Lauren Jankowski's Blog, page 5

New Cosplay Project

Hello all,

I just realized I hadn’t posted about my new project on my blog. Insert facepalm here.

More than a month ago, I announced a huge cosplay project that I have been working on with two artists for months. It’s called Ballet Marvel and it’s combining the two things that got me through the various peaks of the COVID pandemic: ballets and Marvel movies. I thought it would be really cool if Marvel movies were adapted into ballets and so recruited a couple artists to help me bring this vision to life.

Ballet Marvel is going to run from October 3rd to November 21st. I’m going to be dressing up as a ballet interpretation of 7 different MCU characters (one a week). Aside from pictures, I’m also going to post a few videos discussing the characters, dancers from the Royal Ballet, and ballets I enjoy.

For most of my life, I’ve been scared of having my picture taken. Recently, I’ve decided to try getting over that fear. I’m hoping this project helps me get closer to that goal.

I’m going to post an Intro video on Saturday. Then on Sunday, the project will officially begin.

I hope all of you enjoy Ballet Marvel. A lot of hard work has gone into it and I’m really looking forward to showing what I’ve been working on.

See you Saturday.

New Project: The She Series Kickstarter

A couple months ago, one of my favorite artists, Karen Hallion, posted a call for writers to help with a project she was putting together. I was intrigued to say the least. I’ve long enjoyed Ms. Hallion’s work (I have her Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman prints above my closet). So I sent her an email.

When I found out it was for the upcoming She Series book, I was ecstatic. I love the She Series of portraits! When I found out I would be writing the entry for Emily Dickinson, I just about burst into tears. Emily Dickinson was one of my main inspirations for becoming an author. I have always found comfort in her word, but especially after I came out as aromantic asexual and I was told by a mentor that if I were actually asexual, then I wouldn’t be able to be a writer or any kind of artist. Emily Dickinson was a woman who lived on her own terms, who was a writer and did it without marrying. And now I was going to write an entry on her for a book that thousands of young girls would read.

I was also able to write about Cleopatra, a woman whose legacy has unfortunately been overshadowed by the men she happened to sleep with. Cleopatra who was one of the most brilliant politicians of her time, who led a fascinating life and accomplished so much in her short time. It was thrilling to get to read about her again, almost like reuniting with an old friend over tea.

The She Series Kickstarter launched today and I could not be more excited about it:

mockups-design.com

Within four hours, it reached its initial goal and now they’re trying to meet the stretch goals. I’m among 50 truly incredible authors contributing to this book and I really cannot wait for people’s reactions to this book when it’s released.

This is truly a dream come true for me. I never thought I’d be writing something for an artist I really admire, much less about personal heroes of mine.

If you’re able to, please contribute to this campaign. There are some really fantastic rewards being offered and this is going to be such an amazing book.

Donate here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/celara/the-she-series-book

Thank you!

I’m in an Anthology!

I have been waiting for AGES to announce this!

I’m in an anthology! An actual print SFF anthology!

This is the first time I’ve ever been able to write about being a queer woman and an adoptee! And to be published among all these accomplished writers, this is truly a dream come true.

If you want to pick up a copy (and I sincerely hope you do), here’s the link where you can purchase it: http://www.aqueductpress.com/books/978-1-61976-191-9.php

To celebrate getting accepted into this anthology, I commissioned one of my favorite visual artists, Laya Rose (website), to draw something related to my essay. And she delivered. She drew this, which is so incredibly beautiful and I absolutely love it:

It’s so perfect

Anyhow, I hope many of you go out and pick up a copy of this awesome anthology. Trust me, it’s not a book you want to miss.

Trailer Debut and New Appearance

Hello loyal readers!

It has been quite a while. The trailer for book three took longer than expected due to scheduling. Thankfully, the phenomenal Britty Lea gathered an extraordinary crew and came up with something truly special:

A very special thanks goes to Britty Lea (personal website and Facebook) and the cast and crew for making an action-packed trailer and showing Blitz wreaking havoc. I could not be happier with the finished trailer

Be sure to check out the YouTube link for full cast and credits.

Interested in learning more about the deadly Blitz? You’re in luck: my first con appearance of the year is coming up next week:

For the first time ever, I’ll be bringing my work to Arizona for another ACE Comic Con. I had such an incredible experience at the Chicago event, I booked a table at the very next show. These shows are a great deal of fun and I can not say enough good things about them (and the wonderful team who puts them on).

I can’t wait to meet readers there. I’ll be at table 632. Drop by and say hi!

Appearance Announcement

Hello everyone!

There’s a change in schedule. This year, instead of Archon, I will be attending Ace Comic Con at Navy Pier. I will be in Artist Alley with my series The Shape Shifter Chronicles.

I am thrilled to announce I will be appearing at @acecomiccon Midwest at Chicago’s Navy Pier October 12-14th alongside Tom Hiddleston, Josh Brolin, & many more for an amazing weekend! Want to join us? Get your tix here: http://ow.ly/uqjO30l7DOf #acecomiccon

Looking forward to meeting and chatting with readers there!

The Debut of the Book Two Trailer

Hey everyone!

I know I’m absolutely terrible at keeping up this blog (and I missed sending out last month’s newsletter, eep). However, today I bring you a special post.

Here’s the trailer for Through Storm and Night:

 

A very special thanks goes to Britty Lea (personal website and Facebook) and the cast and crew for making a really special and very eerie trailer. I could not be happier with the finished trailer

A special thanks also goes to my dear, dear friend, Robyn Byrd, who is an all around badass and real life superhero. She did Alpha’s voice over and rocked it <3

I’ll be putting a link to the trailer on the novel’s page on my site: https://laurenjankowski.com/novels/through-storm-and-night/

Britty and I have already scheduled a brainstorming session for the trailer for From the Ashes, which I think is going to be a fun one to work on.

So, that’s all for now.

Thanks, everybody!

Guest Post: Dorothy Dreyer

Hello everyone!

Today is a special blog post and I’m ridiculously excited about it.

A few authors from my publisher, Snowy Wings Publishing, were invited by another publishing collective to participate in an eBook sale. From January 26th – February 1st, Sere from the Green is one of the eBooks that will be available for 99 cents.

Another simply phenomenal eBook that will be available for 99 cents: Dorothy Dreyer’s fantastic YA novel Phoenix Descending. Today, I’m featuring an excerpt from the book.

So, without further ado …

WRENA APPLIED A SMEAR of pink tint to her lips. It was a gift from Lady Tori, who delivered on her promise to make some simple supplies for her and the ladies-in-waiting.

She could almost tell by the sound of the footsteps in the corridor that Aurora was near. With a small grin, she jumped from her chair and ran to the door to open it. Just as she had suspected, Aurora ran toward her. But taking in the expression on Aurora’s face, Wrena’s grin disappeared.

“What is it?” Wrena asked, pulling Aurora into her room and closing the door.

Aurora’s eyes were wide, the color drained from her face. “It’s Patrick. Rudy’s lover. He was found hung in the dungeon.”

Wrena dropped Aurora’s wrists, her hands flying to her face. “Someone killed him?”

“No. He was alone in his cell. It appears he hung himself.”

They stared at each other, the news and its connection to them sinking in. Aurora closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around Wrena. Wrena squeezed her tightly against her, not wanting to let go. How could this feeling between them lead to something as sinister as death? How could such sadness and grief come from something so wonderful and uplifting as love?

Slowly, they parted, sorrow still apparent on both of their faces.

“Your lips look pink,” Aurora said.

Wrena placed her fingertips on her bottom lip. “It was a tint from Lady Tori. Does it make me look foolish?”

The hint of a smile appeared on Aurora’s face. “No. You look lovely, as always.”

“Do we really have to attend the Solstice feast?”

“There will be talk if we don’t.” Aurora shrugged. “Besides, according to legend, if you don’t show the Divine Mother your appreciation for the Solstice, ruin shall follow.”

“Stupid legend.”

“You don’t believe it’s true?”

Wrena let out a breath of defeat. “I believe ruin has already begun.”

Aurora let her weight fall into a chair, her brows knitted. “What is happening with your aunt?”

“I do not know. She has changed.”

“Beheading people for minor crimes? Dropping people into the Rift? That’s beyond cruel.”

“I can’t even imagine how she came up with the punishment. It’s inhumane.”

“Not to mention punishing innocent people. Those girls did nothing wrong.”

“I know.” Wrena closed her eyes and shook her head. “It’s horrible.”

“Can’t you speak to her?”

“And say what?”

Aurora stood and stepped toward her, joining their hands. “Fight for us, Wrena. Fight for the people.”

“I’m afraid my pleas would fall on deaf ears. She won’t hear me out. I can’t even talk to her about the real reason I don’t want to marry Prince Liam.”

They were quiet for a moment, each of them pondering their fate.

“Perhaps we should run away,” Wrena suggested. “We could go to stay with my uncle, Prince Rainer, in Creoca. He would take us in, give us sanctuary.”

Aurora blinked, letting out a laugh of disbelief. “Creoca? It’s always cold there.”

“Aurora.” Wrena knew she was simply trying to avoid the subject of escaping Avarell.

“I don’t know if I could.” She turned and toyed with the ends of her hair. “I can’t leave Father. And Bram. Besides, you are to rule here. What happens if you go to Creoca? Will you lose your claim to the throne?”

Wrena took Aurora’s hands from her hair. “Alliances change. But my heart hasn’t. It is with you.”

“Leaving wouldn’t change things, though, Wrena. Things will keep getting worse here. You are the only one who has even a hope of talking some sense into your aunt. If only your mother—”

Silence filled the room. They knew better than to rely on the possibility that the Queen would recover from her illness.

Still, Wrena didn’t have it in her to give up. “My aunt says she’s doing everything she can to find a cure for her. She’s employed the very best apothecaries from around the world.”

“I’ve seen them. Once in a while. But not very often. They’re in and out of the castle so quickly no one would realize they’d been here.”

“They travel from great distances. I pray one of them will be able to cure her. She might be our only hope.” She moved her hand to stroke Aurora’s cheek, but then stopped short, a troubling thought suddenly coming to her. “Wait. You said Patrick hung himself?”

“Yes.”

“Where did he get the rope?”

Aurora shook her head, her brows lowered. “I do not know. I can’t imagine anyone would have given it to him. Only the guards had access to the cell.”

“Not only guards. So did Duke Grunmire.”

***

Who must she become in order to survive?

Since the outbreak of the phoenix fever in Drothidia, Tori Kagari has already lost one family member to the fatal disease. Now, with the fever threatening to wipe out her entire family, she must go against everything she believes in order to save them—even if that means making a deal with the enemy.

When Tori agrees to join forces with the unscrupulous Khadulians, she must take on a false identity in order to infiltrate the queendom of Avarell and fulfill her part of the bargain, all while under the watchful eye of the unforgiving Queen’s Guard. But time is running out, and every lie, theft, and abduction she is forced to carry out may not be enough to free her family or herself from death.

https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Descending-Curse-Book-ebook/dp/B075LLJG2M/

I cannot wait to read this book and highly recommend readers go out and pick up a copy. Dorothy is a fantastic writer and I’m ridiculously excited to read this book

Thanks, everyone!

A New Place to Buy My Books

Hello all!

Just a short marketing/book update. I can now accept PayPal thanks to my publishing collective, meaning international readers can purchase signed copies of my paperbacks.

Snowy Wings Publishing has a small online shop up and running. My novels are now listed at the following links:

Sere from the Green
Through Storm and Night
From the Ashes
Haunted by the Keres
The Dwelling of Ekhidna

I’ve also listed those links on each novel’s page on this site.

I’m ridiculously happy about this because I have been trying to figure out how to accept PayPal payments for a while now. I’ve been really limited in sales as a result, but now everyone has access to my series.

Thanks everybody!

Brand New Book Trailer

Hi everyone!

I recently commissioned a phenomenal filmmaker who I interviewed for my other site (Asexual Artists) some time ago to make a book trailer for Sere from the Green. Her name is Britty Lea and she’s incredibly talented. She definitely delivered with this book trailer, which is freaking phenomenal:

Seriously, how cool is that!? I could not be happier with how it came out and I cannot wait to commission more.

If you’re interested in commissioning Britty (or checking out her work), I highly recommend looking at her personal site and Facebook page. Britty is also part of the Pocket Podcast Network, which has a number of really funny and quality podcasts.

EBook Preorders

Hello all!

I am still hard at work on the reboot of The Shape Shifter Chronicles and it is going really, really well. Recently, I decided to switch my eBooks over to Pronoun (I was using Kindle Direct and Smashwords). Pronoun is a wonderful site and offers links to Amazon, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo.

My Pronoun author page can be found here: https://books.pronoun.com/laurenjankowski/

I already set up a page for Dwelling of Ekhidna as well.

It also allows me to set up pre-orders for upcoming new releases. So my friend, Lyssa Chiavari, has been setting up pages for the reboot. There are already pages for the first two books and the links for Sere from the Green are already live.

Through Storm and Night is up and the links will be going live over the next couple of days.

I do hope you’ll give it a look and pick up a copy. I’m very happy with how this series reboot is shaping up (it’s the story I wanted to tell from the beginning) and I hope readers will be equally pleased.

Thank you!