Songs of the Seasons: Girl (a short story)
Milt knew better than to go spelunking alone in his favorite caving system. If anything happened to him, like falling down a deep shaft and breaking his leg, he’d probably die before anyone found him, and that suited him just fine. He expected to be thrilled, and he expected to have a great time. What he didn’t expect was to encounter a naked, half-drowned, red-headed woman making her way up to the main cavern entrance.
For those of you who need to read something from the War of the Seasons world to hold you over until The Hunter comes out in June, this is just for you.
You can download it for $1.99 on your Nook here and on your Kindle here. iBook version will be forthcoming, as will a limited run of signed pamphlet hard copies.
Also, the release date couldn’t be more perfect (you’ll see what I mean when you read it).
Happy Columbus Day everyone! Be careful if you decide to go spelunking… especially if you meet up with mythological creatures along the way… 😉
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Don’t forget War of the Seasons: the Human now has a book trailer:
A book trailer!
Yes I know my book’s been out since June, but I decided to join the cool kids club & do a book trailer for The Human.
So, I contacted one of my fav bands The Steelwells and got the commercial license for one of their songs (Our Fabled Little Rabbits) & spoke to a friend of mine (Mary Moline) about putting the vid together.
I wanted something simple, mostly text and my book cover and Mary understood perfectly.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy! And yes, feel free to repost/share if you’d like. 🙂
Dragon*Con 2011
Yes, I know I owe you a Dragon*Con 2011 write up (because it was AWESOME), but instead I made this vid. Hope you enjoy:
Where to find me at Dragon*Con
Where you can find me at Dragon*Con 2011:
Thursday: 4-8 at the Hyatt, manning the HPEF/Asciendo fan table.
Saturday: Kaleidoscope Track Idol (I’m a judge), Sat 4 PM, Track room.
Sunday From 5-7 we’ll be at the Kaleidoscope Track Character Meet & Greet. Ron & I are both characters – hopefully the kids approve!
Monday: I have my only panels on this day – so be there! First it’s Mormonism in Sci-Fi at 1000 in the Star Wars track room, then my 2nd panel is at 1pm in the YA Lit track room and it’s on Self-Publishing VS Traditional Publishing, the good, the bad, & the ugly.
*At some point during the weekend I intend to catch one of Mike Stackpole’s and Aaron Allston’s writer workshops.
*I also intend to get Kate Mulgrew’s autograph. I’ve been wanting to meet this woman for years! Capt Janeway has been a HUGE inspiration to me.
**When I’m not at a panel, I’ll be at the Hyatt manning the HPEF/Asciendo table.
I’ve been invited to attend Asciendo as an author guest July 2012, and because I was unable to get a dealer or author table at D*C this year, HPEF/Asciendo has graciously allowed me to help man their table & put out postcards/advertisements for War of the Seasons.
I will not be able to sell books at the table but I can sign books already purchased, and of course, I can deliver books that have already been purchased ahead of time on my website, or on amazon.com, or any bookstore. Money just cannot be exchanged at the table.
*Gasp* AN UPDATE!
Yes, I know it’s been a few weeks, but trust me, life has been crazy busy & I’ve been spending what free time I’ve got writing The Hunter. I assume you’d prefer that over a blog post every night, right? 😉
OK, so a few bits of news:
1- You can now get War of the Seasons, book one: The Human on iBooks. YAY!
2- The map on the Nook version of The Human has finally been fixed. If you archive the book & then re-download it, it should show up for you now.
3- @Petullant on twitter has been live tweeting as she reads The Human. I’ve found it quite funny, but then perhaps I’m a bit biased… You can see an archive of her tweets on this (and other book reviews) here: http://www.bookshopgirl.net/
Example tweet: I’m not saying we need Team Elf! & Team Faerie Prince! tees but I’m decorating mine with glitter & a pic of a threatening dagger on the back and Most valuable thing I have that my dad gave to me is a kitchen aid mixer. Any quests of mine better be successful by the baking of brownies!
4- Thanks for the shout out SirensCon!
5- Speaking of cons, I was just added as a guest to GMX in Nashville, this October – hope to see you there!
6- How about one link about self-publishing (or rather, Entrepreneurial Publishing)? This one’s a short one, but I found it interesting…
7- The Hunter, what I know you all really want to hear about, is coming along nicely. I’m about 25K words in ~ 1/4 of the way done with the first draft. I’ve got a progress bar on the right side of this website that I update almost nightly, so you can check and see how things are progressing. I also tweet random updates, so check me out there too.
8- My first of a series of four short stories that take place in the War of the Seasons realm, comes out in October. It’s titled “Girl” and is about Story’s parents – and I’ll just leave it at that, since I don’t want to spoil anyone who hasn’t read The Human yet.
And that’s it for now!
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One quick favor to ask of you all – if you liked The Human, please spread the word to your friends via email, twitter, text, facebook, or just old fashioned talking. Also, please consider leaving a review for it on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and/or goodreads.com. As this book is self-published, whether it “makes it” will be entirely due to you, and the awesome power of social media. For those of you already doing this, thank you so much!
Thank you. :)
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has read my book & taken the time to let me know what they think, whether it be through a comment here, on facebook, or via email.
Your support and excitement over the War of the Seasons series is infectious & definitely keeps me writing!
Just as a heads up, I wanted to let you know some tentative publishing dates for further installments of the War of the Seasons series.
I’ve written a couple short stories that explore the back story of a few of the side characters – namely, Almera, Eánna, Milton, and Eilath. The first short story will come out in October 2011, and the second one in April 2012. These will be digital releases only, available for .99 cents.
The Hunter, book two in the War of the Seasons series, should be ready for release, both digitally and physically in June of 2012.
One quick favor to ask of you all – if you liked The Human, please spread the word to your friends via email, twitter, text, facebook, or just old fashioned talking. 😉 Also, please consider leaving a review for it on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and/or goodreads.com. As this book is self-published, whether it “makes it” will be entirely due to you, and the awesome power of social media. For those of you already doing this, thank you so much! 🙂
That said, guess I’d better get back to writing The Hunter!
Origins Game Fair 2011 wrap up
Fair warning, this is going to be a looooong picture filled post.
To start out, I can’t think of a better way to have spent my 32nd birthday than as a guest at Origins. If you were following my tweets/facebook updates at Origins, I think you pretty much have a fairly good idea what things were like for me & how much fun I had (plus how much I learned). But if not, here you go:
I started out the convention on Thursday morning playing my very first RPG – no, not Rocket Propelled Grenade (which was my first thought) – but a Role Playing Game. I had no idea what to do – something I think the gamemaster quickly realized when she told me to get out my dice. “Why do I need dice?” So, there’s something else I learned when playing an RPG – you need dice. The gamemaster kindly loaned me a set of her dice & between her & Mac they very patiently taught me how to play. Thankfully it was a Star Wars game, so I at least knew the “world” we were dealing with, and didn’t have to be schooled in that – it was my saving grace/geek cred. 😉
After the game (which turned out to be a lot of fun!), I had to head up to the author meet & greet, where, I’ve got to admit, it was VERY surreal to be “peers” with the likes of Aaron Allston, Michael A. Stackpole, & Timothy Zahn. I mean, I’ve been reading these gentlemen since I was 15, so yeah, this was surreal & awesome! I was also glad for the opportunity to get to meet the rest of the authors there, and especially to get to know Jean Rabe, Marc Tassin, Steven Saus, Sarah Hans, Donald J. Bingle, & R.T. Kaelin. There were a few other authors (full list here), but I didn’t really get a chance to get to know them this time around – next time I hope to! I have to say, I was awed by the amount of authorial talent at the convention. 🙂
After the meet & greet I taught several workshops (and learned a lot myself – you never stop learning!) – then it was time to head down to the library & set up my table.
I had fantastic placement – I got to be next to Bryan, Aaron, Mike, & Tim!
Delta managed to lose our luggage, so the knife only made it out on the last day, but that’s another story…
For the remainder of the convention I pretty much gave seminars on writing, spent some time with old friends and new, and got to meet a lot of really cool/interesting people throughout my days. Getting to know the Club Jaders was a definite highlight – thanks for making me feel so very welcome. And Holy crap, I’m still shocked that War of the Seasons, book one: The Human auctioned for $80! (For RIF – Reading is Fundamental)
One of my favorite things to do was take photos of all the cool shirts that people wore when they came up to my table – In fact, I think I’ll make this a reoccurring thing at every convention I attend. A post con photo post of cool shirts/costumes I see while I’m manning my table signing books.
When it absolutely has to be there before you need it…
Commies have NO class!
Warning, these are NOT the droids you’re looking for…
That sneaky giant squid… Also, if I remember correctly this lovely gal came by the next day and called me evil for uploading only the first two chapters of my book on my website… 😉
Firefly!
It goes without saying if you come by with a Doctor Who shirt I’m going to stop you…
Dark side of the moon
I loved this shirt so much I got one too…
Who needs a cool shirt when you have these?
This was another surreal/awesome moment for me – my book next to Timothy Zahn’s in a fan’s bag (that’s Tim in the background – fantastic man!). WOW!
This too – R.T. Kaelin reading The Human. Can’t wait to get into Progeny myself. 🙂
At one point Tim told me I had to have a beard or a drinking habit to be a real author – I opted for the beard. 😉 (Photo swiped from his facebook – taken by the lovely Anna).
And last but definitely not least – my tireless minions, Other Me & Ron-Ron. Couldn’t have done it without you two! <3
Overall, Origins was a fantastic convention! I met some really great people, learned a lot (like, don’t give your character an Irish accent if you don’t want to have to replicate it durning a reading), and hopefully got the word out about War of the Seasons: The Human.
Also, just 13 “likes” away from someone winning a free signed copy of “War of the Seasons: The Human”: http://www.facebook.com/JanineSpendlove
War of the Seasons, Book One: The Human
Eirnin’s silver eyes, now showing hints of bright yellow, widened in astonishment as he stared, transfixed, at the red blood dripping from the wound on Story’s foot.
“What are you?”
* * * * *
A simple question with a not-so-simple answer for seventeen-year-old Story, who finds herself, a lone human, thrust in the middle of a war between creatures she once thought only existed in faerie tales.
Read a Sample
You can also purchase a signed print copy or ebook in my store or at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
What’s in a name?
First off, all pre-ordered signed books have been signed, packaged, and will be shipped tomorrow. Any books ordered after today will have a 3-5 business day turnaround (longer in the case of a convention weekend, like Origins this weekend).
And now onto the point of this post – or rather, the purpose of my ramblings:
As I was sitting here, munching on a brick of fudge (don’t judge me), and revising the outline for The Hunter (then I went on to write the first 10 pages, wooo!), I received a text from a friend.
“Spendlove??? Really??? How did you come up with THAT for your pen name?”
“LOL, well, believe it or not, it’s the name I signed for 21 years of my life.”
“Whaaaaaaaat?! Too funny!”
So there you have it – my pen name is not a silly made up name (it’s silly, but not made up), or just a fanciful name I came up with for the purposes of publishing. It is, in fact, my maiden name. It just so happens that I have a memorable, fun, whimsical maiden name – sometimes you just get lucky and life helps you out. 🙂
Which brings up the question, what exactly is my current last name? Well, does it matter? Not really, no. I mean, it’s not a big secret or anything, but part of the reason I decided to publish under a pen name is that I wanted to keep my two professional lives (writer me & U.S. Marine me) separate – well, as separate as possible in this day and age, because let’s face it, THE INTERNET KNOWS EVERYTHING!
Again, it’s no secret that I’m in the Marine Corps, or what my legal last name is – and at conventions, and meeting people, I’m more than happy to talk about these things, but for my author “identity” (especially online) I wanted to create a specific image, because let’s face it, that’s a lot of what a pen name is for (much like a stage name for a musician):
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author’s name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her writings, or for any of a number of reasons related to the marketing or aesthetic presentation of the work. The author’s name may be known only to the publisher, or may come to be common knowledge. (Thank you wikipedia)
To me, using my maiden name was an obvious choice as a pen name, because, as mentioned above, it was unique, and fanciful – perfect for a gal writing YA Lit and Fantasy. In addition to that, it was a name I was already familiar with, and would be easy for me to answer to. Oh, and it has had the added benefit on Facebook of helping me reconnect with many childhood friends! The only frustrating thing was that I wanted a gender neutral pen name (because yes, sadly, sexism still exists among buyers) – I wanted to publish as J.K. Spendlove… but as we all know, there is already another famous J.K. out there (doesn’t matter that those are my real initials too) – everyone would assume I was trying to capitalize on Ms. Rowling’s fame. So, Janine K. Spendlove it is!
Which brings us to how should you go about picking a pen name? This is a great website on guidance for if you should/why you would pick one: http://www.jh-author.com/pename.htm
Still can’t think of one? Well, here is a handy dandy pen-name generator: http://www.poemofquotes.com/tools/pen-name.php Have fun with that!
So, what’s in a name? I suppose whatever you make of it. I’m off to go practice signing Spendlove again… it has been over 10 years since I’ve had to!
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You can now get War of the Seasons, Book One, The Human for your Kindle and your Nook for only $4.99! The iBook version (also for only $4.99) should be due out any day now.
The Nook version still isn’t showing the map (come on B&N!) – Until then, here is a clickable thumbnail to the map so you can know where in the world you are…
Not into reading digital books? You can purchase a signed copy of my book in my shop.
Not into collecting signed books, but still want a physical copy? You can get it on createspace or Amazon.
Want to test drive before you buy? You can now read Sample Chapters here.
Love my book? I’d love a review at any of those places – Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, your own blog… Let me know what you think!
And come friend me! 🙂
Goodreads, Livejournal, Twitter, Facebook, Blogspot, and well, I would say Myspace, but does anyone use myspace anymore? If you do, I’m there & feel free to friend me!
Also, my Facebook fan page only has 67 people who like me *sad*. So, I have succumbed to bribery… the 100th person to “like” me gets a free signed copy of War of the Seasons, Book One: The Human! Come on, can you think of a more awesome prize than that??? Wait… don’t answer that! 😉
GIF TIME!
