K. Vale Nagle's Blog, page 4

Work, Work

Hello, Fantails!

After all the travel and medical tests, it’s been good to get back to my usual schedule. Health-wise, I’m just waiting to hear back from insurance before I start treatment. I imagine from my author’s notes it isn’t a secret, but catastrophic APS (antiphospholipid antibody syndrome) has made life exciting the last six years. I’m on enough medication that it shouldn’t still be trying to kill me outright, but I’m still tired and in pain all the time. There are treatments that would get me back to 100%, but I’ve spent the last few months trying other treatments first and making the case to insurance to cover the better treatments. Right now, it’s just a waiting game. But if it’s covered and the treatment works, you can probably expect my writing output to double, so fingers crossed! (Or paws, talons, etc.)

I’m still hard at work on Reevesbane, but I don’t have a release date yet. While undergoing the other treatments, it was a little easier to write short stories, hence the newsletter and Patreon short stories. There are two more in the Blue Eyes series that’ll release this month and next. I’ve had a lot of fun writing them, and I appreciate all of the fan mail. It seems like Satra and Mignet is the favorite so far, but wait ’til you read this month’s. Here’s a tiny spoiler: it has snow.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t much of a spoiler. December’s story will serve as a capstone to the anthology, touching on all of the previous stories. A few people have asked about adding a paperback or hardcover to their shelves. Fleeks is working on the back cover and spine, so I’ll see what I can do. I’d like to keep Blue Eyes exclusive to the newsletter/Patron, but if you really want a paperback or hardcover, use the contact form and let me know. We can figure something out once I actually have author copies.

Despite the medical tests, it’s been a good year, writing-wise. Three gryphon books released, a gryphon short story collection wrapping up, and next year should be even better than 2019. I have at least two exciting announcements coming up, but I’ll save those for later. I’d rather announce them with a bit of flash (and a chibi gryphon heart).

What I’m currently reading: Just finished Rachel Neumeier’s Griffin Mage trilogy, Glenn Birmingham’s Dragon Source, John Bailey’s Dire, and Dustin Porta’s Whalemoon. I have a little nonfiction reading to do, then it’s time to dive into KJ Taylor’s Dark Griffin 9-book series and Erin Hoffman’s Chaos Knight trilogy.

Escapism and Jailors

Soft Paws by @kelleygtattoo.

“The only people who are against escapism are the jailors.”

Google wasn’t sure if that quote was Tolkien, Neil Gaiman, CS Lewis, or a slew of other authors. I suspect, like most quotes that resonate, people just wanted to lend it credibility.

It’s a good quip for when someone tells you that reading fantasy is “just escapism.” I don’t believe that fantasy (or any genre fiction, or novels, or poetry) are necessarily escapism, but I understand where that view comes from: when people’s lives are terrible, fantasy offers them relief. There’s a reason people dive into Valdemar or Harry Potter when their parents die, when they get a cancer diagnosis, when depression is taking over. Engaging the creative part of the brain makes everything feel able to be handled.

I’ve certainly read my fair share of books to cope, though my love of reading really began with Sherlock Holmes. Before 4th grade, I still read a lot: Frankie! (a gryphon classic), The Laughing Dragon, Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher, all the usual suspects for Millennial children. But in 4th grade, I picked up The Complete Sherlock Holmes, over a thousand pages long, and I read through it all.

And I thought: “If I can read a thousand page book, I can read anything.” So I did. I read all the books on the shelf in my dad’s office, starting with Lee Iaccoca’s biography on the automotive industry. I started using my allowance to buy books at the local Walden Books.

(For those who don’t remember Walden Books, it was owned by the same company as Borders. For those who don’t remember Borders, it was like Barnes ‘n Noble except constantly in bankruptcy. The salient point is that Walden Books had free coffee, which was really nice for a 4th grade saving all of his money for novels. I drank a lot of coffee back then, which is why I’m so tall now.)

I stepped into Walden Books with three weeks of savings (read: $9) and the first thing I saw was the Michael Whelan artwork for Sunrunner’s Fire. It was just on a bookmark display, so I went to try to locate the associated book. That led me to Melanie Rawn’s Dragon Prince series and the entire fantasy shelf: Mercedes Lackey, Irene Radford, Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, all of the classics. I seem to remember that The Silver Gryphon had a huge display back then, so I picked up the first book in the series, The Black Gryphon.

I’d say the rest is history, but that’s not really the case. At school, a friend had a huge fantasy collection of novels and let anyone borrow them. My dad’s cancer returned and he passed away. My aunt came to live with us and I was moved out of my room to a sleeping bag in my dad’s old office. The friends of the family who were helping out with my brother and I also passed away the next year. While fantasy had always been a joy, it became a bit of an escape for several years as I learned to cope with death as a fact of life.

During that time, I’m not sure I really enjoyed the books I was reading. I’d get trash bags of used books that people were giving away and go through them. Obviously, if you’re a kid and your parent has passed away, therapy is the best option. But reading helped fill the time when I couldn’t do anything else or when I felt out of place, like having been moved from my room into an office.

I don’t want to downplay the role books played in my life during that time. Even now, when someone gets hit with a life roll as an adult and needs time to process and recover, I suggest they borrow the Valdemar books off of my shelf to help them cope. It’s worked many times.

But I didn’t really enjoy reading during those times. It’s hard to enjoy anything when you’re overwhelmed. It was only later, once I got a room to myself again, that I began to read for enjoyment instead of survival again.

I just wanted to take a moment to say that it’s okay to read to help you cope, and it’s okay to read for enjoyment, and there’s nothing wrong with escapism. Fantasy is great for that, but that’s not all it is. When you get back to a good place, definitely reread some of the things that helped you cope and just take a moment to enjoy them. The black gryphons and dragon princes of the literary world read just as well happy as they did when you were overwhelmed.

(The artwork of Soft Paws is by Kelley Goodwin @kelleygtattoo on Twitter. It seemed a good match as I’d spent so many hours on AIM as a teen chatting with Kelley about gryphons and fantasy.)

Blue Eyes & Other Tales

How’s that for a short story cover? Fleeks did a great job with the artwork! I’m releasing a series of short stories to my Patreon and my newsletter. The first one just went out, but they’ll all be available even if you sign up later. Once they’ve all been released sometime in December, I’ll combine them into a book and make it available on the usual stores and formats.

So if you love taiga gryphons and need something to tide you over until Book 4, consider joining my mailing list to get them for free =] The first story is about Satra and Mignet and doesn’t have any spoilers for Ashen Weald or Starling.

And if short stories aren’t your thing, no worries! They won’t be required reading, and I’m 40,000 words into Reevesbane. It should be out this year if nothing goes wrong health-wise.

Starling Editions

Are you getting tired of seeing my kitchen in these?

For everyone waiting to see what the different editions of Starling look like before you purchased, I’ve got you covered! Starling looks a little thicker than it is because there’s a detailed character list at the end.

All four editions. I was really excited that the Amazon paperback’s cover looks perfect this time. Yay!



Large print on the left, dust jacket hardcover on the right.



The large print (left) is 280 pages thicker than the dust jacket hardcover (right).



The Amazon (left) and everyone else (right) versions of the paperback. They’re close this time! The main difference is that the inner margin is kinder in the Amazon version for people who prefer that kind of thing.



The Amazon paperback (left) uses thicker paper than the normal trade paperback (right).

And there we go =] As always, for your convenience, here are the ISBNs if your local bookstore isn’t carrying Starling and you want them to special order it.

Trade Paperback: 978-1-64392-021-4 Ebook (Kindle): 978-1-64392-020-7 Dust Jacket Hardcover: 978-1-64392-022-1 Large Print Hardcover With the Cover Printed Directly on the Book: 978-1-64392-023-8

Ashen Weald Editions

As I was getting ready to take pictures of the different Starling editions I realized I hadn’t posted pictures of the Ashen Weald editions, so I got a few pictures taken. The paperback through Amazon has a slightly lower quality cover than the other bookstores get just because of what printer handles what orders. So if you want the highest quality paperback, you’ll have to go through Barnes ‘n Noble or someone else.

The large print edition (left) with the cover printed onto the book and the normal dust jacket hardcover (right).



The thick large print edition (left) and the dust jacket hardcover (right) with Younce on top.



The Amazon version of the paperback (left) versus the trade paperback everyone else gets (right).



The Amazon paperback (left) is thicker than the trade paperback everyone else gets (right).



Last, but not least, all the editions lying down.

Sorry about the delay =] I know some people are really excited to see the different editions! I know having Amazon with its own edition is a little strange, but it helps keep the costs down there. That’s why Eyrie’s paperback is sometimes as low as $9.99 through Amazon versus $15.99 elsewhere.

Oh, if you’re looking to special order a specific version from your local bookstore, it can be helpful to know the ISBN.

Trade Paperback: 978-1-64392-011-5Ebook (currently Kindle only): 978-1-64392-010-8Hardcover (with dust jacket): 978-1-64392-012-2Large Print (hardcover with cover printed directly on the book): 978-1-64392-013-9

Starling is available now!

Starling, the third book in the Gryphon Insurrection, has taken flight! Abandoned ruins, old enemies, new friends, and… tasty fish? Spread the news!

Buy it now!

Starling releases tomorrow!

Rachel Neumeier of Griffin Mage Trilogy fame convinced me that I should put my own books face-out on my bookshelf. The ground parrot is a garnish.

Just one more day! It’s exciting. Starling was finalized awhile back, but about two weeks ago, I reread it. All authors secretly worry that a book isn’t as good as they think it is. There’s something about the months of editing that puts you in that frame of mind. But when I read through Starling one last time before release, I enjoyed it even more than when I wrote the first draft. I hope everyone else enjoys it just as much.

A few people have reached out to say they found having links to the different editions to be helpful, so here you go! I even included the ISBNs to help people ordering from local bookstores.

Starling Kindle Edition (ISBN: 978-1-64392-020-7 ASIN: B07RM4ZD3T)Starling Trade Paperback (ISBN: 978-1-64392-021-4)Starling (Dust Jacket) Hardcover (ISBN: 978-1-64392-022-1)Starling Large Print Hardcover (ISBN: 978-1-64392-023-8)

And for anyone who wants to order a signed copy directly through me, I should have my author copies soon. They’re on the way, but mail takes awhile to reach us out here. Just use the contact form to reach out, and I’ll make sure to hang onto one for you. Don’t forget to let me know what version you’re interested in.

It’s crazy to think we’re already three books into the Gryphon Insurrection. I’m hard at work on book four, Reevesbane, but I’ll post a blog about what’s coming next once everyone has had time to enjoy Starling. Speaking of which, if you read and like Starling, don’t hesitate to let me know =]