Holiday Scavenger Hunt!!!

We know there are certain times during the holiday season when it’s better to receive than to give and, with that in mind, the authors of NUW thought it would be a great idea to give you a chance to “get something” just for yourself this year!!

How can you do that? By participating in this year’s NUW Authors Holiday Scavenger Hunt of course!! The NUW Authors Holiday Scavenger Hunt will start on November 20, 2008 and with more than fifty dollars worth of prizes ready for the giving — including ebooks, paperback, and giftcards — it promises to be fun for all!

So, now that you know how we want to try to brighten your Holiday Season, please join us this November and December so that when the gifts are given this coming January, you’ll have the chance that they just might be given to YOU!!!

To find out more or to join in on the fun, visit: http://www.nuwauthors.wordpress.com/

Meet Karina Fabian

Today’s guest is Karina Fabian, author of over fifty articles and stories, and a half-dozen books. As President of the Catholic Writers Guild, organizer of the Catholic Writers Conference Online, and participant of the MuseOnline Conference, Karina enjoys working with other writers to grow in their writing skill and their faith. A mother of four and wife to an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, her real life can take on as many fantastic adventures as her fantasy life. Well, almost...

1. You have a story included in the book Firestorm of Dragons? What is it about?

"DragonEye, PI" a down-and-out dragon living down a spell by the Faerie St. George works as a detective on the non-magical side of the Interdimensional Gap. When a Faerie Princess hires him to retrieve a necklace that might be the key to getting him back his powers, he needs to decide: do the right thing and save the universes? Or take the jewels and run?

2. What inspired you to write this tale?

The title of the anthology. I loved the idea of writing a dragon story and it took me days to come up with a unique angle. Once I had a noir-style dragon detective, the rest fell together. Now I have a character I adore and a world I love to play in. I have several DragonEye stories written and published and two books coming out in 2009. Thanks, Firestorm!

3. Could you tell me a bit about your other work, Leaps of Faith?

This is an anthology of Christian sci-fi. The stories cover the usual challenges of the future, from space travel to aliens to time travel, plus some genetic engineering--but all incorporating Christian faith in a way that is positive, inspiring and useful to the characters.

4. Why did you decide to take part in this work?

Rob and I fell into it. We were looking for a home for some of our stories about an order of space-faring nuns who do rescue operations, and Kat Lively at FrancisIsidore e-press suggested we compile an anthology. It made the finals for the EPPIE that year for best electronically published anthology, but unfortunately, e-press wasn't doing well yet, and Kat moved on to other things. Now, years later, The Writers' Café Press is putting it out in print and we're overjoyed!

5. What other projects are you working on?

I'm editing a second book of Catholic sci-fi, Infinite Space, Infinite God II, and working on a study guide for ISIG I. My DragonEye, PI books--Magic, Mensa and Mayhem and Live and Let Fly--are in the editing and critique stages respectively. I have the ideas for 2 more DragonEye, PI books, but they need to wait until I finish writing the first Rescue Sisters novel, Discovery.

6. Where can readers find out more about either of these titles?

My website FabianSpace.com has all my works and you can find out more about DragonEye P.I. at DragonEyePI.net (as a bonus, anyone who registers on the website before December 1 gets a free story and subscription to the DragonEye, PI newsletter). Readers can also visit LeapsofFaithSF.com which has information about the stories and writers of Leaps of Faith, FirestormofDragons.com for info on the stories and writers of Firestorm of dragons and ISIGSF.com if they’re interest in the stories and writers of Infinite Space, Infinite God.

A Trad Author Goes POD

Admittedly, I haven't had much time as of late to peruse other’s blogs as much as I'd like but I recently found this blog which you -- as an independent, maybe-going-to-be inde, or even trad author who is considering the options -- really need to read.

Why? Because it's by a multi-trad popular author who’s decided to go POD. Now yes, I know there are quite a few who are using POD to get their work out there but what is nice about this one is that he is explaining why he is going POD, why he's making the decisions he is, and what he hopes to achieve by doing this.

And the reading is good, informative, and even a bit encouraging (to me at least). How? Well, for one, he seems to be hearing much of what us “less well-known” authors struggling for that special little contract are also hearing:

"...good writing, but not for us ... well constructed story, good characterizations, but at this time it doesn’t fit into our lines...”

Which inherently and automatically makes us think:

"Oh, well, poor me... It must be the book. The book must suck..."

Yes, those are his words and, quite often, my very exact thoughts since I heard much of the same thing whilst in my “Adventures in Query-land” phase over the past year.

And his response to what he heard also in some ways mirrors my own when -- after much deliberation, research, and forethought -- he comes to the conclusion that:

"I didn’t want to dump the manuscript in the trash. I’d worked hard on it, and ... I believed it was good..."

Sure, it didn't fit the present market and might not be exactly what "they" were looking for, but it didn't mean it was a bad book or rotten story. It just meant options had to be explored and other avenues taken.

And thusly, they have been.

So, please, when you get the chance, stop by and check out David Wind’s blog and website.

I’m confident you’ll find it all very interesting :)

Cover Preview - Check it out!!

Just thought I'd take a quick moment today to let everyone know I have just gotten a sneak peek at the cover for my forthcoming novel, "Calypso's Revenge," so am posting a pic of it here on my blog so you can check it out too.

The real one (this is just a mid-production sample) will be in full color and will wrap all the way around the book. Guess I should upload the whole thing later this week so you can see as well ;)

Anyways, just thought you'd like to "sneak a peek" too lol :)

Stir, Laugh, Repeat!

"That's good but it isn't quite right," laments Martha Cheves, as she delves into another recipe-perfecting extravaganza.

Find out why her food testers celebrate these all-too-often occasions in Stir, Laugh, Repeat the new cookbook by Martha Cheves who, following her passion for cooking and in hot pursuit of just the right taste, composed one hundred recipes for cooks of all ages that are sure to satiate appetites of any kind.

Try her quick and easy Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Mini-pies for breakfast; Rabbit Food Sandwich for a healthy, take-to-the-office lunch; Mustard Pork Chops for a zesty twist that still satisfies the meat and potato man; and whip up her renowned Banana Puddin' as a sweet end to a satisfying day. Sprinkled amongst timeless southern dishes are practical tips to help any beginner cook like a pro while learning from Martha's tales of kitchen woes.

Feast on Stir, Laugh, Repeat today and let your experimental imagination sizzle with delight as you try your hand at Martha's suggested variations.

Stir, Laugh, Repeat
Finding Joy While Playing in the Kitchen
by Martha A. Cheves

Author website: http://www.marthaskitchenkorner.com/

Or you may order direct from the publisher:

http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60462-818-0

New Cover & Book Updates!!

Thought today would be a good day to pop in over here with a few updates on my forthcoming books, the much-anticipated futuristic, “Calypso’s Revenge: A Traitor’s Heart,” and the contemporary paranormal novella, “For Better or Worse.”

Firstly, the cover for FBOW has recently been posted over at the publisher’s blog (yeah!) which you can check out by visiting http://blog.literaryroad.com -- I’ll get it posted on my own site once I get copies sent to me.

BTW, I think the staff at Literary Road did a very nice job, especially since how difficult I can sometimes be when it comes to covers (because once you’ve had a bad one, you’ll always be that way, lol). They got all the thematics right: The moon, the wolf, and the wedding rings. All important aspects to the story (or at least I think so).

As for CRATH, it’s coming right along. Halfway through the final full edit then it’ll be off to the proofreader, hopefully by the middle of next week for one last go-through, then once that’s done, we’ll be talking formatting (yeah!!).

Also, I’ve already had requests from several who wanted to be able to give this book as a gift for the holidays but seeing it probably won’t be out until it’s expected January 2009 release (*pout, pout*), in lieu of the actual book, gift certificates for autographed copies are going to be made available to buy in November 08. These “gifted” copies should ship direct from the publisher to your recipient sometime late Jan/early Feb 09.

Look for more details coming in November!!

Officially Official :)

Well I guess it’s official now: My short contemporary paranormal novella, titled For Better or Worse, is going to be published in various e-formats by the Seattle-based traditional press, Literary Road, where, unbeknownst to me, it seems it will also be the first title produced under their HodgePodge paranormal imprint.

For those who’ve been following along, yes, this is the same work for which I’d turned down other publishing offers for and also the one that could also kinda be considered my official return back to my roots in the paranormal romance genre (can’t you hear the cheering fans lol) so there’s much to look forward to.

And being a novella, it’s not as long as True Nature, but don’t worry for it’s got the much of the same romantic flair and poeticness of my old work, even if the romance is more about the love itself and not so much the physical (or in other words, erotica it is not).

But it’s finally coming ... and soon ... and in the meantime, here’s some linkage for your perusal:

About For Better or Worse

Literary Road website

LR Blog