Snow Queen

Hello champions! I want to open up today’s post with a reminder that if there’s anything you’d like me to specifically talk about—whether it’s something about my books, writing, or just life in general— don’t be afraid to shout it out in the comments! Sometimes it’s hard to come up with content for my blog, mostly because I don’t know if you’re getting sick of a particular topic, or if there’s something else you’d rather discuss.

I say that because the past few weeks I’ve been at a loss as to what I should discuss in my posts. I know I should write about Snow Queen, however, that series is so full of spoilers for the future of the Timeless Fairy Tale series, that I’m a little leery of mentioning it. You Champions are too intelligent!

I am grateful and humbled, though, by the amazing support you guys gave Sacrifice. The Snow Queen books have been my best sellers to date, and I’m thrilled by the overwhelmingly positive response to with them. In fact, right now Amazon.uk and Amazon.au are running specials on Heart of Ice as part of a month-long deal. Heart of Ice’s price has been significantly slashed on those two stores, so if you use Amazon.uk or Amazon.au please check it out!

Finally, I’m going to wrap up this post by adding that Princess Ahira is going to be for free on April 15 to celebrate the due date of American taxes. ( Myrrhlynn pointed out to me it would’ve been a lot more appropriate if Cinderella and the Colonel was the selected celebration book due to Cinderella’s struggle against taxes. Unfortunately, I had already set up the special, or I would’ve changed it!)

That is it for today, Champions! Again, if you’ve anything you wish to discuss, please shout it out in the comments or send me a message. Thank you for being awesome, and thank you for reading!

Final Freebie Unlocked

Greetings, Champions! As expected, the final freebie has been unlocked: Mages. This is the longest freebie of the bunch and marks the beginning of Rakel’s next step in life. I hope you enjoy it!

As some of you might have seen if you took a peek at my coming soon page, this December I’ll be releasing a short story anthology that will contain all the Snow Queen freebies, and one additional–and LONG–unseen story that will focus on Rakel as she builds the first magic academy, and the romantic entanglements of a certain Robber Maiden. For now I’ll leave everything on the site, but when I release the anthology I’ll have to take down a few of the freebies due to Amazon’s rules, but I’ll be sure to announce when I’m taking them down so everyone can save them if they so desire. There’s no need to hurry, though, as the anthology is a long ways away.

Status update for Swan Lake: It is currently with Editor #1. She’ll keep it for a few weeks and rip it apart edit it–although I did proudly tell her I believe I actually used farther/further correct in several instances. (I think I can count on one hand the number of times that has actually happened, so we’ll wait to find out.)

In fun news, I’m going to be experimenting with “Dragon,” which is a software program that converts your speech to text. A lot of writers use it to write faster, but I’m also hoping it will give my eyes a break. (Take care of your eyes, everyone. Eye-strain is no joke!) So I’m sure I’ll be able to regale you all with stories of our strange relationship. As a Midwest girl I have a some-what funny/slurred way of speaking, so Dragon and I are going to be in for some fun times. I was “training” him earlier so he can hopefully get over my accent, and I have to say it feels very sci-fi–ish.

I thought you budding writers out there might be interested in learning about this software, because “Dragon” actually has a phone app that can connect with your purchased software, so you can dictate your story to him anywhere, and then upload it to your computer which will turn the recorded session into text. This might be super helpful for those of you who have a busy schedule. It actually can plug in to your internet too–so you can write emails with him–but I think I’m going to use my Dragon for strictly fiction writing. (Yes, Myrrhlynn was rather amused when she realized I call Dragon a He and refer to him as mine. I can’t help it–I adore “How to Tame your Dragon!”)

That’s all for today, Champions! I’ll have a few more Snow Queen themed blog posts coming up now that all the freebies have been unlocked, so you can count on seeing those soon. Until then, Champions, have a fantastic week, and as always, thank you for reading!

Fourth Extra Unlocked!

Anndddd here we have it, Oskar’s extra! That’s right, thanks to all you wonderful Champions, the fourth extra has been unlocked.

Words cannot describe how MUCH I have wanted to release this one! I actually wrote it before I wrote Heart of Ice–it was one of my ‘exercises’ that helped me get to know Oskar’s character and background. I wanted to release it with Heart of Ice, but as Oskar’s heart-t0-heart moment with Rakel comes in Sacrifice, I made myself wait.

Oskar holds a very special place in my heart because he is the first person to believe in Rakel. Steinar and Halvor were close seconds, but Oskar first met Rakel when she was eight, and then pledged loyalty to her (though she didn’t know it) two years later when she was exiled at age ten. He stayed on Ensom Peak with her for twelve years. Give that boy a round of applause! (Side note, I almost always write applesauce instead of applause. Strange.)

If you dig in the books, it’s very interesting to see how Rakel’s first “believers” (Oskar, Steinar, and Halvor) see her differently. Steinar saw her as his sister who should rightfully be queen, and felt a lot of guilt that he was raised in her place. Oskar saw early on that Rakel was human, but due to his palace training he was well aware that she was a royal so he tried to treat her with kind dignity. Halvor respected Rakel, and probably had the greatest grasp of her strength of character because he had a better idea of what she was capable of.

You can also see the differences in the way they argue with her. Oskar will give Rakel whatever she wants unless it puts her in danger. Halvor is much more reserved and will always move to do what is tactically best, though he knows he is more than a little partial and is a lot more reluctant to put her in danger than he would a normal soldier. Steinar, on the other hand, tries to bargain with her and talk her into things.

One of the challenging parts of writing the Snow Queen books, is that because Rakel represents magic–which is hated–and brings about huge changes, the way people reacted to her is revealing of their character. For example, think of Phile. She was never afraid of Rakel’s magic, never hesitated to call her out on her actions, and held Rakel to a higher standard than most of the people in the resistance. Phile’s reaction to magic was pretty similar. She thought it was something useful–not scary–and assumed that if someone had it, it was meant to be used.

Well that’s all for today. I need to go take Perfect Dog out on a walk while it’s sunny! I hope you all enjoy the extra. Thanks again, Champions. You are the best! (Just a short ways to go until the last freebie is released.) As always, thanks for reading!