The ebook version of Crown Duel, with the inserts, is all but done. Pati Nagle made me a fabulous cover--she's amazing. Now I'm readying Stranger in Command, but it will probably take longer, as I suspect I can't ask for help twice--someone else kindly dropped their work to make the changeover, which is NOT easy.

I have a blog up at book view cafe--on writing about emotions. Drop on by!

C.J. Cherryh talks about publishing in a guest blog at BVC . . . also, I have a story, called "Faith,"--it was published for kids, and got a few reprints long ago, including in Weekly Reader, mostly because of its ending that can be interpreted different ways. Most YA (back then) ended with a firm idea or image.

I made my first post at Book View Cafe, on the craft of writing. Drop by and jump in, if you have the time and inclination!

My regular day there is going to be Sunday. I don't know what people would like to read there, this is all highly experimental.

I was hoping someone out there might be able to answer a question for me regarding Kindles and e-books and other e-readers.  So I've been toying with the idea of getting a Kindle for a while and thought I might ask for one for my birthday in a few months, but then today I saw this announcement from TOR (http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=58701) that amazon is no longer selling TOR or MacMillion books on the Kindle site (or directly through amazon, for that matter).  Now obviously as a complete sci-fi/fantasy addict, this is a problem for me since TOR publishes a lot of great books and authors.  So here's my question: can you put other e-book formats on the Kindle?  Let's say I want to download one of the books from Book View Cafe or even Barnes and Noble, for example.  Can I then transfer it onto my Kindle, or will Kindles only read books from amazon?  And if you can transfer them onto the Kindle, how easy is it to do or does it require a serious work around like putting apple music files on anything other than ipods requires?

Alternatively, if Kindle only allows for reading books downloaded from Amazon, does anyone have any other suggestions for e-readers that they like?

I'm also emailing amazon and expressing my extreme displeasure on the TOR decision--the amazon pricing of e-books always struck me as a little strange, and it seems like they're trying to keep out any alternative models. 

Here's my introduction to Book View Cafe: please drop by and read my story there, if you are in the mood!

http://sartorias.livejournal.com/381268.html

(er . . . that is, the link is to my blog, which then links you to BVC.

The direct link today is: http://www.bookviewcafe.com/

I just finished several Sherwood Smith books, and as usual, I came here to athanarel  and checked the archives to find fan questions that Ms. Smith had answered about each book.   I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who does this, so would people be okay if I added "answered fan questions" to the reader guides on the wiki?  Are there any copyright problems with this idea? I saw somewhere that newsboyhat  already has .txt files of stuff from Castle Tlanth, so am I stepping on your toes?  I'd check Castle Tlanth and here, but is there anyplace else I should check?  As I only have a part time job right now,  I'd like to add to the wiki while I have time available, I'm just not quite sure what to add to its awesomeness.  (This idea is also partly inspired by the Words of Tamora Pierce website.)

Since sartorias posted what I wrote about Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia books, I thought I'd also post what I wrote about Crown Duel. I'm doing a series of entries about my favorite YA fantasy books to encourage my friends to read them. :) Let me know what you guys think!

During talk about books some days back, Megan Whalen Turner's name came up. Many here are already fans, as am I; for those considering reading the books, chacic did a writeup of her reading experience that should pique your curiosity.

First pass on e-book for Crown Duel done--just have to make sure the rights are secure. It also enabled me to get another draft of the map done. I can begin the real map this week.

Saw the first sketch for the cover of Coronets and Steel. It will be lovely!

Getting ready to go live at Book View Cafe. Reading up a storm, also watching two shows: Farscape and Mad Men (these are my current map making shows)

Current books: Seanan McGuire's Rosemary and Rue--gritty mix of fae and police procedural, with an older heroine. I like that, but what I really like is her attitude--she was an outsider as a kid, and paid the emotional price. Her attitudes are real, but whew, like I said, gritty. I'm not always in the mood for gritty late at night, so I've swapped over with some other things.

Also gritty but absolutely terrific is Cecelia Holland's Veranger. Viking era with magical overlay. I bounced off Holland over the decades (she's about my age but began selling very young) because her books, while excellently researched, were so very grim, emotionally cold and distant, morally ambiguous to the point of amoral. This one, so far, has a bit more tonal variation, which makes it very powerful, but as I said above about grit: reading slowly.

For YA reading, the best for several weeks is Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me.

I hope everyone had a good holiday or end of year time. I'd love to know anything special or nifty that happened to you--something you did for the first time, or experienced. And always, awesome book discoveries are gratefully sought!

As the new year begins, I am waiting for the contracts that DAW sent to my agent to reach me. I am working hard alternately at prepping Crown Duel to be released as an ebook later this month, when I officially "go live" at Book View Cafe. At the same time as I am going over the text for typos and to fix tiny things, I'm also making the Remalna map again, as someone around here tossed the (admittedly scribbled up) draft I'd been making last spring. For months I couldn't bear to do all that work again, but now, with the e-book prep, it doesn't feel like Sisyphus so much.

I also have to come up with book covers for these releases. Yeep!

Swapping off with that is work on Banner of the Damned, which had to be massively rewritten about four times. But it's at the point where I can zoom. I need to assemble a new playlist--the Colendi portion of the story is over, they just left Remalna (Tharais is shortly to become queen, and marry into the Calahanras family) thence west, and back to the thunder of drums. But I also need music for heavy duty magic.

There is a story, Slam Justice in the memories of Atharanel, but I can only find chapter 6. Where are the rest of the chapters? Also, I would jsut like to say, this is my first time posting to Athanarel, and I LOVE SHERWOOD SMITH!! I love everything she writes, and her books are among the few that I buy, even after eading them once, because I know that I will reread them many times over. Thank you for writing such great books! ( I could go on and on about what exactly makes them so good, but I'm sure you all know all this stuff already, so I'll just end here)

Calling all literary connoisseurs:
I am in a predicament! (Not actually, but it sounds grand.)

I am looking for any novels or books that feature court intrigue and complexity of plot,the type featured in Court Duel most particularly. If people have any suggestions, that would be greatly appreciated, as I enjoy the circumstances/plot and would like to read something similar.

 Well, I've finally managed to finish both of those books, and now it's time to review. I'm going to review them together, as I feel there isn't much difference between the two of them, and I plan to write about what little difference exists. So, here goes. Obvious Spoilers ahead, of course.

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Hello!

(I'm really just introducing myself here)

So, I was at my local library a few days ago in order to pick up some reading (just finished finals for the semester, so I was really in the mood to relax).  So I found a book that looked like it might be kinda fun.  As I pulled it off the shelf, I glanced at another book, The Trouble With Kings.  I read the back cover and decided to grab that too.  I finished The Trouble With Kings the next day, and, of course, had to look up the author online.  So, after a bit of searching, I decided to check my library to see if there were any other Sherwood Smith books.  I picked up Crown Duel (parts I & II) and finished that last night.  When I was done, I read all of the outtakes.  Needless to say, I absolutely loved them!  I just finished ordering The Trouble With Kings, Crown Duel, and A Stranger to Command on Amazon.  I usually don't order books until I've read them, but my library doesn't have anymore of Ms. Smith's books, so I ordered A Stranger to Command anyway, because I'm sure I'll love it too.  I haven't started the first book I grabbed off the shelf yet.

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi, as well as how obsessed I currently am with everything Sherwood Smith.  Also, I'd like to apologize if there is someplace I should have posted this instead.  I'm new to LiveJournal (I joined just to join this community), and don't really know how to navigate it.  I didn't notice anywhere that I should have posted this, but I could have missed it, even if it's really obvious.  Reading these books has made me want to write something, however I'm not so sure I can drag myself away from them long enough to actually accomplish that.  Hopefully this won't cause any problems come next semester...

I look forward to reading some more Sherwood Smith stuff, as well as the stuff on here.  Umm yeah, I guess I'm gonna be done being awkward now, and will probably (maybe) post more after I've had more than a week of experience in this delightful little world.

I think I'll go read that first book I grabbed off the shelf now...

-U

I just finished rereading Crown Duel again and came online to see if anything else was published with those characters. I was thrilled to find the scenes from Vidanric's perspective, especially that first one with Russav. I loved seeing Vidanric's side of the writing exchange, since that's always been one of my favorite parts of the book. I also found a link here, and I'm very glad I did. It's so nice to find other people who like the same books.

I also have a quick question. I really love the Wren books, they're the first Sherwood Smith books I ever read, and I was delighted to see that there was a fourth book that had been published online, but I couldn't seem to find it. Does anyone know if it has been taken down or is still available, and if it's still available, where? Thanks very much in advance.

Amazingly enough, I had a stroke of luck - a lesson where the teacher didn't come. I decided to devote the time to finishing the book, and now I'm writing the last review:
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Well, that's it. It was an excellent duology, and I loved it very much. I'm going to start CJ's diaries now, and I hope they'll be as good. I loved everything in it - well developed characters, much information about the world, a few unexpected twists, and an excellent plot. Thank you so much, Sherwood!

Well, I'm back. And after a long time of much learning and no time to read books, and what time there was had to be devoted to a few books I had to read for class, I finally managed to start (months late!) On Twice A Prince. Unfortunately, being aware that I don't have much time, I read half of it in about four hours, deciding not to take the time for a careful reading and remarking on each chapter. So I'm doing it now. Hopefully, I'll do it again next week for the other half - but that's only a hope, as I have a huge test this week on twenty pages of Talmud (Gemara - Babylonian Tractate), comprised of 100 questions. So, here goes:
Obvious spoilers for Once A Prince ahead:

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Well, that's all for now. Hopefully the rest will come next week.

In case no one here has heard, the LJ fandomsecrets allows people to post secrets about TV/Books/Movies etc. Today's post included the below:



I thought it was a wonderful sentiment and tribute to the power of a good story...

In the past year I've decided I need more dragons in my life, so I've read the following:
Dragon's Bait, by VVV
Talking to Dragons, by Wrede
the first two Temeraire books
Dragon's Keep, by Janet Lee Carey, and
Michelle Sagara's Elantra books (actually, I haven't been reading these for the dragons, but they're in there, and I like them).

I loved all of the above, except for the Wrede. (It was just okay.) Anyway, does anyone have recommendations for further reading? What other dragon books are good?

Thanks to anyone who responds! :-)