In Which My Title-Announcing Thunder is Stolen by Internet 'Bots

I just turned in the third book in the Otherkin series to my editor, exhausted, wild eyed, thrilled, ready to sleep, clean my house and finally have a glass of wine and see my friends. Because I haven't done those things very often in recent memory.

You see, the last few weeks I've had my nose to that writing grindstone, finishing up a draft that was good enough for my editor to see. It wasn't easy, wrapping up three books full of adventure, romance, and paranormal world building. But it really was fun.

Now that I've had a few nights of sleep and have caught up with the latest episodes of Mad Men and The Good Wife (still have to catch up Justified, The Americans, and The Borgias, and well, I never stopped watching Game of Thrones and The Daily Show) I figured I'd announce the title of the book.

So this morning I clickety-clicked into my email and saw there was someone who wanted to be my friend on Goodreads. I clicked yes, then went to check my author page on that site, just to see what my to-reads were up to. And lo and behold! Goodreads had book 3 up already - with the correct title!

Crap. So much for my "big" announcement. Had it been announced in Publishers Weekly or something and I missed it? I high tailed it over to Amazon and voila! They also have the book up, available for pre-order (cough cough), and the release date down as December 31, 2013.

Well, that's news to me!

(I can't vouch for that being the correct release date, by the way. It could be correct, or not! Will let you know when I know...)

Fricking internet bots. Somehow they ferreted out the title. Not that title was this huge mystery. My friend's very smart daughter figured it out and emailed me, asking if she was right. Well, she was! Because after book 1's title being OTHERKIN, and book 2's OTHERMOON, the title of book 3 just had to be:

*insert pointless cymbal crash here* 

OTHERSPHERE

Yep, Othersphere, the world that lies closest to our own, where the otherkin draw their shadow selves from. Where Caleb's powers as a Caller of Shadows dwells. A beautiful, magical, dangerous place. And yes, you get to step through the veil and see what it's like...

You can see what parts of it look like on my Otherkin Pinterest page.
 
Here it is on Goodreads, and Amazon. I couldn't find it on the Barnes and Noble site or anywhere else... yet. But it will be there, and in bookstores soon!

I hope to have the cover in a month or so to tantalize you with further. Till then - read on!

Big Announcement: My New Book Series - "Pagan Jones" with Harlequin Teen!

I'm so thrilled to make this BIG ANNOUNCEMENT that there isn't a font big enough or exciting enough to convey my feelings. As I typed away at book 3 in the Otherkin series, big things were afoot in my writing life, and at last I can share the news! 

Voila, the deal announcement today in Publisher's Marketplace:

Children's: Young Adult
Nina Berry's THE NOTORIOUS PAGAN JONES, the first in a new series set in Berlin in 1961, in which a disgraced Hollywood starlet is pulled into a complex world of politics and intrigue as the Cold War heats up, to Annie Stone at Harlequin Teen, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Tamar Rydzinski at the Laura Dail Literary Agency (World English).

HUZZAH!

I'll be telling you a lot more about my new protagonist, Pagan Jones, (isn't that coolest name? If I do say so myself...) in the weeks to come. 

Nobody trusts her; nobody believes in her... and that's her biggest advantage. She's so fun to write! I think you'll have a blast following her adventures. 

I've been doing a lot of research (which I love, crazy me) on the early 1960's and Berlin and Hollywood at that time. I've been pinning up inspirational images on Pinterest on the Sixties and Berlin and the wall. (Click those links to see the images) It was the Kennedy era, a time of fascinating contrasts and international tensions, where the Cold War bumped up against Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Chubby Checker asked us to "Twist Again" not long after the head of Soviet Russia told the US ambassadors: "We will bury you."

Most importantly, Dior created the suit-dress. Check it out. And yes, Pagan gets to wear one:

Okay, so maybe the Berlin Wall going up is a wee bit more important than a dress, but isn't it fabulous? And fabulous suits my mood right now.

I'm thrilled to be working with the amazing folks at Harlequin Teen. Big thanks to editor Annie Stone and my amazing agent, Tamar Rydzinski, for their help in making this happen.

More on the notorious Pagan Jones and her life full of jeopardy and glamor soon!

Life's a Banquet

Today I got some excellent news, which I hope to share with you soon.

Minutes later, I heard that someone I worked with a few years ago was killed this weekend, along with his wife, in a car crash.

There you have it, the seesaw of life. It gives with one hand, and somewhere, for someone, it's taking everything away with the other.

What do we learn from this?  I think Auntie Mame said it best.

All Hail the Queen! And Other Things.

My favorite horse in the world, Zenyatta, queen of racing before she retired in 2010, just had her second foal, an adorable 145-lb (!) chestnut colt called Z13 for now until he gets his name at age 2.

Check out badass Mom and baby:

They have the same ears in the same position!

The Sire, Tapit, is a gray, and some have speculated that Z13 will turn gray because his cute little nose is kind of white. Gray horses often start out dark or some other color and get grayer as  they get older. So it'll be fun to see what happens.

I've blogged before about Zenyatta. Here's my post about saying farewell to her at Hollywood Park. All of those photos are mine. (The one above is by Kyle Acebo.)

Been following the prep races before the Kentucky Derby, and was wowed by Animal Kingdom's win at the Dubai World Cup this past Saturday.  Can't quite believe I saw him race at the Breeder's Cup last November, where he lost to the amazing Wise Dan in the Mile.  Here's the Dubai World Cup, in which he is much the best.



In non-horsey news, I'm writing like a maniac to finish up book 3 in the Otherkin series.

I'm in the trench with blasters firing at me, too fast to follow. I'm aiming for the target... Almost there...



 My social life is suffering a bit because when I come home from the day job it's just - write, eat, shower, write, sleep.  Or every other day I throw in a work out + hair-washing shower + blow dry hair, all of which takes longer than you think, because I have more hair than God.

But I did have a lovely Easter dinner with friends last weekend. There was this broccoli casserole with crisp crumby things on top that I couldn't stop eating. For some it's peeps at Easter. For me it's... broccoli?

Yes, I'm a weirdo.

Oh, and I did my taxes. *SHUDDER*

My camera broke while I was in Thailand (Dang! I need to do a real post about that trip. Soon!) so no new fabulous photos of my darling kitten Marlowe, who is practically all grown up. He's not nearly as nutty and energetic as he was before, but he still purrs the second I pick him up. And he walks right up to my cranky cat Lucy and licks her head. Such a sweetie! He did get neutered back in November, and afterwards he lazed in the sun, most becomingly. Here's the yawn to end all yawns.

Once I save up for a new camera, there will be more shots - of him and other things!

Back to writing! Hope you all had great Passovers or Easters or even just a great weekend!