MaryJanice Davidson - Queen Betsy 09 Undead and Unfinished

Table of Contents

Titles by MaryJanice Davidson

UNDEAD AND UNWED
UNDEAD AND UNEMPLOYED
UNDEAD AND UNAPPRECIATED
UNDEAD AND UNRETURNABLE
UNDEAD AND UNPOPULAR
UNDEAD AND UNEASY
UNDEAD AND UNWORTHY
UNDEAD AND UNWELCOME
UNDEAD AND UNFINISHED

DERIKS BANE

SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES
SWIMMING WITHOUT A NET
FISH OUT OF WATER

Titles by MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi

JENNIFER SCALES AND THE ANCIENT FURNACE
JENNIFER SCALES AND THE MESSENGER OF LIGHT
THE SILVER MOON ELM: A JENNIFER SCALES NOVEL
SERAPH OF SORROW: A JENNIFER SCALES NOVEL
RISE OF THE POISON MOON: A JENNIFER SCALES NOVEL

Anthologies

CRAVINGS

(with Laurell K. Hamilton, Rebecca York, Eileen Wilks)

BITE

(with Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Angela Knight, Vickie Taylor)

KICK ASS

(with Maggie Shayne, Angela Knight, Jacey Ford)

MEN AT WORK

(with Janelle Denison, Nina Bangs)

DEAD AND LOVING IT

SURFS UP

(with Janelle Denison, Nina Bangs)

MYSTERIA

(with P. C. Cast, Gena Showalter, Susan Grant)

OVER THE MOON

(with Angela Knight, Virginia Kantra, Sunny)

DEMONS DELIGHT

(with Emma Holly, Vickie Taylor, Catherine Spangler)

DEAD OVER HEELS

MYSTERIA LANE (with P. C. Cast, Gena Showalter, Susan Grant)

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, andincidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright 2010 by MaryJanice Alongi.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions. BERKLEY SENSATION and the B design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Davidson, MaryJanice.

p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-101-18854-5

1. Taylor, Betsy (Fictitious character)Fiction. 2. Sinclair, Eric (Fictitious character)Fiction. 3. VampiresFiction. 4. HellFiction. 5. Thanksgiving DayFiction. I. Title. PS3604.A949U.6dc22

2010011125

http://us.penguingroup.com

For Sarah and Sherrilyn and Jen and Lisa
and Vicky and Marissa,
who helped me bring my bad self
back to my bad self,
and never once asked me for anything.

Acknowledgments

Okay, so, at the end of the day, when its time to write a book, its just me and the computer ... me, glaring balefully at same; computer refusing to make eye contact in the childish way it has.

(I should probably rewrite that: it should be the computer and me , right? Cuz Im tryin to write good n stuff. Enh. Ive already lost interest.)

But! For me to have the time to sit my big white butt down in the seat and get the work done? Tons of people help with that. And since I willfully ignore them most of the time, when Im not figuring out how to frame them for felony assault, Ill go on ahead and drop a few names.

First, many thanks to my valiant yet self-effacing assistant, Tracy Fritze. The poor woman no doubt assumed, well over a year ago, that itd be a typical office job. Working for a writer was probably like working for an accountant: it sounded important but was ultimately mind-numbingly dull.

Sure, her workplace was my very own home, but how much different would it be from driving to an office three days a week?

Tracy likely assumed her duties would fall along the lines of word processing, setting up meetings, arranging interviews, proofing ARCs, booking speaking engagements, working with copyeditors, and occasionally running tornado drills.

Instead, the poor woman has been forced, in pretty rapid succession, to endure: being greeted by my pantsless son on more than one occasion, being interviewed by a German magazine (them: How terrific is it to work for the MaryJanice Davidson? Tracy: Um ... ), fighting off our overly affectionate dogs, enduring the smells of McDonalds chicken nuggets and pots of chocolate Malt OMeal when shes trying to eat like a grown-up (and set me an example of same), and ceaselessly trying to encourage me to sit down to make decisions (on PR products, on book signings, on answering reader questions, on turning in interview questions the day I agreed to do so, on why I shouldnt wolf down a half dozen Reeses Cups at 9:30 a.m.) like a grown-up.

Not to mention being locked out of my house when Ive crawled back into bed with a migraine (see above: greeted by pantsless son: Hi, Tracy. Moms sick. Can I have some Malt OMeal?), and holding her ground when I ruthlessly set the dogs upon her (I found my dogs are especially fond of her if I rub bacon grease into her shoes while shes hard at work in the office).

Tracy is an assistant as the dictionary defines it: she contributes to the fulfillment of a need; she assumes some of my responsibilities. She rescues me from the minutiae that nearly everyone has to endure if they want to be a functioning member of society. Shes smart, shes quick, she never has to be told anything twice, shes discreet (nobody knew about my pantsless son or Malt OMealgate until I stuck it right in my acknowledgments page). Also, she smells terrific.

Thanks are also due, as always, to the awesomest of awesome husbands, Anthony Alongi (he also cowrites the Jennifer Scales series with me). He tirelessly reads, suggests, edits, mocks, enrages, inspires, and annoys. Without him, theres absolutely nothing for me.

My folks and sister, for being completely unwavering in their support, one hundred percent of the time. They wouldnt abandon that stance if I stuck a gun in their ear. Do not ask me how I know that.

The Magic Widows, who have endured me for years and pretend that Im worth the trouble.

The best of agents, Ethan Ellenberg, who paid me the ultimate compliment of calling me low maintenance. That was a wonderful lie for him to tell!

The always terrific Cindy Hwang, who reads my book suggestions and synopses, edits my manuscripts, exudes copious enthusiasm for same, and doesnt smack herself on the forehead when I can see it, or hear it. (Though I do occasionally hear odd background sounds when Im on the phone with her.)

And to Leis Pederson, kick-ass assistant editor, who is repeatedly forced to track me down and corner me like a rat to get edits out of me, but does it with such style I feel wanted, not stalked.