The Seven Rays, by Jessica Bendinger (Simon & Schuster, 2009)

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Beth Michaels’ life is thrown into utter chaos when she starts receiving enigmatic gold envelopes containing cryptic messages, even as she starts seeing weird phenomena corresponding to peoples’ emotions and thoughts. Things only get worse as her quest for answers first lands her in a psychiatric facility, then takes her to New York City, where she discovers her true heritage, the sisters she never knew she had, and a prophesied destiny she’s not sure she wants. While the ideas, which combine a variety of philosophies and beliefs, are interesting, the execution is haphazard and the characterization unsteady. Bendinger, better known for her girl-power movie scripts (Bring It On, Stick It), starts strong but falters along the way. Hopefully future installments will help her reach her potential.

Lockdown, by Alexander Gordon Smith (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009)

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Petty thief Alex’s latest heist turns tragic and life-altering when he’s interrupted by a set of mysterious men, who kill his best friend and frame him for the murder. Victim of Britain’s new zero-tolerance policy, he’s sentenced to life in Furnace, a bizarre, inhumane prison located a mile underground. Now he has to contend with vicious youth gangs, horrifying jailors, and the disturbing secrets of the world’s deadliest penitentiary, where death is nowhere near the worst thing that can happen. Alex will escape, or die trying. This nightmarish start to a new series is unrelentingly bleak, uniquely horrifying, and strangely compelling.

The Shifter, by Janice Hardy (Balzar & Bray, 2009)

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Nya has a gift, and a curse. Like all Takers, she can heal with a touch, drawing the suffering into her own body. But instead of shifting the pain into pynvium, a metal capable of storing it for future use, she can only pass it on to other people, an aspect of her power she’s loathe to use. Scrounging to survive on the streets, incapable of joining the Healing League due to her flaws, Nya’s worst fears are realized when the discovery of her talent makes her the target of those who would exploit her for harm and profit. Now, to save her sister, her friends, and herself, she must discover the shocking secrets hidden in the Healing League’s citadel, even as her moral and ethical limits are sorely tested. Set in the middle of a war, with racial tensions high and trouble around every corner, this is a thought-provoking, powerful debut for Hardy.

The Doom Machine, by Mark Teague (Blue Sky Press, 2009)

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When the rapacious aliens known as Skreeps land in the sleepy town of Vern Hollow in 1956 in search of an invention which will grant them unparalleled power, it’s the start of a surreal galaxy-spanning adventure for mechanically-gifted Jack Creedle and the brilliant Isadora Shumway. Kidnapped along with several other humans, they have to thwart the Skreeps, survive a flying saucer crash, trek across a hostile alien surface, and prevent a full-fledged invasion. No problem. Fast, witty, and wacky, The Doom Machine reads like Daniel Pinkwater mixed with classic ‘50s B-movie sensibilities, peppered with Teague’s crisply suitable illustrations. What’s not to love in a book where a cranky rooster plays a pivotal role?

Lips Touch: Three Times, by Laini Taylor and illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009)

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Kissing is the underlying theme of these three novellas, as Taylor weaves a set of stories highly reminiscent of Tanith Lee‘s Flat Earth series. “Goblin Fruit” is a literal and metaphorical descendant of Christina Rosetti’s “Goblin Market”, in which a young woman’s yearning to escape the reach of her old-fashioned family draws the attention of beings who feed on such desires. “Spicy Little Curses Such As These” focuses on a woman in India cursed with a voice that can kill all within earshot, courtesy of a spiteful demon. Will she risk killing everyone she knows, to voice her true feelings, just once? In “Hatchling,” a girl discovers the link between her mother’s nomadic tendencies and the fate of an ancient race of immortals, much to her dismay. Written with a darkly romantic tone, filled with lush descriptions and fleshed out by Di Bartolo’s exquisite illustrations, this collection haunts long after the last page is turned.

Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (Little, Brown and Company, 2009)

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Although he’s never met her before, Ethan Wate instantly recognizes Lena Duchannes, the strange new girl in town, as the literal girl of his dreams. The two are drawn together, even as their respective families and the rest of the small town of Gatlin inexplicably frown upon the fledgling relationship. Matters are further complicated as Lena reveals that she, like the rest of her family, has magical abilities, and when she turns 16, she’ll either stay good, or turn evil … and the choice isn’t up to her, due to events dating back to the Civil War. Haunted by the dreams of their ancestors, stalked by dark forces, and caught up in a race against time, Ethan and Lena must delve into Gatlin’s secret history and break a powerful curse if their relationship is to stand a chance. Southern Gothic meets Nina Kiriki Hoffman in this complex, gripping tale of love, ghosts, magic and destiny.

Ice, by Sarah Beth Durst (McElderry Books, 2009)

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Growing up in an Arctic research station with her father, Cassie can’t imagine living anywhere else. No wonder that, when she turns eighteen and is told it’s time to go off to college, she immediately rejects the idea, preferring to stay where she is. Defying her father, she sets out into the wilderness to track the mythical Polar Bear King. Finding him, she discovers she was promised as his bride years ago, and that her mother isn’t dead, but was stolen by the North Wind. Now, to save her mother, Cassie must accept the impossible and choose a life of magic and strangeness. To her surprise, she falls for the Polar Bear King, only to lose him when she inadvertently breaks a promise. If she wants him back, she’ll have to go on an epic quest over the unforgiving, stark beauty of the Arctic. Durst’s retelling of “East o’ the Sun, West o’the Moon” infuses a classic fairy tale with a mythological spirit and a modern perspective, making this a worthy update to the original.

Scheherazade's Facade Update

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As people may have heard, last week, Vera Nazarian of Norilana Books announced that due to assorted personal reasons, many of the projects slated to come out this year have been pushed back.

Yes, this includes Scheherazade’s Facade. Currently, the release date has been pushed back from October 2010 to October 2011. It is NOT cancelled, merely delayed. This anthology WILL come out, with a mindblowingly-awesome roster of authors and stories.

All submissions that I received for Scheherazade have been responded to, with acceptances or rejections. All authors selected for inclusion have been contacted and made aware of the changes in the schedule, and I’ve heard back from almost all of them confirming that they’re in this for the long haul. Have I mentioned that I love my authors, and they are an awesome bunch? Their patience and understanding has been outstanding.

Furthermore, I am currently working behind the scenes to see if there’s any way to bring Scheherazade to the shelves sooner than October 2011. I will be sure to update if anything happens.

My apologies to anyone affected by these circumstances, but I’m at the whim of my esteemed publisher, and she’s at the whims of fate, real life, and bureaucracy at the moment.

One last thing on a happy note: Despite the schedule change, Clockwork Phoenix 3 will still be coming out in July, containing my story, “Your Name Is Eve”. I’ll remind you all when it’s available.

Scheherazade's Facade Update

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As March creeps towards April, I thought I might as well post a quick update regarding Scheherazade’s Facade. I’m still reading stories as I find the time, energy, and frame of mind. (You wouldn’t want me to read in a bad mood, right? Thought so.)

At this point, if you submitted and haven’t heard, it means one of three things:

1)I haven’t read your story yet, and thus have yet to take any action. For the most part, this concerns stories submitted in February, with a scattering of earlier ones. Because I don’t always read things in a linear order. That would be predictable and easy.

2)I have read your story, and am keeping it for a second or third read, since I didn’t spontaneously combust upon gazing at your words. I appreciate this; spontaneous combustion’s a lot more fun to watch than it is to do.

3)You sent it to some other email address, it accidentally got routed to a parallel timeline, and you were accepted by my goatee-wearing evil duplicate. See him for your contract.

I anticipate having everything read in the next week, and then the fun of weeding it down to fit my word count begins. For those I liked but can’t use, it’ll be like breaking up a dozen times over. I apologize in advance, it’s not you, it’s me. We can still be friends. I want my Cats Laughing T-shirt back. Drunken phone calls at 3 am will not be tolerated.

I will say that I’ve learned a few interesting lessons about being an editor, some of which I will share with you at a later date. At which point those who have gone before will nod smugly, and those who haven’t will nod blankly.

That is all.

Submissions Closed / On Sale Now / New Sale

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1) Submissions for Scheherazade’s Facade are now CLOSED. Unless you’re one of the very few people to whom I’ve granted a brief extension, this means if you didn’t get it in, you can’t do it now. If you missed the open period, yet expressed interest to me or in my general vicinity earlier, and think you warrant an exception even now, however, I do accept bribes. Chocolate and catnip work wonders for making me look the other way….

Assuming that doesn’t happen, I can now start seriously going through the stories that have come in over the past four months. Rejections will go out in whatever order I see fit as I winnow them down. Unofficial acceptances may go out on the sly as I nail down a lineup. And after that, who knows? The important thing is, it’s going to be an awesome anthology, and I’m already excited by what I’m seeing.

2) Now on Sale: Like A Mask Removed. Containing my story, “Partners”, this is the first volume of Circlet’s two-volume set of erotic short stories focusing on the secret lives of superheroes and supervillains. Thunder and Lightning are two of Iron City’s preminent defenders, putting their lives on the line to keep the city safe. But after years of working together, has friendship blossomed into something more?

I loved writing this one, as anyone who knows me well, also knows what a major comic geek I am. Now I’m getting to show off a small corner of the superhero universe I’ve always wanted to create, and it was a whole lot of fun.

3) New Sale! I just signed the contract for “Doppelganger”, an erotic urban fantasy short story to be collected in Like Butterflies In Iron, an urban fairy themed anthology from, you guessed it, Circlet Press. This makes my fourth sale to them. One more and I get a toaster and can call myself a “frequent contributor.” (Or so I’m told….)