Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
EVE OF DARKNESS is now available on Amazon in Kindle format:
www.amazon.com/Eve-of-Darkness-ebook/dp/B002FSTJLQ/
And also in the Sony eBook Store:
ebookstore.sony.com/author/s-j-day_111324
Archive for June, 2009
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
EVE OF CHAOS
A Marked Novel, Book #3
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback
Tor Books – June 30, 2009
ISBN-10: 0765360438
ISBN-13: 978-0765360434
How do you tell Satan that you ran over his hellhound?
Evangeline Hollis has no idea and she doesn’t want to find out. Living with the Mark of Cain—and the two sexy brothers who come with it—is trouble enough. She doesn’t need to borrow more. Too bad Satan is too pissed to oblige her.
Incensed at the loss of his pet, Satan has put a bounty on Eve’s head, and Hell’s denizens are converging en masse. The proliferation of Infernals is complicating Eve’s hunts and creating chaos in her once orderly life. They’ve also brought her to the attention of an overzealous reverend who is certain she’s Jezebel reincarnate.
How can a Mark drafted by God strike a bargain with the Devil? Eve’s about to find out…
Excerpt: www.scribd.com/group/76915
Video: http://www.sjday.net/trailer/
Widgets and Wallpapers: www.sjday.net/extras/downloads/
Monday, June 29th, 2009
So, the year is now halfway over. Can you believe it? I’m still trying to figure out where the time went. The 4th of July holiday is almost upon us. Anyone have any fun plans?
When I realized that it’s the middle of the year, I took stock of how well I’m progressing with my New Year’s Resolutions. I really had only one official goal–to read 52 books this year. I’m definitely behind, but I’m doing better than I have the last few years, so I’m hopeful that I’ll catch up by year’s end. I’ll be picking up more new books this week and plan to finish at least two, even though I have work to do and can’t take the whole week off. *sigh*
I’m also working on my fitness goals. I’ve lost weight, and I bought a Wii Fit last week. I haven’t had any chance to use it yet, because the kids are out of school and they’re enjoying it. That’s perfectly fine with me. I’ve got another way to exercise that I enjoy. There’s a park nearby that has a stream and large, tall, old trees that shade the entire route. My daughter and I walked the dog through there one day and we decided we love it. It’s an amazing little park. It’s right in the middle of a large residential area and yet when you’re inside it, it feels like you’re miles away from the city. Rabbits hop around, lizards scamper, lots of dogs being walked. My dog, Jesse, loves it, too. (I also did some clothes shopping last week, because I’m feeling good about the weight loss. That’s always a wonderful feeling!)
I’ve also kept up with my 2008 resolution to spend more time connecting with people and less time in my cave. I’ve already enjoyed one retreat with friends this year and I have another one planned for the second half of the year. I’ve talked on the phone a lot, and made it to two local chapter meetings. It’s really been good for my muse to get out and spend time with other adults, even if it’s just over the phone. Email is convenient and I love that about it, but it’s also impersonal. I’m glad the resolution is still working out this year.
How about you? Do you feel like you’ve accomplished a lot in the first half of the year? Are you on track to reach your year-end goals?
Extra: This is a big release week for the MSW gals. Toni, Debra, Heather, and I have books hitting shelves tomorrow. Toni has Girls Just Wanna Have Guns, Deb has Everywhere She Turns, Heather has Dust to Dust, and I have Eve of Chaos. Plenty of excuses to hit the bookstore this week. Congratulations to T, D, and H! Release day is always so fun!
Monday, June 15th, 2009
Last week, I stumbled across an interesting blog post by author Dean Wesley Smith titled “Life After Agents.” It’s one in a series of posts that follows a model set by the History Channel series Life After People which speculates on how the removal of humans would affect the world.
In the “Life After Agents” post, Mr. Smith imagines the publishing industry without agents. He stresses that agents are employees of writers and should be viewed as such. I agree. Agents are hired by authors to perform duties for which they are paid by the author. Yet it’s more complicated than it sounds, because an agent’s job is so much more than a checklist of tasks that any layman–including the author–can do. I’m of the opinion that consulting and strategizing with an agent is where the value of the relationship lies. In order to advise effectively, an agent must possess knowledge that the author does not and they have to know how best to utilize that knowledge to reach the author’s goals.
An agent/author relationship isn’t as cut and dried as going to work and clocking in. Authors will often rely on their agent’s advice in order to make key decisions that will affect their entire career. An agent doesn’t just submit work and forward royalty statements. At least that shouldn’t be all they’re doing.
Good agents understand the author’s goals, strengths, and weaknesses because they listen. They ask key questions to determine what the author wants. They help the author to map out a career plan and consider the best ways to maneuver from Point A to Point B. They will target the author’s work to the house and editor where it will receive the best attention. They know which editors are making good things happen and which editors don’t have the clout to muster support for a book. They know which houses have lists so full it’s highly likely your book will “get lost” in the shuffle. This type of knowledge is vital to the planning necessary to achieve personal happiness, career longevity, and increased income, and most authors need an agent to get it.
As an author who’s had multiple agents and a long stretch of managing my career by myself, I believe a great agent can be priceless. The good ones would certainly be missed if they were gone.
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
Welcome to another Snippet Saturday! The following scene is from EVE OF DESTRUCTION (which hit shelves this past Tuesday.) Hope you enjoy!
“Eve!”
“Angel.”
She spun to face the two men who charged into the house. Freed from the necessity of watching the wolf, Eve took in the state of the house. Fire licked along the walls from the hallway, rushing toward the fresh air introduced through the front door. The blaze she’d started in the living room had spread to the kitchen. The whole house creaked in protest, shuddering at its impending collapse.
Alec reached her first, snatching her up and tossing her over his shoulder. The sword clattered to the floor.
“Time to go,” he muttered.
The next instant she found herself by the Porsche, disoriented and barely breathing. Around her was chaos. Twin piles of ash dotted the lawn, as did the bodies of two Mark guards. Two wolves fought with those who remained standing. The dragon was acting as cover for the Marks, spewing fire according to the directions shouted from the gwyllion, who stood on the roof of the van.
“Is he d-dead?” she gasped, clinging to Alec as the sky swirled madly above her. “Is the wolf really dead this time?”
Reed’s voice came clipped and furious, “I’d say so.”
“Are you sure?” she persisted. “We burned him up before and the son of a bitch came back.”
Alec pressed his lips to her forehead and released her. “Ash is ash, there’s no coming back from that. Can you get Montevista out of here?”
Eve blinked. “What?”
He gestured to the passenger seat where the guard laid crumbled, his black shirt glistening wetly, his throat torn and gushing. If he were mortal, he’d be long dead. As a Mark, he was damn close to it. Defenseless and vulnerable.
Reed pressed keys into her palm. “Go.”
A piercing howl rent the air. They turned their heads, saw a massive wolf on the front steps. It stared at them with bared teeth and glowing red eyes. The white diamond on its forehead told her who it was, but she asked anyway, “Is that Daddy?”
“Get the fuck out of here!” Alec yelled, his wings snapping free with such force, Eve was plastered to the hood. Reed joined the fray, the two brothers launching forward, intercepting the wolf, who charged at her full-bore while flanked on either side by two wolves.
Black and white wings, powerful masculine bodies, ferocious beasts… She was arrested by the sight. The eternal conflict between angel and demon. The battle cries and howls of pain. The smell of fire and ash, of blood and urine.
“Hollis…”
Montevista’s weak voice snapped her back to reality. Eve slid off the hood. She leaped over the driver’s-side door of the open convertible and hopped into the seat. She turned the key in the ignition and the powerful engine roared like a dream. She squealed out of the driveway in reverse, running over an attacking wolf in the process.
Gripping the stick shift, she slammed the transmission into gear and punched the gas. She adjusted the review mirror, trying to see the fracas behind her. Montevista yelled in terror. Eve’s gaze shot forward and she screamed, too. She stood on the brake. The Porsche’s rear end fishtailed wildly, the car skidding down the street passenger side first…
…straight for the house-sized, flesh-colored beast thundering toward them.
The car juddered to a halt.
“Fuck me,” she breathed, then coughed as her lungs burned. Was that the hellhound?
Turn around and run, Alec bit out. Only Infernals can kill it.
Wasn’t that just really damned inconvenient?
She looked back at the blazing house and the two winged men who circled low over it, combating the wolves that poured out of a widening hole in the ground. Satan was sending reinforcements. They couldn’t deal with the behemoth from Hell on top of that. No way.
One wolf broke free of the melee and raced toward her, foaming at the mouth and lathered at the throat. The Alpha.
Eve restarted the stalled car and spun around, hurtling toward the wolf with the same reckless intent he displayed. If it was just a game of chicken between a canine and a car, she’d know who would win. But against a werewolf… She gripped the steering wheel tighter and shifted gears in rapid succession.
A foot away from impact, the wolf leaped onto the hood, his massive claws piercing through the metal. He roared at her through the windshield, his red eyes wild and filled with evil. He lunged head first into the safety glass, shattering it.
Fucking A.
Downshifting, Eve yanked the steering wheel hard left and spun the car back around, skidding across the empty street and hitting a curb. The bump dislodged the wolf, who slid across the hood and almost fell off before gaining purchase at the very nose.
She gunned it, putting the Porsche through its paces as she accelerated toward the approaching mega-Infernal. Zero-to-sixty in less than four seconds.
“This might not work,” she shouted at Montevista.
“Go down in a blaze of glory,” he said back.
“Give me your gun.”
Montevista pulled the weapon free of his thigh holster and racked it, then handed it over. She aimed and fired through the wolf, the Glock autoloading and discharging again and again and again. The sixth bullet widened the hole in the Alpha’s shoulder and pierced through the other side, hitting the hellhound. Covered in werewolf blood, the bullet penetrated the beast’s hide. Eve continued to fire, punching through the back of the wolf to injure the hound with nearly every shot.
The hound screamed in fury and lunged. Eve punched the gas. With the Alpha as a hood ornament, she hit the beast head on.
Visit the following authors to read more snippets:
Anya Bast
Cynthia Eden
Vivi Anna
Jaci Burton
Mandy Roth
Michelle Pillow
Juliana Stone
Moira Rogers
Sasha White
TJ Michaels
Maura Anderson
Beth Kery
Jody Wallace
Eliza Gayle
Kelly Maher
Elisabeth Naughton
Taige Crenshaw
Beth Williamson
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
Tor Books (publisher of the Marked series) is sponsoring a giveaway of the first three books in the series on Darque Reviews.
“Ms. Day’s very kind publicist at TOR has offered to share three sets of the first three releases in Marked! That includes the books released to date, Eve of Darkness and Eve of Destruction, as well as the upcoming release of Eve of Chaos. Three sets, the first three releases in each! This is a release day giveaway, so you have the month of June to enter, and the winners will be drawn on June 30, 2009 just in time for the release of Eve of Chaos. See the contest page for instructions on how to enter.”
- Kimberly Swan, DarqueReviews.com
If you’d like more information on how to enter, visit here: Marked Giveaway
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
Available Now!
EVE OF DESTRUCTION
A Marked Novel, Book #2
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback
Tor Books – June 2, 2009
ISBN-10: 076536042X
ISBN-13: 978-0765360427
When you’re learning to hunt demons, homework can be hell…
Class is in, but Evangeline Hollis is far from being the star pupil. She’s struggling to get through the required training to be a full-fledged Mark — one of thousands of sinners forced to hunt demons for God. When her class goes on a week-long field trip to an abandoned military base, passing the course suddenly isn’t just a matter of pride… it’s a matter of life and death. There’s a demon hidden among them, killing off Eve’s classmates one by one.
As the body count rises, a ragtag team of ghost hunters from a cable TV program unwittingly stumbles into the carnage. Now keeping the Mark system secret competes with the need to keep the “paranormal researchers” alive. With Cain on assignment and Abel investigating a new, terrifying class of demon, Eve must fly solo on her hunt to stop a killer before he strikes again.
Excerpt: www.sjday.net/books/marked-2/
Video: http://www.sjday.net/trailer/
Reviews: delicious.com/sj_day/destruction
Widgets and Wallpapers: www.sjday.net/extras/downloads/
Monday, June 1st, 2009
This past week a friend of mine lamented her recent purchase of two romance novels. Her problem with both of them was the lack of conflict. It seems both stories had an external problem to work out, but internally… nada. The couple was clearly on the road to HEA, regardless. Their only problem was the external plot needed to be resolved, but as a couple, they were good to go. She asked me if this type of story was the norm now. After all, she’d picked up two books and they both had the same sort of setup.
As a reader, I understood what she was saying. I’d also noticed that some of the romances I’ve picked up over the last year or so lacked a “black moment.” I find that so odd. If there’s no question that the couple is going to end up together, where is the story? If the focus is entirely external plot, is that even a romance anymore? (internal conflict and black moments don’t apply exclusively to romance, but I’m talking about romantic fiction here). I’ve always thought external conflicts were important because they bring internal conflicts to a head. Sink or swim. Do or die.
My friend’s question tied into an issue I’d had with a book I’ve been trying to write unsuccessfully for months. Over the last few years, my stories have gotten progressively “darker.” There’s nothing wrong with that, but I wanted to switch things up when I started the new book. Both for my sake and for readers. While I believe that an author needs to consistently provide a signature experience for their readers, I also believe that familiarity breeds contempt. I think it’s important to surprise yourself and the reader with something new within the framework of the author’s promise to the reader. (which is really another blog post altogether…)
I spent weeks trying to come up with the first chapter. It took me months to roll past the 100 pg mark. I began to dread facing that book every day, because it was a pain in the arse to write. Nothing flowed. It took me far too long to realize that by working so hard to make the book “lighter”, I’d gone too far in the other direction — there wasn’t enough internal conflict. The external plot was there, but there was a lack of internal GMC (goal, motivation, conflict) for both characters. (there was also a lack of a “ticking clock”, but that, too, is worthy of its own blog post.) I was bored because the characters weren’t growing. They were just going through the motions. In order to root for someone, they have to be working toward something. Otherwise, it’s like going to a football game where the winning team is known to all and the players just hang out on the field until the time’s up. Sure, they may be horsing around and getting to know each other, which would undoubtedly be fun to watch, but is there a story there?
The discussion about conflict spilled over to our chapter loop, where some writers agreed with my friend about missing romantic conflict and others disagreed, saying that they disliked angsty books and felt that black moments often felt contrived to them. Candy Halliday wrote a blog post about real-life black moments, because someone had pointed to black moments as the reason why they don’t read romance. For me, though, I don’t think conflict = angst.
So I was wondering… Can you give some examples of conflict that wasn’t angsty? How do you feel about conflict in the books you read and write? How about black moments, do you think they’re contrived?
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