Thea Harrison's Blog, page 3

Spotlight On… H.L. Macfarlane

Are you ready for another spotlight post about a fellow author included in the SFWA Fantastic Beasts Bundle? This week, it’s my pleasure to turn the spotlight on H.L. Macfarlane!

Hayley Louise Macfarlane, who publishes under the name H.L. Macfarlane, is a prolific author who’s stories branch a host of genres, including fairy tales, apocalyptic science fiction, and paranormal and urban fantasy. In addition to being an author, she’s also a designer and illustrator who makes all of her own book covers (which are gorgeous). Oh yeah, she’s also an actual, real-life doctor of genetics, so it’s safe to say H.L. is a woman of many talents and abilities.

Prince of Foxes, book 1 in the Bright Spear trilogy, is included in the SFWA Fantastic Beasts Bundle. It’s perhaps best described as a gothic Scottish fairy tale and is loosely based on the Celtic fairy tale of Gold-tree and Silver-tree. It’s also based on the area around Loch Lomond, which is where H.L. grew up–and she assures it’s every bit as magical as one would hope. (Having 2 Scottish authors in a row–Tameri Etherton last week and now H.L.–describe the magical, fairy tale like nature of their home country makes me want to visit Scotland!)

Photo credit H.L. Macfarlane

The story world H.L. has built in the Bright Spear trilogy is rich and lush, inviting you to dive in and get lost for hours. And it isn’t contained to merely this trilogy. H.L. has a second fairy tale trilogy, Chronicles of Curses, set in the same world. Some of the characters from the Chronicles of Curses trilogy appear in Prince of Foxes, creating the kind of richly interconnected world I know my readers love.

Photo credit H.L. Macfarlane

What is Prince of Foxes about?

Sometimes a fox is not a fox, and a man is not what he seems.

When Lachlan, the golden Prince of Faeries, is transformed into a fox and banished from the forest on the eve of his mother’s funeral, the last creature he expects to seek help from is a human. 

But Sorcha Darrow is not so easily enchanted by the wily faerie. Only after discovering her father means to marry her to a wealthy Londoner does she decide to help him, seeking the power of a being even Lachlan is wary of: a kelpie. In finding one Sorcha hopes that she may just avoid her own dire fate in the process.

With Sorcha’s dreams being their only true form of communication, Lachlan has to race against time to break his curse and take his place as king before he’s doomed to live as a fox forever. 

But someone else is after the throne, and may just use Sorcha’s growing connection to Lachlan to reach it.

Prince of Foxes is available as part of the SFWA Fantastic Beasts bundle. This bundle is available only from May 27, 2020 until June 18, 2020 via Story Bundle. For more information on how this works, please click here. To purchase some or all of the fantastic books in this bundle, please click here.

And make sure you check out all of H.L.’s books, including Lord of Horses and King of Forever (books 2 and 3 in the Bright Spear trilogy) and Big, Bad Mister Wolfe (book 1 in the Chronicles of Curses). 

Spotlight On… Tameri Etherton

Last week, SFWA released the Fantastic Beasts Bundle. I’m so pleased to be included in this bundle with 14 wonderfully talented science fiction and fantasy authors. The books in this collection are top notch! If you love stories featuring mythical, magical, or otherwise fantastic beasts (would you be here if you didn’t?), these books are right up your alley!

In an ideal world where I had endless amounts of time, I’d spotlight each of the authors included in this bundle and all of their books. Unfortunately, real-world time limitations keep me from doing that. Instead I’ll be focusing on 3 authors from this bundle who I believe you will particularly enjoy, spotlighting 1 at a time. The first is USA Today bestselling author Tameri Etherton.

Author of The Fatal Fae series and Song of the Swords series, Tameri currently lives in Scotland with her husband and adorable dragon companion, Lady Dazzleton, who accompanies them on their adventures.

Seriously, how awesome is Lady D?!

According to Tameri, she writes stories about dragons and faerie assassins. It doesn’t stop there, though, because her stories also have fierce, capable heroines, sexy heroes, and intricately built story worlds that will pull you in fully. She’s currently creating the Aetherverse, which will connect characters from her various worlds and series across her books. Sunset, She Fights, the story included in the Fantastic Beasts bundle, is part of the Aetherverse. The main characters from Sunset, She Fights make several appearances in Fatal Legacy (book 1 in the Fatal Fae series). Tameri has been having fun plotting out how the books will interconnect, and I know readers will enjoy seeing all the connections.

Which brings us to the story Tameri has included in the bundle, Sunset, She Fights:

Some monsters live under the bed, and some live beneath your skin.

Every sunset, Rainne is cursed to change from an elf maiden into a lust-fueled ogress. She keeps her ogre desires under control until an elf prince arrives and upsets her precariously balanced life.

The ogress in her desires Prince Theo and will break every rule, entertain every taboo, and defy certain death to have him.

When he commands Rainne to join him at the elven palace, she can’t refuse. Nor will she be able to hide her secret.

Theo never thought he’d leave the luxurious palace of Elvenwood, but when his older brother disappears, he’s sent to find him. A chance encounter with the mysterious, yet lovely Lady Delarainne, gives him the reason he needs to return home.

The only problem? There’s a mysterious woman following them and he’s determined to learn her secrets.

The longer Rainne is away from home, the harder it becomes to keep the ogress from taking over permanently. The more time she spends with Theo, the harder it is to stop herself from falling for the prince. To save him, she’ll have to escape his lavish palace before he learns the harsh truth of who and what she is.

But not all beliefs are true, and learning to forgive is harder than it seems. If Rainne doesn’t break the curse, she’ll lose more than just Theo—she’ll lose her elven soul to the greedy ogress spirit that wants to consume all that Rainne holds dear.

Sunset, She Fights is available as part of the SFWA Fantastic Beasts bundle. This bundle is available only from May 27, 2020 until June 18, 2020 via Story Bundle. For more information on how this works, please click here. To purchase some or all of these fantastic books, please click here.

And make sure you check out Tameri’s other great books, including Fatal Illusion, The Prince of Dragons, and Dragon Mage!

The SFWA Bundle is Live!

SFWA Fantastic Beasts Bundle

I’m thrilled to announce Moonshadow, book 1 in my Moonshadow trilogy, is included in the SFWA Fantastic Beasts bundle that releases today!

SFWA–the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America–is an organization dedicated to promoting and supporting science fiction and fantasy writers in the United States and worldwide. The Fantastic Beasts bundle was curated by SFWA members, presenting the works of fifteen different authors as they take on the theme pf fantastic beasts in many different ways.

How does this work? For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of five books in any ebook format that you can read on the device of your choice. The 5 books you’ll receive are: 
1. Moonshadow by Thea Harrison 
2. Cici and the Curator by S. J. Wynde 
3. All Things Huge and Hideous by G. Scott Huggins 
4. Whalemoon by Dustin Porta 
5. Bloodrush by Ben Galley

If you pay the bonus price of $15 (or more), you get all five of the regular books mentioned above plus TEN more books, for a total of fifteen books! 
6. Eyrie by K. Vale Nagle 
7. Sunset, She Fights by Tameri Etherton 
8. Bursts of Fire by Susan Forest 
9. The Cursing Stones by Sonya Bateman 
10. Night’s Favor by Richard Parry 
11. Song of Shadow by Natalya Capello 
12. Heritage of Power – The Complete Series Books 1-5 by Lindsay Buroker 
13. Prince of Foxes by H. L. Macfarlane 
14. The Wolf at the End of the World by Douglas Smith 
15. Windsworn by Derek Alan Siddoway

This bundle is available only from May 27, 2020 until June 18, 2020 via Story Bundle. For more information on how this works, please click here. And if you are interested in purchasing some or all of these fantastic books, please click here.

If you don’t already have Moonshadow, this is a wonderful opportunity to get it along with other great books. A definite win-win! Maybe you’ll even discover some addictive, new-to-you authors. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to spotlight 3 specific authors participating in the bundle whose work I think will really resonate with readers who enjoy my books. Those authors are Tameri Etherton, H. L. Macfarlane, and Sonya Bateman and I’m looking forward to sharing more about their books with you. In the meantime, I hope you’re staying safe and healthy.

An Open Letter to an Entitled Reader

“George RR Martin is not your bitch.” ~ Neil Gaiman

A while back, Neil Gaiman wrote a terrific, evergreen blog post about entitlement issues. What is true for GRRM is also true for me. It is true for every artist and writer. If you haven’t yet read it, you can do so here: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html

Okay, guys. I’m going to post about something I have never posted before, and something I never thought I would have to post.

I’m going to post about an email I got from a reader. I’m fifty-seven years old. I’ve been in this business a long time, and this was the nastiest email I have ever received. The nastiest and the angriest.

Please keep in mind that 99.99% of readers are amazing and awesome, so I considered staying silent. As authors we are often told to be silent when people are rude, boundaries are crossed, and things happen that make us uncomfortable. The two acceptable approaches, I have been told, are to either be silent or take the “kill them with kindness” approach.

But I don’t believe in that wholesale. I certainly believe in acting with kindness, politeness and professionalism, but I also believe that someone can cross so far over a line it is entirely appropriate to call out that behavior. Sometimes it’s even necessary.

And please read this next paragraph carefully. This blog post is not a call to a witch hunt or a call to action in any way. This is simply a request to the reader that you consider your own actions and how you might do better the next time. 

So for that reason, the reader’s name is removed from the following email to protect their privacy. I’ve censored the email by adding the asterisks, the original email was uncensored.

*****

Subject: stop swearing

Message Body:
F**king stop f**king swearing so f**king much in f**king your f**king books. Just f**king read the f**king american f**king witch and was f**king tired of f**king the word f**king. F**king bad enough f**king sex scenes go for f**king chapters; your f**king characters f**king say it’s f**king okay to f**king swear. Treat the public like you want them to be; treat them like polite folk, not f**king f**kers who can’t f**king read.

Thank you.

*****

Dear reader,

This is exactly the kind of email you should never send to an author, ever, for any reason.

Not everything is going to be your cup of tea. If you don’t like someone’s books, stop reading and walk away. There’s a whole wide world of books out there for you to explore.

Readers get to make that choice all the time. If you don’t like someone’s books, vent to your friends. Write a review. Vote with your wallet. I’ve been reading since I was four years old, and I have done the same thing myself, many times.

Also, I would like to point out, cursing in the dialog of a book is FAR different from actively cursing at someone in an email. Thinking that this could be an appropriate message in any way is the height of entitlement.

Currently, there seems to be a grand delusion in our society that all opinions are equal and valid, and that is simply not the truth. Especially when the people spewing this rhetoric usually confuse “opinion” with fact-less, tasteless, bigoted vitriol.

Someone doesn’t write this kind of email unless they feel they have the indisputable right to everything they want, the exact way they want it. Even art and entertainment. And if it isn’t exactly as they want it? Well then, that’s the fault of the person creating the art. Because to these people, self-monitoring so as not to offend and political correctness are buzzwords that have nothing to do with them.

That’s the only way I can explain why something as innocuous as the language in a book–a book you do not have to read–could lead you to write and send an email like this.

It’s beyond overreaction. It’s beyond finding a book in poor-taste and abandoning it. It’s a demand that because “I caused” your emotional unhappiness, now you get to lash out and put all that ugliness on me, because you don’t possess the ability to monitor your own behavior and deal with mild unhappiness and discontentment.

In this reality, you’re not in charge of your emotions, I am, so the person who has to change is me. You’re not offended by the plot or characters. You’re pearl-clutchingly horrified by sex scenes and the f-word…which is why you then proceed to hurl it at me more times than I have ever seen in email form before. 

Because after all, you’re the customer and the customer is always right, so what am I going to do to make YOU happy? There’s no real understanding here that this is a book and not an overcooked T-bone. 

There is satisfaction to be had in refusing to acknowledge and engage. For a few days I decided to take the high road and not respond in any way. But I also think there’s merit in (anonymously) calling out this behavior too. So much bad behavior slips through because people like you have learned that throwing a tantrum is valid, and it makes your emotions someone else’s problem.

But it isn’t valid, I do not have to accept it, and neither does anyone else who has this kind of rage tsunami launched in their direction. You are the keeper of your emotions and responsible for your behavior, and I do not forfeit the high ground by pointing this out. 

Authors are not public property. We are not a meal cooked incorrectly in a restaurant that may lead you to “demand to speak to the management.” We are not commodities. We are people. We create art with our voices that is personal, and what we create is not meant for everybody. It can’t be. Not every story is going to resonate with everybody. That, my rage tsunami friend, is the definition of impossibility.

So, my advice to you is this:  treat people the way you want them to be. Treat them like polite folk.

In the meantime, I will continue to write at a time of my choosing. I will not make myself sick to produce content no matter what. I will write stories wherever I have my voice, wherever that may take me, and with whatever language I deem is right and valid for that particular story.

Because, to paraphrase what Mr. Gaiman said, the simple and unanswerable truth is, I don’t work for you.

And I’m not your bitch.

Thank you.

Thea

Are you attending RARE?

We’re getting very close to the RARE London and RARE Roma book signings! I’m so excited for these events and looking forward to meeting readers and other authors.

Please note, I will not be selling books from my table at either of these events. I’ve been told the on-site bookseller will have some of my traditionally published titles for sale, but I don’t know which books or how may copies will be available. That means you will either need to bring the books you want me to sign with you or purchase them from the on-site bookseller, instead of purchasing or picking up a pre-purchased copy directly from me. I don’t want to focus on selling or distributing books while at the RARE book signings. I want to concentrate on meeting readers and signing the items you bring to me. I believe the connection and time spent with my readers is the most important thing!

Also, the bookseller won’t have any of my self-published titles available, like the Mooshadow series or American Witch. Those can only be purchased online. Print copies of my novels and novellas are available through Amazon and the Book Depository.

I hope to see you at RARE!

Thank you to my Patrons!

It’s time, once again, to express my thanks to all of the lovely patrons who’ve joined my exclusive community of superfans on Patreon.

Patreon is allowing me to offer a more immersive fan experience, with behind-the-scenes information and access unlike anything I’ve been able to do before. Readers who join my community on Patreon receive a number of perks, including behind the scenes information, exclusive material, early access to covers and new stories, and so much more. If you haven’t already, check out my Patreon page for more information today!

Here are some of my many fabulous Patrons:

Akemi B. alh_2k Alice MaAmandaAmy B AybarAmy KuivalainenAmy WrightAndreaHAnne MarvinAoi KambaraBas TBelinda ByrdBernadetteBonnie VosburgBrenda EastmanBridget MoynihanBrooke SaepooC.W.Carol TorresCarole LakeCathy McAfeeCherylChloe Merritt Christina ClintonCindy DCourtney Lewis Dana Miller Debbie HolocombDeborah WardDenieal WilliamsDeserie Campos DoroDrina Miller ELF the Reading AddictElizabeth NaylorEloisa JamesEmerson HammondsEmma DowdeswellErica WestGail KeenGwynne ButcherHeather C.Heidi ElsaesserHolly N. Holly PayneJackie McKeownJBJBillJimmy BurgettJo Ann OliveiraJo Hobbs Jordana Urbik SchuellerJudeJudy B TaylorJulie RoweKaren LockwoodKaren OrrenceKaren SorianoKathleen L CollinsKatie ParkerKatie WeatherupKayla Keith Kelley PazKelli McBrideKellie ByrdKim DuPreKimberly BlakeKimberly CondronKortney CruzLady HeatherLaura RegisterLBeeLinda AkersLinda WaskoLori SangLorrian BaileyLynn NoworytaLynne PhelpsMargaret LembachMarita NickisonMark B OstroffMartha KoopmanMary Kay O’KeefeMeg FieldingMegan UdellMelissa CourtneyMelissa SchweitzerMichael BuchlerMidwestMamacitaMJmqcbMyranda HeilamanNancy FisherNancy McManamaNancy MyersNietra StromanOscar Leon RobbinsPatricia SparrazzaPolly CassadyRebecca LysohirRita HallRobin C. GreeneRuth WealSabina MartinssonSamara TaylorSandra SchaefferSara GraySarah T.Sarah TorneySharon BelkoShawna LanneSheila M.Sheryl BeesleyShirely GreenwaldStephanSusanSusan MandellaThai KaiserTina AutryTJValerie SteinwartWinter HobockXahneYolanda FletcherYolanda Pettiford

Attention Italian Readers…

If you’re attending RARE ROMA 2019, you can now preorder Italian translations of some of my books. I will be signing books at the event, but I will not be selling anything directly from my table. If you want to have me sign a specific book, please preorder it or make arrangements to bring a copy with you. You can preorder here: http://bit.ly/2XHeGG6. I look forward to meeting you there!

Attenzione lettori italiani …

Se stai frequentando la firma del libro RARE ROMA 2019, puoi ora preordinare le traduzioni italiane di alcuni dei miei libri! Firmerò i libri all’evento, ma non venderò nulla direttamente dal mio tavolo. Se vuoi farmi firmare un libro specifico, preordinalo o prendi accordi per portarne una copia con te. Puoi preordinare qui: http://bit.ly/2XHeGG6. Non vedo l’ora di incontrarvi lì! 

Questo messaggio è stato tradotto in italiano utilizzando Google translate. Si prega di perdonare eventuali errori di traduzione.

Thank you to my Patrons!

It’s time, once again, to express my thanks to all of the lovely patrons who’ve joined my exclusive community of superfans on Patreon.

Patreon is allowing me to offer a more immersive fan experience, with behind-the-scenes information and access unlike anything I’ve been able to do before. Readers who join my community on Patreon receive a number of perks, including behind the scenes information, exclusive material, early access to covers and new stories, and so much more. If you haven’t already, check out my Patreon page for more information today!

Here are some of my many fabulous Patrons:

Akemi B. alh_2k Alice MaAmy B AybarAmy KuivalainenAmy WrightAndreaHAnne MarvinBas TBelinda ByrdBonnie VosburgBrenda EastmanBridget MoynihanBrooke SaepooC.W.Carole LakeCathy McAfeeCherylChloe Merritt Christina ClintonCindy DCourtney Lewis Dana Miller Debbie HolocombDeserie Campos DoroDrina Miller ELF the Reading AddictElizabeth NaylorEmerson HammondsErica WestGwynne ButcherHeather C.Heidi ElsaesserHolly N. Holly PayneJBJBillJimmy BurgettJo Ann OliveiraJo Hobbs Jordana Urbik SchuellerJudeJudy B TaylorJulie RoweKaren LockwoodKaren OrrenceKaren SorianoKathleen L CollinsKatie WeatherupKayla Keith Kelley PazKelli McBrideKellie ByrdKim DuPreKimberly BlakeKimberly CondronKortney CruzKristin DyerLady HeatherLaura RegisterLinda AkersLinda WaskoLori SangLorrian BaileyLynn NoworytaLynne PhelpsMargaret LembachMarita NickisonMark B OstroffMJMary Kay O’KeefeMegan UdellMelissa CourtneyMelissa SchweitzerMichael BuchlerMidwestMamacitamqcbMyranda HeilamanNancy FisherNancy McManamaNancy MyersNietra StromanOscar Leon RobbinsPatricia SparrazzaRebecca LysohirRobin C. GreeneRuth WealSabina MartinssonSamara TaylorSami HarrSandra SchaefferSarah ThonetSarah TorneySharon BelkoShawna LanneSheila M.Sheryl BeesleyShirely GreenwaldStacy DanaherStephanSusanSusan MandellaThai KaiserTina AutryTJValerie SteinwartWinter HobockXahneYolanda FletcherYolanda Pettiford

An announcement…

Okay, guys… it’s time to confess that ROGUE CHARMS is probably not going to be coming in October.

Thank You to All My Patrons!

It’s time, once again, to express my thanks to all of the lovely patrons who’ve joined my community of superfans on Patreon.

Patreon is allowing me to offer a more immersive fan experience, with behind-the-scenes information and access unlike anything I’ve been able to do before. Readers who join my community on Patreon receive a number of perks, including behind the scenes information, exclusive material, early access to covers and new stories, and so much more. If you haven’t already, check out my Patreon page for more information today!

My most heartfelt thanks goes to my patrons for this month:

Akemi B.alh_2kAmy KuivalainenAmy WrightAndreaHBarbara ClarkBelinda ByrdBonnie VosburgBridget MoynihanBrooke SaepooCarole LakeCathy McAfeeChelci Winkels CherylChloe MerrittChristina ClintonCindy DittyCourtney LewisDana MillerDebbie HolcombDeserie CamposDoro VictorDrina MillerELF the Reading AddictElie KellyElizabeth NaylorElizabeth SosnowEmerson HammondsErica WestHeather ChampHeidi ElsaesserHollyJBJBillJimmy BurgettJo Ann OliveiraJo HobbsJordana Urbik SchuellerJudeJudy B TaylorJulie RoweKaren OrrenceKaren SorianoKatie ParkerKatie WeatherupKayla KeithKelley Paz Kellie Byrd Kim DuPreKimberly BlakeKimberly CondronKristin DyerLady HeatherLaura RegisterLinda Akers Linda WaskoLoriLorrian BaileyLynn NoworytaMargaret LembachMarita NickisonMary Jo SchweigerMary Kay O’KeefeMelissa CourtneyMelissa SchweitzerMichael BuchlermqcbMyranda HeilamanNancy FisherNancy McManamaNietra StromanOscar Leon RobbinsPatricia SparrazzaRebecca LysohirRobin C. GreeneRuth WealSabina MartinssonSarah ThonetSarah TorneySharon BelkoSheila MeloSheryl BeesleyShirley GreenwaldStacy DanaherStephansusanSusan MandellaThai Kaiser Tina AutryValerie SteinwartWinter HobockXahneYolanda Fletcher Yolanda Pettiford

Thank you all!