Quotable Contest

So I've been thinking about what I should make that's a good tie-in for the Rhea series. I've considered water bottles, unique keychains, posters and more. Some ideas are fun in theory, but who really wants a poster?

I thought and I thought, wondering, "What would people like to win?"

Then it hit me.

If you're anything like me, you're a sucker for notebooks and journals. Who can't use an extra one of those? I have sooooo many, but I will compulsively buy more if I like the look. So I'm going to make some Rhea Jensen journals :)

This brings me to my current contest, and this is how it rolls:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday, no matter where/how/if you celebrate! May it be filled with peace and joy and good spirits.

For my present to myself, I'm going to do something REALLY fun... okay, maybe it's something only authors do for fun, but if you want to help me, check back next week...

I think you'll be glad you did.

Until then, may Santa treat you well :D

XOXO

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS ARC?

If you happen to have this ARC in your possession, I would LOVE to negotiate the temporary surrender of its custody into my hands with you:

Some of you may have read books from this series. This book is #9. In truth, the Rachel Morgan series was the one that introduced me to urban fantasy as a genre, so I kind of have a soft spot for Kim Harrison. Pale Demon comes out in 8 weeks, so it's not a huge wait, but I'm an impulsive sort and reviews keep popping up, so I know the ARCs are out there. I thought B&N bookstores would get ARCs like previous books in this series, but noooooooo. Apparently Eos knows that they don't need buzz anymore. People will just go and buy.

BOO!

But even so, I want one one of the ARCs that is out and about. A lot. I read fast. You'll barely miss it. I'll have it about 24 hours and send it right back. Promise. I'll pay shipping both ways, and more!

To make my dream come true, just click on the contact tab and drop me a line. :)

Please? Pretty please?

What's Your Sign?

You may believe in astrology. You may not. Either way, you should watch this video. A friend of mine showed it to me over the weekend, and I laughed SO hard. Completely accurate in many instances?

What do you think? Is it accurate for you?

I think many would agree that it describes me perfectly. lol

I'm Officially Banned

You know, I'm really glad I read the reviews I posted on the previous post before I got this news, because it's nice to know someone likes your book before you discover retailers are banning it from their shelves.

Kay'sVille is officially banned/Special Order Only at Deseret Book and Seagull.

No specific reasons were cited, only that there was objectionable content. And yes, considering the story is told from the perspective of a non-Mormon living among Mormons, that seems unavoidable. Kay's values are not LDS values. Her thoughts are not LDS thoughts. She doesn't even like Mormons, even though she's gradually warming up to a select few of them.

If there's any character that is not a cardboard cut out, it's Kay. I love her story. I love her, but if you're interesting in reading about her, it's important to know that she will not be stocked Deseret Book or Seagull :( If you want to buy the book there and you're waiting for it to show up on their shelves, you'll be waiting a loooooooooong time.

As in forever.

In truth, I knew it was iffy to write a technically LDS fiction title from the perspective of someone who doesn't believe in it, nor does she want to, even though many of the people in her life are members. My muse and I have gone back and forth over whether she should tell her story or not. She never failed in her answer.

Yes. I was supposed to tell it--at least key parts of it.

And now she's banned. She (yes, I refer to my muses as actual people) knew it would happen, and I had an inkling based on the vibe she sent me. The vibe essentially said, "You hang with me, and people might look at you like they look at me."

As anyone writes can tell you, some muses are more adamant than others. Some muses might as well pay rent because they spent so much time squatting at your place. Kay and her story have tapped on my shoulder for five years, and I'm glad to be the one who got to tell her story--banned or not.

I hope you love Kay'sVille. Obviously. Or at least like it a lot. I wouldn't have written it without the hope of that. That said, I HIGHLY encourage you to review it wherever possible, and you are welcome to voice your opinion on its banned status for those considering the book. You may agree, you may disagree. Trust me, Kay is a muse/character who knows she gets a polarized reaction from people. Anyone who's read books 1-3 can vouch for that.

Either way, your thoughts and input will inform other readers who are looking at the series, and Book 4 in particular.

So please, please, PLEASE review Kay'sVille if you happen to read it. When a book is banned, reviews can be the only thing going for it.

Oh, and still feel free to nominate it for a Whitney Award if you like it. I would love their thoughts on the book as well, should it be nominated.

As always, thanks for all your support and thanks for reading!!
Sheralyn

Kay'sVille Reviews

Authors are cautioned not to read reviews of their books (especially while they are trying to write a new book), but I just had to sneak onto goodreads and look. There are 3 reviews so far, and happily they are reviews that make me sigh a breath of relief.

So here they are, for your convenience. If you agree or disagree, please feel free to post reviews of your own on sites like these!

Also note: Kay'sVille is the first book in the Rhea Jensen series that is previously unpublished and eligible for a Whitney Award, so feel free to nominate it if you would like. I don't know how many nominations it needs, but the deadline is the last day of 2010.

Reviews:

From Tracy:

Oh, sleep deprivation, thy name is Sheralyn Pratt! I foolishly picked up this book in the evening planning to just read a little bit, but there is no such thing with her books. Though being in Kay's head instead of Rhea's was a little odd at first, I quickly realized how much more I was learning about them both from the different perspective. Each chapter begins with a flashback to their college days, filling in important details that I never realized were missing. Now my only torment (besides the need for sleep) is that this may be the last of the series. I am so not ready to say goodbye.

From Heather:

First of all thanks so much to Sheralyn for sending me a sneak peek of book #4 in her Rhea Jensen series. This one felt like a companion novel to me as it takes a completely different point of view than the rest of the Rhea Jensen series. It is told by Rhea's best friend Kay and fills in the details of how they met and why they are who they are. Readers may be scratching their heads after book three wondering why Kay ditched her high powered reporting job in L.A. to follow Rhea to Utah. Kay'sville fills in those gaps. Kay is a strong willed, in your face type of girl with fashion sense and an attitude... but she hasn't always bee that way. In Book 4 we learn what her roots are, and I think you'll be surprised as I was. Her flashbacks of pre-college life were some of my favorite parts of the book. Dahl is her sidekick cop who helps her in reporting a story and solving a mystery. He is my other favorite part of Kay'sville. My favorite scene: I loved and laughed at like Kay's description of dating in Utah.

On the flipside Kay's ville was really hard for me to read from Chapter 11 on only because of a serious crime which as committed and the details used to describe it. Readers will want to be aware that it Kay'sville has some very raw spots and delves into adult issues. Sheralyn has reached out to readers on her blog to let them know that starting at book 4 the Rhea Jensen series is taking on heavy issues which move it more into mainstream fiction. Read what she had to say about the book in our interview.

From Rachael:

Review on her blog.

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!!

I'm Just in the Mood

For some reason, I'm just in the mood to give something away. Maybe it's the season. Who knows?

Either way, I think I'll give away one of the books I recommend on this site. And while I love "Save the Cat," "On Writing" happens to be handier, so that's what's on the table here.

A FREE copy of "On Writing," by Stephen King (Mass market, as pictured above). An awesome memoir from a successful and prolific author. All followers are eligible, and to make this super simple, I'm just going to pick a number... Okay, that's harder than it sounds, so I'm just going to add up all the digits on the Kay'sVille barcode.

*adds numbers*

And the magical number is 106. Kind of high, but there you are. The US resident who posts the 106th comment on this thread (who is also a follower) WINS!

No real rules. You can post every comment if you would like, or just one. Doesn't matter. But in the end, the one in with the 106th position will win :)

Ready? Set? Go!

THANK YOU!

Shhhh. I'm at work, so I need to write this quickly before it's found out that I'm SLACKING, but I just wanted to give a huge, HUGE thank you to each of you who took the time to show up last night and launch Kay'sVille.

Elizabeth's southern bites were mouthwatering, Wendy Paul's cake bites were so good you could eat yourself into a cake-bite coma, and Heather's store was cuter than cute!

But really, a party is not a party unless people show up and have a good time. So a HUGE thanks to each and every one of you who came and laughed and made December 14th a fun, FUN night.

I only wish I took more pictures. I'm so bad at that. Boo.

And yes, I'm still at work. More later. But above all, THANK YOU :):):)

My Kind of Romance

There are different kinds of romance. And since I'm writing one right now, I try to keep my eye open for it wherever it may be. You wouldn't think that Legend of the Seeker would be the place to go, but I have to admit that this scene is a little bit perfect for the characters involved.

The best kind of romance, in my book, involves laughter. :)

Focus, Focus, Focus, Focus

ADD has its perks. It brings with it limitless ideas while simultaneously making it impossible to make all the options possible. But possible or not, the ideas pop like popcorn, one after another, while tickling the senses.

And so it is, when I'm about half way to finishing a book that another book comes along, all shiny new, and starts tap dancing in front of my computer screen. How can I not look at it? It's so... charismatic.

I think that's why a lot of people start books and never finish them. An idea comes, does its dance, and by the time it's done you've got a few scenes, but not a whole book. Actually sticking with a story all the way until it's completed can be a lot like dating a person who always wants to talk about the same thing and just assumes you care.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my muses. Anyone who's met me knows that, but some of them mumble... or just take off on vacations without telling me. -OR- even worse, they get bored of their own stories and just walk away. SERIOUSLY! They just up and leave, and I'm left with the hodgepodge of snippets they begged me to record. Once they know they've told the fun stories, they sigh in satisfaction, pat themselves on the back and go on their merry way, still believing they've handed over solid gold.

Grrrr.

Anyway, I say all this because I have this muse enticing me to drag my feet on "The Cannon Curse" (which seriously needs a new name) so I can invest some time in her. And I'll confess: she kicks ***. I'm totally writing her story next. I don't think she'll let me sleep if I don't. All I can do is beg her for a little patience. Her story is rich and full of things I don't know, so it will take a lot of research on my side anyway.

So (begin note to Muse) patience, dear Muse. I hear you. I'm thinking of you. I'm getting to know you, even if I'm not spending hours typing what you have to show. Even if I'm telling someone else's story while you're trying to talk to me.

I hear you.

But before we can hang full time, Mike, Luke and Rori need to find their happy endings... even if they take a somewhat bizarre path to said happy ending.

(end note to Muse)

As promised, there will be sass. There will be fun and there will be (a form of) romance.

So feel free to crack the whip on me, because I can't wait to finish the Cannon Curse and give you some romance, Pratt-style :)

If only I can focus, focus, focus, focus and FINISH!

Heads Up!

A party is on the horizon. I'll list the official invite once I have the official address, but I would LOVE to see you all Tuesday, December 14th at 7:00 pm in Draper for a fun launch for Kay'sVille.

This party is actually the idea of Elizabeth's, a fan who loves Kay's surprising roots. Hence there will be Southern finger food (provided by Elizabeth, who is a Southern belle herself). Also in attendance and signing her 2 cookbooks will be Wendy Paul, with yummy-nummy cake bites from her cookbook releasing in 2011, and Heather Gardner with awesome items from her Etsy shop.

So come on by and get some last-minute shopping done at GREAT prices. Jewelry, photos and books galore.

Not to mention the food. Totally can't forget Southern finger food and cake bites. YUM!

Official address just in!

12542 South 900 East
Draper, Utah 84020

This is the home of the benevolent Jackson twins (THANK YOU!), located accross the street from the Draper Memorial Park. Look for a colonial-style home with a white picket fence.

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

No, I didn't win an Oscar, in case that title has you confused. ;P I did, however, make it onto an awesome list for Best Books of 2010.

If you do't follow the Fire & Ice blog, it's a great place for book reviews (especially of YA titles) and author interviews. And not only does the site owner, Heather, read and review books, she creates jewelry and book tie-in products that she sells in her own Etsy store along with her photography.

Check out her site, and if you like my books, then you may just like the other books Heather put on her "Best of 2010" list and find a new, great author.