The HO HO HUMP DAY Winner Is...

It is now officially set in stone.

Photo courtesy of morgeFile.com.

In camel stone, appropriately enough for this fine Hump Day.

I loved everyone's Naughty and Nice confessions. (Okay, I probably liked the Naughty ones the best. I'm, um, naughty that way.)

Since there was no way I could possibly decide among them myself (and since it's what I said I'd do), I assigned all entrants a number and tossed them (the numbers, not the entrants themselves, the logistics of that being beyond me) into the random number generator over at Random.org, and let the impartiality roll.

The winner of the HO HO HUMP DAY prize is...

(Drum roll, please.)

Susan Swiderski!

Susan, if you'll email me at linda(dot)grimes(at)gmail(dot)com with your address, I will send you the signed copy of In a Fix, and set you up to receive Quick Fix ASAP.

Thank you to everyone who played! Your nicenesses warmed my heart and your naughtinesses made me giggle. Life is all about the balance, right? :)

Hunky Holidays!

Hmmm. Ciel and I can't decide who we'd rather have playing Santa tonight:

Mark...........................................................or Billy? 

If they look a little fuzzy, it's because I *ahem* borrowed them from the In a Fix book trailer.

(Click here and scroll down a little if you've somehow managed to miss seeing that. Though as much as I was shouting about it when it came out last summer, I don't know how you could have. *grin*)

My DD put the hats on Mark and Billy for me after they assured me they didn't mind taking time off their day job to pay me a visit here. Especially since I haven't been keeping them very busy in the WIP (Work In Progress) lately, what with the holiday craziness and all.

So, who's it going to be, Mark (those arms!) or Billy (those charms!)?

Yup, Mark has the guns...but Billy is fun. Decisions, decisions...

Oh, heck. They do work well together. Why choose? *waggles eyebrows*

REMINDER: You only have until midnight EST to enter the contest to win a signed copy of In a Fix AND a pre-order of Quick Fix! Click here, follow the (simple & fun) instructions, and presto! You'll be entered. It's even open internationally, not to mention intergalactically.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL and TO ALL A GREAT NIGHT! 

Woo-Hoo! QUICK FIX Cover Art!

Hey, y'all, looky what my editor sent me for Christmas:

Yup, that's the cover art for my next book.

I like it!

I like how it's similar enough to the cover art for In a Fix that readers will connect it with the series, and yet different enough in color and background that they won't get confused and think they've already read it.

I also like the backdrop of Central Park (pertinent to the plot) and the glow-y energy surrounding Ciel.

AND they spelled my name right! (Not that they didn't before. Still, it's always nice to see.)

Anyway, I just couldn't wait to show y'all, so there it is. :D

P.S. It's not too late to win. See my last post to find out the particulars.

HO HO HUMP DAY!

So here it is, the last Hump Day before Christmas!

Look who showed up early at my house:

Yes, that is a camel pulling Santa's sleigh! Santa's having a little trouble with the reindeer union. They're refusing to work until Christmas Eve, so Santa was forced to employ a stand-in.

 (Hey, it's Hump Day. You know I had to get a camel in here somewhere.)

And what's that in the sleigh with Santa? Why, it's a signed copy of In a Fix!

Santa has agreed to make a special stop at the home of one of my awesome commenters to drop it off for me. (Me & Santa, we're buds. He'll do that for me. Or at least take it to the nearest post office.)

All you have to do is tell me one NICE thing you've done this year AND (here's the fun part) one NAUGHTY thing you've done this year. 

Then Santa will throw your name into one of those random winner generator thingamahjigs, and TADA! A winner will be selected.

What's that you say? You already have a copy of In a Fix, so why on Earth would you enter (and divulge your naughtiness) just to win another one? Well, this one will be signed!

What? Still not enough? Huh. Rough crowd.

Okay, how about a pre-order of Quick Fix, too? (Sure, it won't be released until next summer, but still. It's never too early to line up your reading, right?)

Santa (aka "The Random Winner Generator") will make his selection from among all eligible participants on Christmas Day. (Though it might not be announced until the 26th, because, yannoh, Christmas Day tends to be a little hectic around here.)

Yes, the contest is open internationally. Heck, it's even open intergalactically, so if you know any aliens into LUF (light urban fantasy), tell them to stop by!

In the meantime, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!

And if you don't celebrate Christmas, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! (I'd say HAPPY HANUKKAH, but that's over for this year. Alas, I am late.)

And if you don't celebrate any special holiday this time of year, HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Remember, you don't have to celebrate Christmas (or anything) to enter! All you have to do is tell me something Nice and something Naughty. I'm pretty sure anyone can do that. ;)

So, what are you waiting for? Give me a peek at your personal Naughty and Nice list, and let's get this show on the road!

Things I Probably Shouldn't Be Proud Of...

...but am nonetheless.

Photo courtesy of morgueFile.com. Doesn't he (she?) look proud?

1. I'm quite the punster. I know, I know...lowest form of humor, yadda-yadda. I don't care. Twisting words around is funny. (Nothing makes me happier than making someone groan. Just ask TG. *waggles eyebrows*)

2. If there is an innuendo to be found in any given turn of phrase, I will find it. (See above.)

3. My daughter can cuss like a sailor when the situation warrants. No, make that more like a retired sailor who is now a longshoreman. (She gets that from me. *buffs nails on shirt*)

4. So can my son. (He gets it from his sister.)

(Let me hasten to add that they don't swear in inappropriate situations. They've never, for instance, dropped an F-bomb in front of their grandparents...on Christmas Day...or Easter...that I know of...)

5. The range officer at the shooting range called me the next Annie Oakley. Said I was a natural. (Hmmm...though he was kind of trying to cop a sneaky feel at the time, so in retrospect he may not have been talking about my aim.)

6. I can eat half a pan of brownies without blinking an eye. Or throwing up. (No, I don't do this often. But I can.)

7. I can tie a knot in a cherry stem without using my hands.

8. I have never had a pedicure. (Well, other than the ones I've given myself.) Yes, I have virgin toes. Probably about the only way that word still applies to me.

9. My thumbs are double-jointed, aka "hitchhiker's thumbs." I have no idea why this makes me proud, except that it's a part of my dad that lives on in me.

10. I can yawn without opening my mouth.* (A skill I picked up in an evening class--"Decision Making"--back in college. Three hours straight, every Wednesday night, about making "balance sheets" for every decision in your life. I *cough* decided practicing my covert yawning skills was a wise use of the time.)


*Though my nostrils do flare a bit when I do it.


So, what are you proud of? (If you absolutely can't come up with something inappropriate, then something appropriate will do.) 

Happy Hump Day! Be Proud. Be very proud. :)

The Next Big Thing for Me and Ciel!

The marvelous Kerry Schafer (one of this year's Debs over at The Debutante Ball where I blogged every Friday last year) has convinced me to participate in The Next Big Thing meme that's been wending its way through the blogoshpere. Click here to read about her next big thing, which sounds really cool!

Here are my answers to the question:

What is the working title of your next book?

QUICK FIX. Actually, that was the working title, and now it's the official title. I waiting for my copy edits on it. Sometime after that, I'll get the first pass pages (where it looks all typeset, like a real book). That's my last chance to change anything--after that, it's out of my hands.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The deep, dark recesses of a deranged mind. Bwah-ha-hah!

What genre does your book fall under?

Urban fantasy. Specifically, light urban fantasy, which I like to call LUF. I LUF the funny!

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

I see Ciel (when she's being herself) looking something like this version of Hannah Spearritt, only with greener eyes. Ms. Spearritt is probably a little too old to play Ciel now, so I'm open to other suggestions.

Billy I've always seen as a Matt Bomer or Ian Somerhalder type. Again, they might be a bit long in tooth to play Billy, so I'd have to go back in time and fetch a younger incarnation.

Mark? Hmm. A rough-around-the-edges, hunky blond. Maybe Charlie Hunnam, or a younger Daniel Craig, would do.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Gaaah! I HATE trying to sum up a whole book in one sentence.

Okay, how about: "QUICK FIX, like its predecessor IN A FIX, is one damn thing after another, only with a baby orangutan instead of Vikings."

Photo courtesy of morguefile.com

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I'm repped by the incredible Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency. QUICK FIX will be published by Tor. It's due out Aug. 20, 2013.

Oh hey, look...apparently you can already pre-order it! Alas, no cover image yet. Unless they've put one up since I wrote this post.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

That's hard to say. I had started it even before IN A FIX sold, and then I had to stop while I edited IN A FIX. With all the pauses...maybe a year? I'm really lousy at keeping track of stuff like that.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I've heard that if you like humorous paranormal stuff, like books by MaryJanice Davidson and Katie MacAlister, you should enjoy my Ciel Halligan books. I hope that's true!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Not to sound too woo-woo about it, but I have to say Ciel herself. She started talking to me one day (after I saw her name on a license plate), and just wouldn't shut up.

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

Let's see...did I mention there's a baby orangutan? And booze and food and sex, oh my! Oh, and you get to meet Ciel's parents, her other two brothers, and Auntie Mo. You think your family is complicated? Ha! You got nothing on Ciel.


This is the part where I'm supposed to tag other people to play. A lot of you have probably already participated, so I tell you what...anyone who wants to do it, consider yourself tagged! You may blame me for it. :)

P.S. Sorry, but you'll have to hump along without a camel pic this week. I'm hoping the baby orangutan will make up for that.