THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN - Release Day!!

It's here! The official release of THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN! I am now a multi-published author, which is unbelievable, incredible, and just plain good. Whether or not this book is a success remains to be seen, but I'm very proud of the story. It was a tough one to write and one I questioned almost every single day of writing it. But I'm insanely lucky - I have an amazing editor who patiently steered me in all the right directions. Without him this book never would have made it out the door. Sometimes the hardest things are the ones you're most proud of, right?

I hope you all give it a try, and that it gives you the same thrill ride that some of those scenes gave me when I was writing them!

I'll be celebrating today at two wonderful places. One an interview, and one a guest post:

1) An interview over at RomFan Reviews.

2) A guest post and giveaway at Bitten by Books (see details in the post below).

And a big, gigantic THANK YOU to everyone for their support. You all gave Charlie Madigan a chance, spreading the word, buying the books, and letting me know she's not half bad. :-) I'm so grateful and happy to have you all as my readers and friends!

Event: $100 Amazon gift card. RSVP now!

Hey guys. So Big Day tomorrow! To celebrate the release of Darkest Edge, I'm guest blogging at Bitten by Books and giving away a $100 Amazon gift card and 6 novels. RSVP at the link here. RSVP'ing gets you an extra 25 entries!

The Vampire Cyclist

I laugh everytime I read that. Curious? That's the title for my guest post over at Reading with Tequila, which is an awesome, awesome site. Check it out if you get a chance (there's a signed copy of DEOD up for grabs, too!). Jennifer also reviewed Darkest Edge of Dawn as well.

And while I was out this weekend, I saw DEOD on the shelves at a couple B&N's in my area. So it's making its way to stores! And, thanks to Lacie, I can also say it's been sighted at a B&N in Ohio! Wee. Here's her pic: Thanks, Lacie!

Random stuff

So, in 4 days I'll officially be a multi-published author. Hee. There was a moment last week when I received a final copy of DEOD, and an ARC of my new young adult title, and I had a copy of BPOD on the table. There they were, three of my books. All together. I stacked them. I unstacked them. Lined them up. Spread them out. My hub was sitting across from me, and I kept saying, "Look. Look at them. Can you believe this? I wrote them. These are real books. Look at them. See how pretty."

The utterances of a teary-eyed crazy woman. :-)

A stressed-out woman . As there's much on my plate right now, both in work and in life. I finally crashed. Went to bed at 7:30 PM last night and didn't wake up until 7 this morning. Might need to do this again tonight... though Kid #1 has soccer practice tonight and we usually do pizza and a movie on Friday nights. Hmm. We'll see.

Oh, and Kid has scored in each of her two games so far. SWEET! Two for two baby!

And I made my first Spotlight appearance at RT Book Reviews Magazine. Which is just really neat because I got to talk about Charlie and Hank, and hopefully introduce them to some new readers!

And Dragon Con is approaching. And once again, I cannot go. Who is going? I want pictures!

Big Stack Giveaway Winners!

Sorry it took me so long! A lot of entries to tally. First, though, thanks to everyone for entering and spreading the word about the giveaway -- you guys are awesome!

Now to the winners. I'm listing them in order of the draw, and this will be the order in which you choose your books. So, the first one listed is the Grand Prize winner (gets the swag), and he/she picks their choice of three books, and then the next winner will pick theirs, and the next, etc... (remember, everyone gets a signed copy of THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN in addition to your 3 choices).

Grand Prize: elaing8
#2: Blodeuedd
#3: throughthehaze
#4: Vickie
#5: JoAnna - Please send me your email. Here or at kelly(at)kellygay(dot)com.

Here are the books again. Please choose three. I'll send out emails as well and let you know what books are available as we go...

an ARC of the first Charlie Madigan book (signed), 3 Stacia Kane books (Megan Chase series), 3 Molly Harper books (Jane Jameson series), first 2 Linda Robertson Books (Persephone Alcmedi series), 1 by Dee Davis (Dangerous Desires), 1 by Karin Harlow (Enemy Lover), 1 by Maggie Shayne (Killing Me Softly), 2 Kris Kennedy books (historical romances, signed), and the last Morgan Kingsley book by Jenna Black (signed).

Big Stack O' Books Giveaway

IS NOW CLOSED!!

In celebration of my upcoming release and in massive, enormous, fall-down-to-my-knees-in-thanks to my followers and readers, I offer a

GIVEAWAY . . . ENDS TODAY!! (I CAN'T DRAW AT NOON, SO I'LL PICK THE WINNERS AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!)

As you can tell by the pic below, I've been saving books. Here's what's up for grabs: an ARC of the first Charlie Madigan book (signed), 3 Stacia Kane books (Megan Chase series), 3 Molly Harper books (Jane Jameson series), first 2 Linda Robertson Books (Persephone Alcmedi series), 1 by Dee Davis (Dangerous Desires), 1 by Karin Harlow (Enemy Lover), 1 by Maggie Shayne (Killing Me Softly), 2 Kris Kennedy books (signed), and the last Morgan Kingsley book by Jenna Black (signed).

All the books are brand new, and I'm throwing in a very cool mousepad from Pocket After Dark (Go sign up! It's a cool place!), and some swag (bookmarks, postcard, coverflat) as well as a 5 signed copies of THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN, the second Charlie Madigan book (not shown).

I will draw five winners. Each winner will choose 3 books in the pic in order in which I have drawn them. Everyone gets a signed copy of DEOD, bringing your total to four. So five winners get four books:

-- First winner drawn will get 1st choice of three of the books pictured + the swag.

-- Other four winners will get their choice of three. Choices will be made in order in which I draw.

RULES:

Comment and you're entered, open internationally, contest runs for one week, ending Aug 25th at noon EST, winner announced shortly therefter. Please leave a way for me to contact you!!

Your comment gets you one entry (no matter how many times you comment). To get more, here's how:

+1 if you mention this elsewhere (like twitter, a blog, FB...) (multiple mentions are awesome, but will still only get you a +1. This just makes it easier for me to count in the end, but please feel free to spread the word if you want!!) :-)
+1 if you already follow my Blog or become a new follower.
+1 if you already follow me here on Twitter or become a new follower.
+1 if you already follow me here on Facebook or become a new follower.

Some of you have been following me for a while, but please make sure to list your +1's, so I have everything within the comments section and can tally the entries up easily. Good luck! :-)

THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!!

Skip A Starbucks Day

My friend and fellow writer, C.J. Redwine is hosting some amazing giveaways on her blog (including signed copies of both of my Charlie Madigan novels). Please check it out. C.J. and her family have organized this fundraiser, Skip A Starbucks Day to help with the costs of bringing home Johanna, their baby girl they're adopting from China. Her story can be read at the above link, and donations are also being taken at the link below.

Wherein we come full circle

Friday the 13th. I adore this day. I sold my first book on this day in June of 2008. (Two Charlie Madigan books to be exact). And, now, two years later on yet another Friday the 13th, I've just received my final copies of that second book. I started and completed my first contract. Made the sale and got the final book of that sale all on this auspicious day.

Friday the 13th Rocks!!

Guest Post & Contest

I'm guest blogging today at Literary Escapism, one of my favorite book, review, and news sites. Please stop by and say hello for a chance to win a signed copy -- winner's choice of either THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS or THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN.

Hope to see you there!

A Darkest Edge of Dawn sneak peek...

It's a book! A preview all the way from NYC. Weee! And to celebrate (and because this is one of my favorite lines from the book), I'm sharing... It's a little, tiny one-liner featured before Chapter One, a tantalizing bit from Emma's journal. (For those who are new to my Charlie Madigan series, Emma is Charlie's eleven year old daughter):

They say that at dawn, on the winter solstice, the top of Helios Tower burned brighter than the sun and dragons fell from the sky....

~~~~~~

December 24th
From the journal of Emma Garrity

RWA Highlights, Part Two

Thought you guys might want to see the necklaces that were made for each author to wear at the Pocket dinner (see previous post). Wearing your cover like this is a great way to see who writes what or put a face to the cover. Beneath the necklace is Meg Cabot's new YA, INSATIABLE. And next to that is the Pocket After Dark mouse pad that all the authors got at dinner. Pocket announced the launch of their new interactive site for readers and authors at the conference, and it's really, really cool. You can even earn points for your participation, which go toward the purchase of books. There's a message board, editor's blog, all kinds of neat stuff...

Okay, so where were we? Friday, right:

Friday morning I meet my friend, Jax Cassidy, for breakfast. It was so great to see her and catch up! I caught the last fifteen or so minutes of the Pocket Spotlight, then it was off to the luncheon where I sat with my friend Cynthia Cooke who lives in my town and writes for Nocturne. I also got to meet a good friend of hers, Nina Bruhns. I only stayed to eat my salad, because I wanted to get back to my room, and chill out a bit before getting ready for the Pocket signing.

There was time for me to check out a panel or two, but, I wanted some quiet time before the signing. The conference is crazy and you're always "on", so for an introvert like myself, it can be draining after a while. (It's a weird dynamic because I love conference. I love talking to people, reconnecting with friends, but I'm always exhausted by the end of the week.) Anyway, hub and daughter were at Disney so I had the room all to myself. Took a nap, checked email, and wrote a guest post that was coming due, and worked on some promo things.

Then, it was off to the Pocket Signing, my first one! Each publisher hosts their own signing during conference (for attendees only) and all the books are FREE. It's awesome. People line up an hour in advance, and flood into the room. I had 48 books and they were gone in about 3o minutes. Such a fun experience! And since my books were gone, I was able to make the last hour of the the RITA/Golden Heart Reception where I saw my chapter mate, friend, and fellow RITA finalist, Deb Marlowe. Oh, and I got to finally chat with Courtney Milan, who was also up for A RITA.

This was a great day. I was always one of those waiting in the line to see my favorite authors, and now I was the one sitting in the chair behind a stack of books. And it was my birthday. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend it. And since my agency party and publisher dinner was on Thursday, I had Friday night free and went out to dinner with my hub and daughter in Disney Downtown to celebrate.

Saturday:

Ordered room service for breakfast. Can you believe one piece of toast was $4?

Pretty easy morning. Sat in on a few panels, then went to the RITA rehearsal, ate lunch, wrote my acceptance speeches - finally --and met up with the family in our room to start getting ready for the Awards Dinner and Ceremony. (Again, pics are on my Facebook Page for those who want to see the Fabulous Duds.)

*Okay, so I just sat here for two minutes trying to put into the words the next few hours.*

It's a blur. I could hardly eat dinner, was so nervous that when the awards portion began, I prayed my name wouldn't be called. And by the time we got to my second category, I was praying they would. I wanted to get up there and thank everyone who had helped me along the way. There are so many people, completely instrumental, in this book making it to the shelves. Without them it never would've happened. I *so* wanted the chance to get up there and shout their names to the world. But, alas, my name wasn't called. And I folded up my speech and decided right then and there to save it. I'm reading that damn thing, from the stage, one day. :D

So those are the highlights. My editor was great and sent me a few hysterical texts that night, and a few that made me tear up. And then I accidentally ass-dialed his home number. Twice. On a Saturday night. At midnight. Sooo embarrassed. But who knew you could ass dial on a touch screen? I mean, really.... ;-)

RWA Highlights, Part One

What a trip! I've been home since Sunday. I unpacked, visited with my mom (who stayed at my house to watch my son and animals), saw her safely back home, and tried to get back into my daily routine. It's taken a few days, but here I am. :-)

These are just my personal highlights. Who I saw, things I did, friends I made, so maybe not the usual recap, but here goes...

Tuesday:

We (hub and daughter included) arrived at the Dolphin Resort in Orlando, which is a gorgeous place. I wasn't as tired as I thought I'd be after the drive from NC. Breaking up the 10 hr. trip made a huge difference. We left the house Mon. night, drove for about three hours, stopped at a hotel, and then drove the rest of the way on Tues.

After checking out our awesome room and the incredible view over to Epcot (check out my Facebook Page for a bunch of pics), we found something to eat, chilled in our room, and then crashed.

Wednesday:

My only scheduled event was the big, open-to-the-public charity Literary Signing later in the evening. But, I headed down to the lobby, found registration, and got my conference bag with several free books (the latest by Meg Cabot, which I'm stoked to read), my RITA ribbon (wee!), and schedule.

I ate breakfast and had a lovely conversation with the woman who'd stood in line at the buffet with me. Turns out she was a Golden Heart finalist in Paranormal, had come all the way from Australia, and she ended up winning the Golden Heart later in the week. So, Kylie Griffin, if you're out there -Hi! And big congrats!

Later in the day as I was orienting myself, I saw my agent at the registration desk and went over. I thought about sneaking up behind her and pitching some crazy story, but she saw me. :-) We ended up hanging out near the lobby at a table by the bar, which was closed. We also ran into Jesse Peterson and Kathryn Smith (both clients of Miriam). Fabulous women, smart, funny, and my first time meeting both of them.

Even later in the day, my critique partner, Jenna Black, arrived. And we hung out a bit before I went back to my room to get ready for the Lit Signing. I'd been to the signings several times, but as a reader and fan, not as an author. I felt like a deer in the headlights most of the time. And at other times, I just kept thinking how cool and surreal it all was. I sat next to Maria Geraci, who was really sweet and so friendly, and Olivia Gates, who is not only a successful author but a surgeon as well, and she brought a huge tray of Baklava (yes, I got lucky). :D

According to RWA: In two hours, 3,600 fans and 500 participating authors helped raise $55,000 for literacy.

And, I actually had a small line a few times! People actually bought my book, or had read my book and wanted a signed copy. I met so many great people, saw old friends, and got to see Leslee from Night Owl Romance, which was very cool.

Oh, and right before they opened the doors, I darted over to find Kasey MacKenzie and Jennifer Lynn Barnes, where I got signed copies of their books. And Jennifer said she was a fan -- which gave me all kinds of warm, fuzzy feelings. :D

Thursday:

The official start of the conference. I met my agent in the lobby at noon for lunch and we headed for the Disney Boardwalk where we ate at The Brewery. (Well, first we walked to this Meditterranean place, which ended up being closed, so we had to backtrack to The Brewery -- OMG, did I mention how HOT it was). Thank God for air conditioning. We had salads and talked about the book biz, and my career, and all the things I want to do in the future. It was pretty cool, and my first "lunch" with an agent.

(This entire trip was full of "Firsts").

Jenna and I hooked up later and went to the agency party acrossed the lake at the Disney Yacht Club. We took the boat and ran into Jesse and Kate again. Jen and I only stayed about thirty minutes before having to go back and catch the bus for the Pocket dinner, which was being held at The Living Seas at Epcot.

Pocket's dinner, which I'd gone to in 2009 before BPOD was out, is a class act affair. We actually had dinner in a private room with the aquarium being one entire wall in the room. There was a massive sting ray, a shark, and all types of fish swimming around. Dinner was amazing, and I sat at a table with some great company, the Executive VP of Pocket, Louise Burke, and authors, Dianna Love Snell, Laura Griffin (who later won the RITA), Barabra Freethy, and Sharie Kohler. I also got to meet YA author and RITA finalist Lauren Strasnick who is just so sweet and smart and friendly, and I got to hang with my pal Sharie!! Then, we hiked to a reserved spot at the lake in Epcot where drinks and desserts were served and we watched the fireworks. 'Twas awesome and in true Pocket style.

Then, it was back to the hotel, and the bar where I hung out a bit with a bunch of great Pocket authors, but those seated within earshot were Allison Pang (who has a very sweet cover for her debut book that I'm sure you'll all get to see very soon. So gorgeous!), Jenna, Sharie, Kresley Cole, Eileen Carr, and Carry Lofty. And in true Kelly Style I left earlier than most because, well, I was just plain tired. :D

So that's Part One wherein I was pinching myself from the time I woke up to the time I fell asleep. Most of the conference was me travelling through a dream I'd imagine only in my mind for years and years. To have actually experienced the signings and what it's like to be a RITA finalist --- it was totally unreal.

Part Two tomorrow...