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One Moment In Time: A Photo Essay

Yesterday and this morning a strange thing happened, and this is what it looks like: I know enough to know it won’t stay, and it’ll probably never happen again, but pics so it did happen.

Of Names and Nuance

Sometimes writers are clever. Really, really clever.

There’s a character named Frangit in the Shard of Elan series, because his purpose is to break. In one scene Shianan argues fiercely that something has never, ever happened, and he believes it, but the careful reader will note that in his emotion he’s deceived himself, as we often do. I take great pride in slipping absolutely-true-but-also-misleading statements into the mouths of kitsune and Fae.

Make Like A Tree and Stay Right Here

It has been an absolute whirlwind of a month or so. I celebrated the release of Shard & Shield, I attended the Realm Makers writing conference in St. Louis, I attended and taught at Gen Con in Indianapolis, I was home approximately 24 hours and then took off to attend and teach at When Words Collide in Calgary, then drove south to tiny Rachel, Nevada where I holed up for several days at the Little A’le’Inn (just outside Area 51) to work on Blood & Bond and hit the road for the ET Full Moon Marathon (I did the half), and then I drove home. (More on much of these to come.)

Guest Book: King of Malorn, by Annie Douglass Lima

Let’s hear today from Annie Douglass Lima, an author of YA whom I know only online, because she lives and teaches in a country I’ve never yet visited. She has a new book out today in her YA fantasy series, and you can grab it for free while it’s fresh. So let’s take a moment to check it out, okay?

Thorn: a YA Fantasy cover reveal

Today on the blog we have a book by a talented friend, Intisar Khanani, whose Thorn is being re-released soon from HarperTeen. Let’s take a look, shall we?

A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own.

Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.

When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.

But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever.

With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for.

Let’s see this gorgeous cover!

Shard & Shield is A Go!

It’s happened! It’s out in the world. Shard & Shield is loose and in readers’ hands.

Early reviews have started to appear. Sales ranks have started to climb. And all in all, this has been a successful launch, so thank you all very much!

Preorder Bonuses

If you forwarded your proof of purchase or library request as instructed, you should have gotten your goodies within 24 hours.

60s Batman with bomb, nuns in background: Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb

Charity Update for Preorders

Serious post today, guys. This is a very important update for legal reasons.

Shard & Shield cover
I chose a charity relevant to the story, that I’d learned more about during research. Oops.

Sometimes you have good intentions, and yet it just doesn’t work out like you intended.

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know I do the occasional charity benefit. Cupcake the Dinosaur likes to appear at community events and raise money for, say, the local animal shelter or Needy Family Fund. I have sold books for charity fundraising before and participated in the Giftmas campaign each year for the Edmonton Food Bank. And most recently, I pledged to donate two dollars for every preorder sale of Shard & Shield to a specific charity organization.

Well, it turns out that was illegal.