That time of the year again!

Nominations are now open for the Sir Julius Vogel awards back in New Zealand (think our version of the Hugos).

They are open to any writer of fiction who is a resident or a citizen—but anyone can nominate.

Looking at the list of writers eligible, I am delighted to see the field is bigger and brighter every year.

For myself, I have several works eligible. Including, Spectyr, Phoenix Rising, and the Tales from the Ministry series. So if there are some you think worthy, then please do take the time to email the committee sjv_awards@sffanz.sf.org.nz

It’s been a time for cover revelations, and here’s another one.

The adventures of Eliza and Wellington continue in the Janus Affair, coming in late May this year.

Evildoers beware! Retribution is at hand, thanks to Britain’s Best-kept secret agents!

Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain’s latest hyper steam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance…with each case going inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.

The fate of England is once again in the hands of an ingenious archivist paired with a beautiful, fearless lady of adventure. And though their foe be fiendishly clever, so then is Mr. Books…and Miss Braun still has a number of useful and unusual devices hidden beneath her petticoats.

I love this cover because it conveys the adventure and energy of the book. Eliza looks hell bent for leather on adventure, while the joke of Wellington’s face remaining concealed continues.

It is a beautiful moment when an author sees that covers that will wrap around their words, and in the last two days I have seen one new and been able to reveal the other.

One is the cover of the German edition of Phoenix Rising—which being from a foreign publisher I didn’t get to see in advance. The second, for Hunter and Fox from Pyr Books, I have seen evolve as Lou Anders editor and art director extrodinaire, kept me in the loop. Now I am able to reveal it.

The artwork is by Cynthia Sheppard who has a wonderful talent for making the bizarre truly beautiful. You can preorder Hunter and Fox on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

And here is the cover for the German version of Phoenix Rising. The Germans have gone with the series title Books and Braun. Unfortunately I have no idea who the artist is, but I love the different take on Eliza and Wellington.

It’s a busy time of year for everyone, and the run up to the final days before Christmas are crazy. So I’m ever so pleased that Harper Voyager picked Phoenix Rising as one of ten books that they are discounting for a limited time to 99c.

And best of all this is a cross platform promotion. The book is available in all formats at 99c. Yep, it’s a Penny Dreadful…at least for a time.

Kindle — http://amzn.to/o31YFI
Nook — http://bit.ly/rBBrT7
Kobo — http://bit.ly/ulBPet
iTunes — http://bit.ly/uuQ0XS

This book has done wonderful things…more than we could have ever expected; won the Airship Award for best written work, and got into the finals for top Science Fiction novel of 2011 on Goodreads.com. So please buy, enjoy and spread the word. This is a great deal, a great way to introduce people to steampunk, and a great way to prepare for the arrival of the Janus Affair which is coming in late May 2012.

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences will be finishing up the Tales from the Archives, and dropping a Christmas episode before the end of the year. In 2012 we’ll be releasing a new book trailer for the Janus Affair…and what we have and who we have helping us make this happen is super exciting. So hold onto that bowler—next year is going to be a big one!

Phoenix Rising is nominated for best science fiction of 2011 over on Goodreads.com. This is a big deal, and getting into the first round of competition is delightful and unexpected, but we need your help to get further.

Getting the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences as much attention as possible goes toward getting more novels and keeping us writing in this world. If you want to see that happen, and you enjoyed the book, please take a second to vote if you’re a member of Goodreads. (if you’re not, it is genuinely a great community for readers to connect)

Thank you!

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Best Science Fiction Vote now for your favorite books!

It’s raining details over here right now…so here’s an update.

Check out my appearances page for where and when I will be around. We have a selection of cool events Tee and I will be attending in 2012- the largest (so far) is DragonCon. It’s been awhile since I’ve dropped into the madness in Atlanta—2008 in fact—so I am looking forward to it.

I chose DragonCon over World Con in Chicago next year, because by then my book with Pyr will be out. Hunter and Fox is part of the Shifted World series, and the book that I landed my agent Laurie McLean with. Thanks to an upswing in high fantasy we found a publisher for it, and I hope you enjoy this tale of twisted loyalties and epic scope. Look for Hunter and Fox in July 2012.

Wrayth the third book of the Order series (after Geist and Spectyr) is due out in September 2012. So in time to find out what those geistlords and Deacons are up to before next Halloween.

And finally we have a new title for the second book of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. It will be called The Janus Affair- a title more in keeping with the series. It should be out in late May/early June 2012.

In the coming weeks and months I’ll be sharing the cover art for these three books. I what I have seen so far is beautiful work.

Thanks once again to all you readers and listeners who have helped me get this far.

As you probably- or possibly- know I got married last week to my co-author Tee Morris. You’d think that would be enough of a week…

But then we went to Comic Con. See my post for all about that. (Tor.com wrote up this review of the panel I was on Winter is Here)

Then we started to hear whispers about the Airship Awards. Now, after a convention those volunteers who organise it, are usually pretty beat. So when we looked into who had won and found nothing, we weren’t that surprised.

Then the Steampunk Scholar himself, said that we’d won. He was there presenting, but still we managed to hold in the excitement. Then the Airship Ambassador confirmed it.

Yes, Tee and I are now award winning steampunk authors!

The other nominees included The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Pyr), Camera Obscura (Angry Robots), and The Half-Made World (Tor). All heavy hitters, all amazing books..so we are beyond ecstatic!

Previous winners of this award include Phil & Kaja Foglio, Alan Moore, and Abney Park. This is an award voted on by the attendees of Steamcon, and that matters a great deal to us. We’ve always said Phoenix Rising is a romp, and we want to make people smile.

Now we feel like we’ve done our job…and that’s a great feeling.

Oh yes, and as part of applying for my change of status here in America I found out I don’t have leprosy! So all in all, a fantastic week!!!

Tee and I just got back from New York Comic Con.

To say that it was an assault on the senses would be an understatement. Previous to this DragonCon was the biggest event I’ve ever been to. NYCC made that look like my Nana’s tea party.

Held in the Javits Convention Centre, there were a few niggles- like the Shuttle Buses finishing at 8.30 while the programming went until 10- but on the whole it was a great event. With over 2,000 booths from mega players like Marvel, to single artists trying to get more exposure for their work.

Getting anywhere in the push of people was tricky, but there was so much to see. We did catch a glimpse of a banner saying ‘Podcast Arena’, but never actually got there. Yeah, it was that kind of event.

On Friday we finally got to the event itself after a series of irritating and frustrating delays. We raced around, found our badges and the Harper Collins booth. It was only a few minutes until our signing, but there was this line of people. Our first reaction was ‘oh well, another author mustn’t be done yet…’ Then we found out that it was for us. For the next twenty minutes we shook hands, personalized books and had a ripping time. We’d given fifty copies away, and signed another fifty for the booth. After Tee did his panel, those fifty went by Saturday morning as well.

The next day it was the same for me and Geist at the Penguin booth. A line of people, and all the books gone.  Fifty books in twenty minutes. It was not what I had expected.

Neither was the panel “Winter is here: Epic Fantasy takes the Throne’. It was a packed house, over two hundred people, and I was on a panel with Brandon Sanderson, Peter Brett, Rae Carson, David Chandler and Nils Johnson-Shelton. Ron Hogan did a fantastic job of moderating, and everyone got a chance to answer every question. I’ve been on plenty of panels were that wasn’t the case, and I was delighted that on such an important day everything went smoothly.

We also had two meetings with my two editors Diana Gil and Danielle Stockley. Two great meals, and some interesting thoughts. The title of the second book Of Cogs & Corsets is going to change- but Tee and I came up with some great options that I think are even better. Then Danielle opened my eyes to some possibilities in the Books of the Order series, that I hadn’t even considered, or thought were an option. Exciting chances that I am still mulling over.

We left Comic Con on Saturday, and took the train home- but the fun wasn’t over yet. A very nice gentleman helped us get our luggage up in the rack, and he had also been at Comic Con. Before we knew it we were networking on the train, and a bunch of other possibilities began to ferment.

So from this event which was just supposed to be about signing and participating in panels, we came back with a whole lot of new directions to investigate. The takeaway for authors is, always be open to new chances, and always have business cards on hand for those moments.

We sure hope to go back to New York Comic Con, and next time we’ll be prepared for the madness!

One of the first things that we warn folks before they come to our house is ‘we have cats…five of them.’

It’s a strange thing that folks (readers and listeners) who don’t know me personally know about me. I share quite a bit about my life, and I was worried that I talked about the aforementioned cats a little too much. Then I went to FenCon.

Two seperate people asked about my cats. Then I got an email asking about them- wanting to know why there were no pictures of them on the site.

It made me think about what we are all seeking in this day and age of instant access with people all over the world. The same thing humans have always wanted. Connection with other human beings. We like to know personal details no matter how silly they may seem.

It’s a curious thing about being a podcaster; you’re in peoples ear drums, in their car, in their bedroom, entertaining them. It’s a very personal thing. You start to wonder about folks and feel a personal connection with them. It’s something about someone reading to you.

I have not (as yet) had a bad personal experience with listeners or readers. I’ve been very lucky that so far, everyone I have met has been kind, generous and very sweet. They talk, not just out about my writing, but about my life. I am still sorting out that boundary for myself, but so far the most intriguing question is about the cats.

This weekend at FenCon in Dallas, Texas I realised perhaps it wasn’t just me. It was revealed in the art show. Cats are big in fantasy. We like them on covers. We like them with jetpacks. We like them dressed up like people. It’s a thing…and I as a fantasy writer am almost required to have cats. Luckily five have chosen us to carry out their orders.

Who am I to fight the power. So, I think I will just post a picture of Sebastian and Viola, and let you judge what kind of person I am from that…

Now I am off to hang up a picture of a cat wearing a jet pack…

One of the joys of going to conventions, is the shot in the arm I often get to my creativity and way of looking at business.

During WorldCon, Tee Morris and I sat down with our agent Laurie McLean, and we both realised we were missing a trick. You see, both Tee and I have a wealth of short stories that have just been sitting around not doing anything for us.

Not only that, but with digital publishing we realised we could be expanding on our already published universes.

So we are sallying forth on this bold digital revolution.

I have already had both Chasing the Bard and Digital Magic out on a bunch of digital platforms. My novels are $2.99 each, which I think is pretty reasonable price, considering how much you get for your money.

However now you can get a quick shot of my writing—think of it as an expresso—for 99c. That’s right, as of right now there are two Ministry short stories which have been podcast out there. The Evil that Befell Sampson and Nathan Lowell’s The Astonishing Amulet of Amaratas are both on the Kindle, and are working their way through Smashwords to all the other platforms out there.

Also I have put six Erotica a la Carte stories through the same process.

My aim is to have ten stories a week available until I have caught up with the backlog—then I will begin on new stories, particularly in the Ministry series. We have plans for a YA series set in the Ministry world. This will probably begin with short e-fiction and we’ll see where it goes from there. But for now, the name Verity Fitzroy should be one you keep in mind.

If you want to help spread the word and review the titles, then please let me know by emailing pip@ this site, and I can supply a review copy.

This move into digital short fiction is affordable, and hopefully will find a toehold in the ebook market. I’m excited about the prospect for short stories on these platforms, and interested to see how this little experiment takes off.

Erotica a la carte was after all an experiment, and that has become a real joy.

As for Tee’s plans…well…you’re just going to have to ask him about that. But they are awesome!

I am currently at WorldCon in Reno Nevada, and having a fine old time, but none as fine as what happened tonight.

The Chelsey Awards are the big award for fantasy artists and are presented by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors. Jason Chan’s work for my book Geist was nominated in the category of Best Cover; Paperback.

Jason couldn’t be at WorldCon, but since Tee and I are here we went along to represent him. We were sitting in the audience, just watching the nominees. I leaned across to Tee and whispered ‘This is one of those categories where it is an honor to be nominated.’ Check out the field of competitors if you don’t believe me.

So when Lou Anders of Pyr books read out Jason’s name, I was so delighted. It felt like I’d won the award. I got up on the stage and blathered something about how getting great cover art was such a joy as an author, and how Jason was so amazing (obviously they already knew that!)

So the beautiful award will be winging its way to Jason, and I hope he knows it was my honor to be there to represent him. He’s fantastically talented, and this recognition just goes to prove that.

Yes, this is now officially award-winning cover art!

I had a lot of fun with Skiffy and Fanty.

We talk Geist, Spectyr, Phoenix Rising and what lies ahead. We also giggle and enjoy ourselves far to much. Listen to the episode here.

Hopefully I can go back on the show one day and do an update, and also be prepared when they break out the Geistbusters theme!

People have been asking Tee and I about getting hold of the audio version of Phoenix Rising.

We’ve been doing a series of short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, and one of those stories by Nathan Lowell is nominated for a Parsec Awards. However the rights to the full audio reside with Harper Collins.

Finally an audio version has been released. It is available through Audible, and thus Amazon and itunes as well. I know there will be a few disappointed folks out there who will be wondering why we didn’t do the audio for this version.

Quite simply it was a matter of time. Tee and I have only so much time, and it came down to a choice of which we did; record the audio book, or work on new stories. We hope you agree we made the right choice, as new stories come out from us in the near future.

James Langton does a wonderful job of reading the book, and it is actually exciting for me to listen to him do it. In fact, it is awesome.

So if you are keen for nearly fourteen hours of Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences audio fun, then please purchase and download Phoenix Rising. The comments are already coming in…

The mix of mayhem and comedy make this audio book hard to turn off, so make sure you are ready to get angry at anyone who tries to disrupt you. If you’ve never listened to a steam punk novel I suggest that you make this one your first.

Or a gentlewoman.

As a steampunk author I am particularly keen on proper manners. I try and observe them as much as I can, so recent events have been rather disappointing.

Politeness and civility go a long way in publishing. You want to be known as a professional, not as that person who bailed up an editor at a con and tried to thrust your manuscript down her throat. Even though she had both hands full and was talking to her friend at the time.

Don’t go to social events with so little social skills you break into conversation with your relentless desire to pitch. (Yes, agents, editors and publishers are people too!) Get to know people a little, take the time to observe the social niceties, and then most likely people will ask you ‘what are you working on?’ (That’s your cue)

Proper manners are also something that should be observed in all your online dealings. I like the think of myself approachable. Online I answer emails and questions in as a timely a manner as I can. I’m on Twitter and Facebook and am pretty easy to find. However…that doesn’t mean it is an open season to bombard me with requests—especially when I have politely said I don’t have the time right now.

Approach me as you would any other person. Don’t expect me to know or have the keys to the publishing kingdom. I don’t, because if I did I would have used them long ago myself. I have deadlines and commitments in the real world that mean I can’t say yes to everything- much as that pains me. It’s no reflection on you or your work that I don’t have the time to read it. It hurts me to turn people away, but as things get busier for me I have to not only fit in writing, but also time with friends and family.

Writing might seem like it’s bon-bons and caviar, but it is like any regular job in that it takes time to do.

In other words. Be a person. Interact with politeness and interest to the other people around you- most especially when they are agents, publishers, fans and fellow authors. That is networking- not a relentless shoving of your own interests first. Done properly, people respect you and like you, not run away at the first tweet or Facebook message. Then they decide you are a person who they want to do business with, not someone they complain about to their peers.

Yes, being rude gets you a name. A bad one.

I finally got the first rough draft of Wrayth off to Ace, and am heading into other editing projects, but along the way you will be able to find me in Reno, Nevada attending to WorldCon. This is a huge event in the convention calendar, with many publishers, editors, fans and writers attending.

Last year I went to Melbourne Australia, and it ended up being a very fruitful trip. This time I’ll be touching base with my agent Laurie McLean, and meeting my new publisher, Lou Anders from Pyr Books, for the first time.

I’ll also be doing panels and various other events, so if you’re in Reno and want to say hi, please don’t be shy. I love meeting listeners and readers!

Here’s my schedule where you can find me:

• Introduction to Steampunk: What Is Steampunk and Why Is it so Popular? (Panel), Fri 19th August 1:00pm – 2:00pm
• Reading: (It’ll probably be form Spectyr) Fri 19th August 4:00pm – 4:30pm
• New Producer, New Doctor, New Companion: Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, and the New Doctor Who , Fri  19th August 5:00pm – 6:00pm
• Writers Collaboration Panel, Sat 20th August 11:00am – 12:00pm
• Steampunk versus Alternate History Panel, Sat 20th August 1:00pm – 2:00pm
• Autographing: Sat 20th August 2:00pm – 3:00pm
• KaffeeKlatsch:Sat 20th August 5:00pm – 6:00pm

This is the first in a series of blogposts, where I talk about what I have learned about the publishing industry, writing, and things I see that just irritate or make me want to pull my hair out. I’m not exactly known for my rants, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have those moments. They are usually inspired by something I heard someone say, something I read, or something I saw someone do. Hang onto your hats!

Mama I wish you’d told me it ain’t easy. Oh I wish you’d said the pain don’t go away.

Or so goes the line in Hollie Smith’s heartfelt song, Mama from her album Humour and the Misfortune of Others. Watch the video here, seriously it’s a lament of artists everywhere might understand.

Being a creative individual is not an easy path; it is one that is fraught with danger, missteps, and is certainly not for the faint of heart. Unlike Hollie’s Mama I’m going to tell you that now- but sometimes creatives are their own worst enemy. In this day and age of social media, forums, email lists and everything in between, some people are still throwing hard earned money away.

It seems that everywhere people are trying to make money from creative folks hard work, be they unscrupulous publishers, dodgy agents or people that offer to make every door open to you. Writers, for example are constantly barraged with messages to do this course, or pay this high profile agent to make you and instant bestseller. Sometimes it feels like the industry to make money off writers dreams is larger than the publishing industry itself. (Honestly it amazes me how some new writers are willing to give away their hard-earned money to practically anybody- even people with no proven track record in the field)

Don’t be taken in by the big talk, their pointing at their non-existent credentials, and their promises of a pot of gold and a pony at the end of the rainbow.

If you are going to shell out money for anything that will ‘improve your writing’ (and that isn’t a given that such a thing will happen) examine first the credentials of the person shilling. Have they got a bestseller under their belt (and I don’t just mean calling themselves bestseller- I want to know where and when that happened!)? Who can you contact who has been through this course, and make it someone whose name your recognize, or whose judgment you trust. What are they offering you? (If it’s to make you a bestseller or sell you ‘the secret of publishing’ then please…run don’t walk AWAY!)

Think about Clarion. Yes it is expensive. Yes, you have to live on campus for 6 weeks. But look at the people they have teaching—known names in the speculative fiction field. Check out the people that have been through Clarion; Cory Doctorow, Octavia Butler and Tobias Buckell.

If I was starting out, I would rather save my money for something like Clarion then spend it on a dozen folks who promise you the world. But there are certainly reputable places where you can find cheaper ways to improve your craft. Someone like Holly Lisle, who has a huge number of books under her belt, and a history of training other authors.

Sometimes we only have our selves to blame. Honestly. Please. We know you have dreams and aspirations. We know that they are dear and personal to you and are a shining light in your life. That doesn’t mean you have to throw money at that flame heedless. Take a step back. Breathe. Evaluate the person, what they are offering and if you can afford it.

Please don’t drive yourself into debt because some shyster is telling you he can get you on the New York Times list, or some other impossible claim. Keep at least one foot in reality.

Let’s get smart folks. We, as a group need to do something we are good at; research. Yes, those same logical skill we apply to our writing we should turn on this industry. Don’t take people at their word that they can make the world your oyster.

That’s your job and while it might be exciting to imagine someone has that backdoor to publishing superstardom. No one does. It’s a sad hard fact.

Here’s my experience. I had to work at this. Yes, there were times I wanted to give up, but I kept going, kept writing. And eventually I got my first contract, then my second, hey my third and fourth just recently. I don’t have the answers, but I know it certainly didn’t happen overnight. Like anything you have to work at it. Alot.

Now, get back to writing. That’s where you’ll really learn and improve. And you know what…it’s free!

Here it is…the third book in nine months.

Yep, here is Spectyr.

Though one of the most powerful Deacons, Sorcha Faris has a tarnished reputation to overcome. She and her partner, Deacon Merrick Chambers, find themselves chasing down rumors of geists, but long for a return to real action. So they jump at the chance to escort a delegation sent to negotiate the terms of the Emperor’s engagement. Their destination: the exotic city of Orinthal.

But a string of murders has Orinthal on edge, and Sorcha and Merrick are asked to investigate. Meanwhile the Emperor’s sister has unwittingly released a cruel and vengeful goddess, one who it bent on destroying her enemies, including the geistlord who resides inside the shapeshifting rival to the throne—Sorcha’s lover….

I’ve taken Sorcha, Merrick and Raed into new places. Kim the Comic Book Goddess, one of the first to buy the book and finish it (apparently a store in Scranton put it out early) said I think that I shall begin to call Ms Ballantine the mistress of heartbreak, difficult situations, and star-crossed families.

That makes me so happy!

Now, people are always asking, what is the best way to help the author. Apart from telling your friends, blogging and reviewing, there is always the issue of buying. Gail Carriger wrote a very informative and precise article on the methodology of bookstores, and a certain New York Times list. It is well worth reading.

In the meantime you can read the first chapter for free here and please tweet, facebook or email me pictures of Spectyr in the wild, or maybe with your pet.

I’m happy to announce that my winners are Terri and Anita.

They both get an advanced copy of Spectyr and a lovely Catherinette ring. I got some great entries to the competition, and it was great fun to see the people with Geist. I’ve put together a little collection of the entries that were particularly funny. Thanks for entering everyone!

May 2009- sold the Book of the Order series to Ace Books

May 2010- sold the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series to Harper Collins.

Pretty good average for May. I joked to someone around Christmas “what could possibly happen in May 2011?” Be very careful what you wish for.

It is with considerable delight that I can tell you that Pyr Books will be publishing my book Hunter & Fox (though the name may change in edits) in 2012 (tentatively summer), with the sequel to follow.

If you don’t know Pyr, you should. Under Lou Anders, who has been nominated for Hugos, Nebulas and every other award that a editor can be, Pyr has quickly become one of the leading names in speculative fiction. They have Joe Abercrombie, Alan Dean Foster, Michael Moorcock and Sean Williams to name just a few.

I’ve been watching Lou with a keen eye, and he seems to have a good grasp on the developments in this emerging publishing worlds, as well as very podcast friendly. In short, I am super excited to work with him, and bring this tale of dark lands and conflicted heroes to the world.

Here’s my blurb…I am sure Pyr will come up with something more wonderful

In a world of chaos, there are heroes turned villain, and villains whose motives are not necessarily dark.
Talis is the Hunter for the Caisah, and a wreck of a once proud person. She has lost her people, and her soul. Salvation though is looking for her, and it wears the face of gentleness and strength. A tale of redemption in a land of darkness, where determination is not always a positive attribute.

Well we survived the Steampunk Worlds’ Fair- not because it was awful, but because both myself and Tee were struck with the lurgy. The event was full of lovely, beautifully costumed fans of steampunk. I will do a roundup post on this event and Balticon in early June.

For now I am concentrating on getting this post out before I collapse back into bed.

My Balticon schedule, where you can find me, and what I am doing is what follows next.

Program change Friday, May 27, 2011, 9:00 PM  Chesapeake Suite, Alien Sex What Could Go Wrong

Saturday, May 28, 2011,   11:00AM Brown Bagging It the Wellington Way. Pick up a lunch-to-go from the hotel snackery and bring it to Salon A to have lunch with me. Attendance limited to 10 people. Sign up at the help desk.

Saturday, May 28, 2011,   3:00 PM  Chesapeake Suite, Book Launch: The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Phoenix Rising

Saturday, May 28, 2011,   10:00 PM  Derby Room Erotica A La Carte: Iron Chef

Sunday, May 29, 2011, 12:00 Noon  Garden Room GoH Speech: From Wellington to Baltimore- How New Media got me here

Sunday, May 29, 2011, 5:00 PM   Chesapeake, Metamor City Live:  SF/Urban Fantasy/Noir radio drama

Sunday, May 29, 2011, 7:00 PM   Maryland Foyer, Laura Frechette, Philippa Ballantine, and Starla Huchton Autographs

Monday, May 30, 2011, 10:00 AM, Salon C, Network vs Platform: Can you tell them apart?

It’s my very first Guest of Honor role, so I am a little nervous, but I hope to see some of you there. Please don’t hesitate to step up and say hi.

It’s been a crazy month in a crazy year.

Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel was launched about three weeks ago, and it’s been go go go. We’ve done three readings and signings, and been editing the second book in those three weeks.

But coming up are two even larger events.

The first is the Steampunk World’s Fair, in Somerset, NJ. So if you want to find us between 20-22 May check out this post over on the Ministry. It will be our first steampunk only convention, so we are really looking forward to it.

The second is the following weekend. Balticon in Baltimore held over Memorial Weekend, has become the default location for podcast authors to meet. (at last count there would be twenty-nine podcasters in attendance) I am very proud to be the New Media Guest of Honor. It is my first GoH and I plan on being everywhere I can.

So if you are attending either (or both) of these please stop by and say I. I really enjoy these opportunities to get out and about.

Waiting for a book to hit the shelves is a curious thing.

You’ve spent a long time with it, through edits, covers, conferences, more edits, worrying about it, and yet more edits. At times it seems it never will come out.

Then one day the Advanced Reader copies come out and you think perhaps this isn’t all a dream. Then the box of finished books arrives…and then you start to worry.

Unlike my co-author on Phoenix Rising, I saved all my panic for the final month. It’s a crazy moment, but it is here.

Phoenix Rising; A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences

Yes, Phoenix Rising hit the shelves yesterday, so please go in to a local bookstore if you have one, and pick it up. Or if you prefer ebooks, then it should be available in all your favourite formats.

In the first few months of 2011 many parts of the world were struck by devastation; my home country New Zealand, and then Japan. Both of these places are hotspots of seismic activity, and both nations have sent support to the other.

The images on the news have tapered off, but there are still thousands of people dealing with the after-effects of the devastation. Often such huge events can leave us, scattered all over the world, feeling helpless. But if we all did just a few small things it would make a huge difference.

In the community of writers there are people who have decided to step up and do something.

First of all is the Tales for Canterbury. An anthology of short stories by national and international authors. The complete list is available here and is a veritable embarrassment of riches. There will even be a short story by me in there. This is a never before seen story, and the only non genre short I have ever written. It’s called the Straw Garden and is a bit like Weather Child, intensely personal.

Pre-orders are available now, with ebook and paper versions available.

The second effort is Genre for Japan. There are some ridiculously cool offerings on the site. My contribution is not up yet, but I’ll let you know when it is. Here’s a sample of what you can bid on right now, for all those George RR Martin fans out there…

Don’t forget to check the complete list, there are offerings for both writers and readers to bid on.

Remember it feels good to do good and together we can do incredible things.

The convention season is heating up, and here are the places you can find me in the next couple of months.

RavenCon April 8-10, Richmond, Virginia

Reading at 4pm, and signing to follow at 5pm.

Panels: Writing sex in science fiction and fantasy 11pm Friday, Introduction to “social media” 10pm Saturday, the Problem with Genre Labels 11am Sunday, Genuine Steampunk 1pm Sunday

Borderlands Books, April 30, San Francisco, California

Signing and reading

Bookworks, May 7, Staunton, Virginia

Signing and reading, followed by a steampunk photoshoot (weather permitting). So bring your best gear and see you there!

Steampunk Worlds Fair, May 20-22, Somerset, New Jersey

Signings, panels and book launch (to be finalised)

Balticon May 27-30, Hunt Valley, Maryland

Signings, panels, tea part and readings (to be finalised)

Hope to see some at you at some of these conventions and bookstores. My co-author Tee Morris will be with me, so you get two for the price of once. There will be more confirmed places to find both me (and Tee too) but these are the soonest ones.

This week the final chapter of Digital Magic will drop, and while I am excited about that, I barely have time to breathe before plunging into another podcast frenzy.

Yes, the very first Tales from the Archives has dropped. The story read and written by me is called The Evil That Befell Sampson. It is the story of how Agent Eliza D Braun ended up exiled from New Zealand and working in the London Head Office of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. There are suffragists, clockwork and nefarious goings on.

Listen here and/or subscribe

All these stories are about the Agents of the Ministry- including some tales about Eliza and Wellington that predate events in Phoenix Rising.

A new story will appear every two weeks, and you can look forward to stories from the like of OM Grey, Nathan Lowell, Starla Hutchon, PC Haring, and naturally Tee Morris.

In other news from the Ministry, Phoenix Rising will be included in the Science Fiction Bookclub so for those of you who are members, please check it out when it comes.

..well at least take some of my words with you.

I am happy to announce that Chasing the Bard and Digital Magic are both available on a variety of ebook formats.

You can find it on the Nook, on the Sony e-reader, for the Kobo, on Diesel, on the Kindle (Chasing the Bard and Digital Magic) and on the ibook store for the iphone and ipad.

Or if you prefer your book DRM free, then buy the Smashwords versions

These books are slightly different from previous editions. I gave them another polish, and new shiny covers by Alex White. In Chasing the Bard you will also find a new Chapter Thirteen- one that was only previously podcast.

I am working on putting together an ebook version of my stories from Erotica a la Carte- so look for that in the coming month.

I was sitting in the back of Tee Morris’ Social Media class at the San Francisco Writers Conference, waiting for him to finish up so we could fly back to Virginia. I was writing blogposts, catching up on email and keeping one eye on Twitter.

What I was not expecting was to see the word ‘earthquake’ pop up again in relation to Christchurch. In September last year I was in WorldCon in Melbourne when the last quake hit there. And strangely my first thought was, ‘I can’t leave New Zealand’- irrational as it was.

The difference became immediately apparent. As Twitter spilled the news as it happened, and other internet outlets began to report, it was obvious that unlike last year, there would be significant damage and loss of life.

First off I wanted to make sure that friends and family were alright. Wellington, which is also a earthquake hot spot, was not affected at all- so they are all fine. However New Zealand is a small place, with only four million people, we will all know someone hit by this disaster.

Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand, was (and will be again) a beautiful city. I spent a bit of time there, going to conferences, visiting friends, going to weddings. I remember the river Avon, the soaring loveliness of the Cathedral, and riding the tram around the city centre. Seeing the devestation there still really hasn’t sunk in.

Part of me wanted to go home straight away- but as Tee said ‘what would you do?’ So, I will do what I can from here. I have learned social media is a powerful thing, and can raise money in extraordinary ways. I’m working on a few things behind the scenes, but here is my plea to my readers and listeners.

If I have ever given you a moment of enjoyment, then please donate to the Red Cross for the quake victims. Even if it is only a couple of dollars, every little bit helps and adds up. Christchurch has a lot of great people on the ground, but right now what the best thing to give is money.

If you want to see what it is like there right now, have a read here.

My thoughts, love and prayers go to Christchurch. These are strong people, and they are doing all they can to recover. It will however be a long process. Let’s help where we can.

I am writing this from the dying moment of the San Francisco Writers Conference. A conference that I was unsure if I would enjoy.

Yet as you must have noticed, I love conventions. Heck, I am here in America promoting three books coming out in one year, and I have booked myself to attend cons with something that might be called wild abandon.

However those are science fiction conventions. I am comfortable with ‘my people’. We speak the same language (even if I am not fluent in Klingon). I know what to expect; people in the corridor in costumes, filking, panels on not only books, but movies.

This was different. A new step. The San Francisco Writers Conference is an event for writers.

Yes, these too should be my people. However I have been burned in the past by writers in different genres. Writers groups and writers association who were not exactly welcoming to a fantasy writer.

This conference has made me realise I need to get over that. Maybe it is that times have changed, maybe I was just unlucky. Whatever it was I have had a turn around.

I will keep going to my science fiction cons, but now I will be totally open to the larger circle of writing conventions. I want to attend more.

If you have money to invest in your writing career (and if you have money why would you not invest in something you want to make your profession) – find yourself a good writing convention. You will get a bunch of different things out of this kind of conference.

• You will spend time with not only other writers, but also with other folks you are far less likely to see at a con; agents, publicists, and publishers.
• You get in-depth panels on the craft of writing.
• You learn about the business of publishing, from people who are in it. (And now conferences are including panels on self and epublishing)
• Networking with these people- not just writers.
• Getting a new perspective on writing from people outside the genre. Yes you can learn from them too!

Lastly, I got to meet some fantastic people that got my creative mind whirling. I met everyone from a fellow kiwi RVing around the States, to the Shaolin Grand Master. Not a Grand Master the Grand Master. I thought that was pretty damn awesome.

Sometimes to get ourselves to the next level, we have to step outside our comfort zone- and when we do, often what we find can be pretty amazing.

It pays to get out of our genre bubble. Let’s do it more often.

I love San Franciso. There, I said it. It reminds me of Wellington- a hilly city with a magnificent harbour, and a propensity for earthquakes. Also the vibe is the same; laid back, metropolitan, and of course, excellent dining.

So I will be glad to head back there in February. Tee Morris and I will be at the San Francisco Writers Conference. I’ll be doing a panel on fantasy with Gabrielle Harbowy and Katharine Kerr on Saturday morning, and then the three of us will be teaching a class on writing science fiction, fantasy and horror in the post conference sessions.

This conference is packed full of events with authors, agents and publishers- many of which I will be going to myself. If you’re in the area, give this event serious consideration. Check out the website and get in quick- the main conference is nearly sold out!

And on Saturday 19th February, I will be at Borderlands Books reading from the as yet not released Spectyr, and signing books. After wards we’ll probably find a local pub and kick back. So I hope some of you can make it out. Borderlands is a great store, and my favourite place to shop in San Francisco.

Here’s the press release for the post and pre conference

2011 San Francisco Writers Conference Offers PRE and POST Event Classes!
Major Presenters will teach in-depth, low-cost writing sessions on February 17 & 21, 2011.

San Francisco, CA—1/31/11— The 2011 San Francisco Writers Conference will take place this February 18-20 at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. The prestigious event is where writers learn not only to improve their writing, but how to publish and promote their work. This year, in addition to the main conference, there will be classes on hot topics for writers both before and after the main event. Teachers include literary agents Donald Maass, Katharine Sands and Michael Larsen; bestselling authors Robert Dugoni, Sheldon Seigel, Katharine Kerr, Adair Lara; and many others. The classes are in-depth and low-cost…and open to all writers. For more information go to www.SFWriters.org.

PRE-CONFERENCE Pitch Workshop with Katharine Sands on February 17th

If your manuscript or book proposal is polished and ready to get into the hands of agents and editors, but you’re not sure how to do it successfully, then plan on taking PERFECT YOUR PITCH by New York literary agent Katharine Sands.  Katharine is coming to San Francisco to teach this workshop, Thursday, February 17, 2011 from 6-9 p.m.  Three hours to learn the secrets of successful pitching from the author of the book by the same name.  Katharine is one of the most popular faculty members at writers’ conferences around the country.  For more details, check the website, www.sfwriters.org. The cost is $149.

POST-CONFERENCE Intensive Workshops on Monday, February 21st

The Monday after the conference is always President’s Day holiday. SFWC organizers are encouraging attendees to consider adding an extra day onto their weekend, but in fact any writer can take one of the following intensive half-day or full-day workshops. Taught by experts in their fields, writers will learn from the best in small classes with lots of personal attention.  Below is a list of the classes. More detailed information can be found at www.sfwriters.org:

Full Day Classes Feb. 21st  (9 am to noon, no host lunch, 2 – 5 pm)   $297 for either class

1.      Social Media for Authors with social media gurus Tee Morris and Linda Lee
By the end of this nuts and bolts workshop, authors will know how to effectively use Twitter, Facebook, mySpace and Linked-In. Learn how to create a website and blog and how to podcast your writing.  (You’ll also know how to select which of these tools is right for you.)  A must have for writers in today’s online world.

2.      Self-Publishing Bootcamp with Carla King, Alan Rinzler, Joel Friedlander, Karen Leland and many more
Listen up, soldiers!  Today is the best time ever to be a writer. With eBooks and self-publishing options never before available to get your book in front of a reading audience, you need to understand the whys, whats and hows of self-publishing. Taught by the creator of the Self-Publishing Bootcamp and featuring a host of other teachers in design, publicity, editing, printing, eBooks and more.

Half-Day AM Classes Feb. 21st  (9 am to noon)…any class is $149

AM1   MICRO-TENSION: The Secret of the Best Sellers
with acclaimed Literary Agent Donald Maass
AM2   Writing Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers
With best-selling mystery and thriller authors Bob Dugoni and Sheldon Siegel
AM3   Writing Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror
With best selling author Katharine Kerr, associate publisher Gabrielle Harbowy and           rising star fantasy author Phillipa Ballantine
AM4   Writing Romance and Women’s Fiction
With literary agent Christine Witthohn and romance author Elizabeth Jennings

Half-Day Classes Feb. 21st  (2 pm to 5 pm)…any class is $149

PM1    How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal
With the man who wrote How to Write a Book Proposal, literary agent Michael Larsen      and legendary independent editor Alan Rinzler
PM2    Making Your Memoir Bigger Than The Story of Your Life
With writing teacher and memoirist Adair Lara
PM3    How make money in the Hot Young Adult Market
With award-winning children’s book author Douglas Rees and Simon Pulse Editor            Annette Pollert

Another option for writers to build their writing career is the new San Francisco Writers University.  This new project from the non-profit San Francisco Writers Conference launched in November 2010.  According to SFWU Dean Laurie McLean, “In less than a month 150 members joined for free to download free and $10 audio classes, learn from each other in discussion forums and blogs, have their work critiqued by fellow writers, connect via emails, find experts to help them or list themselves as experts. SFWU is like Facebook and Linked-In specifically for writers, with classes, live events and lots of social media tools.”  Writers are encouraged to check it out at www.SFWritersU.com. Michael Larsen had a dream of creating a space where all types of writers at every stage of their writing journey could join together in a writer community and learn their craft in an affordable, simple, worldwide manner. McLean added, “We believe you’ll soon be asking yourself how you did without this resource before!  Join us.  We’d love to have you participate and make SFWU your home for writing!”

Already 2011 has begun with a bang.

First off- Geist’s trailer (which Tee Morris produced) won Best Overall Adult at Parajunkee’s View.

I am so delighted with this as Tee (and me to a certain extent) put such a lot of work into it. If I can wax lyrical about book trailers for a second. I like them to be like movie trailers. I don’t like to have to read a whole slew of text, and I think in this case a voice over worked really well. Wait until you see what Tee has planned for Phoenix Rising!

Speaking of… my other bit of cool news. Phoenix Rising has been sold to a publisher in Russia! So that is the fourth country it will be available in; Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Russia. I am so excited, and can’t wait to see what they do for covers and titles.

But Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is Ministerstvo Osobaya nahodok according to Google translate. If there are any Russian speakers out there that know different, sing out.

Seldom has a year been so much of a roller coaster. At various times in the past twelve months I have felt like I am on a bronco that is alternatively trying to buck me off and lick my face.

I made some professional and personal jumps this year that I would never have imagined making, but in a lot of ways 2010 was the year I have been waiting for. On a personal level I packed up my stuff and have made a commitment to America of at least six months…maybe more. This included selling my beloved convertible, moving my even more beloved cats to another hemisphere and quitting the day job that has sustained me since 1997.

Professionally, it has been more awesome. Podcasting wise I made good progress on Digital Magic (now only 2 episodes shy of finishing), got invited as a regular guest on Litopia After Dark, and mostly kept up with Erotica a la Carte. However I confess while my love of podcasting is still as large as it ever was my available time to spend on it has gone down.

This has been necessitated by the leap in my writing career. In late October Geist was released- my first book with a New York publishing house. So I had to support that as best I could with a marketing plan that didn’t involve me digging myself a financial hole. So I hit the blog circuit, worked on a book trailer for Geist with Tee Morris, corralled some friends into working on a podcast anthology, and increased the number of cons I went to.

If that had been the pinnacle of my writing year, that would have been amazing, but 2010 was also the year I signed not one, but contracts for another four books. In April Tee Morris and I signed off on Phoenix Rising; a Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel and its sequel Of Cogs and Corsets. Then in November I signed another two book contract with Ace for two more books after Geist and Spectyr. Then Tee and I got the news that the Ministry books will be getting releases in three countries; Australia, New Zealand and Germany.

This is so beyond what my hopes were that I feel like I dare not look at it too closely least it blow away in the wind.

I attended for the first time, both Balticon and WorldCon. I utterly enjoyed Balticon…WorldCon was a bit more problematic for me- though I was grateful to get a chance to read, and be on a couple of panels there.

It’s been a year of change, but also a year of growth.

Now looking forward to 2011, I feel even more invigorated. Still, for accountability’s sake, let me break it down.

Writing work

Late April will be the release of Phoenix Rising, and late June the release of Spectyr. Both projects I love and enjoy doing. In between there I have to write Of Cogs and Corsets (the second Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel) with Tee and Wrayth (the third book of the Order). Once those are delivered I will have only the fourth book for Ace to do- though I do hope for more Ministry books. This of course, depends on the reception they get.

My plans for a YA title are thus on the backburner at least until the last half of the year, but I do plan to take some time to go back and rework Weather Child to where it is ready to submit to publishers.

Indie work

Chasing the Bard and Digital Magic will be available in various eformats.

Conventions

I have a long list of places I want to get to, but there are several first in my mind.

Balticon- as the New Media Guest of Honor. This is my very first foray into GoH territory and I am really excited.

Steampunk WorldFair- premiering Phoenix Rising there. Oh so much tea and fun.

WorldCon in Reno. Hey, it’s WorldCon, and this time I’ll be ready for it.

Podcasting

Erotica a la carte will spin on. I am enjoying practising two forms that I sometimes struggle with; erotica and short stories. Digital Magic will finish in January, and I have no real plans to podcast a novel for a bit- I need a break! Chronicles of the Order should finish in February, just in time for Phoenix Rising podcast to start. This will also be a series of short stories. Finally there is a writing podcast Tee and I will be working on. Episode zero should drop in January and it’ll give you an idea of format. It’ll be fun, but also be a peek inside a writer’s life, collaboration, as well as the cultural divide between America and New Zealand.

So there- that’s it. Life behind and ahead in a nutshell. Thanks for all your support dear readers. Everyone who has reviewed, supported, told a friend, or sent me a kindly email. You can’t really know how much it has all meant to me.

I hope we all have a successful and enjoyable year. Giddy up 2011!

It’s Christmas Eve, and just as you are contemplating cooking your fruit pudding to go with brandy custard tomorrow- someone you admire sends you a review. Someone you didn’t ask to. Someone you never imagine knew you existed.

Felicia Day is one awesome powerhouse of a woman, and beloved in the circles I travel in for her work in Buffy, Dollhouse, Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, and the Guild, her own webseries that she wrote, produced and starred in.

I particularly love her approach to life. She’s working both indie and traditional routes in her chosen field. A method that I am working on myself. Also, I have heard from people that have met her she’s a sweet, kind, person.

So to find she gave Geist 4 stars on Goodreads.com made my Christmas.

I love when a book makes me ponder before marking which shelf to place it on. This is definitely a fantasy novel, but with a strong urban fantasy attitude, some steampunk/paranormal thrown in and just enough romance to keep me rooting for the characters…. they were all distinct and Sorcha, the main female character, was tough but BELIEVABLE, she never tried to hard to be competent: she just WAS. Everyone’s personality was well balanced against each other, and I definitely rooted for them to succeed!

There may be a lot of great reviews coming in for Geist, but this one I will remember.

She also said she can’t wait for the next book. If I need any further inspiration to keep going on the third books, Wrayth- this is it.

And it’s full of WIN to be on your vaginal-fantasy book shelf!!!!!

If there is one talent I wish I had above all others, it is the ability to play a musical intstrument. But, much like my attempts at ballet, I knew when to quit.

So I enjoy listening instead, and my tastes are pretty diverse ranging from celtic to hip hop, Sinatra to Nine Inch Nails. My main requirement for music however is something to write to.

I can do a number of things while watching TV, but I need something to evoke moods and let my brain roam free when writing- yet not distract me from my own process. For this purpose I have found instrumentals the best at setting a mood.

So when I got a chance to listen to Alex White’s soundtrack for the Gearheart: Maiden Flight of the Avenger I wanted great things to set those sparks free. And I was not disappointed.

Alex is a multi-talented guy, who works with words, images and music. He’s the creator behind the wonderful podcast the Gearheart, and he’s making things happen for himself. I have no doubt that we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the future.

Now onto the music. This could easily be a big movie soundtrack. With stirring epics sounds, horns, bells. Pursued by Flame is something I will put on when I am writing a chase scene, combining action and menace in the same score. Tale of the Tome begins with the sweet sounds you might hear from a child’s music box, but sails upwards into something exquisitely beautiful. My favourite track however would be Once More, the Curtain Rises. At times military, at times epic, at times almost Celtic, I know that I will be listening to this track over and over while writing the second book of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

Alex White has created something stirring and beautiful. Something that doesn’t need words to convey deep and wonderous emotion.

This soundtrack is one any writer would be moved by- and what’s more it’s a steal for a paltry $6.99. Go have a listen and then pick it up. It’s not that you will be supporting an indie producer – it’s that you will be getting a great work of music.

Yes, more news I have been sitting on for weeks (It’s dang uncomfortable I can tell you!)

I will be New Media Special Guest as Balticon - May 27-30 2011!

It’s my first big Guest role, and I plan to bring the A game to town. I’ll be reading from Spectyr- Geist’s sequel not out until June- and co-hosting with the charming Tee Morris, the release party for Phoenix Rising; a Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel.

If you don’t know about Balticon- let me fill you in. It is the Maryland Regional Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, and it has quickly become the default con to attend if you want to see podcast novelists. It has plenty of other tracks to interest people as well such as Writing and Gaming. So all in all, a well rounded convention.

It’s held at the Marriott’s Hunt Valley Inn, just outside of Baltimore- and I can attest that this year I had a blast and next year is going to be even better. Not just cos I am going to be the Special Guest…but also a little bird has told me plenty of other podcast novelists will be in town. As an example, last year there was Tee Morris, Phil Rossi, PG Holyfield, Dan Sawyer, PC Haring, Nathan Lowell- and that’s just a taste.

So if you are craving some fun and frolics with podcasters, writers and readers then this is the con for you.

Looking forward to meeting you all next year.

Often I want to share news with you. Often I want to express my excitement. However these days I cannot just drop news, as I have publishers to consider.

So I pretty much end up looking like a total tease.

Then there are those times when I get the go ahead and I can share the whole story.

This thankfully is one of those times.

*drumroll* So here goes…

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences will be available to more than just Americans. Yes, Germany, Australia and my homeland New Zealand will all get editions of both books.

This is not only great news for readers…but also for Tee and I. When you get an advance for a book, it is essentially a loan from the publisher to you, saying this is how much money they expect you to make. As an author ‘earning out’, means paying back that loan. It hangs over your head, and if you don’t earn out, selling new books is that much harder. Kinda like having a bad credit score.

So selling foreign rights helps pay back that loan, and get you one step closer to earning that thing you get once you have earned out– royalties!

So this news is very gute nachrichten (good news)!

I have never been quiet about my love for the work of Jason Chan. He’s produced two wonderful covers for me, Geist and Spectyr, and I truly hope that he will stay on board for Wrayth, and Harbinger.

I also know those covers have bought attention to the writing within. Geist’s success has been aided by that cover. Covers sell books- paper, ebook–they just do.

So now’s a chance to give something back to Jason and highlight his beautiful work.

All Things Urban Fantasy is running it’s annual cover awards, and Geist is up for two; Best Female with Animal and Best Cover.
Click on over here to vote and show some love to Jason- let him know you think his work is awesome.

I just got back from PhilCon where I got to spend sometime with Danielle from Ace Books. She’s a delight- and not just because she bought another two books from me!

She gave me the go ahead to reveal the cover for Spectyr- the second in the series coming in late June 2011.

Jason Chan has once again done a beautiful job, and I can’t wait to get this poster for my wall right next to Geist. There is the Rossin and there is Sorcha- this time using the cleansing flame, Pyet.

So here’s the news that I will be telling people at Philcon right at the moment this post drops.

This past week Danielle of Ace Books asked for another two books in the Geist world!

To say this makes me happy is an understatement. I love this world, and I love working with Sorcha, Merrick and Raed. The chance to continue their adventures is something I hoped for. I imagined maybe they might consider another book, so to be contracted for two is just wonderful.

The first book (titled Wrayth) needs to be handed into Ace on August 1st 2011- and the fourth (so far dancing around ideas for its title) on August 1st 2012.

As to publication dates- that I do not know. It is up to Ace and what their schedule is like. As soon as I know I’ll let you know. I also hope Jason Chan will be on board for the covers of these as well.

The whole concept of Geist was for a four book arc, and things are really going to change for my Deacons and the Young Pretender. Thank you for your continuing support, and keep reading and reviewing Geist. It all matters, and while this is a great sign, I do still need to make my mark in this new career of mine.

It’s been two weeks since Geist went out into the world by itself. An exciting, crazy time in any authors time; first New York contract, first dive into the deep end of the pool.

So far I am still alive.

My first actual sighting of Geist was in Barnes and Noble, Union Square, San Francisco. I was spending the day with my agent, Laurie McLean, and she dropped me in. It was surreal and wonderful to see it sitting there- right in among the B’s. I signed those copies (after asking permission of course), and since signed copies in four more stores.

Stories began to trickle in through my various social networks of people finding it out there. It seemed like it was in lots of stores-even in airports.

Two more things bought amazement and excitement to the week.

Jeff Young sent in this picture of Geist in the Barnes & Noble towers.

And then this screen shot from the Science Fiction and Fantasy section of the ibook store. Geist, up there with Jim Butcher’s latest

Then last Wednesday we got the numbers for the first week of sales. I am happy to announce that Geist hit the Bookscan and Barnes & Noble massmarket science fiction and fantasy bestsellers list. UPDATE: This also occurred in the second week on sale!

Also the reviews started to come in, and I find fascinating what people are digging about the book. I have noticed two things out of the reviews so far; Sorcha is a mature heroine (she’s in her late 30s), and the lack of a romantic relationship between two characters. Yep, you heard me right-the lack of romance. Not to say there isn’t romance…but not between who you might think.

Here’s one of my favourite reviews so far.

Although the book is full of exciting action and amazing adventure, the trio created of Sorcha, Merrick and Raed is fascinating and the true heart of the story. Ms. Ballantine does an amazing job with the character development.  The trio each sees things in a unique way, bringing a full spectrum of views in each situation. I enjoyed the give and take that makes this relationship work.

With layer after layer unfolding before me – causing several twists and turns, I was on the proverbial edge of my seat. The book came to a satisfying conclusion, yet it was open-ended for subsequent stories. I for one, cannot wait!  I want to know more about the secrets of the Sensitives. I want to know more about how the bond works.  And I want to know what will become of this amazing trio!

- That’s What I am Talking About

So things have started off well, and I have to thank all those that have talked, tweeted and blogged about Geist. It’s not a hit out of the park, but it is a really great start. For a chick from New Zealand, it has been a heady couple of weeks. And there is more to come.

Geist has until after Christmas to get really well sold. You see in the New Year booksellers will do their returns. So think about Geist as a Christmas present–give the gift of lions, magic and the supernatural.

Today is official (well according to Amazon) launch day for Geist.

I’ve already been sent pictures of it out in the wild among all the other books at bricks and mortar stores. From now on it is up to the world to decide how it does. (Well aside from some marketing by me of course)

There are two competitions on the Geist site that I hope all of you will take advantage of.

And for those that have asked, if you buy the book or not, the really helpful thing you can do is talk about it. Write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Tell your friends and neighbours.

I hope you enjoy the book. I enjoyed writing it, and this whole thing has been quite the adventure- one that I hope to keep on doing.

For those that have helped me- the acknowledgments of Geist are very much heartfelt.

My box of Geist are waiting for me in America, and I can’t wait to get my hands on them.

I have however seen the very first example of Geist out in the wild.

Those lovely folks over at the SF Signal apparently got their copy. And I must admit it’s pretty cool to see it sitting there with Patricia Briggs and Jim Butcher. Can’t fault that company!

Also over at Good reads you’ll find I have opened up an Author Q&A. For one whole month I will be answering all things writing, podcasting and Geist.

If you’re a member of Goodreads then pop on over and let’s chat.

It was lovely to chat with Ace marketing the other day, and find out how interested they are in getting people to review Geist.

Not just the big players like Locus or Publishers Weekly, but bloggers and podcasters. Times they are a changing I guess.

So here’s your chance. If you have a blog or a podcast that does book reviews, then send the link to your site and the best physical address, and I will pass this information onto Ace.

The email address is pip at this site.

Then you too can let the world know what you think of Geist.

These are the months when all sorts of goodies are landing in my mailbox. Today it was these lovelies. Apparently they are called cover flats, and contain information to entice the bookseller.

I found three interesting things

• They mention my podcast history- quoting the number of podcast downloads. (So keep that in mind podiobook authors)
• Apparently I am ‘a promising Ace author’
• And they list Author Home ‘New Zealand’

There’s only one more thing to come… a box of books.

I have also revealed the first of my competitions over on booksoftheorder.com

If you want a chance to have your name appear in the sequel to Geist, Spectyr, a signed (by me and Jason Chan) print of the book’s cover, and plenty of chances to win a signed copy, then you’ll want to check it out.

Also Geist is now available to preorder on the ibook store, as well as massmarket and Kindle versions on Amazon.

This thing is really happening. Either that or I am having a really, really vivid dream!

In the spirit of the month, with Geist coming out, I’ve decided to release Chasing the Bard for free until the end of the year.

Yep. For Free.

I have done some minor edits and put in the new chapter from the podcast.

So grab it now- Epub – Pdf

And enjoy the beautiful new cover art by the talented Alex White of the Gearheart. He is the definition of the renaissance man and you should definitely check out his podcast.

Feel free to let people know, and I hope you enjoy taking the text with you.

Swimming with the big fish still means I need to get the word out about Geist, and this has pretty much been consuming my life for the last month.

One of the things I wanted to do was create a book trailer- but there was one big problem- yeah… my lack of video skills.

Luckily Tee Morris rode to the rescue, and you can find the result on my homepage, and scattered around the internet. I think it gives a pretty good idea of the tone of Geist.

So if you want to help spread the word, please feel free to imbed the video from youtube.com where ever you feel like it.

Silence is the killer for a book… and silence scares me.

This is a bit of a nerve wracking time for me. My first big New York City book, and I am gearing up for the reviews.

So when my Google Alert told me that someone had reviewed Geist, I was excited and nervous… and then I found out it was from Harriet Klausner

The key to this great horror-fantasy is the belief in the magical world of Philippa Ballantine summed up by the Guardian and the Pretender when she says “If wishes were horses,” and he finishes with “I would never have to walk again.” Little touches like this bring alive the prime element of the Bond, which make the realm of Geist seem genuine. Sorcha and her two comrades are terrific characters who keep the story line focused even as the plot entertainingly switches from fantasy to horror. This is a wonderful thriller.
And if you don’t know who she is- have a read here

All I can say is, thanks Harriet. I feel like I have already arrived, and it was a nice start to the month of October!

A while back I wrote a short story for my good friend PG Holyfield. The Tales of the Children are set in the world of Caern, and supported the release of Patrick’s Murder at Avedon Hill.

Writing in another person’s universe was a really fun opportunity, and it was nice to get to play with genuine elves. I have always been of the opinion that elves (and the Fey) are not portrayed as dangerous enough.

This floaty, dreamy vision of elves never really flew with me, so when I got to write in Caern, I was determined to write about elves as I imagine them; sharp, deadly and a race you really, really do not want to annoy.

So what happens when humans do what humans do, and invade an elven island. Yep, they bring a whole world of hurt down upon themselves.

Can humans gain a foothold on the island of Kandriel? If Syliene, an elven warrior and priestess of Thei-Shan has anything to say about it, the answer is no.

Have a listen here

I’m writing this post, spurred by Speculative Fiction Writers of New Zealand (which just recently launched) and New Zealand Spec Fic Blogging Week. I was casting about thinking about what I could contribute- then I realised it was staring me in the face.

You see, this past week I submitted a synopsis and three chapters of Weather Child, for my agent to start pitching. I made some contacts at WorldCon that expressed an interest in it, and to say that possibility excited me would be a massive understatement.

Weather Child, if you are not aware, is my alternative history fantasy novel, set in New Zealand between the two World Wars. I podcast the first draft of the novel back in 2009, and it met with some fairly rabid appreciation from overseas listeners. It even got nominated for a Sir Julius Vogel Award.

In my third print novel, Digital Magic at least half the story was set in Wellington.

And in Ministry of Peculiar Occurence: Phoenix Rising (co-written with Tee Morris and coming in May 2011 from Harper Voyager) Eliza D Braun, a secret agent is a kiwi girl all the way. The national anthem and culture are all over the book- and a real part of what makes Eliza special.

Including and drawing on my New Zealandness has been a very clear conscious decision – after all we are often told ‘write what you know’. Also, it is a reaction against the New Zealand I grew up in- where to be a kiwi was to be vaguely apologetic about it. In the 1970s and 1980s there was the feeling that being a kiwi was almost embarrassing. These were the days when even our TV presenters sounded plummy and British, you had very little choice in kiwi music on the radio, and fashion came from New York or London.

Yep, when people tell you they pine for the good ole days they’re not telling you the whole story. The only New Zealand author who was making it overseas back then was Hugh Cook. One person.

That’s why I find things like the Speculative Fiction Writers of New Zealand so damn cheering. Finally we are producing authors that not only make it big here, but also overseas.

Now all we need to do, is write about our beautiful home.

It is my firm opinion that these days we have nothing to be ashamed of. New Zealand is an awesome country, and I am proud to have come from here. From my podcasting experience overseas listeners and readers are intrigued and we should absolutely be using that to our advantage.

After all fantasy readers are used to reading about worlds of all shapes and sizes- so Aotearoa isn’t that far fetched.

We sometimes tend to forget New Zealand has a lot to offer the world, and fantasy writing; a unique perspective, mythology, culture. And what a source of inspiration it is! When I was writing Weather Child I got so much pleasure out of being able to share the stories of my family and their experiences in this country (OK, maybe not the ones about being magicians… as far as I know no Ballantines can shoot fireballs or summon lightning)

So I have never thought about being from New Zealand as a disadvantage. In fact now I think it is a positive advantage.

So that and a good healthy measure of pride are the reasons I love writing about New Zealand. I hope plenty of other people that live here will feel the same.

An email from a concerned fan, made me realise that I have not addressed the large earthquake in New Zealand that happened on the weekend.

I was in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday morning, attending WorldCon. To put it in perspective, that’s almost the distance from LA to New York- so I didn’t feel it. However back home in Wellington, it was. However nothing was damaged.

The city that really had the devastation was Christchurch, which is in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand. The fact that no one was killed makes the whole thing more bearable, although plenty of people in that part of the country will continue to deal with the effects of the quake for months and months. Many of the lovely older buildings, made of brick and unstrengthened have collapsed or been damaged.

For those outside the effected area who want to donate check out this page

And for more information on what is going on the New Zealand Herald Site and Stuff.co.nz have dedicated pages to the news.

I arrived home from a very fun, very informative, very useful WorldCon in Melbourne (blogpost to come on that), to find the uncorrected proofs of Geist. These are not the final product, but still being able to actually hold my bound words was quite the moment, and one more step towards the novel in stores.

Once it is, the market will decide its worth, but my aim is to make people aware of it. Yes, with all the books being published, getting yours noticed is the real battle.

So, as part of that effort I am doing a blogtour for three months. I’ll be talking about all sorts of things, but the first is an interview with Odin1Eye over at View from Valhalla. There were some pretty probing questions that made me think hard, and I hope you find it interesting.

Check it out here and see what other places I will be hitting.

In addition I have some beautiful Geist postcards to distribute- so if you can think of a place to put them where they would attract interest, then please email me motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – I’ll send you a sweet treat to go along with it

This may come as a shock to some of you, but I hope no one will freak out with this news.

You will no longer be able to buy a print edition of Chasing the Bard or Digital Magic from DragonMoon Press.

OK… wow that was like ripping off a band-aid. Hopefully you are all still with me.

So let me explain. I signed with DMP back in 2003, and I still recall the excitement when I got my offer from Gwen. It was my first print deal, and a validation for me as a writer. They picked up Digital Magic and through them I got to know and work with Tee Morris. They also let me podcast my novels in their entirety- something unusual in the publishing world.

They gave me me a lot, but things do change. Writing for a living is hard, and unfortunately it has been my experience that being with an indie press does not bring in enough dollars to keep body and soul together.

That may sound harsh, but this year has meant making some hard choices. That’s the difference between having writing as a hobby and having it be your business.

I wish Gwen and Grabrielle at DragonMoon all the best, and thank them for the time and effort they put into teaching me about writing and the industry.

If you want to snag a papercopy of either of these books then I suggest getting in now… they could become collector’s editions.

So it isn’t all dark clouds and grim news. Times they are a changing, but there will not be a shortage of paper books from me. In the next year I will have three books coming out with both Ace and Eos. So I hope you hang in there with me, and together we’ll see how the ride pans out.

With just over a week to go until WorldCon I thought I’d make a quick post about where you might run into me there- should you be so inclined.

HarperCollins talk about ebooks – Thursday 2 September (invite only, so if you’re in or nearby you might be able to catch me)

Voyager Party- Friday night (invite only, so if you’re in or nearby you might be able to catch me)\
Reading of Geist- Room 215, Mebourne Convention center, Saturday, 04 September 2010 5pm

You will also be able to catch me at;

Anachronistic fiction: successors to steampunk- Room 219, Melbourne Convention center, Sunday, 05 September 2010 11am

Also sharing a Kaffeeklatsch with Tee Morris – Room 201, Melbourne Convention center, Saturday, 04 September 2010 1pm

Hope to see you somewhere in Melbourne. Come up and say hi.

I’ve been working hard of the site Books of the Order which is where I am putting all Geist related content

You can subscribe right here so you don’t miss out- especially for the release of Chronicles of the Order. This short story podcast is turning out to be such fun, with writers such as Tee Morris, Sandra Wickam, Nobilis, Laurie McLean and more!

Shortly there will be a couple of contests, where you can win a signed galley of Geist, and a box of New Zealand goodies. So.. another reason to subscribe.

Another feature of Books of the Order is a feature called ‘Need the Order’. I have been asking people to send in their experiences with the supernatural. As a storyteller I find these tales fascinating, and have a couple from within my own family. I also find it interesting that most people have asked for anonymity–apparently talking about these things can draw derision. As a storyteller I find it sad. If we cannot share our stories, then what is the point of being a community of human beings. We all have our own beliefs and experiences and that is what I find fascinating.

So if you want to share your experience then email motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com and let me know if you want to reveal your name or not.

Stories told around the campfire matter, and I hope you will share yours with me and the world.

Just over two months out until the release of Geist, and I am beginning to gear up.

First off, you will find me at WorldCon in Melbourne. This is my first experience at a big literary con, and I am really excited to get into it. I know that Gail Carriger, Mur Lafferty, Dr. John Cmar and rocket scientist Laura Burns will also be venturing south to Australia.

Tee Morris and I will both be there too and we will have give aways. There will be Geist buttons and postcards, as well as Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences buttons too. So look for those on the freebie tables.

We’ll be attending the Voyager party on Friday night (our editor Diana Gill from Eos will be there!), but apart from that I cannot tell you where else we might be. We’re still waiting on confirmation from the organisers. But even if I am not on any panels I’ll be there to hang out, enjoy the atmosphere before the big dive into the year.

I just have this feeling once Geist is launched its going to get a little crazy….

Also if you pop over to my Appearances page you will see two things.

1) The Geist blog tour. It’s shaping up, but my plan is to have two guest blog or podcast spots each week for September, Ocotober and November. Hopefully you won’t get sick of seeing me pop up, because I will be talking and writing about different things in each one. From steampunk suffragettes, to were-creatures, to plot vs character, to interviews.

2) After WorldCon you will find a tentative schedule for what I want to get to between now and October 2011. This is all very contingent on a business visa from the American government. But hopefully supporting three books in one year with a con a month will be enough of a reason. If that fails, I still plan to get to some events, but they will be fewer. So *fingers crossed*

The characteristics of the New Zealander are not naturally attuned to marketing. We are more bent towards egalitarianism, which is nice, but it also means ‘tooting your own horn’ is not generally looked upon as a good thing.

However in all my years podcasting, and with the example of those that have gone before me into print, I have learned that not to talk about projects is to have them wither on the vine. That’s something I don’t want to happen to Geist.

I am proud of this book. My editor Danielle at Ace said it combines romance, epic and supernatural fantasy, but written with a modern sensibility. Who am I to argue.

Sorcha Faris is a Deacon of the Order, and has vowed to stand between the citizens of the Empire and the geists, evil spirits from the Otherside that terrorize and possess the living. When her partner is critically injured, it’s up to Sorcha to investigate a surge of geist activity, with the help of a seafaring prince who bears a terrible curse- an ancient geist that resides within him.

So here is my call to arms to those who enjoy my writing, friends, fans, and heck even family.

Geist is coming out at the end of October, but now is the time to act to secure the future of more books in the Geist universe. I have a contract for Spectyr, but the whole scope of the story will take two more books to reach fruition.

Now is the time when Ace will decide about the third book. Now?? I can hear you say- but it does actually make sense. Before the book is even published is the time when Ace will begin to have an idea of the demand for Geist, and decide if they want to support the story with more novels. Booksellers are picking which books they will stock right at this very moment.

So what I need is for them to have Geist top of their mind. I need them to order the Books of the Order.

So dearest Americans, here’s something you can do to help me, and my books. It’s pretty simple really- just email, phone or visit your local bookstore (indie or chain store doesn’t matter) and ask if they are going to stock Geist by Philippa Ballantine- coming out at the end of October. (Others can help by ordering via Amazon or Barnes and Noble)

It’s a simple, yet effective way for you to let them know there is a market for the book, and that people are excited enough to ask before it is even out.

Now, if you’ve read my work you probably have a good idea what to expect, but right here is a sample chapter of Geist- the very first. So dive right in, meet Deacon Sorcha Faris and then contact your local bookseller (or for the really keen booksellers)

Phew! I managed to get through that. Thanks so much for your support through the years- it means a lot and constantly amazes me.

As the award and con season rolls on, I am once more caught up in the excitement. The Parsec Awards has  again short-listed Erotica a la Carte in its Best Anthology category. Although I won’t be at DragonCon this year, I am chuffed to know that my little experimental cast is up there with the likes of Escape Pod and Variant Frequencies.

And then there are the Sir Julius Vogel awards which are special to me, as they show just how amazing the range of talent we have in this tiny country is. Weather Child is up for an award and I admit another of those spectacular trophies would be sweet. If you are planning on attending Au Contraire or are a member of SFFANZ then you can vote here.

Both Tee Morris and I will be at Au Contraire, as well as attending AussieCon- which is also WorldCon. Exciting times.

But then I know things are heating up in the South Pacific. One sure sign of it is the unveiling of SpecFicNZ at Au Contraire. (Check out the event page here) A group of people devoted to genre writing- utter bliss that I could not have imagined five years ago.

Genre is now alive and well, and we are busting into New York and getting contracts.

In addition to my 2 book deal with Ace/Penguin and another 2 book deal with Eos/HarperCollin for the book I co-authored with Tee, there are a lot of excellent writers in New Zealand who are breaking into New York

So in the interests of bringing attention to my colleagues and fellow kiwis here’s a list. If you know of anymore to add, please do so in the comments.

• Nalini Singh- New York Times best seller in paranormal romance.
• Russell Kirkpartick – epic fantasy author, first published by Voyager/HarperCollins he is published all over the world.
• Helen Lowe – her epic fantasy series starts coming out with Eos/HarperCollins in October 2010.
• Mary Victoria – epic fantasy published by HarperCollins.
• Elizabeth Knox- award winning, historical/YA fantasy writer
• Lyn McConchie – multiple award winner, and has co-authored books with Andre Norton.

Out of a tiny country that’s not too bad. And that’s not including Australians living here, or New Zealanders living in Australia. Or indeed all those learning the craft and coming up.

After compiling this list I am feeling positively optimistic. So talley-ho New Zealand! I am so damn proud of you all!

One of the other great pieces of news to come out of Balticon was the news of an emerging paying market- and one buried in podosphere goodness. I had a chance to chat with Scott Roche about Flagship the new ezine.  Scott and the team have great plans and I am looking forward to seeing how they proceed into the future.

But for now, this is a paying market that gives you a chance to not only have your words in print, but also in audio.

Here’s the official word.

Beginning July 4th, science fiction and fantasy fans will be given a new place where they can discover authors and stories they’ll be able to enjoy wherever they go.  Flagship, the new e-zine by publisher Flying Island Press, will soon be releasing short stories every other month in formats for the Kindle, the iPad and iPhone, and other electronic readers.

Issues will be available starting July 4th, 2010 at http://flyingislandpress.com/flagship

I feel like I am remiss in saying how much I enjoyed Balticon- and it wasn’t just being able to announce the Eos deal. It was without doubt the most fun I have ever had at a con. Low drama, high friendship. I got to meet old friends, and meet lots of brand new ones. The only downside was I feel like I missed out on spending quality time with everyone- but that is just me wishing the event could have gone on for another four days.

I highly recommend Balticon as a convention where you are going to meet cool people, have a great time, and yet not be as overwhelmed as attending something like DragonCon.

But in lieu of a full run down, I present my post as a guest Lolita over at Steamed. I give the dish on the steampunk awesomeness I witnessed at Balticon, and talk about the wonderous Jared Axelrod and his fabulous news too.

If steampunk is your thing (and I sure hope it is) then subscribe to Steamed and get the dish from the lovely Lolitas.

The big news- the news we announced at Balticon- is now out there.

Coming in summer 2011 the project Tee Morris and I wrote and talked about many, many times whose working title is Books and Braun, will be published by Eos Books.

Diana Gil will be working with us to whip this steampunk romp into taunt, terrific shape, and both of us are very excited about that. Eos is an imprint of HarperCollins, so you will be able to find this book on your shelves. This is a two book deal, so the title of the book will most likely be the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Phoenix Rising.

The second book is being written, and once again I am having a blast being in this universe. These characters have snappy dialogue, fabulous fashion and tend to make things go BOOM!

There will be a complimentary short story podcast planned- where many backstory threads will be explored- including why exactly Eliza got exiled from New Zealand, and what sort of childhood made Wellington into an Archivist.

Keep an eye on the website ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com where these things will appear, and an introduction to the Ministry and its Agents can be found.

Eliza and Welly are also continuing their sparring on Twitter- and also sharing a daily news story in the world of steampunk. Follow them on BooksandBraun

This is big news- especially after my recent move of leaving my librarian day job, and to say this is a thrill is an understatement. As Super Agent Laurie McLean says so often ‘ONWARD!’

You know I love the cover Jason Chan did for Geist. I know the people at Ace love it too. Jason is an amazingly talented artist, so having him bring Sorcha and the Rossin to life was just wonderful to me.

So I encouraged him to make the print available, and he has! I have placed my order for the biggest one for my wall- and if you want the same, then head on over to the print shop and order.

So that’s the art, now here’s the fun….

Balticon!

This Memorial Day weekend in Baltimore, writers, costumers and tons of New Media producers will be gathering for networking, partying and chit chat. If you can join us then please do.

Here’s where you will be able to find me

Readings

From the upcoming release Geist- 1PM Sunday in the Pimlico Room

With Tee Morris- Books and Braun Chapter Two (including a special announcement!!) – 11PM Sunday in the Chesapeake Suite

Live Recordings

Metamor City – 5pm Saturday at the Chesapeake Suite

Girls’ Rules- 4PM Sunday in the Chesapeake Suite

Panels

Social Media for the Midlist author – 6pm Friday in the Chesapeake Suite

What’s Steamy in New Media? – 11AM Monday in the Derby Room

DragonMoon Press Booth

A host of DragonMoon Press authors will be there; Christiana Ellis, Val Griswold Ford, PG Holyfield, Tee Morris, and Phil Rossi. We will all be taking turns manning the DMP booth in the dealers room. So pop on over, buy a book (or three) and have it signed. We’d all love to meet you.

Just got back from New York- which is a city which both excites and confuses me. I love the energy of it, but it also is the one place in the world where I seem to be always in the wrong spot on the pavement.

However it was also the place I got to do something I had dreamed about. I got to see the inside of the big publishing house. I am sure that such things become very run-of-the-mill to people who have long been published by the likes of Harper-Collins, St Martins or Penguin. However for me it was breathtaking.

I got to meet my editor Danielle, chat with the marketing department, and pass pleasantries with Ginjer Buchanan (who I share a byline with in the upcoming a Taste of True Blood). I also got a bunch of free books to read. If I had only had larger luggage!

Part of the marketing push is my new site dedicated to the Geist series. Not much there yet, but it will be hosting the wallpapers, stories, and podcasts connected with the series. So if you want to keep an eye on the coming developments, jump on in and subscribe.

I’m looking forward to the anthology series, and seeing what others do in my universe- including my delightful agent Laurie McLean.

If you are in the podcast fiction sphere you will have heard of P G Holyfield and Murder at Avedon Hill. Patrick spent countless hours entertaining people with his full cast production of this fantasy murder mystery.

As well as being full of great voice talent (achemmm) MaAH is a great story- so it was only natural that Dragon Moon Press picked up the novel. Patrick is doing an Amazon rush event tomorrow the 15th of May, so read the flyer about what you need to do.

If I haven’t convinced you yet… how about a free taste? Then I have a sample for you here.

I know what I will be doing tomorrow!

Week Two of professional writer and gentle reader, I do hope you have stuck with me. [CAUTION; this blogpost contains more than its fair share of brackets...see I already I am knee deep in them]

Here’s what I have been up to.

Dropped into LA, and this was the first time I have actually been outside of the airport! (Even if only briefly). I met [CENSORED] to talk about [REALLY CENSORED]- which as you can imagine was pretty cool. (As soon as I can possibly talk about this I will)

But because of all that I got a chance to hang out with three fabulous stars of the pod/vidcast community. Mark Jeffrey of the Pocket and the Pendant, Earl Newton of Stranger Things and Matthew Wayne Selznick of Brave Men Run. I’ve met Earl before (the details of how however stay in DragonCon) but never had a chance to meet Matt or Mark.

Mark was lovely enough to drive me to Venice where all of us sat down for a night of sushi and sake. Needless to say, we made Earl late for his late night LA meeting, but it was hella fun, and hopefully we didn’t wreck his chances of being the next (INSERT YOUR FAVOURITE DIRECTOR HERE)

Every time I meet with people from the podosphere I have a blast, and this was no different. I’ve come to the conclusion that aside from a few outliers, those in the community of creators are just as they appear to be online. It is always a delight to meet them.

I then flew to Virginia, and was on the road when I finally managed to get the first draft of Spectre to my editor at Ace. I don’t mind saying I was sweating bullets when I sent it to super agent Laurie. This is my first real sequel. (Yes Digital Magic is the sequel to Chasing the Bard, but only one character is the same, and the time elapsed is huge) And here’s the two things I realised.

1. When you sign the contract, start immediately!
2. Sequels are harder-because you just don’t have the flexibility you had in the original. The world rules are laid down, and you must abide by them.
3. Relax and have fun within those rules

Luckily Laurie came back and said she loved it- now we just wait to hear from Ace. I am sure there will be plenty of edits, but I will enjoy the breather.

Since then I have been attacking the aforementioned endless list. You know all those- things that pile up while your concentration is diverted. The email. The promotional ideas. The opportunities you couldn’t afford to miss.

I wrote myself a long list at the beginning of this week, and am slowly getting through it. Each one I strike off (even if others do spring up like the heads of the Hydra) seems like a little victory. I am slowly whittling it down to just ‘the big things’- like write another book or two.

Some of the other things I have managed to get in motion are

• Digital Magic back on track
• Erotica a la carte itunes app in the pipeline
• Applied for my free trial of Voices123.com (we’ll see how much professional work I can get there)
• Got permission to make some Geist promotional items with Jason Chan’s awesome artwork for Geist
• Started work on the website that will contain all the promotional and podcast work for Geist geistnovel.com
• Started work on my three short stories for Books and Braun: Bookmarks from the Ministry
• Sort out who I want to ask to write for me for the Geist podcast anthology.
• Send out scripts for the 3rd quarter of Digital Magic podcast
• Started planning and plotting for a third Order book to pitch to Ace

Ahead lie so many cool things, that I want to clear the desk a bit first.

I will be in New York City on May 17th, so if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook there will be an announcement of an casual get together. And then of course there will be a chance to catch me at Balticon- along with a clutch of other podcast authors. I’ll be at the DragonMoon Press booth, doing two readings, panels and participating in live recordings for other peoples projects. It’s going to be a fun weekend- so come along and say hi if you can.

Today is indeed the first day of the rest of my life- well hopefully.

I said good-bye to the library world yesterday. It was tough because I have spent 13 years in the corporate library world working with some fabulous people. I had a wonderful morning tea, talked a lot, then packed up my things, hugged my now ex-workmates, and headed off into the world. A professional writer.

Today is all about packing bags, and getting the house ready for my brother. Yes, once again I am hitting America, with meetings, a convention, and plenty of time with friends. It’s a good way to start. I took my two Siberians to the cattery and was rewarded with two of the grumpiest cat stares.

Then I came home to this… my first professional narration work. Another string to my bow, and I am very excited. So I present to you the erotic science fiction audio…

Spaceport Security by Shelby Morgen

A dark corner of a seedy bar on the edge of nowhere. A woman who’s seen too much. A man who moves through the shadows with the grace of a cat.

She’s on his tail, and he’s determined to find out why. Once he might have been flattered to have her checking out his ass. Now he knows women are dangerous. And far, far too expensive.

But Commander Kala Decoltéir always gets her man, and she wants the space pirate they call Dancer — no matter who — or what — he is. This time, Dancer has no escape.

If you want to support what I do, here’s a chance. If erotica’s not your thing, don’t worry, there are other ways to do it- and more opportunities to come.

About a month ago I asked you about paying for podcast fiction. It might not have been a perfect survey, but it has certainly given me some ideas going forward.

Here are the results

1. I would find this method for generating revenue from podcast fiction acceptable

Short sponsored advertised 96.55%
Small payment per episode 37.93%
I would never pay for a podcast 3.45%

People could choose more than one option here

2. Considering sponsored advertising in a podcast- how long would be too long?

Anything under a minute 65.17%
Under 30 seconds 34.83%

3. Considering paying for a podcast- what is the maximum you would pay?

49c per episode 39.39%
99c 36.90%
I would never pay! 23.81%

4. Would you buy a copy of the book to support the author if they are giving you free podcasts?

Definitely 47.73%
Possibly 47.73%
It’s not part of the contract 4.55%

5. If I was going to pay for podcast fiction I would most likely pay for the following genres

Anything as long as it’s good 69.41%
Science fiction 18.82%
Fantasy 8.24%
Erotica 3.53%

6. If I was paying for podcast fiction I most likely prefer

Serialized novel 77.65%
Custom made stories 11.76%
Short stories 10.59%

If I haven’t said it explicitly I’ll say it here: I have officially handed in my notice at the corporate library. I will be a freewheeling writer and podcaster for the next 8 months or so at least. If things go well this may be a permanent lifestyle change, if not… well I will go back to the library world- which has always been a happy and comfortable environment for me.

A lot of things have led to this choice, but chief among them is how many opportunities and challenges I’ve had flying at my head. I don’t want to miss out on any of them, and it had got to the stage where I was doing as much as I could, while still working at a day job- even only a four day a week one. I knew that with more thing looming ahead I was simply not going to be able to manage both.

I want Geist to succeed, and I want to grab as many of these chances as I can. So I had to make a scary choice- and like the baby bird I keep mentioning I knew that I had to choose to jump.

I am sure some people are thinking I am all kinds of crazy doing this, so I feel like I should explain and clarify my position on doing it. I think I can make it work. I think I can make it work with diversity.

Geist is a book I am committed too- one I love and want to do well, but it is not the sole star I am hitching my wagon too. I am exploring all avenues to generate income. Right now, writing novels alone will not support me. (Especially with Geist about five months away from hitting the bookshelves)

So here’s the plan. Diversity in all things. It’s the whole don’t put your eggs in one basket parable.

Writing

I have Geist and the sequel Spectre coming out with Ace books.

I have also just sent over the final edits on for this anthology. I hope to do more work like this; for anthologies and blogs. I love writing non-fiction because it means I can use my librarian fu as well as my writing fu. If you have a paying gig then contact me pip@pjballantine.com

Audio

I will be bringing out a variety of content from my Erotica a la Carte table; high quality versions of the stories on CD and a print books.

I have just signed a contract to narrate a novella with a producer of audio content. This is the start of what I hope will be a decent revenue stream for me. If you have audio requirements that an experienced voice talent with a kiwi accent could fill, then please I am open to offers. (again pip@pjballantine.com)

All info and samples are here

So yes, times are hard, and writers have be more flexible and more diversified than ever before, however there is still opportunity out there.

Buckle up baby-bird– it’s time to fly!

Every now and then I like to do a roundup of where I’ve been on the net.

View from Valhalla- keep an eye on this blog- Odin is doing a series of these ‘How I Do It’ from all kinds of podcast authors. I look forward to reading answers from others.

Great Hites – the prompt ‘Nature’s Wrath’. Jeffrey Hite has a great writing podcast- where prompts are presented, stories are written and votes are taken. It was my pleasure to be a guest host.

Don’t forget I will be at Balticon at the end of May signing books, doing panels and helping at the DragonMoon Press booth.

And if you want to keep more up to date I have a Group Page on Facebook. Once a month a do a round up of my writing life there.

Writing is hard- make not bones about that. There’s the long hours, the editing, the rejections.. it’s not something that is for the faint of heart. Yet it can also be tremendously rewarding. Then those are those moments which shine.

Today I had one of those moments. It came when I opened an email from my editor at Ace. It is the cover for Geist coming out with Ace in October/November this year.

To say I was happy was an understatement. Not only has the artist Jason Chan done a wonderful job. Here is Sorcha just as I imagined her – and the little details are perfectly correct- right down to her eye colour.

And there is the Rossin (who is so much more than a big ole pussy cat) the right size and shape. Also the description and the font are just wonderful.

Covers are always a dice roll, because rarely do authors get to have any input. I have heard some horror stories, but the folks at Ace and Jason have done me and Geist proud.

If you would like to pre-order Geist then the link is available under Store on this site. It is an affliate link, so gives me a few extra pennies when you purchase.

As I have intimated; from May this year writing and voicework will be my sole means of income. That may seem somewhat crazy, but it has reached the point where I need to concentrate on writing and marketing- making the most of the opportunities that have been given to me.

Erotica a la carte has been lots of fun on Radio Dentata- and so it was lovely to be approached by Sean Owens of IRFT Celtic Radio about bringing Chasing the Bard to their station.

My celtic roots run deep with ancestors both Scottish and Irish. My two trips to Scotland were some of the most wonderful experiences- I felt a deep sense of home that left me in tears when I had to go.

Chasing the Bard fits nicely into their schedule and hopefully will bring some new listeners to the podcast.

So tune in for the Bard on 7th of March

Most of my readers will know by now that this year began very badly for Tee Morris. He is now facing raising his daughter, affecitonately known as SonicBoom by himself after the death of her mother.

Many donated to the ChipIn fund which helped with the immediate expenses surrounding Natalie’s death, and even left a portion over to begin a trust fund. However, as those of you with kids know, raising them is not cheap – let alone sending them to college!

So I thought ‘hey maybe I’ll auction off a few things I have here’ (Mainly the Weather Child original manuscript) – and it kinda snowballed from there. The Boom Effect auction is now hitting 70 auction lots, and I know there are more to come.

People have done some amazing craft projects, donated rare and beautiful things, and been very creative with what services they are offering.

I just want to highlight a couple of things for writers and podcasters since I presume that is who reads this blog most.

Writers

• Our agent Laurie MacLean is offering two wonderful options- a three chapters package and a full reading of your manuscript and critique. This is your chance to take full advantage of Laurie’s skills and experience.
• Our editor from DragonMoon Press Gabrielle Harbowy is offering a professional edit of a short story up to 7,000 words. An opportunity to polish up that story for submitting.
• Alex White is offering to make a logo for your website. He made me the one for this very site you are on- and I’m blown away by his skills.

Podcasters

• Kimi Alexandre is offering to produce your very own promo. Nothing will help your marketing efforts more than a sparkling promo!
• James Durham will make your own theme song. Not all of us have musical skills, but having your own theme made for you would be just amazing.

And those are just a tiny sample of the amazing things people are donating to help Sonic Boom into the future. Check out the lots here.

The auction will be hosted by Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit at 10am EST 27th February 2010 live on ustream.

If you’re a podcaster- the promo for the event is here.

You can also find us on Facebook as an event, follow us on twitter or subscribe to the RSS feed as more auctions are still being added.

This is a great way for us to come together as a community. We’re going to give a little girl options, and one day she’s going to look back and be amazed at what the podcasting/social media community did.

And how much fun we had doing it.

A recent Twitter conversation started by Scott Roche about public critique, specifically for podcast novels got me thinking about critiques, flames and feedback.

I replied to Scott that as an author you have to expect to get all three. So here’s my take on dealing with them as an author.

The middle one Flames are characterised by negativity upon negativity- nothing positive, no encouragement, no suggestions for improvement and are usually full of bitterness and axe-grinding. You can spot them a mile away.

Yes, these attacks might annoy and/or upset me for half an hour. I imagine pouring a rain of fire back, but I never do. The most I have ever done is send back a polite ‘thank you, I’m sorry you don’t like what I do, but maybe in the future you’ll try again’. Flamers just want attention. They want you to pour gasoline on- so in return I recommend giving them a bucket of water and then putting them out of your mind.

Critiques are another matter. People have taken time to write them, and I will always give them more consideration. They usually contain ‘I really liked your book but…’

When you get one of these you should pay more attention, but you will want to run it through a process.

As a reference librarian you learn to do one important thing- judge the source. For scientific accuracy an article on an internet forum is always considered less reliable than an article in a peer reviewed journal.

So I do the same with critique and feedback.

Top of my list is of course my agent Laurie Maclean and my editor at Ace. Their opinion is right up there. They’re professionals, and they have a real interest in my books selling well. They are invested in my success.

Second are my beta readers. These are people I have picked because I value their opinion and know they will give me honesty. They have skills and knowledge that are specifically targeted at what I am doing.

And finally comes public feedback. Criticism here is a free for all- and that’s perfectly fine. Luckily we live in places where an opinion is your right, and hopefully (unless you are in some totalitarian state) you can express it on the internet.

So here’s how I deal with criticism. I let the initial pain and outrage pass. I don’t fire off an email in anger. I don’t go on twitter, or to my blog and lambast the writer. I let it sit. (In this way replying to critique is like editing, best done cold)

I let it rest until I can logically examine what they are saying. I may go to my beta readers/listeners and say ‘What do you think? Does this guy have a point?’ I am lucky enough to have several very honest people in my circle (Dan Sawyer I am looking at you). If they confirm what this person has said then I add more weight to the scale.

And then after that process I will reply, in a calm, polite, measured way. Sometimes I change things, sometimes I will not. We are not artists doing things by committee after all, and we have to, at the end of the day, believe in our work.

So that’s my process for dealing with criticism, which may make it sound easy but it’s not. Believe me, this is coming from a person that cried for half an hour when she got her first professional critique. However I got over it, and the book was better for it.

What I will not let criticism do is stop me from doing what I love- which is writing and podcasting. We may get our ego bruised, but we still go on.

The wonderful DDog has just added  Chasing the Bard to TV Tropes website and it was a very interesting thing for me as the writer to read.

A trope is a common pattern or theme and they have been around since humanity first decided that telling stories was a great idea. Some of the ones DDog picked up on are powerful tropes that get repeated again and again in literature and film. Such as;

The Chosen One; a person with a destiny to forfill- in CTB’s case William Shakespeare. (actually I think Will has two destinies- saving the world and writing great Art)

Ultimate Evil; The big Bad Creature who is not usually seen until the end. In CTB that was the Unmaker- my worst nightmare- the flip side of creativity.

Lady of War; The beautiful, powerful woman who will kick your ass. In CTB this is Sive- naturally, but these types abound in literature, and probably stem from the original war goddess- the Morrigan, Kali etc. Women give life, but they can also take it.

As a writer does that mean you should avoid writing tropes? I would challenge you to write a story without one of them cropping up. They are common themes for a reason- they speak to the human condition and have for centuries. It comes down to the old adage, there’s no such thing as a new story. However if you give a hundred people a trope, say ‘farm boy finds he is the Chosen One’ you will get a hundred different stories. We all see things differently, we’ve all had different lives so our stories will always be unique to us.

So have fun with tropes- twist them, reconfigure them- but please don’t lose sleep over them.

And thanks to DDog for taking the time to unravel all the tropes in Chasing the Bard- some of them I didn’t even realize were there!

Last week I had the honour of being one of the panel on Litopia After Dark. Hanging with the wonderful folks and talking writing was a lot of fun. I was a little nervous, but the panel made me feel at home very quickly.

Peter and Litopia do a great deal for the writing community- and their After Dark show is one I look forward to every week. I was so glad to be asked.  The best thing was I got the panel to give me their evil nemesis laugh- all except Peter. So there is something to go back for.

So have a listen to Word Wars for Fun and Profit

Podioracket has been doing great work to promote and help podiobook authors. How Heather, Rhonda and the gang do it all I don’t know.

So when I was invited to be part of their first Anthology series I was very flattered. This series aims to expose listeners to a range of authors work, but rather than making people listen to a whole novel, these are short stories that will hopefully wet the appetite- sort of an amuse bouche for podcast novelists.

The series starts dropping on February 12th and will go for 16 weeks. My story is one from Erotica a la Carte, so it is on the saucy side, but it is also one of my favourite short stories, Measureless to Man.

There will also be a supporting series of Blogtalk radio inteviews. Further information is here.

This month has sped by, but I wanted to touch base with you all.

Firstly I want to say thank you, thank you so much to all who have contributed to the ChipIn fund for Tee and Sonic Boom. In just over two weeks we have raised $20,000. That’s an amazing feat, and has renewed my belief in social media.

I will put up with the endless social media ‘gurus’ and the big companies trying to shoulder in without taking time to communicate. I will put up with blocking them, because the way people have responded has shown what social media is about. It might be new, but all it is really is another way for people to connect with people. To have that feeling of belonging.

But money is tight all over, and so I am organising The Boom Effect- check the site for more details. But there are some wonderful auction lots there, and all money raised will be going to a Trust Fund for Sonic Boom, Tee’s daughter.

Spectre is nearly done- as in 5,000 words done. It will need lots of editing, but I am happy with the bare bones of the story that I have carved out.

As for Geist, the final edits are in the hand of my editor at Ace, and I do have a publication date. November. This year!

Finally this site is undergoing some changes which you will see. I have moved themes and am in the process of tweaking it to my satisfaction.

So yeah, January. I will be glad to see the back of it, but looking forward to what other, better months have to offer.

This year has not started how it was meant to. My dear friend, collaborator and colleague has found himself with the prospect of raising his child without her mother.

I know Tee wanted to keep this a private matter, but word hit twitter within hours and now the genie cannot get back in the bottle.

So here it is. The sharp end of life. The bit no one expects or wants.

I know that the wheels grind slowly on this and Tee and his young child are looking at significant bills after the death of his wife Natalie. So I have started this ChipIn account. Money will be going to Tee Morris’ paypal to first of all pay off these bills which loom and then into an account for his little girl.

I have gone on and on about community again and again. Tee has given selflessly to my podcasts and many, many others. He is the originator of podcast audio fiction. The first. A founder of Podiobooks.com and a writer of many books on social media.

Tee doesn’t know I am doing this, but cast on distant shores this is the least I can do. I hope you can spare a few dollars for someone who has bought joy to so many. Every little bit helps.

2009 – what a mixed bag of nuts you were.

A bunch of personal stuff was dealt with and sorted- which needed to happen. However there were a number of writing and podcasting successes that made up for all that.

The highlight has to be the two-book deal with Ace. As I have mentioned in various interviews on pod, I never really imagined it would happen. I knew my lovely agent Laurie McLean of Larsen Pomada was confident, but I am a ‘believe it when I see it’ type of person. So when Laurie pulled together a deal for Geist, and got a second book in there I was both ecstatic and pleasantly surprised.

With the economy being bad all around, the publishing industry is not keen on multi book deals for unproved authors. I am very proud of Geist, but I know that I will have to work my ass off to get it launched into the world at the end of this year… Tally ho!

The second book, which I started and nearly have finished, Spectre proved to be more difficult beast to deal with. It is my first real sequel and I discovered how much more difficult that is. However I know with a decent amount of editing the continuing adventures of Sorcha, Raed and Merrick will come out just fine.

2009 also saw the completion of my first real collaboration (one other failed completely and nearly put me off them altogether a few years back). I had a blast writing with Tee and it gave me renewed confidence that I could play well with others. Laurie has the 1st in the series of Books and Braun in her hands, and I really have all my digits crossed that it will sell. I love the world, and I love the characters.

Writing wise the other highlight was attending World Fantasy Con in San Jose. I got a glimpse into the world of publishing. It wasn’t so much about writing, but about the business. Having this taster has prepared me a little for the year to come.

Podcasting wise, 2009 was a good one.

I’ve worked in a variety of voice projects for other people. This has been a wonderful thing, which I get quite a buzz out of: feels like I am representing New Zealand out there. To be involved in so many podcasts is a real blessing and joy.

UPDATE; Oh yes, and as Tee Morris pointed out, Chasing the Bard: the podiobook won a Sir Julius Vogel Award. (In my defence I am writing this away from my desk, where the shiny, pretty award sits and looks back at me)

Erotica a la carte was a great deal of fun, and for a project I started as an experiment, continues on into 2010. I got some guest ‘chefs’ into the kitchen and it proved to be even more fun when shared. It was also short-listed for the best anthology at the Parsecs. Quite an honour for a podcast that had been on for only six months at that point!

Weather Child, the book that New York publishing said no American would be interested in reading, turned out quite the success in the podosphere. I got a real buzz out of how much people enjoyed it. I hope to get some movement in NYC on Weather Child once I have given it a good through editing.

Digital Magic was launched along with Dan Sawyer and Chris Lester’s projects; Free Will and Metamor City Season 2. I couldn’t ask for two more talented people to enjoy cross-promotion with. Mixing the voices into this project is a joy. And a two week schedule is one I feel I can keep up with as I go forward into 2010.

First things to do will be finishing the last edits on Geist, tidying and polishing Spectre and handing over the reins of Erotica a la Carte to another round of guest chefs.

Later on I am looking forward to the release of Geist in the American Fall, Balticon in May and WorldCon in Melbourne in September. It feels like a full dance card, but this is the year to make strides, put up or shut up… all of that.

I want to thank my listeners and readers, both those that have provided feedback and those that have stayed quietly appreciative. You’ve all made a difference in this one author’s life and I hope to bring you more creations n 2010 that might make a difference in your own lives.

This coming year will be filled with plenty of challenges and choices. My hopes are that it is a satisfying, happy and productive. I wish the same for you and yours.

Litopia, which is a podcast and a community I have really come to appreciate, is running a week highlighting podcasters- and one of them was me.

I had a delightful chat with Peter Cox- and tried my best to sound as grown up as possible.

I hope to be involved with them again, and I think the interview came out quite well.

This is my last post before Christmas- which for me will involve BBQs, sun and homemade trifle. I hope where ever you are, and however you celebrate the holiday season, you are with people you love.

I will be doing a yearly wrap-up in the great tradition of every person and blog online. 2010 is going to be an exciting year, and I hope you will join me on the ride.

My lovely, enthusiastic and successful (hello… Ace deal!) agent Laurie McLean of Larsen Pomada – who now also represents Tee Morris for fiction- spoke to Kimi over at Tale Chasing. She may or may not mention me

The podcasting sphere is full of lots of opinion by writers, but getting the thoughts from an agent is pretty unusual. So head on over and have a listen.

I’ve mentioned before how lonely it can be writing (except when you have a energetic collaborator like Tee Morris but that’s another story for another post) so it is always nice when people send in voicemail, emails- or go that extra mile and review my work.

Recently two lovely ones have been posted over at Random Pimpage and View from Valhalla- and they are for the most personal of my stories (so far at least) Weather Child.

This is a story set in an alternate New Zealand and is, according to some reviews on itunes, seriously creepy. It is a rough first draft that I hope to get a home for after Geist has made its debut.

Here’s some of the things said that really made me smile

“Seriously just like I expected out of Pip great characterization you really were able to feel like Lily, Faith, and Jack were alive you get drawn into them and when the bad bad things happen to them (and yes some serious evil is laid down) you genuinely get pissed for them. It’s a great story great characterization and a hell of a ride. Let’s not forget the smooth sultry tones of the Lovely Miss Ballentine doing the narration” – Random Pimpage

“Weather Child is a beautiful and deeply personal story. Ms. Ballantine has drawn from her own family history to flesh out some of the characters, and it is an investment that is palpable. I love a well done historical fantasy, and Weather Child is very well done indeed. This is a story that exudes pain and sorrow, but never loses faith in the possibility of redemption.”- View from Valhalla

So yes – what you think makes a difference to me. It encourages me to write and podcast because it says that I am reaching other people. And that is what creativity is all about for me.

As I have blogged about- this year I have gone part-time at the library, and that means picking up the loss in income from that in other areas.

Mostly that has been by writing, but I am not adverse to working other angles.

So just lately have been supplementing that income with voicework. This really excites me, not just because of the money, but also because it makes use of training I did from when I was eight years old. My sweet elderly Speech and Drama teacher would be so pleased- a pity she isn’t alive to see it.

So here are the two announcements

1) You can find me as the intro and outro voice of the Model Rail Cast. I’ve always loved trains and the hosts of this show are lovely and knowledgeable.

2) The ink has just dried on the contract with Grail Quest Books. I will be the voice of the narrator for Shadow of the Stars;Advent and for Shadow of the Stars;The Prince of the Universe. They even know I have an accent! More details on this to come.

So if you want a kiwi accent (or heck I can do a passable British) then yes- this voice is for hire.

The Gift of Lit is a collective effort by many of the fine authors from Podiobooks. Together, we would like to share with you our diverse works and invite you to take a look at the nice selection of books we have spent hours, days, months, or years writing.

The Gift of Lit: Holiday 2009 is now here. If you are looking for a great gift this holiday season, rather it be for a family member, friend…or for yourself, take a look at the list below and give one, some, or all of these books your consideration. There are books to suit your needs this holiday season. Here, you will find fantasy, sci-fi, crime drama, speculative fiction, techno thriller, and much more. Help support these authors and spread the joys of literature. Give spark to imagination.

Below, take a look at all of the different titles offered and follow the links to purchase your own copy for yourself or to give that special someone this holiday. Yet, no matter the time of year, The Gift of Lit will be sure to please all readers.

HORROR

NIGHT’S KNIGHTS by Emerian Rich

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $13.00)

Vampires on a quest for knowledge attempt to create the perfect offspring, but from the shadows an even more demonic evil threatens their immortality. Markham is a simple Irish immigrant striving for the American dream in 1860 when coach robbers cause his untimely death. Severina is an exotic beauty from the jungles of Brazil whose family is brutally murdered by the same man she later calls lover. Julien is a knight who serves as guardian angel to his family but has no clue about his predestined fate. Will a powerful mortal named Jespa be the one to save them all?

FANTASY

BRAVE MEN RUN by Matthew Wayne Selznick

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $8.98 new)

April 18, 1985-Into a world already wound tight with the desperate
tensions of the Cold War comes Dr. William Donner with a startling
declaration: superhumans exist, they demand autonomy, and he has the
reality-bending power to enforce their status. The traditional balance
of power is thrown askew by the addition of not one super-powered
human, but six thousand. Before the Donner Declaration, high school
sophomore Nate Charters was just an outsider and self-proclaimed
freak. His unusual appearance, hair-trigger reflexes, and overactive
metabolism should have made him something special, but his differences
and low self-esteem have long since marked him as a target for the
jocks and popular kids. Now, just as his unique nature brings him the
attention of a self-assured older girl, Nate must find his place in
the world. Why is he the way he is? What really happened to his long
dead father? Why is his biggest rival suddenly interested in a private
meeting? Is he part of a remarkable, powerful new minority… or just
a misfit among misfits? Nate must discover the answers to these
questions quickly, because those in power know more about him than he
could ever imagine. And they’re closing in…

LOST GODS by Drew Beatty

Buy it here at >> Lulu << (starts at $15.50 new)

Kweku Anansi is just another member of the African diaspora, trying to
make a place for himself in his adopted home of Toronto, Canada. He
dreams of better days, of a time when he could stop running small time
cons just to make the rent. He dreams of the life he used to live,
centuries ago when he was revered as a god.

A chance encounter with a fellow con man with a dark and secretive
past of his own, plunges them both into the dark world of the lost
gods, gods who would do anything to be worshipped again. Including
destroying the world, if necessary.

How far will Anansi go to reclaim his godhood? What will he give up to
have true power again?

THE FOX by Arlene Radasky

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $20.99 new)

The Fox by Arlene Radasky is a historical romance and fantasy novel that looks at true courage and truly selfless acts. In this epic fiction that crosses centuries, Druid healers at the beginning of recorded time will be rescued from obscurity by an archeologist of the twenty-first century. Jahna’s clan lay in the path of destruction exacted by the Romans. Her fate is sealed unless a bargain is made with the Gods, which without a doubt means a human sacrifice. Two thousand years later, Aine MacRae is on their trail. A struggling archaeologist, she is on the verge of uncovering the village where they once lived. Encouraged by a ghostly visit, she will do whatever it takes to unearth time’s mystery. Greed almost triumphs leaving the truth and ancient stories buried forever, but an undying love is rekindled.

CHASING THE BARD by Philippa Ballantine

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $12.69 new)

Born into the human world with a gift; a gift that brings him to the attention of powers both dark and light from the World of the Fey, it is his burden to defend all the world. Sive, the goddess of battle, hopes that he may be able to change the fate of her people.The Fey are dying, killed by something beyond the boundaries of worlds, and Sive will do anything to save them. So she enlists the help of her trickster cousin Puck to guard the child, and watch him grow into his gift. But a dark power imprisoned by human and Fey, plots to destroy both worlds, and unmake all that they have created. Can one boy stop the destruction, even if he is William Shakespeare?

THE DAWNING OF POWER by Brian Rathbone

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $17.98)

The Dawning of Power is the debut trilogy in Brian Rathbone’s fantasy series: The World of Godsland. Echoes of the ancients power are distant memories, tattered and faded by the passage of eons, but that is about to change. A new dawn has arrived. Latent abilities, harbored in mankind s deepest fibers, wait to be unleashed. Ancient evils awaken, and old fears ignite the fires of war. In times such as these, ordinary people have the power to save the world . . . or destroy it.

THE WHITE SHADOW SAGA: THE STOLEN MOON OF LONDOR by A.P. Stephens

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $8.60)

The era of peace among the elves, men, and dwarves comes to an end when one of Londor’s twin moons disappears from the heavens. Without the moon’s balancing effect, evil forces grow bold, and warfare, sickness, and chaos threaten life itself.

Hearing the prayers of desperation that ride on the violent winds, the ancient wizard Randor Miithra, servant to the elf-gods, takes it upon himself to mend the world he has sworn to protect. The task will not be an easy one, though, for the wizard, too, has begun to feel the effects of the world’s imbalance. As Randor struggles to maintain some semblance of his powers, he meets a secretive band of colorful characters from all walks of life, drawn together by a common goal: to find the stolen moon, whatever the cost. It does not take Randor and his motley company long to see that someone or something does not want the moon returned to the heavens.

The road is perilous…the stakes have never been greater…will they find victory…or will they only find their deaths?

SCIENCE FICTION

THE VATICAN ASSASSIN TRILOGY by Mike Luoma

Buy it here at >> Lulu << (starts as low as $35.99)

This three in one omnibus edition collects all three novels in the “Vatican Assassin” Trilogy under one cover. “Vatican Assassin”, “Vatican Ambassador” and “Vatican Abdicator” are joined in this volume by an extensive appendix of previously unreleased background material. There are some early concept sketches by Mike Luoma, as well as “The History of The Future”: a timeline developed to extrapolate from today into the future setting for the story; “The Original Story Outline”; “The Story of The Project”; “The Alien Timeline” and more.

THE PIRATES OF SUFIRO by David Lee Summers

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $14.95)

The Pirates of Sufiro is the story of a planet and its people — of Ellison Firebrandt the pirate captain living in exile; of Espedie Raton, the con-man looking to make a fresh start for himself and his wife on a new world; of Peter Stone, the ruthless bank executive who discovers a fortune and will do anything to keep it; and of the lawman, Edmund Ray Swan who travels to Sufiro seeking the quiet life but finds a dark secret. It is the story of privateers, farmers, miners, entrepreneurs, and soldiers — all caught up in dramatic events and violent conflicts that will shape the destiny of our galaxy.

CRIME DRAMA

JACK WAKES UP by Seth Harwood

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $7.68)

In JACK WAKES UP, we are introduced to Jack Palms, a movie star turned drug addict, turned has-been who has been living off of the residual checks from Shake ‘Em Down, his one–and-only action movie. The money is drying up though, and this new clean, uneventful life is starting to become too much for Jack to bear. So when an old friend comes calling and asks Jack to use his former celebrity to show some out-of-town high rollers around San Francisco’s club scene, he’s happy to oblige. What Jack doesn’t know, however, is these “guests” are a pack of former KGB agents turned coke dealers out to make a big deal with Jack as their tour guide. Soon people are turning up dead, and Jack’s got too many gunmen after him to count—including a South American drug cartel, a mountain-sized Samoan enforcer, and a mobbed-up strip club owner with an army of thugs. That’s not to mention a gorgeous new girlfriend who may be planning on shooting him in the back and the homicide cop who’s just given Jack twenty-four hours to bring down the Bay Area’s biggest drug dealer.

But the thing that scares Jack the most? He’s starting to have fun.

FICTION

CITY OF MASKS by Mike Reeves-McMillan

Buy it here at >> Lulu << (starts as low as $9.97)

In the city-state of Bonvidaeo, by custom and law everyone must wear a mask and act in character with it, or face civil, social and religious penalties. Gregorius Bass is sent to Bonvidaeo as the Envoy of Calaria (primarily to get him out from underfoot). Masked as the Innocent Man, and in the company of his radical young Bonvidaoan servant, Bass stumbles into mystery, intrigue, heresy and murder.

TECHNO THRILLER

7TH SON: DESCENT by J.C. Hutchins

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $9.21)

As America reels from the bizarre presidential assassination committed by a child, seven men are abducted from their normal lives and delivered to a secret government facility. Each man has his own career, his own specialty. All are identical in appearance. The seven strangers were not born, but grown — unwitting human clones — as part of a project called 7th Son.

The government now wants something from these “John Michael Smiths.” They share the flesh as well as the implanted memories of the psychopath responsible for the president’s murder. The killer has bigger plans, and only these seven have the unique qualifications to track and stop him. But when their progenitor makes the battle personal, it becomes clear John Alpha may know the seven better than they know themselves…

SPECULATIVE FICTION

DREAMING OF DELIVERANCE by R.E. Chambliss

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $19.99)

Five years ago when Lindsay Paulson, a naive college student and talented distance runner, was 18, she was convicted of drug smuggling. Now, halfway through a 10-year prison sentence, she begins having what seem to be dreams, in which she leaves her cell in the night and visits another reality called Trae. Dreaming of Deliverance tells of Lindsay’s experiences both in Trae, where she finds herself among people enslaved by terrifying creatures, and in prison where she tries to make sense of what’s happening in her sleep: Is she actually escaping from prison somehow or is she losing her mind?

FANTASY FICTION HISTORICAL

THE MARK OF A DRUID by Rhonda R. Carpenter

Buy it here at >> Amazon << (starts as low as $16.55 new)

Have you ever had a dream so real that when you awoke, it didn’t leave the recesses of your mind for days? Eve McCormick just did, and this experience will change her life and the lives of those around her permanently. A twenty-six year old hypnotherapist who oversees a research project based on discovering the answer to an age-old question, “Is reincarnation fact or fiction?” must learn to trust a Welsh stranger. An ancient Celtic prophecy and long sought-after revenge entangles the past with the present in the struggle for existence that threatens to destroy her project. A druidess and a shape-shifter must join as one to save the Druid way of life, while a Queen conspires to kill Erin’s only High King. Will the oaths and agendas of the past reach across the centuries to strengthen or destroy?

Coming Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Three Podcast Authors, Three Podcast Novels, Three Contests!

What to look for: Blog posts containing printable PDF bookmarks at Digital Magic, Metamor City, and Literary Abominations.

What you can win: A free book, maybe two or three! (Prize details for each contest will be available at each author’s website).

Your Mission:

• Download and print the bookmarks
• Cut along the dotted lines
• Take to your local libraries and bookstores
• Leave a set near the checkout (1 pt for a stack) or put a stack inside of similar books (2 pts ea – Philippa, Chris, and Dan will each provide a list of authors to target)
• Take photos of each instance of bookmark distribution
• Send photo(s) to the author
• Each point will count as one entry of your name in the hat – so repeat as often as you wish to enter before December 20th.

Winners will be drawn December 21st.

Anyone who enters all three contests will have their names automatically entered into a second drawing – this time for a basket of tasty treats from San Francisco and New Zealand!

I’ve teased people long and hard about this project, and now I have a little taste for you.

Recorded before a live audience at World Fantasy Convention, award-winning podcaster and author Tee Morris and I (with the blessings of our agent) our work-in-progress now working its way through submissions: Books & Braun, our Steampunk take on The Avengers. 

This is its premiere- apart from a few little snippets on Twitter. Our plan is to eventually podcast it in this fashion: our narration, a few production elements, a musical score, and artwork featured by Carrie Seidman. We hope you enjoy this listen at what we have cooking in the creative kitchen.

BLOGGERS & PODCASTERS: We are releasing this reading under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Both Tee and I encourage you to syndicate this episode and point your subscribers to this endeavor of ours. We also would love to hear your feedback on this preview both here and at Tee’s website. Thank you for giving us a bit of space on your mp3 player of choice, and we will keep you posted on what happens with our daring duo from the clandestine organization that is The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

Just had to share this news… the BlogTalk Radio edition of Podioracket.com made it to the top of their Books Category. Now this was the show that Dan Sawyer, Chris Lester and I took over, since the lovely hosts were unable through sickness to attend. I worked the switchboard (which was very cool) and we had callers and everything.

Now Blogtalk is a big site, so it is quite a big deal to get the top of any of those categories. We had a blast- so here is a chance to have a listen to it.

The Triple Threat on Podioracket

After the whirlwind of Double Trouble in 2008, I decided to get together with fellow podcasters Dan Sawyer and Chris Lester and launch our follow up podcast novel on the world- but taking it one bigger. So was born the Triple Threat.

Check out Chris Lester’s Metamor City and Dan Sawyer’s Free Will.

So we’ve been hitting the podosphere.

Check out some of the recent interviews I’ve been on.

Touching the Monolith

The Creative Penn

If you are going to be at World Fantasy Con on 31st of October, please come along and hear the debut reading of Books and Braun; Phoenix Rising. It will be the first chapter which is full of explosions, gun battles and maybe an airship or two. It is 10am Saturday and I would love to see you all there!

In the next week I will be flying to the States. I do this every year at least once, because of one person- someone that I now consider family.

My friend Mary Ann. She and her family have hosted me every year since 2006- and every year I feel safe, happy and part of their lives. For this wonderful relationship that has been going on since 1999- gosh ten years- I have something to thank.  The internet.

Now the internet is blamed for a lot of things-porn, breaking up families, addiction with gaming… but there is also a lot of good out there too.  Before I got into the world of podcasting there was Mary Ann.

She’s my elder sister, and something about her makes me believe in reincarnation. We talk about being sister’s in the Highlands of Scotland- and I call myself her Little Sister Over the Ocean.  Though we only met in 2006, we had many, many emails written between each other.

Her husband David and her son Justin welcomed me–but not just me. My Mum and Dad actually got to meet them all before me. Mary Ann took my Mum around Washington.

Mary Ann and her family have taken me to Boston. I’ve spent time with her sister’s-now my sister’s in the Berkshires.

And I have never had a sister. I always wanted one as a kid- I just took a long time to find her.

That’s the love and hospitality I feel when I am with her. And that is a precious gift that I keep coming back for. So when people say bad things about the online world I just smile. They don’t know how many wonderful things it has bought me.

The great thing about the internets is knowing so many talented folks. It challenges me, makes me work harder to be a creative individual.

So here are three examples of cool, interesting, talented folks that are rolling out new projects.

Gail Carriger‘s Soulless is a book that we need to buy. Seriously. Everyone. It’s the kind of smart, fun book that takes language twists it about and gives you a spank with it. Seriously, listen to the first chapter put together by the just as talented JD Sawyer.

Download

Zodi and her co-consipirator Tim have began a project called 31 days of Ghosts for October. Since writing Geist and working on the sequel Spectre, I have a real fascination with ghost stories- scrub that- I have always had an interest in ghost stories. So I am looking forward to keeping up with all these great stories.

31 Days of Ghosts

And finally Tee Morris has put up the 1st 15 minutes of his Speak Geek to Me talk, that he did at Te Papa. I did the camera work, and you can even faintly hear me chuckle. (Ok, anyone that has heard my laugh, knows faint isn’t exactly the description)

Tee’s a great speaker so pop on over and check it out

Now, I better go write something…these guys are making me look bad :p

This is part of the NZ Speculative Fiction Blogging Week- the other entries are well worth checking out

Let’s face it not all that long ago, in fact in living memory (mine specifically) , the number of kiwi spec fic writers was tiny. I remember being a kid and excited to find out that Hugh Cook was a New Zealander- just like me- but he was the only one I knew of.

Today, it is a different story- the likes of Lynn McConchie, and Russell Kirkpatrick are being joined by a emerging host of new talents. Even in recent history, as witnessed by the need for the Sir Julius Vogel to expand its categories, more and more writers are admitting that dirty little secret–they like to write genre fiction (SHOCK HORROR!). We’re getting our names out there- we’re getting contracted to major publishing houses like Penguin and HarperCollins- in short we are making waves like never before in New Zealand literary history.

So why is this?

The Internet

Yes, I blame the internet! That wonderful collection of steampowered tubes (they are steampowered right?) has made it easier than ever to be a genre writer in this distant and beautiful island. As an emerging author in my teens I could tell you about the buckets of frustration poured over trying to figure out those damn international postage coupons; the ones you had to be precise about if you ever wanted an answer (let along your manuscript) returned. The huge amount of money spent on both them and the heavy tome itself could well buy me a new laptop (but I also want it steampowered, ok?)

Now with a click of the button (alright quite a few repeated clicks) I have an agent in San Francisco and a publisher in New York. I can email them, skype with them- heck even see their faces if I want to. Sure I may still have to travel to do all the fun stuff like writers conventions, signings and book tours (Oh please oh please Ace, a book tour! but if I wanted to be that traditional closeted writer, I could do that- as long as I had an internet connetion.

Peter Jackson

Yes… Peter Jackson has a part in this I think. Before his Lord of the Rings films if you said to most people, ‘I’m from New Zealand’ you’d get a puzzled look, or at most ‘Isn’t that in Europe/Australia somewhere?’

Pete (as I call him in my head) made our lovely home, not only famous- but also cool. I’ve worked that kiwi accent for my own nefarious purposes at every con and booksigning I can. It has got me dinner, drinks, and sometimes to the front of the line. I am merciless with it–I consider it one of the real advantages we have.

Kiwi fandom

Yep, kiwi fandom has contributed a lot- nurturing young talent, running writers groups and encouraging everyone with the opportunity to win one of those pointy delights known as the Sir Julius Vogel Awards. Without cheerleaders here at home- it can be a very lonely island sometimes.

If I can play the old woman card, about fifteen years ago I tried to join the local writers guild. I left with the distinct impression that because I was a genre writer not a literary writer I was not quite up to snuff. I did join this year and it appears time and tide have turned my way–I am worthy of entry.

We’re not American

I should start by saying I love Americans. They are far different to the portrayal on TV, and I have made some wonderful friendships and worked with some talented Americans. That being said, being a New Zealander makes us…. exotic. Yes, there I said it… exotic. What was once a handicap is now positively to our advantage. Amongst the sea of American writers we stand out- we’re different, interesting, and I imagine publishers think that is a great thing for marketing. (Everyone is thinking marketing these days, let’s face it)

We also bring a different sensibility to speculative fiction, with our different heritage, history and culture. I like to think we have something to say because of that. My character in Books and Braun is a New Zealand field agent- think of her as a kiwi female version of James Bond, with more of a love for explosions. Eliza is a kiwi and unashamed of it.

Come to think of it… so I am.

So enjoy this week of New Zealand speculative fiction blogging- it’s part of the new renaissance. Great things lie ahead- so pick up that pen kiwis!

I love when authors and podcasters try new things, pushing their stories, and taking the bull by the horns as far as their own carreer goes. Justin Macumber has been doing a lot for his fellow authors with the Dead Robots Society- one of my favourite podcasts for writers.

So when Justin bought out his chapbook I had to pick up a copy- and of course get it signed. You can read the pdf for free, but consider buying a copy (for only $US5 you can’t really go wrong) and supporting a writer and podcaster that has given us so much.

Coach Ian Scott is one of the best interviewers I know, and so it was a pleasure to sit down and talk with him recently. We covered the past, present and hints of my future as a writer.

The amazing thing is, Skype mostly behaved, and this interview conducted on opposite sides of the world sounds like I am calling him from next door. It could be because I have recently upgraded to the new version of Skype- but regardless have a listen and hopefully enjoy.

Listen to the interview

I have tech edited two wonderful books on Twitter by Tee Morris, but this is the first time I have helped choose stories for an anthology. I was very pleased to be invited to help chose from among the submissions for

The Kiwi Writers Challenge Collection 2009

Yes that deserves to be in big ole text. Kiwi Writers is a wonderful resource, and full of supportive people doing wonderful things. I was truly impressed with the quality of the writing. And you know… you can read it for free? Yes, free! But if you want to have a copy of this fine anthology, and who wouldn’t, then Kiwi Writers have made it nice and cheap on Lulu. Go have a look. It’s a wonderful thing, and I am very proud to have had a small part in it.

Suddenly realized that I haven’t blogged in awhile- and that isn’t because things aren’t happening. In fact it is because they are! There have been more nibbles writing wise, that are both sureal and exciting– and none I can talk about. One of them does involve my steampunk story. It has a new title, Books and Braun: Phoenix Rising. Yes, this is easily a series.

And here we come to the title of this post. San Jose is the city hosting World Fantasy- and I will be there. I will be meeting with publishers and my lovely agent Laurie. Also Edge Publishing will be there, and hopefully there will be stocks of Chasing the Bard and Digital Magic available to be bought. Also Dan Sawyer and Gail Carriger will be in attendance. (Gail is also having a party to release her fantastic new novel- Soulless) So let me know if you are going to be there.

You know, you work at something for 12 years, plugging along, enjoying what you are doing, but not expecting things to happen. I’ve just kept my head down doing what I love- and lately I’ve had to look up.

Ever since my wonderful agent sold the 2 book deal to Ace I have found new and wonderful things happening. Some possibilities I cannot tell anyone about, which just about kills me. But I can tell you about two.

Books and Braun is a steampunk tale of Wellington Books Esq. archivist for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, and how his life is turned upside down by the demotion of agent Eliza D Braun; a feisty Colonial none too happy about being stuck in the Archives. Book and Braun soon find themselves investigating the death of Braun’s previous partner and steamy chaos ensues.

The other that I have just committed to is working a steampunk YA novel with Dan Sawyer.

Collaboration is a tricky business, but can also be a delight. Books and Braun is perhaps 80% done, but Dan and I won’t start writing the YA project until December. But I am excited.

Social networking and the wonders of the internet have bought me so many opportunities and have connected me with so many fabulous people. So hurrah for digital awesomeness.

If that is how Twitter makes you feel, then I have the solution.

Yes, All A Twitter is now available for purchase. My collaborator on many things, Tee Morris has written this great book on the hot social media application. Tee has written many technical books, including Podcasting for Dummies and his style is laid back and very palatable to even the most technologically challenged.

For me, Twitter is about staying connected to friends, family and fans all over the world. But I have to admit, when I first signed up I didn’t ‘get it’. A book like this would have really helped me through those awkard months of learning.

I also tech edited All A Twitter- using my librarian skills to make sure Tee was giving you the good oil. It’s a book that covers everything from setting up, building a network, proper ettiquette and everything in between. It is also funny- which is a nice thing to have in a tech book.

So pick up a copy. Or do what I am- suggest your local library purchase it.

Tee Morris got to speak on Radio New Zealand- and I believe this is what is called karma. When I was in the States in 2006 I might have crowed about the coverage I got over there… and this is payback.

Tee put together this cool video of the interview. Part 2 to follow

Phil Rossi writes great stuff- creepy, sexy and gritty. I’ve been a fan of his novel Crescent for a long time, so to have him part of the DragonMoon Press family is exciting.

Anyway this video was too cute not to share. The man himself unboxing his books. *sigh* I remember my first unboxing. The lesson is keep pushing, keep your eye on the goal- it can happen.

And don’t forget to join Phil’s Amazon rush on 9th of July. Let’s get him up where he deserves to be!

A couple of new interviews I have done recently- I am talking about my journey. Both The Creative Penn and Coach Ian Scott give great interview. Have a listen- I think there are some pearls of wisdom in there.

The Creative Penn

And

Coach Ian Scott (with Tee Morris)