Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the blogs of WAR!

The book's out on Thursday, though I know it's already on the shelves of a few bookshops already, which is excellent.
As part of the whole 'getting to know you, getting to know me' thing I'm involved in a global blog tour which has started RIGHT NOW!
Yes, with the ease of a superhero I will be darting back and forth across the planet, appearing at two places SIMULTANEOUSLY a feat few have performed without requiring major surgery.
But why, you ask? Haven't we heard enough?
To you, there at the back and heckling and paying no attention I say 'Pah! I am AN AUTHOR! My opinions need to be heard whether you like them or not!'
So, I've press-ganged a team of unfortunate souls into aiding me in unleashing Dark Goddess on to an unsuspecting world.
Unleashing. I love that word. Unleashing.
So, over the next month the Dark Goddess blog tour will be appearing at a screen near you.
Rather than the 'who's your favourite author' we're going to be looking at stuff like why Russian werewolves rule, why girl heroes kick ass harder than boy heroes, why Baba Yaga likes to eat children and the connection between Conan and feminism.
What's not to love?
So, who's on and when? The list is ever-evolving and up on my Events page. So shoot over there right now and join in.

Werewolf June, 13 to Life

Everything about Jessie Gillmansen's life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she's about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent--he's a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie's small town. It seems change is the one thing Jessie can't avoid.
Time is drawing Werewolf June to a close, so I present the last member of the pack, Shannon Delany.
The very first YA werewolf book I read (and definitely a favorite) is Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause (great werewolf culture). I also highly recommend Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (much more of the love stuff, far less pack mentality). My debut, 13 to Life, incorporates pack mentality (more in the second book) and some romance (but I hadn't read any werewolf novels except Mary Stewart's until I was done with 13 to Life's rough draft). There are so many great werewolf titles I haven't read yet and are on my TBR list (including your series, Sarwat!). The very first werewolf novel I ever read was A Walk in Wolf Wood by Mary Stewart--it was terrific and I recommend it for MG readers.

Favorite werewolf movie? Ginger Snaps. Because let's face it--the only thing scarier than fierce werewolves are fierce teenage werewolves. Talk about dangerous! ;-)

Do's and Don'ts of Dealing with Werewolves
Everyone who has read 13 to Life knows my weres are a different breed, but these rules should apply to anytime you encounter a werewolf in its full wolfskin.
DO stay perfectly still and no matter what, DON'T run. The hunt instinct is linked very closely to the chase instinct in every canine from wild wolves to the most frightening of beasts--chihuahuas (seriously, they freak me out!).
DON'T trust the "puppy dog eyes" of a werewolf. A werewolf may have "very big eyes" but remember, Little Red, he's also got "very big teeth."
DON'T look straight into a werewolf's eyes--it signals a desire to demonstrate his dominance and believe me, when dealing with werewolves, we are NOT at the top of the food chain!
DON'T walk around with your pockets stuffed with raw meat (for so many reasons, especially socially related ones--but it's also definitely a bad decision in a world where werewolves roam)!
DON'T try to insert yourself into the midst of a werewolf fight (or dog fight). Unless you're Jess. And you're stuck in book two of my 13 to Life series, Secrets and Shadows. And even then you may not find that decision to be the soundest choice. But hey, everyone does strange things for the people--er--werewolves they love.

Most TRIUMPHANT!

Lots of fun things to report!
Firstly, DARK GODDESS is OUT! It was unofficially launched on Saturday at Foyles as part of their Summer Scream bonanza, which was an amazing event. This is me, forcing my book on people. I can only hope they paid for it.
Met up with Rachel Caine, Sarah Rees Brennan where we talked about all thing supernatural and how Rachel used to write between 5am and 8am every day. So you have no excuse, basically. If you're serious about breaking into the industry you now know what you're up against. Then I also chatted with the authors of the tremendous Tunnels series, Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.
Now, some of you may know that tunneling formed a significant period of my life as I worked on the Channel Tunnel for a few years back in the early 1990's (yes, I am that old). The highlight was me falling down a big drain in front of the French mining team. I'm hoping they (Rod and Brian, not the French mining team) might hire me as a consultant for their next book, fingers are crossed.
The Foyles team were beyond great, especially Neil who provided the questions (way more interesting than 'what's your favourite book' and 'Team Edward or Team Jacob?'). But thanks to all the gang who've been banging the drum for Devil's Kiss for the last year and that means Sam, Jeni and Jo-Anne. Hope you enjoy Dark Goddess!
So, if you'd like to get your hands on an early copy, it's available at Foyles and Foyles alone. The general release will be next Thurs and (hopefully) it'll be available at all good bookshops (in the UK!). The US edition is due out 25th Jan 2011 and it'll be hardback and even more gorgeous.
Is there more news? Oh yes indeed.
I've won the Spellbinding award run by Cumbrian Secondary Schools! There was some serious competition but hey, they went with the Templar book and why not? It's the first prize I've won since I was about 6 when I received 50p (I think) for designing the cover of our sports day pamphlet. I've still got it somewhere in the loft so might show you later. Still, what a result! Thanks to everyone in sunny Cumbria and there are plans for me to head up there soon (maybe before the summer hols but definately after).
Can the bonanza of good news continue? Of course it can!
The DARK GODDESS competition had a load of entries so it was great to hear how much people were looking forward to the further adventures of Billi SanGreal. The names went into a hat and the winners of a signed copy are:
WulfLuva (whose favourite heroine was Ashlyn), Pook26 (Buffy), Stacey (Katnis), Surfergirl9 (Aisling), Aik (Claire out of the Morganville series), Cherry (Karrin) and finally Michelle (Persephone).
Yes, I have awarded 7 winners rather than five. That's because I'm that kind of guy and I'm due a box of ARCs of Dark Goddess so will hand a few of those out too. But they're somewhere in the Atlantic so may take a while to arrive.
Congrats to the winners and sorry I couldn't send all the entrants a copy, but there'll be another comp when the US edition comes out. Could the names picked email me with your addresses? Use the Contact Me link on my main website.

Yes. We have werewolves. Where wolf? Here wolf!

Feathers unfurl from my skin. My plummet curves into a swoop, and I tuck my talons beneath my body. From girl to great horned owl in about a second. Pretty good, huh?

Gwen Williams is like any other modern teenager with one exception: she's a shapeshifter. Never having known her Pooka-spirit father, Gwen must struggle with the wild, wonderful magic inside of her alone—and in secret. While society may tolerate vampires, centaurs, and "Others" like Gwen, there are plenty of folks in Klikamuks, Washington, who don't care for her kind.

Now there's a new werewolf pack in town, and Others are getting killed, including Gwen's dryad friend. The police are doing zilch. In the midst of terrible loss and danger, Gwen meets a cute Japanese fox spirit who's refreshingly comfortable with his Otherness. Can Gwen find the courage to embrace her true self and find the killer—before she becomes the next victim?


Gorgeous cover, don't you think? And the eyes, always be wary of anyone with glowing green eyes!
Karen's written OTHER and is part of the werewolf pack I now belong to. It's strange how they're all girls apart from me (though I think I now have honourary girl status, but that's another story entirely).

So, without further ado,here's my trio of questions for the glamourous Karen!

1. Most scary book you read with werewolves/shifters?
Probably Peter S. Beagle's Tamsin. Although it isn’t a straight horror novel by any means, it definitely creeped me out when I read it. Besides ghosts and the Wild Hunt, we meet faeries who can shift into different forms. Not to mention become invisible. One of these faeries is, in fact, a pooka—though he’s quite a bit more mysterious and malicious than the half-pooka protagonist of my novel Other.

2. Most scary werewolf movie?
I must admit, I’m one of those people who watches horror movies to laugh at them. The half-naked, half-hairy man-wolves in Hollywood don’t scare me much, since it doesn’t take a lot of fake fur and cheesy special effects to make me snicker. I’d love to see a decent werewolf movie where the wolves actually look somewhat like wolves, and manage to terrify the living daylights out of me.

3. Any dos and don'ts about werewolves you'd like to share? Top tips?
Do: make sure you know what kind of werewolf you’re dealing with. Depending on the story, the werewolf might (a) kill you, (b) fall in love with you, or (c) drool on you. Don’t: underestimate the cuteness of werepuppies. You get to meet some in Other. They like chew toys, and piddling on your shoes.