Who is Sandy Lender?
Or…The Dragon welcomes new folks to the insanity of a fantasy author’s blog

From June 1 to July 3 I’m “doing” an online book tour. Regular visitors know I’ve done two of these in the past. Remember that two-month stretch in the summer of 2007? Eegads. When What Choices We Made was released back in November, I did a much more sensible two-week online tour, but spent the second week of the tour in a hospital room that had no Internet access. (To be honest, I was so out of it that my posts would have been pretty pathetic that week anyway.)

This month things are different! I’m totally healthy and champing at the bit to do some extra promotion for Choices Meant for Gods, my fabulous fantasy novel available from ArcheBooks Publishing, at Amazon.com, at Barnes & Noble, or anywhere fine and fabulous fantasy is sold.

Considering I’m promoting the whole month as “Sandy’s guest starring at everyone else’s blogs,” I decided to post my tour stops here at Today the Dragon Wins (above) and leave this blog mostly dormant for the duration. But that leaves visitors a little “wanting,” right? Hence this explanatory post and “unofficial” bio.

I’m Sandy Lender, fantasy author and magazine editor. The magazine editing is the day job that pays the bills. As surprising as this is going to sound, writing isn’t my whole life. I spend Saturday mornings protecting sea turtles. I live in Southwest Florida where I serve in the Turtle Time non-profit group helping track and protect these lovely creatures. Pictures from the section of beach I patrol speckle this blog and Nigel’s.

I’m also obsessed with Duran Duran. You’ll find me at their July 11 show in California with my friends Christine and Jennine. Pictures of me with the hhhhhot John Taylor on different occasions appear on my MySpace page.

Taking care of pets also takes some of my time. I have a beautiful sun conure named Petri (after the baby pterodactyl in The Land Before Time) and a gorgeous new Timneh African Grey named Mouse (because she squeaks). I also have a 21-year-old turtle and a pancake tortoise whose age escapes me right now.

My reading interests include fantasy, of course, but start with Charlotte Bronte. I consider her a genius when it comes to dialogue and suspense. I can’t open one of her books to “check something” without getting pulled in. She captures me because she’s a master of literature. Her sisters are equally talented, but there’s something about Charlotte that appeals to me in a way I can’t explain in a simple “section” of a blog post.

I like to have green plants around me and I’m happiest when I sit among the birds and the plants with some chocolate cookies for me, crackers for the birds, and my laptop for a writing session. Of course, birds like to have attention on themselves, not the laptop…

If you’d like more information about me (although I’m not sure what else is interesting), I’ve got web pages all over the Internet. Brief list below. I encourage you to follow me on Twitter for infrequent but usually insane updates on bizarre stuff that happens to me. All of these links take you away from this page, so you’ll have to hit the “back” button to come back to the list. (Because it’s that fabulous of a list!) Personally, I recommend the Twitter and DragonDiscussions links for joining non-spam stuff. Then, OF COURSE, I recommend the first three links so you can order my books. Bwuahahahahaha.

http://tinyurl.com/CMFGamazon
http://tinyurl.com/WCWMamazon
ArcheBooks Publishing (discount at the publisher’s site)
http://twitter.com/sandylender
FiledBy (where you can see my trailers)
Ning
Dragon Discussions (where you can join the group)
Author Island
Good Reads
Red Room
Shelfari
AuthorsDen
Suspense Magazine
LinkedIn
BookTour
MySpace
http://tinyurl.com/WCWMvideo (please leave a nice comment for the producer!)
http://tinyurl.com/CMFKvideo (please leave a nice comment for the producer!)
http://tinyurl.com/Dragonvideo (please leave a nice comment for the producer!)

I know that’s a lot of crap to fling at you all at once, but, in a nutshell, that’s Fantasy Author Sandy Lender. Thank you for stopping in at Today the Dragon Wins, and thank you for reading all this. There’s more, as you can see by the extensive archive list at left. Enjoy your visit!

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”
Tags: fantasy author, Sandy Lender, online book tour, Duran Duran, sea turtle, Charlotte Bronte

Another Twist on the Online Book Tour for Choices Meant for Gods
Or…shakin' it up for The Dragon

Today's stop on the Choices Meant for Gods Online Book Tour takes fantasy author Sandy Lender to www.alisonkent.com/blog where I've shared the story of my funky pitch session. Yeah, I didn't go the agent route to get a contract on my epic fantasy novel; I met with the publisher at ArcheBooks Publishing face to face…under some interesting circumstances. Now, as you can surmise, all ended well, and he's even provided comment in today's post at Alison's blog. Check it out, and, to prove that Choices is real, you can go pick up your copy (which I, of course, totally recommend) at http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Meant-Gods-Sandy-Lender/dp/1595071652/ref=cm_cd_t_h_dp_i/104-9089752-5140754. There are also a couple of community conversations started there, and an amapedia article to read.

So you can just overdose on Choices Meant for Gods information today. Then be sure to get your copy to join in the conversation. You'll need to gobble up the story soon because I'll be announcing a pretty doggone cool contest here at Today the Dragon Wins in the middle of the online book tour. Because you'll have to have read the novel to answer the questions in the contest, there's no point giving away the book as a prize for you, but, ah, oh…if you could see the item I have in mind…Sit back and be amazed. And commit big scenes in the story to memory so you can get the answers right.

See you over at www.alisonkent.com/blog.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy author, Sandy Lender, fantasy novel, Today the Dragon Wins, online book tour, pitch session, ArcheBooks, Alison Kent, contest

Where in the World is The Dragon

Or...a roundup and the first tour stop on Sandy Lender's online book tour to support Choices Meant for Gods

Today, you can find Sandy Lender at www.BooksOffBroadway.blogspot.com, the blogsite managed by my friend and author Michelle Weston, who writes under the pen name M.B. Weston. She's posting an interview with me about Choices Meant for Gods, me, and my writing influences. Throughout the day, I'll be checking in to answer your questions and comments. Michelle and I both had our pitch sessions with Bob Gelinas at ArcheBooks Publishing on the same day at the same conference when we were just nervous little writers hoping to get that elusive publishing contract. We got 'em.

Now Michelle has A Prophecy Forgotten selling like hotcakes in the youth market and I have Choices Meant for Gods on tour! Yes, I'm blogging all over the blogosphere from May 21 to July 21 and welcome you to join me on as many of these stops as you're able to visit. Each one will have some new or bizarre twist to the day as each host or hostess has a different element to their blog or web site that makes them stand out from the crowd. The full (currently confirmed) tour schedule is on last night's post, so just read today's Grammar Guide and Word of the Day below to get to the blog tour announcement below them (notice my clever attempt to get you to read the Grammar Guide and WOD).

I hope you all can join me at The Wolf Never Sleeps tomorrow and for the online author chat Wednesday night. THAT promises to be intriguing. You never know what's going to happen in real-time... The author chat is hosted by the lovely and charming Marcus Williford and can be accessed at http://willifordblog.com. I recommend you jog in a few minutes before 9 p.m. eastern time so you can do the quick little registration. By having you register, he makes sure you're not a spammer, but he doesn't put you on a spam list. I know this because Nigel Taiman and I have registered and neither of us has suffered deleterious effects.

See you over at www.BooksOffBroadway.blogspot.com!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender, M.B. Weston, A Prophecy Forgotten, online book tour, ArcheBooks, dragon

Today’s Old English Poem is About the Mead Hall
Or…an excerpt from Beowulf

(Heorot is the most famous of mead halls, built on order from old King Hrothgar so he’d have a place to hold feasts for his men and hand out rings and other gifts. Hrothgar is in the line of Sceld Scylding – and there’s a name you’ll find in the Taiman genealogy in Choices Meant for Gods – so he’s a worthy king, you see. Heorot means “Hart”.)

The following excerpt is taken from the Donaldson Translation, 1975.

“Then Hrothgar was given success in warfare, glory in battle, so that his retainers gladly obeyed him and their company grew into a great band of warriors. It came to his mind that he would command men to construct a hall, a mead-building larger than the children of men had ever heard of, and therein he would give to young and old all that God had given him, except for common land and men’s bodies. Then I have heard that the work was laid upon many nations, wide through this middle-earth, that they should adorn the folk-hall. In time it came to pass—quickly, as men count it—that it was finished, the largest of hall-dwellings. He gave it the name Heorot, he who ruled wide with his words. He did not forget his promise: at the feast he gave out rings, treasure. The hall stood tall, high and wide-gabled:”

etc.

The problem with Heorot is that a nasty beast dwelt nearby (you all know the story of Beowulf and Grendel) who hated hearing the mirth and happiness exuded from the hall every night. He got fussy and decided to appear, tearing men apart after they fell asleep (read: passed out drunk) in the hall. I have to admit that the ryfel in Choices Meant for Gods were created in Grendel’s image. Don’t ask me why I gave them a completely foreign name, but they resemble the creature that came to my mind when I pictured a monster stalking the king’s hall from the deeps of the fen; a little scaly, a little slimy, poisonous, huge, hulking, no lips, jagged teeth, the whole this-thing-can-rip-you-apart-and-poison-you-for-good-measure kind of monster that little kids would be afraid of finding in the closet—if it could fit in a closet. Nigel particularly hates the beasts, and you can find out why if you feel compelled to pick up the book through one of the online book sources (or at your local book seller). The direct link to get Choices Meant for Gods by Sandy Lender from ArcheBooks Publishing (thus saving 25% off the price) is www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGsa.pdf. And Amazon has it set up as a super saver so you don’t have to pay shipping if you order it at www.amazon.com. Obviously, I’m pushing the fantasy novel shamelessly here. Forgive me.

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender, Old English, Beowulf, mead hall, Heorot, ryfel, ArcheBooks, fantasy novel, dragon

The Dragon is Out and About
Or…you can “meet” Sandy Lender today

There’s an interview with me at http://authorsandwriters.blogspot.com/ today, April 10, and a live chat at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at http://www.archebooks.com/Chat.htm.

For the interview on the blog, you can post questions (I believe) and I’ll check in mid-day and again end-of-day to answer. Having a day job really gets in the way of this marketing, doesn’t it? But let me tell you, the day job is the only reason I’m not starving to death right now! (I guess that’s how I should have answered the “advice” question, eh? “Don’t quit your day job until you’re at Stephen King status.”)

For the live chat this evening to talk about Choices Meant for Gods and other stuff, all you have to do is log in when you get to the ArcheBooks site, and that takes approximately five seconds, depending on your typing speed and the length of your name. The theme of tonight's talk is Living in a Fantasy World. :) See you at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central/you know where you are… (Only 100 people can be hosted at a time in the chat room…and one of those people is going to be Nigel Taiman from http://sandylender.blogspot.com, the Nigel Presents Sandy Lender site.)

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, writersandauthors.blogspot.com, Sandy Lender, the dragon, Nigel Presents Sandy Lender, sandylender.blogspot.com

The Dragon is on Technorati
Or...Just pumpin' up the blog

This post is just to let ya'll know that The Dragon is expanding its network. Nothing is changing. I'm still promoting my new novel Choices Meant for Gods, which you can purchase at www.archebooks.com or www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com (or the old-fashioned way of walking into your local book store and asking for Choices Meant for Gods by Sandy Lender). I'll still post Grammar Guides and Writers Guides and the occasional promotional tip for all you writers of books, term papers, business letters, newspaper articles, etc. out there.

It's still The Dragon, and we have a plethora of author interviews comin' up!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Technorati Profile
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender, dragon, grammar

New Features on ArcheBooks Site Link to The Dragon
Or...cross promotion is great

You can see all sorts of info about Choices Meant for Gods at www.archebooks.com, and you can chat with other authors there. Go the the main site and click on either the chat room (to see when new author chats are schedule - Sandy Lender will have one Tuesday, April 10 - I believe at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) or on the archebooks forum to enter a message board that's just getting built for the writing community.

Nigel and I have already joined both.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender, Archebooks

Choices Meant for Gods Went to the Printer
Or...you can order your copy soon

I'm excited beyond words to announce that you'll be able to participate in my dream within the next two to three weeks. And then a fresh, hardbound, colorful and incredible, 428-page copy of Choices Meant for Gods will be yours to read and enjoy. Choices is the first book in a fantasy trilogy, and it's a lifelong dream of mine finally come to fruition.

Choices Meant for Gods is the story of a young lady who's been on the run from a madman all her life. When she decides to stand and fight, she discovers she's wrapped in centuries of prophecy that involve her protecting the very gods of her society. It's a fantasy story with dragons (good and downright evil); sorcerers; magic (but I have coined the concept of "geasa" because it's not quite "magic"); a touch of romance; a lot of danger; an element of prophecy; "a fair bit of humor," as Mage Confusion author Ginny McMorrow says; a fabulous old wizard; a new race of people who protect prophecy and chosen prophets; some new monsters and demons that were created during the First War; and a few other plot devices that ought to keep the reader flipping pages until deep into the night...at least it kept M.B. Weston, author of A Prophecy Forgotten flipping pages until deep into the morning hours. She got fussy with me about that, actually...keeping her up all night reading...

But I digress.

Choices Meant for Gods is at the printer, and I couldn't be any happier. I'll certainly let you know when you can order your copy to read. ArcheBooks, the publisher, will have a mechanism for ordering from their site, but you'll be able to get it through all the usual channels as well...Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon, etc.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy, fantasy story, dragons, sorcerers, magic, wizard, ArcheBooks, Ginny McMorrow, M.B. Weston, Mage Confusion, A Prophecy Forgotten

Choices Meant for Gods Went Back to the Publisher
Or…I made the corrections to the galleys

In great news: I made corrections to Choices Meant for Gods to the master file yesterday and returned the file to the publisher, ArcheBooks Publishing, last night. This takes Sandy Lender another step closer to publication!

Now the publisher is working steadily away at the cover design.

I’ll keep you all posted as I learn more.

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender, ArcheBooks

The Galleys Arrived
Or...Choices Meant for Gods is a step closer to publication

A fabulous thing happened yesterday. My publisher at ArcheBooks sent me the galleys (final proof) for Choices Meant for Gods. Woo-hoo! Never fear, I won't neglect you here at The Dragon. We still have grammar and writing tips to post each day, and I'll keep that up just fine while I edit/proof my galleys. (I'll just be really excited while I'm posting.)

I wonder if I can get Nigel to help me. He's become quite adept at manipulating the blogosphere. But as Chariss will tell you, Nigel Taimain is a quick learner. Who is Chariss, you ask? She's the main character in Choices Meant for Gods. She's the young lady who's been on the run from a madman all her life, and when she decides to stand and fight, she discovers she's wrapped in centuries of prophecy that involve her protecting the very gods themselves. It's a fantasy novel with wizards and sorcerers and dragons and several new elements a high-epic fantasy story should entail woven into a new world where good versus evil is in the background, shadowing what drives the main character, but by no means influencing the cast around her.

I have a review from a fellow who writes for Linear Reflections that I think will sell this book for me. I'll post it as we get closer to the release date. For now, I'm just excited to have my galleys to review.

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy novel, fantasy story, dragon, wizards, sorcerers, dragons, Linear Reflections, ArcheBooks, writing tips, grammar

The Dragons are in Editing
Or…Choices Meant for Gods is with the copy editor now

In fantastic news, I learned yesterday that Choices Meant for Gods by yours truly, Sandy Lender, is with the copy editor at ArcheBooks Publishing. Furthermore, he is “almost done” with it.

This is great and exciting news! Of course I’ll keep everyone posted when galleys arrive, when I get them back to the publishing house, when I see the dust jacket, etc. It’s an exciting time, and I thank you visitors who are here living the experience with me. Keep in mind that the image above is a poster I created for the book with placeholder art by Megan Kissinger (whom we'll host at The Dragon later this month), and not the actual cover of the fantasy novel. I'll post that for you as soon as I have it...

“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender, ArcheBooks, fantasy, dragon

Writing Conference in Naples
Or…My Sunday

Yesterday I attended the Naples Press Club’s Writer’s Conference specifically to help my publisher move books. (Nigel blogged about this on the blog about me last night at http://sandylender.blogspot.com/.) Choices Meant for Gods is still slated for release in the next couple of months, so we didn’t have copies of it there, but I was still able to help other ArcheBooks authors move some of their books. I also had some fantastic opportunities to share ideas.

An author that I’ve mentioned on this blog before, Linda Bilodeau, who has the novel Stepping Through Seagrass available now, sat with Penny Lauer and me for a while discussing websites and blogs. When Prudy Taylor Board, author of Murder a la Carte, joined us, we came up with a fabulous idea for creating a traveling speaking group called the ArcheBook Divas that will pretty much take over the world by 2009. I will, of course, keep visitors to The Dragon apprised.

I also met a gal named Tina who will be starting her first work of fiction any day now. What’s intriguing about her story is she’s starting by learning the craft; the “rules,” if you will; the marketing and promoting; and what publishers want before she’s written the first word. I was very impressed by that and I hope I get to see her at the conference next year to see how all this technical information affected her writing process.

I also talked about my plans for DragonCon, which you all will hear a lot more about.

The NPC Writer’s Conference is the event where, last year, I met Bob Gelinas of ArcheBooks and gave my pitch for Choices Meant for Gods. That was where I handed him my proposal and synopsis and began the process of begging God to let this man ask for the manuscript. Three days later (oooh, it’s just occurred to me how biblical that was…), Bob requested the manuscript, and about a month later I had the contract to publish my first fantasy novel, which is a story of a young lady who’s been on the run from a madman all her life. When she finally stands to fight, she discovers she’s wrapped in centuries of prophecy that involve her protecting the gods themselves.

Of course I’ll let you all know when the galleys arrive. I will shout it on the mountain.

“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”

Tags:Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy novel, DragonCon, dragon, Archebooks, Archebooks Divas

Roundup at The Dragon
Or...Do you remember what all's going on?

I thought I'd take just a moment to give visitors a summary of what all's happenin' around The Dragon and Choices Meant for Gods in case you don't have time to...oh, you know...read all the archives.

First, Choices Meant for Gods is in editing this month at ArcheBooks Publishing, so it looks like we'll have a release date in March! Folks, that's fantastic news!

Second, if you're a member of the Saving a Vampire from the Summer Sunrise group, I'll post Scene 11 for you tonight. If you're not a member of that group, FOR SHAME! This is a fun little romantic/comedic/thriller romp through Naples, Florida in which even vampires learn that you can change the path Fate set in motion for you... You can join up by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sandysvampiresunrise/join. See you on the beach!

Third: The Grammar Guide I promised about quotations and punctuation will be posted tomorrow. Promise promise promise.

Fourth: The online writers group I belong to has prepared a Valentine's Day gift for ya'll called Love is in the Air. Several of us wrote fiction pieces of love and romance, and our resident soul mate guide, Dorothy Thompson, who is a syndicated columnist for matters of the heart, has included some articles as well! I'll be posting information on how to get your hands on this free eBook later this week.

And that might be all the news that's fit to print today. If I come up with more, I'll let you know.
"Some days, you just want the dragon to win."

Choices Meant for Gods has a Tentative Release Month
Set your alarms for March 2007!

I spoke with my publisher over the weekend concerning the production of Choices Meant for Gods, and it looks as if he’ll be editing the book this month. The staff at ArcheBooks Publishing plans to release several titles over the next few months, including A Prophecy Forgotten by my friend Michelle Weston, and A Chance to Say Yes by my friend Tina Murray. Choices hits the presses first. I don’t think I can express how thrilled I am to hear this news!

Over the next few weeks, I’ll keep you posted on the book’s progress and give you tips on how to order it wherever you are in the country (or abroad). Nigel and Chariss can’t wait to share their stories with you…

“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”

Scenes of Dragons and Wizards and Sorcery, Oh My!
Or…Assignments from the Florida Writers Association monthly meetings

At yesterday’s Florida Writers Association meeting (for the region I’m in), our homework assignment was to write a romantic scene. For those of you following along at home, you know I’ve already written, and read aloud to the group, a suspense scene and a sad scene. Yesterday’s seem to go over better than the other two, and, of course, I worked up a scene that could have appeared in Choices Meant for Gods if I had only written it a few years ago.

Anyway! I’ll post the romantic scene below and you all can read what might have taken place the morning after Nigel Taiman’s brush with death if Chariss hadn’t been there to heal him. First, let me say that anyone who lives in the state of Florida can benefit from a membership in the Florida Writers Association through not just these sorts of meetings, but also through the association’s annual conference, online workshops, and networking opportunities. The motto is “writers helping writers,” and I’ve found the association helpful. You can get more information at http://www.floridawriters.net/. The membership tab is the third menu item on the bar across the top of the page.

Now! The following post is the romantic scene. Here’s what you need to know: the evening before this scene, Nigel and Chariss were surprised by a creature in the Taiman estate. It nearly killed Nigel, but Chariss was there to heal him with her geasa (magic – it’s explained in the novel). Enjoy!

“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”
(And if you're looking for "Word of the Day," it's just after the romantic scene post.)

A Romantic Scene from Choices Meant for Gods

From the assignment mentioned above

(remember: Nigel was nearly killed the night before by a wound to the chest and Chariss healed him with "magic" (the geasa); my word limit was 800 to 1,000 words; this was to be read aloud so there are a couple signposts in here I wouldn't include if this was to be included in the novel)

Nigel hadn’t expected to find anyone in the stables this early in the morning. But here she was, grooming the grey mare that Kaylin had named Shadow. His heart stopped before his feet did in the stable doorway, and she glanced over her shoulder with one of those disarming smiles that he wasn’t sure yet how to recover from.

“Good morning,” she called out. “You’re up early. How’s your chest feeling?”

A hundred responses shot through his brain, including something about how much his chest hurt when she arrested his heart with that song in her voice. What came out of his mouth surprised him with its lucidity. “Much better, thank you. Between you and my grandfather, I think you got me healed quite well.”

He even surprised himself by walking upright.

She grinned up at him as he approached, but he could swear the horse gave him a more sanguine glance. He turned his back on the mare’s glare, more content to focus on the fair creature now before him. “Good to hear,” Chariss said. “Kora was distraught, poor thing.”

“Yes, Mother tends to fret when she sees her sons bleeding to death.”

He hadn’t intended to make her laugh, but her light giggle almost sent him to his knees. He actually reached out to grab the mare’s mane to steady himself. This was insane. As if she agreed, Shadow reared her head around and knocked him on the back side, effectively bumping him forward. Chariss put an arm out to catch him, as he put an arm out to catch himself, and he experienced that momentary shock of lightning when he got to touch her, when he got to hold her.

She still had hold of him when she furrowed her brow and bopped the horse on the rump with the brush. “Shadow! Be nice.”

Do I have to let go? he wondered. “Sorry about that,” he said. “Seems someone wants me to move.”

By the gods, she smelled like lilac and lavender and all the flowers of Mother’s garden wrapped into one. And there was that smile again.

“Someone needs her breakfast, I think,” Chariss was saying. “She’s turned fussy. What? You’re looking at me strangely.”

“You’ve got…straw…”

Now, I’ve known her for the better part of a week, he thought. I should be able to get away with this. He lifted his hand from her arm to pluck a piece of straw from the auburn locks that shone like silk before him. He would have given his inheritance in the estate behind them to run his hands through her hair, but, pretending to merely brush it as he took this offending item away was enough for now. Surely he could do that without alarming her.

She laughed again—that light, cascading sound that threatened to do him in. “I guess now I have to admit that Shadow’s been acting up since before you arrived?”

He tossed the straw away and decided this was ideal. “So I should look for more before I let you go out into public?”

“You think I’m going to embarrass myself?” she teased.

“We can’t have one of the Taimans’ guests running around with straw sticking out of her head, now can we?” he asked, and he hoped it sounded innocent and not rife with intent. “Hold still.”

He put both hands to her hair to either side of her face, literally running his fingers down the soft waves. “Okay, turn.”

“Turn?” she laughed. “Are you serious?”

“No disobedience. Turn.”

She rolled her eyes, those beautiful seductive lavender eyes, but turned around so he could put his hands to her hair again. “Now, see, it’s good that I did this,” he said, lying unabashedly. He stroked his fingers down her tresses, all the way through to the ends where the curves and waves ended in little rolls that mimicked the wavecaps rushing to Arcana’s shore. By the gods he wanted to feel those ends tickling along his chest, like last night, when she’d leaned over him to heal the wound that should have killed him. He moved one hand back up to the top of her head, fully aware that she’d just shivered at this unfamiliar touch. Oh, that’s got to be a good sign, he thought.

And then someone interrupted his reverie.

“Child, are you coming in to breakfast or standing out here all morning?”

Nigel glanced over at her guardian in the doorway and wondered briefly if he was about to get a wizard’s sword pressed up against his neck. But, to his amazement, the old man seemed to dismiss the scene. Now isn’t that odd? Nigel thought.

“Good morning, Hrazon!” Chariss said, and, just like that, she was gone. She was no longer standing before him. The auburn locks were no longer there. She rushed over to her wizard’s embrace, and Nigel had to witness a much different reception than the one he’d received—a reception he would have preferred—as she wrapped her arms around her guardian’s neck and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Mister Taiman and I have had enough of Shadow’s naughty antics for one morning, I believe.”

“Is she acting up?” Hrazon asked as he led her away.

Nigel watched them go, realizing, with remorse, that she didn’t even cast a glance back his way. He turned to the mare and folded his arms up on the beast’s back, resting his forehead in the pillow they formed. “Oh, Shadow, what am I to do?” he groaned.

The mare merely swished her tail at him.

"Some days, you just want the dragon to win."

J.K. Rowling has Writer’s Block??
Or…what’s your muse up to?

Look, if 2.9 million copies of Choices Meant for Gods were guaranteed to fly off the shelves the way 2.9 million copies of Harry Potter are supposed to fly off the shelves this July, you can best bet there would be no problem with writer’s block in my writing den. Dude. I have no problem with writer’s block on a bad day. I can’t imagine it descending upon me when I’ve just been listed as one of the wealthiest women in the world—that would be up there with the Waltons and the Queen of England.

So. The topic of this article is “what’s up with your muse” because I’m curious about this. How many writers out there struggle to get started writing each day? How many of you find it difficult to come up with a new idea or a new plotline or a new character? How many of you, seriously, ever suffer from writer’s block?

See…I never do. Maybe it’s the pictures of John Taylor in all his hotness plastered around my writing den that keep the creativity stoked. Maybe it’s the pictures of dragons. Maybe it’s the candles I light when I want to work on the medieval-themed stories. Oh, wait. I may have just stumbled upon it. The medieval-themed stories versus the regular-ol’-fantasy stories versus the vampire stories versus the paranormal romance stories (oh, yeah, for some reason, my face-to-face visit with my muse on December 15 struck the paranormal romance chord in my brain and I wrote one of those novels…now I can’t stop) versus flash fiction stories versus stories for eBooks that my online writers group puts together from time to time versus…

Do you see where I’m going with this? I don’t have time for writer’s block.

So tell me if there really are “real people” like you and me who suffer from this. And what do you do to overcome it? Because, hey, I could post an article about tickling the muse tomorrow if we need to. I mean, the idea of throwing John Taylor to the floor here in the den and tickling him is fabulous. And, with that thought in mind, I feel the need to go write…

“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”

Author Jamieson Wolf Visits The Dragon

NAPLES, FLA. – Local author Sandy Lender hosts Jamieson Wolf, Ottawa, Ontario, at www.TodayTheDragonWins.blogspot.com Thursday, Jan. 18, when he stops by the site to discuss his newest publication “Garden City”. Visitors can pose questions to either author through the comment feature in the discussion on the site and receive responses throughout the day.

Wolf, a senior reviewer for Linear Reflections, is also the author of "Electric Pink” and “Electric Blue”, the first two novels in an urban fantasy trilogy, and of the romantic thriller “Hope Falls”, which is now under contract. His short stories have appeared in such zines and anthologies as The Dark Krypt, Mytholog, Clean Sheet’s Erotica, The House of Pain, Twilight Times, Slow Trains Literary Journal, SunPiper Press, A Long Story Short, Rain Tiger, and Seasons Greetings by The Writersville Gang. His latest book, “Garden City”, is a collection of fiction about magic, people, and what happens when the two mix.

Wolf’s non-fiction credit titled “Finding the Muse” offers insight into finding inspiration for writing. Through his affiliation with A Long Story Short School of Writing, Wolf currently leads a course on writing from inspiration called “The Muse”.

It is this varied writing career that makes Wolf an ideal guest for aspiring writers and authors to query through The Dragon this Thursday. Visitors to the site can read a review of “Garden City” prior to Wolf’s visit by viewing www.TodayTheDragonWins.blogspot.com. For more information, leave a comment.

Sandy Lender is the author of "Choices Meant for Gods", available from ArcheBooks Publishing next month, and the proprietor of www.TodayTheDragonWins.blogspot.com. She brings a fifteen-year career in magazine publishing and public relations to the Southwest Florida media arena.

"Some days, you just want the dragon to win."

Give Me The Lyric That Inspires You

Last week, we posted some (okay, a few) lyrics that were giggle-worthy.

This time - it's serious.

Tell me the lyric that has moved you. I want to know what song made you leap for joy, what song made you go over and ask your husband to marry you, what song made you get up and go to college, what song made you join the church choir, what song inspired you to do anything! What song does your church pianist start playing that makes you say "AMEN!"? ("It is Well With My Soul" is the one for me...) What song comes on the radio and makes you stop whatever you're doing to turn it up and just listen...

It will come as NO surprise that I announce here and now that I'm a huge Duran Duran fan (going on 24 years) and every time I hear "Girls on Film," whether it's live, on CD, on DVD, in the car, on the radio (I heard it on a radio station driving back from the John Taylor-Juicy Couture event in Atlanta a couple weeks ago and nearly drove off I-75), I get the happiest feeling in my stomach...and that's not even my favorite Duran song. The two best lyrics (so far) that I believe Simon LeBon has penned are "Keep Me in the Dark" and "Palomino". I'll post the entire lyric to "Keep Me in the Dark" below.

But the song that has most recently inspired me - the one that has given me courage and encouragement is from Mr. Barry Manilow. I owe him many thanks, because his song is correct. Not everyone achieves his or her dream on the first try, especially in the publishing business. (Can I get an amen?) Going through the agent-querying process in the book-publishing industry is a futile exercise, but did I give up on my novel Choices Meant for Gods? No. I tried a different route. I bypassed the people who wouldn't give me the time of day, and now Choices Meant for Gods will be released this March from ArcheBooks Publishing. See, if you give up, you'll never get a "yes". If you stop, if you quit, if you give up...you lose and your dream fades out as it dies without you to support it. And if you don't believe in your dream, well, gee, why should anyone else? Mr. Manilow, you're an inspiration, and your song is fabulous.

God Bless the Other 99

I learned more from failure than I learned from success
I learned from no thank you so much more than from yes
I learned to be willing to lead with my chin
And if I were willing to lose I could win
I learned from the losers who got right back in line
The dimmer their future then the brighter they’d shine
Three cheers for the one, the one in a hundred
But God bless the other ninety nine
Those courageous people changed my life
They taught me
You can give in, you can give out, but you don’t give up

Now the rest of you!

What lyrics have inspired you? Share! And share why!

"Some days, you just want the dragon to win."

Stepping Through Seagrass
Naples author releases Florida fiction novel

A fellow ArcheBooks author had a book signing event at the Mina Hemingway Florida Book Store this afternoon, and I wanted to tout that to the world for a moment. Linda Bilodeau, whose info can be gathered at www.lindabilodeau.com is a gracious and lovely lady who has written a fiction story called Stepping Through Seagrass, now available anywhere you typically buy books. It's out in hardback and the ISBN is 1-59507-150-4. I just picked up my copy (and got it signed!) today so I haven't read it yet--can't tell ya what it's about--but I recommend Linda herself! So I encourage you to visit her site (yes, I'm being manipulative by withholding information) and check out her other titles.

"Some days, you just want the dragon to win."