R.L. Naquin's Blog, page 4

Release Day for Fairies in My Fireplace!

Well, we did it. Another book in the Monster Haven series is out in the world for public consumption.

I was totally cool this morning. I woke up a little late (it’s a holiday), smiled, checked my mail and sales stats on my phone, then bounced out of bed — something that only happens on birthdays or days when I’m going somewhere awesome like Disneyland.

No emotional outbursts. Just happy-celebration mode.

I came out of the bathroom and my husband woke up, smiled, and said “Happy release day!”

And I started bawling like a baby. So, yeah. Here’s hoping book four will be when I learn to be an emotional rock, because this one wasn’t it.

I didn’t do a huge blog tour this time, but I did do a release-day blitz where lots of websites give Fairies in My Fireplace a spotlight. A few of those websites interviewed me, so I figured I’d give you a list, in case you want to see how many different ways I can answer the same questions. Also, there are a few more places I’ll show up over the next couple of days, so I’ll post those here, too.

Here are the interviews:

Adrienne Woods Books and Reviews

Dalene’s Book Reviews

Shera’s Book Whispers

Pembroke Sinclair

Alii’s Book Jungle

Bookworm Bridgette’s World

Tomorrow (9/3/13) I’ll have a post up on Here Be Magic.

Wednesday (9/4/13) I’ll have a post up on Carina Press.

Thursday (9/5/13) we round it all off with an interview at Larissa and Friends Bookish Life.

For those last three, I’ll come back and update the links to the actual articles, once they’re up.

Thank you all for being so supportive on this wild ride. I’ll keep putting out books as long as you keep patting me on the head and telling me you like them. I’m going to grab a few more tissues in case I have another happiness outburst from my eyeballs, and I’m going to put on a tiara so everyone knows I’m The Pretty Pretty Book Princess today.

See you real soon!

 

What Scares You?

Sichuan Takin

Saturday we did another mini-road-trip adventure. We were headed toward the Topeka Zoo. On a whim, we blew right past it and drove two hours to get to the Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina, Kansas. Why? Why not? We hadn’t been to that one yet, and we always saw billboards for it. We figured, if it was too tiny, inaccessible, or closed, we’d turn around and hit the Wizard of Oz museum in Wamego. Adventure is out there, my friends.

It was a nice little zoo, and it gave us the work out (and the animals) we were looking for, with bonus steep hills we had to climb, upping the effort level. Plus, there was this animal I’d never seen or heard of before, and I thought I’d seen everything American zoos had to offer by now. I grew up studying collectible animal cards from Time-Life Books (that’s probably another post altogether). Anyway, the animal in question is in the picture above. He’s related to goats. That is a huge freaking goat. And for the record, I am not afraid of goats, exactly, but I really don’t like them.

The truth is, not a whole lot scares me, but some of the things that do are weird as hell. It’s a family joke that whenever someone spots one of those weird, wavy blowup things that’s set up to advertise something, everybody tries to direct my attention the other way so I don’t have to see it as we drive by. These things freak me out. Seriously. They’re waving their arms around, whipping themselves into a frenzy, staring at me with those awful flat eyes.

And the Rolling Hills Zoo had one right inside the gates. If I wanted to see the rest of the zoo (and I’d already driven two hours and paid admission), I’d have to walk past him. His back was to me, so that helped. We turned right and looped around the lake behind him. Of course, that meant, he was right there looking at me when we came back around. Reaching for me with his snaky yellow arms, hair standing on end, bowing down to grab me.

But you know what? Screw that guy. I walked up to him (quaking on the inside, I’m not gonna lie) and poked my finger up at him.

See how he’s mimicking my pose, as if it’ll further intimidate me? I hate that guy.

“You do not scare me, sir!” I said, frowning.

He glared down at me and snapped in half and up again in an attempt to eat my soul. But I survived. And my husband got a picture of this brave moment in time.

As you can see, this totally happened. But it’s also a metaphor. Right now, I’m writing something new, and it’s kind of scary. But I’m going to look it in the eye and say, “You do not scare me, new novel!”

What scares you? What’s keeping you from doing something awesome because a big scary yellow windsock creature thing is standing in your way?

Figure it out. Then go out and do it anyway.

 

Cover Reveal for Fairies in My Fireplace

Okay, guys. The new cover is finally here. Ta da!

Have you pre-ordered yet? Yes? Thank you! No? Better hurry before they run out of digital ink! Here are some places you can pre-order if you’re so inclined, but keep in mind, my books are available wherever ebooks are sold, so if you have a favorite place to shop, check there, too. A few have the previous books, but don’t have Fairies in My Fireplace for pre-order, so if one of those is your preferred venues, hang in there. It’ll be available September 2. It’s not going to hurt my feelings if you wait  until it comes out.

Amazon  Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million

Release day is a little over five weeks away. But more immediate is my looming deadline to turn in book four, Golem in My Glovebox. It’s written, but I’m still frantically editing it into shape before sending it off to my editor. She doesn’t need to see my first draft. I bury odd comments and fill-in words like “blah blah” in the manuscript while I write.

I left myself a weird note on a side document of stuff I need to fix in editing. This mysterious sentence simply says “Do a search for the word ‘orangutan’ and replace it with something clever.”

Perhaps now you can appreciate the effort I go to when I talk to you. I’m a lot less clear and a lot stranger when talking to myself.

So. Hope you like the cover. It’ll start trickling out to the vendors soon. I have to get back to work now. I hope your orangutans are more clever than mine.

See you real soon!

Road Trip, the Third

Can I milk a trip report, or what? Wait till the fall when I go to Walt Disney World for a week. Many Shubs and Zulls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of a Sloar that day, I can tell you.

So, at long last, we reached our destination. The exact center of the contiguous United States. (If you’re not sure, that means Hawaii and Alaska aren’t included in the measurements.) Okay, actually, it wasn’t the exact center. The real spot is in a farmer’s field about a half mile away from the tourist spot.

This fact, of course, is something I used in the book. The farmer’s-field story is a cover to keep people from finding the headquarters of the Board of Hidden Affairs.

There wasn’t much to see, but I have to admit there was a lot more there than I’d expected. The spot was sort of a triangular island with roads on all sides. Not, you know, roads with cars on them, though, so we parked and got out. Except for a caretaker mowing the grass, we saw no one else the whole time we were there.

I’m still a little puzzled by the self-importance of this place, which has absolutely no significance whatsoever except a manmade number from an arbitrary measurement. However, this was what made it special to me. As you can see in the picture, you can take a picnic lunch and sit at the tables. There’s a public bbq behind the tables, should you have the urge for a burger.

You see that little white building on the left in the picture above? That, my friends, is a tiny, tiny church, should you and seven friends feel inclined to pray in the nearly exact center of the country. It has eight one-person pews and a podium in front, so if you bring your own paster, you can fit nine people in there.

Of course, I took a picture. How could I not?

America is awesome.

I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out which of the surrounding fields contained the real center, and the caretaker kindly came over and pointed it out to me. The entire trip was to research this very thing, so it was important. And incidentally, when we came home from the trip, I had to make some changes to my manuscript to reflect my new knowledge.

Okay. So, we left the center of the country and moved on to Cawker City, Kansas. I know this is what all of you have been waiting for. It’s the reason you’ve put up with my ramblings about mosaic toilets, tiny chapels, and glass coffins. A few months back, I gave you the world’s biggest ball of string in Branson, Missouri. Now, I give you the world’s biggest ball of twine.

Because it’s awesome

I have nothing much to say about this big ball of twine. It was outside under a pavilion. We pulled up to the curb, I hopped out to take pictures, and we left. I have to say, I found the benches that face it all the way around in a circle to be disconcerting. I picture the town elders holding a seance or something around it under a full moon. But that’s probably just me.

The last stop wasn’t much. We checked out Rock City in Minneapolis, Kansas. Basically, it’s a field full of cool looking rocks. According to the lady in the gift shop, they each have names. I ran around and took pictures, then jumped back in the car. The field wasn’t very wheelchair accessible, and really, we were getting tired.

Time to go home.

500 miles round trip in one day. Five tourist stops. A bazillion pictures of silly things.

And mad love for discovering the quiet, crazy parts of the world.

Have an awesome weekend, folks. Go see something weird. I promise, it’s worth it.

See you real soon!

Road Trip, the Second Part

Words lose all meaning in the face of such insanity.

Let us continue this whirlwind trip of central Kansas without rehashing the first part. Otherwise, we’ll never get through it. I have a tendency to digress. You may not have noticed.

Did I ever tell you about the time I went half a day with my underwear on sideways before I noticed?  I’m not proud of it. I’m also not going to be tempted to veer off from the trip report to share it.

So, we pulled into Lucas, Kansas, and followed the signs to the Garden of Eden. I’d seen a picture or two, but I was unprepared. Profanities of an incredulous nature fell from my mouth when the place came into view.

This is not off the beaten path. This is a house on a regular street in a regular town. There’s no parking lot. Park along the curb in front of a neighbor’s house and walk on over. I cannot imagine having to look at this thing from my front yard every day. 

The ladies in the gift shop really were nice. I ran in and paid for tickets, but we didn’t tour the inside of the house. Since it was built from 1904 to 1932, it’s not very wheelchair friendly. But that’s okay. The outside gave us plenty to look at.

Plenty.

I took a lot of pictures. We both did. But I encourage you to go to the Garden of Eden website and check out their gallery. Because, holy cow. They guy who built it, S.P. Dinsmoor was a little crazy. This place is up there with the Winchester Mystery House, in my opinion. Everything is made from concrete and limestone, including the “logs” he built the cabin with. The sculptures are unsettling to the point of creepy. And the longer you stare at them, the more you start seeing stories and messages he might have been trying to convey.

Due to the stairs leading up to the pyramid, we didn’t go into the mausoleum. This means I can’t show you the glass and concrete coffin with Mr. Dinsmoor inside. Apparently, you can go in and look at him. His first wife is also in there with him.

No. Not at all creepy.

The sculptures are still amazing works of art, and the ladies in the gift shop told me a couple of art professors from the University of Kansas bought the place. I’m glad. Unsettling or not, it all needs to be preserved. As individual pieces and as a whole, the Garden of Eden tells one helluva story.

Mausoleum.

So, how does one top off a crazy tour like that? The gift shop ladies sent me up the street to visit a public restroom.

Lucas, Kansas, is the Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas. As such, they get a lot of visitors and decided they needed a public restroom. So they built one.

And it’s shaped like a toilet.

Seriously.

This was an amazing piece of artwork. I never thought I’d say that about a public restroom, but the community members outdid themselves. I took pictures in both the men’s and ladies’ rooms. In fact, a couple of nice men held the door open for me to go in. Mosaics covered nearly every surface, and the artists used a stunning array of materials.

Lucas, Kansas is not to be missed, folks. You might whip right past it on the way to somewhere else, but don’t. The most unassuming little towns can offer some of the most fascinating little gems.

 

Next stop on our tour is the actual point to the trip — the center of the country. Its no mosaic public toilet, but it’s got a tiny chapel that seats eight, which is incredibly weird. Also, it has picnic tables and a bbq.

No, I don’t know why.

Come back Friday. There might be twine.

See you real soon!

Road Trip!

In a few more weeks, I’ll be finished writing book four, Golem in My Glovebox, and I’ll start paying more attention to you. I promise. That goes for all my neglected friends, family, housework (okay, maybe not that), and the cats. I’ll start spreading the love soon. I miss you guys.

I’ve already let nearly a week go by without telling you about the total fabulousness of last weekend. The entire trip took a full day, spanned over 500 miles, and included five stops for insane roadside attractions.

The original goal was for me to hit Lebanon, Kansas, the center of the United States. If you’ve read my books, you know that’s where the headquarters for the Board of Hidden Affairs is located. Zoey’s been there once, in Pooka in My Pantry, but she flew in, so the compound was what I wanted it to be. For book four, they’re driving in. I’ve Googled it. I’ve mapped it. I’ve scrutinized photos and overhead satellite views.

But I really wanted to see it for myself.

Having spent so much time on Roadside America for research, we started adding things to the itinerary. And then things got fabulous.

First, of course, we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast and coffee. We had a long way to go in one day, so we needed fuel. I’m sorry to say, I failed to take pictures of this leg of the journey.

They grow wind here.

We saw a lot of farms along the way. Wheat. Corn. Cows. Alpaca. (That one made me yell with excitement and scare my husband, which isn’t cool to do to the driver. But alpacas!) And then we blew through a wind farm. (See what I did, there?) So, of course, I took a picture.

Actually, I took a bunch of pictures, but I think this was the coolest. Not easy to get a good shot from inside a moving car.

Not salty. Pretty, though.

We took time to enjoy the trip, not just the destinations. I’ve been pretty wound up over trying to get this book done and meet my deadline. We sang. We listened to Disney podcasts. We made up stories about exactly what just hit the windshield, because there’s no way a bug’s innards were neon yellow.

We came across a surprise lake out of nowhere, and I took more pictures from the moving car. I’ll be honest here. I tried to convince myself we’d hit the ocean, because this landlocked California girl gets homesick. I pretty much had myself fooled until I rolled down the window. It neither smelled nor tasted like salt air. Way to go, Kansas. Stop trying to be something you’re not.

Wait, what? I was on a trip that took less than twelve hours, and I’m done with the blogpost without reaching the first destination? That’s so unlike me. I’ll give you a teaser before I go.

From the Garden of Eden. Because I’m 12.

The first stop was the Garden of Eden. Yes, really. The people there were so nice. In fact, those lovely ladies sent me to see a second bit of awesome in the town of Lucas, Kansas. It was a public restroom the likes of which you’ve never seen.

So, come back Monday. I have pictures. I won’t tell you where I went after that, but I’ll give you a hint: a lot of twine was involved.

See you real soon!

 

Fairies in My Fireplace Back Cover Copy

So, no cover art for Fairies in My Fireplace, yet. We’ll probably have another two weeks or so to wait for that. But I did spot the back cover copy on Amazon over the weekend and thought I’d share it with you:

A Monster Haven Story, book three

A migration of mythical creatures has begun, and more and more of them are landing on Zoey Donovan’s doorstep. As the only Aegis left in the country, it falls to her to protect the Hidden and keep them safe—and her house has become a sanctuary for water sprites, goblins, harpies, djinn and more.

Keeping track of her boarders is a full-time job, and Zoey’s already got her hands full trying to run her wedding planning business. Good thing she has a resident closet monster to keep her organized, and a hot Reaper boyfriend to help her relax every once in a while.

But she can’t keep up monster-triage indefinitely, and as more Hidden arrive, it becomes clear that someone—or something—is hunting them. In the midst of planning an event for a notoriously difficult client, Zoey’s got to figure out who’s behind the hunt…and she’s got to stop them before there are no Hidden left.

86,000 words

It’s a start. Now you have more to go on than just a title. I’ve been watching the numbers, and I see a lot of you have already pre-ordered it. I can’t tell you how much that means to me. It also helps me to write the next one, knowing that people really are enjoying this series.

So, thank you all for being so awesome. I’m going to leave you with this and go work on Golem in My Glovebox. The sooner I finish with that one, the sooner I can work on something new for you.

See you real soon!

 

Get in the Car! No Time to Explain!

The Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo, TX.

As you may already know, book four in the Monster Haven series, Golem in My Glovebox, is a road trip book. Zoey and Riley are driving across the United States, running into problems, people and, best of all, crazy tourist attractions.

While researching one of their quirky stops, I discovered a priceless website I have to share with you. It’s now my greatest resource for this book, and it’s helped to shape the rest of the story going forward.

Before I give you the link, though, I have to warn you — it’s dangerous. This site will show you all of the magical, amazing things located in your own hometown. I, for instance, now know that I can visit one of Elvis’s toenails and several pair of his underwear anytime I like. It’s practically within walking distance of my house. Plus, this Museum of the Odd also features over 350 sock monkeys. Right up the street from where I’m sitting now. Jealous yet?

Seriously. Be careful with this information. It will consume you. Are you ready? Here you go: Roadside America – Your Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions. Find out what’s close to you. Do it.

Aside from Elivs’s underwear, I’ve also learned there’s a Truck Stonehenge and a fire hydrant garden about a half hour away.

The possibilities are endless.

So, get in the car. I’ll pay for the gas. You grab a cooler and fill it with cold drinks. We’re going on a road trip.

It’s for research.

Urban Fantasy Week at Here Be Magic

This is a quick one today. I’d like to direct your attention to the Here Be Magic site. I told you a few days ago that it’s Urban Fantasy Week over there.

Today is my day. But it’s been going on all week. I thought it might be a good idea to give you a list, in case you’re interested in seeing what the others have to offer, too. Monday is always devoted to news over there, though, so that’s not part of theme week.

Urban fantasy is, of course, the best and most important genre, far superior to all others. Unless I decide to write something else. Then I’ll tell you what genre you need to switch over to in your loyalties. I’m awesome like that.

Here’s the list so far:

Sunday June 2nd – The Urban Fantasy Fractal, Joshua Roots

Monday June 3rd – Here Be News, Eleri Stone

Tuesday June 4th – Hidden in Plain Sight, David Bridger

Wednesday June 5th — Urban Fantasy Week–The Shelving Conundrum, Jax Garren

Thursday June 6th – Would Paranormal Romance Make Good TV? Jody Wallace

Friday June 7th — Does This Smell Right to You? An Urban Fantasy Checklist, R.L. Naquin

Saturday June 8th — (I’ll give you the title and link when it posts.) Sonya Clark

And that’s it. Urban Fantasy Week for your perusal.

See you real soon!

Cannibal Watch 2013

Last week I did something I’ve been talking about for months. (Did you hear the cheering crowds and the marching band?) I stopped working from the couch and moved to my office.

(Throw confetti at my signal. Wait for it.)

Baby steps, mind you. This did not happen all at once. One cannot rise from the sofa, gather up the laptop and cord, and declare one’s intentions (to the cats and otherwise empty room) that one is going upstairs. No. First, I moved myself to the kitchen table for a few days.

Two mini white boards, index card organizer, iced coffee…we’re all set.

Over the weekend, the house got cleaned. Seriously. I know. That’s crazy. (No, don’t throw the confetti yet, smart ass.) It was a team effort, and a portion of my effort was spent upstairs in what used to be my office, then became my daughter’s room for awhile, then became a gaping hole full of sadness when she moved crosscountry, out on her own. (That’s right. I know you’re reading this. And I totally went there. I’m holding your hats hostage. Looking at them right now, in fact.)

The bigger white board and the map on which I’ve started marking Zoey and Riley’s trip. More on that later.

While half the room is still full of stuff that needs to be organized (mine and hers, I’m not gonna lie–poor kid never got the full room), the other half is shaping up to be a pretty decent writing nook, complete with an awesome view.

It’s spring, so I can’t see the cannibal house very well, but come autumn, those leaves will clear the way for some high entertainment, especially if I leave the windows open so I can hear the screaming.

Anyway, I’m settled into my new/old office. (Now you can throw the confetti! Hooray!)

You can almost see the cannibal house through the trees. Also, I’ve spotted a bunny the size of a small dog hopping through that grass. A little terrifying.

 

I’m writing book four. A lot of people post pictures of where they do their work. I’ve never done that, because seriously, a post about the ass dent in my couch is kind of embarrassing. But now I’ve got stuff to show. 

So, here you go. This is where the magic is happening. Sort of.

One more thing. This week is Urban Fantasy Week over at Here Be Magic. Those of us in the group who specifically write in that genre are talking about all week. My day is Friday, but there have already been some great posts. Go and take a look! I’ll be back Friday with a link to mine.

See you real soon!