I'm going to be at kNight Series on Thursday night between 7pm - 8pm EST. That's this week! I'll be answering all sorts of questions and we will be giving away five signed copies of my books (woot!). Please show up if you can (so I am not lonely and talking to myself!). 
The link is here:
They also have some other cool stuff going on this month for other paranormal authors!
Thanks to everyone that played on such short notice yesterday! If you've won, please email me at jillmyles AT gmail.com and we'll get you hooked up.
Winners of signed copies:
Marlene Breakfield
pjthompson (livejournal)
Beth
Emily C
Winners of book flats:
Sheila
Chandler Craig
Kate L S-V
Lindsey Cobb (livejournal)
infinitieh
winters_queen (livejournal)
Claire Gillian
Vero H
sierra185 (livejournal)
Xid Trebor
Chacha
Marissa
Lizzielvr
Danielle B
Twimom227
Jeanette
Thanks everyone!
This contest ends at 11:59PM TONIGHT, October 1. If it is October 2nd or later, do NOT comment!
I've got some stuff to send out, guys, and figured it's time for a micro-contest! First of all, I have a bunch of these:
Don't get excited yet! Those are cover flats, not the real book. It's basically what the finished cover will look like. It even has foil on the pretty title (which is a little hard to see in that picture).
There it is! Foil!
So anyhow, I have a ton of those bad boys to give away. Maybe you're into collecting author promo and would like a cover flat of your very own? Comment below - I'm going to mail out SIXTEEN packages that will consist of cover flat and some handy-dandy bookmarks.
But wait! There's more! I am also giving away FOUR copies of either GENTLEMEN PREFER SUCCUBI or SUCCUBI LIKE IT HOT. Signed! If you win one of those, just tell me which one you want.
So!
Sixteen cover flats winners - four free book winners.
YOU MUST COMMENT TODAY, HOWEVER. Contest is invalid after today, 11:59PM CST. I will select winners at random. One entry per household. I'll draw winners over the weekend and post them on my journal, so check back.
THE BAD NEWS: This contest is for the continental US only, guys. 
I know that sucks, but postage on a cover flat or a book outside of the US would totally chew up my budget for the month. I promise I will do an international giveaway as soon as Book Depository has my books back in stock again. PROMISE!
Okay, comment! And good luck!
Seriously guys! Is it something in the water? I have seen far, far too many rants pop up on the internet this week. Stuff is not ideal, of course - it never is, but it's rarely so bad that it requires the frothing anger I have seen as of late. And no, this is not directed to anyone specific as much as it is a general sort of feeling. There's anger everywhere - and a lot of it seems to be stemming from the news.
So everyone has homework this week. I would like for you all to go and read something fun and escapist. Take a few minutes out of your day and enjoy what the world has to offer. I am currently reading:
It's adorable and clever and just the thing if you like your YA clean and charming. Or perhaps you should read:
I have read this one and it is totally fabulous. Ilona Andrews has really outdone herself - Cerise is strong and awesome, and William is great as the reluctant hero who is alternately vexed and perplexed by his feelings for the heroine. Awesome world, great ending, and a nice thick chunk of a read for your $7. Or maybe you want something a little lighter?
Michelle Rowen's next book in her DEMON IN ME series is bound to be super fun and full of the awesome wit that characterizes all of her books. And dig this hot cover. Yum. Or perhaps you are in the mood for something that you have never experienced before?
Steampunk romance. This book is flat out amazing. You must go buy it now. The world is built in the most intricate and fascinating ways, but that doesn't hold a candle to the steamy romance between Rhys and Mina, the main characters. Hot hot hot, lots of airships, and lots of women in bustles being badasses. It totally made my year.
Now, some of these aren't out this week (though I hear online retailers are shipping early...shhh!) but if you can't get a hold of them, read something else. Relax. Appreciate the world around you. And let's go back to angry next week. 
Those of you that follow my tweet stream might have already seen these, but I love them so much I thought they were worth sharing again! My husband drew both of these, and if you like them, click through on the picture and check out his Deviant Art page. He's got some great stuff (and always appreciates the traffic!).
Jackie from the Succubus Diaries
Remy from the Succubus Diaries
I've seen a few people asking on Goodreads about the blurb listed for MY FAIR SUCCUBI. Specifically, most of the comments are of a "Where the hell is Zane??" nature. BE NOT ALARMED! Zane is in book 3. And to prove it, here's the official text you'll see on the back of the book:
It Sucks To Be Her…
Living as a succubus has a bit of a learning curve, but with sexy fallen angel Noah to scratch her sensual Itch, Jackie Brighton is finally starting to feel ahead of the game. She almost doesn’t miss her gorgeous vampire master Zane – or his sinful, teasing mouth. She’s trying to convince herself of that, anyway.
But Jackie’s past mistakes catch up with her, spinning her life out of control once more. Just as her friend Remy’s inner demon comes out to play, Noah and Jackie are arrested by the angelic Serim Council. When Jackie seizes the chance to escape, she falls right into Zane’s waiting arms. As she’s pulled into a game of cat and mouse between vampires and angels, she finds she must also finally choose between the two men in her life. Can she decide between Noah and Zane, or will she lose everything she’s ever wanted? Because there’s more at stake than just her heart…
See? Zane! Promise.
Someone on Facebook asked me what my first query letter looked like. THAT one was bad. But here's the one that got me my first agent:
I am seeking representation for my 98,000 word paranormal, SEX STARVED.
(note, that was my original title for GENTLEMEN PREFER SUCCUBI. marketing hated it. i can't blame them.)
Jackie Brighton has died, but she hasn't gone to Heaven. Thanks to some supernatural interference, the dorky museum docent has been reborn as a succubus--a sex vampire. Now she never has to sleep, has the body of a supermodel, and must have sex every two days to feed the 'Itch' -- quite a change from her crappy old lifestyle of pointing out museum paintings to tour groups.
But Jackie learns that the eternal life of a 'Suck'...does. Literally. And it's more than just the relationship troubles that a constantly horny immortal would have. She'll do anything to skip out on having the requisite sex with strangers...but in doing so, ends up blackmailed into running errands for the Heavenly Host. All she needs to do is get her hands on a missing halo before the vampire queen does and she'll have control of the situation (and her raging hormones). Of course, choosing sides in a celestial turf war means that she also has to make a choice between the men in her (After)life: the handsome, brooding fallen angel or the dangerous and witty vampire.
I like to think of this novel as 'Stephanie Plum meets Anita Blake', combining both a sarcastic first-person point of view and the darker, sexier elements of paranormal fiction. Would you be interested in seeing more?
Thank you for your time.
So, you know, it's not perfect. But I think it does a few things right - the beginning and end are clean and straightforward. I lead with my genre and wordcount. My 'X meets Y' at the end isn't terribly, terribly overused (at least not those two together) and it hits the right note to match the voice of my pitch. The pitch should be short but SPECIFIC. Character X has motivation because of Y. Z causes problems and then these things are at stake. SPECIFIC, though. Give the agent details as to why your book stands out from the others. I think mine stood out (once upon a time) because I was giving a succubus a tongue-in-cheek makeover rather than having it be straight-up erotica.
That letter is from 2005/2006, so a lot of things have changed since then. The paranormal genre has exploded, for one. When I queried my current agent back in 2008, I had a different approach, but I also had a contract on the table, so I can't say that would work for anyone else.
Questions? Thoughts? Rotten eggs?
Dear Author is giving away 110 books. Several of the books are upcoming for Fall, including the delicious THE IRON DUKE by mah boo Meljean Brook. It was an awesome novel with a kickass heroine, and my very first steampunk. Now I want more!
So check it out and win some stuff, yo. Right now there's about 300 entries, which means your odds of winning a book are currently 1 in 3.
http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2010/09/01/berkley-fall-giveaway/
I had a donut peach with my lunch today.
It did not taste like donut. It tasted like a peach.
I call shenanigans.
(Quick! Someone send the St Bernard with the barrel of alcohol tied to his collar!)
Hello Journal! Long time no see, again. Sorry it's been a quiet summer - I'm trying to dig out from a lot of self-imposed deadlines (and some not-so-self-imposed). I've spent every waking moment since Mid-July working on a spec project. You haven't heard of it. It's not contracted. But it was eating at my brain (much like a flesh-eating virus would) and I really wanted to get it done while I had some downtime.
(Cue laughter at the thought of 'downtime')
I did finish it, though! And then I got handed my copyedit for book three of the Succubus Diaries. Normally my copyedits are clean and pretty, and all I have to do is just write STET and go along my merry way. Not this time. Clearly my brain was half-dead when I turned in this manuscript, and I thank the lord that the copyeditor has such a good eye. I cannot keep eye-color straight, or clothing, and there were several plotlines that I dropped and never recovered throughout the book that I had to fix.
What have I learned from this? No more magical objects that characters can wear. Ever. EVER.
So now that that's over and I can breathe a sigh of relief, I'm back to my spec project, reading for draft two. I thought the book was totally crap, but it actually turned out really well and I'm happy with it. So yay! In a few weeks I hope to have it polished up and off to my agent, and then I'll probably be back to work on the next book in my series.
A few people have been asking me about the MIDNIGHT LIASONS book that is scheduled to come out next year. The only information on that is that I don't have any information! The title is changing, the date it is coming out is up in the air, and I don't even have edits on it yet. It's still on the schedule, though. As soon as I have more details, I will share them here, I promise.
