Hellebore & Rue is back in pixels

Thanks to Steve Berman and the other great folks at Lethe Press, Hellebore & Rue has been reissued electronically. You can now download the multiple award-winning anthology to your reader for the bargain price of $6.99. What are you waiting for? All it takes is a single click.
Meanwhile, I've been adding a number of new items to the web site--mostly links to new Buzzy Magazine video interviews on the And Stuff page. As you can see from the sidebar, my 2013 calendar is filling up, too. I could've even included an event in 2014, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. And nothing beats adding a link to a new review, this time for The Modern Fae's Guide for Surviving Humanity. You can find it on the Books page.
Now back to work...

My Capclave Schedule

This weekend—the real Columbus Day weekend—you can find me at Capclave, my hometown con. The guests of honor will be John Scalzi and Nick Mamatas. But they’ve given me some really nice panels, too. Come join us in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and see for yourself.

Friday
4 p.m., Frederick Meeting Room
Required reading
Students are required to read many novels. Is this a good thing? Can High School students truly relate to the Joads? Does being forced to read hold back students? Panelists: Roger MacBride Allen, James Morrow, Jean Marie Ward (Moderator)

Saturday
Noon, Bethesda Meeting Room
Reviews, what are they good for?
They said what!?! What is the value of book blogs and review sites? Should you engage? Panelists: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Brenda Clough, Gayle Surrette (Moderator), Jean Marie Ward

3 p.m., Salons A & B
Romancing the Paranormal
Witches and werewolves and vampires in love. Why has paranormal romance become so popular? Is this a fad or a lasting subgenre? Have publishers started cutting back? How much romance needs to be in the book for it to be paranormal as opposed to urban/modern fantasy? Panelists: Victoria Janssen (Moderator), Sherin Nicole, Jean Marie Ward

4 p.m., Bethesda Meeting Room
Has Steampunk gone mainstream?
New York editors are acting like gears and coal-fired engines are the new vampires. Has the genre become too popular--and is that a bad thing? And what exactly is steampunk and is it fantasy or science fiction? Panelists: John Ashmead, Jonah Knight (Moderator), Alan Smale, Elaine Stiles, Jean Marie Ward

7:30 p.m., Salons A & B
Capclave Signing
All Guests

10:30 p.m., Salons A & B
I Swear It’s All True
Panelists regal fans with their best “true” stories about things that happened to them. The moderator will give prompts, “Things that happened when I was supposed to be writing,” “Craziest thing that happened at a convention,” “Weirdest interaction with an editor or agent,” and “How I learned a lesson I’ll never forget.” Panelists: Jean Marie Ward (Moderator), Lawrence Watt-Evans

Sunday
11 a.m., Bethesda Meeting Room
WWI Comeback
It has been nearly a hundred years since the War to end all wars, is this a setting that still has potential? Will the movie War Horse and the TV show Downton Abbey spark a new interest in fiction set during World War One? Panelists: Tad Daley, JD, PhD, Andrew Fox, John G. Hemry, Victoria Janssen (Moderator), Jean Marie Ward

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Dragon*Con, Here I come

It's the most wonderful time of the year...
No, silly, not the winter holiday season.  I'm talking about Dragon*Con, where you too can be surrounded by forty thousand of the closest friends and acquaintances you never met before--like these charmers.

I'll be doing my thing on five panels this year:

Friday, August 31, 1 p.m. (Hyatt, Fairlie Meeting Room)
Talking Cats and Clever Rats--Animals as symbols and characters in SF and fantasy.
Panelists: Lynn Abbey, Diane Hughes, Jean Marie Ward (Moderator)

Saturday, September 1, 2:30 p.m. (Hyatt, Greenbriar Meeting Room)
Good War/Bad War--How have recent conflicts shaped or influenced today's SF?
T.C. McCarthy, Jean Marie Ward (Moderator), Michael Z. Williamson

Sunday, September 2, 5:30 p.m. (Hyatt, Greenbriar Meeting Room)
Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading--Well-known and up-and-coming women writers read from their works.
Too many writers to count.  ;-)

Monday, September 3, 1 p.m. (Hyatt, Fairlie Meeting Room)
SF Win, Lose or Draw--The third annual Win, Lose or Draw competition comes to Dragon*Con.  Put together a team or join one when you arrive.

Monday, September 2, 2:30 p.m. (Hyatt, Embassy D-F)
Writer's Wonder Panel--Writers discuss the wonders--good and bad--of being a writer.
Lynn Abbey, Carole Nelson Douglas, Nancy Knight, Jennifer St. Giles, Jean Marie Ward, Janny Wurts

Looking forward to seeing you there!

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Old Town Synchronicity

You just can't make this stuff up. Last week, Diane Whiteside received a letter from a fan of her novel, The Shadow Guard. The fan was seeking the grave of Col. John Fitzgerald, aide-de-camp to George Washington at Valley Forge and prominent Alexandria cit mentioned in Diane's book. When the usual sources (Wiki, Google, etc.) came up empty, Diane asked me if any of my friends at Alexandria's historic Carlyle House might know. I promised to ask the next time I volunteer (sometime after Dragon*Con). In the meantime, I started rooting around in my local library.

Fitzgerald was the driving force behind Old Town Alexandria's first Catholic Church, St. Mary's, so I started with the records for St. Mary's Cemetery, copies which are conveniently located in every Alexandria branch library. From there I went to compilations of The Alexandria Gazette obituaries and the records of the Hustings Court. (Fitzgerald was a big wheeler dealer on the local real estate front.) I confirmed his town home was located on the corner of King and Fairfax Streets, where the main branch of Burke and Herbert Bank now stands, but hey, that's a no brainer. They've even got a plaque to that effect on the bank.

Today Diane and I met for lunch. By some odd quirk of timing, we drove into the Market Square parking garage in Old Town at the same time. We planned to lunch at O'Connell's but power was off on that side of the street, so I asked, "Would you like to eat Italian? There's Landini Brothers and Il Porto across the street. Which one would you prefer?"

"Landini Brothers--you mentioned it first."

After lunch we headed for the Queen Street branch of the Alexandria library, home of the local history collection. Julia, the librarian on duty, wasn't quite sure where to look. I'd already searched the St. Mary's records. So we rooted around in the transcriptions of Alexandria tombstones. Nada. Then Julia pulled out Ethelyn Cox's Historic Alexandria Virginia Street by Street. It contained a page on Fitzgerald's King Street warehouse which noted his burial site as Warburton Plantation, the present site of Fort Washington.

Oh, and the warehouse? It's the same building where we ate lunch.

I love Alexandria.

You may have noticed a new con in the sidebar at JeanMarieWard.com. Madicon 22 has invited me to be a guest along with longtime buds (and great writers!) Jana Oliver, Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine, as well as friends-to-be Jonah Knight, Megan Amberly and R.S. Belcher. The dates to remember are March 8-10, 2013. The place is James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

For the here and now--or the hear and now, if you insist--I read a selection from "Lord Bai and the Magic Pirate" in this month's BroadPod, the Rapid Fire Reading of the air sponsored by Broad Universe. I've read bits and pieces from this story before, but never this section.

I've also posted the opening of "Burning Down the House", my story in Hellfire Lounge 3: Jinn Rummy. If you put it together with the excerpt here, you can get a real taste of the tale. Yes, that was another bad pun, but you'll have to read the excerpts to find out why. Enjoy!

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Six Sentence Sunday: Highway from Hell, Clip Three

Still working on revisions, so I'll stick with Highway for this weekend's Six Sentence Sunday. This snippet comes after DeeCee deForrest, aka Eurydice, has made it past Deadlands Immigration to the ground transportation area of the main immigration terminal:

After all the times I’d wished Jim had been around to take care of things lately, it felt as if I’d conjured him. He was almost exactly the way I remembered—drugstore shades crushing a swept-back tangle of light brown hair, cheekbones, chiseled lips and strong chin, white t-shirt, worn jeans. Almost. I couldn’t put my finger on the difference. If anything he seemed more…more something, which didn’t make any sense. Weren’t we supposed to be mere shadows of ourselves?

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Six Sentence Sunday: Highway from Hell, Clip Two

I'm still working my HfH rewrite. This time my Sunday Six is a little bit of description. Enjoy!

A storm system dumped a couple inches of white stuff on the ground a couple days after Martin Luther King’s birthday. But snow doesn’t usually stick on the mesa, even when it’s cold. Three days after the storm, there wasn’t enough left to worry about. Nothing the leather-topped trainers I’d worn to the construction site couldn’t handle, at any rate. Brisk snaps of wind carried the scent of pine and creosote. Between breezes, the late afternoon sun warmed my back under my borrowed jacket.

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Six Sentence Sunday: Highway From Hell

Let's see if I can squeak in under the Six Sentence Sunday wire with the first six sentences of my ongoing WIP, Highway From Hell--the story of Orpheus from Eurydice's POV. Enjoy!

Snakes. Why did Orpheus have to collect snakes?

“It slithered right past me. It’s a miracle I’m not dead!” Our housekeeper was screeching so loud my phone couldn’t handle it. Her distorted voice hooted in my ear like she’d pushed it through a wah-wah pedal.

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Nebula Weekend Photos

Posted the photos of my adventures in Nebula Land on my Flickr account. This is the direct link. For the first time anywhere, anywhen, I took more video than photos. So far, the only video posted is the Neil Gaiman interview at Buzzy Mag, but there are lots more on the way, including interviews with Jo Walton, Delia Sherman, Ellen Kushner and Walter Jon Williams. Now back to prepping for Fifteen Panels of Balticon. Hope to see you there!

My Schedule for Balticon 2012

This year’s Balticon will nothing if not exciting. I’m scheduled for fifteen (fifteen!) panels. Gulp.

Friday 4:00 pm (Salon B)
Symbology of Animals in Folk and Fairy Tales (Readers Track)
Are certain animals used to symbolize certain character types. How? Why? In a modern fairy tale, what animals would you use and in what way? (M): Trisha J. Wooldridge, (S): Jean Marie Ward, Ray Ridenour, D.H. Aire, Phil Giunta

Friday 5:00 pm (Salon D)
Worst. Panel. Ever. (Fan Track)
Panelists trade stories about their worst ever panel experiences. (M): Jean Marie Ward, (S): Wayne Arthur Hall, Perrianne Lurie, Stephanie M. Burke

Friday, 10:00 pm (Parlor 1041) T
he Role of Anthologies, Roundtable Discussion (Readers Track)
As both a source of fiction and a means of promotion, what do anthologies have to offer? Fan and author panelists discuss. (M) Danielle Ackley-McPhail, (S): Michael A. Ventrella, Joshua Bilmes, C.J .Henderson, Trisha J. Wooldridge, Bernie Mojzes, Pete Prellwitz, Jean Marie Ward

Saturday, 12:00 noon (Parlor 1041)
Magical Systems in Fantasy Literature (Readers Track)
A Roundtable Discussion. Panelists look at what are some of the things we expect to see in magical systems and give examples of works that are missing those factors, but work just fine for the reader anyway. (M): Gail Z. Martin, (S): Hildy Silverman, Trisha J. Wooldridge, Myke Cole, Jody Lynn Nye (Guest of Honor, David Wood, Barba¬Friend Ish, Elektra Hammond, Bill Fawcett, Jean Marie Ward

Saturday, 1:00 pm (Salon B) The Effects of War on SF & F (Readers Track)
How has our war torn era shaped fantasy and SF? (M): Myke Cole, (S): Charles Edward Gannon, Bill Fawcett, Jon Sprunk, Jean Marie Ward

Saturday, 2:00 pm, (Maryland Foyer)
Autographing: Jaclyn Dolamore, Christine Norris and Jean Marie Ward

Saturday, 7:00 pm (Parlor 1041) Modern Fae Book Launch (Readers Track)
Come join editor Joshua Palmatier and contributing author Jean Marie Ward as they celebrate the release of the anthology The Modern Fae’s Guide to Surviving Humanity from DAW Books, containing tales of the fae and how they have adapted to fit into modern society. From leprechauns on Wall Street to Selkies at Sea World, see how the fae have learned to live with the infestation that is humanity. Drinks and snacks available, along with books for purchase and Autographing at the event. (M) Joshua Palmatier/Benjamin Tate, Jean Marie Ward

Saturday, 12:00 midnight to Sunday 1:00 AM (Pimlico) The Wild Hunt and the Payment To Hell (Readers Track)
Fairies Are NOT Nice! Panelists discuss the ugly side of the beautiful Fae. (M): James Daniel Ross, (S): Elaine Corvidae, Jagi Lamplighter, Stephanie M. Burke, Jean Marie Ward

Sunday, 1:00 pm, (1 hr, 20 mins) (Salon B)
Broad Universe Reading (Readers Track)
Rapid Fire readings from some amazing women/authors. (M): Jean Marie Ward, (S): Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Emilie, P. Bush, Elaine Corvidae, Roxanne Bland, Jody Lynn Nye (Guest of Honor)

Sunday, 7:00 pm (Belmont Room)
History as a Source of Fantasy (Readers Track)
Panelists discuss the use of history to develop fantasy and which sources are good ones. (M): Jagi Lamplighter, (S) Walter H. Hunt, Bill Fawcett, Pete Prellwitz, Jean Marie Ward

Sunday, 8:00 pm (Parlor 3041)
Which Comes First: Main Character or Supporting Cast? (Readers Track) Do you start with a main character and build the rest around them? Or do you start with a cast of characters and wait for the most compelling to ""become" the main character? What do you do when you start with a main character in mind and another character steals the show? (M): David Wood, (S): Jean Marie Ward, Barbara Friend Ish, James Maxey, Elaine Corvidae, David Sherman, Pete Prellwitz

Sunday, 9:00 pm (Parlor 3041)
'Fessing Up to the Adult Themes in YA Literature (Teen Track)
Young adult literature is growing up, tackling such hard issues as good and evil, abuse, abandonment, grief and loss. And then there's sex. Is there a line that shouldn't be crossed or is no subject taboo for today's teens? A roundtable of teens and YA authors discuss these topics and takes questions and comments from the audience. (M): Jean Marie Ward, (S): Sarah Taylor, Janine K. Spendlove, Michael Andrew D'Ambrosio, Daniel Hack, Sarah Sexton, Christine Norris

Sunday, 10:00 pm (Parlor 3041)
Films, Books and TV Shows That Everyone Likes, But I Don't (Film, TV, Film-making Track)
Panelists bash the things we hold dear. (M): Joshua Bilmes, (S) Daniel M. Kimmel, Ian Randal Strock, Trish Wilson (Elizabeth Black), Jean Marie Ward

Monday, 11:00 am, (Salon C)
Old Fandoms and Favorite Cancelled Shows (Fan Track)
Star Trek, Farscape, Lexx, Firefly: What keeps their fans hanging on? What are some other series that still have strong fan follow¬ings? (M): Billy Flynn, (S): Zan Rosin, Yoji Kondo/Eric Kotani, Hildy Silverman, Jean Marie Ward, Lisa Adler-Golden

Monday, 12:00 noon (Salon D)
The Discreet Charm of the Historical Fantasy (Readers Track)
What prompts otherwise sane writers to spend years research¬ing the Imperial Japan, the Silk Road, or the Ripper's London? How do they know when they've gotten it right? (M): Christine Norris, (S): Diane Weinstein, Patrick Scaffido, Bill Fawcett, D.H. Aire, Jean Marie Ward

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Neil Gaiman Interview

If you ever needed proof that I'm a total fan girl, here it is: my Nebula Awards Banquet interview with Neil Gaiman.  Enjoy!

"Burning Down the House" for Fun and Promo

I missed the posting deadline for Six Sentence Sunday for the second week in a row. Bad blogger, that's me. By way of apology, I thought I'd offer a slightly longer excerpt from "Burning Down the House" from Hellfire Lounge 3: Jinn Rummy which will be launched at Balticon, May 25-28. I promise to share the date, time and details as soon as I learn them. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy what happens after our poor protagonist Eddie Woodhouse sits in that big comfy chair:

“Do you have the bottle?” he asked.

A flash from the dance floor lit her eyes like an evil smile. She placed an empty absinthe bottle on the table.

“May your next transfer run as smoothly as the one from your bank.” The blare of the music muted the scrape of her scimitar nails along the glass. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather do this someplace more private?”

“No.” The jinni inside him lashed his face. He couldn’t hide the bulge of their shared skin or his flinch of pain.

The woman added teeth to her smile. “Your funeral. I trust you’ll be more careful where you stick your straw in the future.”

Her exit line raised a different kind of welt, but he didn’t care as long as she left. Nobody paid any attention to a fat man in a club full of beautiful people. More importantly, the security cams and warding spells focused on the tables would keep her from trying anything more than what he paid for. He’d never been a contender in the magical department, but he never thought he’d sink so low that he’d owe his life to the sorcerous paranoia of Ducky “Duc d’Or”.

Eddie’s teeth chattered against the glass as he closed his lips around the neck of the bottle and chanted the first of the thirty-one goetic evocations from The Secret Key of Solomon under his breath. The words didn’t always make sense, but he suspected the real spell lay in his mind’s desperate prayer: “Take this damned thing outta me and I’ll never do magic. I’ll never so much as make a wish. Never. Ever.”

The words burned his throat. Never. The jinni swelled inside his lungs until he thought his ribs would explode. Ever.

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What happens next? Well, you'll just have to read the story--or come to the launch--to find out.

We've got reviews! And award nods!

While I've been groveling--er, adjusting to The New Management, things have been popping on the news front. Hellebore and Rue has been named as a Goldie Award Finalist in Speculative Fiction, along with a collaboration between our editor Joselle Vanderhooft and Hellebore and Rue contributor and publisher Steve Berman. Which makes it a great time to plug Joselle's freelance editorial services and fellow Hellebore editor Catherine Lundoff's fiction and editorial projects. Speaking of Hellebore and Rue and Catherine, they're both up for Lesbian Fiction Reader's Choice Awards. Vote early and often.

Meanwhile, the world has been showing review love for The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity. The first is from Night Owl Sci-Fi, which mentions my story "Fixed" along side Elizabeth Bear's, Anton Strout's and April Steenburgh's. (You should see my grin.) The second is from Janicu's Book Blog on Live Journal, which gives you a little taste of every story in the collection. Obviously it's time to update my review links. :-

Six Sentence Sunday: "Burning Down the House"

Balticon is less than four weeks away, and I'll be participating in two (count 'em, two!) launch parties for two amazing anthologies, The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity and Hellfire Lounge 3: Jinn Rummy. In honor of the occasions, this month's Six Sentence Sundays will be devoted to the stories featured in those anthologies. Since you've already had several snippets from "Fixed", let's take a taste of "Burning Down the House", my story in Hellfire Lounge 3. Enjoy!

Eddie Woodhouse lurched between the tables of the Sixth Circle Club, apologizing every ponderous step of the way. Carrying a full-grown jinni inside his skin was hell. Its spine-crushing weight was only the start. Despite the swelter of July in New York, his thermal fleece sweatsuit, the heat of the crowd and the flames jetting in the six upright iron cages evenly spaced along the club’s circular wall, it was all he could do to keep from shivering as he approached the sorceress waiting at the shadowed table furthest from the door.

Gritting his teeth, he eased his tripled girth into the wide-armed leather chair across from her. The puffy cushions clenched around him like a boxing glove around a fist.

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To read the rest, you'll have to buy the book--and you can get it at Balticon. Hope to see you there.

RavenCon Schedule

RavenCon is this weekend!  I can’t wait, and when you see the schedule they’ve given me, you’ll know why.  And this is only the tip of their programming iceberg.  Glen Cook and Matthew Stewart are the writer and artist guests of honor, respectively.  This year the con hosts its first media guest, Battlestar Galactica’s Nicki Clyne. Not to mention an all-new Masquerade and a concert by Bella Morte, whose lead singer Andy Deane is also a writer and on the program.   And so am I:

Friday, April 14

4 p.m.

Space Cowboys and Fantasy Noir: From Shadowrun to the Garret Files to Priest, mixing genres can result in some interesting stories.  What genres mix well?

John Betancourt Glen Cook, S. Reesa Herberth, Stuart Jaffe, Michelle Moore, Jean Marie Ward

5 p.m.

Creating a Timeline: How carefully should an author keep track of what happens, when, and where?  What are some techniques to make this easier?

Day Al-Mohamed (m), Pamela K. Kinney, Bud Sparhawk, Jean Marie Ward, Robert E. Waters, Steve White

Saturday, April 15

2 p.m.

Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading: Tasty, bite-sized readings from the authors of Broad Universe, an international organization dedicated to promoting science fiction, fantasy and horror written by women.

Danielle Ackley McPhail, KT Pinto, Gail Z. Martin, Jean Marie Ward, Leona Wisoker (m)

3 p.m.

Design a Superhero: What makes a superhero great? Panelists describe what they think makes a memorable superhero.

Butch Allen, Billy Flynn, CJ Henderson, Patrick A. Vanner, Jean Marie Ward

5 p.m.

Modern Fairy Tales: Lost Girl, Grimm, and Once Upon a Time all bring fairy tales to the TV screen.  What makes some shows work, and others not?

Butch Allen, Flynnstress, Warren Rochelle, Suzanne Rosin, Michelle D. Sonnier, Jean Marie Ward

Sunday, April 16

11 a.m.

Are Panels About Vampires Played Out?  Every year, we have a panel asking if vampires are passé.  Are panels asking if vampires are passé…passé?

Scott M. Baker, Keith R.A. DeCandido, KT Pinto, Jim Stratton, Jean Marie Ward, Robert E. Waters

2 p.m.

Military Science Fiction and Fantasy: Panelists discuss the various subgenres of military SF and fantasy, from Star Trek to Battlestar Galactica to the Black Company.
Glen Cook, Mike McPhail, Tony Ruggerio, Janine K. Spendlove, Patrick A. Vanner, Jean Marie Ward (m)

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Cat-assisted writer (Photo by Greg Uchrin)

The iconic Duzell, born we don't know, entered our lives in September 2006 and left as considerately as he did everything sometime around eleven this morning. He got me through some of the worst times of my life, always gentle, always the gentleman. I wasn't ready for him to go. I don't think I would've ever been ready. Sometimes you are blessed with a friend, human or animal, too good for just one life. I wish my sweet boy many such lives, all of them filled with the love he deserves.

Six Sentence Sunday: Stealth Con, or How to Succeed at Cons with a Cunning Plan

Our beloved Feline Overlord is ailing, and last weekend was devoted to him. But I'm back this week, with a little nonfiction in honor of RavenCon, where I'll be next weekend--the story of my first RavenCon in 2007:

The email from RavenCon’s assistant director of programming was polite but not encouraging:

“Right now our guest list is full, but I will put you on our short list if a guest cancels…”

A lot of writers will take that as a hint. In other words: “Stay home, little girl, you’re not big enough/you’re the wrong genre to play in our sandbox.” But I’m evil and wise in the ways of science fiction/fantasy conventions. And I had a cunning plan.

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If you want to read more about my first RavenCon, you can find the full story here.

Six Sentence Sunday: "Fixed", Part 4

Here it is, your last Six Sentence Sunday entry for the month of "Fixed", my story in The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity. And because I am evil, it is a cliffhanger. If you want to read more, well, you just have to buy the book. ;-)

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“Just as I thought,” she said. “Prepare this animal for surgery. I need to operate immediately.”
His head shot upward. Backed against the steel bars, he couldn’t help seeing past her glamour. The lines scoring her forehead and bracketing the corners of her wide, lipsticked mouth floated like a painted veil over a pale, ageless face as perfect as a marble Madonna.

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Six Sentence Sunday: "Fixed", Part 3

Last week I fell down on the Six Sentence Sunday job. Hey, a girl and her sweetie get only one anniversary a year. But I'm back with a third selection from "Fixed", my story in the fabulous anthology The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity. Enjoy!
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Even the kittens shut up, pressing their bodies to the wet plastic floor of their cage. A chill brushed his spine, lifting fur that had just begun to relax. Jack’s ability to sense magic was no better than human. The difference was he knew it existed and taught himself to read the warning signs in other animals. This one was lit up in neon. He hunkered down and tried to think cat thoughts; the last thing he wanted was to attract any kind of magical attention.

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Thursday 13, Modern Fae-style

You already know about “Fixed” my story in The Modern Fae’s Guide to Surviving Humanity (aka #ModernFae in the Twitterverse), the wonderful fantasy anthology edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray. (My blurb and an excerpt can be found here, if you somehow escaped my blog the first time through.) But what you may not know is there are thirteen (yes, exactly thirteen—for Thursday, no less) other wonderful reasons to buy the book. To quote the web site’s table of contents:

“We Will Not Be Undersold” by Seanan McGuire
Dan discovers the sinister reason why the employees of Undermart are always cheerful and ready to help consumers buy the latest cheap plastic imports. But when his snooping takes him to Oberon's realm, Dan must pay the price for his trespass.

“The Changeling” by Susan Jett
Marisol Martinez thinks her son Tomas died in childbirth, until a midwife tells her it’s been stolen by the fae. Now she needs to save her son from the fairy’s clutches...by heading into the hill hidden in...Brooklyn?

“Water-Called” by Kari Sperring
The water spirit Jenny had once ruled a wide expanse of marshland, but now she was hemmed in by the modern world of concrete and drainage canals. But when a killer dares to hunt in Jenny's realm, Jenny ventures into the modern city, and returns to her old ways.

“The Roots of Aston Quercus” by Juliet E. McKenna
A copse full of dryads is threatened by the construction of a new road, right through their heart. But how can they save their precious trees without exposing themselves to the world? All they have is their copse...and their memories, built up over hundreds of years.

“To Scratch an Itch” by Avery Shade
Young Autumn Sky has been told to always, always act normal. But when a storm threatens her roof garden, she acts without thinking, using powers she didn't know she had...endangering not only her family, but all of the fae as well.

“Continuing Education” by Christine Smith
Stuck in a dead-end career, Lee had returned to college, seeking a different life. But when a fellow student disappears, she learns that the picturesque brick and ivy buildings of the old campus hide ancient secrets, and corporations aren't the only ones recruiting students.

"How to Be Human” by Barbara Ashford
Is there anything more pathetic than a menopausal faery? Yes. A menopausal male faery leading a motivational seminar. For humans. At the New Rochelle Radisson. And when some of the local fae youngsters stop by to cause trouble, Finn rediscovers his own passion, and that his talks may apply more to the fae than the humans he’s glamoured his whole life.



"How Much Salt?” by April Steenburgh
Cut off from his clan as humans claimed the beaches once reserved for selkies, Dan finds a new home--and a new place to hunt--when he joins an aquarium show.

“Hooked” by Anton Strout
A rogue fairy lures unwary New Yorkers to their deaths in the heart of Central Park. But her latest victim is more than he seems, and the predator has just become the prey.

“Crash” by S.C. Butler
Where would a crafty leprechaun hide out in the modern world? Wall Street, of course! And Janet has just found the end of the rainbow. But stealing the leprechaun’s "gold" has consequences that she couldn't have imagined.

“A People Who Always Know” by Shannon Page and Jay Lake
Someone is stealing the changelings and returning them to the fae world before their time. Hestia, the former queen of faerie, knows who is behind the kidnappings, but proving her suspicions requires her to venture into the mortal world.

“The Slaughtered Lamb” by Elizabeth Bear
Edie, a drag queen werewolf, has always been an outcast--from the fae and her pack. But when the Wild Hunt rides through the streets of Manhattan, she ends up learning that times have changed, and perhaps the pack needs her after all.

“Corrupted” by Jim C. Hines
Jessica had spent years as an FBI agent, protecting humans from rogue fae. But the years--and the steel of modern life--have taken their toll, threatening to turn her into one of the very monsters that she hunts. When the rogues threaten to destroy the fae realm, can Jessica find the strength for one last case?

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Photos of The Modern Fae’s Guide in the wild at the Tustin Ranch, California, Barnes and Noble taken by the wonderful Catherine Gross-Colten on March 7.


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Six Sentence Sunday: "Fixed", Part 2

It's getting closer and closer. The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity goes on sale March 6.  To whet your appetite, here's another Six Sentence Sunday snippet from my cat shifter story, "Fixed". Enjoy!

He feinted right. With a triumphant woof and the crackle of dead weeds, his pursuer plunged into the brush. Jack veered left, gaze locked on the outdoor balance beam. If he could run the dog into the log . . .
“Look out!” a female voice screamed.
He turned just in time to see a bicycle twice his height tearing up the center of the path.

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Six Sentence Sunday: "Fixed"

This Six Sentence Sunday I'm super excited to share an excerpt from "Fixed", my story in The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity, coming from DAW Books to a bookstore near you on March 6. Yes, you read that right: DAW Books. It's my very first appearance in a mass market paperback. You'll be able to go to the SF and fantasy section of your local mall bookstore and find it on the shelves. And you want to find it, because the table of contents features people like Seanan Mcguire, Elizabeth Bear and Jim C. Hines--to say nothing about my little story about a teenaged cat shifter who absolutely, positively does NOT want to get "Fixed". It opens:

There were lots of advantages to being a part-time cat. Being chased by a Rottweiler named Bitsy through Holcomb Creek Park wasn’t one of them.
Heart pounding, chest heaving, Jack Tibbert raced down the bike path, insensible to the late November cold, the people on the path, or anything except escape. Bitsy’s heavy grunts grew louder as she closed the gap between them. His imagination added the heat of the dog’s breath on his neck as her massive jaws closed in for the kill. He had to take cover—high where her crushing teeth couldn’t reach—but where?

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Six Sentence Sunday: "Hoodoo Cupid" Three

This will be my last Six Sentence Sunday excerpt from "Hoodoo Cupid"--at least until next year. I hope you've enjoyed reading the excerpts as much as I've enjoyed revisiting the story.

No matter how hard or how loud her inner paranoid told her he couldn’t be trusted, the rest of her wasn’t listening. Her respiration slowed, lulled by hints of scents which had no place in a sickroom—sandalwood and ginger and the faintest trace of sweat. The longer she stood there and watched him breathe, waiting for her to act, accepting it…

Something fluttered, soft as feathered wings, inside her belly.

“Maggie?” he whispered.

Why did he have to say her name like it mattered?

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Six Sentence Sunday: "Hoodoo Cupid" Two

As promised, February's first three Six Sentence Sunday entries are all from my short contemporary romance, "Hoodoo Cupid", available wherever fine ebooks are sold.

Today's scene takes place in the ER after Maggie Scanlan's hoodoo has done it's work on her professional rival and new boss, Dan Constantine:

When [Dan's] eyes focused on a person—the way they focused on her now—it was like being targeted by a pair of lasers. The fan of creases deepening at the corners of his eyes and his slowly widening smile only made it worse.

“My ride.” His voice had a husky quality—a subtle roughness like vintage mohair upholstery, which inspired almost as much thigh wriggling and skirt palming among the agency power groupies as his eyes. “Talk about answered prayers. Please tell me it’s going to be a long one.”

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Bad Girl Blogging

This month's theme at Beyond the Veil is the changing face of the romance industry. I tried to be good. I really did. But nothing says blog to me like organizations behaving badly. ;-)

The More Things in the Romance Industry Change...

Six Sentence Sunday: "Hoodoo Cupid"

In honor of February's big day, I plan three Six Sentence Sunday excerpts from my Valentine's Day romance, "Hoodoo Cupid", a short romance published by Red Rose and available wherever fine ebooks are sold.  As the blurb says:

Maggie Scanlan’s voodoo was a bust until she took her scissors to a poppet on Valentine’s Day. She never expected professional rival—and voodoo victim—Dan Constantine to break his leg, much less sweep the rug out from under her in an Emergency Room. Her brain says, “Run!” Her heart…

"Hoodoo Cupid"

The tattered rag doll flopped on the brushed metal table as Maggie Scanlan wrapped a thread thrice around its stubby legs.

“Let’s see how you like being cut off at the knees, Daniel Curtiss Constantine!” she shouted into the doll’s expressionless face.

A raw, exhaust-scented wind skittered under her hair, raising goose bumps across the back of her neck. She paid the goose bumps no mind. She wasn’t scared. It was just the cold.

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More next week!

The Faster I Run...

The behinder I get. At least, it sure seems that way.

It's taken me way too long to update JeanMarieWard.com with the cover and jacket copy for Hellfire Lounge 2: Rat Pack Redux. If you like your horror served sardonic--and occasionally laugh out loud funny--this is the anthology for you. It features stories by my old friends C. J. Henderson, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, R. Allen Leider and Robert Waters, as well as new colleagues James Chambers, John L. French, KT Pinto, Patrick Thomas and Paul Kupperberg, and amazing art by Ben Fogletto (check out that cover!), Ed Coutts, Ben Fogletto, Denny Fincke, Jason Whitley and Paul London. Yeah, I'm in there, too, with a little story called "Billy's Monster". And when I say little, you know I mean it.

Also criminal is my failure to blog more about my interview at Carma Spence's Genre Traveller. Carma did a great job with the interview, but the thing that knocks me out is the interactive content. It's worth it to check out the page just to see her linky goodness. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Happy Ground Hog Day!