Holiday Storytime: Dec. 23

I haven’t done a virtual reading in a while, and it’s time to change that!

On December 23 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, I’ll be reading my Rankin Bass fanfic “Crimson Frost” over on Facebook Live.

For those who haven’t read this one, I should warn you it’s not for little kids. The story started from a random comment about Frosty vs. Rudolph, and escalated into a full-blown north pole war. I’d describe it as twisted fun.Crimson Frost CoverHope to see some of you there!

The Were Chronicles, by Alma Alexander

We’ve all been having a rough 2020. Without going into details that aren’t mine to share, author Alma Alexander has had a particularly rough time of it lately, which has made it difficult to do things like promote her new book that came out today.

Cover Art for Were ChroniclesAs you might have guessed from the post title, the book is called The Were Chronicles. It is, in fact, an omnibus of three novels: Random, Wolf, and Shifter.

Here’s the back-of-the-book summary:

Everything I knew about the Were was wrong…

A Were of no fixed form, a Random, able to Turn into any warm-blooded creature it sees…

A young Random whose failure to Turn forces him into taking his destiny into his own hands and becoming full Lycan in the name of pride and fury, learning things he never thought were possible…

A true Shifter, the wild card, Turning into anything he chooses at will…

Together, they work to turn back a shattering tragedy, solve a conspiracy-shrouded mystery rooted in their own kind, and work to preserve their own existence against a rising tide of superstition and hatred.

All they wanted to do, in the end, was save a life. Instead… they started a war.

I haven’t read this one yet, so I’ll let author Tamora Pierce help draw you in with the following quote: “You will never read another shapeshifter book like this. Every surprise will catch you unwary. And, like me, you will find that others will have to pry it out of your fingers.”

I have read other work from Alexander, though. Looking at one of my old reviews, I used words like “magical” and “masterful.”

You can read a sample for yourself over at Book View Cafe.

Purchase links: Book View Cafe, Amazon  (The Amazon link has it listed as a pre-order with a 12/16 release date, but it’s live and available at BVC as of today.)

Autographed Books for Sale

I’ve always shied away from doing direct book sales, but after getting through the Kickstarter earlier this year, I feel like I’ve got a fair amount of the work figured out. And in doing my Christmas shopping, I find myself going to author sites to see if they do direct sales of autographed books.

So I looked through my stock to see what I had excess copies of, and posted the following for sale.

This is U.S. only for the moment. Shipping is media rate. All books can be signed and personalized. And supplies are limited.

Goblin Queen is a trade paperback. The rest are hardcovers.

I’d have loved to get Libriomancer added as well, but when I looked, I was almost out of hardcovers of that one. D’oh! Don’t you hate it when bookstores only have the later books in a series, but not the first one?

I may add more books down the line as I continue sorting through the shelves in the office. And depending on how much work this ends up being.

I think everything is set up correctly. Shipping options were a bit of a pain, but they should be sorted now. Please let me know if you find anything weird. Thanks!

Holiday Book-Shopping Links

Holidays are coming, and the world is still struggling with lockdowns and other COVID precautions. On the business front, these past months have been particularly hard on smaller businesses, like independent bookstores.

If you were thinking of giving one (or more!) of my books as a gift this season, please consider ordering from an indie bookstore. Here are some suggestions. Links go to my stuff, but obviously you can order whatever you like 🙂

As an added incentive, if you’re in the U.S. and will be giving one or more of my books as gifts, let me know and I’ll send you signed bookplates to go with them. (While supplies last.)

I Can High Five Again!

It’s been a little over five weeks since my surgery for Dupuytren’s Contracture on my right hand. The incision has closed and healed, and I’m able to use the pinky again for most day-to-day stuff. I can even give (gentle) high fives!

The tissue underneath is still healing, and that’s going to continue for a while. It’s stiff, swollen, and a little tender. But I’ve been working with the occupational therapist, doing my stretches and exercises and massages at home, and I think overall we’re making progress. The biggest problem is that it’s a bit sensitive and achy, especially at night, which has been making it harder to sleep.

I’ve also been able to get back to exercising again, after a month or so off the weight machine. There are a couple of exercises my hand just won’t do yet, but I can get through most of them. I’m averaging about 10-20 pounds less than I was pre-surgery, which is frustrating, but I’ll get back up eventually.

Right hand, five weeks post-surgery

The lightning bolt scar is coming in nicely. We’re trying to keep that from tightening up and restricting movement, but I do like the whole “I high-fived Thor and all I got was this lousy scar” vibe!

I met with the doctor again today, and we talked about next steps. The ring fingers on both hands have Dupuytren’s nodules that will need to be treated eventually. They’re nowhere near as advanced as I had on my pinky, thankfully. It sounds like both will be treated with injections to weaken the cords, then simply flexing the fingers backward to break them, freeing up the tendons and restoring motion.

I’m not looking forward to that.

But hey, I can once again put my hand in my pocket, don and remove gloves, type with all ten fingers, and much more. Yay, progress!

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