Another upcoming book I’m excited about is the August release of The Wild Side, edited by Mark L. Van Name. It’s an urban fantasy anthology with an erotic edge, and it includes my story “For a Good Time, Call…”

This week, I got my first look at the cover and there has been much rejoicing.

First off, as you can see, it’s a dynamite cover.  The artist is Dan Dos Santos, and he’s just terrific.

But what really got me squeeing in delight was seeing my name on the cover. I’ve never had my name on the front of an anthology, other than my own, and it’s really a thrill.

I’ve only read my story and Dana Cameron’s, but from this list of writers, I think it’s going to be a winner.

Tanya Huff

Gina Massel-Castater

Toni L.P. Kelner

Diana Rowland

Sarah A. Hoyt

Ticia Drake Isom

Dana Cameron

John Lambshead

Mark L. Van Name

Caitlin Kitterege

The Wild Side will be a trade paperback release from Baen, and I imagine electronic versions will spring forth wildly as well. I will warn people that this is not a child-friendly book. My own story is the most graphic thing I’ve ever published, and writing it was a new experience for me.

In August I put on my editor hat once again for the release of Home Improvement: Undead Edition, the fourth anthology edited by NYT bestseller and overall nifty person Charlaine Harris and myself. This time the theme is the horrors of home renovations, a daunting prospect even for vampires, werewolves, and demonic sorts.

We’ve got another stellar lineup of authors:

Patricia Briggs

Victor Gischler

James Grady

Heather Graham

Simon R. Green

Charlaine Harris

Stacia Kane

Toni L.P. Kelner

E.E. Knight

Rochelle Krich

Melissa Marr

Seanan McGuire

Suzanne McLeod

S.J. Rozan

And did I mention that Lisa Desimini has created yet another outstanding cover illustration?

Here’s a secret about the cover. It was actually completed before we handed in the final draft of the manuscript–once again, I may have been a touch late on my deadline–and my contribution was inspired by the illustration. I mean, doesn’t that look like a zombie hand to you?

Home Improvement: Undead Edition will be a hardcover release from Ace, and Ace will be releasing various electronic formats at the same time for you Kindle, Nook, and iPad users. (And quite possibly for gadgets I don’t know about yet!)

It’s 2011, and now that the Christmas decorations are put away–more or less–it’s time to think about what’s coming up, and I’ve got lots to look forward to.  In fact, I’ve got so much I’m breaking it into more than one post to keep this from being too long!

The big excitement of the new year is the February 2 release of Blast from the Past, the third “Where are they now?” mystery.

This time freelance entertainment reporter Tilda Harper is immersed in the worlds of comic books and movies. Before becoming an action film star, John Laryea appeared on The Blastoffs, a cheesy Saturday morning kid’s show about a rock band in space. His former co-star, Pete Ellis, now drives a limo for a living. So when someone tries to run Laryea over, Ellis becomes the prime suspect-and it’s up to Tilda to clear his name.

I love this cover, and here’s a secret about it. It was actually completed before I handed in the final draft of the manuscript–I may have been a touch late on my deadline–so I changed the name of a store in the book to match the Choco House on the cover.

Blast from the Past is a mass market paperback release from Berkley Prime Crime, and there will be various electronic editions, too. I’m just glad the folks at Berkley take care of all those conversions.