The Sacred Aftermath

Sacred BandHarper Collins posted the first chapter to Melissa Marr’s Darkest Mercy, which comes out on February 22nd.

Jim C Hines has posted an excerpt from his upcoming Princess novel, The Snow Queen’s Shadow, which is due to release.

Author Appearances:

Tor/Forge is kicking off a new monthly SF/F Twitter chat every third Wednesday of the month.  The first episode will be next week (February 16th at 4pm EST) – hash tag #torchat – and will feature authors Greg Bear, Steven Gould and MJ Locke.  There’s talk of exclusive fan giveaways from @Torbooks, so if you’re a fan and can get on Twitter, it might be worth the time to check out.

The Paperback Dolls are featuring the many YA authors that will be at the RT Booklovers Convention this year.  I’ve heard that this years convention is focusing more on the YA trend (and film) and by the list of authors attending, I can see it.  One of the Dolls, Mona, will be in attendance and will be talking to a few of the authors.  As such, they are looking for input as to which questions to ask.  Is there something you want to know?

Blastr is predicting that Hollywood is getting ready to leave the vampire and zombies behind.  Instead of the supernatural, it seems Hollywood is thinking fairy tales are going to be the next big thing.  There are no less than 3 Snow White flicks in the works, Red Riding Hood is opening soon (or has it already?) and there’s also a couple of series in the works.  Does this mean we could see a Stepsister Scheme (Jim C. Hines) option soon?

Ann Aguirre has a completely fabulous new cover for the fifth Sirantha Jax novel, Aftermath. In addition to that, the blurb has been posted and something tells me I need to re-read it, because I think I’m missing something.  This is only one of many fabulous covers that have been popping up. For all the new covers, I’ve added them to the FB album.

AftermathDEAD HEROES GET MONUMENTS. LIVE ONES GET TRIALS.
Sirantha Jax has the right genes—ones that enable her to “jump” faster-than-light ships through grimspace. But it’s also in her genetic makeup to go it alone. It’s a character trait that has gotten her into—and out of—hot water time and time again, but now she’s caused one of the most horrific events in military history…

During the war against murderous, flesh-eating aliens, Sirantha went AWOL and shifted grimspace beacons to keep the enemy from invading humanity’s homeworld. The cost of her actions: the destruction of modern interstellar travel—and the lives of six hundred Conglomerate soldiers.

Accused of dereliction of duty, desertion, mass murder, and high treason, Sirantha is on trial for her life. And only time will tell if she’s one of the Conglomerate’s greatest heroes—or most infamous criminals…

BSC is giving their prediction on what the next five years will look like for the UF genre and it looks like the next big thing will be…

Sexy Mummies:  perfectly-preserved bondage fanatics with a distinct pharaonic flair that certain tight-pantsed heroines will find strangely attractive.  The pioneering series, Embalming Fluid and Tonic, will follow the exploits of one Miranda Funt and her lover as they try to solve murder mysteries and find his heart…or at least which jar it was put in.

The entire article is hilarious, so you really should head over to and BSC check it out.

Blastr has come across some amazing artwork where Star Wars has been given a new steampunk look.  My personal favorite is Princess Leia, but all of the are equally fascinating.  The portraits were done by Bjorn Hurri.

So I guess there was another kerfuffle (Beware of Unprofessional Reviewers and a response from one of the offending blogs Readers Beware of Unprofessional Authors) about an author not liking a reviewers review and naming names? I’m not really sure what the whole story is and I really don’t want to know.  Personally, an author has every right to get upset over a negative review; just like I have every right to write a negative review.  While I dislike writing negative reviews, I’m not going to lie about a novel just so I don’t hurt someone’s feelings.  IMO, that’s doing the author a disservice because someone out there will read my negative review and think “what she found wrong, I totally like”.  I have come across many negative reviews that have made me pick up a book simply because there are some things that people dislike that I enjoy or I’m interested enough that I want to see what’s going on for myself.  In the grand scheme of things, reviews are completely subjective and should be taken with as much weight as what you’re going to have for dinner tonight.  I mean, seriously, do bloggers really have that big of an impact on author sales?  And if you want a much better editorial on this topic with catchy 80s pop references, then totally head over to Meljean Brook – I love her take on this.

Contests:
Between the Pages is giving away a copy of Richelle Mead’s Last Sacrifice.  Ends February 20th.

Larissa Ione is having an Anti-Valentine’s Day Giveaway, which includes a Demonica tote bag.  Ends February 13th.

Love Vampires is giving away a copy of Marie Treanor’s Blood on Silk.  Ends February 13th.

The On the Hunt authors are giving away an IPod Nano and a signed copy of On the Hunt. Here are the details:

On the HuntWant to chase the winter blues away? Join the hunt. Four authors. Five hidden images. One red-hot anthology. Hunt down the contest images hidden on Gena Showalter, Shannon K. Butcher, Jessica Andersen and Deidre Knight’s online homes to win an iPod Nano multi-touch and a signed copy of On the Hunt. A second prize winner will add 10 sizzling Signet Eclipse releases to their bookshelf!

The winners will be announced during our Valentine’s Day Afterglow chat event on Thursday, February 17th @ 9pm ET. All of the On the Hunt authors will be on hand. Plus, there will be a few surprise giveaways for those that attend. Bookmark our chat room – TKA Chats!

Click here to find out how to join the hunt and take the exclusive “Hunter or Prey?” quiz.

**Contest begins on Monday, Feb. 7th @ 9:00am ET and ends on Thursday, Feb 17th @ 3pm ET. U.S. residents only**

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.