Anya Bast

By random drawing of the entrants to my Cover Delishishness post on this blog (and from my LJ), the winner is Jackie! Congrats, Jackie! Can you please drop me an email with your preference via the contact form on my site?

Have an awesome day, you-all! I’m getting so veeeery close to the end of Witch Fury. Looks like I’ll be writing The End tomorrow.

I’ve been in my cave editing Witch Heart and finishing up Witch Fury this week. I have tons of work right now. It’s hard because it’s summer and a mild one at that. I want to be outside. So I’m getting up early and staying up late to work. That way the bulk of the day is mine to do with as I wish.

Today it’s beeeeeautiful, so I’ll probably spend a large of chunk of it outside with my daughter, who just got a new slide. She’s crazy about it. She calls it her Wheeeee! 😉 Tomorrow it’s going to be very hot, so I might take her to the pool. We have a pool in our backyard, but the public pool is graduated in depth, like a beach would be. So much easier for the little ones.

Soon I’ll be starting a novella that will introduce a new series I’ll be starting after the Elemental Witches series is finished. This novella will be included in an anthology to be released in October 2009. The other authors will be Angela Knight, Lora Leigh and Allyson James. Think I’m happy to be included in an anthology with such an absolutely fantastic group of writers? Er….trust me, I made the squee heard ’round the world when my agent called asking me if I wanted to be included. I don’t know the title yet or many of the details, but I’m sure more info will be coming soon.

A couple announcement/housekeeping type things:

I’m planning to draw a winner for my contest (see below) this evening, so if you’re going to enter, get your patoochie down there and do it. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.

Also, did you know I’m on Facebook? I love Facebook, guys. I’m not so much an ardent fan of Myspace (but, BOY, I get a lot of personal notes from readers through MySpace). I’m not a monster promoter in general, and especially not on Facebook. I just hang and play with some of the applications. I won’t be trying to fling my books at you on there or anything. So, if you want to friend me, go ahead!

Okay, now for a monster promotion. Heh. Way to make a liar out of myself. Look for a really big month-long contest on this blog starting in early September. I’m still working out the details, but it’s going to work something like this — a chance to win free books every single day from some of the authors I love, (you should see my shopping cart on Amazon.com right now as I prepare). There will also be some rocking, HUGE, prizes at the end of the month (think awesome gift certificates) to coincide with the release of The Chosen Sin on October 7th. More details coming soon.

Lastly, check out DaneHart.com! Megan Hart and Lauren Dane have teamed up to blog together. I’m sure the results will be hilarious and entertaining.

Now I’m off to play in the sunshine!

So far I’ve really been enjoying the summer. I hope you have too. The weather has been mild, for the most part, yet warm enough for swimming and running through the sprinkler. This fills my daughter with lots of joy, joy that I get to partake in too. 🙂 My world is just about perfect when she’s laughing. When I’m not hanging with my daughter outside, I’m writing.

At the moment I’m working on Witch Fury, the last of the books in the Elemental Witch series. I’m angling toward the end of the book now, gearing up for the fireworks display that will bring the story of the Coven witches, the warlocks, and the daaeman to an end. It’s a bittersweet thing. I’m excited about my next project, yet it’s always hard to say goodbye to characters that you’ve spent years with. It’s hard to close up a world that’s lived in your mind, one that you’ve created and populated and that exists so vibrantly in your subconscious that you dream about it at night.

My next project is another series, this time one based on pre-Celtic myth. Before the year is out I plan to write a novella set in this new world and get a good start on the first full length novel of the series. Right now I’m reading and researching, taking notes and building my world. I’m reading some Yeats (apparently he believed in faeries. Who knew? Maybe you did, but I didn’t). I’m also finishing up Gods and Fighting Men, by Lady Gregory.

So, I’m closing up one world and opening another.

But before you see that new world, there will be two more Elemental Witch books released. In fact, here is the cover for Witch Heart, the third in the series. Pretty, huh? The cover artist is Tony Mauro. I think I’ll keep it. 😉

With the immense powers of an earth witch, Claire isn’t destined to be a demon’s handmaiden. Yet this has been her fate since she was six, when her warlock mother brought her to Eudae. Now at thirty-one, she’s about to discover her true power—and how far others are willing to go to take it away…

As part of a mission with the Coven, Adam Tyrell rescues Claire from her enslavement—and finds himself immediately taken with the beautiful witch. But this charming playboy soon learns that it’s easier to steal Claire from demons than win her heart, for her life as a servant has ravaged her spirit. But with Adam determined to protect her from the warlocks who want to harness her magick for evil, Claire’s resistance starts to give way—and they find themselves in the heat of danger, surrendering to the lure of their deepest desires…

Witch Heart will be out on January 6, 2009. It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon.com. This year is flying by so fast, it seems like the release date will be here in no time.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a contest over here, so let’s do one. One random poster will get her choice from my backlist. Pick a title from any publisher. One snag is that if you pick something from my EC backlist, it’ll have to be in ebook since I don’t have any extras of those titles in print right now. Comment on anything you want. About how you’re spending your summer, on the weather, on the prettiness of my new cover ;), on worldbuilding, what you’re reading right now. Anything you want, as long as it’s of substance. Blank posts or “I’m posting to enter” posts will be disqualified, (I get those sometime from the sweepstakes people and I call foul on that one).

Have a fabulous day, you all!! I plan to spend mine working on Witch Fury.

The winner, by random drawing, of the Fab Four Contest is Larena W. Congratulations! Please drop me an email via the contact form, Larena. If in a week I still have no response, I’ll have to pick another winner.

Erin McCarthy, Tate Hallaway, Michele Bardsley and I have joined in a blogathon of contesty goodness! Travel to each of our blogs and read the questions posed to each other and our answers. Leave a comment and be entered in a contest to win four different prizes (check each blog to see what the particular prize is).

Michele Bardsley
Tate Hallaway
Erin McCarthy

Here’s my question and all the answers:

You have a couple weeks and unlimited funds and can take one of your characters anywhere in the world on vacation. Which character do you take, where, and why?

Erin — Corbin Atelier from BLED DRY to Paris. He is a French vampire stuck in Vegas and if he could get back to France, he would be a fantastique tour guide, ma cherie.

Michele — Um. Hmm. Oh, what the hell! I’d take the triplets with me, the lycanthrope princes Damian, Darrius, and Drake. Then I would have hot men waiting on me hand and foot … and you know, other places. I’m not sure it would matter where we went because who needs scenery when you have them? Heh. No, really. Someplace tropical. Then they could wander around mostly naked.

Tate — I would take William to Tibet to see the Dali Lama. For people unfamiliar with my books, William works with Garnet (my witch heroine) in an occult bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin. At least once — sometimes twice — every novel, he changes his religious persuasion. I think he’d love seeing the Dali Lama, plus he seems like the kind of guy who would be fun to travel with as long as you were willing to go off on tangents and not be very rigid about scheduling, you know?

Anya — I would take Thomas Monahan from Witch Blood to tour Europe with me. He would enjoy visiting all the museums and would love to try all the different foods and wines of each country. We’d wander the Cinque Terre in Italy, visit the chateaux in France’s Loire Valley, and round out the trip with a visit to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Thomas would be an interesting companion and the guy needs a vacation in the worst way. I probably wouldn’t be able to get him to loosen up until we got around to visiting the South of France, though (the wine would do it).

So, dear readers, if you had couple weeks and unlimited funds and could take any characters from any books anywhere in the world on vacation. Which character would you take, where, and why?

My prize is a $10 GC to Borders Books & Music plus a signed copy of Magical Seduction or What Happens in Vegas, winner’s choice. Worth playing for? (I don’t EVER watch Survivor, swear!) Then leave a comment today or tomorrow for a chance to win. Don’t forget to visit Erin, Tate and Michele’s blogs for more shots at great prizes.

Well, officially, anyway. I’ve had reports of people finding in bookstores over the last week. But today you should be guaranteed to find it on your local bookstore shelves. To answer a question I’ve been fielding often recently — YES, Witch Blood is a stand alone title. You’d probably get more out of it having read Witch Fire first, but it’s really not necessary. I’m writing all the books in this series to stand alone. 🙂

A water witch, Isabelle Novak has always led a chaotic, nomadic existence. But her life spins out of control when her sister—her only friend and emotional anchor—is killed by a demon. Driven by grief and a desire for revenge, she turns her back on the Coven and the rede they hold sacred: Harm thee none…

When Isabelle first encounters Thomas Monahan, she’s running on pure rage and sorrow, channeling her pain into power—and trying to freeze the life out of a warlock she holds responsible for her sister’s death. Together, they form an uneasy alliance to hunt and destroy a demon of tremendous power. As head of the Coven, earth witch Thomas must thwart Isabelle’s dark impulses, but his very presence stirs deeper desires she never knew she had…

The first chapter, book trailer, and online buy links can be found on my web site here.

“Any paranormal fan will be guaranteed a Top Pick read. Anya has provided it all in this hot new paranormal series. You get great suspense, vivid characters and a world that just pops off the pages. This book is not too be missed.” — Night Owl Romance Reviews

“Lovers of magic and paranormal romances will doubtless find themselves enraptured by the gripping plot and intense sensuality of Witch Blood. Be prepared to read it straight through, because you will not be putting this book down once you begin reading it!” — ck2skwipsandkritiques — Five Clovers

Contest!

Go read the first chapter of Witch Blood and send the answers to the following three questions to anyabast(at)yahoo.com. Don’t post the answers here please! Put WITCH BLOOD CONTEST in the subject line so your entry doesn’t get lost. One winner will be selected and notified on March 12th.

1.) What two things has Stefan done to keep the public from getting too close to him?

2.) What has been Isabelle planning for months?

3.) What two foreign languages does Isabelle speak fluently?

Don’t forget — I’ll be chatting about Witch Blood on Wednesday at 9 pm ET in the Writerspace Readers Chat Room.

I’m peeking my head up from Deadline Hell to talk a little bit about some recent books I’ve had in my TBR pile. I feel like I’ve been talking about Witch Blood non-stop. Oy. It’s time to talk about other people’s books for a change.

Meet Sirantha Jax, a woman with the rare ability to “jump” ships through Grimspace. Unfortunately this little skill just might get her killed. This is a gritty story, laced with action, adventure and a little bit of romance. It’s one of those books that make you stay up waaaaaay too late so you can finish it. Jax is complicated and layered, emotional and snarky as all hell.

I loved this book and Jax too!

Isn’t that a fantastic cover? Christine Clavel is just an astounding cover artist. *sigh*

Okay, now for something completely different. This is A Spell for Susannah, a fantasy romance from Samhain Publishing. I pronounce it SOW-WAYNE, how do you pronounce it? Now, make no mistake, the author is a friend of mine. In fact, I critiqued this book a long time ago when it had a different title. I also love this author’s writing regardless of our friendship. Jody Wallace is a skilled, polished and very talented writer.

Meet Susannah in this twist on the tale of the twelve dancing princesses. She’s discovered a secret castle filled to the brim with dancing princes. In a kingdom where the nobles have been cursed to only bear female children, this is quite a surprise. She and her sisters enjoy this delicious secret to the fullest up until Susannah’s parents hire Jon Tom, a detective, to unravel Susannah’s wily ways and discover what their offspring have been up to.

I’m liking this new Nocture line. One of the books I’ve picked up is Scions Resurrection, by Patrice Michelle. I know Patrice’s books from Ellora’s Cave. They’re hot and have a lot of heart. They’re action-packed and written in a way that allows you to clearly see the plot unfold in your mind’s eye–kind of like a movie in your head. Scions Resurrection is no exception.

Ariel, the heroine, is an author of vampire fiction. Too bad vampires are real and it’s caused their eye to be drawn to her…. I found this to be a wonderful and engaging book that let me slip into its world for a time.

And another about face. This one’s horroresque. I’ve been a fan of Adrienne Jones for a while. The Hoax was awesome. Gyspies is irreverent and humorous, the story of Joe, an aging punk rocker, who has a time demon living in a calendar on his wall. The demon is pressing him to honor a suicide pact he made with his former bandmates. They’re all supposed to kill themselves on their fortieth birthday. In order to save his life, Joe is going to have to face something even more horrifying than the demon in the calendar…himself.