Auraseer

I'm happy to announce I've completed my fourth manuscript--on September 29th, to be exact. I wrote AURASEER over four months, and considering my first story took me 2 1/2 years to write and revise, this is a major accomplishment for me. As I wrote that first story, I wondered many times how it would feel to have a draft done. Even now, it feels magical to complete a story.

I usually battle with my stories a lot more and can't wait to reach the end. With this one, it was a sweet release to write from start to finish. This gist of this story just appeared in my head one day, as well as its most important nuts and bolts and characters. In many ways, it is the 2.0 version of my first novel. Both are about a girl who can feel others' emotions, though by very different means. I feel like the long struggle I waged with that first story made this one much easier to draft--especially when it came to explaining the nuances of feeling what someone else is feeling. (I had to revise that element so many times with my first novel.)

At any rate, I'm very pleased. And although the process of writing came easier this time around, I still poured my heart and soul into every word. I'm back home and happy crafting another epic fantasy.

Here are a few teaser images related to my story. Fingers crossed it will be published one day and you can enjoy it with me. Until then, may the muse be with you in your writing endeavors or whatever creative pursuits float your boat!

Would You Like a Relic?

That's right. I'm giving away a Relic! *laughs at my little joke* I found it so funny when I was at The King's English last week and walked up to the counter where stacks of Renee Collin's beautiful new book were waiting for customers in preparation for her signing. My friends and I took turns ordering. "I'd like a Relic." "I'd like two Relics." Maybe I was the only one giggling about this, I don't know.

Anyway, as luck would have it, I won an extra Relic! It's a rare ARC. Let me hear those ooohs and aaahs. And I have a Griffin card to go along with it. You should know that Griffin is a type of magical relic in Renee's awesome alternate western YA fantasy. Griffin relics allow the wielder to manipulate the air around an object so they can move it. Want to more? Win my raffle. Or better yet, buy the book and read it for yourself. (But you should still enter my raffle.)

How do you enter this raffle, you ask? You leave a comment. That's it. I'm easy. If you're feeling extra cool, you can tell me what kind of relic you'd want, if any kind of relic were possible. To spark some ideas, I can tell you some of the relics in Renee's book allow you to breathe underwater or become invisible. EDIT: Please leave your email address in your comment so I know how to reach you. You can write it all cryptic-like so the evil minions of the Internet don't exploit your information (i.e., johnsmith AT gmail DOT com, or whatever).

So let's do this! Have your comment entries in by Tuesday, September 24th, and I'll announce the random winner the next morning. This contest is limited to people in the U.S. Sorry, international folks. I'm poor. Here's a pretty pic of what you will win, followed by more info on Renee's book (she read the first chapter aloud at her party, and WOW), and fun pics from her signing.

After a raging fire consumes her town and kills her parents, Maggie Davis is on her own to protect her younger sister and survive the best she can in the Colorado town of Burning Mesa. In Maggie’s world, the bones of long-extinct magical creatures such as dragons and sirens are mined and traded for their residual magical elements, and harnessing these relics’ powers allows the user to wield fire, turn invisible, or heal even the worst of injuries.

When she proves to have a particular skill at harnessing the relics’ powers, Maggie is whisked away to be trained in the world of relic magic. But when mysterious fires reappear in neighboring towns, Maggie finds she must use her powers to discover who is channeling relic magic for evil before it's too late.

We all have Relics!

Pretty and hilarious Renee

Me 'n' Renee 'n' Relic

Don't ask about the frog puppets.