Happy Birthday, Otherkin!

There have been early sightings in bookstores, but today is the day my first book, OTHERKIN, comes out.

July 31, 2012.

I'm a bit dazed, overwhelmed, and giddy.  My book is out! Sing hey!

Thank you, KTeen. Thank you, everyone.

The Crazy and Amazing Otherkin Book Launch and Signing

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I had my first book launch and signing at Vroman's Bookstore with fellow authors Brigid Kemmerer and Marni Bates.

It went well. To put it mildly.

(That's Brigid on the left, then Marni, then me - holding our books at the signing!)

It went so well that the day after I was completely drained and overwhelmed with all the love and support I felt yesterday. And I was a little scared. More on that later.

About 50 people showed up, and the store sold out of my book, as well as selling a lot of Marni and Brigid's books. A good number of people there were my amazing friends (this is my home town and Brigid and Marni both live elsewhere and kindly came to the signing while they were at the RWA convention in nearby Anaheim), so that's why more of my book sold. But Brigid and Marni had fans there too.

Book Signing Next Saturday!

The cupcakes have been ordered! Sparkling wine and sparkling cider has been purchased!

Cool giveaways of - Books! Gift Cards! A Nikon Coolpix S6100 Digital Camera!

Why wouldn't you come to my book launch/signing with Brigid Kemmerer and Marni Bates next Saturday at 3pm at Vroman's in Pasadena?

Visit the World of Otherkin!

I'm one of the lucky authors who'll be participating in Deadly Destinations 2012 on the All Things Urban Fantasy blog in August. Guides to fantasy worlds and giveaways galore!

I've got something very cool planned to share with you - you'll be able to enter the world of my book and learn all kinds of secrets about it. But that's not till August 9.

And every day in August, All Things Urban Fantasy will bring you a new fantasy location. Can't make it to Paris or Costa Rica this summer? No worries - you can visit other worlds instead!

More details as we get closer to the date.

Watershed Moment: Seeing My Book in a Bookstore

It happened today. I still can't quite believe it. I took my lunch hour to go to Pasadena and check out Vroman's Bookstore, where I'll be doing my book launch and signing with fabulous authors Brigid Kemmerer and Marni Bates.

It's really a gorgeous bookstore. Here's the area where we'll be doing our talking and book signing. You should come - there will be cupcakes!

I wandered into the children's section because that's always my favorite part of the store, turned down one aisle, up another, admiring everything then -- pow!

There's my book. IN A BOOKSTORE.

I mean, I know that's where books go, usually. But this is different. This is my book.

This is freaky!

I tweeted and texted, stared, managed to be coherent when talking to the very nice staff there, then drove back to work in a daze.

I'm still kind of dazey.

So if you really really need a copy of my book before it comes out officially on July 31, just head on over to Vroman's in Pasadena! Hee hee!

Read the First Chapter of Otherkin!

My book may not come out till July 31, but you can read the first chapter for free!

Thanks, KTeen, for posting it. Hopefully folks will want to read the rest!

Rare, Spectacular Footage of a Tiger Hunting a Boar

A young tigress shows she is queen of her realm. This sort of footage is very hard to find.

Note how she carefully circles her tail around the tall grass as she stalks, so that it makes as little noise as her feet. Amazing.

Kirkus Review of Otherkin!

Kirkus Reviews is a notoriously tough reviewer, and I just got their full review of Otherkin and...

It's awesome!

I can't post the full review yet. Kirkus does that first, later in the month, then I can link to it.  But I can post the "pull quote," which shows you that not only did they like the book, they really "got" it.

“Berry’s debut offers just the right combination of  high-stakes exploits and steamy love scenes to keep readers up until the wee hours…ripe with issues that will resonate with readers. From body image to friendship, first love and betrayal, the novel explores the truth that no matter who or what you are, there’s no escaping the politics of high school.” – KIRKUS REVIEWS

 Woo hoo!!

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! I'm celebrating independence and a great review!

Another Giveaway - from YA Reads!

Here's another chance for you to win a copy of Otherkin from a great website called YA Reads.

Go ye, and enter!

A Taste of the Tasty Reviews for Otherkin...

The reviews are starting to come in for my book, and so far so great! Below are links and some text of one of the reviews. Yes, I'm tooting my own horn a bit here, but hat the hell. Maybe nice words about my writing will be old hat one day, but right now they make me feel awesome.

I will throw in the caveat that I don't read reviews on Goodreads and will probably not read reviews on Amazon. Bad reviews may appear in publications or on blogs, and I will probably avoid reading them and thus not post about them here. I caught a glimpse of one negative remark about the book on Goodreads (although most comments there seem to be positive so far...) and it really played with my head for awhile. As a writer I need to protect my writing head space. More on that in another post. But for now, onto the good stuff!

First up, OTHERKIN got a four out of four star reviews at RT Book Reviews! This is a paid subscription site, so I can't link you directly to the review.  I'll just quote a couple of salient paragraphs here:

Winners of the ARC Giveaway!

*Drum Roll*

To hell with waiting any longer! Without further ado, the winners of the two advance reader copies of Otherkin are:

Leo Bullock

Karen (Commenter #15, your favorite animal was a turtle. I love turtles too!)

Congratulations to Leo and Karen!



Both of you, please send me your mailing addresses at ninaberrybooks [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll send them to you right away. (My email addresses is printed that way to avoid spam. It works!)

So sorry to all those who didn't get a copy. It was hard for me to type the names of the winners because I knew that meant excluding most of you! The winners were chosen by a random number generator using the order in which you commented to establish your number. If a person left more than one comment, I used only their first comment as their number.

I will be doing another giveaway in about a week. If you want to enter again, follow me on Twitter, "like" me on Facebook (see the right hand side of my blog to do that), or check back here in a week or so to enter.

That giveaway will feature another question in the party game, but first l have to tell you that the words you used to describe your favorite animal actually describe...

...your ideal life partner.

No really! Well, okay. It's just a party game, but still!



I love the variety of the words chosen. I totally get how those words could apply to a very cool life partner.

My own three words were: cuddly, playful, and sleek. Used to describe a cat. I can still remember how I felt when someone at the party revealed what those words indicated. It took me aback, but when I thought about it - yeah. A partner with those qualities would be pretty great! I can think of a couple of guys I dated who qualified. Ahem!

And I'm not the only one who chose the word "sleek!" We should start a "Sleek Appreciation Club."



It's amazing what a variety of animals this small sample of people chose: unicorns, dragons, ducks, cats, dogs, pandas, crows, lions, tigers (yay!), ravens, elephants, panthers. I'm a huge lover of all animals (well, except maybe ticks and fleas) so it was a ton of fun to see how YOU saw these animals.



If you've already found your significant other for life, I can't help wondering if the words you chose seem like an accurate description of that person to you. If you feel like letting me know, please do in the comments! And of course, it's just a party game, so you should take it with a wee grain of salt.



Thanks for coming by and taking the time to enter this contest. You guys rock!

Book Launch and Signing in Los Angeles!

Details to come. But this says it all:

The Art of Revision

When I get notes from my editor on a manuscript, a concatenation of emotions tumbles through me. Because I just got the manuscript for Othermoon back with revision notes today, I'm still dealing with all the feelings it brings up. It's a great trip to go on, don't get me wrong. But it's quite a roller coaster.

1. I see an email from my editor in my Inbox. A jolt rocks through me. It contains a jumble of feelings:  excitement, fear, knowledge and pressure that work and a deadline lie ahead.

2. I hesitate. What if she hated it? What if she has notes I disagree with? Even more emotionally charged - what if she loved it? Oh no. That's too much to hope for.

Giveaway: An ARC of Otherkin

UPDATE: June 19, 2012, 9:37pm PST.

And now, because you're all so awesome, double your chance to win!

I've so been enjoying all your animal choices and descriptive words! Can't wait to tell you what they mean, according to this party game.  I'll post that information along with the names of the winners  the morning of June 21. Morning my time, here in Hollywood, Califonia, that is.

But I've also decided to give away not one but TWO ARCs of Otherkin!

Yes that's 2, deux, due, dos, iki (that's Turkish. I can count to 29 in Turkish. Long story.) つ (that's Japanese, according to Google translator) copies of the book will be mailed off to two of you lovely folks, selected at random.

If you haven't entered yet, what are you waiting for? Read the original post, below, to see what you need to do.

The deadline to enter is Midnight (Hollywood, California time), June 20, 2012. Winner announced the next morning. This is open to everyone in all countries anywhere mail can be delivered. I love to travel. If I'm lucky maybe some day I'll come visit you and the ARC and we can chat. Maybe have a nice cup of tea, or whatever they like to drink in your country.

And if you don't win, don't worry. I'll be doing another giveaway at the end of June, with another party game question to celebrate my and my Dad's birthdays.

Thanks, everyone!

ORIGINAL POST
In celebration of my Mom coming to visit this weekend, and to thank you, the readers of this blog, I'm giving away a personally autographed advanced reader copy (ARC) of my book! Woo hoo!

Unlike the giveaway on Goodreads, this is open to international folks. The winner will be chosen randomly.

All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me:

1. Your favorite animal;
2. Three adjectives describing that animal.

Why? Because it's fun, and because Otherkin is about people who shapeshift into animals. I'll choose the winner from among the commenters using this random number generator.

This is actually part of a party game, and it supposedly says something interesting about you. Hee hee. I'll reveal what that is (and if you know, don't tell!) when I announce the winner, next Thursday, June 21.

For the record, when I was asked this question at a party (before I knew what it supposedly meant about me) I said that my favorite animal is a cat. (It's actually a tiger, but I went more general rather than specific for some reason. You should feel free to be as general or specific as you like.)

And the three adjectives I chose were: cuddly, playful, and sleek.

There is no right or wrong answer! If you don't really have a favorite animal, just try to think what cool animal skill (flying, stalking, camouflage) you'd like to have and brainstorm from there.

The contest is officially open now and will close at 12am Pacific Time on Wednesday, June 20, 2012. I'll announce the winner the next day, get your info, sign a book, throw in a cool bookmark, and mail it off to wherever you are.

Can't wait to see what you guys post!

Otherkin - A Great Review!

I promise not to post here every time my book gets a good review. That would get tiresome fast. But this is my first novel, and this is the first "official" review I've seen of it.

It's at a blog called Paranormal Reads. Check it out here.

My head is spinning. Logically I know it's just one review on one blog. I know that there will be people who don't like the book for one reason or another. I'm braced for hate mail, honestly, even though my book isn't the controversial type that usually draws anger. But you never know. The world is big and wide and holds all kinds of opinions, and if you put your work out there, you have to be prepared for the consequences.

But a person I don't know read has my novel - and they liked it. And they wrote down in an official blog about books that they liked it. A lot. And they're looking forward to the next one.

That's just... freaky.

And fantastic.

Getting your first book published is this weird, slow entry into a whole new world. Or maybe it's the world that's entering you. And everything else.

As a writer, you spend so much time alone in front of your computer, living in the world you made, that it starts to seem real. Then you go to brunch with friends or talk to your Mom and you realize, duh,  nobody else is living in that world. It's not real, you silly writer, you!

Then, after a long long LONG time, if you're lucky and you work hard and persist, the book gets bought and you move toward it being published. Someone gives you money for your writing, and they give you notes to make it better, and you realize the world you thought was yours alone now belongs to a few other people besides.

Your private world, which was once just a thought in your head, has become a shared dream.

Then it gets listed on Amazon as copy writers step in and polish it up, and cover artists give you a gorgeous visual glimpse, and the advance copies go out to reviewers.  Dozens of people have knowledge of the world you made.

The shared dream has become instead a hologram, popping into our world like Princess Leigh emanating from R2-D2's projector. It's isolated, far from life-sized, and you can put your hand through it, but it resembles the real thing if you squint.

Then a reviewer comments, and people post about it on Goodreads, and the world you created isn't just an isolated Princess Leia-like hologram. It's as if the book world has begun infiltrating the fabric of the real world, warping things till they resembles the made-up world just a little.

See? I told you. It's freaky.

I can't wait to see what happens when the book is actually released!

Title and Cover Reveal for Otherkin's Sequel!

I'm so thrilled to share with you the cover for the sequel to OTHERKIN, which will also tell you its title:

Don't you LOVE it?

There's so much I think is amazing here - the moon looming behind her, that the model is moving and in action, that her hair (and her butt!) look great, that the tiger lurks almost like something out her subconscious in the background...

That not only is green my favorite color but it echoes the green in the eyes on the cover of OTHERKIN.

The branches are particularly apropos, and hint at part of her character development in this book, which is called OTHERMOON for a very good reason I can't share with you. That would be a spoiler, and we can't be having that. Most of you haven't even read the first book yet, for crying out loud.

The tagline is also an indication of plot and character development to come.... Too bad you have to wait until February of 2013 to figure out what the heck I'm talking about.

...pausing now to reflect on the fact that my name is in green on the cover of another book.

Holy dreams come true!

Guess this means the first one wasn't a fluke.

Title and Cover for Book 2 Coming Soon!

OTHERKIN is the first in a series of books. It's out July 31, and book 2 will be out in February of 2013.

Which means, given how things work in publishing, that I've written book 2 and will shortly be getting my editors notes on it to do a quick rewrite.

Meanwhile, the fabulous folks at KTeen have been working on other things, like publicity for OTHERKIN (more on that soon!), and cover art for book 2.

I got the art, and I love it. Like, unreservedly, fabulously, LOVE. IT.

I first saw it on my phone in an airport, and my heart leapt. I thought, "It can't be THAT cool, can it?" So when I got home and looked at it properly, I was prepared to find things wrong with it.

Except I just kept finding more things I loved!

So I'll be sharing the cover art and the title for book 2 in the Otherkin series early next week. Seriously, folks, it rocks!

Podcast with Jen Klein and On The Page!

I was very fortunate to be invited to be part of "Pat's Angels" in a podcast with screenwriting instructor/guru Pilar Alessandra in their latest podcast for On The Page. You can find it on iTunes here or here.

The lovely, brainy, writer extraordinaire Jen Klein was my co-guest, making it even more fun and informative. That's her on the right hand side, and in between us (in a redhead sandwich he's long dreamed of) is the fabulous Pat Francis. You can find his wonderful podcasts about music called Rock Solid here.

We discussed book writing versus script writing and the YA market because we're both involved in both things.

Pat and Pilar made it so easy and fun. You really should check out their other podcasts.

My voice sounds so... sleepy and nasally and drawled out and yet pushy and somehow weird. And I was wide awake and not clogged up and trying to be nice. Makes me appreciate folks who do this for a living and sound perky and fabulous, like Jen and Pilar and Pat. They are all truly awesome.

I also talked a bit too much. Shut up, Nina! Let Jen talk! Or maybe that's how I am in real life too. If so, I apologize in advance to everyone, ever.

Who knew doing a podcast would be the case for so much self reflection for me? I'll shut up now and let you go listen to it.

Here I am with the lovely Pilar and Jen:

Goodreads Giveaway - Win a Copy of Otherkin!

My fabulous publisher, KTeen, is having a giveaway on Goodreads for my book! Woo hoo!

Readers in US and Canada can win 1 of 10 copies by entering here.

Go ye and enter!

Why We Must Save Big Cats in the Wild

This man, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, is the CEO of Panthera, and a hero.

In this 45 minute lecture he will make you understand not only why we must save big cats in the wild, but how. He will change your understanding of how conservation works.


‘The Future of Big Cats’ Lecture by Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, at the Fortune Brainstorm Green Conference from Panthera Cats on Vimeo.


If you're particularly interested in his Tigers Forever program, that starts around minute 29, but the whole lecture is well worth watching.

He talks about how it's not just our encroachment on nature that is destroying it - it's our lack of respect. But if we are to save ourselves as a species, we must respect others. Dr. Rabinwitz has some great ideas on how to start.