Test Podcast

Remember that whole podcast idea I mentioned a few months back?

It's almost ready to roll out. I have the first episode up: here as kind of a sneak peek for folks to listen to and give feedback on before I go all iTunes with it. The volume is a little low, but I'm hoping to fix that with future episodes.

In the meantime, whether you've read the books and want to listen to them or you're discovering the series for the first time, I hope you enjoy. The first episode is a little short. Around 18 minutes, but future epsiodes will run two or three chapters and I'll try to roll out a new episode once a week.

Happy listening!

So... if I had to cast someone....

Lately I've gotten a few emails asking who I'd cast if there was a Void City movie. Putting aside the whole idea that I likely wouldn't have any input at all and going with the conceit that in the reality of the question being asked, I actually have some say-so...

If it were me, I'd be tempted to cast two actors.

Scenes which were from Eric's POV would have Denis Leary

Scenes from Tabitha's POV would use Josh Holloway:

I don't get many questions about who would play Tabitha or Rachel, but every who has asked about Eric has also asked about Ebon Winter. If I could get ahold of a time machine, I'd say a Labrynth-era David Bowie, but seeing as how I don't have access to one... maybe... Adam Lambert from this season of American Idol?

What do you think? Who would you cast?

Apparently I'm Luminous

You may or may not know that ReVamped is one of the featured titles for April's discussion over at the B&N Paranormal Forums. You can find them: here. And I'd meant to mention it earlier, but in a way, I'm glad I waited. Paul Goat Allen serves as the moderator for a couple of forums over at B&N. He's also a writer and reviewer in his own right.

Paul had a lot of nice things to say about Staked and ReVamped (which can be read here), but the blurbs he provided for the series left me grinning like one of the Joker's victims.

Blurb #1 (About the series):

"J.F. Lewis' Void City saga is like literary methamphetamine. The best thing to hit paranormal fantasy in years."

Blurb #2 (About me):

"In a genre full of up-and-coming luminaries, J.F. Lewis may be the brightest of them all."

Yeah. I'm gonna need treatment for sprained facial muscles if Batman doesn't show up with some anti-venom treatment soon. I just know it.

Gene Mollica's Staked cover

Now that Amazon has it posted on the pre-order page for the mass market version of Staked, I guess it's okay to post here. The folks over at Pocket were so pleased with the look of ReVamped's cover that they powers that be went ahead and tapped Gene Mollica to do a new cover for Staked... one was more in keeping with the look of the ReVamped cover. Here it is by itself:

And here it is side by side with the original Chris McGrath cover:

I like that Gene worked El Alma Perdida into the cover and that the scene is taking place outside. I also dig the way Chris McGrath gave his original cover such a cool classic noir feel.

So? What do you guys think?

Kinds Words and Interesting Topics

Colin Harvey was nice enough to review Staked over at Suite101.com and he's given me permission to quote a portion of the review:

"This debut novel is chock full of vampires, werewolves and witches in an imaginary city but the style and characterization set it apart from lesser competitors."

- Colin Harvey, Suite101.com

If you'd like to read the whole review, you'll have to jump on over here. He has some very kind things to say and he also calls 'em like he sees 'em. Colin takes me to task for an infodump at one point in the novel and he mentions some disatisfaction with Staked's ending, but all in all, I'd call it a good review and he obviously enjoyed the book.

A few days later, he made a very interesting post about "Cliffhangers vs Open Ended Books" which hits so close to the mark its scary on what I intended when I wrote Staked.
{Spoiler Alert: Some (okay almost every single person who has read the book) have interpretted the ending as a cliffhanger. I didn't intend it to be one, but I certainly understand that point of view.}

When I sold Staked, it was a one book deal. I wanted there to be more books about Eric, Tabitha, and Void City (and fortunately that dream comes true in March with the release of ReVamped... though Amazon is already shipping it) but I also wanted it to be able to stand alone if that dream never materialized... which brings me to a question: If you've already read Staked, how did you interpret the ending? Cliffhanger or Not.

I'd be interested to know. :)

Note: If you enjoy Colin's articles, you'll want to check out some of his fiction. I've linked to his website here.

The Jesus Geeks Podcast talks about Staked

Chris and Cliff over at the Jesus Geeks podcast talk about the controversy that sprang up around Staked, the first novel in my Void City series. I was tempted to provide a link here with the statement:

Jesus Geeks Approve Staked:

"This book is pure entertainment... It was a very good first novel."

Chris Martins, The Jesus Geeks Podcast

That's a bit disingenuous though. Chris did say he enjoyed the book and in fact he did make both of the above statements about Staked, but both Chris (of the Jesus Geeks) and John (of jesusgeek.info) had issues with the book, particularly the sexual content.

If you'd like to hear what they had to say, go take a listen: here.

One of the biggest things I took issue with was John's description of the sex scenes as pornographic. They clearly aren't. I left a few comments via voice mail explaining my position on the sexuality depicted in Staked on the Jesus Geeks comment line and Chris says he'll be playing them in a few weeks on a follow up episode.

I have to say that I truly appreciate Chris and John taking the time to read the book beforing commenting on it. Their comments, even the negative ones, were made in a respectful good-natured manner. Kudos, gentlemen! I appreciate it.

Dead Robots' Society Interview

So... if hearing me blab on and on about Staked and writing is your idea of a good time, then head on over to the episode 62 of the Dead Robots' Society. It was great fun speaking with Justin and Terry (even if Ryan was too busy wandering around the mall to be there and give me my Candanian Rage fix). If you haven't heard this podcast before, these guys are great. Check 'em out.

Superhero Haikus & Halloween Goodness

You can find a cool post over at James Maxey's The Prophet & The Dragon blog featuring superhero haikus. If you haven't read anything by James, he's the author of a really cool series of novels involving an age of dragon dominance over humans. The first book is Bitterwood and it absolutely rocks! Think of it as Planet of the Dragons instead of Planet of the Apes. He followed that up with Dragonforge (which I've purchased, but haven't read yet) and will conclude the trilogy with Dragonseed, which is slated for release in July 2009.

He's also written a superhero novel called Nobody Gets the Girl, which is how we get back around the haikus. You can find the post here, and if you look closely, you just might find a haiku by someone you recognize. (Hint: He wrote Staked and its forthcoming sequel - ReVamped.)

Also, if you haven't been checking out the League of Reluctant Adults blog, this would be the week to start. We've got tons of guests and giveaways. Check it out here.

Win a copy of Staked and learn about Werewolf Dentistry

I'm guest blogging over here at Lynda Hilburn's Paranormality Blog. I'm giving away a copy of Staked there, too.

But that's not the only place to win a copy. You can subscribe to Patricia Altner's Vampire Notes blog (here) and win a copy of Staked (written by me) or Fangland by John Marks.

Cleaning Tips From Talbot

Heh.

I'm interviewed today over at the Reality Bypass Blog, but the interesting part is this: so are Eric and Talbot. :)

Here's a link.

Fresh from the "How Cool is That Department"

I'm in My Hometown Newspaper!

The article is available online, too. Here's a link.

And Now... We Wait

In case you were wondering, that nervous "I hope this is as good as I think it is" feeling you get (or *I* get anyway) when submitting the revised novel manuscript to your editor is exactly the same the second time around. The novel grew by about 18,000 words (lots of which were new Talbot scenes) and it's a better novel for having undergone the process.

My favorite addition to the revised manuscript for ReVamped? Getting to show Talbot in full "supernatural combat mode" a book earlier than I had originally intended... though the Eric and Talbot buddy scene near the end was fun to write, too.

The weirdest thing about this set of revisions? They were much harder. I was stuck for several weeks on how to accomplish a requested change and I'm not exactly certain why. I was much busier this time around - running to cons and such - which may account for part of it... and I did have to make a substantial change to the way I did edits for STAKED, but when it clicked, I had the exact same "I'm an idiot! All I need to do is roll these four fixes together, insert these six scenes, revise these three scenes, and it fixes X,Y, AND Z while paralleling Q!"

In any case, the revised manuscript was sent out in a timely fashion... slightly before the deadline. Yay, team!

Adventures in Scifi Publishing

Some of you may have noticed the audio promo for STAKED popping up here and there. I can't tell you how nice everyone has been about agreeing to play it for me. I don't just make blind requests either. I listen to the podcast first. I often wind up subscribing as a result, because quite frankly... there is some astonishingly cool content out there.

Take Adventures in Scifi Publishing for example. They've started a series of Clarion interviews to which I've been glued. I've never been to a big writer's school like Clarion and I've always been fancinated with the idea of getting to go... so it's really cool to hear tidbits about the goings on there or even just thoughts on writing from the talented people teaching there.

This week is the third Clarion episode and next week... Neil Gaiman.

While you're downloading the current episodes, be sure to check out the new website here. It's a a very slick look with cool interviews, events, news, reviews, and links to youtube videos that might interest scifi fans... like the new book trailer for Jeff Carlson's Plague War. (Hi, Jeff!)

Also, don't forget to participate in The Keys to Publishing Contest. You'll need to listen to Adventures in Scifi Publishing as well as Mur Lafferty's I Should Be Writing... but you should be doing that already.

Go check them out and if you haven't heard it already, you can catch the Staked promo, too. And since people have asked... yes, for good or for ill, that's me doing the voiceover. :)

Best,

J

Live (or undead) from Disney World...

Good morning Orlando, Florida! I'm mostly away from my laptop right now, but this news just can't wait until we get home: it looks like the sequel to Staked will be headed your way in 2009 with March as the tentative release date. Everybody do the Snoopy dance for me!

J

P.S. I really enjoyed ConCarolinas, although I had to leave before dawn on Sunday to join my family's annual vacation. I'll post a more detailed review of the con soon. :)

STAKED gets good reviews...

I haven’t posted any reviews in awhile, so here goes:

“Staked will probably appeal to most readers who like Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden but wish that Harry would stop being so damn nice all the time.” -Amanda, LoveVampires.com

How’s that for a hearty endorsement? Read the rest of Amanda’s review here.

Oh! Oh! And my book made it to Vienna (yes, as in Austria)! I only know this because Amberkatze has posted a nice review on Amberkatze’s Book Blog. She was even cool enough to give away a copy of the book in a contest with a very cool concept. In Staked, a new vampire seldom knows the extent of his or her true powers. Sometimes, those who can change into an animal will only be able to change, for all time, into whatever they first attempt. Amber asks contestants to choose which animal they would pick. Enter her contest here.

As it that wasn’t enough, she interviewed me, too. Here’s that link.

Speaking of people who enjoy Staked…

FantasyGirl has an awesome review over at BestFantasyStories.com: “From the start I could tell this book would be something special. By page 8, I was proclaiming it a winner to my friends. I’m happy to report that I was correct.” Read the rest of the review here.

Proving that Staked can appeal to guys too, Frank Hagen posted a review at his blog. You see, he bought the book for his wife (because he’d read the Big Idea article John Scalzi was nice enough to post over on his Whatever blog), started reading it, and it hooked him. Read his review here and if you need any advice with C# Programming, Frank might be just the guy to help you out.

Rachel over at ourgaggleofgirls.com reviewed Staked last month and I *thought* that I blogged about it, but didn’t: “Once you get caught up in the world of Staked, you’re stuck in its thrall. There’s enough violence and death to keep the novel going, but not so much that you can’t read it before bed. Staked walks a great balance with the suspense and gore… it’s a balance one rarely sees in first novels.”

Read the rest of her review here at Our Gaggle of Girls or here at Boston Now.

Lastly, Lou Anders sent me an email to let me know that my “author debut party” was covered in the most recent Locus magazine. I ordered a few copies, but they're not here yet.

Next time… my WebKinz review! Be afraid. Be very afraid! (Okay, don’t be really afraid... They’re just WebKinz…)

J

Blog!

Wow! When it rains, it pours. I’m Whatever’d and First Book’d today.

John Scalzi posted my Big Idea piece on his Whatever blog today. You can read it: here.

As if that wasn’t cool enough, Scott William Carter was nice enough to post an interview with me to The First Book blog. You can read it: here.

Thanks, John!

Thanks, Scott!

Live and Undead at OmegaCon

I've met several cool people so far at OmegaCon, ranging from the very famous and equally tall Peter Mayhew (that's Chewbacca to you) to David Talon, author of The Last Guardian of Mosh Chaltun. We also picked up a copy or three of The Rollicking Adventures of Tam O'Hare by Scotty Roberts. As to be expected of a first time Con, there's been a small amount of chaos that seems to be smoothing out nicely. If you haven't hit OmegaCon yet, it's well worth the price of admission.

Best of all, the folks over at the Books-A-Million booth have sold at least twelve copies of my book. A special thanks goes out to the members of my Writers' Group, the WTF, for manning my table and sometimes the tables near mine. They'll also be providing a nice surprise for attendees of the 9 PM Writers' Group panel.

Back into the fray,

J

My Publication Party: Write a Novel - Get an iPod

The book is officially out there in all the places one might expect to find a new book. Some stores have it in the Fiction/Literature section, so if you don’t see it in Fantasy/Science Fiction, check for it in an alternate spot. I have no idea what that means, exactly, but there ya go.

As you may guess, it’s been a very exciting week for me. My group at work threw me a party on Monday complete with red and black balloons and a huge cake with the cover of the book on it.

Tuesday morning, early, I was treated to a rendition of "Happy Vampire Day to You" performed loudly by a four year old and a six year old. It completely set the celebratory mood.

Tuesday night, I had my Publication Party at the Historic Rucker Place. Lou Anders was nice enough to do the intros and mention the party on his blog here. William H. Drinkard, author of Elom, was in attendance as well. I was completely blind-sided by presents: a cool hardcover edition of Dracula from Dan & Wendy, an iPod from my crazy family, and coolest of all, Chris McGrath sent me a print of the cover art for STAKED. Several people seem to think the guy in the background, behind the S in Staked, looks like me. How cool is that?

The Hunter Lawley Trio provided live music for the event. Hunter sang my favorite of his original songs, Big Daddy, and was even nice enough to pain-stakingly figure out the music to Rudolph, the Red-nosed reindeer at the request of my youngest son. (Tell a four year old that he can request a song and see what you get...)

I’ll be attending William H. Drinkard’s big Elom launch at the Brookwood Books-A-Million on Thursday.

Then, on Friday, OmegaCon will kick into high gear. Shaun Knopf and all the hard-working OmegaCon volunteers have really done a great job setting this thing up. Here’s hoping it goes off without a hitch! Birmingham really needs a cool science-fiction fantasy convention and has never had anything close to OmegaCon before.

There should be several opportunities for me to serve on panels, sign books, etc and we may also have a room party. More on that when I get the final and official schedules. :)

I hope to see you all there!

Recharging

Sometimes we all need to recharge our creative batteries.

I was thinking about the topic after working on lit track panels for OmegaCon. (It’s only a few days away, BTW – so if you can get there - be there) Everyone had worked VERY hard. Sacrifices of personal time and sanity points were made all around. I felt completely drained, but then I went with some out of town family and my normal Friday Night Crew to the They Might Be Giants concert over at Work/Play here in Birmingham. Even the opening band was great (Oppenheimer, if you were wondering). TMBG did three encores including a version of “Istanbul” that began with a fantastic acoustic guitar solo.

We came home listening to HERE COME THE 1, 2, 3’s with the strains of “Istanbul” and “The Mesopotamians” still ringing in our heads.

Tonight, as I rather sleeplessly wait for the official release of Staked to roll around at midnight (Tuesday March 11th, 2008), I’m listening to Oppenheimer’s debut CD in rotation with a little Robyn Hitchcock via streaming audio (at a friend’s suggestion).

I’ve also been enjoying a good book (Kay Kenyon’s BRIGHT OF THE SKY).

What recharges you? Hugging your little ones (an instant partial recharge most of the time, for me)? Watching a good movie? Hanging out with friends?

Let me know.

Jeremy

Upcoming Events

March 1, 2008 - Along with several other OmegaCon guests, I'll be interviewed for Bright House Cable TV's "Dean and Company" which airs Monday nights at 7:30PM on Channel 4

March 11, 2008 - The official release date for STAKED. We're having a publication party at a great venue- the Historic Rucker Place- with live music from the fabulous Hunter Lawley Trio, lots of great appetizers, and a huge guest list. Each room of the spectacular historic house will have a different theme- it's going to be really cool. Also, I'm supposed to give a two minute speech around 6 PM. (Send me an email if you'll be in town and would like to be invited.)

March 14-16 - OmegaCon hits Birmingham's downtown Sheraton with a really amazing literary track. I'm scheduled to appear on panels with Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lou Anders, Bill Drinkard, and lots of other great folks. Books-A-Million has promised to stock the books of all the guest authors and will have ten tables in the dealers' room. I'm sure there will also be time for signing books... more about that as soon as I get the details.

March 22 – Big book signing at Little Professor in Homewood! The folks at Little Professor are very, very nice and are hosting a book signing for me on Saturday March 22.