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Juno News02.03.10IN THIS ISSUE:
WARM WINTER READING Where I live (in Akron, Ohio), February is a great time to just stay indoors and... well, not *chill*--that's what you would be doing outside, but... It's a great time to bundle up indoors and read a little more than usual. Even if you live in a warmer climate, our most recent release is sure to chase away any winter blahs you may be having: the first of Seressia Glass's Shadowchasers series, SHADOW BLADE, is full of face-paced adventure, warm relationships, and dire danger. Find out more at our Shadow Blade page and Seressia's Shadowchasers site.
JUNO AUTHORS HAVE A HOT FEBRUARY As a matter of fact, Juno authors are all over the place this month:
SNEAK PEEK: EXPECT MORE "HEAT" in MARCH That's right, Stacia Kane is back with her third Meagan Chase book: DEMON POSSESSED (http://juno-books.com/demon-possessed.html). Chapter One is online (http://juno-books.com/demon-possessed-excerpt.html), but here's an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at more of the book! (May be slightly modified from the book in order to avoid spoilers.) :: From DEMON POSSESSED by Stacia Kane :: Megan was still thinking about all of those things an hour later when she loaded her luggage for the next week into the car. The July night smothered her like a hot blanket; the air barely moved. A week-and-a-half into a heat wave and no relief in sight. She slammed the trunk lid down on her suitcases and turned back toward the house, only to have her blood run cold. It was some relief from the heat, but not the kind she was looking for. Someone was out there. No, not someone. A demon. She felt it, those shivers up her spine like when Roc fed off her. But it didn't feel like Roc. Wasn't Roc. Who, then? Who was out there, reaching out to her but not speaking? Tasting her, reading her? Trees lined her street. Silent cars hunkered like bugs in driveways. So many hiding places, and suddenly she was aware of them all, aware of the road stretching before her eyes and the houses full of people. People living their own lives, watching TV or having dinner or whatever it was they were doing as the sky faded above them. Darkness came late this time of year, but even with the sun barely set the shadows were long and deep. Reflexively she lowered her shields. Yes, lots of people in their houses; she felt them all, saw what they saw, a flood of information easier than it should have been to control. Psyche demons-which the demon inside her now was, fully and completely-assimilated that information without hesitating, without thinking, and so did she. But none of them were responsible for that shivery feeling. Something else was out there, watching her, and threat hung heavy in the still air. It quivered against her skin. This was not just a visit. Whatever was out there wanted to harm her; it felt malevolent. Wrong. It took every bit of strength she had to lift her foot and take one step toward the front door. Not all demons were visible all the time. Was it standing right beside her? Right behind her? She spun around, her breath loud and harsh in her ears, searing her lungs. She couldn't get enough oxygen from the hot, thick air. It choked her. The soft dusk-light blinded her, turned everything gray in a way she normally loved. Now it was as though the street, her house, everything around her was wrapped in dusty shrouds. She wanted to see and couldn't. Wanted more light but the sun was rapidly setting and she was alone. And only fifteen feet from her house. This was silliness. Summoning as much courage as she could, girded by the glow of her own windows, she took another step, trying to look unconcerned. Another shiver up her spine. Stronger this time. Her casual act was only giving her tormentor-or whatever it was-confidence; it was getting closer to her. Her front door was unlocked. She couldn't just get in the car and go. Even if she sent Malleus, Maleficarum, or Spud--Greyson's guards--back to lock it up it would still be open for close to an hour. An hour in which her unknown lurker would have full access to her home. Her belongings. Everything. A scrape, the faint tinge of metal against pavement. Again she spun around. Again she saw nothing. Her head pounded almost as hard as her heart. Whoever-whatever-it was out there had to know she knew it was there. And it hadn't spoken. Hadn't stepped forward, even though she knew her fear was strong enough to taste, to feel. Her watcher knew she was afraid, and wanted her that way. Which pissed her off, and that was a good thing. Someone wanted to lurk in the shadows as the sun went down and intimidate her? Fuck that. She straightened her spine, forced her head high. The simple act of looking unafraid grounded her. One step toward the house, and another. The air around her thickened, pressing like a hot iron against her skin. Danger. Danger. The word echoed in her head, vibrated through her body. Her flip-flops slapped impossibly loud on the sidewalk, announcing every step she took. She tried to ignore it, just like she ignored the sweat trickling down her spine and temple. It didn't work. Hidden in that hollow flapping sound, in the too-loud beat of her heart, were whispers and giggles, the sound of her watcher's footsteps or breath. She stopped, spun around again. A flicker of movement this time, a shape...? Or her panicked imagination? She had no idea which. All she knew was at any moment a hand would close over her arm or her mouth; any moment someone would grab her and drag her down. Pain erupted in the back of her calf, a stinging horrible pain. She stumbled. Shit, what was that? No time to look, she kept going, but her next step felt like it was taken through seaweed and her hands and feet tingled in a way she didn't like. The door in front of her wavered, tilted at an odd angle. Why wasn't it upright? Another sharp pain in her leg. She opened her mouth to try to scream but she couldn't seem to make any sound come out save a queer, muted gurgle. Panic started taking over. She could feel her blood racing through her veins, faster and faster. Could feel her palms hit the hot sidewalk. She'd fallen. She'd fallen and her sweaty hair clung to her neck and her mouth wouldn't close and something icy touched her leg where it hurt. The last thing she saw was a flash of impossibly bright light bleaching the front of her house.
WEB SITE UPDATE The entry page has been updated. (Not seeing anything new? refresh/reload your browser!) An excerpt of EMBERS is now available. AMAZON QUEEN now has a page (including a link to an excerpt) and there's some nifty new "feature" info about Lori Devoti's Amazon world at. Last month's newsletter is now archived online. Reviews have been updated on the HALLOWED CIRCLE, VICIOUS CIRCLE, MATTERS OF THE BLOOD, BLOOD BARGAIN, BLOOD KIN, VAMPIRE SUNRISE, and AMAZON INK pages.
SUBMISSIONS 'd like to have more news on submissions, but I don't have much. I have several manuscripts under consideration, but that's about all I can report for now. I received quite a few submissions in January (everyone keeping their New Year's resolutions?). If you recall, I started keeping track, as of January 1, of the reasons I *immediately declined* submission. Keep in mind: these are ONLY submissions that I immediately realized after reading the query or description that they needed no further consideration. So far (January 1-February 2, 2010):
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JUNO NEWS copyright (c) 2010, Paula Guran All Rights Reserved Written and produced by Paula Guran editor@juno-books.com
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