More Mistletoe Madness!

Welcome to my giveaway for the Mistletoe Madness Blog Hop! In addition to chances to win at over 50 blogs in the hop, the Grand Prize from the core author sponsors is a brand new Kindle Fire along with ebooks from 14 authors!

Enter my giveaway at the end of the post and then be sure to enter for the Grand Prize on the main hop page. And don't forget to visit the rest of the blogs in the hop!

If you're  familiar with my House of Arkhangel'sk series, you know that it's set in modern-day St. Petersburg, Russia, as well as in a celestial city called Elysium patterned after Imperial St. Petersburg. And if you're a Twitter follower or Facebook fan, you also know that I'm totally obsessed with all things Russian.

So it should come as no surprise that my giveaway for this blog hop is Russian-themed as well: along with signed copies of the first two books in my Arkhangel'sk series and a signed Fallen Queen cover flat, I'm giving away a gift sampler of Kusmi Russian Blend teas (includes my favorite, Prince Vladimir, as well as their Earl Grey blend, Anastasia, and their Troika, St.Petersburg, and Bouquet of Flowers teas). (This giveaway is international.)

You can skip to the bottom now to enter via the Rafflecopter, or read on to learn a little about holiday traditions in Russia.

While Orthodox Christians in Russia celebrate Christmas, it isn't the big to-do it's become in the US and Western Europe. Instead, Russians have a large celebration on the New Year—Novy God—with a decorated yolka (fir tree), and instead of Santa, a similar figure named Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) delivers presents with his assistant Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden. This secular holiday became more popular during the Soviet era, but has been a Russian tradition since the time of Peter the Great.

And as a bonus holiday treat, here's an awesome Russian cartoon about a tech-savvy Ded Moroz and a plane-flying Snegurochka:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you haven't entered the other hops yet, hop to it!

An Angels vs. Demons Blog Hop!

Angels vs. Demons Blog Hop: June 28-July 1

If you've come here via the Angels vs. Demons Blog Hop, welcome! If you just stumbled in here by accident, read on.

Authors Leia Shaw and Carrie Ann Ryan are hosting the blog hop in celebration of their new paranormal romance releases, Destiny Bewitched and Dust of My Wings, and they want to know which you'd rather have to...uh...cuddle up with at night—angels or demons? And what are your favorite angel or demon books?

At the end of this post is a table full of blog links. Every single one of those authors and bloggers is offering their own giveaway, in addition to the blog hop grand prizes: one lucky entrant will win a Kindle Touch and one will win a $60 Barnes & Noble Gift Card! All you have to do to enter is comment on any post in the hop...which means you can enter 103 times. Comments on this post will also enter you in a drawing for a signed copy of my novel, The Fallen Queen, and an autographed cover flat.

This is a long post, so I don't blame you if you want to skip to the contest entry—just scroll to the end (but you're going to miss some man candy!). ;) Just be sure to leave your email address or we won't have any way of contacting you.

The heroes of my House of Arkhangel'sk series, Belphagor and Vasily, aren't your typical demons. But rather than make this post even longer, I'll let you learn all about them on my virtual book tour: Belphagor | Vasily. Separately from this blog hop, I'm also giving away ebook copies of The Fallen Queen at both of those links. (Note that entering the giveaways on those two blogs will NOT enter you in any of the blog hop drawings.)

But if you want the quick down-and-dirty on my wily demons, here are their stats:

BELPHAGOR An airspirit demon of Raqia in the Third Heaven

Build: Wiry but muscular

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 160lbs

Eye color: Ebony

Hair: Dark, short, spiked on top

Body art: Numerous Russian prison tats, including on hands and fingers; pierced eyebrow; pierced nipples

Strengths: Fiercely loyal; able to manipulate the element of air, including influencing the mind; as a BDSM top, he makes people feel cherished and protected with an almost paternal sensibility

Weaknesses: Has difficulty trusting others and keeps things to himself to his own detriment, resulting in getting himself into trouble he might otherwise have avoided

Favorites: The game of wingcasting (a kind of celestial poker); cigars; spanking naughty “boys”; a good Russian tea

Occupation: Gambler and thief

Nickname: Prince of Tricks

Quote: “I can't imagine why you think I'd have sex with a girl.”

:::::::::::::::::::::::

VASILY A firespirit demon of Raqia in the Third Heaven

Build: Built like a Cossack warrior

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 220lbs

Eyes: Hazel, with a tendency towards flaming red with Seraphic fire

Hair: Dreadlocks, lava red, tied back at the crown to expose his neck, with long, scruffy “mutton chop” sideburns

Body art: A row of spiked barbell piercings down both sides of his neck

Strengths: Can light a cigar with his tongue, illuminate the darkness and stoke a fire with his breath, generate healing Seraphic fire, and keep you very warm throughout an Arkhangel’sk winter

Weaknesses: Volatile temper, insecurity/jealousy

Favorites: Vodka, spankings

Occupation: Thief

Quote: “You touch Bel’s marks and I will kill you with my teeth.”

Want to meet my sexy demon duo? Check out my debut novel, The Fallen Queen, Book One in The House of Arkhangel'sk, published in December 2011 by Entangled Publishing and just re-released in mass-market trade paperback with a new, gorgeous cover:

The Fallen Queen by Jane Kindred

Heaven can go to hell.

Until her cousin slaughtered the supernal family, Anazakia’s father ruled the Heavens, governing noble Host and Fallen peasants alike. Now Anazakia is the last grand duchess of the House of Arkhangel’sk, and all she wants is to stay alive.

Hunted by Seraph assassins, Anazakia flees Heaven with two Fallen thieves—fire demon Vasily and air demon Belphagor, each with their own nefarious agenda—who hide her in the world of Man. The line between vice and virtue soon blurs, and when Belphagor is imprisoned, the unexpected passion of Vasily warms her through the Russian winter.

Heaven seems a distant dream, but when Anazakia learns the truth behind the celestial coup, she will have to return to fight for the throne—even if it means saving the man who murdered everyone she loved.

Read an excerpt from The Fallen Queen

The Fallen Queen is available now at Amazon | on Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Books On Board. Pre-order your copy of Book Two in The House of Arkhangel’sk trilogy, The Midnight Court(Amazon | Barnes & Noble), coming in August 2012.

Crits for Water

Clean water is something we take for granted, but not everyone has access to it.

You can help change that. Team Megibow agent-mate Kat Brauer is once again organizing her annual Crits for Water drive, where I'm offering a query letter critique in exchange for a donation to this important cause. Writer Mary Baader Kaley was also kind enough to interview me on her blog about my thoughts on critiquing.

In case you're wondering why the picture of a fountain in Russia...surprisingly, the water supply in St. Petersburg, a major European city, is non-potable, and must be boiled before drinking. But lots of places have it worse.

Acknowledgments

While working on my Acknowledgments page for The Midnight Court, it occured to me that many of the people I thanked in The Fallen Queen may have missed that they were mentioned. So for those who didn't see it in the back of the book or just haven't had a chance to pick up a copy, I thought I'd print it up here: My deepest gratitude goes out to the people who believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself: Martin Pedersen, for reading my fanciful stories from his home across the sea and always telling it like it is; Stephanie Rossi, for listening to me talk about the people in my head as if they have lives of their own (they do) and only occasionally looking at me as if I’m certifiable (I am); Cat Ellen, my cheerleader, for reading voraciously and wanting more; Daphne Phillips, whose invaluable critique made my work stronger and whom I adore for adoring my boys; Diana, my first reader, whose appreciation of my dark side sometimes prompts me to write scenes where somebody eats a baby (which didn’t make it into this book); Jon and Beth and everyone at Wednesday afternoon tea, for listening to me whinge; my son Samson, for putting up with a mom he only saw over the top of a computer screen for most of his childhood, and who, for some reason, seems to like me anyway; and a special thanks to my late husband Jack, for letting me plot out loud (also known as “listening to me whinge”) and for providing much loving inspiration for the relationship between my naughty demons—I wish you were here to meet them.

I’m also grateful to Allison Pang, for being Vasily’s first fangirl, and for encouraging me to dig deeper; to my agent, Sara Megibow, for believing in Anazakia and the boys and putting them into the right hands; and to my editors, Liz Pelletier, for loving the book and believing in my voice (and for not changing that line that contains the word “gluttonously”), and Catherine Kean, who did the heavy lifting.

Lastly, I’d like to add a special thanks to Lynn Flewelling for inspiring me with her magical world and her inimitable rogues, and for bringing together the wonderful writers of Writing on the Waves—as well as to the writers on those waves with whom I’ve shared the voyage; to the Bling Babes of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 2010 Colorado Gold, and the amazing writing community on Twitter with too many to name, who’ve provided unending support along the journey even as they embark upon their own; and to Kate Bush, whose album Aerial accompanied the all-important dreamtime of my writing.

Book trailer for The Fallen Queen

To celebrate the May 15 mass-market trade paperback release of The Fallen Queen, I'm excited to present my new book trailer!

There will be several giveaways on my upcoming book release blog tour, so stay tuned for the complete listing of blog dates...and don't forget to rate my video on YouTube if you have a moment. :)

DABWAHA (Gesundheit)

DA BWAHA \ DA-bwa-ha \ , noun; 1. Dear Author Bitchery Writing Award for Hellagood Authors.

DABWAHA is a tournament patterned after NCAA March Madness—but this one is a tournament of books, hosted by the awesome folks at Dear Author and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I was surprised and honored to discover that The Fallen Queen was selected as a DABWAHA finalist in the Paranormal/Urban Fantasy/Science Fiction category.

TFQ is up against the following fabulous titles:

• Cat’s Tale: A Fairy Tale Retold by Bettie Sharpe
• The Darkest Surrender by Gena Showalter
• Fate’s Edge by Ilona Andrews
• Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook
• Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh
• Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison
• Radiant Desire by Inara Scott

Apparently, the next step is something called "brackets." I am totally out of my element here, so I'm afraid I can't really explain it, but from the DABWAHA website:

We’ll put out a slate of 64 picks.  8 categories and 8 books in each category.  In each category, the books are seeded 1-8.  The books then face off against one another with book 8 going up against book 1, book 7 going up against book 2, book 6 going up against book 3.  And so on and so forth.

The books compete against each other through the use of a poll and readers pick which book is going to win.

Before the books start competing against each other (I know, it sounds weird), readers fill out a bracket, picking who is going to win.

Bracket selection starts today and runs through midnight on March 13 (or 14th...this part isn't clear to me as the tournament form says 13th, but everything else says Wednesday), and voting begins on March 15. I'm not sure whether you have to fill out a bracket in order to vote, but I'm guessing you do, so hustle on over to the tournament page and make your selections:

http://www.mysideline.com/u/18566/custom/tournamententry.htm

What's in it for you? Well, in addition to the fun and madness, there are a ton of amazing prizes. And don't forget to vote for The Fallen Queen, up against Meljean Brook's Heart of Steel in Round 1 on March 15. (You know, the ides. Something bad will happen if you don't vote for TFQ on the ides.) ;)

Update from Irkalla

...otherwise known as the Land of Revisions. Just thought I'd pop onto the blog to share my favorite line from recent revisions to The Fallen Queen (formerly The House of Arkhangel'sk). Belphagor is half-conscious and being carried on Vasily's back when Vasily has an argument with Belphagor's friend Dmitri. Dmitri:

"And if you want to know the Heavens’ honest truth, Lev and I never really got what he saw in you. You’re sullen and ill-tempered and totally self-absorbed.”

Vasily stared at him, speechless, too stunned to be angry.

“And hot,” Belphagor murmured against his shoulder. “Totally hot.”

Vasily stared at him, speechless, too stunned to be angry. “And hot,” Belphagor murmured against his shoulder. “Totally hot.”