Monday, June 30, 2008

CONTEST!!

New Contest -- (photo contests winners announced on the yahoo group tomorrow. AuthorBuzz winners will be notified by email by Wed.)

The really big (like way big) Accidentally Dead giveaway contest!

Today, July 1, 2008 marks the release in the second installment of the Accidental series, ACCIDENTALLY DEAD, by the totally fabulous, utterly amazing, stupendously brilliant, always in her color wheel Dakota Cassidy (She made us say that--all of it. We fought back. Don't laugh. We did. It got ugly. She threatened us with heinous acts of yellow. She won.).

ACCIDENTALLY DEAD picks up with über potty mouth Nina Blackman and her newly acquired vampire woes (not to mention his undead hawtness, Greg). Here is a link to Amazon (We are subtle, aren't we?): http://tinyurl.com/4pntvc

In celebration of Nina's release, and because Dakota's such a bitc--er, so charming, we're having a scavenger hunt where you can win big! (Don't whine. Didn't we say killer prizes were involved?)

So here's what ya gotta do—Visit the blogs of Michele Bardsley, Mark Henry, and Toni McGee Causy (in that order, people) then hit Dakota's blog and get yer quiz on. That's it! All entrants who post correct answers in the comments section of Dakota's blog will be thrown into a random drawing. The prizes:

* Dakota's giving away a signed copy of THE ACCIDENTAL WEREWOLF, a $15 Amazon Gift Certificate, and an RT tote bag from RT 2008 filled with some goodies!

* Mark's upchucking an autographed copy of HAPPY HOUR OF THE DAMNED (and maybe another surprise or two … it's a purge, darling, you never know what'll show up).

* Toni's offering an autographed copy of BOBBIE FAYE'S VERY (very, very, very) BAD DAY and other Bobbie goodness. We promise she won't blow up another bridge (at least not near you).

* Michele's spewing (again … gah! Can she get control of that spittle issue already?) an autographed ARC of WAIT TILL YOUR VAMPIRE GETS HOME and some Broken Heart swag.

Those damned contest rules: Entries must be posted to Dakota's blog by midnight (CST) Wednesday July 2, 2008. All correct answers from participants will be placed in a random drawing. ONE winner will be announced on Dakota’s blog on July 3, 2008. The winner must contact Dakota to collect the prizes.

Go on with yer bad selves (and remember visit the blogs in the following order)…

Michele's Blog: http://blog.michelebardsley.net

Mark's Blog: http://mdhenry.livejournal.com/

Toni's Blog: http://www.tonimcgeecausey.com/blog.html

Dakota's Blog: http://www.dakotacassidy.net

Three questions for Dakota:

So... three questions for Dakota:

1) Kick-ass heroine character traits like Nina's in ACCIDENTALLY DEAD seem to cross over and show up in our personal lives sometimes. Tell me, if you could be a heroine for a day (without the ramifications of "consequences"), who's ass would you kick and why?

For sure it'd be John Cusaks sweet ass I'd be kicking. I mean, helllloooooo, how long does it take osmosis and the love I share with him via said vulcan mind meld for him to GET IT and CALL ME???


2) What's the single most important perk you'd LIKE to have when writing and what would you have them do? (examples: Masseur? Grape peeler? Hunky entourage?)

Well, truthfully? I'd have Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer come and herd my beasts into "calm, submissive states" so that they didn't keep getting into everything while I write :)


3) You can pick one character from ACCIDENTALLY DEAD and they will magically come to life--but you have to let them live at your house. Who do you pick and why?

Larry--Nina's guinea pig. 'Cuz he's a whole lot less maintenance than Nina, Marty or Wanda :)


And now, three questions for Nina (though if she tries to smack me around, I am calling on Bobbie Faye)...

Okay, spill -- and no, I am not letting you off the hook,... of your two closest friends, Marty and Wanda--who do you like best (our little secret)?

That's like asking me if I'd rather have a Poodle or a Yorkshire Terrier. Both have equally annoying qualities, but can be killa fun to watch when they hump someone's leg and pee on trees.

I know there are a lot of undead perks (like hello? sex for all eternity? where is the downside here?)... but there's gotta be something you hate most about being a newly turned vampire. DETAILS.

You people and the eternal sex--what is up with you bunch o' pervs??? I've said it before and I'll say it again--chicken wings. I miss them. I love them. It sucks big, fat man hooters that I won't ever be able to eat them again. I miss those hot, little bastards smothered in bleu cheese like J-Lo'd miss her booty if it was tragically amputated. So can the reminders, okay?

John Cusak has been taken off by Martians determined to see if they can start a whole new race, so you cannot pick him. Given that, who is your favorite celebrity?

Barry Manilow--and one little wisecrack about that and I shove my fist so far down your throat you'll have to get the jaws of life to extract it. Feel me?

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Q & A's

I've got a random list of questions my publisher sent and I'll answer them here and store the answers permanently on the site (probably under "other writing" or maybe a FAQ section. So here are the first four:

If you were granted you one wish, what would you wish for?

World peace.


If you won the lottery, what would you do with your newfound wealth?

World peace.


[What? No? Maybe a little corner of world peace? Surely a lotto win of a kajillion dollars would get a corner? Oh. Right. The dollar is dropping.


How about a smidge? I could do with a smidge. And if that’s too much, then can we get that guy—you know, the one who is determined to start shouting at four a.m. in some drunken rant about mice and how they have been totally overlooked as a source of protein and then he goes outside and starts up a chainsaw, yes, him—can we get him some Prozac? Or time alone on an island? That would be a nice start.]


[Some of you reading this are shaking your heads, thinking she’d totally go for the 911 Carrera S Cabriolet but noooo. I would never buy the S. That would be ecologically wrong. And bad. Like brownies.] [But I might stand there a long time and look at it pitifully.]



Besides being an author, what is your fantasy job?

World peace hero.


[Oh, you totally knew I was going to go there, didn’t you?]


What do you enjoy doing the most with your free time?


Wait a minute. There’s free time? As in… free? Seriously? When did this start? Who do I see about this? This is a trick, isn’t it, like where someone sets a plate of brownies out there just for the taking with a sign that says “100% calorie free, tastes great” and then you reach for one and that’s when they cuff you and cart you off because anyone insane enough to believe that anything can still taste great and be calorie free has clearly lost every single marble they were given to play with and needs to be locked up for their own safety.


I am not falling for this one again.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

great trip and contest winners...

I had an absolutely fantastic time in Decatur at Wordsmiths...

...and I am buried twenty feet beneath the pile of "to-do" lists. I have had two contests and I have winners to announce--will try to do so by Monday. Both the CJ Lyons contest and the Author Buzz contest winners to be announced via newsletter. Um, some time next week. (Email to winners will go out as well.)

...and I am also waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind on email. My apologies, but I am definitely responding. I'm just slllllllllllooooooooooooow.

I am utterly jazzed about book 3. There are moments when the ideas fall into place and the characters take over, and that's what's happening, so I might be scarce around here. (I know, HUGE shock there.)

Friday, June 13, 2008

Crawfish boil, fais do do and books

Tomorrow, Sat., the 14th, I will be at the absolutely fabulous Wordmith's Books in Decatur Georgia for a CRAWFISH BOIL sponsored by Baby Got Books' owner, Tim. How cool is that?

Extremely cool.

J.L.. Miles (Divorcing Dwayne) and C.J. Lyons (Lifelines) and Derek Nikitas (Edgar nominated Pyres) are all going to be there, making this a fantastic party. So if you're anywhere in the Decatur / Atlanta area, come on down for a good time.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

fantastic writer's resource

Author Lynn Viehl has an absolutely terrific blog called "A Paperback Writer" which I highly recommend. I am probably the last person to discover it (I am slow at this internet stuff sometimes), in spite of the fact that Lynn's always posting terrific and helpful comments over on Murderati.

Her "Complete Friday 20" index of Q & A's is one of the best resources I've come across. I will be checking out her books now, because anyone this smart is someone I should have already been reading.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Safe and Sound

One of my favorite mystery writer's newest book has just come out in paperback and if you love mysteries and great writing, SAFE AND SOUND is a MUST buy book. Seriously. J.D. Rhoades is one incredibly cool writer, stellar person, and my personal internet stalk-ee. (I am still stalking him.)

So go. Seriously. Awesome, fantastic writer.

chaos, and contest...

Hey folks, I am running out the door to go do a stock signing for a couple of places that requested it yesterday (woot! they have my book!)... and I'm attending a wonderful library signing / talk event early this evening (Denham Springs Library for anyone who's in the area)... so I am moving the new Bad Advice column to next week. Otherwise, the entire column would have been Blah and I think blah blah and yadda something yadda, maybe. Oh, and blah.

Meanwhile, Bobbie Faye is guest blogging tomorrow over on The Lipstick Chronicles, so come check it out!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

WINNER, MORE CONTESTS

Hey - wow, you guys were great. I cracked up and so enjoyed the comments.

And before I announce the winner, a couple of small details. REALLY--quick and painless.

1) Bobbie Faye's (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels got a starred Booklist review yesterday. So if you were thinking, "Hey, maybe I'll enjoy that one!" or "Wow, that would make a great doorstop!" -- well, there ya go.

2) There's a newsletter, and there's going to be another CONTEST on there in a few days. So click on the header and it'll take you to the front page where you can sign up. And NO WORRIES -- I managed to get out a grand total of one newsletter last year -- you're not going to be inundated.

3) I love talking to y'all. And I've been getting wonderful emails, asking questions about writing, humor, comedy, the publishing business, the screenwriting business (I have sooo got to get a FAQ up there). And because I love visiting with people and talking about the books and all of this other stuff, I've started a yahoogroups discussion list. COME JOIN -- tonimcgeecausey-subscribe@yahoogroups.com -- and there are gonna be giveaways over there, too. It's brand spanking new, so don't mind the bare walls. We'll get it painted soon.

4) The winner, picked at random because my brain is broken now, and I can't possibly think of how to do it any other way, is angie-la! YAY ANGIE. So write to me care of the website (see the front page of the site), and I'll get that t-shirt ordered for you (tell me the size you'd like) and I'll have that B&N card sent by them to you.

See? That was quick *and* painless.

MORE BOBBIE FAYE'S BAD ADVICE COMING THURSDAY -- and another contest. Come check it out.

(And if you want to write Bobbie Faye, no matter how crazy the letter is, she'll see if she can give it a whirl. Seriously, you already know in advance she's crazy--how much worse can she make it? Send it to me via the front page email, and I'll let you know when she's going to answer it.)

Thanks everyone!