Juggling Knives While Tap Dancing Can Be Such a Yawn

 Gawd. *yawns* I am...*yawns again*...sleepy. For some damn reason, my brain has been waking up about 5 a.m. every day this week, even though I've been staying up until midnight or later, and the stupid thing just won't turn off and let me get those much needed extra hours in snoozeville, no matter how much I try to bribe it with promises of sweet dreams.

Huh. Probably doesn't trust me on that after that dream I had about juggling knives--sharp ones--while tap dancing in the kitchen.

(No, I haven't upped my cocktail intake, or my caffeine intake, either. Or added any drugs to my daily regimen.)

UGH.

That ever happen to you? Not the juggling knives while tap dancing thing, the brain not letting you sleep thing.

Never mind. That's boring. In fact, this whole post is making me yawn (see above). So why not head over to The Debutante Ball and read my take on author photos instead? Heck, it has to be better than this.

In the meantime, if you have any tips on how I can get my brain to STFU* at 5 a.m., I'd be much obliged it you'd share them.


*Shut The F*** Up

A Revealing Hump Day!

Okay, so I have some news to share with you. 

I have a COVER!!!

 

Now, the hair may still be tweaked a bit (my MC has shorter, strawberry blonde hair when she's being herself) between now and publication, but this is basically it. Amazon and Barnes & Noble think so, anyway. Feel free to pre-order your Labor Day gifts now. 

(What? Isn't Labor Day a gift-giving occasion in your household? I'm shocked.)

But back to my cover: Is that KICKASS, or what? I kind of love it, if that's not horribly narcissistic to say about my own book. That girl has attitude. And they got the Viking helmet right! (Real Viking helmets do not have horns.)

Plus, I have cover copy (!!!): 

The start of an original new urban fantasy series starring human chameleon Ciel Halligan

Snagging a marriage proposal for her client while on an all-expenses-paid vacation should be a simple job for Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire. A kind of human chameleon, she's able to take on her clients' appearances and slip seamlessly into their lives, solving any sticky problems they don't want to deal with themselves. No fuss, no muss. Big paycheck.

This particular assignment is pretty enjoyable... that is, until Ciel's island resort bungalow is blown to smithereens and her client's about-to-be-fiancé is snatched by modern-day Vikings. For some reason, Ciel begins to suspect that getting the ring is going to be a tad more difficult than originally anticipated.

Going from romance to rescue requires some serious gear-shifting, as well as a little backup. Her best friend, Billy, and Mark, the CIA agent she's been crushing on for years — both skilled adaptors — step in to help, but their priority is, annoyingly, keeping her safe. Before long, Ciel is dedicating more energy to escaping their watchful eyes than she is to saving her client's intended.

Suddenly, facing down a horde of Vikings feels like the least of her problems.

"A fast-paced, sexy romp with characters as original as its intriguing premise!"

          — DIANA GABALDON, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF OUTLANDER

"Linda Grimes's fast paced supernatural debut is fresh, fun, and sexy, and heroine Ciel Halligan faces both the outlandish and the deadly with a perfect balance of equanimity, irreverence, and nerve. I can't wait to see where her wild adventures lead her next!"  

          — VICKI PETTERSSON, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC SERIES

Whoa. I'm still overwhelmed at the kindness of Diana and Vicki. (If you guys haven't read their books yet, you really, really should -- they're amazing!)

Oh, and lest you think I've forgotten your Hump Day camel pic in all the hooplah, look who was spotted reading a leaked copy of my book:

Who knew camels were fans of light urban fantasy?

Happy Hump Day, everyone! :)

Monday: Good luck with that!

There's meme going around the internet--a game for writers called "Lucky Seven." The idea is to turn to page 77 of your current WIP (work in progress), go to line 7, and share the next 7 lines on your blog.

All righty. I can do that. Here's that bit from my WIP, Quick Fix, which is the second book in my Ciel Halligan, Aura Adaptor series:

"Huh?"

"The judge Billy told you was letting him go—who was it?"

"I don't know. He didn't say her name."

He looked pleased. "Her? Well, that narrows it down. Okay, what'd he have on her?"

"What do you mean?" I stalled, not wanting to admit what I knew. No point in getting Thomas even angrier. My compulsion to protect Billy was confusing the hell out of me, but it was there.  

Unfortunately, Thomas had plenty of experience reading my face. "Blackmail, Ciel ..." 

That might or might not be seven lines here, depending on the size of your screen, but it's close enough. Also, it may or may not survive the final cut, and, if it does, it probably won't be on page 77. Because, yannoh, things change.

And now, Lucky Seven has reinforced for me that I really need to go do some more work on this sucker ...

Later, gators!

Oh, wait ... before I go:  

Do you believe in luck? 

Do you have a lucky charm?