Raven Oak's Blog, page 72

Christmas Eve

I love Christmas Eve.

The best part of it and the day that follows is our kitties’ reactions to all the wrapping paper, boxes, and ribbons. The quantity of gifts under the tree matters little. The quality matters not at all. To them, the paper is for dragging off as a slain wildebeest. The ribbon, for leaping and shredding. The boxes are staulky places where one can hide and pounce. It’s a time of excitement and energy until they pass out for a cat nap on the couch beside us.

All three of our k...

Monday Night Gaming: Dixit

This week’s Monday Night Gaming: Dixit.

For my birthday, my husband and I joined a friend at the new Mox Boarding House to get our game on. One of the games we played was Dixit. (There was also lots of Munchkin.)

The goal for this game is a bit weird as players are supposed to ride a fine line between something being too easy and something being too hard. Not to mention that the game itself requires a fair share of creativity and deep thought if played accurately.

# of Players: 3-6

General Mechan...

Autographed Copies

Folks in Seattle will luck out with a Seattle book signing (more details coming shortly), but I know I have a ton of folks back in Texas (as well as elsewhere) who’ve asked for autographed copies of Amaskan’s Blood.

Rather than folks having to spend extra $$ to ship a book to me for signing, we’ve figured out something better.

You can pre-order a personalized & autographed paperback copy at:

http://www.mkt.com/greysunpress

Happy Shopping!

The post Autographed Copies appeared first on Raven Oak.

Birthday Salutations!

Do I look like I’m 37?

So today I’m 37. Birthday Salutations!

Which doesn’t feel all that different from 30 or even 25.

I still get carded to buy alcohol (though not so much to go to the movies). I still participate in crazy gaming antics and sing at the top of my lungs during Rock Band.

Today, my husband and I will head out to the new Mox Boarding House to eat and game. And probably spend too much on Magic cards.

Either way, I’m gonna party like it’s my birthday. Because it is.

Have a good one yo...

I Might Squee!

So I might squee! Just a bit. Or pee my pants. I’m not sure yet.

Tomorrow’s my birthday. While it happened yesterday, I consider it a birthday present none-the-less. You folks are*that* amazing.

Yesterday, Amaskan’s Blood managed to rank #37,464 out of millions of books on Amazon Kindle. To put this in perspective, I have a writer friend whose wonderful book just hit bestseller status. Her novel is ranked #146,986 on Amazon Kindle.

OMG. Mine popped back up to 148,258 today–must have had a boost...

Contest Winners!

Congrats to the winners of the Amaskan’s Blood contest! These fabulous people had the chance to win autographed books, autographed posters featuring Amaskan’s Blood cover art, special holiday cards, or the chance to be a character in a story I write!

Again, congratulations and thanks for entering! The contest winners are:

Leetah P.
Jennifer B.
Charlene A.
Nino D.
Cristal B.
Marguerite C.
Janey T.

The post Contest Winners! appeared first on Raven Oak.

Flashback Friday: Pawn of Genre

For this week’s Flashback Friday post, I’m honored to have playwright, author, & editor, Bridget Natale, here for a guest post on how David Eddings‘ works influenced her as a writer.

Book One of The Belgariad

I have been a voracious reader since I was young. Most of the books I read were of the children’s classics variety: Little House on the Prairie, Alice in Wonderland, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Matilda, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, etc.

Eventually I st...

Book Cover Throwback: The Hobbit

In honor of the last Hobbit movie coming out this week (YAY!), this week’s Book Cover Throwback: The Hobbit.

Click image to view it larger.

To see other Book Cover Throwbacks, click here.

The post Book Cover Throwback: The Hobbit appeared first on Raven Oak.

Monday Night Gaming: Evolution

This week’s Monday Night Gaming: Evolution by NorthStar Games.

This is not the sort of game I would have found on my own, but when my husband and I were at PAX Prime, we sat down with one of the developers of Evolution and played a demo game.

And had a LOT of fun.

So much so that we pre-ordered the Kickstarter special edition, which we received last month.

The goal is for players to adapt their chosen species in an ever-changing ecosystem. Food can be scarce at times and other players’ predators...

Book Review: Snow White Red-Handed

While I love the speculative fiction genre, I have my occasional dives into mystery–usually because I’m needing a relaxing read that doesn’t require me to ponder the science behind FTL travel or telepathic dragons.

I started out reading this series backwards as Maia Chance is my critique partner. I read the 2nd book, Cinderella Six-Feet-Under, before I read Snow White Red-Handed. Maia isn’t as well read in the speculative fiction genre, but her mysteries certainly dip their toes into the genre...