Twilight vampires since 1993; the ones for grown-up girls
Maggie's
Newsletter
July 15, 2010
Welcome to my
World!
We have recently seen a huge jump in this page’s
visitors, so I thought this would be a good time to
recap just a little bit about who I am, what I do, and
what you will find here at maggieshayne.com. (And there
will be news at the end, so if you already know all this
stuff, feel free to scroll down.)
First, I’m Maggie Shayne, and I’m a Mac. =) I’m also
very proud to be a romance novelist. I write in the only
genre of fiction created by women, for women, about
women, where The Hero’s Journey is always The Heroine’s
Journey and the heroine always wins. She meets every
challenge. She thwarts every villain. She rises from the
ashes and she triumphs in the end. Every. Single. Time.
That’s my genre. Romance. I write it. I love it. I live
it.
I’ve been publishing in the romance genre since 1993,
and “paranormal” romance just as long, even though I
could barely give it away back then. How the times have
changed! My fiftieth book is a July 28th, 2010 release,
and I have more on the way. (Always.) I also write an
advice column for small town daily paper, The Evening
Sun, in nearby Norwich NY.
I’ve written for numerous publishing companies over the
years, Avon, before it was Harper Collins, Spilled
Candy, Berkley, a novella or two for St. Martin’s Press,
and Pocketbooks among others. But the bulk of my work
has been released by Silhouette (when I was doing
category romance,) and MIRA Books since I moved into
single title.
I spent more than a year writing for the soaps, as well;
As the World Turns, and The Guiding Light, where I was
offered the job of co-head writer, and had to say no. I
just loved writing my books better and that job was too
demanding to allow me to do both. I had to choose. So my
first million dollar offer for my writing, was an offer
I had to turn down. I cried. But I did it. And I have
not one single regret.
Here at my website, you’ll get excerpts from new
releases, links to pre-order, and twice monthly newsy
updates from me. You’ll also get all my Twitter posts,
which are forwarded here automatically. (<----See left
sidebar) There are links to all my other sites here as
well, so you don’t have to go surfing for information.
Cover art, new release news, reissue news, new contracts
& deals, bestseller list news and award nomination news,
speaking engagements, public appearances, and any videos
I produce will show up here. (My camcorder is my new
passion, so you’ll be seeing lots of those!) This site
always has my contact info, and info on new goodies,
like the free bookmarks you can get for a self-addressed
stamped envelope, right now, while supplies last.
This is pretty much the hub; Maggie Shayne Central.
The Vampire Series
I’m best known for my vampire series, Wings in the
Night, often called the “Twilight Series” by its readers
due to the word “twilight” being in nearly every title.
This series began in 1993 with TWILIGHT PHANTASIES which
was published by Silhouette Shadows. When that line
ended, my series continued, moving into the world of
single title novels at MIRA Books. The series is now 18
stories long, (each of which stands alone, so don’t be
afraid to dive in somewhere in the middle, or even near
the end!) I am working on books #19 and #20 more or less
simultaneously. So the series lives on. The most recent
titles were: DEMON’S KISS,
LOVER’S BITE,
ANGEL’S PAIN
and BLOODLINE. (We decided to stop using Twilight in the
titles to save confusion, but we’ve since made the
decision to reclaim it.) The next releases in that
series will be TWILIGHT PROPHECY in May 2011, and
TWILIGHT FULFILLMENT in October 2011. This year MIRA is
re-releasing three of the most popular novels in the
series, TWILIGHT HUNGER in October,
BLUE TWILIGHT in
November, and EDGE OF TWILIGHT in December. These books
were originally published in 2002, 2004, & 2005
respectively. I’d buy them for the new cover art alone.
BONUS: The never before in print novella, “Before Blue
Twilight,” which was previously only available as an
online read at Eharlequin.com, and only for a brief
period of time, will be included as bonus material in
the reissue of BLUE TWILIGHT.
The Suspense Series
But paranormal isn’t the only thing I do. I also write
romantic suspense, (and lots of other things, too) and I
have a brand new trilogy out this summer called The
Secrets of Shadow Falls. The books are each set in the
rural, fictional town of Shadow Falls, Vermont, where
nothing and no one are what they seem. They’ve been
receiving some wonderful reviews, and the reader
feedback has been nothing but positive. Book two
features my own giant English Mastiff, Dozer, in the
role of “Freddy,” the heroine’s sidekick.
Shayne’s Shenanigans, My solo blog, where I pretty much
wax on about anything that strikes me.
Storybroads, the group blog I share with my friends,
authors Suzanne Forster, Anne Stuart, Patricia Potter,
Tara Taylor Quinn, and Lynn Kerstan. We talk about books
and writing, and our lives and our pets and again,
pretty much anything other than religion and politics.
I also have some really active email lists going, over
at yahoogroups.
The Official Maggie Shayne Fanclub list is very
interactive, with the members and I exchanging a flurry
of emails whenever the mood strikes. I set up a second,
announce-only, newsletter list, Maggie Shayne’s
Newsletter, for readers who don’t want all that email.
That list will only have an occasional message with book
news. And by occasional, I mean one or two posts a
month, at the most.
My most active list, however, is Maggie’s Health and
Fitness. I’m on that list every day, as are a few
hundred others, all women so far, I believe, and we
support each other in our efforts at getting and/or
staying fit, healthy, strong and vibrant. We share
advice, wisdom and tips. We encourage and we
commiserate. And we hold frequent challenges to get
ourselves motivated and moving. It’s a wonderfully
helpful and supportive group of women who are becoming
friends as time goes on. And many are having great
success at reaching their health and weight goals.
To join any of my email lists, just send a blank email
to the address for that list, and you’ll be signed up.
The addresses are:
My twitter posts, however, are set to go to all of the
above, and to show up with my newsletter as well.
Oh, and you can also contact me directly at
maggieshayne@frontiernet.net .
There is no assistant or secretary answering my email.
(So far!) You will get a speedy reply and it will be
from me.
The Spiritual Side
I am constantly “tweeting” thoughts, quotes, and
uplifting little affirmations based on my understanding
of the Universe and how it works, which is basically
this:
We are creating our own experiences based on our own
beliefs and expectations.
We can change those beliefs and therefore change our
lives at any time, simply by deciding to do so and then
following through on that decision.
My formal religious training is in Wicca, where I’m
legal clergy. I’ve been a “retired” high priestess for a
few years now, meaning that I’m no longer actively
teaching that path to others, nor hosting and organizing
activities for the annual holidays and celebratory dates
as I used to do, but I still perform a number of
marriages each year and offer counseling to those who
ask. The above philosophy, however, is not a part of any
religious doctrine. It’s more basic than that. As basic
as gravity, and as such, it fits within any religion. I
think anyone’s life will be enhanced and greatly
improved by beginning to incorporate and play with that
simple law, which is known as The Law of Attraction.
The Personal Stuff
I live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY,
(Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is
Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay
taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in
the same rural county in the southern hills of New York
State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than
people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and
Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different
directions, and not really all that big by most
standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look
out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested
hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue
skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring
place is a 700 acre dairy farm.
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in
here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year
later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned.
It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an
11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old,
blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night
of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in
2006. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle
with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of
my five daughters had left home that same year, and
while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to
me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the
fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished
with me after all. I had lost almost everything before
that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and
soot the next day, I realized that I had now been
stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to
that realization that day--there were a few days of
wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the
fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I
was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of
the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree,
out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at
that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself
off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from
here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the
age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly
undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge,
a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And
not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that
survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached
bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really
has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with
my partner, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the
little family together. “Little” being a relative term.
We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who
weigh 190 pounds and 165 pounds respectively, and a
little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger
than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the
aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who
adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line.
She has a story of her own, my cat, having been with me
before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all
with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains
with me still.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, and an inventor,
and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I am.
But we’re true soulmates. We share a demanding hobby--a
90 gallon salt water “reef” aquarium where we’re growing
gorgeous corals and a few fishes, too (clowns, damsels
and a blenny, so far.) In addition to the dogs and the
fish (and each other!) we enjoy kayaking, walking,
riding our bikes, and being outdoors as much as
possible. We’re building some beautiful dreams together.
Co-creating, you might say.
I feel I’ve risen from the ashes of those hard times.
There are still a few lingering residual after effects,
but those are just some stale old vibrations in need of
cleaning up, For the most part, my life now is
beautiful, blissful, and full of miracles and wonder and
a whole lot of magick.
Yes, a lot of me is reflected in my books. But a lot of
what’s in them is made up from whole cloth. I’ll never
tell which is which.
News
By now you’ve all seen my dog video, right? If not, it’s
here; Frisbee Training.
I’m afraid I’m enjoying this filmmaker persona a bit
more than necessary. But I’m having fun and that’s what
counts. I ought to make my own book videos from now on.
Stay tuned.
Meanwhile,
KILLING ME SOFTLY is out and selling like
hotcakes. The reviews are stellar, with one or two
exceptions we will not mention--not all critics have
good taste, after all. =) And KILL ME AGAIN will be
hitting the shelves almost any minute now. Okay, by
month’s end, but still.... (I’m so excited! You know
that’s the one with Dozer in it, right? He doesn’t quite
realize that he’s about to become a celeb!)
I’ve had a whirlwind of activity around me of late. Lots
of interview requests and guest blog spots, most
recently at
Mysteries & Margueritas where I had a blast
hanging out. What a great gang.
I also had a really wonderful day speaking at the
Phillips Library in Homer NY where I delivered an all
day seminar for fiction writers. It was very well
attended, and they’re already talking about having me
back for a return gig, so I guess I did okay.
Okay, so I’m busy as heck writing. As I always am. This
week I’m writing the short, serial story I’m calling
KILLER STORM. Set in Shadow Falls, Vermont, it picks up
the story of Dawn and Bryan from KILLING ME SOFTLY after
their honeymoon, when everything’s supposed to be happy
ever after. Until her long dead, homicidal maniac father
starts appearing in their bedroom! You’ll be able to
read it, one chapter a day for 20 days, at Eharlequin.com beginning in September, and I’ll post
details and a link the second I have them.
I should be able to get that story done this week, and
then get back to work on TWILIGHT PROPHECY, which has a
September due date! Funny, a few weeks ago that sounded
like all the time in the world. Now it’s beginning to
sound awfully close.
Those are the only two projects I can focus on right
now, though I’ve got a heckuva lot more on my plate.
Just one thing at a time, and fun in between. That’s how
I roll.
And more--I just got my new Iphone 4! Weeeehooo! I am
fairly certain that my Thursday blog at
Storybroads will
be a review of this, my newest toy.
And of course, I’m gearing up for the big Romance
Writers of America National Convention in Orlando at the
end of the month. It’s going to be in DisneyWorld, and
I’m more excited about the park than the convention. Is
that wrong?
I don’t care.
Okay, folks, that’s it for now. I’ve procrastinated long
enough and it’s time to get to work. But before I leave,
let me wax philosophical.
Try not to let the worries and stresses of the day, no
matter how many they may be, get between you and your
happiness. Life’s too short. And focusing on those
worries doesn’t make them any better. (It can make them
worse, though!) So do what you must, but keep your focus
on the good stuff, the things that are going right, the
joy, the bliss and the wonder of being alive. It’s truly
a miraculous thing, life. Relish it. Bask in it. You
might as well. You’re here anyway. =)
I live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY,
(Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is
Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay
taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in
the same rural county in the southern hills of New York
State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than
people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and
Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different
directions, and not really all that big by most
standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look
out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested
hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue
skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring
place is a 700 acre dairy farm.
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really
has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with
my partner, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the
little family together. “Little” being a relative term.
We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who
weigh 190 pounds and 165 pounds respectively, and a
little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger
than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the
aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who
adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line.
