WWW Wednesday 7-09-2014

WWW Wednesday. This meme is from shouldbereading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

• What are you currently reading?

Several things, actually. Some for research for The Dead Shall Live, Volume Two of The Fury Triad. Some just for pleasure, but always with a British accent/voice.

Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl, Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire, The Anatomy of Story, for research and such. Mary Balogh’s A Christmas Bride/Christmas Beau, Terry Pratchett’s Equal Rites (which I somehow ended up buying on sale for Kindle and also the audiobook, which gives me choices on how to read/listen), and Carolyn Jewel’s Indiscreet for pleasure. 

As usual I wonder if I’m providing spoilers when I reveal what I’m reading for research. As usual, I decide if you figure it out, you deserve to know. Not that I’d confirm, mind you!

 

 

• What did you recently finish reading?

The Silkworm, and it was a fabulous read. Just as I suspected it would be. Now I simply have to wait for the next to be written, sigh.

As I said on goodreads: “Jo Rowling has knocked another one out of the park. Excellent plot and characterization. Points off for unnecessary use of author intrusion on a few points, but still, excellent book.“

 

• What do you think you’ll read next?

Hopefully I’ll finish some of the ones I’ve started and mention them here, maybe, on goodreads for sure. Beyond that? I have no idea!

 

What about you? What have you been reading lately? Put the link to your WWW Wednesday entry in comments, or just tell us!

 

The Steampunk Tea

While at the RT Saints of Suspense Party, I met Nina Davis, a fabulous local-to-me librarian. I am going to make a special effort to blog a field trip to her library, the beautiful-beyond-words Smith Public Library in Wylie, Texas. The images here don’t do it justice. When their copy of This Crumbling Pageant is on the shelves I intend to take a picture, because yes, I am that big a dork. But seriously! Wouldn’t you?

To my delight, Nina invited me to participate in the Second Annual Steampunk Tea, along with authors Lorraine Heath, Addison Fox, Jaye Wells, Eva Gordon, and Sandy Williams. I pulled together a few quasi-steampunk things and did the best facsimile of steampunk I could, and now see I must make this a priority. With various cons, signings and functions, I have too handy and excuse to play dress-up not to invest a little bit more in the costume!

The food was fabulous. Finger sandwiches, mini-quiches, petit fours and biscuits. (That’s Brit-speak for cookies, y’all.) Oh, and of course, tea. Darjeeling and Earl Grey. I am a sucker for a tea, and this one was elegant, with all kinds of book-related conversations!

Sometimes something happens that just makes a writer’s day, and this was one of those times. Last year my publisher and I distributed a few hundred chapbooks that contained the first three chapters of This Crumbling Pageant. The photographer from the Wylie News had not only received one, but had given it to her 13-year-old daughter to read–who LOVED it, and was dying to read the rest. I made my very first sale that day on that spot, before we even set up at the signing tables!

Pooks at the signing table, later in the day.

I warned her (and now you) that this book does have mature content. The best explanation I can give at this time is that there is sex that has context and consequence. Some people may be far more disturbed by the dark nature of some of the violence than any sexual content.

So, caution: Read yourself first, or know your younger YA readers’ reading history, before sharing with them! I know many read books much more graphic than this one. It’s very individual.

Again, the tea was a fabulously fun experience and I hope I get to do another one. Nina got away before I got a picture of her in her costume, but maybe next time.

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 Originally posted at the FuryTriad site.

Wow, that's a lot of heavy lifting!

I’ve done a lot of rearranging here, making it easier to find books, reviews, sample chapters, etc.

I did the same on the Fury Triad website.

If you find anything that doesn’t work or is confusing, let me know.

In the meantime, I’m looking for people to join the Fury Triad street team, and am also offering  ‘pooks’ freebies and pooks merchandise to people who are interested. The links go to the Fury Triad site for now.

Also, signed bookplates for any of my books, in exchange for an SASE.

Eventually I’ll set up the same links over here [except for the TeamFury signup which will stay there]. But for now, go check out the goodies!

 

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Persephone: One of the first prizes I gave away through my newsletter contest.

 

 

 

The Author Visits!

This week I’m at TheAuthorVisits, where you’ll find this:

And this:

And a chance to win a print copy of this–autographed to you!

In addition is a fabulous new review of this:

So go, read, enter, comment!

See you there!

WWW Wednesday 6-4-2014

Yes, it’s Wednesday, but first I’ve just got to share this amazing news. My book, This Crumbling Pageant, just got a 4.5 star review from RT Book Reviews. “Fantastic story!” I’m over the moon! RT doesn’t give 5-star reviews so…. yeah. Color me stardust & moonglow blissed!

Now, back to WWW Wednesday. This meme is from shouldbereading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

• What are you currently reading?

I’m reading the third book in the Montmaray Journals,  The FitzOsbornes at War. What a terrific series. In the first book we find a tiny island nation off the coast of Spain with only a handful of inhabitants. A mad king who spends most of his time behind closed doors, a prince and two princesses, their housekeeper [madder than the king, truth be told] and her son, all living in a castle filled with relics of an earlier age, and in dire poverty and scraping along as best they can with less food and comfort than the handful of ‘subjects’ who still live on the island.

This doesn’t do it justice.

All I can say is World War II, Nazis, more name-dropping of major players of that time period than you can begin to list, all the pangs of young love, London, balls, the Blitz… all told through the three journals of Her Highness Sophia of Montmaray, Princess, and in this book, employee of the office that oversees food rationing in England. Honestly, I can’t describe these books. But I do like the heck out of them.

• What did you recently finish reading?

I don’t think I mentioned this book when I was reading it, and I finished it recently. Miss Mabel’s School for Girls (Network Series #1). First off let me say that the magical world building is dark, intense and solid. However, I just am so distracted by the term “Network” in this context. It is just an “off” term in the context of a magical world, but oh well, minor in the general scheme of things. Good book, and I’m looking forward to more in this series.

It’s a very unusual cover. I like it.

 

• What do you think you’ll read next?

Sex in Georgian England.

Hey, don’t judge. It’s research!

It’s odd that for a long time I could post whatever I wanted and not worry about it, but now there are people trying to figure out what happens next in The Fury Triad and I certainly don’t want to tip my hand here.

Just to be safe, if you’re reading the books and don’t want spoilers, close your eyes, stick your fingers in your ears and say, “La la la la la!” and pretend you never saw it. Deal? Deal!

 

What about you? What have you been reading lately? Put the link to your WWW Wednesday entry in comments, or just tell us!