If you scroll down here, you can get a sneak peek at the cover of Night Shift, first in the Jill Kismet series…

Last week it was heroes. This week, my post over at the Midnight Hour is about villains. I love me some villains. And any blog post where I can throw an aside in about the cannibalistic undertones in Bram Stoker’s Dracula makes me happy.

It’s about to be a busy weekend, so I’m not going to get to the next round of revisions on Night Shift until Sunday. I’m not even sure I will then, because I’ll probably be exhausted. I plan on going incognito to Kumoricon, mostly because I want to be with Crab Caution. It’s been a while since the two of us hung out and made fun of things on a cosmic scale, and what better place to do so than an anime convention? I am fairly sure there will probably be no Readers there, but just in case…if you happen to spot me, I’ll be more than happy to sign a book or say hello. *wink*

In any case, it will be a busy and satisfying weekend. I plan on collapsing once it’s done, as usual. I used to know what having lots of time felt like. Then I had kids, and the world seemed to speed up exponentially.

I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.

I just hope I don’t meet Wash’s eventual fate.

I know some people are sun bunnies. I know they love that big fiery thing in the sky and butter-in-a-skillet temperatures. I am not one of them. I am a temperate person, I expect temperate weather. The heat really gets to me, as does the high and changing barometric pressure. Ugh. Double ugh. I live in the Pacific Northwest because I LIKE the rain and the gloom and the temperate weather, thankyouverymuch.

Yesterday I finished Emma Bull’s Territory. I also read a bound proof of Patricia Briggs’s Moon Called, courtesy of my UK editor. And when I say read I mean start to finish, barely putting the book down.

First, Territory. Imagine the Old West. Now add sorcerors, loyalty, and silver mining. Beat in the gunfight at the OK Corral and you have something very, very good. I highly recommend this book–of course, I like Emma Bull. I loved War for the Oaks (mostly for the phouka, I must admit) so much that I was almost afraid to read Territory; but I needn’t have worried. There are some moments where I was upset at the heroine, but only because of her upbringing. Ms. Bull really thought about what it meant to be a “respectable woman” back in those days, and the social cost of not being one even out on the fringes. Plus, it tackles one of the populations you don’t often see in westerns: the Chinese.

Slight side note: I recently read Jane Tompkins’s West of Everything: The Inner Life of Westerns, where she points out that horses and Indians are all but invisible in Westerns. They serve to play out psychological drama for the hero, not to be people in their own right. It’s a classic Western trope, and it has its reasons buried in the very heart of the genre. I was thrilled to see Ms. Bull defying that trope and still using the canonical elements of the Western to bring out a fabulous story. (BTW, I highly recommend Tompkins’s book no matter what genre you write in, there is so much packed into that slim volume that will help you understand writing.)

And everyone can tell we’re all a fan of Doc Holliday more than Wyatt Earp. *le sigh* *le flutter*

On to Moon Called, which I read mostly in one chunk. It was smooth and engaging, and the heroine–Mercy Thompson–is, thank God, not TSTL. She’s a coyote in a werewolf’s world, making up for her lack of strength and ferociousness with cunning, smarts, and loyalty. I really enjoyed a kickass female character who has to use her brains to overpower the dangerous situations she finds herself in. I like characters who are not endlessly competent, who have flaws and limitations. It’s why I love the Harry Dresden series.

There are some uneven things in the book–for example, the manipulative behavior of the alpha werewolves really starts to grate after a while, and the “Mercy is everyone’s friend” thing gets a little old. I would have liked more exploration of her having to leave her home as a teenager and more of a reaction to the idea that Sam was “using” her, but those quibbles were overpowered by narrative drive and the sheer fun of the wisecracking heroine, done very, very well.

It says something for both books that I finished them in one day. (I was on page fifty of Territory yesterday morning, hen I started my gallop.) It’s not often that I find two books I can sink into and really race through at breakneck speed, enjoying myself all the way, with no snags and snarls to pull me out of the story and make me go elsewhere. I was up until two in the morning reading about Mercy because I couldn’t put Moon Called down. I just wanted to know what happened next, and was very satisfied when I finally turned the last page. Whatever unevenness remains in the book is, I think, the result of me reading Emma Bull first (because let’s face it, Ms. Bull is a master and pretty much anyone suffers by comparison) and Moon Called being a first book in a series. No doubt the slight stumbles I saw will smooth themselves over in later books.

So, all in all, two thumbs up. And next on my reading docket is Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, which promises to be extremely interesting. (I read a review of it in the Economist.) What can I say, I’m a geek.

I’m going to close up the house soon and turn the AC on. Lord, I hate the heat. But good books make it easier to bear…

Okay, so I’m writing the third Jill Kismet book, and I’ve just come across a serious need for information on Latino/Hispanic/whatever they call them now gangs in the Southwest, most likely Arizona area but LA will do. Whatever resources/references anyone has will be appreciated.

Basically I need slang, information on their habits, books and movie recommendations if you’ve got ‘em, and if anyone has a law-enforcement (or “in the life/retired”) contact whose brains I can pick I’d be Very Grateful. I always like verisimilitude in this sort of thing, and the more research I do the better a job I can do.

So…if you have suggestions, please feel free. Also, you can email me at contact (at) lilithsaintcrow (dot) com if you have a contact whose brains I can pick.

*sigh* Dammit. And here I thought I was going to get off with just writing another Jill book. I hung out with street families in the 90s in Seattle, but that does not prepare me for writing Latino gangs.

And I get the odd feeling I’m going to end up on someone’s watch list for asking this sort of question…

…it’s going to be one of THOSE days.

We woke up this morning to find a stolen car dumped outside our house. Stripped down and just dumped. No doors, no upholstery, no gas cap, just the shell of a very nice little red Honda. It wasn’t there when I went to bed at a little after 2AM. Go figure.

The police say the entire county’s under siege with this sort of thing, and they’ve chosen our neighborhood as a dumping ground. I haven’t noticed a lot of stripped cars around, but the cops are so quick at removing them–as I speak, this one is being loaded onto a tow truck–I suppose that’s not unusual. It was kind of fun to see the officer use the mobile evidence kit on it.

I would have thought the thieves would take the tires, since they look new. But then, I suppose you can’t dump a car with no tires. On the other hand, transporting this thing around presupposes that someone either drove it out here, or towed it somehow.

The cops tell me even an old junker of a car isn’t safe, since the ignition’s easy to crack. *sigh* I hope, whoever owns this little red Honda (Jesus, they even took the back bumper) has insurance.

So, good morning, everyone. I am bracing myself for weirdness today. Let’s hope I’m wrong. But the air last night was warm and still, even though it smelled like fall. It is still smelling like a change in the weather today.

Of course the only night when I truly feel like I CAN sleep is the night of a rare full lunar eclipse that I HAVE to stay up and catch. I don’t regret it–it was awesomely beautiful–but I am dragging a bit this morning, my ducks.

So, I’ll point you to Susie Bright’s journal, where she wonders out loud if being a holier-than-thou Republican prig in your outward life directly correlates to having a pedophilic/risky-sex-gay/ugly adulterous secret life. There does seem to be a pattern, doesn’t there. Glenn Greenwald has more on the story.

And the Selkie sent me a link to Death by Caffeine. You put in your weight and your poison, and it tells you how much you’d have to drink before it kills you. Which just delights me to no end. Of course, the Selkie’s husband, Boy Scout, wonders if it’s a lifetime accumulation and I geek back that caffeine’s water-soluble since it’s flushed out by the kidneys (Candy, correct me if I’m wrong) after it’s done its dirty work to your adrenals, so I wouldn’t think you could get an accumulation over a lifetime of enough toxicity to kill ya.

But I could be wrong.

It would take 159.55 shots of espresso to kill me, assuming I have my weight correct. I haven’t weighed myself in five bloody years, since my last pregnancy. Oh, I did get weighed when I went in to see the doctor after that car accident, but that was years ago too.

So maybe I’d better keep myself below a hundred shots of espresso a day.

Oh, and if you missed the eclipse, check out these photos. (Thanks for the link, Murphyslawve!)

I am yawning as I type, so it’s probably time for a midmorning nap, now that the rubbish bin is brought in, the kids are fed, and the cats are all accounted for.

Just came in from watching the first half–from contact to total involvement–of the full lunar eclipse. It’s most awesome, awe-inspiring, and brings tears to the eyes. We’re lucky that it’s a clear night with minimal distortion and we’re situated just-so to see the whole thing in all its glory.

And it is beautiful. Other people might take pictures. I just woke up the DH and the Princess for it. The Princess was full of questions, then went back to sleep. The Sullen One, of course, was outside the whole time.

Goodnight, sweet universe. Thank you for the lovely show–and the reminder that human beings are both cosmic and insignificant.

I needed that.

* The Sullen One coined this phrase. He says the moon and the earth are so old, this is like a four o’clock teatime for them, when they get together and kibitz before going on about their daily business.

The boy makes me so proud.

Long-time readers will know about The Electric Church by Jeff Somers. Jeff and I were together at the old AnotherChapter.com before it folded, and I loved his book so much I finished editing it and recommended it to my editor at Warner/now-Orbit, who actually bought it.

Now The Electric Church is on pre-order at Amazon and has a hawt new website.

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book, loved editing it, and how happy I was when it got bought. (I’d better be getting a signed copy, Jeff, or I will CUT you, sennnhor!) I get totally squeeville over this book and the main character, Avery. I just adore him in all his sweaty, amoral glory.

Here’s the blurb:

In the near future, the only thing growing faster than the criminal population is the Electric Church, a new religion founded by a mysterious man named Dennis Squalor. The Church preaches that life is too brief to contemplate the mysteries of the universe: eternity is required. In order to achieve this, the converted become Monks — cyborgs with human brains, enhanced robotic bodies, and virtually unlimited life spans.

Enter Avery Cates, a dangerous criminal known as the best killer-for-hire around. The authorities have a special mission in mind for Cates: assassinate Dennis Squalor. But for Cates, the assignment will be the most dangerous job he’s ever undertaken — and it may well be his last.

Of course, that doesn’t do it justice by half. *beams* I just can’t wait to go see this baby in the bookstores. I’m almost more excited over it than I am over my own releases!

Good job, Jeff, and congrats. And dear Readers, seriously, I love this book. I think you might like it if you like Danny’s world, only with more dystopia and seriously-effed-up-politics.

A lot of you have asked me two questions: 1) Is Working For The Devil the first book in the Valentine series? There seems to be an awful lot of backstory. And 2) You mention soundtracks to your books. Does The Devil’s Right Hand have one?

1. Yes, WFTD is the first book. There’s a lot of backstory because it was necessary to show how Dante’s world differs from ours. When I started it initially, I didn’t think she was so far in the future. Until the day she gave me a sidelong look and said, “Six hundred years, idiot.” *sigh* I suppose I deserved it. Here I was blithely writing about hasn’t-happened-as-history with nary a care in the world.

Plus, Dante and I are both fascinated with history, with thinking about the reasons WHY things are the way they are today. I also am not a fan of big chunks of exposition, it tends to drag a book down. So there is a lot I’ll hint at, and leave the reader to figure out or come up with their own reasons for. Hey, you guys are smarter than me.

2. Yes, and I’m listing it below. This soundtrack is one of my favorites, mostly because Lucas, Tiens, Vann, and McKinley get their own tracks. I couldn’t get into their histories, but I love the songs they picked for themselves. Tracks and comments as follows:

I Have Given You Time Lovers In A Dangerous Time, Barenaked Ladies– This is a remake of one of my favorite Bruce Cockburn songs. It so perfectly expresses Dante and Japh.
Dante And Death/ The Geas Solsbury Hill, Peter Gabriel– Dante’s relationship with her god is a pure source of strength for her, thank goodness.
The Devil Never Forgets This Is Hell, Elvis Costello
Venezia Flowers Become Screens, Delerium
Night Train/Freetown New Prague Go It Alone, Beck– A lot of times I forget Dante is a highly-trained bounty hunter with a gift for mayhem. She really doesn’t mind being alone or being in a bad part of town.
Lucas Villalobos Katana Groove, Tomoyasu Hotei– If you listen hard at the end of the track, you can hear him laughing.
The Team/Vann & McKinley Attitude, Hardknox– Heh. They do so love to rumble, these two.
Tiens To The Shock Of Miss Louise, Thomas Newman– A Nichtvren deserves carnival music. Plus, fans of vampire movies will recognize this track from The Lost Boys. It’s a little in-joke.
Sparring With Japh Echo Game, House of Flying Daggers
Hellhound living dead girl, Rob Zombie– This is Dante’s song in more ways than one. It works itself into the final battle in book 5 as well. You can hear Dante and Eve at the beginning, Eve speaks first.
Bothering With Trifles Silicone, Mono– I keep having trouble with Japh not being human. So does Dante.
I Will Have Your Cooperation Hand That Feeds, NIN– The trouble with that is, Dante isn’t good at cooperating…and part of why Japh loves her is because she just doesn’t know when to submit.
Sarajevo DMZ Cost of Freedom, Experiment
Eve Life In Mono, Mono– Little girl all grown up and causing trouble…
Lucifer I Alone, Live– Because the Devil doesn’t like anyone else playing his games.
Do Not Doubt Me/Japhrimel Silence, Delerium– This is such an awesome track, because it features Sarah McLachlan. And also because it perfectly expresses what Japh feels for Dante, almost despite himself.

So there it is, the soundtrack for Devil’s Right Hand. Enjoy. I certainly did.

In other news, the hardback of smoke and the paperback of mirror are up on Amazon. Whew. Eventually both hardback and trade paper versions of each book will be available through Amazon. I was just glancing through mirror the other day when I got to the crucifixion scene, and I actually thought it wasn’t half bad.

Yup. Lucifer’s carrying ice skates.

I had much more to talk about, including encouraging everyone to go see this movie RIGHT NOW TODAY! But that next Kismet book calls, and I’m listening to the Devil’s Right Hand soundtrack again, which just makes me think of fight scenes…

Man, I love this job.

Gacked from JPerceval, a whole lot of awesome.

Oh. God. Laughing…so…hard…