNR
Grantville Gazette VI (h2mm)	Eric Flint (ed)	AH - Ring of Fire Anthology
In the Lion's Mouth (h2mm)	Michael Flynn	SF
City of Dark Magic	Magnus Flyte	FR
The Sum of Her Parts	Alan Dean Foster	SF - Tipping Point Trilogy 3
The Rise of Ransom City	Felix Gilman	F - Half-Made World 2
Dead Man Vol 4	Lee Goldberg William Rabkin	H - Short Stories
Ascension: Star Wars	Christie Golden	SF - Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi 8
Midnight's Warrior	Donna Grant	PNR - Dark Warriors 4
The Shattered Gates	Ginn Hale	F/Dys - The Rifter 1
Trapped	Kevin Hearne	UF - The Iron Druid Chronicles 5
Kiss of Surrender	Sandra Hill	PNR - Deadly Angels 2
Honor's Paradox (tp2mm)	P.C. Hodgell	F - Kencyrath 6
Black House (ri)	Stephen King Peter Straub	H
Blood of Aenarion (h2mm)	William King	F - Warhammer: Tyrion & Teclis: Aenarion 1
Sword of Caledor	William King	F - Warhammer: Tyrion & Teclis: Aenarion 2
Tome of Fire	Nick Kyme	F - Warhammer 40,000: Salamander Anthology
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations	David Mack	SF - Silent Weapons 2
Kept	Shawntelle Madison	UF - Coveted 2
Crossed Blades	Kelly McCullough	F - Fallen Blade 3
Defiant Peaks	Juliet E. McKenna	F - The Hadrumal Crisis 3
Tears in Rain	Rosa Montero	SF/M
King of the Dead	Joseph Nassise	UF - Jeremiah Hunt Chronicle 2
Moonsinger's Quest	Andre Norton	F - Moonsinger Omnibus
The Shield-Maiden (e)	Michael Pearce Linda Pearce	F - Foreworld SideQuest
The Fractal Prince	Hannu Rajaniemi	SF - The Quantum Thief Trilogy 2
The Imperial Infantryman's Handbook	Matt Ralphs Graham McNeill	F
Dead on Delivery (tp2mm)	Eileen Rendahl	UF - Messenger 2
The Thirteen Hallows (h2mm)	Michael Scott Colette Freedman	F/Th
The Purple Cloud (ri)	M. P. Shiel	SF
Lust for Life	Jeri Smith-Ready	UF - WVMP Radio 4
Wild About You	Kerrelyn Sparks	PNR - Love at Stake 13
King of the Damned	Juliana Stone	PNR - League of Guardians 2
Edge of Infinity	Jonathan Strahan (ed)	SF - Anthology
Drive Me Wild	Christine Warren	UF - Others 14
Siege of Castellax	CL Werner	F - Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Battles 11
Cold City	F. Paul WIlson	F - Repairman Jack Prequel 1

November 28, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
When The Blue Shift Comes	Robert Silverberg Alvaro Zinos-Amaro	SF - The Stellar Guild

November 29, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
A Pale Horse	Wendy Alec	F - Chronicles of Brothers 4

November 30, 2012

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Blood Delirium: The Vampire in 19th Century European Literature	Candice Black (ed)	H - Anthology
Freaks in a Box: The Myths of Media	Paul Di Filippo (ed)	F/SF/H - Anthology
A Fantasy Medley 2	Yanni Kuznia (ed) Tanya Huff Seanan McGuire	F - Quarters #4.5 F - October Daye .5
Stranger Things Happen	Kelly Link	F/SF - Short Stories

e - eBook
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm -  Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback


AH - Alternate History
Dys - Dystopia
F - Fantasy
FR - Fantasy Romance
H - Horror
M - Mystery
PER - Paranormal Erotic Romance
PNR - Paranormal Romance
S - Science
SF - Science Fiction
Th - Thriller
UF - Urban Fantasy

Interview with Nancy Northcott, author of Renegade - November 23, 2012

Please welcome Nancy Northcott to The Qwillery as part of the 2012 Debut Author Challenge Interviews. Renegade (The Protectors 1) was published on November 6th (eBook) and will be published on December 18th in Trade Paperback.

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery.

Nancy:  Thanks, Sally. I’m delighted to be here!


TQ:  Writing quirks! What are some of yours?

Nancy:  I write in spurts. I do a lot of planning in my head and then can usually turn out a fair number of pages at a sitting. Then I plan some more, then write some more, and so on.

I’m a night owl. I like to write late at night when the house is quiet.

When I get stuck on a plot point, I sometimes play Tetris on our old Nintendo 64 console while my subconscious works out the problem.


TQ:   Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?

Nancy:  There are so many authors on my keeper shelves that it’s tough to single out just a few.

Georgette Heyer made Regency England come alive for me. Even though her books would be G-rated, the people and their conflicts are clearly depicted. Kathleen Woodiwiss’s Shanna showed me hotter side to the genre and remains one of my favorite books. Ruark and Shanna ride an emotional roller coaster through the story.

J.R.R. Tolkien set the standard for sweeping plots, big stakes, and fantasy worldbuilding. So does Lois McMaster Bujold, whose Vorkosigan series takes up a lot of my shelf space. Bujold doesn’t incorporate a lot of romance, but the relationships she does build are wonderful.

I hope I’ve learned something from each of these authors.


TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Nancy:  I’m a plotter with a heavy dose of pantser improvisation. I like to have a road map, but I’m open to appealing detours.


TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Staying within the confines of a particular genre or subgenre has always been difficult for me, so I’m glad to see genre lines starting to blur a bit. Renegade is a primarily a romance, but it has a lot of action and detailed fantasy worldbuilding.


TQ:  Describe Renegade (The Protectors 1) in 140 characters or less.

Nancy:  Contemporary paranormal romantic suspense with a lot of action and wrenching emotion.


TQ:  What inspired you to write Renegade?

Nancy:  The idea probably came from a lot of different places. I’ve loved comic books and superheroes since grade school, and mages are much like superheroes. I’ve always enjoyed action and adventure, which drew me to epic fantasy, science fiction, mysteries, and thrillers. The loner hero battling to see justice done has always held a lot of appeal for me, and the hero of Renegade, Griffin Dare is in that tradition.

Such heroes need allies, so I gave him some in the best fantasy and comic book tradition. The secrecy of the mages was also inspired by comic book super-heroes and their secret identities.

A romance hero, of course, needs a heroine, but I like stories that put the hero and heroine at odds. I didn’t want them to be immediate, natural allies, so he’s a fugitive and she is the sheriff of the southeastern mages.


TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Renegade?

Nancy:  To build the world, I read Wicca, folklore, and New Age materials and talked to people who’re interested in those fields. I talked to artists about Griff’s painting skills and to a Latin professor about the mages’ use of Latin imperatives. I also had help with arming and transporting the mages. For medical questions, I turned to some friends who are doctors and to the two nurses who blog with me.

To find out about southern Georgia and the Okefenokee Swamp, I used the internet, which meant making some things vague. I’m willing to trust long-distance research only so much. When I finally saw the swamp, in May, I fell in love with the beauty of it. I brought a lot of ideas back with me.


TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why? Hardest and why?

Nancy:  The easiest character was Val. Because she’s the shire reeve, the mage equivalent of a sheriff, she’s initially very rule-oriented, and I tend to be that way, too. The opening scene in the book, which is hers, is the first one that appeared in my head.

The hardest character was the villain. I won’t use the name because I don’t want to spoil the plot. It’s difficult for me to create a character who’s doing something I see as so very wrong and yet find a way for the character to consider it a good thing. I think it’s important that every character consider his or her actions not only justifiable but necessary.


TQ:   Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Renegade?

Nancy:  Hmm. I have several favorites. One of them is the last scene in Chapter 3. It’s a fight scene, which is always a fun thing to write, with an important aftermath.

I like the character introductions in Chapter 4. That’s also our first look at the town of Wayfarer, and I enjoyed creating that community.


TQ:  What's next?

Nancy:  I’m doing revisions on Protector, a novella scheduled for March 2013. Its title plays off the series title, The Protectors, and I think of it as Protectors 1.5. It’s about a wildland firefighter and a helicopter pilot, both mages, who almost got together three years ago but think it’s maybe for the best they didn’t. They believe they’ve put their attraction behind them until they meet again while fighting a wildfire.

The second book in the series, Guardian, is scheduled for May 2013. I’m finishing those revisions now. It features Stefan Harper from Renegade and the FBI agent he once hoped to marry. They meet again when he’s called in to consult on a murder case she’s working. The attraction between them has persisted, to their mutual dismay, but the secrets and fears that drove them apart before still stand in their way.

I just returned from a research trip to the Okefenokee Swamp and am looking at ways to build the series from here. I have six, maybe seven, books planned, but there’s always the chance there will be more.

Thank you for having me as a guest at the Qwillery!

TQ:  My pleasure!




About Renegade

Renegade
The Protectors 1
Grand Central Publishing , November 6, 2012 (eBook)
December 18, 2012 (Trade Paperback)
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

SHE FOLLOWS THE RULES

As the Collegium council's top sheriff of the southeastern United States, Valeria Banning doesn't just take her job seriously, she takes it personally. So when a notorious traitor wanted by the authorities suddenly risks his life to save hers, she has to wonder why.

HE BREAKS EVERY ONE OF THEM

As a mage, Griffin is sworn to protect innocents from dark magic, which is how he finds himself fighting side by side with the beautiful Valeria Banning. But when the council finds out the two have been working together, they're both left running for their lives-from the law, the threat of a ghoul takeover, and a possible Collegium mole.

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About Nancy

Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy and YA romance. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes she loves in her new contemporary mage series.

Married since 1987, she considers herself lucky to have found a man doesn’t mind carrying home a suitcase full of research books. Nancy and her husband have one son, a bossy dog, and a house full of books.


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