A Year in Review

I’ve been on this journey for a couple of years now. It started out as a creative outlet and fun hobby for me, and turned into an obsession. I published my first book on November 20th, 2011. Since then I’ve published two more, the latest one the sequel to Broods of Fenrir on November 20th, 2012. I’ve accomplished more in that year than I ever thought I could.

I want to thank all of my readers, and especially those who reviewed my books. It means so much to a writer to have that feedback, to know that someone out there is reading. That’s why we do this, after all, to share our stories with the world. Thanks to all of you lovely people I’ve more than doubled my sales goals for this first year. I am truly and deeply humbled by how wonderful you are. I’m going to try to get something reader appreciation stuff going on the website in the near future, including some giveaways for the trading cards I have left for those of you who asked for them so nicely.

In the year ahead I will finish my MFA and at least one more novel. I’m hoping to finish the third Broods book as well, but we’ll have to see how my current WIP progresses first. I also want to get back to writing short fiction again. I know I promised some for this year, but things just didn’t work out that way. I have a few ideas kicking around that should make good fodder for a few short pieces. Some of them may find a home here, but I hope to send some out for submission as well. My goal for next year is to diversify a bit to get my writing into the hands of more readers.

-C

What I’m Thankful For

This is a little early, I know, but I was feeling thankful today so I wanted to write it down and be ahead for a change. It’s been almost a year now since I released Broods of Fenrir and reality has surpassed my goals by a hundred percent. I am amazed and so very humbled that any of you have taken the time to give my writing a chance. I hope I haven’t disappointed you and I strive to keep getting better every day.

Thank you to every reader who has reached out to me to share your experience of my books. Your emails, comments, and notes have meant so much to me and make the moments of pain worth it.

Thank you to all the reviewers who took a chance on my writing and posted their thoughts about my books on a public forum. I know it can be scary, putting what you’ve written out there for everyone to read on the internet. I appreciate your time and effort more than you can know.

Thank you to all my author friends who helped me through difficult times the last couple of years. When I felt like giving up you had words that pulled me through and advice that made sense. You’re an awesome bunch, and I love you all. *hugs*

Thank you to my wonderful husband who I adore more than anything. Your love and encouragement has made all of this possible. *smooches*

Hearts and Puppies,

Coral

Thursday Teaser

I was digging through my files today as I was trying to come up with some flavor text for the Broods trading cards I’m designing (edited to add the back card image to the post), when I happened upon a couple of pieces I had written for the original promotional tour almost a year ago. One is a interview with Brand that I think I’ll put up on the release day of Marked by Odin and the other is the beginning of a short story from the point of view of Ingrid. Several people have said that she’s one of their favorite parts of the first book, and I’ll admit here in the safety of my own little space that she’s one of my favorites too. Her dubious hold on sanity makes her fun to write, especially her dialogue. Fear not, good readers, she has a role in the second book as well, though she doesn’t appear until much later. The third book, now only in the early brainstorming phase, will feature her more heavily, I think.

For those of you who have always wanted to take a peek in Ingrid’s head, you will probably be in for a surprise. The events here take place a long, long time before Broods of Fenrir and you’ll notice she’s much more coherent then she seems in the later stories. There are definitely reasons for that, but I can’t really share them with you right now. I will finish it someday, but for now here’s a bit of a teaser for you from a story tentatively titled “Free Will”:

Ingrid stared down into the snarling face she was quite sure would be the end of her. The blue eyes glowed wildly, casting azure light about the dim, torch-lit cave. Rage flowed from him in a tide of dark emotion that prickled at her skin like nettles. The barbed anger attacked her from all sides, shredding the barriers she held in place with every bit of her concentration. She only managed to continue standing in the same room with him because he still had a tenuous grip on the beast. The riling of something so wild was not without price. In order to push him to the breaking point she had to drop every one of her mental barriers. He was too strong otherwise.

 

When the animal within him managed to break free of his hold, she would suffer. The mental agony would eclipse any physical damage she sustained at his hands. In fact, the sensation of his elongated canine teeth rending her flesh might be a welcome distraction from the shattered remnants of her mind once the creature had crawled its way inside.

 

“Give in,” she murmured while pushing his sweat-drenched hair away from his face. “Let the beast have me.”

 

Brand shook his head, closing his eyes. His lips pulled back into a grimace of pain and concentration as she dug her nails into his jaw.

 

She wondered, not for the first time, if she would have started down the path had she known at the onset what shaping him would cost her. She’d carefully arranged everything before the young pup in front of her had ever drawn breath, but hadn’t suspected that the combination of Kolla’s empathy and Geir’s wrath would result in a creature so thoroughly beyond her control—a monster with a conscience.

PS – I’ve decided I’ll be posting a trading card image a week until release day as a teaser for the giveaway. See you next week, same wolf time, same wolf channel!

Broods Book Two Release Announcement!

Marked by Odin, the second book in the Broods of Fenrir world will be officially released on November 20th. I expect to have advanced copies available in eBook as early as next week, so please contact me via the about page if you’d like a copy to review.

As part of the release day festivities I’ll be doing a giveaway which will kick off here on October 20th. I’ll be adding an excerpt on the Broods webpage next week sometime, but I’ve got the cover and blurb for you to check out while you wait.

After killing his sadistic brother, Brand inherits the responsibility for his brother’s brood. Now, he must convince the brood that their barbaric way of life belongs in the past and demand change in order to secure their future.

Crushed by the death of his mate, Gunni believes it’s only a matter of time before he succumbs to the loneliness that plagues his life. He follows Brand out of loyalty, but he secretly craves the peace that death will bring—until he is confronted with the most infuriating human he’s ever met.

Leo is a throwback who has never quite fit in with human society. Drawn into the savage world of the werewolves, not entirely against his will, he discovers that the Broods of Fenrir don’t fear much… except him.

These three conflicting personalities unite in pursuit of an unscrupulous trapper who has taken a member of Brand’s brood captive. They must track him down before he uncovers what they are and their secret is revealed.

Science Affliction #10

Let’s get right to the science.

1) Some of you may remember my rant from last year denouncing the Council of Europe’s stance on wireless emissions (if not, here’s a link). Today’s first story from ScienceDaily is yet another study that shows no correlation between wireless and the supposed health problems some people say they cause.

2) A bit of cool mad sciencery that will hopefully help explain how life came about on our pretty blue marble.

3) Enjoy this stunning time lapse video of Joshua Tree National Park that was posted at io9.

4) Warp Drive? Why yes, I’ll take one. Gizmodo had a story this week about NASA working on development of a real-life warp drive. I don’t know how much is wishful thinking and how much is practical, but it’s all-around awesome.

5) A new astronomical toy called the Dark Energy Cam is all the rage. They will use it to gather data on cosmic acceleration that will hopefully allow a accurate estimates of the motion of our Universe. Heavy stuff.

That’s all the science news for now. Check back next week when I promise there will be slightly less astronomy… maybe.

-CM

PS – A bonus entry that’s more science fiction than science, a very cool space short film by the name of Grounded.

Sneaky Peeky

I’m in the middle of editing the second book in the Broods world, and I thought as a special treat I’d offer you a peek at Marked by Odin. Here’s a snippet from chapter 1:

Gunni sniffed several times, his muzzle lifted high. The cold air tickled the labyrinthine passages of his nose. Scents of fear and pain assaulted him, even from a few hundred feet away. Brand had sent him ahead to scout the Vancouver brood, and what he had to report was not encouraging. Madness was the best way to describe the events taking place in the valley below him.

He’d been raised in a relatively modern brood that shared a city with humans and blended in with them whenever possible. The chaos in front of him reminded him of the barbaric history of their kind that he’d heard about, but never imagined still existed. One female was dragged across the dirty snow between two dwellings. Her white-blond hair reminded him of Alice. The ache of her loss was still agonizing. Gods, how he missed her.

Gunni had trouble quelling the urge to run in and rescue another female set upon by male who laughed every time she screamed. Half a dozen males fought in the central clearing in front of an old-style longhouse for a haunch of meat that was quickly forgotten amid the violence of the exchange.

Going down there wouldn’t solve anything, and he would end up in an altercation where he would be vastly outnumbered. He was supposed to observe and report back to Brand, not try to resolve the issues himself. He knew that, and yet, turning his back was one of the hardest things he’d ever done.

The first few steps were the worst, but once he got up to speed, the joy of running through the winter night spurred him onward. He covered ground swiftly, his four paws chewing up the miles almost without effort.

The land here was beautiful, and more untouched than any place he’d ever known. Located in the mountains a few hours north and west of Vancouver and tucked away at the edge of a provincial park, the brood compound was a strangely anachronistic oasis of wildness in the modern world they inhabited. Though he’d be raised in what he’d thought a rural area, the wolf within him had pined for the expansive forests and hillsides.

He didn’t slow when he crossed the east-bound lanes of the divided highway. The light coating of new snow made the blacktop slick. He traversed the median in two jumps and emerged onto the west-bound lanes. Too late, he heard the squeal of tires. He turned and saw headlights closing with alarming speed.

He didn’t feel the pain of the impact. One moment, he was aware, and the next instant, he wasn’t.