From the Author Pages…

Updating time once again…

• While the very, very long delayed Alejandro’s Sorceress is apparently going to make it to e-release sometime next week, it looks like Alyssa Day is also going to be re-releasing her previous novellas in e-format as well.  Wild Hearts in Atlantis (originally published in the Wild Thing anthology) will be released on October 2nd, and Shifter’s Lady (from the anthology Shifter) will follow on November 6th.
• Originally scheduled for a mid-January release, looks like Jennifer Estep‘s third Mythos Academy book, Crimson Frost, is up at Amazon for preorder for December 24th.
• Looks like Lara Adrian is getting in on the e-book re-release thing, too.  Written under the name Tina St. John, Lara has recently released the Dragon Chalice series in e-format (Heart of the Hunter, Heart of the Flame, Heart of the Dove).  Turns out they will also be coming in trade paperback format, as well.  Details to come.
• There will be a compilation book from Sherrilyn Kenyon featuring all of the short stories written for St. Martin’s Press.  Dark Bites will feature Fear the Darkness (first time in print), and an all new short story starring Acheron.  This one will be out on November 5th.
• oh, and the blurb for the upcoming Elder Races novella from Thea Harrison, Devil’s Gate, is now out.  I am still iffy about a medusa lead – snakes ain’t my thing – but who knows?

Synopsis…

When it comes to love between a medusa and a Vampyre, it’s every man, woman, and snake for themselves.

As a coroner, medusa Seremela Telemar has always felt more comfortable chatting over a dead body than over drinks. But when her wild niece, Vetta, runs off to Devil’s Gate, a lawless town that has sprung up overnight in a modern-day gold rush, she knows she has to extricate her before the rebellious girl gets into real trouble. Though she’s confident in her head snakes’ ability to defend her against attackers, Seremela is still a bit nervous about braving this modern-day Wild West by herself.

Vampyre Duncan Turner is not about to let his new co-worker go into that chaos alone. His Vampyric power and lawyer smarts make him the perfect ally, and the fact that he already had his eye on Seremela for more…personal reasons, doesn’t hurt matters. Any romantic thoughts pull up short, however, when they arrive at Devil’s Gate and learn Vetta is set to hang by morning.

In order to save Vetta and themselves, Seremela and Duncan are going to have to fight fire with force and magic with fangs. And pray they make it out of Devil’s Gate alive.

 

Cover Lover – 4 New Titles

All credit for these goes to All Things Urban Fantasy, since I nabbed all four of these from there.  The first one is from the upcoming anthology edited by Charlaine Harris, containing short stories from Ilona Andrews, Charlaine Harris, and others.  An Apple for the Creature will be released in hardcover on September 4th.

The second one is from the fourth book in Kristen Painter‘s House of Comarre series.  Out for Blood is an October 30th release.

Sidney Ayers‘ next Demons Unleashed book, Demon to Die For, has been pushed back to a February 2013 release.

And this final one is from Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love, and there Belador series.  The Curse is due out on September 18th.

This and That…

I am going through all of the authors listed in the series reading list pages, and a few new details have come up (other than the fact that I have OCD issues).

• Jennifer Armentrout‘s third Covenant book, Deity, is up for preorder now at Amazon.  It will be released on November 6th.
• and, writing under the name J. Lynn, Jennifer Armentrout‘s Unchained (the first book of the Nephilim Rising series), will be out on October 16th.
• July 24th is the release date for the fourth book in Laura Anne Gilman‘s Paranormal Scene Investigations series, called Dragon Justice.
• Charlaine Harris will be one of the editors of an upcoming anthology called An Apple for the Creature, due out on September 4th.  It will include stories from Marjorie M. Liu, Ilona Andrews, Nancy Holder and Faith Hunter, among others.
• For the Love of a Goblin Warrior, the third book from Shona Husk‘s Shadowlands series, will be released next January 1st.
• From Suzanne Johnson comes the second book of her Sentinels of New Orleans series, River Road, on November 13th.  It will be followed by Elysian Fields next year.
• September 25th will be the release date for Unleashed, the follow-up to Untamed by Crystal Jordan.
• Looks like there will be a fifth Iron Fey book.  Julie Kagawa announced that The Lost Prince will be released late this year.
• Sherrilyn Kenyon will have two books coming out in September.  There will be a hardcover re-release of Dance with the Devil on the 4th, and the third Belador book, The Curse, will be out on the 18th.

Cover Lover – 3 New Titles

Hey everyone – been a few days.  Managed to crawl through Christmas and New Years without needing to call anyone for bail money, so all is good.  I expected to come back and find a crap-load of stuff I had missed, but…nope.  Seems like it was pretty quiet everywhere.  I did drag up a couple of new covers, though.

Kelly Meding continues her MetaWars series with the release of Changeling.  It is the second book of the series, due out on June 26th.

Next up is Nightwalker.  It is the forth book from the Stormwalker series from Allyson James, due out next summer.

And finally, the third cover is from the upcoming Blood Lite III: Aftertaste anthology.  It features Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kelley Armstrong and Heather Graham (among others), and is due out on May 29th.

Random Updates…

I have quite a few to add to the new release pages in the next little bit.  Some I haven’t heard of, some I can’t wait for…

• Sharie Kohler will continue her Moon Chasers series next August with the release of A Soul So Wicked.
• As I blabbed in a post a few days ago, Kresley Cole‘s first IAD spin off book will be about the Dacians.  Shadow’s Claim is the first book of the Realm of Blood and Mist series, due out on August 21st.
• Precinct 13 is the first book of a new adult series from author Tate Hallaway, and should be available on August 7th.
• The second book from Joy Nash‘s The Watchers series will be called The Unholy.  It has a release date of August 7th.
• On July 31st, Molly Harper will release The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires.  Not sure if this is part of a series, though.
• Christine Feehan‘s redone Dark Desire, a re-write of a previous Carpathian book, will be coming out in paperback on July 31st.
• The second book of Cynthia Eden‘s upcoming Angel series, Angel Betrayed, is now looking like a July release.
• Fire Kissed, the new one from Erin Kellison, will be released on July 3rd.
• The third book of Katherine Irons‘ Seaborne series, Waterborne, is scheduled for June 26th.
• Jaime Rush will have a new one out from her Offspring series at the end of next may, called Darkness Becomes Her.
• The seventh book from Jennifer Estep‘s Elemental Assassin series, Widow’s Web, will be released on August 21st.
• Time Untime, the next in a long list of Dark-Hunter books from Sherrilyn Kenyon, now has a release date of August 7th.
• Book two of Rachel Caine‘s new Revivalist series, Two Weeks’ Notice, is due out on August 7th.
• On August 7th, the next book from K.A. Stewart‘s Jesse James Dawson series will be out, called A Wolf at the Door.
• The Next Charley Madigan book from Kelly Gay, Shadows Before the Sun, will be out on July 31st.
• Sins Dark Caress is the third book from Tracey O’Hara‘s Dark Brethren series.  It is scheduled for release on July 31st.
• Jocelynn Drake kicks off a new series with Angel Wings, coming out on June 26th.
• June 26th is also the release date for Kasey MacKenzie‘s upcoming Black Hearted Betrayal.
• Changeling, the next book from Kelly Meding, is due out on June 26th.
• and Taylor Keating‘s third book, Fair Game, will be out on June 26th as well.

From Page to Screen…

From Harry Potter to Twilight to Hunger Games, pretty much every time I turn around now I hear about a new one of “my” books being somehow adapted for the screen, be it motion picture or television.  I was looking at my Young Adult books, and pretty much every second book is in some stage of movie development.  I am a faithful fan of The Vampire Diaries, just bought the Blu-rays for True Blood, and just might have to get into Game of Thrones.  I can’t wait for the last two Twilight movies, and I plan a marathon of all the Harry Potters when the last one comes out next month.  So, I started digging a bit to see what else is on the horizon for paranormal/urban fantasy adaptations.  Man, I can’t believe just how many there are, and I am sure that I haven’t even scratched the surface…

I am pretty sure there is no one left alive who doesn’t know that Suzanne Collins‘ Hunger Games Trilogy will be heading to the big screen.  It is in the post-production stage right now, and is scheduled for a March 2013 release, and it will star Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Sutherland, among others.  The first one hasn’t even opened yet, but the second movie, Catching Fire, has already been given a release date of November 22nd, 2013.  And, like Twilight and Harry Potter before it, there is even a rumor that book three, Mockingjay, may actually be split into two movies.

There have been rumors for quite a while about Cassandra Clare‘s Mortal Instruments series being made into a movie, but things are definitely a go now.  It is in the pre-production stage, but principle casting is taking place. So far Lily Collins is confirmed for Clary, and for a while it looked like Alex Pettyfer was going to be Jace.  However, it appears that Jamie Campbell Bower has won the role.  Filming will begin in January, and it is thought to be a late 2012 release.

Now, there was some big news recently on the adult book front, as well.  Prolific author Sherrilyn Kenyon has not one, but TWO deals in the works.  She will partner with Amber Entertainment to produce a movie based on her Chronicles of Nick series, starting with the first book, Infinity.  And if that isn’t enough, there is also plans for a tv series based on her signature Dark-Hunter series.  Very little info is known as yet about either project.

Around the same time the Kenyon news came out, it was also announced that Dreamworks is looking to develop its own fantasy franchise starting with all five books of Karen Marie Moning‘s Fever series.  This is not the first time these MacKayla Lane books have been optioned, as it was originally a 20th Century Fox property.  This sounds promising, however.

For the last year or so, I have seen references to a Diana Gabaldon Outlander movie.  As of late last year, it was still in the “in development” stage, with both Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler rumored to be attached to the starring roles.  Right now, it is the script stage, but it is being listed as a late 2012 release.  I could totally work with Gerry, but Heigl?  Meh.

Getting bored yet?  There is a ton more to go.  For the last couple of years, there have been whispers of a Richelle Mead Vampire Academy movie (or movies).  It seemed like momentum would be building, and then just sort of…vanish.  Looks like things are back on track (as of now), since this is being shopped as a 2013 release.  No clue on whether it is to be considered a one-off movie, or the beginning of a series (what with there being six books in total).  Here’s hoping things work out this time around.

Following on the huge success of Twilight, Stephenie Meyer is going back to the movies with her other, more adult sci-fi series.  The Host, which will be hitting the theaters on March 29th, 2013, is the first book of the series of the same name.  At least, Meyer has outlined two subsequent books, titled The Soul and The Seeker.  Dianna Agron, Luke Wilson, Shiloh Fernandez, and Ian Sommerhalder (yes!  Please?) all auditioned for various roles, but the only confirmed actor is Saoirse Ronan (Hanna), who will be starring as Melanie Stryder.

It looks like Kiersten White‘s trilogy, starting with Paranormalcy (followed by Supernaturally and finally Endlessly), is also a go.  It was actually optioned before it was even published, and the first time director is Ray Kay (yep, really), known for directing music videos from the likes of Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.

It was only a matter of time before the next two were given the movie treatment.  First up is Fallen, from author Lauren Kate.  Disney Pictures picked up the rights for Fallen, plus the expected three books to follow, in the middle of last year.  Casting is going on now, and as of even last month rumor was pointing to actress Lucy Hale playing Lucinda Price.  Meanwhile, Maggie Stiefvater‘s Wolves of Mercy Falls series (starting with Shiver), has been optioned by Warner Brothers.  Not much info is available on this one as yet, but Entertainment Weekly did point to it as one of the upcoming adaptations to keep an eye out for.

We will have a bit of a wait for this one, but Veronica Roth‘s dystopian trilogy, starting with Divergent, will be coming to the screen sometime in 2015.  There is little info available as yet, since things are in the very early stages, but on the book front the second title will be Insurgent, and should be available next May.

2013 will also see the release of Incarceron.  Based on the Catherine Fisher series, it is supposedly set to star Twilight’s Taylor Lautner in the role of Finn, a prisoner of Incarceron who knows nothing of the outside world.

And buzz is building about Matched.  Based on the first of three books from Ally Condie, Matched is also still in the early stages.  Movie rights were picked up by Disney, and things are now listed as being “in development”.

There is also talk about the Trylle Trilogy from self-publishing star Amanda Hocking, Beautiful Creatures from Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and the House of Night series from P.C. Cast all being in various stages of development, along with Firelight from Sophie Jordan and Delirium from Lauren Oliver.  But things can change quickly, as shown by Melissa Marr‘s Wicked Lovely.  Two months after Kimberly Peirce was tapped to direct, things just sort of…went away.  It is now in the process of being shopped around, so things are back to square one.

So, even though Harry Potter has ended, and Twilight is nearing the finish line, it looks like we will have no shortage of adaptations to keep us running to the theaters for a long, long time.

Cover Lover – 3 New Titles

The credit for these three all goes to All Things Urban Fantasy, from whose Facebook album I shamelessly grabbed them.  The first cover is from the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon – my secret shame.  The entire series stares accusingly at me from my TBR pile, and every time a new one is released I feel like more of a loser.  One day…  Anyhow, this one is called Time Untime, and should be available on August 2nd.

Devil’s Punch is the next title in the popular Corine Solomon series from Ann Aguirre, and it is scheduled for an April release.

And finally for this go round is the cover for the next book in Theresa Meyers‘ Legend Chronicles series.  The Slayer should be out next April, as well.

Spin-off Mania

Ok.  I am a combination of bored, OCD, and nosy.  Not a pretty combination.  Anyhow, today I came across a blurb about Gena Showalter starting yet ANOTHER series – this one a spin-off of the Lords of the Underworld.  Huh.  Didn’t see that one coming, for some reason.  And that got me thinking about how many other authors seem to be going the spin-off way.  Not long ago, it seemed as if author’s just kept going on, and on, and on with their successful series (sometimes well after they should’ve stopped).  But the spin-off is brilliant.  A chance to expand and explore new ideas, while pretty much keeping a built in reader base.  There are a few coming up that I am looking forward too, as well.

• As mentioned above, Gena Showalter is working on a new series set in the LotU world.   At her blog, she has said that the first book will debut sometime in 2012, and the main characters will be the angels (I wondered why they were getting so much time in the last couple of books).  There will be cameos by the various Lords.
• Showalter buddy Kresley Cole is also branching out from her Immortals After Dark series.  Plus a YA series, but I am not sure if that is IAD connected (helloooo, Thad).  Sorry.  The first book will be out next August, and the YA will follow in the fall.  I have been trying to dig up some info on these, but no luck as yet.
• Bloodlines will be a six book series from Richelle Mead.  Book one, also called Bloodlines, is out this month with the release of The Golden Lily following next March.  But all of this traces bad to the Vampire Academy series.  Actually, depending on how things go, I could totally see another series after that featuring Jill.  She would be old enough then to carry her own story, if all goes well.
• Rhyannon Byrd ended her Primal Instincts series just last week with the release of Rush of Pleasure.  But the very hot vamps featured in the latter books, especially the Granger brothers, are now getting their turn.  Some are saying this is a series, some say stand alone, but Ashe Granger will be featured in Deadly is the Kiss next April.
• and Jeaniene Frost‘s Night Huntress series is getting even more complex.  Aside from the main Cat and Bones books, and the two Night Huntress World books already released, Vlad is getting his story told in at least two books in the Night Prince spin-off series.  We are still waiting on the official title of the first book, but whatever it is called it will be hitting the shelves on March 27th.

I went through my books to track down some authors who had already made the jump successfully…

• Christine Feehan is just finishing up her second Sisters of the Heart book, featuring Judith.  Spirit Bound has a December release date, and got its start way back in the Drake Sisters books.  But instead of the seven magical sisters, we have six very hot magical Russian brothers (little brother Ilya already had his turn in the Drake books).
• Although Patricia Briggs has said that the Alpha and Omega series is supposedly set slightly behind the Mercy Thompson series in terms of timeline, there is no doubt it followed the popular Mercy books.  In this case, I actually read and loved the spin-off before the main series, which is strange for me.
• Larissa Ione will be releasing the second Lords of Deliverance book, called Immortal Rider, this November.  And details are starting to emerge about Lethal Rider, book three.  But who doesn’t look forward to cameos from the whole Demonica gang every book?  I do.

Apparently, however, a solid base does not a popular spin-off automatically make.  These two, from what I have seen around, have in no way lived up to the originals…

• Sherrilyn Kenyon, from what I understand, is meeting with mixed success in her Chronicles of Nick books.  These Young Adult hardcover books feature a character that isn’t that well liked as an adult in the Dark-Hunter series.  So who wants to read about him as a kid, I guess.
• Even J.R. Ward has made the jump with her Fallen Angels books.  I am a faithful BDB reader, but the new series just hasn’t grabbed me and made me want to read it, as yet.  The best I have heard about them is that they are “different”.  Not really a glowing recommendation.

Have I missed any?  Does anyone have any info I haven’t?  What is everyone’s feelings on the whole spin-off trend?  I myself would rather see a spin-off than the end of a series I love, or see one go on long after it should have been put to rest (yes, Dark-Hunter, I AM looking at you).

Spotlight on…Sherrilyn Kenyon

I have to say, Sherrilyn Kenyon has a well-updated sight.  There is a bit of info about two upcoming books in a couple of her different series.   First off is a small cover and blurb for the second book in her recent Belador series, this one called Alterant.  The site says this is a September 27th release…

Synopsis…

In this explosive new world of betrayals and shaky alliances, the only Alterant not incarcerated faces an impossible task — recapture three dangerous, escaped creatures before they slaughter more humans…or her.

The way Evalle Kincaid sees it, saving mankind from total destruction should have cleared her name. But when words uttered in the heat of combat are twisted against her, she’s blamed for the prison break of three dangerous Alterants. She has one chance to clear the cloud of suspicion hanging over her…for good. All she has to do is recapture the escapees. But deals with gods and goddesses are tricky at best, and now the lives of all Beladors, and the safety of innocent humans, rides on Evalle’s success. The only person she can ask for help wants to see her dead.

Also, the cover is making the rounds for her next Dream Hunter book, The Guardian.  Now, I am going to list this as part of the Dark Hunter series, since they are all interconnected.  The release date for this one is November 1st.

Cover Lover – Born of Shadows

I am a big fan of The League books by Sherrilyn Kenyon.  Love them.  They take tortured alpha heroes to a whole new level, but they are great books, and if there ever was a  series that needed a character profile page, this is it.   I was glad to get a bit of info on the next one, Born of Shadows, which is coming out in hardcover on April 25th, 2011.  The cover is not the best quality image, but I cleaned it up as best I could…