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
Tag Archives: The Brigadoon Boondoggle
Behind The Scenes: The Brigadoon Boondoggle
It’s Monkey Queen anniversary week! We’ll be celebrating all week with a look behind the scenes at all four Monkey Queen novels and much more, and we’re up to the second, The Brigadoon Boondoggle!
The basic plot for this was inspired by some long-ago ideas I had for a science fiction comic with political overtones. The two sides competing over the meadow were a more rat/mouse like species and an avian species, both of which figured in the sci-fi comic, but after a draft I changed one, then the other. The bawsons were originally more like badgers than raccoons, but I changed them for a reason I’ll explain when Redblade comes out.
Musgrove was originally intended to have a partner called Hess, as a tribute to two characters in an older unpublished work, but I realized it was excess baggage. I did find a use for the name, and HESS does actually stand for something. Someday, I’ll figure out what that is.
The dedication came about because I was feeling guilty about using refugee spokesman Neil Gaiman as a basis for a comic relief character in a book about two groups of refugees that were in conflict. I’m glad I did it, especially now that things have gotten so much worse…
And the fight scene with the Jakes was largely taken from another comic script I had written back in the day, as a one-shot introductory special. I still love Little Jake’s “Oh, I think I’ll just lie here until the pain subsides” line.
Favorite Reference: Beth’s reading material during her recovery includes the latest Maggie MacKay book. Maggie’s adventures are written by one of my favorite writers and inspirations, Kate Danley. Go read them!
Most Obscure Reference: Miraculous Ladybug. It won’t be when the show actually premieres in October (December in the US), but for now it counts. But I’m still glad I did it; if there was ever a TV show that would inspire Michiko to Beth-like levels of geekdom, this will be it.
Did you know: The short story “Three Women In A Stew (To Say Nothing Of The Guinea Pig)” takes place between the last two scenes of The Brigadoon Boondoggle? You can read it here, or click the “short story” tag to read all the Monkey Queen short stories to date!
Tomorrow: Willow Wednesdays!
Filed under behind the scenes
Last chance! Get The Brigadoon Boondoggle for 99 cents US!
It may be the end for Michiko and Beth…and it’s the end of this sale! Today is the last day for US fans to get the second Monkey Queen book, The Brigadoon Boondoggle, for just 99 cents at Amazon.com! This sale will end at 11:59 PM PST tonight, so don’t wait! And enjoy this excerpt from Chapter Three!
The skinny man with the British accent and the sandshoes stood in front of the blue police box and smiled. “It’s all yours, Beth,” he said. “Everywhere, everywhen. And all you have to do is come inside.” As he spoke, the door to the police box swung open.
“Do not be fooled, Beth McGill!” They both turned and saw the old, bearded man with the gray pointed hat and matching robes strike the ground with his staff. “Your place is by my side! Faithful companions! Epic quests! The world is yours!”
The skinny man snorted. “One world? I can give her galaxies!”
“And endless danger! You attract trouble everywhere you go!”
“I do not!”
“You take a vacation on a beach and a sharknado touches down!”
“Look who’s talking! You lost how many on that first quest? Three out of thirteen?”
“But only one on the second! It’s not that—”
“Enough prattle.”
Shadows swept out of nowhere and engulfed the two men, ending their argument. Beth felt a moment of regret—she had been enjoying that dream quite a bit—but it faded quickly. She shivered. She knew that voice.
The shadows seemed to take form as a woman walked out from them. She wore a flowing black robe, her hair was long and black, and her eyes held a cruel joy. “Beth McGill,” Muirin said. “We meet again.” She smiled.
“How—” Beth started to say.
“How did I get into your dream?” Muirin strolled casually towards Beth. “I walk through shadows, and your dreams are filled with them. It’s very exhausting, but revenge will be worth it.”
Filed under where to buy
Second hands that minds have slowed are blogging even faster
We start our Sunday catchup by reminding you that you can still get the second Monkey Queen book, The Brigadoon Boondoggle, for just 99 cents at Amazon.com! This sale will end at 11:59 PM PST on July 22. If you shop at any Amazon store other than Amazon.com, check back on July 31 for some great news!
And the rest of you, check back on Wednesday when we launch a new blog feature…and announce the next phase of the Summer Sale! More, as always, after the cut. Continue reading
Filed under Sunday catchup
to Infinity 3.0 and beyond!
Don’t forget that the Summer Sale continues! The second Monkey Queen book, The Brigadoon Boondoggle, is on sale at Amazon.com for just 99 cents! This sale will end at 11:59 PM PST on July 22. It’s for Amazon.com only, but stay tuned for a special sale for non-US fans July 31-August 2!
After the cut: Hello, my name is Robert, and I’m a Disney Infinity addict. Continue reading
Filed under weekday randomness
Summer Sale update
Bad news for non-US Monkey Queen fans. As it turns out, I’m not able to offer any sale on The Brigadoon Boondoggle at Amazon stores other than Amazon.com while the Kindle Countdown deal we have right now is running. But stay tuned – I’ll set up a special sale to run at all non-US Amazon stores for the weekend of July 31-August 2 to make up for it!
Filed under where to buy
The Summer Sale continues! Get The Brigadoon Boondoggle for 99 cents US!
“Michiko.” She stopped and looked back at Puck. “Sometimes, you can’t have everything go your way,” he said. “Sometimes you have to make the best of a bad situation, make a bad choice.”
“Maybe so,” Michiko said, barely keeping her emotions in check. “But this isn’t a game. This isn’t something you can decide by flipping a coin. Maybe you see it differently, but all I see are refugees who are scared because they may lose their new home and a lonely girl who can’t even afford warm clothes. And I have to help them, all of them. It’s why I do this.” She turned and walked away.
“Good luck with that,” Puck said to himself as he stood up. A moment later, he added, “Then again…if there’s anyone who can do it, it’s you.”
The countdown is on! Get the second Monkey Queen book, The Brigadoon Boondoggle, for just 99 cents at Amazon.com! This sale will run for exactly one week and will end at 11:59 PM PST on July 22. It’s limited to Amazon.com, but by the end of the day we’ll have a sale going in all the Amazon stores. Don’t forget to look for this awesome cover by Willow!
Art © 2015 by Willow. Design by Alchemy Book Covers.
Michiko, the hero known as the Monkey Queen, and geek girl Beth McGill thought it would be easy. They’ve become good friends since they started working together to save the world, why not become roommates? Of course, that was before the kitchen fire. And the broken bedroom door. Not to mention the cranky guinea pig.
But they have bigger problems ahead. A shady real estate deal has left two new groups of Emigres arguing over a meadow. Other Emigres are vanishing without a trace. And enemies old and new lurk in the woods, in the shadows, even in dreams.
Can Michiko and Beth stop the darkness that lies ahead…or will they be the next victims?
Filed under where to buy