Hi, folks… running fast but wanted to let you know two quick bits of info:

1. On August 7th, this Thursday — I’ll be at Barnes & Nobles, 18th & Walnut Street, Philadelphia PA (Rittenhouse Square) at 7:30 PM. The webmaster has been crazy-busy, so this appearance hasn’t been listed yet.

2. August 15th is the last day to get in your deposit for the Neteru Tour… go to www.neterutour.com There are only 45 seats available for the saturday bus tour–and that is being done on a first come first served basis… even though there are other options available without the tour–if you want the author tour, you’d better book now.

Check out the teaser for it, too

Bye, y’all… BIG HUG, Leslie!

Oh. My. Gawd…!!!!!

ComicCon… whew! What can I say that the media already hasn’t? The event took over the entire region. There were literally 125,000 people per day bombarding the San Diego Convention Center and yours truly was in the mix! YES! LOL! Moi

Okay, okay, now that I’ve semi recovered, where to begin?

I got on a plane early Wednesday morning, over-packed, but wanting to be sure I had EVERY conceivable thing I could need while out on the west coast. Normal flight, blah, blah, blah… delays and layovers, standard fare… so at that point when I finally arrived and it wasn’t mobbed in the airport, I’m thinking, how bad can it be? That was until I saw the cab line. Okaaaay. The line there made the one at NYC’s Madison Square Garden during rush hour look like the express lane!

Every hotel in the area was sold out—luckily I had some friends at the Devil’s Candy Store who’d booked a year in advance and gave my publisher a room for me. Madness. Just think Mardis Gras times ten.

So I connect with the very cool crew of folks at The Devil’s Candy Store the next morning, as the flight, the layover in Phoenix, etc., and then the hotel commute and jetlag left me fried that first night I got in. In the morning we all met in the lobby of The Westgate Hotel and then walked a block to the mass transit line. (Forgedabout driving or taking a cab in the gridlock by the Convention Center.) Reducing our carbon footprint, we load onto a trolley that looks like a small Amtrak train, and we ride in a sardine-packed car to the Convention Center. Cool. I’m still thinking, so what’s the big deal, right?

But I’ve gotta tell you—there is NOTHING to prepare your mind to see the new age, ultra modern Convention Center structure with WB, Marvel, DC posters wrapping its four stories as the trolley careens up to a mobbed station. You literally could not see the ground for the pedestrians. Train trestle lights flashed as folks casually ignored the fact that a locomotive could squish them like a bug—they were in “the ComicCon daze,” so police were hustling people past the RR red & white barriers that were lowering.

Once on the sidewalk, the challenge was to just swim with the body current… it was linebacker time, namely, keep your shoulder low, protect your breasts from backpack wielding geeks, and be sure not to trip over small children. Moms with baby strollers were wicked NASCAR drivers, bulldozing folks out of the way like mini Mad Max and the Thunderdome. Some were dressed like ‘em too, go figure. I ain’t hating – smile, every so often a character would appear to be so much like the one in the movie that, all you could do was flash them a smile with a thumbs up. They eagerly responded to that and would nod back with pride. Sort of the ComicCon code of appreciation thing, I suppose–good manners in a foriegn land. Did I mention it was like Mardis Gras? Yeah, folks came dressed as their fav characters, which was eye candy in and unto itself!

Then… once making it inside—a process of unbelievable proportions; then came the time to look up in awe for a moment and gape (not too long though, because you’d be mowed down, LOL.) The teenagers were swift and moved like Jurassic Park Raptors, snagging giveaways before you could blink. They also knew the lay of the land, so if you followed them, a slower moving entity could feed off of their leave-behinds, lol!

But the awe was real. We’re talking 10 foot replicas of The Hulk with actual actors from the flick making appearances. Star wars, Battle Star Galactica, Wookies, Ewoks, Storm troopers, EVERYTHING with fangs, canines, and a few sub-species I didn’t recognize in between. The big boys of Hollywood were out—WB, FOX, Marvel, DC, all things anime and manga, then there were the various new summer hits, movie previews, the “sleep on the ground outside all night to get tickets to the Twilight trailer” contingent… as I staggered to my booth, I arrived speechless. Charlie and Aly just laughed at me in good nature—I was indeed a newbie.

Here’s a pic below of the booth with me, Charlie Athanas (head chef in charge of the store), and Alex Wold, one of the fabulous artists whose work is featured among other in the illustration book.

Then they uncovered the books… the VHL, limited edition illustration books and showed me the booth banners where my Vampire Huntress came to life. I screamed right there in the middle of the floor. Oh, yeah, it was soooo cool! Then they pulled a black drape off The Madame Isis and I had a screaming-jumping-hysteria fit, LOL!

IT IS GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! Tony Swatton, who is the most loveable, HUGE (like 6’8” Viking dude) you ever wanna meet created a masterpiece.

Four blood gutters run into a single 36” steel forged blade with a gold-plated handle studded with semi-precious stones and hand etched cobra snakes and hieroglyphics… y’all… no words! He promises to make smaller letter opener versions so we can all get one, but dang!

They are going to auction the mother sword off on EBay for charoty, but the other limited edition items that are left over from the show will be available at: The Devil’s Candy Store for as long as supplies last.

All day we hung out, watching the crowd, and every now and then I’d sneak away to go collect stuff for the kids back home (my daughter, nieces & nephews would disown me if I’d come back empty-handed!) That’s when I got to run around the floor with crazy author-girlfriend, Anne Elizabeth, who took me to where Sherrilyn Kenyon was–so we could have a threeway screamfest, ha ha ha–that’s MY GIRL! Then we buzzed by The Dabel Brothers booth, the guys who will be doing the VHL in manga… everybody was up in da houze!

Also stepped away to do a book signing at Barnes & Nobles and met another great crew of people—where Ajani won the limited edition book we raffled off (he was there with his whole family of wonderful supporters and the most gorgeous baby boy—hugs to Cairo!)… and got into a fab discussion with Mario and his sister Jen and her friend, plus met 3 Sarahs (one rebel without the “h” – ha ha ha!) Then it was back to the show… because when they told me the B&N was only 15 minutes away, I was thinking a city 15 min, not a Cali 15 min, which involves highways and is NOTHING CLOSE to 15 minutes. LOL! I also did a panel with fab authors to a packed room of 300+ folks–and Kelley Armstrong, my shero in the werewolf genre, and I sat side-by-side signing–how cool was that!!!!

However, one of the greatest highlights was meeting the one and only Captain Cisco (Avery Brooks, in the flesh) from Star Trek The Next Generation! I AM SUCH A GEEK! We were at dinner and Dave Dorman, who is the number one artist for Star Wars (and who did the cover to our illustration book), knows everybody in the industry. He saw the good Captain come in and said, you wanna meet him, after Aly and I fell out. We babbled, and Dave in his inimitable cool style got up and summoned us over with a nod. Aly and I giggled our way over, and got a grand and ebullient welcome by Mr. Brooks… who touched my hand, yes, shook my hand, LOL… AND gave me a HUG! I didn’t scream until we left the restaurant and did it with my hand over my mouth—I do have SOME decorum, ha ha ha.

Ok, then it was off to The Abbey… madman and sword maker, Tony Swatton, was kind enough to get our group VIP tickets to The Abbey. He and his wonderfully sweet and gorgeous girlfriend, Dawn—who looks like Wonder Woman, I swear… yep, he even made her a bronze bustier for her lush figure, which she wears very, very well, I might add, hosted us to an out-of-this-world event at what used to be an old Franciscan Abbey turned Goth club. (I even met the owner, Kevin–nicest guy you ever wanna meet.)

Now, folks, I gotta tell you… the setting SCREAMED “this must go into a book.” So you can take that to the bank. In one of the Crimson Moon Novels, oh yeah—it’s gotta go in there.

Picture this… a bio-hazard Goth Rave (which is what this was) with folks all dressed up like various entities under black lights so their eyes, fangs, and even some of their drinks glowed, are partying up in an old monastery—replete with stained glass windows, et al. I walk in with 21 crosses set in mother of pearl and silver around my neck—so my crosses are glowing and several vampires look up from the bar at the same time—and I’ve got a huge Viking as an escort on my hip… the sword maker, LOL! The imagery was beyond deep.

I met a statuesque vamp beauty with blond dread-locks, who had glow-in-the-dark contacts that worked for Tony… got my picture taken with a 7 foot Wookie (Chewbacca), took a pic with a really tall daemon… it goes on and on… Aly and Charlie, decked out in medical gear, took my pulse and pressure to be sure I didn’t lose any blood while in there!

Here’s Dave and Aly with me in the middle… and below that is the fearless Dave Dorman (note the Ninja outfit; hombre is Jow-cool laid back… I guess you can be that when you are a Zen-chill-Ninja)– BIG GRIN!

And this is Siryn… who we met there…

Crazy, fun, exhausting. There were even three phantom ladies dressed in antebellum white dresses, faces painted midnight blue, and with dark gloves on so the black light made it look like their dresses and big sun hats were floating–kewel creative!

I have some pics here, but more will be sent to me from other sources in the upcoming days. Some of mine didn’t come out due to lighting, but Charlie got a bunch to send my way, and more are incoming from the event. As random bits jump into my head, I’ll add more… just as I’m getting in more pics from the Harlem Book fair still—so it’s all good. Not to mention, my daughter has to teach me how to get the pics from my cell phone off of it and onto my computer (shsssh, I know we aren’t supposed to admit things like that, but she’s my tech coach, LOL!)

Meanwhile, I’m checking to be sure I don’t have any strange aversion to sunlight – it was WILD up in there! But I was still lucky enough to miss the earth quake that rattled LA top San Diego a day after I left, whew!

Hope the summer is treating you all well… BIG HUG, and DEFINITELY stay in The Light!

–Leslie – BIG SMILE!

OFF THE CHAIN….!!!

Oh, yeah, we paaartaayed in Chi-town and in NYC!

First let me tell you, the Chicago Street team and crazy-azz sister-friend-author, Lissa Woodson and her road doll, “Miz Deb” hooked a sistah up! I don’t even know where to begin, but Alicia, Candace, Barbara and company scooped me up, had me hitting store after store, chile, we laughed till I was about to fall down in the Chicago heat. Downtown at Citicorp Center, they had it on lock, as well as at Books-A-million, Borders on Michigan and state Street… and you know I bumped into MY GURL, Seven, who works up at Borders on Michigan Avenue and we turned the store out with a scream-fest, LOL! But Lissa took us to this place called The Grand Lux, where we all experienced the “food-gasm.” See, that place made no sense—was the kind of smack yo’ Momma experience done in refined style… plank smoked salmon, salmon cooked three ways, desserts that were simply ridiculous—pics will be showing up on the forum and yahoo group I am sooo sure! (Candace took plenty of blackmail shots for everyone, ha ha ha!)

Then on to Borders Hyde Park, where it was thick with readers, we had the no-holds-barred discussion—which always causes more laughs, and then rolled gansta style (on two wheels) to get to the Come Out and Play Party hosted by Lissa… jerk chicken, rice & peas, homemade wheat rolls that melted in your mouth like butta, homemade cakes, steppin’, salsa, musical chairs, Bid, Spades… awwww sookie, sookie, it was mad-crazy fun. I was so tired and so full, I could barely breathe… but on Saturday, Lissa and her road doll took over the driving and spun me into this chicken and waffles joint for breakfast. By the time we left there, wiping greasy mouths, I needed to go back to bed, LOL… but we pushed on, hitting stores in stock-signing drive-bys, then stopped at Azizi Books and over at Walden’s at River Oaks (where they treat us like royalty—just like Dorothy does downtown at Citicorp Center.) Once out of there, Street team and Raw Sisters hijacked me to Bogart’s Restaurant with author-brother Earl Sewell and his lovely teenaged daughter, a steak house with stooopid portions and such good eats that I simply cried Uncle. Had to tell ‘em, “Y’all, just take me home!” Ha ha ha! At the end, Alicia hands me a tin of Garrett’s popcorn… this insanely delicious concoction of cheese and caramel. I know the folks in Chicago who got a book signed by me last year remember my orange thumb prints in their books—the popcorn is like crack! I inhaled a bag on the way to a signing and then was “orange fingered” for the rest of that day—this year Street team hid the tin and gave it to me at the end, LOL (that ain’t right!)

Now, mind you… right after Chicago, I had to head to NYC for “The Hueman Experience,” where the NYC Street team didn’t disappoint. Maaaaannnn… they took over Hueman, about 125 people thick in the house—standing room only, folks in the aisles, every seat taken, whew! They gave out door prizes, mugs, all sorts of key chains, magnets, and raffles… and we GOT DOWN on the git-down on what was gonna happen next in the series (BIG GRIN—if I tell ya I have to kill ya kinda discussion.) Madame Marva, owner-manager of Hueman extraordinaire gave me my BIG HUG and lots of love… I bow to her ebullient hospitality as always. Then we got a surprise visit from Susan Taylor of Essence Magazine! Yes, I babbled and kissed her ring, LOL—she is sooo gracious and soooo gorgeous, just a beautiful spirit. Carmen, gansta Street Team, ha ha ha, went over to her and convinced her that it was all right to break into the discussion to say “hi.” Everyone gave her a standing ovation and clapped—made my night!

See, y’all have to understand… Susan Taylor, for me, was the first image as a young woman I had of an African American editor/publisher. I was in my teens when Susan Taylor grasped my mind and left her brand upon it. She was so serene, graceful, calm, and spiritual… and her image left a lasting impression on my psyche. A queen… and there she was… had floated into the bookstore with her trademark braids and glowing skin and flowing robes of pastel hue—and all I could think of was one of the Neteru Queens had given me the nod. When she smiled at me and said she’d listened to the discussion and was so glad that I was doing what I was doing… wow… that was like getting a divine “go in peace my child” from Aset. I wanted to laugh and cry and felt just like a star-struck newbie… yeah.

But Street team wasn’t having a short night, no siree, LOL! We had to go do Dinosaur Burger’s in style… ribs, big ass pulled pork, Lynchburg Lemonade, et al. We ate till we couldn’t breathe and laughed just as hard. Carmen, her sister Rosemary, Adrienne, Brother Glenn (aka Phat Jesus), his boy, Barry, Mz. Lisa-Lisa and her handsome boy, Rene, plus Roshida brought her husband, Keith, who is a throw-down hoot—family… it was all good. We staggered out of there, they got me a cab, and I passed out when I got back to my hotel. Next day, the heat—and I do mean Harlem HEAT WAVE was ON!

It had to be 110 degrees in the shade, but Street Team was out representing. They rushed me through the crowd at the Harlem Book fair so I could make my panel with my author sister-friends, Donna Hill, Gwen Forster, Nathasha Brooks, and Sandra Kitt up at the Thurgood Marshall Academy… then from there was a run past all the vendors to sign at the MacMillan booth, but you know Carmen hooked me up with fried fish from her borough office while Adrienne had the keychain and magnet distribution on lock—BIG GRIN. Just like in Chi-town, I saw lots of friends, familiar faces, and received plenty of love. (Shout out and Hug to Leslie, who came with a lovely stuffed wolf and handmade, gorgeous jeweled book mark! Bless you, sis!) Long day, lotta fun, there’s nothing like Chicago and NYC. Fell down and had a beer at Manie Barron’s house, then headed up to Brooklyn to hang out with my baby sis. On Sunday, we got to go to the Ausar-Aset Society in Brooklyn… profound experience and inspiration there. They also have a vegan restaurant and bookstore that is out of this world, smile!

So, today I’m home, washing clothes, packing and reading two manuscript edits and heading out to ComicCon. There will be stores, this I know, LOL! Tony Swatton, GENIUS with a blade—from The Sword and The Stone, is casting the Madame Isis as we speak, here are some pics below (this is work in progress, but I thought you might find the whole bronze casting thing really deep and interesting)—plus I got invited to a Vampire ball… I cannot wait!

Here is Tony’s work and Tony “at work” — check him out:

Yes he is actually FORGING an Isis! I am chair dancing! Here are some rogh sketches of what the hilt will look like–and he is using semi-precious stones, quartz crystal, and all that jazz

How deep is that, huh? And this is work in progress….

BIG PHILLY HUG and stay cool, y’all… Love, Leslie!
Stay in The Light!

The Devil’s Candy Store Merchandise

PS: But don’t worry… They will be offering mini versions of the Isis dagger on line at the Devil’s Candy Store, as well as jewelry and the illustration book after ComicCon. So folks can hit them there and order–I swear I don’t have any, LOL!

I just wanted to pop on here and give everybody a BIG HUG for being so patient with me this crazy June, LOL! THANK YOU! The support and outpouring of well wishes has been simply awesome as the nexus of all my family happy drama (kid’s birthday/graduation/launch to college) collided with book deadlines and then the onset of the tour schedule… I know I have neglected this blog. But thank you all so much for realizing that, although I write the paranormal, I still haven’t figured out how to generate more than 24 hours in a day, ha ha ha. Yeah, I found myself SERIOUSLY overextended, to say the least.

Yet, even with all that said and done, you guys and gals have hung tough. Bless you! I may be a little slow, building back up to my previous sprinting speed, but I do have some cool stuff to share

On the 12th of June I was out and about with some buddies… see pics of The Liar’s Club, courtesy Elizabeth Eddis a true-blue VHL series reader–who came with her friend (a fabulous jewelry maker) to the first gathering of the club at Barnes & Nobles, Rittenhouse Square–Philadelphia. It was a night of the literary macabre to be sure, LOL… as we had the following authors in “da houze” — making those in attendance walk swiftly as they headed out for home in the darkness of evening (BIG GRIN.)

On my left is D.H. Dublin (aka Jon McGoran), then behind me standing is Jonathan Maberry–we went to junior high together at Conwell Middle Magnet school in the Kensington section of Philly, next to him is Gregory Frost (standing), and on my right seated is Kelly Simmons… all fabulous horror and fantasy writers!

Of Course, there’s work involved with the laughs–BIG SMILE

Tessie created so very cool “eye” earrings with purple eyes and brought them to the signing as a very sweet gift…

And Elizabeth was there with professional camera in hand taking all the pics during a writer’s dream of a full house at B&N!

All in all, it was a FUN night… my good alumni brother, Ray Jones, fell through with his ever-present support, along with an entire writing class from Pierce Junior College, and my girl, Isabelle–a die hard reader who does not do horror in any way, shape or form (only romance and women’s fiction), but she came out nonetheless and got Betrayal of the Trust and Better Than for a friend (I bow to her for suffering through the literary blood-letting, LOL!)

Next up is a quick stop up in the Poconos for a charity event at Borders, then up to Chi-town for a blow out weekend (BTW, “sweep signings” are just what they sound like–a quick sweep through a store to sign real fast without discussions… but we’ll also have the discussions while up there, too.) From there, will do a quickie workshop at Robin’s Bookstore in Philly on July 16th at 6pm — and then I’m gonna head to NYC for a Hueman Bookstore “experience” — followed by the Harlem Book Fair… and then it’s out to the West Coast for ComicCon in San Diego before it all slows down again. After that, I’d better hide and write some danged books, LOL!

BIG HUG and Much Love again… Leslie!
Stay in the Light

Hey, everybody… I hope you all are getting your BBQ on… trust me I am, LOL! I want to also thank you for the well wishes and all the lovely comments about my boo’s prom — BIG GRIN!

However, let’s also take a pause for the cause for just a moment to remember all Veterans out there who made the ultimate sacrifice or who are out somewhere working hard while those of us who are civilians can bust a good, family-cooked grub. I have to always go there because my Dad was a very proud WWII Vet who flew his flag high every Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, even Labor Day… so I wouldn’t feel right not taking a moment to honor the men and women in uniform today.

Also, while I’ve been in the writer’s cave, we’ve got some serious tour stuff lining up First we’re gonna hit Chi-town like crazy… see below (and big ups to my sister author who pulled all this together!)

CHICAGO WHIRLWIND TOUR

Friday, July 11
11:00- 12:15
Sweep Signing at Waldenbooks
Citicorp Centre
500 W. Madison
Chicago, Illinois 60661

Friday, July 11
12:30 - 1:30 (Lissa)
Sweep Signing at Books a Million
144 S. Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60603

Friday, July 11
3:00 p.m.
Stock signing at
Borders on Michigan Avenue

Friday, July 11
3:45 p.m.
Stock signing at Borders on State

Friday, July 11
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Signing/Discussion at Borders in Hyde Park
1539 E. 53rd Street
Chicago, IL 60615

Friday, July 11
8:30 p.m. - until
Come Out and Play with Naleighna Kai
& L. A. Banks
(Sponsored by Da Book Joint)
1925 * 1925 E. 95th * Chicago, IL 60617

Saturday, July 12
Stock signing at Borders in Evergreen Plaza

Saturday, July 12
1:00 - 2:45
Signing/Discussion at Borders in Oak Park
1144 Lake St *Oak Park, IL 60301

Saturday, July 12
3:45 - 4:45
Sweep Signing at Azizi Books in Matteson
134 Lincoln Mall
Matteson, Illinois 60443

Saturday, July 12
5:15 - 6:15
Sweep Signing at Waldenbooks River Oaks
50 River Oaks Centre
Calumet City, Illinois 60409

AIRPORT… whew! Chi-town folks don’t play, dang, LOL!

From there we’re gonna have us a Hueman Experience at Hueman Bookstore in Harlem, NYC–yep, right before the Harlem Book Fair… and then swing on out to San Diego for ComicCon rolling with The Devil’s Candy Store.

At ComicCon I’m gonna team up with The Devil’s Candy Store for my first West Coast appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con 2008. The Devil’s Candy Store sells exotic contraband from impossible worlds and the Vampire Huntress series will be the first world they visit. Tony Swatton of Sword and Stone is building the vampire killing sword, Madame Isis, and its sister dagger, both to be displayed at San Diego this July 24-27. We’ll be auctioning off the one-of-a-kind “hero” sword and you will be able to pre-order the Baby Isis dagger.

Craig Elliott, a Devil’s Candy Store artist, is designing some Vampire Huntress-based jewelry for the show and will be one the concept artists contributing to our limited edition art book, featuring the characters, Damali Richards and Carlos. Artists planning to be in the book are:

• Dave Dorman

• Craig Elliott

• Tom Baxa

• Stone Perales

• Peter Bergting

• Cyril Van Der Haegen

• John VanFleet

• Eric Battle

• Alex Wald

• Ray Frenden

• and Charlie Athanas

So… yeah… it’s been a little crazy behind the scenes, but we’re trying to do a LOT of stuff, rest assured. It’ll be a fun summer! After this gorgeous, picture perfect day today we had here in Philly, I can’t wait! Stay tuned, we’ll be adding dates and places on the regular–meanwhile I’m gearing up for the high school graduation phase… it’s ALL good!

Have a safe and happy holiday, everybody… hugs, Leslie!

Hey folks, what can I say? I admit I’ve been a blog fugitive ever since I got back from RT, LOL! Deadlines… yeah… that had something to do with it, but something even more insane was the true cause—my daughter’s senior prom.

I don’t think there’s anything that can prepare one for the onslaught of events that happen in the senior year of a high-schooler that’s morphing before your eyes into a young adult and college student. I write about transitions of the mysterious and paranormal kind, but I can assure you that nothing is scarier for a parent than being on the cusp of watching your kid fly the coup. And, yeah, yeah, yeah, we all claim that we’re gonna be different when it’s our turn—BIG SMILE. I really have no excuse, given that I was a child of the seventies, and I’ll just leave it at that and never try to run for public office.

But, still, there’s nothing like seeing your baby girl all dolled up and then turning her over to the arm of a suit-bedecked young gentleman in a tuxedo. The experience truncates time. I saw a grown man (her Dad) get all misty-eyed one moment as he looked at “his little girl,” and then go all alpha male werewolf in the next, LOL… something like a cross between Big Mike calling for an RPG shoulder launcher and a Shadow Wolf… you know that low growl, “Take care of my baby or I’ll come visit you in hell” mano-y-mano routine. It is genetic, the warning growl… and younger males do know what looking death in the eye means when a bristled dad takes that quiet, solemn oath to hunt them down, should anything untoward happen to his daughter. (Sigh)

However, all things considered, we had fun—the adults—that night. We embarrassed my poor kid by taking amateur paparazzi shots like crazy, laughing on the steps, holding buffalo wings with one hand while saying, “Wait, boo, turn this way,” and trying to navigate a handheld digital camera with the other. Then we stayed up waiting for the couple’s return, transforming the prom send off into a reason for the family to hang out with folks on the block and share laughs, as the mortified young couple made haste away from the madhouse into a limo… and the young man was both handsome and such a good sport. I swore I wouldn’t do that family ambush thing to my kid, but it is, after all, genetic, like birds that must migrate to the same nesting grounds—there we were, all hanging out on the front steps hollering goodbyes, LOL!

I figure a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few showing me doing the Mom make up thing (and thank you Roshida & Sandra for the matching t-shirt, LOL!), and a couple of my daughter and her date. Seems like time sped up and pulled me through a vortex; how did my kid go from being a little one on my lap to this project runway diva? My BFF, Tina, created the mango-hued gown from pure concept ether and made my daughter’s eyes light up… that is a bippity-boppity-boop Fairy Godmother move, if ever I saw one, so yes, I believe in magic—BIG SMILE!

Thank you all for enduring this spring of AWOL author status. Between Mother-daughter school events, the prom, school spirit day, an 18th birthday, and then graduation—all of which requires a party per event, I won’t be back to even keel until after the first week of June, LOL… or, most likely, until I keel over! But I wouldn’t miss one iota of this for the world. These rites of passage moments are what we Kool Aide Moms live for

BIG HUG for understanding… even bigger hug for not getting mad at me for not answering posts individually like I normally do–and for giving me a “senior year syndrome” mother pass, BIG SMILE… and much love, Leslie!

Otherwise known as, what happened in Pittsburgh stays in Pittsburgh, LOL! Wow… talk about a wild ride–I was there from April 16th through 20th, a week of total immersion.

How can one describe what can only be called a booklover’s Mardi Gras? For the uninitiated, that’s what the Romantic Times Booklover’s Convention is all about—fun! Pittsburgh may never be the same after the event which lasted roughly a week… I got there on Wednesday, 4/16 and hit the ground running doing panels, parties, and laughing every few feet as I walked down the hotel hallways. It was truly like a huge high school reunion… but without any mean girls (BIG SMILE!) Only the nicest folks show up to RT, and as an author, you get so much love there’s just simply no way to repay it all… the best one can and should do is to simply “pay it forward.”

Of course the usual suspects were there, making my face hurt from laughter! I sat on a paranormal writing panel with authors Cheyenne McCray, Kelley Armstrong, Dakota Cassidy, Mary Janice Davidson, and Monique Patterson (St. Martin’s Press, Senior Editor), and by the time Mary Janice and Dakota got finished, I almost needed to be wearing Depends! We laughed so hard, the entire panel was out of control! Had a ball on the vampire writers panel with Jeanne Stein, Caridad Pineiro, Rosemary Laurey, and Kim Harrison, too. (All VERY funny ladies… but Mary Janice is out of her mind, LOL! Her one-liners are worthy of Hollywood stand-up.) But being on panels wasn’t the only place the usual suspects turned up—like bumping into Cindy Cruiger in the hallway, (queen of hilarious snark), which will have you walking away wiping your eyes from laughing and needing an inhaler.

But I confess to really losing control on the Multicultural panel—it’s all Kimberly Kaye Terry’s fault for putting me on there with crazy Camille Anthony, and Caridad… feeling like I should apologize to Anne Christopher and Marjorie Liu—who are such sweet souls! (So should Kimberly and Camille, LOL!) Here’s some pics…

Leslie, Caridad, Kimberly, Marjorie, and Anne–misbehaving

Then here’s me with Caridad Piniero, Marjorie Liu, Ann Christopher, and Camille Anthony

BIG CONGRATS to Anne and Marjorie, by the way, who won awards, yaaaay! And here I was on the panel with these esteemed authors and we just CUT UP… the whole thing devolved, but we got help from the audience, LOL!

However, things took a true turn for the worst, alas, the de-evolution of decorum on the erotica panels THAT LASTED TWO HOURS. There is a very dirty metaphor I could use here, but I will behave. Lemme see… whom shall I incriminate? Uh, huh… Renee Bernard was “supposed” to be moderating us, but I’ll go easy on her because with this crew, that was impossible… check this line up… me, Eric Jerome Dickey, Jade Lee (too crazy and another award winner—yaaay! CONGRATS!), Stephanie Burke—need I say more (?)… Ahem… plus Madeleine Oh (wild woman with a FANTASTIC Brit accent that makes everything she says sound wonderful), J.C. Wilder (who can also do stand up comedy from her one-liners), Adrienne Kama, and Robin Schone.

This panel was first thing in the morning. No one had had coffee. The night prior was the costume Fairy Ball. It got Coyote Ugly real fast. The audience aided and abetted us… asking questions like, “Do you write what you know?” Without a coffee filter, true confessions came out… the only man on the panel said it so plain that we didn’t need coffee–eyes popped open and laughter rang out. It was baaad. The discussion took a wild turn that got into the detailed intricacies of cultural differences in nomenclature used for certain body parts. (Did I say that politically correct enough? BIG SMILE) That’s all I can tell ya. Yeah… sooo… What happened in Pittsburgh stays in Pittsburgh—otherwise known as, if I tell ya, I gotta kill ya, LOL!

Then there were fabulous folks who I genuflected before when I saw them… the grand dames who were, and remain, completely generous as “sister authors” and/or publishing industry notables, namely, Christine Feehan, a true gem (we stole some laughs by the elevator—finding out that some people had just gotten stuck on the fourth floor between floors on the very one she was about to take to her suite!), Brenda Jackson, a doll… who shared the Book Expo “black out” with me when the ballroom lights literally went out, Pat Simmons and her media cohort, Lisa Watson—who kept after all of us and got us to the television station on time (and set up radio interviews like madwomen), plus Circle of Seven Production folks, Sheila English and Victoria Fraasa–living dolls… as well as Nicole Ferweda, RT Blogger and sweetheart, Anne Elizabeth (fantastically positive), and my local VFRW gang of cool fun ladies, Liddy Midnight—Faery Court organizer, Judi Fennell, and my sweet pea, Adele DuBois (Hey ladies!)

Here’s my VFRW cronies below: Judi, Adele,and moi (but Liddy was running around getting the Faery Ball ship shape for it’s “Under the Sea” theme, hence AWOL, but we still love her.) By the way, the ball was soooo pretty-decorated to the nines all glittery and blue/green jewel tones, gorgeous. We hung out at dinner…

But there were still lots and lots more folks that I had a great time with, too…

Not to mention my Book Expo table mates, Maya Banks and Michelle Bardsley (yo!) But who can forget the inimitable Lady of Barrow—Kathryn Falk, who did the Friday morning Pittsburgh Live TV show with cover models, costumed revelers, and a bunch of zany authors (’yours truly’ included)… as well as conference anchors (the ladies who hold everything down and keep it all together), namely Kathe Robins, JoCarol Jones, and Carol Stacy (who, ARE RT)—along with some very FINE cover models? Can you say “eye candy”? (Shssssh… don’t tell, it just walks by you in the hall–gawd I love that conference, LOL!)

Truly, I shouldn’t have even started naming names of who was there, because everybody was there, seriously! We had a dinner with St. Martin’s Press, where I got to meet more of my fellow SMP sister authors and laugh till my face hurt. Editors, agents, folks from the industry, book-sellers, et al, turned out in force. We’re talking bare chest cover model contests, Texas Hold ‘Em poker in an after party suite, receptions galore… a dizzying experience to be sure.

I know I’m forgetting folks, though, but would never do that in a second—blame it on being overwhelmed with the vastness of it all… bookseller buddies were there from overseas, too — wonderful Rosemary, who comes in an annual trek from Australia with a sweetheart of a gal, who has now moved to the UK, but Rosemary still came bearing Tim Tam chocolate cookies, oh, bless you both!… and my girl Ollie… and Annette Batista from BetweenYourSheets.com–who besides being a doll even taught me Cuban swear words for the Scarface book–yep… she did! It was research, hey, LOL! BIG THANK YOU–who knew? Dang a LOT of folks were there! Just everybody. You learn all sorts of things at RT, what can I say? But it’s all good… including…

Fantastic readers—I had dinner with a group of the most wonderful ladies at the Vampire Ball, (Tricia, Linda, Megan, Nancy — there were 10 at the table, so forgive me for leaving out names), who now own blackmail pictures of me in vamp drag, LOL—NO, I won’t post them, ha ha ha! I’m leaving them on their sites, as the shots in question involved fangs and necks. Megan has a cool blog, pics are here of the vampire scene: Vampire Ball

(BIG THANK YOU Linda for the lovely bookmark and Craisins to keep me going during the expo, and the pics!)

I also sat with a great crew during the Faery Ball and a wonderful group of Librarians from across the country at the Thursday luncheon… and laughed my hiney off with crazy Stephanie Burke, Wendy D’Armor, and Sarah (who promises to teach me bad words/slang in British Cockney), and a table full of fun folks at the awards luncheon… and then there’s all the spot sightings of great people (like I said before) in the hallways, at the dinner theater events, and of course, at the bar (BIG CHEESY GRIN.)

If you haven’t treated yourself to an RT extravaganza, and you’re a die hard reader… please make sure you go to just one. It is an experience that defies description. You’ll have a blast, will meet your fav authors—up close and personal… and Mona (from “Frozen Light”) will make you lose your natural mind at her jewelry counter with her handcrafted silver pieces that are one of a kind. Just be sure to allow yourself a day or two of post-RT recovery… you will not sleep, you will be exhausted… but always in a very good way—BIG SMILE!

Lots of Luv, Leslie

PS: I guessed the right number to win a Wolf Native American Medicine Wheel at the Southwest luncheon… guess what the number was? SEVEN! (7) Yeah! I had been joking at the table that since Bad Blood just came out, how cool it would be if I had that hanging in my office with a “Shadow Wolf” on it (for those who’ve read the book, you know why I said that.) Then this young woman comes to the table and tells us all to pick a number. We aren’t sure why at first and we look around a bit confused, but eventually we settle down and oblige her. As soon as I said “seven,” she smiled brightly and said, “That’s the number for this table–the centerpiece is yours.” Ahhh… don’t ya just love it when it works like that–BIG GRIN!

PSS: I KNEW I WOULD FORGET SOMEONE DEAR… Jaynie! I fall on my sword.
Here’s her blog and pic–a doll! Janie’s Blog of RT

As always… dang!

Once again, the NY Street Team out-did themselves in creating more than a book-signing event at Hueman Bookstore (Harlem, NYC) on 3/22/08 – they created what we have now come to know as, “The Hueman Experience.” A full house, laughs, serious Q&A, and as always a raffle – an OFF DA HOOK raffle — that gave out gift bags filled with custom made coffee cups, mouse pads, t-shirts, all sorts of “Neteru Memorabilia,” followed by busting a ridiculous grub at Dinosaur Burgers, which made it an absolutely fantastic event. For those who have read that far in the series, you know there’s a scene where the VHL squad goes to a place in Harlem called Monsta Burgers in the book—where they have the Big Ass Pork Platter… yeah… that would be one in the same, LOL! We ate like dawgs, I cannot lie!

Plus I got to meet the winner of the Ayana Bear Contest, Chantel, who was also honored there (and who brought her own fine-azz Carlos with her—you go, gurl! The brother is awesome good people)… Of course Marva Allen, Hueman’s “first lady,” was there and gave out an advanced copy of Bad Blood, and was also awarded a scrumptious fruit basket arranged in a floral spray of pineapple hearts and fat, delicious strawberries—we love you, Marva! The Street Team then turned their wondrous affection on yours truly, giving me a beautiful walnut wall plaque of appreciation that I will forever cherish, plus a floral spray of lilies and greens in a gigantic martini glass along with so much love that it was positively overwhelming. We took group pics, held up a dragon for Sandra in Scotland, aka, Dragon Rider, who can’t make it due to distance—the dragon is for you, lady! Adrienne got me all spiritually armored up with some deep Gospel… I was getting my praise on today, y’all, LOL! Everyone had a ball… and one cannot forget Miss Kristi—who dropped the most decadent homemade brownies on a sistah.… so buttery good there ought to be a law!

But it’s the people… oh, the people, who always come out and support and add to the mix of love and fun and pure delight—y’all are what makes it all worthwhile. THANK YOU! (And, yes, I’ma get up with Three Feathers Light about Atlantis mysticism, yep, BIG SMILE!) Look for pics in a day or so on The VHL Forum (check the www.vampire-huntress.com website.) Brother Glenn always puts up the shots from the events there on Photobucket… a talented gem that most folks know on-line as Phat G.

Uh-huh, we acted out, got stoopid with the laughter and conspiracy theories, ancient world religions, mad-crazy science, all of that, in discussing the possible end books that are capturing “the end of days.” However, we’re about to get real stooopid in the Bahamas in October. Check it out, below.

(Click on the image to enlarge it–also this rate is for the full four days, not per night! Say whaaa… yeah! I said the same thing.)

My sister author hooked up a trip that has the price you can’t beat with a stick… so when she asked me if I wanted to get down with her Come Out and Play event at The Atlantis, how could I say no? That’s my girl any ole way, so I was gonna move heaven and earth to try to make it to show her some love, too. Will be in her neck of the woods, Chi-town, otherwise known as Chicago, in July this year when The Shadows (book 11 of the VHL) drops, and she’s planning on a whirlwind tour of the windy city… I know that Come Out and Play party is gonna be ridiculous! It’ll be some time around July 11th timeframe, she said. As soon as everything is a lock, we’ll post it.

I’m still adding tour dates and the calendar will be blowing up in the next coupla months. Stay tuned for West Coast dates… yeah, I’m heading to San Diego for ComicCon this year in July, too—that Friday and Saturday during the convention, signing at The Devil’s Candy Store booth. Will be in Mississippi on April 11th & 12th… will be at the Romantic Times Booklover’s Convention in Pittsburgh April 16th thru the 20th… maaan, it’s getting wild again, LOL!

All that notwithstanding, after stuffing myself on Saturday with the NYC Street Team, then having the nerve, gall, and audacity to do that again with a big Easter dinner today, this girl best go for a looong ride on the stationary bike that doubles as a dust collector and then get back to work on her book, ha ha ha! I did run out a little bit today, trying to waddle some of the excess calories off… playing with my dog, “Girlfriend,” (don’t blame me, the kids named her, LOL! Story for another day, smile.)

Well… time to get back on task… Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, whatever you celebrate—it’s all good… Much Love, Leslie!

Hey folks… happy holiday! This is a time for renewal—spring is in the air and it’s all good. Wanted to pass on some additional good news, even though I’m supposed to be in “writer’s hiding” finishing up book 12 of the VHL series (I know—misty-eyed and procrastinating, experiencing separation anxiety—BIG TIME!) LOL

But just in… I received a letter from The State of Pennsylvania that they named me one of the state’s Best 50 Women in Business… I was like, whoa! Very cool stuff. This award comes out of The Department of Community & Economic Development, which really makes me feel good because the award recognizes women who have done things to help others in their community—winning that one is very humbling, believe me.

More good news… The Street Team has launched a crazy crossword puzzle competition, see rules & regs below. That’s the March contest this month—don’t e-mail me, LOL… this awesome contest is their baby. In fact, I looked at the crossword puzzles and was like… dang, I can’t answer half of these questions, LOL! This one ain’t no joke. This is for serious aficionados.

Well… that’s it for now… going back into the writer’s lair—BIG GRIN. But I promise to have pics and stories from “The Hueman Experience.” That’s right, we’re gonna be in NYC in Harlem on Saturday, 3/22 from 4-6pm for another rowdy, fun, wild book-signing and discussion!

Again, everyone have a wonderful holiday… Easter, Passover… may you and your families be blessed!

BIG PHILLY HUG, Leslie

CONTEST:

“Guardians….The Armageddon is near!”

It’s still not too late for you to help save the world. So, the first challenger who completes “The Darkness” crossword correctly wins the

Street Team Warrior Survival Kit!

The Crossword is in the file section at the L.A. Banks Fan Club board, in the file section, under Contests.

To request a copy via email, contact me at

shonshon1b@yahoo.com

For and immediate response, please put Street Team Contest in the subject line.

Challengers will submit their answers via email to

vhl_crossword@yahoo.com

by Monday, March 24, 2008.

Entries are to include

Full name

Address

Phone Number

Entries will be viewed in the order they are received. The survivor of this battle will be announced on

Monday, March 31, 2008.

“Will you rise to the challenge?”

“Be Valiant, Be Victorious”

- Valkyrie

“Stay in the LIGHT!”

Contest Rules
This contest is not sponsored by or affiliated with St. Martin’s Press or L.A. Banks. If you win any prize in this contest, the president of the L.A. Banks Fan Club has the right to publish your name, recognizing you as the winner of this contest, and the winning entry on all L.A. Banks related forums, blogs, and MySpace pages.