Kindle Declines as eBook Ease Rises Elsewhere
Or...The Dragon brings you Kindle's degeneration with good news attached

As the technorati among us have discovered, you can read electronic books on a plethora of devices. The Kindle from Amazon has its nifty features; the Kindle II gets the paper (newspaper, that is). But a recent article from Fox News shows you how the simple Blackberry or other pda can pick up those electronic versions of novels and bring you up to speed with your fave characters. (The link is http://tinyurl.com/KindleDeath in case that anchor text didn't work for ya.)

Keep in mind, all the eBooks from ArcheBooks Publishing, including my Choices Meant for Gods and next week's release of Choices Meant for Kings can be read on a Blackberry, a Sony eReader, a computer screen, etc. And no Big Brother at Amazon or one of their affiliated publishers will rescind the content after the $3.99 purchase...

Bonus Note: How much does a Kindle cost these days? Nothing if you win it from AuthorIsland. Fantasy Author Sandy Lender is participating in their Kindle giveaway this month. Good luck to you!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Kindle, eReader, electronic books, eBook, Amazon, ArcheBooks Publishing, Fantasy Author, Sandy Lender, Choices Meant for Gods, Choices Meant for Kings, AuthorIsland, Kindle giveaway, technorati

Guest Blogging
Or...Catch a guest blog article from Sandy Lender

Just a note to let you know that my fantasy author, Sandy Lender, will be guest blogging at AuthorIslandTikiHut this coming Tuesday, May 12th. The blog host, DeNita Tuttle will provide links to Sandy's recent chapbook release What Choices We Made and will hold a contest. I believe the ladies are hashing out the details on the contest now so check in for that.

Tags: fantasy author, Sandy Lender, guest blog, Author Island, What Choices We Made

The Companion Book--What Choices We Made--is Released
Or...The Dragon has writing news

In very good news, Fantasy Author Sandy Lender's companion book to the Choices trilogy was released while she was in the hospital. Hooray! What Choices We Made is a chapbook of short stories (and a deleted scene from Choices Meant for Gods) from the fantasy world I created for the Choices series. You can find this Christmas-gift-priced item on Amazon. It's available for grouping for the free shipping feature Amazon offers, so, you know, if you're grabbing a couple books, I think you should add What Choices We Made to the list so you can meet the new, and the familiar, fantasy characters in it. (Also note that Amazon currently has the novel Choices Meant for Gods on sale--although I don't know why. We're just getting lucky this week.)

And if you're stopping by to find some character names for the Kindle contest offered up from Author Island, you've come to the right spot. Just below this post is the trailer for What Choices We Made. I encourage you to click on the trailer and take a gander at what the companion book has to offer...including a couple character names. If you're already familiar with my work, you know that Chariss and Hrazon, from my first novel, Choices Meant for Gods, make an early appearance. You'll have to get the new release to see how Chariss embarasses the life out of the old wizard...

Enjoy!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: What Choices We Made, Author Island, Kindle, Sandy Lender

Congratulations to Carol Woodruff
Or...join The Dragon in recognizing another winner

The fabulous Carol Woodruff found the answer to May's trivia question and sent it off to Author Island...and now she gets a big ol' basket o' fantasy goodies. I've autographed a first-edition hardcover copy of Choices Meant for Gods for her and piled in a CMFG canvas book bag (Because we want to support the use of cloth shopping bags instead of plastic! Save the sea life!), a pack of Nigel Taiman's playing cards, some CMFG pens and bookmarks, and a little surprise fantasy gift. And, Carol, be stunned and amazed: I wrapped some of this stuff. Yes, it's all in the presentation. He he he.

But, to be serious for a moment, Carol did her research and learned that the "entity" Chariss is chosen to protect is Master Rothahn. She even included in her answer that He's the highest active god. I was impressed. So her name was drawn and she's going to have a basket in short order!

CONGRATULATIONS, CAROL!
YOU ROCK!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Carol Woodruff, Choices Meant for Gods, author island, dragon

Last Day to Enter Choices Meant for Gods Basket Contest

Or...send your answer to DeNita today

Do you know who Chariss has been chosen to protect in the fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods? Have you been reading along at this blog? Oooooo.

You can find the answer in any number of places. On the back cover of the book...in the book itself...in the blurbs posted in Sandy Lender's pages at Author Island...in the blurbs posted in Sandy Lender's information at the publisher's site...in some of the Word of the Day posts here at The Dragon...

So here's what you need to do to get in the running for this fabulous basket o' fantasy goodies! Find the answer to "Who is Chariss chosen to protect in the fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods?" and e-mail your answer WITH your name and snail mail address to AuthorIsland@yahoo.com before midnight tonight. DeNita Tuttle, the lovely hostess of the Island, will draw the winner and let Sandy know who gets the grand prize. Sandy will personalize the hardcover first edition of CMFG before sending out the basket, so get all your info in!

Good luck!

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

Tags: contest, Choices Meant for Gods, Author Island

The Scene for the Author Island Contest
Or...a partial re-post from Choices Meant for Gods

This is a sweet little romantic scene between Nigel Taiman and Amanda Chariss as they ride from the estate at Arcana to Arcana City. Her wizard guardian has already clued her in to the fact that Nigel wants to court her, and she’s upset over it. Regular visitors to Today the Dragon Wins will recognize it because it's part of a longer post I had on last week. It's from the scene I read at Internet Voices Radio on Mother's Day. But we've just got enough of it here today to get the contest question answered. If you're not participating in the Author Island chat, you can check in at the yahoo group.
---------------------
Nigel frowned at her. Spurring his horse slightly, he reached out to take hold of Shadow’s bridle. Bringing them both to a stop, he turned in the saddle to face her.

“Hey!” she objected.

“Indeed. Have I done something to anger you?”

Her cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

“’Manda?”

“You’re staring at me.”

“By the gods, Woman. All right, I’ll look at your horse. ’Manda,” he said to Shadow, “what have I done that’s made you angry?”

“I’m not angry.”

“You’re not a liar,” he spoke to Chariss again.

“All right, so I’m a little angry. It will pass.”

“And you don’t want to tell me what it is?”

She couldn’t blame her reticence today on worry over Drake. She also couldn’t blame her health because she’d completely recovered from her telabyrinth poisoning. With Hrazon and The Master attending the summer festival, she couldn’t blame some sort of timidity at being ‘alone’ in the city. No, she had to take a deep breath and be honest with him. Considering the number of suitors she’d sent packing in the past few years, this should have been an easy thing to do again. It wasn’t. She sighed, closing her eyes as if she could make the scene disappear.

“Do you agree that you’re my friend?” she finally asked.

He watched her open her eyes then, realizing where the conversation must be going.

“Yes,” he spoke with exasperation.

“And that I’m your friend?”

“Yes.”

“And does that please you?”

He sighed, but didn’t get a chance to answer.

“You see, Nigel, it pleases me. I appreciate your kindness, and I would be disappointed if we hadn’t built such a…such a…”

“Friendship?” he retorted.

“Such a rapport.”

He rolled his eyes. “A fancier word with even less affection.”

“My stay at Arcana is much more pleasant because I have this relationship with you. But someone has tried to convince me that your…your…”

“Feelings?”

“Well…your…”

“Intentions?”

“Well…your opinion of our relationship might be somewhat different from mine.”

“’Manda, just say what you’re thinking. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

She looked miserable then. “I don’t want to say what I’m thinking.”

“Good!”

“No, that’s not good. Hrazon thinks you’re…Hrazon believes you spend time with me because…” She paused, searching for the words.

“Because I’m in love with you?”

She nearly fell backward. “Just blurt it out!”

He chuckled slightly. “This is uncomfortable, isn’t it? I’m sorry to embarrass you. This conversation would be better in a darkened corner of Arcana’s parlor. ’Manda, I’m not going to lie to you. Hrazon has every reason to believe I’m after his ward because I am. It’s no secret to anyone I enjoy your company. What, where are you…You’re the only woman I know who can scoot that far away on a saddle without falling off.”

“I don’t think you should say those things.”

“Aye,” he sighed, watching her fidget with Shadow’s reins. But he made a decision to press the matter. “I’m going to say them and get them out in the open. Then we can decide if you’re to die of embarrassment, or slap me across the face.”

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Author Island

Welcome to Post #700 and Contest Announcement

Or...We're marketing with another fabulous contest

To celebrate the upcoming release of the second printing (the mulligan run) of Choices Meant for Gods and the upcoming release of Book II in the Choices trilogy, I have a basket of fabulous fantasy goodies available for folks to win! If you're an Author Island visitor, then you've already heard...

All you have to do is e-mail authorisland at yahoo dot com with the answer to a Choices Meant for Gods trivia question to be entered in the contest for the basket pictured above. Make sure you put your name and snail mail address in the body of the e-mail, and Choices Meant for Gods Contest in the subject line so the administrator knows how to direct your entry. Here's your question:

Who is Chariss chosen to protect in the fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods?

Now the answer is all over the web. It's at this blog, at http://www.authorisland.com/, at my publisher's site, at Nigel's blog http://sandylender.blogspot.com/, etc. Or you can read the book. The deadline is Memorial Day. That's when DeNita draws the winner from all entries received. GOOD LUCK!

If you need a copy of the book, you can pick it up anywhere, including Amazon. Or the eBook version (read: inexpensive) is available at my publisher's site at http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm.

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

Tags: contest announcement, Choices Meant for Gods, Chariss, author island

We Have More Winners!
Or...help us congratulate these folks from Author Island

At yesterday's Author Island online chat, I gave away some fancy prizes. When folks visited Today the Dragon Wins to read the excerpt from my fantasy novel, Choices Meant for Gods, they sent the answer to a question from the excerpt to Nigel so they could be entered in the contest to win another of the spa packages from Arcana's bathing rooms. The lucky winner of that spa package was Pam3!

Yay Pam!

Two other contests went up on the Author Island chat "board" itself. I posted two scenes from Choices Meant for Gods during the chat and asked questions from each post. Folks who sent the correct answer to Nigel were entered in the contest to win an eBook copy of Choices Meant for Gods. We drew four names last night and those lucky winners are...

Kim Bea
Leah
Joan Ferrey
Deb

I've already sent the pdf to you guys, so you have to let me know if there are any mishaps with technology...I'll re-send. But YAY for you!

Now, if you weren't one of the lucky winners, don't despair! DeNita over at Author Island has these chats every month, and I participate and have contests in conjunction with the chats every month. We'll do it again! Also, I have a new contest announcement coming up in conjunction with this site and the prize is going to be a doozy. Trust me.

Also, if you'd like to get your own eBook of Choices Meant for Gods, it's not expensive at all. You can download it from my publisher's site right now for $3.99 at http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm. Easy as pie. There's also a button there that says "Free Sample" where you can read the first three chapters (for free). Of course, those of you who LOVE having the real thing in your hand can get the hard cover edition from that same link, or can pick it up at www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com or anywhere else you like to buy books. It's everywhere, man.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Author Island, fantasy novel, eBook, contest

Win Another Spa Package From Arcana's Bathing Rooms

Or...this is the scene to read for the Author Island online chat contest Fantasy Author Sandy Lender is holding today

Excerpt from Chapter Two of Sandy Lender's Choices Meant for Gods
Available from ArcheBooks Publishing
For the chat taking place today at: www.authorisland.com
Send your answer to: NigelTaiman at yahoo dot com

(In this scene, Chariss and her wizard guardian, Hrazon, have arrived around midnight at the Taiman estate for protection. Godric and Kora Taiman are helping them up to a room where they can tend to Chariss, who is currently unconscious. Hrazon and Godric—who's putting on airs because he thinks he's oh-so-important—are discussing what's led up to this situation. If you'd like to read the whole chapter, including chapters 1 and 3, they're available as a Free Sample at my publisher's Web site at http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm.)

"We didn't realize he'd amassed so much power so fast," Hrazon said.

"I find it unbelievable Drake could do anything such as this without help. He's only been in Kida a few years. How could he convince his people to go along with this?"

"He's been there two years this spring, and I believe the Joveran people helped build the army."

"Hmpf. It seems longer than that since court was held. And do you still believe he attacked today? Do you mean that you were in Treown this morning?"

Hrazon nodded. "She [Chariss] brought us here. I don't know how. Somehow, she must've picked the estate from my mind, and when our horses gave out, she grabbed my hand and we moved through time. We moved like spirits, it seemed." He looked at Kora as if he expected her to understand. She looked like a sensible Geasa'n. Her mannerisms and demeanor spoke to Hrazon, telling him she understood completely, before he gave voice to his concerns.

"I've only performed that feat once in my life," he said. "And then it was a short distance, across a city. I fear what it's done to her, what you're not telling me."

With a motherly smile Kora looked down at her patient. Her fingers stroked Chariss's hand like a lover, and there was a supreme sadness in the gesture. "You already know she has a terrible fever." Kora's features betrayed how worried she was despite the kind expression she offered in her smile, her full, pale lips forming the curve with a practiced smoothness that spoke volumes. If she had intended to imply joy with that smile, her fairy green eyes would have twinkled with light; tonight there was a lackluster shine about them.

"She overexerted herself today," she said.

Even without Chariss's final wish, Kora couldn't have told him that the child he loved like a daughter had telabyrinth poisoning. The hormones and energies secreted during the act of teleporting made a dangerous combination. Typically, members of the Geasa'n never learned the skill. Yet, Kora sat staring at a young lady, barely twenty years of age, who had poured every ounce of strength she had into teleporting two people nearly two-thousand leagues in a day. Kora feared they might never solve the mystery of how Chariss had accomplished the feat. Her patient fell deeper into coma with each passing moment, and she found she couldn't bring herself to tell Hrazon that, indeed, Chariss was dying.

# # #

You can also pick up the eBook version of CMFG at the publisher's link given above for $3.99, or get the hard cover edition anywhere you normally order books--Amazon, Barnes&Noble, etc.

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, author island, fantasy author, Sandy Lender

We Have a Winner!
Or...The Dragon says congrats to Laura J. from Author Island chat contest

Did everyone participate in the Author Island chat yesterday? I was back to work so I only got to check in on it a few times, but the hostess, the spectacular DeNita Tuttle, posted a contest question for me so I could give away a Choices Meant for Gods goodie bag. Yay! And the winner of the contest is the fabulous Laura J. from Indiana.

Congratulations Laura J.!!!!!

She read the excerpt from CMFG here at Today the Dragon Wins yesterday and answered the question posted during the Author Island chat to get in the drawing for the oh-so-chocolate-loaded goodie bag. That goes out in the mail later today! Yay, Laura!

Now! If anyone else is interested in winning something cool from Today the Dragon Wins, just pay attention to the contest page at http://www.authorisland.com/ because you can enter EVERY DAY here to get the Spa Package from Arcana's Bathing Rooms. Fabulous stuff... That drawing is April 15...a day everyone needs a little relaxation...

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, contest winner, author island

Catching Up
Or...The Dragon is itching to blog again

Traveling to a major U.S. city shouldn't take you out of communication with the rest of the world. SURPRISE! Staying at a dump like the Cay Club Condominiums in Las Vegas, Nev., apparently, will. I was less than impressed with the facility. It's supposedly changing its name to Desert Tide so watch out for that name, too, when doing your long-term accommodation planning for Vegas. (It's across the street from The Rio and next door to the place that had the Ricin problem a couple weeks ago. No, I'm not kidding.)

The main beef I had was the absence of wireless Internet, which my boss told me the place boasted on its Web site. (I read it after connecting from a travel site, so I can't be sure that I was on the actual "hotel" site, thus I can't claim false advertising here.) Anyway, when I couldn't log on Wednesday morning, I wished to call the front desk. Lo and behold, there wasn't a phone in the living room. Fine, I can get up from the desk and look in the kitchen. I can look in the dinette area. I can look in the bedroom. Uhhhh...there was no phone in the condo because my co-workers had no phones in their rooms either. So I used my cell to call the front desk to learn that they don't have wireless Internet. When the bizarre little cord that I assume served as the wire connection failed, I gave up.

The sad thing is, once we were on the convention floors (yes, plural; the convention was huge with more than 142,000 in attendance on Friday), I didn't have time to use the computers in the press room for blogging. So ya'll didn't get the daily updates. I apologize.

The convention was exhausting, I must say. I hit the ground running Tuesday with appointments to visit and interview a couple folks before the show closed. Same with Wednesday and Thursday. Friday was all about running around; we didn't have any specific/structured appointments. It was just a Chinese firedrill of visiting booths and finding people we needed to see. Same with Saturday morning. We had a booth of our own for the express purpose of distributing magazines. We spent a total of one hour there (if that) during the course of the five days. The cool thing is the posters of a couple of our front covers will arrive here at my house today and I can hang them in my den. How cool will that be?

I got home Sunday just before midnight, spent an hour in the Ft. Lauderdale airport wishing my luggage would arrive, wishing the shuttle would pick me up, wishing I could get to my car, and wishing I could get out of the Park-n-Save lot. Sigh. Then I spent some time flitting about Ft. Lauderdale wishing I could find I-75. I think I violated the Florida Turnpike Toll Authority at one point because there was no one in the little booth (oops). The readout on the register said "closed" in its ominous green digital print...and the gate was up so I could pass...but as I drove through, slowly, looking for a basket to put my 50 cents in, I realized I saw a red light. Do you know the sinking feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you realize you've probably just done something stupid? Yeah. There it was. But I was so tired that I decided I cared not-a-lot. I'll probably care when I get some ridiculous fine in the mail from Broward County. (That is Broward County over there, isn't it?) Anyway, I'll send them 50 cents and a scathing letter about confusing exhausted travelers. (And then I'll end up in jail, I'm sure, while some drug-runner shoots a cop and ends up free and fat in Canada. Sigh.)

Where was I? Oh, yes. So I got home around 3 a.m. (It stuns me how people lose all concept of driving ability when they run into fog.) I woke up around 11 a.m. and thought, I should blog. Instead, I sneezed blood and went back to sleep. Yes, something's wrong with me. I can't leave the state ever again. :) Leaving the state causes me to collapse in something akin to near-death. I think I'm allergic to air that isn't laced with sea-salt. I need humidity to survive. It's quite reptilian. I managed to get out of bed and go to the grocery store late in the day because, you know, there was no food here. Now I've eaten some of that food for breakfast and I'm blogging as if I'm going to return to normal. How's that for a quick recovery? I like it.

So if you're tuning back in after the week of downtime, thanks for returning. We're back in business.

Today, we have an oh-so-appropriate Word of the Day to make me smile. We also have an excerpt (above) from Choices Meant for Gods for those of you participating in Author Island's St. Patty's Day chat. You'll find the answer to the trivia question posted during the chat in the excerpt. Yay!

We also have the ongoing relaxation contest. You can win a spa package from Arcana's bathing rooms (also from Choices Meant for Gods) if you comment here that you're an Author Island fan (and who isn't?). That's going through April 15, a day when we ALL NEED relaxation. You can enter every day, so comment often.

What else? I'll do individual posts tomorrow about the fun stuff I did in Vegas. There were a couple concerts, you know...

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Author Island

Gettin' Outta Dodge
Or…The Dragon travels to Las Vegas today

I hope to remain Ricin-free while there.

I'm taking everything with me that I need to keep up with the daily interactive Word of the Day and Inspirational Quote of the Day for Writers. I think I've got a Grammar Guide in here, too. The idea is to keep the blog from falling into desuetude while I'm away. One of the joys of the World Wide Web…it's everywhere. And there's a grammatically incorrect structure for you. Enjoy.

In the meantime, there's a contest running at http://www.authorisland.com/ where you can win a spa package from Arcana's bathing rooms (Arcana, of course, is the estate in my fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods). Just let me know here at The Dragon that you're an island visitor and we'll get you entered in the contest. Deadline: April 15 (ooh, ominous). And you can enter every day, if you like. If you want to do that, I'd suggest making this blog a "favorite" on Technorati so your life is easier. Just click and get flung over here kind of action… The green Technorati widget at the bottom of the blog makes that easy for ya.

Criminy. 3:30 is waaaay too early to be typing HTML code. Have a great week!
"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Las Vegas, Choices Meant for Gods, author island, fantasy novel, technorati, dragon

Win a Spa Package From Arcana's Bathing Rooms

Or…The Dragon is promoting Choices Meant for Gods at Author Island

Are you a fan of www.authorisland.com? Have you signed up to receive DeNita's newsletter? Look, if you like to read, DeNita's got the scoop on new books, new authors, established authors with new books…you name it. How do I know? Because I've been "on the island" for several months now and my epic fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods is listed there. And right now, if you go check out the contest page at http://www.authorisland.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=6&Itemid=510, you'll learn how you can win a spa package of fabulous relaxing goodies from Arcana's bathing rooms.

I'll let Nigel explain the significance of Arcana in the following post. He seems eager to do so.

In the meantime, if you're interested in scooping up a copy of Choices Meant for Gods to see what all THAT hubbub is about (and read about Arcana), you can get the eBook for $3.99 at my publisher's site at http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm. (You can also order the hard cover edition there with a 20% discount. Or you can order it at http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Meant-Gods-Sandy-Lender/dp/1595071652/ref=dp_return_1/104-9089752-5140754?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1175821346&sr=8-1 and get free shipping. The choice is yours!)

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, contest announcement, spa package, fantasy novel, author island

Arcana is My Home
A Guest Post by Nigel Taiman

Good afternoon and welcome to Today the Dragon Wins. My fantasy author, Sandy Lender, has given me permission to write about Arcana, the estate where I live. In case you're not already familiar with the novel Choices Meant for Gods, I'm one of the main characters (oh, for pity's sake, I'm not calling myself that…no, it's your blog, you can edit it later). Fine. Sandy says I'm the hero in the story. And the lovely Amanda Chariss is the heroine.

Chariss seeks refuge at Arcana when an evil sorcerer (I'd like to run a sword through him, by the way) tries to kill her one morning. It turns out she's been running from this madman since she was a small child. When she and her guardian wizard arrive at my family's estate, we take her in as an adult and find that we have to literally nurse her back to life. (You'll have to read the book to get all that; there's not room for it here.) One evening at the estate, she takes a break from all the recovery and therapy and training and worry and plotting and planning to just relax in the bathing rooms the estate can boast.

And that's where the current contest (and prize) at http://www.authorisland.com/ comes into play. The picture above is of the prize Sandy has assembled from the bathing rooms. (And notice all that lovely lavender to match Chariss's eyes…isn't it breathtaking?)

If you'd like to win this prize, all you have to do is let us know that you're an Author Island fan. And if you'd like to hear more about the story of Amanda Chariss, I'll have information about Choices Meant for Gods here at Today the Dragon Wins throughout the contest (which you can enter every day if you feel like it; you can "favorite" this site and make your life easier by clicking the Technorati widget at the bottom of the page).

For those of you familiar with this site, the Inspirational Quote of the Day, Writers' Guide and Word of the Day follow just below.

Enjoy and good luck with the contest!
All my best,
Nigel Taiman
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, contest, spa package, fantasy novel, author island

We're Excited About Book of the Day at Author Island
Or...The Dragon gives up the answer you need to win the contest

This Friday, if you visit http://www.authorisland.com/, you'll see that the epic fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods is the featured Book of the Day. And that's tres cool. Now, you can enter to win an autographed, first-edition, hard-cover copy of Choices Meant for Gods if you answer the question o' the day correctly. To answer it correctly, you have to know why Chariss ends up at the Taiman estate (Arcana) one night, half dead and exhausted from teleporting away from the battle with Jamieson Drake where she was in danger of being killed.

(For those of you who aren't familiar with Today the Dragon Wins, or who haven't read the free chapters at my publisher's site, or who haven't read any of the teasers at Author Island, here or at my publisher's site, Jamieson Drake is the evil sorcerer who's been chasing Chariss all of her life.)

If you haven't caught the answer yet, you're welcome to visit my publisher's site to read the teaser and first three chapters for free! Click here: http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm and check out the "free sample" button to get more info about Chariss's story.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, author island, dragon

Choices Meant for Gods Will be Book of the Day Friday

Or...Visit Author Island to see The Dragon in lights...and to win stuff

This Friday, February 22, the epic fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods will be the featured Book of the Day at http://www.authorisland.com/, and I encourage you to visit for your chance to win an autographed copy of the hard-cover, first-edition version of the book. DeNita will have all the details posted on the front page of the site Friday.

In the meantime, you might want to know some info about the storyline. Yes, it will be important.

For instance, you already know that Nigel Taiman, the hero in the story, stops by Today the Dragon Wins frequently to talk about the heroine, Amanda Chariss, because he adores her. But do you know how he met her? They aren't childhood sweethearts.

Chariss ended up at the Taiman estate, Arcana, one night because the evil sorcerer, Jamieson Drake, just about captured her one day on the west side of the continent of Onweald. Our surprising heroine teleported herself and her guardian wizard all the way across the map (see Megan Kissinger's rendition above) to Arcana. In one day. For those of you who haven't read the book yet, I'll just let you in on a secret: That's unheard of. Even the most talented of Geasa'n would have trouble with a feat such as that. But Chariss overexerted herself in the task and ended up on the Taiman estate front porch not just exhausted, but poisoned from the experience. She's spent her whole life running from Drake, and her arrival at Arcana is no different. Lucky for Nigel, eh?

I'll give more information about the fantasy story this week in celebration of the big day Friday, but if you're interested in reading the first three chapters (for free), you can visit my publisher's site at http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm. There's a button in the middle of the right-hand side of the page that says "Free Sample." Or, if you want to own the whole thing, go to http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm and hit the "Click here to buy eBook for immediate download" button on the right-hand side of the page and you can own the electronic version of the whole book right now.

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

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy novel, Author Island, Book of the Day

Win a Spa Kit from Arcana's Bathing Rooms

Or...The Dragon just can't give enough stuff away

I just got back from running errands, one of which was shipping Ann's copy of Choices Meant for Gods to her because she was the winner of the Win a Fantasy for Valentine's Day contest. Now DeNita at http://www.authorisland.com/ is gearing up to announce the next contest where you can win the "Spa Kit from Arcana's Bathing Rooms."

If you don't know what Arcana's Bathing Rooms are, you've got to read more of this blog, my friends. In fact, I'll have Nigel guest post or something next week as we announce my exciting day as the featured Book of the Day at Author Island next Friday. How does that sound?

If you want to get a head start and read about Arcana yourself, you can pick up the electronic version of Choices Meant for Gods at my publisher's site very cheaply. Scoot over to http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm and click on the button to purchase the eBook/download. It's a whopping $3.99. Enjoy!

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

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Author Island, contest announcement, Arcana

Have You Entered the Latest Contest?
Or...you have to hit Author Island and Word of the Day by December 31st

Here's the scoop on all this contest murmuring we've been doing around Today the Dragon Wins as of late. See, on New Year's Eve, I figure I'll be up late to celebrate so I might as well pull a name out of a hat and give something away. So my fabulous friend DeNita Tuttle over at www.authorisland.com posted the rules in the "Contests" section of Author Island. You'll see the rules next to Sandy Lender's fabulous fantasy novel Choices Meant for Gods (because that's part of the prize, you know).

Now, if you don't feel confident that you'll be the winner, there's still time to purchase CMFG for a fantasy fan or fiction reader in your life for Christmas. You can grab it off the shelf at your local Barnes & Noble (or you might have to order it...which might take some time, actually) or you can get it at this link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Meant-Gods-Sandy-Lender/dp/1595071652/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195653204&sr=1-1. There's free two-day shipping on it right now and a bunch of great reviews to read there on the page.

There's also an e-book format for like $4 available from my publisher's site at http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm, but you can't unwrap that on Christmas morning...unless you take the time to print it out, which is cool with me. (Be careful, though. It's a freaking loooong book. This is high fantasy...J.R.R. Tolkien realm...you're getting your money's worth.)

Anyway, the point of this post was to promote the contest and get ya'll to visit Author Island to see all the contests listed there. DeNita has quite a site set up. When you register for her newsletter, you get this monthly nugget o' new book news, which will come in handy dandy when the second book in the Choices Meant for Gods trilogy comes out in the spring, yes?

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, fantasy novel, Sandy Lender, high fantasy, author island

The Contest Ends Tomorrow
Or...Happy Birthday to Simon LeBon

Yes, it's an odd way to celebrate a lead singer's birthday, but we writers are odd that way. All of you writers visiting the site know this about yourselves. All of you readers visiting the site are probably figuring this out, if you didn't already realize it. Welcome to you all.

The explanation: If you're stopping in after reading about the contest over at Author Island, welcome Author Islanders! It's a pleasure to have you stopping by to celebrate Simon LeBon's birthday, which, I do realize you're not really doing. It's a pleasure to have you stopping by to check out a little information about my epic fantasy novel, Choices Meant for Gods. Leave your happy comment in the comments link below and I'll be sure you're in the drawing tomorrow, Saturday, the 27th, Simon's actual birthday, and we'll see who the lucky reader is who gets a signed, hard-cover, first edition copy of the book, in a fabulous goodie basket. Sound cool?

Now! The book! The info is at www.authorisland.com under fantasy under my name: Sandy Lender. (Yes, I know, you wanted to read it here if you didn't come from Author Island, but the point is to support each other, so you get to link or you get to come back here Sunday. Bwuahahahahaha.) Choices Meant for Gods is a fantasy novel in the style of Tolkien, Goodkind (before he got preachy), Lackey, and the folks who like to get you totally involved in the characters for a long time. In other words, this is the beginning of a trilogy. You can read reviews and pick up a copy at BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com. (the Amazon one has free shipping)

Enjoy!

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Author Island, fantasy novel, contest, Tolkien, Goodkind, Simon LeBon