My proof copies have arrived for book 2 — I have final edits in my future.

So do a few of my most enthusiastic readers.

HENRIETTA AND THE DRAGON STONE, Book 2 of the Five Kingdom Series is real, and coming to a online bookstore near you.

Advertisement: If you’d like to be notified when Book 2 is available, go to my author site here to sign up for the newsletter: http://author.bethbarany.com/contact-me/newsletter-sign-up/. (Psst! I giveaway prizes to my newsletter subscribers only!) Thanks!

PS. Book 1, HENRIETTA THE DRAGON SLAYER is on sale at Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk for $0.99 to celebrate the arrival of Book 2!

Enjoy this guest post by author Leona Wisoker on how kick-ass heroines can be normal.

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I’ll start by saying I’m not a big fan of the term “kick-ass heroine” (or hero, for that matter). The base idea–of a strong, independent female character able to fight her own battles–is fantastically worthy; but sometimes it seems to me that everyone is claiming that they write “kick-ass heroines”–and many of them, in fact, do not. The term feels as though it’s become a touch Barbie-fied at this point in time–commercialized, overused, trite, and turning into a parody of itself.

The term “kick-ass” is inextricably linked, in my mind, to covers showing women in ridiculously skimpy outfits holding oversized weapons and posing in ways that would break most of our spines. (In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the infamous post on this topic by Jim C. Hines: http://www.jimchines.com/2012/01/striking-a-pose/)

Perhaps that’s just the cover art side of the industry, which we all know is distorted. There are certainly many wonderful examples of strong heroines in speculative fiction that are in no way plastic bad grrrl copies; look at Tamora Pierce‘s work, or C.J. Cherryh’s, or Marion Zimmer Bradley. I don’t know that I’m comfortable using the term “kick-ass heroines” for any of those characters, though. I get visions of scenes from Watchmen and Tomb Raider when I’m faced with the term “kick-ass”. When I’m faced with great fantastical fiction, I tend to describe the characters with words like “incredible” and “gutsy” and “resilient” and “innovative”.

Maybe we need to come up with another word that means the same thing. Maybe I’m just being tetchy today. But when I ask my female characters if they think they’re “kick-ass”, they just laugh at me and pat me on the head and say they’re not that melodramatic. Alyea of Peysimun, throughout the Children of the Desert series, grows from an impulsive young woman with more courage than sense into an adult with a real appreciation of the hard choices life forces us into–and that the price is higher with each new responsibility we take on. Eventually, there are no good choices, only variations on less bad choices.

Now, to my way of thinking, any human being who can face an impossible decision–such as giving up your first born child as the price of your own survival–is more kick-ass than a sexy sword-wielding female samurai. Alyea faces that choice in the first book, Secrets of the Sands, not understanding at the time that it’s a rigged game; she’s supposed to die regardless. She survives, and has to live not only with the guilt of her choice but the eventual understanding that she was played. Throughout the series, she is, on multiple occasions, faced with the need to kill to protect her own life, which she does without hesitation or remorse–not because she’s a bad person or a psychopath, but because she believes her life is more important than the lives of the people trying to hurt her.

She’s the type of girl who, if someone broke into her apartment in the middle of the night, would cooly take a gun out of the bedside drawer and shoot the intruder dead–without asking questions, because questions take too long and just get you killed. Now, it’s not the act of killing that makes her tough–it’s the willingness to make a fast decision and commit to it, and to accept the consequences of that decision, right or wrong.

Not all of the women in my novels are tough. Some are moral weaklings. Some are broken in irreparable ways. Some are just flat stupid. In other words, they’re normal human beings put through normal crises–well, maybe not normal situations, or I’d be writing lit-fic, not spec-fic.

They don’t stare at hunky guys or gorgeous gals with burning passion; they don’t leap joyfully into battle; they don’t do what they do because they’re in love. There is absoutely nothing wrong with those things, mind you; I love that sort of book as much as anyone else. But it’s not what I–currently–write. (Who knows what the future holds?)

Whether my female characters deserve the label of “kick-ass” is, ultimately, up to the reader–not to me or, sadly, to my characters. I completely respect and support the original intent of the phrase as meaning “strong and independent”.

One day I may even start using it myself. Just not–quite–today.

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Leona Wisoker is a writer, teacher, reviewer, editor, and blogger. She lives in eastern Virginia with her husband and two large dogs, all of whom routinely try–and usually fail–to drag her away from the computer for long, rambling walks. Details on her writing credits and projects may be found at: http://www.leonawisoker.com and http://www.mercuryretrogradepress.com; her blog is at http://leonawisoker.wordpress.com; and she recently joined Twitter under the handle leonawisoker.

Enjoy this guest post by Author Jaleta Clegg. She explains how to make your characters distinct from one another. Enjoy!

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Which is stronger – vinegar or chili peppers? That depends on how you use them and how you define strong. I use cooking analogies because I know cooking. No, it isn’t going to win a fistfight, but I could cook you under the table, especially if the contest involved baking cookies or using weird vegetables.

It’s the same with my characters. Strength is a relative term. I try to make all my characters distinct, with their own failings and triumphs. If a character is weak in the story, it’s deliberate. Not everyone can be powerful.

My first book, Nexus Point, introduced Dace. She’s short, scrawny, and tougher than old shoe leather. Or so she wants you to believe. She’s had a hard life. She has to fight for everything she wants – mostly to be left alone to fly her starship wherever her curiosity takes her. She armors herself against other people, which makes her appear strong in her isolation. But she’s a lonely person with a lot of baggage.

Book two, Priestess of the Eggstone, introduced Jasyn Pai. She’s drop-dead gorgeous in an exotic way. She’s a qualified, certified navigator. She’s got a thing for shoes and nail polish. She isn’t much of a fighter, but don’t ever, ever, ever make her angry or threaten her brother or her friends. She’ll find a way to make you pay.

Book three, Poisoned Pawn, pits the two of them against multiple enemies.

Each is strong in her own way. In many ways, Jasyn was the hardest for me to write. I’m not a girly person. Tomboy geek fits me much better. But writing from her viewpoint forced me to examine my own prejudices. I gained a lot more respect for the more feminine members of our gender. Jasyn isn’t afraid to get dirty, when necessary. She isn’t the one to charge headlong into battle, but she won’t stop Dace if someone needs shot. And when push comes to shove, Jasyn will do whatever is needed to protect those she loves. She will bend under pressure, but she won’t break. That by itself is an incredible feat of strength.

Jasyn lets her emotions show. Dace doesn’t. We tend to equate stoicism and lack of emotion with strength, but if you bottle up your feelings, does it make you stronger or does it make you more easily broken?

Strength is in your definition. Whether solid as a rock or resilient as a tree, both are strong women. They do what needs to be done. They stand up for what they believe is right and good. They protect those they love. And then they bake cookies.

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Jaleta Clegg wants to be Han Solo when she grows up. Or Ursula the Sea-Witch. In the meantime, she writes science fiction adventures and silly horror stories. Her day job involves starship simulators, and inflatable planetarium, and lots of school children. She lives with a horde of her own children, the requisite writer’s cat (named Chunkalicious Rex), two dogs, three zombie frogs, and a very patient husband. Find links to her work at http://www.jaletac.com or http://www.altairanempire.com

Enjoy Devon Ellington’s post on writing kick ass heroines.

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“Kicking ass” goes beyond physical combat.  “Kicking ass” means standing up for what you believe in, stepping in when you see or hear someone deliberately causing harm.  You don’t back down.  You don’t look away, do nothing, or hide behind “company policy”.

Jain Lazarus, the heroine of my Jain Lazarus Adventures, is a flawed, impatient, smart, talented woman who is incapable of doing nothing when something “wrong” happens — be it in the physical or metaphysical plane.  That leads her into a career of righting wrongs, even though there are missteps on the way.  Not every choice she makes is correct.  Not every solution gets the result she wants and needs.  But she doesn’t simply let things happen; she makes things happen.

To me, someone who stands by and does nothing when a crime is committed as dangerous as the person committing the crime.  The criminal takes action; the by-stander encourages the crime via a lack of action.  The Kitty Genovese Case is an example. In 1964, Kitty Genovese was murdered in New York.  Fourteen people overheard the murder and not one of them so much as called the police.  Each of those fourteen people should have been prosecuted as an accomplice to murder.  They are as much to blame as the person who repeatedly stabbed her.

Jain would have gone after them.

In a more recent case, banks hired individuals at $10 an hour to forge thousands of signatures so those banks could illegally foreclose on property. Take away people’s homes, throw them into the streets.  Yet, the banks are allowed to settle, instead of facing the consequences.  The individuals  and bank executives who performed the forgeries should be prosecuted, if not worse.

Jain would go after them.

A kick-ass heroine doesn’t just go after legal justice, but also karmic justice.  We can try to comfort ourselves that each of these individuals who cause harm will have to pay a karmic price at some point in their lives, and none of us will know what that is.  But in our books, our kick-ass heroines can bring those types of criminals to justice, along with the ones who pull the trigger or throw the punch.  It happens while we are with the characters on the page, giving us catharsis, not in some distant future we can’t predict and won’t find out about.

That is deeply satisfying, especially in these days where special interests buy themselves legislation crafted to keep said special interests in huge profits while everyone else struggles.

Kick-ass heroines evolved from a need for women to have female characters to identify with who took action against those causing harm, and taking an action that has genuine, long-term consequences.  Kick-ass heroines take action in spite of their own hurts (physical and emotional), and, most importantly, they get results.  They get justice.

Jain Lazarus is a kindred spirit to a character in an upcoming trilogy, Valerie Jones.  Valerie is not human; she is a preternatural creature who was created to dole out justice according to the Justice of Ancient Greece.  Valerie makes a lot of people uncomfortable — many think she goes too far, and her decisions are too black-and-white.

That’s the point.

With Jain, I’m writing from a point of view of a human woman who sees the variations on morality, understands them, and makes the best choices she can in the moment.  Jain is both active and re-active.  She does not enjoy violence, but when she is pushed into a situation where there isn’t another choice, she will use it.  In fact, there’s a running joke in the series about her different weapons and carry permits.  She prefers knives to guns (guns being too impersonal and the easy choice), other than one she modified to take down rampaging paranormal creatures or blast them into other dimensions.  Valerie was created to be the effect of a criminal cause.  She is much more ruthless and much more intentionally violent.

Living inside these women’s skins changes me for the better.  I question the choices more closely, and it makes me take stronger actions in my own life, albeit without the violence.  Jain is more than I am, which is why she makes a good protagonist.  She also makes me realize where I can be more than I am and strive for it.

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Devon Ellington publishes under multiple names in fiction and non-fiction.  Her work appears in anthologies, and her plays are produced around the world.  Blog: Ink in My Coffee (http://www.devonellington.wordpress.com); Website: www.devonellingtonwork.com.

Found out more about Devon Ellington here:

Hex Breaker, The First Jain Lazarus Adventure

Amazon Kindle:http://www.amazon.com/Hex-Breaker-ebook/dp/B00872VCSW/

Print:http://www.amazon.com/Hex-Breaker-Devon-Ellington/dp/1482057298/

OLD-FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK, The Second Jain Lazarus Adventure

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Fashioned-Detective-Work-ebook/dp/B00BQKZUOY/

Enjoy this guest post by writer and science fiction author, Emma Larkins on how flaws reveal a heroine’s strength.

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As writers, we often fall prey to a desire to make things larger than life. It’s a good impulse – after all, what is fiction if not more-or-less exaggerated truth? Still, while we quest to discover greatness, it’s important to remember that “better” heroines aren’t always better.

Here’s an exploration of a character trope to help explain why.

Chances are good that you’ve come across mention of “Mary Sue” at some point, especially if you tend to dip into the world of fan-fiction. If not, here’s a basic overview: Mary Sue was a character in a 1970s fan-fiction spoof. Her characterization made fun of the current practice of inserting a flawless, impossibly young and wonderful-in-every way heroine into Star Trek fan fics; the practice was widely viewed as a way for people to insert perfected versions of themselves into the fictional universe.

(Check out TV Tropes http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue for more information, in addition to great resources for disambiguating the many faces of Sue).

But Wait; Isn’t My Heroine Supposed To Be the Best?

Some might think that the fewer faults a heroine has, the stronger she appears. Obviously, a laser-gun-toting, roundhouse-kick-delivering, gorgeous, six-foot-tall Amazon fluent in every alien language ever discovered (and a few that aren’t even known yet) is the pinnacle of kick-ass, right?

The things is, strength isn’t measured objectively based on the number of ways a character can kill the bad guys, the suitors who swoon at her feet, or the rivals she reduces to fits of jealousy. Instead, we perceive strength when we see that a heroine – or a person, for that matter – manages to overcome hardships through effort and determination. Giving a character flaws humanizes her. It lets us access the core of her soul in a truly understanding and empathetic way.

Are Goddess-Like Heroines Really a Big Deal?

Overpowered heroines aren’t just a problem to the stories that revolve around them. In fact, they’re almost as detrimental to the characterization of women in fiction as the omnipresent “damsel in distress.” When we indulge in either of these one-dimensional tropes, we’re not creating role models (or cautionary tales). Instead, we’re trivializing what it means for a person to really succeed or fail, to truly tap into inner strength or unwittingly give that strength away.  We’re “taking it easy,” and giving up true meaning in return.

How to Make Your Heroines Human

In my upcoming novel, Mechalarum, Kiellen has more than enough flaws to make her believable. She has a history of bucking authority, and frequently refuses to follow rules, or even the better judgment of her friends. Many heroines display this trait, but what makes it a flaw in my story is that Kiellen suffers consequences because of this attribute. My fictional universe doesn’t let her get away with flouting tradition unscathed. First, she gets kicked out of the famed ranks of the Mechalarum pilots. Then, her actions put her entire society at risk – and she pays the price for it, ending up in a crippled flying suit alone in the middle of a desert.

Another flaw that writers often tap into is relationship inexperience.  In Kiellen’s case, her obsession with taking control of situations, combined with a well-hidden fear of rejection, leads to a series of betrayals and bungled romances.

And, most importantly of all, she puts her very life at risk by clinging to the power and control that the half-organic, half-machine Mechalarum suit gives to her – even as it corrupts her body from the outside in. She gets sick. She grows weak. And she refuses to see the error of her ways.

Every heroine needs to display capability and competency in some way. After all, if she’s completely inept, she’s not going to be able to do much to fix whatever mess she’s gotten herself into. Still, it’s the overcoming of obstacles, not the actual strengths themselves, that make for a memorable heroine and a rich story.

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Bio

Emma Larkins, a freelance writer, recently embraced the bright lights of NYC. She’s running a Kickstarter to publish her first science fiction novel, Mechalarum http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emmalarkins/mechalarum-a-science-fiction-novel, and using her learning to help Knodes (http://knod.es/) develop products in the crowdfunding space. Check out her website http://www.emmalarkins.com/ or follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/emmalarkins

Coming out of my winter hibernation, here in Northern California, and here to report on some news!

1. Tomorrow, Thursday, January 24th, I’ll be a guest on The Authors Corner: YA NITE. This show is part of the Authors Corner with Elaine Raco Chase. Callers welcome!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/trianglevariety

Time: 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

2. Last week, I was the Skype guest of a school book club in Marengo, Iowa. They’d read Henrietta The Dragon Slayer and asked me questions about it and about writing in general. Thanks to Michelle, and her son, Alex, for spearheading this. And to Patty for facilitating the interview via Skype. Ah, the wonders of technology!

3. I’m completing up final edits on book 2, Henrietta and The Dragon Stone, due out in a few months. I’ll reveal a cover soon, too! Yeah!

Please join my Fiction Author email list –

I periodically send newsletters with updates on my upcoming books, good news and contests!

*Special: Sign up by Jan.31st, 2013 to be eligible to win a $25 Amazon.com Gift Certificate!

Details: I’ll pick the winner from all the eligible entries*who sign up for my newsletter by Jan. 31st 12midnight PST.

I’ll announce the winner in the early February newsletter, when I also announce some other special news!

Go here to sign up! Thanks and Good luck!

For our regular guest post on a kick ass heroines, please welcome Shannon McRoberts. She’s a fantasy and science fiction author, and an artist, illustrating her own covers. Please note that her first book in her series, Athine Verses: The Beginning is free through the 4th of January. As an added bonus, Shannon will give away to one of our readers a 5×7 print of some of her art. All you need to do to enter is comment below on your favorite kick ass heroine. Be sure to leave your email so we can contact you and Shannon can mail you your prize, if you win. We’ll pick a winner Monday, Jan. 7th, 9am PST.

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I have always found myself attracted to the kick ass women in books and TV.  When I was about 5 or 6 Conan was popular.  It was out on VHS and I remember watching it and liking it (although my mother had a fit because it was rated R).  However, Red Sonja was my favorite.  I could give a crap less about Conan after that and wanted to see the female leads on the screen all of the time.  This is why I probably enjoyed Xena, Buffy, La Femme Nikita…do you see a pattern here?  I’m also a gamer, but I have to be able to play a girl character…preferably a fantasy styled female character.  It’s just who I am.  To think I almost didn’t want to watch Star Wars because there was no girl LOL!

I think this is why all of my books feature strong, kick ass, smart, stealthy, ladies—I have this inherent desire to see a strong female lead that is both feminine and kick ass.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy stories with helpless damsels in distress from time to time.  Yet, I would rather watch the damsel pick up a sword/gun/pipe wrench and knock the crap out of their captor!

One of the questions I have been asked was to name some challenges writing a strong female lead.  I think for me it isn’t a challenge because I am a strong female like my characters.  I just put my own personality into my characters.  Take Athine for instance–she is always trying to prove herself to her doubting men that seem to think women cannot be strong leaders. I myself have fought this stereotype my entire life and have often come out on top of the pack.

I also like to combat the stereotype that strong women can only be physically or emotionally ugly or they have to be a homosexual to be “strong” or you have to be “ugly” to be smart.  I see that theme over and over in books/movies/TV.  I know I took great offense to the fact that everyone said Xena and Gabrielle were lovers just because they were two females that kicked ass and traveled together.  I don’t remember anyone saying that about Hercules and Eolis. This is just wrong.  You can be strong, beautiful, smart, and sexy no matter what you look like or who you choose to love.  You can be kick ass and a wife/mother/companion.  You can be beautiful and deadly.  You just can’t let society tell you that it is wrong.  Maybe this is why I liked the Kill Bill movies so much?

I started writing my own series and creating my own fantasy art surrounding the series because I saw a real lack of strong female entertainment after Xena and Buffy ended.  I needed something to love again; so, Athine was born.  Originally she was only supposed to be a single story, but as of this date she has spiraled into four stories and has now connected with another kick ass heroine Zarra from my The Secret of Genetic Corp X.  In Worlds Collide the fantasy like world of Athine crashes into the sci-fi like world of Zarra.  The story will then continue in my current work in progress Cursed Bloods.  I take what you think you know about mythology and mix it up.  I also take your normal character set up for fantasy–some heroic muscular bound male–and throw him on the sidelines.  In my books there is a lot of role switching if you want to think of it that way.  The men are not weak, but they play second fiddle to most of the ladies!

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Shannon McRoberts currently resides in Kentucky and is a full time working mother and wife.  She loves playing MMORPGs like Guild Wars 2 and has now become addicted to Skylanders Giants.  Of course she only plays with Hex, a strong female necromancer, and is anxiously awaiting the Ninjini giant to be released..yes she is a female too!

Shannon’s books are here: http://www.amazon.com/Shannon-McRoberts/e/B0060ZFD60.

You can connect with Shannon at her sites here: http://www.shannonmcroberts.com and here: daughterofares.com.

Many readers ask me what inspires me and where do I get my ideas. Well, I’m inspired by what movies and TV shows out there that feature strong women and girls, especially in fantasy and science fiction. Where I get my ideas, well, I get there from all around, and mostly from my desires and dreams. More on that in a future post.

Strong Girls in Fantasy

Just tonight I enjoyed watching Lucy and Susan Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Susan wields the bow and arrow with focus and precision, and Lucy has a dagger and her magic healing potion and courage.

Strong Women in Science Fiction

I just discovered the show Continuum on the SyFy channel.

“A detective from the year 2077 finds herself trapped in present day Vancouver and searching for ruthless criminals from the future.”

Since I haven’t watched it yet, all I can say is that I’m intrigued. I love time travel and smart, savvy women.

SyFy [UK] Already broadcasting Season 1

SyFy [US] Premiering Season 1 Jan. 14th, 2013

Today we have a special guest post from YA fantasy author, Wendy D. Walter, on three tips for writing fantasy. Enjoy! And read to the end for details on how to enter her special giveaway for fun and prizes and a free copy of her book!

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Tip #1: Keep it real…sort of

There has to be a balance, a connection to reality, for fantasy to work.

Don’t get me wrong, Ambril’s Tale is full of fanciful beings, but each and every one has a purpose, each one has a part to play in the story.

If I really let myself put in all the fantastic creatures that I dream up, it would make everyone nauseous. Sort of like a conversation with one of those old ladies on the bus who are still in their bathrobes and want you to sing showtunes with them. Overblown fantasy gives everyone indigestion. So, my friends, no gratuitous magic!

On the opposite end of the fantasy spectrum, there are some who masquerade as fantasy writers. They throw in a little fantasy, at the last minute, to dress up their murder mysteries, thrillers and romances with ill-fitting fairy wings and vampire fangs. But we can tell, can’t we?

Fantasy lovers can tell the difference between hastily applied zombies and a real, live dystopia. So write in just enough fantasy, no more.

Tip #2: It’s OK to be weird

The reason that I write fantasy has more to do with the fact that I studied architecture than anything else. Weird, right? Architecture is very finite and structured while fantasy is downright fanciful. But when you actually do both of them, you realize that the brain processes used in both arenas are one and the same. Because both designing a kitchen, and building a fantasy world requires intense, three dimensional creativity.

I happen to call it frolicking, because that’s what it feels like.

If you’re like me, let me put an end to your suffering. Your brain isn’t flawed, it’s just different.

Building fantastic worlds for other people to frolic in is not something to be ashamed of. So, yes! Be proud to say that you have mega-wattage day dreams that translate into twisty, imaginative stories.

Writing fantasy truly makes me happy, I hope it does you as well. So go ahead and let all those folks in suits judge you, just before they look at their watches and race off to hit another deadline.

We’ll just smile and wave, and then go back to frolicking.
Tip #3: When you’re characters tell you your breath stinks, it’s a good thing

One more thing, and this applies to writers of all genres.

Something occurred mid-way through writing Ambril’s Tale, Return of the Dullaith.

Something that changed everything for me.

I woke up one day and discovered that my characters had come alive. fLit was sneezing; he had a cold. I had to tell Ygg to change his shirt; it was torn. And Hendoeth told me to brush my teeth because my breath smelled icky.

And that was just the beginning. Every day since then, my characters have grown and changed. They tell me about their lives when I sit down to write. Sometimes they even dictate scenes to me! Of course we have arguments…they generally win.

You may think that all this must be very annoying. But, in fact, it’s wonderful fun.

I’m always very patient with them because, when my characters came alive, they gave me one of the greatest gifts that I have ever received. The certain knowledge that I would finish Ambril’s Tale.

And that after that, I’d write another world, and then another. For it was at that moment, I knew that I had become a writer.

Send me an email about the day you woke to find one of your characters sitting on your dresser and picking his teeth. We’ll celebrate together.

***

About Ambril’s Tale, The Return of the Dullaith
Fourteen-year-old, Ambril struggles with the mystery surrounding her father’s death when she moves back to the mysterious town where she was born. When she accidentally uncovers a secret which threatens to destroy her entire family, she continues her quest, against all odds, to clear her father’s name. But will she be able to claim her magic and and heal the rifts in her family?

Ambril’s Tale, The Return of the Dullaith has received great 4-5-star reviews. Readers are impatiently demanding Book Two, which will be out early Spring 2013.

Giveaway Info
At each blog stop on her tour, Wendy is giving away a prize, a copy of one of her books (paperback or e-book). Comment below to enter!

Also you can enter her End-of-Tour Grand Prize Giveaway of a hand-painted gnome, hand-painted by Wendy herself!

There will also be some surprise giveaways along the way! Stay tuned!

1) To win a book: leave a comment on this blog post about where your favorite house is located to be entered to win a copy of Ambril’s Tale: The Return of the Dullaith in paperback or e-book format.

Be sure to leave your email address in the comments so we can contact you if you’re the lucky winner. This giveaway ends five days after the post goes live.

2) To win one of the Grand Prizes: Click the link to go to Wendy’s website here: http://wendydwalter.com/blog-tour/ and enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the page, or use the Rafflecopter link below. Here’s Wendy’s site: .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About The Author: Wendy D. Walter
Writing was an early passion for Wendy. As a kid, she wrote lots of stories, but being shy, they usually ended up under the mattress. When she finally set out to tell Ambril’s Tale, she decided not to write a story but a world, full with her own marvelous illustrations. She considers The Return of the Dullaith as just the curly tip of the fairy boot. Wendy lives near San Francisco with her husband, daughters, cat and border collie. More information about Wendy’s book and art, check her site: http://wendydwalter.com.