More Giveaways

Lots of giveaways and general YA goodness today!

Tina has posted an interview with me here, at Fantastic Book reviews. And The Story Siren has a review of My Soul to Take here.

Also, yesterday HQTeen had a guest post at the YABooknerd, in which Senior Editor Natashya Wilson explains how the 1st year's lineup came to be. Do you know what the first book HQTeen bought was? You may be surprised! She's also giving away winner's choice of one of the HQTeen launch books or a T-shirt! Click here for details.

And, there are still several days left to enter my Got Pictures contest. I'm giving away four awesome YA books, including 3 hardbacks, to one winner! And since sending pictures takes more work than simply leaving me a comment, you stand a much better chance of winning this contest than most of my others!

Got pictures?

[This contest is supposed to end tonight, but I only have a handful of entries so far, so I'm going to extend it through 11:59 pm (central) on Monday, August 10. I've already bought the prize books and I might soon have something extra to throw in, so if you're gonna be in a bookstore anytime soon (or Target), take your camera! Or your camera-phone. ;-)]

I had a very nice release day yesterday, and for the first time since Stray, I went to several bookstores to see my new baby on its birthday! (There was no local bookstore in my last town, so I had to go to Wal-Mart.) And I'm hitting a couple more today. ;-) And I think I'm going to buy myself a small new release present. Something to help me relax. I'm wound pretty tightly right now, and nerves are making me just a little bit crazy. ;-)

But, regarding bean sidhe goodness, today I have a guest post at The SciFi Guy (answering my two most often asked questions), and I'm giving away two copies of My Soul To Take at the Deadline Dames.

By the way, there are actually four different Dames releases this week, so check in there often to see what's going on!

And... I want pictures of My Soul to Take! If you email me a picture of My Soul to Take in your local store, I will enter you into a contest to win a YA gift set of the following young adult titles:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan
Fragile Eternity, by Melissa Marr
Strange Angels, by Lili St.Crow
The Awakening, by Kelley Armstrong

Rules:

• Please send photos to picturesATrachelvincentDOTcom (with the appropriate symbols, of course)


• photos must be received by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, August 5, 2009


• please include the town and store name (ex: Borders, Bossier City, LA)


• photos will be posted on either my website or blog (without names), so please don't send one you don't want posted (I won't post pictures of minors online, so if you're under 18, please don't let your face show with the books)


• the random number generator will select one entry, and the winner's name will be announced here (on the blogger blog). I will also email the winner, since this is an email contest

At last!

My Soul To Take is officially on the shelves today! I feel like I should have a more clever way to announce that, considering what I do for a living, but I’m honestly at a loss for how to express my excitement. This release feels very much like my first one (Stray, 2007), only—frankly—more stressful, because this one comes with built-in expectation from readers.

It’s my first young adult novel. It’s a line launch book. People who have already read my writing either like my style and expect to like this new book, or they don’t like my style and they expect to dislike this new book. Either way, that’s a lot of pressure. ;-)

But there’s nothing I can do about expectations. For the most part, this release is now out of my hands, and all I can do is stand back and watch. And wait. And hope the material speaks for itself. And that it speaks well.

So, now that my nervous confession is out of the way, here’s what you really (hopefully) wanted to see: The scoop on the Soul Screamers series. ;-)

Chronologically, the free prequel/teaser, My Soul To Lose, comes first. But I want to say up front that you do not have to read it to understand the rest of the series. You won’t be missing any plot aspects by not reading the teaser. Because it’s just that: a teaser. My Soul to Lose was written only two months ago (yes, seriously), long after I finished the third novel in the series. It was intended to give readers a feel for Kaylee and her world. A free sample, of sorts.

My Soul to Lose tells about an incident mentioned in My Soul to Take: Kaylee’s hospitalization for mental illness, about a year before the series begins. The short story leaves a lot of questions unanswered, mostly because Kaylee doesn’t (can’t) find out what’s really happening to her until MSTTake. That’s what the first novel is about. So please think of My Soul to Lose as a sample. A taste of my writing. If you like what you read for free, you’ll probably like the novel now on sale, and hopefully the rest of the series. ;-)

Next, chronologically, is My Soul to Take, which officially goes on sale today! This is the first full length novel, and the story stands alone. My Soul to Take is about a high school junior who doesn’t know she’s a bean sidhe (banshee, for those unfamiliar with the Gaelic) until she begins predicting a series of deaths in her area—with uncontrollable screaming. It’s part romance, part supernatural murder mystery, and the most fun I’ve ever had writing a book. At least, until I wrote the sequels. ;-)









I love Kaylee and her world, and My Soul to Take is only the beginning. Up next is My Soul to Save, which comes out January 1, 2010. In this one, Kaylee, Nash, and Tod try to help a teen pop star who sold her soul for fame and fortune.

This one is darker than MSTTake, and the story shows that death isn’t always the worst case scenario. MSTSave gives a much deeper look at the world-building. Kaylee will actually go to the Netherworld, which is my very favorite setting to write about, and readers will learn a little more about Tod, and his ... skewed perspective.

On June 1, 2010 you can get the third volume, My Soul to Keep. When I get the cover, I’ll post it, along with the back cover blurb.

I wish I could express how much I love writing in Kaylee's world. Don't worry, I'm not giving up the Shifters series, or writing for adults. I love Faythe's world too. But the Soul Screamers stories are very special to me, and I can't believe how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to share them with the world.

I hope you like them. ;-)

And if you've already found a copy, leave a comment and tell me where!

P.S. My friends Jenna Black and Jeaniene Frost also have releases today! Check out Speak of the Devil and Destined for an Early Grave!

RWA recap

Okay, tomorrow's the day! The official shelf date for My Soul to Take. (The actual release date is Aug. 1. And no, I have no idea what the difference is between the two dates. Sorry!) But for today, finally, my RWA recap...

RWA was a roller coaster for me this year. I was smack in the middle of two releases, 30 days apart, and it felt like I was either flying high or scraping my toes on the ground the whole time. Which is normal for any release month. And is apparently magnified by two in a row. (Three, if you count the ebook teaser.)

High point: seeing my cover on the front page of USA Today. Above the fold. Top right corner. It was completely unexpected. In fact, I had no clue it had even happened until I woke up that morning (July 16) with emails from 10 different people congratulating me for making the front page of USA Today. I had no idea what they were talking about. I actually said, "USA Today what?" Turns out they meant the newspaper. ;-)

After a brief, frantic search for a copy that morning, and phone calls to both #1 and my dad, neither of whom answered their phones, I was actually handed copies all day long by wonderful, wonderful readers who'd also seen the story. ;-)

Low point: I was invited to sign at the Harlequin signing on Friday morning, which is always a lot of fun. The books are free, and they go quickly, and that really makes my adrenaline flow. And I was looking forward to this particular signing even more than usual, because I was supposed to be signing ARCs of My Soul to Take. But they didn't show up. I'm not sure what happened. It's possible they didn't get shipped. But it was very disappointing for me, because a bunch of people came to that signing specifically for that book, and it wasn't there. And several other people had apparently heard that I'd be signing my YA, but didn't know the name of the book, and they thought Prey (which I did sign) was the YA. Which necessitated a LOT of explanation to the contrary.

So, I was pretty disappointed, but the readers were great, and they really made the signing for me. Friendly faces and kind words will do that. ;-)

General recap:

Up first was the mass signing on Wednesday. This one was open to the public, so I saw lots of readers who weren't there for the convention. And Prey was a new release, so I had a pretty steady flow of takers. ;-)
These pictures are both from the mass signing, and I must thank Raven and Jocelyn for the images. Thanks, ladies!

On Thursday, I spoke on the Digital Media panel, with Julia Quinn and Rachel Chou (both from Harper Collins) and Malle Valik (Harlequin Digital expert), moderated by Sarah Wendell. I spoke about My Soul to Lose, the free ebook teaser for my Soul Screamers series. And during the panel, someone actually downloaded it on her Kindle, then held it up to show us. So cool!

Thursday night was the Irene Goodman Agency's off-site cocktail party, which is where this picture was taken. This is Jenna Black, me, Jackie Kessler, and our agent, Miriam Kriss. And yes, I'm well aware that I'm the only one not wearing any actual colors. I must work on my wardrobe.

After the party, I had a relaxed dinner with Jenna and Jackie, two of my fellow Deadline Dames, and I was very pleased to have their company. Friends = good. ;-)

Friday was my busy day. First up was the (afore mentioned) Harlequin signing, where I signed next to RWA chapter mate Sharon Sala! But I had to leave early in order to make it to my panel: Writing Paranormal Outside the Box, with Harper editor Erika Tsang, and authors Jeaniene Frost, Melissa Marr, and Kelley Armstrong. Then, after lunch was the Harlequin single title mixer, where Maria Snyder and I held up a corner of the room and talked about the new Harlequin Teen line launch.

After that, I caught my roomie Ally Carter's YA panel, then changed into an actual dress before catching the first half of a fascinating panel on body disposal. As in, how best to. ;-) I sat in on this one 2 years ago, but a refresher never hurts. I had to leave in the middle, however, to go to dinner with my editor and her assistant, who's also acquiring books now! We talked about BtVS, and my books (the two are not related), and what Elizabeth is acquiring, and stuff like that. Then we went to the annual Harlequin party. The big one.

I'm not much of a party-goer, but even I hung around for a couple of hours this time. There were several dessert stations and bars around the room, each with a particular decade theme. I think I had some kind of mousse in a martini glass, from the '80s. Or something like that.

On Saturday, I went to the Crime and Punishment museum with Jeaniene, Melissa, and Kelley. They had a great (if small) section on medieval torture, and a jail cell mockup, from which we plotted an escape. I can't remember who took pictures of that part, but I'll post them when I find them.

That afternoon, I had coffee with my agent, then we went to the Ritas, where Melissa presented the Rita for best YA. And for the first time (at least to my knowledge) a YA won best first novel!
This is me and Jeaniene before the Ritas. Yes, I'm underdressed. Compulsively. ;-)

After the Ritas, I wound up in the hotel bar with several friends, where I ruined my diet with fried cheese sticks dipped in honey mustard. It was worth every bite, and a very nice way to end the conference. ;-)

After RWA, #1 flew to D.C. and we enjoyed our first vacation in years. We saw various parts of the Smithsonian Institution (Natural History, Air and Space--on the anniversary of the lunar landing!, National Gallery, National Archives, and the National Zoo) as well as the Spy museum, the Washington Monument, the White House, the Vietnam War Memorial, the World War II Memorial (beautiful!) and the Korean War Memorial. And we swam in the hotel pool every night. I came home exhausted, sunburned, and covered in mosquito bites. But I loved every single second of it. And for those five days, I wasn't freaking out about my YA debut.

It was blissful.

Of course, now I'm home, and back to work, and completely freaking out. But that's to be expected, right?

And if you've stuck with me for this rambling post, here's your reward: the trailer for My Soul to Take is up on my website, or you can watch it in high quality here.

New release, winners, pics

Okay, I’m finally back from my 10-day trip to D.C., which included RWA, time with friends, and vacation with #1. My first real vacation in 3 or 4 years, and the longest I’ve ever been away from home. I had a great time, and there’s a full report coming soon (I’m hoping to snag some pictures first), but for today, I have a couple of fun bits of business.

First of all, though it officially hits the shelves on July 28, My Soul to Take is now on out in a bunch of places (mostly Borders, it seems) and is shipping from Amazon. So if you’re looking for an early copy, you just might be able to find one.

Here’s a picture of the first copies I saw on the shelf—at the Borders in the Detroit airport, on one of my layovers yesterday. I couldn’t believe my own luck!

And a friend sent me this picture earlier the same day: My Soul to Take on the shelf at a Borders in Richmond.

Also, scroll down for another opportunity to win a signed copy.

Now for all three “One for me, one for you” winners:

Kelly who said...
I'm entering my cousin Michelle. She is 13 and absolutely loves to read.

Paige Maddison who said...
I would love to win a copy for my 16 year old sister Sarah!!!! She loves the all types of Paranormal, and I'm trying to make her read more YA .... some of the adult stuff is just to much for her... but she thinks the YA is just not enough. I am sure your works will be perfect!!!

And Erika, who said,
Hey Rachel. My name is Erika, I'm 15 and love your shifter series (Marc *sigh*). I would love to give this one a try. :]

Ladies, please email me with your full name and mailing address, and I’ll put your prizes in the mail. Today, if I hear from you in time. Don’t forget to tell me which of (any of) my books you’d like signed for yourself, in addition to the YA for your chosen teen. Or, if you’d rather, you may choose a copy of My Soul To Take for yourself too.

I have one last bit of cool news, which resulted in much squee-ing from me, from friends, and from Harlequin Teen people. (#1 and my dad were kind of impressed too. ;-))

My Soul to Take was on the front cover of USA Today! Above the fold! Right next to the paper’s logo! There was also a short article about the Harlequin Teen line launch, and the first three titles. I’m thrilled for such awesome exposure, and crossing my fingers that it results in some notice for the new series and the line. ;-)

I'm on my way home from DC today (currently stuck on the tarmac) and will be posting more tomorrow, but I wanted to announce this giveaway ASAP.

Click here to enter to win a signed copy of My Soul To Take from The Lounge Lizard, an awesome teen librarian, who's also posted a review.

Still out of town...

I'm still in D.C., playing tourist, but as soon as I get, back, I'll draw the winners, post the prizes, including the Kindle, and get caught up on emal. In the mean time, I'm leaving the "One for you, one for me" contest open.

I have a few pictures from my trip and am hoping to get some RWA shots from others. And a full report will follow soon.

And, in a matter of days, My Soul To Take will be on shelves everywhere. In fact, Amazon is already shipping pre-ordered copies. This book (& the 2 following) have been in the works for so long, and I can't believe the time had come! I hope you all like it as much as I loved writing it!

From my inbox

Tomorrow (Monday) I leave for Washington D.C. and the RWA National conference. I'll be gone for almost two weeks, and I'm not sure whether I'll have the ability or time to blog. But I'll try. In the mean time, I thought I'd leave you with a sample from my inbox.

I'm getting a lot of messages (via email, and other online haunts) about The Event Which Shall Not Be Named from Prey. Reactions vary, but so far, they are very, very passionate. Some heartily approve of The Event, some vehemently disapprove, some have advice about how I should handle the fallout in Shift (which has already been written and turned in, btw) and some even ask me to just please, please, please don't do BLANK. Or please, please, please do BLANK.

I've never gotten such a response from a book before. My CP even got an email asking for spoilers from Shift, which amuses me more than I can even express. (By the way, she cannot be bribed. She is beyond awesome, that way. ;-)) Anyway, in case you're curious, here's the latest taste, from my inbox, edited for spoilers. And edited because the letter (from a wonderfully polite, enthusiastic reader) was very, very long. ;-)

I want to start off by saying how much I truly enjoyed Prey, and couldn't seem to read the sentences quickly enough or make the pages turn fast enough. Honestly. I mean clearly I loved it, seeing as how I bought it at around six p.m. and finally devoured the last sentence nearly twelve hours later at five-thirty in the morning. :P Still though, my satisfaction was not complete, and it wasn't a mystery as to why.

[ Prepare for mini-rant. Please make sure seatbelt is tightened and secure. ]

[And rant she did, in the most wonderful fashion. I've deleted it, because of spoilers, but this rant was truly spectacular. ;-)]

Speaking in cat terms, [ though this may be considered for mostly dogs ] I want to smack [name redacted] on the nose with a rolled up newspaper! Twice!! What a profoundly inappropriate time for [The Event]!

[…]

I mean JUST when I thought I could release my stored up breath, kick back, relax, and just casually read about Faythe's future plights [ I'm so cruel ] without having to worry about [current plight deleted]

[…]

Oh, the agony! Do you see what you've done to me? :P You've turned me into a raving mad woman at seven-thirty in the morning!! On a Sunday! During the summer. Sigh.

No, she's not a mad woman. In fact, I have the most wonderful (and wonderfully opinionated) readers ever. Does your opinion mirror hers? Do you disagree? Without spoilers, tell me in the comments.

Don't know what we're talking about? You obviously haven't read Prey. Fortunately, it's available just about everywhere. ;-)

Another note: I'll announce the latest winners (including the Kindle winner) as soon as they're drawn. I swear!

New winners!

Okay, I'm happy to report that Kara claimed her prize, just in time! And I've now drawn names for the other two prizes. And don't forget to scroll down for the contest currently underway!

[Note about the teen drawing: you do not have to leave the teen's first name either, particularly if s/he's related to you and you leave your own last name. Safety first, people. But please do tell me your relationship to the teenager you think should get the early copy, so I know there is a teen in the picture. ;-)]

The new winner of the Double Prizes contest is:

HockeyVampiress who wrote,
I am problably too late but I am a Taurus and would love to meet Jace and Ethan.... can I have them at the same time.... :)

HockeyVampiress, you were not too late, and now you've won!

And...

The new winner of the Release Day contest (at the Deadline Dames site) is:

Dottie who wrote,
Hi Rachel!
Happy Release *noise makers here* and Congrats!!
I would love to win your books, please count me in!
Dottie

Dottie, you've won all four Shifters books (signed) and Faythe's necklace.

New winners, please email me (rachelATrachelvincentDOTcom) with your full name and email address, and I'll be putting all the prizes in the mail on Monday.

Right before I leave for RWA National, in D.C.! I'm soooo excited about this trip, for so many reasons. And here some of them are:

• I get to see several good friends! (But will miss several others... ;-( )
• Prey just came out, and I'm hoping there will be people looking for it at the signing on Wednesday!
• My Soul to Take will be 2 short weeks from its official release, and I'll be signing early copies at the Harlequin signing!
• I've never been to D.C. before, and the list of things I want to see is so very long
• I'm spending a few extra days after the conference to see the city! My first vacation since I started writing! Seriously. And no, I don't actually have time for this. But I'm making time. ;-)

So, has anyone else been to D.C.? Is there anything (other than the obvious) that I should make time to see?

One for you, one for me. [Edited]

[The One for you, one for me contest has now closed. Thanks to all who entered, and please note that My Soul to Take is now available in most stores, and will be available everywhere (US and Canada) on July 28th.]

First, the business:

This is the final call for the following winners to claim their prizes. If I haven't heard from them by this evening, I'll be drawing 3 new winners. So if you know one of them, please tell her to email me. Or not, if you're hoping to win on the re-draw. ;-)

Pearl Heart (a copy of City of Souls + a signed copy of Prey)
Kara Hillman (Faythe's necklace + a signed copy of Prey)
Cheryl (All 4 signed Shifters books + Faythe's necklace from the Deadline Dames giveaway)

Ladies, please email me (rachelATrachelvincentDOTcom) with your name and address to claim your prizes.

Okay. Moving on...

My Soul to Lose (the free ebook prequel) is now available in PDF format here on my website.

Now for the fun stuff:

In less than three weeks, my YA debut, My Soul To Take, hits the shelves, and I'm looking for a few teenagers to try it out early. Know someone who might be interested? Daughter? Niece? Friend? If so, leave me a comment telling me who you'd like to give an early, signed copy of My Soul To Take to.

I will draw three entries at random on Sunday night, and the winners will be announced on Monday morning. If your entry is drawn, in addition to winning a copy of my first YA for your chosen teen, you may also pick any one of my currently available books for yourself. Including the YA, if that's what you want. Both books will be signed and personalized.


[EDIT: if you are a teenager, you may enter for just yourself, or for yourself and a friend/cousin/sibling.]

Rules:

• One entry per teen, please. If you know more than one interested teenager, you may enter once (separately) for each of them.
• Leave me the teen's first name only and your relationship to him or her. [NOTE: Absolutely NO last names. Comments containing teenagers' last names will not be approved.]
• Qualifying teenagers must be between the ages of 13 and 19.

Okay, if you're interested (or know a teenager who is) start entering! And please feel free to spread the word.

Easy ebook links

I have good news for those who had trouble downloading My Soul to Lose, the free ebook prequel to my upcoming Soul Screamers series. You can now view the PDF onscreen without having to download or install Adobe Digital Additions. It'll be available on my website tonight, but until then, SB Sarah has the whole thing available here.

Also, the Kindle version is now available for free here. So hopefully this solves all the access problems. ;-)

I'm sorry for my recent silence. We had company over the holiday weekend, and since then, I've been working (under a very tight deadline) on revisions for a short story that will be out this fall. (More details on that soon, I swear.) And kind of freaking out about both of my summer releases. Seriously freaking out.

Prey means so much to me, because I really pushed myself (and Faythe) in this one, and
I feel like we both rose to the occasion. And my YA debut feels like my very first release did--only there's waaaaay more pressure because people already have expectations. So... I can't promise much coherence between now and the first week of August. ;-)

I keep expecting this job to get easier as my career progresses, but so far that hasn't happened. It's only getting harder. It's a good thing I like what I do. ;-)

Check back tomorrow for a multiple winner giveaway leading up to the release of my YA debut, and if you like Q&A, check out my post today at the Deadline Dames, where I answered several good questions.

Winners!

Sorry for the holiday delay, but the random number generator has chosen a winner for the Double Prizes giveaway. And that winner is:

Pearl Heart who wrote...
Pisces and I'd like to meet Marc.

Pearl, please email me (rachelATrachelvincentDOTcom) with your name and address, and I'll put your prizes in the mail!

Also, Kara Hillman never claimed her prize from last week (Faythe's necklace and a signed copy of Prey). Kara, if you're out there, email me. If I haven't heard from her by Wednesday morning, I'll draw a new name. So if you entered that contest, stay tuned for an update!

Help with the ebook download

Okay, I'm getting complaints.

First of all, I'm sorry for all the trouble some people are having accessing My Soul to Lose. I've just spent a frustrating half-hour trying to access it myself. But now I have some pointers. ;-)

If you're downloading it from eHarlequin, you will get a prompt asking you to download Adobe Digital Editions. I'm sorry if you dislike this format. It wasn't my choice, and there are two other formats available, if you'd rather use those. But if you're using the PDF, as I did, you have to download ADE.

After you've downloaded and launched ADE (make sure you actually click the button that says "launch"), you have to sign into Adobe to "activate" the program. To do this, you must have an Adobe ID. This is not the email address and password you signed up with at Harlequin. As I thought at first. You must actually go to Adobe and create an account there first.

Yes, this is a total pain. I'm very, very sorry, but none of this was my choice/decision/preference. Fortunately, it's pretty easy, if long and involved. Sign up for your account, then type your email and password in to "activate" the program.

If you've already downloaded the ebook, it should show up in the reader once it loads. This may take a couple of minutes. If it doesn't (and it didn't for me), close the program and go open the ebook from wherever you saved the file. This is what I did, and it worked.

If you haven't already downloaded the ebook, you must, obviously, do this first.

Again, I'm very sorry for how complicated this process has become. But I hope you enjoy the story. I worked very, very hard on it, and and am thrilled that Harlequin Teen is giving it away at no cost, as an introduction to Kaylee and her world.

Ta da!

Okay, it looks like we have everything sorted out with My Soul to Lose, the ebook prequel to my Soul Screamers series, and I am thrilled to report that IT IS FREE!

Click here to download the ebook in one of 3 formats.

My Soul to Lose takes place about a year before My Soul to Take , and tells about an event referenced in the first novel: Kaylee is involuntarily hospitalized in the psychiatric unit when she has a "panic attack" and can't stop screaming. Among other things. At this point, she has no idea she's a bean sidhe. It's a dark story, and the parts based in reality are just as unnerving as the fantasy-based elements. I did a ton of research for this one short story because I was determined to get the hospital environment right. I then sent the story to five different beta readers. I really, really wanted to get this one right.

Rumor has it there's a free audio version as well, but I'm still checking on that one.

My Soul to Lose is the first available glimpse of what Harlequin Teen has to offer, and your first taste of my Soul Screamers world. If you like it, I hope you'll check out the rest of the series. And if you know a teenager who likes dark fantasy please feel free to forward the link. As much as I think this new YA world will appeal to adults, I would really, really like for it to connect with the target audience as well. That's who I was writing for. ;-)

My Soul to Take, the first novel in the Soul Screamers series comes out August 1. The opening pages of the book have been posted here, on the book's Amazon page.

And, of course, Prey is now out in the wild, and you have several opportunities to win a signed copy.

Click here for details on how you can win a copy of Vicki Petterson's new release, City of Souls as well as a signed copy of Prey. We're release buddies!

Also, I'm giving away a signed set of all four Shifters books, as well as the necklace Faythe wears on the three most recent covers at the Deadline Dames.

The SciFiGuy has a giveaway and a guest post by me, about why Prey was so difficult to write. And if you scroll down to yesterday's post, there's another list of contests still going on.

So, happy reading!

Today's the day! [EDITED!!]

Prey is officially on sale everywhere (in the U.S. and Canada) today, so if you haven't already found a copy, you should be able to now. And because I'm so excited about this particular release, I'm hosting two different giveaways (of more than just Prey.)

First, click here for details on how you can win a copy of Vicki Petterson's new release, City of Souls as well as a signed copy of Prey. We're release buddies!

Also, I blogged today at the Deadline Dames, where I'm giving away a signed set of all four Shifters books, as well as the necklace Faythe wears on the three most recent covers.

Other places of interest:

The SciFiGuy has a giveaway and a guest post by me, about why Prey was so difficult to write.

And... My Soul to Lose, the ebook prequel to my Soul Screamers series (young adult) is available today. I'm sorry to say I suffered a misunderstanding and somehow got it into my head that this would be a free download. I was evidently wrong about that (I'd give it away for free if it were up to me), but the good news is that you can get it here for $2.69 or here for $2.25

Edit: My editor says both the ebook and the audio should be available for free! Yea! So don't pay for a download. Let me get this sorted out first. ;-)

Here's a blurb:

Kaylee Cavanaugh’s trip to the mall ends with a brutal panic attack and a brain-scrambling shriek she can’t stop. Her secret fear is exposed. It’s the worst day of her life.

Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.

But the hospital isn’t a safe place for Kaylee, and getting out won’t be easy because everyone thinks she’s crazy. Everyone except Lydia, who has a secret of her own…

Other giveaways on the Prey virtual tour:

• Jessica is hosting a new giveaway here.
• Amberkatze's is here.
• Fangtastic Books is having one here.
• Cinnamon Brown is doing an interview with both me and Faythe, and has thrown in a truly spectacular giveaway here. And I'm answering questions there as well.
• There's a giveaway and an interview with Jackie here.
• And my Kindle giveaway at Bitten By Books is still going on, of course. I've been answering questions there all week.

Now, I'm off to celebrate, but I'll be allowing comments throughout the day via phone. ;-)

Happy Birthday, Prey!