She Says It's a Form of Flattery

I'm supposed to tell you all that my fantasy author, Sandy Lender, is currently listening to Mad World by Tears For Fears. I guess it would be more appropriate to say I'm listening to Mad World by Tears For Fears while I post something promotional for her and she leans over my shoulder to make sure my promotional efforts are acceptable.

Anyway. The reason she says this is a form of flattery is because we're stealing the "update on iTunes" from an agent's blog that she was perusing last night. She was most impressed with the woman's musical selections on her iPod (I actually know what that is, by the way. Sandy has one. An iPod Nano that...what? Of course they care. They'll want to know what you listen to just as you wanted to know what that woman listened to.)

I have just been informed that no one cares yet what Sandy listens to. But for those of you who don't already know, it's usually Duran Duran.

I've also just been informed that I've wasted everyone's attention span on this nonsense instead of promoting Choices Meant for Gods, What Choices We Made, or the upcoming release Choices Meant for Kings, so you'll have to come back another day to hear more about them. My apologies.

Nigel Taiman
Tags: Mad World, Tears For Fears, Duran Duran, Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy author, Sandy Lender

She Hasn't Repressed This One, Careless Memory #13

A Glimpse into a Writer's Life
When my fantasy author, Sandy Lender, was a young girl, she stood in the check-out line at the grocery store with her mother one day. In your society, towns are so highly populated that people have to stand in line with their food to pay for—oh, she tells me you already know this.

Anyway, Sandy stared at the headlines on the magazines while they waited their turn in line, and one particularly large title stood out from the others. It said, "Talking to Your Teens About Virginity". She found this curious, so, in front of everyone in the store, she turned from the magazines to her mother and asked, out loud, "Mom, what's virginity?" And she pronounced it incorrectly, to boot.

Given the nature of this parent-offspring moment, she knew, in the future, that she had to incorporate it into a story. (You know how those writers are…everything's fair game.) She knew that a young Amanda Chariss, the heroine of her epic fantasy trilogy, had to supply one of these embarrassing moments to her guardian and mentor, the great wizard Hrazon. Because there's no room for such backstory in the Choices Meant for Gods trilogy, Sandy included the little tale in the upcoming short story anthology What Choices We Made. You won't be able to get your hands on the piece until the end of November (the busiest shopping day of the year, she says…whatever that means), but, as soon as the book is available, she'll let me announce it here and you can enjoy Hrazon's embarrassment as much as I did when I read it.

In the meantime, the first novel in the trilogy is already out. You can pick it up at Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc., or order it online or at Amazon.

Tags: virginity, Choices Meant for Gods, What Choices We Made, fantasy author, Sandy Lender, writers life