Trillian Anderson's Blog

Tentative Release Announcement: The Chameleon and the Hound

I’ve been off the radar a lot lately. Sorry about that. Things have been very busy, and they’ll be busier still until the end of the year. Real Me has several books and a novella coming out, and one of the projects is a part of Kindle Worlds, so that’s been taking up a lot of time. I’ll also be moving in the near future. (Assuming, that is, nothing else gets delayed. Oy, the stories I could tell about delays in paperwork…)

But, enough about the mundane.

The Chameleon and the Hound is coming soon. I’ll be writing most of the book in November/December 2016, which means the book should hopefully be reading in February or March. Joyous day!

I’ll be targeting the third Tuesday in February for release, but I’m not setting that in stone yet, mainly because my editor would scalp me and rip my liver out through my eyeballs.

One thing I’ve learned over the years? Don’t anger the editor.

So, be ready. Alexa’s story continues in the Chameleon and the Hound, and it’s going to be a rough ride!

Mini Review: The Jane Yellowrock Series by Faith Hunter

[image error][image error]A long, long time ago… okay, maybe a year and a half ago, I first read Skinwalker, which is the opening title of the Jane Yellowrock series. At the time, it didn’t ring bells, make the heavens open, or otherwise inspire me to go on a massive book-buying binge. Ah, the difference a year makes. A little while ago, I decided to give the book a second try. On my first reading, I liked Jane. I liked Beast. I found them interesting, but they didn’t grab me by the throat.

I’m glad I did. My second reading went a lot better for me, so I moved on to book two.

Book two, Blood Cross, triggered a binge unlike most I’ve had in a while. I started reading, and I simply couldn’t stop until I finished the entire series, pushing aside everything to get to the end of it. I laughed, I screamed frustration, and I whined. I may have sniffled here and there, too–okay, far more than is healthy for me.

This series reminded me, as good series do, that sometimes, the real story doesn’t start kicking readers in the face (and the heart) until the second book. That was the case for me.

I hate some characters. I really hate one character Jane has romantic involvement with. Absolutely hate him. I was warned something bad would happen to this individual, and my reply was, “Unless he is dead, it wasn’t horrible enough.”

Yeah. I hate this guy that much.

On the other had, I adore Bruiser, and have from book one.

What can I say? Once I get invested, I get invested… and in this series, it took me to book two to get invested.

Worth the read–and if book one doesn’t grab you, consider giving book two a try. For me, that’s when the series really took flight. It’s now on my instant buy list of series. Considering there are four series on this list, that should be a good indication of how I feel about these books.

Dawn of Dae Voted #38 on Readfree.ly’s Top 50 Self-Published Books Worth Reading (2016) list!

The Dawn of Dae (Book 1 of Dae Portals) took place #38 in readfree.ly’s Top 50 Self-Published Books Worth Reading list for 2015/2016! Thank you everyone who nominated and voted!

About the Dawn of Dae

The chance to attend college is just what Alexa Daegberht needs to break out of the mold of her caste. If she can become a Bach, she can escape the poverty she’s endured ever since her parents died when she was five. Only through education can she rise above her birth caste–and she knows it.

All of her plans fail when she opens a portal within her refrigerator, turning her macaroni and cheese casserole into a sentient being. By dawn the next day, the mysterious dae have come to Earth to stay. Hundreds of thousands of people vanish into thin air, and as the days pass, the total of the missing number in the millions. Some say it’s the rapture of the Christian faith.

Alexa knows better: their dae ate them, leaving behind nothing more than dust as evidence of their hunger.

As one of the unawakened, she doesn’t have a dae, nor can she manifest any forms of magical powers. She’s lacking the innate knowledge of what the dae are and what they mean for the world. Now more than ever, she is an outsider. Her survival hinges on her ability to adapt to a world she no longer understands.

Unfortunately, one of the dae has taken notice of her, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. Alexa’s problems pile up as she’s forced to pick her allegiances. Will she submit to the new ways of the world? Will she become some monster’s pawn? Or, against all odds, can she forge her own path and prove normal humans can thrive among those gifted with powers once the domain of fantasies and nightmares?

The Risks of Writing the Bizarre

Looking at the cover for the Chameleon and the Hound, there’s no indication there is a bizarre book lurking within the pages. The entire Dae Portals series is a string of the impossible and crazy, and I’m taking a large risk writing these books.

Invisible lines exist in our world separating the acceptable bizarre and the just plain crazy.

My books fall into the second category. Instead of the shifting staircases of Hogwarts, which are acceptably and delightfully bizarre, strange, and new, the Dawn of Dae opens with a woman living in a dystopian world, who discovers her refrigerator is far more than it looks like on the outside.

The man stepping out of it is only her first taste of the bizarre–the crazy kind of bizarre. Once the sentient, talking macaroni and cheese is added, the Dae Portals series crosses that line from the acceptably bizarre to the just plain crazy.

I’ve been watching the reviews of the series since I released the first book. Honestly, writing something on the wrong side of the acceptably bizarre line has been… frightening. My books aren’t mainstream, nor will they ever be. I’m okay with that.

As a writer, embracing the fact I am writing the bizarre–the unfashionably bizarre–is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I want to tell a hard-hitting story, but I want to have fun doing it. I want to embrace everything I love about the strange, the witty, and the unusual, and I want to do it without worrying about the constraints of normality.

Unfortunately, that means accepting the risk that go along with writing something outside of the box.

Some people are going to love a character with sentience but can only say one or two words. Others are going to be very, very annoyed by that same character. Oh, boy, are they ever going to be annoyed by that character.

For whatever reason, Colby, the macaroni and cheese character who starts out its life able to say, “Mommy!” is the character that make people either love or hate this series. There’s very little middle ground among readers I’ve noticed. I’ve somehow managed to polarize the bizarre.

I guess that goes with the territory.

I’m glad I took the risks associated with writing the bizarre. I’ve begun work on the Chameleon and the Hound, but the fear of the fact I’m writing a bizarre series with a probably limited audience (thanks to my desire to be unfashionably strange rather than acceptably so) limits me as much as it spurs me to keep writing, even if my success is limited by the fact I’ve dared to be different–a little too different.

I’ve begun writing the Chameleon and the Hound, and it begins a little like this:

I should have known I’d eventually pay the price for rescuing Rob on my own.

The instant I stepped foot into the police station to return to work, Sergeant Gildroy loomed over me, claimed my bag, and sent me to detention until I had a better understanding of the chain of command and authority.

He smiled as though I were a toy for his amusement, offering a cheerful wave while another officer, a woman with black hair and sky blue eyes a match for Rob’s, led me into the bowels of the police station.

Instead of a prison of concrete and steel, my holding cell was an apartment nice enough to appease the sensibilities of most elite, Rob included. I wasn’t given long to inspect the place; a second police officer brought a change of clothes for me. I didn’t realize it was a police uniform until I changed and gaped at my reflection in the mirror.

While I lacked the badge and other decorations marking a true officer, the sight of me wearing the rich blue of the police sent shivers down my spine. I wasn’t given long to wonder. The black-haired woman herded me to the door, thrusted a pair of black shoes at me, and clucked her tongue while waiting for me to put them on.

“We have a busy schedule, Miss Daegberht. Do hurry.” The fires of hell crackled in her voice, and my entire body tensed. The woman’s eyes narrowed at my reaction, and one of her thin, perfect eyebrows arched.

Maybe one day I wouldn’t flinch in the presence of fire breathers. Hell would likely freeze over first, if the place actually existed. I’d have to ask Rob about it one day, assuming I ever managed to escape from the consequences of my idiocy.

Book Review: Shopping for a Billionaire’s Wife

Shopping for a Billionaire is my favorite contemporary comedic romance series. All of the books have made me laugh. I’ll admit it; I have a twisted sense of humor. I really enjoy the down-to-earth humor shared by Shannon and Declan. They’re my kind of people, even if Declan is one of those crazy ultra rich types.

Shannon is a curvy girl, and she’s written like she’s a curvy girl. She’s not morbidly obese, but she’s curvy. (I think she’s a size 16 or something like that?) In short, she’s representative of something closer to the average woman, which makes it so easy to relate to her.

I’m a size 14, myself. (I need to be closer to a size 8 for my build.) Once upon a time, I was a size 00. It wasn’t pretty. My reasons for being so thin were due to nature and metabolism issues, not by choice… but I still haven’t quite found a balance between eating so much to not lose weight versus packing on the pounds.

Maybe one day.

Anyway, I really liked this book, although I’ll totally confess… I was hoping this was the last one. After so many books in the series, I want closure. Closure that I totally did not get. I love this series, but… closure, please.

Judging from the book’s conclusion, I’m still in for the long haul, although the next title in the series is from Andrew’s perspective, who is Declan’s brother.

I’m not sure what I think about that. There was already one from Amanda’s perspective. Amanda is Shannon’s best friend. While the book was okay, it was only okay to me.

I just don’t have the same connection with Amanda and Andrew that I do with Declan and Shannon.

All in all, I was really happy with the book. I laughed a lot. There were sad moments, and there were the required sexy ones, too. One thing worth noting was the fact the book delved into some of the more serious sides of relationships, which I really enjoyed.

So, if you enjoy funny romantic reads, this series is probably for you… if you like toilet humor. This series embraces that sort of humor, it also embraces slapstick, and it embraces funny but potentially humiliating/embarrassing situations.

4.5*, and I’d skew closer to 4*. I really enjoyed the read, but the lack of closure to the story got to me.

Is it so much to want to *finally* get that happily ever after for everyone involved?

Dawn of Dae – Free March 21 & 22, 2016!

The Dawn of Dae is currently available (for free) on Amazon, valid between March 21, 2016 and March 22, 2016. If you want to read a bizarre dystopian science fiction with a touch of the magical, this book is for you.

The chance to attend college is just what Alexa Daegberht needs to break out of the mold of her caste. If she can become a Bach, she can escape the poverty she’s endured ever since her parents died when she was five. Only through education can she rise above her birth caste–and she knows it.

All of her plans fall to dust when she opens a portal within her refrigerator, turning her macaroni and cheese casserole into a sentient being. By dawn the next day, the mysterious dae have come to Earth to stay. Hundreds of thousands of people vanish into thin air, and as the days pass, the total of the missing number in the millions. Some say it’s the rapture of the Christian faith.

Alexa knows better: their dae ate them, leaving behind nothing more than dust as evidence of their hunger.

As one of the unawakened, she doesn’t have a dae, nor can she manifest any forms of magical powers. She’s lacking the innate knowledge of what the dae are and what they mean for the world. Now more than ever, she is an outsider. Her survival hinges on her ability to adapt to a world she no longer understands.

Unfortunately, one of the dae has taken notice of her, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. Alexa’s problems pile up as she’s forced to pick her allegiances. Will she submit to the new ways of the world? Will she become some monster’s pawn? Or, against all odds, can she forge her own path and prove normal humans can thrive among those gifted with powers once the domain of fantasies and nightmares?

Read the book and loved it? Please share this giveaway with your friends and consider leaving a review to let other people know what you enjoyed about the book!

Enjoy the book, and happy reading!

(P.S.: I use affiliate linking because I have a love affair with buying and reading books.)

Book Review: Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews is one of the strangest stories I’ve read in a long time, but I liked it quite a bit. I had a bit of trouble getting into this book. While Dina, the main character, is quite interesting, it was her interactions with Sean, a werewolf, that really drew me into the book. Once I got drawn in, however, I found it a really interesting read.

Dina is an innkeeper, and her inn is a very magical place. Blending fantasy and science fiction, Clean Sweep explores an Earth where magic collides with aliens and all of the sci-fi goodness expected when aliens are living among humans.

I have read one other Ilona Andrews book, and honestly, it wasn’t my thing. It was an okay book, but I’m glad I gave this one a try. I’ll be reading the second book in the set, Sweep in Peace. Dina grew on me, and I liked the interesting races Andrews introduced in this book.

I gave it 4* on Amazon/Goodreads, and it’s times like this I wish I could give that half star, because this wasn’t quite a 5* read for me, but it was so close.

Book Review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

The Mercy Thompson series is on my ‘read as soon as it hits my kindle, preordered!’ list, which is a very short list.

Fire Touched didn’t disappoint. I absolutely loved it. There were a few things about the book that bothered me, a few places that made me sad, but all-in-all, this is my favorite of the Mercy series. I liked how things came together, drawing in elements from the very first book and revisiting things from the entire series. There were a few characters who didn’t make an appearance I missed, but their absence made a lot of sense.

There was one part in the book I didn’t like, but that’s for entirely personal reasons and has no relevance on how good this book is. Things I’ve been waiting for a long time finally happened in this book, and these events did not disappoint me at all.

My favorite part was a third of the way in, and all I have to say on it: About time!!!!!!!!

Will read again, and again, and again, and again.

Will be getting this one in hardback, and I hope I can get it signed some day, somehow.

Yeah, sorry this review wasn’t more useful, but when I love a book this much, I just can’t be too critical about it. That’s all on me. There are sad spots and some flaws but you know what? None of these things lessened my love of this book.

This is definitely my favorite book in the series, so take that with a grain of salt. That said, I will add one minor criticism: Between Alpha and Omega and this book, I’m kinda done with the pairings having kids arcs… which is weird for me, because I typically don’t have a problem with characters having kids in a series. There’s just something about these characters having kids that bothers me for some reason.

I’m just going to blame Dead Heat for this. The attic scene really bothered me–it bothered me a lot. That, plus there’s a sense of fatality surrounding kids in this series, since female werewolves can’t reproduce. So, there’s that. If the series was more bent for allowing mated pairs of werewolves having kids, I probably wouldn’t have a problem, but Adam and Christy had a lot of trouble having Jesse, and I really don’t want to go through that with Mercy… and Dead Heat reached my threshold for it.

So, if you want a criticism, there it is, and it’s all for personal reasons.

Still loved Fire Touched.

Things to Come, General Updates, and Life, the Universe, and Everything

It’s been a while since I’ve written. I’m sorry. I’ve been busy. Real Me has been working on a lot of books.  I should be releasing three new titles in the next three months as Real Me, which means I’ve been really busy. First one is with my editor being edited. Second one needs a bit of pre-editor editing before it’s ready to go to my editor, but that won’t be too terribly long from now. Third one is about halfway done, and I’m having a lot of fun with it.

Once Real Me’s next three titles are situated and out the door, Chameleon and the Hound will be getting a lot of love. I’ve already started the book, and I’m having a lot of fun with it. It’s taking a life of its own, and while I’m not far into the book, I really like the tone it’s taking.

Dae Portals really feels like many trilogies grouped under the same banner. Each trilogy will expand where the last left off, building until the series’s end.

I feel like I should say something about myself as a writer–and a reader.

I’m the kind who believes in Happily Ever Afters even though Happily For Now might not be the reality.I read to escape and find that happily ever after even if it does have a bit of a bitter bite to it sometimes. Stories that kill the lead characters almost always leave me with a bitterness that doesn’t go away. I’m okay with stories that kill secondary characters… if they aren’t the love and joy of the lead character. Or, let me rephrase that: the sacrifice better be damned satisfying.

I need that sense of hope when I read.

Dae Portals has a lot of darkness in it, but I’m the type of author who writes–and reads–happily ever afters.

Darkness belongs in the world, but if I’m taking away, I want it to be because there’s something even better on the horizon.

So, no matter what happens, remember this: I read for happily ever afters.

I write for the same thing.

The journey getting there, however, may be heartbreaking. When I get to that happily ever after, I want the journey itself to be the reason it’s so damned satisfying.

I like happily ever afters.

The cover for Feather’s Angel is finally ready–it has been for a while, but I haven’t had a real chance to show it off.

Feather’s Angel is a story of triumph and overcoming the odds, and I’m really, really looking forward to writing it.

Alexa will really have a chance to shine, and in so many ways, this story will be the one that changes the world Alexa lives in–for better and for worse.

I really like this cover. It’s sneaky in a lot of ways–simple, but it has hidden meanings in it. Some intentional, some accidental. I like how it brings in darkness and light, marries the two, and puts Alexa caught in the middle.

It really matches the book.

Since I’ve started revealing covers, people have been asking me what the deal with Alexa’s hair is: it is not consistent.

Yeah, it’s not. Her hair is a reflection of her, and she changes it through the books. It’s not a big deal in books one and two of the series, but as the series progresses, her hair changes–color, length, and what have you.

There’s also weird things with her tattoo, but I won’t spoil that for you.

Anyway, now that I’ve shown off the cover for book six, onto other things.

I don’t know when Chameleon and the Hound will release; I’ve been working on it, but I need to get done the three books for Real Me first. I’m really looking forward to finishing C&tH, but it’s on the back burner until I get these almost-done books finished.

I’m hoping, if I can juggle my schedule successfully, I can have Chameleon and the Hound, Summit, and World at War finished by the end of the year. I was hoping to have all the way through Feather’s Angel done, but we’ll see–my schedule is really up in the air at the moment.

Part of that is trying to keep myself happy while I write. That’s a bit of a challenge for me. I’ve been working on projects that fully capture my attention, which has made me far more productive than sitting and writing ‘what I REALLY should be working on next.’

It delayed Dae Portals, and I should feel bad for it, but I don’t. Once I finish the next three Real Me books, I’ll be sitting my ass down and getting Chameleon and the Hound hammered out and released.

When I have a better idea of a date, I’ll let everyone know.

Onto other stuff:

I have to review a lot of books. I’ll have some reviews by series, as I’ve been reading entire series lately. Tuesday, the next Patricia Briggs book will be out, and yes, yes I will be up at stupid AM reading it. No shame, no shame.

Found a Russian Roulette book recently I couldn’t bring myself to review on goodreads because I hated it that much. I’ll post my thoughts on that title with my next batch of Russian Roulette Reviews. I’ve been so busy writing I haven’t been doing a lot of reading lately. Sorry!

Soon, I promise. (Good thing soon is relative.)

Keep reading, lovers of books! (And hey, if you’re looking for something to read… you could always look at my weird books.)

A Day in the Life…

Welcome to my Rambles.

By now, some of you are aware of my main personality. It was exposed on facebook, initially accidentally, but then I decided it didn’t really matter, so I rolled with it. (If you really want to know who Real Me is, you can find out using google and facebook.) But, as a result, some interesting things happened.

First, there was a minor merging of Real Me’s fans to the new works… and a lot of the feared “What the fuck did you write?!” comments. I mean, okay. Dawn of Dae and Unawakened are weird. I mean, they’re really weird. It’s bizarre dystopian fiction. It’s supposed to be weird. Some people are going to love it. Some people are going to hate it.

I won’t lie, you need to bring your sense of humor along for the ride to enjoy these books. If you like serious, dark reads, not for you. That’s okay, though. I mean, there are dark sections in both books. I really go into the nature of man with this series, but it’s gift wrapped in the absurd.

I need a little bit of the absurd in my life. Things have been really busy, and sometimes not in a good way. I haven’t had a chance to do a whole lot of reading, which isn’t helping matters for me any. Everyone in my household has been pretty cranky, too. The weather isn’t helping. It’s February, and instead of snow, we’ve been getting rain. Rain makes my SAD trigger like crazy.

Really need to move to California, stat.

So, back to the Real Me thing. Real Me is a member of the SFWA, has written a handful or two of books, and has been drowning in the absurd. She’s working on three different titles right now. I mean, I’m working on three different titles right now. I’m enjoying them all; I’ve earned a short break from the Dae Portals books (which I’m resuming next week.)

So here’s an announcement you might like…

Since I mentioned I’m resuming the Dae Portals books next week, I’m hoping to have the Chameleon and the Hound written and prepared for release in the next few months. I have to juggle a move to California, so it may get delayed. That’s why there isn’t a preorder live, yet. However, I’m going to give you a brief idea of what the next few books are about… and cover art. Cover art. Did I mention cover art?

Also, a print version of books 1-3 compiled together in a single title is coming soon. By coming soon, I mean a couple of weeks, if that, following the release of the Chameleon and the Hound. I’m expecting it will cost somewhere between $23-26. I’m going with expanded distribution, hoping for a miracle. Holly Heisey is a superstar cover artist and has been working with me on all of my cover needs.

Onto the books.

The Chameleon and the Hound

Ever since Rob stormed out of her refrigerator and into her life, Alexa has had nothing but bad luck. Everything she knows has been turned upside down. Her work with the police, which was supposed to be a temporary affair to hunt down the women murdered by Terry Moore, has become a permanent arrangement.

She’s still on the prowl, but without any fresh leads, she’s hit yet another dead end. As her frustration mounts, so do her problems with Rob. He’s grown distant, and she has no idea what she’s done to drive him away. To make matters worse, many of the dae are acting strange, even Colby.

Consumed by her need to do something useful with herself, she convinces the police to let her work the streets. Instead of working solo like she wants, she’s assigned a partner. The Chameleon is an expert in cracking down drug rings. He’s tough, gorgeous, and dangerous, and if he ever finds out she had worked for Kenneth Smith, he’ll probably kill her and leave her body floating in the river.

With Kenneth’s new drug on the market and the rise of Sullivan’s blood liquors, the police have their hands full trying to crack down on the growing narcotics trade. The Chameleon is standing at front and center in the efforts, dragging Alexa with him every step of the way.

Going undercover as a drug user looking for the latest and greatest hit is the dumbest thing she’s ever done, but with the Chameleon breathing down her neck and the police already suspicious of her quick grasp and excellent firearms skills, she’s out of options. With a single mistake, she’ll end up hooked again, and with Rob flitting in and out of her life, she fears being alone when she falls.

Finding a compromise in serving as a blood donor for the drug trade, she fights to keep clean. It is in the darkest shadows of the drug world she learns the truth behind the women’s murders. Should she choose to pursue justice, however, she will have to put more than her life on the line.

Summit

Things happen in this book. Actually, a lot of things happen in this book, but since the Chameleon and the Hound isn’t released yet, I’m not saying what. However, I’ll show you this absolutely gorgeous cover art. Isn’t it beautiful?

I’ll give you a teaser about this much, though: in a twist of fate, Alexa has been invited to attend the first World Summit in over fifty years.

Where Alexa goes, trouble follows, and at the summit of all things, she has a long way to fall.

This is going to be a fun book.

World at War

Remember how I mentioned something about Alexa and trouble?

Yeah, that.

Times are changing, and in a world at war, there are no victors, only survivors.

You have no idea how badly I want to write this book. It’s crawling and itching under my skin, and motivating me to work on it super hard, super fast.

I really hope you’ll love it as much as I do.

I really like art.

I love sketching and line art. Real Me is making a fantasy-themed coloring book to help pay for her print covers. It’s on indiegogo. I love art.

Look at this picture I drew. It’s going to be in the coloring book. It’s a pegasus.

Now that I’ve all but directly told you who Real Me is, I’m going to get ready for bed.

Soon I’ll be back to reviewing books, causing mayhem, and otherwise trying to enjoy myself.

Keep reading, book lovers.