Category: Novel News

Saturday Snapshot: Author Event

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News, Saturday Snapshot10 Comments

I had a fun event in my writing career recently…you may have heard 🙂 that I published a Young Adult fantasy novel.  I have a friend who’s a school librarian, and a few weeks ago she invited me to come to her school for an author event, speaking to the fourth and fifth grade classes.

This was slightly nerve-wracking, but they were a friendly audience!  I spoke a little about writing, read one of my favorite scenes from The Wanderers, and asked for questions.  And fortunately there were a lot of questions!  Many of them were along the lines of “where do you get your ideas,” which I hear is the number one question authors are asked…

I wish I had a photo from the event–but what I do have is a photo of the stack of books the kids ordered.  And that looks pretty cool too!

Wanderers Stack (1)Did any writers ever come to your (or your kids’) schools?  Who would you like to see for an author event?  When I was a kid, I would have been utterly over the moon to have Tamora Pierce come speak (still would be!)

Visit West Metro Mommy for more Saturday Snapshot posts!

The Storyteller and Her Sisters – Cover Reveal!

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News6 Comments

I’ve been promising the companion novel to The Wanderers will be out this fall–and so far I’m still slated for an October release.  While I work on final revisions for The Storyteller and Her Sisters, I also put some time towards a cover…and naturally I wanted to give the first view to my lovely blog readers!

Storyteller Cover 1 - SmallThe Storyteller and Her Sisters is the second novel in my Beyond the Tales series–but it’s a companion novel, not a sequel.  Readers of the first book already met Lyra and her eleven sisters (and know something about their worn-out dancing slippers), but the storyteller has much more to share–and new readers should have no problem starting with this book, if they prefer princesses to talking cats!

I’ve made some updates to the Novel News tab too, so wander (or dance…) over there if you’d like to read an excerpt from Storyteller!

What Are You Reading – and Give-Away!

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News, What Are You Reading?5 Comments

It’s a busy week in the blogosphere, with Carl’s spring Once Upon a Time reading challenge starting on the 21st!  As a fantasy reader, I have some books lined-up…and as a fantasy writer, I have another fun idea for celebrating fantasy in the spring.  Since this is a What Are You Reading post, shall we start there?  (And if you just want to know about the give-away, scroll on down to the second picture.)

What Are You Reading OUaTWith fantasy and fairy tale retellings on my mind, I’ve just started Hero by Alethea Kontis, sequel to Enchanted.  Cramming together massive numbers of fairy tales, I look forward to picking out the different threads!  I also have the last book in Diana Wynne Jones’ Chrestomanci series to read, The Pinhoe Egg, a fantasy novel that will finish my rereading of the series.

Mixing things up with some non-fantasy, I have Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness.  I finally read The Knife of Never Letting Go a few weeks ago (a few years after it exploded all over the blogs I follow), went promptly on to the sequel, and am looking forward to the final installment of the trilogy.  And in marked contrast to that dystopia read, I’m also midway through the nonfiction Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert, all about how the mind works and why the things we expect to make us happy don’t–and vice versa.

Wanderers 8 - Small CopySome nice variety, and a nice start to Once Upon a Time.  And speaking of which…I decided to celebrate the fantasy reading season by also offering a give-away of my fairy tale retelling, The Wanderers.  One winner will receive a signed copy of the paperback!*  If you don’t already know you want to enter, here’s a little about the book:

You might recognize the landscape.  You may think you know the rules.  But you’ve strayed beyond the tales.  Come join a wandering adventurer, a talking cat and a witch’s daughter as they fight monsters, pursue quests, and learn that sometimes, rules are no help at all.

The give-away will run from NOW until April 30th, so if the winner wants to read the book during the Once Upon a Time challenge, there will still be time.  But how can you be that lucky person?  🙂  I’m doing this raffle-style, so you can enter multiple times, and multiple ways…

1) Leave a comment anywhere on my blog with the hashtag #WanderersGiveAway, for ONE entry per comment

2) Tweet using the hashtag for TWO entries per tweet

3) Mention the give-away on your blog (and send me a link) or on Facebook (and send me a screenshot) for FIVE entries

And if you want to comment during the next month without entering, I’ll just assume you already have a copy and ask no questions.  🙂

I think that covers all the bits of business today…don’t hesitate if you have questions, and don’t hesitate to enter!  Now onward to the reading…

*Note for International Readers: Due to prohibitive shipping costs, I can’t mail a book outside of the United States–but I don’t want to bar my lovely readers from the UK, Canada and Australia (and if you’re from somewhere else, I’m sure you’re lovely too!) so if you win, I’ll send you the book direct from Amazon, and mail you a signature you can paste into it (or sell on eBay…whichever!)

Blog Wander: Making My Mark

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News2 Comments

Wanderers 8 - Small CopyToday’s Blog Wander is a guest post on the trials and tribulations of self-publishing.  I’m lifting the curtain and letting you see the crises behind my apparently-on-top-of-it blogging about the process!  Hopefully, if anyone else is looking at self-publishing, it can save them some of the same problems…

Our host today is T. B. Markinson, self-described as “a 39-year old American writer, living in England, who pledged she would publish before she was 35. Better late than never. When she isn’t writing, she’s traveling around the world, watching sports on the telly, visiting pubs in England, or taking the dog for a walk. Not necessarily in that order.”  She’s the author of A Woman Lost and maintains two blogs: Making My Mark is all about authors and publishing, while the 50 Year Project is her movies/books/travel blog.

Check out the guest post here!

Blog Wander: A Library Mama

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News1 Comment

Wanderers 8 - Small CopyToday’s Blog Wander takes us over to A Library Mama with blogger Katy, for an interview about fairy tales, Walt Disney, and what to expect after The Wanderers.  Katy asked some great questions (and I hope my answers are good too!)

Katy is a “public librarian, bookworm, and mother of two, among other things.”  Her About Page has a lovely story about what inspired her to begin her blog, and the goals behind it.

Along with the interview, we’re offering an ebook giveaway, so head over to A Library Mama for the opportunity!  And come back next week for Katy’s review of The Wanderers as well. 🙂