Audio Books

I've received several email queries recently from folks asking if there will be an audio version of WRONG SIDE OF DEAD, so I thought I should do a quick post on the topic.

Tantor bought rights to do audio versions of only the first three Dreg City books, all of which are available right now. They did not buy rights to WRONG SIDE OF DEAD. I would love for fans of the audio books to have the chance to hear the fourth book, but unfortunately that's not up to me. Just like the future of the print books depends on sales, so does the future of the audio versions.

Someone asked what you could do to let Tantor know you want WSOD in audio. The best, easiest step (if you haven't already) is to purchase the audio books of the first three. If you borrowed them from the library, then write to another local library and suggest they also stock the books. Recommend them to a friend (or two or twenty). Review them online. Help get the word out so others can find them, too.

You can also drop Tantor an email and let them know directly that you're interested. Tell them you want the fourth Dreg City book in audio format! Xe Sands has already told me she'd be on board for it, if the deal ever happens and I'd love to give a talented performer more work.

Release Day: Wrong Side of Dead

Guess what's out today????

Monster hunter Evangeline Stone woke up on the wrong side of dead this morning—and now there’s hell to pay.

Barely recovered from her extended torture at the hands of mad scientist Walter Thackery, Evy can use a break. What she gets instead is a war, as the battered Triads that keep Dreg City safe find themselves under attack by half-Blood vampires who have somehow retained their reason, making them twice as lethal. Worse, the Halfies are joined by a breed of were-creature long believed extinct—back and more dangerous than ever. Meanwhile, Evy’s attempts at reconciliation with the man she loves take a hit after Wyatt is viciously assaulted—an attack traced to Thackery, who has not given up his quest to exterminate all vampires . . . even if he has to destroy Dreg City to do it. With Wyatt’s time running out, another threat emerges from the shadows and a staggering betrayal shatters the fragile alliance between the Triads, vampires, and shapeshifters, turning Evy’s world upside down forever.

It's available at all major retailers in both paperback and ebook format, so go forth and enjoy Evy & Co's latest adventure!

Four Chapters, AAD and Were-Critters

With WRONG SIDE OF DEAD (Dreg City #4) releasing in just four more days, there are a few related things going on around the 'net.

As part of their 50 Page Friday feature, Suvudu has the first four chapters available to read right now! Lots of Evy and Phineas, with a side order of Wyatt, Felix, Kismet--and some new faces--all dealing with a new set of problems handed down by an old nemesis....

Over at Julie's awesome Yummy Men & Kick Ass Chicks blog, I'm the featured AAD author this week. There is an interview with some WSOD dish, as well as a giveaway. The winner can choose any of the Dreg City books as a prize! Julie also posted a fabulous review of WRONG SIDE OF DEAD. It's the kind of review an author wants to have babies with (and the Wyatt quote she picked out is one of my favorites, too).

I'm over at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs talking about shapeshifters, and I'm asking readers about their favorite were-critters.

Giveaway Winners

Thanks to everyone who entered in the giveaway for signed copies of WRONG SIDE OF DEAD. Looks like Wyatt was the overwhelming favorite, with Phin coming in a close second.

I used Random.org to select five winners.


*drum roll*


Jerrilynn Atherton, who said "Definitely Wyatt!!"

BWest, who said "I'm looking at seeing more about Wyatt."

@djlatty1, who said, "I want to see Phin come through and show Evy his wild side. ;)"

June, who said, "More about Phin."

poisnivyred, who said, "Well if I can't pick Evy, I must say Wyatt!"


Congrats to the winners! Please send your mailing address to me at mail(at)kellymeding(dot)com ASAP so I can get the prizes out. And happy reading!

Giveaway: Wrong Side of Dead

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

A box of author copies of WRONG SIDE OF DEAD landed yesterday, so I'm giving some away. Because let's face it, I've read it and I don't need this many. The giveaway is open until late Monday, January 16th. I'll randomly select 5 (five) winners on Tuesday.

Yes, I said five winners. Five signed copies are up for grabs, so tell your friends.



How do you enter? Leave a comment on this post telling me which Dreg City character (except for Evy, who's kind of a gimme) you're most looking forward to reading more about in WRONG SIDE OF DEAD.

Ready? Go!

Wrong Side of Dead: Snippet 2

I want to end the old year with another snippet from WRONG SIDE OF DEAD (31 days!), and it's a challenge to find good snippets that aren't also chock full of spoilers. This book addresses a lot of questions that have been raised during the previous three books (including Walter Thackery, Clan politics, various personal relationships, and what's really up with the Fey), so finding something to post is a bit of a challenge.

I chose the following section because it amuses me. You get to meet a new-ish character, were-jaguar Marcus Dane. He was first introduced in my Suvudu.com short story PRIDE BEFORE FALL, along with his sister, Astrid. Both come back as major players in WRONG SIDE OF DEAD as the Triads and Therian Clans ally themselves.

In this scene, set a couple of days after the final events in ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD, Evy and Milo are being given a tour of their new headquarters by Marcus, and they end up in the gym.

####

Milo clears his throat. "The gym's great. With everything that's been going on, I haven't had a good workout in ages."

"You don't consider Sunday to be a good workout?" I ask, caught between amusement and surprise.

He gives me a baleful look. "I was thinking more along the lines of improving mobility and fighting skills, and less battling for my life."

"Good point. The barbells don't usually fight back."

"That removes some of the fun, don't you think?" Marcus asks. One corner of his mouth quirks up, and I swear there's an amused glint in his eyes. "You spar?"

He isn't asking me, and it takes Milo a moment to realize it. "Boxing? No, not really."

I manage to keep surprise off my face. He knows how to fight as well as I do, but I don't contradict him. Not in front of a cat and two bears.

"Wrestling?" Marcus asks.

"Some."

Some? Learning basic holds, pins, and throws was part of Boot Camp training. We all took the course. I remember all the moves and can re-create them all in my mind, but even if I wasn't in such poor shape, I'd hesitate to try wrestling in this new body before it's properly trained. Especially not wrestling against a were-cat who outweighs me by a good fifty pounds.

"Great." Marcus strips out of his T-shirt without ceremony, showing off a ripped torso and tanned skin. I know my jaw dropped. "Let's go, then." He strides toward the far end of the room and the archway into the matted area. He pauses there and looks back, grinning right at Milo. "Do you have somewhere to be?"

"Uh, no?" Milo says.

I lift a shoulder in a half shrug, offering him no help. His own attempt at reverse psychology didn't get him out of it. He responds by sticking his tongue out at me, then following Marcus. I laugh. Sometimes I forget how young we both still are.

Okay, maybe Milo more than me. He's legitimately twenty years old. I was twenty-two when I died almost three months ago. The body I have now is twenty-seven—a five-year gap physically, but my emotional and mental ages are playing catch-up. Still, I manage to not flip Milo the bird as I trail behind the pair, curious about how this impromptu wrestling match will turn out.

Both men are in jeans, which aren't ideal for wrestling, but I bet that neither is going to strip down to his boxers. Or briefs. Or whatever. Milo follows Marcus's lead and takes off his own T-shirt. He's got a fairly average build, lean, with muscles hinted at beneath his tanned skin without being obvious or bulked up. An odd pattern of faint, pencil-thin scars checkerboard his back and shoulders—a peek into his past and a story I don't know.

Marcus notes them, I think, with a flare of his nostrils, then redirects his attention to the fight. Physically, Milo is no match for Marcus. Strategically…well, we're going to find out.

I lean against the wall to watch.

The first round goes as expected—the bigger, stronger Marcus has Milo on his back in less than ten seconds. They reengage. Marcus pins him again, but this time it takes longer. As Milo rolls up off the mat, he flashes me a confident grin.

We've also gained an audience. Shelby and Jackson stand by the wall opposite me, smirking. I bite my lower lip, confident the tables are about to turn.

Round three ratchets up my respect for Milo. Now that he's tested Marcus's strength and maneuvers, Milo adjusts his own movements to compensate. He skillfully rolls and ducks, easily avoiding the larger, slightly slower were-cat bearing down on him. Marcus lunges. Milo twists away. It's an amusing dance that's lasted over a minute already.

Marcus turns again, and I catch a glimpse of his face. His teeth are bared like any predator, but he's smiling. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was on the verge of laughter. Milo seems equally amused—enjoying the challenge.

"Come on, Marcus, pin the child," Shelby says.

Milo flips him off without breaking concentration, and I snort laughter. Shelby growls. Milo pulls to his right, and Marcus compensates—perhaps anticipating it as a feint. Only Milo doesn't feint. He keeps going around, twists, and ducks lower. His shoulder hits Marcus's lower abdomen full-force.

In a move as graceful as a ballet dancer's, Milo lifts Marcus up with his shoulder while anchoring him hands to ribs, and executes a perfect flip while falling backward. Both men land on their backs, Milo angled higher up so Marcus's shoulders hit the mat at the same time. It's a beautiful pin.

Milo rolls away, then comes up standing, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. I half expect him to crow a little over the victory, or at least smirk. He just watches Marcus with a comical wide-eyed innocence as the larger man stands up, making a show of dusting himself off.

Jackson and Shelby are silent.

Marcus crosses well-toned arms over his chest. "You must have made a fortune hustling pool," he says with a grin.

Milo laughs.

Teaser Tuesday: Wrong Side of Dead Snippet

Someone on Twitter reminded me it was Teaser Tuesday, and since WRONG SIDE OF DEAD is out in just over two months, I thought I'd provide a brief snippet from that book. I redacted a tiny bit of info just to avoid big spoilers (although if you've read ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD, you probably saw the first chapter of WSOD, so it isn't really that huge of a spoiler, but still...).



The snippet is from Chapter Four, and it features a familiar thorn in Evy's side. She and several others are on their way back from a crime scene that hits particularly close to home for Evy.

Enjoy!

#

On the trip back, I somehow got stuck in the rear bench seat of the SUV between the window and Paul Ryan. Phineas had shifted into osprey form—to save seating space, he said, but I was jealous of his clever way of avoiding conversation—and was perched in the small rear compartment with his pants and shoes.

I gazed out the window at the passing mountains, and then the outskirts of the city, trying to ignore Paul. We'd managed to mostly avoid each other these last few months, and for good reason. He'd been a one-week rookie in the Triads when I was first resurrected, and his twitchy trigger finger had gotten Wyatt killed. Granted, a gnome healing crystal had brought Wyatt back, but that wasn't the point. And he'd helped out at Parker's Palace and fought hard at the Boot Camp slaughter, but I still wanted to dislike Ryan on principle.

And he was still twitchy. He shifted on the crowded seat, hands tapping on his thighs, like someone in the middle of a sugar high. Or someone who wanted to say something and kept changing his mind. I resisted the urge to elbow him in the ribs. Hard.

Lucky for him, I dozed off for the last half of the trip. I jerked awake as we pulled into the parking area. As soon as the side door slid open, Phineas flew out and away. I was the last one out of the SUV. The cold cement floor sent a shock through my bare feet, reminding me that I needed to find shoes and a change of clothes.

"Stone?" Paul's voice stopped me short.

I turned and shot him an impatient look.

"I'm real sorry about your friends," he said. "Not just [X], but the [Z], too."

"Um, thanks." I didn't know what else to say. We were in no danger of becoming BFFs or anything, but the sentiment was a pleasant surprise.

He nodded, and then followed the rest of his squad out of the lot.

I cast around for Phin. He'd gone off on his own, probably to calm down before going back to work. I kind of liked the idea. I could use a little relaxation, too, so I didn't take my temper out on someone who didn't deserve it. The gym was a good place to do that.

Cover Art: Wrong Side of Dead

The cover art for WRONG SIDE OF DEAD (Dreg City #4) has been floating around the internet for about a month now, but I wanted to wait to show it off here until after ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD came out. Mostly because the copy for WSOD has spoilers for AKOD.

It looks like the same cover model from THREE DAYS TO DEAD. I really like the city street background in this one, as well as the green font.

Monster hunter Evangeline Stone woke up on the wrong side of dead this morning—and now there’s hell to pay.

Barely recovered from her extended torture at the hands of mad scientist Walter Thackery, Evy can use a break. What she gets instead is a war, as the battered Triads that keep Dreg City safe find themselves under attack by half-Blood vampires who have somehow retained their reason, making them twice as lethal. Worse, the Halfies are joined by a breed of were-creature long believed extinct—back and more dangerous than ever. Meanwhile, Evy’s attempts at reconciliation with the man she loves take a hit after Wyatt is viciously assaulted—an attack traced to Thackery, who has not given up his quest to exterminate all vampires . . . even if he has to destroy Dreg City to do it. With Wyatt’s time running out, another threat emerges from the shadows and a staggering betrayal shatters the fragile alliance between the Triads, vampires, and shapeshifters, turning Evy’s world upside down forever.

So I totally missed my day to blog at the League yesterday. Even though I had it written down on my calendar, I didn't even look at it once. Probably because I spent the morning in an insane amount of pain, and then the afternoon at the doctor's office, followed by a long nap.

The good news is, it's not life threatening. The bad news is, it's my right wrist, and the orthopedist I saw isn't sure what's causing the pain and swelling (I had no apparently injury to the wrist). So we're in a "wear a brace, take pills, don't work, and we'll see you in a week" kind of place. Which beats the hell out of him ordering a bunch of expensive tests, since I'm self-pay. But this brace makes typing very hard, and I can't go back to the day job for a week (we don't have "light duty").

This is going to make a very, very bored Kelly over the next week or so. It's not how I'd choose to take some vacation time, since I can't really write or lift anything, and going to the beach would give me a very freakish tan line on my arm. But I guess I can catch up on some serious reading. And movie watching.

One of the few highlights of my week was getting a glimpse of cover art for WRONG SIDE OF DEAD (Dreg City 4, 1/31/12). It is a little different from the other covers, but also similar in composition and elements. I don't think I want to show it off until after ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD comes out, though, because there is a spoiler for that book right on the cover. *grin*

But soon. Only eighteen more days until AKOD releases!!!!

This 'n That

I'll start this one off with a bit of good news. I found out that the release date for WRONG SIDE OF DEAD, Dreg City #4, has been moved up! Instead of being Spring 2012, it's now scheduled for release on January 31, 2012! I hope this makes up for the long wait between books two and three, with book four coming only six months after three.

I also have a contest coming up on June 13th. Stay tuned for deets. The contest itself will be posted on the League of Reluctant Adults blog on Monday, and it has to do with June being Audiobook Month.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Rockville, MD to hang with some of my awesome writer friends. There will be food and fun, and probably crabs. Er, the kind that come from the ocean, folks (gutter brains!).

I also learned a very important lesson today: don't assume all restaurants make fish tacos the same way. Despite the name on the menu, what I had for lunch today was not a fish taco. It was depressing.

See you Monday!

Happy Spring!

I have to admit, I'm happy to see spring finally arrive. I hate winter. I hate being cold. I like being warm, and I like sunshine. But in retrospect, this winter went by very quickly. VERY quickly. I can't even figure out where the time's gone.

This past week, though, I know exactly where my time has been spent: up to my ears in Dreg City. Edits for book four landed the week before last, and I've been digging into those. I really do love this book for a lot of reasons. The flashbacks are handled a bit differently than in the first three books, you get to meet some new shape-shifters, and--wait...that's just mean, isn't it? Talking about a book that won't be out for another year? *innocent smile*

Anyway, those edits are done. I'm letting it sit for a little while before I give a few sections another reread, just for clarity. Then it's back to Bantam! Yay!

Right now I'm preparing to dive into edits for TRANCE. Funny story about publishing to go along with this: when I went to open my digital file last night, it said the last time the file was modified was August 2009. I immediately thought that I'd misplaced/lost/corrupted the original file, and that I was in deep trouble. I searched my files, then searched my Sent emails. Surely it hadn't been a year and a half since I'd last modified the book!

And yet, it has been. That's the file that was sent to my agent, which was sent to my Pocket editor. It really floored me to think about the time frame, and then I got a good giggle out of it. It honestly didn't feel like it had been that long since I'd fiddled with this book, but it had.

But now I get to play again, in a world where superheroes are scarce, feared, and your own powers can be turned against you.... *cue dramatic music*

Spring Colors, Slow Cookers, and Edit Letters - Oh My!

So I've had a mini-vacation of sorts. The interesting thing about working in retail, even part-time, is that your days off are never the same week-to-week. And sometimes they fall in such a way that you have days off at the end of one week and the beginning of the following week. The end results: five days in a row away from the day job.

It's been awesome.

I spent the weekend doing some really cool things. Namely, shopping. I don't generally like shopping (unless I'm in a bookstore or a thrift store). But I really wanted to put some bright, spring colors into my apartment (which is mostly neutral colors). So I did. And I love the way it looks. I'll post some before-and-after pictures in the near future, but I went with aqua and lime green accent colors, and it looks really nice. Fresh. Ready for spring.

I also spent time with my sister, niece, and parents on Sunday. We went over to belatedly celebrate my dad's birthday with presents and a cake. Yesterday I made a lovely pot roast in my slow cooker (first time I've used it since I got it for Christmas) with a mostly-made-up recipe. Much yumminess.

I've also been fiddling with getting my tax information prepared. Every year, I tell myself I'll be more organized with my receipts, rather than just throwing them into an envelope. Every year, I open up an envelope and spend hours sorting. But Tax Day is drawing ever nearer, and I must get this finished.

Meanwhile, my edit letter for WRONG SIDE OF DEAD (Dreg City 4) is here! I can't wait to jump back into Evy's world for a while and whip this book into proper shape. My lovely editor really likes the direction I've taken the series in this book, so yay! (yes, that was a tease, since this book isn't coming out until next spring)

I've also seen the cover for TRANCE (Pocket, 10/25/11), and I love it! I promise I'll share as soon as I'm able.

The Dreg City Series Continues!

Long-time followers of this blog know I had a pretty rough couple of months this past winter. 2010 wasn't going well for a while. Then my kitty got better. And then, at the end of April, I got the awesome news I can now officially share with everyone.



My awesome editor at Bantam bought two more Dreg City books! Yes, ladies and gents (and everyone else), the Dreg City series is now officially four books long. Evy gets to share a few more adventures with y'all. And I get to work with my editor and all the other fantastic people at Bantam again! Win!

The new books are tentatively titled Another Kind of Dead and Wrong Side of Dead. While I was fortunate that the first two titles in the series didn't change, I know there's always a chance these might so don't be surprised if they do.

For more details, there's an awesome write-up on Whitney Sullivan's Romantic Times blog. I didn't reveal any actual spoilers, but did drop a few hints as to what to expect as the series progresses, so please check it out!

Big thanks must go to my amazing agent. They say that a good agent is worth their weight in gold, and I have a great agent who is working on more fantastic things for me as I write this.

And of course, a huge round of thanks to you, Dear Readers. Without your support and your willingness to give Evy's story a shot, I couldn't type this post. You allow me to continue playing in her world for a while longer. So THANK YOU!!!!!