Goodbye, 2010

I always think of the end of the year as a time of lists. Everyone is writing their “Top 10″ or “10 Worst” lists for the previous year and making lists of predictions for the year to come.

I don’t usually read “Best of” lists, but here’s one I couldn’t resist sharing. Scroll down, and you’ll see why.

It’s good to stop and take time to reflect, to consider where you’ve been, where you’re heading, and where you are right now. I try to do this throughout the year, not just at the end of December. Still, it can be easy to get caught up in the demands of day-to-day life, and it’s better to reflect once a year than not at all. Otherwise, it’s easy to feel like you’re always running or getting pushed from one thing to the next.

For me, 2010 was a year of peaks and valleys. It was exciting to see Deadtown come out and do so well—thanks to everyone who read the book.  Other high points included meeting readers and writers at conventions (and getting my copy of Magic Bleeds signed by Ilona Andrews), spending time with family, and extending my Deadtown series by at least two more books. Low points included multiple family illnesses, a death, and having to cancel our vacation. It’s all part of life, though, and you keep moving forward.

How was your 2010? Are you glad or sad to see it end? At this time next year, what do you hope to see as you reflect on the end of 2011?

Blog tour continues

Today I’m at Literary Escapism (an absolutely wonderful site for urban fantasy and paranormal romance readers) blogging about in-between things. I was thinking about how the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a kind of lull, a time when people are looking back at the previous year and ahead to the new one—and that makes it an interesting time for a brand-new book to pop into the world. So I wrote about some other in-between things that I like. Click here to see what those are, and leave a comment or question to enter to win a signed copy of Hellforged.

I’m also appearing at RT Book Reviews. This post was supposed to go up earlier in the week, but the big East Coast blizzard delayed it. But now you can read about how Vicky wrestles with The Book of Utter Darkness in Hellforged. Leave a comment about how reading has affected your life, and you’ll be entered to win both books in the series!

A murder(?) of crows

Photo by Jack Wolf

A huge flock of crows seems to have settled in my neighborhood.  On Monday afternoon I looked out my window to see dozens of crows circling in the sky and roosting in trees. I saw the same thing yesterday when I went out at dusk.  Last night, my husband and I were sitting in the kitchen when a raucous cawing made us stop our conversation and stare at each other. I opened the back door and looked outside to see hundreds of crows flying over our house. It lasted for only a  minute or two, but it was so loud we had to raise our voices inside to be heard over the noise.

If you’ve seen the cover of Hellforged, you know that crows feature in my new novel. So I like to think that these crows have been stopping by to say, “Congrats and good luck!” I’m not sure how you’d say that in crow-ish, but it probably sounds a lot like what we heard last night.

Crows are intelligent, social, fascinating birds. And it looks like a large flock has chosen my neighborhood as its winter roosting site.

Still, I can’t help but wonder about the timing. Does anybody know anything about what crows symbolize or portend? I know what they represent in Hellforged, and I sure hope this flock has nothing to do with that . . .

Happy Hellforged Day!

Hellforged is out in the world, and I’m ready to celebrate! I feel like I’m cramming another holiday into an already overcrowded holiday season, but why not? We can always use a little extra fun.

Thanks to all who entered my Happy Hellforged Holidays giveaway. There were nearly 300 entries. (Now, if everyone who entered would buy a copy of my book today, I’d be sure to make some bestseller list somewhere! ) I’ve consulted the oracle at Random.org, and the grand prize winner is

Nicholas Rejack

Congratulations, Nicholas! Check your email, and we’ll work out the details for getting your Kindle WiFi or gift card to you.

I’ve also got a release day party going on at Fang-tastic Books. Read my post, “Got Zombies?” and leave a comment or question to win a zombie prize pack that Tina would love.

And if you’d like to read a review of Hellforged, check out this one at Fantasy Literature. Justin Blazier writes, “Deadtown was good, but Hellforged is even better . . . If you love urban fantasy, then buy Nancy Holzner’s books right this minute. If you are not sure whether you like urban fantasy, then pick these up the next time you’re in the mood for a change a pace. I think you’ll like them.”

Thanks to everyone who reads my books! I hope you’ll enjoy Hellforged!

Last chance to enter…

Tomorrow is Hellforged’s release day—and that means you’ve got one last chance to enter my Happy Hellforged Holidays contest. If you didn’t get the Kindle you wanted for Christmas—or if you have a Kindle and you want to load it up with some books—enter my giveaway for a chance to win either a Kindle WiFi or an Amazon.com gift card worth the same amount ($139).

Just email your name and mailing address to HellforgedStuff(at)gmail.com to enter. That’s it. I’ll only use the info you sent me if you win; addresses will be discarded after the contest ends. International entries are fine. For full contest details, click here.

If you’ve already entered, you’re all set—you don’t have to enter again. I’ll accept entries until 9 a.m. EST on Tuesday, 12/28. And I’ll announce the winner soon after. Good luck!

NOTE 12/28/10: This contest is now over. All winners have been announced and contacted. Thanks to everyone who entered!