Happy Book Birthday, Silksinger!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Silksinger, happy birthday to you, and many moooooore!"

{grins}

It's official. Silksinger is born :-) Here, have a cupcake!


So, what's Silksinger about?

Whisper Silksinger is no warrior--she’s a weaver of flying carpets. But when devils attack her isolated island home, she must flee alone with nothing but a copper tea kettle and the ember that smolders inside it. That ember--her secret and her burden--is none other than the Azazel, one of the seven Djinn who made the world, and it falls to Whisper to keep him safe.

Pursued by devils, she joins a dragonfly caravan and meets Hirik, a mysterious faerie mercenary with an ancient sword and a dangerous secret of his own.

All the while, Magpie Windwitch, the Djinn King’s Champion, is on their trail, intent on finding Whisper before the devils do. It’s a desperate quest, because if the Azazel should die, the Tapestry of Creation will fail, and all life with it.

Discover an exotic world of secrets and spice, fortune-tellers, hobgoblins, mercenaries, and devils. Whisper and Hirik are intriguing new charactrs whose unexpected magic will play an important role in the battles to come, as new foes rise and the devil armies of the Dawn Days are unleashed once more.

Ooh. Chills.

Let me see, what can I tell you about the creation of Silksinger? Hm. Well, for one thing, it is not easier to write a second novel than it is a first! Also, when you think you know what your new book is going to be about . . . you think you've got it all mapped out? Well. Books can be like children. You know, you want them to grow up to be doctors, but they have their own ideas. Also, interweaving multiple plotlines all while trying to carry on a multi-book story arc? It often felt like I was trying to braid hair with more strands than I had fingers to hold them. Like my head could not contain it all.

Hey, remember that old tootsie pop commercial?
tee hee. So, how many attempts does it take to get the proper beginning of a novel? I don't know! Not three. More like this:
Don't ask how many completely different first chapters and first 50-60 pages I wrote. A lot/. It was fairly late in the game that I came up with the first chapter I posted yesterday. The important question is:

(How funny! I was interrupted and just came back to the post and looking at the above text, I have no idea what I was going to say the important question was! I guess it wasn't that important! The interruption? There's this extremely skinny black and white cat with big green eyes and matted fur that has appeared around the neighborhood recently. Unlike the many ferals, it's wearing a collar. Well, it just came to the door. I mean, it nudged the screen door so I could hear a creak and thought someone was on the porch. Poor kitty, he wants to come in. He's so skinny! He must have been abandoned. It's heartbreaking. I brought him out some wet dog food and he chowed down and let me pet him. I need to figure out a way to help this cat. Hm. Anyone local want to rehab a sweet skinny cat that will be really pretty once he's bathed and fattened up? I want to, but Leroy's not so into cats. Anyway. That's what made me forget my important question.)

So, forget the important question. Today all you should be worrying about is reading Silksinger while eating cupcakes. Okay, and mangoes.

And now, for the winners of the Blackbringer giveaway!

It was really hard to decide, so many of you had such awesome reasons why the book should go to you, and it was very entertaining and heartwarming. In the end, though, had to choose. Here are the three winners:

"Jem M" who likened reading my blog to eating a cupcake, and also used the word "eldritch" which happens to be one of my all-time favorite words.

"Jeva L" who wrote her reasons as an acrostic poem that spells out "Magpie Windwitch," and whose villainous father wouldn't let her buy Blackbringer -- and I quote "cue the VIOLINS. TEARS. HANDKERCHIEFS." Just my kind of teen melodrama!

"Shelley" who finished her first novel with the help of Not For Robots, and who teaches writing in California and will bring the book in for her students.

Congratulations! I'll be sending your books out very soon. I'm sorry I can't send one to everybody who wrote in. Thank you so much for participating! You still have a chance to win something, however, because today is Silksinger giveaway day! For this giveaway I'm offering two hardcover copies of the book, but you'll have to wait for them because I do not in fact have them yet. I expect to receive my box of books from the publisher any day.

How do you win Silksinger?
This time, instead of telling my why you want it, I'm going to ask you to answer a Dreamdark trivia question that should be easy if you've read Blackbringer. Are you ready? You're going to email me the answer with the subject line SILKSINGER, PLEASE, in all caps. Remember to include your mailing address!

The question is:

What is the term used for faerie babies and small children?

The contest will be open through the end of the day on Friday, at which time I will put all the correct entries in a hat and choose two at random. You will win a signed copy of Silksinger and a pack of Rathersting tattoos.

Have a fabulous day!

Order Blackbringer in hardcover.
Order Blackbringer in paperback.
Order Silksinger in hardcover.