A recap of the Sydney leg of Becca Fitzpatrick’s book tour, The Black Hand Ball, at The Establishment.

When I arrived at the ballroom of The Establishment, I was greeted by a waiter wearing black pants, shoes, black angel wings and nothing else, serving fruity red mocktails. Pity me, for I live a hard life.

We were offered little pumpkiny canapes wrapped in puff pastry, yummy meatballs and cute little blow-torched lemon meringue tarts.

The editor of Dolly magazine introduced Hush Hush Saga author Becca Fitzpatrick, who talked a little bit about how she got published and answered Dolly readers’ questions.

The rest of this section paraphrases some of what Fitzpatrick said.

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Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush Saga, Book 1)

A bodice-ripper for the Twilight generation. If you look beyond its uncomfortably age inappropriate start, you’ll find unwanted but undeniable chemistry, highly realistic teenage logic and page-turning mystery.

Hush, Hush is a really interesting book to review. Its plot is reminiscent of a 1970s bodice-ripper where the older, more experienced hero antagonises the virginal young heroine as much as he tempts her. Becca Fitzpatrick doesn’t let a lack of sex (this is teen fiction, after all) prevent her from having Patch Cipriano forcefully seduce Nora Grey at every opportunity. They each have other potential love interests who make the other party jealous, but the once-intimidating hero actually becomes the safer option and they are forced to team up to survive.

Rape-tacular biology in motion

There are aspects of the book that don’t present well despite Fitzpatrick’s best intentions, and I’m going to get the crap out of the way first because most of it happens in the first half of the book.

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Photo: Cassandra Young (via christinefeehan.com)

J. R. Ward hosted a joint chat with Christine Feehan a couple of weeks ago. This is a recap of the first part mainly dedicated to Feehan. (However, you can find info on the J. R. Ward part of the chat in Part 3 of our BDB book 10 pre-release spoilers.)

This is not a transcript of the chat. I try to stick as closely as I can to what was said, but can’t always quote word for word. Even with the moderators trying to minimise extraneous chatter, it still moves pretty damn fast. I’ve tried to stick as closely as I could to what was said, but the questions and some answers have been paraphrased.

I can’t say whether Feehan let any spoilers loose as I am shamefully behind with her books, so I probably wouldn’t recognise a spoiler if I tripped over it.

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Kelley Armstrong with Galaxy staff (Photo: Kat)

Last month, Galaxy played host to Kelley Armstrong and Maria V. Snyder, who were both in a talkative mood…

Kelley Armstrong

I got three books signed for myself: Bitten, Elena’s first book; Dime Store Magic, the first Paige; and my new copy of Waking the Witch, first in Savannah’s trilogy. Armstrong is another lefty.

I’d heard that the Otherworld series is winding down and there will only be one more book. ‘Yes, the next book is the last one and that will be Savannah’s. I just felt that since she grew up in the series she should have the last trilogy. Book 13 is called 13, but the number 13, not the word “thirteen”. I’ve been calling it book 13 for two years and the publisher asked for a real title and my agent suggested 13 and the publisher said yes.’

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If you’re hungry for clues about upcoming books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Decadence has put together what we think we know about what’s coming next.

Part 1 | Part 2 | All BDB-related posts on Book Thingo

Last week, J. R. Ward signed books in Cincinnati and Bex beat me to posting a link to a blogger who was there and took notes. If you haven’t already seen it, go to Liza’s blog for confirmation of Tohr’s HEA (no surprise) and other news.

Chat with Christine Feehan

This is the J. R. Ward part of the joint chat she hosted for Christine Feehan this morning. She wasn’t able to stay long because she had a migraine and the Christine Feehan portion had run for two hours. It was easier for her to just pick random questions in a free chat format, but it was difficult to keep up and connect questions with answers because with minimal mod intervention, the chat runs really quickly. I’ve tried to stick as closely as I could to what was said, but the questions and some answers have been paraphrased. This is not a transcript.

I haven’t noted down everything that has been asked before, like ‘Is Lash coming back?’ (She says that question was answered at the end of Lover Mine.) and ‘Does Wrath get his sight back?’ (No.)

And beware: there is one major spoiler on Envy.

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If you’re hungry for clues about upcoming books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Decadence has put together what we think we know about what’s coming next.

Part 1 | All BDB-related posts on Book Thingo

Some you may have seen this cover for Lover Reborn on Amazon, Goodreads and other bookish sites, but I’m not convinced it’s the final official cover because I haven’t seen Ward release it herself on her Facebook page, and it’s not in her photo albums or on her website. But the cover for Envy appeared suddenly as her new profile pic.

There are small excerpts from upcoming releases on Facebook from Qhuinn where he’s jealous of his cousin for being with Blay (Lover Reborn), Rhage’s love for Mary (their novella) and the size of a male’s (presumably Veck) appendage in Envy.

With Envy coming in less than a month, Ward has been devoting her efforts to promoting the next Fallen Angels instalment, with daily quotes and weekly videos posted on Facebook.

But the recent Envy signing also produced some amazing BDB spoilers, with highlights from The Obscured Vixen (Click on the link to find out about Layla’s talent. I swear it’s worth it!) and My Secret Private Playground:

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A quick recap of Lauren Kate’s book signing event at Dymocks, Parramatta on July 30, 2011.

I actually showed up at Dymocks before 2pm in preparation for Lauren Kate’s 2.30 book signing, and there was no sign of a crowd or a queue in sight. In the time it took for me to get a juice, I found myself at the end of a line extending all the way across the clothing shop next door. It was a rookie mistake, and I have only myself to blame.

I was chatting with people in the line, one girl had already read Passion, and she told me that it has a few answers and hints at more, but won’t be the answerfest I was hoping for after Torment.

I’d been standing in line for almost an hour, thanks to my untimely need for pineapple juice, before it was my turn.

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The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate (Fallen, Prequel)

Enjoyable in a seedy way. If you’re looking for a book with an innocent heroine and black and white morality, you will be shocked.

Warning: If the title wasn’t enough of a hint, this story does not have a happy ending. This is a standalone novel originally published before the Fallen series and has been reissued presumably as a result of the series’ success.

Natalie Hargrove is the most popular girl at Palmetto High and expects that she and her wealthy, laid back boyfriend Mike will become Palmetto Prince and Princess (like homecoming or prom king and queen). She has worked hard to overcome her poor white trash background to achieve her social standing and isn’t about to let Justin Balmer, of all people, stand in their way, especially after their secret shared history.

After a Saturday night party, Natalie and Mike discover a drunken J. B. in drag and take him to the church to sober him up. On impulse, Natalie ties him to a tree outside so everyone can witness his humiliation on their way to Sunday services. Unfortunately, J. B. dies overnight and slowly everything Natalie has worked so hard for unravels around her.

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If you’re hungry for clues about upcoming books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Decadence has put together what we think we know about what’s coming next.

This post contains spoilers from previous books including Lover Unleashed, so we’re starting over with a new speculation post. It also contains some seriously spoilery info on the BDB. Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

For those of you wondering, even with the cheapest shipping option I received my copy of Lover Unleashed from the virtual signing exactly a week after its release.

Outstanding spoilers

Here is a summary of the info from the previous speculation post that has not been included in Lover Unleashed:

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Lover Unleashed by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 9) - Australian/UK edition

A book for those already invested in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Prepare for more darkness than usual and don’t expect all your questions to be answered up front.

It’s not going to surprise anyone to read that I approach a new Black Dagger Brotherhood book differently to any other book. I scribble notes as I go along and I started reading Lover Unleashed with a mental checklist:

Is there anything written on the inside cover in the Old Language?

No, but there are crossed daggers, one black hilt, one white. Symbolism?

Are there any new words in the glossary?

Lhenihan – ‘A mythic beast renowned for its sexual prowess. In modern slang, it refers to a male of preternatural size and sexual stamina.’ Hmm, interesting.

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