Red means life.

When M6 finally runs from the vampires who’ve held her captive, she finds herself used by her own race. In a world at war, freedom is a luxury paid for in blood.

Meridian Six–out 6/6

One.

The frigid air scraped my lungs raw. I pumped my legs faster, praying for a second wind. Stopping wasn’t an option. Their breath beat at my back, and if they caught me, I’d be dead.

I turned the corner, running down an alley. Footsteps echoed behind me. Faster. I wrenched two trashcans back into their path. A male cursed and grunted. Metal scraped against concrete. I focused on the mouth of the alley and prayed for a miracle.

A black sedan screeched to a stop in front of me. I didn’t hesitate. My legs ached with the exertion, but I just managed to launch myself onto the hood. On the other side, the landing lurched every joint in my body.

Keep running. Find the light. Red means life.

#

Read the rest of the excerpt here.

Buy links for this novella will be posted on 6/6.

Included in this issue:

-Cover reveal for my new novella MERIDIAN SIX

-Preorder Buttons for the CARNIEPUNK anthology coming in July

-Preorder buttons for DIRTY MAGIC, out January 21, 2014

-Information about my upcoming Texas tour with Mark Henry, Nicole Peeler, Kevin Hearne and Liliana Hart.

-And an announcement about my new alter ego, Kate Eden.

I hope you’re as excited about all the new stuff coming your way as I am. I’ve been busy preparing lots of cool new stuff for you to read.

Read the newsletter here.

 

Jaye Wells raises the urban fantasy bar with DIRTY MAGIC, a hard-boiled series debut as unique and surprising as the creatures and characters peopling it. Kate Prospero is charged with policing the Cauldron, a magical world so fully realized, and so gritty, it gets under your nails. Wells is known for deftly weaving non-stop action with no-holds barred humor, but the unique and deeply drawn relationships are the real alchemy here. DIRTY MAGIC showcases seasoned pro, Wells, at the top of her game, and establishes newcomer Kate Prospero as the urban fantasy heroine to beat. 

-Vicki Pettersson, NYT Bestelling Author of The Signs of the Zodiac and Celestial Blues series

As always, it’s been great to catch up with old friends and make new ones. The readers are as enthusiastic as ever. And the panels have all been interesting and well-attended. I haven’t done a lot of the parties and special events this year, but, as always, the bar has been an interesting spot for industry gossip. I think the next 18 months are going to be verrrrry interesting, but that’s a blog for another time.

This year’s con has been especially awesome because I won an award. I have never won an award for my writing before, and to win one for writing the best book in my genre for the entire year of 2012 is pretty friggin’ amazing.

There are two other cool things about this award.

1. Blue-Blooded Vamp was the fifth and final book of my Sabina Kane series. If you’ve never written the last book of a series, let me tell you it’s pretty nerve wracking. Not only are you dealing with the normal nerves and stresses that come with publishing any book, but now you’re also dealing with needing to make readers feel like the entire journey of the series was worth their while. So, winning this award means a lot of people enjoyed Sabina’s wild ride. That makes me very happy.

2. Blue-Blooded Vamp was the book that I finally dedicated to my dad. He passed away 21 years ago last week, and his death left a huge hole in my life. If you’ve read BBV, you might remember that there’s a huge part of the narrative dedicated to Sabina’s relationship with her own father. Writing this book allowed me to work through some things I’d been carrying around since I was 17 and woke up to find out I’d never get see my dad again. So, yeah, winning an award for this book in particular was pretty meaningful.

I don’t get the chance often enough to stop and express how blessed and lucky I feel to be able to write stories for you. Readers are the best people in the world, and telling stories is my absolute passion. Thank you for reading mine.

Next week it’s back to deadlines and carpool, but for now I get to hang out with really cool people who love books as much as I do. I hope wherever you are tonight, you’ve got a good book to keep you company.

For those going to the convention, I thought I’d share a handy quick reference for all the panels and events I’ll be participating in. Also, if you see me at the con, don’t be shy. I’m there to hang out with readers, so please come introduce yourself. Especially if it’s in the bar and you want to buy me a drink.

*For the record, the title was “Lawrence of the Labia.”

The Storyteller’s Creed

We believe in the power of Story, the prose almighty. And in creativity, the first begotten product of imagination.

We suffer for this art, we bleed for it. Because we will eventually die but our stories will endure.

We believe in the power of the Word everlasting. With its power to heal and to harm, the rend and to sew. To inspire and entertain. To illuminate and obfuscate.

We understand the power of the Word and we will use it for good. For evil scribes use Words to lead readers down hateful paths.

We believe in the holy bonds forged with our readers. And we will honor this pact by writing the best stories of which we are capable.

We will honor our muses, be they real or imagined. We will feed them well and ply them with plentiful drink until the ideas flow.

We are Writers. Modern day troubadours and raconteurs, who ignore the false prophets and snake oil salesmen with their promises of green.

For the goddess Story is worshiped and glorified. An lo though she may doom us to a van down by the river, we love her now and forever.

Amen.

RT Book Reviews Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Awards named BLUE-BLOODED VAMP the Best Urban Fantasy of 2012!! I’ll be accepting the award on May 3 in Kansas City at the RT convention

You guys, I am so excited about this. First of all, urban fantasy is a genre chock full of amazing writers. Despite this, there aren’t many awards for people who write books like mine. So it’s amazing to me that out of that talented field, my book won. Second, to know that the final book in the Sabina Kane series merited such praise makes me so happy. I am so proud of Sabina’s saga.

Thank you to all of you for reading the series and for telling your friends about them! Without you guys I would just be amusing myself, which while fun, isn’t the same as being able to entertain really cool people for a living. So thanks for helping me be able to keep telling you stories.

Here’s the sigil for House Wells. I love it so much.

If you want some more info about the book, check out the post at Bookish.  Find out there why I compare this book to, “spending a night in a magical dive bar.”

Yes, yes, I know! The book isn’t out until January ’14. Don’t yell at me. These things take time. Plus, the hope is that the longer wait now will mean you get new books in the series closer together. Hopefully the preorder buttons will be up soon so you can just click it and wait for it to arrive at your door or on your ereader like a gift from the publishing gods. Also, if you’re fretting because it’s such a long wait, remember that I have a story in the CARNIEPUNK anthology that’s coming out in July of this year. I also am hoping to have at least one novella published this years as well (hopefully two if I can pull it off).

Now, I mentioned I was out of town. Oh my goodness, people. I just had the best two trips ever. For once (or twice, I suppose) these had nothing to do with work and everything to do with fun. The first was a solo trip to Sedona, NM for a meditation retreat. Maybe it will surprise you to learn that I meditate. Maybe not. Regardless, it’s something I do fairly regularly to help stay balanced and not become a massive ball of seething stress and anxiety. In fact, I’d recommend meditation to every writer. The profession makes us spend way too much time in our heads and meditation, oddly, seems to help calm all that chaos. Meditation isn’t magic. It’s about being more mindful and in control of your thoughts. Something we can all use more of these days, hmm?

I’d never been to a meditation retreat before so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was awesome and I found myself very happy with the experience. Basically, I meditated, did yoga, chanted and ate really healthy food for four days. Heaven. I also met several lovely, inspiring people. The woman who ran the retreat is Sarah McLean, and she is pretty awesome. Liek studied with Deepak Chopra and Gary Zukav awesome. Like bicycled through the Himalayas awesome. You can look her up here. She does retreats all over the place and has a book called SOUL CENTERED LIFE. Good stuff.

Okay, so the next trip was to Napa Valley and San Francisco with my boys for Spawn’s spring break. In addition to drinking wine and filling my belly with cured meats and delicious cheeses, this trip also had the bonus of letting me revisit some of Sabina’s old stomping grounds from RED-HEADED STEPCHILD. We visited Muir Woods, where Sabina and Maisie were born with the help of the faery, Briallen Pimpernel. We went to St. Helena, where the vampire vineyard was located. We also spent a lovely afternoon at the Palace of Fine Arts, where Sabina was picked up for her first meeting with Clovis. I have to admit, I got a little nostalgic. So I drank some more wine and everything was fine.

Now I’m back home and focused on writing Kate Prospero’s second book, CURSED MOON. It’s due in June, so I’m freaking out a little. Which is why I’m going to cut this post off now and go write like the wind.

But wait, I almost forgot! Tonight I’m hosting a live chat for Savvy Authors. The topic is The Right Idea, how to choose the best idea for your next book. The chat starts at 9pm EST and you have to register for the site to join in. But if you’re an aspiring writer Savvy Authors is a great resource for chats with published authors and articles on writing and the business of publishing. So check it out!

Cheers!

1. What is your favorite word?
2. What is your least favorite word?
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
4. What turns you off?
5. What is your favorite curse word?
6. What sound or noise do you love?
7. What sound or noise do you hate?
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
9. What profession would you not like to do?
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Answer in comments!