Northlight release!

My second published novel Northlight is finally available again, now as a multi-format ebook from Book View Cafe. It includes a new introduction, "the story behind the story."

It was amazing to work on this book again, preparing it for epublication, and realize how much of my heart is still in it. Yes, it's got glorious horses and dramatic fight scenes (using techniques I learned in my years of kung fu -- the intro also talks about my teacher, Jimmy H. Woo). It's also got the kind of tortured-soul-healing and coming-of-age stuff I love. Also shades of what it was like growing up in the shadow of a charismatic parent, how you find your own place in life. A journey into the wilderness of the spirit as well as the landscape. And the cover is a very cool pic of dancinghorse's lovely mare, "Tia" photographed by our own tcastleb.

You can read the first chapter on the BVC site. I'd love to hear what you think.

Scaling the final hill was like climbing into a sea of ice. Up and up we went, one shivering, dogged step after another, woman and mare. My fingers had gone numb, laced in her mane, and I could no longer tell if she pulled me along or the other way round. I envied her, with no thought but to keep going.

As we neared the crest, I squinted up at the sky, as white and airless as if some vengeful god had sucked it dry. I reminded myself there were no gods here in Laurea, vengeful or otherwise.

A Kindle edition will be forthcoming, after I get back from Radcon, where I am Writer GoH. (I am informed that you can download the .mobi format on your Kindle reader, but don't know how to do that myself. Maybe that makes sense to you?)

Radcon schedule

Hope any of you at Radcon will find me to say hello! I'm supposed to be doing a reading as well, but am not sure when, so there may be last minute tweakings and squeakings but all shall be well and a good time had by all.

Friday 5:00 pm Silver Front. Charades. Last year we started with one audience member but by the end had filled the room. Join David Levine and Lizzy Shannon for an hour of hilarity. I love charades and am not timid about making a spectacle of myself!

Friday 6:00 Emerald. Animals in Fiction. So you want to include horses in your epic fantasy novel, dogs in your postapocalyptic yarn and monkeys in your science fiction adventure. The only problem is that blood bays with white manes and tails don’t exist, dogs need to pant to live and monkeys aren’t nearly so cheeky. Let us tell you what’s right and what’s wrong about your preconceptions.

Friday 7:00 pm Bronze Room. Opening Ceremonies, as Writer GoH.

Sat. 9 am Cobalt. That is a Great Idea. Is there nothing new under the sun for story ideas? Can you make YOUR story stand out even if some of your key elements are standard tropes? When is a cliche just a cliche, and when are there still permutations worth exploring?

Sat 11 am Bronze Room. Lunch as Book Signing. Come and meet our author guests and get your book collection signed.

Sat. 3 pm Garnet. Women in Horror. A discussion about the role women play in the horror genre, how it could change and what has been done right. Also a chance to discuss specific women who have contributed to horror.

Sunday 10 am Amber. Religions without an Anthropomorphic God (or Gods). Both fundamentalists and atheists often talk as if religion and belief in God are synonymous and exceptions don’t matter. Bu t for a lot of people this isn’t true. What is a religion, how does it function in a society and how do those without an authoritarian entity perform that function?

Sunday 11 am Sage. Pitching Workshop. Do eyes glaze over when you try to discuss your book, story, or screenplay. Polish your elevator speech. A hands on approach in pitch techniques. Elevators are waiting. Bring pen and paper.

Sunday 12 noon Garnet. Setting The Pace In Your Writing. What distinguishes the book you can’t put down from an interesting character story or a stylistic triumph? How do they do that?