February 27, 10 @ 3:58 pm
I’ve received new cover art for DEMON PRINCESS: REIGN CHECK. A waayyyy different look, don’t you think? I’m digging it big-time. I like the darker vibe much better than the original pink version of this cover. I think it looks older and a bit more reflective of the tone of the books, which is darker than the previous bubblegum color might have let on. However, this new look definitely still maintains that fun, sarcastic edge of the books.
There’s shiny new back cover copy to go along with the shiny new cover art, too….
Nikki Donovan has had a lot to deal with since learning she was half human, half demon. But things take a darker turn when Rhys, a gorgeous—but potentially dangerous—faery king enrolls at her high school to investigate Nikki’s potential for fulfilling an apocalyptic prophesy. Nikki knows she’d never turn violent, and she certainly couldn’t destroy the world…could she?
Of course, all Nikki really wants is to be reunited with Michael, a Shadow creature whose status as her personal servant is further complicated by their undeniable attraction to each other. Even though the rules of the Shadowlands strictly forbid their romance, Nikki is determined not to let Michael go. But when she is summoned to the Underworld to appear before a demon council, it will take all her courage—and perhaps a bit of demon-level strength—to get herself out again.
From what I’ve heard, the cover with Michael and Nikki on it (either with the pink or another background cover) will likely still be the one used in Australia and New Zealand when it comes out there in July, but the black version is the one that will be in the U S of A. And Canada too. I think? Time will tell.
Here’s the original cover art:
What do you think? Do you have a preference between the two covers?
By the way, REIGN CHECK is out on May 25th. Not too far off!
Visit my YA website to read the first two chapters that are now up.
And, by the way, pre-ordering is also a very good thing! Hey, it’s just a suggestion. 
February 08, 10 @ 5:53 pm
*** I’ll be giving away a couple more soon so stay tuned! The winner, randomly chosen thanks to random.org, is – #8 – INCiDeNT — who has been contacted by email to claim her prize. Thanks to everyone who entered!!! ***
Well, looky looky what arrived on my doorstop today! Advance Reading Copies of THE DEMON IN ME — the first book in my fun, exciting and sexy Living in Eden paranormal romance series from Berkley Sensation. It’s officially out May 4th! Less than three months! I am so excited!! Whee!!!
I don’t have very many of these to give away, so if you want one, please keep a watch for my reader contests here on the blog and on Twitter and Facebook in the next month.
Today I’m giving one of these yellow lovelies to someone who comments on my website blog (if you’re reading a mirror of these somewhere, please come to michellerowen.com/blog to enter).
A reminder of what this book is about…………..
THE DEMON IN ME
(Living in Eden — Book #1)
Hell hath no fury…
Fate has led Eden Riley to become a “psychic consultant” to the police, even though her abilities are unreliable at best. Those paranormal powers are about to get her into a jam she couldn’t have predicted. After her hunky police detective partner guns down a serial killer in front of her, Eden realizes that she’s quite literally no longer alone. A voice in her head introduces himself as Darrak. He’s a demon. But not in a bad way!
…like a woman possessed.
Darrak lost his original body 300 years ago thanks to a witch’s curse. This is the first time he’s ever been able to speak directly to a host, plus there’s a bonus. Eden’s psychic energy helps him to take form during daylight hours. He wants to use this chance to find a way to break his curse — finally. Otherwise, Eden’s going to have to learn to live with this sexy demon…like it or not.
And she thinks she might like it.
“Compulsively readable. Snarky, original, funny and fantastical. Who knew demons could be so sexy? Michelle Rowen has brought her A-game to the table with Eden Riley.” —-Molly Harper, author of Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs
Want a sneak peek at the whole book?? Please leave a comment. I’ll choose one winner on Friday, February 12th, 2010 at 9:00pm EST. Good luck!!
February 01, 10 @ 2:54 pm
***Congrats to Tori who won the signed copy of PURE PRINCESS, BARTERED BRIDE. Tori’s been contacted by email to claim her prize. Thanks to everyone who commented and thanks to Caitlin for stopping by for a chat!***
Caitlin Crews’s debut novel with Harlequin Presents is out today — PURE PRINCESS, BARTERED BRIDE. I’m good friends with Caitlin’s alter ego, Megan Crane, critically acclaimed author of several fabulous women’s fiction novels, such as FRENEMIES and NAMES MY SISTERS CALL ME. Megan/Caitlin stopped by to chat with me about her new release and dipping her toes into the ocean of romance novels and alpha heroes.
Megan/Caitlin is also offering up a signed copy of PURE PRINCESS, BARTERED BRIDE to a randomly chosen commenter, so comment away! Winner will be chosen at random at 9:00 pm EST on Thursday, February 4, 2010.
***
Michelle Rowen: Let’s talk about your book, PURE PRINCESS, BARTERED BRIDE, that’s out right now from Harlequin Presents.
Caitlin Crews, aka: Megan Crane: Okay. Hooray! My first romance novel!
MR: I know, hooray!! So give us the plot in a nutshell. I already know what it’s about, but in your words…
CC: A princess who has always done her duty to her country (and her cold father) finds that she just can’t handle the marriage that’s been arranged for her. After meeting her ruthless, dangerous new husband at the altar, she bolts–and he follows. Intense passion ensues. How’s that?
MR: Perfect.
CC: Nutshelly enough?
MR: I can smell the peanut butter it’s so nutshelly.
CC: You are such an evocative writer, Michelle.
MR: It’s a fine art. So….Luc. Where’d the name come from? And did you envision any actor when you were writing this delicious alpha hero?
CC: Luc kind of appeared, fully alpha and fully formed. I will say that my desire to write Presents stemmed from something I wrote on my blog a long time ago. I said Presents were kind of like what happened if an ordinary girl started dating King Leonidas from 300. You said: please write that book. So I did.
MR: LOL! So you’re saying that I should be getting some royalties from this. *waiting for the checks to roll in*
CC: I’m saying you are like my writing mentor, whether you know it or not. You are also responsible for me writing way more books a year. Indirectly. You speak, I listen. I’m like your minion!
MR: I’m okay with that. Before this Presents, you wrote several women’s fiction books with a COMPLETELY different feel to them. You’re like a chameleon. What was the biggest challenge between the two voices?
CC: Oh. Well. They are so different. My WF books are first-person, for one thing. And this Presents was third person, incorporated the hero’s POV… And there’s a certain emotional fullness, an intensity–I want to say a lushness–to the Presents. The WF books are more intellectual. Not that any of that necessarily comes across on the page, mind you. But that’s how I felt, writing them. I read somewhere that writing categories is like performing Swan Lake in a telephone booth. It’s all Lush! Big! Emotional! And bam! Over.
MR: Good analogy. It’s true, getting that much story into such a small package is a huge challenge. Speaking of “bam,” there are several very hot sex scenes in your book. Were those a challenge to write or did they just flow for you?
CC: Sex scenes are so hard. No pun intended. They have to be good action scenes written from an emotional perspective. Ninjas would be easier, I think!
MR: Or Ninjas having sex! PURE NINJA, BARTERED NINJA
CC: Ha!
MR: It’s a new imprint for Harlequin.
CC: Can you barter a ninja? Can a ninja be pure? These are philosophical dilemmas… Seriously–there’s an untapped market to be explored!
MR: For me, writing the Blazes was a way to get over my aversion to writing sex scenes. Kind of jumping in the deep end to see if I can swim.
CC: I didn’t have an aversion to writing sex scenes–I just didn’t write them in 1st person. It’s much more difficult in first person. Very few people can pull it off, in my opinion. The masterful Lisa Kleypas comes to mind.
MR: It is more difficult in first. My urban fantasies (current WIPs) are really sexy. But when I’m writing, I’m not me, I’m my character so it all works out.
CC: It’s like… would I tell my friend this? “He stroked his way down my abdomen and–” No, probably not. It’s the difficulty of “I” in the sex scene that had me draw back a bit in my WFs. Well. Not really. I just sort of hinted, I guess. I re-read one recently and I was surprised at how hot it was. I’d forgotten.
MR: I’ll always remember a certain scene in EVERYONE ELSE’S GIRL that I thought was super hot!
CC: That scene in EEG is exactly what I’m talking about!
MR: LOL! I know, I was like — damn! That’s so hot! And it really was just hinted at. One’s imagination fills in the rest. Do you have any rituals when you write? Like a certain drink? ie: I used to eat a lot of chocolate to get myself started. I don’t do that anymore, alas.
CC: I am addicted to tea. I chug it. And I try to limit the chocolate…My rituals involve many wasted hours online. Much time on Jezebel. And long, meandering drives on the Pacific Coast Highway, worrying over plot and character.
MR: You’re a twitterer. Facebook too.
CC: I love Twitter. I really do. I feel that it’s my water cooler.
MR: Do you think social networking is essential to being an author these days?
CC: Other people have an office; I have social networking. And I do promo, too, which makes me feel as if I’m accomplishing something, when, in truth, I think word-of-mouth is what sells books more than anything else.
MR: Yes…word of mouth is the single most important promo tool. Unfortunately it’s not something that can be controlled.
CC: I think it’s really cool that we have the internet now–it’s no longer me and a list, crawling around a bookstore looking for new books and backlisted titles.
MR: I don’t know how I’d survive without the internet. It’s such a huge part of my life. I tried to go without tweeting last week for a few days and I failed miserably.
CC: I know, I saw that.
MR: Sad, really.
CC: I think writers are already so isolated it’s hard to give up that outlet. That said, do I need to spend six hours trolling around before I write each day? No, probably not.
MR: I need frequent positive feedback.
CC: Do you get that online? I find the negative feedback is more readily available.
MR: Negative feedback is available on static sites. But positive feedback is found through twitter and Facebook through commenting.
CC: Ah, I see. I do like interacting, too.
MR: I avoid bad reviews like the plague. If it doesn’t come through my email inbox, I likely won’t read it to maintain my own sanity. As Susan Elizabeth Phillips says, “protect the work.”
CC: I, meanwhile, seek out negative reviews. I read them all. It’s a sickness.
MR: You are braver than I am. Or crazier (although I find that hard to believe). The longer I do this, the more I know it’s only somebody’s opinion. I have read a lot of “one star” books, but I don’t express my thoughts about them online. And if I did, it wouldn’t be because I want to crush the writer’s spirit. I just simply didn’t like the book.
CC: I like knowing what’s out there. And I find that reading the really bad review takes the place of the doubt in my head. It’s already out there, for everyone to read, so… why stress myself out with my own doubts? It’s freeing.
MR: That’s a good way to look at it.
CC: Yeah, it doesn’t always work. But that’s the goal!
MR: And first person is also something that gets a wide range of reactions. You really have to connect to the main character to enjoy it. I’m reading a first person book for a contest right now and I despise the heroine.
CC: First person is tricky. People don’t necessarily want to be in your main character’s head. I, for example, hated Bella from Twilight. Mind you, I couldn’t put the books down… but I did not enjoy her head at all.
MR: I don’t know how that worked. I hated Bella right until the last book. And yet, I’m a huge fan of the series.
CC: I know, I’m a fan of the series too, and I couldn’t tolerate Bella OR Edward until the last book! Jacob, however… Jacob, I loved. And I am usually not a fan of the obvious triangle guy.
MR: I really liked Edward, found him fascinating. But I was Team Jacob. We agree on that. Yes, you’re still anti-Spike from Buffy, aren’t you?
CC: I am not a Spike fan. TO PUT IT MILDLY. I like him as long as he is not a romantic choice for Buffy.
MR: But in retrospect, can’t you see it? I can see that Buffy never loved him. He was a tragic character and part of her journey.
CC: I KNOW THAT BUFFY NEVER LOVED HIM! I WAS NEVER CONFUSED!
MR: Okay, sheesh. Calm down, Spike-hater.
CC: I just… hated the hagiography of that character.
MR: I don’t even know what hagiography means. I didn’t go to graduate school like some people.
CC: Wow. You’re a writer, Michelle. A wordsmith. Look it up.
MR: I’m looking it up!! MEANIE!!! *looks up word* Oh. Hmm. Interesting. Good word.
:: Hagiography: a book about the life of a person that praises them too much ::
CC: Right? It’s a great word. I can concede that my hatred of Spike may have more to do with the fandom at the time. I really need to rewatch.
CC: They’re making a new La Femme Nikita. I LOVED that TV show.
MR: WHAT?? I loved Nikita.
CC: And that freaking ridiculously hot French-Canadian dude who played Michael.
MR: Roy Dupuis. Raowrrr. He’s definitely a Presents alpha type. Hey…he could be Luc in PURE PRINCESS, BARTERED BRIDE!!!
CC: Oooh! He could!!! Look at you!
MR: I should be a casting agent.
CC: I like my heroes crazy alpha.
MR: Luc was very alpha. It’s a Presents thing, so you’re doing it right.
CC: I love the alpha male. I like them hard and shut down. I like it when the heroine is the only thing that confounds them, makes them human, makes them feel. I like it when they discover that love is the one thing they can’t control. I think it’s a really fascinating metaphor for male/female differences.
MR: Absolutely.
CC: You know? Because it’s SO over-the-top.
MR: I think the Blaze hero appeals to me a tad more. The sexy guy next door. He can be alpha, but he’s not quite as rigid and he might have a lot of self doubt too.
CC: I think both are super hot.
MR: I like my heroes to have self-hate to deal with, and the love of the heroine makes them believe they are worthy of love.
CC: Mine too! Mine are just bigger a-holes about it.
MR: LOL! When are your other Presents out this year, Ms. Crews?
CC: I’m not sure about North American dates yet, but MAJESTY, MISTRESS…MISSING HEIR comes out in May in the UK. And KATRAKIS’S LAST MISTRESS comes out in September in the UK. And I’m starting my fourth any… second… now…
MR: Always nice chatting with you.
CC: And you!
MR: Happy writing!
***
Visit www.caitlincrews.com and www.megancrane.com to find out more about Megan and her fabulous books!!
