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Tomorrow is a big celebration day for me. It's the release date of my 20th novel! If you'd told me when I was an aspiring, fresh-faced, newly agented young'un back in late 2004 that in 2012 I would have twenty books out (as well as a companion guide, a plethora of novellas, and short stories), I would have laughed quite heartily. Ha ha ha!! Back then, I was happy with just one!
My 20th book is very special to me. Well, ALL of my books are special to me, but this one is special in a different way. It actually has the same heroine as my very first book -- a heroine I've now been writing or thinking about for nearly a decade. However, this book is the start of a different series, in a different genre, with a different publisher.
BLOOD BATH & BEYOND is the first Immortality Bites Mystery. While it is unofficially a continuation of my original five-book Immortality Bites series (which started with the national bestselling and award-winning Bitten & Smitten), it's also fresh and new and so much fun I can barely contain my enthusiasm for it. So I won't. Woo hooooo!!
Frankly, I can't believe it's taken me THIS LONG to discover the cozy paranormal mystery genre. I mean, how much fun is this? (The answer: A LOT.)
In Cozy Paranormal Mystery, I can have:
1) A quirky heroine -- fledgling vampire Sarah Dearly is very quirky and hilarious, if a tadddd more mature than she was in the original series, just as I'm a tad more mature as a writer!
2) A sexy hero and plenty of romance -- Sarah's fiancé is the rather ancient and dour but delicious and devoted master vampire Thierry de Bennicoeur. These two are complete opposites and it's so much fun to continue to explore their complicated relationship. Thierry was a tricky one in the original series, very mysterious and enigmatic... even to me! But now I know him and I think that his true awesomeness really comes out on the page. I hope you agree!
3) Kooky sidekicks -- Sarah meets many new people in her adventures, including a fledgling vamp who's nearly her mirror image, a todders-and-tiarras-esque little diva of a vampire, a deadly vampire assassin, a dark wizard, and, of course, scary vampire hunters.
4) A couple puzzling mysteries -- because, well, it is a mystery novel!
5) Lots of humor -- while there are danger and thrills galore, Sarah has always had a way of looking at things with a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor. It makes her so much fun to write.
6) Room to grow -- BB&B is just book #1... and I've already written the sequel, Bled & Breakfast (out June 2013). I love the opportunity to have an arching urban fantasy mythology to explore, but also have each book have a real single-title feel with a satisfying ending. And I have plenty more ideas after that! Quite honestly, if I'm still writing about Sarah and Thierry ten years from now, I would be perfectly happy to do so!
Here's a little more about the book!
BLOOD BATH & BEYOND
(An Immortality Bites Mystery #1)
August 7, 2012 - NAL ObsidianSarah Dearly is adjusting to life as a fledgling vampire, satisfying her cravings at vampire-friendly blood banks. But when her fiance Thierry takes a job with the Ring—the secret council in charge of keeping vampires in line—Sarah’s about to get more than a taste of danger…
Being engaged to a centuries-old master vampire can be challenging—especially when he takes a job with the Ring. Thierry’s in for fifty years of nonstop travel and deadly risk. It’s enough to make any woman reconsider the wedding…any woman except Sarah, that is!
Traveling with him to Las Vegas for his first assignment, they encounter a child beauty pageant contestant from hell, as well as a vampire serial killer leaving victims drained of blood, potentially exposing the existence of vampires to the whole world. But when Thierry’s truly ancient history comes back to haunt him, and he’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit, it’s up to Sarah to clear his name before their immortal lives come to an end.
“A bloody hysterical paranormal mystery!” –New York Times Bestselling Author Victoria Laurie
4-1/2 star TOP PICK! “Rowen jumps from paranormal romance to paranormal mystery without skipping a beat…Here’s hoping Sarah will have many more adventures in her new series.” —RT BookReviews
********** WIN A SIGNED COPY! ***********
I'd love to give away a signed copy of BLOOD BATH & BEYOND to a commenter. Please comment here -- tell me what is your favorite book of 2012 so far, since I'm always looking for new ones to add to my TBR pile! -- and I will choose a winner at random on Friday, August 10th at 9:00pm EST. Open internationally! Please check back to this post then to see if you've won and for info on how to claim your prize. Good luck!
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For more info about me and my books, visit:
Website: www.michellerowen.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/michellerowen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michellerowenbooks
29 comments:
I'd have to say Immortal Hearts by Ellen Schreiber :)
Lovely end to a lovely vampire series
And a must read :)
Having given birth almost 8 months ago, I'm learn to time manage and haven't read as much as I would have liked.
During a trip to the bookstore, I discovered the Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong and I fell in LOVE! The twists, and turns were amazing. Whenever I thought she was heading in one direction (thinking, here we go again), she'd whirl it around and I LOVED that about her. So, yeah. My vote goes to her this year.
Can't WAIT to read this new book of yours, Michelle!
I'd like to win this. I've read the first five books in the Inmortality Bites series and I have a huge book-crush on Thierry.
There are so many books in the genre, but I haven't enjoyed many of them as I have this series. Sarah is a blast. I can't wait to read what's next for these two :)
Oops! forgot to add a recomendation.. Well, there are quite a few books out this year that I have loved. Sweet Evil by Wendi Higgins, comes to mind first. Really creative story.
I'm currently reading Funnel Vision by Chris Kridler. So far so good. It's different from what I've read before because it's close to reality. It's an action filled book with romance on the side. :D
My favorite book so far of 2012 is Lynsay Sands - The Lady is a Vamp :)
It's so hard to pick! I really loved The Night Circus, I finally read that a couple months ago.
I love Sarah Dearly! Glad she's back. Hmm my favorite book of 2012 so far has to be About That Night by Julie James. Also I have to mention Lisa Kleypas' Rainshadow Road. Both are SO good!
My favorite so far has been FAIR GAME by Patricia Briggs. I am excited to see your leap into paranormal mystery.
little lamb lst at yahoo dot com
the "Born at Midnight" series. There's mystery as to what the main character is, 2 cute guys to pick from (goo lucas!) he's the werewolf. There's vampires ( a michelle favorite) witches, shapeshifters, fairies, and so on. i mean its a camp for supernaurals! but the characters are endearing and you do want to know what happens next, and hope for the best. the authors has a good sense of writing and does over due it. definitely a series to be hecked out. (:
Congrats on the 20th release!!! Your series is on my wishlist and I'd love to try it :)
I'm currently reading Magic Slays #5 of the Kate Daniel series by Ilona Andrews. Definitely recommend!
efender1(at)gmail(dot)com
Favorite of 2012, that's a hard choice since I'm over 67% done with my Goodread's challenge for the year.
I'm going to have to go with Annette Blair and Cloaked in Malice. I love the series and always look forward to the next book coming out.
You Belong to Me by Karen Rose
lag110 at mchsi dot com
Favorite of 2012: The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting! This is the third book from The Body Finder series! This is a must read books series!!
Wicked As They Come by Delilah S. Dawson and Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady. I can't wait to read Blood Bath & Beyond (I love the title!). Thank you for the giveaway!
I just discovered my love for Steampunk. I loved Iron Duke by Maljean Brook.
So far my favorite book is Through the Night by Janelle Denison. It has the right amount of action to go with the romance.
Thank you for the contest
angelbiker82@gmail.com
Like Johana Vera, Wendy Higgins' Sweet Evil is my favorite 2012 release so far. Illuminate by Aimee Agresti was a really good, scary novel. I also enjoyed Andrew Fukuda's The Hunt -- sometimes I miss when all vampire stories were scary/creepy versus the hunky, moody variety that are more common nowadays. Oh, don't get me wrong; I love them, too ... hello, Thierry! Plus, snarky Sarah! I'm so happy to revisit these beloved characters from one of my favorite series. Thanks for the contest!
Not sure why logging in via Google shows me as "Unknown". Boooooooo!
~ Colleen (@MizBehavin1)
So many good books out lately: Jane
Porters's royal twins books, Donna
Alward's Last Real Cowboy, Shirley
Jump's One Day To Find A Husband.And
those are only the contemps!So many
books, will I have enough time? Your
BB&B sounds (should I say it?) bloody
good!!!
Pat C.
The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead :)
for me betrayed by ednah walters, really love this book and i hope yours will be next book i love :)
eli_y83@yahoo.com
Demon Hunting in the Deep South by Lexi George is fantastic! The Spymaster's Daughter by Jeane Whitman is an excellent historical romance read. I love the cover your new book Michelle! I can't wait to read it!
Mary Kay Andrew's "Summer Rentals" I love how her books are a little romance, some suspense, but mostly about women and their relationships with each other. I do love your books, too, though, and plan to read this one, just like I've read the rest :D
I just read Slammed by Colleen Hoover and it's by far the best thing I've read in a long time. I haven't laughed out loud or cried more in such a short period of time than when I was reading that book. It was hands down fabulous.
molly(dot)frenzel(at)gmail(dot)com
My favorite book so far this year is actually two - Kindling the Moon and Summoning the Night by Jenn Bennett. I also adored Kevin Hearne's Tricked - another great addition to his Iron Druid series.
Barbed1951 at aol dot com
My favorite read for 2012 is Vengeance Born by Kylie Griffin. Its been a long time after I read a good and fabulous fantasy romance!
sawamura_foxman AT yahoo DOT com
Sorry; it's not a paranormal. The first book that came to my mind was Patricia Rosemoor's Intrigue called RESCUING THE VIRGIN. (There's probably more that qualify as being my "favorite" this year, but I can't remember them all!) With this book, I continually felt the tension mounting, and my heart was beating faster and faster. Even though there were several characters mentioned at the beginning, the story was written so well that they weren't confusing to me. Totally enjoyed the "human trafficking ring" storyline too.
So far - Witch Way Bends by Olivia Hardin
bacchus76 at myself dot com
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