Tomorrow, August 5, officially marks Storm Born's release, though many of you know it's already been creeping onto the shelves. Believe you me, I'll be doing a lot of shameless promotion for it tomorrow, complete with campfire tales of its creation and journey to publication.

This, however, is a hot week for book releases, and I'm in some very good company--particularly since these books are by my friends. So, today I'm going to honor them and their undeniable awesomeness.


Hotter Than Hell by Jackie Kessler

This may have come out last week. I'm really not sure. Jackie and I are perpetually confused by our release dates. Anyway, for those who don't know Jackie, she writes the Hell On Earth series and is a fellow succubus author. This is #3 and is actually told from the point of view of Daun the incubus, rather than Jesse the succubus. He's trying to seduce a moral woman--and runs into a few annoyances like, yanno, love. Jackie is an excellent, excellent writer and puts up with a lot of my neuroses. You should check her out of if you like dark, wicked humor and hot sex scenes experienced by a guy written by a woman.



Underground by Kat Richardson

Ms. Richardson's a familiar face around here, and I confess, I'd promote her even if her writing sucked. Happily, her writing most definitely does not suck. (I've used that joke before, haven't I?). Anyway, her writing's awesome. I love her Greywalker series, and this is book #3. It follows Harper Blaine, a Seattle P.I. gifted with the ability to see ghosts and spirits. Kat knows more about Seattle than the people who run the historical society around here, and she works it all into her books, along with her excellent mysteries, wise-cracking dialogue, and bizarre technological feats.




Gale Force by Rachel Caine

This is book #8000 in Rachel's Weather Warden series. No, just kidding--it's #7, and I say, keep 'em coming! This series is about Joanne Baldwin, a woman who can control the weather and has a complicated relationship with a hot djinn. I think I'm the only fan of Jo's alternate love interest, but I won't get into that here. I love Rachel's writing and was excited when I first read this series because like Georgina, Joanne shows urban fantasy heroines don't have to carry a gun to be strong. Not that there's anything wrong with armed women (see above review). But you get my point. Good stuff here.




Okay, that's the book round-up. Congratulations, ladies! And if I'm missing someone else's release, I apologize. It's hard to keep up with this stuff.

Storm Born pimpery comes soon.