Lou Anders's Blog, page 9

Review: Loki's Wolves

Loki's Wolves by K.L.  Armstrong and M.A. Marr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Two years before Magnus Chase appeared on the scene, kids were already tackling the threat of Ragnarok and taking up magic weapons to save the world. K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr's Loki's Wolves is a fantastic and fast paced adventure about a group of eighth graders who discover that, as descendants of the long-vanished Norse gods, it's up to them to face down the Midgard Serpent and prevent the end of the world. Matthew Thorsen is the stand in for the god Thor, while Fen and Laurie Brekke are the children of Loki. They team up on an impossible quest, looking for more descendants, and hoping that their own lives aren't bound to tightly to the fates laid out in the old sagas. I plowed through this book, and the cliffhanger ending has me eager to jump into the next one. Highly recommended for fans of Norse mythology, action adventure tales, middle reader fantasy, and, naturally, you-know-who.


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Podcast: Atomic Robo Part Three

The RPG Gamer Dad Podcast presents part three of our session of the Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game from Evil Hat Productions. I'm playing the title character in the fabulous game based on the incredible comic series--one of my all time favorite comics--from Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener. Mike Olson, the creator of Atomic Robo RPG, is the actual GM. Shanna Germain of the fabulous Monte Cook Games is Helen ‘Nightingale’ McAllister. Devon Kelley of the Sharkbone Podcast is Donovan ‘Jack Tarot’ McAllister. And RPG Gamer Dad is Professor Pierson.
Here are links to Part One and Part Two. Check it out!

Podcast: Creation & Inspiration Part Two

I'm back on Dungeon Master's Block this morning with the second half of our "Creation & Inspiration" talk, this time with a list of Top Ten ideas for stories and games. DM Mitch and DM Chris have some utterly fabulous ideas as well! We really had a lot of fun bouncing scenarios off each other. Check it out.

Reflections from the Road: Fultondale Elementary School

On Tuesday, November 10th, I visited Fultondale Elementary School in Fultondale, Alabama during their Scholastic Book Fair. The moment I walked through the door, I was impressed by the library. It's a huge, bright space, dead center of the school, adorned with beautiful white columns and glass bricks. Nice!


I presented after lunch to the entire fourth and fifth grades, who were a very enthusiastic bunch (with a high percentage of Skyrim players in attendance. Fus Ro Dah!). Then I signed in the library for those who had bought books. The kids were great -- one boy said he was so excited he was going to faint. Fortunately, he didn't. But they were all very enthusiastic about Frostborn and it was great fun meeting them!

Thanks very much to Librarian Laurie Purser for arranging such a great visit! And for asking me to sign a Viking helmet!

And a huge thank you to Fultondale Elementary for giving me a place on the Wall of Visiting Authors!

Reflections from the Road: FaerieCon 2015

This past weekend, I was excited to be a guest at my first ever FaerieCon, where I joined such fabulous authors as Melissa Marr, Holly Black, Kami Garcia, and Kelley Armstrong. FaerieCon is a faerie/celtic themed event with a strong emphasis on music. The internationally famous  German band Faun appear every year, as well as bands like the marvelous Woodland. This year's FaerieCon had a Norse sub theme (explaining my appearance there), and featured a performance by Einar Selvik of Wardruna, the Norwegian band who play on traditional Norse instruments and whose music has been featured on the TV series Vikings.

After an early morning flight Friday morning, I arrived just in time to make a panel with Melissa Marr, Holly Black, and Kami Garcia ostensibly about the Faerie Marketplace, though it turned into more of a writing instruction panel. After which a friend I haven't seen since I was in college drove up to hang and found himself dragged to an Author's Tea where fans and authors gathered to sample tea and eat cookies, and he was nearly smashed by Wotan the Faerie Smasher. Then it was goodbye to my old friend and hello to four new ones, with a fabulous dinner with the three aforementioned authors and Kelly Armstrong. And after dinner Scotch.

Saturday was a full day with a panel entitled "Sex & Politics in Modern Fantasy" (hello? Children's book author!), an absolutely jammed packed/standing-room-only panel entitled "Norse Culture & Mythology in Modern Fantasy," a signing where I signed books for most of an hour, another Author's Tea, and a Faun concert.

Afterwards, I ended up giving an impromptu two-hour session of my ScripTips course to several interested parties in the bar, and then more Scotch, and then wine in a suite where the various band members were hanging out. And then suddenly it was 4:30 am.

Sunday yet another college friend drove up from DC to meet me for breakfast. Then I had my final signing and I'm happy to say we sold out of Frostborn and nearly of Nightborn! By this point, enough people had heard about ScripTips that I volunteered another session (in exchange for coffee and beer, which is considerably cheaper than my usual fee) and I taught another two hours to a group of about eight to ten people (who were very smart and very fun to teach).

The evening ended with an acoustic show, in which various members of Faun and Woodland played, bracketing a solo performance by Einar Selvik that was transcendent for this Norse-enthusiast.

And there ended a fantastic weekend!

Thanks to organizer Robert Gould, all the other authors, my two old college buddies, the tireless booksellers and convention staff, the Hunt Valley Inn, my drivers Cybele and Kim, all the musicians, and Wotan the Faerie Smasher for an unforgettable time.

FaerieCon 2015

This past weekend, I was excited to be a guest at my first ever FaerieCon, where I joined such fabulous authors as Melissa Marr, Holly Black, Kami Garcia, and Kelley Armstrong. FaerieCon is a faerie/celtic themed event with a strong emphasis on music. The internationally famous  German band Faun appear every year, as well as bands like the marvelous Woodland. This year's FaerieCon had a Norse sub theme (explaining my appearance there), and featured a performance by Einar Selvik of Wardruna, the Norwegian band who play on traditional Norse instruments and whose music has been featured on the TV series Vikings.

After an early morning flight Friday morning, I arrived just in time to make a panel with Melissa Marr, Holly Black, and Kami Garcia ostensibly about the Faerie Marketplace, though it turned into more of a writing instruction panel. After which a friend I haven't seen since I was in college drove up to hang and found himself dragged to an Author's Tea where fans and authors gathered to sample tea and eat cookies, and he was nearly smashed by Wotan the Faerie Smasher. Then it was goodbye to my old friend and hello to four new ones, with a fabulous dinner with the three aforementioned authors and Kelly Armstrong. And after dinner Scotch.

Saturday was a full day with a panel entitled "Sex & Politics in Modern Fantasy" (hello? Children's book author!), an absolutely jammed packed/standing-room-only panel entitled "Norse Culture & Mythology in Modern Fantasy," a signing where I signed books for most of an hour, another Author's Tea, and a Faun concert.

Afterwards, I ended up giving an impromptu two-hour session of my ScripTips course to several interested parties in the bar, and then more Scotch, and then wine in a suite where the various band members were hanging out. And then suddenly it was 4:30 am.

Sunday yet another college friend drove up from DC to meet me for breakfast. Then I had my final signing and I'm happy to say we sold out of Frostborn and nearly of Nightborn! By this point, enough people had heard about ScripTips that I volunteered another session (in exchange for coffee and beer, which is considerably cheaper than my usual fee) and I taught another two hours to a group of about eight to ten people (who were very smart and very fun to teach).

The evening ended with an acoustic show, in which various members of Faun and Woodland played, bracketing a solo performance by Einar Selvik that was transcendent for this Norse-enthusiast.

And there ended a fantastic weekend!

Thanks to organizer Robert Gould, all the other authors, my two old college buddies, the tireless booksellers and convention staff, the Hunt Valley Inn, my drivers Cybele and Kim, all the musicians, and Wotan the Faerie Smasher for an unforgettable time.

Podcast(s): RPG Gamer Dad Podcast and Dungeon Master's Block

Once again, I'm a guest on not one but two fantastic podcasts, this time The RPG Gamer Dad Podcast and Dungeon Master's Block. 

On The RPG Gamer Dad Podcast, we continue our live-action role play session of the Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game  from Evil Hat Productions. Mike Olson, the creator of Atomic Robo RPG, is the GM. Shanna Germain of the fabulous Monte Cook Games is Helen ‘Nightingale’ McAllister. Devon Kelley of the Sharkbone Podcast is Donovan ‘Jack Tarot’ McAllister. And RPG Gamer Dad is Professor Pierson. And I am the Atomic Robo himself! (You can hear Part One here.)

I'm also making my first ever appearance on Dungeon Master's Block today, talking with Chris and Mitch about All Things World Building, for gamers and writers alike. We go indepth as to how I created the World of Qualth for my Thrones & Bones novels. It was a fabulous conversation with two really insightful and interesting guys (their podcast is always chocked full of useful ideas) and I'm thrilled to be on it! 

Check out both shows! 

FaerieCon 2015 Schedule

This weekend I'll be at FaerieCon 2015 in Baltimore, MD!  Come see me and a host of other guests, including Holly Black, Kami Garcia, Kelly Armstrong, Melissa Marr and Einar Selvik, founder of the band Wardruna, who provide the music for the show Vikings!  The convention has a Norse theme this year, so be sure to get your copy of Frostborn and Nightborn signed and stamped in Elder Futhark. 

My schedule for the weekend:

Friday November 6th

2:30-3:30 Panel: The Faerie & Fantasy Marketplace: 
Melissa Marr, Holly Black, Kami Garcia, Lou Anders

5:00-6:00 Author Tea: Drop by and see who’s hanging out! Meet our featured authors! Held in the Chase Room of the Tack Suites.

Saturday November 7th

11:00-12:00 Panel: Sex & Politics in Modern Fantasy: What’s Changed? - Kami Garcia, Holly Black, Lou Anders

2:30-3:30 Panel: Norse Culture & Mythology in Modern Fantasy - Lou Anders, Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong

5:00-6:00 Author Tea: Drop by and see who’s hanging out and meet our featured authors! Held in the Chase Meeting Room.

FAERIECON AUTHOR SIGNINGS SCHEDULE
BOOK SHOP, BOOTH B33 - LOWER LEVEL

Saturday November 7th

4:00 Holly Black & Lou Anders Signing


Sunday November 8th:

1:00 Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr and Lou Anders Signing 

Podcast(s): RPG Gamer Dad Podcast and the Cornell Collective

This week, I'm a guest on not one but two fantastic podcasts, The RPG Gamer Dad Podcast and The Cornell Collective. And I'm joined by some other really spectacular guests.

On The RPG Gamer Dad Podcast, I am playing the title character in the fabulous Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game from Evil Hat Productions. The game is based on the incredible comic series--one of my all time favorite comics--from Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener. It's about a sentient robot created by Nikola Tesla in 1923, whose adventures span nearly a century of tales. Cut from the same cloth as Doc Savage, Buckaroo Banzai, and Tom Strong, it's one of the zaniest and best things to come out of comics in years. The whole thing is online to read for free now, though frankly I prefer to give these guys my money. The role playing game, meanwhile, is powered by the Fate Core System, a fantastic storytelling game in with which I've fallen in love and which I use to power my own home campaign, set in the world of my Thrones & Bones novels. For this episode (which is Part One of our adventure), Mike Olson, the creator of Atomic Robo RPG, is the actual GM. Shanna Germain of the fabulous Monte Cook Games is Helen ‘Nightingale’ McAllister. Devon Kelley of the Sharkbone Podcast is Donovan ‘Jack Tarot’ McAllister. And RPG Gamer Dad is Professor Pierson. It was an incredibly fun session to play, and I'm glad it's made for a great show as well.

On The Cornell Collective, my dear friend of many years, Paul Cornell (of Doctor Who and Marvel comics fame, and many other things), sits down to chat with myself, our mutual friend Joseph Mallozzi (executive producer of such wondrous shows as Stargate: Universe and Dark Matter ), and the delightful comic book artist Emma Vieceli (she of the critically acclaimed independent web series, Breaks, Doctor Who for Titan comics, IDW's Jem & the Holograms, and much besides.) We discuss our secret Geek origins, the influences in our respective works, and horrendously embarrassing moments from each of our careers.

I'm really happy with both podcasts, but particularly  so as on each I got to have fun with such wonderful and exciting people, friends old and new. Please check them out!

Frostborn: Nebraska Golden Sower Award Intermediate Nominee 2016-17

I am enormously exited to announce that Frostborn has been selected as one of the Nebraska Golden Sower Award Nominee Titles for 2016-2017 in the "Intermediate" category!!!

The Golden Sower Award is the children's choice literary award for the state of Nebraska. The award's sponsors, the Nebraska Library Association, hope the program will sow seeds which stimulate children's thinking, introduce different types of literature, encourage independent reading, increase library skills, and foster an appreciation for excellence in writing and illustrating.

The full list of nominees can be found  here. The Golden Sower Award website is undergoing an overhaul, but information about the award can be found here. I am just thrilled with this announcement and want to extend my congratulations to all my fellow nominees!