If you get my newsletter, you’ve already seen my announcement about my upcoming book, Angel of Brass. I’ll have more to post soon, but for now I wanted to let everyone know that this will be my first deliberate foray into writing for young adults, and my first real steampunk novel as well. As you might guess from the cover, the novel doesn’t only draw on elements of Victorian England (the go-to standby for steampunk), but contains a heavy Mesoamerican influence as well. Don’t worry, though: there are still airships, top hats, and brainy girls aplenty. Oh, and zombies. You guys like zombies, right?
End of the Year Bloggery
It’s time once again for the obligatory end-of-the-year blog. Looking back on my goals from last year, I realize that it was probably silly for me to make such a list. I failed at most of my stated goals, but I also did a shit load of things that I’d never even thought about at the end of 2010.
So what did I accomplish in 2011? I wrote somewhere in the neighborhood of 300,000 words. I created 104 pages of Riven Sol, and did a small amount of miscellaneous other art. I self-published several chapters of Riven Sol, one novel and came very close to having a second novel ready to roll out. I did edits on other novels. I laid the groundwork to launch a second writing career to run alongside this one.
In my non-writing life, I drank a lot of excellent beer, made new friends, brewed mead, read some incredible fiction (professional and fan), took up biking, got a cat through a major illness, lost 30 pounds, and managed not to drive my husband too insane (that’s more his accomplishment than mine, though).
So, all-in-all it was a pretty good year. I don’t think I’m going to make a goals list for 2012, but rather see what life brings.
October and a Sale
I love October. Without question, it’s my favorite month of the year. The leaves turn all the colors of flame, their branches heavy with nuts and fall berries. The mornings dawn crisp and cool, and the evenings smell of woodsmoke and burning leaves. October is apple cider fresh from the roadside stand, pumpkin pancakes for weekend breakfasts, and persimmons kissed by the first frost. Pumpkin ales appear on the shelves, and delicious dark stouts and porters replace the lighter ales of summer.
And of course, there’s Halloween. I don’t usually go out for the holiday, and haven’t for a long time, but I love the costumes, the parties, the spooky stories, and the scary movies on the TV.
So, to celebrate the month, I decided to put the Kindle version of The Sorceress’s Orc on sale for $0.99. I hope you enjoy this little pre-Halloween treat!
Mary Shelley Day Cancellation
Since it looks like we might be in for a blow from Hurricane Irene this weekend, I’m reluctantly playing it safe (all of my friends are now thinking “who the hell are you and why are you on Elaine’s blog?”) and cancelling my appearance at Old Books on Front St. this weekend. As of this writing, Mary Shelley Day event is still scheduled to go forward, however, so if you’re local and Wilmington escapes damage, I encourage you to attend! The event has now been canceled and we are looking to reschedule.
Mary Shelley Day Lineup
If you’re in the Wilmington, NC area this weekend, come out to Old Books on Front St. from 3-5 pm for our celebration of Mary Shelley’s birthday. We’ll have cake, readings, and lots of fun! And if you’re a fan, let me know, and we’ll grab a beer at Front Street Brewery after the event. 
Here’s a list of all the authors attending the celebration:
Diana Bastine is the author of The Source, the first novel of a fantasy trilogy for young adults set in modern-day Ireland. The second volume, The Shapeshifter, will be released in the next several months. Diana currently resides in Wilmington, where she is hard at work on another writing project, a steampunk novel starring Mother Jones.
Debra Killeen is the author of the award-winning fantasy series, “The Myrridian Cycle.” The final volume, Kingdom in the Balance, was released earlier this year. Debra currently resides in Wilmington and is busy at work on the next writing project.
Elaine Corvidae has been telling stories about faeries, elves, and dragons since she was a small child. Her dark fantasy novels have won numerous awards, including multiple Eppie Awards and Dream Realm Awards for Best Fantasy Novel. When she isn’t wandering the worlds of her imagination, she lives in Harrisburg, NC, with her husband and several cats. You can visit her on the web at www.elainecorvidae.com.
My name is S.L. Schmitz, child of the 1980’s, daughter of the night. I live in North Carolina with my husband, son, and four cats. I write strange, dark stories that you shouldn’t read because they might scare you. I am a Board Member with the Dark Continents Publishing Company, and my novel Let It Bleed is available in both softcover and e-book form. In addition, my serialized e-novel Mina’s Daughter: The Harker Chronicles is available through Trestle Press and can be downloaded off Amazon beginning September 2011. Visit my website at www.thedeadgirl.com.
Christy English is the author of the historical novels THE QUEEN’S PAWN and TO BE QUEEN: A NOVEL OF THE EARLY LIFE OF ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE. Thought she has written no science fiction herself, Christy has been a devotee of Mary Shelley’s brilliance for over twenty years.
Calie Voorhis is a life-long fanatic of the fantastic, with stories in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine – Issue 51 and the anthologies Dead Set: A Zombie Anthology, Space Sirens, Farspace 2, DOA – Tales of Extreme Terror, and Anywhere but Earth. She holds a BS in Biology from UNC-Chapel Hill, an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, and is an Odyssey workshop alumna.
Hunter’s Crown, Edits, and Soundtracks
So I’ve received the first round of edits for Hunter’s Crown, which is the fifth Shadow Fae book. Haha, remember when there were only going to be three in the series? Yeah, me too. The good news is that an early reader said she couldn’t believe I hadn’t had it all planned out from the beginning, so at least I don’t have to worry about it feeling tacked on.
I’m planning to spend the weekend going over the edits and fixing everything I screwed up. So today I’m breaking out the Hunter’s Crown soundtrack to get back into the mood of the book. As I’ve said many times before, I am deeply dependent on music to help break things free from my subconscious. Sometimes the songs make sense, and sometimes the only connection is so tenuous even I can barely see it (but I feel it, and that’s what I’m going for anyway).
Here are links to a couple of the songs from the soundtrack. First up: “End of Days” by Abney Park. When I first heard this song, my brain pretty much exploded. There was no way this wasn’t going to the be first song I listened to every morning while getting ready to write.
Next: “Where is the Edge” by Within Temptation. I already talked about this song a bit over at Evil League of Evil Writers, but suffice it to say this helped me work out a scene I’ve been wanting to write ever since way back in Prince of Ash.
Third on the list: “Bury Me Alive” by We Are the Fallen.
And that’s going to be it for today, since I don’t want to overload everyone with a million YouTube videos.
Now, let’s see about getting those edits done…
News and a Fire in the Void Announcement
I’ve got a couple of bits of news to share, plus a big announcement for all those who’ve been waiting on Fire in the Void.
First the news: if you take a look over at my appearances listed in the sidebar, you’ll see I’ve added one for the end of this month. Sorry for the short notice, but I only just found out myself! Some other Broad Universe members and I will be hosting a celebration of Mary Shelley’s birthday at Old Books on Front St., a fabulous used book store in Wilmington, NC. There will be readings, signings, and birthday cake, so come on out if you’re in the area.
My second bit of news is that Mundania Press is celebrating its ninth birthday (hmm, all my news seems to have a theme today) this month. You can save 29% off all my MP books by entering the coupon code NINE when you check out.
And finally, an update on Fire in the Void. First, let me thank everyone for your patience. I really meant to get it edited and available sooner, but contracted work, the launch of The Sorceress’s Orc, and other things threw my plans into disarray. But I am pleased to announce that my editor now has some free time (and I have the money to pay her–this is a big damn book, so editing it isn’t cheap), so we’re going to start work on it very soon. With any luck, I’ll have it out before the end of the year. Finally!
Six Sentence Sunday – 16
This week’s Six Sentence Sunday comes from my contemporary paranormal novella, Rain on the Mountain. Police detective Tricia Barnes doesn’t believe in the supernatural…at least until she finds herself on the trail of a serial killer who is something other than human. Can sexy shapeshifter Pacal Bahlum help her stop the murderer, or will they become its next victims?
I found myself captured by the jaguar’s amber stare. Steady and frightening, it seemed to probe my innermost thoughts. I wondered blankly if all prey felt that way, felt the predator looking for the weakness that would spell its death.
Then the jaguar seemed to shiver, like a bit of mist blown apart by the wind. The amber eyes darkened to brown, fringed by long lashes. In one final insult to my sanity, I found myself staring not at a jaguar, but at my suspect, Pacal Bahlum.
Rain on the Mountain is available as a $0.99 ebook, or for $4.99 in print format.
Six Sentence Sunday – 14
Hello all! Now that convention season has calmed down for me, I’ll be participating in Six Sentence Sunday more regularly. This week, I turned in Hunter’s Crown, the 5th in my Shadow Fae series, to my senior editor. In celebration, I thought I’d pull my six from it. Enjoy!
The goblin market offered the sorts of things no one mortal was ever likely to see: delicate glass sculptures that sang, flowers that put out a scent so heady it would entrap anyone who smelled them, cloaks made from the skins of cold-drakes that turned the wearer invisible, sprites caught and stuffed into bottles to act as living lanterns. Everywhere there was wonder, and beauty, and delight.
And every damn bit of it a trap. No mortal who tried to bargain with one of the vendors would leave with more than he came with, if he ever left at all.
Pook felt sick, like he’d bitten into an apple and found maggots inside. Turning away, he saw Alex staring out the window, a glazed look in her eyes.
Six Sentence Sunday – 13
For lucky number 13 of my Six Sentence Sunday, I thought I’d include a few sentences from the book I’m currently revising, Hunter’s Crown, which is the fifth book in the Shadow Fae series. Unfortunately, I’m having trouble finding a non-spoilery bit to post, so here’s something from the first scene of the novel, when our heroes encounter a mermaid:
“Speak not to me of the selkies,” said the mermaid, all her mirth collapsing at once. Her green-tinged lips drew back, revealing rows upon rows of shark’s teeth. “And as for the rest of you, you’ll never set foot on land again.”
She dove, then, her long tail uncoiling behind her as she vanished into the churning depths. Once below, she let out a cry that Alex more felt in her bones than heard.
“Oh hell,” Pook said, pointing to the storm-tossed waves.
In folklore, merfolk raised storms, and (like most of the water-based fae) had rather murderous tendencies. Even the mermaid featured in the “Lutey and the Mermaid” tale drowned first Lutey, then one of his descendents every nine years, in exchange for the gift of healing she gave to the family. In modern times, mermaids have been rendered sad shadows of their former selves, which may be why I’m unreasonably excited to hear that there are deadly mermaids in the new Pirates movie (no spoilers in the comments if you’ve seen it, please!).