UPDATE: The winner of WARRIOR OF THE ISLES by Debbie Mazzuca is Jennifer M (OR)! Congrats! Please send your physical addy to contests(AT)knightagency.net.
Well, after a bit of a hiatus, I'm on the news prowl again! It's seems the biggest news today is focused squarely on "merry old England" for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, heretofore known as Her Royal Highness Princess William Arthur Philip Louis, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus (Wow, Kate is so much easier...).
Anyways, I for one, was not getting up at 4am or some other tragic hour to watch the festivities, but I must say I did crawl out of bed 30 minutes early to catch the ride to the palace. I'm sure an infinite amount of reruns will get me up to speed this weekend.
BTW, for a bit of fun, try this royal name generator at Eonline. Apparently, I am Marchioness Jia Arabella Gaylescock of Atlantaham. Not sure how I feel about that. ;-)
CLIENT NEWS: Deidre Knight and Elle Jasper will participate in an agent/author chat this coming Thursday, May 5th at 9pm ET. Both ladies have tons of informative tips on how to get published, and Elle is going to share juicy tidbits about the upcoming book in her Dark Ink Chronicles series EVENTIDE. Click here to bookmark our chat room.
Report from Cyberspace: Penguin Group announced the launch of a new online community, Book Country. Users can submit work in various genres for peer review, and get advice on pitching, marketing and subsidiary rights, among other helpful things. Eventually, the company hopes Book Country becomes a place where editors and agents find new talent. There are also plans for a self-publishing arm - New York Times
Boulder Book Store is making headlines by announcing plans to charge customers $5 - $10 for author events. The patrons would then receive a $5 coupon to purchase anything in the store that day. I'm not sure about this one... It's hard enough getting people to come out for signings unless there's a big name attached. Adding a charge, though it's given back in the form of a coupon, seems like just another hurdle that will confuse people and dissuade them from attending - MediaBistro
In love with your iPad or iPhone? Feel like someone is watching your every move? Well, maybe they are. Apple is being accused of tracking iPad and iPhone owners locations. The company recently came out with a statement denying any intent on their part to collect data on their customer's trips to the grocery store - eBookNewser
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A VISIT FROM THE GOOD SQUAD, Jennifer Egan's advice for aspiring authors can never be said enough -- read - Mediabistro
Are you a Harry Potter fan? If so, this was a very good week for you (and me) because the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was released. Come on July 15th!!! - You Tube
Today's Freebie Friday is sponsored by Debbie Mazzuca, author of WARRIOR OF THE ISLES and also known as Duchess Debbie Lulu Mazzucaberton of Ottawabury. ;-)
Leave a comment to win an autographed copy of WARRIOR OF THE ISLES. The winner will be announced on Monday.
The 411:
BOUND BY DUTY
In a time of raids and ransoms, Aidan MacLeod is responsible for a formidable Scottish keep and all the people within. Yet the fearless Highland laird never forgets his charge to shield his young half-brother from the grave consequences of his tragic birth.
LINKED BY FATE
But an alluring stranger known only as Syrena could undo all of Aidan's defenses. For Syrena has vowed to bring Aidan’s brother to a realm far from the Scotland of their understanding. To succeed, she is at Aidan’s mercy.
DIVIDED BY DESIRE
Ignoring his attraction to the beautiful Syrena is pointless. But if Aidan lets himself trust the enchanting woman who has so quickly captured his heart, he’ll be forced to risk everything he has sworn to protect...
RESCHEDULED!!! Author and Agent Chat Alert! Talk to Elle Jasper and Deidre Knight!
Due to technical difficulties caused by inclement weather, we've had to reschedule Deidre and Elle's chat for next Thursday, May 5th @ 9pm ET. Since the new chat time falls after the Island Dreams Contest ends, we will be making the BIG winning announcement on the 5th. Have no idea what that is? Well, all you have to do is tell Deidre and Elle why you deserve a romantic getaway and you can win two nights at The Lighthouse Inn on Tybee Island, Ga., a $500 travel voucher, and dinner for two at Wiley's Championship BBQ. Click here for the details: http://www.knightagency.net/romanticgetaway.html
Elle Jasper's Dark Ink Chronicles series follows the adventures of tattoo artist Riley Poe as she battles centuries-old vampires on the haunted streets of Savannah, Georgia. Romance Junkies said the first book, AFTERLIGHT was, "Edgy and modern... The most absorbing, enticing and unique paranormal world I've read in years," and the Romantic Times bestowed it with 4.5 stars. The second book, EVERDARK, releases this June.
Elle will be in our chat room this Thursday, April 28th @ 9pm ETThursday, May 5th @ 9pm ET to chat about the series, along with her agent Deidre Knight. You can definitely expect juicy tidbits about Elle's books, insider pub industry info from Deidre and trivia and giveaways. You know what to do -- MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
HOW TO CHAT: Enter any combination of username and password. Login. Your computer must be Java enabled to chat.
About the series: Riley Poe leads the series as a gritty, unconventional tattoo artist-turned-undead-slayer after her younger brother is lured into a gang led by a pair of vicious Romanian vampires. In books 1,2,and 3, Riley, a dead-sexy guardian vampire named Eli Dupre, his undead family and Riley's surrogate grandparents-who are not only Gullah root doctors but hoodoo conjurers as well--stalk the underside of Savannah, Charleston, and a trip to the Old World as they track the deadly Arcos vampires to Romania. The story unfolds through Riley's eyes in first person where you learn of Riley's torrid past, her desires, and her fears as she falls hard for Eli, becomes Victorian Arcos' obsession, and struggles not to become the very thing she fights: a vampire.
UPDATE: The winner of INTERTWINED and UNRAVELED by Gena Showalter is Chelsea B. Please send your physical addy to contests(AT)knightagency.net. Congrats! :-)
Leave a comment to win a Gena Showalter gift set including her two YA books, INTERTWINED and UNRAVELED. The winner will be announced Monday.
The 411 on INTERTWINED: His eyes are the window to his souls . . . Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:
One can time-travel.
One can raise the dead.
One can tell the future.
And one can possess another human.
Everyone thinks he's crazy, which is why he's spent his entire life shuffled between mental institutions and juvie. All of that is about to change, however. For months Aden has been having visions of a beautiful girl -- a girl who carries centuries old secrets. A girl who will either save him or destroy him.
Together they'll enter a dark world of intrigue and danger . . . but not everyone will come out alive.
UPDATE: The winner of autographed copies of DREAM STALKER and GHOST STALKER by Jenna Kernan is HollyD! Congrats! Please email your physical addy to contests(AT)knightagency.net.
I became interested in dreams about the time I had nightmares linked with high fevers as a child and found myself locked in a terror from which I could not wake.
My fascination with dreams continues in the second in the TRACKER series, GHOST STALKER, (available: April 19, 2011). The heroine in this story has the ability to walk in another’s dreams. While there she is invisible to the dreamer but has the power to heal physical or mental trauma. When she uses her gifts to enter the hero's dream, she discovers four things, he isn’t lying, she’s irresistibly drawn to him, he can see her while dreaming and he remembers her visit. Here’s what happens when the hero wakes up to find she’s invaded his dream:
“What did you do?” he growled. Her jaw dropped as words failed her. What had she done? In his dream he was so handsome, so giving. The temptation and promise of anonymity were too much to resist and she had lowered her guard. “Oh, Great Spirit,” she whispered. “You invaded my dream.” “I never thought that, I mean, I didn’t intend…” How could she finish? “Nicholas, please.” She needed to recall who he was, no, what he was. But her body still trembled from his lovemaking. “I didn’t intend that to happen.” “You really had me fooled. All aloof on the exterior, but oh, how you burn underneath…”
A sneak peek from GHOST STALKER, releasing April 19th.
The third in the TRACKERS series, SOUL STALKER, arrives December 19th and features a Native American shape-shifting raven who needs the help of an enemy, who can speak to the dead, in order to stop a supernatural killer.
GIVEAWAY:I'll be giving away a copy of each DREAM STALKER and GHOST STALKER, the first two books in my original TRACKER series to one randomly chosen commenter. The winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon.
QUESTION:I look forward to hearing about one of your meaningful dreams or feel free to make a comment or ask a question about GHOST STALKER.
UPDATE: The winner of TRUTH AND DARE by Candace Havens is StacieDM! Please email your physical addy to contests(AT)knightagency.net.
Just a giveaway today! Leave your name in the comments to win a copy of TRUTH AND DARE by Candace Havens. The winner will be announced on Monday.
The 411: Once the game starts, there's no going back...
Forensic anthropologist Patience McGee doesn't play games. So when she offers to investigate the death of businessman Cade Randall's father from twenty years ago, Cade's ambivalence is nothing short of frustrating. Well, she'll show this mouthwateringly hot man exactly who he's dealing with....
Cade had made up his mind to walk away from the case-until Patience dared him to help her investigate the murder. And as they immerse themselves in the mystery, it isn't long before the vibe between them goes from civil to sizzle. But what will happen when Cade and Patience realize that the most dangerous dare of all... is the truth?
Hey there, everyone. I'm a bit late today thanks to a busy morning, but I have not forgotten that today is Agent Q&A Day! For those of you new to this TKA feature, I drop by once a month and ask you to post all of your burning questions about publishing, writing, getting an agent and so on. Just ask away in the comments section of this thread. Then I'll come back and provide some answers. I'll be sure to answer a minimum of three questions, more if I have time. (Last month I think I answered pretty much everything.)
So, what would you like to know? Post away! I'll probably answer tomorrow morning to give everyone a chance to get their questions up this evening.
Well, it's time for another First Impressions review. For those of you who are new to this, every month we post the first page of a submission and I offer a critique. Everyone is invited to offer their constructive comments as well. My notes/edits are in red.
Novel Title: MAN-SHY
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Zara Penney
I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. It became almost embarrassing. There was something addictive about his face. Could’ve been the laugh lines at the side of beautiful green eyes. Could’ve been the cleft in his chin. A classic Cary Grant chin.
His neck was long with an Adam’s apple which bobbed up and down like the cork on a fishing line (um, not such an attractive image) as he swallowed. He seemed bored, or absorbed in deep thought. Long slim fingers were absently twirling a crystal wine goblet. He stared into it – mesmerized. (Now, if he's mesmerized then how does he seem bored?)The golden liquid swiveled and glistened like a multi faceted diamond as it caught the light from the wide window beside him. (This sentence seems overdone, is it even needed? I'd cut. What type of wine is golden? One usually thinks white or red, yes?) The nails were groomed to perfection. (Okay, guy with groomed nails drinking "golden" wine out of a crystal goblet...? I'd wonder.) If not groomed then he was just one of God’s most perfect creatures. God does do it from time to time. (Cut this last sentence, more train of thought.)
Mmmmm he could be about forty. Maybe older. Yes definitely older. Let’s(Who is your protagonist speaking to? This breaks the third wall.) bump him up to 45 (Spell out the number). Salt and pepper hair was short and practical. He was the quintessential Polo Ralph Lauren man... (no need for ellipses)
Hunk. (This is a bit much.)
Score: Perfect Ten. (Keep this, it's enough.)
I looked around the restaurant. Mine were not the only eyes drawn like lustful greedy butterflies to the eighth wonder of the world currently sitting alone there at a white-clothed table. Maybe he’d been stood up? He didn’t seem too concerned about it if he had been.
What sort of man could he be was he? The mouth was generous. Given that my Mmother (Mother is a proper name, do not capitalize it when used as a noun.) considered herself a great judge of character - I’d lived a lifetime of warnings.(Very confused by this.)Never go for a shortie with a mean mouth. This mantra had seeped into my life. No matter how much I tried, (Tried what?)short men with mean mouths were off my agenda. This man was the pinnacle of Mother’s eligible (eligibilty is perhaps the word you're looking for) criteria.
But that’s why I’m man-shy. Mother is hungry for grandchildren.
Overall, this was a fun first page. I was engaged by the writer's voice and I honestly liked her protagonist. Just be careful not to "speak" to the audience.
The last sentence was great. But I'm not sure why, if she's man-shy, she's checking out the guy.
I have questions, but I'd read on.
_____ To enter First Impressions, email your first page (300 words or less) to Contests(AT)KnightAgency.net with “First Impressions” in the subject line. Include the title and genre in the email, as well as the name you wish us to use when referring to you publicly. All genres are welcome. Do not send your entry as an attachment; it must be within the body of the email. Winners are randomly selected using http://www.random.org/.
**Disclaimers, Rules, Stipulations, What Not, and All That Jazz: By emailing your entry to Contests(AT)KnightAgency.net, you agree to have your first page posted on our blog for critique. Entrants will remain in the selection queue indefinitely, so your number could come up tomorrow or two years from now. Such is life. We will drop you a line if your email is pulled out of the hat. Maybe. It’s best to just swing by our blog often and check things out, no? Winning a first page critique does not in any way indicate an interest or offer of representation by The Knight Agency, and we reserve the right to delete any material that we find improper or offensive. Though we encourage blog readers to offer positive, thoughtful feedback, we cannot control their opinions with Imperius Curses. However, we will promptly banish nasty, mean-spirited comments to the outer limits of cyberspace. Dontcha wish you could do that with people in real life? Addendum (11/03/2010): In order to give everyone a fair chance, only one entry is allowed per person. If you've submitted more than one first page, your initial email will be added to the queue; however, subsequent emails have been deleted
UPDATE: The winner of THE DARKEST SECRET by Gena Showalter is Sam! Congrats! Please send your physical addy to contests(AT)knightagency.net.
Sorry to keep it quick this week, but we've been crazy busy preparing for the RT BookLovers Convention in LA next week -- so no news round-up today. We do have an incredibly adorable, hilarious and heartwarming video about kittens, though. TKA authors Marley Gibson and Patrick Burns, special assistants to rising stars Madi and Boo, are helping their "bosses" compete for the job of Purina Cat Chow Correspondent(s). You can help them by viewing the YouTube video below. Trust me, it will definitely put a smile on your face!
Leave a comment to win a copy of THE DARKEST SECRET by Gena Showalter. The winner will be announced on Monday.
The 411: Keeper of the demon of Secrets, Amun can manipulate the darkest thoughts of anyone nearby. But when the immortal warrior is chained and isolated to protect those he loves, death is his only hope of release—until he meets Haidee, a fellow prisoner whose beauty and hidden vulnerability draw him into a reckless test of his loyalty….
Haidee is a demon-assassin, raised to despise Amun's kind. Yet how can she hate the man whose touch sets her aflame? But to save him, she must give herself body and soul…and face the wrath of a powerful adversary sworn to destroy her.
Today's Freebie Friday is sponsored by Debbie Mazzuca, author of WARRIOR OF THE ISLES and also known as Duchess Debbie Lulu Mazzucaberton of Ottawabury. ;-) 
