Monday, April 5, 2010

Nerds that rock by Jessica Andersen

Nerds that rock (and fight, fly, investigate, and do other very cool things)

Mayan lore and modern science warn that 12/21/2012 could bring a global cataclysm … a threat that is far more real than we imagine. Dark forces stand poised to overrun the earth and crush humanity beneath a vicious rule of terror and blood sacrifice. Our only hope rests with a group of saviors living in secret among us: modern magic-wielding warriors called the Nightkeepers.

Now, in the last few years before the 2012 doomsday, these magi must find and win their destined mates in order to protect the barrier of psi energy that forms humanity’s last line of defense against an ancient and powerful enemy.





Hi all!



(Waves.) Thanks to Hannah for letting me hang out at her e-home, and to you out there for joining me today as I celebrate the release of Demonkeepers!


It’s funny—although I love reading historical romance (Hannah, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Connie Brockway are among my faves), I always swore I wouldn’t ever write a historical because of the research involved … and then I ended up writing a series that is set in modern day, but draws heavily on the ancient Maya. Go figure!

The new book, Demonkeepers, is particularly close to my heart because at its core, it’s the story of a pair of nerds coming into themselves and realizing that they’re really only limited by their own self images. Since I’m a nerd with occasional delusions of coolness, Jade and Lucius’s story really speaks to me.

Lucius has been one of my two favorite characters to write throughout the series—he’s an expert in Mayan hieroglyphics, regularly gets himself into academic trouble for believing in the Nightkeepers and the 2012 doomsday, and wants to be somebody’s hero.

It was a real pleasure to finally get to his book—Especially since I was pretty hard on the guy in the first three books, what with the whole possessed-by-a-Mayan-demon thing and his habit of doing Very Bad Things whilst under the demon’s influence.

Jade, too, has been locked into librarian mode. Even though she’s a Nightkeeper by birth, and has some magical skills, she’s a member of a non-warrior bloodline and to her disgust is most useful playing support staff to the other magi.

And then, the one time she and Lucius broke the rules and had crazy monkey sex in the archive … well, more Bad Things happened, making them seriously leery about going back there. But when they’re reunited in a wild race to unlock the ancient library of the Nightkeepers’ ancestors and rescue the sun god from the underworld, they learn that they’ve been warriors all along … and that crazy monkey sex can sometimes lead to Very Good Things.

I’m guessing you can tell that I love these two together. In fact, I’m a big fan of The Nerd That Roars in books, TV and movies. I’m an X-Files geek from way back, think everyone deserves a Clark Kent-to-Superman moment, and am totally jonesing for next week, when we (finally!) get a new episode of Bones. And in the ‘new reads’ department, Linnea Sinclair’s brand new Rebels and Lovers has a most excellent glasses-wearing, data-crunching hero.

So, to celebrate rocking nerds, warmer weather, greener grass, and the release of Demonkeepers, I’m giving away a signed copy of Demonkeepers today. All comments are entered to win—name your favorite brainiac hero or heroine, comment on the books, or just say ‘hi.’ I’ll be here all day, and would love to hear from you!

For more information on Demonkeepers and the other Nightkeeper novels, please check out www.JessicaAndersen.com.

13 comments:

  1. Hi, sorry. Couldn't get that white border off that pic. Also, lost the pic of Bones and couldn't get that up. Stupid blog. Hope it doesn't look too bad.

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  2. Love this series. Looking forward to the new one tomorrow. Congrats on the new release.

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  3. Congrats on the release of Demon Keepers! The whole Mayan prophecy is both fascinating and scary at the same time. I love the idea of two nerds being heroes!

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  4. Jess--
    Very excited for the book. And the two nerds in love is so something I can relate to. This will be one fantastic story.

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  5. Hi Jessica

    congrats on the new realease! Who says librarians are nerds I'd love to have their jobs lol. Be surronded by books all day sounds like heaven to me lol.

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  6. Sounds like an interesting series concept, sadly I haven't had a chance to read them yet though. Congrats on another release!

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  7. Congrats on the release Jessica!
    The book sounds very good!
    Take care.

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  8. Hey Jess

    Quick question for you, more and more people are talking about the whole 2012 situation and for a while now as we get closer to the date nerves of some are becoming frazzled. Question coming right now LOL!!! Ok what do you say to those people who believe the only reason the Mayan calander ends in 2012 is because the race was pretty much destroyed and they didn't have a chance to finish it...or they couldn't see that far into the future.

    Love your books have all of them except Demon Keepers. Which I need to get LOL!!!! And uh BONES ROCKS! LOL!!

    Thanks
    Ash!!

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  9. I'm really enjoying this series and am reading Skykeepers now. So glad Lucius and Jade are getting their story!

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  10. I love discovering authors whose work interests me. Your books sound amazing and just the kind of myths and fantasies I can't wait to read.
    Have a great day,
    Cathy

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  11. Hey gang! Thanks so much, Hannah, for having me on today, and to you guys for swinging by and commenting!

    Hannah- the pics look awesome, the white space is mybad (it comes that way sometimes if you copy off BN.com and I forgot to cut it out!), and I appreciate the effort you put in to making the post look great!

    @ Amber- Thanks for being on board for the series!!

    @ N.J.- Geeks rule :)

    @ Michelle- Missed you the other weekend at the conference, congrats back to you on your sales and releases!

    @ Andrea- It's more that these two librarians see themselves that way-- I agree, it shouldn't be a stereotype. And yeah, a life surrounded by books sounds cool to me!

    @ ScorpJen- Thanks for checking out the post, good luck in the drawing!

    @ Stephanie- Appreciate the good wishes!

    @ Ashley- Woot, Bones! (Ahem) LOL- to answer your Q, the whole calendar spanned 5600 some-odd years. They back-dated it to begin around 3300 BC, which was *well before* the Mayan culture existed ... but it was right around the time the Egyptians developed their hieroglyphics (creepy, huh??).

    And they set it to end specifically at the winter solstice of 2012 because that is the day the earth, sun and moon pass through the center of the Milky Galaxy, which the Maya took to represent the entrance to the underworld (Xibalba).

    So, for me anyway, the timing is entirely deliberate and precisely calculated. The other thing that I find creepy is that there was no deliberate attempt to make the Gregorian calendar line up in such a way that the date would be almost a palindrome (12/21/12). That was a coincidence ... Or was it??

    @ Lori V- Thanks for the shout out! I hope you love Michael and Sasha, and you'll be way prepped for Lucius's story, as he plays a pretty big role at the end of SkyK too. Enjoy!

    @ cathy- Cool, I hope you'll check out the series!

    To all- have a great evening, I'll check back later in case anyone else wants to chime in :)

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  12. sounds like an interesting series, very different concept from what I've seen in selecting Mayan mythology as the base. haven't read any these yet but may have to check them out that I'm aware of them. Is it best to read in order or can they be read out of order without realy loosing anything or becoming too confused -- I confuse easy enough at time as it is :) thanks for the background & congrats on the new book.

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  13. gamistress- Glad you're intrigued! In my opinion (and based on some of the reviews I've read), DEMONKEEPERS reads well by itself, and it should be relatively easy to find (it's in stores today!).

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