December brought more than Christmas to my house. Amanda Noble, Special Agentwas released last month. I think I had more fun writing it than I did the first one. It was a blast. A patron of the library where I work bought both books for her girls for Christmas, and less than a week after, they were in the library to see me. The oldest girl, almost 17, had read both books in one day! She was sooo complimentary. In fact, that's putting it mildly. She was bubbly! Asking me all sorts of questions about why I chose to say this or that, and who did I base this character on. I told her she made my day, my week, and my month with her exuberance. 

Now it's on to Amanda Noble, Swamp Thing!

Front and back layout.

Check out the new book's cover. Joe, the snake, and Toby, the tortoise, were great. Oh, and Oliva--she wasn't bad either.

Just kidding. She did an awesome job. Poor thing, I'm beginning to think I could ask her to take a trek through the Amazon and she would do it.

This was a mesmerizing read. It takes place around the French Revolution with a fourteen-year-old gypsey named Yann at the center of the story. Yann is an orphan raised by a dwarf and the magician they work for. At a performance for local royalty the magician is murdered by a man that it is obvious the dwarf knows, and has had dealings with in the past. The murder puts Yann and the dwarf, Tetu, on the run, but not before meeting the young daughter, Sido, of the very aristocrat they have just performed for. From this point on their lives are forever entwined. This romantic historic novel, like its gypsey hero, plays out like a tail being spun by a gypsey--all the way to its climactic ending.

     I noticed this series some time back, when it first came out, but didn't pick it up right away. Now I'm glad I waited because I don't have to wait to move on to the next ones as I go along. This is a wonderful series that both boys and girls should be able to enjoy. The title is somewhat misleading. Although the crux of the story is about a young apprentice named Will, it's the supporting characters that make the whole thing work. I especially like the relationship played out in the first book between Will and his rival, Horace. There is adventure and humor, and I am completely hooked. I've read the first 3 and I'm on to the Battle for Scandia next.

  I read this at the beginning of the summer and was mesmerized by it. It's a creepy good read. This a futuristic "what if" and really gives you something to think about. In this future, at the age of 16, children can be Unwound, that is, they can be pieced out--harvested--for body parts. The three main characters are marked as Unwinds for different reasons. Connor is a trouble maker and his parents want to be rid of him. Risa is an orphan and the orphanage needs her space for the next kid in line, and Lev is scheduled for Unwinding as a part of his religion. These three end up on the run together because, if they can make to the age of 18, they are free to go on living as a whole human being. This is a dark story, and although fictitious it feels strangely real. When one character--a young man who received the brain of an Unwind, begins to have the unconscious thoughts of that Unwind, it is disturbingly real. And by the end of the book, when the reader experiences an Unwind first hand, it gives a picture of a future that we don't want.

  Well, so much for getting back on track with my posts. Hurricane Ike through a kink in things. Personally, we had minimal damage, but many, many friends and family lost a lot. My son's girlfriend's (affectionately known as Apple) family lost two homes, nothing but the slab remains. Our hearts are broken for them. We are all so very thankful to the hundreds of people that have come from all over the United States to get us up and running again. I've seen light trucks from North Carolina, Chicago Illinois, Oklahoma, and even heard there were some from Canada! The state of Texas is grateful and appreciate the sacrifices made on our behalf.

I've had some people ask where I've been. My blog hasn't been updated, my mood hasn't changed on myspace. I would like to say it was because I spent the summer on the beach, but honestly the summer has gone by so fast I hardly recognized it. I've spent the last 3 months finishing, and editing, Amanda Noble, Special Agent, and when I'm in that mode, there just isn't enough brain power left for much else.

However, I did squeeze in some reading, Breaking Dawn, City of Ashes, and more. So I will be adding them to the blog soon.

Maybe soon--since I wrote myself into a cliffhanger with Amanda and need to get started on #3!

I will never look at a snake the same way again, thanks to Clint Pustejovsky, the Snake Man. Clint is the owner of Texas Snakes and More and very graciously let me bring a team of people with me to his home to take the photos for the next book.

Clint lives to educate the public about snakes. He does school visits, birthday parties and other events, teaching safety and how to determine a dangerous snake from a harmless one. His website, http://www.texassnakes.net/index.html has loads of information about them. In fact, while at the park with his kids, my son ran across a snake and snapped a picture of it. He went home to look it up on Clint's site, and discovered it was not poisonous. I realized then how much our visit with the Snake Man had affected us. Our entire outlook on the animal has changed.

So here's a huge thanks Clint, Michelle, and kids, not to mention Joe, the Burmese Python, and Toby the tortoise, for welcoming us into their slithering home. We got some great photos, but more than that, we got an education.

Been one wild week--literally. Spent a day with a wonderful group of people at a library expo is East Texas, and sold every book I had with me. Then my first day at the zoo was Saturday. Already learned some amazing things and had a great time.

But by far, the best part of the week was taking the photos for the next book cover. Olivia--like with the alligator--was a trooper and handled the 8 foot Burmese python like a pro. We got some awesome photos, several that are perfect for the cover. Now we'll just have to choose a particular one. Thinking of having a contest to make the choice....???

Since it's sort of an ongoing joke at work, I decided to do an author photo. The reason it's an ongoing joke is they tease me about doing an author photo--didn't wanta do one--and I like to make fun of a particular author who is literally standing in front of a 10 foot self portrait!! in one of the back covers. So I decided to yuck it up and do a few photos myself. (See below) I swear the entire time we were working with the snake, Joe, it never stopped moving, but when I sat down with it and opened my book he stared at the pages as though reading it!! Honestly, it was bizarre! And the turtle, Toby, was on the move constantly. Definitely could have won a tortoise and hare race!