Little Big Foot on Littlest Pet Shop

For a limited time, my latest episode of Littlest Pet Shop can be found HERE.

The Summary: "Bigfoot fanatic Roger Baxter buys a camper trailer and takes Blythe and the pets on a camping trip. The pets question Penny Ling’s whereabouts while Blythe discovers the Biskit twins and their father are camped nearby and destroying the forest in Little BigFoot from Season 2 of Littlest Pet Shop."

Hope you enjoy it!

Littlest Pet Shop Musical Interlude: Pet Friendly Skies

Here's a really fun musical number from my episode of LPS entitled, "Blythe's Big Idea." As the episode's writer I was responsible for the overall set up and a lot of the gags, but also contributed some of the lyrics, including the hook. Talented composer/songwriter Daniel Ingram did the heavy musical lifting, though and I think he did a great job. Enjoy flying the Pet Friendly skies of LPS!

Book Review: Burnt Jesus by Landon Alspiret

What if you found yourself in the middle of a meta-universal murder mystery where alternate reality 'Jesusi' (Jesuses?) were being picked off by a mysterious fiend? That's the very strange situation ordinary schlub Leon Spingle finds himself in when the title character, Burnt Jesus, enlists his aid to track down the murderer and save the remaining Sons of God from being wiped out completely.

Author Alspiret spins an interesting yarn that is well-paced, suspenseful, and sprinkled with just the right amount of humor.

On a side note: The book's description uses the word 'sacrilegious,' but I would soften that to 'irreverent.' As a person of faith (and avid sf/f reader) I wasn't the least bit offended by this innovative and interesting twist on our reality's 'Jesus story.'

Recommended.

Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy!

Yes I am a hardcore Godzilla fan. Why do you ask?

Portrait of the Artist's Father as Gandalf the Grey

I've been meaning to post this here on the blog for a while but kept spacing out. I can be like that, you know.

Back in November my very talented illustration major daughter, Molly, asked me what kind of drawing I'd like for Christmas. I requested something sf/f-related that I could use as a profile pic -- me as a cyborg, etc.

Well, imagine my delight when I received this awesome drawing! As anyone who follows this blog knows, I'm a huge LOTR fan so it was the perfect gift. I especially like the deft comedic touch of including my glasses!

On a related note, Molly takes orders for commissioned pieces and also offers some original art for sale. If you're interested, you can get the details on her BLOG and on her RED BUBBLE site. Thanks Molly!

I Get Interviewed

Author and Renaissance Faire aficionado/expert/promoter, Gia Volterra de Saulnier (now that's a fancy name!) interviewed me for her BLOG and since I come off as somewhat coherent, you must go over and check it out. No, I'm very sorry, but you must. Yes, I'm not kidding. Go now, please.

Guest Post: Swordplay, A New Fantasy Novel by Katharina Gerlach

I became a fan of fellow Magic Appreciation Tour novelist Katharina Gerlach after reading her fun 2011 historical fantasy novel, Urchin King. She's just released a new fantasy read called Swordplay and I'm happy to have her tell us a little bit about it. Take it away Katharina! 

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Developing Swordplay

Swordplay sneaked into my life. It started out as a short idea of a magician examining a sword and entered the world as a short story of less than 10,000 words. Surprisingly, it was accepted by a small magazine, and the readers loved it. Some suggested that there was more to the story and that I should write something longer about the Commissiare Magique (back then, his name was different from what's in the novel now). Nothing came to mind, so I let the ideas simmer. I often do that when my Muse (my creative side) refuses to hand me answers immediately.

Then, one night, I woke up with Moira in my mind. I felt her desperation when her father left the family, and her determination to join the Gendarmerie Magique despite her shortcomings in magic-control. I knew I had my story. Still, it took me another three months of figuring out how all the ideas my Muse threw at me were connected to each other. When that was done, I settled down to write. I had planned the novel to come in at 70K words but it ended up near 90K instead.

That was when I realized something was wrong… not with the current novel, mind, but with the whole background my Muse had handed me. There was simply too much for a single novel.

"But I hate series. I hardly ever read them," I said.

Smug grin from my Muse. She pointed to Wattpad, where I had shared some of the story with my fans. There, black on white, several of the readers requested a sequel or two.

"I cannot write a series. I wouldn't know where to start." I was practically begging, but it was no use. My Muse simply pointed at the "How to Write a Series" course by Holly Lisle (my mentor). I gave up. So, here you have it, the first volume of the first ever series I will write. Volume two and three are currently in the planning stage and I should start writing late spring or early summer. They'll be somewhat shorter than the first volume, so I can publish at least one more before the year is out (yes, writing novels does take that long – plus, I have to translate them into German too).

About the Book

CSI with magic but without the gore

Despite her obvious lack of magical talent, nineteen year old Moira Bellamie apprentices with the Gendarmerie Magique, the magic police. She puts all her effort into solving a burglary at the National Museum where antique weapons have been stolen, to keep the hard won job. Falling for her partner Druidus wasn't part of the plan. When more and more people are murdered with one of the stolen weapons, Moira must tame uncontrollable magic, or the people she cares for will die, her partner first and foremost.

For lovers of Fantasy and Mystery from 14 years up

eBook on Amazon:       German, English

and Smashwords:          German, English

other retailers will follow

Paperback in German or English on Createspace (Beware: postage), Amazon (no postage) will follow soon and can be found through the eBook pages

About Katharina

I’ve been telling and writing stories all my life, but only two year ago, with the success of eBook publishing, I became an Indie author. I never looked back. Sure, my manuscripts have found praise with traditional publishers, but no one had the courage to publish something they couldn’t neatly stuff into a labeled box.

Well, just like my books, I don’t fit one box. I’m the daughter of a forester and a studied forester myself. I’m sister to three brothers, and a mother to three daughters. I’m a tomboy at heart and simultaneously tidy and chaotic – I can’t be any different with my Muse (the creative part of me) dragging me in one direction and my Editor (the neat, logical side) pulling in another.

There are three things in this world I love more than anything: my family, stories (mine and those of others) and nature. The best thing that can happen to me is when someone I don’t know leaves a review for one of my books telling me how much (s)he liked it. 

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Thanks Katharina!

Star Trek: The Recognition Certificate

Back in 1993 Jaq Greenspon, a friend from my days at the Groundlings, and I went to Paramount to pitch some story ideas to the folks at Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jaq was aware that the show had an open invitation to published sci fi writers (Jaq is one) and since we're both sci fi/fantasy nerds who would frequently chew the fat on the subject he graciously asked me if I wanted to go in and try and sell something. I readily agreed. We met and came up with a bunch of story springboards and made an appointment. The writer/producer we met with (can't remember his name) was relatively cool/ neutral to the ideas we were pitching until it came to the very last one:

"Picard is taken captive by a Mark David Chapman-like fan of his military career."

In other words, the kidnapper was a fanatical Picard groupie. At that point, the producer's eyes brightened and he said something to the effect of, "I like that one. You know we have a lot of hardcore fans of this show." Oh really? (you're looking at two of them)

They bought the idea which we developed into a story that eventually was handed over to a couple of staff writers who turned it into the episode entitled "Liaisons." The whole process was loads of fun and I'm grateful to Jaq for getting us in there.

So. . . today in the mail I got an "award" certificate from the WGA (see above). They've apparently placed the series on their list of the "101 Best Written TV Series" and even though Jaq and I contributed to the show in a tiny little way, the Guild wanted to make sure we were recognized for it.

I don't know, but I think that's kind of cool. :)

Wonderstorms: A Fantasy Anthology is Now Available

Wonderstorms: A Fantasy Anthology went live on Amazon this past Wednesday. Huzzah!

This book is a collection of short stories from a group of five fantasy authors -- Jason Asala, Brian Clopper, A.E. Howard, Keith Robinson, and myself.  Each story is set in its own unique world with the common threads being the title of book and the element of either fantasy or sci fi.

The stories within are all a lot of fun and contain each author's interpretation of a wonderstorm. My story, Undrastormur, happens to be a Norse fantasy-adventure in the "classic" style while the other stories are set in modern day or alternate realities.

The cost of Wonderstorms is a rock-bottom $.99 but if that's still too rich for your blood, you can wait a couple of weeks for it to drop to $.00 due to Amazon price-matching. Our goal was not to make bank with this particular effort, but to put out a quality read that showcased each author's writing talent.

I believe the stories in Wonderstorms are all quite good and invite you to pick up your copy today -- or in a couple of weeks. ;)

Book Review: Fox's Bride by A.E. Marling

Fox's Bride, the sequel to author Marling's impressive Brood of Bones, continues Enchantress Hiresha's wildly imaginative adventures. This time we find her in Oasis City, the macabre playground of a truly evil and seemingly invincible sorcerer bent on eliminating her as a threat to his shadowy rule. Assisted by loyal spellsword Chandur, cantankerous maid Janny, and the deadly Lord of the Feast, Hiresha must find a way to expose and defeat the fiend before she's sacrificially married off to a desert fox and sealed in an airless sacophagus for all eternity.

Marling is at the top of his game in Bride, weaving a complex mystery full of magic (both dark and Hiresha's unique gemstone-based variety), humor, and flat-out adventure. Fox's Bride is a rich and complex read that I highly recommend.

To find out more about A.E. Marling and his books, please visit him here.