new release

New Release - 9 Crimes

9 Crimes is now available for purchase. Note: I am having laptop problems right now but check in online once a day so will get books emailed out to those who buy.

Here's what it contains:

9 Crimes: Set during Exhumed, vampire-warlock Nate O'Connor sets off on his own to discover the truth behind a startling bombshell dropped on him, not only putting him at odds with the woman he loves but risking his life and those around him.

Aftermath: This covers the twenty-four hours right after the final chapter of Exhumed (but before the Epilogue). Irrevocable choices have been made and now the fallout must be dealt with. (Look, I'm vague, in case y'all haven't read it yet.)

#TheGreatBloodHunt: A post-Exhumed story featuring Nate, Ellie, and Nicolette on Twitter. No, really.

Thrall: The first Nate-POV story, originally included with Bloodlines. Set towards the end of Bloodlines, warlock Nate O'Connor is on the run from those who want him dead--and looking for the one person he can't bring himself to leave behind.

Sunrise: The second Nate-POV short, originally included with Lineage. Since the worst hasn't come to pass, warlock Nate O'Connor sets about fortifying cabin where he and Zara are staying and keeping out the coming sunrise.

Bonus Stuff: Complete series of available works in chronological order, blurb of Oblivion (Book #5) and an exclusive look at Solace (#6), the proposed next Zara book.

------------

$2.99, and you get a zipped folder with multiple ebook formats that can be read on your PC or your ereader of choice. Payment is through PayPal, but you don't need a PayPal account--credit cards work as well.

Warning: This should go without saying, but this release contains MASSIVE spoilers for Exhumed. Like, ALL THE SPOILERS. And I think Exhumed reads better if you don't know what's coming.

Zara Lain Is Back: EXHUMED Releases

Well, it's finally here.

This book has been in my head since I FIRST wrote BLOODLINES, circa 2005/2006. It's the twentieth novel I've finished, it's probably one of the ones I'm most proud of. And it can now be yours to purchase in print and a variety of ebook formats.

Buy links (will be updated as links are live...I have no idea when that might be, sorry):

- Mundania
- Kindle US
- Kindle UK
- ARe/Omnilit
- Nook (incidentally, the first three in the series are going up on Nook right now too--you'll find Bloodlines so far)

Print will be up soon at various resellers (about a week or so). Purchasing ebooks through Mundania, as always, gives you a bonus short story. (Also, if you missed Nate's shorts Thrall and Sunrise they're still up here: http://www.facebook.com/SkylaDawnCameron--I'll be taking them down tonight, unless I'm drunk, and then maybe in the morning.)

A couple of friends read it early and want to tell you about the book--Melissa does, as does Histrel. And friend JA Saare says, "This ain't your momma's urban fantasy. The Demons of Oblivion series takes the genre to a whole new level. Hearts are broken, lines are crossed, and no one walks away unscathed. Skyla Dawn Cameron shocks, rocks, and leaves a reader eager for more."

After you read EXHUMED, you may have...questions. In particular about another side of the story. Unfortunately, these questions won't be answered in OBLIVION. While I feel EXHUMED has the *right* ending, there are some loose ends I hadn't planned to tie up until it was appropriate later in future books.

Why do I bring this up? Well, it's my release day, so what the hell--I'll say what I want to. If you follow my blog/Twitter, you probably already know this, BUT...

The series ain't doing well.

By "not well" I mean "persistent vegetative state". I've had a post announcing the cancellation drafted since early April, I just haven't posted it yet. 'Cause I don't wanna. Part of me wants to cancel it and put it to rest so I can move on; part of me wants to keep fighting. This leaves me on the fence.

But I am telling this to readers now because I don't want anyone blindsided.

The books may not continue past #5; this may very well be the last Zara-narrated book. At this point, I don't think I can afford to keep writing them.

As awkward as it is, it's my release day, so what the hell: I'm asking for help.

If you've already purchased the books and you want to do more, I can tell you that word of mouth is what gets things going. Tell a friend. Consider posting reviews on major sellers like Amazon (also: apparently adding tags on Amazon and making lists is helpful). Blog about the books. Request the books at your local library. Sacrifice virgins to Satan in exchange for higher sales rankings.

If you already do these things (you know who you are, as do I--I pay attention to these things), I thank you. You've already made a huge difference and I appreciate it.

There's no real magic key to these kinds of things--if there was, everyone would be a bestseller. But the more people who talk about something, the more likely it is others will check it out. Readers are the ones with the power--books can't be a success without you.

Incidentally, there's also a post up at the ELEW by me yesterday that relates to the writing of EXHUMED, called "Fear Itself" and you can clickity click and read right here.

Now, if you excuse me, I have to hang out with a friend who insisted no one would hate this book and get really drunk in case we decide to come trolling for reader reactions today...

New Release...Sort Of?

So in a little while, you will hear about some fundraising efforts for my dog. If you follow me on Twitter or FB, you'll know Stuff Is Going On and It Has Been a Nightmare.

As a thank you gift, I'm giving away free ebook copies of an unpublished book of mine to anyone who tosses pennies in the jar. There have been no plans to submit this book anywhere or publish it, so it'll be exclusively available here.

FAQs:

What formats?
I'll send you a zipped file with PDF, PRC, MOBI, HTML, and EPUB.

Will it be on Kindle, etc?
No. This is a fundraising effort. I'm not raising funds to give Amazon my money. You can load those file formats on your ereader--I'll google you help if you need it.

How much?
Whatever you want to give.

What's the book about?
It's a full length "rural" fantasy (as opposed to urban) novel for adult audiences. There is mystery and suspense, elements of paranormal horror and monsters (comparable to most UF), romance (and a non-erotic but explicit sex scene), and all that good stuff. It's a different kind of book and came from a desire to deconstruct certain UF tropes I saw (and wrote myself), though it spiraled from there so isn't actually meta. I continue to be proud of it even if it's quirkier. It's also standalone--I tried very hard to write a sequel, but I was honestly happy with it as-is.

I'll post the blurb below.

When can I get it?
Hopefully later today/tomorrow!

Why aren't you giving away any of your published books instead?
Because I only get a certain number of free ecopies (they're under contract, after all), and print is expensive.

Will this book be in print?
Nope. But you can print out a copy.

I'll chip in for fundraising without you giving me a book.
I like working for money and I like giving back. This is a little something I'm able to do; if you like this kind of book, hey, it'll give you a few hours of entertainment (I hope) as thank you for your support.

Anais Peake was created to devour the souls of otherwise unkillable monsters, but with every soul she eats, she loses a little of her own. She’s been in retirement for eighteen months when her monster hunting best friend shows up one winter night needing help, and so Ani temporarily returns to a life she tried hard to escape.

Their plans go awry on a deserted highway when a harpy attacks and Ani’s friend is killed. Ani is pulled out of the role of sidekick and thrust into the uncomfortable shoes of heroine in a mystery involving both human and otherworldly monsters, with only her neighbour/cat babysitter, an old friend still suffering grief and anger, and an empath funeral director for help to solve her friend’s murder.

But fate has patiently been waiting: Ani was created with a purpose in mind and retirement or not, she has to face what she is and what she's capable of.

Even if her soul doesn't survive it.

Vampires, a Faerwolf, Bars, and Zombies - New Release

Surprise! I have a mini short story collection out today.

This hit me by surprise so no, my website isn't updated or anything. Last week the boss man and I had been talking about releasing my short story Whiskey Sour (from Bad-Ass Faeries 2). Of course, we discussed it THE DAY BEFORE LINEAGE RELEASED. Ahahaha. No. But this week? Sure!

Sure.

I'm exhausted, but it's done. I added a few hundred words here and there to Whiskey Sour, and then I typed up an older story of mine called A Vampire Walked into a Bar. Finally, we decided to bump the length up a bit more and so I added something I've wanted to write for damn near five years now: Zara (from Bloodlines) and Juliette (from Whiskey Sour) fighting zombie faeries in a cemetery.

Some days I do love my job.

So that's what you'll find in Whiskey Sour and Other Stories (17K words, $2.99). Blurb and cover below.

Whiskey Sour: One night without protection led to French-Canadian fae bartender Juliette Aubrey catching lycanthropy. Now half faerie, half werewolf, and entirely pissed off, Juliette has the chance for revenge when the last person she wants to see strolls into her bar needing help. (6100 words)

A Vampire Walked Into a Bar: Pat knows there are vampires in his city, and now he has visual proof. He's set up a meeting with someone who might be able to stop them...but there's a vampire or two who might have something to say about that. (6100 words)

Zombie Faeries: When a vampire entered her territory uninvited, faerwolf Juliette Aubrey decided to teach her a lesson. Unfortunately for her, that vampire is Zara Lain. And unfortunately for the both of them, they aren't the only big, bad creatures of the night in the cemetery when they meet. (4700 words)

If you're new to my series, you'll also find the first chapters from Bloodlines, Hunter, and Lineage at the back, so it acts as a bit of a sampler for my work (about 10K worth of excerpts). If you're not new to the series, the timeline is thus: A Vampire Walked into a Bar takes places four years prior to Bloodlines. Whiskey Sour takes place prior to Bloodlines though I'm not sure by how much. Zombie Faeries fits into the online serial Amends, which takes place six months before Hunter. Eventually I'll get the series page updated with all of this.

All contain some level of violence, course language, and suitable amounts of snark. I'm not really sending out review copies with this one as I wasn't sure what interest there would be since it's not a main book of the series (plus this bitch has gots to get paid sometime, y'all), but you can find it for just $2.99 at Mundania in various ebook formats (enter MP10 at checkout for 10% off) and other places (Kindle, ARe, FW, Nook) coming soon--and I really appreciate your support.

Enjoy!

Lineage Released

Me? Terrified? Never.

Drunk? Oh yes. I am prepared to get my drink on.

Lineage took me four years to write. I'd just finished the original draft of Hunter fall 2007 and I started Lineage, got 30K in. Stuff happened. I didn't pick it up again until this past summer and I finally beat that fucker into submission in November, four years to the date after I started it.

I love it. I love Peri (I don't like her and I don't want to have dinner with her, to be sure, but she's like one of my kids). I love the themes. I love how things start to come together. I love how much more it sets up. I love the fucked-up-ness of its heroine and the things that happen.

I am tremendously proud of it.

And I hope you will love it too, gentle reader.

Be prepared: it is different. I repeatedly warned that Hunter was different from Bloodlines and I don't think anyone believed me until they started it. This is different from both of those as well. Lineage is graphically violent in the ways the others weren't. It is about a person who does very bad things.

The one thing I try to make each book have in common, though, is the honesty of it. This book is honest. This is the first part of Persephone Takata's story and it is as true to her as I could make it. My job as the storyteller is to never flinch, to stare down whatever darkness I encounter and plow through it.

In this case, with guns. And improvised explosives. And also piano wire for garroting.

My final bit of warning: I don't recommend reading this series back to back unless you're re-reading. Everyone I've talked to who has gone from one to the other (lately the lovely Jaime Saare with Hunter to Lineage and my editor from Lineage copyedits to beta-ing Exhumed) had major adjustments to make so...just consider a break in between.

As always, buying the ebook from Mundania Press (and the print book from anywhere) will get you a bonus short story, and in this one it's a story called Sunrise, written from Nate's point of view. All books contain the first chapter of Exhumed, due out this summer. And if you're looking for me online right now, there's a list of places I'm visiting here--and check out Mel's site as she's talking lots of Skyla-stuff today, as well as giving away a book and making me teary.

I sincerely hope you enjoy. Now I'm off to drink (so I won't know if you don't).

So I Have a Book Out in a Few Days...

That sound you hear is me flailing around like a moron.

Lineage will be out on Tuesday, February 21. I am going to be at various places around the web for the next couple of days.

On Monday, I'll be at LASR with an interview and at Books Make Me Happy for Words & Music Monday.

On Tuesday, I'll be at Speculative Friction for an interview conducted by Frances Pauli, and I'll also have a brief post at the Mundania blog where we'll be giving away something from my backlist.

On Wednesday, I'll be at Sarah-Jane Lehoux's blog talking about creating believable strong female characters.

At some point next week, Melissa will have a Lineage review up and a guest post from me when I come up with something and write it. *cough*

I had a handful of others who generously offered me a guest spot and I'll see what I can get done today, but the clusterfuck of pain and suffering just threw me. I'm so behind. I don't expect sympathy--just understand I'm really freakin' exhausted.

And for those who missed it, there's an interview with me up at Troll in the Corner.

Now. I'm off to panic some more.

New Novella - Haunted

So this novella has been in limbo for, literally, years.

It started out as a favour for my dear friend Judy Bagshaw; she was a part of a group of writers whose focus is romance novels featuring full figured heroines. They'd already put out a few anthologies of short stories and she'd taken over organizing a collection of paranormal romance. She was short on stories and I offered to jump in 'cause I may suck at romance but I can do paranormal and yay for curvy chicks!

That was...four years ago.Read more