13 Reasons I'm Excited about My Upcoming Book Release

My second novel, SURVIVAL OF THE FAIREST, comes out from Samhain on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. That's less than a week! Here are the reasons I'm thrilled about this, some obvious and some not so obvious:

1) Because I'll start getting checks. Woohoo, more gas for the mini-van to suck down like it has a leak in the tank. ( I don't *think* it has a leak in the tank. I've checked and so has my mechanic.)
2) Because everyone needs to be warned about the dangers of evil wild gnomes. Srsly. (Two links.)

3) Because I love Vegas-set paranormals and think there should be more of them...so here's one more. It's such a rich, exciting setting with so many possibilities beyond gambling, stripping and CSI.

4) Because maybe after the book is available for purchase, I can quit worrying about it and wrap up my next book.

5) Because it's a great excuse to buy more garden gnomes and place them strategically around my house, both inside and out. Yeah, the neighbors think I'm weird, so what?

6) Because the contests and giveaways are going to be FABULOUS! Anyone want to win a hand-crocheted gnome? Well, you can, as soon as I figure out how to attach their little butts.

7) Because the hubby and kids are tired of left-overs and quick-cook dinners. (Which is unfortunate, because that isn't likely to change...)

8) Because I loved writing about the hero (Jake Story) and I can't wait to see if readers love him, too. He's sexy but doesn't abuse it, he's devoted to his mama but isn't whipped by it, and he has a kind of mental flexibility that's very attractive in a human. He accepts people for who they are without expecting them to change. At the same time, there is this scene when he and the heroine are in a diner that might explain man-think for anyone who's been confused about the grunts uttered by the men in their lives.

9) Because I loved writing the heroine (Princess Talista) and I can't wait to see if readers love her, too. She's stubborn (but not TSTL), she's quick-thinking, and she's willing to roll with the punches life throws at her -- and has gotten pretty handy at punching back. She wants to experience everything the human world has to offer, which includes Jake Story. At the same time, she's a far cry from a Mary Sue and has a character arc that would mature a horse. I mean, if horses were immature in the same way people are immature.

10) Because I loved writing the many and varied secondary characters in this novel, including a priggish Elder Court hottie who might need his own romance, a magician's assistant who likes his bodices sparkly and his men in tight pants, a surly villain who ended up being more devious, and more relatable, than I ever expected, and Jake's grandfather Pap who... Well, I don't know how to explain Pap.

11) Because the book's incipient release meant I finally got my cover, and it is AWESOME.

12) Because now I have a "backlist"! I have the book that just came out...and another book, A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH, also available from Samhain for anyone who enjoys SURVIVAL OF THE FAIREST. (Of course, I also have several novellas with Red Sage, but I’m talking about stand-alone novels.)

13) Last but not least, because the book's release spurred me to redesign my antique website. I'd been cabbaging a site design from my cat for an embarrassing number of years. Now my website combines my two writing "halves", has neato pop-up windows and drop-down menus, features lots of interesting trivia, and represents everything I write in a single space. Man, that was hard work, just like writing the book, but it was so worth it.

Hope you'll check them both out! And you don't have to wait until Tuesday the 15th to see my site :).

Jody Wallace
http://www.jodywallace.com/
SURVIVAL OF THE FAIREST--Available 7/15 from Samhain Publishing