Jori for the WIN!

I didn't mention this on my blog last week, but Torn Canvas was an InD'Tale Magazine RONE Award finalist for best New Adult book--and the awards ceremony was Saturday night (my birthday).

What a shock it was on Saturday night when my friend Danyelle Ferguson (who accepted it for me and won in her own category for Sweet Confections) who posted this picture on Facebook! I was at a writing retreat and we all started squealing.

I have to mention how much I loved my main character in Torn Canvas, Jori Virtanen. He was sooo flawed because of something awful that happened to him as a teen. In many ways, he became like the monster who perpetrated the wrong on him.

Yet that wasn't who he was. This story is his journey out the misery that was created for him and then he unknowingly embraced. It's very much a story of redemption.

And a love story.

With pirates.

And painting.

Danyelle said I really needed to prepare an acceptance speech. I thought it was a waste of time, but I'm really grateful now that I took her advice. Here's what I had her read for me:

I cannot express how thrilled I am to have won this award—crazy considering I’m a writer, right? I’m sad I couldn’t be there in person, but I want to thank my friend Danyelle Ferguson for accepting on my behalf. 

I’d like first to honor my fellow nominees. I know what goes into the crafting of a book, and I value their hard work and dedication. Thank you!  

Others I want to thank are those involved with the RONE awards—the reviewers, the fans, the judges, and the staff at InD’Tale magazine, who make this all happen. I’d like to thank my critique group who helped me shape this story, but especially to my editor Katharina Brendel who, with her insightful questions and observations, helped me see how this story should be told.

I’d also like to thank my husband Edward for his undying support and encouragement. I couldn’t have a better fan. I couldn’t do this without him. 

This award means the world to me. We writers are readers first, and it’s our love of storytelling the fuels our tales. Thank you all!"

Um. Yeah. I had a great weekend.

How about you?

A Writing Workshop ... And the Winner Is:

Don't forget to register!

You can sign up at the iWriteNetwork blog here.

Some details on a few of the presenters here.

More information about the rest to follow.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Random.org chose the Winner

of Rising Book 2: Rebellion

Far Away Eyes.

NaNo Triumph in 18 Days!

I did it. It's been an amazing experience, since I got to start the month at a writers retreat. When I got home I worked through some kinks with my new Dragon software (you talk, it types). I'd tried my hubby's version a couple of years ago but really stumbled over my desire to edit as I went. Three NaNo wins, and I've pretty much overcome that tendency for first drafts. It worked like a charm and really upped my word count.

The book's not finished, but I've been glossing over some sections I know have to be included as I'd been waiting on expert input from a family member. My goal used to be to beat NaNo before Thanksgiving. Now my goal is to finish the book.

I Did It!

It's been really weird not visiting blogs, but I managed to complete my goal and will finish the book soon. I'm well pleased. I'll be getting around to visit folks soon.

Some very interesting things have been happening in my life as well. Hopefully, I'll be able to talk about it in the not too distant future.

What have you been up to this week? Doing anything fun this weekend?

Hubby and I are going to see these guys in concert on Saturday:

"Searching for Arthur" and a Winner

The winner

of

The Most Important Catch 

 by

Jaclyn M. Hawkes

is

Danyelle Ferguson





AND

My dear friend and mentor, Donna Hosie, has her debut novel coming out today, Searching for Arthur. I've already downloaded my copy. 

Here's what it's about:

 

Legend tells of King Arthur, mortally wounded at the hand of the traitorous Mordred in the final battle of Camlann. Before he was taken to the magical Vale of Avalon, Arthur declared that one day he would return, when the kingdom of Logres was once more in need of his leadership.

That day has now come.

It is hard to make friends when you’re constantly on the move. Seventeen-year-old Natasha Roth’s father is a diplomat, and so her mother – who is paranoid about terrorists – has moved Natasha and her brother, Arthur, to their eighteenth house in seventeen years: Avalon Cottage, deep in the heart of a Welsh forest.

Yet the terrorists are closer than they realize.

While out running, Natasha falls into a hidden tomb and awakens the legendary knights of Camelot: young warriors who have been in an enchanted sleep for a thousand years. All have been waiting patiently for the return of Arthur from the mysterious land of Avalon.

And now the knights are awake, they intend to reclaim their king.

When Arthur goes missing, Natasha joins forces with his girlfriend, “Slurpy” Samantha, in order to look for him. Natasha believes Samantha has fewer brain cells than an amoeba; Samantha believes Natasha is a freak. Retracing Natasha’s original steps to the hidden tomb, they bicker their way into a Welsh mountain and beyond, to the realm of Logres where the Knights of the Round Table are rallying once more.

Natasha falls in love with Sir Bedivere, the most loyal of knights to Arthur. He may be in dire need of a 21st Century razor, but he still possesses a set of lime-green eyes that can melt the soul. Yet just as Natasha starts to find confidence in this mystical land, Samantha deserts her. People who play by the rules are of no use to “Slurpy”. Samantha will take her own path to Arthur, aided and abetted by the dark arts which she willingly absorbs from a hot young stranger called Mordred.

A race across magical yet deadly lands is on. Natasha battles dwarf-riders, dragons, and eventually “Slurpy” to reach Camelot, where Arthur is held captive by the barbarian Saxon, Balvidore.

Natasha’s woes become numerous. What will happen to her and Arthur when the knights realise the eighteen-year-old boy they thought was their king, is in fact a math student with appalling taste in girls? Can two people with a one thousand year age gap really have a relationship? And for the love of all things holy, how is a girl supposed to ride bareback in a pair of skinny jeans?

And the winner is . . .

The winner

of

Twitterpated

by

 Melanie Jacobson 

is

ilima

Since tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, the day when anyone in the U.S. can pretend to be Irish (I am, and my two older children are even more so, since they get it from both sides of the family), I thought I'd post a couple of pictures from my trip to Ireland last April. 

This is at the Poulnabrone Dolmen--a portal tomb in County Clare. It's older than Stone Henge.

The Cliffs of Moher

Even their asphalt is green. lol This is in Connemara where they have world famous marble.

Kylemore Abbey - they have beautiful gardens there but we got there a few minutes too late.

The is from the town of Cong, where they filmed a bunch of stuff for The Quiet Man. There're also amazing ruins of an abbey there. They have a gorgeous recreation area where we took a hike.

Cong Abbey

This is the Ross Errilly Friary--they abandoned this place in the 1600s. For an American, where something is old when it's 150-200 years old, this is mind boggling.

We also made it to Dublin and visited St. Patrick's Cathedral and Christ Church, toured Dublinia and tons of other stuff and generally had too much fun.

Now that I've bored you with my travelogue, I have to say that I loved my visit. I SO have to go back. Really. And I have a great excuse. One of my future books is going to take place there, so I'll need to refresh my memory. Right?

Have any of you visited a real location for research for a book? 

And the Winner Is . . .

The winner of the ebook is Bonnie!

Anybody going to Life, the Universe and Everything (LTUE) this week? It's a killer deal at $30 for three days. 

Here's my post from last year's event.

The Winner is . . .

The winner of the book King's Envoy

by Cas Peace is Diana!

NaNoWriMo Update

Submitted and verified.

And the Winner Is ...

The winner

of the

delightful book

Confessions from the Realm of the Underworld(Also Known as High School) 

by

 Laura Josephsen

is

Canda

Send me an email at donnakweaver(at)gmail(dot)com with your address, and we'll get it in the mail to you. Congrats!

*winner chosen using random.org

And the Winner Is ...

It's time to award my prize in the Cindy M Hogan Blog Hop for the release of her book Watched. As a reminder, my prize is a hardback copy of Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George.

From the inside cover:

Princess Rose is the eldest of twelve sisters condemned to dance each night for the wicked King Under Stone in his palace deep within the earth. It is a curse that has haunted the girls since their birth--and only death can set them free.

Then Rose meets Galen, a young soldier-turned-gardener with an eye for adventure and a resolve that matches her own, and freedom suddenly begins to seem a little less impossible. To defeat the king and his dark court, they will need one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all--true love.

And the winner is:

Bree

So Bree, email me at donnakweaver(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address.

Giveaway Winner & It's All Fun and Games Blogfest

The winner of my copy of Backlash is:

Mindy

It's All Fun and Games Blogfest

Alex J. Cavanaugh's It's All Fun and Games Blogfest

It’s All Fun & Games Blogfest, June 6, 2011 - list your three most favorite games and why. Board games, card games, RPG, video games, physical games, drinking games - even mind games! If it’s a game you enjoy playing, it’s worth sharing.

My family loves to play games. We've got an entire closet full of board games, and we're also video gamers. When our children were younger, we had a game room with a TV and lounge chairs we got from the local 2nd hand store. Since some of my kids are pretty artistic, I had them paint murals on the walls of their favorite games. By the time it was finished they'd mostly grown up and moved out, but I still love the paintings on the walls of my exercise room.

 

Now, as to my three favorite games:

StarCraft II

Since I was just talking about video games I'll start with this one. We've been StarCraft fans for many years and would have LAN parties as a family, sometimes playing with each other and sometimes playing against each other. Now with the Internet we're able to do it online when we're in different cities. After waiting more than a decade since StarCraft Broodwar, they came out with StarCraft II. I love what they've done with the graphics and the storyline rocks. This particular version is just the human campaign. We'll eventually get the Protoss and the Zerg campaigns as well. You can play the campaign by yourself, or you can play scenarios you set up online with friends or just people online.

Seafarers of Catan

This is an extension to the Settlers of Catan board game. We love this game because the way it's designed it can be different (literally) every time you play it. Each of the hexagons you see above (land and ocean) can be placed either in established patterns provided in a booklet that comes with the game or in ones you make up yourself. The basic game is for 2-4 players, but you can get an extension set to add two players. The difference between Settlers and Seafarers is the addition of ships and a pirate.

The Great Dalmuti

The Great Dalmuti is a card game that's similar to the game Scum (in our family we routinely mix terms from the two games). In this game you have a king (the Great Dalmuti), who's the person that wins the most recent hand, then a vice king (2nd person to go out). On the losing end you have the scum (the last person to go out) and vice scum (the next to last person to go out). Hats are required for the top two people and the bottom two people. Below is a picture of a scum.

So these are three of my family's favorite games. What about you? Do you like to play games? What do you like to play and why?

And the Winner Is ....

Brandi STreeval! You win the copy of Cinders. Congratulations!

Please send me your email address. I will forward it to Michelle, and she'll get in touch with you.