
My camera was flashing low battery at me yesterday, so I didn't get nearly as many pics as I'd like, but here are the ones I did manage!
1- Maria Geraci, Dara Edmondson and Louise M. Gouge
2- me and Maria, a Knight Agency author (BUNCO BABES GONE WILD! etc.)
3- Linnea Sinclair
4- Pamela LaBud and Gennita Low
As a bonus, I got to reconnect with a friend of mine I haven't seen since college, who now lives about an hour and a half away from me (and far less than that from the signing)! It was as though no time had passed at all. I look forward to getting out here way again so we can chat more under less chaotic circumstances.

In a world where, “I follow you on Twitter,” does not indicate a stalker, where agents and editors can be “friended” on Facebook and MySpace and where everyone in the world can be “Googled,” it may seem as though there are no boundaries. We’re all just one big happy family, and you can dash an e-mail off to the pros just like you can your BFF. Not so! There is still an etiquette, there are still boundaries and procedures, and while doing your research means you’ll be targeting the right people with your work, it should not get to the point where you feel you know them so well you can bypass those procedures. Remember, they don’t necessarily know you. Just as you wouldn’t send a resume to a potential employer’s personal e-mail address or home, you shouldn’t send a query to an agent or editor’s non-business account or even their direct business account if their guidelines say there’s a separate address that should be used for queries. It’s very possible that contact made in the wrong way is deleted unread or even automatically by the pro’s spam filter.
You wouldn’t say to a potential employer, “You dude, I’m a hard worker. Pick me!” Likewise, your query letter shouldn’t be so informal. (No, I’m not suggesting that agents or editors are employers, but you are trying to establish a business relationship and should be professional in your approach.) I’ve posted dos and don’ts on my blog before (here), but here are a few more:
-don’t call the agent or editor by his or her first name unless you’re truly on a first name basis
-spend at least as much time on your query letter as you would on a cover letter to go along with your resume
-spell check and proof read
-make sure you’re following guidelines and do not direct the pros to a separate website to view your work; everything we need to make a decision should be included with your query
-be sure the pro can respond to the e-mail address you’ve used if sending an electronic query (Note: this seems obvious, but I’ve had responses bounce because the address is no reply or because there’s an anti-spam process I’m not going to take the time to complete.)
There’s been a lot of good advice given this week (discovered via Twitter). Here are some of the links:
Lauren Dane – how authors should respond to rejection
Jennifer Jackson (
arcaedia ) – on queries
Richelle Gardner – how not to get an agent

Two more chances to get a signed copy of Vamped by the end of the year. Just remember, the holidays are coming up and books are one size fits all!
Saturday, November 7th from 2:00-5:00pm
Romancing the Holidays: Multi-author Charity Book Signing
Altamonte Mall - Center Court Fountain
451 E. Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, FL
Tel: (407) 261-0213
Participating authors:
Saturday, November 21st from 2:00–3:00p.m.
Borders Books
12500 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, FL 33618
Tel: ( 813) 265-8455 www.borders.com

1- Deanna Hoak (
2- Authors F. Paul Wilson, Meg Turville-Heitz and Scott Edelman at the signing
3- Writer and blogger J. Daniel Sawyer, SOULLESS author Gail Carriger and Orbit marketing and publicity director Alex Lencicki
4- Awesome fantasy author David B. Coe and Deanna Hoak
And some pics from Gail Carriger's fabulous steampunk tea release party for SOULLESS:
I missed a lot of names, so if you can identify any of the people I can't, please chime in. Many pics I took because I just loved the costumes.
1- Photographer for the evening, whose name I hadn't caught, but have since learned via Facebook is Brittney Hart, and Gail Carriger (
2- Pretty people in pretty costumes
3- Ellen Datlow (
4 & 5- Pics taken by Crystal Jordan. Yes, I have coat envy and am now lusting over Kristi Smart's designs.
6- More pretty people in attractive costuming (this photo also attributable to Crystal Jordan)
7- Liz Gorinsky (
8- Again, lovely costumes!
9- Francesca Myman from Locus and the lady of the evening (which sounds so dirty) Gail Carriger.

Happy release day to Rachel Caine and Jasmine Haynes! Rachel (
Rachel Caine will be at Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 7th from 4-6 p.m. and Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego this Sunday, November 8th at 2 p.m. to sign books. For other events, check out her website.

First, some pics from the Borders Los Gatos Romance Readers Group discussion and signing with romance authors Jami Alden, Bella Andre, Mardi Ballou, Jasmine Haynes, Paty Jager, Crystal Jordan, Kate Perry and Veronica Wolff and mystery author Diana Orgain.
1- erotic romance authors Jasmine Haynes and Crystal Jordan, me and mystery writer Diana Orgain.
2- Jasmine Haynes signing. (You can just barely see our awesome hostess, Ellen Higuchi in the background.)
3- Diana Orgain with Paty Jager, Bella Andre and others in the background
1- SFWA President Russell Davis, N.K. Jemisin (whose fabulous debut THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS releases in February from Orbit) and John Helfers from Tekno Books
2- Jennifer Heddle from Gallery Books/Pocket, copyeditor extraordinaire Deanna Hoak, the notorious Graham Joyce, Cat Sparks and Deborah Biancotti at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.
3- Jen Heddle and I hamming it up with Tut (or a reasonable facsimile thereof)
4- Jim Minz of Baen Books, author Russell Davis, James Frenkel of Tor/Forge Books.
5- Jasmine Haynes/Jennifer Skully, Crystal Jordan and their two fall friends at the Winchester Mystery House. (On a personal note, I've decided that Crys is a fashion psychic, since completely unplanned she was wearing the same color as I was when she picked me up on Thursday and the same color as Jennifer when we met for the Mystery House!)
More later as my migraine allows.

1- Kepler's!
2- The very cute table they set up. You can just barely see the skull armbands, one of which I had to buy, of course.
3- From L to R: my awesome authors Crystal Jordan (UNTAMED) and Diana Orgain (BUNDLE OF TROUBLE) then me. No, Crys and I didn't arrange to be dressed nearly identically. I had to remove my black jacket so we wouldn't be mistaken for twins.
4- Me and Angela Mann from Kepler's, who set everything up and was so amazingly knowledgeable about teen fiction.
I was awed to have been signing at Kepler's, where Jeff Kinney of the Wimpy Kid books had just been the week before. In fact, there were still a few signed copies in the store, so I had to buy one of the new books for my son, who's a HUGE fan. In case anyone is interested, Kepler's has some signed copies of VAMPED as well! Michael Chabon was appearing at the store later that same day. I missed him by just hours because I had to be over in Los Gatos later that evening. Bummer.
Stay tuned for more pics as the week goes on and I find time to upload and post.

The best way to assure that you don't get scammed is to do your research on the agencies you query. Check Publishers Marketplace to see who the dealmakers are in your genre. Look into the SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) Writer Beware site for info on particular scams and what to watch out for. (I've just discovered they have a blog as well here.) You should also check out the Preditors & Editors site, which will give you information on agents, editors, contests and awards...basically anything you might need to know. Note: the listings here are by first name rather than last.
If anyone has any tips, links or whathaveyou to add, please comment. Let's get the word out.

Kepler's Books and Magazines
1010 El Camino Real Menlo Park, CA 94025
Tel: (650) 324-4321
4 p.m. PST - Greet and Sign
Borders in Los Gatos
50 University Ave., #280, Los Gatos, CA 95030
Tel: (408) 395-6622
6:30 p.m. - Multi-Author Signing with romance authors Jami Alden, Bella Andre, Mardi Ballou, Jasmine Haynes, Paty Jager, Crystal Jordan, Kate Perry and Veronica Wolff; mystery author Diana Orgain
Don't forget that The Knight Agency is hosting Halloween Week on our blog, complete with giveaways. Today's guest blogger is Chloe Neill, author of SOME GIRLS BITE and FRIDAY NIGHT BITES.

On Sunday, The Chicago Sun-Times printed this great article about Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires. I want to point out that Chicago has also been used as a backdrop for P.N. Elrod's long-running noir Vampire Files series, the latest of which, DARK ROAD RISING, was just released.
Speaking of noir, the KoD is the Romance Writers of America chapter dedicated to mystery and romantic suspense. They put on a very nice, intimate conference with a fantastic line-up of speakers, many of which I was fortunate enough to hear. At so many writers conferences I'm scheduled up against the other pros and so never get to listen in our their presentations. They had fellow agent
-Kelly Mortimer (who has her own agency on the west coast) doing some extreme editing, Patience Smith of Silhouette Romantic Suspense (but agent to acquire for other Harlequin and Silhouette lines as well) talking about how to stay on track and capture an editor's attention, former homicide detective Danny Agan discussing the tools of criminals and those who catch them, Mary O'Gara talking about Psychics and Cops: The Good, The Bad and The Creepy, and suspense author CJ Lyons workshopping how to break free from the slush pile. We had some free time to explore old town Albuquerque, which involved shopping, prickly pears and margaritas. It was a very nice time, and the retreat format gave us a chance to get to know each other pretty well. It also gave me the chance to see two of my local authors, Doranna Durgin and Susan Krinard, to talk shop and then leave shop talk behind for subjects ranging from food to Firefly.
1- Patience Smith, Kelly Mortimer and me
2- Doranna Durgin, author of numerous Nocturne's and the forthcoming Reckoners series from Tor Romance
3- Susan Krinard, writer and artist extraordinaire
4- Kelly Mortimer and Lt. Danny Agan
5- Medical suspense author CJ Lyons
6- Prickly pear and other vegetation
7- Church in old town

In honor of teen week (and the second printing of FRIDAY NIGHT BITES!), Chloe Neill is here to talk about:

Patience Smith, editor with Silhouette’s Romantic Suspense line
Lucienne Diver (me), agent with The Knight Agency
Kelly Mortimer, agent with The Kelly Mortimer Agency
CJ Lyons, bestselling medical suspense author
Homicide Lt. Danny Agan
Mary O'Gara, author, life coach, and professional psychic
Not sure if registration has closed, but if you want to check it out, here's the link.


For more talk of Teen Reads, my Cynsations interview is up today, including discussion of how my own young adult novel, VAMPED, came to be.
In other news, The Knight Agency is hosting a Take Home Tuesday Contest with Marley Gibson, Patrick Burns and Dave Schrader, co-authors of THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING AND THE PARANORMAL.
Where: TKA Chat Room
When: Wednesday, October 21st @ 9pm ET
How To Chat: (1) Click on this link: http://client1.sigmachat.com/sc.php?id=1

Second, a new blog post from Vicky Dreiling on "How I Met My Agent." (I'll leave you to guess who that might be.)
Third, it's Teen Read Week! According to the American Library Association, 2009's theme is "Read Beyond Reality @ your library, which encourages teens to read something out of this world, just for the fun of it." In honor of this, here are some great teen reads in series already begun or about to get started.
Rachel Caine's fabulous Morganville Vampires series:
GLASS HOUSES
DEAD GIRLS' DANCE
MIDNIGHT ALLEY
FEAST OF FOOLS
LORD OF MISRULE
CARPE CORPUS
FADE OUT
KISS OF DEATH
Quote from Romance Junkies:
"Everything about this series is enchanting and addicting and it's a series
Rosemary Clement-Moore's Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series
PROM DATES FROM HELL
HELL WEEK
HIGHWAY TO HELL
and her latest, THE SPLENDOR FALLS
From Publishers Weekly:
“Sylvie’s voice is sharp and articulate, and Clement-Moore (the Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series) anchors the story in actual locations and history, offering au courant speculations about the nature of ghosts and magic. Her ear for both adolescent bitchery and sweetness remains sure, and her ability to write realistic, edgy dialogue without relying on obscenity or stereotype is a pleasure.”
Chloe Neill's wonderful Dark Elite series, forthcoming in January 2010 from Berkley JAM, beginning with:
FIRESPELL
Read the first chapter here!


Today's guest blog is with the multi-talented Laura Anne Gilman (
Changing Gears, without Losing the Love by Laura Anne Gilman
[this essay was inspired by a conversation Our Hostess and I had over drinks one night, about how difficult it can be, sometimes, to reach into yourself and pull out what a story needs… how scary it can be to face expectations – of both ourselves, and our readers.]
Writers write. That’s a given. But sometimes we write… different. And it terrifies us.
For the past five years, I’ve been best known for the urban fantasy “Retrievers” series, a kick-ass heroine in a contemporary setting, magic and mayhem and moral complications, all happening at the rat-a-tat pace of
I love those books, and the way people respond to them. And yet… even as I was having a fantabulous time with urban fantasy, there were other things tickling at my brain, other stories I wanted to tell; other styles I wanted to play with.
There’s a risk in changing gears, though. What if your readers don’t follow you? What if the book is terrible? What if, what if…? Writers, dear readers, are neurotic and delicate creatures, even when we’re trying to be tough as nails. So although I played around in my short fiction, I stayed focused on urban fantasy, and the Cosa Nostradamus novels.
And then a passing comment by my agent triggered an idea: a wine-based fantasy. Why not? I am a wine nerd of good standing (I even spent a year working in a wine store), and the idea of wine-makers as magicians seemed to make absolute and perfect sense to me – what is the transformation of grape juice into wine but the most basic alchemy, after all? And thanks to Christianity, wine already carries mythical overtones, and the setting of an alternate 14th Century world was ripe for what I’d been wanting to write about.... And then the character’s voice hit me.
I couldn’t stop myself, I ran with it – or, more precisely, it ran with me. For a year, I lived with this book even as I was working on the next Retrievers novel. I researched historical methods of winemaking. I read articles on vinification and the genetic diversity of grape varietals. I traveled to
(Oh, okay, you caught me. I tasted as many wines as I could because I love discovering new wines. But it was legitimate research, too!)
And now, 18 months later, Flesh and Fire: Book 1 of The Vineart War, has hit the bookstores. The reviewers have already been quite kind – it got a starred review from both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal – but I have absolutely no idea how my readers will react.
And I’ve discovered… I’m okay with that.
Changing gears was scary as hell. It made me look at my writing, my storytelling, and my own hang-ups and fears under a bright and occasionally painful light, pulling me totally out of my comfort zone. But the results were worth it – and I will carry what I learned forward for the rest of my writing career.
The important thing -- in writing, in love, in life – is not to be afraid. Happy Book-birthday, Flesh and Fire. And thank you, for reminding me of that.

In other vamp news, I'm thrilled to report that Chloe Neill's FRIDAY NIGHT BITES, the second Chicagoland Vampires novel following SOME GIRLS BITE, is currently #2 on B&N's trade fantasy bestseller list and #3 on Bookscan's trade sf/fantasy bestseller list. Go, Chloe!
Tomorrow, guest blogger Laura Anne Gilman will be talking about breaking out of your comfort zone and her new novel FLESH AND FIRE.

So, a few pics from the reunion.
1- Me and my husband
2- Sandy, Eric, me, Mike, Liz and Eileen after a few drinks
The day after the reunion we had a wonderful brunch at Shadows on the Hudson, where, unfortunately, the only pics I took were of the scenery. That night, we had a second reunion of sorts at Kevin McCurdy's Haunted Mansion, the place where my husband and I met.

