guest blogging!
September 1st, 2010
I’m guest blogging over at Drey’s Library today (and off and on all month!). Pop on over for a chance to win a copy of TRUTHSEEKER!
Release Day!
August 31st, 2010
Today is the official release date for TRUTHSEEKER! It is my fifteenth published novel. o.O Go forth to yonder bookstores and see if you can find it! Buy a copy! Buy many copies, so that there will be sixteenth and seventeenth and so on published novels*! :)
Gifted with an uncanny intuition, Lara Jansen nonetheless thinks there is nothing particularly special about her. All that changes when a handsome but mysterious man enters her quiet Boston tailor shop and reveals himself to be a prince of Faerie. What’s more, Dafydd ap Caerwyn claims that Lara is a truthseeker, a person with the rare talent of being able to tell truth from falsehood. Dafydd begs Lara to help solve his brother’s murder, of which Dafydd himself is the only suspect.
Acting against her practical nature, Lara agrees to step through a window into another world. Caught between bitterly opposed Seelie forces and Dafydd’s secrets, which are as perilous as he is irresistible, Lara finds that her abilities are increasing in unexpected and uncontrollable ways. With the fate of two worlds at stake and a malevolent entity wielding the darkest of magic, Lara and Dafydd will risk everything on a love that may be their salvation—or the most treacherous illusion of all.
A teaser chapter is posted here. I think this one’s a charming little story. A fairy tale, in fact, although being merely the writer, I didn’t actually realize that until I was nearly done writing its sequel. :)
Today I’m blogging over at Suvudu, about what happens when an editor asks a writer (or at least this writer) to do a blog on a specific topic. Tomorrow I will start a month of being the Featured Author at Drey’s Library, which should be fun, and later in the month I’ll be blogging at Bitten By Books. I’ll link to those things as they come up, but there’ll be chances to win copies of TRUTHSEEKER at both those locations during the month.
*ok, technically, the 16th and 17th novels are already done and dusted, as those are SPIRIT DANCES, the 6th Walker Papers novel, and WAYFINDER, the sequel to TRUTHSEEKER, both of which are out in 2011. Let us not get hung up on details. :)
Bibliography added
August 29th, 2010
At reader request, I’ve added a bibliography which has all my publications listed in the correct reading order.
Comments comment
July 26th, 2010
I’m getting hammered by spam, so I’ve had to close all comment-ability on posts older than 14 days. Always feel free to comment something on a newer post, if you’re trying to respond to an older one that’s already closed down!
TRUTHSEEKER excerpt!
July 19th, 2010
There’s something screwy with the font sizes on my websites. I’m vaguely assuming this has to do with the need to upgrade to WP 3.0, which I haven’t done yet. I am, though, aware of the problem and I’ll try to get it fixed this week.
In the meantime, have an excerpt from TRUTHSEEKER, out in September 2010!
“–once upon a time, not so long ago, it was driven by a little old lady I know personally. She drove it to the store weekly, that’s it, so its four thousand miles are gentle ones, ladies. It’s just two years old and has all the extras. You won’t find a better deal than this here or anywhere else. Now, I know the sticker price is eighteen five and you’re not looking to spend quite that much.” The salesman leaned out from beneath his umbrella to get a better look at the V of Kelly Richards’ T-shirt, and smiled. “It’s cutting my own throat, but I think I can knock it down to seventeen flat. It’s a bargain, ladies, a real bargain.”
“Lara?” Kelly folded her arms beneath her breasts.
For a moment Lara found herself studying her friend’s cleavage, though less avidly than the salesman had. Kelly had a lifetime’s experience in using her assets to distract and command, whereas Lara’s own figure had been described as more of a pirate’s treasure: a sunken chest. Clinical curiosity made her wonder what it would be like to take control of a situation just by inhaling deeply.
“Earth to Lara, hello?” Kelly snapped her fingers under Lara’s nose. “Are you in there?”
“Of course I am.” Lara turned her attention back to the yellow Mazda Miata the salesman hawked. Or, rather, to the patter he’d shared, the quick flow of words meant to distract and impress in the same way Kelly’s T-shirt was. Lara thought Kelly had taken the upper hand in dedication to distraction, though. It was too cold, with too much promise of serious rain, to be out without a coat, and the salesman’s gaze kept wandering to Kelly’s chest instead of the vehicle lot. “And he’s lying.”
“Year of Miracles” commission, Mark 2
July 14th, 2010
August 1, 2010: The commission is now closed! Thank you for participating!
The novella “Year of Miracles” reaches back four hundred years in the Old Races universe to tell another Janx and Daisani story, this time about Sarah Hopkins, the human woman they both loved in the year that London burned.
There is no minimum buy-in for this novella–pay whatever you feel is fair or can afford–but now through the end of July 2010 will be the only opportunity to order a copy: at the end of July, it goes off the market permanently until I find a traditional publisher for it.*
The novella will be delivered to you as a PDF on or before December 31, 2010. I’ll use your Paypal account email address as the one to send the story to unless otherwise directed, so direct me otherwise if necessary. Also, if you do subscribe to the story, please immediately add ce-murphy-patrons@googlegroups.com to your email address book so that when I send the story out it actually gets through to you.
I’d be grateful if people linked or pointed others to this and/or the original post, since I don’t know any other way to advertise!
A new excerpt from “Year of Miracles”:
“I can’t.” Sarah held back, breaking her grip on Eliseo’s hand. “I can’t.”
“Of course you can.” He stopped and turned back, a gentle brightness in his eyes. He gestured at himself, a motion that invited her to look at him as though she’d never seen him before. Dapper: that was a word she’d learned from the two extraordinary men in her life; from the slight and swarthy man before her and from beautiful, outrageous Janx.
And that was the trouble, whether Eliseo Daisani wanted to see it or not. He suited the fine clothes, the expensive shoes, the distant music and the wealthy crowd who attended such matters as balls and courts. He was not handsome, but his aspect, the part of him that was more–and less–than human, gave him a gravitas and a compulsion that drew people to him. He belonged where she did not. Even dressed in silks, even with the slaughterfields cultured from her voice, she was a daughter of blood and guts and gore.
“Sarah,” Daisani said, still gentle. “What do you see, when you look at me?”
“More than I should.” She couldn’t help it: not since the night a gleeful Janx had shed his human form, becoming the great red dragon who offered her a place on his back. She had flown so high that night, come so close to touching the winter moon, and when they landed, Eliseo Daisani, not to be outdone, was waiting for them with a waterfall of impossible flowers in his arms. The season was wrong, all wrong, and yet his arms overflowed with blooms. Daisies she knew, though the red ones were unfamiliar, but the others were thistle-purple and elongated.
“Amaranth,” Daisani said that night. “Love everlasting, and red daisies for beauty unknown.”
“Nothing lasts forever,” she had replied, and then he had offered her proof that she was wrong, never wincing as he parted the veins of his wrist and slow blood oozed out.
“Just two sips,” he warned. “The first for health. The second for life.”
“And if I take three?” she asked, playful with the wonder of Janx’s flight.
Daisani’s gaze darkened. “Do not. The third sip is death. That’s the price of a vampire’s gift.”
“More than I should,” Sarah repeated now, because she couldn’t forget, not ever, not looking at either of her men. “Always, more than I should.”
“And they see less.” He nodded toward the distant courtyard, and offered his arm once more. “They’ll see a woman of wealth and beauty, Sarah, no matter what you feel lies below.”
*I reserve the right to do a second run of sales if it turns into a novel, which is not impossible. Otherwise, though, this is it, your one and only chance.
“Year of Miracles” commission
June 11th, 2010
August 1, 2010: The commission is now closed! Thank you for participating!
I’m writing a new novella (in all likelihood, anyway, as given the subject it’s unlikely to be only a short story) of the Old Races.
This will be another commissioned story, available only to those who buy in. It’ll run differently from the last one in that there’s no minimum subscription rate/buy-in, but I’ll retain the exclucivity factor: anybody who buys in over the next six weeks will get a copy of the story, and then it’ll be permanently off the market until I sell it to a traditional publisher. No second chances, this time.
And so, an excerpt from “Year of Miracles”, the story of Janx, Daisani, Sarah Hopkins, and London burning:
“From whom would I buy two dozen cows, a dozen pigs and as many sheep, and, oh, a flock of chickens for dining on?” A man’s voice, cultured voice; too cultured even to be a servant, and they were the ones most often sent to the slaughterfields. Sarah wiped her hands on her skirt–useless gesture; the fabric was damp and black with blood, and her fingernails crusted with it–and answered as she turned.
“Anyone along here, m’lord. Slaughtered and dressed and brought to yer table, m’lord.” She was self-conscious, as she was not with servants, of the differences in their accents: of the broadness of hers, and the refinement of his. Worse when she shaded her eyes, taking the sun’s glare down enough to see the man. Tall, slim, red-haired and green eyed, with a cloak only a fop would wear, its colors garish and bright in the sunlight. Layer after layer of fine cloth, reds and golds in no fashion she’d seen before, and the vest beneath it of cloth softer than she would ever touch.
His eyes widened with mock dismay. “Slaughtered and dressed and brought to my table? Now why would I want that, when it’s so much more fun to make the kill myself?”
She rubbed a finger in her ear, squinting at him. “My lord? You’ll want a farmer for that, if it’s for hunting them yourself…” Hunting boar: the wealthy did that, she knew. But hunting cows and pigs was an oddness, even for the rich, and this man was.
“Oh no.” He kicked a foot up, displaying a boot of dark red leather, rich and beautiful and covered in the worst a slaughterfield could offer. “Hunt cows? And ruin these boots?”
She stared at the muck and offal ruining the fine leather, then lifted an incomprehending gaze to the bright-eyed man displaying the boot. “M’lord?”
“Your name,” he said gently. “What is your name, slaughterfield’s daughter?”
“Sarah,” she said after a moment. “Sarah Hopkins, m’lord.”
“Sarah.” He cut a bow, deeper than she imagined a man would give even the queen, and when he straightened again it was with a wicked grin. “All I wanted, Sarah Hopkins, was an excuse to speak to you. My name is Janx.”
Because I am not (completely) insane, the delivery date for this story will be on or before December 31, 2010.
Please note: I’ll use your paypal account email address as the one to send the story to unless otherwise directed, so direct me otherwise if necessary. Also, if you do subscribe to the story, please immediately add ce-murphy-patrons@googlegroups.com to your email address book so that when I send the story out it actually gets through to you!
The Five Year Shelf
June 9th, 2010
On June 1, 2005, my first novel, URBAN SHAMAN, hit the shelves.
On June 1, 2010, my 13th novel and 19th published work, DEMON HUNTS, hit the shelves.
If anybody asks what I was doing during the Oughts, this is mostly the answer:
Go me. :)
Anthologies ho!
May 14th, 2010
Two new anthologies are now available!
DRAGON’S LURE, featuring “Perchance to Dream”, a post-Negotiator Janx story:
The mask was nearly as beautiful as the woman bearing it.
They were both dark: it of ironwood so old its chocolate hues had aged to black; she with lustrous skin that said no white men had bred into her aboriginal stock. She was small but strong; had to be to lift the mask’s weight so gracefully, when it was more than half her size. It was never meant to be worn: its fist-sized opal eyes couldn’t be seen through, nor were its interior struts intended to be placed over shoulders. It was to carried, danced with, thrust forward so its size and exaggerated features could bring watchers into a world beyond their own.
Janx knew a thing or two about worlds that went unseen.
and
RUNNING WITH THE PACK, featuring “Blended”, a Regency-era werewolf romance:
The pack had been born savages and had, almost to a man, died that way.
Almost: almost. She had been a whelp the day the hunters came, dozens of them on their thundering black horses with the pack fleeing before them. Her mother had thrown her beneath a long-dead tree, and she’d watched dark legs flash by, dangerous broad hooves kicking up the snow.
She had seen the blood, from her hiding place. Had seen it when the hunters rode back, triumphant despite their own losses. Stripped skins still steamed in the cold, making their horses toss their heads at the scent of death. She hadn’t known, then, that it was her family, her cousins and her friends, who lay strewn across saddles and stuffed into saddlebags. Not until she was much older did she come to understand what had happened. That her family had run until they could run no more, and then had turned to fight. Beasts, turning tooth and claw against the men who hunted them. Horses died; men died.
But mostly, wolves died.
And just in case you missed it, THE PHANTOM QUEEN AWAKES, featuring “Cairn Dancer”, a story of the Morrigan, has been available since March:
It was not, in the end, the river which waited, not at all. It was instead the cairns, rough tall stone piles which housed the dead, and honored them. It was their song that called her down the length of the river, inviting them to their sacred place.
“I didn’t know,” she said, that first night amongst the tall stone cairns. “I didn’t know they sang to us.”
“Most don’t. It’s easier to let them go if you don’t know,” Aine replied. “Easier to think the spirit goes on, joins the world again, and almost no one hears the song. I don’t,” she added, and Mairaed turned from the cairns in surprise. “My aunt did, and when no one in my generation heard the call, she taught me the dances so they might not be lost. My own daughter knows them for the same reasons, but it’s yourself they’re meant for.”
A fist made itself known around Mairaed’s heart: a squeeze that took her breath and sent an ache through her body. Her palms cramped; the soles of her feet shuddered, and she sipped barely enough air to whisper, “The dances.”
Go forth! Buy! Enjoy! :)
TRUTHSEEKER revealed!
April 5th, 2010
Finally the TRUTHSEEKER cover has been presented to booksellers, which means I can finally post it myself! Hooray!
ACROSS TWO EXTRAORDINARY WORLDS, TRUTH IS THE DEADLIEST MAGIC
Though gifted with an uncanny intuition that allows her to discern when someone is lying, Lara Jansen is sure there’s nothing particularly special about her. All that changes when a handsome but mysterious man enters her quiet Boston tailor shop and reveals himself to be a prince of Faerie. What’s more, Dafydd ap Caerwynn claims that Lara is a truthseeker, a person with the rare talent of being able to tell truth from falsehood. Dafydd begs Lara to help clear his name by solving his brother’s murder, of which Dafydd himself is the only suspect.
Acting against her practical nature, Lara agrees to step through a window into another world. Now caught between bitterly opposed Seelie forces and Dafydd’s secrets, which are as perilous as he is irresistible, Lara finds that her abilities are increasing in unexpected and uncontrollable ways. With the fate of two worlds at stake and a malevolent entity wielding the darkest of magic, Lara and Dafydd will risk everything on a love that may be their salvation—or the most treacherous illusion of all.
Available August 31, 2010–pick a link from the navigational column to pre-order it now! And there’s a much bigger version behind the cut. :)
