Book Birthdays, Special Pricing, Contests…and it’s only Tuesday!

We’ll start with a contest that’s free to enter and might win you a membership to the brand new (and totally amazing) Olde City, New Blood conference in beautiful St. Augustine, FL in February 2013.  Details below:

Dearly Beloved, 

We are gathered here today, to join two awesome things in a state of increased awesomeness.

Today, we’re bringing together an author/reader mini-con, and the chance to WIN YOUR WAY IN FOR FREE!

       That’s right, ladies and gentlemen… starting today, you will all have 7 days to hop around from author to author, blogger to blogger, and enter at every stop to win one of 3 FREE REGISTRATIONS to Olde City, New Blood, the upcoming urban fantasy/paranormal romance mini-con in St. Augustine, FL next February.

       You can check out the official website for the complete list of Featured Authors (I’ll give you a hint… one of them is ME!!) and Featured Bloggers. There’s also a main contest post with all the participating authors, bloggers, and dates for the contest. It’s super easy. Visit each of the spotlight blog posts and author websites listed, fill out the Rafflecopter link on each one (one entry PER POST, not per day… and yes, they will be checking), and POOF, multiple entries to WIN!!

       The prize is one of 3 FREE REGISTRATIONS to see me and about 49 other authors on the sunny beaches of St. Augustine, Florida, from Feb 8th-10, 2013. We’re going to be doing panels, readings, meet & greets, and just generally having a fun weekend with our incredible fans!! Please keep in mind, if you win, you’ll have to cover your own travel and hotel expenses, but your ticket into the party will be on Olde City, New Blood!!!

       The contest runs from September 30th – October 6th, and the 3 winners will be announced on October 7th. Don’t forget to click the Rafflecopter link below before you hop off to check out the rest of the contest posts!! Good Luck, everyone!! I hope to see you ALL in Florida this February!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And now, for your reading pleasure, two fabulous new releases and one extra special pricing promotion.  Just released: DEATH’S RIVAL by Faith Hunter, the latest novel in her New York Times bestselling series featuring Cherokee skinwalker Jane Yellowrock and the trade paperback of Rachel Caine’s BLACK DAWN, also part of a NYT bestselling series (The Morganville Vampires).  And you know why I love them both?  They just keep getting better and better.  I don’t know how it’s possible, but there it is.  The special pricing?  To celebrate Orbit US’s 5 year anniversary, they’re discounting five of their bestselling titles, including N.K. Jemisin’s THE KILLING MOON to $1.99 for the Nook, Kobo and Kindle.  A little about these series:

BLACK DAWN by Rachel Caine

Berkley JAM | Young Adult

Other series titles:  GLASS HOUSES (2006), DEAD GIRLS’ DANCE (2007), MIDNIGHT ALLEY (2007), FEAST OF FOOLS (2008), LORD OF MISRULE (2009), CARPE CORPUS (2009), FADE OUT (2009), KISS OF DEATH (2010), GHOST TOWN (2011), BITE CLUB (2011), LAST BREATH (2011)

“Rachel Caine is a first-class storyteller who can deal out amazing plot twists as though she was dealing cards.” —Charlaine Harris

“Heartbreaking drama mixed with heart-stopping action.” —Romance Reviews Today

Ever since the draug—mysterious creatures that prey on vampires—took over Morganville in LAST BREATH, the lives of student Claire Danvers and her friends have been thrown into turmoil. Most of the town’s residents have evacuated, but Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael have chosen to stay and fight.

Using the city’s water system to spread, the draug have rapidly multiplied. Things in Morganville look grim, especially since vampire Amelie—the town founder—has been infected by the master draug’s bite.

Now, if Claire and her friends don’t figure out how to cure Amelie and defeat the draug, it looks like Morganville will become little more than a ghost town…

DEATH’S RIVAL by Faith Hunter

Roc | Urban Fantasy

Other series titles: SKINWALKER (July 2009), BLOOD CROSS (Jan 2010), MERCY BLADE (Jan 2011), RAVEN CURSED (Jan 2012)

“Jane Yellowrock is one of the most intriguing heroines in urban fantasy, and Hunter skillfully doles out tiny pieces of Jane’s backstory to keep readers coming back for more. Mystery and action are at the forefront here, but the romance from the first book continues to build slowly. Readers eager for the next book in Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series may want to give Faith Hunter a try.”    —Library Journal, Starred Review

Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead…

For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane. But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey.

Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war.

THE KILLING MOON by N.K. Jemisin

Orbit | Fantasy

Other series titles: sequel – THE SHADOWED SUN

“Jemisin’s talent as a storyteller should make her one of the fantasy authors to watch in the coming years.” —Library Journal

An exciting new series from award-winning author N.K. Jemisin…

In the desert city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law.  Priests of the dream-goddess maintain order by harnessing the power of the sleeping mind to soothe, heal… and kill.

Yet Gujaareh has enemies both within and without, and those enemies have no peaceful intent.  A soul-devouring monster called the Reaper stalks the land, and an insidious, deadly plague of nightmares has been unleashed.  Two of Gujaareh’s priests, a holy assassin and a healer, must use all their magic and cunning to save the city of dreams.  But can even the purest priest dabble in corruption without becoming corrupt too?”