My third post featuring some of the fantastic answers from the entries I’ve been getting for the Crossing the Streams contest. So proud of all my contestants! As I said earlier, I’m familiar with some of the authors and heroines mentioned, but many of the entries have opened my eyes to books I’d missed or dismissed, and my to-be-read pile is piling up with each new entry.

(A note to everyone who entered the contest. Just because your entry is posted here doesn’t mean you’ve won. And just because it isn’t doesn’t mean you’ve lost. Every single entry is still in the running.)

(A note to everyone who hasn’t entered the contest. It runs ’til the end of February. Still plenty of time to enter!)

Right then, here are three more:

My current favorite is Marla Mason from an urban fantasy series by T.A. Pratt. She’s a no nonsense ass kicker who gets herself in trouble by being too confident and secretive by half. There have been five books in the series starting with Blood Engines. You can see both the character and the author develop as the series goes on. In a genre filled with books that read like pulp romance with werewolves and vampires tossed in, Marla’s a breath of fresh air. Any man who got fresh with her would get his teeth kicked in.

Glen

The Rowan from Anne McCaffrey’s ‘The Tower and the Hive’ series.  I read it when I was 7 years old and begged my father to let me dye my hair white and convinced everyone I was going to marry a guy named Jeff Raven. She was sarcastic, commanding and scared the living daylights out of people–no one wanted to mess with her.  She was something of a biatch, but it really stemmed more from a past trauma and an upbringing that was mostly fueled by loss, and a lack of people who understood her.  Plus her name wasn’t ‘Rowan’, it was always ‘THE Rowan’.  How frakking cool is that?

Lexie

My favorite heroine is Katniss Everdeen.  When my daughter and I read the Hunger Games series I was amazed by how Katniss inspired my 12 year old daughter to be strong and to stand up for what she believes is right.

Karen

More tomorrow!

Ugh. I promised last week that I would start posting some of the fantastic answers from the entries I’ve been getting for the Crossing the Streams contest, but last week clubbed me over the head and took my lunch money and I didn’t have a chance to get around to it. I’m finally recovered, so let’s continue, shall we? As I said earlier, I’m familiar with some of the authors and heroines mentioned, but many of the entries have opened my eyes to books I’d missed or dismissed, and my to-be-read pile is piling up with each new entry.

(A note to everyone who entered the contest. Just because your entry is posted here doesn’t mean you’ve won. And just because it isn’t doesn’t mean you’ve lost. Every single entry is still in the running.)

(A note to everyone who hasn’t entered the contest. It runs ’til the end of February. Still plenty of time to enter!)

Right then, here are three more:

My favorite heroine would have to be “Lady” from the The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook. One of the most powerful magic wielders in any genre. She basically gives up her powers to keep her demi-god-like abusive murderous husband in his grave. Then takes up with the Company surgeon and chronicler  . She then rises through the ranks gaining the respect of the men to become one of the Company leaders. Being a 19 year veteran, this series of books and characters really hits it for me. I have met so many folks that actually reminds me of these characters, including Lady, and I know how hard it is for a female to rise through the ranks and garner the respect that she does.

Philip & Kathleen

My favorite scifi heroine has been Lucy Pevensie for as long as I can remember.  I like her because she’s never afraid to jump right in and make friends with Amazing Things.  She’s a true heroine, for me.

Denise

My favorite Scifi/fantasy heroine has and always will be Moreta from “Moreta, Dragonlady of Pern” by Anne McCaffery.  I found that book, without having read any of the other Pern books, at a time in my life when I was feeling overwhelmed by things that I couldn’t control.  To read a story about a woman who took matters into her own hands and solved her problems, even at the cost of her own life, was very moving and helpful at that rough point in my life.

Megan

More tomorrow!

This spring is my busiest yet, with more book releases, signings and appearances than I personally can shake a stick at. I’m going to have to hire extra stick-shakers, just to keep up! I’ll be posting again about each individual thing as it comes up, but here is everything in one convenient list so you can mark your calendars now.

Jane Carver Release – March 6th

Jane Carver of Waar is coming out from Night Shade Books on March 6th, available from your favorite local bookstore and on-line as well! Click on the picture to buy it from my pals, Mysterious Galaxy Books.

Jane Carver Signing at Mystery and Imagination Bookstore – March 11th

The first stop on my Jane Carver of Waar release tour will be at Mystery and Imagination Books in Glendale, CA on March 11th. I’ll be reading from the book and signing copies from 1 pm, so come on by. This is my local new and used bookstore, which, as the name implies, focuses heavily on Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Mystery books. They are great people and a great store, well worth a visit any time.

Mystery and Imagination Bookstore – 238 N. Brand Blvd. Glendale CA, 91203

Jane Carver signing at Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach – March 23rd

The second stop on the release tour is Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach on March 23rd at 7:30 pm. This will be a tag team signing with fellow Night Shade Books author David Constantine, who will be signing his new novel The Pillars of Hercules. We will be reading from and discussing our books, then fighting for the Night Shade Light Heavyweight Championship Belt in a Steel Cage Match – if we can get the permits, that is.

Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach – 2810 Artesia Blvd. Redondo Beach, CA 90278

Gotrek and Felix: The Anthology release – March 27th

Gotrek and Felix: The Anthology, a collection of Gotrek and Felix short stories from various authors, in which I have a novella and a short, comes out on March 27th, and will be available from your favorite local bookstore and on-line as well! Click on the picture to buy it from my pals, Mysterious Galaxy Books. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the different authors’ takes on Warhammer Fantasy’s most iconic heroes.

This is the biggest weekend of the Jane Carver Release Tour. On Saturday, April 14th, I will be appearing at Literary Orange, an annual celebration of authors, readers and libraries presented by the Orange County Public Libraries at the UC Irvine Student Center. I will be speaking on a panel or two and signing books throughout the day. This is the first time I’ve been invited to anything like this, and I am both surprised and honored.

And that’s only half the weekend…

Jane Carver Signing at Mysterious Galaxy San Diego – April 15th

On Sunday, April 15th, I will be at Mysterious Galaxy San Diego doing another tag-team Night Shade Books signing, this time with Carol Wolf, who will be signing her new novel The Summoning, but I also have a rematch with David “Pillars of Hercules” Constantine, this time in a no-holds-barred Texas Death Match. All three of us will be signing, reading from and discussing our new books.

Mysterious Galaxy San Diego – 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Suite #302 San Diego, CA 92111

Bloodsworn Release – May 29th

Bloodsworn, the 3rd in the Ulrika the Vampire series comes out on May 29thm available from your favorite local bookstore and on-line as well! Click on the picture to buy it from my pals, Mysterious Galaxy Books.

My weekly blog at the Night Bazaar

In addition to all this running around, I am also doing a weekly guest blog at Night Shade Books’ author blog, the Night Bazaar, where I tackle the weekly topic and wrestle it to the ground, often with humorous results. The Night Bazaar is a great place to meet Night Shade’s current crop of authors and get to know them and their books. Check it out!

Interviews etc.

I also have a lot of interviews and other guest bloggery coming up, but I’ll have to get back to you on those once the dates are finalized.

Wow, what a crazy spring.

I love it!

Been getting lots of entries for the Crossing the Streams contest, and a lot of them are really amazing – very well thought out answers to the question, who is your favorite fantasy or science fiction heroine. I was so impressed that I thought I’d post some of them every day this week. I am familiar with some of the authors and heroines mentioned, but many of the entries have opened my eyes to books I’d missed or dismissed, and my to-be-read pile is piling up with each new entry.

(A note to everyone who entered the contest. Just because your entry is posted here doesn’t mean you’ve won. And just because it isn’t doesn’t mean you’ve lost. Every single entry is still in the running.)

(A note to everyone who hasn’t entered the contest. It runs ’til the end of February. Still plenty of time to enter!)

Right then, here are the first three:

Minda Sealy from Charles deLint’s first book, Riddle of the Wren. She appeared in my life when being small and brown and wren-like was reality, and she did the classic hero’s journey inward to find her answers, her identity, and her own power…and found that power was of wildness, not of traditional light/dark goodness — older, more nuanced, more subtle, both/and… Allowed me to own some of my own wildness that wasn’t about being a good girl in a new way…an early step in the road to becoming a 47 year old dragon…

Leigh

As for my favorite Heroine from sci-fi and fantasy fiction, that’s tough. It seems that every book on my shelves is centered around male characters. Wow. There are a few older characters that stand out like David Eddings’ Polgara the Sorceress and Weiss and Hickman’s Kitiara, but they seem like secondary characters at best. I’ll go with Joshua Palmatier’s Varis from the Thrones of Amenkor series. That poor girl goes through hell just to survive and then when she finally achieves a position of power, she gets stuck on a throne of madness and forced to rule the same people who kept her on the streets. Plus, the magic’s pretty cool.

Dave

My favorite fantasy heroine would have to be Brienne of Tarth from the Song of Ice and Fire series. The minimal focus on her sexuality is refreshing and she presents an interesting inversion of the courtly knight trope.

Steve

More tomorrow!

Publisher’s Weekly just posted a pretty good review of Jane Carver! It basically says, this is the sort of thing you’ll like if you like this sort of thing.

Staying true to what actually happens in the book, Dave Dorman first painted Jane topless, then covered her up for the official cover of Jane Carver of Waar. Now he’s sent me the topless version, and like the true friend I am, I’m sharing it with you!

Night Shade Books wants you to know that this has nothing to do with them. They publish respectable books with no nakedness on the covers. This is just between me, Dave Dorman and the world.

Thanks, Dave!

I haven’t done an art post in a while, but I found Noelle’s blog and had to share. Noelle is a great illustrator and cartoonist, and apparently a complete and utter geek. Yay! There’s a lot of fun noodling and doodling on the blog, but every once in a while she does something like this…

Yes, that would be a matador sailor fighting a giant squid while riding a sea horse. As they say on the internet, “Your argument is invalid.”

Noelle seems to like kick-ass heroines having over the top adventures. I wonder what she’d do with Jane or Ulrika.

My advance reading copies are here! So cool!

I just got the okay from my bosses at Night Shade Books to post a sample chapter from Jane Carver of Waar.

So here, behind the cut, is Chapter Two – In which, having touched a strange gem in a cave, Jane has an unsettling awakening… [...]