Welcome to Willow Wednesdays! We’re featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut! Continue reading
But what you have blogged you must believe, if you can
Leading off this Sunday: If you missed it, a new short story was posted on Thursday – “The Names Of The Stars”. Click here to read it! And if you want to read all the Monkey Queen short stories to date, they’re always available on our blog! More after the cut. Continue reading
Filed under Sunday catchup
Fan Art Fridays: How Sweet!
Today, we’re kicking off a new feature called Fan Art Fridays! Back in January, we showed off our first Monkey Queen fan art, a sketch of Michiko by Willow’s friend Mrion; you can see it here. But for some reason, a slew of fan art has suddenly come our way, and while all of it makes us smile, none has made us happier than this piece from our youngest fan! Here’s Michiko, as drawn by 8-year-old Cupcake!
Filed under weekday randomness
The Names Of The Stars: A Tale of the Far Lands
Read the new short story “The Names Of The Stars: A Tale of the Far Lands” after the cut! Continue reading
Filed under weekday randomness
Disney Infinity: Better Than Candles
So, in all the excitement surrounding the recent first anniversary of the Monkey Queen, I may have forgotten to mention that it was also…my birthday. And since it was, I may have decided to gift myself a few things.
Barbossa looks just as awesome as I expected; Jack Sparrow should be ticked that he came in second-best. Violet and Mrs. Incredible got there in one piece, and I’m grateful for that; those figures look quite fragile. I’ve never even seen Wreck-It Ralph (I know, I know), but Vanellope came with the others, so. And the Rapunzel is adorable, even if she may be getting on Merida’s nerves.
Yeah, I’ll probably need to expand to a second shelf soon. And the flash on my smartphone does make Sabine look rather orange. But I’m quite pleased with the way my collection is shaping up! I just need half a dozen figures to fill out my Disney Infinity 1.0 and 2.0 wants. And then just Minnie to finish…
[checks calendar]
Aw, crap. I would write this on new release day. And Chewie and Han look so good, and I need all the Rebels figures now, and I don’t have to go to Best Buy for Mulan…
Which is why I’ll mention again that I have a Disney Infinity wish list on Amazon. Belated birthday presents will not be looked down upon!
Filed under weekday randomness
Willow Wednesdays: Charmed, I’m Sure
Welcome to Willow Wednesdays! We’re featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut!
Willow is gearing up for the fall convention season, with appearances at Quai des Bulles in Saint Malo October 23-25, and Art to Play in Nantes November 21-22. She’ll have copies of The Journey Of Earth, and she’ll also have these adorable charms for sale!
She’s also accepting preorders for these charms, and she’s shipping them worldwide! Check here for information. And next time, she may, just may, be doing a flaming penguin-cosplaying hedgedog charm…
(Don’t ask. Just have fun!)
Art © 2015 by Willow. All rights reserved; used by permission. You can view Willow’s extensive gallery on DeviantArt, see her works in progress by liking her Facebook page, follow her on Twitter, and buy prints and much more at her Society6 webstore, including exclusive Monkey Queen items!
Filed under Willow
all these things you blogged, you blogged sincerely
First, I realized that I forgot to include a link to KBoards in my last post, so consider that rectified. I usually hang out in the Writer’s Cafe forum, using the cunningly conceived forum name “Robert Dahlen”, but there are also forums there for discussing Kindles, other e-readers, books and other subjects. Come on by and say hi! More after the cut. Continue reading
Filed under Sunday catchup
Thank you, Harvey.
I began writing the Monkey Queen books after I realized that you could self-publish e-books through Amazon. As I wrote, I started looking for information and advice – not on the actual writing, but the formatting, the cover design, the publishing process, all that. And I got lucky – thanks to a blog post by the amazing Kate Danley, I found a forum that had all that and more, KBoards.
I lurked for months before finally taking the plunge. Quickly, through KBoards, I found people who could handle the formatting for me, and who could design a cover over art I provided, when I realized I had no skill at doing either. I got tips on how and where to market the book, and advice on writing, and encouragement at times when I needed the support. Giveaways, interviews, reviewers, promo sites, KBoards helped me find them all, and some you may have discovered my books because of that.
More importantly…suggestions made by two other members led me to DeviantArt, where I found Willow. And when a blue-haired new member took a liking to me, I became awesome pals with Shei Darksbane. Two of my favorite people in the world…and I might never have met them if it weren’t for KBoards.
The founder of KBoards, Harvey Chute, passed away today after a lengthy battle with cancer. I joined too late to really interact with him, but by every indication, he was a gentleman and a loving husband and father. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know him better.
And I will always, always be grateful for what KBoards has brought me, and to Harvey for starting it.
Thank you, Harvey.
Filed under tribute
Willow Wednesdays: Marking the Journey
Welcome to Willow Wednesdays! We’re featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut! Continue reading
Filed under Willow
Everyone in town blogged Mr. Webster
We’re kicking off this Sunday catchup, and wrapping up our anniversary week, with big news: We’re pleased to announce that Willow, who has done such wonderful covers for the Monkey Queen series, will be returning to do the cover for the upcoming fifth book, Redblade! We still can’t set a publication date yet, but if you were to say “mid-November”, we wouldn’t argue with you. More after the cut!
Speaking of, congratulations to Willow for completing her BD, The Journey Of Earth, and getting it to the printer! She’ll have copies for sale next month! Look for a peek at the cover later this week, and if you want to preorder a copy, contact her through her Facebook or DeviantArt pages! (Remember that the book is only French…but things can change.)
If you missed this week’s posts, you really should go back and read them all. It was fun looking back at the Monkey Queen’s first year. We hope you’ll stick around; the best is yet to come for Michiko and Beth!
Oh, and the anniversary day happened to coincide with a certain day in the author’s life, so he may have been out last night eating a hamburger and ice cream to celebrate it. Please don’t spoil the Doctor Who season opener here. Thanks.
And speaking of thanks… The music starts at about 30 seconds in, and coincidentally, that’s when someone starts chopping onions nearby, because I’m reminded again of how fortunate I am to be able to do this, and how grateful I am to all of you for your support. Thank you again, thank you all.
Filed under Sunday catchup