Christopher Dunbar's Blog: Morrigan's Blog, page 11
October 21, 2010
About Our Cats
I (Christopher) thought I would do something different for this blog post; instead of revealing some news or an announcement about our books, I thought I would write about our cats Lucius, Ophelia, and Clyde. Some of you know that I have been unemployed for over eight (8) months; those who didn't now know. I have spent nearly the entire time these last many months at home, locked away with these three wonderful beings in this gilded cage that has become of my home. Yes, our cats are my fellow inmates, but they are in some ways our children. Well, I thought it would be interesting to share with our readers a bit about the true rulers of our household: Lucius, Ophelia, and Clyde.
Another reason I though I would write about our cats in this blog is because my sister Erin recently lost one of her cats, Whitney, due to cancer. I knew Whitney and Erin's other cats, Winifred and Gizmo, when I lived at home, and even though I have not seen them in years, I feel like I have lost a family member as well. So, I guess this blog entry is a bit of therapy for me.
Lucius
Sometime in the late 90′s (I think 98 or 99), Heather and a friend were leaving a cybercafe in one of the inner cities nestled between Dallas and Fort Worth when Heather heard a feline cry from a nearby tree. As she approached, she noticed a tiny, wet black cat, who was evidently complaining about being treed by a dog and not about being wet (Lucius loves getting wet). Well, Heather took him home and later got him checked out at the vet. Even at 6 months (I think that was his age when Heather found him), the vet observed that his paws were huge, which meant he was going to be a very large cat.
I remember the first litter box Heather got him was open, and he loved to fling his litter all over the room… wheeeeeee!!!! Watch that stuff fly… hahahaha!!! It didn't take us long to realize we needed a covered litter box. Heather and I would swap taking care of Lucius, since at the time we lived in separate apartments in the same complex, so sometimes he would stay with me, and sometimes with Heather. After we got married on September 4, 1999 (this is on the test), Lucius was able to live with both of us.
Lucius likes the ladies, whether cat or human. When he goes to the vet, he puts on his charms for the female vets or veterinary assistants. Any female guests that visit soon catch his eye, and soon his wiskered cheek. Lucius also has developed very unique meows, such as mow raugh with the mow at a higher pitch than the raugh. We have since learned that he might be derived from the Bombay breed of cats. He talks to us frequently, even carrying on a conversation at times. Lucius also likes to visit us while in the bathroom. He even walks on the edge of the tub while Heather bathes and permits Heather to wash him with palm-fulls of bath water. He prefers drinking from the bath dub faucet, but when we aren't running the water in the bath, he can drink from one of those Drinkwell water dishes that produces a babbling waterfall.
Lucius has a few places where he likes to sleep. His favorite is in my Lazyboy, though Clyde also favors that spot. Lucius also likes to sleep in the master bedroom closet on the right side, although I see him more frequently sharing the couch with Ophelia. Lately, Lucius has been nudging my arms and scratching the arms of my leather recliner whenever I watch TV. He will occasionally jump on my lap and insist on blocking my view of the TV. When Heather and I go to bed, Lucius almost always goes to sleep between my knees or ankles. He used to attack our feet under the blankets, but frequent launches into the air convinced him not to attack our feet. Lucius goes to sleep when I do and is usually there when I wake up.
Our readers will get to enjoy a character who is based on Lucius when book 5 of the Morrigan's Brood Series comes out, Morrigan's Brood: Shards of Light. He "plays" Lucius the Fairy Cat, which is a pivotal role in the book. He has also influenced the how Mandubratius is written. Have any of our readers noticed cat-like qualities in the man? Perhaps not in the first two books, but certainly books 3 through 5 he is more cat-like.
Well, Lucius is thankfully healthy, and he occasionally keeps me company in my gilded cage, whether jumping on my lap, resting at my feet, or talking to me. I am grateful to have him in my life, and I hope he remains so for many more years.
I will talk about Ophelia and Clyde in other posts, for I have chores to do.
Cheers!
Christopher
October 20, 2010
New Contest and Other News
I wish to apologize to our friends and fans for taking so long to follow up on a blog entry. These last few weeks have been hectic and tiring, but I think it was mostly laziness on my part that kept me from writing an update. Well, today I break out of my laziness to bring you important news from Triscelle Publishing, including a recap of our book signing at HPPD, an interview of us coming up next month, and a new contest on Goodreads.
Free Giveaway of Morrigan's Brood and Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War on Goodreads
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Morrigan's Brood (Book #1) and Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War (Book #2)
by Heather Poinsett Dunbar and Christopher Dunbar
Giveaway ends December 01, 2010.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Recap of our Book Signing at HPPD
This was an outdoor event, so we had to haul our tent along with our tables, stock, and accessories. With the addition of our second book cover sign, and the banners and other accouterments we had acquired before, I think the tent looked quite nice and organized. We met lots of folks we had been conversing with for months, and several folks we had not met on-line before also stopped by for a visit. We did not sell many books, but we were able to make new friends, which I think is more important.
This was also the first event where we sold posters of Khanada Taylor's wonderful cover art for Morrigan's Brood. Khanada is actually in the process of signing a special numbered set of her cover art for book one. Posters are 11×17 and go for $4.99 plus tax and shipping for unsigned posters and $9.99 plus tax and shipping for signed and numbered posters. Payment can be made via PayPal or by credit card over the phone.
This event had lots of good energy and friendly people. However, because the venue, Last Concert Cafe, was very small, the live bands were too close to us and therefore too loud to carry on a conversation with event patrons about our works. Heather and I both went hoarse early on. Plus, the ground at LCC consisted of beach sand, and everything we brought with us got sand in it. However, I have heard that the coordinator for HPPD has scoped out a much larger venue for next year, so hopefully vendors won't be drowned out by the music, which was enjoyable, albeit quite loud.
If you dropped by our booth, please leave us a note.
Interview with Authors Heather Poinsett Dunbar and Christopher Dunbar on Paranormal Haven
Our friends Stephanie and Athenna at Paranormal Haven have asked to interview Heather and I for their blog. We are still in the process of writing our responses to their questions, so we don't have a definitive date this interview will be available, but we will certainly let everyone know as soon as we are given the release date of the interview. Included in the interview will be questions about how we write, why we write dark fantasy / historical fiction / adventure, and how we avoid fighting when co-writing a book. Paranormal Haven has also posted reviews for Morrigan's Brood and Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War.
Thank you friends and fans of Triscelle Publishing and the Morrigan's Brood Series!
October 2, 2010
Goodreads Contest Winners and More News!
There are lots of things going on right now, and I (Christopher) wanted to let our friends and fans know the latest news. We have another book signing coming up next Saturday, we have winners to announce for our Goodreads contest for Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War, a contest winner of Morrigan's Brood wrote a wonderful review, and we have some other tidbits of news to share.
Book Signing at the Last Concert Cafe as Part of Houston Pagan Pride Day
Triscelle Publishing will be hosting Heather Poinsett Dunbar and I at Houston Pagan Pride Day, which this year will be held at Last Concert Cafe; the address is 1403 Nance St. Houston, TX 77002. The event will take place Saturday, October 9, from 12:00 Noon until 12:00 midnight, though we might not be there so late. Come stop by our tent, buy a book, get it signed, or just chat.
Goodreads Contest Winners of Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War
It is my pleasure to announce the winners of the Goodreads Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War contest. Out of the 929 people who entered the contest, the following three are the winners:
Lisa Carol Clevenger
Jacqui Manning
Stephanie Stasolla
Congratulations winners! Your prizes should be sent out this Monday. For those who did not win, we plan to start another Goodreads contest in conjunction with our book signing next weekend, so stay tuned!
New Review of Morrigan's Brood
Some of you may not know, but when readers enter Goodreads contests, they agree that as a condition of entering, should they win, they would write a review. I don't know if all winners write reviews, but I am very happy when they do. Hannah Thackeray, who recently won a copy of Morrigan's Brood from a Goodreads contest, wrote a wonderful review of the book. I am not only happy that she wrote a wonderful review, I am also happy that people who read the books, whether they like them or not, are providing honest feedback. Believe it or not, writers listen to that feedback, and the smart ones take it into consideration when writing the next one.
If you loved it, liked it, thought it was meh, or just hated it, please chime in; we can take it. There is also a certain notoriety reviewing a book – people looking up that book or that author will see your review. Authors like me might even post links to it. Some reviews find themselves on the back covers of novels, with the permission of the reviewer, of course. So please, chime in if you wish, good or bad.
Thanks Hannah!
Other News
We have ordered about 500 posters of Khanada Taylor's beautiful cover art for Morrigan's Brood. Some of these will be in the form of a numbered set signed by the artist. We will announce prices soon. We have a few more pieces of news, but I think it will be best to bring those up in another post.
Thank you fans and friends of Triscelle Publishing, Home of the Morrigan's Brood Series!
September 25, 2010
Book Signing at The Magick Cauldron TODAY!
Heather Poinsett Dunbar and Christopher Dunbar, authors of the Morrigan's Brood Series, will be attending a book signing today at The Magick Cauldron, which is located at 2424 Montrose Boulevard; Houston, Texas 77006, from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
The authors will be available to sign pre-purchased novels at no charge and novels purchased during the event at no additional charge. Free bookmarks, postcards, and chapter books will also be available. The authors will also perform a reading from...
September 11, 2010
Contest Winners, Book Signings, and other Stuff
As many of our blog readers know, we have had two contests on Goodreads for people to win free copies of Morrigan's Brood and Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War. Well, the contest for Morrigan's Brood is now over, and it is time to announce the winners! Out of 1,166 contest entrants, Goodreads randomly chose three (3) winners; these winners are:
Hannah Thackeray
Jen Boucher
Michelle Hurley
Congratulations! Goodreads has already informed our winners that they have...
August 25, 2010
Two Book Signings Coming Up and Other News
The authors of the Morrigan's Brood Series will be on hand during the Houston Pagan Pride Day festival for signings and for a reading. The event will take place Saturday, October 9, 2010 from 12 PM to 12 AM at Last Concert Cafe located at 1403 Nance, Houston Texas 77002. Details of the event can be found on the HPPD Facebook page. Their website is going through a transition and does not contain the latest information.
For details concerning our book...
August 20, 2010
New Review Posted for Morrigan's Brood!
Stephanie G. with Paranormal Haven recently posted her review of Morrigan's Brood to three sites: Paranormal Haven, Amazon.com, and Goodreads. She gave Morrigan's Brood a 4 out of 5 drops of blood (see the rating scale on Paranormal Haven). I wish to thank Stephanie for her review of Morrigan's Brood, and I can't wait to see her review of Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War!
In case you did not have a chance to ...
August 18, 2010
Book Signing at Magick Cauldron
Your friends at Triscelle Publishing would like to announce a book signing coming up in the Houston area. The event will take place at The Magick Cauldron on Saturday, September 25 from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Details and links are included in the article below, which was posted on Houston Press.
Saturday September 25, 2010 from 11:00 AM to 6:00
Triscelle Publishing, in conjunction with The Magick Cauldron, will be hosting a book signing and reading at The...
August 11, 2010
New Morrigan's Brood Features on Amazon.com and Other News
Your friendly neighborhood folks at Triscelle Publishing have added the Search Inside feature on Amazon.com for both Morrigan's Brood and Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War. This means that visitors to the site can scroll through the book (unknown page count limit), have the viewer choose a random page (Surprise Me!), navigate using Book Sections, or perform a keyword search of the entire book (Search Inside This Book).
On a related note, we are updating ...
July 25, 2010
Info on the Goodreads Book Giveway for Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Morrigan's Brood: Crone of War
by Heather Poinsett Dunbar
and Christopher Dunbar
Giveaway ends October 01, 2010.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
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