Agents, Adepts, and Apprentices

I am excited to announce that Zumaya Thresholds has released my short story collection, Agents, Adepts, & Apprentices. This is an expanded version of the collection previously published by Amber Quill Press, with a few more stories about my interplanetary agents, as well as additional fantasy and science fiction stories (some of which appeared in anthologies by other publishers).

I am especially pleased with the new cover by the wonderful April Martinez. She really captured my wizard Salanoa.

For those new to the collection, there are fantasy stories about wizards, elves, talking horses, and dwarves as well as humans trying to deal with magic. There are also science fiction stories about psi powers, interplanetary agents, aliens attending college on Earth, and aliens attempting to figure out Terran slang. And, as indicated by the title, there are experts, and there are those trying to learn, with mixed results.

Agents, Adepts & Apprentices is currently available through Kindle, Nook, and Kobo, with other formats available soon.

The paper version is planned to appear at FenCon in Dallas. I have a cupcake party (short stories = cupcakes) scheduled to celebrate there. This works out extremely well as Zumaya Publications will be at the convention as well. So I'll be able to hang out with publisher Elizabeth Burton and fellow authors Gloria Oliver and Rie Sheridan Rose.

By that time I should also be calmed down from running around town and showing off the new cover to people (so far the librarians at the local library, the local bookstore owner, people at the post office who hand out my pens, people at my credit union - and one must not forget friends on Facebook). Or do you know authors who don't get excited about new book covers?

Cover teaser-- A CURSE OF ASH AND IRON

It's nearly here! 

The cover reveal for A CURSE OF ASH AND IRON is tomorrow!!!! After everything I've been through with this book, I am relieved to finally have a cover. And, people, it is AWESOME.

The reveal will be Tuesday, Jan. 27 on YA Books Central's blog, at noon EST. There you will also find a giveaway-- enter to win one of THREE posters of the cover art, signed by me! 

One hour later, the cover will go live on my own blog and about 20 other blogs owned by people who signed up to help with the reveal. 

Meanwhile, I have a little teaser for you all. Just a bit of the cover to whet your appetite. Ready?

That's all you get until tomorrow! Be sure to check my blog and YA Books Central and look around the web for the WHOLE picture! 

Ah the ups and downs of publishing..

Hallo my freaky darlings!

It's been a long month. Last month I spent three weekends in a row on the road, doing promotional stuff. It was all fun, but tiring when you have to return to a five-day-a-week full time job too. Especially when you just started said job. It was a rough start, but now we're almost to summer and things are quieting down. I love being a school librarian, but yanno, if I had the means to just write and promote all the time, and travel all over to do it, I'd be there.

So now I'm turning toward the next things on the agenda. I have the NJSCBWI conference coming up on the 27th, and then CONvergence over Independence Day. I'm starting to really work on promoting A CURSE OF ASH AND IRON. The manuscript has been edited, and copyedited, and turned over for proofreading. July will bring ARCs and the book being sent out on NetGalley for pre-publication reviews. I am setting up my fall appearance schedule a little bit.

I have a place in mind for the launch, which will be a Victorian tea party of sorts, and I think it will be at a local tea house. Super fun!

But, as with every endeavor, nothing goes perfectly. We make plans, God laughs, or whatever. Whether it's Mercury in retrograde, or Murphy's law, or just my luck, I don't know. But I'm still waiting for the cover. I have the cover reveal scheduled for June 19th, but I will have to push it back unless I get the cover today or at the latest tomorrow. The publisher is upset at the delay as well. I don't know the reason, but these things happen. I trust the artist, the awesome Steven Meyer-Rassow, will make it everything I want and it will be awesome.

And as much as I want the cover reveal to happen, more pressing is getting promotional swag made up for those above-mentioned upcoming appearances. I NEED to have something for CONvergence. I'm sure I'll have the cover before then *crosses fingers* and if needs be I can get Staples to print them same day. It'll be tight, but totally not a major crisis. Do you hear me? NOT. A. CRISIS.

Maybe you can all light a candle that the cover comes in time for the scheduled reveal? Pretty Please?

Just another day in the exciting world of publishing! LOL.

Lights, Camera, Ali -- Cover Reveal

This is one of those busy times of year, so instead of regaling you with the craziness of the schedule around here, which I'm sure matches the craziness of everyone else's schedule, I'll just take this opportunity to say how excited I am that the second Reality Ali book is coming out this summer. And just so that I know it's really real, I even have cover art. 

Get ready to read more about Ali and her never-boring Thanksgiving break in LIGHTS, CAMERA, ALI.