ConCarolinas in review and Half-blood artwork teaser

Finally, my ConCarolinas wrap up - I'm sorry I took so long on it. As usual, life got in the way. Let me start out by saying what a wonderful experience it was not just to return to this con as a guest, but as the Fan Guest of Honor. I was absolutely thrilled and surprised when they asked me to be Fan GoH, and of course, the experience was wonderful. Here's the thing though - aside from them providing for my room (thank you!) I wasn't treated any better, or more special, as a GoH as I was as a previous "regular" guest. ConCarolinas treats ALL their guests as special, and wonderful. Oh, and for that matter, they treat all the attendees to the con as special and wonderful. ConCarolinas is truly a haven for genre fans, and I can't recommend it highly enough. 2004 was the first time I was a guest at a con (podcasting guest with my husband and Rich Sigfrit), and we were treated like we were a part of the family. Ever since then, ConCarolinas always feels like I'm going home. Many thanks and hugs to everyone who puts ConCarolinas on, but most especially to Jada, Ron, & Stephanie, whose constant friendship & support has meant so much to me and my family. Love you guys. At my first ConCarolinas this little gal was an infant wearing the teeny tiny baby Jedi robes I made her. Time keeps passing and I don't feel any older... But here is proof that I am! Checking in & who did I see? One of my very dear friends, the supremely talented professional costumer (she most recently worked on The Hunger Games) and fellow author, Cheralyn Lambeth. I don't normally wear costumes to conventions these [...]

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A Kickstarter, awesome teens, a fashion post, and some news

Holy moly it's already JUNE and I haven't done a Thrifty Fashion post since April! I guess that shows how busy things have been right? Well here you go, after some great updates/news I want to give y'all, I'll do a Thrifty Fashion post. And yes, I know I still owe you a ConCarolinas wrap up. It's coming, I promise. Speaking of which, I'm going to go ahead and put in a plug for the AWESOME TEENS I mentioned in my post title. They're from the Charlotte, NC area and I met them at ConCarolinas on a couple of the Hunger Games panels I was on with them. They are so bright, intelligent, and enthusiastic! They made a fantastic Hunger Games FanFilm, and you can see their Catching Fire fan film trailer embedded below. Be sure to subscribe to their channel on YouTube (they have nearly 3 million views!) and like them on FB/follow them on twitter. These guys have talent and are definitely going somewhere! Here is their ConCarolinas post - aren't they adorable? Also around 3:40 they gave me the most amazing shout out that I certainly don't think I deserved. Thanks guys! I loved meeting these guys. :) Here's their Catching Fire trailer: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Now onto my next subject, my friend (and cover artist for my next novel "A Truth Universally Acknowledged") is putting together a book of his original artwork. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/44582565/mark-dos-santos-art-book Yeah, that's the caliber of stuff he draws. To get his book off the ground [...]

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BaltiCon wrap up & a preview of the Half-Blood is available

Whew, has it already been over a week since BaltiCon? I suppose it has! I would ask where the time goes, but I know where it does: my family, the Marine Corps, and all the million other little things that take up time in our days. Oh, and you know, I did see Avengers in the theatre. Again. Okay, 3 times. What? It was really good! I've got to admit I'm having to restrain myself from writing an Avengers fanfic that's been rolling around in my head for the past few weeks. Trust me, it's EPIC. But I need to focus on my own original stories. Speaking of which, in case you missed it, Songs of the Seasons: White Flag is now out. It's a short story that takes place in the War of the Seasons universe and is the back story of a few of the side characters. Also, it's got the exclusive preview for my next novel, due out later this month, War of the Seasons, book 2: The Half-blood, sequel to the best selling War of the Seasons, book 1: The Human. You can buy it from Amazon here and from Barnes & Noble here. Bestselling, you ask? Why yes! Last week, thanks to all of you and your fantastic "word spreading" to all your friends and family about War of the Seasons, The Human - was the #3 downloaded YA Fantasy kindle book on Amazon (it was #8 in general fantasy) for a couple days. It dropped off on Friday, but I don't care. It was a bestseller, and that was a dream come true! A dream you all helped me achieve, so thank you. And hey, if you want to help some more, I'd love to see your reviews on goodreads, amazon, and well, pretty much anywhere you can think to post them! Now bac [...]

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Guest post by Author Tera Fulbright: Being a mother and a writer

First off, thank you Janine, for asking me to guest blog on your site! For those that do not know me, my name is Tera Fulbright and I am: author, mom, con-runner. My most recent short story, "Anne Bonnie's Child" was recently released in Spells and Swashbucklers by Dragon Moon Press, and is available on Amazon. Janine asked me to write a guest post for her blog about being a mom and writer. It took me a while to figure out what to write about being a mom and a writer. Until I realized several of the skills that I use for being a "mommy" also work in writing. More than anything, I suppose the one constant for me being a mom and writer is the word PATIENCE. Between finding time to write and raising a quizzical 4 year old (aka. the Geeklet), I am constantly reminding myself that the world will not end tomorrow…be patient. One of the biggest challenges about being a mom, author and having a full-time job (that isn't writing) is finding time to write. It is always a constant balance between the duties of the real world and to quote the blog Magical Words: BIC – Butt in Chair. As a result, I have been working on my first novel for two years. Interestingly, many of the same skills I use for being a mommy, I also use as a writer. Of course, I have already mentioned patience, but organization, coming up with creative ideas and time management skills are three others. Keeping things organized as a mommy comes from keeping a house full of toys from taking over (which still seems to be happening!) but I've learned to use the same skills in keeping my writing organized. After losing part of the novel, I now have about three places I keep copies of my writing: thumb drive, computer, and Dropbox. I also carry a notebook with me at all times in case I have an idea or thought I want to write down at work, while shopping or watching TV. I do the same thing in terms of presents for the Geeklet – though I use pictures on my phone for th [...]

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*FREE* Books, *NEW* Stories, *SCHEDULES* for Cons and more...

1- First off, starting tonight at midnight my first novel, War of the Seasons, book 1: The Human will be FREE for kindle (or kindle app) for the next 2 days (the 30th & 31st) in celebration of my first time being a Guest of Honor at a con (ConCarolinas) this up coming weekend. If you don't have a Kindle, that's fine - download the app for free on your computer, smartphone, or tablet! FREE BOOK PEOPLE! And tell all your friends! You can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/War-Seasons-Book-Human-ebook/dp/B0055DKRXW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1338344385&sr=8-2 2- Jonesing to read Book 2 in the War of the Seasons series, The Half-Blood? Well guess what - the exclusive 3 chapter preview for it can be found at the end of my just released short story Songs of the Seasons: White Flag. It's another short story that takes place in the War of the Seasons world & will hopefully hold you over for another few weeks while my editor finishes with The Half-blood. You can download it here: http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Seasons-Song-Two-ebook/dp/B0085UYXKK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1338344385&sr=8-4 [...]

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BaltiCon Schedule, 2 new anthologies, & a general update

Ok, just a quick-ish update before I hit the rack. As I'm sure you may or may not have picked up on I'm crazy busy at the moment, so you get this update in list form: 1- In celebration of being asked to be a Guest of Honor at a convention for the first time, I'll be giving away free kindle copies of War of the Seasons: The Human on May 30th and 31st, the two days leading up to ConCarolinas. (as a reminder, kindle versions of WotS: The Human are always free to amazon prime members). 2- I'll be offline/traveling out of the country for the next week or so, but I'll be back just in time for BaltiCon (schedule posted below) 3- In case you haven't heard, I've got a new short story anthology coming out next month at Origins Game Fair. It's titled Time Traveled Tales and in addition to yours truly, also features stories from some of my very favorite people (and authors) Aaron Allston, Donald J. Bingle, Sarah Hans, R. T. Kaelin, Jean Rabe (also the editor), Steve Saus, Michael A. Stackpole, Bryan Young, and Timothy Zahn. You can read a great post about it on Aaron Allston's blog (OH MY GOSH I'VE GOT MY VERY OWN TAG ON HIS BLOG! Must not fangirl... too much.) Toche Station also posted about it here (holy cow I've got ANOTHER tag! WOOOO!). 4- I've got another anthology coming out. This one is non-fiction and is about world building. In addition to myself, Bryan Young, Steve Sau [...]

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Checking in...

HOW IS IT MAY ALREADY??? So, life has been hectic. Aside from loads of travel (which I do for both of my careers, Marine and Author) we also moved this month, and things have just been crazy (I'm hopelessly behind on my email). April Update... Here goes! WRITING: The Audio book for the human is done & I found a distributor! WEEEE! Now If I could only find the time to actually DO all the things I need to do for it. I honestly haven't done anything else re: writing. I simply haven't had the time - my Marine & family needs (along with the move) have sucked up most of my available time. Honestly, if running wasn't currently a part of my job I don't know when I'd find the time to do it! Hobbies: What are hobbies? ;) -Running- One race this month - the GW Parkway classic. It was lovely, and while I didn't PR, I still had a good race. Ron posted fully about it on his blog RonRunsDisney.com. (We ran another race this weekend and it was a brutal 1/2 marathon. Don't know if I'll be able to walk properly tomorrow). As far as my training, I've honestly been slacking. I'm lucky if I get two runs in a week & it shows! I need to get better about that. Marathon training officially kicks off on the 15th - WOOHOO! -Books read (something it seems I now only have time to do while I travel): I read the sequel to a friend's book about nerdy, not good looking, not svelte/thin/muscular vampires that are the good guys. It was hilarious, super fast & fun, and I highly recommend it. Plus it's called A Hard Day's Knight, and reference to a Beatle's song? WIN. Back in Black - so fun! I finally read [...]

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