storyfires

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and Irish luck, I'm giving away a free book today that has nothing to do with Ireland:  my friend, Matthew Kirby's  The Clockwork Three. If you haven't heard of Matt's debut novel, you're missing out on a fantastic middle-grade read. Released in October of last year, Clockwork is a wonderful adventure story with three main characters, three converging plots, an automaton that comes to life, boy-pleasing amounts of danger and - my favorite bit - a magical green violin. Kirby's book defies genre, but manages to weave elements of steampunk, historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery into one thoroughly satisfying, well-crafted book. My eleven-year-old son's simple review: "One of the best books I ever read." You'll want to read it, too. Check out the book trailer , if you like. I tried and failed to get the video to work on my blog (not too tech-savvy right here), so click on the purple/red link to watch on ...

I walk into Borders one day and see stacks and stacks of a new book with a blue cover and a picture of a wolf. Not a werewolf. A real one. That gets my attention. I love wolves. Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against werewolves and vampires. But I'm a total sucker for real, live wolves. The other thing that catches my eye is the author's name: Kristen Chandler. Hey! I know her! We were in a workshop together three years ago. I remember her reading a scene from this very book. A very fine scene, as I recall. I grab my copy and head home, where I curl up on the couch and spend some really pleasant hours with the lovely wolves of Yellowstone Park, a thoroughly likable tom-boy main character, and a way hotter love-interest than either Jacob-the-Werewolf or Edward-the-Vampire. Way cuter. And he feels as real as the wolves. I finish, put down the book, and sigh in satisfaction. I know my next blog-giveaway book. What were in those snacks they served in that class?...

Author Bree Despain's paranormal romance The Dark Divine officially launched at a lovely little Salt Lake indie bookstore, "The King's English," on Saturday, January 2, and if you missed the party, I'm sorry, because I went, and I got free purple nail polish to match my book cover. But you'll get a second chance to win not only the nail polish, but a signed copy of Bree's book. I tell you about it in a minute. Because first I have to say, I'm in print! Uh...well...my name is in print. First, go buy a copy of Bree's excellent book, The Dark Divine, which you will like so much better than Twilight , whether you love Twilight or not, then open up the back to the acknowledgments page and there I am. I will explain. I need to begin with a story, of course. Pull up a log. There was once--about three and 1/2 years ago--a writing conference with a writing workshop like no other, with a wonderful, brilliant writing teacher named Martine Leav...

If you're a math person (which I'm OBVIOUSLY not), you may have noticed that the math on that last post didn't quite add up: 7 people x 20 minutes for credit-card processing plus 40 minutes for the girl's fight with the driver, plus time to get lost over and over and get from point A (LAX) to point B (Central City), doesn't exactly = 2 hours. Ok. I admit I exaggerated. For the sake of the story. Or maybe I didn't stretch things all that much. Because I wasn't the seventh passenger, I was the sixth, and I paid in cash (it took no more than 30 seconds, tops) which means it was only 5x20. Which adds up pretty well. Except for getting lost and driving time. And the swearing. That might have sped things up. The driver was pretty mad and driving REALLY fast by then. Then, if the wind speed was 30 mph and the driver was heading into the wind 40% of the time, how long did it take? You'll be tested on this later. But not by me. By my brother, who thinks mat...

For more details on SCBWI in L.A., visit writer Matt Kirby's blog. It's a great sum-up, except I didn't meet as many famous people as he did, and of course I forgot to bring a camera. You'll have to look at his pictures to see any photos of me in L.A. Let's see if this link will work this time: http://matthewkirby.com/kirbside/?p=614 Technology doesn't like me.

I keep getting lucky. Especially in my writing connections. The Fates have been busy weaving up some good threads for me. Maybe it wasn't Luck at all, but it was Something really good, that I ended up in Martine Leavitt's workshop at the BYU Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference. Martine is an amazing writer (if you haven't read her Keturah and Lord Death, or Heck Superhero, do it now), and she's an amazing teacher. Maybe it wasn't Fate that the class itself was pretty amazing, too, full of talented writers, many of whom ended up becoming my critique-group friends. Two of them--Bree Despain and Matt Kirby--have recently landed book deals, and their first novels will be coming out in 2010. Luck? Maybe for me, that I get to work with them. On their end, it seems only Justice that all their talent and really, really hard work should pay off. Regardless, you won't want to miss these: Look for Bree's young adult novel, The Dark Divine, in spring o...