2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans, to hide in plain sight from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

_________

Eeeee! So excited to share this with you guys!

Other pertinent details you may be interested in:

—Likely be released in May or June 2013 (Hyperion).

—It’s dual-POV, just as The Ghost and The Goth series is. Chapters will alternate between Ariane and Zane.

—More details coming soon…

(Cross-posted at staceykade.tumblr.com)

There will be CAKE! And prizes! (I guess you can tell which one I’m more enthusiastic about, but come on now, how can you not be excited about CAKE?!)

Hope to see you there!!!

Location: Barnes and Noble, Vernon Hills, IL (Chicago suburbs)

Date: May 1

Time: 7 p.m.

Malachi the Magnificent, Consultant to the Stars, had a storefront in a dingy, rundown strip mall between a sketchy-looking Laundromat and a closed-up nail salon with a big, bright orange health department sticker plastered on its door. It couldn’t have been less magnificent if he’d tried.

My heart sank. This was the guy we were going to for help on life and death matters?

I looked over at Will in the driver’s seat. “You’re kidding, right?”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, making the turn into the crumbling and pot-hole filled lot, which was–surprise, surprise–basically empty even on a warm and sunny Friday afternoon.

“Look at this place! It’s about six seconds from being raided by the police…or Health and Sanitation.” I shuddered.

At least, Madame Selena had had her own building…about sixteen inches from the edge of the highway, but still. And she had a turban. Say what you will, but it certainly added an air of mystery to her, like what, exactly, she was hiding under it.

“Appearances can be deceiving.” Will looked over at me pointedly.

I shoved her…my fine brown hair away from my eyes and glared at him. “Oh, ha, ha. Very funny.”

I’d been stuck inside Lily Turner’s body for almost a month now. My well-intentioned attempt as a spirit to simply borrow her body for the purposes of communicating with the living had backfired in a huge way. And now I had to pretend to be Lily. Or, try to, anyway.

I’m an expert at pretending. I spent a lot of years and even more effort convincing people that the perfectly put together and trouble-free Alona Dare they knew and seemingly loved was the real deal instead of a carefully crafted and maintained cover.

But being a whole other person–someone I’d never met–that was a stretch, even with my skills.

I’d read Lily’s diary–revoltingly full of naive gushing about Ben Rogers, barf–reviewed the contents of her pathetic closet, and dug into the depths of her medicine cabinet (cheap makeup in the wrong color palette and one bottle of expired antibiotics–boring).

But none of that told me how to be her, especially around her family. And I was failing…miserably. I didn’t know Lily’s favorite color, that she was allergic to strawberries (found that one out the hard way), or that she hated that old Backstreet Boys song “Everybody,” which her younger brother, Tyler, played over and over again just to bug her. I’d just tuned it out and chalked it up as another example of Tyler’s bad taste, in music this time instead of fashion.

Trauma and brain injury could explain away a lot, but not enough. The Turners had given me space in the beginning to “adjust,” but now, unsurprisingly, Mrs. Turner was pressing for more time, more interaction…just more from me.

For the giveaway, I can’t, unfortunately, give a copy of Body & Soul—I would be in SO much trouble for that as the book is not yet out.

BUT…here’s what I’m thinking. Lots of people are telling me they have been or will be re-reading The Ghost and the Goth and Queen of the Dead in preparation for book three.

I have one ARC left of each of these. And to sweeten the deal (depending your perspective, lol), I’ll go through each and add notes about behind-the-scenes stuff. I think this is affectionately known as “the director’s cut” of the book.

For example, did you know that the Prologue in The Ghost and The Goth did not originally exist? It was my brilliant editor’s suggestion and the opening is so much stronger with those few pages at the beginning. And Queen of the Dead was originally titled Princess Poltergeist.

And…I can’t give you a copy of Body & Soul, BUT I can give you a $20.00 Barnes and Noble gift certificate.

So…

—“Director’s Cut” of The Ghost and The Goth

—“Director’s Cut” of Queen of the Dead

—$20.00 Barnes and Noble gift card

To enter, let’s keep it simple. Spread the word (politely and only on YOUR pages, please) online.

Twitter:

—Use the hashtag #bodyandsoul. The tweet doesn’t have to be about the book, though that would be lovely! (Don’t use the &. Twitter can’t handle punctuation in hashtags for some reason).

Facebook:

—Post about Body & Soul on your page and let me know on my FB page that you’ve done so. https://www.facebook.com/staceykade

Tumblr:

—Post about Body & Soul in whatever format you’d like (a quote, picture of the cover, etc.) Use the tags #bodyandsoul and #theghostandthegoth. (I’m not sure if there are other Body & Soul books, songs, etc. on Tumblr. Hence, the two hashtags).

Enter as many times as you’d like in whatever way you want. Just give me a way to find it. I’ll select one winner (by random number from total entries found) on Friday morning.

Sound good? And yep, it’s open to international folks if they want to join in.

Excerpt coming up next…

(Cross-posted on my Tumblr: http://staceykade.tumblr.com/)

Here are details about the conference:

The Southwest Florida Writers Conference begins on February 24th. It features a meet/greet dinner on Friday and a Super Saturday filled with workshops, books signings, and the opportunity to pitch your project directly to acquiring editors/agents. The line-up is fantastic. Three bestselling authors, five acquiring editors, and two agents. The first pitch is included for free and additional pitches are $20.00. This is an amazing chance to pitch your book to Whitney Ross (TOR), Leah Hultenschmidt (Sourcebooks), Jhanteigh Kupihea (New American Library), Leslie Wainger (Harlequin), Wanda Ottewell (Harlequin), Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency), and Mary Sue Seymour (The Seymour Agency).

These editors/agents are acquiring across all genres (romance, mystery, scif-fi/fantasy, YA, MG, picture books, nonfiction)

When: February 25th, 2012 (Optional dinner party Friday Feb. 24th; One Day Super Event on Saturday)
Check-in at 8:30; conference begins at 9:00.

Where: THE HYATT PLACE, Coconut Point Mall, Estero, FL.
23120 Villagio Way, Estero, FL 33928
239-495-1395

Cost: $85.00 (includes one pitch; $20.00 each additional pitch)

More Info: www.swfrw.org

Guest Speakers: Linnea Sinclair, Stacey Kade, and Keynote Jennifer St. Giles

Editor/Agent Panel and Open Q & A Session

Jennifer St. Giles is giving a great workshop/keynote, and Linnea Sinclair & Stacey Kade are renowned for their informative workshops and craft advice.

I love that they’re in the theater (a pivotal location in the story), but more than that, I love their expressions. Alona is smug (of course), and Will looks completely exasperated, which is about right.

What do you guys think?

Honestly, even after all this time, I’m not sure where to begin. I think I have three main areas of complaint, and to be clear, none of this is about the acting or actors involved. These items are purely related to the writing of the show and the choices the writers are making. (And hey, who am I to judge? I’ve never written for television, so I don’t know what it’s like. I’m reacting to this purely as a viewer.)

First, Becky. Here’s the thing. Becky is an easy target. She’s a joke, a caricature instead of a character. They’ve made her that way, and they just keep going back to that same well, making her crazier every time. It’s weak. I’ll be honest, the first time Becky made an appearance, I thought it was clever, fun. A way of letting us know they’re aware how devoted and passionate (and occasionally a little over the top) the fanbase for the show can be. It was like an inside joke. The second time Becky appeared, I liked her a little less because she was edging closer to crazy (stealing Chuck’s phone to text the boys, taking them away from actual life-saving activities) and completely oblivious to Sam’s lack of interest in her. The first time I can attribute her behavior to being starstruck (presumably she admires Sam as well as finds him attractive). The second time, it comes off more as creepy and manipulative.

And now…now, she’s just ridiculous and, on a certain level, insulting. HELLO. She’s a stand-in for us, the devoted viewers. (Well, those of us who remain devoted…I know that number is shrinking. I’m not even sure if I count myself among them anymore.) The writers have gone to great lengths to make sure that connection between Becky and the audience is made, whether it’s referencing her use of the message boards or, in previous eps, attending an SPN con. If you follow that logic, THEY ARE MAKING FUN OF US EVERY TIME SHE APPEARS. And then with the way Becky is treated on the show…well, if you extend that metaphor to the end, they’re saying: we can treat them (Becky) like shit and they are (Becky is) just crazy enough to keep coming back for more. They (she) will take any scrap of attention we give and be grateful for it.

You know what would have impressed me more? If they’d humanized Becky. Made her a real person with strong feelings toward these people she sees as heroes (and okay, as characters, too.) I mean, isn’t it pretty basic logic that if you’re going to make the AUDIENCE a CHARACTER on your show it should be a character that the audience can like or admire or at least not be embarrassed by?

The writers could have done that. They could have given Becky a nice two or three ep arc where she was helping the boys out, to their shock and perhaps dismay. Because here’s the thing, Becky knows her sh*t and she wasn’t afraid to step in and save Sam when he needed it. They could USE more people like that in their lives. More allies (even crazy ones) would be welcome. Now, granted, a scenario like that would put Sam in a difficult position because he knows Becky’s feelings for him are motivating her willingness to risk her life and he also knows he doesn’t feel the same way toward her, but if they really needed her help…man, that’s juicy conflict. Wish it would have played out like that.

(Hence, the title of my blog post. I mean, take away some of the writer-induced crazy, and here you have a girl who knows what the Winchester life is like, admires what they’re doing, could actually help out from time to time with her comprehensive knowledge about their world, and she’s cute. As I said, Sam Winchester should be so damn lucky.)

Second, Sam and Dean’s attitude toward Becky, both individually (such as Dean’s reaction to them getting married) and together (the “whew, dodged that bullet” attitude at the end.) All right. I admit, I might be a little sensitive about this. But occasionally, I get a little tired of shows hauling out a pretty girl and tagging her as lesser because she doesn’t meet some theoretical higher beauty standard held by the genuine love interests (however few and far between they’ve been) that have appeared on the show. I mean, if we’re going to do this Becky = crazy, defy expectations. Make her gorgeous, make her nuts about Supernatural, and make Dean conflicted about wanting to sleep with her but also afraid of increasing her infatuation AKA craziness.

Also, back to the whole audience relatablity thing…so our stand-in is a lonely girl deemed unattractive (not that the actress actually IS unattractive, but we’re apparently supposed to think she is, hence Crowley’s crack about her having good personality) with no social life, no prospects and the only way she/we can get a date to the reunion is by drugging him? Um, thanks? (Also, she had to MARRY him to get him to go the reunion? She couldn’t just drug him for a night or two? Once again, they’re pointing out the levels of her desperation and asking us to laugh. Yuck.)

One could make the argument that the SPN writers are doing in the Becky episodes what The Big Bang Theory folks do every week–making fun of the very people who like their show. But BBT is a show in praise of nerds and geeks. We laugh because we identify WITH their idiosyncrasies. In this case, with Becky, we’re supposed to be laughing AT her. And quite frankly, I’ve had enough of that for one lifetime.

Third, details, details, DETAILS! Willing suspension of disbelief is all in the details. If you’re going to go to all this trouble of establishing the precept that Sam and Dean must hide–they can’t use the Impala, they have to change their phones on a irregular-regular basis (or whatever Deveraux says), they can’t use any of their regular aliases, they can’t run their credit card scams, etc.– then please tell me how a scene in which Sam is signing his REAL NAME on the annulment papers (and presumably the marriage certificate before it) makes sense? As far as I know, a marriage certificate is a public document, as in one filed at the County Clerk’s Office. I assume that the annulment papers would be the same. If the Leviathans have people in the credit bureaus, I’m assuming they’ve got someone running the occasional Google search as well.

Speaking of which, SAM, way to let Becky tweet about what’s going on so the Leviathans can track her and/or you down. Twitter is public and searchable. Sheesh. The love potion, presumably, doesn’t impact his brain function in any other way other than making him think he’s in love, right?

And this is the first time we’ve heard of Vegas Week, right? In other words, something that is supposed to be so part of the canon that Chuck would write about it…and there’s been no mention of it? To be clear, I don’t have a problem with them filling in the gaps. We don’t know everything about Sam and Dean’s lives and certainly stuff has to happen outside the confines of what we see on the show. But if this is an annual trip, and presumably an important enough one for Chuck to have bothered writing about it, then it feels weird and made up that we’re JUST hearing about it now.

All this being said, I really enjoyed last Friday’s “How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters” so I’m not giving up yet. But…grrrr. The inconsistency is very frustrating.

Note: I’m totally up for a discussion on any of this–love hearing from other SPN fans–but hey, if it gets all name-call-y and nasty–as I’ve witnessed on other sites–I will use my delete powers with impunity.

Okay, so without any further ado…

As I said in my email to my editor, this cover is everything it should be! I love it so much. And yes, it made me all teary-eyed when I saw it.

Will and Alona are holding hands!!! Oh! I just love it. And see how the two of them are looking at each other? There’s such affection and fondness and maybe more…

And that beautiful light at the end of the hall…so perfect.

Obviously, I’m just a wee bit emotional about this cover (I LOVE IT!) And I hope you all feel the same!

(Side note: I did find out today that there WILL be a new cover on the paperback for Queen of the Dead, so we will have one more cover announcement for the series in coming months! I’ve seen it already and it is very cool!)

The third book is called BODY & SOUL.

You guys, I had so much fun writing this one!!! I envisioned some of these scenes all the way back when I was writing the first book, and it was amazing to finally get to put them down on paper (so to speak). And I’m super excited for you to read it and see what you think. This is the final book in the trilogy.

It is scheduled for release on May 29, 2012. We don’t have cover art yet.

This is my (horrible) placeholder for the Books page (and yes, it’s okay to laugh at my feeble attempt at art):

Clearly, my future as a sketch artist is doomed.

And here, finally, is the jacket copy…but please, don’t read it if you haven’t yet read QUEEN OF THE DEAD. It contains massive spoilers for that book.

Stop now if you haven’t read QUEEN OF THE DEAD…

in
3…

2…

1…

BODY & SOUL

The Ghost
I’ve been trapped in the body of Lily “Ally” Turner for a month now. Talk about a fashion crisis on an epic scale. What worries me more, though, is sometimes I catch Will looking at me like he thinks I’m Lily…or that he wishes I were. Without the good looks of my former self, I don’t know who I am, or if who that is is good enough. I need out of this mess. Now.

Will and I have been looking for a solution, one that would separate me from Lily without killing her. But it’s not going well. Then, when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, we run into Misty, my former best friend and boyfriend-stealer extraordinaire, who claims she’s being haunted…by me. Seriously?

I’m determined to get to the bottom of who’s pretending to be the spirit of Alona Dare (while I’m pretending to be someone else) and then get the heck out of this body. Or die trying…

The Goth
I’ll admit it. It’s really weird to look at Alona but see Lily. I do know the difference, though, contrary to what Alona might be saying. And Alona is more than a pretty face to me, not that she would believe that.

Our one lead for some help in this messed up situation might be a page torn from the yellow pages—the “Psychics” section—I found in my dad’s stuff. One of the “fakes” seems a bit more real—and odd—than the others. Before I can investigate further, though, Alona is off and chasing a ghost that’s probably nothing more than a figment of Misty’s guilty imagination. Now Lily’s family is freaking out because she didn’t come home, my mom is ordering me to stay out of it, and something is definitely wrong with the person formerly known as Lily “Ally” Turner…