Tuesday, September 29, 2009

2009 Favorite Paranormal Author of the Year Award

I just found out this morning that I'm up for "2009 Favorite Paranormal Author of the Year Award" at Bitten By Books, the "paranormal review site with bite"!

I'm flattered, really, because I'm up against some really fabulous authors, like Charlaine Harris and Sherrilyn Kenyon. So if you have a second, pop by and vote for me, would you?

The poll is on the right-hand side, about halfway down the page.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Ghoulishly Great Halloween Goodies from The 69 Eyes and Terri Garey!

Halloween's come a little earlier this year, my pretties!

I simply couldn't wait until October to give out candy. :-)

I've already begun my month of Halloween fun by putting together some ghoulishly great goodies to give away to my readers: a "coffin case" bundle from The 69 Eyes, and two "Paranormal Party" gift baskets, complete with signed books from some of the hottest new authors in today's paranormal fiction, and music that's "fangtastic" enough to wake the dead and set them to dancing!

My favorite vampire rockers, The 69 Eyes, and The End Records were cool enough to send me this awesome Limited Edition "Back In Blood" Coffin Case set. It features a silk-screened, velvet-lined “coffin case,” a deluxe CD/DVD version of their new CD, Back In Blood, a original “Zombie Love” comic book written, drawn and autographed by the band's lead singer, Jyrki69, an autographed “Dead Girls Are Easy” import CD single, an exclusive T-shirt, and a digital download of the album.

What? You haven't listened to Dead Girls Are Easy, a rock n' roll tribute to "dead girls" everywhere, inspired by my award-winning Nicki Styx series? Where've you been hiding - in a dark coffin? A foggy graveyard? Wake up and smell the zombies, ghoulfriend!

<a href="http://the69eyes.bandcamp.com/track/dead-girls-are-easy">Dead Girls Are Easy by The 69 Eyes</a>


"All they wanted to do is rock...." Ahem.

In addition, I've put together these super spooky gift baskets, stuffed with ghostly goodies like signed copies of SECRET LIFE OF A VAMPIRE by Kerrelyn Sparks, and DAYHUNTER by Jocelynn Drake. There's even a cute little coffin tin of mints in each basket, along with Limited Edition beaded bookmarks and a "Raise A Little Hell with Nicki Styx" magnet!

I'll be giving away the "Pumpkin Graveyard" basket on October 10th, the "Spider" basket on October 17th, and the Coffin Case collection on - when else? - October 31st!

To find out more, go to my special TRICK OR TREAT page, and enter to win.

Good luck, ghoulfriends, and Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Silent Night, Haunted Night

Silent Night, Haunted Night by Terri GareyI'm starting to get excited by the upcoming release of book #4 in the Nicki Styx series, SILENT NIGHT, HAUNTED NIGHT. It will be in bookstores everywhere Oct. 27th, just in time for Halloween - what more could a ghoul want?

Waiting for those first reviews is nervewracking, let me tell you, but I was thrilled to find out yesterday that Romantic Times Magazine has given it 4 Stars, and Library Review Journal says, "This sultry, upbeat urban fantasy puts a new twist on visitations by Christmas ghosts, and is just the thing for readers who want their holiday fare with a darker edge."

Everyone knows that the holidays can be Hell, right? :-p Read the opening paragraphs to SILENT NIGHT, HAUNTED NIGHT, as Nicki Styx sets the stage for her latest adventure:

Silent Night, Haunted Night (Excerpt)

Ebenezer Scrooge isn’t the only person who’s ever had to deal with ghosts at Christmas.

You remember the tale; crabby old man, three spirits coming to visit on Christmas Eve—the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future—all there to show him the error of his ways and to give him a second chance at life before it was too late.

Unlike Scrooge, my second chance at life came much earlier. My name is Nicki Styx, and I’m only twenty-nine. A faulty heart valve nearly did me in last year. In fact, it did do me in; I’ve been to the other side and back again—and I mean that quite literally. Bright light, tunnel, and lifetime instructions to “do unto others as I’d have done unto me” before waking up in the hospital, sore and forever changed. I was very lucky, although getting kicked out of the afterlife definitely came with some strings attached; the restless dead, the ones who weren’t so lucky, keep popping up with unfinished business, expecting me to finish it for them.

Which I do, if I can.

Even if it gets me in trouble, which it frequently does.

This year, however, the holidays seem to have brought nothing but trouble: three unpleasant spirits out to teach me a lesson for interfering in the “natural order of things”. Three ghouls, three harpies, three sisters in crime… better known as the Three Fates.

The worst of the three is a succubus, a beautiful woman who can seduce any man alive by invading his dreams.

I know ‘tis the season to be jolly, but this year, Santa’s “ho,ho,ho” is all too real, and worse—she’s out to steal my boyfriend.

beaded bookmarkcoffin mintsIf you read this far, then you deserve a treat (or two!). Since I'm already in a Halloween kind of mood, leave me a comment here, or on MySpace or Facebook for a chance to win one of these cool "coffin tins" of mints, and a special Limited Edition bookmark!

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

The 69 Eyes - Back In Blood!

I got an awesome treat in the mail this weekend, a brand new CD by The 69 Eyes, called Back In Blood. (If you say it correctly, the way the band members do, you'll sound exactly like Bela Lugosi.) :-)

The 69 Eyes (also known as the Helsinki Vampires) are a gothic glam rock n' roll band from Finland. They've been performing for years, consistently topping the charts in their native country, and very popular in Europe and Australia. Their sound is a unique blend of Elvis, the Doors, Motley Crue and AC/DC, while their style has more of the 80's attitude and fashion sense of Billy Idol and Adam Ant. Underlaying both their sound and their style are the gloomy gothic undertones of bands like The Cure and Sisters of Mercy. Their music, their look, and their incredibly effective use of eyeliner make them well worth noticing. :-)

Don't believe me? Watch and listen as the band describes their style in their own words:



All of the songs on the new CD are loosely themed around the realm of the undead, the black abyss of eternal suffering, the shadowy world of the vampire. It's an absolutely fabulous mix: killer guitar riffs, pounding drums, five sexy guys in black leather singing about eternal loneliness - what more could a ghoul want, right?

The title song, Back In Blood, gets your vampire-lovin' heart pounding, and is backed up perfectly by Track #2, We Own the Night. One of my absolute favorite songs is Track #3, Dead N' Gone. LOVE IT!

And then, of course, I ain't gonna lie: Track #7, Dead Girls Are Easy, is to die for!

Back In Blood is the band's 10th CD, and their US label, The End Records, has been great enough to provide me with a few extra copies, which I'll be giving away on my website during the month of October as part of a special Halloween promotion. Four "paranormal party" baskets filled with spooky books, spooky CDs, and other ghoulishly grand goodies in honor of one of my favorite holidays, and one of my favorite bands. The CD isn't being released in the US until September 15th, but they're available for preorder.

They'll be touring all over the US and Europe over the next few months, so if you get a chance to see them, take it. (I mean, you know what they say about vampires, right? Centuries of experience, incredible stamina, and they know the value of a little neck nuzzling to get you in the mood!) Nuzzle up to these guys, and you'll learn - like I did - that the Eyes have it!

They can bite me anytime. :-)

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Just When You Thought You'd Seen Everything...

This piece of art, entitled “For the Love of God”, is a skull made out of platinum, diamonds, and human teeth. The total thing has 8,601 diamonds and comes in at 1,106.18 carats. It’s the most expensive piece of art ever created, costing between $16 and $20 million to make, and $99 million to buy.

Is it wrong to say I'd love to have it? (Ooo, spooky and shiny!)

Friday, September 04, 2009

Want A Bookmark?

Are these cool, or what? I had new bookmarks made to celebrate the upcoming October 27th release of Silent Night, Haunted Night and they turned out so great that I want to share them directly with my readers.

Normally these are sent to bookstores, libraries, writers conferences and trade shows as part of the promotion efforts from my publisher, but hey, I want YOU guys to have some, too.
I mean, why save your place in a Nicki Styx story with a scrap of paper or *gasp* fold down a corner of the page (sacrilege!) when you can have one of these marvelously macabre markers?

At any rate, all you have to do to get one is to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

Terri Garey
P.O. Box 320386
Tampa, FL 33679-2386
The front is as you see here, and the back shows the entire series, in order, in case you missed any of them. :-)

(If you'd like extras for your book club or some of your cooler friends, just let me know, and include a little extra postage!)

Save your place in style, ghoulfriends, and come to the dark side... we have cookies! (well, bookmarks, anyway, and unlike cookies, they're not fattening.) :-)