Christine E. Schulze's Blog: Spinnet's Weave: The Golden Healer's Scoop, page 2

Stregoni Symphony: Music Inspired by the Written Works of Christine E. Schulze

I am pleased to announce the release of my new album, "Stregoni Symphony," which features music from several of my fantasy and Christian fantasy books for middle graders and young adults.

I've released this album in the past; however, this version is updated with brand new art and contains a different line-up of songs, including a few new ones. Listeners may notice it is also missing quite a few of the older tracks; these will be included in my second album, "The Gailean Quartet," which is scheduled for CD release by the end of this year, along with the re-release of "The Prism of Ashlei" and "The Pool of Lorelei," the first two books in my YA fantasy series full of magic, mystery, misadventure, and music, "The Gailean Quaret."

Please feel free to check out the album, listen to bits of the songs, purchase a CD or download MP3s of your favorite songs at these locations:

Rmusic
http://www.rmusic.com/unsigned/strego...

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Stregoni-Sympho...

Thanks again for listening and reading! God bless, and may you be inspired!

~ Christine E. Schulze

New Zazzle Stuff!!

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be creating some new posters, tee-shirts, and what-have-you in honor of my recent and up-and-coming publications, including The Hero Chronicles and The Gailean Quartet. Feel free to check out what I have so far on Zazzle, and keep a look-out as I add new products!

Schulze's Zazzle:

http://www.zazzle.com/the_pirates_of_...

"Hero Chronicles" Goes Middle Grade

Sometimes it's hard to choose the correct age group for a book.



I recently re-released my series, The Hero Chronicles, as YA fantasy. However, I had been debating whether it might be better to label it "middle grade," and the consensus from reviewers has made me finally make that switch.

Getting poor reviews always sucks; however, it's often a means for an author to grow as well. I recently sent out a number of e-copies to Goodreads reviewers. Some loved the series. Others really didn't like the first book; most of these liked the rest of the series well enough, but a few didn't.

I've come to the conclusion that the reason some of my readers really didn't like the books was because they were expecting one thing and received another. From their reviews and talking to them, I've decided to call the series "middle grade" instead, to better target the correct readers.

I read an article that talks about the differences between YA and middle grade:

write4kids.com/feature6.html

The article did help greatly. It was still a hard call for me, as an author, but thankfully, that's where readers come in handy. The books' quirky humor, deep focus on friendship and inner growth, its more light-hearted dating relationships, short page lengths, fast pace, and their sometimes fairy-tale feel just make them a better fit for middle grade, despite the outside trials the characters have to deal with, the fact they are in their early teens instead of being tweens or younger, and the fact that themes like death are touched upon.

So, there you have it. Sometimes, the cookie just doesn't seem to crumble in the author's favor. I had honestly never had such a negative response from that number of reviewers; however, I've chosen to embrace it as a learning experience, and hopefully I've left my readers left confused.

If you're like me and you still can enjoy the world of fairy-tales, magic, middle grade humor in all its weirdness, coupled with an intriguing story and characters you're not soon to forget, The Hero Chronicles may be for you. Otherwise, feel free to checkout some of my true YA works such as Bloodmaiden. One of my reviewers, Lacey Lane, wasn't so keen on The Hero Chronicles but loved Bloodmaiden enough to give it five stars. Kudos to her for sticking out reading all those books.



As it is with many things, so it is with readers. The trick is attracting the right readers to the right book. To each his own.

"Lily in the Snow" Receives a 5-Star Rating and Review from Reader's Favorite

This is my third 5-star review with Reader's Favorite, the first being for my YA novel "Bloodmaiden," the second being for my YA manuscript "The Last Star."

Woo-hoo! Feel free to read the review in full at this link:

http://readersfavorite.com/review/5476

One Thousand One Maidens

I am pleased to announce my first short story publication with Bewildering Stories Ezine! Feel free to check out the story here:

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/iss...

Thanks!

~ Christine E. Schulze

Bloodmaiden Wins Honorable Mention in 2011 Readers Favorite Contest

I am pleased to announce the awesome news that Bloodmaiden placed in the 2011 Readers Favorite Contest!

It was a Finalist in two categories. In the end of things, it ended up being a Finalist for Christian Fantasy and won an Honorable Mention for Children-Pre-teen. It also received a five-star review from Readers Favorite.

Thanks for everyone's support, God bless, and happy reading to all!

~ Christine E. Schulze

New Blog for WEE Authors

Hello, fellow readers and writers. I wanted to announce that Writers-Exchange has opened up a new blog for their authors, like myself. If you'd like to check out my writings about The Stregoni Sequence and other WEE-exclusive books, or check out other WEE authors, be sure to visit here:

http://www.writers-exchange.com/blog/...

Thanks so much for the support, God bless, and happy reading to all!

~ Christine E. Schulze

Vote for Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress

My ebook, Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress, has been nominated at Romance Reviews for best Fantasy Romance of 2010! Please stop by at the following link to vote for my book:

http://www.theromancereviews.com/view...

Winners receive a free promotional package for their book!

Thanks and God bless to all contestants!

~ Christine E. Schulze

YAB Authors ForEVER

Hi, YA authors and readers! I've just created a blog where YA authors can promote their work through interviews, guest posts, character interviews, give aways, etc.

If you're an author in need of some promotion (who isn't, eh?) or just a nosy reader, please stop by:

http://www.yabauthorsforever.blogspot...

God bless, happy reading and writing, and may you be inspired!

~ Christine E. Schulze

Bloodmaiden Blog Tour!

I'm part of a blog tour for my novel, Bloodmaiden! It actually started this Monday, but with being sick, I've been behind on things. At any rate, you can click the link below to check out the different blog posts, interviews, reviews, give aways, etc. Please consider leaving a comment on one of those things; I'd appreciate it!


~ Christine E. Schulze


Go to:


http://theteenbookscene.weebly.com/bl...