Or something more princessy?

Here's another wedding dress option. It's much more fancy than the first one I posted. It's also more fitted and the skirt is fuller. On one hand, I'd LOVE to feel like a princess and I'm sure this dress would do it. On the other, it's Texas, outside and hot. Is this too formal?





Mari

Another wedding poll

You guys had great thoughts on wedding cakes so here's round #2.

Yay or nay to this dress?

The reasons I like it: It's simple but classy. My wedding is going to be outdoors so I need something light and breathable, unlike a big fancy ballgown you might get if you were getting married in a cathedral. Also I like lace rather than satin because I think it looks more vintage--almost victorian. I might even go for ivory instead of white if I got this one.




Thoughts? :)

MARI

Need a Favor!!

Hey guys -

If you got a second, can you go post a comment over on my YouTube video page? Tell readers you like the Blood Coven series!!! And if you have YouTube accounts - plz plz favorite and add to your page!!! I'm trying to spread the word before the re-releases and Bad Blood comes out!!!

Thanks -- you guys rock!

xoxo MARI

Wedding Planning!

So as if the re-release of the Blood Coven Vampire books and the upcoming Bad Blood wasn't enough - two weeks ago I actually GOT ENGAGED! Yes! To the love of my life, Jacob. I couldn't write a better happily ever after than that! We are best friends and like the same things - just perfect for one another.

Anyway - mush over. So now that I'm engaged I'm planning a wedding! We're getting married in April in Kingsland, Texas, where Jacob's parents have a beautiful house on the lake. It's an awesome spot and perfect for a wedding.

Now I just need a dress. And a cake! And, well, a billion other things but those are two fun things to find! First we'll look at cakes, then move on to the dress.

Now I know there are a billion traditional cakes out there, but they're all kind of boring. How cool would it be to have a gothed out cake instead?!

Check these amazing cakes out!!!













What do you think? Goth wedding cake or stick with something traditional? :)

Mari

New Boys that Bite!

I got my author copies!! They're sooo pretty!




On store shelves soon!!!
Mari

Blood Coven Video Blog Update

Sorry so wide - I forgot to turn off the HD setting on my camera!

Facebook - finally!

I finally created a Blood Coven fanspace on Facebook for those of you who don't like MySpace (or want to join both!) You can check it out and join here.

While I've had a personal Facebook page for a while, I'm not 100 percent familar with the whole fan page stuff. So I hope you guys will help me out and join and contribute to the page!!

:)
mari

Blood Coven re-boot ALMOST HERE!

So as many of you know, Berkley has "re-booted" my Blood Coven Vampire series and the release date for the first three re-packaged books is fast approaching. They say we'll start seeing them in stores in the next couple weeks, with the roll-out continuing through November. In addition to the beautiful new covers, they have new back cover copy and I've gone through and updated all the pop culture references and made a few other minor changes. For example Girls that Growl will now end with the cliffhanger ending it was originally supposed to have. I had taken it out originally because we weren't sure if the fourth book would ever be released.

Speaking of the fourth book...Bad Blood is out in January! Not too much longer!! In this book, we go back to Sunny's point of view. And it takes place in the city of sin - Las Vegas. After writing the book, I had a huge urge to go back and visit. Hope to do that in the next year or so. Unfortunately, for those of you who like to collect book editions, there will only be a "new cover" version of Bad Blood - so it won't match your other books if you have the square older editions. It's not a choice I get to make, so I apologize!

Anyway, for those of you who have not yet read the series, here are the new versions and their new back cover copy. You can go to my website for excerpts. Except for Bad Blood - gotta be my MySpace friend to get that excerpt. :)





Two sisters—as different as the sun and the rain. For one, getting into the Blood Coven is to die for. But for the other, getting out could be lethal…

When Sunny McDonald gets dragged to Club Fang by her twin sister Rayne, she doesn’t expect to find anything besides a bunch of Goth kids playing at being vampires. But when some guy mistakes Sunny for her dark-side-loving sister and bites her on the neck, she finds out that his fangs are real—and deadly.

Now, Sunny has less than a week to figure out how to reverse the bite, or else she’s going to end up as the perpetually undead. And not only will she be a vampire, she’ll also be bonded to Magnus—the bloodsucker who bit her—forever. And forever is a really long time…





Two sisters—as different as the sun and the rain. For one, getting into the Blood Cover is to die for, but it seems destiny has something else in mind…

Rayne McDonald had it all figured out. Get turned into a vampire, become the mate of the Blood Coven leader, and live the high-life for all eternity. Too bad the head vamp took a bite out of her twin sister by mistake. Now, not only is Rayne still not a vampire, but she learns she’s a slayer instead—destined to destroy vamps gone bad.

After being recruited by a secret organization, Rayne is given her first mission: infiltrate a seedy bar downtown and expose its vampire owner, Maverick, for purposely spreading a nasty blood virus. Luckily the Blood Coven sends some help—in the form of sexy vampire Jareth. Will vampire and slayer be able to settle their differences and work together to bring down the evil Maverick? Or will they find their own hearts on the line?





Rayne McDonald thought getting into the Blood Coven was the hard part. But now there’s a new breed of trouble in town…and the former slayer and her vampire boyfriend may be the only ones who can stop it.

Now that she’s an official vampire and full-fledged member of The Blood Coven, Rayne assumes her vampire slaying days are over. Sure, she doesn’t have any vampire powers, thanks to a mutated blood virus, but she and Jareth can go out in the sun, which is a pretty good trade-off.

But just when Rayne’s starting to enjoy her afterlife, she’s contacted by Slayer Inc once again. It seems that a member of her high school’s football team has disappeared—and the powers-that-be think the cheerleaders had something to do with it. Now Rayne has to infiltrate the squad before the cheerleaders have a chance to sink their teeth into someone else…





Sunny McDonald is in the ultimate forbidden relationship. Her boyfriend Magnus is a vampire, and the leader of the Blood Coven. Their differences have never been an issue, until now…

When the Blood Coven decides that Magnus needs a mate to be his co-ruler, Sunny’s humanity puts her out of the running. The Coven’s chosen candidate is Jane Johnson, a magna cum laude graduate of Oxford University who just happens to look like a vampiric celebutante.

Sunny is suspicious of a Rhodes Scholar who can’t answer the most basic poly-sci questions, but Magnus brushes it off as petty jealousy. Still, when the Blood Coven goes to Las Vegas for a vampire convention—where Magnus and Jane’s bonding ceremony will be the main event—Sunny and her sister Rayne secretly tag along. And Sunny’s not going home before she learns the truth about Jane. Because not everything stays in Vegas—especially bad blood…

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker

For those of you who like Victorian gothic novels, I've got a recommendation for you. It's actually written by an author friend of mine - my goth dancing partner in crime, to be precise, named Leanna Renee Hieber.

Here she is in all her victorian glory at her book release party this past Monday. Isn't her costume totally amazing? She says in another life she was born a victorian lady and I so believe it!





The book is really cool. Very beautifully written - almost lyrical. Here's the back cover blurb.

What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Considering how few of Queen Victoria’s Londoners knew of it, the great Romanesque fortress was dreadfully imposing, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met the powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadow, the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She knew simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow-white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gifts. But this arched stone doorway offered a portal to a new life, an education far from the convent—and an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death….

Anyway, you can find The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker at bookstores in the romance section. I highly recommend it! :)

Mari

Home from DragonCon

I'm home from Dragon*Con. Am tired, as would be expected, but it was worth it. Still, we crammed a lot into three days. I spoke on five panels, played Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Simi" in the parade, and changed in and out of a lot of costumes.

The panels at Dragon*Con were great- better, I think, than most of the romance industry conventions I've spoken at. The audiences were large and engaged and asked really good, on-topic questions. And I got to learn some stuff myself - from my highly esteemed co-panelists. Cherie Priest cracked me up the most on Vampires vs. Zombies. (She took the side of vampires. I was zombies. Definitely a worthy opponent.)

I also got to panel with (among others) Heather Brewer, Richelle Mead, Stacia Kane, Susan Sizemore, Carol Nelson Douglas, Caitlin Kittredge, Jackie Kessler and Mark Henry. The Urban Fantasy people are so much fun. Definitely my kind of writer peeps.

Here I am at the "Blood and Fur" panel with Richelle Mead and Heather Brewer. YA Vamp authors unite! :)





The panels were all really well attended, which I love!





So anyway - moving on to costumes. Day one I did a steampunk inspired outfit. Dress is from Lip Service, waist cincher handmade and bought off Etsy. I did the wristbands myself from leather and stuff I found at Michael's. Steampunk goggles are from Gothic Rennisance. The clockwork butterfly necklace is also from a vendor off Etsy. It was super cool. Oh and the Victorian lace-up boots were actually from Payless!





Leanna was a beautiful Victorian lady in honor of her new book, "The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker", which was just released.





Costume #2 was me as "Simi" the demon from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series. Sherrilyn asked Jacob and I to be in the parade as the official Simi and Acheron (her Dark Hunter hero) We got to ride in a Shelby Mustang in front of thousands of people. It was quite an experience!







Jacob dressed as Michael Jackon on day #1. The geeks at the con were slightly confused, but the people of Atlanta loved him!







That night, we met up with Liz, Cheri and Chris for a Time Traveller's ball.




Check out Liz's hair and top hat!




There were a lot of fabulous costumes at the Time Traveller's Ball. Some pretty, some disturbing.









One of my favorite panels at the Con was with Malcolm McDowell of Clockwork Orange fame. Actually just before the panel we found ourselves sitting one couch over from him! He was just hanging out. I wanted to go up and say hi but I felt too nervous and also didn't want to be intrusive. His panel was great though - learned a lot about the behind the scenes of one of my favorite Kubrick films.





Later - when I find someone with a good pic, I will upload the piece de resistance - my Zombie Bo Peep costume. It is a work of art, let me tell you. Very disturbing art! I got a lot of attention from it, which was fun!

:)
Marianne

Who's going to see the new covers first?!?

The new Blood Coven covers are ALMOST here! Argh. It's so hard to wait!! But I think you'll start seeing them sometime beginning in September. There's not like an official release date cause they're not new books - but supposedly they'll start showing up in stores any day now.

Sooo who's going to be first to find them? I think we should do a contest! First to find and take a photo of the book - either on the shelves or (preferably) in your hands wins!! I'll come up with a good prize, too. :)

And the countdown begins for Bad Blood as well - four more months til we get that in stores. Unlike the reprints, that book DOES have an official release date: January 5th. A great thing to spend your holiday money on, lol!

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Believe me, I hate waiting as much as you guys do!!

MARI

Dragon-Con - My Schedule

For any of you who might be attending this year's Dragon-Con convention in Atlanta, GA, here's my workshop schedule. Hope to see some of you there!! :)

Mari


Title: A Writer's Guide to Goth & Punk
Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: Explores ways that writers can create believable and accurate goth and punk characters.


Title: Blood and Fur
Time: Fri 10:00 pm Location: A707 - Marriott (Length: 1)
Description: Books about vampires and werewolves are enjoying a flight in popularity. Learn about new blood and the hair-raising resurgence in this growing genre.

Title: Time-Travel and Paranormal: What is it and How Do I Write It?
Time: Sat 11:30 am Location: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: The Pros of Time-Travel and Paranormal fiction discuss and answer questions about this fast-growing genre.

Title: Vampires vs. Zombies
Time: Sat 05:30 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: Authors judge the pros and cons of the living dead.


Title: Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy
Time: Sun 10:00 am Location: Montreal / Vancouver - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: Comparing and contrasting two similar but distinct genres.

YouTube Review: Gamer Girl

I love when readers do video reviews - it's so much more personal than just written ones (not that I don't like written ones too - I just like seeing who's doing the review sometimes, lol.) Anyway, here's one I found on YouTube today! :)





And yes, she pronounced my last name right. :) First name - in case you were wondering - is pronounced like MARY. Cause my full name is actually Marianne - so it's just short for that!

If you have a video review for any of my books, email me the link and I'll put it up!!

xoxo
Mari

Just Dance!

Not to be all quoting Lady Gaga, but guys, when you go to a concert, don't just stand there like a lump. The band wants you to get into it. To dance! One of the greatest joys in life is to go dancing! It gives you this amazing euphoric feeling that can't be duplicated.

I went to see goth band VNV Nation last night. (If you've never heard them, you need to check them out. They're teh awesome.) They put on an amazing show. But half the audience just stood there, staring at the stage, doing NOTHING. Sooo boring! Some of the people - I don't even know why they were there! And don't tell me it's all goth to stand there and look mopey - the most dedicated goths I know love to get on the dance floor and get their dance on. It's a chance to express yourself and really feel the music work through your body. It's a beautiful, heavenly experience like no other.

Ronan, the lead singer, was begging people to get into the music and really working it, but it was an uphill battle, let me tell you.

In any case, my boyfriend Jacob and I found a corner and danced all night. I was so sweaty afterwards! But it was worth it!!

Anyway, rant over. Just dance. Rayne and Jareth (and even Sunny for that matter!) will be proud! :)

Mari

Boys that Bite - Reader Trailer!

This was sent to me by one of my readers, Angelina Marie. She did an awesome book trailer of Boys that Bite for her senior class project. Check it out - it rocks!! :) I especially love Lucifent. Wonder if that's her little brother?

I love when people make me videos based on my books! (HINT HINT!) In fact the new website I'm developing will have a whole section of reader artwork and films.





:)
MARI

More Artwork!

Computer generated artwork today! Found on Deviant Art. I believe they're both made with SIMS. Funny cause I recently got SIMS 3 and made Sunny and Rayne Sims too! Sunny now has 5 kids and Rayne is a rock star! haha.

First - Sunny and Rayne, dressed as they would.


Rayne and Sunny McDonald by ~Chuckyfan4lyf on deviantART


And whoah - scandal! Mangus and Rayne!!! Where's Sunny?!?



Scene for Stake That by ~Chuckyfan4lyf on deviantART

Nine Author NYC Book Signing!

Now here's the event you've been waiting for! Nine authors (including me!!) will be at Books of Wonder in New York City on Saturday, July 25th, from 2pm to 4pm. Stop by and buy a book or nine and say hello!

Participating Authors:

Lauren Barnholdt, author of Two-Way Street, The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney, Four Truths and Lie, and others
Sarah Cross, author of Dull Boy
Erin Dionne, author of Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies
Heather Duffy-Stone, author of This is What I Want to Tell you
Mandy Hubbard, author of Prada and Prejudice
Julie Linker, author of Crowned, Disenchanted Princess
Sarah MacLean, author of The Season
Mari Mancusi, author of Boys that Bite, Girls that Growl, Stake That!, Gamer Girl and others
Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters

New Video: Ally Carter!

As most of you guys know, in addition to writing I'm also a TV producer. And one of the most fun parts of my job is interviewing other YA authors. Like the fabulous Ally Carter who writes the Gallagher Girls series. (About a spy school for girls - so awesome!) She and I share the same agent actually and so when I met up with her at the Book Expo of America last month I had to interview her about her amazing series.

Here's the finished product - take a look!





:)
MARI

Beiß, Jane, beiß!

Beiß, Jane, beiß! - the German version of BAD BLOOD will be out MONDAY!! Yay for Germany!!! Hope all you German readers will pick it up and let me know what you think! I'm excited!

In the US - it's not out until January. Booooo. But I swear it'll be worth the wait!!!

:)
MARI

Bad Blood Available for Pre-Order

It doesn't come out til January, but you can reserve your copy of BAD BLOOD now on Amazon. It's really happening!!! Yay!

MARI

More Fan Art!

This is from Keira!! As you might recognize, it's a scene from Gamer Girl where Maddy's grandma is flipping out about her unicorn figurines -- aka her "babies!"



.::Thats MY Baby::. by ~Keira-the-Wolf on deviantART


MARI

Blood Coven Author Quotes!

I think I've told you guys before how much I adore Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampire series. (You all are reading it, right? If not - get going - it ROCKS!!) It's so different than the other vampire series out there and is completely addictive!!

Anyway, for the re-release of the Blood Coven books, my editor wanted me to get what's called an "author blurb" - which is basically a compliment about your book by a bestselling author. Of course I immediately thought of Rachel. And guess what? She was nice enough to write one! So now here's the quote that's going to appear on the book covers:

"If you haven't sunk your teeth into Marianne Mancusi's fabulous books, why haven't you? Delightful, surprising, and engaging -- you'll get bitten, and love it."

-- Rachel Caine

Pretty awesome, huh? And if that's not enough, I also got a wonderful blurb from New York Times Bestseller Ellen Hopkins who does those AMAZING poetry books like Crank and Identical and the soon-to-be-release Tricks. (Everyone loves these books - just the other day I read Miley Cyrus gushing about Identical!)

"Boys That Bite is a vampire book so worth reading, with dark humor, distinctive voice, and a protagonist clever enough to get herself out of trouble. Thank you, Mari Mancusi, for a great ride."

-- Ellen Hopkins

Isn't that awesome! I mean, not to be all "look at me" but when big-time authors praise your book, it makes you feel like you're doing something right!! :)

Long live the Blood Coven!!

MARI

Lauren Conrad

And here it is - the interview I did with Lauren Conrad of the Hills, talking about her new teen book - LA Candy! No matter what you think of the show, I will tell you, Lauren herself was such a sweetheart to interview!!





Mari

Japanese Blood Coven Covers

Since we've been talking about different covers - here are the Japanese covers of BOYS THAT BITE, STAKE THAT and GIRLS THAT GROWL. As you can see - also very different than the American ones. But I really like the manga treatment! The books also have tons of interior manga artwork which, if I ever get a new camera, I will take photos of and post! :)













Japan hasn't decided yet whether they will buy and publish BAD BLOOD. I hope they do though - just because I love the artwork so much!

:)
MARI

Bad Blood in German - ALMOST HERE!

For you German readers - BAD BLOOD (otherwise known as Beiß, Jane, beiß!) will be out in July!! (July 12th I think to be exact.) YAY! I hope you guys like it!!





As you can see, the covers in Germany are a lot different than those in America! I think the bats are too cute!!

Please remember don't post any spoilers in English. We want the American audience to be surprised when Bad Blood comes out here (in January.)

hugs!
MARI

Lauren Conrad and me

Today I got to go interview Lauren Conrad of The Hills. Well, formerly of The Hills, I guess, seeing as this was her last season.





She's just written a teen book called LA Candy which is a fictionalized account of life on a reality TV series. It's the first of three books.





Now I know some authors are annoyed that a famous reality star like Lauren can get a big book deal when they're still struggling to get noticed, but here's my take. If her book can get people who might not normally read to pick up a book, then they might discover they like reading. And then they'll pick up more books - by other authors! So everyone wins!! So this is a good thing, I promise. And honestly, if you write a good book - a really good book - you don't have to be famous to get noticed. I mean, who heard of Stephanie Meyer before Twilight? JK Rowling before Harry Potter?

Plus Lauren was super sweet and nice. Totally down to Earth and not pretentious at all. I really liked chatting with her. She definitely goes in the "celebs who don't suck" category. :)

Mari

Boys that Bite read in German!

Ever wonder what Boys that Bite sounds like in German? Now you can hear for yourself! A reader reads the first chapter of the book!!

Night School - Blood Coven #5 - GERMANY

For you German readers, I have great news! I just sold Book #5 of The Blood Coven Vampire series to my German publisher for a summer 2010 release!! So not only do you get Book #4 first, but you will also definitely get more books! Yay!

As for America, we're working with them to push #5 as we speak. But they have until January to decide. Basically they may wait to see how the re-releases of the first three do as well as Bad Blood. The more popular they are, the more chance we'll have of them wanting to do Book #5. So be sure to keep up the good work spreading the word about the series to friends!!

Book #5's title is NIGHT SCHOOL and it deals with Sunny and Rayne hiding out in an exclusive European vampire boarding school. Can't tell you why - but when you read Book #4 you'll understand!! :) Yes, it ends with a cliffhanger!

:)
MARI

Guest Blogger and Book Giveaway! Serena Robar

Hi guys! Today we have a good author friend of mine, Serena Robar, guest blogging about games, guys and her new book - "Giving up the V" - out now from Simon Pulse! You may know Serena from her fabulously funny vampire series "Braced2Bite."

In addition to blogging - Serena's doing a HUGE book giveaway! COMMENT HERE on my blog to win a copy of GIVING UP THE V. And then head over to her site for a chance to win MY book - GAMER GIRL.

~~

So you think you’ve got game?


Hello! My name is Serena Robar and Mari has graciously let me take over her blog today so I can pimp the release of my new book Giving Up the V and talk about one of our favorite subjects. Games. More specifically, what it’s like to be married to a man who makes games for a living. If you think about it, an author and a game designer living under the same roof is a pretty unique combination. I think half our party invitations are for that reason alone. Friends with normal jobs trot us out like show dogs, introducing us as the couple “we were telling you about”. Personally, my stories how I can’t seem to shower when I’m under deadline and wear pajamas half the day aren’t nearly as entertaining as you’d think so thank goodness I have Jason. He is the entertainment part of our dynamic duo. Odds are he created a fun game just for the party we are going to so everyone-gamer and non-gamer alike-have a great time.

Every other week a new box of games arrive at the front door. Most are probably in German (all the best board games are from Germany) and we play them right away. Two years of high school German twenty years later and he can still explain how the game is played (you can usually find the translated rules online, but apparently that’s cheating if you don’t try to figure them out on your own first).

Our kids are gamers as well. They don’t watch television. At all. No, we aren’t those strict, television-is-bad kind of parents. They would rather play games and watch games cut scenes via YouTube than watch television. Our daughter is all about World of Warcraft (gee, who else on this blog is a WoW fan? Hmmm, Mari?) and we all have characters on the same server. When it comes to Rock Bank and Guitar Hero, we are The Robarios. And we tour nightly. At this moment, my husband and son are playing Plants VS. Zombies and my daughter is rereading Mari’s book, Gamer Girl.

I put our love of games in all my books as well. In Giving Up the V, the Crew of friends meet up every weekend for Halo and Guitar Hero. I didn’t grow up in a gaming household so where did I pick it up? Easy, I fell in love with a Gamer Boy and the rest, as they say, is history. Or Round Eleven as our eleven year anniversary is next month. Oh yeah, and because I love random chance games, I am running a huge contest on my site where I am giving away a book a day, every day in June and today you can win Mari’s Gamer Girl. Do head on over and sign up. Don’t forget to comment here as well for you chance to win a copy of Giving Up the V.