Writer's Grove

The League Rocks!

I have, on occasion, been accused of immaturity. On every such occasion, I have been guilty—except for that one episode with the can of beer and a rubber chicken. That was an experiment.

My chronic immaturity is why I’m proud to be a member of The League of Reluctant Adults, a group of urban fantasy and paranormal romance authors with similar issues. They also happen to write really good books.

Jeanne Stein, for example, just got herself on the NYT Bestseller list with her contribution to Hexed, an anthology of kickass urban fantasy that came out on the same day as my book of the same name. Jeanne also writes a spiffy vampire series called The Anna Strong Chronicles. I’m gonna paste in the Publisher’s Weekly review of The Becoming, her first book, because they nailed it at the end when they spoke of her career:

Anna Strong can’t face herself in the mirror—not because she left her teaching career to become a bounty hunter or because she’s torn between her boyfriend and a new suitor, but because she’s been turned into a reflection-deficient vampire. After being savagely attacked by one of her marks, Anna is left for dead—only to become, surprise surprise, undead. Helping her come to terms with her new, nocturnal lifestyle is an attractive doctor and vampire by the name of Grant Avery. Anna’s new assignment is to find and destroy the rogue vamp that turned her and who is leaving a path of violent destruction in his wake. With plot twists, engaging characters and smart writing, this first installment in a new supernatural series has all the marks of a hit. Anna Strong lives up to her name: equally tenacious and vulnerable, she’s a heroine with the charm, savvy and intelligence that fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison will be happy to root for. As Anna tries to temper her new bloodlust with her lingering humanity, the trauma of her “becoming” is as compelling as the action-packed story line. If this debut novel is any indication, Stein has a fine career ahead of her.

Coming out July 5, K.A. Stewart’s second Jesse James Dawson novel, A Shot in the Dark, is sure to rock your socks. (Or, if you prefer the letter W, it will rawk your sawks.) High five for the badass leather jacket! I need to get me one of those with a handy inside pocket for a flask.

Here’s the scoop on her book: Jesse James Dawson is a Champion, putting his life on the line for those foolish enough to bargain with demons and fighting to save their souls. But even a Champion needs some downtime, so Jesse takes his annual camping trip to Colorado for some male bonding over friendly games of paintball.

Unfortunately, the fun and war games are interrupted by a pack of creatures summoned up from the very depths of hell by an entity Jesse prayed he’d never see again. With the lives of his friends and a teenager’s soul on the line, Jesse’s only hope may lie with an even more dangerous enemy–his personal demon, Axel…

Also coming up on July 5, My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland! Can I just say how much I love this cover for a minute?

This is by Dan Dos Santos, same guy who does the Patricia Briggs covers for her Mercy Thompson series. He won a Silver Medal at the Spectrum Awards for it. And there’s a spiffy blog post where he walks you through the process of creating it. I want a big freakin’ poster of this cover. Or maybe just the tattoo on her shoulder. “I LOVE BRAINS.” That’s an instant classic.

And you know what? The pages inside are filled with awesomeness! Here’s the blurb: Teenage delinquent Angel Crawford lives with her redneck father in the swamps of southern Louisiana. She’s a high school dropout, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and has a police record a mile long. But when she’s made into a zombie after a car crash, her addictions disappear, except for her all-consuming need to stay “alive”…

BRAAAAAAAINS. Cannot. Wait.

Two of my favorite series from a couple o’ my favorite peeps continue this summer! Right after the holy nerd holiday of San Diego Comic Con, we get treated to books by Nicole Peeler and Kelly Meding!

Eye of the Tempest is Nicole’s fourth book (coming out July 26) and Jane True is one of my favorite heroines. Nicole is an auto-buy for me and her books always make me laugh out loud. Of course, Nicole herself makes me laugh too. Right now she’s in Pennsylvania and jonesing for some decent Mexican food because you can’t get any where she’s at. Please tweet pictures of yummy Mexican food and margaritas to @NicolePeeler because it’s fun to torture your friends (and random authors you don’t really know). Don’t worry, she won’t get mad at you. She’ll get mad at me and send a ninja poodle to hump my leg. Here’s the skinny on Jane True’s fourth adventure: Nothing says “home” like being attacked by humans with very large guns, as Jane and Anyan discover when they arrive in Rockabill. These are professionals, brought into kill, and they bring Anyan down before either Jane or the barghest can react. Seeing Anyan fall awakens a terrible power within Jane, and she nearly destroys herself taking out their attackers.

Jane wakes, weeks later, to discover that she’s not the only thing that’s been stirring. Something underneath Rockabill is coming to life: something ancient, something powerful, and something that just might destroy the world.

Jane and her friends must act, striking out on a quest that only Jane can finish. For whatever lurks beneath the Old Sow must be stopped…and Jane’s just the halfling for the job.

I’ve been gnawing at a strip of rawhide marinated in whiskey waiting for Kelly Meding’s third Evy Stone story, Another Kind of Dead, and it’s not just because the cover model has fabulously feathered hair the likes of which haven’t been seen on this planet since 1985. It’s not just because she can apparently call down green fucking lightning to take out those pesky trains. It’s because Kelly’s Dreg City is a fascinating world and I can’t wait to see what happens there next! Like, you know, MAD SCIENTISTS! It comes out Aug. 2. Here’s the blurb:

Been there. Done that. Evy Stone is a former Dreg Bounty Hunter who died and came back to life with some extraordinary powers. Now all but five people in the world think she is dead again, this time for good—immolated in a factory fire set specifically for her. Evy and Wyatt, her partner/lover/friend, can no longer trust their former allies, or even the highest echelons of the Triads—the army of fighters holding back from an unsuspecting public a tide of quarreling, otherworldly creatures—they can trust only each other. Because when the Triads raided a macabre, monster-filled lab of science experiments and hauled away the remnants, they failed to capture their creator: a brilliant, vampire-obsessed scientist with a wealth of powerful, anti-Dreg weaponry to trade for what he desires most of all—Evy Stone: alive and well, and the key to his ultimate experiment in mad science.

Coming soon to a digital outlet near you, some stuff to get your motor runnin’: Wild & Steamy, a self-published collection of spin-off novellas from three fabulous novelists, including the League’s own Carolyn Crane. Her Disillusionist series has been optioned for a TV series, and this collection includes a story from that world! Exact date for release of this is still a bit unclear, but it’s supposed to be late June/early July, so keep checking Carolyn’s site for updates!

Heck, keep checking here for updates…I might have forgotten something and will shortly have my short n’ curlies yanked out by the League’s enforcer, Mario Acevedo. He carries a tiny pocket shiv with him wherever he goes but disguises his menace with friendly Hawaiian shirts. Don’t fall for it, friends! Mario is fully weaponized!

Coming soon: pictures of pretty things. Questions about egg sacs. And doggies.