She's Got This Fear of Spiders

Now here’s something I don’t understand. Sandy will actually scream when she sees a spider in her house. The first time she let out one of those shrieks, I appeared with the sword ready to take on something akin to a ryfel (you’ll have to read Choices Meant for Gods to understand that reference) to find her on her hands and knees chasing this furry little creature around banging a shoe against the floor behind it, shrieking with every strike. It took us both a good fifteen minutes to recover after she splattered it.

Now, keep in mind, I’ve never seen a spider that size so I wasn’t clear on what we were up against, and her reaction was…well…let’s just say I figured we had something magical in the house that was about to cast a spell on one or both of us.

No.

Wolf spiders merely jump around a lot and run fast. That’s it. So she was shrieking out of some crazy fear of spiders that she has. I couldn’t believe it. She’s not afraid of anything (other than black panthers) like that. She had a scorpion sting her this summer and she merely smashed the thing and went on with activities as if it wasn’t venomous and swelling up a wound on her arm that had me concerned for a couple of days. The last thing I need is for my author to collapse and die before she finishes my bride’s story.

Anyway, I’m on wolf spider detail this evening. And I guess that’s fine if it lets her get some sleep. You wouldn't believe the week she's had...and I want her in front of this computer writing tomorrow...

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender

She's Writing this Vampire Story

As much as it perturbs me to support this, Sandy Lender has a fun, light, not-epic, and downright vampiric (at times) serial novel she’s posting online for your reading enjoyment. Personally, it drives me nuts because it takes her time from writing my bride’s story, but, what can I do about it?

Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sandysvampiresunrise/join and sign up to join the free group that’s reading Saving a Vampire from the Summer Sunrise. (I think it’s a strange title for something, but she says it’s to depict “a fun little romp through a Florida setting.”) From the way she describes vampires, I can’t imagine one settling in Naples, Florida, but that’s one more example of her strange mind at work. And I don’t think the creature in this story acts like a vampire very often. The creature stalking him does, as far as I can tell, but who am I to judge? I’m not from your world.

The next scene goes online tonight when she takes a break from proofing the galleys for Choices Meant for Gods. I'm stunned at how long that's taking her.

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender

She's Got This Black Book

While sitting here waiting for Sandy to get around to (excuse me, I wasn’t being impatient, I was just waiting) writing this evening. (Give me just a minute, she’s arguing with me. Seems I need to define “author” for her.)

While waiting for Sandy to get around to writing this evening, after waiting for her to get home from working late, after being ignored while she was at work all day (and, yes, despite whatever she may tell you on her blog, she does ignore me when she’s at work, and it makes me crazy), I picked up this black book she keeps on the desk here in the writing den. As much as I hated to interrupt her (thus making me wait longer to get her to writing), I wanted to ask questions. It turns out this book is a Bible and it tells the history of your society’s god. Now, in the society from whence I come, we have many gods and goddesses and lesser gods and goddesses, and nobles who serve them in their city in the northeastern region of Onweald. And that’s where my bride comes in. She’s supposed to protect the most annoying of these gods, Master Rothahn, my grandfather. Because he’s family, I can’t very well just put a sword through him when he antagonizes Mandy, but there are times when I’d sure like to.

Sigh. And there are times, like right now, when I’d sure like to at least stuff Sandy in a closet and shut the door. She’s telling me no one cares about my polytheistic society.

So what do you people want me to write about here? I’m not allowed to give you deep, dark, personal secrets about Sandy Lender or she’ll probably kill off my bride in some horrific battle and marry me off to some vacuous, conniving woman from Bellan. Anyone have any ideas or requests?

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender

A Choices Meant for Gods Testimonial

Sandy is ecstatic over the latest testimonial she’s received for Choices Meant for Gods. She has a few of these now from other authors, which I guess is what you’re supposed to have for the back cover of a new book, but now she has one from a fellow who is not only an author, but also a reviewer for a magazine. This means something in your society. I can tell because she’s very excited about it.

“Choices Meant for Gods is without a doubt the freshest most engaging high fantasy novel to come out in years and breathes new life into a tired genre. The characters leap off the page and the plot is lightning quick and deftly written with many layers that tease the mind and imagination. Choices Meant for Gods is not a mere novel; it is a gorgeous piece of written art. I can hardly wait for the second book!”

Jamieson Wolf, Linear Reflections
Author of Hope Falls, Electric Pink, Electric Blue, and Garden City

I’ll post (it is “post,” isn’t it?) some of these others she has over the next few weeks.

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender

She Let This Guy Put Needles All Over Her!

I just about drew a sword this evening, but Sandy stopped me. She’s told me I can’t kill the man she’s divorcing (which is a shame because I need to put a sword through that one), because people in this society don’t solve their issues by killing each other. Now, I’ve seen the news channel on the television that the other person in her household watches, and I know for a fact that people kill each other all the time here, but she refuses to let me do it.

But I digress.

This evening, she went to an acupuncturist. I knew she was going to this appointment, and I knew the person was some form of doctor that she believed was going to help release some of her pent up anger and pain she’s been storing in her muscles. Fine. I don’t understand all of that, but I’ll trust her. I went along because I’ve been worried about her as of late, and I need my author back in top form so she can write this weekend (that, and I care about her). Imagine my surprise when this guy opens up this little package and tries to put a needle in her shoulder. (That’s when I went for the sword.)

So I had to wait out in the lobby.

Because the point of the excursion was to release her pent-up anger, and she actually looked much more peaceful than I’ve seen her in months when she came out to the lobby afterward, I didn’t think it would be appropriate to argue about it all the way home, but I’m not going to let her go back there again. I’ve found that this method works well with Amanda, so I’m going to try it with our author. I drew her a bath of Epsom salt when we got home because she’s supposed to soak in that now. In other words, she’s not working on the Choices Meant for Gods trilogy. She’s soaking. I’m fuming. She’s going to end up with a migraine from this and she won’t be able to write for days.

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender

She's Not Working on Book III

I have to complain about something. Now, I know I shouldn't because Sandy's very busy, but it's making me crazy watching her run around doing everything except complete the story of my bride. I know she wants to be writing the end of the Choices Meant for Gods trilogy, and she's nearly completed it, but a few things have come up.

These few things (some of which I don't fully understand in your society) include, but are not limited to, the foreclosure on her house, driving for more than two hours a day in obstreperous traffic to the new job she's started with another magazine, the divorce, managing a few blogs to promote Choices Meant for Gods' release, building a website from a software program she's been trying to get someone to order with something called a staff discount since November, and a variety of health issues that stem from the stress I'm watching her deal with. It's very odd. I'll probably get in trouble for writing this, but, you know, this is supposed to be a journal about an author, and this is what starving authors deal with.

I think she'd relax and be more at peace with the events swirling around her if she made the time one evening to work on Book III, and I'm going to shackle her to the computer desk to make that happen one of these nights. I think she has this weekend free of work and other commitments (she said something about saving the whole weekend for herself so she could work on selling the house and building the website). I intend to capture her and tie her to this desk. If anyone would like to assist me in keeping her off the internet/e-mail, just let me know how to make that happen...

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender

Her First Book is in Editing Now

Sandy Lender’s Choices Meant for Gods is now with the copy editor at ArcheBooks Publishing. She tells me this bodes well for getting a novel published soon. The next step she’ll see should be the galleys arriving (please keep in mind I’m just typing the random and rapid-fire statements she makes) for her final proofreading and approval.

That sounds like progress to me.

So you should be able to pre-order Choices Meant for Gods soon. Have I listed its ISBN here before? If I haven’t, let me do so now.

978-1-59507-165-1

That’s the 13-digit code that lets bookstores and websites that sell such fine works of art as Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling, the Sword of Truth series from Terry Goodkind and The Children of Hurin from J.R.R. Tolkein (please keep in mind that Sandy rattles these things off and I have no idea what she’s talking about) find your book easily and quickly. I think Sandy is ready to visit every store in Florida to get them to stock a copy of my story…and I certainly wouldn’t dissuade that.

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender

Movie Poster of Choices Meant for Gods

Sandy assures me that movies are all the rage in this society. Because I’ve only seen her attend a handful of movies, I’ll just have to trust her on that. But here you can see an image she created on a web site… (Wait. Let me find out why it’s a web site and not a blog site.)

All right. Here you can see an image Sandy Lender created on a web site of the upcoming novel Choices Meant for Gods. She has the release date of March on there for lack of a better month. Personally, I think she should have used a picture of Amanda instead of the compass rose she’s chosen for the artwork, but she’s very proud of the work her friend Megan Kissinger, a local artist here in Southwest Florida (let me make sure that’s where we are), has created, and she wants to display it for the world to see. You see, Megan Kissinger created the map of Onweald (the world where I typically live) for the book and her artwork will appear in the pages once it’s published.

I’m actually quite impressed. I’ve not met Megan yet, but I understand Sandy is going to interview her and display more of her work over at www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com before the release of Choices Meant for Gods. That is something worth keeping your eyes open for. The sketches Megan started with are wonderful, and, of course, anytime someone produces something on one of these blasted computers I’m flabbergasted by it. Electricity and technology, Sandy calls it all. Personally, I’m looking forward to getting back to Arcana where there are no computers, no electricity, and the only technology I have to worry about is the lantern that bathes my bride in golden light.

What? You thought this blog would be about Sandy all the time? Ha. Not when I’m the one at the typewriter. Oh. Sandy says it’s a keyboard. Not when I’m the one at the keyboard. (But, then, she also told me a keyboard was something musical…something about Duran Duran having a keyboardist…)

Tags:Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender

Her Strength Reminds Me of Amanda

I’m not allowed to tell you much of Sandy’s personal life. She’d draw back a bow and fire an arrow at me, I’m sure. And this blog is all about keeping her happy, as I’ve explained before. The happier Sandy is, the safer my bride remains in the Choices Meant for Gods trilogy.

But I feel compelled to write tonight to say, given the horrid events taking place in Sandy’s life, I can’t help thinking how her fortitude mirrors that of my Amanda. It’s inspiring to see her get up each morning and post real and useful information to her blog over at www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com before she sprints off to work. She actually has more than one job, you see. There’s the fulltime position at the magazine. Then there’s the part-time job at a bar on the weekends that is as degrading as it sounds. Then there’s the job of selling her house, which is actually the home she wanted to live in the rest of her life (it’s a darling little place she has here, but, given other circumstances in her life, she must get “out from under the mortgage” as she puts it – whatever that means). Then there’s the job of pre-promoting Choices Meant for Gods.

That’s where I come in.

At first, I was offended that she approached me to do something so self-serving. She told me that my constant badgering over the years and my constant suggestions on the plot and dialogue of Choices Meant for Gods and its sequel in the trilogy entitled her to some help in promotion, but I still balked at the idea. And then she threatened me. She told me things would go “badly” for Amanda if I didn’t do my part to assist. You can bet I signed on to help then.

And now I’m ashamed that it took such tactics to get my help. I should have stopped to look at what was taking place in my author’s life. If I hadn’t been so absorbed in my courting of Amanda, I might have realized Sandy was in dire straights. I might have noticed that my author needed my help.

So let me state, for the record, that I’m pleased to manage this blog. And I encourage everyone to contact your local bookstore to ask them when they’ll have Choices Meant for Gods by Sandy Lender in stock. The book will be released from ArcheBooks Publishing this spring, probably in March. The ISBN (whatever that is) is 978-1-59507-165-1.

In my next post, I’ll tell you all about this incredible review she’s gotten from Linear Reflections.

Tags:Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender