L. Jagi Lamplighter's Blog, page 49
October 17, 2013
Rachel is out on Kindle!!!
The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is out on Kindle…and for the low price of $2.99!
http://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Enlightenment-Rachel-Griffin-ebook/dp/B00FY1RSXC
October 15, 2013
THE UNEXPECTED ENLIGHTENMENT OF RACHEL GRIFFIN: Chapter One–Part Four
Her academic robes and square, black scholar’s cap were crisp and new. She dressed quickly, fumbling with the buttons in her eagerness. Flipping the cap’s tassel out of her eyes, she grabbed Vroomie the Broom from under her bed and slipped out of the room. She pelted down two flights of stairs before becoming impatient and jumping on her broom. Leaning close over the handlebars, she flew down the rest of the staircase and outside, pausing only to open the front door. The windy wake of her broom blew papers around as she passed through the foyer. Outside, she gasped at the chill of the early autumn air and then shot upward, high into the sky.
Rachel loved to fly. Every morning, she spent her first waking hour in the air. Every day, she saw the same thing: the forests, moors, and rolling tenant farms of her family’s estate, Gryphon Park, and the accompanying town Gryphon-on-Dart in Devon, England. Today, for the first time, there were new sights—her first glimpse of the place that was to be her home for the next eight years. Flying as high as she could, she drank in every sight.
The dawn colors still flamed in the east, gold and dusky rose. From up here, she could see the brown waters of the Hudson River, where it ran to either side of the once-floating Island of Roanoke. Storm King Mountain loomed on her left. She could see the path of the railway cut into its slope. Beyond it rose the Berkshires, their green rounded peaks rolling off to the west.
To the north, on the island, she could see the rocky tor in which the evil spirit, the Heer of Dunderberg, was imprisoned with his storm imps. To the south, she could see the spires of the Lower School, for elementary students, the campus of which was separated from that of the Upper School and the college. Beyond the Hudson, to the east, lay civilization.
Everything was so beautiful in the soft glow of the early morning light, as if not only the subjects taught here but also the very school itself was filled with magic. Up this high, the air was surprisingly still. A flock of geese passed by, getting a head start on their journey south. They flew in a V, honking loudly, their cheerful cries echoing off the side of Storm King.
Gazing down at the place that she now called home, Rachel’s heart swelled with an unfamiliar longing, as if she yearned for something to which she could not give a name, something just outside her grasp, something she could not bear to go without.
Something wonderful was about to happen.
Or something terrible.
Or both.
October 14, 2013
The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin: Chapter One–Part Three
All her life, she had waited to come here. All her life, she had gazed at photographs of her parents at Roanoke Academy for the Sorcerous Arts—the best arcane school in the universe. All her life, she had wanted to be part of this world, wanted it so badly that she would lay awake at night, her mind afire with hopes and plans.
She had imagined the friends she might make, the adventures she would have, the secrets she might learn. She wanted to study every Art the school had to teach. She wanted to entrap storm imps with her flute playing. She wanted to conjure roses and to walk with dragons. She wanted to do daring deeds and accomplish marvels never before known to human kind.
In her dreams, she had imagined accomplishing all these things.
All her life, she had waited to come.
Now she was here.
Rachel was done dreaming. She could not bear waiting even another instant.
Fan-Art Monday!
This week, we have a special treat. Fan extraodinaire, Pierce Oka, made a real life reproduction of Quentin Nemo's staff from John's book Orphans of Chaos. Reproduced here, for your enjoyment!
And the winner is:
Had a bunch of great ones. I loved the one about the tastefull view of Mt. Fugi, and not sharing with Ponyo, as well as a number of others. But the winner is:
Sea is for cookie, that's good enough for me
October 11, 2013
And now, what you all have been waiting for…
The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin: Chapter One–Part Two
The peachy dawn light peeked through the purple curtains. Rachel opened her eyes and stretched. A cold breeze blew in from outside. Rising, she padded across the room. The stone slabs were cold beneath her bare feet. Pushing back the curtains, she closed the window and pressed her nose against the pane. Her breath made little puffs of mist against the cool glass. Gazing about, she took in her surroundings: the paper birches with their curling parchment-like bark, the gravel paths leading toward the green lawns of the Campus Commons that ran between the many dormitories and buildings, the myriad towers and spires of Roanoke Hall rising above the trees in the distance. A few early risers flew down the path that led to the main hall. They flew on bristleless brooms—flying devices that had about as much in common with a sweeping implement as a mundane automobile had with a horse-drawn carriage.
Her roommates were still asleep. Normally, Rachel would have gone back to bed at this hour. But not today. Today, she was so excited, she could hardly keep her feet from dancing. Her heart raced with anticipation. She could no more return to sleep than she could walk to the moon.
Capclave: This weekend in DC! (Gathersburg, MD)
I will be driving down from NYC. Hopefully, I will get there on time. If not, I will arrive eventually!
I also have a reading on Sunday at 11:00 am.
…
Hope to see some of you there!
—–
Just a reminder, everyone. If you are going to Capclave this weekend (www.capclave.org) we are having a launch part on Saturday from 10pm to 12pm in the Seneca Room (3rd flr of the hotel). We'll have food, fun, prizes…author readings. Come help us celebrate the launch of Dogs of War and The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin. Please spread the word!
http://www.capclave.org/capclave/capclave13/
October 10, 2013
The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin: Part 1
For the next month, I'm going to post Chapter One of my newest novel, a couple of paragraphs at a time each day, Monday to Friday.
Enjoy!
Once there was a world that seemed at first glance much like other worlds you may have lived in or read about, but it wasn’t…
Chapter One: The Unexpected Benefits of Remembering
Even among the Wise, animals did not talk.
These two were talking.
Rachel Griffin awoke in her bunk bed in prestigious Dare Hall. It was her first night at Roanoke Academy, her first night in America, her first night away from home. The other girls in her dormitory room were asleep. She could hear their rhythmic breathing. Yet she distinctly heard voices. She opened her eyes and sat up.
The tall, arched window was open. A chill blew in through it. On the windowsill sat an enormous raven, jet black with blood red eyes. The raven addressed the familiar that belonged to one of Rachel’s roommates. The girl must have been a fan of the new fad of shrinking wild animals and turning them into cute playthings. Her pet was a tiny lion the size of a house cat.
The raven croaked harshly, "You are not supposed to be here."
The lion sat regally beside his human, who lay sleeping across the room, on the other set of bunk beds. "I was called. Where I am called, I come.”
“None of my people called you.”
“You called one of my daughters. I am always in her heart."
“You need to depart.”
The lion yawned. It turned in a circle three times and settled down to sleep.
The raven cawed raucously and flew away.
Rachel replayed the conversation in her head. She did not know what the phrases meant, but she was certain she had just overhead something crucial, something not meant for her, something not meant for any human ears. It was like hearing a door swing open to another world. She would never forget a word of it.
But then, Rachel Griffin never forgot anything.
October 9, 2013
A Head’s Up
Okay, folks, I am going to make a huge push to get some notice for my latest novel in early Dec. I am mentioning it now, because I could use some help boosting the signal.
If you happen to have a blog that you'd like a guest blog entry for, or some other avenue that would be good for spreading the word, let me know!
Otherwise, my hope is that you'll just let people know about it when the time comes. (I'll mention it again then. )
October 7, 2013
Oh! And last week’s winner!
Being King of the Sprites did not make him immune to wearing matching outfits in the family portraits.
