The Forbidden Library has received the kitten stamp of approval from Shackleton.

So today is a hugely great day! I mean, not particularly for wallets, but great for brains. Because today is my friend Django Wexler’s book birthday! The Forbidden Library is available for purchase everywhere – now, Django is probably best known for his incredibly epic flintlock fantasy, as well as his inability to say no when I come up with a blog idea, but he will soon be also known for incredible middle-grade fantasy.

I don’t read a lot of children’s literature – I mean, beyond Harry Potter or A Series of Unfortunate Events, which, do those even really count? – but I read The Forbidden Library ARC back in June. Mostly it was because Django is my buddy, and because he promised that cats would be involved. So I might’ve started that book out of nepotism and the desire for literary LOLcats, but that is not why I stayed up all damn night reading that book. Seriously, this is SO DAMN GOOD. I wish that I could use a time machine to go back and hand it to my eleven-year-old self, because I wish I could’ve grown up with this one in my head alongside Narnia. But at the same time, it’s just honestly good, and I’m itching for #2.

Written for kids? Yes, and it will blow their minds. But at the same time, this completely holds up for an adult reader due to the nuanced characters and some extremely tricky and complex themes. Buy it, read it, love it, finally get all my references to The Swarm. (then nag your library into investing in a copy)

Look at that awesome cover!

I usually have a lot of books and authors I list off when people ask me about what my literary influences were when it came to writing the Fort Scott books. I mean, I kind of wish I could just upload a few pictures of the contents of my bookshelves. But one influence that I absolutely cannot underemphasize was Rob Thurman’s Cal Leandros series – particularly the first book, Nightlife. The grit of it, the humor, the complete nightmare re-imagining of elves, and the emotional messiness – I just love that damn book. I also love Rob Thurman – I must have at least a dozen of her books scattered all over my house, most pretty banged up.

So I’m guessing that I’m not alone in the Thurman fandom, so that’s why you should like this – Rob Thurman has put together a Cal Leandros anthology. Two shorts that appeared in previous anthologies, one short that was previously online, and one entirely brand-new short story. Available in Kindle, paperback, and also on her website! Go snag a copy – Rob Thurman is trying out the Barb Hendee model and dipping her toe in self-publishing, so if she gets a good response out of this, we’re all likely to see a lot more of this kind of thing from her.

That’s news about my friends – now how about some Fort Scott stuff? Tainted Blood has an Amazon page! There’s also a definite pub date – November 4, 2014 should now be seared into your calendars. Finally, here’s the back cover copy – read and enjoy!

In the third Generation V novel, Fortitude Scott proves that working with family can be deadly…

Former film student Fortitude Scott is finally gainfully employed. Unfortunately, said employment happens to be with a group of sociopathic vampires—his family. And as much as Fort is loath to get too deep into the family business, when his brother, Chivalry, is temporarily unable to run the territory, it’s up to Fort to keep things under control.

So when the leader of a powerful faction of shifters turns up murdered, Fort finds himself tracking down a killer while navigating dangerous rivalries, longtime grudges, and hidden agendas. Even with the help of his foxy kitsune sidekick, Suzume, he’ll need to pull out all the stops to hunt for the paranormal assassin.

But as he calls on fairies, witches, and ghouls for help, he discovers that the problem is much bigger than a single dead werebear. The supernatural community is preparing for a massive shift in power within the Scott family leadership—and Fort has landed right in the middle of the gathering storm.…