Official Maria V. Snyder Blog

The Lost Week

2012-01-27T13:26:00.000-05:00

So where did last week go? I've been so good about posting links for the UK TOP blog tour and then nothin'. Well I have a pretty good guess - the Floor Guy. Yep he struck last week, tearing up my kitchen, foyer, hallway and bathroom floors like the Tasmanian devil. The Floor Guy was here all week, making dust as he chipped old tile out and put in new despite the overly curious attentions from the cat ("bravest cat in the world," according to Floor Guy, "normally they hide the whole time I'm here." - Not Valek - he was right in the middle of everything and I had to put him downstairs or else he would have been glued to the floor). And the worst part - Floor Guy showed up promptly at 8 am every morning. Groan! I write until 3 am so I wasn't getting much sleep either. But the new floor is in and looks fabulous :)

So what did I miss - the final week of my UK TOP Blog Tour - The UK office is already onto promoting Julie Kagawa's The Iron Knight (a fantastic series - btw - if you haven't read it start with The Iron King and be prepared for a long night :) But I found all the links and have posted them below in case you're interested - I answered a bunch of questions for them :)

Book Babblers: http://bookbabblers.co.uk/2012/01/interview-with-maria-v-snyder-author-of-a-touch-of-power/

Heaven Hell & Purgatory: http://www.heavenhellandpurgatory-bookreviews.com/2012/01/blog-tour-5-quick-questions-with-maria.html

Book Passion for Life: http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/2012/01/touch-of-power-uk-blog-tour-review-and.html

Feeling Fictional: http://www.feelingfictional.com/2012/01/touch-of-power-blog-tour-q-with-maria-v.html

The Second Writer: http://thesecretwriterblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/maria-v-snyder-touch-of-power-blog-tour.html

YA Book Reads: http://yabookreads.com/blog/2012/01/23/interview-with-maria-v-snyder-2/

Whew! That's a lot - and I answered a lot of questions, but they were all wonderful :)

TOP Blog Tour - UK update + Rebels

2012-01-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

The US official blog tour has ended, but the UK one is just getting started, and I've a few rebels still fighting ;> I've posted lots of news this past week about the video book trailer and MIZZ magazine prizes of an iPad and iTouch - pretty sweet if you ask me :)

Today I'm catching up and posting a couple official blog tour stops and a few rebels. See below for linkage!

The Reader Room posted a quick Q&A with me on Monday here: http://thereaderroom.blogspot.com/2012/01/touch-of-power-blog-tour.html

And today is Nayu's Reading Corner: http://nayusreadingcorner.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-tour-maria-v-snyders-touch-of.html

Rebel post and give away open to all is at Fantasy Freak's blog here: http://fantastyfreak.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-maria-v.html

And this interview on USA Today's blog Happy Ever After!: http://books.usatoday.com/happyeverafter/post/2012-01-12/interview-maria-v-snyder-author-of-touch-of-power/602540/1

Help!

2012-01-13T14:50:00.000-05:00

Seems my UK readers really really like me! INSIDE OUT has been short listed for the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards in the The Read It Or Else! Category. YAY!!!

ANYONE (no age or location limit) can vote. If you're so inclined to help me (and UK readers take note if I win I have to go to Coventry, which means I'll stay longer and visit!!)

Here's the link to vote: http://www.coventry.gov.uk/site/scripts/home_info.php?homepageID=220

Also while you're in the voting mood :) If you remember I've featured Jon Sprunk on my blog twice, once for his book Shadow's Son and for his latest release, Shadow's Lure. Well Jon is also up for an award and I would very much appreciate if you took a few seconds to vote for his book (which is really good and Jon's a nice guy and friend!) in the Gemmell Awards. Here's a link: http://www.gemmellaward.com/page/the-legend-award

The UK Office is on Fire!

2012-01-13T13:49:00.002-05:00

Not literally! But just when I thought we hit cruising speed with the UK Blog Tour, TOUCH OF POWER website (http://www.touchofpowerbooks.com), and Kindle giveaway, the UK office uploads a video book trailer for the book! AND has hooked up with MIZZ magazine to giveaway another fantastic prize - an iPad (and an iTouch for a runner up)!!!! Amazing! Thank you to all the UK staff for working so hard to promote my books! Details below the trailer :)

Here's the post about the MIZZ contest: Maria V. Snyder has teamed up with top teen mag Mizz to offer you the chance to WIN AN IPAD and become MizzMagTV’s official book reviewer of 2012! All you need to do is create a video review of her fantastic new book TOUCH OF POWER, and even better, MIRA Ink are giving away 50 review copies for free to get you started.

To enter: Email mira@midaspr.co.uk with your name, age, address and the first 50 people will get a FREE COPY of A Touch of Power. Once you’ve read the book and created your video review, send it to mira@midaspr.co.uk by 29th February.

Maria V. Snyder will pick the winner herself, and there’s also an iPod Touch for a lucky runner up. Good luck!

UK Blog Tour links - and even more chances to win:

I did a guest post about the book on Cherry Mischievous! http://www.cherrymischievous.com/2012/01/guest-post-maria-v-snyder-get-chance-to.html

And an interview with Amaterasu Reads:
http://amaterasureads.blogspot.com/2012/01/touch-of-power-blog-tour-interview-w.html

TOP Blog Tour - It's all over the Internet!

2012-01-11T15:15:00.000-05:00

That's how it feels to me - I've done so many interviews, guest blogs, and reviews have been posted all over the blogosphere (99 % postive - yay!) that I feel a bit over-exposed!

I hope you're not tired of entering contests since the GRAND PRIZE of the $100 SPA certificate is still open for entries for the next 5 days over on my blog here: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/contests.php

Today's official US/Canada blog stop is on Books Complete Me. A review of TOUCH OF POWER and another chance to win a free book can be found here: http://www.bookscompleteme.com/2012/01/touch-of-power-by-maria-v-snyder-blog.html

The UK blog tour is heating up! Once Upon a Time has posted a review, interview and details about a contest. Here's the link: http://onceuponatime.jaedia.net/?p=4569

Here is a 4 star review and Must Read pick from the UK's SCI FI NOW magazine:

Today's rebel blog is Under the Covers and I must warn you that this site reviews more adult books with saucier sexual content so you'll see a warning before entering the site. My interview and the giveaway (open to ALL, btw!) is rated G, but I just wanted to let you know! Here's the link: http://underthecoversbookblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-and-giveaway-with-maria-v.html

And finally here's the places I'll be this weekend and next week. Stop by if you're in the neighborhood!

January 14, 2012 Book Signing at Books A Million (451 Park City Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17601, 717-299-7201) 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

January 15, 2012 Book Signing at Barnes & Noble Booksellers (Red Rose Commons, 1700 H Fruitville Pike, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17601, 717-290-8171) 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

January 17, 2012 Reading & Book Signing at Wise Owl Bookstore (624 Penn Avenue, West Reading, Pennsylvania, 19611, 610-376-2654) 7:00 p.m.

January 18, 2012 Book Signing and Discussion with the Watch the Skies Book Club ( at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore, 1302 North Third Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 17102) 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

TOP Blog Tour UK Edition

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

The UK office is kicking off a blog tour for TOUCH OF POWER this week! They are offering a Kindle stuffed full of books for the GRAND PRIZE and many copies of the book at each blog site. Only UK readers can win the Kindle, but each blog will have a contest and set the rules of who can win.

The jumping off point for the tour is on the TOUCH OF POWER website - where you can read a blog that I had written about the book. Here's the link: http://www.touchofpowerbooks.com/exclusives.html

And here's a link to the UK animated cover, which is super cool - it has it's own site now: http://www.vimeo.com/moviebook/touchofpower

Here is the list of blogs and the dates they will be posting:

TOP Blog Tour - Map Quest!

2012-01-06T12:52:00.000-05:00

A question I'm often asked is how do I develop the world/map in my fantasy novels. Well, now you can read the answer and see how I created the map for TOUCH OF POWER on today's official blog tour stop Seeing Night Reviews. You'll see the progression of maps from basic to more detailed (below is the final map that's in the book). Of course there is another chance to win a free copy :)

Here's the link: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/2012/01/author-guest-post-giveaway-touch-of.html

And Seeing Night Reviews also reviewed the book here: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-touch-of-power-by-maria-v-snyder.html

Other news - the UK blog tour will be starting on Tuesday, January 9, 2012 and I'll post all the links soon! I went skiing last night for the first time since last March - my legs are killing me!

And I saw this in the paper this morning and thought I'd share:

Eight specially designed and shaped coffins*:
The mobile phone coffin
The egg coffin
The blue guitar coffin
The skateboard grind macabre coffin
the yacht coffin
the kite coffin
the Rolls Royce coffin
The beer bottle coffin (mounted on a brewer's delivery truck)

I want a book shaped coffin so I could be buried in a book ;>)

* source: http://www.crazycoffins.co.uk

TOP Blog Tour - Another chance to win

2012-01-04T16:02:00.001-05:00

Another great review and contest to win a copy of TOUCH OF POWER for my official blog tour. Today Two Chicks on Books (so cute!) has posted a spoiler-free review and offers a chance to win.

Here's the link: http://twochicksonbooks1.blogspot.com/2012/01/touch-of-power-blog-tour.html#comment-form

This isn't quite a Rebel Blog as it's RT BOOK REVIEWS! I was asked to be a guest on their blog today and write about the inspiration for Avry's healing powers.

Check it out here: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/maria-v-snyder-power-touch-power

Also - this month I'll be traveling around Pennsylvania and New Jersey for a number of book signings.

My first stop will be on Friday, January 6th at the Books A Million at the Exton Square Mall from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (298 Exton Square Mall, Exton, Pennsylvania, 19341, 610-363-1156)

Next weekend I'll be at these two locations near my home town:

January 14, 2012 Book Signing at Books A Million (451 Park City Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17601, 717-299-7201) 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

January 15, 2012 Book Signing at Barnes & Noble Booksellers (Red Rose Commons, 1700 H Fruitville Pike, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17601, 717-290-8171) 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

TOP Blog Tour - Week 3

2012-01-03T00:11:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a fantastic New Year celebration this weekend! Anyone make any resolutions? I plan to stick to my writing schedule starting......tomorrow ;>

The official blog tour is back in action this week, starting with Live to Read blog. Krystal posted a wonderful review about the book (no spoilers), and is giving away a copy of TOUCH OF POWER.

Check it out here: http://livetoread-krystal.blogspot.com/2012/01/touch-of-power-healer-series-january.html

TOP Rebel Blog

2011-12-28T01:28:00.001-05:00

The official tour is on hiatus, but another rebel blog isn't afraid to post during this busy time of year. Yummy Men and Kick Ass Chicks has posted a wonderful review about TOUCH OF POWER with no spoilers. And sometime today (December 28th), she will also post an interview with me and a giveaway, which is open to international readers as well as in the US and Canada!

Here's a link to the review: http://yummymenandkickasschicks.com/?p=11545

Here's a direct link to the interview/contest: http://yummymenandkickasschicks.com/?p=11927

As for my present wrapping adventures, since only Renee offered to help me wrap presents (thank you Renee!) provided I pay for her to fly from Europe (tempting, but too expensive), I had to find help from another source - my cat Valek (aka the Bug Assassin or Kitty Kat). He took an avid interest in all things papery and ribbony and crinkly, but managed to do more harm that good and was soon exhausted by all the wrapping (as you can see in the photo).

TOP Widget + eBook sale!

2011-12-27T16:06:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday! The TOP Blog tour is on hiatus this week, but there's still a lot going on (rebel post tomorrow!). My publisher put together a widget for TOUCH OF POWER. Check it out - it's posted below and you can see the first 16 pages of the book (includes the first chapter). I think I'm supposed to put it on my blog on the side, but I don't know how! I'll either figure it out or have to call my friend for help. Feel free to share it :)

And since this is the time for all those after-holiday sales, Harlequin is also having a special 9 day e-Book sale through it's website with 25% off certain titles on each day (you have to buy them THAT day for the discount). I've looked through all the days and there are some really great fantasy, suspense, teen and romance titles listed. Today is Rachel Vincent's My Soul to Take, and my OUTSIDE IN will be on sale on January 1st!

Here's the link to the e-Book sale: http://www.ebooks.eharlequin.com/6512A42E-BBD1-40A8-88A6-53EE426D184C/10/141/en/9Deals

And here's the Widget:

Blog Widget

Browse

Buy

TOP Blog Tour + TOP website

2011-12-23T15:03:00.000-05:00

News Flash!! I'm finished with my holiday shopping! Woo Hoo!! Now all I need to do is wrap all these presents. Anyone want to come over and help? Anyone? Anyone..... Hello???

On tap for today is a post about my top 10 favorite fantasy series for the Official Blog Tour on My Bookish Ways and includes a giveaway.

Here's the link: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/12/blog-tour-giveaway-maria-v-snyder-author-of-touch-of-power.html

Another News Flash - the UK office has designed a website just for TOUCH OF POWER. Now you can see that animated cover in all it's full-speed glory - yay! Also there are extras you won't find anywhere else, and a contest to win a KINDLE! The Kindle winner is limited to UK readers (I don't think it would work anywhere else), but there will be a UK blog tour with 18 blogs and I'm hoping they'll be open to international winners (It will depend on each blog).

Here's the link: http://www.touchofpowerbooks.com/

I've a Rebel Blog today as well - with interviews and TWO copies of TOP to giveaway - one to my international readers and one to my US/Canada readers!!

Here's the link: http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2011/12/christmas-with-maria-v-snyder.html

TOP Blog Tour - Character Names

2011-12-21T14:38:00.000-05:00

Today is another post in the Official Blog Tour for TOUCH OF POWER. Fantasy Book Critic is hosting my blog about how I choose the names for the book and the trouble I had. And why in the published book, you won't find Vinn or Daneen.

Here's the link: http://www.fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/12/blog-tour-maria-v-snyder-on-trouble.html

And Book Geeks Rule (great name!) has posted an interview, review and give away as part of the Rebel blogs :)

Here's the link: http://bookgeeksrule.blogspot.com/2011/12/touch-of-power-review-author-interview.html

TOP Blog Tour - Week 2

2011-12-19T01:00:00.002-05:00

More chances to win. More interviews. More blogs. And the burning question....have I finished my holiday shopping? Have I finished decorating my house? Baking cookies? Ah....no. I still have time...right? Right?

Starting today, you can enter to win the Official Blog's Grand Prize of a $100 Spa Certificate! You have four different ways to enter. You can "like" my Facebook page, you can comment about TOUCH OF POWER on Facebook, you can comment on your own Facebook page about why you find books have their own powers of healing, and you can follow my blog. Easy!

Enter here: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/contests.php

This just in - another Official Blog Tour is going on today - here's the link: http://lytherus.com

I did find out that the official blog tour that is run by my publisher (they are providing the books) are limiting the winners to the US and Canada. But there will be rebels offering to international - so make sure you check them out.

Talking about the rebels....two rebel blogs posted recently. One of them, Amberkatze is offering a signed book for international readers as well (that's cause I'm providing the books :), and she did an interview with Avry from TOP.

Amberkatze's Book Blog:
Interview with Avry: http://amberkatze.blogspot.com/2011/12/author-interview-contest-with-maria-v.html Contest open to international readers!

Read, Breathe, Relax Blog:
Interview: www.readbreatherelax.com/touch-of-power-interview-with-maria-v-snyder

Contest (starts December 20th): www.readbreatherelax.com/win-a-giveaway-of-touch-of-power-by-maria-v-snyder

TOP Blog Tour - second stop

2011-12-16T01:17:00.001-05:00

And the tour continues!

Here's the Official blog tour link for Friday, December 16th on I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read: http://www.sithereandread.com/

And here's the Rebel post on Book Lovers - it's a review, but we're doing a giveaway on December 22nd - that's when my Advent post and contest is going up: http://www.bookloversinc.com/2011/12/15/arc-review-touch-of-power-by-maria-v-snyder/

Looks like the Official Blog Tour contests may be only for the US and Canada (I'll check). However a number of the Rebel blogs will be offering them to international readers - and Read Now Sleep Later (http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/) Alethea's blog is going to give away a copy to international readers only on January 1, 2012. PLUS - the UK office is also hosting a blog tour in January 2012.

TOP Blog Tour - first stop

2011-12-14T13:57:00.003-05:00

Today is the first in many blogs promoting my latest book, TOUCH OF POWER. I'm thrilled that today's blogger is a friend of mine.

Alethea emailed me three years ago saying how much she enjoyed my books. Since she worked at Borders, she was able to recommend my books to her customers. She hand sold 400 copies of my books in the three months prior to the holidays! Because of her efforts -

when STORM GLASS was released, my publisher sent me out to California to attend her release party and sent me again last October. We've became good friends over the last three years and I was so happy to chat with her yesterday about my new book.

To listen to our chat go to her blog: Read Now Sleep Later - http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/

REBEL BLOGS:

Here's a link to a blog where I did an interview: http://rai29bookreadnreview.blogspot.com/2011/12/author-interview-maria-v-snyder.html

And we're giving away a signed copy: http://rai29bookreadnreview.blogspot.com/2011/12/giveaway-signed-copy-of-touch-of-power.html

And the Book Heroine did a Q&A and contest as well: http://bookheroine.blogspot.com/2011/12/interview-with-maria-v-snyder-contest.html

TOP Blog Tour Update

2011-12-12T14:04:00.002-05:00

This will be an almost daily post as I get more information :) The start of the tour is now on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011. You'll be able to enter to win the BIG PRIZE starting Monday, December 19th and we will anounce the winner on Monday, January 16th, 2012. We'll be running that contest through my website's contest page (which I crashed last night - that's why the UK animated cover is no longer on my site - it ate up too much of my bandwidth).

Here is the schedule of blogs:

•Wednesday, December 14 – Read Now Sleep Later - http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/

•Friday, December 16 – I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read! - http://www.sithereandread.com/

•Wednesday, December 21 – Fantasy Book Critic - http://www.fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/

•Friday, December 23 – My Bookish Ways - http://www.mybookishways.com/

•Monday, January 2 – Live to Read - http://livetoread-krystal.blogspot.com/

•Wednesday, January 4 – Two Chicks on Books - http://twochicksonbooks1.blogspot.com/

•Friday, January 6 – Seeing Night Book Reviews - http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/

•Monday, January 9 – Lindsay Cummings - http://lindsaycummingsblog.blogspot.com/

•Wednesday, January 11 – Books Complete Me - http://www.bookscompleteme.com/

•Friday, January 13 – Fantasy Cafe - http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/

And I'll be posting the rebel blog links over the next couple of weeks -so stay tuned!

Touch of Power Blog Tour!

2011-12-12T00:35:00.001-05:00

The Official TOUCH OF POWER Blog Tour starts Monday, December 12, 2011. I don't know the time, but since I sleep until 11 am, I figured I'd better post this tonight. (I write until 3 or 4 am, people! mornings and me never got along - but that's for another post).

From the schedule I received - it looks like Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are the hot button days, with contests to win a signed copy of the book (some shipped in time for x-mas :) We'll be taking Monday December 26th, and Friday the 30th off for the holidays. But otherwise we'll be offering contests until Friday, January 13th, when we'll announce the winner for the BIG PRIZE - a $100 Spa Certificate to a place in your town. (details on this are coming!).

Information for the tour is on Harlequin's Paranormal Blog - here's a link: http://paranormalromanceblog.com/

And one last thing - I'm also doing a bunch of Q&As and giveaways on other blogs - so stay tuned to this blog for more info and links!

News from across the Pond (i.e. the UK :)

2011-12-10T23:29:00.001-05:00

My publisher in the UK was thrilled to learn the UK cover of TOUCH OF POWER won by a large margin - I'm afraid there will be no living with them when they get together with the other MIRA offices in the US and Australia ;>

They are also super excited about TOUCH OF POWER's release in the UK and there will be lots going on for my UK readers - a blog tour in January and a special MIZZ magazine promotion with a very big prize (can't tell you yet).

One of the things going on right now is a special Collectors Edition e-Book that is being offered right now on Amazon.co.uk - It includes POISON STUDY, STORM GLASS, and the first chapter of TOUCH OF POWER. So if you have any friends who wanted to try my books, this is a great opportunity to put a toe in Maria V. Snyder waters ;>

Here's the link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maria-V-Snyder-Collectors-ebook/dp/B006FZ9EQU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323338931&sr=8-1

Also I wanted to share a fab 5 star review from TeenNOW Magazine. YAY! I'm thrilled TOUCH OF POWER is getting positive reviews - I always worry extra when it's a new book in a new world!

Here's the review:

Cover Art Results and Winners!

2011-12-07T16:34:00.000-05:00

The TOUCH OF POWER cover art contest was another popular post with 160 votes and comments. I read through them all and tallied the votes.

It should be no surprise that the UK version won with 102 votes! Everyone thought the UK cover was eye catching and showed Avry as a powerful figure with the lightning coming out from her hands and her billowing cloak. For those who haven't seen the animated edition of this cover - you can either see it here in my "What a Week" blog or go to my website: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/UK.php (PS: I just updated my website).

Second place goes to the USA cover with 32 votes. Those who voted for it, thought it was pretty and looked like a fantasy novel, invoking a sense of mystery.

Third place goes to the Australia/NZ cover with 26 votes. The voters liked the colors - they seemed warming and enticing, invoking the healer aspect of the story.

I found all the comments very interesting and thank everyone for voting! Having visited both AU and UK, and then looking at their covers - it's amazing that they reflect my impressions of those visits. It's hard to describe, but they match my feelings.

And now for the 2 winners.......Congratulations go to:
Kate of Persistent Fantasy and
Corinne Hurlbert

YAY!!

Don't worry - there will be many more chances to win. My TOUCH OF POWER BLOG TOUR will be starting on Monday, December 12, 2011 - so check back here this weekend for more details!! And I've been doing a ton of Q&As on various blogs and I always giveaway a copy of my latest - so keep an eye out for links!!

What a Week!

2011-12-02T15:07:00.003-05:00

I sent out my email newsletter on Monday, combining two issues into one because I didn't have a ton of "writing" news. Well, this week has been rather...eventful :)

First - Zap2it posts an interview with Lachlan Buchanan, an Australian actor who is joining the Pretty Little Liars TV show cast this season. Seems he is a big reader and he mentioned my books! That was so cool to read - and if there is ever a movie of Poison Study, I'll be more than happy to return the favor.

Here's a link to the post:
http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2011/11/meet-pretty-little-liars-newest-clue-lachlan-buchanan-talks-lucy-hale-books-and-more.html

Second - I think the UK office of my publisher is trying to sway the voting for the Touch of Power cover art ;> They just sent me an animated cover - you have to click on the box below (I see some people are having trouble bringing it up - I'm working on getting that fixed, so check back in a couple days):

What do you think?? Pretty cool right??

Touch of Power Cover Contest!

2011-11-29T19:34:00.001-05:00

I just received permission to show the Australian/New Zealand cover for TOUCH OF POWER! So I'm going to do another contest. Vote for your favorite of the three covers and you will be entered to win a signed copy of TOUCH OF POWER. There will be two winners picked at random - it's open internationally - must vote by 11:59 p.m. EST on December 6th. Please leave email addy so I can contact you.

All three are being released at the same time (December 20th). Good news for all!!

Here are the covers in alphabetical order:

Australia/New Zealand Cover

UK Cover

USA Cover

Winners Announced!

2011-11-29T19:24:00.000-05:00

My Celebrating post clocked in at 310 comments...WOW! Nothing I've done before has gotten so many comments - guess everyone's excited about TOUCH OF POWER ;> I had to use a new random generator website because my other one only went up to 100.

And now without further ado......the five winners are:

Chris M. from Ireland
Emily C. from Utah, US
Nikky B. from England
Sarah F. from Georgia, US
Shilo M. from Utah, US

Congrats to them all!!

To the 300 people who didn't win, don't worry - there is going to be a BLOG TOUR starting December 12 with close to a dozen chances to win AND I'm offering another contest today! Yep check my other blog entry for today.

Celebrating!

2011-11-18T14:53:00.002-05:00

What exactly are we celebrating? Three things. One - I've over 500 Followers! Considering my off again on again relationship with this blog, that's pretty impressive. Two - I just received my copies of TOUCH OF POWER. (author perk!)

To celebrate, I'm giving away 5 copies of TOUCH OF POWER. Just leave a comment to this post, and I'll pick winners at random. The give away is open until midnight my time (EST) on Black Friday (that's Friday, November 25th for my international readers :) This is open to everyone with a mailing address. Please also leave an email address so I can contact you with the news.

And three - it's Friday - that's always a good reason for a celebration :)

HOME....finally!

2011-11-16T16:19:00.001-05:00

So I'm the worst blogger ever! Ah, my poor neglected blog is always pushed aside when other tasks come up suddenly. For example, MIZZ magazine in the UK wants to do a big promotion for TOUCH OF POWER's release. Great news! However, they wanted a 3 minute video of me for their new MIZZ TV website and they wanted it before I left for Italy. A seemingly simple task - talking about my book for 3 mins turned into an all day affair, including how to send a 270 MB file via the Internet. My poor producer/daughter had to hear the same thing over multiple takes.

Yes, I was in Italy, but before I talk about my trip, I wanted to announce the winner of the TOUCH OF POWER ARC! I received 17 entries and random.org picked entry #9, which is Jessica W. from Texas!! Congrats to Jessica!! I might be slow to blog, but Jessica's been, I hope, enjoying her prize for the last couple weeks - I mailed it out before my trip.

So what this about Italy? It wasn't on my appearance schedule :) I surprised my parents last June with two tickets to Italy for their 50th wedding anniversary. Anyone who makes it to 50 years deserves a special trip. My sister and I tagged along, leaving husbands and kids home. My mom always wanted to go, but kept talking herself out of the trip because she was too nervous to fly. So we kidnapped her (or rather guilted her into going - after all the ticket was paid for!). It was a grand time – we spent time in Florence, Siena, the Tuscan countryside, and Rome. I loved Tuscany the best – gorgeous and the wine was divine! It was also the most photogenic place and I could have wander around for hours with my camera.

I'd tell you more about the trip, but as a family we agreed what happened in Italy stays in Italy! ;>

Here are some pictures:

Florence - the Arno River as seen from our hotel window. At the top of the rise seen in the picture is called Michelangelo's Plaza and from there you can see the whole city of Florence.

Florence - the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. No traffic is allowed on this bridge - just shoppers who are looking to score some beautiful jewelry made with Italian gold. As you can see, the stores hang out over the water, supported by thick wooden beams.

The town of Chianti - the heart of the Chianti Classico wine region. We learned to make sure a black roster is on the neck of the bottle for an authentic wine.

A Tuscan vineyard - since it was November, the sangiovese grape vines were turning yellow. The red leaves are another type of grape. Sangiovese is the major grape used in Chianti Classico - it has to make up at least 70% of the wine to be officially called a Chianti Classico.

Wine tasting room at the Tenuta Torciano winery in San Gimignano (another great town in Tuscany).

Rome - The Colosseum at sunset. We spent 3 days in Rome, but needed another 4 at least. There is so much to see, it's impossible to take it all in.

Rome - The Arch of Constantine - another amazing piece of ancient history!

Spooky Stories

2011-10-22T00:24:00.001-04:00

In keeping with the scary theme this month, I wanted to let everyone know I'm in another short story anthology called Spirited that has 13 haunted tales of ghosts and other scariness (mine is called NEW GIRL and isn't very scary I must say - it's more funny - and I picked the title BEFORE that TV show came out ;). The e-book is OUT NOW (http://www.amazon.com/Spirited-ebook/dp/B005ZGH4ZI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1319579825&sr=1-1), and the print book is coming out in March 2012.

The best part of this project - ALL PROCEEDS from the anthology (both print and e-book) will be donated to National 826, a literacy-based charity! Yep - all the money is going to support literacy. YAY! I'm really glad I'm involvled in this and I also had the benefit of working with a friend of mine - the editor Kat O'Shea was editing me when we both were aspiring writers/editors - we were in a critque group together. Funny how things come full circle!

Leap books is doing a contest and giving away 13 copies of the book. Every Sunday, they post a blog at www.leapbks.blogspot.com and bridgesocialmedia.blogspot.com inviting readers to "guess" the authors in the Spirited anthology.

Spirited also has a trailer. Here's the link to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9yZlLasZ7Y

And here's more info/press release type stuff with quotes from the editor and authors :)

More than a dozen young adult paranormal fiction authors are contributing to Spirited, a collection of steampunk, cyberpunk and downright spooky stories guaranteed to get your heart racing. Proceeds from the anthology will be donated to National 826, a literacy-based charity.

“Leap Books tends to lean towards the eccentric and snarky, so when we found an organization that’s a little off-the-wall and dovetails with our goals – reading and writing – we couldn’t resist,” says Spirited editor, Kat O’Shea. “One of our goals is to get teens excited about books. What better way to do that than to offer stories by some of their favorite authors?”

The anthology features supernatural tales by bestselling writers such as Maria V. Snyder, Candace Havens, Shannon Delany, Linda Joy Singleton, Heather Kenealy and more.

“I was amazed at how many well-known authors were willing to carve time out of their hectic schedules to benefit charity,” says O’Shea.

For bestselling author and leading entertainment journalist Candace Havens, Charmed & Dangerous (Berkley), the chance to be a part of Spirited was a no-brainer. Trying her hand at a ghost story was something she’s wanted to do for a long time, and as the emcee for several literacy charity events, she hears amazing stories of literacy inspiration all the time.

“When my first novel came out, one of the nurses at my doctor’s office bought my book for her daughter,” she says. “The daughter was in her 20s and had never read a book all the way through. She read mine and told her mom she wanted more. She didn’t know books could be so fun. A story like that will get you through those tough writing times.”

As a school library technician, Judith Graves, Under My Skin (Leap Books), has seen the power of literacy awareness, promotion and support at work, and believes any organization that offers this is worthy of heralding.

“When I heard that the Spirited anthology had a paranormal theme and that proceeds would go to a literacy-based charity, I was ready to claw my way onto the roster,” she says. “Luckily, my story made the cut and no editors were harmed in the making of this anthology.”

That’s not to say there aren’t a few deaths involved. Albeit fictional. With the e-book launch slated for October 31, 2011, Spirited is the perfect read for young thrill-seekers. While many of the featured authors will be hauntingly familiar to fans of the paranormal, readers will be invited to discover new authors venturing into the genre.

New York Times Bestselling author Maria V. Snyder, Poison Study (Mira), says the opportunity to write for Spirited offered a creative challenge. “The subject or theme of an anthology is usually not within my comfort zone of fantasy and science fiction, and I always have fun playing in someone else’s sandbox.”

Leap Books is also thinking outside of the coffin with this release. In addition to a macabre and eclectic collection of stories, Spirited will feature some unique graphics, including AR (augmented reality) in a cyberpunk/dystopian story by award-winning author Shannon Delaney, 13 to Life (St. Martin’s Griffin).

“Readers will be able to hold the story icons under a webcam to see some cool 3-D effects,” says O’Shea.

Spirited manifests October 31, 2011, in e-book format, followed by a print edition of the anthology unleashed in March 2012. Copies can be summoned by pre-order via the Leap Books website at www.leapbooks.com.

A Month of Scariness

2011-10-17T15:24:00.000-04:00

I don't know what has gotten into me lately. Perhaps it's a mid-life crisis or just the desire to do something...scary. I'm not sure of the reason, but the results have been quite...revealing.

I've been wanting to get back into riding motorcycles. I use to ride a 3 wheeled ATV (a trike) in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey with a bunch of dirt biker friends, but I was in my late teens, early 20s.  Recently my friend Kathy suggested we take the Motorcycle Safety Course together. They provide the bikes, helmets and instruction over a long weekend. So I took my learner's permit exam the same day my son took his driver's permit test (no - he didn't think it was cool - lots of eye rolling that day). We both passed :)

Over the long Columbus Day weekend, I sat in a classroom for 5 hours of instruction on motorcycle safety. The instructor Harry was quite the character - he'd threaten to throw things at us if we didn't listen to him when we were out on the range and he liked to say, "However comma" when making a point. I earned a 100 % on the written test :) So far, so good.

The next day as I'm straddling a red Suzuki 250 cc bike along with Kathy and six others, I'm having major second thoughts.  The bike is huge and heavy and there are lots and lots of things to do with both my hands and feet and I'm supposed to balance and steer while doing all this shifting, breaking, clutching, throttling. I was terrified - this was nothing like my little automatic transmission 3 wheeler. But I stayed and listened to Harry and he walked us through everything in baby steps. By the end of the day I was having so much fun turning and weaving through cones. And was very glad I hadn't chickened out :)

So feeling rather confident (cocky perhaps?) I arrived for day two to learn that our first exercise is doing figure 8s on the bike.  Really? Gulp! No warm ups - or a few loops around the track? Nope - right to the hardest exercise of both days. Confidence gone, I was back to being a giant chicken, ready to bail out.  But I stuck with it and learned a lot - like I turn better going left than right especially with those tight U-turns/figure 8s.

At the end of day two, we took our skills test to earn a motorcycle license. We needed to demonstrate certain life skills, like swerving, stopping quickly and going through turns. I'm doing good all day, but as soon as Harry gets his clipboard out, I'm stalling the bike, wobbling on the turns, making a really warped figure 8 all with my heart in my throat. After everyone is through the test, he made us wait 20 mins to hear the results!

We all....passed! Yay! I now know how to ride in a big parking lot around a bunch of cones. I'd like to buy a small bike - around 250 cc engine - no scooters. My family isn't so sure, so we'll see.

No, my kids still don't think I'm cool - my daughter insists I'm still a soccer mom. Good to know I have them all fooled ;>

And I've learned when I'm the most scared, I have the most fun (I'll be writing about my haunted house adventures next).

How about you? Any stories of conquering your fears and having a blast?

Touch of Power ARC Giveaway

2011-09-22T15:39:00.002-04:00

Now that I have your attention :) I'm doing a special OUTSIDE IN promotion and dangling an ARC of TOUCH OF POWER as the prize.

As many of you know, I have contests on my website for all my books. If you answer 20 questions about the book correctly, I'll send you a signed book label for your book and you're entered into a quarterly drawing to win a copy of the book. However, poor OUTSIDE IN only has 3 entries since March and I'm determined to change that!

So, here's the deal - email me (maria@mariavsnyder.com) the answers to the 20 questions below (please put: special OI promo in the subject line), and include your mailing address by OCTOBER 22, 2011 and you will be entered to win an ARC of TOUCH OF POWER with the UK cover! You'll also get a book label and some cool bookmarks :) This is open to everyone and no shipping costs either.

QUESTIONS:

•1 – What is the name of Trella's new cleaning troll?

•2 – Who is Bubba Boom?

•3 – What are the names of the Outsiders?

•4 – What does Logan give Trella?

•5 – How does the Committee keep track of Trella?

•6 – What does ISF stand for?

•7 – Who is in charge of Maintenance?

•8 – Whose appendix bursts?

•9 – What is Logan's newest gadget?

•10 – What is the nickname for ISF?

•11 – What does Trella find at the top of the Expanse?

•12 – What do the Outsiders want?

•13 – What was the Big Shake?

•14 – Who saves Trella from the fire?

•15 – Who is Jacy conspiring with?

•16 – How many Bubble Monsters are there?

•17 – What is the current population of Insiders?

•18 – The explosion damaged the power plant and what other critical system?

•19 – Near the end, how does Trella and her friends get to the Outsiders?

•20 – Is Doctor Lamont really Trella's birth mother?

Good Luck!

Here's a link to more contests: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/contests.php

Inbox Gems

2011-09-16T15:42:00.001-04:00

I'm trying to catch up on all my emails from when I was down under. For some reason my new Acer Tablet wouldn't let me hook up to my author email server. I bought the tablet to video chat with my family and it worked nicely - I also played games on it and read books so I didn't have to pack as much.

Anywho as I'm going through my inbox, I'm finding links that might be of interest to you. Also if you emailed me and have a Hotmail addy - I'm being bounced by your spam filter - I'm working on getting that sorted out.

First some news! OUTSIDE IN is a finalist for the Golden Leaf Award! I'll find out in October if it won. Storm Glass won in 2009 so I'm hoping for a repeat. Other finalist are here: ttp://njromancewriters.org/index.php?/njrw_contest/golden_leaf_finalists/

And - I never announced the winner of the Heart of Iron giveaway - I've already sent the book out so I did pick a winner. Congrats go to Jessica W!

I did a guest post on the Just Another Book Addict blog - here's a link: http://justanotherbookaddict.blogspot.com/2011/08/maria-v-snyder-road-to-publication.html

There's a video interview of me here (I haven't seen it yet - so I hope it's okay!): http://blog.buzzymultimedia.com/mary-v-snyder-interview

And here's a podcast of a reading group discussing Poison Study: http://bit.ly/qGVruN

Ward Against Death - Interview + Contest

2011-09-13T01:53:00.001-04:00

Today I'm interviewing debut author, Melanie Card. Her book, Ward Against Death was released in August in both print and e-book format. I really enjoyed this book - it's unique and action packed with characters that I cared about.

Now a confession. I met Melanie while attending Seton Hill University as a student. It was my very first residency, I didn't know a soul, and I wasn't sure what to expect. The very first class I attended was a book discussion. We all read the same novel and then discuss it that first morning. Melanie was in my class - she was doing her last residency and graduating. When the instructor asked our opinion of the novel, Melanie was the first to speak. She proclaimed that the book was awful and proceeded to explain why with concise, logical reasons. I was struck by her confidence, her ability to spot weak writing, and her no nonsense approach. Curious, I attended her thesis reading and really enjoyed her thesis novel. So it's no surprise that she didn't give up and now has a published novel.

Melanie's publisher is offering one lucky commenter a free e-book of Ward Against Death! Leave a comment here by midnight on Sunday, September 18, and I will pick a name using random.org :) Please include your email addy so I can contact you if you win!

Twenty-year-old Ward de Ath expected this to be a simple job bring a nobleman s daughter back from the dead for fifteen minutes, let her family say good-bye, and launch his fledgling career as a necromancer. Goddess knows he can t be a surgeon the Quayestri already branded him a criminal for trying so bringing people back from the dead it is.

But when Ward wakes the beautiful Celia Carlyle, he gets more than he bargained for. Insistent that she s been murdered, Celia begs Ward to keep her alive and help her find justice. By the time she drags him out her bedroom window and into the sewers, Ward can t bring himself to break his damned physician s Oath and desert her.

However, nothing is as it seems including Celia. One second, she s treating Ward like sewage, the next she s kissing him. And for a nobleman s daughter, she sure has a lot of enemies. If he could just convince his heart to give up on the infuriating beauty, he might get out of this alive...

Take 10 with Melanie Card:

1.) Why this book? What made you want to write this story and series?

What drew me to the story was my hero, Ward. I was pondering the question: in what situation could a necromancer be good instead of evil?—because sometimes I like to play around with expectations—and Ward started to develop. He was quirky, and kind, and determined. I couldn’t resist writing his story.

2.) Which authors inspire you? Has that changed over time?

So many authors have inspired me. When I was in public school I was reading books like the Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, Birth of the Firebringer by Meredith Ann Pierce, Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce, and Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey. These books got me hooked on fantasy. As I grew older I found writers like David Eddings, and Raymond E. Feist, who turned me onto epic fantasy. And then I discovered books by Guy Gavriel Kay, and Patricia A. McKillip who inspired me with their use of language, that it could flow and have a rhythm. And in Ms. KcKillip’s case, that language itself could create a sense of ethereal magic.

3.) Why fantasy? Is there something special about fantasy that draws you to write in the field?

I’m not sure why fantasy calls to me, but it does. I grew up in a home where my father and brother read science fiction and my mother read mysteries. And save for the collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and a copy of Alice in Wonderland, there wasn’t a lot of fantasy in the house. The adventure in fantasy, the time periods and the magic that can do or become anything appeals to me. There’s a feeling of romance with fantasy, and I get to live that romance by being able to read and write about people who can do wondrous things. I think that drew me in as a child and has held me captive ever since.

4.) What do you find most interesting about Celia and Ward?

The two of them together. I love seeing what they’ll come up with next and how each of them will react when things get difficult. Both of them are constantly surprising me by their choices (I know, I’m the writer, I’m supposed to know what my characters are thinking), but they’re both in a stage of growth and while I know how I want them to end up, they seem to have their own ideas about how they’re going to get there.

5.) What else do you enjoy doing besides writing? Interests? Hobbies?

I confess, I’m an amateur theatre geek. Comedy, drama, musical, you name it; I love to act in it. Even if I’m rehearsing the darkest drama, the cast and crew always laugh during rehearsals and we have a great time. I always end up with crazy stories about the antics that happen backstage while the show is on (not that the cast or crew purposefully do crazy things, but lines get missed sometimes, people forget to bring on important props, accidents happen). I’ve made some great friends doing theater… even met my best friend, my husband, on a show.

6.) Did you have to do any special research for this book? What did you learn that you didn't know before?

I was a little crazy about research for Ward Against Death. I live in a town where there are two universities, with two large libraries and I spent hours combing the shelves looking for books on medieval surgery (some of which were written in Middle English). What fascinated me was how advanced medicine was in the Middle East during the end of the 10th century. A man named Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi wrote extensively about his medical practice and procedures and developed his own surgical instruments. The surgical procedure in the book is based off the writing of Guy de Chauliac (a 12th century French surgeon) who studied al-Zahrawi’s works.

7.) How did you become a writer? Is this what you saw yourself growing up to be? Or did it take you by surprise?

I should have known from the beginning that I was going to become a writer. I was writing stories in public school and turned “journal writing class” into “novel writing class” (because I loved story telling and disliked journaling.) I lost my way a bit in a high school and in university, tried different things, left writing, came back to writing, and left writing again. It wasn’t until I was about to go into the third year of my Bachelor of Arts (in psychology) that two things happened. The first: I started writing again on a regular basis. And the second: I found a Master of Arts program in Writing Popular Fiction and all the classes required for the degree sounded like heaven. I wanted to take all of them and all of the elective courses, too. I certainly didn’t want to take the third year statistics class required for my BA. I played it safe for two more years, testing out if I really wanted to write by taking a college class (and finishing my BA), but in a way becoming a writer was inevitable. I had always been writing. I might take a break from writing for a year or so, but I always came back to writing. I applied for the MA program, was accepted and haven’t looked back.

8.) Do you have a writing routine? Talk process for a moment, how do the words get on the page?

I try to get words on the page anyway I can. At the moment, I’ve been keeping a regular schedule of writing in the morning. I leave the house with my laptop, go some place that doesn’t have internet (because I could spend all day on the internet), and write. When I was writing Ward Against Death I was working at a coffee shop. I would go into work early and write for an hour. Then I’d write on my breaks and sometimes for a hour or so after work.

9.) Office? Closet? Corner of the living room? Do you have a set place to write? A favorite?

I do have an office (my spare bedroom has now become my office), which is where I do most of my editing. But I need to get out of the house to write fresh pages, so I head to the local coffee shop or mall food court or wherever I can get to. Often it’s the walk or drive to the new location that helps clear away the mental cobwebs and helps me get the ideas flowing.

10.) What are you writing now? What's coming out next?

The second book in the Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer series. The adventures of Ward and Celia continue with more undead creatures and evil necromancers.

Thanks so much for inviting me to share with your readers today!

You're welcome Melanie! Good luck with your series.
Connect with Melanie:

Website: MelanieCard.com
Facebook: Facebook
Twitter: Twitter @melaniecard
Goodreads: Goodreads

Links to buy:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Against-Death-Chronicles-Reluctant-Necromancer/dp/1937044092/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311359976&sr=8-1%E2%80%9D%20target=

Books on Board (e-book): http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=1063617

Diesel (e-book): http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/9781937044084/Card-Melanie-Ward-Against-Death-Chronicles-of-a-Reluctant-Necromancer-1/1.html

Australia/New Zealand Tour by the Numbers

2011-09-10T16:45:00.000-04:00

It's been two weeks since I've been home and getting re-adjusted to...well, everything...has taken more time than I'd expected. I'm working on a short story I thought I could knock out in a few days. I don't know why I thought that since nothing I write is ever "quick" even blog posts take me longer than I'm sure they do for others. I'm also supposed to be working on book 2 of the Healer Series - I've two pages written - yikes.

And I've gotten off the topic, which is my tour down under. If you receive my newsletter some of this may be a repeat, but I've added a few things and pictures for my blog :)

The three weeks on tour just flew by and it was unbelievable to meet so many of my readers. So here's a summary of my trip by the numbers:

15 hours - The flight from San Fransisco to Sydney - The steward on my flight called it,"purgatory," perfect description as it's dark outside almost the entire trip. Landing and sunrise coincided beautifully.

1 - Gorgeous Harbor (see picture above)

3 crossings of a roundabout in Byron Bay without getting hit! Confusing traffic patterns for an American.

4 days in Byron Bay - The hippie culture is alive and well there - so fun to see such free spirits. Picture is a camper you can rent for your vacation (www.wickedcampers.com) 1 day off to see the sights.

1 Lighthouse - Hiked uphill both ways to the lighthouse in Byron Bay - the eastern most point of AU - worth the heart attack!

2 dinners at the Hog's Breath Cafe (hog tail fries are yummy!), 2 brekkies at the Why Not? cafe and 1 brekkie at the Twisted Sistah cafe.

30+ cups of English breakfast tea for me and 50+ cups of skinny lattes for me new Mum :) Latte at the Bay Leaf restaurant (above).

60 Brisbane readers (see above). They had emailed me, asking for me to visit, and they all came even though it was a Monday night and they had a week's notice!

6 days in Melbourne (pictured above). 4 schools and 4 public events all well attended :) Chilly rain and cloudy all 6 days. 2 days off - I shopped at the Queen Victoria's Market the first day and had dinner with friends. Second day I went to the Melbourne Zoo and played with the kangaroos :)

• 21 nights that I saw rugby and Aussie Rules Rugby (called footy) on TV. I'm currently experiencing withdrawal.

5 days in Sydney - 4 schools and 4 public events. Took a tour on a cold, windy, cloudy day to Bondi Beach - saw the Opera House up close, but didn't go in. Wished I had more time to see Sydney.

5 days in Auckland, New Zealand for the Romance Writer's conference - had a great time and made lots of new friends. 1 sad loss - author Sandra Hyatt (Hyde) passed away that weekend :( My condolences to her family and friends.

1 day off in Auckland - went to the Waitakere Ranges Park to see waterfalls, rain forest (see above) and black sand beaches (see below). New Zealand is gorgeous and I MUST go back there.

1 regret that I wasn't able to have a public event in Auckland :(

5 bags of Snickers Pods and 1 package of Tim Tams consumed

12 hours - number of hours one way Meaghan and her boyfriend drove to see me

9 public events - all well attended; 14 new words learned

And finally, 1 new Mum who made the trip extra special (you know who you are!).

Thanks to everyone who attended one of my events and to the Harlequin office in Australia who did all the hard work in setting the tour up and to Amy and Deb at dmcpr-media who helped spread the word and arranged all those fun radio and TV interviews.

TOUCH OF POWER COVER ART!

2011-09-05T23:42:00.000-04:00

Yes - I'm home from Australia/New Zealand - had a fantastic time and will write a whole blog on my adventures :) But I just sent out a newsletter with the cover art for TOUCH OF POWER - the US and UK covers to 7700 people, and before they go viral, I wanted to post them here as well :) I'm NOT going to post the first chapter of TOP as that's special for my newsletter subscribers ;> It will go on my website around Sept 15th.

Without further ado....here they are:

USA Cover

UK Cover

So what do you think???

And for those who haven't heard about my upcoming book (coming out December 20th according to Amazon and Amazon UK) - here's the cover copy:

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life....

On Tour :-)

2011-08-11T07:27:00.000-04:00

I made it to Australia and have been having a great time meeting all my Australian readers. I posted some pictures on my facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/maria.v.snyder). My events have 'been packed with enthusastic fans, and I'm currently in Melbourne. I've the next couple days off, then i'm off to Sydney for a number of events.

Here are a few things I've learned about Australia:
- They drive on the wrong side of the road, but somehow manage not to have massive accident
- Kangaroos are not everywhere
- Tim Tamsg are addicting and snickers pods are amazing
-they have some very creative names like the Hog's Breath restaurant - they have wonderful hog tails (i.e. curly fries). Pie Face (I think this is a bake shop), and the Twisted Sista cafe.
- they don't drink Foster's lauger beer. they have beers like the Fat Yak and Tooheys. I'm a

big fan of fan of parial to Toohey's extra dry

Last minute packing!

2011-07-30T18:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, I leave tomorrow and I'm running around like a crazy woman trying to get everything done and pack as well. It's hard packing for 3 weeks - warning to my readers in Australia and New Zealand I'm only bringing like 4 nice outfits, so I'll be wearing the same clothes in all the pictures! And I'm counting on the hotels to provide laundry service - otherwise I might be a bit...aromatic ;> But I refuse to drag a huge suitcase around with me.

I hope to post pics to my blog and Facebook while I'm on the road - no guarantees - it will depend on wi-fi accessibility and how energetic I am :) I won't be able to access my website email - so if you want to contact me, just post a comment on my facebook page or here if you're one of the five people who don't have a facebook page ;>

For my Auckland readers - I might have a signing at the Dymocks in Auckland on Sunday evening 21 August - I'll post here if I get more details - and/or I'll post on my Facebook pages.

Last thing - Congrats to Jessica!! She was the lucky winner of the copy of Heart of Iron!

Heart of Iron Interview + Give Away!

2011-07-27T16:29:00.000-04:00

Time for another author interview :) This time, I'm happy to introduce Ekaterina Sedia, whose latest novel, Heart of Iron has just been released. The name might be familiar to my loyal readers because I've short stories in two of Ekaterina's anthologies, Running with the Pack and Bewere the Night.

As with most of my interviews, I'm offering a free copy of Heart of Iron to a random commenter. Please let a comment and your email addy by noon EDT on Saturday, July 30th to be entered to win (I know this is shorter than normal, but I'm leaving on the 31st). Open to international readers as well :)

Here's the blurb: In a Russia where the Decembrists' rebellion was successful and the Trans-Siberian railroad was completed before 1854, Sasha Trubetskaya wants nothing more than to have a decent debut ball in St. Petersburg. But her aunt's feud with the emperor lands Sasha at university, where she becomes one of its first female students - an experiment, she suspects, designed more to prove female unsuitability for such pursuits than offer them education. The pressure intensifies when Sasha's only friends - Chinese students - start disappearing, and she begins to realize that her new British companion, Jack, has bigger secrets than she can imagine! Sasha and Jack find themselves trying to stop a war brewing between the three empires. The only place they can turn to for help is the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace, newly founded by the Taiping rebels. Pursued by the terrifying Dame Florence Nightingale of the British Secret Service, Sasha and Jack escape across Siberia via train to China. Sasha discovers that Jack is not quite the person she thought he was...but then again, neither is she.

And now let's Take 10 with Ekaterina Sedia:

1.) Why this book? What made you want to write this story?

Like with any book, there are many possible answers. But basically, I wanted to write an alternate history that wasn't about the US or Western Europe. Crimean War seemed like a natural subject, since what's accessible to Anglophone readers is the British take on it and I felt that the story taking place in Russia would offer a different perspective. And I also wanted a book where Russia explicitly made alliances with Asia, and since in this timeline the Trans-Siberian railroad is completed by 1853, it seemed a shame to not bring the Taipings into it.

2.) Which authors inspire you? Has that changed over time?

I enjoy Dina Rubina a lot, as well as Viktor Pelevin (there are parts of the book which are explicit homages to his Chapaev i Pustota.) I'm also a fan of Dickens and Austen, Nalo Hopkinson, Octavia Butler, James Tiptree Jr., and a whole bunch of other writers. Tastes always change over time, of course – when I was very young, I loved James Fenimore Cooper. Look, I was nine, I didn't know any better.

3.) Why fantasy? Is there something special about fantasy that draws you to write in the field?

All fiction, I think, is about human condition. Fantasy allows you to put regular people into crazy, impossible circumstances and see how far you can push them. So yes, for me fantasy allows exploration of certain aspects better than mimetic fiction.

4.) What do you find most interesting about Sasha Trubetskaya and Jack?

Sasha is very much a regular person. It seems that lately in order to be considered a strong heroine, a woman has to be a total badass – sassy, sexy, kick-ass weapons expert and investigator. Not that it's a problem per se – I just don't think it should be a requirement. So Sasha cannot fight, really, she is not savvy or sassy. What she does have is determination, good role models, and a sense or right and wrong. She also embarrasses easily.

Jack, on the other hand, is everything she is not – he is basically a Victorian superhero. Also, a bit of a criminal, but not without some charm.

5.) What else do you enjoy doing besides writing? Interests? Hobbies?

My full-time job as a college professor. I also edit anthologies, write an occasional fashion blog entry, and am very much into fitness. Kettlebells are my main obsession at the moment.

6.) Did you have to do any special research for this book? What did you learn that you didn't know before?

Oh, tons. I'm well familiar with Russian history, but my knowledge of Taiping Rebellion and Opium Wars was somewhat limited. On my website (http://ekaterinasedia.com/index.php/novels/heart-of-iron/), I have a currently under construction bibliography, but Spence's God's Chinese Son and Walley's Opium War Through Chinese Eyes were absolutely invaluable. Also, on the same page I'm linking to a series of blog posts I wrote about history involved with the book. Check it out – all good stuff!

7.) How did you become a writer? Is this what you saw yourself growing up to be? Or did it take you by surprise?

Oh, never even considered being a writer, although I was always an avid reader. In my mid-thirties, it occurred to me that maybe I have something to say, and so I started to write. I still don't quite think about myself as a proper writer.

8.) Do you have a writing routine? Talk process for a moment, how do the words get on the page?

I usually write before bed, to unwind from the day. So one-two hours a day when I'm working on a project. Since I also work on anthologies, sometimes this time is taken up by editing work. I try to write every day, but don't really sweat it if I can't. I don't want it to be something I have to do; I want it to be my downtime, something I do for myself because I want to.

9.) Office? Closet? Corner of the living room? Do you have a set place to write? A favorite?

I do have a very small office; I mean, the floor area is small, but it has a ridiculously high ceiling and a skylight. And usually a cat or two plopped on the desk.

10.) What are you writing now? What's coming out next?

Right now, I'm working on a short story – I have several of those due for various anthologies. Then I have my next anthology to work on – Bloody Fabulous, which is a collection of urban fantasy stories centered around fashion (you're writing one, right?). Next year I have a short story collection coming out, and Jeffrey Ford was kind enough to write an amazing introduction for it. After it – more anthologies, and more work on the novel I started a while back (a ghost story featuring Chinese-American actors in 1930's Hollywood.) My plate is full, but I'm very excited about all of these projects!

[Yes, I've a fun idea from a fashion photographer's POV!]

Thanks so much for answering my questions! Below are some links for those who are interested:

Website: http://ekaterinasedia.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Iron-Ekaterina-Sedia/dp/160701257X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311797718&sr=8-1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/esedia

Australia/New Zealand Schedule

2011-07-24T17:04:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to post my schedule for my Australia/New Zealand trip. I'm leaving in a WEEK and I'm an utter mess! I've so much to do that I've been just staring at my computer frozen not knowing where to start. My husband wants me to write up a list of dinners and how to cook them, I need to get handouts pulled together for various workshops and presentations I'm doing down under, I have to pack, I have to figure out how to Skype and install a webcam on one of our home computers, AND my editor just sent final edits for Touch of Power and needs any changes by Friday. *Deep breath* Well, at least once I get on the airplane, I shouldn't have trouble sleeping because I'll be exhausted ;>

As for my schedule - I'm hoping to extend my time in Brisbane and I hope there will be a public event in Auckland, New Zealand besides the RWNZ conference. I'm a bit frustrated as I'm the type of person who would have all this scheduled and confirmed months ago, but I'm not in charge :) My husband tells me to relax - good advice that's easier said than done!

And so, here's the schedule (check my website (http://www.mariavsnyder.com/AUS.php) for links to the events and also check it this week for any last minute additions/changes as I'm sure there will be some):

August 5-7, 2011 Attending & Participating in Byron Bay Writers' Festival. (Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia) All weekend.

August 8, 2011 Book Signing & Talk at Dymocks. (Shop D17, 177 Albert Street (Corner Elizabeth & Albert), Brisbane, 4000 Australia, phone: (07) 3007 2800) 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (I'm hoping to extend the time - check my website this week for more details!)

August 9, 2011 Book Signing at Readings. (701 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122, Australia, phone: (03) 9819 1917) 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The event is FREE, but you need to call and make a reservation before the event. Here's the RSVP # 9819 1917.

August 10, 2011 Author Event & Book Signing at Wyndham Library - Plaza Branch and in conjunction with Collins Booksellers. (Corner of Derrimut and Heaths Roads, Werribee, Victoria, 3030, Australia, phone: (03) 9748 9333) 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

August 11, 2011 Book Signing at Target in Melbourne. (236 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000 Australia) 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

August 11, 2011 Informal Talk & Book Signing at Rendezvous - The Romance Bookstore. (359 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia, phone: 1800 333 113) 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

August 15, 2011 Book Signing at Kinokuniya Bookshop. (Level 2, The Galleries, 500 George Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia, phone: (02) 9262 7996) 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

August 16, 2011 Book Signing at Dymocks. (350 George Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000 Australia, phone: (02) 9223 5974) 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

August 17, 2011 Informal Book Signing at Galaxy Bookshop. (Level 1, 131 York Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia, phone: (02) 9298 3110) 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

August 17, 2011 Author Event at Ultimo Library. (38-40 William Henry Street, Ultimo New South Wales, 2007, Australia, phone: (02) 9298 3110) 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Books will be available for sale.

August 19-21, 2011 Attending & Participating in Romance Writers of New Zealand's Annual Conference. (Crowne Plaza Hotel, 128 Albert Street, Auckland, New Zealand) All weekend.

Shadow's Lure Interview + Contest!

2011-07-18T01:25:00.000-04:00

As promised, here is the first of a couple author interviews and give aways that I've been hoarding :)

Jon Sprunk is a friend of mine. He sent me his debut fantasy novel, Shadow's Son a couple years ago, hoping I'd give him a quote for his book. I really loved the story and was happy to provide a quote. I interviewed him on my Goodread's blog when Shadow's Son came out last year. Here's a link: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/467137-interview-contest

The second book in the series, Shadow's Lure was recently released and Jon agreed to do another interview with me. To be entered to win a copy of Jon's book (your choice of the first or second), please leave a comment and your email address by midnight July 24th. This is open to international readers as well :)

Here's the cover copy for Shadow's Lure: In Othir, he was at the top of the food chain—an assassin beyond compare, a dark shadow in the night. But Caim left that life behind when he helped an empress claim her throne. And now his past has come calling again.

Searching for the truth behind the murder and disappearance of his parents, Caim discovers a land in thrall to the Shadow. Haunted by temptations from the Other Side, he becomes mired in a war he does not want to fight.

But there are some things a son of the Shadow cannot ignore, and some fights from which he can't run. In this battle, all of Caim's strength and skill won't be enough. For none can resist the Shadow's Lure.

Take 10 More with Jon Sprunk:

1) Tell us a little about Shadow’s Lure. Do we learn more about Caim and Josephine from the first book, Shadow’s Son?

Yes, they both return in the sequel. We get a deeper into Caim’s psyche and his equally-murky past. Josey has a lot of troubles, too, not the least of which is trying to rule an unruly empire. And there’s more of Kit in the second book as she becomes a more pivotal part of Caim’s life.

2) Shadow’s Lure – harder to write or easier?

A little of both. Easier in the sense that many of the main characters were coming along for the ride, so I felt comfortable writing about them. Harder in that this was my first attempt at a sequel. There was a lot in the planning and plot arcing (running into book 3) that I had to figure out as I went along.

3) What advice would you give to an aspiring author interested in writing a series?

I think a connected series (where the books are tied together in plot) needs more planning than a stand-alone, if only because you need to have an idea where you’re going beyond the first book. That being said, don’t be afraid to toss those plans out the window if better ideas occur to you during the writing.

4) You’ve been a published author for a year. Is it what you excepted?

Not at all. At first, I had the silly expectation that all my dreams would come true overnight. Then reality set in. I would have been crushed if I wasn’t so focused on improving my stories and style with each book.

5) What has been your favorite aspect of being published?

Besides the private island in the Caribbean? (cue hysterical laughter) Meeting my readers. Making connections with fans keeps me grounded, and it reminds me who I’m writing for.

6) What is your least favorite part of being published?

There’s some pressure. Writing is my profession now, and I want to be successful. But it’s a good pressure. For me, there has been no real negative.

7) You have a short story, Sea of Madness in the anthology, Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy, do you have any more short stories published? Do you enjoy writing short, or is novels your favorite?

There’s a list of my published short stories on my website (http://www.jonsprunk.com). As you can see, I write very few of them. From very early in my creative life, I wanted to be a novelist. There is something about a novel, the scope and sweep of it, that drives my inner muse. That’s not to say I won’t write a short, or even a novella, if a good idea strikes me.

8) I see you have a number of book signings and convention appearances this summer and fall. Do you enjoy promoting your books or would you rather be writing? Which do you feel spreads the word about your books better – a convention or book signing?

I love the experience of showing people my work and winning them over. And hearing back from a fan you met at a con or signing—about how much they loved the book—that is the best stuff on Earth. But when I attend conventions, some part of my brain is counting up the hours of writing I’m not getting done. So it’s a balance. I think book signings are more effective per hour of time spent, but overall conventions expose me to more people. But they cost money out of my pocket. Again, I’m trying to find the right balance.

9) You’ve been talking trash about how your assassin Caim can beat Valek in a fight ;> Caim has shadow magic, but Valek’s immune to magic. So how do you think a fight between the two would go down?

Caim doesn’t need his powers to beat Valek; he’s the superior fighter. And his powers, as we’ll see in Shadow’s Lure, give him superhuman quickness, stealth, and the ability to cross distances instantaneously.

But, if Valek could entice him into a poison-guessing game like in The Princess Bride, I foresee bad things for Caim. :(

[I strongly disagree on Caim being the superior fighter!]

10) What’s next? Are you working on Book 3 in the Shadow Saga? Is it the final novel or do you have more planned?

Right now I’m revising Book 3, Shadow’s Master, which wraps up the series. (Although I never say never.) After that, I have plans for a totally new series, a heroic/epic fantasy involving mad wizards and genocidal god-kings.

Ohhhh.... sounds good!

Thanks, Jon for answering my questions.

Links:
Jon's website: http://www.jonsprunk.com
Amazon link to his books:
Shadow's Son: http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Son-Jon-Sprunk/dp/1616142014/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b
Shadow's Lure: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616143711/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=1N44FSM5HYBVR34ZX7K8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

Caught up with my emails!

2011-07-11T14:20:00.000-04:00

Hooray!! Early this morning I responded to all my emails (except the ones regarding the contests - my sister-in-law is doing them for me - she's super organized - but I still sign the books and labels). Of course a bunch of replies rolled in while I was sleeping, so I'm not longer "caught up" but I was for a few hours at least :) One reason is I'm not getting as many emails as before (not complaining!), and I think it's becasue of Facebook - I get many comments on my author page and regular page, and they're quick to answer. Plus I don't have a new release out, which always generates lots of emails (again - not complaining!).

Am I the only author who responds to their emails? Just curious. I think it's very important and do dedicate much time to it - which is why I'm so bad about blogging.

In the process of cleaning out my inbox, I encountered a few gems. I have an author interview with Jon Sprunk to post with a contest/giveaway. I will do that this week -so stay tuned. And, of course links to two interviews. I'll post them below.

I also cleaned out my office - it was a mess. And I need to start writing book 2 of the healer series, SCENT OF MAGIC and, for some reason (uh...procrastination?) I need to have a clean desk and office floor (the piles of books are put away!). So now I'm all set to start :) Oh and in the process of cleaning out, I have put together a pile of books to give away to my blog readers - so stay tuned for a couple contests :)

Linkage:
Interview: http://www.ezread.com/meet.asp?id=49
This Interview will be posted July 13th: http://www.riverinaromantics.blogspot.com

Updates + Links

2011-06-29T13:47:00.001-04:00

Not the most exciting blog title, but accurate. This is just a quick update with some links. Tomorrow I'm going to New York City to attend the Prism Awards - wish me luck!!

For those who don't get my free email newsletter, I've finally received a few confirmed events for my Australian/New Zealand tour in August! Info can be found here: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/AUS.php

AND I finished the exclusive short story ICE STUDY about Yelena and Valek as they race to save the ICE MOON from a rogue magician :) Now that my newsletter subscribers have read it, I've put it on my website for all to read! Here's the link: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/IceStudy.php I also fixed the broken link to PROTECT THE CHILDREN (another of my free short stories). http://www.mariavsnyder.com/protect.php

A blogger Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me has posted a couple fantastic reviews of INSIDE OUT and OUTSIDE IN and is giving away a set of the books with the Australian covers - it's open to international readers. The contest ends 23 July.

Review of INSIDE OUT: http://readmebookmarkmeloveme.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-inside-out.html

Review of OUTSIDE IN: http://readmebookmarkmeloveme.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-outside-in.html

Contest details: http://readmebookmarkmeloveme.blogspot.com/2011/06/giveaway-inside-out-outside-in.html

Lastly here's an interview and another contest/giveaway over at Romancing the Book: http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/06/interview-and-contest-with-maria-v.html The contest ends 3 July.

Tales from the Hill

2011-06-25T20:44:00.000-04:00

That is Seton Hill University of course :) I've been in Greensburg, PA for the last four days and will be here one more before I head home. I'm teaching a few writing classes for the MFA program of Writing Popular Fiction and also to meet with the students that I mentor.

When I drive up and yes, it's a steep tree-lined drive to get to the university, which is perched on the highest point in Greensburg, with fantastic views all around - any way, when I drive up (coming down is very interesting in winter)....I feel like I'm coming home - my inspirational home that is because I'm always super charged and ready to write after I've spent time here. Not because the buildings are like Hogwarts and have personalities (not all good, by the way), and have ghosts (really!), but because of the people. We all come together to learn about writing, to exchange ideas, and to help each other become better writers (yes, even the teachers - we never stop learning). It's a creative, nurturing environment and I love it!

Seton Hill is also a Catholic University, which my mother finds my affection for the school very amusing. You see I attended 12 years of Catholic school in Philadelphia - wore the uniform (didn't mind that), attended mass every Friday and Sunday mornings (minded that), and prayed before every class (didn't mind that too much) when I graduated high school, I promised never to go to another Catholic school again. Er.....um......yeah. I also swore I'd never have kids and....well....there you go. You can't trust an 18 year old to keep her word. Or at least, not THIS 18 year old. (If you haven't read my short story E-Time - go read it now - here's the link: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/e-time.php ...go on, what are you waiting for? I'll wait for you...........

You see how I've thought about how your 18 year old self is a completely different person than your current aged self. Unless you're a youngin - and are 18 right now or still in your 20s then you're still a young brat...er....a young lady or gentleman.

As for Seton Hill - we don't have to wear uniforms, but we all do anyway - they're call T-shirts and sweat shirts that are red and gold with big SHU letters across the chest :) I found one with Griffin's volleyball on it and bought it! The Griffin is our mascot, which works with the whole Hogwarts feel. And we don't have to pray before every class. So basically, it's like any other university out there except for the crucifixes in each classroom and a beautiful chapel.

And the point of this blog....er....I really didn't have a point - I just wanted to gush about my school :) And to say that coming here twice a year feeds my writer's soul and I'm continually amazed by the support and encouragement of everyone in the program. And the talent! Oh and to say I had so much fun teaching Fight Scenes this residency - we learned knife fighting, self defense (it was a hand's on class), and how to write a great action scenes - it was a blast!

Now, I'm ready to start book 2 of my Healer series - SCENT OF MAGIC. Thanks SHU :)

Does anyone have a certain place or event that inspires you? Or a person?

For those interested in the program here's a link: http://www.setonhill.edu/academics/fiction/index.cfm

Devlen's Song

2011-06-09T15:02:00.000-04:00

Ah, the second post. I've been wanting to post this since SPY GLASS was released last September. Sometimes a song will echo something I'm writing or have written and when I heard this song, I immediately thought of Devlen - it's perfect for him. Now if you haven't read SPY GLASS, you might not want to read the lyrics.

Devlen's song: The Reason, by Hoobastank

I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
Thats why i need you to hear

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is You

and the reason is You [x3]

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

By the way - the You is Opal :) So what do you think? Perfect right? Do you know any other songs that match my characters and/or stories?

Linkage

2011-06-09T14:50:00.000-04:00

My determination to blog more hasn't increased the number of my blogs. And then, out of nowhere you'll get two - go figure!

First a newsletter update - no, I haven't sent it out yet. If you don't get it by this Friday, then it's not coming until the week of June 20 since I'm at the beach all next week - yay!

As for the promised links - here's one to Living Little Women where Samantha is giving away a signed copy of OUTSIDE IN. All you have to do is leave a comment for a chance to win. Here's the link: http://livinglittlewomen.blogspot.com/

And I did an interview with Amaterasu Reads about dystopian fiction. We're also giving away two copies of INSIDE OUT. To read it and to enter for a chance to win, go here: http://amaterasureads.blogspot.com/2011/06/dystopian-domination-day-14-interview.html

Prism Finalist!! + Giveaway :)

2011-05-27T14:59:00.000-04:00

I've wonderful news, INSIDE OUT final for a Prism Award in the Young Adult category!! YAY!! My fellow finalists are Shade, by Jeri Smith-Ready (a really good friend of mine - we already planned for the winner to buy the loser a drink ;), and Picture the Dead, by Kelly Barrales-Saylor. We'll find out the winner at the end of June. Here's a link to see the other finalists in the other catergories: http://www.romance-ffp.com/contests.cfm

As for the giveaway - I'm a guest blogger on I Just Wanna to Sit Here and Read blog - I blogged about writing a dystopian novel and Sheepy. As part of the blog, we are giving away 4 copies of INSIDE OUT so stop by and be entered to win - the contest ends June 6th. Here's the link: http://www.sithereandread.com/2011/05/guest-post-maria-v-snyder-giveaway.html

I had a great time at BEA (book expo) and am now off to Balticon in Hunt Valley, Maryland for the long weekend! If anyone is in the area on Sunday, I'm doing my signing from 2 to 3 p.m. in the lobby of the Mariott Hotel in Hunt Valley.

Have a great weekend!

Blogging...the other white meat ;>

2011-05-18T16:42:00.000-04:00

Social Media are the catch words of the day. I've been hearing it from everyone - my publisher, my editor, my agent and even my writer friends. Facebook and Twitter, I think are the biggest examples of social media. And there are lots of articles out there on how to use social media to promote books.

I'm all for spreading the word--writing is a business, but...I don't know if it's truly working. And it does take time - time that could be spent writing books and short stories. I'm sure I'm not the first person to wonder if the time spent is worth it in a business sense. In general, would readers prefer more stories and less interaction? Or more interaction and not as many books? Do you make discoveries online?

However I enjoy doing the social media thing in a more personal sense and will continue to do what I can, which is maintain two Facebook pages (one more personal and the other a Fan page), be on Goodreads, blog, and maintain my website.

Speaking of my website (http://www.mariavsnyder.com) I've updated it...finally! The bio is current - my children no longer look like hobbits and I've added a picture of Valek. I actually updated the FAQs page and put in 15 FAQs and answers. The press kit is an old fashioned media thing from before the dinosaurs roamed the earth when people used snail mail and telephones and information was harder to find - so I didn't include it and will change the name of the page...er...sometime.

I also updated my UK page and the Cover Galley page (I have the foreign covers of my books on there, but not all of them because I don't get all of them - so if you see my books in the following countries: Poland, Vietnam, and Hungary - buy them for me and I'll refund you - I promise! I'll even throw in something extra for your trouble ;)

I updated my Short Stories page and then.....arrrrggggghhhhh....had to update it again! April and May were busy anthology months for me - I had stories in 2 anthos released in April, Bewere the Night and Corsets & Clockwork, and one story and one article released in May, No Man's Land and Many Genres One Craft. Phew! I thought I was done, but nooooooooo, I learn that my short story, Cursing the Weather (about a weather wizard in an Asian town) was published in Black Gate Magazine Issue # 15.

Why didn't I know this? Well, the publisher/editor John O'Neill bought the story from me back in December 2007! One good thing about John - he pays for the story when the contract is signed and not on publication, which is good 'cause it took 3+ years for it to see print! He gave me a vague, "sometime this spring," but I've learned that until I have that baby in hand, I wasn't going to get too excited (I still don't have an actual copy, but other people do). It's a heck of an issue - my story is part of the warrior women theme (surprising, I know :).

For more info on my short stories go here: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/shortstories.php

To read excerpts from my two Black Gate stories (one from 07 - but they still have copies) go here: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/books/curse.php

GMC…and we ain’t discussing trucks.

2011-05-16T15:00:00.002-04:00

This is a guest post from Author/Speaker Bri Clark (she has also posted comments in my blog). Welcome Bri and thanks so much for putting together this very infomative post for all writers :)

GMC…and we ain’t discussing trucks. GOALS, MOTIVATION and CONFLICT

My editor at Astraea Press (I indicate Astraea cause I have several editors) and I were discussing submissions (we were discussing submissions because I also run the blog and contribute to the marketing for the Press. Currently authors wear many hats, but that’s a whole other post) She was expressing her dismay at having to reject so many. She’s wore the author cap too. She knows the sting. Nevertheless, she said she couldn’t accept a novel of any kind lacking GMC. GMC…I repeated. What’s that? Goals, Motivation, Conflict she explained…, which are what, spurred this post.

GOALS: A story needs to have goals for the overall book as well as for the characters. Especially the main characters…however even the supporting characters need goals. Even if it’s the farmers goal to get the crop in before the rains come. If there are no goals, the story isn’t going anywhere. Who cares if they sat and watched paint dry? Really, a novel without goals is like watching a cat chase a mouse in a circle. It’s fun the first two times after that the yawns begin.

MOTIVATION: This area in my opinion is really about your characters, the good the bad and the boring. Yes, I need to know why the boring characters are so boring! I’ll use Yelena in Poison Study as an example. The whole first part of the book and foreshadowed through the entire novel we learned why she really didn’t care that she was in the dungeon and was going to be hanged for murder. If Maria had said, she killed this guy and now on with her and Valek I can assure you it wouldn’t be as popular as it is. I say as popular because Valek is freaking hot and awesome [yes he is ;-] and I know people would have still read anyway. Anyway, in order for us as readers to connect with the characters we have to know their motivation, better yet we have to be shown and not told.

CONFLICT: What is a happy ending without the journey there? Really, it’s not even and ending it’s just happy. While happy is great and everything we don’t really get it without sad to be its opposite. Also, there need to be all kinds of elements of conflict layering into the story. For example in my novel Glazier, the ultimate conflict is what the heck is Glazier anyway? Is it a genetic superpower or is it something supernatural? Then there is the conflict of the protagonists Henry and Marie. They each share Glazier so they share the plot conflict but then they each have their own personal conflicts along with each supporting character. Oh, how I love it when the personal conflicts of each person weave together then when overcome more conflict is found and a series erupts. Ok sorry rant over.

The point is it doesn’t matter the genre, voice or publisher if there is not GMC the possibility for success is needlessly hindered.

I want to thank Maria for hosting me. She is one of my all time fave authors. [You're welcome Bri!]

Website: http://briclarkthebelleofboise.blogspot.com

Blurb (book comes out at the end of May):

Marie Kincaid suffering the greatest loss a woman can know runs from the pain. Falling asleep deep within the forest she awakes in an infirmary with a loss of memory and a power, she’s always possessed yet never known: Glazier. Glazier enables Marie to embark on a new life free of pain but most importantly free of the past. Heightened senses, accelerated strength, speed, and learning abilities make Marie a perfect candidate to be a spy…also a perfect companion for Henry Tenison…the only other known Glazier.

Henry, a loner and proud rogue finds his world upended when his connection to Marie is forged through Glazier. Unsure of how to progress with any relationship with her he endeavors to keep it strictly platonic and professional. As far away, missions and romantic surroundings entice him into pursuing his deeper desires he craves. However, Marie’ love changes everything.

Determined to free them both of the spy world and hold Abram their superior has over them Henry implements a plot to disappear. However, when things become dangerous in their latest mission, their first undercover, and memories of Marie’s past surface suggesting another man…will Henry’s efforts prove to come too late? If Marie remembers her past, will she still want their future?

House Cleaning

2011-05-10T15:19:00.004-04:00

I'm cleaning out my inbox. It's amazing just how many emails can lurk below what I can see on my computer screen. I think they hide there, hoping I'd forget about them ;> I've long since given up my goal of being "caught up" with all my email replies. Now, if I'm only a week or two behind, I'm feeling pretty good.

As with all house cleaning, I've been finding a few items of interest that I've posted below.

Links:

I'm participating in Brenda Novak's Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research - I've donated a set of Australian Study books that you can bid on and raise money for diabetes (I'll personalize them and sign them for the winning bidder :). Here's a link to the auction (lots of goodies to bid on): http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/ and a link to my books: http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=2132967

INSIDE OUT was mentioned in The Independent on Sunday in the United Kingdom in an article about the trend in dystopian teen fiction. Click here to see the article: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/doomed-the-new-teen-book-genre-2265785.html

And an Interview on Larissa's Life blog here: http://www.larissaslife.com/2011/04/author-interview-signed-outside-out.html

Fan Club in Brunei:

Seems some of my books found their way to the STPRI school for girls in Brunei and they were...er...well received :) One of the teachers, Mr. Jason decided to do my referral program so he could get a signed copy of one of my books for the girls. When I learned of Mr. Jason's efforts to introduce reading as a past time rather than for pure education to his students in Brunei, I sent a signed copy of all my books to the girls and signed bookmarks for them as well. Here's a picture they sent along with Mr. Jason's comments about the arrival :)

To celebrate the arrival of the books, I announced over the PA system something like, "Sorry for the interruption. Best-selling writer Maria V. Snyder has donated a collection of autographed books to the girls of STPRI. All upper secondary students are invited to visit the Reading Room to view the new books during break-time today. Thank you."

Before I could even get to the reading room there was a long line of students waiting to get in. It was really amazing to see all their smiling faces. There was an incredible amount of anticipation and the girls were so giddy. I'm not sure if you've ever experienced that wild sort of fan enthusiasm or not - you would have thought that Justin Bieber were signing autographs inside!

...Never forget that on this jungle island half way around the world, you've got a big group of fans cheering you on!

That was so sweet - and for the curious STPRI stands for:
Sekolah (School)
Tinggi (high)
Perempuan (Girl)
Raja ("Queen")
Isteri (The Queen's Name)

And the bonus is that I've learned a lot about Brunei from my email exchanges with Mr. Jason :)

That's all for now. I was thinking of making this a monthly post - what do you think? Do you like this type of information? Let me know!

Paying it Forward

2011-05-06T16:45:00.000-04:00

Fiction writers spend lots of time with imaginary people - we have conversations with fictional characters, we argue with them, and spend hours putting their words, actions and thoughts onto a blank screen or page, depending on the author's work preferences. However, writing is not a solitary life. We have families and friends and other writers to hang out with. And I will admit, hanging out with my fellow writers is always interesting - we discuss the business of writing, the craft of writing, and have a million odd little conversations about zombies, murder, cats, chips, and basically "fill in the blank."

As an aspiring writer, I had the good fortune to meet many published authors who shared their knowledge of the industry and writing with me. One author, Kate Elliott, even spent time critiquing my first book, POISON STUDY and her comments improved my story tremendously. Of course, I thanked her many times and treated her to dinner, but I really couldn't help her with her writing (except to tell everyone how great her books are :) My favorite is JARAN - LOVED that book!). So I had decided long before POISON STUDY was bought that, if I ever was published, I would help other aspiring writers.

And I've kept my word :) It really wasn't hard to do as I enjoy it very much. I have writing advice articles on my website (http://www.mariavsnyder.com/advice.php), I teach writing at Seton Hill University's MFA writing popular fiction program (I also am a graduate :). And I mentor students in the program. It's a great low residency program for anyone wishing to write genre fiction - and it's one of only two such programs in the USA. Here's a link if you're interested in finding out more: http://www.setonhill.edu/academics/fiction/index.cfm

Seton Hill is very committed to genre fiction and we have a whole faculty room filled with published authors from every genre. One day, Dr. Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller, who were hanging out together like writers do, decided that we should share our knowledge with everyone and they sent out a request for articles. Well, two or three years later (can't remember!), MANY GENRES ONE CRAFT has been published and is available for all those aspiring authors and for all those authors (like me) who think you're never an "expert" when it comes to writing. I'm always, always, always learning :)

I wrote an article for the book. It's titled, Dumping the Info Dump - which is how to avoid dropping in huge chunks of information in your story. I've inserted links to an excerpt and to the book on Amazon below. All the articles in the book have been written by the mentors, faculty, guests, students, and alumni of the Seton Hill MFA writing program so I'm not the only one paying it forward :)

Excerpt: http://manygenres.blogspot.com/2011/04/mgoc-contributor-maria-v-snyder.html

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Many-Genres-One-Craft-Lessons/dp/0938467085/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304713925&sr=1-1

Spring Fever...literally

2011-04-27T00:48:00.000-04:00

Sorry it's been quiet around here - 16 days without a post. The short version is I caught a nasty head cold/sinus infection, went to Texas, had a blast, worked too hard, came home still sick, and spent the next week napping...er...recovering.

The long story is down below (warning - it's very long - but there are some pictures!), but first I need to anounce the winners of the Australian Give Away! Thanks for all who posted reviews for INSIDE OUT and OUTSIDE IN all over the Internet - it is most appreciated! I picked four winners by using a random number generator, and from those four, the person with the highest score won his/her choice of Study books or Glass books. Second highest received the other set and the next two won Australian editions of INSIDE OUT (I hope - I haven't heard from my AU editor yet!).

The winners are:
1st place - Nicole - who picked the Glass books!
2nd place - Ashley - gets the Study books!
3rd place - Sophia - the AU edition of INSIDE OUT!
4th place - Jennifer - the same as Sophia!

Congratulations to them all!

So...my Texas trip was super fun despite feeling like 200 tissues had been stuffed inside my head. I flew to El Paso on the 11th and my friend, Danielle picked me up. I spent a lovely afternoon on her back porch talking books with her son, Cory (why is this notable? My son's roughly the same age but I talked more with Cory in one afternoon than a whole month with Luke! Danielle wouldn't let me swap sons ;). El Paso is a beautiful city and the lights at night are amazing. I forgot to take my camera (still kicking myself) and when Danielle sends me pics, I'll post them. There are a few on my Facebook page.

Tuesday I spent the entire day at El Paso Community College - talking to Danielle's English classes (she requires all her students to read POISON STUDY as part of the class - so fun to say my book is required reading - and even better is when the response is so positive (take THAT Charles Dickens!) Flying to El Paso was an easy decision :). I also taught workshops for aspiring writers and I did a reading and Q&A session at night. Her students were so enthusiastic - they all brought in food, drinks, cakes, cookies, punch, etc... for the reception part of the reading - so sweet! It was a well attended event (best way to get college students to attend is to offer free food ;) and I met some loyal readers. I'm glad my voice held out that long as I started the day already sounding hoarse because of the cold (so bad timing!).

On Wednesday I flew to Austin - another lovely city yet so different from El Paso. Thursday morning I visited Harmony Science Academy to talk with the students. I've been to their school before - the PTA had a spaghetti dinner to raise money for my travel expenses back in 2009. This time, they didn't need to raise money as the Texas Library Association invited me down for their annual conference - but I couldn't go to Austin without stopping at Harmony! They are super sweet and as you can see from the picture to the left - they gave me a beautiful glass statue in appreciation (the words under my name say, In recognition of the inspiration you give to the students of Harmony Science Academy North Austin). I also received a stuff sheep - which I call Texas Sheepy - seems Sheepy is a very popular character in Austin :)

I'm glad the statue made it home in one piece and TSA didn't freak out when I took it through security - which was interesting now that they have those X-ray machines - I half expected the agents to tell me I had spots on my lungs or something medical - but the lady only patted me down - guess I shouldn't have tried to smuggle Texas Sheepy under my shirt ;>

Lunch was at the Salt Lick (love this name) for some BBQ - I also loved their claim that they have the best smelling pits in town. For those unfamiliar with Texas BBQ - go google it - it's a culture onto itself and very delicious.

Thursday night I did a book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Round Rock, Texas. Yee haw! Lots of readers stopped by from all over Texas. You would think I would be very blase about readers driving four, five, six hours - ho hum and all that. But you'd be wrong - I'm still amazed and thrilled and honored that they would drive so far (of course in Texas, far is anything over 10 hours - under 10 is just around the corner ;) to see me. And I hope I will always feel this way - I never want to take it for granted or become jaded. One reader even sent me a tub full of whoopie pies (google it - although ignore any reference that they were created in Maine - they're from Lancaster County, PA. Yes, I live in Lancaster Co - what about it?) The pies were an early birthday present - thanks so much Amy!

Did I say birthday? Yes - Friday April 15 was my birthday. I spent the morning at the Texas Librarian's Conference - a huge con that was amazing - they had wonderful speakers and authors and the workshops... I wished I spent more time there. I was on a Science Fiction panel with an incredible line up of authors (who I shared my whoopie pies with). I was with Patrick Rothfuss, Elizabeth Moon, John Scalzi, Jonathan Maberry, and Ryan Brown. the discussion was top notch and I would have happily stayed all day and talked genre and books with them, but we only had 2 hours.

I left for the airport that afternoon and.....sat and sat and sat. A bad thunderstorm/rainstorm had closed the Chicago airport for a few hours so our flight was delayed. Normally, I wouldn't mind - I expect delays when traveling and figure the day is shot and try not to stress over it. However, I worried I would miss my flight to Harrisburg - I was scheduled to teach a workshop and be the keynote speaker (my first) for a writer's con in PA and I HAD to get home that night!

Delays followed more delays, but we made it to Chicago and the flight to Harrisburg hadn't left either - except we didn't have a gate! So we sat on the tarmac for another hour. The very nice man who sat next to me kept checking my Harrisburg flight status on his iPhone, and it kept getting delayed, too. The funny thing - I got a call from United that my flight to Chicago was delayed - this call came in as we were sitting on the tarmac in Chicago six hours after the original flight time! I shared the story with my seatmates - we all had a laugh.

I landed in Harrisburg at 3:00 a.m. Thank goodness the shuttle to the parking lot was still running - I schlepped my bags to my car, exhausted and I found a surprise. My dear husband had stopped by my car earlier and put a bouquet of flowers and a balloon inside for my birthday - isn't he sweet ;> A nice ending to the story - isn't it? Here's pictures - and I took some up-close shots of flowers, I added those below just for fun.

After 3 hours of sleep, I was on the road, and I taught my workshop, did the Keynote, drove home and slept for 14 hours!

Going Down!

2011-04-10T23:07:00.000-04:00

That's down south to Texas, y'all ;> I'm leaving at OMG-early tomorrow morning and will be there until late Friday night...my birthday :) Yeah, I was born on Tax day here in the USA - well, I think this year it's the 18th to give everyone the weekend to panic....I mean...prepare their tax forms.

I wanted to post this last week, but a nasty head cold/sinus infection took me out for four days! Here's my schedule for those who live in the great state of Texas!

April 12, 2011 Reading, Reception, Q&A, and Book Signing at El Paso Community College, Valle Verde branch in the Cafeteria Annex (919 Hunter Drive, El Paso, Texas, 79915) 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

April 14, 2011 Book Signing at Barnes & Noble (La Frontera Village, 2701 Parker Road Bldg A Suite 700, Round Rock, Texas, 78681, 512-600-0088) 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

And it's 116 days until I arrive in Australia!!! Further south than Texas and also a heck of a lot bigger :)April is also the release of the Australian INSIDE OUT. So to celebrate I'm giving away a set of Australian Study books, a set of Australian Glass books, and two copies of the Australian INSIDE OUT (if I can get them - if not, then the plain old USA ones). OF course all will be signed, personalized and doodled in....well, maybe not doodled....depends on my mood and how full the moon is :) So FOUR chances to win!

Details - One point for posting a comment here by midnight EDT April 18th, one point for including your email address in the comment, ten points for posting a good review of INSIDE OUT online (could be anywhere, Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, your blog. Each post = 10 points!), one point for liking the Harlequin TEEN facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/harlequinTEEN), one point for becoming a fan of the Harlequin Teen page, and one point for adding up all your points :) I'll pick four winners at random, BUT the person with the highest points of the four gets his/her choice Study or Glass books, next highest gets the other set.

A Weekend in Dayton

2011-04-04T15:41:00.000-04:00

Books & Co in Beavercreek, Ohio

I'm home after spending a very fun weekend in Dayton, Ohio. The weekend started off on a crazy note. I had an email in the morning saying my flight was delayed from 2:10 pm to 3:04 pm so I arrive at the airport around 1:45 pm and there's no one at the baggage desk and ALL the monitors say the flight is on time at 2:10 pm! So I race through security (small airport - otherwise I would have been stuck). I was going to check a bag but no time and then I run through the airport only to see the flight is really delayed...grrrr.... except then they boarded us soon after I arrived and we left around 2:30 pm - so I'm not trusting Continental emails anymore!

L to R: Mara Purnhagen, Lisa Roecker, Julia Karr (standing),
Sara Bennett Wealer (standing), Julie Kagawa, and Me.

Good thing that was the only snafu :) On Friday night, Books & Co. hosted six YA authors. They have a lovely store - two story with iron railings and big open spaces. They had chairs set up and I was told I was going to introduce everyone....hmmm.....guess I shouldn't have gone to the ladies room and left the others to decide ;> After we all talked about our books, we opened the floor to Q&A and had lots of questions. Then we signed books. The event was well attended and I met a bunch of readers who lived nearby and beyond! Jessica, a loyal reader since the original hardcover of Poison Study hit the shelves, drove over 6 hours one way with her mother to see me! She's so sweet, and we went out and had a drink after the signing. She looks young, but she's legal (her mom was with us! ;)

Jessica & Me

On day two, only the three Harlequin Teen authors had a signing at the New and Olde Pages Book Shoppe. This book store was tucked in the middle of a little strip mall - it was narrow and filled with books from floor to ceiling. At first, I was like, there's no room for us to sit, but then we made a right turn all the way at the back of the store and walked through more shelves before entering the secret room! This was a nice big space, they had a table for each of us, cookies and punch. And waiting for us was Rosio, who had flown in from Florida and who had arrived at 10:00 am that morning for a 1:00 pm signing! (the store owner adopted her for the day, feeding her cookies :) Rosio lives in Chicago, but was returning from vacation. Her friends from Chicago drove down (about 5 hours, I think) to meet up with her and take her home (another mother doing the driving!). They were a fun group and when they left, it was so quiet!!

L to R: Julie Kagawa, Mara Purnhagen
and Me sitting :)

I'm always amazed when my readers go out of their way or drive long distances for a signing. I have the best readers in the world! The weekend was wonderful and I enjoyed meeting everyone! I wish I could go everywhere, but time and money are always an issue. My publisher pays for some events, but not all.

Next stop for me is TEXAS next week! I'll be in El Paso on Tuesday, April 12th for an event at the El Paso Community College from 6 to 8 p.m., and I'll be at the Barnes & Noble in Round Rock, Texas (near Austin) on Thursday, April 14th from 7 to 9 pm (details can be found here: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/appearances.php)

Chatting for Real :)

2011-03-30T15:39:00.000-04:00

Game on this week! I'm chatting over at Eve's Fan Garden (yes, we are confirmed!) tonight! We're going to be talking about OUTSIDE IN and my books and writing - this is your chance to ask questions and get a response pretty quick :) I do answer all my emails, but right now I'm....let me check......a little over 2 weeks behind on my reply time.

Wednesday March 30, 8:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Here's the link: http://evesfangarden.com/blog/chats/

In other news - today is It Stinks to be Luke Day - my son's cousins declared this day a few years ago when they were all together and now they celebrate it annually - which involves giving him a hard time and playing pranks on him. My son has a pretty good sense of humor and I think he likes the attention since he's the one who reminds us of it every year :)

There's nothing like hanging out with your cousins when you're growing up - they're not underfoot all the time and annoying like siblings, they're more like friends, but with benefits. I still remember all the fun things I did with my cousins growing up. My favorite thing was at my cousin's Frank's house. My Aunt and Uncle had a couch that rocked in their rec room/basement - all of us would pile on the couch except two rockers and we would pretend we were on a ship at sea. At first the sea was gentle - rocking slightly, then we would always hit a storm and the seas would become violent. The first two people thrown off the ship had to be the rockers for the next voyage. LOL - we always had one cousin who clung to the frame for dear life until we turned the couch upside down and shook it! I'm amazed no one broke any bones and that my Aunt and Uncle allowed us to abuse their couch like that!

Anyone else have a favorite cousin memory?

Last thing for my OHIO readers - I'm going to be in Dayton this weekend for 2 signings - see below for details:

April 1, 2011 Book Signing at Books and Company (The Greene Shopping Center on 4453 Walnut Street, Beavercreek, Ohio 45440, 937-429-2169) 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Part 1 of the Harlequin Teen Trio Tour ;> I will be signing books with fellow authors, Julie Kagawa (The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen) and Mara Purnhagen (Tagged, Past Midnight, One Hundred Candles)! Also there will be three other YA authors there as well: Julia Karr; XVI, Lisa Roecker; Liar Society, and Sara Bennett Wealer; Rival.

April 2, 2011 Book Signing at the New and Olde Pages Bookshoppe (856 Union Blvd, Englewood, Ohio, 45322, 937-832-3022) 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Part 2 of the Harlequin Teen Trio Tour ;> All three of us will be signing together again.

The Iron Fey - Author Interview + Giveaway!

2011-03-25T13:04:00.000-04:00

Now don't get use to all these blog posts in one week ;) However, I have another special guest today. Julie Kagawa author of the popular and excellent Iron Fey series!! This is also part of my countdown to Ohio, where I will be having two signings near Dayton, Ohio with my fellow Harlequin Teen authors, Mara Purnhagen and Julie. We will be there next Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2nd - please go to my appearances page for more details: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/appearances.php

Back to my guest. Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series consists of, The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, and the recently released, The Iron Queen. I read the first two and LOVED them - the main character, Meghan Chase is a great spunky girl and you know me....I'm all about the characters! These books are filled with wonderful characters like His Royal Iciness. I also thought the iron fey were an unique addition to the world of fairy. I'm reading The Iron Queen now.

And leave a comment with your email addy by next Thursday, March 31st and be entered to WIN a signed and personalized copy of the first book, The Iron King.

Take Ten with Julie Kagawa:

1.) What made you want to write the Iron Fey Series?

I’ve always loved faeries, but when I started writing The Iron Fey series, I wanted to do something a little different. In many YA faery novels, there’s always Mab and Oberon, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, and they all mention the Fey’s aversion to iron. Well, what if there was a type of faery that not only was immune to iron, but born of it? And so the Iron Fey came into existence.

2.) Which authors inspire you?

You do! Also, Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher, Terry Brooks, and Joss Whedon. (Okay, so Joss isn’t technically an author, but his writing does inspire me.) Poison Study is one of my top tier fantasy books, mostly because of a certain dark assassin.

[Maria: I'm honored :) and I have to agree about Joss. He rocks!]

3.) Why YA fantasy? Is there something special about fantasy that draws you to write in the field?

I’ve tried to write in other genres. It just doesn’t work. I’ll start a story about a nice, normal person with a nice, normal life, but eventually elves, dragons, vampires, ect. start showing up on their doorstep, and this nice normal person would freak out and have a nervous breakdown and then somehow they’d find themselves dressed in armor and riding a unicorn. So I just resigned myself to writing fantasy. Lol, not really. I just love the genre. Growing up, all I read were novels like Dragonlance, Lord of the Rings, and The Sword of Shannara, which influenced me a great deal. I think I’ll always be drawn to it.

4.) What do you find most interesting about Meghan Chase and Prince Ash?

I’ve always been intrigued by stories of the ordinary person called to do something extraordinary. At the beginning of The Iron King, Meghan was a normal teenager struggling to fit in. At the end of The Iron Queen, she is so much more. I think her character arc is the most interesting thing about her. As for Ash, he’s a dark, broody Unseelie Prince who falls for a human girl. ‘Nuff said.

5.) What else do you enjoy doing besides writing? Interests? Hobbies?

Well, three times a week I go to Kung Fu and Kali class, which I LOVE, especially when we put on armor and hit each other with sticks. When I’m not at class, most evenings you can usually find me on the couch playing video games. (Right now I’m obsessed with Dragon Age 2 and have completely fallen in love with Fenris. Wear your geekdom proudly.) I’m a manga/anime lover, and I also enjoy drawing, painting, and of course reading.

6.) Did you have to do any special research for this book? What did you learn that you didn't know before?

I did mostly online research, read a little Brothers Grimm, and watched A Midsummer Night’s Dream for inspiration. I learned several methods for dealing with the fair folk, so if you find yourself plagued by a bogart or leprechaun, I know how to make them go away.

7.) How did you become a writer? Is this what you saw yourself growing up to be? Or did it take you by surprise?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Wait, scratch that. For awhile, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but that changed sometime before my teen years. Throughout high school, all I wanted to do was write. I would even hide notebooks behind my textbooks during class, writing when I was supposed to be taking notes. My poor teachers; I probably drove them nuts.

8.) Do you have a writing routine? Talk process for a moment, how do the words get on the page?

I start writing in the morning (After checking email, twitter, blogs, facebook, my other email account, goodreads, ect. This can take awhile.), and usually don’t stop until my hubby gets home around 5:30. Since I write full time, I consider this my job and I must put in the hours, but its nice to show up to “work” in pjs. One of the perks of being a writer. :D

9.) Office? Closet? Corner of the living room? Do you have a set place to write? A favorite?

I do have an office with a lovely desk all set up for writing, so of course I use the end of the table sitting right next to it. I wish I could be one of those authors who go to coffee shops and bookstores to write, but I’m so easily distracted by people and movement and birds hopping on the sidewalk that I have to stay home.

10.) What are you writing now? What's coming out next?

I just finished the first book in a new YA series, this one set in a post-apocalyptic world. With vampires. :)

[Ohhh....sounds scary- but I've no doubt it'll be another gripping read!]

Links:
Website: http://www.juliekagawa.com
Blog: http://juliekagawa.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/profile.php?id=1025868155
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2995873.Julie_Kagawa

Not Chatting after all :(

2011-03-23T20:33:00.001-04:00

Looks like they forgot about the chat over at Eve's Fan Garden. I can't blame them as the last time, I was the one to forget. I didn't get a link that should have tipped me off - but I did get an email, confirming the time and date.

Oh well. If you showed up, I'm really sorry!

NEW UPDATE! We did reschedule for Wednesday, March 30th at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time! I hope everyone will be able to make the new time. I already received my link for next week - that's a good sign :)

Chatting and other news

2011-03-23T15:28:00.000-04:00

Tonight I'm doing a live chat over on the Eve's Fan Garden website. I will be there starting at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time so if you want to chat about OUTSIDE IN and my other books, come join us.

Here's a link: http://www.evesfangarden.com

As most of my family knows, I'm a crow - I love sparkly things and can't resist jewelry. When I found out a lady who is living in Japan is making jewelry with sea glass and that all the profits are being donated to the earthquake relief efforts....it just make my little crow's heart flutter! For my fellow crow's ;> here's the website if you'd like to check out the beautiful and reasonably priced creations: http://www.etsy.com/shop/theroseofstonestreet

Also - for my French readers - INSIDE OUT has been released this month with the title, Enfermée (which translates via Google Translate to Enclosed). The publisher is featuring the title on their Darkiss fanpage/website on Friday, March 25th with a Q&A and some other things. For those who can read French, you can go here: http://www.darkiss.fr/ for the home page - but I'm not sure where the fanpage is located.

Here's their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/darkiss.romans?sk=wall

Last thing - OUTSIDE IN should be out in the UK now! It's so fun to see all these other editions of my books and how the covers are different. The UK one for INSIDE OUT, which is very similar to the French edition is how I imagined the cover art - Trella in the pipes.

And I updated my contest page to include a contest for OUTSIDE IN - as usual, Jessica, a very loyal reader who's been a supporter back when POISON STUDY was out in hardcover and the ink was still wet - ;> sent me her answers first. She had been watching my website for the update :) Basically the contest is answer 20 questions about OUTSIDE IN and I'll mail you a signed book label to put into your copy of the book. And your name then goes into a box and four times a year I'll draw a name of a winner of a signed copy of the book.

Past Midnight - Author Interview + Giveaway!

2011-03-18T13:35:00.000-04:00

Two more weeks until I travel to Dayton, Ohio and get to meet Mara Purnhagen in person! She's a fellow Harlequin Teen author whose third book, One Hundred Candles was released last month. It's the second in her Past Midnight Series.

The first is Past Midnight and I loved this book. So fun and creepy. The main character, Charlotte Silver just wants to be a regular teen, but her parents are famous paranormal investigators. I enjoyed a break from the dysfunctional family dynamic to a more quirky family :) I have both One Hundred Candles and her first book, Tagged on my TBR pile - my goal is to have them both read before April 1st.

To celebrate the countdown to the Harlequin Teen Trio Tour in Ohio, I invited Mara here for a Take Ten interview. As an added bonus - if you post a comment by Friday, March 25th, you'll be entered to win a signed and personalized copy of Past Midnight!

And now onto Take Ten with Mara Purnhagen!

1.) What made you want to write the Past Midnight Series?

A: I’ve always liked ghost stories, and I’m interested in the practical explanations behind so many supposed hauntings. I wanted to combine spooky with science.

2.) Which authors inspire you?

A: There are so many! I was completely absorbed in Patrick Ness’s “Chaos Walking” series and I’ll read anything by Laura Lippman. I’m discovering great new authors every week. I recently read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and loved it.

3.) Why YA fantasy? Is there something special about fantasy that draws you to write in the field?

A: I feel like there’s more freedom for me to make the rules about the world my characters live in, and that’s something I really like.

4.) What do you find most interesting about Charlotte Silver?

A: That she is so connected to her family. Her world revolves around her parents, older sister and cameraman. They work together as a team, and have a unique dynamic. They count on one another. They love and respect one another, but they can also drive one another crazy.

5.) What else do you enjoy doing besides writing? Interests? Hobbies?

A: My favorite way to relax is to curl up on the sofa with a good book. I love music, too. Overall, I’m happiest at home, but I do love to travel when I can.

6.) Did you have to do any special research for this book? What did you learn that you didn't know before?

A: Yes, I had to research the different kinds of equipment used in paranormal investigations. I didn’t know that there was so much out there! The tools are very sophisticated, but interpreting the results they garner is still more of an art than a science.

7.) How did you become a writer? Is this what you saw yourself growing up to be? Or did it take you by surprise?

A: I have always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was very young. I started keeping story journals in the seventh grade and wrote my first complete short story in the eighth grade. I originally thought that’s what I would do: write short stories. But I also wanted to try my hand at writing a novel. It seemed like such a risk, though. What if I invested a year of time and energy into a project that went nowhere? What if I failed? I didn’t tell anyone because I was worried that if I did not succeed, people would be asking me, “whatever happened to that novel you were writing?” for the rest of my life. In the end, I’m glad I took the chance to get serious about writing a book.

8.) Do you have a writing routine? Talk process for a moment, how do the words get on the page?

A: Half of my writing process involves no writing at all! I need to spend time thinking about my characters and setting and plot. I keep a notebook for jotting down character traits and chapter ideas. Although I don’t outline, I need to know where my first chapter will begin. That’s the most important thing for me: nailing the first chapter. If I start it right, the book takes on a good flow.

9.) Office? Closet? Corner of the living room? Do you have a set place to write? A favorite?

A: I have claimed a corner of the guest room as my office. I always like to have my desk located directly next to a window, and I need to have a Simpsons desk calendar close by. It’s my lucky charm. I also have a laptop. At night, I like to write in the living room.

10.) What are you writing now? What's coming out next?

A: The Past Midnight series comes to a conclusion in September with the release of Book Three, Beyond the Grave. Right now, I’m working on the second novella in the series, and I’ve begun a new project that I’m excited about—but can’t reveal just yet!

What a tease!

Links to Mara:
Website: http://www.marapurnhagen.com/index.htm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mara.purnhagen
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3097903.Mara_Purnhagen

Putting things in Perspective

2011-03-16T15:15:00.000-04:00

So Friday I whined about being in a funk (thanks to all who posted comments - they helped so much!). I whined about rejection and low sale numbers. Then I learned about the tragedy in Japan and like a punch to the gut - it put my life in perspective in an instant. My problems a mere grain of sand on a beach in comparison.

My heart goes out to all those people in Japan who are struggling in the wake of such a tragedy. If you are able to donate or help the rescue efforts, please do so. Here's a link to the American Red Cross, but I'm sure there are dozens of agencies who are collecting donations: http://www.redcross.org/ The American Red Cross made an initial 10 million dollar donation to help Japan yesterday.

And to follow up on Friday's post with some good news - I finished the first draft of TOUCH of POWER last night - yippee!! It needs a major overall to clean it up, but, for me the hardest part is the first draft - the rest is fun :) The other bit of good news is I sold that fairy story that was rejected to another anthology. Yay! I emailed Trisha Telep, who is the editor for a few of the other anthologies I'm in (Eternal Kiss, Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance, and the upcoming Corsets & Clockwork). At first she said she just filled her fairy anthology, but two days later she had an author drop out and she took my story for her Wicked Pretty Things due out in September.

Another link :)

Interview & Giveaway:
http://bookstobrightenyourmood.blogspot.com/2011/03/interview-and-giveaway-with-maria-v.html

Friday Funk

2011-03-11T15:20:00.000-05:00

So I'm trying to finish TOUCH OF POWER and revise it, but it's going slow. Usually when I get to the big climax/ending, the words just pour out. Perhaps it's the distraction of promoting OUTSIDE IN or the effort to write/finish a short story for an anthology that was rejected! Can you say bruised ego? ;>

And to top it off - I finally received sales numbers for INSIDE OUT - they're dismal, horrible, terrible...take your pick. For those hoping for a third book - I doubt my publisher will continue with this series unless my #s go up. And it explains why many bookstores aren't carrying copies of OUTSIDE IN :(

Spring is almost here and with it spring school sports. Which means I turn into my children's private chauffeur. Yes, son is 16 - but just, it'll take 6 months for him to get his license. On a happy note - he had a blast at his surprise party :) Boys are so easy - they played outside for 4 hours, inhaled pizza and drinks, played inside air hockey and foose ball for 2 hours then went home.

I'll stick with the happy note - perhaps it will get me out of my funk.

Some links to contest, interview, and reviews:

http://mrsboswellsbookbag.blogspot.com/2011/03/giveaway-inside-out-series.html
http://unlockedproject.blogspot.com/2011/02/interview-with-maria-v-snyder.html
http://ems-reviews-books.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-outside-in-by-maria-v-snyder.html

Friday, Friday, Friday

2011-03-04T13:36:00.000-05:00

You know the saying that bad things happen in threes? Seems 3 is my number this last week and not all bad...depending on how you look at it :)

This past week - I discovered the...er...hard way that we have a skunk living in our window well and that even if a window's closed tight, it doesn't stop the stench when a skunk sprays. We're in the process of evicting Mr. Skunk. That's 1. We had a freak wind storm with gusts that lifted our very heavy trampoline and sent it into our neighbor's tree, bending it like a paper plate. That's 2. And I had three deadlines all due on March 1st (which is one of those bittersweet things - glad I have work, but swamped) I met one deadline, so far :( That's 3.

On the flip side, I've had three good things happen this week :) Business Woman Magazine (a local print mag) published it's March issue with me on the cover! The article about me is just lovely, the author, Lynda Hudzick did an excellent job. Here's a link if anyone would like to see and read the magazine (just clink on the cover and it'll open in a new window - you can read the whole thing!): http://www.businesswomanpa.com/bw-magazine.html That's 1. I found out I'm going to Australia and New Zealand for a book tour (see Thursday's post for details :). That's 2. And this weekend is my baby boy's 16th birthday! WAH! I can't believe it's been 16 years - the time just flew by. We're having a surprise volleyball/pizza party for him tomorrow. That's 3.

And I want to thank Mindy for sharing her story - she has made me realize how precious every moment with my kids is and I've been spending more time with him - much to his chagrin - I've learned there are three different ways to roll your eyes (1 - the quick "I hope mom doesn't see roll," 2 - the exaggerated roll with sigh and shoulder action, 3 - the close your eyes and then roll.)

Last thing - Trella is blogging over at Harlequin's Paranormal Romance Blog today - there's a 10 question quiz to test your knowledge - and a give away of a signed set of Inside/Outside books from me. So go check it out and have a great weekend! I know I'll be busy :)

Link to blog: http://paranormalromanceblog.com/

BIG NEWS for my Australian and New Zealand readers :)

2011-03-03T15:21:00.000-05:00

This is excerpted from my recent email newsletter blast :) Sorry, but I have to finish a book!

Only one month until INSIDE OUT is released in Australia! That's big news...right? Uh...I have a new website page dedicated to my Australian releases and any news regarding them. Already know that....hmmm....How about the Study books will be released as a box set in March? Not that exciting? Or perhaps the fact that OUTSIDE IN is due out in July 2011, and I inserted the fabulous cover art below? Still not what you would consider big?

Well what do I have to do? Come down there? All right...fine.... I'm coming to Australia and New Zealand for a three week book tour!!! YAY! I'm super excited! I'll will be there in August 2011!! I don't have all the details yet, but when I do, I'll blog about it, post the info on my Australian Page (http://www.mariavsnyder.com/AUS.php), and include it in my newsletter of course!

I want to thank all my Australian readers who wrote letters to my publisher asking them to bring me to your country. They worked! You done good - now give yourselves a pat on the back and welcome to my growing army of book commandos!

The Trouble with Trella

2011-02-28T12:08:00.001-05:00

I really didn't know what to title this blog, since it's going to be a little bit of everything. However, the reason I went with Trella is the obvious fact that OUTSIDE IN is out, and because she is blogging about how to survive in her world over at Bitten By Books today (starting around 12:00 p.m. Central Standard Time). As usual, there will be prizes for commenters. I'm giving away a $50 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of OUTSIDE IN to a grand prize winner (open internationally) and five more signed copies to five runner ups :)

Here's the link - the event's going on right now!: http://www.bittenbybooks.com/37040/author-maria-v

In other news, I'm nearing the end of TOUCH OF POWER. I have until March 11th to finish and do a quite revision before handing it in. It will go through a number of revisions based on comments from my editor, agent, critique partner and daughter (who reads my manuscripts with a red pen in hand ;). The book is due out January 2012 - and you can see how long it takes to go through all the edits, and cover designs, etc... before it's printed.

I also finished one of two short stories that are due March 1st. The finished one is titled Godzilla Warfare - it's a military science fiction story - the first of that genre for me. It's going to be in anthology called, No Man's Land, and all the stories are written by female authors with female protagonists (I think). I had a blast with my girl - she's an expert in bombs and is sent to a planet to diffuse an unexploded MFG-66, which is nicknamed the Godzilla bomb because it can flatten a city. However, the mission doesn't go as expected (of course - you don't think I'd make it easy for my protags - do you? ;) That's coming out end of May 2011.

Lastly, here are a few links of interest:
http://snifflykitty.blogspot.com/2011/02/interview-with-maria-v-snyder-lrc.html Interview and give away (I think - I didn't see anything mentioned in the article, but she says if you review the books you get two extra entries).

And a link to an article about OUTSIDE IN in my local paper: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/355667

OUTSIDE IN

2011-02-16T19:23:00.000-05:00

Readers have been emailing me that Amazon.com has shipped the books, but the book stores don't have their copies yet. Amazon posted a February 15th release date, but my publisher considers it a March release, which means the last Tuesday of February. Odd. I'd suggest if you're planning on going out to purchase the book to call your local store and make sure they have a copy.

I'm pretty excited to see this one in print. So far, the reviews have been great and I've done a number of interviews with give aways. I'll post the links below. One has a cupcake sculpture and Captain Jack Sparrow as the interviewer (amazing and fun!).

OUTSIDE IN will be released in the UK on March 18th and not in Australia until July 2011. A note for my Australian readers - I have a new page on my website that has news and releases for my Australian edition. Plus any big news that I might post, like a future tour, when I can ;> Here's a link to the special page: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/AUS.php Yes, I know I have to update my UK page - so much to do so little time....

Q&A's:
Captain Jack and me: http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/2011/02/interview-with-maria-snyder.html
http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/02/interview-and-giveaway-with-maria-v.html
http://unlockedproject.blogspot.com/2011/02/interview-with-maria-v-snyder.html
This interview is in Danish, but I thought it would be fun: http://breakingfree.dk/annenikoline/?p=9149

Reviews:
http://liscareyslibrary.blogspot.com/2011/02/outside-in-by-maria-v-snyder-review.html
http://2chicksreading.blogspot.com/2011/02/great-things-are-coming-from-maria.html
http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Pages/Promotions.aspx
http://amberkatze.blogspot.com/2011/01/7-outside-in-by-maria-v-snyder.html

Novel Number Nine

2011-02-12T15:27:00.002-05:00

Many of you have heard I'm working on a new fantasy series. It's actually due to my editor on March 1st and I really, really should be writing.... ;>

For a few months now, the novel hasn't had a title. I've been referring to it as the Healer fantasy or novel number nine (N to the 3rd power or cubed if you're a math geek...er...lover). Finding the perfect title for a book is sometimes hard for an author and then when you add in the opinions of an editor, her boss, the imprint manager, the sales staff, the PR department, foreign offices, etc.... It makes it even harder. Titles are important - many readers have told me the title caught their eye (same with book covers) and I appreciate the expertise my editor and all those others bring to the table.

After a month of debate......drum roll please......novel number nine is now TOUCH OF POWER.

Here's the cover blurb: Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life....

The book is coming out January 2012 - just in time to spend your holiday gift cards on :) I don't have cover art - it's too soon, but probably will in a few months.

So, I'm dying to know...what do you think of the title?

PS: I just posted about a contest I'm running over at Facebook. If you're a Facebook friend (or want to be ;) go over and look for my regular page - not the "fan" page and just post a comment for a chance to win :)

Tree Top Adventure

2011-02-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago my family escaped the cold and snow and went down to the Caribbean for a cruise on the 2nd biggest ship on the ocean - Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. The Oasis of the Seas is the biggest ship EVER (with the Allure in the same class). I don't think we'll go on that size ship again. The few perks didn't outweigh the downside of being on a ship with 3,634 others. With that many people, we had to wait in line for everything and go to the theater 30 minutes early if we wanted a decent seat. The dining room was noisy and busy with the wait staff rushing around. For our next cruise, we'll probably return to the Voyager class size, which is one smaller than the Freedom class.

One of the perks of the bigger ship was the Flow Rider - a place to surf. However, the Flowrider had seats surrounding it so people could watch others wipe out. As a spectator, it was fun to watch the competitions and when the sports staff demostrated (they're really good). I might have tried it out if it weren't for the spectators - I didn't want an audience when I attempted the basic moves or did a face plant in the water. Perhaps they should have had a shy beginners session - no gawkers allowed.

Other than the crowds, we enjoyed our break. Spent most of our time either on the beach, playing cards or reading on the balcony. We did one excursion - a tree top adventure in St. Maarten. There was zip-lining through the trees, but there was so much more. We climbed rope bridges, walked tightropes, balanced on logs high in the air, and zip-lined. It was a 45 minute course and, by the end, I was soaked with sweat.

Right before I climbed the ladder into the trees, I had a moment when the pit of my stomach twisted with fear. We wore saftey harnesses, but still, I've never zip-lined before. Despite the fear, I continued and had a blast. Now I have a better understanding of Yelena Zaltana's family living in the trees - expect they did all that without safety harnesses! My kids even commented on Nutty passing all us "slow pokes." My son did the best - he loves climbing trees. Although he wanted to try to beat one of the guides 6 minute record (yes, a 45 min course in 6 min) - we told him next time.

Here's a picture of me on the first zip-line, before I thought it was fun. As you can see, I'm hanging on for dear life and my son is standing behind me, waiting his turn. Soon after, he passed all of us. We all decided this adventure was the highlight of our cruise.

Anyone else have some adventure they enjoyed? Something you were scared to do, but did it anyway?

UK Blog tour

2011-01-28T14:58:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know - you haven't heard from me in a few weeks. I was at Seton Hill teaching for a week and then my family went on a Caribbean Cruise for a week, and I was banned from using the computer (me? addicted? obviously not since I went a whole week without logging on to anything! **shuddering at the memory**).

I spent all this week updating portions of my website, and writing my bi-monthly (yeah, right, more like tri-monthly) email newsletter. If you are not a subscriber you are missing out. I'm sending a short story about Yelena and Valek that only my newsletter subscribers can read. If you like to subscribe go here: http://www.mariavsnyder.com/news.php Then fill out the form all the way down to the bottom of the page. When you get the “confirmation” email – please click on the link provided to complete the process, then let me know and I'll send you the latest issue.

As part of my newsletter, I promised links to the big blog tour the UK office did to promote INSIDE OUT, which came out this month.

As promised, here are the links:

So Little Time For Books: Review http://solittletimeforbooks.blogspot.com/

Nayu’s Reading Corner: Blog tour http://nayusreadingcorner.blogspot.com/2011/01/author-interview-with-maria-v-snyder.html and review http://nayusreadingcorner.blogspot.com/2011/01/inside-out-by-maria-v-snyder.html

Magic Bean Review: Blog tour http://magicbeanreview.co.uk/2011/01/13/interview-with-maria-v-snyder-inside-out/

YA Book Reads: Review http://yabookreads.com/blog/2011/01/13/inside-out-maria-v-snyder/-more-1731, interview http://yabookreads.com/blog/2011/01/14/interview-with-maria-v-snyder/

Fluttering Butterflies: Blog tour http://michelle-says.blogspot.com/

Portrait of a Woman: Blog tour http://portrait-of-a-woman.blogspot.com/2011/01/maria-v-snyder-interview-on-inside-out.html review http://portrait-of-a-woman.blogspot.com/2011/01/inside-out-maria-v-snyder.html

Girls Without a Bookshelf: Review http://withoutabookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-review-inside-out-maria-v-snyder.html

Literary Enchantment: Blog tour http://kats-books.blogspot.com/2011/01/author-interview-maria-v-snyder.html and review http://kats-books.blogspot.com/2011/01/inside-out-by-maria-v-snyder.html

Bookbag: Review http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Inside_Out_by_Maria_V_Snyder

Happy New Year!

2011-01-06T23:55:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! It's the start of a new year and I already said back in December I would blog more as a resolution. Well 6 days into 2011 and I already messed up!

Here are the excuses :) In the last two weeks, I...
- wrote a 7,500 word short story titled, The Coldest Game for the Bewere the Night anthology coming out in May!
- wrote 10,000 words in the new healer fantasy novel (still no official title), but the book is due early March - yikes!
- prepared for three classes that I'm teaching for Seton Hill University's MFA writing program (leaving tomorrow - and side note to all aspiring authors out there - the Seton Hill Program is the best - just saying ;>)
- went skiing two nights (my legs are like jelly right now!)
- And did the whole holiday thing, shopped, wrapped presents, cooked, baked, entertained, you know...

If you've been looking forward to my next newsletter, you'll have to wait another week (see list of excuses above) Sorry! But for all those who bet I wouldn't meet my self imposed deadline for the next issue (end of December) - you were right - feel free to gloat ;>

In the meantime - below is a link to an interview I did. Yes, I'm all over the web and you've read dozens of interviews, right? Right? Come on....someone?....hello?....anyone there????   :)

However what makes this interview/contest different and unique is we are giving away a SET OF STUDY BOOKS and not the US covers or the UK covers, but the new AUSTRALIAN covers!!  My Australian publisher sent me a bunch of extra books and I'm going to be giving these babies away (and the Glass books, too), throughout the year!!!

Here's the link: http://fallenarchangelnews.blogspot.com/2011/01/maria-v-snyder-interview-and-study.html

Cover Model and Cover Art

2010-12-23T15:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I had a photo shoot. Yes, me - I'm going to be on the cover of the March 2011 Business Woman magazine (a local Pennsylvania magazine). A local hair stylist did my hair and makeup. It took her an hour and a half - the photo shoot lasted half and hour. LOL - it took more time to make me look decent than to take the pictures! And it took way more time the night before picking out an outfit. I don't own any business suits and I try to find fun clothes that have an artistic flair. I actually ironed for this shoot - something I never do - the cat was fascinated by the squeaky ironing board.

Below is a picture my daughter took last night - my family thought I cleaned up nice ;) Since I was out and dressed, I went to the mall to buy my last x-mas present. YAY. I was in Sears and a very nice man asked me if I was Maria V. Snyder the writer? He recognized me! First time I've been recognized in public that wasn't in my home town AND I looked good (unlike being recognized in the grocery store wearing my sweat pants and glasses). He even gushed - such a nice early x-mas present for me :)

Speaking of cover models... MIRA INK, the new teen line in the UK has released the cover art for OUTSIDE IN. Another snazzy cover from my publisher in the UK - just be warned - if you find it posted on other blogs - DON'T read the story synopsis unless you've read INSIDE OUT - otherwise it will spoil the twist in INSIDE OUT. Both books are coming out in the UK in 2011 - INSIDE OUT on January 1, 2011 and OUTSIDE IN on March 18th, 2011.

What do you think of the cover? A blogger named Love Fantasy Novels has put up both the USA and UK covers and asked people to vote for their favorite. If you like to express your opinion and vote go here:

INSIDE OUT: http://lovefantasyscifinovels.blogspot.com/2010/12/inside-out-uk-vs-us.html
OUTSIDE IN: http://lovefantasyscifinovels.blogspot.com/2010/12/outside-in-uk-vs-us.html

And I also have the Australian cover for INSIDE OUT. It will be released in Australia in April 2011, with OUTSIDE IN coming out in July 2011.

I really like this one - what do you think??

Coming full circle!

2010-12-19T18:56:00.000-05:00

As you may know, I graduated from Pennsylvania State University (a.k.a. Penn State) with a Bachelors of Science degree in Meteorology (a BS in weather ;>) One of the classes I took during my four years, was TV Meteorology with teachers Fred Gadomski and Paul Knight. They also are the hosts of Weather World, along with Dr. Jon Nese. Weather World does a nightly forecast for Pennsylvania as well as some other cool weather features and interviews. It's shown on the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) or you can watch it online at: http://weatherworld.psu.edu And if you watch it on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Standard time or later on that day, you'll see an interview with me :) If you miss it, don't fret - you can watch it here the next day: http://www.meteo.psu.edu/~nese/MariaSnyder.mov

My TV meteorology class was...interesting. I learned the graphics/maps are not really behind you, but on a TV screen off to the side. You can't wear blue or that part of your body disappears on screen, and the second that camera light turns on your mind goes completely and utterly blank. (Most on-air weather forecasters ad lib as they go - they know the weather forecast and don't have a script.) Well, my mind went blank, and I couldn't remember the names of states or cities. At the end of the class, we made a resume tape that we could send to TV stations in hopes that they would hire us. I enjoyed the class, but forecasting on TV wasn't what I wanted to do. Occasionally, we'll watch the video for laughs as my children find it quite hilarious.

I recently went back to Penn State to tape an interview with Dr. Nese for Weather World. He was a Ph.D student while I was there, and way to studious at the time to mingle with us undergraduates. You may recognize him from his 3 years on The Weather Channel. The weather station is still located in the top floor of the Walker Building - a nice big area with windows all around so we could see the weather fronts coming in. It was recently renovated to keep up with the technology. As soon as I walked into the elevator in the Walker building, the memories just slammed into me.

Back in my day, we had a map wall filled with maps that were printed off these huge printers. They used purple ink that reeked. We hung them still damp. Below is a picture of me and Ed Chiang, another graduate student, but he was cool. We both wore our Dept. of Meteo sweatshirts and the department wanted to get a picture of us. I was supposed to look like I was asking Ed to explain some weather detail like we were a couple of weather weenies. We called the people that would drool over big storms, weather weenies :) And yes, we all acknowledged the fact we were all weather weenies. In that picture, you can see the map wall behind us. When friends and family used to ask me what the weather was going to be like the next day or so, I would say, "I don't have my maps." Of course now the maps are available online.

I also included a picture of the map wall as it looks today - a big difference. And the other renovations to the weather station looked sleek and modern and comfortable -see picture below. Me and my meteo friends hung out in the station all the time - we did our homework there, worked the campus weather station there, we goofed off there, we fell asleep on the couches there, we hooked up there ;> Let's just say, at that time, there were about 10 female meteo students and 65 males - odds were good for the girls.

Right before I graduated, my good friend Jennifer and I sneaked up on the roof of the Walker building and had a picnic with a bottle of wine. The classes were hard - all math, science and fluid dynamics - but the people were fun and I had a blast. When I went back, I watched the students in the station. They hadn't changed - they still wore their Penn State sweatshirts - a group still sold special Dept. of Meteo T-shirts and hoodies - they still drooled over the weather forecasts - they still mooched food.

Yep, I had come full circle. I might miss those days, but I'm happy to be where I am - writing books, hanging with my family, traveling, and not having to mooch food anymore :) And I still have my curly hair! It's just not as long (see picture below).

Busy Blog day...just not my blog

2010-12-13T23:36:00.001-05:00

I already posted some links, but I wanted to re-post them as there are 4 different blogs where I've been featured or interviewed and 3 of them are holding contests to win a free copy of one of my books :)

An interview and international contest at The Secret Writer: http://thesecretwriterblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/maria-v-snyder-interview-and.html

Interview and contest at The Page Turner's Blog: http://www.pageturnersblog.com

Interview and contest at Between the Covers Blog: http://www.betweenthecoversblog.net/2010/12/author-interview-giveaway-inside-out.html

And an interview at Finding Wonderland for their Winter Blog Blast Tour: http://writingya.blogspot.com/2010/12/winter-blog-blast-tour-interview-with_10.html

Stay tuned... I have another interview and contest coming up. This time, we're offering all 3 Study books and not the US editions...oh no! But the Australian editions!