This American Life - Meet Mia's Clan

When I sat down to write Finder's Keeper, the upcoming Karmic Consultants release, I knew it was going to be about a battle between magic & science - and that my uber-scientific heroine was also going to be going head to head with her family superstitions.  She's Italian-American, has an adorable Nonna who is the matriarch of the family, and she's dealing with a pervasive family superstition about a magic watch that grants the bearer true love.

Little did I know at the time, how closely my art was imitating life.  Yesterday at Nikki Duncan's blog, I mentioned a radio piece I'd heard - a piece that might as well have been about my heroine Mia's family.  It wasn't until a couple weeks ago, long after I'd been through edits and put my book to bed, that I heard this story on NPR one Saturday.  A This American Life tale about an Italian-American family with a very specific family tradition.

They mail pants and/or little dresses to expecting mothers in their family - and whichever one the mama gets, that's what she has - boy or girl.  Apparently it's been going on for generations and over twenty babies.   You can listen to the story HERE.

My family doesn't have any big traditions like that.  We spin the kitchen table during card games to turn the luck, but other than that, I can't think of any superstitions we hold to.  I kind of wish we had more!  The Rubies - a writing group I'm a member of - send "heel clicks" to one another for good luck (like Dorothy clicking her heels three times). 

Do you or your family have any superstitions?  Do you buy the one about the magic pants/dress?

Let the Finder's Keeper Release Fiesta Commence!

Okay, first off, WOW did this week ever get away from me.  It's Friday?  Already?  And what's this?  I have a super awesome kickass Karmic Consultants release (WOOHOO!!!) coming out on Tuesday?  Why yes, I do!  That's right, boys and girls, FINDER'S KEEPER will be here before you know it.  And today, I'm guest blogging over at Nikki Duncan's place where commenters will be eligible to win an Advanced Reader Copy of the book before it releases! We're talking about wacky family traditions and superstitions.  Come play and you could go home with a book or a $15 gift card!

Confessions of a Book Hoarder

I'm a book hoarder.  Now that doesn't mean I'm going to end up on a TLC show with my family staging an intervention for my own good.  It means I have this weird tendency in my reading habits.  The literary safety net.  My fiction security blanket.

If there is a series or an author I love - like really hardcore love - I have a pathological need to keep one book unread in reserve until the next one comes out.  I'll buy the book, but it will sit there on my shelf, comforting me with the surety that if I need an Eloisa James or a Nalini Singh or a Kristan Higgins, it's there for me in my hour of desperation.  So I'm always one behind, reading the next-to-latest release as soon as the new release hits stores.  So, for example, I can finally read Archangel's Blade because Archangel's Storm is sitting next to it on my shelf.  And just last week I finally read Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones, because Fourth Grave had hit the shelves. The only exception to this is when it is the acknowledged last book of a series (like Mockingjay).

I know that I do this.  I know why.  And I know that it is weird.  So my question is not so much, whether anyone else out there hoards books for a rainy day, but more in the spirit of confessions, what are YOUR weird reading habits?  Spill, boys and girls!

Can Someone Splain Cloud Atlas Plz?

Okay, so I went to see Cloud Atlas, and I don't think I got it.  I have friends who have been all gushy gushy about how great it was and all I could think was, "I don't know what I'm supposed to take away from that.  What's the point?"  So could someone please explain it to me?  I consider myself a pretty smart cookie and I'm a very attentive movie-goer - I tend to pick up on visual hints and foreshadowing and whatnot - but I just could not figure out what message I was supposed to be receiving from Cloud Atlas.

**Warning: Spoilers, but not very coherent ones, because I just didn't get it...**

If it's about how our actions in one life carry over into the next (karma, reincarnation) then I need someone to explain the causality between the story lines, because I didn't see it.  Why was the Tom Hanks storyline so all over the place, with the only apparent connection between his characters being the fact that they were all played by Tom Hanks, while the Jim Sturgis characters were all exactly the same from one life to the next?  Was the Hugo Weaving character even supposed to be a person?  Because he seemed to be this caricature of evil rather than an actual human soul.  Did the composer who committed suicide ever come back into the later storylines?  Because I didn't see him (though sometimes they were hard to pick out).  So is the message, don't take your own life because then you won't get another one?

The movie was interesting but not satisfying.  So could someone please satisfy my curiosity and tell me what the hell all that meant?

Book Porn!

Guess what, boys and girls, it's Samhain's Seventh Anniversary! Lo, these many years ago Samhain began publishing ebooks, and today, to celebrate, they've released a video with Mr. Sexypants here showing us all how to download from their website. Enjoy!  and Happy Anniversary, Samhellions!

Happy Halloween!

You know what I love about Halloween?  That it goes on for almost a whole week when it's in the middle of the week like this year.  Parties the weekend before, trick or treating the night of, more parties the week of...  More excuses to be dressed up and spoooooky!

You know what else I love about Halloween?  Free stuff!  And if you like winning things, hie yourselves on over to the Samhain Cafe where a mad huge Halloween party is going on RIGHT NOW (until 9pm EST tonight). 

Or, if you haven't picked up your FREE copy of The Ghost Exterminator, you have only two more days to snag one before the deal is gone, so don't delay!  Amazon :: Nook :: Samhain

Happy Halloween, boys and girls!

The Rubies Are Really Cookin'

Have you ever read a book and the characters are eating something and you immediately start craving that exact same thing and you want it right now but damn where is a recipe when you need one?  Well, the Rubies have a treat for you.  The Ruby Cookbook Eat, Read, Love is filled with recipes and excerpts of the books that inspired them.  Wondering what's in the Parish Cocoa that gets Biz totally schnokkered in Ghosts of Boyfriends Past?  Itching to try Lucy's rum cake "stud" muffins from The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo & the Poltergeist Accountant?  You're in luck!  And it's absolutely free.   

Swing on by the Ruby site today to see more about the recipes inside and learn how to download your absolutely free romance cookbook.  Bon appetit! 

Mas Buzz for Finder's Keeper!

This morning, I opened up my email box and what to my wondering eyes should appear?  An alert for another shiny Finder's Keeper Review: 4.5 Nymphs from Literary Nymph Reviews!!

"I really enjoyed this fun and entertaining paranormal romance. It’s fast-paced, has vivid descriptions and the bantering dialogue between Mia and Chase cracked me up."

Thank you, Literary Nymphs!  You can check out the full review HERE.

In four short weeks, this baby is gonna hit the shelves and you can see for yourself.  In the mean time, don't forget to snag THE GHOST EXTERMINATOR: A LOVE STORY while it's free (just in time for Halloween!) for Kindle (#43 in the free store! help us crack the top 20!), Nook & from Samhain!  Tell your friends!  Don't let the Free-ness pass you by!