Happy New Year

Another year, another decade, is coming to an end. Time for reflection.

I don't like leaving things unfinished. What I didn't manage to complete in 2009:

• House project "get a spa pool while they're cheap"
• Terry Pratchett's latest hardcover, even though it's about soccer
• The first draft of my new murder mystery (though hey, I still have 7 hours to go...)

Things that went right for me in 2009:

• The children are happy at school
• PTA fundraisers
• 6 books published

Overall, that's a very good balance. Over to you, please leave a comment.

Happy New Year!

Szczęśliwego nowego roku

Gelukkige nuwejaar

С Новым Годом

Feliæan novan jaron

Sending the warmest Christmas wishes to you

May joy and happiness snow on you, may the bells jingle for you and may Santa be extra good to you! Merry Christmas!

My cool new banner

I have it as a proper physical fabric banner, for when I do my book signing of "Murder @ Play". Cool, huh?

I've been interviewed!

I've been interviewed by Linda Faulkner on:

http://lindamfaulknertips.blogspot.com/2009/12/interview-with-yvonne-eve-walus.html.

Have cover, will travel....

Here's the long-awaited cover for my Echelon Press short e-book, "The Hanukkah Time Capsule". Beautiful, isn't it? And just perfect to convey that holiday-SF feel.

Now, if you're wondering what made a good Catholic girl like me write about Hanukkah, you'll find the answer here.

Click here to buy the book.

Excerpt from "The Hanukkah Time Capsule"

While we're waiting, here is an excerpt from "The Hanukkah Time Capsule" by Yvonne Walus, about to be published by Echelon Press:

“Get on with it,” snarled the Anti-Knowledge Warden. “Open the damned time capsule! Let’s see what precious information your Grandmother has left for you to abuse.”

Esther chewed the end of her dark braid. The fear which she had learnt to accept in the last few years, burnt sour in her stomach. Escape, she needed to escape from it all. Briefly, she wondered which of her so-called friends had reported the legacy her Grandmama had left -

The mind stunner glinted in the Warden’s hand. “Do it now, or -”

“Yes, sir,” muttered Esther. The words scratched her suddenly constricted throat, got muffled by the nibbled braid. She would do anything to avoid being zapped. Mind stunners left permanent marks: gaps in memory, holes in the logical processing. Some people claimed they could even alter the victim’s personality. Judging by Nathaniel’s latest behaviour, she wouldn’t be surprised… after his encounter with a mind stunner, he was simply not the same person she had married.

Esther turned her eyes to the Warden, trying to hold the fear back. “If you allow me, sir, I need to switch on the computer, please.”

Buy link: please purchase here

Counting down to my new release....

"The Hanukkah Time Capsule" will be released today as part of the "12 Days of Christmas" ebook drive at Echelon Press Shorts. I'm blogging and tweeting about it while waiting for the Buy Link and book cover.

I'm so excited! I keep going back to the site and checking for updates, as though this were my first publication, LOL.

Watch this space for details! (update: the book is out!!!)

True Blood, continued

I really don't get the current vampire craze. Blood is gross, and while "living forever" seems like a plan, vampires are dead, right, so they are more like "being dead forever", which is no big deal when you stop to think about it.

Anne Rice? The witch series yes, the vampire series - eh.

"Twilight?" Can't comment, I'm afraid. Haven't read it, haven't seen it. I mean, just like the Harry Potter argument, it's good to see people on the bus or in a coffee shop with a big fat book, so I guess it's a good thing in the greater scheme of things.

Which brings me to True Blood, the TV series. In May, I was two episodes into it and not sure whether I'd be watching more. The uncertainty continued as I watched episode three, then four... I'm now on Season 2 Episode 3 and I like the series well enough to watch the next instalment, but I'm still not committed one way or the other. :-)

Win great holiday ebooks!

Ready for great holiday ebooks? Join Echelon Shorts between December 1-December 12 as they celebrate 12 Days of Great Reads!

During this celebration, Echelon Shorts will be brining you the best new holiday releases and posts each day from the authors. Find mystery and romance, mainstream and fantasy, thrillers and young adult stories. The release schedule includes short stories from Carl Brookins, Austin Camacho, Mary Cunningham, Lois Carroll, Christine Verstraete, Michelle D. Sonnier, Lance Zarimba, Karen Syed, Yvonne Walus (yes, my own "Hanukkah Time Capsule" is one of the books), Jeffrey Martin, Vonnie Winslow Crist, and Regan Black.

Stop by http://echelonshorts.com to find these posts and stories and for your chance to win free ebooks!

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