Day #1 – Nine Days of Giveaways

November 10, 2012 /

To celebrate the last book in the series, MAGIC FOR A PRICE, coming out November 6th, I am doing nine straight days of giveaways!  Each day I’ll talk about one of the books in the series, will post cut scenes (if I have them), will answer questions (if you have them)  and will give away three prizes!

We begin with book #1 in the series…..

 

MAGIC TO THE BONE – book 1

Fun Facts:

The Title, Dear God, the Title

  • My original title was DEAD DOWN 13th STREET, which is really bad, lol!
  • Asked to suggest a better title, I came up with A LICK OF MAGIC
  • That was refused because it was too close to A LICK OF FROST, by Laurell K. Hamilton which was scheduled to be released a month before my book came out.
  • So I filled pages and pages and pages with title ideas. Finally, my amazing editor came up with MAGIC TO THE BONE, which set the tone for the rest of the series.

 

What About The People

Allie’s name was chosen because I wanted her to have an “A” first name and a “B” last name. “Beckstrom” is Swedish for “back stream” which I loved because magic flows through the world like water, or “back streams” and pools in hidden wells.  The “strom” is also a nod toward “storm”, which defines magic (also used like electricity) and speaks to Allie’s life and her father’s life in many ways.

Zayvion’s name was chosen because I’d seen that spelling of the name once and loved it.

This is the only book in the series that has a second point of view character narrating part of the book: Cody Miller. Even though Cody is a huge part of the first book and I knew what his fate would be across the series, I wasn’t sure how much of his story I could get on the page after this book since I couldn’t use him as a second point-of-view character again. So I sprinkled his story in here and there through the remaining books, until it added up to the important part he played in book nine.

Yes, that’s Jingo Jingo in the Cody scenes and on the street when Allie is looking out Mama’s window.  I knew he’d play a big part in the book too.  Jingo Jingo is a character from a fairytale short story I wrote (which has never seen the light of day).

The Writing of the Thing

MAGIC TO THE BONE was originally a short story.  I thought it had the potential for a novel, but I was working on another novel project (which has never seen the light of day either. Hm…I’m seeing a pattern here).  In the end, I wrote MAGIC TO THE BONE in a rush to hit a tight deadline for submission. I think I wrote it in two-three months which was, at the time, the fastest I’d ever written a book in my life.

I intended for Allie’s dad, Daniel Beckstrom, to stay dead. Really and truly dead.  But one comment in the revision notes from my editor along the lines of “too bad he died. He was a great character. I would have liked to see more of their relationship” made me change my mind.  It made me think about what it would be like to see more of their relationship. And THAT opened up so many delightful possibilities, I knew what I had to do.  So if you love/hate Daniel Beckstrom and his part in Allie’s story, you can thank/blame my awesome editor for that!

 

Cut Scenes (more like Snippets, really):

Opening scene when Mama calls:

The morning chill made my scars ache today.  My apartment felt emptier now that the autumn rains had come to stay.  And yeah, I was lonely.  My job made catching bad men easy and keeping good ones damned impossible.  Nobody wanted to hook up with a Hound.

“Allie?” Mama said again.

“Yes,”  I said.  “Is there a problem?”

“You come now.  Right now.  You’ll fix this.  Fix for us.”
***
I put on a pair of jeans and tank top and shrugged on a corduroy jacket in case I needed to look nice enough to deal with the corporates.  Nine times out of nine, hounding sent me sniffing down lines of magic that middle-fingered some branch of corporate.  Big boys in glass towers knuckled down on the little people when they could–mostly used them as targets to divert their own cost of magic usage.  Sort of like human sponges to soak up industrial waste: who cared if a few bums died young?  It kept the poor poor, the addicts addicted, and the corporates clean of any wrong doings, unless they got caught.  Work for hire magic sniffers–Hounds like me–did a lot of the catching.

Which was why I was pretty happy I’d made it to my twenty fifth birthday so far.

I brushed my teeth, rubbed at my recent short hair cut, and hoped it would pass for sexy.  I slipped into my boots and locked my apartment door behind me.

Mama owed me breakfast.  I hoped she had something in her kitchen more nutritious than whiskey.

Later…With Zayvion:

…and looked him up and down again.  His stomach muscles tightened, he was breathing fast, and he was most certainly thinking about sex now.  I reveled in the power of my body to do what I’d been unable to–break through that calm exterior of his and get to the real man inside.  Even though it was a little cold in the room, I stood and  pushed my sweat pants down over my stomach, paused to listen to Zay breathe harder before pulling them off my hips, paused again, then pushed them down my thighs.  Zay sucked in a hard breath while I bent forward and tugged my legs out of the pants.   I expected him to tackle me, hoped he would tackle me, but not Zayvion.  No, not Mister Calm.  I straightened and wrapped my arms around my rib cage.  It was cold enough in the room a chill raced through me and my nipples tightened.  I was freezing.  I was too hot.  I wanted him against me.  Inside me.  Before I froze to death, fell apart, or had a chance to think about this for very long.

“This isn’t a strip show, Jones,” I said.  “Get over here.”

AND NOW THE GIVEAWAYS!!

You can win one of these prizes! Leave a comment here on my blog and you’re in the running.  You’ll need to leave a comment on tomorrow’s post if you want to be in the drawing for tomorrow’s prizes.

Today’s prizes:

1 – signed cover flat of MAGIC TO THE BONE

1- signed ARC of MAGIC TO THE BONE (note, it has a pretty cover!)

1- signed copy of MAGIC FOR A PRICE

I will mail internationally.  I will pull winners TOMORROW–Sunday, November 11th. If any of the winners fail to contact me within a week’s time, I will redraw names or hold a one-day post where all unclaimed prizes go to whoever asks for them first.

Leave a comment, or ask a question to be in the running to win!

69 Comments

  • Sara Sandor
    November 10, 2012 at 9:22 am

    I love this series. I will be sad to see the end of it but excited for what you create in the future. … 🙂

  • Sue ward
    November 10, 2012 at 9:25 am

    Love these books, sad Allie’s story has come to an end but so pleased we’re going to be able to read more about shame and terric x

  • shartryant
    November 10, 2012 at 9:26 am

    I have several co-workers at work that I have corrupted by getting them started on urban fantasy and paranormal romance series. One of them returned the favor by getting me started on yours. Life is good that way. Can’t wait to see what you do next.

  • Tracy Rouse
    November 10, 2012 at 9:36 am

    It is hard for me to find a good book, rarer to Not Put It Down. Allie (all 9) was completely delightful. It has the right mix of comedy, action, drama, and more – one never dominates the others. And even though such a plotline could not happen in real life, for real…the story felt real and entirely plausible, including many of the characters and entities. Allie herself is a rough cut but realistic, something any of us could associate with. All in all, I am very happy to have found such a wonderful series. I wish there was more so I will, instead, look forward to Shame and Terric’s new series. THANK YOU!

  • Nicole
    November 10, 2012 at 9:37 am

    Thanks for the contest, and sharing those awesome cut (that-should-not-have-been-cut) scenes!

    Question though: Did you cut the scenes, or did your editor? Is there any specific reason why they were cut?

    • Devon
      November 10, 2012 at 9:59 am

      These are scenes I’ve cut during the writing process, usually to try and tighten up/speed up the pace of the book. I’ll talk about a giant editorial “scene cut” suggestion tomorrow.

  • Alaina
    November 10, 2012 at 9:39 am

    I love finding out tidbits about the books!! funny thing, my best friends name is Alaina (ALlie) Bexton!
    Thanks for the chance to win!

  • Melliane
    November 10, 2012 at 9:40 am

    Oh it’s so fun to know these things, thank you so much for sharing! I think it’s always difficult to find a title, was it easier for the others? I’m glad you finally decided to crite a full novel because it was really amazing.

  • Adowling
    November 10, 2012 at 9:51 am

    I’m about half way through #9 and I keep thinking ‘don’t die Shame, hold it together man!’ And then I remember he and Ter are getting a book and I feel relieved. I love Shame, he’s awesome in so many ways.

  • Mikaela
    November 10, 2012 at 9:55 am

    (Don’t enter me)As a swede, I wanted to chime into the meaning of Allie’s surname. *grins* If you replace the e in Beckström with ä instead of a, you get bäck which is swedish for creek. And in Swedish Ström means stream :).

  • Jenna
    November 10, 2012 at 9:59 am

    I love when we get to peak behind the scenes.

    “This isn’t a strip show, Jones,” I said. “Get over here.” – I totally gaffawed at this. I love them.

  • Deborah Blake
    November 10, 2012 at 10:02 am

    I love all these snippets of information (and the glimpse into the writer’s mind). I’d love a copy of the new book (I have all the others already, and as much as I love cover flats, I can’t even figure out what to do with MINE — lol).

    Happy book release day, a little later. (In my defense, I was in the midst of wrestling the last of the current WIP onto the page, and it ate my brain.)

  • Northwoman
    November 10, 2012 at 10:11 am

    I read this book and was sucked in forever. I loved Cody immediately. I am so happy I found this series. Thanks for doing some great giveaways.

  • Sheila
    November 10, 2012 at 10:13 am

    I have always wondered if you intentionally had Allie and Z’s relationship move so quickly knowing that she would lose the memory at the end?

    • Devon
      November 10, 2012 at 11:58 am

      Yes. I never wanted the series to be “will they or won’t they love each other” I wanted it to be “how are they going to love each other through this?”

  • Lora
    November 10, 2012 at 11:00 am

    I found this series on a whim and loved it! So sad that Allie’s story has come to an end but can’t wait for Shame and Terric’s to start!

  • Corrie
    November 10, 2012 at 11:08 am

    Thank you for the giveaways! I am using super human strength to not be reading the final book right now – too much homework in my way:(

  • miki
    November 10, 2012 at 11:38 am

    i love learning new fact like how/why the daddy didn’t stay dead ^^, it great to see how a story is teh product of several exchange or how you choose the name ( and the clarifications are even better ^^, we are learning everyday)

    i would love to win Magic for a price

  • carlam
    November 10, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    Thanks for your post.. I’m glad that Daniel Beckstrom was saved, smart editor.. I love the behind the scene stories and I look forward to finding out more as this thread progresses..

  • Lisa Shook
    November 10, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    I picked up a couple of your books at the library and went through them so fast!!! I went back and grabbed the other one that my library had and requested the others from other libraries. I want to find out what I had missed ( because of course they only had 2,4,and 5 so I went to the bookstore and grabbed the ones I missed. I have since bought all your books. I love them and can’t wait to go get the final book!

  • Lisa Shook
    November 10, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    I picked up a couple of your books at the library and went through them so fast!!! I went back and grabbed the other one that my library had and requested the others from other libraries. I want to find out what I had missed ( because of course they only had 2,4,and 5 so I went to the bookstore and grabbed the ones I missed. I have since bought all your books. I love them and can’t wait to go get the final book!

  • mundanename
    November 10, 2012 at 1:04 pm

    I love getting all these behind the scene details and I look forward to the next 8 days =)

    I also want to chime in with my appreciation for keeping Daniel in the books. I can’t imagine the ending without his character arc. Can you touch on how the ending may have changed over time in future posts?

    Congratulations once again on finishing!

  • Jason B.
    November 10, 2012 at 1:22 pm

    I love behind-the-scenes looks like these. I’m used to them on movies, but it seems rare to get them for books. I look forward to more!

  • Veronica foster
    November 10, 2012 at 1:59 pm

    Omg I love this book series so much and it’s so cool to learn more about the first one! I can’t wait to learn about the rest! I also can’t wait to read the last book! I’m like dying here!

  • Samantha
    November 10, 2012 at 2:46 pm

    Oooh – a competition – we are blessed!

    Great idea – it is very interesting to see how many “big” things were decided from the start, and how many were decided as the series went along…

    :o)

  • Sarah M.
    November 10, 2012 at 2:49 pm

    I have been putting off reading the last book – I don’t want this series to end! However, I like that there is an ending rather than dragging it out past it’s expiration date. I’d much rather be left wanting more than wondering why I’m reading because I’m bored. Thank you for creating such a fantastic world. It’s such a unique and interesting take on magic.

    Even though I am somewhat sad, I can’t wait to read more about Shame and Terric!!

  • Poppy
    November 10, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    Oh I loved the cute scenes.

    I borrowed the first book from the library shortly after it came out and after I finished it realized that I was going to have to put this series on my “must buy” list. Which is where it has stayed throughout the series 🙂 Thank you for writing such great books!

  • Maria
    November 10, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    Pick me, pick me! Unless I win a million dollars, my chances of a signed copy of any of your books are practically non-existant! A signed copy of ANY of them would take pride of place in my bookshelf – promise!

  • Emma Welsby
    November 10, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    I love that you’re doing one blog post per book, it’s really interesting and I enjoyed reading this first one.

  • sthecat
    November 10, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    The Allie/Daniel scenes always made me think of my dad(in a good way) and I was hugely surprised to find out a while back that my Dad is reading this series too and loves it!

  • Jennifer Welch
    November 10, 2012 at 11:15 pm

    It’s great that you’re doing these giveaways, but also sharing some behind the scenes info, too. That is always interesting.

    I did have a couple questions about the book. I always wondered how Zayvion knew who had Cody and where he was, and if Zayvion really had ‘betrayed’ Allie and was working with Hoskil somehow. We don’t get a lot of the Authority side of things yet in this book, so I was curious about Zay’s motives, if he knew all along who had Cody and was under orders not to intervene, or if he figured it out on his own and decided to step in and do something about it. Before Allie lost her memory she had hoped that Zay had an explanation for being there, but when he tried to explain later on his answer seemed a little vague about the details.

    Sorry if these questions were answered and I just missed it…I appreciate any details, though!

  • Mishel
    November 11, 2012 at 12:27 am

    What an interesting contest! I like all the behind the scenes information – it is very cool! I’d love to win a signed copy of any one of your books!

  • eternal
    November 11, 2012 at 3:29 am

    Thanks for the interesting info surrounding the series, it’s fun to hear about it.

    Please don’t include me in the lottery though, I already own the books and would rather give other people a slightly better change to win.

  • Elina Rinckens
    November 11, 2012 at 7:29 am

    Its awesome that you chose to celebrate by sharing with your devoted fans! I really enjoyed how you brought Allies father back; it wasn’t only unique(as all your books are), it also became very touching. I will cross my fingers and hope I win as I wold be over the moon at such an opportunity for such a valuable prize, as your first and last books “Magic to the Bone & Magic for a Price”! I’m an avid reader and you are by far my very favorite Author with the Allie Beckstrom series. THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL RIDE!

  • Jessica
    November 11, 2012 at 8:31 am

    This series is truly amazing! One of my absolute favorites! The depth of the characters, both major and minor, are some of the most well developed in the genre. I can’t get enough of Allie or Allie’s world. I can’t wait for Shame and Terric’s story! I would love to win a piece of this series.

  • April
    November 11, 2012 at 8:53 am

    I have a friend who couldn’t read more of this series after the first because she thought it was way too depressing and sad. I suspect that the idea of losing memories for her is like losing a part of her soul and the thought of it was too sad for her. Have you had any other people react similarly?

    BTW, I didn’t find it too depressing or sad – naturally since I’m still reading the series 😉

    • Devon
      November 11, 2012 at 2:59 pm

      Thanks for the question, April! I talk about it in today’s Day #2 giveaway post. Quick answer: Yes. It’s one of the common complaints I get about Magic to the Bone.

      🙂

  • Eatworm
    November 11, 2012 at 6:42 pm

    Not sure what the timezones are over there, so if there is still time…

    I picked up the first two books of this series at the local education book store (near where I work – I was on my lunch break.) They have a tiny selection of fiction, so finding a fantasy, sci-fi or urban fantasy book is always a surprise. Happily they had the first two books of this series, and I remember trying to figure out which was book one and which was book two. I bought the first one, I think that must have been a Friday? Well, I was back on Monday for the second! 😛 What a lucky find for me 😀

    Have not yet finished this series, as I want to space it out so it isn’t over too quickly. Currently reading book 7. Love it.

  • AYates
    November 12, 2012 at 6:17 pm

    Will your fairytale short story or other novel ever see the light of day? You said that they haven’t but not that they never will. And I love this nine days thing you are doing with the contests. It ties everything together and should make everyone happy.

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