• TKA Agent Twitter Lunchbox Chat THIS Thursday, October 25th at 12pm Eastern on Twitter. Use #KnightAuthor to chat.
• Faith Hunter's DEATH'S RIVAL debuted on the New York Times print paperback bestseller list in the #26 spot.
• MAKING PIECE: A MEMOIR OF LOVE, LOSS AND PIE author Beth Howard was a guest on Marie Osmond's new talk show.
• Tommy Newberry's 40 DAYS TO A JOY-FILLED LIFE captured the #1 spot on Barnes and Noble's bestseller list. The author was also recently a guest on Fox & Friends.
• Ghost Huntress series author Marley Gibson and her fellow ghost hunter, author, and hubby, Patrick Burns, appeared on the Travel Channel's October 19th episode of Ghost Adventures.

TKA: Why did you pick New Orleans as the setting for the Jane Yellowrock series?

FAITH: I was born in Louisiana and most of my family, both sides, are clustered in the southern part of the state. New Orleans has been my favorite city for years, especially the French Quarter, with its old buildings and history and fantastic food and coffee.

TKA: DEATH’S RIVAL is your third New York Times bestseller from this series, with the first two being RAVEN CURSED in January and MERCY BLADE last year. What do you do to celebrate when you hit the list?

FAITH: When my editor or agent calls with the news, I spend some time in silence, just letting it soak in, and being thankful for all the people who helped me get there. I know that sounds silly, but I am so very grateful for all the help. I have the best agent and editor in the world, and without them, I am nowhere. I take time to remember that this is not just me. It’s a village of people helping.  Then I tell my husband and call my mom and my dad, to share the news. That fun is followed by a hot bath with my Himalayan Pink Salts and a glass of wine or beer.

TKA: What drew you away from writing thrillers and mysteries and into paranormal urban fantasy? What sort of adjustments did you make when you moved from one genre to another?

FAITH: All the time I was writing mysteries and thrillers, I had a need in the back of my creative mind to write fantasy. I had loved it since I was a teenager and even though I was writing in a genre more science-based than supernatural-based, I always yearned for the mystical and magical.

I use a lot of tools from my mystery/thriller toolkit in writing urban fantasy. Jane, while a shape-shifting skinwalker, is also an investigator, using all the modern means (as well the arcane ones) of tracking down her prey. The formation of plots is similar in terms of clues and police methodology, and the endings all have to have those clues tied up into a nice bow. The difference is the special abilities Jane Yellowrock brings to the process, and the problems that follow her because of her supernatural nature.

TKA: How many volumes are planned for the series? Can you give us a tiny spoiler about what Jane will face next?

FAITH: I know I can take Jane through Book Ten, and possibly as many as fifteen books. I want to stop before Jane and her life get stale, and I bore readers, but I also don’t want to leave things unfinished in her life. Right now, there are a lot of loose ends!

Hmmm… spoiler… In BLOOD TRADE, Jane goes back to Natchez to deal with unfinished business, and discovers that, in her absence, the Naturaleza vampires have been busy. They have developed new abilities – including a defense against some of her best weapons. Fighting these vamps presents all kinds of new and complex difficulties. Worse, a sick child is dependent on her for help, and even with all of Jane’s skills, saving the little girl may be beyond her.

TKA: In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, which one of your characters would you be the most likely to dress up as for Halloween?

FAITH: If I could shape-shift I’d be Beast in a heartbeat!

Follow Faith on Twitter
Friend Faith on Facebook
Learn more about Faith on her official site

 

• Debbie Kaufman's THE MINER'S TREASURE, an inspirational romantic adventure set in the Liberian jungle, to Tina James at Harlequin Love Inspired Historicals, by Melissa Jeglinski of The Knight Agency.
• The following titles were sold to Audible, in nice deals, by Lucienne Diver of The Knight Agency:
  - Susan Krinard's SECRETS OF THE WOLF, THE FOREST LORD, TO CATCH A WOLF, and KINSMAN'S OATH
  - Karen Whiddon's POWERFUL MAGIC, SHADOW MAGIC, SOUL MAGIC, LONE STAR MAGIC, and MISSING MAGIC
  - Beth Cornelison's TRUST IN ME and REYN'S REDEMPTION
  - P.N. Elrod's eleven titles in her Vampire Files series and all in her Jonathan Barrett, Gentleman Vampire series
  - Audio rights to eleven of Doranna Durgin's fantasy and mystery titles
  - Steven Harper's THE SILENT EMPIRE series, in a four-book deal
  - Steven Piziks's IN THE COMPANY OF MIND and THE CORPORATE MENTALITY
  - David Coe's WINDS OF THE FORELANDS and BLOOD OF THE SOUTHLANDS series
  - Keith R.A. DeCandido's DRAGON PRECINCT, UNICORN PRECINCT, GOBLIN PRECINCT, and GRYPHON PRECINCT
  - David Mack's THE CALLING

• Bryan Anderson appeared at the 3rd Annual Lt. Dan Weekend in Beaufort, S.C. Hosted by the Independence Fund to benefit severely injured veterans, the event includes a concert featuring Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band. The Iraq veteran's memoir, NO TURNING BACK, will be re-released in paperback on November 6th.
• In a rave review, Publishers Weekly declared Gena Showalter's ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND "...a zippy story with crossover appeal that highlights the power of guilt, faith, and self-confidence."
• Faith Hunter's latest Jane Yellowrock novel, DEATH'S RIVAL, debuted on the New York Times print paperback bestseller list in the #26 spot, and #29 on the Times's eBook list.
• MAKING PIECE author Beth Howard's mission to take over the world one pie at a time continued this month with a guest appearance on Marie Osmond's new Hallmark Channel talk show.
• Tommy Newberry's 40 DAYS TO A JOY-FILLED LIFE captured the #100 spot on the USA Today bestseller list and was ranked #1 on Barnes and Noble's bestseller list. The book also hit the Publishers Weekly Top 10 Trade Paperback list at #10. The author talked about his new release on a recent episode of Fox & Friends.
• Giveaway Notice: Leigh Evans is giving away 100 copies of her debut urban fantasy novel, THE TROUBLE WITH FATE (St. Martin's, December 2012), via Goodreads. Leigh was the 2010 winner of Deidre Knight's "speed-dating" contest. Click here to enter the giveaway!
• Ghost Huntress series author Marley Gibson and her fellow ghost hunter, co-author of THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING, and hubby, Patrick Burns, appeared on the Travel Channel's October 19th episode of Ghost Adventures. Also, Gibson is in the final stretch of raising funds to start The Radiate Foundation, which will benefit teen cancer patients. Visit her Indiegogo fundraiser site for more info.

AUTHOR TIP OF THE MONTH

Melissa Mayhue is the award-winning author of The Daughters of the Glen series. The latest novel from her new Warrior series, WARRIOR REBORN, will be released on October 30th.

TIP: Everyone tells new authors about the importance of staying in the proper point of view when they’re writing a scene (no headhopping!) and I've found that the best way for me to do that is using what I like to think of as the Actress Method.  Once you decide which character's point of view to use in a scene, you mentally become that character.  If you can't hear, feel, see, taste or touch something as that character, you can't write it.  Simple as that!

AGENT ROUNDTABLE: HALLOWEEN EDITION

This month we're taking a break from the same-old same-old. TKA's agents are letting their hair down and enjoying a bit of Halloween revelry, but they still reveal some valuable tidbits such as how quickly they know whether a query is right for them. They also tackle the most pressing question facing humanity at this moment in time: Are vampires still cool?

Q1: What is the scariest movie of ALL TIME?
DEIDRE: Probably Jaws, if only because I saw it in the theater as a very impressionable child. I’ve never felt the same about the ocean and it’s been hard to scare me as badly as that ever again!
PAMELA: The Haunting of Hill House. Really… I don’t like scary movies at all.
LUCIENNE: I find killer virus movies scarier than any horror movie intended to strike fear, so I’m going to go with Outbreak.
ELAINE: I close my eyes while watching Criminal Minds, even the reruns I’ve already seen. So, my scary movie repertoire is pretty slim - how about the scariest movie that I can’t even bring myself to ever attempt to see?! Arachnophobia. For obvious reasons. 
MELISSA: Halloween.

Q2: Have you ever pulled a Halloween prank?
DEIDRE: Hmm, I guess I’m staid, but no!
PAMELA: Are pumpkins orange????
LUCIENNE: No. April Fools, though, that’s another story.
ELAINE: Does convincing my husband to propose to me count? Cause he did that on Halloween.
MELISSA: No, I'd be too worried about payback.

Q3: If so, did said prank involve toilet paper?
DEIDRE: See above. I may be coming across as a goody-goody, huh?
PAMELA: Hmmm... no much worse.
LUCIENNE: Nope.
ELAINE: Yes. Because I was crying like a little baby when he popped the question.
MELISSA: Ha! I can't imagine what a pain it'd be to clean it up.

Q4: Within how many seconds/minutes of opening an email query do you generally know if a submission isn't for you?
DEIDRE: First few sentences usually tell me.
PAMELA: 30 seconds.
LUCIENNE: Depends on the submission.
ELAINE: 5-15 seconds depending on how much coffee I’ve had and how fast I’m reading.
MELISSA: 30 seconds.

Q5: Which of your fellow TKA agents do you think would be most likely to toilet paper someone's house?
DEIDRE: Hands down, my money is on Lucienne Diver, with Elaine Spencer sneaking along with her. I can just see those two in camo night gear, sneaking into my yard.
PAMELA: I can’t name just one… in fact, we would participate as team TKA. ;-)
LUCIENNE: Me.
ELAINE: Definitely Pamela.
MELISSA: Elaine. (I'm sensing a recurring theme to these questions....)

Q6: Are stories about vampires still cool?
DEIDRE: Depends on the author.  :-)  I personally still love vampire stories, so if they’re not cool… I guess I’m the square person who never toilet papered anyone’s house, right?
PAMELA: Always... but just not with too many editors right now.
LUCIENNE: OMG, yes.
ELAINE: Yes.
MELISSA: Not for my particular tastes.

Q7: If you never saw another query in your life about (FILL IN THE BLANK), it would be too soon.
DEIDRE: Believe it or not, nothing really comes to mind.  Because as soon as I say “never”, the next person broaching a well-worn topic will make it fresh.  But people who cross the line into creepy-stalker can feel free to stay away.
PAMELA: Anything compared to… another… Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
LUCIENNE: Being abducted by aliens.
ELAINE: Aliens.
MELISSA: Angels.

Q8: What is your favorite Halloween candy?
DEIDRE: The Hershey bag of mixed chocolate bars with Krackel and Mr. Goodbar.
PAMELA: Chocolate anything.
LUCIENNE: Baby Ruths!
ELAINE: Spree and Milky Way candy bars.
MELISSA: Candy corn.

Q9: Would you ever accept candy bribes from querying authors?
DEIDRE: No, but someone once sent me a bag of candy corn… along with a small pint of rum.  Not sure how those were supposed to fit into the fanny pack that was also included.
PAMELA: Absolutely.
LUCIENNE: I don’t know, let’s try it and find out.  (Kidding, kidding!)
ELAINE: Yes – but only the expensive kind.
MELISSA: Yes, please!

Q10: Are you sure you are not responsible for Exhibit A?
DEIDRE: No, but now you’ve given me an idea of how to break out of my good-girl mold that’s clearly too established.
PAMELA: I think I'll pass on this question.
LUCIENNE: I’m sure, but I plead the Fifth on the whereabouts of my puppy at the time of the incident.
ELAINE: I wish. The one day I stay home....
MELISSA: Wasn’t me. Besides, I don’t see how, considering I just moved 500 miles away from the main office. Maybe if I were teleported while sleepwalking….

Final Verdict: Clearly, Lucienne's puppy hitchhiked from her office in Florida all the way to Georgia and tricked the dog-loving TKA agents into letting him into the office by rolling around in the grass and whimpering for a treat. He then hid out in the book closet until they'd all left for the day, and covered the office in Charmin. All in the name of fun, of course. Case closed. (Pamela Harty significantly contributed to this investigation.)
 

Talk to us! Make sure you join our agents THIS Thursday, October 25th, at 12:00 p.m.  Eastern for an hour-long lunchbox chat.

WHAT: Twitter Q&A Lunchbox Chat about Anything and Everything Publishing-Related, featuring @DeidreKnight, @PamelaHarty, @NepheleTempest, @MJeglinski (Melissa Jeglinski), and @ElaineSpencer
WHEN: Thursday, October 25th, 12:00 p.m. EDT
WHERE: Twitter. Moderated by @KnightAgency
 

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