Mundie Moms

Monday, October 3, 2016

10th Anniversary Celebration for Rachel Caine's MORGANVILLE Series / Blog Tour: Guest Post / Giveaway #MV10th


Hello and welcome to the first stop for the 10th Anniversary tour for Rachel Caine's Morganville series! This month long tour will feature a variety of posts, giveaways and a scavenger hunt. I am so thrilled to be apart of this tour, and to have Rachel stop by Mundie Moms today. Below you'll find her guest post, a giveaway, and the scavenger hunt.

MORGANVILLE: THE ORIGIN



Has it really been ten years? That doesn't seem possible! It seems like Morganville has always been part of my life now, but objectively, it was a wild ride that moved very fast--and I think that has been part of the pure fun of the whole adventure.

So let me take you on a wayback journey, and talk about how the first book, GLASS HOUSES, came to make its way to the shelves in October 2006.

I was just finished with book 5 of the Weather Warden series (FIRESTORM, for those keeping track). I'd also had a terribly difficult 2005, since I'd been diagnosed with breast cancer and had two surgeries, a post-operative infection, and long months of treatments. So when my publisher asked if I was interested in starting another series, I was initially reluctant. Especially since they asked if I'd consider writing something in YA. I was already a huge fan of YA authors like Holly Black and Tamora Pierce, but I didn't know if I had anything to say to that audience.

So I nearly said no. 

I was on my way home from a very late night at work--so late that even in Dallas, there was little traffic to contend with. I dialed up a friend I relied on for good feedback (Ter Matthies, dearly remembered), and told her I probably wasn't going to do it. She said, "Why wouldn't you?" And honestly? I couldn't think of a good reason except free floating anxiety.

So I said, "I don't think I have any new ideas."

"But you always come up with something cool."

"Well, I've been missing writing about vampires." (I wrote my first original novel, THE UNDEAD, a contemporary vampire story set in Dallas, way back in 1992.) 

"You should do that," she said.

"I don't have anything new to say. I mean, come on. Everything's been done."

And she says, quite ingeniously, "Tell me the first thing that pops into your mind right now!"

"These streetlights are really far apart," I said. Which by itself meant nothing.

But Ter said, "Why are they so far apart?"

There's no cooler question for a writer than "why."

I said, "Because if vampires built a town they'd probably put streetlights really far apart. So you'd have farther to run to safety." And almost immediately, my mind started spinning about a town designed by vampires. A maze of a town, designed for their comfort. It's their world, we just live there ... and pay them taxes in blood and money. 

Within the forty-five minutes it took me to get home, with Ter's questions, I'd fleshed out the entire Morganville universe. The town. The people. The reasons the town was set in West Texas. And I was on fire to write it.

So, the next morning, I called back my editor at Penguin NAL and told her the idea, and within a very short period of time, wrote an outline, sample chapters, and we made a deal for three books.

The first of which came out on October 3, 2006: GLASS HOUSES. It was released as a mass market paperback. It didn't blow the roof off; it plugged along quite steadily, continuing to sell in constant numbers month after month. In early 2007, THE DEAD GIRLS' DANCE did a little better. and by the end of 2007, MIDNIGHT ALLEY introduced us to our mad scientists living at the end of a dark alley, and the sales kept rising on a steady curve.

I am so grateful to Ter for talking me through that first, lonely night on the road, where Morganville was born. And I'm grateful to Penguin for taking a shot on this idea.

But most of all, I'm grateful forever to all of the readers who picked up the books, read, posted, passed the books to their friends, and became so much a part of the Morganville experience. As the books grew and international publication began, it all became such an incredible journey.

Ten years of Morganville, and I am so very happy to celebrate it with all of YOU this month ... with special goodies, posts, videos, and a brand new Morganville short story that will be published on October 31 for free on Wattled.

Welcome back to Morganville, dear Residents!

-- Rachel Caine

CONNECT WITH RACHEL ONLINE



ENTER TO WIN
Enter for your chance to win a personal Halloween card from Rachel Caine, a TPU sampler booklet, a photo still from Morganville: The Series, and a Fall of Night lenticular bookmark! 4 runners-up will also receive a personal Halloween card from Rachel Caine! Giveaway ends on 10/10/16



THE SCAVENGER HUNT
There are 10 blogs participating in the Morganville Vampires 10th Anniversary Bash and each blog has a bold, red, hidden buzz word in the body of the post that entrants must find and submit via the Rafflecopter below. 

Find all 10 buzz words, enter them in the Scavenger Hunt Rafflecopter on any of our 10 participating blogs, and be entered to win 1 of 3 prizes! 

Our Buzz Word Is: UNDEAD

2 Runners-up will receive a Morganville Vampires tote bag, a signed paperback copy of Midnight Bites, a TPU sampler booklet , a Fall of Night lenticular, a photo still from Morganville: The Series, a Welcome to Morganville postcard, a Ghost Town lenticular, and a Morganville: The Series poster.

1 Grand Prize winner will receive a Morganville Vampires tote bag, a limited edition UK  Daylighters, a signed paperback copy of Midnight Bites, a TPU sampler booklet, a Fall of Night lenticular bookmark, a photo still from Morganville: The Series, a a Welcome to Morganville postcard, a Ghost Town lenticular bookmark, and a Morganville Resident Survival Kit. 

Giveaway ends 11/7/16


Follow the Morganville Tour!

Catching Up With Cassie; #Shadowhutners Fan Art / Lord of Shadows Snippet / Mundane Monday #290



Happy Mundane Monday! Today I'm catching up with some of Cassie's latest posts on Tumblr. She's shared some fanart, like the one featured above here (and I totally love it), as well a snippet from Lord of Shadows! 



More fan, which features Tiberius drooling in his sleep. Cassie shared this here


Just in case you missed it last week, Cassie also shared a new snippet from Lord of Shadows! Originally shared here, I also included the snippet below: 

Kieran and Mark – part of a set for Lord of Shadows by Aegisdea. And a snippet from LoS: “I have always needed you, Kieran,” Mark said. “I have needed you to live. I’ve always needed you so much, I never had a chance to think about whether we were good for each other or not.”
Kieran sat up. “That is honest,” he said, finally. “I cannot fault you there.”

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