Hey, Psy-Changeling fans! So you think you know who The Ghost is? This post might have you thinking again… (Updated 25/5/2013 to add link to Storify.)
This morning Twitter users got to ask the Ghost some questions directly. He gave us some hints as to his identity, but some of his answers just raised more questions. Berkley will post a Storify link tomorrow (click here), but in the meantime, here is a summary of what we learned:
The Ghost was damaged before the PsyNet began to degrade, but he still does not want to leave. He is a male (not multiple people) who was ‘broken’ as a child, and who got rid of his conscience to survive. It hasn’t and (he believes) will never return. But he bonded with a woman (who is not his lover and is still alive today) during that time, and she is the only one to whom he is loyal and the only one who will keep him from carrying out his plans. He refuses to say what those plans are, only that they will become clear in time and he has been putting them into effect for over 20 years. He doesn’t discuss his plans with anyone except sometimes Judd and Xavier. He suspects Judd may have an idea of his ultimate goal. Sienna is no longer a part of his plan, but he would not answer why (is it because she is no longer a surprise?).
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Tidbits about book 12 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood have been released by author J. R. Ward, and it’s going to be a little different from the previous books!
Black Dagger Brotherhood author J. R. Ward posted this video on her Facebook page from the Cincinnati signing confirming that the next book in the series will be called The King and definitely isn’t going to be about Xcor. It will be about Wrath and Beth having a baby.
Ward has hinted in the past that there were going to be novellas for Wrath and Beth as well as Rhage and Mary and their journeys to parenthood. With Lover at Last beginning its life as a novella, it looks like we may be able to hope for full-length novels for both couples, especially since she’s hoping to return to each couple by giving them their own books again.
The King will be released in around a year’s time in the US spring 2014.
Official spoilers from the signing were posted on Ward’s Facebook page here and it’s given us a lot to speculate on.
Click here for a round-up of all BDB-related posts on Book Thingo.
The latest news on the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by our resident guru, Decadence. Updated 25/1/2013: Dates edited.
Click here for a round-up of all BDB-related posts on Book Thingo.
Lover at Last has come in at 592 pages long and 199,807 words, 650 words longer than Lover Reborn. It’s been a tough road, with J. R. Ward’s hard drive getting destroyed, erasing fifty pages of the story, and then restored by a techie Marine and a data retrieval specialist.
In the lead-up to Lover at Last’s release in March, Ward has been posting quotes on her Facebook page:
Blay walks past Qhuinn like he doesn’t exist
Qhuinn prepares for death
“…where upon Layla grows a set”
A humble Qhuinn kisses Blay, but it’s not their first hook-up of the book
Qhuinn kissing Blay (Blay’s POV)
Blay finds out that Qhuinn attacked Saxton
Layla acknowledging the important things in life
I don’t know what it relates to, but she’s also asked Brazilian readers how a granddaughter would respectfully refer to her grandmother.
Virtual Signings
There will be five virtual signings this year, with Lover Awakened already closed. The business only orders a finite number of books and once that runs out, that’s it, no more. It’s unconfirmed, but I suspect she signs around 2000 copies of each book. The signings typically open around a month prior to the release date when they are sent out, last around a week, and only offer hardcovers.
Here are the dates so far of the other virtual signings in Australian EST:
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If you’re hungry for clues about upcoming books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward, Decadence has put together what we think we know about what’s coming next. Includes excerpts from upcoming releases and dates for Ward’s virtual signing.
For a list of all BDB-related posts at Book Thingo, click here.
Okay, so I’ve been shamefully late with an update, but whenever something big happens like the release of the Lover At Last cover, I’m at work and Kat breaks the news first. But when I received a notification of two upcoming virtual signings, I knew I had to get off my butt and share all the little tidbits I’ve collected.
Lover At Last
The first line of the book will be (pending edits): ‘Now THAT is a motherf**kin’ whip!’
No context was given, but I think we could all guess who the obvious suspect is.
Rapture
There has already been a quote from Rapture posted on Ward’s Facebook page, in which, although no names were used, I think it’s safe to assume it’s the heroine kissing the hero and wishing she could hold onto the moment but knowing that you can’t physically retain moments, despite the impact they make on you.
I’m sure we’ll see more closer to its release, scheduled for September 25.
Virtual signing news
The Fallen Angels series has been upgraded with a US hardcover release, so it will be included in Ward’s virtual signing program. It will be available for preorder from August 5, 8.30am New York time (August 5, 10.30pm if you’re in Sydney) until September 14. If you don’t like hardcovers, the local publisher will release a trade paperback shortly after the hardcover is published on September 25.
Lover Eternal (Rhage’s book) will also be reissued in hardcover and will available through the virtual signing from October 7, 8.30am (10.30pm in Sydney) until October 26.
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This book has surpassed its humble origins, and if you can overlook an under-defined heroine and clunky prose, you’ll find a lot to enjoy, especially in the bedroom.
This series has engendered some very polarised opinions. Some people refuse to read it on principle because of its origins as Twilight fanfic (posted as Master of the Universe). As dirty as I feel to think that just a pair of fangs and a sparkle may be all that separates me from the Twihards, my opinion is what it is. Fifty Shades of Grey hit the mark for me.
I originally read the e-book a few months ago, looking for BDSM smut and as long as the story (and especially the sex scenes) can convince me of the inherent conflict, connection and creativity between the hero and heroine, I might not notice or care about things that irritate other readers, such as the first person/present tense writing, hero Christian Grey naming his company Grey Enterprises Holdings when either Holdings or Enterprises would have sufficed (Holdings gets my vote), or Ana describing Christian’s ‘cool, cold lips’.
Although the quality of the writing is questionable, I sometimes wonder if that isn’t part of its appeal, lending a greater sense of intimacy because it feels less like a professionally published book than someone’s diary.
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Photo: Decadence
How could I possibly turn down an evening of romance chosen by Kat and read by Aussie media personalities? Especially when it’s all in support of International Women’s Day.
Alison from Customs House Library introduced the evening’s players: curator, blogger, freelance writer and romance expert Kat; entertainer PJ Lane; lawyer and alter ego of Elle McFeast, Libby Gorr; and actor Rhys Muldoon turned out to support International Women’s Day.
During Rhys Muldoon’s introduction, it was revealed that he has a passion for crime writing. ‘Not romance?’ Alison asked. He got a few laughs when he replied that they are two sides of the same coin.
Kat asked who has read a romance and enjoyed it. Most of the audience raised their hands. When Rhys got Kat to allow Jane Eyre as a romance, he raised his hand. Libby joked that hers come in a paper bag and PJ was ‘noticeably silent’.
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The cheat sheets have moved! For the latest information, use these links: Cheat sheet overview | Scribe Virgin | The Brotherhood | Wrath | Class structure
(Note: The information below was last updated on 27/3/2012.)
The Scribe Virgin and her single act of creation
We’re not sure exactly who the Scribe Virgin is, other than the mother of the vampire race. Her father (don’t know who he is either) gifted her with a single act of creation, which she used to create a race of beings who:
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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 | Part 3 | All BDB-related posts on Book Thingo
The Lover Reborn cover has finally been unveiled! The book came in just under 195,000 words, which is longer than Lover Mine, but shorter than Lover Avenged. I think this makes it the second longest book in the series.
The following blurb has also been revealed:
In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. The city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Now back in the Brotherhood – and unrecognisable as the vampire leader he once was – Tohrment is physically emaciated and heartbroken beyond despair. When he begins to see his beloved in his dreams – trapped in a cold, isolating netherworld – Tohr turns to a self-serving fallen angel in hopes of saving the one he has lost. When he’s told he must learn to love another to free his former mate, Tohr knows they are all doomed …Except then a female with a shadowed history begins to get through to him. Against the backdrop of the raging war with the lessers, and with a new clan of vampires vying for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between the buried past, and a very hot, passion-filled future …but can his heart let go and set all of them free?
Ward had posted quotes from Lover Reborn on Facebook, but after some fan drama, all quotes were removed. They included:
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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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