the paragraph from hell

Why is it that certain paragraphs just don't want to be written?

I can get stuck for days on one sentence. Usually for me, it's an action that just doesn't want to happen. For instance in my WIP I have the heroine watching a woman she's stalking finally make a trip to the ladies room, like Heroine has been waiting for her to do for half an hour.

Great! Off you go, Heroine. Follow. Time's a-wasting. If you don't go in there and roll that chick for the Ooky Artifact of What-the-hell-we're-doing-here, Bad Things will ensue.

But d'ya think she'd move? Nope.

For some reason, I just couldn't (or wouldn't) type "I slid my empty glass onto the table and followed." Or anything remotely resembling such.

Does this happen to anyone else out there?

I mean, I've fixed her now. Wrote the whole scene last night. Ladies room mayhem ahoy. But this stalled me for half a day.*

And you know what? I bet there's something wrong with it. I bet when revision time comes, I'll be picking at that scene. My subconscious -- and those who've met me know I'm the last person to call on woo-woo psychic explanations for my own idiocy -- my subconscious knows there's something up with that scenario, and spat the dummy of progress right out of the cot.

Well, good on you, subconscious. You are obviously cleverer and far more insightful than I. How about you shut the hell up and let me write? :)

Anyway. In other news, the blog stumble continues. Behold some juicy interviews, at EllzReads and Kylie Griffin's blog, and there's a free book up for grabs at each.

Also, if you're lucky enough to be Canadian, SHADOWGLASS is already shipping from amazon.ca, even though official release isn't until Tuesday. You guys are on the ball! No such early love from amazon.com so far as I know...

*This is not my record, btw. I once stalled on a novel manuscript  for six months because a character wouldn't walk down a flight of stairs. True.

blog touring

In honour of next week's release of SHADOWGLASS, I'm lurching around the blogosphere for the next couple of weeks, making the place look untidy and giving away tha free bookz.

This week I'm at RKCharron's blog, talking about genres.

Also check out SFInsider this week. The guest post is by the very cool Anton Strout, author of the Simon Canderous series, which you should all read, BTW. BUt they're giving away a copy of SHADOWGLASS. Head on over and post a comment.

In other news, I'm goofing my way through book 4 of the series right now. Almost halfway. It's got fairies, drink spiking and a fetish club.

And I saw some yummy cover art for book 3 this week :) Can't show you yet. But new look. New title. Excitement, adventure, really wild things. Awesome!

check the new skin...

My new-look website is live! Yay!! Check it out. It's still at shadowfae.net (or ericahayes.net -- same site, 2 domains) but it looks different. Quite cool, if I may say so myself :) 

And to celebrate, there's a fresh Chapter One excerpt from SHADOWGLASS -- yes, it's longer than the one in the back of SHADOWFAE. Fairies, mirrors and mayhem. And it has Kane in it. Just a little bit.

FYI, that's Melbourne in the header image. The CBD is on the left bank (in this pic) of the glorious River Yarra. The Arts Centre spire is the blue one on the right hand side, above Southbank. You can't see Eureka Tower (Luna's apartment building) though. Hmm. I can see I'll have to put up some location shots...

Also, a reminder about my Goodreads giveaway of two signed copies of SHADOWGLASS. Tomorrow (Wednesday 24th) is the last day to sign up. Sick 'em, Rex.

to while away the minutes...

...a few links.

Here's a lovely interview I did at Specusphere. I talk about succubi, Dexter and how I got published.

Oh, and I'm doing a book giveaway at Goodreads this week. 2 signed copies of Shadowglass are out there. You know you want one.

For anyone who didn't already see it , this post on e-book piracy by Jeaniene Frost is informative. Like, why you shouldn't do it. And no, it's not just authors being greedy.

And now I've gotta go write. Seriously. Sorry I'm not much fun :)

and the ARC winner is...

...selected by the marvel of random numbers...

@intensewhisper !!!

Congrats! Drop me an email at {ez at ericahayes dot net} or DM me with your addy and I'll get the book out to you.

Thanks so much to everyone for dropping by. Stick around, as I'll be doing some more groovy book giveaways next week.

shadowglass goodness, and an e-book

Celebrating? Me? Why, yes. I'm glad you asked.

One: my baby Shadowfae is now an e-book. Yay! All good things come to those who wait. Check it out. There are links in the sidebar to the left. And remember, some e-stores offer loyalty programs or promotional discounts, so I humbly suggest you shop around. Nuff said :)

Two: it's just twenty-eight days until the release of my new book, Shadowglass.

So to celebrate I'm gonna give away an ARC. Right here, right now. Well, in a second. Once I've shown you the goodness. Bear with me.



A seductive magic mirror lies hidden deep in a demon’s lair, with a simple warning: don’t stare at the glass…

Ice is a thief and a scammer—a troubled fairy trying her best to eke out a meager living in the squalid underworld of the Shadowfae. When she spends a hot night with a demon lord, she discovers a powerful magic mirror in his lair—and pilfers it, knowing it’s the key to escaping her bleak life as a two-bit con artist. But Ice soon discovers that its power comes with a price…madness, which is slowly overtaking her.

Indigo oozes darkness, danger and tempting sensuality. He’s been sent to destroy Ice and bring the mirror back to its rightful owner. A mission that, if he fails, will cost him his life. But when he meets Ice, he faces an even greater challenge: an insatiable sexual hunger that neither of them can deny, and dark passions that threaten to claim them both forever. The trouble is, the longer he stays within the mirror’s reach, the greater its hold on his sanity—and his determination to save Ice…


RT Reviews shower my baby with four (count 'em! four!) stars and say this:

"Take an unbelievably sexy fae heroine who thinks she's a geek and a blue metalfae, and you have one steamy urban fantasy in the latest Shadowfae Chronicle. The unique characters have few morals and are totally engaging, and a colorful alternate world in contemporary Melbourne is the perfect spot for the magical, fast-paced plot."

And I'm stoked to get a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, including this:

"This engaging sequel to 2009’s Shadowfae weaves rich sensual imagery and dark eroticism into a breathless thriller plot."

Lastly, check out, if you please, my brand new trailer:

Like it? Awesome! Show your friends. Wanna win an ARC? Thought so.

Here's what ya gotta do. Any, many or all of: Leave me a comment. Follow me on Twitter. Post my trailer on your blog. RT me. Friend me on LJ. Join my newsletter. All the usual stuff, right? Just make sure you identify yourself in the comments somehow so I can contact you.

And on... let's see, today's Wednesday... on Friday, I'll pick one lucky winner for the ARC. Open worldwide. 'Cause, y'know. Wouldn't wanna leave anyone out.

Next week, I'll have excerpts. There's one in the back of Shadowfae (which is now an e-book. Did I mention that?) but I think you deserve more. Soon. So long as you're good girls and boys...

being Australian

It's Australia Day today. Jan 26th. Kinda like the Fourth of July, except... well, we don't have a war of independence or anything patriotic and macho like that to celebrate for our national day. So instead it's the anniversary of the arrival of the first British settlement on these shores in 1788. Captain Arthur Phillip in his nice blue Royal Navy uniform, if you believe the portraits. Convicts, Royal Marines and a whole lot of blokes with rum. Rum was important. We had a Rum Rebellion once. How cool is that?

Anyway. Some people say we shouldn't be celebrating a day that led to ruin, disease, displacement and death for many indigenous Australians. They think we should choose another day to celebrate our national day. I can see their point. But be that as it may, and whatever day we celebrate, I believe we've still got a whole lot to be thankful for.

I'm thankful that we were once a British colony, because they gave us representative government and the common law, even if it means we've still got the Union Jack on our flag and a few assholes down at Cronulla like to wear it while they take out their dumb hatred on others.

I'm thankful for hot summers and lazy school holidays spent in the garden, at the beach or down at the swimming pool, even if it means we've still got the highest rate of skin cancer in the world and I've never seen a white Christmas. And I'm thankful for winters that aren't six foot deep in snow, even if it means that I can't ski and have never ice-skated on a lake.

For great Aussie food, for vindaloo, pad thai, gyros and turkish pida, for fish and chips, tapas, tandoori chicken, spaghetti bolognese and moussaka, shish kebab and chilli con carne and lamb chops on the barbie. You bring it here, we'll eat it like it's our own.

For Aussie Rules football in the winter, for speckies and meat pies with tomato sauce and Lloydie's mark of the century. For Ashes cricket, Warnie's Gatting Ball and Freddie Flintoff consoling Brett Lee, for John Aloisi ripping his shirt off in celebration when the Socceroos made the World Cup, for that crazy ice skating guy who won Olympic Gold when everyone else fell over.

For gun laws that mean it's practically illegal to own a firearm, even if it means only criminals have got them, because it means I can walk down the street at night without fear. I'm thankful that I can still switch on free-to-air tv and watch the Aussies thrash Pakistan at cricket, and then go down the pub for a lemonade or two with my Pakistani mates without anyone beating the crap out of anyone else.

For long haul flights and six-hour layovers at Singapore Airport on the way to London, for being so bloody far away from the rest of the world that going anywhere is the adventure of a lifetime. And for that gorgeous scent of eucalyptus that hits you when you step off the plane in Sydney or Melbourne, that fragrant air and blue sky that means you're home at last.

For simple, quick, transparent elections that can't be bought by the highest bidder, at least not on national tv. For a government that can't lock me up without trial and a judicial system that can't execute me or torture me or make me incriminate myself. For a minimum wage, single digit unemployment, a welfare system that won't let me starve and a health system that doesn't ask me to swipe my credit card.

For clean air, clean water and ample living space, when so much of the rest of the world has none of them.

So say what you want about Invasion Day or whatever. We all live here. This is our country. And we've got it pretty good down here.