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Hi Tanita -

A huge thank you for hosting Sunbolt's cover reveal here at Finding Wonderland! And I am so glad that you like the cover :) I know we'd talked about developing covers without cover models, and that was especially important in this story where my heroine is actually biracial. I saw what Jenny had done in some of her (just for fun) cover redesigns on her website, and approached her about designing the cover. She was game for it, and I absolutely love what she's developed.

Ah, The Bone Knife. I've had a lot of feedback about how people liked it but it was just too short. Apparently, I should stay away from short stories :D The good news is I've been able to make The Bone Knife permanently free on all platforms, so at least the price won't disappoint!

Thanks again for taking part in the cover reveal. All the best,

Intisar

I do love that cover--really, really nice. And I've just downloaded The Bone Knife, so I'm excited about that, too!

@ Intisar: I LOVE the worldbuilding in The Bone Knife; I don't think it's not a good short, it's just that I want to STAY once I get into your worlds.

@ A.F.: I think you'll want a longer story, too!

@aquafortis - Thank you! I hope you enjoy The Bone Knife. I'd love to hear what you think of it.

@Tania - LOL! I'm glad you enjoyed it that much :) It's been a tough road working on Rae's story, but I'm hoping to come out with Book 1 of that trilogy by the end of the year...

Gorgeous cover. I so look forward to reading this book!

I also downloaded The Bone Knife. And like everyone else I think the cover of Sunbolt is beautiful and the premise very intriguing.

@ Melissa - thanks so much!

@Lin - I hope you enjoy The Bone Knife. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you get a chance :)

That is a lovely cover! It reminds me of the repackaging of the Blood of Eden series. Very emblematic but with depth.

Thanks, Liviania! This was one of the best experiences I've had with cover designing. We thought a lot about the symbols and feel of the story, and I think Jenny did a great job capturing that. I'm so glad the depth came through to you.

Your new cover is beautiful!

Thank you!! :)

Great stuff!!!

I'd say both are true about the rejection letter. First comes the headdesk, later comes the renewed vigor. In between comes the chocolate.

Bravo!

Heh. True! Some rejections require a lot more chocolate than others, though. :)

Wow! This contest sounds awesome! Um, I assume that the novel has to be finished, right? I'm still in the middle of the writing mine.

Do you have 250 words done? If so, you're golden. You don't have to be done; the person I know who did this only had most of a first draft done...

Great! Thanks! I'll try it!

WHAT? Wow! Awesome.

Would you mind if I re-posted these announcements on my blog?

Hey, Sami - repost away! SFF geekery must be shared. ;)

Great info.
BTW - I've given you a One Lovely Blog Award - today on my blog.

Wow, thanks, Megan!

Great post! I added a link to this on my Writers' Well today. :)

Re: what the little green men might do

You have to get into the school before the kids, hide the LGM up high where the kids can *see* them but not *reach* them, and then see if they notice, how many they can find, whatever. The fun is in the finding.

When I was a kid, we played a game called "Huckle Buckle Beanstalk" where you hide something up high like that and then as kids find it, they're supposed to shout "HUCKLE BUCKLE BEANSTALK" and sit down without pointing the object out. The idea is that you don't want to be the last one standing. I always loved that game. I play it in programs at the library sometimes. You can't do it with a big group, though.

Thank you, Adrienne! I bow down to your superior game knowledge. That is easy, fun and AWESOME.

It's only because I work this crazy job where they pay me to do fun stuff. I don't know why anyone does anything else for a living.

Thanks for spreading the good word. I love the image.

I was thinking of doing LoStoWriMo in November (Local Story Writing Month), where I write a tiny short story every day. I made it up. Then again, I may just like saying "Lost-o-Rhyme-o."

I wasn't in the know, but now I am, thanks to you. Love Alice McDermott. Will be brave, will submit.

Cool--thanks, you two, for the leads! Though, again, here we are with the 5,000 word thing....cripes.

Ooh, I really want to read Shelf Discovery. I loved the articles on Jezebel. Miss those. :(

Ooh - that one IS lovely to read aloud. I think it's all those lovely round vowels he's got going (long Os and OWs and whatnot). He sure had a way with words!

Thanks so much for entering!! *smooch*

Ooh, I love this one. The line you mentioned is the best one for beauty, and I love this bit for what he's saying:

If thou wilt leave me, do not leave me last,
When other petty griefs have done their spite
But in the onset come

You know, I commented somewhere yesterday, I think it was Original Content, that these discussions were going to start up another round of blog focus angst. So, this is none too surprising. I think that it's your blog, and you have a lot of other things in your life, and you should write detailed reviews if you want to, but not otherwise. I'll be interested to read your posts about reading and writing in general.

Happy Friday!

I agree wholeheartedly with you and with Jen. Blogs are a labor of love that shouldn't feel like a job or a chore. I love this blog, but will go with it no matter where it goes. Take care of yourself and your own priorities first and foremost, and thanks for a consistent great read here.

I like it when you all reocommend books, because I'm pretty sure I'll like them too, but I am happy to read whatever you feel like writting!

It means a lot to me to know that you're all reading, and to feel your support and good vibes coming my way! Thank you.

I like your in-depth reviews, but the roundups are fun, too. Part of the reason I read the blogs I read is because I like the writing style and the writer's voice. I think most of us are like that.

I totally understand where you're coming from. I experienced something similar last summer and changed the way I do things. No more "reviews" for me, particularly of novels. I'm leaving them for myself to read and enjoy and savor. I might mention that I liked a book or quote an excerpt if I'm really moved, but no more of what I used to: Read a book and turn right around and blog about it (most of 'em).

Now, I show lots of art, focus on picture books, and try to let the book creators speak for themselves (interviews, in-their-own-words types of features). I just don't have time to keep up with the way I used to blog.

I think Adrienne hit the nail on the head. People who love your OWN VOICE, your writing style will come back, no matter what you do. I believe that, too.

Hoping I'm making sense in my head-cold-from-hell haze.

(P.S. I can't even keep up with these discussions about blog reviews anymore. I just do my thing, and if I have one person reading, I'll keep doing it.)

I always feel weird in the blog review discussions (even when the blow up on my blog :) because what I do is not really blog-related. I think the last book I gave an indepth review to at chasingray was "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" and that was because I hated it so much I had to tell somebody! ha!

The one thing I have noticed though is that there are a lot of folks out there who are hard core serious about their blogging. We're talking a new review everyday, interviews every week, all kinds of events and carnivals, etc. They are very very busy on the blogs and I can't do that at mine. I like the "What a Girl Wants" feature I'm doing because really it's just sending the question out and then cutting and pasting the responses but it comes out really good and everyone seems to like it. Those are the kind of things I really enjoy doing - and I also like the round up posts the everyone does. They are a great way to hear about so many things I've missed!

All this is to say that yes, like everyone else I will read your posts regardless just because I like to see what's going on.

I think we all evolve with and toward our blogs. We discover what it is to be fully immersed in the blog world, and then we step back and rediscover ourselves off the blog. It's back and forth. As Jen says, you should do just what you wish to do on your blog. Short reviews are sometimes easier for blog readers—they tell us what we need to know, and give us room to make our own decisions.

This blog has definitely evolved--and because Tanita and I each have our own personal blogs, I think that the content sometimes overlaps and flows back and forth and sometimes it's completely separate...and, despite my best efforts to have this be "the writing blog" and aquafortis be "the personal blog"...well, it hasn't quite worked out that way. :)

I agree, though, with Jules and Colleen--sometimes it's just too hard to keep up. And there are times when my expectations of myself would be better placed elsewhere (like with my revision--argh!!).

I checked to see if you had to be a full time student and didn't see that in the rules so I am totally into this!! I am going to go for it. Thanks for posting this!

GO FOR IT. There really seem to be no limits, so I think everyone who can enter, should, if only so that it's not just the kids who get their say!

I am most excited to learn that Myers made a version of Jabberwocky. WOWZERS. I just had my sixth graders memorize it. Wish I'd known about this!

Thanks for the heads up! We just got that Myers book in our library. Love that poem. I am passing this post on to our teachers.

Sometimes I get an idea and before I can write it down, it's gone. Now I know what's happening! Thank you for revealing the truth about this underreported menace.
;-)

Hee! Thanks! Yup, next time you're stumped just look around for a writer cackling gleefully and fleeing the scene...

Thank you for this cartoon, a.fortis! I've been waiting for it, I'tell ya.

I will put my kids to work right away...Thanks!

I dunno about this -- the hair is way too tidy for MY writing style. Try the 'just-rolled-out-of-something' look, and it's a bit closer...

Frankly, I think a personal assistant would annoy the heck out of me. There would be someone to LOOK at me drinking juice out of the pitcher in the fridge...!

Hey, a personal assistant would be mighty handy to help you answer all of the fan mail!