Today my fantasy author, Sandy Lender, invited Jamieson Wolf's Anna to the blog. It gave me an opportunity to meet this lovely young lady and learn more about her as a character, and about the novella Valentine by Paranormal Romance Author Jamieson Wolf. Here's the result:
Nigel Taiman: Good morning and welcome to the blog. Today I get to interview the lovely Anna from Jamieson Wolf's latest novella Valentine. Anna joins us with Mr. Wolf's permission. Welcome, Anna.
Anna: It is very nice to be here, Nigel. Thank you very much for having me.
Nigel Taiman: First, could you tell our visitors your profession?
Anna: I am a Priestess and I perform rights for the God Lespercus.
Nigel Taiman: For my edification, as I'm sure our visitors already know this, what does a priestess do?
Anna: Well, a Priest and Priestess will perform rights and rituals for their Gods. Valentine and I worship the God Lespercus; it is he who gives us our power. We use our magic to conduct hand fastings, oversee births and provide healing for the people.
Nigel Taiman: It sounds dangerous to me. Doesn't the emperor of your society frown upon just about everything you and your priest, Valentine, do? Does the emperor actually disagree with your very religion?
Anna: Well, essentially, yes. We follow a Pagan path while the Emperor Claudius worships Christ. He has put a decree out across the land forbidding us to marry couples; he wishes everyone to convert to his chosen religion. It is a sad time for Rome.
Nigel Taiman: Why, then, do you risk your lives?
Anna: Because we have to. Lespercus gave us our power to use and how can we not? He gave us our magic to better the lives of his people and that is what we do. Though we face death, exile or torture, we have to follow our hearts and do what is right.
Nigel Taiman: That's got to be one of the bravest things I've heard in a long time. Now, changing subjects just a bit, it seems that you're quite devoted to this priest, Valentine, and, from what bits I got to read of the novella, you're also enamoured with him. Is that tru…are you blushing, my dear? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you blush. Is it true that you've admired him for some time?
Anna: Oh, yes. Yes, I have always loved him. When I looked into his eyes, it was the first time I knew what love was or what it could be. But Valentine was always meant for someone else, not for me. That is the way it has always been.
Nigel Taiman: I see. So his love interests lie in other fields. And you admire him yet? For his ideals?
Anna: Yes, I admire him. Though he loves me like a sister and not a lover, he is one of the most wonderful caring men I have ever met. He sacrifices himself for his people so that they can have the life they so richly deserve. Have you ever heard of anything more admirable?
Nigel Taiman: I must say, you remind me of a certain bride I wish to marry. She's opinionated and loyal like you. Well, Anna, do you have any aspirations of taking on adventures of your own? You've helped the priest Valentine in this story; will you convince your author to put you in a story of your own? Do you have any ideas for a story of your own?
Anna: Well, I know he’s thinking of it. He’s going to start a sequel to Valentine soon called Valentine’s Promise. I know that I’m going to be in that book. But I would love a book of my own; could you imagine the wonder of it? I think that story will be called Anna’s Wish.
Nigel Taiman: Well, with these authors, you just have to plant the idea when they're groggy. I find that waking them slightly around 3:30 in the morning is the best tactic. Just plant the seed of an idea at first.
Anna: Exactly. It will happen if I’m patient enough. I wonder where my story will take me though? Only time will tell.
Nigel Taiman: It's certainly been a pleasure conspiring with you today. And I wish you all the best. Do you know how folks can get their hands on the novella Valentine? It's all right if you don't; Sandy can pop in here and post it for us. But if you know it, just spell it out here and we'll have the link for everyone.
Anna: Oh, I do know where they can find a copy of it. It’s from somewhere called Cobblestone Press, it’s a…what do they call it? A web site? What a new fangled thing, I don’t understand it. But Jamieson says that readers can read an excerpt and purchase a copy of Valentine here:
http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/valentinejw.htm
Nigel Taiman: Thank you, dear. Now, I'll let you get back to suggesting ideas to Mr. Wolf.
Anna: You’re quite welcome, Nigel. It’s been so much fun talking to you, I feel like a celebrity! Enjoy the book everyone!
Tags: Valentine, Jamieson Wolf, novella, Anna
Showing posts with label Valentine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Valentine. Show all posts
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
She Picked a Valentine's Day Winner
My fantasy author, Sandy Lender, put the names in the Duran Duran tour cap and the lucky winner is Ann Thayer-Cohen! Congratulations to Ann on winning the Win a Fantasy for Valentine's Day!
Ann is a visitor at Author Island who made comments on my guest posts at Sandy's main blog, http://www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/. She gets an autographed, first-edition, hard-cover copy of the epic fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods (and one of the cloth bookbags Sandy had made to help market the book and keep people from using plastic bags...you know what a good little treehugger she is... )
There are more contests to come, and Sandy will be announcing those with Author Island at http://www.authorisland.com/ and http://www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/ over the next few days. Choices Meant for Gods will also be the featured Book of the Day at the Island with a special free prize on the big day in the near future, so stay tuned to learn when to log in to win.
Sandy has informed me that if you don't like your odds of winning the hard-cover edition of the fantasy novel, you can check out her publisher's Web site at http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm to get the eBook version for $3.99. I think that's a grand idea to get you introduced to my lovely bride, Amanda Chariss.
So! Congratulations to Ann, thank you to everyone who gave me such good wishes during the contest (I've passed all of your lovely comments along to Sandy, you know, so I truly thank you for the ones that supported the romance between Amanda and me), and best of luck to those who enter the upcoming contests through Author Island.
All my best,
Nigel
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy author, Sandy Lender, fantasy novel, Valentine's day, contest, Author Island, Today the Dragon Wins, Ann Thayer-Cohen, Duran Duran
Ann is a visitor at Author Island who made comments on my guest posts at Sandy's main blog, http://www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/. She gets an autographed, first-edition, hard-cover copy of the epic fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods (and one of the cloth bookbags Sandy had made to help market the book and keep people from using plastic bags...you know what a good little treehugger she is... )
There are more contests to come, and Sandy will be announcing those with Author Island at http://www.authorisland.com/ and http://www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/ over the next few days. Choices Meant for Gods will also be the featured Book of the Day at the Island with a special free prize on the big day in the near future, so stay tuned to learn when to log in to win.
Sandy has informed me that if you don't like your odds of winning the hard-cover edition of the fantasy novel, you can check out her publisher's Web site at http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm to get the eBook version for $3.99. I think that's a grand idea to get you introduced to my lovely bride, Amanda Chariss.
So! Congratulations to Ann, thank you to everyone who gave me such good wishes during the contest (I've passed all of your lovely comments along to Sandy, you know, so I truly thank you for the ones that supported the romance between Amanda and me), and best of luck to those who enter the upcoming contests through Author Island.
All my best,
Nigel
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy author, Sandy Lender, fantasy novel, Valentine's day, contest, Author Island, Today the Dragon Wins, Ann Thayer-Cohen, Duran Duran
She's Having a You-Will-Not-Believe-This Moment
My fantasy author, Sandy Lender, was offended that some chick felt the need to preach at single people about the Valentine's Day holiday. It appears that people in this society feel obligated to intrude upon other's lives and offer advice, even when it's ridiculous, generalized and impersonal – not unlike a horoscope.
But the concept of preaching about what to do with yourself while other couples go spend copious amounts of money on fattening food and dying flowers wasn't as irritating as the insidious (and short) list the person posted. It was a mere four items of vague stuff that a 7-year-old could have come up with. Well, the 7-year-old might not have come up with all the champagne and wine, which seemed to be the focus of the list…
Anyway, someone in one of the groups that she belongs to online posted (without provocation, as far as she can tell) a list of "things to do alone on Valentine's Day". We'll just explore the final point from the list to keep you from upchucking on your computer keyboard (and to keep us from plagiarizing).
The fourth point was, essentially, this:
Sit down with a glass of wine and write a list of your goals and dreams, envisioning your life as you want it to be until you discover your wonderful, loving partner. (Nigel's Note: Sandy says that because the best way to set goals for yourself is while in an alcoholic stupor this is obviously the best advice from the column.)
Sandy suggests there should have been a fifth tip involving self-love, but I don't understand why it involved buying stock in Duracell or Energizer. I don't know what those things are, or why they're important. Or why she's laughing about it while I type.
Now, Sandy is one of the most cynical women I know, but when she saw this yesterday, she just about came unglued by its idiocy. It's not just laughable, she said. It's stupid. She thinks it was just some chick's attempt at getting the word Valentine out on the blogosphere to up her status on the search engines or something ridiculous like that. If she had time to sit around drinking wine and reading romance novels (other ideas on the list), she'd do it on a day when she didn't have to then go out to dinner with single friends (also on the list). Her single friends are as cynical as she is, by the way. They whisper things like "Run!" and "Oh, you'll be sorry," to movie screens when the man is proposing to the woman.
What I find intriguing about this is Sandy has a date for Valentine's Day, so I'm not sure why she's still so cynical…other than the whole "men just suck" attitude she's adopted for life. I find it endearing in an odd sort of way. I prefer her uninterested in the opposite sex because it gives more time to my writing demands. And I can be fairly demanding. I think the lady who wrote the "what to do alone on Valentine's Day" list should have a demanding muse visit her and keep her from doing any more vague services for society.
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you...
Tags: Valentine's Day, fantasy author, Sandy Lender
But the concept of preaching about what to do with yourself while other couples go spend copious amounts of money on fattening food and dying flowers wasn't as irritating as the insidious (and short) list the person posted. It was a mere four items of vague stuff that a 7-year-old could have come up with. Well, the 7-year-old might not have come up with all the champagne and wine, which seemed to be the focus of the list…
Anyway, someone in one of the groups that she belongs to online posted (without provocation, as far as she can tell) a list of "things to do alone on Valentine's Day". We'll just explore the final point from the list to keep you from upchucking on your computer keyboard (and to keep us from plagiarizing).
The fourth point was, essentially, this:
Sit down with a glass of wine and write a list of your goals and dreams, envisioning your life as you want it to be until you discover your wonderful, loving partner. (Nigel's Note: Sandy says that because the best way to set goals for yourself is while in an alcoholic stupor this is obviously the best advice from the column.)
Sandy suggests there should have been a fifth tip involving self-love, but I don't understand why it involved buying stock in Duracell or Energizer. I don't know what those things are, or why they're important. Or why she's laughing about it while I type.
Now, Sandy is one of the most cynical women I know, but when she saw this yesterday, she just about came unglued by its idiocy. It's not just laughable, she said. It's stupid. She thinks it was just some chick's attempt at getting the word Valentine out on the blogosphere to up her status on the search engines or something ridiculous like that. If she had time to sit around drinking wine and reading romance novels (other ideas on the list), she'd do it on a day when she didn't have to then go out to dinner with single friends (also on the list). Her single friends are as cynical as she is, by the way. They whisper things like "Run!" and "Oh, you'll be sorry," to movie screens when the man is proposing to the woman.
What I find intriguing about this is Sandy has a date for Valentine's Day, so I'm not sure why she's still so cynical…other than the whole "men just suck" attitude she's adopted for life. I find it endearing in an odd sort of way. I prefer her uninterested in the opposite sex because it gives more time to my writing demands. And I can be fairly demanding. I think the lady who wrote the "what to do alone on Valentine's Day" list should have a demanding muse visit her and keep her from doing any more vague services for society.
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you...
Tags: Valentine's Day, fantasy author, Sandy Lender
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
She Explained the Concept of Valentine's Day
My fantasy author, Sandy Lender, did her best to maintain a non-cynical tone to describe Valentine's Day to me. And I'm stunned that I didn't know about this holiday before.
Yes, it sounds like one of those trumped-up days that the card-providers came up with to force men who would otherwise never think of doing something romantic or dear for the people they love in their lives to get off their collective behinds and spend money on trinkets that probably get thrown away within a week of their last-minute 'oh-my-goodness-I-forgot-that-today-is-Valentine's-Day' purchase, but, still, it's an interesting holiday. I'm using it as an excuse to do something romantic and dear for Amanda Chariss (the heroine in the fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods, in case you haven't been following along at home) because I get a great deal of enjoyment out of seeing her purse up her lips and give me one of those "you're being silly" looks whenever I do something romantic. It's quite endearing. Amanda's far too practical for words. I'm healing her of that.
Sandy, on the other hand, is a lost cause. After being married to an idiot for 14 years, I think she'll never send another "real" Valentine's Day card in her lifetime. But she has some fantastic ones that she sends to her girlfriends and boyfriends back home that are terribly funny. I can't believe the card-providers make these things up if Valentine's Day is supposed to be about love and romance and beautiful sunsets and hearts and candy and... (wait...she's doing something odd...what are you doing? You're going to gag if you keep sticking your finger down your throat like that...)
Great. It appears I'm making her sick just like I do... (what? which scenes?) I don't think I'm allowed to give away scenes out of the second book in the Choices Meant for Gods trilogy. But I could probably let you all know that it's going to the publisher, ArcheBooks, which makes me very very happy. She's done a good job of listening to me and taking my advice. I'm quite proud. I think I'll get her one of these Valentine's Day cards.
In honor of Valentine's Day, you know she's holding a "Win a Fantasy for Valentine's Day" contest over at http://www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/. The contest is being run in conjunction with http://www.authorisland.com/, which is run by the lovely DeNita Tuttle, who is a marketing genius. To enter the contest, which ends tonight at midnight, you have to find one of my guest posts at The Dragon and leave me a comment there (preferably one that encourages the idea that Amanda Chariss and I belong together forever, of course, because Sandy will be reading the comments). Sandy will draw a name tomorrow for the winner of a first-edition, hard-cover, personalized copy of the fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods, where you'll be introduced to my amazing Amanda.
Also in honor of Valentine's Day, Sandy has interviewed our good friend Jamieson Wolf about his debut romance novella Valentine. It turns out this story is available from Cobblestone Press as an eBook for only $3.99. I think that's the perfect way to build an audience, and told Sandy so. The smart little lady reminded me that Choices Meant for Gods is also available as an eBook on her publisher's site at http://www.archebooks.com/ for $3.99. So you can actually get a copy of a 400+ page fantasy novel for under $5 if you just download it from the publisher's site. I was stunned (again) today. So if you don't mind reading something on the computer, you can learn of my bride and her story that way for a lot less than what Amazon wants to charge you.
All my best to you all,
Nigel
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy author, Sandy Lender, Jamieson Wolf, Valentine, Cobblestone Press, ArcheBooks Publishing, author island, today the dragon wins
Yes, it sounds like one of those trumped-up days that the card-providers came up with to force men who would otherwise never think of doing something romantic or dear for the people they love in their lives to get off their collective behinds and spend money on trinkets that probably get thrown away within a week of their last-minute 'oh-my-goodness-I-forgot-that-today-is-Valentine's-Day' purchase, but, still, it's an interesting holiday. I'm using it as an excuse to do something romantic and dear for Amanda Chariss (the heroine in the fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods, in case you haven't been following along at home) because I get a great deal of enjoyment out of seeing her purse up her lips and give me one of those "you're being silly" looks whenever I do something romantic. It's quite endearing. Amanda's far too practical for words. I'm healing her of that.
Sandy, on the other hand, is a lost cause. After being married to an idiot for 14 years, I think she'll never send another "real" Valentine's Day card in her lifetime. But she has some fantastic ones that she sends to her girlfriends and boyfriends back home that are terribly funny. I can't believe the card-providers make these things up if Valentine's Day is supposed to be about love and romance and beautiful sunsets and hearts and candy and... (wait...she's doing something odd...what are you doing? You're going to gag if you keep sticking your finger down your throat like that...)
Great. It appears I'm making her sick just like I do... (what? which scenes?) I don't think I'm allowed to give away scenes out of the second book in the Choices Meant for Gods trilogy. But I could probably let you all know that it's going to the publisher, ArcheBooks, which makes me very very happy. She's done a good job of listening to me and taking my advice. I'm quite proud. I think I'll get her one of these Valentine's Day cards.
In honor of Valentine's Day, you know she's holding a "Win a Fantasy for Valentine's Day" contest over at http://www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/. The contest is being run in conjunction with http://www.authorisland.com/, which is run by the lovely DeNita Tuttle, who is a marketing genius. To enter the contest, which ends tonight at midnight, you have to find one of my guest posts at The Dragon and leave me a comment there (preferably one that encourages the idea that Amanda Chariss and I belong together forever, of course, because Sandy will be reading the comments). Sandy will draw a name tomorrow for the winner of a first-edition, hard-cover, personalized copy of the fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods, where you'll be introduced to my amazing Amanda.
Also in honor of Valentine's Day, Sandy has interviewed our good friend Jamieson Wolf about his debut romance novella Valentine. It turns out this story is available from Cobblestone Press as an eBook for only $3.99. I think that's the perfect way to build an audience, and told Sandy so. The smart little lady reminded me that Choices Meant for Gods is also available as an eBook on her publisher's site at http://www.archebooks.com/ for $3.99. So you can actually get a copy of a 400+ page fantasy novel for under $5 if you just download it from the publisher's site. I was stunned (again) today. So if you don't mind reading something on the computer, you can learn of my bride and her story that way for a lot less than what Amazon wants to charge you.
All my best to you all,
Nigel
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy author, Sandy Lender, Jamieson Wolf, Valentine, Cobblestone Press, ArcheBooks Publishing, author island, today the dragon wins
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