Many of you have asked just what my schedule will be like while I’m in the Merry Old Land of Oz. I had thought there might be more personal appearances, but alas those did not come to be. As always, I will be doing meet-and-greets.  After the conventions are over, I might be able to have one in Sydney and Perth, but *please* don’t count on that.

If you’re in those two cities, your best bet (and the surest way to meet a LOT of media stars and well known authors) is to attend the SupaNova conventions. They’re moderately priced and that’s a lot of “bang for your buck” as we say in the States.

For those not familiar with my meet-and-greets, these are usually held at a coffee shop and are *very* informal. Folks find me by hunting for the green demon plush toy (wink) sitting on my table and the lady with the purple, blue and brown hair. We just talk about whatever comes to mind, be it Demon Trappers or otherwise. I always have Demon Trappers swag with me and I’m good with signing books and pretty much anything else for that matter. These chats are fun and a good way to meet other readers and bloggers.

MELBOURNE
Tuesday, June 18 -
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
EXPRESSO COFFEE BAR
Melbourne Marriott Hotel
Corner Exhibition & Lonsdale Streets

Wednesday, June 19
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
EXPRESSO COFFEE BAR
Melbourne Marriott Hotel
Corner Exhibition & Lonsdale Streets

AND
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
ELEMENTS BAR (inside to the right)
Melbourne Marriott Hotel
Corner Exhibition & Lonsdale Streets

SYDNEY

June 21-23  - SupaNova Sydney 2013

BRISBANE

June 24-27 -
I will be having meet-and-greets in Brisbane as well. I’ll be firming up those locations, times and dates in the next few days.

PERTH

June 28-30 - SupaNova Perth 2013

So I am pleased to announce the e-publication of a contemporary paranormal romance set in Los Angeles, a book I wrote back in 2003. Over the years I’ve mussed with it and now, and after a lovely cover designed by Jeannie Ruesch (www.WillDesignForChocolate.com) and editing by the fabulous Kathryn Hinds, TANGLED SOULS is ready for its debut.

The back cover copy pretty much says it all:

Wiccan Gavenia Kingsgrave’s psychic gift, the ability to talk to the dead, comes with strings attached. As a Shepherd, she escorts them into the hereafter, but not all the souls want to cross over, and some can be downright vicious. When her latest case involves a heart-breaking hit-and-run victim, Gavenia is stressed to the max. The last thing she needs is a no-nonsense private detective on her tail, even if he is a handsome Irishman.

Former homicide detective Douglas O’Fallon possesses his own psychic gift, one he’s denied for years. Hired by a wealthy client to prove that Gavenia’s a con artist, he is skeptical of the witch’s claims she can speak to the dead. If he finds her gift as genuine, then he will be forced to accept his own. When their two cases intersect, opposites attract. But will they be able to set their differences aside long enough to outwit their foes – both the living and the dead?

For those of you who like romance and mystery, leavened with a bit of paranormal — I give you TANGLED SOULS. It is available for Kindle, Nook and Kobo. A print edition will be available later in the year.

Color me very pleased this book is finally ready for prime time.

Now it would be tempting to bitch at my personal assistant CJ as to my hellacious schedule over the next few weeks, but it’s not CJ’s fault. I do my own scheduling so I’m the idiot individual who decided I should do two back-to-back conventions (one set of which is on another continent).

So here’s where I’ll be from May 24 – July. Read it and weep:

May 24-26 (Atlanta) - TimeGate

May 31 -June 2 (Dallas) - A-Kon 24

June 21-23 (Sydney, Australia) - SupaNova Sydney 2013

June 28-30 (Perth, Australia) – SupaNova Perth 2013

July 15- 20 (Atlanta, GA) – Romance Writers of America National Conference

I’ll be doing some other events in Australia as well (Brisbane and Melbourne) but those details haven’t come through yet. If you’re in any of those towns, please drop by and see me. I always have Demon Trapper swag with me and I’m a social soul.

So that’s the early part of my summer. What’s yours look like?

First — why was I in Atlanta? I live outside of town so I get downtown every now and then. We took the train (MARTA) down and then worked our way out of Five Points Station. It’s kinda like a concrete maze. South of the station on Broad Street is Miller’s Rexall. It’s been there since 1965. Besides the usual supply of medicinal products, Miller’s has a side business in magic ephemera. In particular — Hoodoo supplies.

Hoodoo (not to be confused with Voodoo which is a religion) is based on African American folk magic. It was brought over by the slaves and has found itself a niche. Conjure, as it’s sometimes called, is used for a variety of reasons: to summon good luck, to turn away evil, to find love. Since Hoodoo is featured in BRIAR ROSE (my next book)  I trudged into Miller’s not quite knowing what I was going to find. That’s when I met Ms. Beverly (a sweet and intuitive woman who seems to look inside your very soul) and the owner himself, Richard Miller. We chatted about folk magic and other topics. While I was browsing the shelves, a steady stream of folks came in to buy stuff ranging from lottery tickets to dressing oils.

I came home with a book and some supplies and their fabulous catalog since the store caters to various folk traditions. I was pleased to see a store that catered to what their customers want. Chain stores have lost that focus.

Now I have more books to read and more research to do. All in in all a fine weekend. So what is your typical weekend like?

The last couple of weeks have

found me on the road more than home. Beginning with 221B Con (a brand new Sherlock Holmes convention) and ending with JordanCon, a fifth year convention honoring Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time).

Impressions? 221B was a *great* first year con. The content was interesting, the people knowledgeable and there was impressive attendance. A nice, relaxing weekend away from the keyboard. Sharing a panel on Victorian Times with Louis Robinson and Austin Sirkin is always a joy.

The following weekend I headed over to JordanCon, which was also a Deep South Con this year which meant even greater attendance. I’d not been at this convention last year and was promptly welcomed back with very open arms. I did all sorts of panels with all sorts of fun folks (John Hartness, James R. Tuck, Delilah S. Dawson, Emilie P. Bush, Eugie Foster, Brandon Sanderson, Alex Hughes, Deb Dixon and Anthony Taylor ).

And I began a new trend: Couch Con. Since I wasn’t staying at the con hotel, I parked myself on one of the chairs in the lobby to unwind between panels. One of the aspiring writers came over and began to chat, then another and another. Between the gents and their girlfriends, I had this half-circle of folks sitting around on the floor me while we talked about writing, marketing, publishing, you name it (for 2 HOURS). So if Couch Cons become the next big thing, I was an early adopter.

To keep my wee green demon company, Amy (of Darkness) and Charles from Chattanooga brought me a companion demon who has stripey legs and three horns. He is SO cute. (Click on the pix to get a better look). Yes, that’s me IN THE PHOTO which is way dumb. I and should know better than to shoot into a mirror. Sigh…

So after two weekends on the road, I’m ready to hunker down and get some work done. Thanks to all who stopped to talk to me, ask how I was doing and to chat with me about my books. You guys are awesome.

I’m also working on those five senses. Some authors have those lovely details in the first draft. Me? I’ll still be working on them right before the book goes to press. Adding a couple of those senses in a scene makes it more vivid and that’s not easy for me. But I shall persevere.

One of the amusing parts of writing for a London publisher is that I’m changing over to British spelling and punctuation. So where an American would type “realize” the Brits use “realise”. I’ve set my MS Word program (programme) to spell check for British words and now I have difficulty not using them in my everyday emails. When the book is sold into the U.S., all those will be converted back to our version of English. Kinda fun, actually.

So that’s the current “State of the Jana”. Once BRIAR ROSE is off to the editor I’ll be working on the Riley/Beck Scotland novella and trying to clean that up. I also have a paranormal romance (TANGLED SOULS) I’m working on. Then I’ll flip back to BRIAR ROSE when the revisions come in. I’m hoping to get as much done before the end of May when it all goes “pear shaped” as the Brits would say (5 conventions and a new continent in the period of two months).

I’ll keep you folks in the loop as to news and stuff. Have a very lovely Spring!

LookToTheSky

The information/list is on the left side of the page. I’ll be sharing author space with Raymond E. Feist and Juliet Marillier. This is like a dream come true for me.

Closer to June I’ll have an idea where and when I’ll be (besides the conventions). I’m hoping to visit Melbourne and Brisbane on top of Sydney and Perth. For those of you who live Down Under you realize the distances involved. For those who don’t – Australia is one *huge* country.

I promise to try to chat with as many of my Oz readers as humanly possible. Time/distance will be a constraint, but I know you guys understand that.

More down the line. Meanwhile, back to the work-in-progress.

My standalone YA novel,  BRIAR ROSE, has been contracted to my UK publisher, Macmillan Children’s Books in London!!! At present we’re looking at an early Spring 2014 release, though that might change down the line.

The much longer version with all sorts of publishing backstory and deets:

Now that FORETOLD (Book #4) is published in the UK and in the US and the series is concluded, many of you have asked: “What’s next, dear author?” For all you hoping for more Demon Trappers’ books, I don’t foresee a novel-length work but I do have some ideas for a novella (or two). These will be have to be slotted in around my contracted work so I don’t miss deadlines. One will be most likely be about Riley and Beck after the end of FORETOLD and the other may be about Ayden and Mort.

By contract I was required to submit my next book proposal to St. Martin’s Press (my US publisher) since they were the ones who initially bought my Demon Trappers Series and then sold it on to other countries. The proposal I submitted was a young adult historical series set in Late Victorian London (1888 to be exact.) For those of you who have followed my career you will know I have dabbled in those waters once before in my Time Rovers Series (Dragon Moon Press). I ADORE Victorian England for all its grittiness, absurdities and its back alley denizens (Jack the Ripper anyone?) so I specifically wanted to revisit that era from two teens’ point of view.

Alas, my US publisher turned down the series as they didn’t feel it would work well for them. They may well be right. So I submitted the proposal to Rachel Petty, my UK editor.  The concept was close but not quite there enough to go to contract. While we chatted about changes to the magical elements she asked if I’ve ever thought of writing a totally twisted re-telling of a classic fairy tale and set it in the Southern US? I said I hadn’t, but give me a bit to let my imagination run riot.

No surprise, dear readers, my imagination grabbed onto the notion and I came up with a novel that is a twisty, dark, Southern-style version of Sleeping Beauty that involves Hoodoo,  metal magic, the Civil War and steampunk. (I really do have an odd brain.) My literary agent sent it to London and….

I haz book contract!!!

We’ve been hammering out the contractual details over a couple months and I’ll be signing it in the next day or two.

Rachel Petty oversaw my UK/Australian editions of the Demon Trappers Series and now she will be  my “acquiring” editor so we’ll be working a lot closer. We’ve met the last two times I was in London and she’s a blast. I’ll also be working with the wonderful promotional and marketing folks at Macmillan Children’s Books ::waves at Lorraine, Amy, Bea, etal::  I’m just so excited!

I can hear you now — but what about all my other readers in the US, Germany and around the world? Macmillan Children’s Books licensed worldwide rights for the novel so they’ll be contacting publishers in other countries to see if they’d like this book. That includes the US. So hopefully the story will find a publishing home here in the States and it’ll be in your local bookstores and available for your e-readers. If not, I suspect you’ll be able to buy the UK edition through various online channels.

Meanwhile, I’ll be continue to tweak that Victorian story idea while I write the Sleeping Beauty tale and the Demon Trappers stories. Do you get the sense I’m be working like a mad thing for the next year or so? To which you would reply, “And that’s different how Ms. Oliver?” LOL

That’s the news. If you comment, please don’t trash my US editor/publisher. It was a business decision on their part and I’m good with that. New direction, new book, new opportunities. I am SO jazzed. And as always, all this goodness wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for *you*, my lovely readers. Bless you all!

There will be author events associated with the Oz trip but I won’t know the info on those until we ge

closer to June. I’ll be sure to post them when I find out.

The bird photo is a pretty good representation of what I’ll be looking like by the end of June. You have been warned.

January – June 2013

Feb. 22- 24 (Atlanta) – AnachroCon

Mar. 8-10 (Harrisonburg, VA) – Madicon 22

April 19-21 (Atlanta) – JordonCon/Deep South Con 51

May 24-26 (Atlanta) – TimeGate

May 31 -June 2 (Dallas) – A-Kon 24

June 21-23 (Sydney, Australia) – SupaNova Sydney 2013

June 28-30 (Perth, Australia) – SupaNova Perth 2013

The winners are:
Lea
Klara
Cierra
Aline

Please email me at the following address (periods and “at” removed to deal with the spambots :

jana (dot) oliver (at) janaoliver (dot) com

Let me know the following:

1) Which book edition you would like (see previous post for choices)
2) Full address including all postal codes, etc.

All of you who didn’t win:

Send me an email at the above address and I’ll pop some Demon Trappers’ goodies in the mail to you. Those will include a Biblio-Fiend postcard, Demon Trappers guild patch and a DT wings sticker.

Thanks!