King of the Mutants Tour

I remember the first time I heard about Samantha Verant's King of the Mutants. She said something about the main character being a boy with a tail, and I was pretty much sold on the idea, because it's my firm opinion that there aren't enough boys with tails in contemporary literature. (Can you think of any? Of course not.) We also started a random thing where we would say "BRING BACK THE TAIL" in the middle of conversations on Facebook. I don't quite know why except that it seemed the thing to do. And again, tails. We need more tail diversity, plain and simple.

So I was entirely thrilled when Samantha sold the book, and equally thrilled when she asked me to take part in the blog tour! This thing is highly recommended. You should read it.

ABOUT KING OF THE MUTANTS:

Title: King of the Mutants

Publication date: October 21, 2014

Publisher: Tantrum Books/Month9Books, LLC.

Author: Samantha Verant

Can one boy stop a nefarious plot to turn kids into super-mutants?

Maverick Mercury enjoys his life as the sideshow attraction known as “Gator Boy” at Grumbling’s Traveling Circus and Sideshow.

His freakish mutations are the result of some billionaire geneticist’s experiments gone awry.  But life as a mutant is about to get worse, as Maverick uncovers a plot to kidnap kids, turns them into super-mutants, and sells their powers to the highest bidder.

Now, Maverick is on a mission to find the mad scientist who may have created him and destroy his sinister plans!

Add a tail to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22094891-king-of-the-mutants      

Buy a tail:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Chapters Indigo! | TBD |IndieBound

ABOUT SAMANTHA VERANT:

Samantha Vérant is a travel addict, a self-professed oenophile, and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, French chef. Over the years, she’s visited many different countries, lived in many places, and worked many jobs— always on the search for the one thing that truly excited her. Then, one day, she found everything she’s been looking for: a passion for the written word and true love. Writing not only enabled her to open her heart, it led her to southwestern France, where she’s now married to a sexy French rocket scientist she met over twenty years ago, a stepmom to two incredible kids, and the adoptive mother to one ridiculously expensive Bengal cat. When she’s not trekking from Provence to the Pyrénées, tasting wine in American-sized glasses, or embracing her inner Julia Child while deliberating what constitutes the perfect boeuf bourguignon, Samantha is making her best effort to relearn those dreaded conjugations.

 Connect with the Author:  Website | Book Site | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Interested? You can win an ebook copy just by entering via the Rafflecopter below. And don't forget to check out the other stops on the schedule! Because tail. Congratulations again, Samantha!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spooky Empire...and a New Short Story!

This weekend, I'm thrilled to be appearing at Spooky Empire's Ultimate Horror Weekend as a Featured Author. Seriously thrilled. I've been waiting for an excuse to break out my tentacle nail wraps, and this is the one. Tentacles, people. Tent-a-cles.

Anyway, if you happen to be hanging around Orlando and admiring the palm trees, come see me! Here's my schedule:

Friday
8:00 PM - Undead Battle Camp

Saturday
1:00 PM - Ladies Who Lunch
3:00 PM - Featured Author Spotlight
4:00 PM - Signing
7:00 PM - Get Down with the Sickness
8:00 PM - Choose Your Own Adventure

Sunday
3:00 PM - Yes, It's Gruesome, But Is It Funny?

Can't make it? I still have something fun and monstery to share. My newest short story, LifeGard Station #4, will be appearing in the Halloween edition of the Fate Codex, which should be coming out in the next couple of days! This short story combines a couple of my favorite things--zombies and weird science--with rodeo. Yeah. Rodeo. So if you're looking for a new idea for a game or just happen to like zombies, weird science, or rodeo, I hope you'll head on over and consider subscribing. At $1.99 per issue, it's a pretty darned good deal.

Oh, and because I can't resist, here's an old Halloween video. It still makes me laugh.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Yoo Hoo! I Want to See You!

Hey! Look! I’m going to be appearing in three different states over the next couple of weeks! It’s like a tour, minus the bus and the groupies. I’d love to see you at any of the above. You could come to all of them, but that might be creepy if we’re not related. Actually, come to think of it, it might even be creepy if we are…

ANYWAY. Here are the details; would love to see you there. Or there. Or even there.

August 9^th from 1:00-3:00 – Barnes & Noble, Maumee, OH

As a part of the B&N Pop Culture series, I’ll be signing books and talking derby with a few members of Toledo’s junior derby team, the Frogtown Fallgirls. This is a chance to get a copy of Demon Derby if you don't have one yet! Come get a picture taken with some derby girls and see my new skeleton derby shirt. Oh, and me too. Get more details here.

August 14-17 at various times - GenCon, Indianapolis, IN

Geek achievement unlocked! That's right, peeps, I'm going to be at GenCon! I'll be talking authory stuff on my own and gaming stuff with the rest of the staff at Evil Hat Productions. Here's my schedule:

August 14, 11 AM - Writer's Craft: Mysteries (Room 243)

August 14, 3 PM - Writer's Craft: Team Dynamics (Room 245)

August 14, 5 PM - State of the Hat Panel (Crowne Plaza Pennsylvania Stn A)

August 14, 7 PM - Look Under the Hat Panel (Crowne Plaza Pennsylvania Stn B)

August 15, 12 PM - Business of Writing: Con Etiquette for Authors (Room 243)

August 15, 2 PM - Business of Writing: Author Networking 101 (Room 243)

August 15, 5 PM - Business of Writing: Selling Your Stories (Room 243)

August 15, 8:30 PM - ENnie Awards (Grand Hall Ballroom, Union Station)

August 16, 4 PM - YA: What Makes It YA? (Room 243)

August 16, 5 PM - YA: Pushing the YA Envelope (Room 243)

August 16, 7 PM - Urban Fantasy? Or Horror? (Room 244)

August 17, 11 AM - Read and Critique (Room 245)

August 19^th at 7 PM – Nicola’sBooks, Ann Arbor, MI

Join me, Bethany Neal, Gae Polisner, and Lara Zielin as we read 90 seconds worth of awesomeness from our latest releases.

Happy book birthday, Demon Derby!

I don’t even know what to say about this, so I’m going to let my spokesman, Richard Simmons, say it for me.

PEEEOPLE! Demon Derby is out today! I’ve been so excited to read this book that I’m rolling around in vegetables! Okay, so I’d take any excuse to do that, but still, it's EXCITING! Also full of vitamins! And good for your hair!

I'm not sure about that last claim, but I'm still pretty darned excited. In case you haven't heard about it, Demon Derby is about a girl named Casey Kent. Casey is a cancer survivor turned demon fighting derby girl. The book is inspired by my husband, aka Slayer of Bees, who is a bone marrow transplant doctor, a cancer survivor, and a ninja. He is also awesome. I am also biased.

Totally biased.

One of the best things about this book is that it gave me a chance to get to know a lot of terrific junior derby girls. If you haven't taken in a junior derby bout, you are missing out! These girls are tough cookies, and it's been so nice to get to know them. I'm particularly biased toward the following teams, who signed up to help spread the word about the book and hold bone marrow drives to help make more cancer survivors like Casey and Slayer, even if they don't become demon fighting derby girls. You should totally check them out:

• Central KY Junior Roller Derby (Louisville, KY)
• Cherry Bomb Charmers Junior Roller Derby (Jacksonville, FL)
• Delta's Angels (Memphis, TN)
• Frogtown Fallgirls (Toledo, OH)
• Greater Edmonton Junior Roller Derby All Stars (Edmonton, AB)
• Hoosier Bruisers Junior Derby (Anderson, IN)
• Hudson Valley Frightmares (Kingston, NY)
• Indianapolis Junior Roller Derby (Indianapolis, IN)
• Jersey Junior Roller Derby (Jackson, NJ)
• Juvenile Dollinquents (San Diego, CA)
• Lansing Junior Vixens (Lansing, MI) 
• Lilac City Pixies (Spokane, WA)
• Miami's Lil Miss Demeanors (Cutler Bay, FL)
• Rolling Rebellion (Sanger, TX)
• Second City Slaughter (Chicago, IL)
• Southern Colorado Junior Roller Derby (Colorado Springs, CO)
• The Atomic Cupcakes (Linden, MI)
• Twin Cities Junior Roller Derby (Blaine, MN)
• V Town Derby Delinquents (Hanford, CA)
• Wasatch Junior Rollers (Taylorsville, UT)

But these are just the teams that have signed up to help promote the book, so if you don't see anything near you, that doesn't mean your area doesn't have a team. Here's a handy listing of teams, and there are lots of new ones popping up too. Google is your friend.

And vegetables! Don't forget the vegetables!

And also vegetables. Thanks for the reminder, Richard.

Bookstores are also your friend, but if you can't find a copy of Demon Derby at your local one, you can also get one at these fine retailers:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Books-a-Million

Indiebound

 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go flail with excitement. That's my plan for today. Lots and lots of flailing. Also accompanied by some high pitched noises. I'm so excited for this book, and I hope that if you read it and like it, you'll take the time to tell someone about it. It really does make a difference.

But don't worry. If you don't, I will still think you are awesome.