This week's contest is now closed and Random.org has drawn the following winners ...


Congratulations Caffey! You've won your choice out of: All four of Mike Carey's Felix Castor series [generously donated by Orbit, but not including TNOTB] or your choice of one of the Felix Castor books including The Naming of The Beasts*** along with a signed copy of The Cold Kiss of Death or The Sweet Scent of Blood. Please send me an email to contest {at} spellcrackers {dot} com with your choices and your snail mail details.


Congratulations Tonya! You've won whichever prize Caffey doesn't choose :-) Please send me an email to contest {at} spellcrackers {dot} com with your snail mail details and I'll let you know which after Caffey has been in touch.

Thank you to everyone for taking part and for a great turnout in letting me know your favourite demon. And now I remember even more of my own favourite demons LOL! I'm sorry more of you couldn't win. I had a lot of fun reading the comments, and although the rest of life is still eating a lot of my time, I hope to get round to answering all your comments at some point. Thank you again.

Remember to check back for the details of the next contest to win Strange Brew later today!

*** To be posted out later once it is available from the printers.

There's just over 6 days left [as I write this] - whoo hoo - until The Cold Kiss of Death :: Spellcrackers.com book 2 :: is released. And two exciting things happened today! 1. I got my author copies in the mail! WooT! and 2. The Book Depository started shipping the pre-orders for The Cold Kiss of Death! So there might still be 6 days left until the 16th July, the official date, but ... my second book could be out there in the wilds of book shops even sooner! Yay!




Here's what and how you can win: leave a comment telling me your favourite cocktail** and the commentator drawn by Random.org will win a copy of Strange Brew, plus a signed copy of The Cold Kiss of Death; and The Sweet Scent of Blood if they haven't read it. Contest open to all, and ends end of day [anywhere] Wednesday 15th July 2009.

I comment = 1 entry

Please help me spread the word about the release of The Cold Kiss of Death and the giveaways with a mention of the giveaway on your blog/live journal/myspace/facebook/twitter/etc [post the link to the mention into the comments again] and win yourself more entries into this week's giveaway :-) 1 link = 1 entry

Which means you could end up with more entries into the metaphorical hat, so what are you waiting for? Get posting and linking!! Good Luck!!

ETA: ** Cocktails can of course, be virgin - My fav is a Gentle Sea Breeze
Shake a mixture of equal measures of cranberry juice and pineapple juice, and strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

x/posted to my blog: leave a comment here or there.


( Recipies under the cut )

“Iron born and iron bred.

Trust not iron, it will see you dead.”

Rowan Blake could really use a magic wand to keep her struggling art gallery afloat. But the faerie key she stumbles across is far from a lucky charm. It’s a magnet for danger, and by touching it she’s unwittingly put herself in the middle of a war between the forces of light and dark. And in the arms of its rightful owner, Prince Daire.

While searching for his brother, Daire finds himself trapped in the Iron World with a mere mortal woman who ignites his passion like no other. Each stolen kiss deepens their attraction and sends him spiraling closer and closer to the edge of his inherent dark desires. Desires that act as a homing beacon for the Dark Sidhe, who are intent on forcing him to fight on their side.

The longer he lingers in her arms—and in her bed—the closer his enemies get to her door. And the greater the risk that the gateway to the Faerie Realm will shift, destroying not only his power to protect her, but his very life.

BREAKING NEWS - Orbit have generously donated books 1 - 4 of Mike Carey's Felix Castor series for The Naming of The Beasts giveaway so there will now be two lucky winners. First winner chosen by Random.org gets their choice of either books 1-4 [Felix Castor] or their choice of one of the five Felix Castor books including The Naming of The Beasts along with a signed copy of The Cold Kiss of Death or The Sweet Scent of Blood. Whoo Hoo! Thank you to Orbit for their excellent extra prize!

This is the latest Gollancz [my publishers] Newsletter! Not only does it feature the wonderful Charlaine Harris and True Blood and this video snippet [can't wait to see this!], but my books are in there too*! Yay! I *heart* Gollancz



And if you haven't already, don't forget to enter this week's celebratory giveaway to win your choice of Mike Carey's Felix Castor books, including his new one The Naming of the Beasts, plus a signed copy of The Cold Kiss of Death or The Sweet Scent of Blood.

‘It’s all the stupid pumkin king’s fault,’ Jack grumbled as he stomped his way across the wide expanse of lawn leaving a trail of frostbitten footprints behind him.

[The Pumkin King – short story] 

 

I know nothing of before I turned eight: then my first memory is full of pain and terror and blood.

[Untitled short story] 

 

He stirred and stretched out his hands, his claws making a scritching sound on the car’s bonnet as he reluctantly pulled himself up: today was the day.

[Junkyard Dragon – short story]

 

We had shaken each other’s hands when he’d arrived, I held his for the correct length of time . . . at least I think I did.

[The Island - short story]

 

They said her dog had three heads and eyes that glowed yellow in the dark.

[The Bully – short story]

There's only 14 days, 4 hours 14 mins and 14 seconds - whoo hoo - [as I write this] until The Cold Kiss of Death :: Spellcrackers.com book 2 :: is released. I'm so excited, it feels like I'm waiting for . . . Hallowe'en* which is a very significant date for Genny in The Cold Kiss of Death, although for her, All Hallows' Eve comes much too quickly and brings with it some terrifying and unwanted adversaries. Yep, Genny's life is full of dangerous surprises - like ghosts deciding to haunt her, vampires wanting her to paint the town red, and let's not mention the witches! So she really doesn't have an easy time of it in book 2 [although she didn't exactly have a great time in book 1 either *evil author cackle* LOL!] .

Now onto this week's celebratory giveaway to help get the word out.

'The Naming of the Beasts' :: Mike Carey [book 5 his Felix Castor series] comes out 2nd September [which isn't a minute too soon for me :-)] Mike Carey is right there at the top with my other favourite authors and I love the Felix Castor books. They have a fantastically different take on ghosts, zombies and were-beings [not to mention demons!] Felix a.k.a. Fix is a freelance exorcist and he is such an interesting character, one who grows and changes with each book as he comes to terms with his own inner demons. Add in really cracking stories, some wonderfully elegant plotting, and prose that begs to be read over and over** . . . Oh, and Fix's occasional partner is my all time favourite kick-ass demon, Juliet [Ajulutsikael] a succubus trying to go straight, or sort of anyway *grin* . . . and so coming to the end of a Felix Castor book makes you desperate to read the next one; or failing that, turn back and start from page 1 again.

Yep, you've guessed it, I'm a total fan-girl, but you don't have to take my word for how great the Felix Castor books are, check out this review of Thicker Than Water at Falcata Times  or this one at My Favourite Books. Then leave a comment here to enter the giveaway to win your choice out of the five Felix Castor books including The Naming of The Beasts*** along with a signed copy of The Cold Kiss of Death or The Sweet Scent of Blood.

BREAKING NEWS - Orbit have generously donated books 1 - 4 of Mike Carey's Felix Castor series for The Naming of The Beasts giveaway so there will now be two lucky winners. First winner chosen by Random.org gets their choice of either books 1-4 [Felix Castor] or their choice of one of the five Felix Castor books including The Naming of The Beasts*** along with a signed copy of The Cold Kiss of Death or The Sweet Scent of Blood. Whoo Hoo! Thank you to Orbit for their excellent extra prize!


* The Cold Kiss of Death is set around All Hallow's Eve, so forget about the July sunshine, go and buy it now [pleeeease :-)] and give yourself an early Hallowe'en treat!
** Beautiful prose that I wish I'd written *sigh*
*** If you choose The Naming of The Beasts I'll get the book to you asap, but I currently can't guarantee it any earlier than its publication date, so unfortunately it won't arrive until September. My own book will be posted out to the winner straight away :-)

Winners of The Eternal Kiss giveaway are here

This week's contest is now closed and Random.org has drawn the following winners ...

121 Chris

Congratulations Chris! You've won your choice out of The Eternal Kiss & Mean Streets, plus a signed copy of either The Cold Kiss of Death, or The Sweet Scent of Blood. Please send me an email to contest {at} spellcrackers {dot} com with your choices and your snail mail details.

31 - Austenfan

241 Moira

122 Lori-Ann

95 Hagelrat 

15 Dragonladych

Congratulations to all the above winners! You've won a copy of The Eternal Kiss or Mean Streets [first person to choose Mean Streets in decending order on the list will receive it, or if no one chooses it, then dragonladych will win it :-)] Please send me an email to contest {at} spellcrackers {dot} com with your choice and your snail mail details.

Thank you to everyone for taking part, there were over 250 entries with links/followers etc which is a fantastic amount and I'm sorry more of you couldn't win. Thank you also to all the authors in The Eternal Kiss who helped get news of the giveaway out into cyber space.

And a big thank you to everyone who has visited the blog/LJ/twitter in the last few days and special thanks to those of you who are now following me. I'm delighted to 'meet' you all, and I'm so enjoying reading everyones' great comments, and for your help in getting the word out about The Cold Kiss of Death. I want to answer all of you individually, but sadly 'real life' has munched big chunks out of my time *sigh* so forgive me as it will take me a while, but for now  . . .

Come on in, pick a comfy seat, have some popcorn and while you're waiting for the main event, let me tell you about my forthcoming attractions ...


Right now [if you're quick] you could win one of 5 copies of The Eternal Kiss [its got vampires, so what's not to love *g*] plus a signed copy of The Cold Kiss of Death for the first name drawn, or a copy of Mean Streets. This giveaway ends, end of day Wednesday 1st July, anywhere - which by my careful calculations involving the current alignment of the planets and measuring the exact distance to the sun extremely unscientific and arbitrary decision means noon on 2nd July, GMT London time. The winners will be announced today at 3.30 pm [ish :-)] right here, so don't forget to check back.


With only 2 [exciting] weeks until The Cold Kiss of Death releases ... the next giveaway - going live later today - is for your choice of a copy of one of Mike Carey's new Felix Castor books including the new one out in September - 'The Naming of the Beasts' . This one runs until 8th July, end of day anywhere.

Then with only 1 last week to go, I'm giving away some of my fav authors** in a brand new cocktail of wonderful stories - Strange Brew! Yay! This one runs from 9th July to end of 15th July, anywhere.

16th July 2009! Release Day for The Cold Kiss of Death and start of a week long vitual launch party with daily winners - for a hint about the prizes go and look at pretty covers displayed on the Fangs, Fur & Fey July releases sidebar!

Now this is where being a follower*** of my blog comes in handy :-)

All followers automatically get one entry into every giveaway, whether they comment or not [comments/links etc will of course get you more entries]. Not only that, but there will be an extra 'thank you for following me' giveaway [again automatic entry - no need for followers of the blog to do anything] on the 16th July. So what are you waiting for, come and follow me :-)

* there's always one, isn't there :-)

** Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs and more! Can't wait to read this one! [actual authors not included]

*** Not everyone has a blogger ID -

Twitter followers count - but please send me a @Suzanne_McLeod message to let me know you want to be counted in [to weed out the autobot and 'prOn' followers *sigh*]

LJ users who friend me/are friends on LJ, and who comment/have or will comment on any of my giveaway posts will be counted.

Followers on Google reader - leave me a comment to let me know you're following me or send me an email to contest [at] spellcrackers [dot] com.

20 days, 2 hours 46 mins and 23 seconds - tick, tock - [as I write this] until The Cold Kiss of Death :: Spellcrackers.com book 2 :: is published, and Woot! am I getting excited? You bet I am *g*. And nervous too, as I hope everyone will love it as much as I do*. This week to continue my celebratory giveaways to help get the word out, I'm going with anthologies - Mean Kiss.

I have a strange ambivalent relationship with anthologies of short stories. On the one hand I never feel quite as enthusiastic when starting to read a short story as I do a book, because just as I end up getting to know the characters and enjoying spending time with them- bam! - the story's finished. I call it the Cinderella syndrome. Give me a nice fat book anytime :-).
But on the other hand, reading anthologies is a really great way of experiencing that first-date excitement when I discover a new author and think 'Wow! I've got to read more like this!'. Then there's the third hand [hey, I write fantasy, I can have as many hands as I want *g*] which is when I get to read short stories about characters I already love such as Harry Dresden in Mean Streets. Yay!

So onto this week's giveaway ...


Here's what and how you can win: leave a comment telling me if you've ever found a new author through a short story or not, and the first commentator drawn by Random.org will win their choice out of The Eternal Kiss : Twelve Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire** or Mean Streets plus a signed copy of either The Cold Kiss of Death, or The Sweet Scent of Blood. Second commentator drawn will win the other book. Contest open to all, and finishes end of day [anywhere] Wednesday 1st July 2009.

I comment = 1 entry

Please help me spread the word about the release of The Cold Kiss of Death and the giveaways with a mention of the giveaway on your blog/live journal/myspace/facebook/twitter/etc [post the link to the mention into the comments again] and win yourself more entries into this week's giveaway :-) 1 link = 1 entry

ETA: 29th June 22.27 - there are now 67 commentators!! if commentators hit 70; then I'll give away 3 copies of The Eternal Kiss ... If commentators hit 90 then I'll give away 4 copies and if we pass the magical 100 mark then I'll be giving away 5 copies! Yay! so more links mean more comments and more chances to win :-)

ETA: 30th June 15.05 - there are now 103 commentators in all, we've passed the magical 100!!! So I will now be giving away 5 copies of The Eternal Kiss to 5 lucky commentators instead of 1. Thanks so much to everyone who's entered so far.

Which means you could end up with more entries into the metaphorical hat, so what are you waiting for? Get posting and linking!! Good Luck!!

x/posted to my blog: leave a comment here or there.

* Lovevampires.com has a special advance review up of The Cold Kiss of Death. Here's part of what it says . . .

"The Cold Kiss of Death [is] an exciting and satisfyingly complex read. The book's cover promises magic, mayhem and murder and there is no shortage of any of these things. Genny makes a realistically likable yet suitably kick-ass heroine who keeps fighting to the end. Throw in an imaginatively realised fantasy London . . . and it's clear that this book is a sure-fire winner for fantasy fans." Read the full review here

** Look at the fab list of authors - including one fantastic new author you should all look out for kazdreamer  Karen Mahoney who has her first short story published in The Eternal Kiss, which is published on the 7th July! Congratulations Karen!

Kelley Armstrong
Holly Black
Libba Bray
Sarah Rees Brennan
Rachel Caine
Cecil Castellucci
Cassandra Clare
Melissa De La Cruz
Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie
Dina James
Karen Mahoney
Maria V. Snyder
Lili St. Crow

This week's contest is now closed and Random.org has drawn the following winners ...


Congratulations robin_titan! You've won your choice out of Lord of Misrule or Carpe Corpus and your choice of bracelet, plus a signed copy of either The Cold Kiss of Death, or The Sweet Scent of Blood. Please send me an email to contest {at} spellcrackers {dot} com with your choices and your snail mail details.




Winner 2 = No 18 Vicki

Congratulations Vicki! You've won the remaining book and bracelet. Please send me an email to contest {at} spellcrackers {dot} com with your snail mail details and I'll let you know which after robin_titan' has been in touch.

Thank you to everyone for taking part and for a fantastic turn out in letting me know your comfort reads. I'm sorry more of you couldn't win. I had a lot of fun reading the comments, and it was great to see that a lot of my own comfort reads were amongst them.

Remember to check back for the details of the next contest later today!

Yay! Less than a month [okay, that's 27 days, 1 hour, 35 minutes and 17 seconds as I write this *g*] until The Cold Kiss of Death :: Spellcrackers.com book 2 :: hits the virtual and real shelves of the book stores, and to continue my celebratory giveaways to help get the word out, here's this weeks contest - Fangs for Morganville!


One of my writing heros is Rachel Caine. I love her Weather Warden* books and when I heard she was writing about vampires . . . Well, squeeeeeeee was an understatement :-) Then I read the Morganville Vampires books ... WOW ... I totally love this series :-). Then a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to meet Rachel [see the Murder One event report by Karen Mahoney here] in person and watch The Lost Boys [one of my fav films] along with her and a wonderful group of her other UK fans. And Rachel is just as lovely and gracious in real life as she is in her virtual one**.

So to say thanks Fangs for the Morganville Vampires and many, many happy reading hours, here's this week's giveaway ...



A copy of Lord of Misrule : Book five, signed by Rachel herself. This is the UK version, which is not only beautiful but glows in the dark!

"One day, without warning, Jasmyn's husband died of an aneurysm. Since then, everything has been different. Wrapped up in her grief, Jasmyn is trapped in a world without colour, without flavour - without Liam. But even through the haze of misery she begins to notice strange events. Even with Liam gone, things are not as they should be, and eventually Jasmyn begins to explore the mysteries that have sprung up after her husband's death . . . and follow their trail back into the events of his life. But the mysteries are deeper than Jasmyn expects, and are leading her in unexpected directions - into fairytales filled with swans, castles and bones; into a tale of a murder committed by a lake and a vicious battle between brothers; into a story of a lost past, and a stolen love. She's entering a magical story. Jasmyn's story."

Alex is a brilliant writer, a very cool lady [check out her blog here]* and a wearer of seriously *hot* shoes! But don't take my word for it, here's what others have said ...

"Impressive." (Jonathan Wright SFX )

"Bell's strength lies in fusing fairytale and psychological suspense in a compelling modern narrative, combined with effective characterisation. Bell charts original territory with considerable charm." (Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN )

"Occasionally heart-wrenching, occasionally creepy but altogether deeply personal character study. Bell's charactersisation and prose is infectious, expressed on the page with an oddly compulsive pace. All in all, this is a fine piece of literature." (James Rundle SCI FI NOW )

* Don't forget to say hello to Erin ... seen here with Alex :-)

This week's contest is now closed and Random.org has drawn the following winners ...


Congratulations AllyKatt! You've won a copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth :: Carrie Ryan plus a signed copy of The Sweet Scent of Blood and the must-have for the zombie apocalypse; the Whack-A-Zombie kit! Please send me an email to contest {at} spellcrackers {dot} com with your snail mail details.



Congratulations Dave, you've won a copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth :: Carrie Ryan! Please email me at contest [at] spellcrackers[dot]com with your snail mail details.

Thank you to everyone for taking part and for a brilliant response in letting me know your favourite zombie fiction, TV or film and for all your links to help get the word out. I'm sorry all of you couldn't win. I had a lot of fun reading the comments, and wow! there are more zombie films out there than I'd realised.


Remember to check back for the details of the next contest later today!

The Cold Kiss of Death : Spellcrackers.com : Book two is published on the 16th July. Just one month to go! Yay!

To celebrate, chapter one is now available to read on my website here - Enjoy :-)

So there's only 5 weeks until The Cold Kiss of Death :: Spellcrackers.com book 2 :: is released! Yay! And to continue my celebratory giveaways to help get the word out, this week's contest is about zombies!! [Cos y'know, we've done vampires and werewolves, so it's really time that some of the other undead got to have a look in *g*]



I have to admit that I'm not much for horror movies [I'm more the wussy type that hides behind cushions] so I haven't seen many zombie flicks. But I recently read this ...


Now I don't have zombies in the Spellcrackers.com books [or at least none have shown up yet!] but in The Cold Kiss of Death, Genny is being haunted by a ghost, which is definitely a spine-crawling problem for her since she suffers from Phasmophobia [Fear of Ghosts].


I bribed*asked my fantastic publisher, Gollancz to give me two copies of The Forest of Hands and Teeth :: Carrie Ryan for my zombie fest giveaway. [Thank you Gollancz] So the first commentator drawn by Random.org will win a copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth plus a signed copy of The Sweet Scent of Blood and because we all need practice for when the zombie apocalypse arrives, I'm also including a Whack-A-Zombie kit [pic below]! Second commentator drawn will win the other copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth.


All you have to do to win one of these two giveaways is leave me a comment telling me what your favourite zombie fiction, TV or film. Contest ends end of day [anywhere] Thursday 18th June 2009.

I comment = 1 entry

Please help me spread the word about the release of The Cold Kiss of Death and the giveaways with a mention of the giveaway on your blog/live journal/myspace/facebook/twitter/etc [post the link to the mention into the comments again] and win yourself more entries into this week's giveaway :-) 1 link = 1 entry

Which means you could end up with more entries into the metaphorical hat, so what are you waiting for? Get posting and linking!! Good Luck!!

x/posted to my blog: leave a comment here or there.

Watch the creepy book trailer for the book ...


* with promises of large amounts of brains ... err chocolate!

This week's contest is now closed and Random.org has drawn the following winners ...


Congratulations Tetewa, you've won a signed copy of The Cold Kiss of Death [plus a signed copy of The Sweet Scent of Blood, if you haven't read it] and your choice of one of the six books listed below. Please send me an email to contest [at] spellcrackers [dot] com with your choice and snail mail details.



Congratulations to you all! Please email me at contest [at] spellcrackers.com with your snail mail details and first, second and third choices of the six books below.

Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr
The Summoning - Kelly Armstrong
Micah - Laurel K Hamilton
The Demon's Lexicon - Sarah Rees Breenan
Night Shift - Lillith St Crow
Blood Bound - Patricia Briggs

Thank you to everyone for taking part and for a fantastic response in letting me know your favourite city. I'm sorry I wasn't here to comment back to you but I've had a lot of fun reading them now I am back [and now I want to go visit them all too :-)].

Remember to check back for the details of the next contest later today!

I am currently having my internet connection surgically removed [yep, it's that bad LOL!] so won't be around for the next few days ... I will miss reading all about your favourite cities - don't forget to scroll down and enter this week's 6 : 6 : 6 Book Bonanza Giveaway - but I will catch up as soon as I can plug myself back in. So, instead, I leave you with this ...

The Lovely Ladies of Gollancz from Neil C Ford on Vimeo.

6 = Only SIX weeks until The Cold Kiss of Death :: Spellcrackers.com book 2 is released! Yay!

6 = It's June! And June is my favourite month :-)

6 = There will be SIX winners in this week's giveaway!

So to continue my celebratory giveaways to help get the word out about The Cold Kiss of Death, here's this week's contest.


London is my favourite capital city*, not only was I born there, but now my Spellcrackers.com books are set in London. I love to wander round** and find real places to set my scenes, like Old Scotland Yard above [the home of the Metropolitan Police Magic and Murder Squad] and The Stilt, or Dali Tree in Victoria Embankment Gardens [pic below] which if you've read The Sweet Scent of Blood, I hope you'll recognise :-).

So here's this week's contest - To win all you have to do is leave me a comment telling me which city in the world is your favourite :-).

First commentator picked by Random.org will win a signed copy of The Cold Kiss of Death [plus a signed copy of The Sweet Scent of Blood, if they haven't read it] and their choice of one of the other six books [by some of my fav authors] below. [Includes the new release by Sarah Rees Brennan: The Demon's Lexicon] Commentators picked as 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 will also win one of the books pictured below***






I comment = 1 entry

Please help me spread the word about the release of The Cold Kiss of Death and the giveaways with a mention of the giveaway on your blog/live journal/myspace/facebook/twitter/etc [post the link to the mention into the comments again] and give yourself more entries into this week's giveaway :-) 1 link = 1 entry

Which means you could end up with more entries into the metaphorical hat, so what are you waiting for? Get posting and linking!! Good Luck!!

x/posted to my blog: leave a comment here or there. Contest ends end of day [anywhere] Thursday, 11th June 2009.

*I know there are other wonderful cities, but I was born there, and I'm British, so I'm biased. ;p

** Note to hubby: It's called research, and yes, it is vital I check out the shops too, who knows when and where inspiration might strike. LOL!

*** Logistical nightmare much! If you're a winner, I'll be asking for your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices, and hopefully everyone will get a book they're happy with :-)

This week's contest is now closed and Random.org has drawn no. 59. The winner is ...
 

Congratulations! You've won your choice of one of Carrie Vaughn's werewolf books plus a signed copy of either The Sweet Scent of Blood or The Cold Kiss of Death.

Please email me at contest [at] spellcrackers.com with your snail mail details.

Thank you to everyone else for taking part and letting me know your favourite werewolf comments - lots of my own favs in there too - I had a lot of fun reading them all.

Remember to check back for the details of the next contest later today!