Where in the world is Stacey?

I promise, I have not disappeared completely. But the truth is, I may be a bit scarce in these parts for awhile. I'm thrilled to announce that Disney-Hyperion offered me a contract for the next two books in my YA series. So...I'm going to be a bit busy for awhile. Delightfully so! :)

 

I still have plans for Zara and Caelan (and Ehren) for those who might be wondering, and I have a fun new idea for a space opera-y type love story that I've been working on, off and on, for about two years. :)

 

But right now, I'm having fun talking to ghosts, remembering the pain of high school angst (at a tolerable distance), and inventing shadowy organizations with murky intentions.

 

For the latest info, please visit my Twitter page: www.twitter.com/staceykade or friend me on Facebook as either Stacey Klemstein or Stacey Kade. (Stacey Kade is my pen name for YA.) 

 

You don't have to have a Twitter account to read the updates or anything. You can also visit my new YA site, www.staceykade.com, though I'll be honest, I'm going to keeping a low profile pretty much everywhere for awhile. Have to get words on the page!

 

If you need me, though, you can always reach me through the contact page. :) As always, I love hearing from you guys!

Winner!

And the winner, by random drawing, is...Kagey!

 

Kagey, please send me your mailing address. :) Here's a link to the contact page on my website, where you'll find my email address or you can use the contact form there, whatever works best for you:  http://www.staceyklemstein.com/contact/

 

Thank you to everyone who posted a comment. And remember, BLUE DIABLO is out in bookstores tomorrow!

Win a copy of Ann Aguirre's new urban fantasy: BLUE DIABLO!

I LOVE urban fantasy, which is funny because I really don't care much (with a few exceptions) for "regular" fantasy. You know, elves, warlocks and all kinds of magical creatures gallivanting over a strange landscape. But with urban fantasy, something about those magical creatures in a familiar setting, a city, (hence the term urban) hits that sweet spot of real meets surreal that I just adore. The guy in the expensive but tattered business suit on the bus, muttering to himself, might be a homeless person who happened to score an unusual clothing find at the shelter, or it might be a powerful shapeshifter who just had a really bad day. Urban fantasy makes you look at your everyday world and see it differently. That's what I like about it. 

Now Ann Aguirre, author of the fabulous SF books Grimspace and Wanderlust, has started a new urban fantasy series with Blue Diablo. I was lucky enough to be able to read portions of it in advance, and it is AWESOME! Want to win a copy? It's easy! Just post a comment below. I'll draw a winner on Monday, April 6. 

Here's the descrip from her website:

Right now, I'm a redhead. I've been blonde and brunette as the situation requires, though an unscheduled color change usually means relocating in the middle of the night. So far, I'm doing well here. Nobody knows what I'm running from. And I'd like to keep it that way…

Eighteen months ago, Corine Solomon crossed the border to Mexico City, fleeing her past, her lover, and her "gift". Corine, a handler, can touch something and know its history—and sometimes, its future. Using her ability, she can find the missing—and that's why people never stop trying to find her. People like her ex, Chance…

Chance, whose uncanny luck has led him to her doorstep, needs her help. Someone dear to them both has gone missing in Laredo, Texas, and the only hope of finding her is through Corine's gift. But their search may prove dangerous as the trail leads them into a strange dark world of demons and sorcerers, ghosts and witchcraft, zombies—and black magic…

Formula for tagline/summary

Per my Twitter conversation with Colby Hodge/Cindy Holby, here's the short blurb I created yesterday for my upcoming young adult Novel, The Ghost and The Goth, using Linnea Sinclair's "character+conflict+hook" formula. She does it way better than I can, but I'm pretty proud of this one: 

 

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she's stuck here in spirit form with no sign of the big, bright light coming to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser/outcast type who hates the social elite. He alone can see and hear her, but he wants nothing to do with the uberbitch of Groundsboro High.
 
Can they get over their mutual distrust—and this weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don't exist?

 

From Hyperion Books in Summer 2010. Visit StaceyKade.com for more details.

 

Update

Edits for my YA novel are in--yea! So, I'm working on those, which is using up most of my brain power at the moment. I am really excited about this book! The title will not be changing, it seems, so it will be The Ghost and the Goth. It will likely be a summer 2010 release. 

Lessons to remember for next time? I should have written up all the rules for my world when I was actually writing the book so I could refer back to them now, the edit phase, easily instead of trying to cobble together all my scrawled notes into some semblance of sense. They made sense at the time, I swear! But I wrote the first draft of this book two years ago. That's a long time to try and remember/decipher notes on the back of a credit card envelope. :) So...next time, write book, take notes on rules while writing the book, and then write up the rules at the end of the book. 

I'm also getting ready for RT--just five weeks away! Buying my giveaways for the goody bags, creating (or starting to create) new promotional postcards, making flight arrangements and plans to meet up with friends. 

Excellent books I've read lately include:

Hope's Folly by Linnea Sinclair--I was lucky enough to read this one while it was under development. It has become my new favorite! Philip and Rya...wow, the chemistry between them is amazing. Love the May-December thing too. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good "rebellion against the evil empire" story. My favorite part was Hope's Folly (the ship) herself. Always limping along, something always breaking, the mysterious smell of oranges--reminds me of Serenity, you know? 

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan--wow, this one just completely sucked me in. It was wonderful! Zombies and the end of the world. Kind of like 28 Days Later meets The Village. :) 

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

Airhead by Meg Cabot--I put off reading this one for awhile as I thought I knew which way it was going to go, but I've never been more delighted to be wrong! :)

Okay, off to finish laundry and then bed! More later... :) 

A useful email forward...

This is from my friend Jeanine. Dude, I am so trying this. As soon as I buy cocoa. And chocolate chips. New eggs might be a good idea too...Can you tell I don't cook much? :)

 

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
 
  
4 tbsp. flour
 4 tbsps. sugar
 2 tbsps. cocoa
 1 egg
 3 tbsps. milk
 3 tbsps. oil
 3 tbps. chocolate chips (optional)
 A small splash of vanilla extract
 1 large coffee mug
 
 Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg & mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil & mix well... Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
  And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Awesome blog entry from screenwriter John August

Check out this blog entry from John August about what to do with lots of ideas competing for your time and how to decide which to work on first. I particularly love the dialogue between the three ideas talking about how to compete for John's attention. "Quick! Get him while he's in the shower." Love that. And it's true. Lisa Shearin and I had a long conversation last year at RT about the desire to own tub markers so we could write down ideas that came to us during showering. :)

The sun!

What is it about warm weather that just makes everything feel better, more possible? Love it! :)

 

Random updates:

 

--The Romantic Times Book Lovers' Convention is actually just around the corner (April), and we're all starting to get ready. Ordering little prizes to give away, figuring out our schedules and such. :)

 

--Expecting edits on my young adult novel (tentatively titled The Ghost and the Goth) in the next month or so.

 

--Stopped by Love is Murder Convention this weekend. There was a reenactor fest going on in the same hotel. I loved seeing all the period clothing (I learned you do not say costume!), everything from Caesar's soldiers (in metal armor and everything) to Civil War hoopskirts. How cool!

 

--I am just loving The Big Bang Theory, though I find this debate about whether Sheldon has Asperger's Syndrome interesting. I'd rather have them not "out" him. I already assume that he's different but that's what I like about him. He represents all of us who are socially awkward to various degrees (myself included). I don't need to have a label slapped on it. Though I understand why advocates for those with Asperger's would like to have him as role model, of sorts.

 

My favorite quote from Sheldon is from a recent episode when Penny pushes past him as he's opening the door to his apartment. She tells him to shut the door, and he does...while still standing on the outside. When she opens the door and tells him to get inside, he tells her she told him to shut the door, but she didn't say anything about coming inside first. (Love it!) Then, they're both hunched against the door, listening, and finally Sheldon says, "I'm sorry. I don't know what this social situation is. Can you give me a hint?"

 

Or something to that effect. Yes, it's funny on its own, but also because I recognize that feeling of "what the hell is going on here and should I say something or just stay quiet and go with the flow?"

 

Sheldon, champion of socially awkward but sweet people everywhere.  

 

--Am counting the days to the release of City of Glass by Cassandra Clare.

 

--Woot! Just found work is letting us out early today! Yea!

 

 

 

 

Winter Lethargy

Yeah, I know, I shouldn't complain because I was just in Florida. Which was AWESOME. You forget how good sunshine can feel on your skin when the air is constantly trying to freeze dry your lungs. And Linnea and I had a blast hanging out! :)

 

Also, Novelist's Boot Camp was really and truly fabulous. I felt like I came away some good ideas and techniques. So, if Todd's doing a session in your area, I highly recommend it.

 

But right now...I've returned to blah. I hate January - March. Seriously. That's a fourth of my year. Ugh.

 

Good things...

 

--Battlestar Galactica is finally back for the last episodes! I can't wait to find out exactly who/what Starbuck is and I hope it doesn't disappoint.

 

--The sun is shining...today. For now.

 

--Only three months until RT in Orlando!

 

--Twitter. I just love it!

 

--A new president.

 

--Reading North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley, which is, so far, awesome!

 

--Hawaii. Not that I'm going there anytime soon. Just that it exists.

 

I'm sure there are more...but I think I better space them out. Did I mention how much I hate this time of year? :) I've got two and a half very long months to go.

 

 

Prepping for FL

In preparation for my trip to Florida, I bought and downloaded 4 episodes of Bones and 3 of The Big Bang Theory, my two "new" favorite shows. Not sure how I missed these earlier. I know I watched the first episode of Bones...I think. But it was too soon after Angel for me. I couldn't see David Boreanaz as anything but Angel. Now, it's not a problem. And I have to admit, I like seeing him play a character that is NOT so brooding and melancholy all the time. It's also interesting because I think I tried to watch the first ep of this show before I watched and fell in love with House. I remember being very put off by Dr. Brennan's coldness and logic in certain situations. Now, after viewing several seasons of House, it doesn't even faze me.  So it makes me wonder if there is a trend toward creating characters who are on the "iffy" side of the like 'em/don't like 'em debate. Also, Emily Deschanel does a great job of communicating Brennan's thoughts without ever saying a word. You can almost see the wheels and gears turning.  

 

The Big Bang Theory, quite simply, makes me laugh. Not at the characters, as some reviewers have suggested, but in identification with them. The science stuff, I'll admit, is a bit beyond me, but I love all the science fiction references. And Sheldon...I can't believe it but I love Sheldon. He's so adorable in a "i'd probably never be able to stand him in real life" kind of way. (My husband, by the way, is completely baffled by my affection for the character.) My favorite line, so far, goes something like this (this is from memory so I probably don't have it quite right):

 

Sheldon emerges from his bedroom with a packed duffel bag.

 

Leonard: "How did you get packed so quickly?"

 

Sheldon: "It's my pre-packed travel bag, as recommended by the Department of Homeland Security and Sarah Connor."

 

Awesome.