Random Monday musings

My work is closed again today! We're renting out temp office space tomorrow cause the work is piling up and we're launching our show soon. Not that we can do much, since all our camera equipment is locked away inside. Such bad timing. But what can you do?

I am very pleased to say that I passed in my new Shomi proposal to my agent today. w00t! She'll look it over and then send it on to my editor. This is for a September 2008 slot. It's a completely unrelated book to Moongazer, btw. AND my...drum roll please...first book in THIRD PERSON.

I'll tell you more about it once things are all official like. :) In the meantime, go finish up Harry Potter so you can be free to read Moongazer when it comes out next week. hehe.

BTW Sherrilyn Kenyon posted an official statement about the whole RWA outfits thing on her blog in case anyone is interested. Did I mention I love her? And how cool is it to be mentioned in her blog!! :)

She also posted lyrics to The Safety Dance. Read 'em. They're perfect. In response, Sherri, here's one of my personal faves. I know you'll sing along with me. :)

(Everyday Is) Halloween
By Ministry

well i live with snakes and lizards
and other things that go bump in the night
cos to me everyday is halloween
i have given up hiding and started to fight
i have started to fight

well any time, any place, anywhere that i go
all the people seem to stop and stare
they say 'why are you dressed like it's halloween?
you look so absurd, you look so obscene'

o, why can't i live a life for me?
why should i take the abuse that's served?
why can't they see they're just like me
it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world

well i let their teeny minds think
that they're dealing with someone who is over the brink
and i dress this way just to keep them at bay
cos halloween is everyday
it's everyday

o, why can't i live a life for me?
why should i take the abuse that's served?
why can't they see they're just like me
it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world

o, why can't i live a life for me?
why should i take the abuse that's served?
why can't they see they're just like me
i'm not the one that's so absurd

why hide it?
why fight it?
hurt feelings
best to stop feeling hurt
from denials, reprisals
it's the same it's the same in the whole wide world

Everyday is like Sunday...

I have been a very good girl today, sitting inside and finishing up my next Shomi book proposal. Want to send it to my agent tomorrow and get it into my editor before I head to Comic Con.

I also got my Comic Con outfits ready. They are so awesome. These are outfits that I had bought earlier, but figured might be a little over the top for RWA, lol. Now I'm wishing I'd worn them so I at least could have had something for people to REALLY talk about. I mean miniskirt/thigh highs? I'd wear that damn outfit clubbing.

I can't believe my Shomi book MOONGAZER is officially out next week. I'm kind of glad Liz and I are headed to Mexico after Comic Con so I won't be sitting home, obsessing about whether anyone is buying it or not. This book really means a lot to me and I really want it to do well. So I hope a lot of you -- whether you approve of my outfits or not -- will give it a chance. If it's really, as some have said, all about the book, then forget about my skirt and let Moongazer speak for itself.

I don't know if I'm going back to work tomorrow or not. There was a big explosion near my work on Weds (I work near Grand Central Station in NYC) and we've been locked out of the building ever since. It's been nice to get some extra R&R since I was exhausted from RWA, I must say. And it definitely helped me get my proposal into shape. But I also don't want the work to pile up too much--especially considering all the time I'm taking off for Comic Con, Mexico, and Blizcon.

Lastly, thanks again to everyone who's emailed or commented support on the whole debate. It means a lot to me that I have such good friends and also the kindess of strangers. Just so you know, I'm no longer upset about it all. I have come to realize that you can't live your life to please others or live up to their standards. I am who I am. I like dressing up. And no one from this point forward can make me apologize for that.

I am a face of the romance genre, too. And I'm not going anywhere.

xoxo
MAR

Sherrilyn Kenyon...

...is the coolest author EVER.

Read her MySpace blog.



For those of you who don't know the backstory, Liz actually said this in one of her SB comments. Sherrilyn made the pins and you can actually buy them!

Moongazer Review

Fresh Fiction just weighed in on Moongazer:


""This cutting-edge sci-fi fantasy will blow you away."



Funny, they didn't even mention my skirt...

For the record...

BTW for the record, I place no blame on Kate R for originating all of this on her blog. She simply brought up an issue, as bloggers do, and obviously it was an issue a lot of people were interested in discussing online. So it was reposted on some very popular blogs and debated. A lot.

But now I think she's getting it as bad as Liz and I are, so please don't send her anymore hatemail. We appreciate your support, but we want to keep it all positive and professional here. I don't want to see ANYONE hurting, not just those on our "side."

Whether you agree with our right to wear costumes or not, I agree with your right to argue online about it. At the same time, try to remember, we're only human and five days of this debate does get hard to deal with. Even for a self-styled rebel. :P We know it's not intended to be personal, but at the same time, just keep in mind when you post that being made an example in 500 posts in front of all of your peers can kind of wear a person down. Just sayin'.

And thank you everyone who has commented and sent emails in support. I swear I'll write you all back eventually - it's just there are so many of you and I've GOT to work on my September 08 Shomi proposal. But I've been reading them all and I love you guys!!!! I couldn't have gotten through this without you.

xoxoox
Marianne

Rebels on GalleyCat

Liz and I are featured on the Media Bistro blog GalleyCat today.

Welcome New Readers!

Hi new Cosmos and Chat readers!

It's great to have you come by. Over 1,000 of you in the last 24 hour period. I'm so glad you were able to take the time to visit my blog and catch a glimpse of me in a miniskirt.

After all, we all know you have a lot of choices when it comes to internet pics of girls in miniskirts, so I'm truly honored you decided to check out mine.

Sooo... in case you haven't heard, in addition to prancing around conferences in miniskirts and single-handedly setting back the suffragette movement years (not to mention smoking crack, walking the street, and encouraging sex with minors) I also write romance novels.

Yup, romance novels. And I have a new one coming out in 2 weeks that I just had to share with you!! It's called Moongazer and it's part of Dorchester Publishing's new Shomi line. A speculative fiction, cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic romance mashup.

~~
Okay, okay, go look at the miniskirt picture if you must. It's about 7(?) entries down. When you're done, come back up and I'll tell you more! Cause as I've learned from the 400 plus comments on SBTB, promo should be all about the book, NOT the author. So how about we all stop talking about me and my hemline and take a closer look at the book behind the author.

~~

MOONGAZER

Imagine every night entering a nightmare world you can’t escape and being told real life is a dream. Skye Brown has it all: the cool job, the hot boyfriend, the apartment on New York’s Upper West Side. But lately she can’t enjoy any of it. She’s having dreams of a post-apocalyptic world. Of a bleak futuristic wasteland. Of a struggle against oppression. And she’s been told she’s a…MOONGAZER.

But what is that? And what is reality? In her dreams, she’s not Skye Brown at all, but Mariah Quinn. In her dreams there’s Dawn, the beautiful yet haunted soldier, and Skye is but the empty shell of a girl he once loved. And there was a betrayal, a great betrayal. Ripped between Dark Siders and club kids, the mundane and the mystic, Skye must discover who she is, what she wants and who wants her. And why. But in the glow of the moon, it’s not always easy to recognize the face in the mirror.
~~

Romantic Times Magazine gave Moongazer 4 stars, calling it an "exciting and frightening new futuristic thriller." And SF scope called it a ""An enthralling combination of The Matrix and Snow Crash with a bit of Blade Runner thrown into the mix." Romance Reader at Heart gave it a * top pick*, saying it's "amazingly innovative" with "lots of allure for a broad range of readers."

Intrigued? Well you can read a sample chapter here. And it looks like Amazon is shipping early, so if you can't wait, here's the link to buy it.
~~

Again, thanks so much for stopping by! It's really great to have so many new blog readers. I hope you'll all come back soon.

Marianne

Sigh

We have, in the last 24 hours, been called prostitutes, pedophile bait, and been accused of singlehandedly setting the suffragette movement back 20 years. It was fun at first to read everyone's comments, but at 270 and counting over at SB and other blogs it's getting kind of hard to deal with. I wish people would just let it go at this point. We did something we thought would be fun and a great icebreaker to introduce people to the Shomi line. We didn't think it would stir up such a storm.

The miniskirt heard round RWA

The implication that troubles me the most, however, is that because we chose to market ourselves by wearing manga inspired outfits to promote a manga inspired book we must have crap books that no one would want to buy elsewise. Or that we didn't spend any time writing these books because we were too busy...shopping? I don't know. We worked our asses off to write these books. Liz's got a starred review in PW and I got an awesome 4 star review from RT. (My PW review is not out yet.) The costumes were part of our author branding...totally different thing.

And people who believe that good books stand on their own and succeed without publicity should meet some of my extremely talented writer friends who have had their series cut midway through or have been unceremoniously dumped by their publisher even after winning major awards.

I'm not saying costumes are the way to go. Or that they will replace the responsibility of writing a good book. But costumes are just one tiny part of our author branding. It just seems to be the part everyone is choosing to focus on in the last 24 hours. And yes, there are plenty of bestselling authors who never wore costumes, but there are also famous musicians who never wore anything but jeans. But I like David Bowie better. :)

I'm trying to remind myself that people who would declare in blogs that they would NEVER buy a Shomi book now that they've seen my thighs at conference are probably not my target audience anyway. And at least now thousands of people who never knew me and my books existed now do. Will it lead to sales or book burning? I don't know. (If you're going to burn my book though, can you please purchase it the first week it goes on sale? hehe) All I know is that I had fun at the conference and the costumes helped Liz and I meet a lot of great people we normally wouldn't have met and so I can't say, even though controversial, it was a mistake.

At the same time, I think I'm going to like Comic Con next week much better. ;-)

Marianne

Nora knows we exist...

Our RWA costumes are the talk of the blog world. Even Nora Roberts has weighed in!! Check it out if you're bored. It's very interesting.


Me, in one of my controversial costumes...

In any case, here is our official response:

Liz says: “You know you’ve made it when your thighs are being discussed on the Internet.” Heh.
Okay, seriously. The entire point of our marketing campaign for our books is this: We’re the Rebels of Romance and we’re going to give you a kind of romance novel you’ve never seen before. We want to expand the fan base for the romance genre and attract readers (young and old) who have never before been willing to give romance novels a chance. We want to show that romance novels can be cool and relevant to an entirely new generation of readers.

You can check out the media site we developed at www.rebelsofromance.com. It has all of our messaging. The bottom line: Who knew the romance genre had a cutting edge?

On the issue of professionalism. Dressing up as manga-inspired characters was a fun way to promote our manga-inspired books. Obviously, it’s not for everybody. (It is, however, completely normal at SF/F events and SF/F readers are also a target readership for these books.) But it happens to suit our personalities, our image as “rebels” and the kind of out-of-the-box books we write.

Meaning, we don’t feel forced to do something “unnatural.” Dressing up and having fun is part of who we are. And we certainly don’t believe short skirts and thigh highs equate to being unprofessional. It seems unnecessarily pompous to go on about the advanced degrees, Emmy awards, etc that we have between the two of us, but seriously, we understand what it means to be professional. We’re not “silly women” or “tarty” in the worst senses of the words. (It’s not always bad to be silly or fun-tarty.) We just understand how to market ourselves and our books, we’ve taken a strong approach to branding, and we’re working it.

In any case, regarding concerns about the image we are projecting to the media and readers, this “Liz Maverick Q&A” with Publishers Weekly should ease your mind. We think it’s a nice example of how articulate and effective we can be as ambassadors for the romance genre rather than the reverse.

Whether the costumes turn you off or on, we hope you’ll give the Shomi books a chance. After all, as pointed out, great books speak for themselves. Marianne’s August book, MOONGAZER, received a fabulous review from RT and Liz’s July book, WIRED, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Again, these are really fresh, edgy takes on romance novels and the launch features a line-up of fantastic writers: Eve Kenin, Colby Hodge, Michelle Rowan to name a few. We should point out that every one of us is different and none of the other authors chose to don character costumes.

Yours in good humor,

Liz Maverick and Marianne Mancusi who are...The Rebels of Romance
www.rebelsofromance.com

P.S. Liz says: “If you see me at a conference or other event, definitely stop and say hi. I love to meet new readers and writers and you can tell me what you think of my new socks.”

One more photo...

post RITAS - stolen from Alyssa Day's blog...

Me, Caren Johnson, Barb (the worthy winner!), and Alesia

Some Pics

I am still so tired from RWA. I went home yesterday and slept two hours instead of working on my proposal. Tsk. Tsk. Then this AM I was STILL too exhausted to really put much into it. Annoying, but evidently necessary. Hopefully I will rally soon. I really would like to get the proposal in by Monday at the latest.

Here are a couple more pics of RWA:


Colby Hodge winning her Prism!


Me and Liz with our editor, Chris Keeslar.


Liz, sitting pretty like the good little girl she is...


Liz doesn't like this pic of her, but I think she looks badass in a slightly crazy way. Like, don't mess with the Shomi girls, man!

Anyway, there's always some controversy after an RWA and this time some of it has centered around me and my friends. There's a debate about my friend Barb's RITA award win for a YA book going on at Smart Bitches and another blog talks about whether RWA is going more RT with the costumed authors (aka me and Liz who were in good company with Sherrylin Kenyon!) attending this year and whether this sort of public display of bookishness will prompt publishers to force their authors to don thigh highs and short skirts.

To set the record straight:

1) Barb deserved a RITA for her YA. The book rocks. People need to get over it and understand that a good book is a good book, no matter what the age of its hero/heroine. (cough, Harry Potter, cough.)

2) Liz and I like to dress up in costumes cause we think it's fun and feel it's a great icebreaker at conferences. People would comment on our outfits and we would have an opportunity to introduce them to the Shomi line. But our publisher did not put us up to it. There were three other Shomi authors attending and none of them sported manga outfits. :) The costumes are part of Liz and my Rebels of Romance campaign - NOT our Shomi promotion.

Marianne

Back from Dallas

Back from Dallas. Back to reality. It was great to see everyone and hang out and cheer Barb on her RITA win. I am so happy for her!!

I was thinking back to the last time the conference was held in Dallas, three years ago. I was an unpublished writer who had her first book sitting on the desk of Kate Seaver, then at Dorchester. I met Kate at the conference and she said, "I read the first chapter of your book and I like it so far." I couldn't sleep all night! At the same time, I was very discouraged at that conference cause I saw all these incredibly successful people who wanted the same thing as me (publication) and I said to myself - Am I crazy to think it'll be ME?

Three years later I've sold 11 novels and 1 novella to three different publishers. Dreams do come true. And for any of you who were at Dallas, feeling overwhelmed, just remember, the only secret to publication is perseverence. So don't give up!!

Next up is Comic Con, less than two weeks from now. That should be fun. Totally different than the typical romance conference I'm used to. Gotta start picking out my costumes! :)

BTW Moongazer got a top pick from Romance Reader at Heart. Woot!!

What if everything you know about your life isn’t real? That’s the dilemma facing Skye Brown. She thinks she has a normal life with a great job and loving boyfriend, but keeps having strange dreams that seem almost more real than her life. Then, she’s pulled into her dream to discover an alternate post-apocalyptic world, where New York has been rebuilt underground and the popular recreational activity is “moongazing.” In this alternate world, she becomes embroiled in a revolutionary war where the lines between real life and dreams are blurred.

MOONGAZER is reminiscent of such popular SF movies as Bladerunner and The Matrix. (In fact, there are several pop culture references to both.) Part of the Shomi line, it’s geared for the fans of anime/manga, and will definitely appeal there. It gives you a taste of the action-adventure so often seen in the manga genre, but with an overtly romantic focus.

MOONGAZER is an amazingly innovative novel for the romance genre, and one that will have lots of allure for a broad range of readers. Even if you don’t normally read SF/fantasy romance books, you will want to pick up this one. I found it a thrilling, page-turning yarn, and I highly recommend it.

Kendra Patterson

That's all for now! :)
Marianne

Nationals

Hi all from Nationals! It's been fun so far. Seeing lots of old friends, making new ones, networking, meeting with agent, all good stuff. This afternoon I have my panel on writing out of the box books. Hope it goes well! Then tonight we have the Dorchester dinner to attend. Then tomorrow Liz and I are doing a workshop on author branding.

Meanwhile, my art contest is still going on on MySpace. Here's the latest entry. It's a scene from Stake That where the bad vamp (Maverick) bites our heroine Rayne, giving her the blood virus. The BB on his shirt stands for Blood Bar -- the establishment he owns.

My readers are soooooo creative!! I love it!



:)
Marianne

Cosplay at RWA

At the RWA conference. Yesterday was the booksigning. Liz Maverick and I did our cosplay thing again to promote Shomi. Here's one pic. More to come when I have time.

I'm holding an art contest over on MySpace. Anyone who draws a picture (manga or otherwise) of characters and/or scenes from my books wins an autographed copy of one of my books. Then we're going to vote on the best pics and the winner will get a big prize. :)

Here are a few initial entries. I have another good one I got by mail today, but I have to scan it in still. It's a scene of Rayne and Jareth making out in the funeral parlor broom closet though and it's really cool.

My readers are soooo cool and creative!! :)

NOTE: Click on the pics for the full screen version - they got cut off a bit by blogger.

It's Friday already?

This week’s been a whirlwind. Having Weds off was supposed to help, but my computer picked 4th of July to explode and I spent much of the day unsuccessfully trying to fix it. Much of the day I was SUPPOSED to be working on my Gamer Girl revisions. Grrr. I ended up having to kill myself on Thursday to get them all in there since my mom is coming to visit this weekend and the book is due on Monday.

But I’m happy to say I got them done and the book is so much better for them. I am so lucky to have an agent with such great editing skills. I know not everyone likes that in an agent, but I feel her input really works to make my books better. And who wouldn’t want that? Now I’m confident I’m turning in the best book I can to my new editor at Dutton. Fingers crossed she likes it!

As soon as Mom goes home, I will be going back to my new Shomi proposal. Gotta get that passed in relatively soon as well. But that should be fun.

So this is the first time my mom has been to NYC since she was eight years old. (Which, let’s face it, doesn’t really count seeing as that was 52 years ago!) She has no idea what it’s like. She’s going to be blown away! I’m going to take her to see WICKED tomorrow. I’ve wanted to see that for a while now, so I’m psyched to go as well. And I might take her down to Coney Island on Sunday if the weather’s nice, even though I did just go. She loves the beach and grew up with summers on the Jersey shore, so she likes that whole boardwalk thing.

And then next week – Nationals! I can’t believe it’s already here. Then again, it is super early this year. I’m flying in Weds morning and heading straight to the spa, as my agent is doing a spa day for her clients. (Did I mention she rocks?) Then a bookseller tea, the literacy book signing, and the FF&P Gathering party at night. Busy, busy!

On Friday Liz Maverick and I, along with our editor Chris Keeslar and my agent Kristin Nelson are doing a panel on writing out of the box books. If you’re going to Nationals, I hope you’ll consider attending – especially if you want the inside scoop on breaking into the Shomi line! It’s at 4:30 on Friday. I promise it’ll be a great pre-Friday night party event!!

That’s all for now!
Marianne

Shomi launch day!!

Woot - it's finally here! The launch of Dorchester's brand new speculative fiction line SHOMI!

First up and IN STORES NOW: LIZ MAVERICK'S WIRED



Followed in August by: MY BOOK - MOONGAZER!



And in September - EVE KENIN'S DRIVEN



Woot woot! The revolution begins!!! Please support the cause by heading to your loca bookstore and picking up Liz's book. It's an awesome read -- you won't regret it!

Marianne

Exhausted

I'm blogging about SHOMI and Moongazer today over at The Good, The Bad and The Unread. Please stop by and comment. You can win a copy of Moongazer, as well as a copy of A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court if you do. So what do you have to lose?

Liz's Shomi book WIRED - the first Shomi book EVAH, I might add - is OUT! Find it at a bookstore near you! Woot! Remember, it's always best to support authors their first week out as it's usually the only chance they have for making a bestseller list. Sadly, bestseller lists are not about selling a lot of books, but about selling a lot of books in a one week time frame.

I am so exhausted. Mentally drained. I have to do revisions on Gamer Girl this week before my mom comes on Friday. I really need to work on my Shomi #2 proposal too, but something just has to give at the moment or I'm going to make myself sick. So I'm concentrating on what NEEDS to be done and trying not to be too wracked with guilt over the proposal. After all, I'd rather miss the slot than pass in something shoddy because I rushed it, right?

But yeah, crazy weeks ahead. Mom coming Friday - Monday then Weds I leave for Dallas til Sunday for the RWA conference. All fun things, but they take time away from actually writing. Sigh.

Okay, enough whining. I'm heading home to drink a couple liters of diet coke and get cracking on those revisions!

:)
MAR

Coney Island

**SHOMI AUTHORS ARE BLOGGING OVER AT THE FAB REDWYNE.COM THIS WEEK**

Coney Island was fun! We road the infamous Cyclone rollercoaster - which is celebrating its 80th birthday this year. It's more than a bit rickety -- my shoulder was sore after riding it. Still, it's one of those cool, historic things I'm glad to have done. We then walked around the beach and to the Russian community of Brighton Beach and ended up eating at a beachfront Russian restaurant called Tatiana, which was yummy. The Russians will actually order a bottle of vodka for the table like Americans would order wine. Of course Jenny and I stuck with a couple glasses of wine tyvm.

While I was out having fun, my darling agent finished up my revisions for Gamer Girl. She says she was pleased with how it turned out -- cheer! So now I have a week to work in her revisions before passing it into my editor at Dutton. It's scary working with a new editor so cross fingers she likes the book! She seems really nice though.

Next week my mom is coming to visit. Her first time in NYC since she was eight years old! Crazy. I want to take her to see WICKED. I have been dying to see it myself--everyone I know who's gone has raved about it.

Happy Sunday!
Marianne

Proposal Writing

I've been spending the week creating a proposal for my next project. And I have to say that, for me, proposals are the most fun thing to write. Brainstorming to come up with a cool project, having ideas soldify into a real story--I love it!

If only there was a job where you could just write proposals all day and then never have to finish the actual book! hehe.

I'll be working on this proposal over the weekend. I hope to get at least the synopsis done. Then I need to work on the actual sample chapters. At some point, however, I'll need to switch gears back to my Gamer Girl book - to put in the revisions my agent will give me. Then I can concentrate on the proposal in earnest. I need to get it done by July 15th and with Nationals coming up, that might prove to be a bit of a challenge. But I'm willing to have no life for the good of the cause. ;) It helps that I really love my new story.

It won't be all work and no play, however. I'm going to go to Coney Island tomorrow! How fun is that? I've never been - but obviously it's something I've heard about since I was a kid. I'll give you a full report when I return.


Marianne

Busy, busy

Whew. After a back breaking writing weekend, I was able to complete Gamer Girl and send it off to my agent yesterday evening. Cheer! I can't wait to see what she thinks. She's a great editor, too, so I'm sure the book will be even better after she makes her comments.

No rest for the wicked, either. Got my page proofs for Girls that Growl to look over and a proposal to write for my next adult book. Then must move right into the anthology due September 1st.

Not to mention go to Nationals in two weeks! And then Comic Con/Mexico/Blizzcon at the end of the month. Busy, busy! But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

The sequel to Diana's Secret Society Girl book is out today. Go forth to yonder bookstore and purchase and learn what happens to Amy and her fellow secret society members of the Rose and Grave.

Next week is the official launch of the new SHOMI line with my dear friend Liz Maverick's book WIRED hitting store shelves. Woot! Expect me to be talking about this ad naseum for some time to come. In the meantime, it's shipping from Amazon if you can't wait. Buy it. It rocks.




After all, you need something to read while you wait for that Harry Potter book... And at least in these two books neither of the authors is threatning to kill off their heroines anytime soon! You hear, that JK?

Mar

Romantic Times reviews Moongazer

And it's a good one! :) 4 Stars! Read below...

Dreams, reality and virtual reality collide in Mancusi’s exciting and frightening new futuristic thriller. This adventure, told in the first person, follows one woman’s quest to discover the truth about her reality. Complex plot threads weave around intense emotions and give real punch to this chilling tale.

SUMMARY: Everyone dreams, but New York computer programmer Skye Brown dreams she’s another person entirely. Skye begins doubting her sanity when she’s pulled into a post-apocalyptic world where her name is Mariah and she’s a freedom fighter against an oppressive regime. Skye just wants to get back to New York and her life, but a mysterious man insists this is her reality and that she’s betrayed her people. What is real? The answer is more complicated than Skye ever dreamed. (SHOMI, Aug., 352 pp., $6.99) Jill M. Smith

Virtual Reality Chat TONIGHT 9pm Eastern

Hey all,

I know this is last minute, but I just found out I'm online chatting tonight at The Romance Galleria about my new book, Moongazer.

It's not your everyday internet chat, however! It's a special virtual reality type chat. You go to this website and download this special software and basically you pick a character (avatar) and walk into the virtual reality theater and I'll be there (with my own character) answering questions!!

It's sort of like Second Life, I think.

Pretty cool, huh? I've never done this kind of thing before so it will be a first for me too! I hope some of you can come by and check it out.

I'll be chatting starting at 9pm. Here's the website. Download the software before 9pm so you can be up and running by the start of the show.

http://www.theromancegalleria.com

Hope to see you there!
Marianne

The presidential election WILL be YouTube'ized

From official videos like this one of Hillary spoofing the Sopranos:

Powered by AOL Video

To this voter made video spoofing the 1984 Mac commercial to promote Obama:





Are the days of expensive tv spots gone the way of the dinosaur? That would be really bad news for local tv stations. They depend on that revenue - especially during a big election year. But now, with the power of the Internet, anyone can make a campaign video - and it's absolutely free to broadcast it.

I bet we'll be seeing some real creative videos over the next few months!!

Marianne

Monday, Monday

I didn't get to go to Boston after all this weekend because I managed to lose my wallet. And my wallet had my license inside. Bleh. Totally sucks. I missed out on a fabulous weekend and now I have to deal with acquiring new license and credit cards. Sooo annoying!

I did get a lot of writing done though, which I am happy about. I want to send my finished manuscript to my agent on Friday so she can suggest any changes before I deliver it to my Dutton editor. I think this is doable, though it will make for a very busy week. I'm really happy with how it's coming out, though. So that's good.

In World of Warcraft news, I paid my money and signed up for this year's Blizzcon - an entire convention for WoW and other Blizzard game players. It's in Anaheim in August. Should be a fun, but crazy time. And as if that wasn't enough, I think I'm going to hit San Diego Comic Con the weekend before, too, then spend the week inbetween hanging out with Liz in LA, doing some Shomi signings, etc. since my book will be out then. Should be fun. I miss California. Haven't been back since I moved away 5? years ago. I am so ready to go back - especially to get my geek on at TWO conventions. I think I need more costumes! Oh and we're going to hit Disneyland while we're there!! Woot!

That's all for now. Happy Monday everyone!

Mar

Yay Friday!

I went to a Ladies Home Journal lunch yesterday and met Robin Roberts, the anchor of Good Morning America. What an inspiring woman! I was very impressed by her. Being in the news industry, I know there are a lot of divas, more concerned with their hair and makeup then making a difference. Robin is exactly the opposite.

She has a new book out called From the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By.

I'm heading to Boston this weekend. Should be fun--seeing friends and family. And I love the train ride there and back - great solid writing time.

Oh and the SHOMI team has a new member. Please congratulate Michele Lang on her sale of Netherworld. It's like Robin Hood in outerspace -- with the heroine playing the role of Sherriff. How cool a concept is that? I just love how unique each Shomi book is. Can't wait to start working on the proposal for my next one.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend!

Marianne

Check it out!

Colby Hodge got her cover for her Shomi book TWIST, which comes out in February 08.

It totally rocks.

Mar

Monday Stuff

The SHOMI team (Liz Maverick, me, and Eve Kenin) is blogging over at Romance B(u)y the Book today. If you want to win free copies of the first 3 Shomi books - head on over!

It was nice to have a weekend in which I did nothing but relax. I had wanted to get more writing done, but it was what it was. Sometimes the brain just needs a quick vacation. Will get back on the wagon this week. I am still on schedule for my deadline so I'm not worried.

Once this book is finished, I need to write up a proposal for my next Shomi book. I have a really cool idea for it - but I just have to push it to the back of my brain until I am finished my current WIP. So many ideas, so little time to write them. :)

For you World of Warcraft addicts out there, I have currently saved 3,500 gold toward my elite mount so far. Just 1,500 to go! Arghhh! As soon as I get my $5,000 I'm going to do all the Netherdrake quests so I can get myself a dragon! Woot. It takes sooo long to save though - especially as a warrior with my killer repair bill. I totally see why people buy gold from chinese farmers!! (Not that I would - I just understand the frustration!)

By the way, I have a contest going on at my MySpace page if you want to head over and enter. I'm giving away a Moongazer arc and some mangas that I acquired at BEA.

Speaking of which - I am totally addicted to manga now. I've been reading it as research for Gamer Girl and it's sooo fun. I especially like Dramacon, Vampire Knight, and Princess Ai. (All the sojo (girl/romantic) stuff.) I need to go pick up more soon. At BEA, Liz and I actually ended up hanging out and drinking champagne with the president of Tokyo Pop and picked his brain about the industry. So interesting! I'd love to do a Sojo manga about World of Warcraft. I think a lot of girls would be into it.

Mar

Go forth and buy yourself this book...

PRIME TIME

By Hank Phillippi Ryan

Could an innocent e-mail offer really result in murder, mayhem and a multimillion-dollar fraud ring? The last person to ask is dead - but that won't keep Charlotte McNally from poking around. Face it: in the cutthroat world of television journalism, this seasoned reporter knows that she'd better pull out all the stops or kiss her cushy job (and that means her life) goodbye.

But all too soon her investigation leads her straight to Josh Gelston, who is a little too a lot too handsome. Could she trust a word he said? Charlie might have a nose for news, but men are a whole other story. Which means she is putting her job, life and heart on the line....

--

The woman who wrote this book, Hank (a female Hank) is the investigative reporter at the news station I used to work at in Boston before I moved to NYC I was actually her intern back in 1996. Then I was her producer a few years ago. I was her critique partner on this book and let me tell you, it's great! So funny and it has great characters. Not to mention an insider's peek into the world of TV News. Oh and it got a TOP PICK from Romantic Times--and you know how hard those are to score.

So...GO BUY! You won't regret it.

Marianne

First review of Moongazer

Got my first review in for Moongazer and it's a good one! :) From SF Scope, a sci-fi type review site. So cool that they compare it to the cyberpunk classic Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson - one of my favorite books!

Moongazer

Shomi/Dorchester, $6.99, 368pp, pb, 9780505527257.

Action romance. On-sale date: August 2007.

An enthralling combination of The Matrix and Snow Crash with a bit of Blade Runner thrown into the mix, Moongazer immediately draws the reader into one woman's terrifying struggle to understand her identity—is she Skye Brown, a successful game designer living in Manhattan or is she really Mariah Quinn, a woman haunted by the post-apocalyptic dreamland she escapes to every night? But what is reality? And who can she trust to find out the truth?

A two-time Emmy Award-winning television news producer, Marianne Mancusi has made a career of challenging the traditional understanding of the romance genre. Her debut novel, A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court, and its sequel, A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest, hilariously refashioned the classic legends of Camelot and Robin Hood. She has also written three successful Young Adult novels under the pseudonym Mari Mancusi.

Shomi BEA!

The Rebels of Romance (aka Liz Maverick and I) take on BEA...

Be afraid...be very afraid...

The Day Before BEA

Countdown to BEA: 1 Day!

Liz arrived late last night and we stayed up way too long talking about our plans for BEA. There's so much to do! But it will be fun as well. I tried my costume on last night and it's soo great! I'm going to be totally manga'ed out--little black jacket with buckle sleeves, red plaid skirt, legwarmers with pom poms, etc. I'm even going to put up my hair in two little buns, I think. Liz and I are going shoe shopping in the East Village after work to complete the outfits. I want to find some platform Mary Janes maybe. I ordered some embroidered skull Mary Janes off the Internet, but they haven't come yet... Boo!

We also have to spend some time tonight stuffing our press packs. Not as fun as shopping, but even more necessary.

Okay much to do - must go!! :)Remember - we're signing from 11-1 tomorrow at the Dorchester booth if you can stop by!!

Marianne

Quick Update

Last night I went to Roosevelt Island, which is between Manhattan and Queens and hung out and barbequed with my friend Jamie and her mom. Was fun. It’s really nice over there – you can sit by the river and look at the skyline across the way. You feel like you’re away from it all, but really you’re very close. We had steak and it was yummy.

This week is both dragging and flying by as we get closer to BEA. I am looking forward to it, but feel very unprepared. Of course going out last night instead of actually, say, preparing may not have been the wisest mood. But a girl’s gotta have some fun too, you know? At least my costume arrived. Liz Maverick and I, if I haven’t mentioned it before, are dressing up manga/cosplay style for our signing. I’ll make sure someone takes pics.

In other news, Diana Peterfreund talks about her new YA deal on her blog. Let’s just say there are killer unicorns involved. Yes, killer unicorns. I need to read this book like yesterday! You go, Diana!! And another woot to Terri Brown who sold her first book to Simon Pulse. Yay!!

I’ve finished the rough draft of Gamer Girl. Now I need to go back for some intense polish. I want to try to finish it by mid June so my agent can take a look before we send it to Dutton. (She has great editorial instincts!) It’s been a fun book to write and I’m happy with how it’s shaping up.

That’s about it for now!

Marianne

zomg so funny!!

If you are a dog lover, you have to watch this...

Yay - 3 Day Weekend!

It's Memorial Day weekend! And it's going to be a hot one from the looks of it. I think it's in the 90s today in NYC. Summer in the city - fun, fun. :)

Not too much planned this weekend - maybe a barbeque type thing tomorrow. Dinner out tonight. Lots of time spent working on Gamer Girl, etc. Gotta lay semi-low cause next weekend is BEA. Can't hardly wait for that! Liz is arriving on Weds and we have a packed weekend of promotion for our Rebels of Romance campaign and the new SHOMI line. Should be fun and hopefully rewarding. This is the most promotion I've ever done for a book, but it's been a great experience. It's much more fun to promote with a partner, btw. You keep eachother motivated and on task. Too easy to slip and get lazy if you're not held accountable by another person.

BTW if you're going to be at BEA we're in booth #3681 signing Friday 11-1. Come see us!!

In other news - I finally finished the first season of LOST. I know, being a non-cable DVD type of girl I'm always at least a year behind on any televised cultural phenomenon. Not to mention I had assumed I wouldn't like the show. Boy was I wrong! I am totally hooked now and desperate to watch Season 2. Of course I heard it wasn't as good, which is too bad cause I really, really dug Season 1. Though I have to say I was very disapointed that they killed off Boone. I know most people are in love with Sawyer or Jack but I, myself, always go for the sad, tragic pretty boys.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Marianne

So Long, Piggie....

There once was a guinea pig named BING who became a web star and loved by many. He sang and he danced and even got his friends to chime in. But I learned today that he and his brother Frank tragically passed away in the night. No word yet as to why.

So in memory of a much beloved pig, here's Bing, once more with feeling...

Hey Fat Boy

Add to My Profile More Videos

The Guinea Pig Way

Add to My Profile | More Videos

The Real Bing Cavy

Add to My Profile | More Videos



And yes...Bing had his on MySpace page. And I was lucky enough to be one of the many to call him friend. :(

Mar

Ah the old MySpace debate again

The blogosphere has been weighing in about the cons of promoting on MySpace. Sybil at Redwyne (a blog I love!) even used a post I wrote a while ago on Alison Kent's blog to prove her points. I commented back, of course, if you care to check it out.

Evidently it's become very cool and trendy in the romance author world to knock MySpace and brag about how you find it annoying or stupid or you can't figure out how to make your page look less than cheesy. Fine. Okay. Uh, then don't make a MySpace page. Like, no one's holding you at gunpoint! If it doesn't work for you...cool. But there are millions of people who do get something out of it, so I think it's kind of naive to dismiss its merits entirely.

Personally, I get a ton out of it. I get to commune with my readers, for one thing. (Nora Roberts weighed in saying she's not interested in communing with her readers - she'd rather write more books-which is obviously working for her since she has three thousand books out a year. Me? I enjoy the back and forth with my readers that I get on MySpace. In fact, it's one of my favorite parts of the job!) I also get to notify them about upcoiming events, book releases, signings, sneak peeks of the next book in the series, etc. It's like the 21st century version of a fan club. I have a very nice regular website, but no one ever visits it. They all go to MySpace.

Bottom line: people can say anything they want about the effectiveness of MySpace marketing. It works for some. It doesn't work for everyone. Just like ANY type of promotion. **shrug**. I find it very worthwhile myself and really that's all that matters to me! (Though I will say it's definitely more effective marketing YA and than adult stuff.)

Okay rant over. :)
MARI

Monday Stuff

Hey all, happy Monday!

My weekend was good. Aaron came down from Boston for the weekend which was fun. We went to my favorite Moroccan bar Shalel on 70th/Columbus then headed down to the village. We were supposed to go to Chumley’s this really cool speakeasy from the 1920s but when we got there, we found out the building had been condemned. Such a shame. So we headed over to the uber hipster meatpacking district and ate at Buddha Bar, which was excellent. Then we walked all the way back. (About 3 miles of Manhattan, including a very busy trek through Times Square.) Was fun. The next morning we had brunch at Good Enough to Eat and went shopping. I miss Aaron so it was nice to see him. I hope next time he comes he brings his dog!!

Speaking of dogs, Molly is doing much better. Though she still has to wear her cone, which she hates. Poor thing. I wish you could explain to dogs that it’s for their own good. Oh well.

In writing, I’m plugging away at Gamer Girl, which has so far been a breeze to write. I love when stories just come to me with little hair pulling out. I must say, no matter how much I love my paranormals, contemps are just so much easier and quicker to write. Which is good considering it’s due July 1st. I think it’ll be no problem though.

Then again, I also bought a Playstation 2 yesterday so who knows how productive I’ll be once I get addicted to Final Fantasy XII. Ah to neglect writing my book about videogames because I’m playing a videogame. There’s some poetic justice there somewhere, right? And yes, it is a Playstation 2, not 3. I can’t afford a game system that costs $600 tyvm.

Less than two weeks ‘til the Book Expo of America. Liz Maverick and I are signing in the Dorchester booth from 11-1 if you’re there and interested. The first 25 people get a complete set of arcs for the first three Shomi books. I need to snag myself Eve Kenin’s arc “DRIVEN” as I haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet. I mean, post apocalyptic trucker romance – how cool is that?

I’ve never been to a Book Expo before so I’m excited to check it all out. I heard it’s pretty crazy – and tons of free books! (Not that my apartment can fit more books…)

That’s all for now!
Marianne

Mrs. Giggles' drinking game

I know this has been posted all over the place but I just have to add it here.

Mrs. Giggles' blog drinking game.

I love this woman! Even if she DID give one of my books a 2 rating...

:)
Marianne

Yay Friday!

So it’s official. I am now writing Gamer Girl before Camelot Code for Dutton. This is actually a big relief cause the proposal for Gamer Girl has just refused to leave my head and has been relentlessly distracting me while I was supposed to be writing Camelot Code. I have a big problem, you see, switching gears halfway through a book. Or jumping back into a book I’d written a proposal for months ago. At the same time, I need to get writing as I have a lot to do before the July 1st deadline. But I shall prevail. I’m really excited about this book.

BTW, if I could describe the premise I would say it’s “You’ve Got Mail with videogames.”

My other summer project will be an anthology story for Dorchester. Another kick-butt paranormal kind of thing. That should be a lot of fun to write.

I’ve been on a reading binge. Just finished Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Gotta say, Gaiman IS a god, though not an American. I wish I could write like him. Now I’ve just picked up Jim Butcher’s first Dresden Files book. I saw him at RT and he was really funny so I had to grab a copy. So far I love it. Urban fantasy – a similar voice to early Anita Blake books, though with a male narrator. Very entertaining.

My dog is finally back home. She’s pretty much hating life right now. Eight teeth gone, lots of stiches in her belly, doped up and having to wear one of those horrible cones. Hopefully she’s recover quickly. I hate to see her in pain. She IS, however, sure enjoying the gourmet canned dog food she has to eat for the next 2 weeks. ;)

TGIF!


Marianne

Thursday

Hey all,

We’re getting through the week – slowly but surely! Thanks for all the pic comments! I agree - the full body shot is the most fun. I just don't know if it'll fit on the back of the book. Especially accompanied by my long winded bio. ;-)

Last night I finally took a much needed rest and stayed indoors. I’ve been having way too much fun going out lately and felt I needed a night off to just sit home and play videogames. The night before that was a different story. I went down to Union Square to eat Cuban and drink margaritas with agent Nadia Cornier and Harper Collin’s Editorial Director Michael Stearns. Nadia’s a long time friend but this was my first time meeting Michael. He’s very cool though – got a great sense of humor. All in all it was a fun evening.

The next day I had to bring my dog in for surgery. She had to have a lump removed (turned out to be just a fatty tumor, thank goodness!) and 8 – count ‘em – 8 TEETH extracted. Poor baby. But it’s better to be aggressive with these kinds of things than let the bacteria from her gums travel to her heart. I’d rather have a totally toothless dog than one with a bad heart. So hopefully this will ensure Molly will be healthy and happy for a few more years to come. I can’t even imagine the day I have to finally put her down. She’s been my constant companion – through good times and bad – for 10 years now – my entire working adult life. She’s moved with me from Florida to Boston to California to Boston and most recently to NYC. I don’t know what I will do without her. But she’s just turning 11 this week so I’m hoping we have quite a few years left.

That was the bad part of yesterday. The good part was that my Dutton editor loved my new proposal and wants to make it the second book on my contract. In fact, we might even switch things up and do this book first and Camelot Code second. The book is called Gamer Girl and deals with my favorite subject of all time – videogames!! J Woot. I love that I get paid to write about things I enjoy myself. And I’m so thrilled that my new editor is totally into my second idea. (And that Camelot Code wasn’t just a fluke!) This will also be in hardcover. Very cool.

Also, I got my arcs for Moongazer – woot!! Will start sending them to be reviewed soon!

Mar

Random Stuff and Pics

First off – all Star Wars fans have to read this. Was the attack on the Death Star an inside job?

Last night I went out to NY’s oldest rock club, The Bitter End, in Greenwich Village. Met up with my friend Jamie and her mom to see a couple bands play. (Her mom works with the singer of one of the bands.) The music was really good actually. Had a few drinks, chatted with Jamie, who I hadn’t seen in a while, and then headed back up to the west side. Was a fun night, especially for a Monday!

Tonight I’m supposed to have dinner with my friend, agent Nadia Cornier, and some other industry types, I think. Somewhere down in Union Square. I swear I should have moved down to The Village instead of the Upper West Side as that’s where everyone always goes out. Actually maybe it’s for the best though – as I really need to buckle down and work more. These books don’t write themselves, you know. :)

Oh, remember how I had some author photos taken last week? Now I’m trying to decide which one to use for my official back of the book pic.

I think I've narrowed it down to these three - let me know what you think!

Also had them take a wider shot, just for fun.




The best thing is that the photographer is the same photog that did my cover for Girls that Growl. She also did Crimson City and Alyssa Day’s 2nd Atlantis book. She was really really nice and very talented and said if I ever wanted to come down to her studio to watch a book cover being shot, I could! How cool would that be?

Hope your week is going great!!
MARIANNE

My Weekend and Liz's Kick Butt Review from PW!!

It was another fun filled, nice weather, NY kind of weekend. Friday night I ate at a delicious Italian place with outdoor tables. My dog Molly, as she has now become accustomed to doing, sat just outside the perimeter and spent the meal begging. This time, however, she was rewarded, when our waiter brought out a whole bowl filled with scraps of meat!! He earned a friend for life from Molly and a VERY good tip from us. It’s that kind of service that makes a restaurant really stand out. Oh and his wine suggestion was really delicious too.

On Saturday my friends and I took a train up north to a lovely place called Cold Spring, a tiny town named by George Washington himself when he touring the Hudson River for a location for West Point. Set along the Hudson, the area boasts scenic hiking trails. We spent about four hours hiking and had lunch at the top of the small mountain. Then we wandered the town in the evening, eating ice cream and checking out the shops. Was a great escape from the city.

Sunday I had to work on my book and clean my apartment. But I did take a nice long walk to meet a friend for dinner that evening. But by that time the sun had gone down and it had gotten a bit chilly. In any case, I felt I had enough sunshine as to not feel deprived.

Got to enjoy the spring weather before it turns boiling hot and smelly!!

In writing news – my friend/cohort Liz Maverick received a STARRED REVIEW from Publisher’s Weekly for her upcoming Dorchester SHOMI book “WIRED.” I’m so excited for her – though now the pressure’s on me to get favorable reviews for MOONGAZER – Shomi #2. Liz’s book is so great – Ive really got a lot to live up to…

Here’s the review, in case you’re curious:

Wired
Liz Maverick. Dorchester/Shomi, $6.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-505-52724-0
If Maverick's fast-paced, genre-bounding novel is any indication, Dorchester's new imprint, Shomi—which aims to hook a younger generation of readers—should catch an audience quickly. Maverick grabs readers from page one, throwing together romance, science fiction and cyberpunk—a mash-up hinted at in the anime-style packaging— to tell the story of L. Roxanne Zaborovsky, a high-strung freelance computer programmer whose reclusive life gets tossed on its head when two men show up looking for her. Appearing mysteriously one night, the pair immediately set to fighting over Roxanne; before long, she realizes one is an old college acquaintance, Mason Merrick. Taking off with Mason, Roxanne learns that the men are each after a valuable bit of her work—a piece of code she hasn't even written yet. When even stranger things follow—like close friends showing up with entirely different lives—Roxanne discovers that her pursuers are playing with the threads of reality, trying to gain advantage over the other. Maverick's roller-coaster ride doesn't always stay grounded, but it's easy to get drawn into her world of twisting realities and shifting identities, especially with superb heroine Roxanne handling narration. This excellent piece of genre fiction shows much promise for both Maverick and the imprint she spearheads. (July)

Hanging with Fonzie!!

Last night’s event was really cool. We got to meet Jerry Seinfeld and his wife Jessica, Bradley Whitford from West Wing/Studio 60, Elisabeth Hasselbeck from The View, and most importantly Henry Winkler – the Fonz himself.

Often stars come across bored, icy or disinterested when you meet them in real life. But Henry was so sweet and so cool – he spent a long time chatting with us and even hugged and kissed me on the cheek twice! (He smelled really good too.) I told him how much I loved Arrested Development and he seemed really happy to hear that and as he was leaving thanked me again for the compliment. He was so nice and genuine – a really good person. I am a huge fan now. (Not that I wasn’t already!) Henry struggled with dyslexia for a long time and said he was 31 years old before he realized he wasn’t stupid. If I had thought about it, I would have told him how teachers use my YA books to help dyslexic and reluctant readers. But I was too fan girl to think about that at the time.

Mar

Quick Update

Last night I went to a really fun event called KidLit Drinks. It's a monthly bar romp with YA authors, agents, and editors. Everyone was really fun and nice and I met a lot of great people. I'll definitely go next month too.

Tonight I am covering my company's CHILDREN'S CHAMPIONS event. They are honoring people who have been advocates for children. The coolest part? I'll get to meet/interview Jerry Seinfeld, Henry Winkler, and other celeb types. :) Don't worry - I won't make the "ayyyyy" sound when I see the Fonz in the flesh. hehe.

That's all I have time to tell you now! More tomorrow.

Mar

NOW TOURING: Sylvia & Shanna

Hey all,

Got two authors with new releases to tell you about today as part of the Out of the Blogosphere blog tour.

The first is a sexy paranormal by Sylvia Day called Pleasures of the Night. It's a May release from HarperCollins.

Here's the blurb:
--
In the Twilight between sleep and consciousness, a battle rages between Dream Guardians and Nightmares. Captain Aidan Cross is a legend, as skilled in fulfilling erotic dreams as he is with the glaive that kills his enemies. Women see Aidan as part of their fantasies...except Lyssa Bates. Exquisite, desirable, enigmatic Lyssa perplexes this immortal seducer because she sees him as he really is. And as he attempts to unravel her secrets the unthinkable occurs: Aidan Cross falls in love.

Lyssa has been having the most incredible dreams about a man whose blue eyes hold the promise of decadent pleasures and tempting intimacies. And then he appears on her doorstep! This intoxicating stranger is just as irresistible as the man of her dreams...but with her surrender there is also grave danger...

Because Aidan is on a mission, and the passion that consumes them body and soul could have dire consequences. Loving the mortal woman prophesied to destroy Aidan's world is not only impossible...it is forbidden.
--
You can find an excerpt here.

-------

If you like your paranormals on the lighter side - try Shanna Swendson's latest fantasy chick lit DAMSEL UNDER STRESS. Shanna and I actually share agents and her books are a lot of fun! I can't wait to read this latest installment.



To-do: Stop the bad guys. Rescue the wizard. Find the perfect outfit for New Year’s Eve.

At last, Owen Palmer, the dreamboat wizard at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., has conjured up the courage to get Katie Chandler under the mistletoe at the office holiday party. But just when it looks like Katie has found her prince, in pops her inept fairy godmother, Ethelinda, to throw a wand into the works. Ehtelinda’s timing couldn’t be worse. A plot hatched by MSI’s rogue ex-employees, Idris and his evil fairy gal pal Ari, threatens to expose the company’s secrets ­ and the very existence of magic itself. Even worse, it could also mean the end of Katie’s happily-ever-after.

Now Katie and Owen must work side by side (but alas, not cheek to cheek) to thwart the villains’ plans. Braving black-magic-wielding sorceresses, subway-dwelling dragons, lovelorn frog princes, and even the dreaded trip to meet Owen’s parents at Christmas, Katie and her beau are in a battle to beat Idris at his own sinister game. All mischief and matters of the heart will come to a head at a big New Year’s Eve gala, when the crystal ball will drop, champagne will pour, and Katie will find herself truly spellbound.

For an excerpt you can go here.
----

HAPPY READING!
Marianne

A little update

When the weather gets nice, the nice stop blogging. Or something like that. Anyway, I apologize for my absence and promise to be more faithful to ye olde blog.

But seriously, the weather here in NYC has been fabulous. I spent a good portion of the weekend outdoors. Brunch, dog walks in the park, dinners and drinks in outside establishments, rollerblading, etc. etc. Okay, sure, there was some video gaming to be done indoors but I did get out a lot, I swear!

New York is so great that it’s become hard to buckle down and write. But I’ve been plugging away. At least the book I’m working on is a lot of fun – The Camelot Code – which will be my first hardcover. It’s a time travel young adult that comes out next year from Dutton. I’m having a lot of fun with it. After taking a break from comedy with Moongazer I feel refreshed and ready to joke again.

On Thursday I’m getting new author photos taken. Really need to figure out what I’m going to wear for those! I swear I have nothing suitable in my closet. Might have to **ahem** do a little shopping.

This weekend some friends and I are planning to leave the city to go up to Cold Spring, a pretty little spot overlooking the Hudson river. There’s hiking and outdoorsy kind of stuff. (And of course ice cream!) Should be fun! Hopefully this beautiful weather will hold.

That’s about all that’s going on in Marianne world. Hope you are all doing well too!

Marianne

My Day Job

Happy Thursday everyone!

I'm sure you're sick of RT stories and pics by now, so here's something a little different. As you know, I've recently started a new job producing for Better.tv, the broadband station for Meredith Corp - a company that publishes consumer magazines like More, Ladies Home Journal, Better Homes & Gardens, Parents, Family Circle, etc. etc.

You might remember we went to Charleston, SC to cover the Family Circle Tennis Cup a couple weeks ago. Here's a link to the final story. Hope you like it!

http://better.tv/bettertv/?cid=713344342&tid=823380176&ordersrc=rafbettertv

:)
Marianne

RT Wrap-up

DAY ONE

It took me 8 hrs to make the 3 ½ hr trip to Houston. We took off on time, but some severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings had us circling the airport for an hour and a half. Then they closed the airport all together and we were running out of gas, so we headed to Austin, Texas to land. Spent an hour and a half in Austin, then were finally able to get to Houston. Thank goodness the hotel hairdresser was still able to blow out my hair even though I missed my scheduled appointment. Bad conference hair is never a good thing so I am forever in debt to my hotel hairdresser.

The first night was the Moulin Rouge party. Serena Robar dressed up in the most adorable can can girl outfit. I was lame and costumeless for this one – you can only buy so many outfits without breaking the bank. Liz and I took video of the event, interviewing authors and just being silly. We’re making a documentary of the event—I’ll let you know when we’re up and running. Then there was dancing – I danced with this adorable cover model named Travis. I’m not usually into the cover model thing, but he was so sweet and so NOT cheesy. I had to make an exception. Also, he seemed very genuine – not like the type who was just flirting because he was trying to win the contest.

DAY TWO

On Thursday, Liz and I hung out in the morning at Club RT, where we talked to readers about the new Shomi line. Then we headed over to the Dorchester spotlight, where our publishers were giving their spiel. We handed out Shomi temporary tattoos and bookmarks to the attendees. Then Liz, Cindy Holby, Serena Robar, Barb Ferrer, Chris Keeslar, and I ventured out of the hotel in search for someone to eat. After I vetoed Coney Island hotdogs, we eventually found Healthy Burger, which was yum. Chocolate shake, grilled cheese, and air baked fries. Mmm.

That afternoon I captained three hours of the Young Adult panels. I was really happy how it went. We had good attendance and people seemed really interested—asking intelligent questions about the industry and what publishers were looking for. The first session was especially fun as we had MaryJanice Davidson and her husband Anthony Alongi, talking about their Jennifer Scales series. MJ is awesome, plain and simple. Later, she actually plugged my Boys that Bite book in her comedy vampire panel, which was sooooo nice of her. I love when big name authors are so open to helping us little people. When I grow up, I want to be just like her. The NYC version of her.

That night, we ate at the restaurant at the top of the hotel. It was one of those rotating ones. The food was excellent, but the rotating made me dizzy. I had to sit with my back to the window and not turn my head.

Later, we attended the fairy ball. Liz and I went all out, dressing up as bad girl fairies. Liz had on a black wig and little devil wings. I had a bright red wig and a plaid, punk rock outfit with fishnet wings.. We spent most of the night in the bar, talking to Tim DeYoung, vice president of sales of Dorchester who had just arrived. He is so nice and even bought us ice cream bars! J I love how approachable and cool Dorchester people are. Writing for them makes us feel like we’re part of a family. It is truly the best place to get your start in the writing world.


Friday

Friday was the big awards luncheon. I won a Reviewer’s Choice Award for Most Innovative Historical Romance for What, No Roses?. That meant I had to get up in front of like a thousand or more people and give a speech. Argh. I was so nervous. But I got through it and everyone said I was “so cute” so I guess I didn’t mess it up. The blinding white lights were pretty intimidating though. I got a very nice plaque that I’m going to hang up on my wall. So cool – now I am officially an “award winning author.” I love Romantic Times Magazine!! I also love Kathe Robbin, the reviewer who gave me the award. Not just because she gave it to me, but because she’s so nice and supportive.

Friday night, after a bunch of us went out for Mexican food, I brought my laptop down to the lobby and we watched a bunch of silly YouTube videos. People were so into it, it became difficult to wrestle my laptop away so I could go upstairs and dress for the vampire party. I went as a teenage vampire slayer. (You can see a pic in my previous entry.) The music was terrible so we didn’t stay too long. I wish they’d instruct the DJs better for these parties. I mean, think about the audience! Play fun wedding tunes – not bad 80s hip hop!! We hung out at the bar instead, but I was so tired from the previous two nights I didn’t last too long.

Saturday

Saturday was the gigantic book fair. It went fine, though there were less teens buying books this year than last. Probably because last year the conference was on the beach in Daytona. More of a teen friendly spot. I still met some cool people and it was a good experience over all. I also got to tell a lot of people about the Shomi line, which is always good.

After lunch, we had a bookmark binding party. Liz and I had to bind 27,000 bookmarks in stacks of ten by the end of the conference. We’d been working on it all weekend and were now at critical mass. Luckily we had some great volunteers!! Including Jennifer Ashley’s darling husband. You guys rock!!

Saturday afternoon was the Mr. Romance pageant. Dorchester was the sponsor this year, which was cool because the cover models dressed up as the heroes in various Dorchester books. And there was actually a Robin Hood, based on my book A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest. It was indescribably cool to see a cover model walk out on stage dressed as one of my characters!

After Mr. Romance, Liz and I went to a pizza party in MaryJanice Davidson’s suite. (I won a t-shirt – woot!) Then we donned our costumes and went to the Dorchester Bookseller event. We dressed as our characters from our Shomi books. I had a black vinyl jacket (like Trinity in the Matrix) and a black wig. I’ll post a picture of us once I find one. We sat and chatted with the Publisher’s Weekly blogger, Barbara Vey, for a while. She is the sweetest, nicest person ever. We love her! She took a pic of us with her in our costumes - hopefully she will post it so you can see. :)

Then we headed to the Dorchester sponsored Immortals party. I had to ditch the vinyl jacket and wig because it was just too darn hot. (Plus the darling Gerri Russell had on the same jacket!! How embarrassing!!! hehe) I went and danced up a storm with Gena Showalter, PC Cast, and Marjorie Liu. Then the party ended and I hung around goofing off with a bunch of people before heading down at the bar. (That’s when the silly dragon pics were taken!)

The next morning we woke up and went to the airport! A great time was had by all. I really have a great little posse – Liz Maverick, Alyssa Day, Barb Ferrer, Serena Robar, and Cindy Holby – you guys make it all so much fun!

I saw Carol Stacy (the RT Publisher) at the baggage claim and she’s like “You’re going to do this again next year, right?” Oh yeah! Definitely.

:)
Mar

More RT pics

More pics from RT!!!

Me, accepting my 2007 Reader's Choice Award for MOST INNOVATIVE HISTORICAL ROMANCE



Liz Maverick and I hanging with booksellers.



Serena Robar, Cindy Holby, me, and Liz Maverick at the fairy ball.




Who said fairies weren't kick butt?!?



Conference hook up alert! Me and Flame get it on!



Travis, the cover model, is jealous of Flame's attentions! He attacks!!!



Poor Flame!!! Vanquished by a cover model!! /cry!!

Back from Houston

I'm back from the Romantic Times convention. Had an amazing time. Did tons of promotion for my August SHOMI book (including dressing up as my cover character!) but saved time for some pretty great partying. I'm half dead tired so I'll tell you more later, but here are a few pics to tide you over. :)

Liz Maverick and I promoting WIRED and MOONGAZER at Club RT.

Me as a vampire slayer for the vampire party.

Susan Kearney, Colby Hodge, Alyssa Day, Liz Maverick and I after our bookseller event. (Which was so much fun! The booksellers were all sooo great!)

MORE PICS AND STORIES LATER!!!

Marianne

ONE DAY UNTIL ROMANTIC TIMES!!

MARIANNE'S OFFICIAL ROMANTIC TIMES CONVENTION CHECKLIST

Cute day outfits from H&M – check!
(no business casual BS for me!!!)

Costumes for nighttime parties – check!
(Vampires and fairies and moongazers – oh my!)

Wig for costumes – check!
(Though I might swing by Ricky’s for one more – to match my punk rock fairy costume…)

New suitcase – check!
(Hmm…should have bought the bigger size…)

Shoes – check!
(The main reason I should have gotten a bigger suitcase…stupid boots!)

Mani/Pedi – check!
(Black! Someone in my office was like OMG, you’re sooo trendy. Really it was just for the vampire party...)

Promotional materials – check!
(Amongst other things: 200 Rebels of Romance posters – argh!)

Makeup – STILL NEED
(Gotta grab some new black eyeliner and maybe some fun glitter/eyeshadow pots)

Dog - Still Need to drop off!
(Vacation for Miss Molly)

HOPE TO SEE YOU IN HOUSTON!!

Mar

Another gorgeous day!

It's beautiful again out today. I'm so glad. This afternoon my friend Jenny and I are going to go walk Molly in Central Park. Perfect day for a dog walk!

Yesterday was a productive "me" day, which I totally needed, as I've been on the go non-stop. I went to the hairdressers and got a conditioning treatment done cause my hair and scalp have been sooo dry cause of winter. Plus you get a head massage with the treatment - worth it just for that!! ;-)

Then I walked 40 blocks down to H&M where I shopped for some fun convention clothes for this week. Got a couple of really cute things to wear. I love the styles this summer - all baby doll dresses and jumpers. I adore that kind of look. Fun, flirty, and girlie, without being all revealing.

Then I came home and cleaned my apartment and did laundry while watching LOST. (I have the first season on DVD.) I'm getting more into the show as it goes along. At first I wasn't sure about it. The worst thing is all those plane crash scenes. When we encountered major turbulence on the way to South Carolina last week, that was all I could think about!!

That's about it. Nothing too exciting, but it was a good day all the same. I love NY. :)

Mar

Saturday and SUNNY!

Yay it's Saturday! And a gorgeous New York day. This is the perfect time of year for weather. I love it! I'm thinking I might go buy some rollerblades this afternoon so I can rollerblade in Central Park. Good exercise and fun!

Last night I celebrated getting my contract/check for The Camelot Code by going out to Ruth's Chris steakhouse on 51/Broadway. Soooooooo good! I can't even tell you! Super pricey, but worth it when you're celebrating!! :)

I think I have all my posters folded. Have to count to be sure, but it's looking good. Now I just have to pack everything up. Speaking of packing, everyone who's going packed for RT yet? My suitcase is going to be massive to fit everything. Day clothes, costumes for night, promo materials -- argh. Jet Blue is not going to be excited to see me show up...

I am very excited to go to RT though! Five days of mingling, schmoozing, dancing, promoting, and just having a great time. A ton of Dorchester authors go and we have a blast hanging out together. This year, Alesia Holliday (as her alter-ego Alysa Day), Susan Kearney, Cindy Holby (as her alter-ego Colby Hodge), Liz Maverick and I are sponsoring a booksellers only bash called From the Sea to the Stars. It's an AM paranormal/sci-fi themed party with mimosas and munchies and should be lots of fun.

Also, I'm captaining the Young Adult panels so will be leading three different sessions on writing/selling the young adult novel. One of my sessions is going to have the amazing MaryJanice Davidson on it, along with her husband Anthony. They're going to talk about their Jennifer Scales series. I'm thrilled to sit on a panel with one of my favorite authors. :)

Anyway, got to run! Hope you're all having a terrific Saturday!!!

Mar

YA Prom & Folding Posters

Hey all,

So the YA prom was pretty cool - lots of people - authors, editors, agents. Problem was, no one had nametags on so it was difficult to put names to faces. But there was a good turn-out and they played 80s music and they even had "spiked punch" at the bar. :)

Afterwards, agents Nadia Cornier, Stephen Barbara and I headed to a diner for food and then to a Union Square bar called the Belmont Lounge where we had drinks and chatted about interesting things that I've been forbidden to blog about. :) I left around midnight because it was a Tuesday and I'm too old to be out and about all hours on a work night. But it was a fun time all around.

Of course hanging out with successful YA agents all night and hearing their stories really motivated me to finish my middle grade proposal. So I finalized that last night and sent it to my agent. Then I folded posters. Liz Maverick and I made posters for booksellers to promote our Shomi books. We have about 2,400. And I need 700 folded by tomorrow so I can send them to RT for their Booksellers that Care mailing. I folded about 75 and then got a bad papercut and couldn't continue without bleeding on the merchandise. Luckily Liz and I did some when she was here so I actually only need to fold about 100 or so more tonight.

Anyway, I cannot wait for RT next week!! Got my costumes. Got my promo materials. It's going to be so much fun! Hope to see some of you there! :)

Marianne

Prom Night!!

Tonight's the prom! Okay, the YA Author prom. But still!! I hope there's 80s music!

Here is the description of the event. I'll let you know how it is!

Break out that tux. Slip on that taffeta dress. Practice those dance moves...The big night has arrived!Yes, it's Prom. Again. The 21 PROMS Prom committee is throwing the very first ever Teen Author Prom: a benefit to raise money for Advocates for Youth. And yes, this paragraph has the word "Prom" in it way too many times, but we can't help it. We're too darned thrilled.

Advocates for Youth (www.advocatesforyouth.org) is an absolutely essential non-profit: the only organization that works across the globe to help adolescents make safe, educated, and responsible choices about sex. So by coming to our Prom, you will be doing a public service. It's a win-win.

The first hundred promgoers will receive a copy of the promalicious new
collection 21 PROMS, which includes stories by Cecily von Ziegesar, Libba Bray,
Holly Black, John Green, Jacqueline Woodson, Rachel Cohn, Melissa de la Cruz, E.
Lockhart, Elizabeth Craft, Sarah Mlynowski, Aimee Friedman, Daniel Ehrenhaft,
David Levithan, Jodi Lynn Anderson, Leslie Margolis, Brent Hartinger, Lisa Ann
Sandell, Will Leitch, Adrienne Maria Vrettos, Ned Vizzini, and Billy
Merrell.

Virtual Party

Since Diana posted the ohhh-sooo-cute screenshot of her and Sailor Boy's World of Warcraft characters cuddling in bed, I figured I'd show you what my character, Allora, has been up to. As you can see, she's a bit of a party girl. Though unlike her hardcore mage friend Yz, she has a problem holding her liquor...

Maybe she should lay off the sauce? hehe

Mar

Back Home

I'm back from South Carolina. Thank goodness it was a charter plane because like 500 flights were cancelled yesterday due to record amounts of rain. It's still pouring out today. I couldn't even get my dog home cause no cabs would take a wet pup. Booo! Hopefully it will stop this evening so I can retrieve her.

The trip was a lot of fun, but I am glad to be home, too. This weekend I think I will lay low because next week is the Romantic Times Convention. Tomorrow night though I am going to a YA PROM, a charity event put on by some NYC based authors. It should be really fun. I don't have an old prom dress unfortunately, but I think lots of other people will be dressed up in 80s and 90s prom dresses. I'll let you know how it is!

My galleys are in for Moongazer so that's what I'll be up to this week. I hope they're clean. That also means I'll get ARCs soon. I'm so excited to see what people think of the book! Nervous, too. It's a special book for me AND my first non-comedy. I just hope it'll be well received.

TTYL
Mar

Blogging from Charleston

My new job for Better.tv is so great. I can't believe I get paid to do this stuff. I'm down in Charleston, South Carolina to cover the Family Circle Cup (an all women's tennis competition.) We flew down on a chartered plane yesterday and arrived in the evening. My friend and now fellow Shomi author Cindy Holby came down to meet with us and we went out and about in the historic district of Charleston, had some food, some drinks, etc.

Today we went over to the tournament. We watched and shot video of the various matches, including Venus Williams (she won - amazing match!) and sat in on the press conference with her afterwards. We shot video of celebrity chef, Bob Wagner of the Charleston Grill teaching us how to make a diver scallop dish. Then we shot a segment of my reporter and I learning how to play BEACH TENNIS which is this crazy new sport that's a combo of tennis, badmitton, and beach volleyball. It was sooo much fun!

Tomorrow there will be more tennis and more activities. It's exhausting and my feet hurt, but it beats hanging out in an office all day. The weather is sunny and in upper 70s-lower 80s and back in NYC it was raining and like 40 degrees. We fly back to NYC on Sunday after the finals. I'm going to be so tired. But it certainly beats the grind of local TV News, that's for sure. :)

Off to go scout out dinner!

Marianne

Writing, writing

I've been sick and busy and that's made me a slacker when it comes to writing. But I did force myself to sit down and finish my proposal for book #4 of my vampire series. I've been dragging my feet on that one, for some reason, which is stupid since 1) my editor is waiting for it and 2) the sooner I pass it in, the sooner I get paid.

In any case, I sent it to my agent this morning and am glad to get it off my plate. Can't wait to see what my editor thinks. I'm pretty amused with the plot I came up with. (No, I can't tell you until she officially buys it. I will say it's back to Sunny's point of view, though.)

Now I need to do my agent's edits for the middle grade proposal I'm working on. I'm giving myself til the end of the week to get that done. If I slack, then it's not going out til after I finish writing The Camelot Code. **cracks whip**

I'm not really a math person until it comes to book writing. Then I'm all about using complex equations to meet my deadlines. For example, The Camelot Code is due June 15th which means I must start my 1,000 words a day on April 15th. Seeing as it's a 50,000 word book and I've written 10,000 words (approx) already that means I will be done May 25th. That gives my agent a week to edit it and me approximately 2 weeks to revise based on her edits, give or take a few days.

Then I'll need another book to work on, which is why I need to get in the vampire and middle grade proposals passed in now so those schedules can be set for when I'm done and there's not too much downtime between books.

My biggest problem is I want to write so many different books and I have limited time to do the actual writing. I have some great new series ideas, but I can't overcommit myself too much or then the writing becomes a chore. That's one thing nice about YA books, actually. They're half the length and go a lot faster. Yet, I still want to write adult books. So I don't know. We'll see, I guess. :)

Mar

Now Touring: Parallel Seduction

The wait is over for the new Deidre Knight book!! Woot!! Check it out...

PARALLEL SEDUCTION

by Deidre Knight
Signet, April 3, 2007

The author of Parallel Attraction unleashes the next novel in a series about an alternate world, where treachery can destroy the strongest of allies, the most loyal of friendships, and the fiercest of passions...

Warrior Jake Tierny travels back in time to stop a traitor in his beloved king's camp. But when a twist of fate proves the mission unnecessary, Jake is trapped in a time not his own, with friends who cannot learn his true identity.

Scott Dillon may be the king's trusted lieutenant, but he is also a man at war with himself, a human hybrid who refuses to succumb to the Antousian nature he abhors-and that Jake Tierny embodies.

FBI linguist Hope Harper refuses to let near-blindness keep her from joining the Refarians in their war to defend mankind. Yet her sizzling attraction to both Scott and Jake, and the strange memories they share, force all three to question the core of their beliefs. As their enemies surround them, Hope knows she must choose one man for all time.

Check out an excerpt!!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!

Good weekend so far. On Friday, my friend Jenny had a dinner party with great food, wine, and videogames on her husband's PS3 afterwards. (I kicked everyone's butt in Tekken!!) Lots of fun. Then yesterday a couple friends and I went to see 300 on the IMAX. Loved it!! Those Spartans really could kick some butt!! I thought the movie was great - visually stunning, interesting, and passionate. Then we went out for drinks and food. Fun night. I'm finally getting a chance to spend some time out and about in NYC. :)

I'm 95 percent recovered from my flu. Still got a nasty cough, but other than that I'm fine. Hopefully I can kick that before I head down to South Carolina on Thursday. Even though it's a work trip, I want to enjoy myself down there!

I was also productive yesterday - did my taxes (ugh), cleaned my apartment, did laundry, and worked on my 4th vampire book proposal. It's soo close to done - I hope to pass it in this week.

That's about all for now! Happy Easter!!!
Marianne

Happy almost Easter!

Sorry to be a blog slacker. The flu really took me out there. I'm feeling better today. Still coughing and stuff, but at least not feverish.

It doesn't help that it is freezing in NYC and the last two days we've had snow flurries. Grrr.

So this weekend is Easter. I'm taking it easy. Probably going to a friend's for Easter dinner. It's too much, having been sick, to travel all the way back to Massachusetts. Especially since I just came from there last weekend. And I have to travel to South Carolina next week to cover the Family Circle Cup Tennis tournament. (Which should be fun!) Then in a few weeks is the Romantic Times Convention! Crazy how fast that came up. I need to get my costumes in order. This year is flying by!

I need to start working on Camelot Code again as it's due in June. But I have two proposals that are both 90 percent ready and I'm tempted to just get them out the door first. The sickness has robbed me of a week of writing, which annoys me to no end. Thank goodness it happened after I finished my Moongazer revisions!!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention. At the New England conference I picked up a free copy of a JR Ward book. I figured I'd give it a try, see what the fuss is all about. Wow. That's all I can say. I'm rivetted! And it takes a lot for me to get really into a book these days. The characters are so amazing, they just suck you right in. I've been scrambling to find more time to read it. If you like dark paranormal (and I mean, really dark) you should check her out.

That's all for now! Happy Easter!
MAR

Weekend Wrap-up

I'm way overdue to blog, but I've had quite the week, which ended in three days of the worst flu imaginable. I'm finally feeling a little bit better, but boy was I sick!!

Weds night Liz Maverick flew into town and the two of us headed down to Times Square to meet up with Alesia Holliday for drinks. Then the three of us went to dinner with a bunch of authors in town for the PASIC convention and our editors Kate Seaver and Cindy Hwang.

Thursday was the PASIC cocktail reception. Lots of industry people attending. And we got to chat with Sue Grimshaw of the Border Group about how we could help her promote the Shomi line.

On Friday I headed to New England to the NEC RWA conference. It was a fun conference. They even had a costume party. Here's me, vamping it up as Rayne from "Stake That!"

Jennifer O'Connell dressed up as her chef in Dress Rehersal. Next to her is our agent Kristin Nelson and NEXT author Hank Phillippi Ryan who is also a Kristin client.

I gave a workshop on writing and selling YA fiction which I think went well. And I sold a lot of books at the book fair afterwards. Then that night I went back to Boston and met some friends for drinks then took a 9:30 train back to NYC. It didn't get in til 2:30am!!

The next morning I realized I was really, really sick. Bad news, since Liz was coming to stay with me and we had a busy two days. So I sucked it up, even though I was dying with a high temperature that at one point was 104 degrees! We went to Dorchester on Monday to meet with our publicist Brianna (who is leaving the company - cry!) and then did a photo shoot for promotional shoots. A word of advice: never have professional photos taken of yourself when you have a fever of over 100. It is NOT fun.

I slept most of today. I still feel like crap, though I feel maybe I've turned the corner...

So anyway, besides the sick part, it was a fun week.

Mar