As we all know, Nadia Lee is the Queen of Evil.

She is offering passage to Devil Falls, for a price.

by Angelle Trieste

I’m giving away free passage for one person to Devil Falls on October 28th, when Devil Falls will start accepting visitors.

All you have to do is post the following on your blog/messageboard with the title “I Wanna Go to Devil Falls!” and email me with the link–I will accept pings and trackbacks in lieu of an email, but you better check to see that the trackback went through. 1 link, 1 entry into the draw, and two if you say why you want to go to Devil Falls.

The Queen of Evil, Nadia Lee, has finally agreed to accept visitors into Devil Falls, for a price.

Devil Falls is going to be THE next big thing in Romancelandia. Everybody who’s anybody is going to be there, and you want to be one of them, don’t you?

Every week until October 28th, Queen Nadia will be giving away free passage to one person on her blog where she elucidates most intelligently about evil and the world in general, and on October 28th, I, her chief councillor, will give away one copy to someone who helps us spread the gospel of Evil by re-posting this message.

To read more about Devil Falls, clicky here or here.

Full disclosure: Nadia is my critique partner, but I’ve not read this book. I just figure that everybody should read this book.

Okay, way late!

School internet wouldn’t let me log in. I think maybe it was the porn references and the swearing. That’s the ONLY thing I could think of.

I will email you in a moment, Bee!

He’s a biker working undercover for the Feds. She joined the Wild Riders for reasons of her own. Together, they’re burning up the asphalt and tearing headlong into danger and passion…

Naked under leather.

Ever since runaway Jessie Matthews teamed up with the gang of special ops bikers, the Wild Riders have thought of her as their kid sister. Except for Diaz Delgado. Over the past few years he’s been watching the budding of a ripe young woman. Jessie’s glad somebody finally sees her for who she is—and she’s thrilled it’s Diaz. His dark good looks and killer body have tempted her since day one.

Diaz’s unbrotherly urges have been hard to fight but the last thing he’d want to do is hurt Jessie and break up the gang. But when they both go undercover to infiltrate a group of killer survivalists, he knows it’ll be hard to keep his distance—especially when the mission takes a risky turn. Now Diaz has no choice but to open himself up to the one woman who may be strong enough to take him on.

Male bikers? Hot. Female bikers? Even hotter.

Riding Wild is an indulge-your-fantasy read. If you ever thought a guy riding a bike was hot, or wanted one for yourself, it’s definitely for you.

I can’t deny that I think the suspense subplot was weak, mostly because there wasn’t enough page-time given to it. But I like my subplots big and meaty, and if you don’t, then it won’t bother you.

Riding Temptation rate 3.5 out of 5.

FD: I got this as an ARC from Jaci.

I think Maggie Stiefvater must have very fierce faeries, because she is not afraid of my manuscript zombie. Fierce Faeries! *thumbs up* To meet the fierce faeries, comment!

1. On a scale of one to ten, rank your current level of insanity–where ten is belongs-in-lunatic-asylum insane–and tell us why.

I would definitely rank myself at least a solid 8. I mean, a year ago, before I had any novels under contract, I was definitely a 6-7 on a good day, and now, having four novels under contract and working on editorial revisions for two at the same time has only pushed that number up.

I battle the insanity with sweet tea and cookie dough, and it seems to be working. Or maybe it’s just making me too hyper to notice that it’s not working. It helps that I have a very tolerant/ supportive husband. Without the tea, cookie dough, and my fearless companion-in-life, the men in the clean white coats would definitely be taking me away soon.

2. Have you always written and painted? Or did one come before the other?

Yeah, I was always a compulsive doodler and storyteller. I still remember sitting with my brother playing with our toy horses and before we sat down to actually play, he would ask, “What’s the ‘way’?” Way meaning plot. I had to plot out the rough happenings of our characters before we could even get started.

And then I took over my dad’s old word processor and all was lost.

As for painting and drawing, suffice to say that one of my early habits that I had to work to get rid of was drawing in the air with my finger. When no one was around and I had no paper to occupy myself, I’d draw figures in the air with my finger, practicing facial expressions and shapes. Yep, I was possibly even crazier back then.

3. Will we see a book written and illustrated by Maggie Stiefvater any time soon?

Actually, yes, though not in the way you were thinking. I have a weekly original short fiction blog (http://www.merryfates.com) with my friends and fellow writers, Brenna Yovanoff and Tessa Gratton, and at the end of this year, we’re collaborating on an anthology of the best stories from the blog this year. Nothing formal, but it will definitely have a couple internal drawings by yours truly and of course a third of the short stories will be mine.

One of these days, though, I would like to do a graphic novel. I’m a sucker for the art of J. W. Waterhouse and Maxfield Parrish and I’d love to do something fantastic and gorgeous like that. One of my favorite books growing up was a lushly illustrated version of King Arthur with all the squicky bits left in.

4. We all have a well for creativity. Do you have separate ones for art and for fiction? Does doing more of one mean less ‘creativity’ left over for the other?

I think the answer for this is sort of yes, sort of no. To a certain extent, I think that when one creative pursuit is going well, your other creative pursuits tend to go well too. So in that case, the art helps the writing, or vice versa. But sometimes, if I’m doing something really intensive – like working on a rough draft – I find that I’m just too mentally beat to start working on another creative pursuit.

5. And you’re a musician as well! Many writers have soundtracks for each of their books, songs that especially speak to the story they are telling. How about you?

Oh, absolutely. Not only do I tend to write songs to go along with my novels, I also listen to music 100% of the time while I’m writing. I burn CDs of songs that fit the mood of the novel and label them as such. For instance, I have ‘Homicidal Faerie Mix,’ ‘Angst Etc.,’ Wailing Atmospheric Females,’ and ‘Relentlessly Cheerful’ sitting on my desk right now, for four different novels. I can’t really seem to concentrate on writing unless I have music playing.

6. Since you first made your name as an artist, did it make it easier for you to put your fiction out in the world?

I think so. Actually, I put myself out musically before I started really displaying my art or sharing my writing, so that really broke down the barriers. Because I played the bagpipes, and you just don’t get much more public with your abilities than with an instrument that is as loud as a fire engine. Also, I had siblings that read over my shoulder all the time – I started the submission process with a far thicker skin than a lot of people, I think. It’s a fine line to walk between having a big enough ego to not get beaten down by rejection or easily swayed by subjective opinions and having an ego so big that you don’t keep learning or take note when you hear the same sorts of criticism over and over again.

Maggie Stiefvater @LJ and @website. Lament is coming to a bookstore near you!

If you’d like a signed copy, however, comment! Tell us why fierce faeries will beat up manuscript zombies!

MY NAME IS KVOTHE

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature–the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man’s search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.

The voice carries the story and makes the story. In anybody else’s hands, this would be nothing more than backstory, because there is precious little that actually happens in this book.

If I had not wanted to read this book to find out why authors like Terry Brooks and Ursula K. LeGuin blurbed the book, I wouldn’t have gotten past the first ten pages and wouldn’t have finished the book. It may take other readers less time to be snagged by Rothfuss’s voice, in which case they are going to settle in for a good solid read.

The Name of the Wind rates 4 out of 5.

All done.

Heading back to the UK tomorrow. I’ve a post up next week, I think, but Maggie Stiefvater’s interview will be up on the 1st next month, and she’s giving away Lament!

Two immortal warriors attending to her every need…
The struggle between good and evil is about to get…Wicked Hot

Edana is a succubus—a breathtakingly beautiful demon who offers men their most decadent fantasy in exchange for their souls. No one can get close to her without being destroyed..until she meets Eli and Dal. Both men are Nephilim, immortal warriors who bind and banish demons. Edana’s mission is to arouse their lust and steal their souls before they can destroy her—she never expects to fall in love. Shared by two virile lovers and lost in a world of sensation, Edana begins to fall for one of the warriors, jeopardizing her mission. Only he has power to save her, but first she must give him power over her heart—and her destiny…

I’ve read quite a few other first-person succubus books.

This is the only one I’d truly consider a romance. And what a romance it is!

Charlene kept the suspense going throughout the book, from the appearances of Eli and Dal’s father and the Devil to Edana trying to do what a succubus is best at.

And the sex…*fans herself* If you are particularly into m/f/m threesomes, this is definitely the book for you. While many, and maybe most, of the sex scenes are threesomes, you can still see the growth of Edana’s relationship with her hero. It’s not to say that I rooted for one brother or the other, but when you get to the last page, you know that Edana ended up with the right brother.

It’s not a book I read in one sitting, however. Believe it or not, I got past the first hundred pages and then thought ‘whooo hot! but I need a breather.’ I put down the book at least twice. But I’m very very glad that I had to pick it up again so I could write this review, because the pay-off? Totally worth it.

Wicked Hot rates 4 out of 5.

Long ago, in the magical holocaust known as the Mage Wars, the immortal Fey and their allies fought to defeat the grasping evil of the Elden Mages and their dark-gifted supporters. During those wars, in a fit of grief-induced madness caused by the death of his mate, Fey shapeshifter Rain Tairen Soul nearly destroyed the world in a blaze of tairen fire.

Now, a thousand years later, the fierce Fey king must fight to save his race from the brink of extinction and once again stop the evil rising in the homeland of his enemies, the Eld. The key to his success lies in the mortal city of Celieria, where the Mage Wars began, and with a young woman whose soul sings to him in ways no woman’s ever has, whose presence reawakens the primal fury of the tairen within his soul, and whose vast, untapped power can either save or destroy him and his people.

I saw this at the library and picked it up because of the hype. I wouldn’t have made it through if I didn’t want to understand the hype.

It’s an interesting book. I’d have loved it maybe 5-6 years ago.

What’s not to like about Ellysetta? At the start of the book, she is someone nearly every woman has been at some point in their lives. They feel ugly, they are never going to get married, and they feel trapped. Excepting the second bit, I totally get it.

Then Rain comes along. Rain the soul mate. Rain thinks Ellysetta is beautiful, perfect etc. So does the rest of his people — at least the ones we meet in this book.

Wouldn’t you WANT to be Ellysetta?

I would, but I don’t think Ellysetta has much of a personality. Maybe it gets better in the next book, but there’s my one book and you’re out on your ear rule. Wilson’s voice isn’t anything special for me.

As for Rain… He never becomes anything more than a jumble of emotions of wanting Ellysetta, being the man who nearly scorched the world and being the last Tairen Soul. It never clicks into a single character.

Lord of the Fading Lands rates 2 out of 5.

I’m kidding about the second part.

As always, Nadia Lee is the Queen of Evil.

1. I fiddle with fonts for every project. Fiction, non-fiction etc. The only one that goes untouched are my blogs, and that may not last for very long.
2. I always have to read library books first. No matter how many hundred books I have in my TBR pile.
3. I like chewy things, like mitarashi dango and caramels and toffees and glutinous rice balls.
4. I like sashimi and sushi, but I don’t particularly like salmon or maguro. My current favorite is nama hotate.
5. I speak a number of food languages, but only 1 fluently and another kind of in the sense that I sound like a native speaker even if I don’t read like one.
6. I don’t believe in Wikipedia but I do believe in the power of the wiki.

Because I am the Queen of Evil’s chief councillor, I must tag people. Therefore, I tag you, you, you, you, you and you

This blog isn’t about politics.

But I think you should go read this post by Maureen Johnson anyway:

Brisol Palin, for those of you who have managed to avoid all forms of media for the last 48 hours, is the daughter of Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Bristol is seventeen years old and five months pregnant, and she has the extreme misfortune to be in the middle of a contentious presidential race.

This makes me so queasy, I find it hard to type.

A lot of people are saying, “Isn’t that wonderful! What a nice family to support her!” I’d bet my Abba collection that most of you saying that are probably pretty nice people, who do a lot to support others. But I respectfully disagree. I think this situation is nuts. I don’t think she’s getting support at all, and this is one of the most messed up messages I have ever seen put across.

It had to be pretty tough already to be the Republican VP nominee’s kid. Throw in a pregnancy at 17 and there’s just no good way out of this mess.