Escapist Newsletter (Vol 5 Issue 12)

News from LE

HBrewer-SoulboundThere’s a couple of exciting things going on at Literary Escapism today.  The first one being the fabulous Black Friday event currently going on.  Between November 25th and December 24th, 30 different authors are stopping by with stories about characters from their new releases, going shopping during this crazy holiday season.  We’ve already seen stories by Leanna Renee Hieber, Marjorie Liu, Jane Kindred, Nancy Gideon, Gini Koch and there’s still a bunch more planned.

I got distracted with a new project earlier this month (hence the slow news cycles), and I’m getting ready to show it off.  Basically, it’s a list of anthologies because they are just that awesome and are the perfect gift during a holiday season.  My current list has at least 80 titles on it, but I know I’m missing a bunch more.  If you know of any that should be included, please click here and add it.  Otherwise, I’ll be posting it soon – I just need to clean up a couple of things.

In more LE news, 2012 is going to be busy here.  Currently, there’s the Black Friday event going on, however, once the new year hits, so does my wacky schedule.  Here’s a glimpse as to what you’ll see on LE in 2012:

I also want to say that there’s at least one other event in the works at some point in 2012 that I keep forgetting about, plus LE will be represented at both the RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago and the Authors After Dark convention in North Orleans.  I’m also implementing a few administrative changes behind the scenes that should hopefully make everything run smoother and allow reviews to be posted more frequently.   LE is definitely growing and 2011 has really showed Jesse and I how much.  We’re adapting and hopefully trying to make everything run a bit smoother.  Plus, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a little site redesign in 2012 as well, but we’ll see if that happens.

One last piece of news, I’m thinking the newsletter is going to get a massive overhaul.  Well, not really all that massive, but I think I’m going to stop checking various authors’ actual websites to the routine.  I’ve been doing it for awhile, well, fours years this month, and now it just seems like I’m not finding as much.  Granted, the only authors I’m still checking are those who are not in my feed, but those same authors tend to have a problem updating their websites.  For instance, JR Ward’s site sucks for updates.  It still shows Lover Unleashed as an upcoming release. *headdesk* What about Lover Reborn? So what I think I’m going to do is not stress about the author websites and just check the reader (which I’m already doing). The author section may not be as informative as earlier editions, but it really  hasn’t been lately.  Who knows, maybe I’ll add a couple of new features that will be exclusive to the website.  I don’t know yet, but I’m thinking the first Escapist Newsletter for 2012 will be organized differently.  Is there anything anyone would like to see included?  I’m taking suggestions/recommendations.

One last bit of news.  Happy Birthday Literary Escapism!  On December 20th, LE will celebrate it’s 4th birthday.

Cover Extravaganza

KLCastle-Shadow RisingDuring December, 110 different covers were revealed. I’m only going to show off a few that I haven’t seen get as much time on the blogs, but you can find all of them, in their original sizes, on the Facebook page. There were a ton of great sources: Wicked Scribes, All Things Urban Fantasy, Michelle’s Book Blog and Tez Says.

New Releases

December 1st:
Demons Like It Hot by Sidney Ayers (Demons Unleashed #2)
Playing with Fire by Michele Hauf
How to Worship a Goddess by Stephanie Julian (Forgotten Goddesses #2)
Enchanted Desire by Ryaka Mennen
The Spider Goddess by Tara Moss (Pandora English #2)
The Hedgewitch Queen by Lilith Saintcrow (Hedgewitch #1)
Dreaming of the Wolf by Terry Spear (Wolf #8)

December 5th: A Taste of Midnight by Lara Adrian (Midnight Breed)

December 6th:
Agony/Ecstasy an anthology featuring Meljean Brook, Jean Johnson, Bettie Sharpe, Jill Myles
Nautier and Wilder an anthology featuring Lora Leigh, Jaci Burton
Devil’s Kiss by Zoe Archer (Hellraisers #1)
Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout
Dead Bolt by Juliet Blackwell (Haunted Home Repair Mystery)
Shaedes of Gray by Amanda Bonilla
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (Infernal Devices #2)
Left Hand Magic by Nancy Collins (Golgotham #2)Daybreak by Ellen Connor (Dark Age Dawning #3)
Winging It by Deborah Cooke (Dragon Diaries #2)
Eternal Starling by Angela Corbett
Head Rush by Carolyn Crane (Disillusionist #3)
Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro
Blood of Eden by Tami Dane (Sloan Skye #1)
Night Reigns by Dianne Duvall
Dark Phantom by Kailin Gow (Phantom Diaries Beginnings #2)
Bound by the Vampire Queen by Joey W. Hill (Vampire Queen)
Shattered Dreams by Ellie James
Alien Proliferation by Gini Koch (Alien Collective #4)
Under the Vale and Other Tales of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey
True Shot by Joyce Lamb
Lawe’s Justice by Lora Leigh (Breeds)
It’s All Greek to Me by Katie MacAlister
The Cross by Sean McCabe (Vampire Federation #2)
Surrender by Lee Nichols (Haunting Emma #3)
Hearts and Swords by Robin Owens
Deadlock by Moira Rogers (Southern Arcana)
That Old Black Magic by Michelle Rowen (Living in Eden #3)
Thirteen Hallows by Michael Scott
Reprisal by Paul Wilson
Hushed by Kelley York

December 8th: Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

December 12th:
Frost Fire by Kailin Gow (Frost #6)
Artemis by Philip Palmer

December 13th:
Sisters of Isis by Lynne Ewing
True Colors by Thea Harrison (Elder Races)

December 14th: Rise of Empire by Michael Sullivan (Riyria Revelations #2)

December 15th:
The Girl with the Granite Heart by AJ Mendon
Secrets of His Own by Amanda Stevens

December 18th: DC Comics: The New 52

December 19th: The Heat by Heather Killough-Walden (Big Bad Wolf)

December 20th:
On a Dark Wing by Jordan Dane
Blood Wolf by Steve Feasey (Wereling #3)
Enchanted Again by Robin Owens
Touch of Power by Maria Snyder (Avry of Kazan #1)

December 22nd: Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowen and Richelle Mead

December 27th:
Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Archon by Sabrina Benulis
The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark
Spirit Bound by Christine Feehan (Sea Haven)
Shadow City by Diana Pharaoh Francis (Horngate #3)
Bedeviled by Sable Grace (Dark Breed)
The Mortal Bone by Marjorie Liu (Hunter Kiss #4)
Warrior’s Redemption by Melissa Mayhue
Heir of Danger by Alix Rickloff (Heirs of Kilronan #5)
Wicked Circle by Linda Robertson
Magic of the Moonlight by Ellen Schreiber (Full Moon)
Dating the Undead by Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe
The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten
Silver-Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells (Sabina Kane #4)

December 30th: The Strip by Heather Killough-Walden (Big Bad Wolf)

December 31st:
Hidden by Kelley Armstrong
Sherlock Holmes 101 by Michael Stackpole
The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine by Peter Straub

Here are a few other places with their own September releases: All Things Urban Fantasy, Tez Says, Paranormal Romance, Vampire Book Club, The Galaxy Express,

Patricia’s Vampire Notes is reminding us of all the fabulous novels that came out in November.

New Release Dates:
Antho-Hex AppealI’ve finally gotten the New Releases page updated. A printable version of the New Releases page was requested on facebook awhile back and that is now available. For a listing of all the novels that have been added this month, click here. I still have about 60+ to post, but instead of making the newsletter even longer, I’m going to post the new closer dates now and post the rest next week.

01/17/12: Ghosts of Boyfriends Past by Vivi Andrews
01/24/12: The Twisted Kiss by Anya Bast

02/01/12: Hedgewitch #2 by Lilith Saintcrow (Hedgewitch #2)
02/14/12: When We Were Executioners by JM McDermott
02/21/12: The Restorer by Amanda Stevens (Graveyard Queen #1)

03/01/12: Onyx by Jennifer Armentrout (#2)
03/01/12: Unchained by Jennifer Armentrout (Unchained #1)
03/01/12: Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
03/20/12: Traitor’s Son by Hilari Bell (Raven Duet #2)
03/27/12: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens (Graveyard Queen #2)

04/24/12: The Prophet by Amanda Stevens (Graveyard Queen #3)
04/24/12: The Temptation by Alisa Valdes
04/30/12: The Best of Kage Baker by Kage Baker

05/01/12: From Bad to Cursed by Katie Alender
05/08/12: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
05/08/12: Endure by Carrie Jones (Need Pixies #4)
05/15/12: As Dead as it Gets by Katie Alender
05/15/12: Personal Demons by Nimue Brown (Hopeless Maine #1)
05/15/12: Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses #8)
05/15/12: Immortal Hearts by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses #9)
05/22/12: This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel
05/29/12: Darkness Before Dawn by JA London
05/29/12: The Player by JR Ward (Moorehouse Legacy)

From the Author Sites

KArthur-Beneath a Rising MoonFor this month, I really don’t have a lot of author news that we haven’t already seen.  In fact, all I have are three new cover copies…

If you’re a fan of Lauren Dane‘s Brown Siblings series, and have been wanting more from Erin, Todd and Ben, then you’ll be happy to know that Dane will be releasing a new enovella, Laid Open, featuring these three.

This is a digital only novella featuring Ben, Todd and Erin from Laid Bare. It takes place during some of the events in TART…

All she needed to pack was a few bikinis, a toothbrush and some sunscreen. This is what Ben told Erin when he presented her and Todd with tickets to Fiji and the promise of ten days of nothing but sleeping until whenever they wanted, sex without having to lock the door and lots of alone time.

And that’s what they have. Long days and nights filled with pleasure. Long enough that the stress and exhaustion drops away and the three can simply enjoy each other.

They’ve got heat. More than ever before. Recharging their batteries has also brought new levels of intimacy and connection. But when Erin stumbles over the pain of her past, both men band together to not only help her through, but to help each other as well.

Jory Strong has posted the blurb for her upcoming novel, Inked Magic, which releases February 7, 2012.

Skin didn’t lie to her. It was her gift, sometimes her curse. To feel what others felt. To see the things held in their memories…

With the touch of her palms to the skin of a crime victim, San Francisco tattoo artist Etaín can see the faces of the guilty and draw them. Changeling elf but unaware of it, at odds with her police captain father and FBI brother, magic and gift have put her on the path of two compelling men.

Cathal Dunne, the son of an Irish mob boss, needs Etaín’s help finding the rapists who left his cousin for dead. Eamon, a powerful elf lord, is determined to make her his consort-wife.

Her gift once made permanence impossible when it came to a lover. Now as she approaches the transition to fully Elven, her survival depends on keeping two. One of the men is willing to share her. The other isn’t—until the search for a sexual predator turns deadly—and only by paying magic’s price will there be any future at all.

It’s not from an author site, but Wicked Scribes found the cover blurb for Christine Feehan’s Samuari Game, which releases July 3, 2012.

In an underground club, a high-ranking public official spends his secret nights indulging in fantasies as exciting as they are depraved. For a seductive employee of the Dungeon, it’s her job to fulfill them. But she’s playing a far more dangerous game – one of blackmail, politics and murder that reaches into the shadow world of the GhostWalkers, and the creation of a spectacular, one-of-a-kind new weapon of defense.

But when a dictator makes his own catastrophic moves, the GhostWalkers have no choice but to bring in two major players – a man and woman both driven by passion and revenge. Both expendable. Both with nothing left to lose.

New Excerpts or Reading for Free

JQuaid-Boyfriend from HellNalini Singh has posted the first chapter (or a part of) her next Psy-Changeling novel, Tangle of Need, which is due to release May 29, 2012.

Ilona Andrews brings us a fascinating story of when Curran finds out who Kate’s daddy is.  Needless to say, he takes it as well as we have come to expect of him. *grin*

Diana Pharaoh Francis has posted a snippet from her forthcoming novel, Shadow City, which releases this month.

Lauren Dane has posted a snippet from her fourth Brown Siblings novel, Never Enough.

Carolyn Crane has posted the first chapter to her final Disillusionist novel, Head Rush.

Diana Gabaldon has posted an excerpt from her new Lord John novel, The Scottish Prisoner, which could also be considered an Outlander novella since we’ll get to see Jamie in action as well.

Pocket After Dark has a snippet from Diana Francis Pharaoh’s upcoming Horngate Witches novel, Shadow City, which is due out December 27th.

Shiloh Walker has an excerpt form Lisa Renee Jones’ Storm That Is Sterling.

Jeri Smith-Ready tweeted a bunch of Shine teasers during this summer and she’s compiled them all into one post. Shine will be out in May 2012.

Lauren Dane has posted a snippet from her second Bound by Magick novel, Chaos Burning, which is due out in June 2012.

Diana Francis Pharaoh has posted a snippet from her fourth Horngate Witches novel, Blood Winter.

Shiloh Walker has posted a snippet from her upcoming novel, If You See Her, which releases.  Shiloh has also posted an excerpt from her newly released Hunters novel, Eli and Sarel.

Lauren Dane has posted a snippet from her next Phantom Corps novel, Captivated, which releases May 1st.

Jeaniene Frost has posted an excerpt from her story, Home for the Holidays, which appeared in the anthology, A Bite Before Christmas.

Richelle Mead has posted the first chapter to her fourth Dark Swan novel, Shadow Heir, which releases in January.

Nalini Singh has posted an excerpt from her new release, Lord of the Abyss.  In addition, Nalini has posted a bunch of deleted scenes from a few of her novels, like Kiss of Snow and Beat of Temptation (her story from the An Enchanted Season anthology).

Cynthia Eden has posted the prologue to her upcoming novel, Angel of Darkness, which releases next week.

Kelley Armstong has posted the eleventh chapter to her Online Story. Here are the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventheighth, ninth and tenth chapters.

Yasmine Galenorn has a new Moon Daughter’s Comic up.

Karen Chance has posted a new short story set in her Cassie Palmer series.  The House at Cobb Endanswers the question of exactly how old Pritkin’s house is and while it is set prior to the beginning of the Cassie series, it does contain spoilers for the books.  So read at your own risk if you haven’t read the series.

Shiloh Walker has a free eread of Hunters Choice up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  I’m not sure if this is a limited time thing or not, so I would get it now while you can. Shiloh has also posted a free Christmas story, A Present for Christmas, to Barnes & Noble and All Romance.

I’m not sure how long this will be available, but the anthology, Wild & Steamy, featuing Meljean Brooks, Carolyn Crane and Jill Myles is currently free at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.  This is definitely a limited time, so get it while you can.

Lauren Dane has posted a snippet from her novel, Mesmerized.

Kelly Meding has posted a snippet from her upcoming Dred City novel, Wrong Side of Death, which releases January 31st.

What Bears Repeating

PC & Kristen Cast have some fantastic news. Their House of Night series has been picked up by Samuel Davis Films to be a film franchise. Well a movie for sure, but Davis sees the potential for the franchise. Everything is still in development, so no there’s no tentative release date, director, cast, etc announced yet; but there will be in the future and that’s what counts.

Diana Francis Pharaoh has announced the title for her fourth Horngate Witches novel.  It’s a working title, and we’ll probably won’t get it until December 2012, but we get to look forward to Blood Winter. Oh yeah, did you see the snippet mentioned above?

Sad news for fans of Shiloh Walkers’ Veil series, the third book ain’t coming.   Veil of Shadows didn’t do as well as it needed to do, so the third novel is going into hiatus for a bit.  Shiloh assures us that the story will continue, just not anytime soon.

Romantic Times posted their nominees for their Reviewers Choice Awards and lots of fabulous authors made the list.

Featured Book: Best of Kage Baker

Best of Kage BakerKage Baker’s death in 2010 silenced one of the most distinctive, consistently engaging voices in contemporary fiction. A late starter, Baker published her first short stories in 1997, at the age of forty-five. From then until the end of her life, she wrote prolifically and well, leaving an astonishing body of work behind.

The Best of Kage Baker is a treasure trove that gathers together twenty stories and novellas, eleven of which have never been collected anywhere. The volume is bookended by a pair of tales from her best known and best loved creation: The Company, with its vivid cast of time traveling immortals. In ‘Noble Mold,’ Mendoza the botanist and Joseph, the ancient ‘facilitator,’ find themselves in 19th century California, where a straightforward acquisition grows unexpectedly complex, requiring, in the end, a carefully engineered ‘miracle.’ In ‘The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park,’ an autistic Company operative named Ezra encounters a lost soul named Kristy Ann, and finds a way to give her back the world that she has lost.

Among the volume’s many other highlights are a pair of brilliant Company novellas: the Hugo Award-nominated ‘Son, Observe the Time’ and ‘Welcome to Olympos, Mr. Hearst,’ a tour de force set in the Hollywood of the 1930s and featuring an encounter with legendary newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. There is also a generous assortment of equally brilliant standalone tales, including ‘Calamari Curls,’ the account of a faded resort town that takes a surprising turn into Lovecraftian terrain, and the World Fantasy Award-nominated ‘Caverns of Mystery,’ in which ancient stories play themselves out repeatedly, shaping and altering the world around them.

These are only a few of the pleasures waiting within this book. The Best of Kage Baker is exactly what the title proclaims: the best short work of a gifted and irreplaceable writer. Anyone with an interest in first-rate imaginative fiction–anyone with an interest in lovingly crafted fiction of any kind–needs to read this book.

This Month’s Reviews

JShirvington-EmbraceThe Griffin’s Flight by K.J. Taylor
Blood Trinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon & Dianna Love
Snow’s Blood by Jaiden Robert
Enthralled (Anthology)
Ward Against Death by Melanie Card
Alterant by Sherrilyn Kenyon & Dianna Love
The Monster’s Daughter by Deborah Bryan
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
House Name by Michelle West
The Fat Cat by Edie Ramer
In Bed With A Highlander by Maya Banks
Blood of Eden by Tami Dane
Abandon the Night by Joss Ware
Working Stiff by Rachel Caine
Acacia by David Anthony Durham

From the Reader

Wicked Scribes has some fantastic news.  She’s found that the rights for many of Keri Arthur’s older series have been bought by Bantam Dell and they’ll be re-releasing the Spook Squad, the Ripple Creek Werewolves, the Damask Circle, and the Nikki and Michael series books. I’m assuming this will take place over a couple of years, so don’t expect them to show up on your bookshelves soon, but know they will be.

Book Chick City has found a fabulous new artist.  I mean seriously wickedly awesome.  The artist is Alastair Fell and I just had to steal one of the pieces Book Chick City was showcasing.  I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about this print that I simply can’t stop looking at it.  You should really check out the other images Book Chick City has or better yet, go over and check out Alastair Fell’s site.

On November 24th, Tilly Greene will be kicking off her holiday celebrations with her Perfect Gift is a Book Event. Between November 25th and December 24th, a different author or blogger will be visiting her and suggesting what they think would be the perfect book to give as a gift.  I’ll be visiting her site at some point (once I have a link, I’ll share it) and I personally think I have the perfect book to give.  *grin* Curious to know what it is?  Than keep an eye on Tilly’s site as she will also be having a sweet contest going at the same time.

The Book Smugglers has their month long Smugglivus event in full swing and have already had visits by Jackie Kessler, Kate Elliot, Rachel Neumeier and Meljean Brook.

Stumbling Over Chaos has a fabulously new Misadventures in Stock Photography and this time we’re meeting someone new – Holding on to His Hat Guy (HotHHG).

Author Appearances

AStevens-ProphetFor the full listing of this month’s interviews, click here.

Contests

Vampire Book Club is giving away two copies of the Evolve 2: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead anthology – ends December 11th.

GoodReads is giving away 10 copies of Melanie Rawn’s Touchstone – ends December 17th.

Chloe Neill is giving away two ARCs of her upcoming Dark Elite novel, Charmfall – ends December 13th.

GoodReads is giving away 5 copies of Diana Pharaoh Francis’s Shadow City – ends December 21st.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

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