So… (drum roll)

I have a bookstore!

Seen this way, and when I have all my books at an event, it definitely looks like a bookstore!

What does this mean? Several things.

First, you’ll see a change on book pages–either a normal button that says “Purchase from Author” or a “Purchase Ebook” or “Purchase Paperback”

Those grey buttons are direct purchase buttons. It’ll have a pop-up that will allow you to purchase right there.

The other exciting news is that I’ve created some special edition hardbacks complete with ribbon bookmark and endpages. I have the expanded Dragon Journal, which will be coming soon to my website, and the Myth Coast Adventures special edition hardback en route from England!

Not everything ships from England, and those that do, I’ve taken into consideration shipping costs as I priced the books. These are autographed–just not personalized–and have at least one page in color.

All paperbacks will ship from the US, so you won’t have to worry about that. I’m transitioning all paperbacks to autographed, but they aren’t there yet. I’ll be sure to let you know when the transition is done.

Another change is my merch store. It’s been up on my website, but I’ve not really advertised it. My latest in person events have had the stickers, and my last one had the t-shirts and mugs.

As you can see, there are three styles of hoodies and mugs:

Chay la Jeeah with the dragon
May your dragon fly true with a dragon
Reach Deep with Bigfoot

You have various colors to choose from for your hoodies and t-shirts. I’ve also added another t-shirt design:

Ask me how to live when your world is tilted
Then the Four Stars over Ardatz symbol
and then Chay la Jeeah at the bottom.

The stickers are in various sizes, so several of them I put two on one sheet. That means you get two for one price.

One design that’s not a dragon is the purple and pink kitty face. I designed that one Sunday afternoon, and it looks really cool as both a sticker and a mug.

Last but not least is the magnet with Braidyn and Turqueso from Dragon’s Heir. The saying is “The best times I spend are with a dragon by my side.” It’s available in a 3×3, 4×4, and 6×6 magnet.

You can access both stores via the menu bar at the top of every page. You can go to the “Purchase Directly” page or hover and allow the dropdown menu to show up and click on whichever store you want to go to.

I’m open to ideas to add to the stores, so if you have suggestions, send me a comment.

As An Unexpected Escapade wrapped up, I still didn’t know what was going to happen for the story-line of An Unexpected Exploit. I knew Jack Collins had to meet his just reward, and that the characters were going to get to go into Shinwano. Beyond that, I had no idea. To my surprise, the book lived up to its name in two ways.

Exploit Explained

The word exploit can be both a noun and a verb. As I explain to my students, that means it is a thing as well as an action. When I created the title, I was thinking of the noun:

A bold or daring feat

oxford dictionary on google

The teens were going to go on a daring adventure by crossing the portal into Shinwano. It would be unexpected because Franklin would follow bigfoot into the mythical realm.

Little did I realize that there’s a second definition of exploit that fit the story as well.

use in an unfair or selfish way

Oxford dictionary on google

This definition describes Jack Collin’s motives to a ‘T’. He’s after all the magic he can gather. What better way than to force Franklin to show him where the portal is and go through it himself? Once he enters Shinwano, he devours all he can–from a faun, to a unicorn horn, and even dragon scales.

Pre-order gift for you

Once you pre-order your copy of An Unexpected Exploit, you can show proof of purchase and receive a mobile wallpaper. There are three to choose from–a cute baby dragon on a hand, a fairy in a cage, or a pirate looking out to sea.

An Unexpected Exploit Cover

Now, here it is. One of my son’s named it the best cover yet! That’s high praise coming from my kids who are very picky about my covers. Amalia Chitulescu did a fabulous job with all three of these covers.

Behind the Scenes on the cover

One advantage to having a professional photographer for a husband is that I get discounted rates. So, the week of the 4th of July, we got together with two different groups of students. The first one was a group of three high school boys on the beach. From those images, Amalia Chitulescu created the cover for An Unexpected Adventure. I’m always amazed at how she can create fantasy from reality.

The next photo session took place at the local park. We met up with two girls, three horses, and a mom. The girls held the horses while the mom posed with the third horse as a possible unicorn. Since I didn’t have a really good idea of what I wanted, my husband took photos with the horses in the corral.

Then almost as an afterthought, we took the horses to a trail and took a couple more photos, and finally, several of just the girls so I could give my illustrator something to work with. When we were finished, I sent the images to Amalia and she began her work. What resulted was beyond my wildest dreams.

Illustrations

After a conversation with a mom of an avid reader, I decided to add illustrations to this series. Last summer, I searched for an illustrator and have been beyond blessed with Anita Thubakabra. I love how she communicataes with me and is so easy to work with. Book three will be a challenge for her because there are many more mythical creatures.

Every illustration brought the story to life, but there were several that brought tears to my eyes. I love how Anita captured the relationship between Will and Ana, as well as the scene of the boating accident.

All day, Ana stewed over the problem. How could they keep Kajri safe, and who could they trust? After a quick snack and a note to her mom, she had come down to the dock and was standing on her dad’s boat, leaning on the Harrier’s flybridge railing. Gulls cried above her, and the gentle sucking and slapping of water between the dock and the boat accompanied the rocking that she loved so much. Ana inhaled the scent of fish, brine, and salt water. It was her favorite place to think.

Excerpt

I thought I’d share with you an excerpt based on our current weather. We’re not having the wind, but they did actually send us home from school early yesterday due to high water from rain.

***

Monday blew in with the typical winds preceding the first rain of the season. Daisy tried to not knock her head on the window as the bus took a particularly violent gust. Many students were muttering discontentedly that school should have been canceled. Daisy shook her head. She, too, wished for a day off, but not because of the wind. She’d wanted to spend the day making sure the unicorn was safe. Root and Ginger knew where to shelter in a storm, but she didn’t know if the same was true for the unicorn. Where had it come from?

The whistling of the wind through the electrical wires made speaking impossible as they unloaded the bus. Daisy hurried into the building, deposited her backpack in her locker, and rushed to the cafeteria. Ana waited for her at their seat, along with Karlie.

The large windows that filled the south wall rattled, and Karlie glanced outside. Her sleeved hand came up to her mouth, her wide eyes betraying her fear. “Is this normal?”

“Oh, yeah.” Ana swallowed a bite of cereal. “You should see it when it really storms.”

“Don’t they close school?” Karlie shifted her gaze from Ana to the windows.

Ana spoke with a full mouth. “Only if the electricity goes out.”

“Or if the winds are too strong.” Daisy shifted on the bench. “It-it has something to do with safety for the buses.”

Karlie’s eyebrows disappeared into her blue bangs. “Would the wind actually blow the buses over?”

Ana shrugged. “Depends on how strong it gets. There’s a story that a rock from the beach flew up and knocked out the light on the airport beacon at White Cape State Airport.”

“Th-that’s about t-two hundred fifty feet off the beach!” Daisy snagged a cheerio from Ana’s bowl and popped it into her mouth.

More excerpts and interviews

Be sure to catch all the posts to celebrate the release of An Unexpected Escapade, and if you’re on the Southern Oregon Coast feel free to come out to the Langlois Library on Saturday, April 27 at 1 pm for a reading and drawing for autographed copies of both books.

Release Day Posts

Kat Vinson will host an author interview.

Tabitha Caplinger will host a guest post about the book that’s different content then here.

Janelle Schmidt’s InterFiction Gazette has an interview with Daisy. You won’t want to miss this one.

Thursday Interview

Annie Douglas Lima will host an interview with Winston on Thursday.

Friday Post

Laurie Lucking will host another author interview that is different than any of the others.

Background for the story

I live in rural America on the Southern Oregon Coast. I love everything about it–the mountains jutting right up against the coast, the small town feel, and the climate (most of the time). However, I noticed that kids didn’t think they lived in a wonderful place. The media tells them they’d be better off if they lived in the city and glorifies a more hectic lifestyle or job possibilities than the ones they may dream of. So, I wanted to feature normal, everyday kids from my area. My thought was that it would give them a way to see what they are as good and positive.

Background for An Unexpected Escapade

I was inspired by two girls in my junior high Spanish class. As I watched them interact and listened to them talk about animals, I knew they would fit perfectly for a story about a unicorn. During the middle of the year, a new girl moved in. The first word she learned in Spanish was rata–rat. As their junior high years progressed, I watched them grow, but I also saw some tragedy come their way. What I didn’t expect was for that tragedy to strike me so hard either.

As I tried to write An Unexpected Escapade it was more reality than fantasy, and I didn’t want to face that. So instead, I finished writing To Save a Race and put this story on hold. Finally, about a year after starting, I finally was able to pick it up and make it more fantasy than reality. From there, the story flowed.

Blurb for An Unexpected Escapade

Protect friendship, family or a creature that’s not supposed to exist?

Ana and Daisy have been friends since third grade, but a rift in the space-time continuum in their little town may change that. When a unicorn waltzes into the pasture with Daisy’s appaloosas, a poacher, who will stop at nothing to gain the unicorn horn and its healing tears, shows up. Daisy is focused on saving the unicorn while Ana’s parents face sudden life-threatening health issues. When Ana learns about the healing tears, she’s forced to choose between friendship and her family’s health.

Can the girls find the grace to compromise and save Ana’s parents and the unicorn?

More about the book

It’s a mashup of The Unicorn Chronicles and My Neighbor Totoro. The girls find a friend in their pasture, much like Totoro, and meanwhile there’s a poacher willing to do anything to get the unicorn’s horn and tears. It draws us closer into the rural town of Myrtle Beach, Oregon, and as the countdown to release draws closer, I’ll be posting more about it on social media.