Claire Luana's Blog, page 5

Sunburner Cover Reveal!

I’m so excited to share the cover reveal for my second book, Sunburner! This cover was also designed by the talented Sarah Hansen (like Moonburner), and she did a fantastic job capturing the feel I wanted for Sunburner! This second book focuses on both Kai and Hiro’s point of view, so we decided to put Hiro on the cover to have a nice contrast to the Moonburner cover.

Want to know what that creepy monster is? You’ll just have to read the book! It officially launches September 26, and is...

BOOK REVIEW: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee

A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is an absolute gem of a book. It has everything you want: adventure, friendship, young love, and laugh-out loud humor. I could not recommend this book more highly!

The book features Henry Montague (Monty), a philandering Earl’s son who can’t seem to get his life together. The book begins when he and his best friend Percy depart on their one-year tour of the continent. It will be Monty’s last year of freedom and debauchery before he returns...

Ten Best Asian-Inspired Fantasy Books

Ever since I was a little kid, and my family hosted Japanese students, I’ve had a special place in my heart for Asian culture. My Japanese “big brothers” introduced me to a new world of sweeping calligraphy, honor-driven samurai, and mythical creatures unlike any I had seen in western fairy tales. I think that’s why when I set out to write my first book, Moonburner, the Asian-inspired setting felt right. If you’re like me, and can never have enough Asian-inspired fantasy in your life, try...

Moonburner Cover Reveal!

Moonburner has a new cover!

As many of you know, I recently terminated my contract with my indie publisher and re-self-published my debut novel, Moonburner. The publisher owned the cover, so I had to get a new cover designed for the book. I found the amazing Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations, whose work I fell in love with! She did an amazing job of capturing the feel and atmosphere of Moonburner with this amazing new cover!

Without further ado…

The post Moonburner C...

2017 Reading Challenge Round-up

I can’t believe we’re already in the middle of 2017! This year is seriously flying by.

I made a goal in January to read 50 books this year. That’s up about 2x from what I read last year, and felt like a stretch goal, but still possible! I also wanted to read some more books out of my normal YA Fantasy diet–some classics, some political books, some books on productivity and writing/book marketing. As we’re halfway through, I thought I would take a look at how far I’ve come. 

The current c...

Why I Got my Rights back and Self-Published

I recently made the decision to terminate my contract with my indie publisher and re-self-publish my first novel, Moonburner. This post is to explain why!

As many of you know, I published Moonburner last June with Soul Fire Press, a division of Christopher Matthews Publishing. Overall, I’ve had a really positive experience with Soul Fire and CMP. I was pleased with my cover design and the quality of the book that was produced–I felt like it was a product I could be proud of. So certainly, I d...

BOOK REVIEW: Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor

Strange the Dreamer is the first book in a new duology by one of my favorite authors, Laini Taylor! This book was everything I loved about Taylor’s writing and former trilogy, Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The book follows Lazlo Strange, who is a librarian, who has been obsessed since childhood with a mythical city called Weep. He believes that Weep is real and is fascinated by its history and downfall. Those around him are convinced it’s just a legend. His adventure starts when mythical warrio...

Welcome to the AAYAA Scavenger Hunt!

I’m Claire Luana, and I’m delighted to be a host for this amazing Alliance of Young Adult Authors Scavenger Hunt!

A little about me:

I write young adult fantasy novels! My first novel, Moonburner, launched in 2016. I live in Seattle, Washington. I have two dogs named Jameson and Guinness. Sparkling rose wine, bad CW shows, and Cadbury Mini Eggs are my Kryptonite.

Yep, that’s pretty much what you need to know about me!

Now, to the hunt! There are some seriously good prizes a...

The AAYAA Scavenger Hunt is coming soon!

In June, the Alliance of Young Adult Authors is sponsoring a massive young adult scavenger hunt. This is a chance to meet some new authors, grab a bunch of free books, and sign up to win a whole bunch of epic prizes!

RULES

Each author will be given a special keyword, which will be bolded and all caps like this: BUTTERFLIES.

All you have to do is visit all the author’s sites in this order, write down the special keywords to discover the short story, then enter the giveaway with the complet...

How to Focus and Work Deeply

Just a quick post today to share a book I read recently that has changed my approach a bit. It’s called Deep Work, by Cal Newport.

The premise of the book is thus: our modern culture is inundating us with constant stimulation, shortening our attention spans, making it difficult for us to focus on complex and difficult tasks. Our brains start to crave distraction, which is why, when I sit down with the best of intentions to bang out a chapter, the lure of the internet or Facebook sometimes pr...