two is better than one...?

Okay, then. Deep breath. Tomorrow is the day my second book drops.

(That's it in the sidebar, in case you're wondering. Big fat yellow book with a sexy girl on the front. Go buy it, if you care to. It's got fairies and magic mirrors and all manner of shenanigans. Hope you enjoy it!)

Anyway. Tomorrow is Book 2 Day. And... well, I kinda don't know how I should feel about that.

I mean, yeah, I'm excited. Don't get me wrong. It will never cease to be awesome to have my books on the shelves. And hey, now I can say 'my books' instead of  'my book'. And it's a relief, too, because now I can finally talk about all that cool plot stuff I handed in 12 months ago with someone who knows what I'm on about. Assuming someone reads it, of course :)

But it also means I'm officially no longer a 'debut author', with all the uncertainty and wonder that goes with that label. That means that people will always compare this book to the first one, for good or ill. It means that (hopefully!) I have a following, however small or scattered, and they expect things from me. And that's where the doubts creep in. Ooh, will they like it as much as the first one? Is it as dark? As sexy? As intriguing? Will they like my characters?

Blah, blah, all those usual author nerves. A billion people in China don't care. And the fact is, SHADOWGLASS turned out exactly how I wanted. It's not going to please everyone, because nothing ever pleases everyone. But all the elements that made SHADOWFAE what it was are there aplenty in SHADOWGLASS: it's dark, sexy, romantic, scary, magical.

SHADOWGLASS is the book I wanted it to be. And all I can do now is hope you enjoy it.

Oh, and I suppose I could run a contest. Y'know, to celebrate and all? Sigh. Mutter. Okay, then.

But giving away just my own books (see, there, I said 'books', not 'book'!) is jaded. Been there, done that, got the postal receipts.

So as well, I'm gonna give away some fabulous books by some other, even more fabulous Aussie fantasy/romance authors. RIght here on my little ol' blog.

I've got Keri Arthur. I've got Tracey O'hara. I've got Denise Rossetti. Oh, and I've got some Kiwi named Nalini Singh. You may have heard of her. She's not strictly an Aussie, but we'll claim her. We claim all the good ones. Especially when the rotten buggers beat us at cricket.

Yes, it's the Great Aussie Fantasy contest!!

Yes, that's right. Tomorrow, one lucky visitor will win a pile of awesome books from south of the equator. So tell your friends. Come back tomorrow.

Aussie fantasy. It's here. It's hot. You know you want some.