A blurb from Heidi!

 I'm having a happy morning. I asked a couple writers I admire to provide back cover blurbs for Circumnavigation of Shatterworld. This is what Heidi just sent me.

In this character-driven and thought provoking follow up to Shatterworld, both the story and the characters have matured. The world building is well-crafted, leaving you with a completely foreign but believable landscape, and the characters … they are so real as to sometimes be frustrating. At times lovable, at times making me want to shout at them with the heroine. I struggled along with Rejoice to know exactly what I felt about everyone present, as my feelings changed with the revelations and the growth of both Rejoice and her companions. Everything builds to a dramatic revelation that both satisfied and left it open for a potentially dramatic sequel.

 H. L. Burke, author of The Dragon and the Scholar Saga, Beggar Magic, and Cora and the Nurse Dragon.

Do check out Burke's books. She has good prices and fun stories.

I won an award.

I won an award. How do you like that? I didn't even enter a contest. I did send David Bergsland the manuscript for Circumnavigation of Shatterworld, and he wrote back saying he was giving me the Redemptive Fiction Award of Excellence for the first two books. I sent him the third ms yesterday so we'll see if he will slap an award on Pacifists' War as well. He mailed me the news two days ago. I don't know how many people read his website, but he addresses my core constituency or audience for those particular books. So.... wow.

Busy busy busy

Yesterday my son sent me another set of ideas for a new novel set in Tales of Talifar, which I think could make a neat story, but I am drowning. I need to make an ideas file. He's been sending me nice ideas for a Varon tale of a mother-son duo navigating the politics and economics of Megaloth City. I like the outline, but as I told him earlier I'm not sure the premise of a mother-son team is going to fly for our target audience of gamer guys and geek girls. Most young adults are trying to get AWAY from mom. He tells me too many adults need to live with their parents and it is no longer a shameful thing. Maybe. I still think late teens would be trying for psychological distance even if they can't achieve physical distance.

But none of that matters right now as I have yet to finish Waking. I have set the eleventh book in the series aside to work on the considerable and marvelous editing suggestions of Jeff Gerke. I'm at least four books behind.

And all that is being set aside as I work on my own Shatterworld trilogy. I have taken back the rights and am going through the books simplifying the prose, removing filter words etc. etc things only other writers care about. Josh has designed covers I like. I'm trying to gather some enthusiastic quotes for the second book which has never been published before, unlike Shatterworld which has been published twice. I'm making myself the deadline of publishing by May 1.

And then I really, really, really want to publish The Scarred King Trilogy sometime this year. Preferably before the RealmMakers conference so I can show off the beginning of my son's series.