Anna Frost's Blog, page 2

The Steampunk Sold!

Do you know what showed up on Publisher’s Marketplace today? This little announcement…

PM deal announcement

It was originally called The Gears of War but its new name is more plot-relevent. Is it 2016 yet? I can’t wait!

 

The Fox’s God – Release Day!

The Fox’s God

 

Here it is, the final volume of the trilogy! How does it feel to have finished a trilogy? Well, I’m anxious because I don’t want to disappoint the people who have been waiting for this last volume, and relieved I at least got to the end. Nobody likes series left unfinished. What’s next? Tell you that next week.

 

It’s not available everywhere yet, but here are the links I’ve got so far.

Goodreads

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Barnes and Noble

Buy from Musa Publishing

The Fox’s Mask Tour – Part Two

Here comes content! I’ll be adding the links as the posts go up. There’s a $30 gift card draw for this tour too, so drop by and enter.

Monday June 23 – Review from Katy of A Blighted One

Tuesday June 24 – Guest post with Unabridged Andra

Wednesday June 25 – Review from Pretty Little Pages

Thursday June 26 – Guest post with Boys on the Brink

Friday June 27 – Review from Ula of Blog of Erised

Saturday June 28 – Guest post with Pure Jonel

Sunday June 29 – Review from Cosy Dragon

Monday June 30 – Guest post with Fighting Dreamer

The Fox’s Mask Tour + Sale!

To celebrate the release of the last volume of the trilogy next week, it’s tour time! It’s also sale time: the first volume (The Fox’s Mask) is on sale at $0.99 for the entire duration of the tour(s). Sale price available via:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Smashwords

Musa Publishing

 

First there’s a book blast with Goddess Fish today June 20. The full stop list is over here. Most are only posting blurb and details but there’s also a rafflecopter giveaway for a $30 giftcard you can easily enter.

 

 

Next we’ve got a tour full of original content running from June 23 to June 30. The full tour list will go up Monday when it starts.

The Fox’s God Release Date

At least one keen-eyed reader noticed that the release date for The Fox’s God changed from June to July and back again. In short, a schedule mix-up left us scrambling to catch up. After some hard work from  the team, the book is currently on track for a June 27 release.  If something does comes up and we miss that date, it’ll be out the following week instead.

It’s not a fun situation for anybody, but I promise we’re doing the best we can.

Moving Notice: Off to Wordpress

After two weeks of mucking around I've finally put together something that I'm reasonably happy with.     New blog is on www.annafrost.ca

Bathroom Reno #2 Pictures

We decided to renovate the downstairs bathroom slash laundry room ourselves. It only took four months of painstakingly slow progress!


Before: beige walls, white floor, leaking vanity, and an old yellowing shower with missing door and warping walls.

After: purple walls, grey floor, floating vanity with storage space, new shower with actual door, and various deco bits.

Vanity close-up because I love this backsplash. It's marble, so it's the fanciest part of the room.


I feel accomplished. My design choices turned out awesome. That said, I wish never to do this again. Going at it DIY is harder than it looks on TV, even when you can delegate all the worst parts to your significant other. (And we still need to repaint the ceiling.)

Downstairs Bathroom Reno in Pictures

We decided to renovate the downstairs bathroom slash laundry room ourselves. It only took four months of painstakingly slow progress!
Before: beige walls, white floor, leaking vanity, and an old yellowing shower with missing door and warping walls.

After: purple walls, grey floor, floating vanity with storage space, new shower with actual door, and various deco bits.

Vanity close-up because I love this backsplash. It's marble, so it's the fanciest part of the room.


I feel accomplished. My design choices turned out awesome. That said, I wish never to do this again. Going at it DIY is harder than it looks on TV, even when you can delegate all the worst parts to your significant other. (And we still need to repaint the ceiling.)

YA LGBT Month – Mini-Reviews

I only finished two books for YA LGBT Month, sadly. The third I tried didn’t work for me.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

*This is a contemporary book recommended to me by Cayce.

I love:
The beautiful writing and Aristotle’s voice. It’s funny and realistic and plain awesome. I’m not a fan of heavy romance or insta-love, so the slow, strangers-to-friends & friends-to-boyfriends approach in this book makes me so very happy. I also like that the two characters are Mexican Americans and sometimes talk about identity issues.

I hate:
The inclusion of a hate crime incident. Is it necessary to always bring back contemporary LGBT narratives to that? Couldn’t we get to enjoy a sweet romance for once? Sometimes I feel like gay people in fiction are never ever allowed to just be happy. They MUST suffer or it isn’t “realistic.”

Overall:
Recommended. Even someone who is doubtful about the contemporary genre can fall for this book.

Seidman by James Erich

In Viking Age Iceland, where boys are expected to grow into strong farmers and skilled warriors, there is little place for a sickly twelve-year-old boy like Kol until he catches the eye of a seið-woman—a sorceress—and becomes her apprentice. Kol travels to the sorceress’s home, where her grandson, Thorbrand, takes Kol under his wing. Before long Kol discovers something else about himself that is different—something else that sets him apart as unmanly: Kol has fallen in love with another boy. 

But the world is changing in ways that threaten those who practice the ancient arts. As Kol’s new life takes him across the Norse lands, he finds that a new religion is sweeping through them, and King Olaf Tryggvason is hunting down and executing sorcerers. When a decades-old feud forces Thorbrand to choose between Kol and his duty to his kinsman, Kol finds himself cast adrift with only the cryptic messages of an ancient goddess to guide him to his destiny—and possibly to his death.


I love:
The glimpse into a time and place that isn’t often explored in fiction. The magic system and its rules.

I hate:
The cultural homophobia. It’s not like this is a historically accurate story. If magic can be real in this world, can’t we also do without the homophobia? (Yes, I complain about this all the time.)

Overall:
It’s a decent story, but I like the author’s Dreams of Fire and Gods trilogy much better and would recommend that instead.

YA LGBT Month - Mini-Reviews

I only finished two books for YA LGBT Month, sadly. The third I tried didn't work for me.


Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.


*This is a contemporary book recommended to me by Cayce.




I love:
The beautiful writing and Aristotle's voice. It's funny and realistic and plain awesome. I'm not a fan of heavy romance or insta-love, so the slow, strangers-to-friends & friends-to-boyfriends approach in this book makes me so very happy. I also like that the two characters are Mexican Americans and sometimes talk about identity issues.

I hate:
The inclusion of a hate crime incident. Is it necessary to always bring back contemporary LGBT narratives to that? Couldn't we get to enjoy a sweet romance for once? Sometimes I feel like gay people in fiction are never ever allowed to just be happy. They MUST suffer or it isn't "realistic."

Overall:
Recommended. Even someone who is doubtful about the contemporary genre can fall for this book.


Seidman by James Erich

In Viking Age Iceland, where boys are expected to grow into strong farmers and skilled warriors, there is little place for a sickly twelve-year-old boy like Kol until he catches the eye of a seið-woman—a sorceress—and becomes her apprentice. Kol travels to the sorceress’s home, where her grandson, Thorbrand, takes Kol under his wing. Before long Kol discovers something else about himself that is different—something else that sets him apart as unmanly: Kol has fallen in love with another boy. 

But the world is changing in ways that threaten those who practice the ancient arts. As Kol’s new life takes him across the Norse lands, he finds that a new religion is sweeping through them, and King Olaf Tryggvason is hunting down and executing sorcerers. When a decades-old feud forces Thorbrand to choose between Kol and his duty to his kinsman, Kol finds himself cast adrift with only the cryptic messages of an ancient goddess to guide him to his destiny—and possibly to his death.


I love:
The glimpse into a time and place that isn't often explored in fiction. The magic system and its rules.

I hate:
The cultural homophobia. It's not like this is a historically accurate story. If magic can be real in this world, can't we also do without the homophobia? (Yes, I complain about this all the time.)

Overall:
It's a decent story, but I like the author's Dreams of Fire and Gods trilogy much better and would recommend that instead.