Tag Archives: Camelot’s Queen

Been Searching for You, Books, Camelot's Queen, Daughter of Destiny, Guinevere trilogy, Madame Presidentess, Retailers

My Books Available in Stores & On New Site

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I’m happy to say that if you live in LA or near Bellingham, Washington, you can now purchase my books from two physical book stores!

rippedboddiceThe Ripped Bodice – Los Angeles, CA
You may remember that I was a proud Kickstarter backer for the opening of this romance-only bookstore. (I sponsored a shelf.) Now, they are selling Daughter of Destiny, Camelot’s Queen, Been Searching for You and Madame Presidentess (once it’s published), both in-store and online. 

Village Books – Bellingham, WA
A perk of being one of the top five bestsellers at the Chanticleer Author’s Conference is that Daughter of Destiny and Camelot’s Queen are now for sale in their store. Been Searching for You and Madame Presidentess (pre-order) are available on their website.

Books by the Bay

Ireadbooks.com
This is a new site by the folks behind Serious Reading. Daughter of Destiny and Been Searching for You are available for free on this site. Yes, you read that right. You can download them for free and I get paid for every download. I will eventually add my other books as well.

More to Come, and You Can Help!
As soon as I get some time to talk with my local indie book store owners, you’ll be seeing my books on shelves here in St. Louis and hopefully Chicago as well. I’ve also been told of a book store in Glastonbury, England that is interested; I need to follow up on that one. Not bad for an indie author who just published her first book on January 1!

Are there book stores in your area you’d like to see carry my books? If so, let me know. You asking them is always a big help, but if I know where you like to shop, I will contact them as well. Together, we can get books on shelves all over the world!

Blog Tours, Camelot's Queen

Camelot’s Queen Blog Tour

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It seems like the book just came out yesterday, but it’s already time for the Camelot’s Queen blog tour. Check out where you can find reviews, giveaways and features over the next three weeks. It’s sure to be an exciting time. And thank you to everyone who agreed to be part of this tour!

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Camelot's Queen, Guinevere trilogy

Camelot’s Queen Publication Day!

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My second publication day is here! Before we get into my musings, here are the buy links for the Camelot’s Queen print (Amazon and Barnes and Noble) and ebook. Audio will be available in May. (If the paperback isn’t showing up on Barnes and Noble give them a few hours; they can be slow.)

amazon-logo-icon nook-icon-150x150 KoboIconWeb ibooks_icon book-button-smashwords-icon

Camelot's Queen 3DLet me start by saying that Camelot’s Queen is the book I’m most proud of to date (and I’m including my two as-of-yet unreleased books in that statement). It is long, but I think it really shows what I can do as a writer and adds a lot to the collective Arthurian legend.

You would think I’d be less nervous than for the first one, but I’m actually more. I think it’s because I have no idea how people are going to take this book. I mean, I expected some push back on the first book because it’s a totally different Guinevere than people are used to, especially if they come at the books expecting the perfect, docile Guinevere of some stories. But since most authors haven’t explored her early life, I had some leeway.

I explained this in the author’s notes to Camelot’s Queen, but I wrote this book with no small amount of trepidation. This is the part of the story everyone knows and loves. Everyone has their own interpretation, vision, and expectations, so no matter what I do, I’m going to let someone down. I have made the choices I made for a reason, but I know they won’t sit well with everyone, especially given that Morgan’s role is different from what you would expect and I’ve given a completely different reason for Guinevere’s affair with Lancelot.

Not only that, this story delves into a few controversial and dark issues, including rape, physical and mental abuse, and PTSD. Guinevere’s kidnapping and rape is part of the canon of Arthurian legend. Just how badly she was abused (if at all) varies by the telling, but to leave this event out simply because it is distasteful would be disingenuous to both the tradition and to readers. I have done my best to treat these issues with respect and not use them simply as plot points but to show how they affected the characters’ lives and brought about change, as they do for victims in real life. However, I know some people will take me to task for it.

That being said, this isn’t a totally dark book. There are moments of happiness and scenes I truly cherish, especially with characters I invented. I look forward to all of you meeting Sobian, the pirate-turned-assassin-and-spy from Arthur’s past and Mayda and Elga, the Saxon sisters who will continue to cause trouble into book 3. I also can’t wait for you to get to some of my favorite scenes: there are three with Aggrivane that are close to my heart, I love the battles, and the Holy Grail was so much fun. I especially can’t wait for all of you to see the twists, especially the one with Morgan and Arthur and also the circumstances leading up to the end of the book.

I’m going to take a deep breath now and admit my baby is in the world. She’s no longer mine; she belongs to the readers, too. I hope you all like her!

PS – I’m guesting over at Celebrate with a Book and Kate Hill’s blog.

PLUS, Daughter of Destiny is a special feature at Many Books today ($0.99 sale).

Feel free to drop by and say hi and/or spread the word!

Articles, Travel

My Article About Traveling in Arthurian England in The Huffington Post

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Wow, this is an amazing day. On top of my previous news, The Huffington Post released my article, “Traveling in the Footsteps of King Arthur and Guinevere,” a day early (it was supposed to coincide with my book release tomorrow). It made the front page of the travel section, as well!

CQ Huffpo

There’s a whole series of posts on this blog about that trip I took if you want to know more:

Daughter of Destiny

Daughter of Destiny Ebook on Sale

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To celebrate the publication of Camelot’s Queen, the second book of Guinevere’s Tale, on April 12 (less than a week away…ahhh!!), the ebook of Daughter of Destiny, the first book in the series is on sale for only $0.99 through April 16! So if you haven’t purchased it yet or were on the fence, it won’t cost you much to pick it up!

Sale copyHere are the purchase links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iBooks

Smashwords

Drive Through Fiction

Best Indie Bookstore

I’m not sure why the discounted price isn’t showing up on Kobo. If that’s your store of choice, please keep checking back. It *should* pick up the new price.

And, if ebooks aren’t your thing, don’t forget that you can still purchase the print and audio versions (although those aren’t on sale – I can’t control my audio book price).

And please, if you read the book and like it, leave a review. Amazon is preferred, but Goodreads is always welcome if you have an account.

Liked This Book-Please leave a review!

Camelot's Queen, Cover Reveals, Guinevere, Guinevere trilogy

Cover Reveal: Camelot’s Queen (Guinevere’s Tale Book 2)

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I’m happy to announce that Camelot’s Queen, the highly-anticipated sequel to Daughter of Destiny, will be published in ebook and paperback on Tuesday, April 12 (audio book release date TBD). You can pre-order the Kindle version on Amazon and/or add it to your Goodreads list right now.

And, without further ado, here’s the cover and the back page copy…

Camelot's Queen eBook Cover Large

History remembers Guinevere’s sin, but it was Arthur who transgressed first.

Forced into a marriage she neither anticipated nor desired, Guinevere finds herself High Queen, ruling and fighting alongside Arthur as they try to subdue the Saxons, Irish and Picts who threaten Britain from every direction. Though her heart still longs for her lost love, Guinevere slowly grows to care for her husband as they join together to defeat their enemies.

Meanwhile, within the walls of Camelot their closest allies plot against them. One schemes to make Guinevere his own, another seeks revenge for past transgressions, while a third fixes her eyes on the throne. When the unthinkable happens and Guinevere is feared dead, Arthur installs a new woman in her place, one who will poison his affections toward her, threatening Guinevere’s fragile sanity and eventually driving her into the arms of her champion.

Amid this tension a new challenge arises for the king and queen of Camelot: finding the Holy Grail, a sacred relic that promises lasting unity. But peace, as they will soon learn, can be just as dangerous as war. As the court begins to turn on itself, it becomes clear that the quest that was to be Arthur’s lasting legacy may end in the burning fires of condemnation.

This highly anticipated sequel to Daughter of Destiny proves there is much more to Guinevere’s story than her marriage and an affair. See the legend you think you know through her eyes and live the adventure of Camelot’s golden days yourself – but prepared to suffer its downfall as well.

Books, Guinevere trilogy, HLMHLMN

Publication Announcement!

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Image purchased from Dreamstime

Image purchased from Dreamstime

This is the blog post I’ve been waiting four years to write. I’m excited to announce that you will be seeing four (maybe even five) books from me in 2016!

That’s because I’ve made the decision to become an independent author. I’m even in the process of setting up my own company, which will be my publication house.

Here’s the publication schedule:

  1. Daughter of Destiny (Guinevere’s Tale: Book 1) – January 1
  2. Camelot’s Queen (Guinevere’s Tale: Book 2) – March 23
  3. Been Searching for You (formerly He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not) – May 23
  4. Madame Presidentess – July 25

And if the stars align, I’d love to have Mistress of Legend (Guinevere’s Tale: Book 3) published by the end of 2016, but that may be a bit ambitious, so I’m not making any promises yet.

All of these books will be available in e-book, print and audio formats. (Audio may come later than the others, depending on the production schedule. I’ll keep you updated.)

These books are the beginning of three series that I’ll continue in years to come:

  1. Arthurian Legend – Obviously, this includes the three Guinevere’s Tale books, but I also plan to write Tristan and Isolde’s story (Isolde demanded it when she walked into my head all those years ago), as well as several novellas. I’m also planning a companion book that tells you more about the details of my Arthurian world – you know, all the stuff that didn’t fit into the books.
  2. Love in the Windy City – Been Searching for You was supposed to be a standalone novel. However, my beta readers immediately came back and demanded more, as have several contest judges. I’m pretty sure that there will be two more books in this series. I don’t want to give away more than that until all of you get to read it and tell me if you agree there’s more to Annabeth and Alex’s story (and Miles, Mia, and Nick).
  3. Heroines of the 19th Century – Madame Presidentess (about Victoria Woodhull) is the first of four books about three feisty, mostly unknown, real-life women of the 19th century. Victoria was the first female to run for President in the United States. Another woman I will write about was a Morman with dreams of a new life in California, who unexpectedly became involved with Indians in the Wild West (I think her story will be two books). The other is a French woman who made a certain brand of high-end wine a household name in a time when women simply did not work. Though they are from vastly different worlds, none of these ladies lived the traditional role set out for women of their time and the world is better for it.

Which one will I focus on once the third Guinevere book is out? I have no idea. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I have 22 books floating around in my head, so it will really be up to the muse and the characters what comes next. Well, that and how all of you react to the books once you can read them.

As many of you know, this has been a long journey with many ups and downs, and I want to make sure you know how grateful I am for all of you sticking with me, whether you’ve been here from the beginning or are just hopping on for the ride. I plan to keep you apprised of every step in the process and will give additional information as soon as I can. Look for cover reveals, early sample chapters, giveaways and more as publication dates approach.

Eventually I’ll get to the fun stuff like scheduling book signings and virtual tours (hope to get to meet some of you via Skype!), but right now I’m working on securing a cover designer, map illustrator (for the Guinevere books) and editor. Plus learning everything I can about self publishing. Before long it will be time to firm up the audio deal. Every day brings a new challenge, but it’s something I am having so much fun learning. For me, this is a career and a business, so I want to get it right.

Curious as to why I chose to self-publish? Find out my reasoning on Thursday, August 28, over at Spellbound Scribes.

Are you excited that my books will finally be out there? Which one(s) are you most looking forward to? Anything in particular you want to see in terms of marketing?