Friday, April 23, 2010

HUGE ONLINE PARTY - A New Direction

Thank you for your feedback in the last post, everyone. Your thoughts were heard and applied. I think the new setup will work out nicely. If you've already submitted info, no need to do so again. I still have it.

You guys rock!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I Need Your Help

I'm stumped.


The "Huge Online Party" has not been as popular as I'd anticipated. I'm getting 100+ visitors (vast majority of which are fantasy fans) to the site every day, but for some reason or another, people aren't joining the party. Blogs giving away a single book are getting more participation than this multi-hundred book giveaway. This would seem to indicate that something's wrong with my presentation. The problem is, I don't know where the problem lies. So I'm asking you for help, especially those of you uninterested in the "party." A penny for your thoughts? Feel free to answer anonymously if you want to remain hidden. But I'd really like to hear what you think.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

HUGE ONLINE PARTY!!! (Hundreds of giveaways)

Hello everyone!


Big news: The website for Kestrel's Midnight Song is up at www.TeenFantasyAuthor.com AND www.SongLore.com

Somewhere on the site, you'll find a video of me making a complete and utter fool of myself. So check it out for that at least.



And... a HUGE ONLINE PARTY! On May 18th I'm going to be hosting an online party via live streaming video in which I'll be giving away hundreds of fantasy books, all in brand new condition. More details at the site. And there are a couple hidden surprises for those willing to search them out.

This has been in the works for some time so it's very exciting to finally announce it. I hope to see you all there!

Oh, and if you have a problem with the site, such as loading times, bugs, or bad layout, I'd appreciate it if you let me know in the comments section.

Giveaways

There are quite a few giveaways going on lately. I'm going to list some at the top of my head. If you guys know of anymore, post them in the comments, and I'll bring them to the top (if I can remember) because I know I will forget some.

Noah over at noahsreads.blogspot.com is going to conduct a giveaway as soon as he hits 30 followers. If he hits 60, he'll give away two books.

Nathan Petrie at whisperedroars.blogspot.com is giving away a copy of Starlighter by Bryan Davis, and from what I hear, there are more giveaways to come.

Cson is giving away two books: Chosen Ones, by Alister McGrath and The Prophecy, by Dawn Miller at his cool new website: www.hornspoon.com


Seth Skogerboe is giving away the ENTIRE Narnia series at www.sjskogerboe.wordpress.com. How cool is that?

Oh boy, I can't remember the others. Obviously I'm forgetting at least some. Help!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

To Darkness Fled is out!

I should have blogged about The Blood of Kings Trilogy a long time ago. I first read By Darkness Hid, by Jill Williamson, on the train ride back from the summer writers' conference. Jill was the person who originally encouraged me to attend a conference, and I ended up going to one that she attended as well!

She's definitely one of the coolest people I know, and I'm proud to say that By Darkness Hid is the first signed book I ever owned. And recently, she even endorsed Kestrel's Midnight Song. But more on that another day. This post is about Jill and her books.

The story is terrific. It drew praise from VOYA and Library Journal, and is Marcher Lord Press's bestseller by a wide margin.

"In this medieval fantasy debut, idealistic servant Achan Cham dreams of becoming a Kingsguard Knight, while Vrell Sparrow disguises herself as a boy to escape an arranged marriage. She has a supernatural gift of being able to communicate to Achan without words. This thoroughly entertaining and smart tale will appeal to fans of Donita K. Paul and J.R.R. Tolkien. Highly recommended for CF and fantasy collections." —Library Journal
And now the sequel, To Darkness Fled, is out. This time, she got the attention of another major review publication, Publisher's Weekly.

"Williamson pens an action-packed, imaginative second installment in the Blood of Kings trilogy. Achan Cham... [spoiler eliminated] rides with a party in Darkness, the unlit half of the Kingdom of Er’Rets, to free two unjustly imprisoned knights. His party includes Vrell Sparrow, who is Lady Averella Amal disguised as a young boy to flee an unwanted marriage to Esek, who has usurped the identity of Prince Gidon Hadar. All the familiar epic elements and emotions are freshly rendered, with Vrell and Achan especially memorable as they grow during their journey... the pace gallops along, leaving readers hungry for the concluding book.” —Publisher's Weekly

If you haven't already, go buy By Darkness Hid! And if you've already read that, go buy To Darkness Fled! I've already ordered my copy. Can't wait to get my hands on it and fall into the Kingdom of Er'Rets again. You don't want to miss out.

Note: The To Darkness Fled image was shamelessly ripped from Christopher Kolmorgen of my-ink-spot.blogspot.com, where it was, in all likelihood, shamelessly ripped from elsewhere. As such, please direct any paperwork-totin' lawyers in that direction. Thank you.