Things that make me smile

Just dropping by to show off yet another musical smile-inducer. I wish I had an ounce of this boy's talent.

I was a teenage Wolfrider

Y’know how sometimes, something just keeps popping up into your conversations. And it’s from all different sources, so it’s not like it’s all you, or that anyone planned it. Just one thing keeps reminding you of its existence, over and over and over. Persistent little bugger.

Well, that’s how ElfQuest has been for me, this past week. Seems like, no matter where I turn, someone is mentioning it. And it’s not even people I knew were fans! We’re wider spread than I ever imagined.

So today, we’re talking about ElfQuest! Now, the majority of you are probably thinking “What?” So lemme explain. No, there is too much. Lemme sum up.

Once upon a time, this husband and wife team (Wendy and Richard Pini) dreamed up this nifty little comic. It was about elves and wolves and trolls. They put it out in black and white, then in color, then in graphic novel form. There were anthologies, telling stories of all the chiefs who came before Cutter. (My personal favorite story from the second of that series was one called "Summer Tag" by Allen L. Wold. That book is long gone, sadly, but I remember it so well.) There have been spin offs, and RPGs, and board games (which I have, never fear). There were pewter figurines to be painted. (Of which I have two sets. Unpainted) There has been talk of movies, of Saturday morning cartoons, and every time those fall by the wayside, we all felt a little sadder.

I was probably…oh…seven? Eight?...when I discovered EQ. I distinctly remember the day. I was out with my grandmother, in Woolworths (yes, my town still had one at that point) and on their little rotating comic rack, I spotted this cover with a pointy-eared blond fellow, on wolfback, apparently kidnapping this dark-skinned beauty and threatening another fellow with a sword. (This would be the "Raid at Sorrow's End" issue, for those who would recognize it) It looked so freakin' awesome!!! And because my grandmother spoiled me rotten, I got it.



I never missed an issue after that. All the way through the fight for the palace, every time a new one came out, I'd snatch it up and go hide in my room, re-reading them all over and over again. (And yes, I was still pretty young when the infamous "orgy" scene was printed. No, I didn't notice anything amiss)

Did I mention that I was a really lonely kid? I mean, we didn't even have any neighbors with kids (within bike-riding distance) until I was in fourth grade. I had 50 acres of forest, and an overactive imagination. ElfQuest was PERFECT for me. I was a WOLFRIDER!

I can't tell you how many hours I spent running around in the woods, usually dressed in some bizarre homemade costumes, always armed with my very real skinning knife and bow. I built my own Holt. (sort of) I knew my own soulname. (oh come on, you did it too) To this day, I can recite the chief's lineage from Timmain, all the way down to Ember.

The Wolfriders shaped a good deal of my childhood, and even now I'm sure my friends would tell you that's where I got my very "pack-oriented" mentality. I can tell you which of my friends would belong to which tribes. (Hubby is a Go-Back, through and through. Best friend, probably one of the Sunfolk. Kiddo's a Wolfrider, like me)

Now,I have...well, pretty much every ElfQuest thing you could imagine, though not nearly all the things that were put out at its height. I hope to get my daughter into it, someday. But for those who don't have access to the comics/graphic novels (long out of print, I'm afraid), the Pinis have graciously put EVERY SINGLE ISSUE up online. For free. Seriously.

And now that I've lost the last hour in reading old EQ issues instead of hunting up pictures for this post like I was supposed to be... Oi. It's addictive.

Because of my exposure to ElfQuest, I've fanatically followed Wendy Pini's work. I have both of her Beauty & The Beast graphic novels (y'know, from the old TV show, yet another of my obsessions). I ate up every installment of her Masque of the Red Death (Not kid safe, folks). I'm not the only major fan. Recently, someone released a fan trailer, a live-action imagining of what a movie might look like. (I was pleased to note that I could name every character there, though not all of them existed at the same time in canon)

I have several fondest wishes revolving around my EQ love. First and foremost would be an EQ movie. Cartoon, live action, whatever, just don't screw it up. Second would be an online MMORPG based on EQ. GODS I would love to see that. And third, and it's one of my worst-kept secrets... One day, I would love to have Wendy Pini do the graphic novel of Muse. And since Muse is still on my list to rewrite, later this year, that one's truly a wish only. But it would freakin' ROCK.

And since I know you're all wondering... Nightfall was my favorite. No magic, but fierce and loyal as hell.
























But Strongbow was the hottest.

A Quandary

Once again, I have been remiss in my bloggerly duties. However, since I have been in the midst of writing Book 3 (as yet untitled), I hope you'll forgive me.

And speaking of upcoming books... I have ARCs of A SHOT IN THE DARK! Well...more precisely, I have one that I'm willing to part with.

But how? By what esoteric method can I choose the recipient of this one and only single lonely ARC? And therein lies my quandary.

So let me know, folks! What kind of give-away do you want to see? Just a random commenter chosen? Something you have to work for? Let me know what kind of things you like to see in online contests.

Giving What We Can

Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure everyone is aware of the devastation in Japan over the past week. I know that even with film footage and photographs, it's still hard to wrap my brain around the enormity of what's happened.

At times like this, we often think, "What can I do to help?"

Those of us at the League of Reluctant Adults have put our writerly brains together, and come up with a way to contribute not only to Japan, but to our fellow writers.

Currently on Ebay, there are two auctions up. Members of the League have been divided into two teams (Team Claw and Team Fang) and we are offering to be a crit group for a day to the winning bidders. The winning bidders will get to submit a synopsis and pages up to 6000 words on any fiction project, and we will each give you our personal thoughts on your work. You can find more details on the auctions themselves.

Team Claw consists of Sonya Bateman, Michele Bardsley, Carolyn Crane, Kevin Hearne, Jackie Kessler, Diana Rowland and Jeanne Stein.

Team Fang consists of Mario Acevedo, Dakota Cassidy, Stacia Kane, JF Lewis, Nicole Peeler, Anton Strout, and ME!

Proceeds from the auctions will go to the Red Cross to benefit Japan.

I'm not dead yet!

But man, sometimes I wonder.

Between weather, real life tragedies for people I love dearly, and just flat out feeling like warmed over donkey poo, I haven't been posting like I should.

The line for the flogging forms to the right.

However, my silence hasn't been entirely unproductive! In the interim, I have managed to receive and complete my page proofs for A SHOT IN THE DARK. What that means is, IT'S DONE!! Boo-yah! Hopefully we'll see ARCs soon, and the release date is creeping up faster than you realize.

I am also diligently working on the as-yet-untitled Book 3. I'm about 30K words into it, and less than halfway through my first draft, so I'm hoping this means my final word count will be closer to what it the final polished count needs to be. Every time, my first drafts are cleaner. Maybe that means I'm figuring this writing thing out.

I have a few entries for Kari's Critiques sitting in my email box, waiting for my loving attention, and I'll try to have those up for class on Friday. Things just haven't been working out schedule-wise for my kids/their teacher. Hopefully, stuff will settle down soon.

AND, for anyone who might want me to come babble at THEIR blog (I take off my shoes at the door, and I'm house-trained, I promise), shoot me an email at kari(dot)stewart21(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm trying to get things scheduled ahead of time so I have enough time to write nice, thoughtful posts and/or interviews for anyone who wants them.

New Cover Art!

Nope, not mine. This cover art belongs to a very sassy lady, who is very dear to me. I give you POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil!



Here is the synopsis, via Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her overprotective mom, by the hunky son of the police officer who got her father killed, and by the eerie voices which she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Turns out the voices are demons--the Biblical kind, not the Buffy kind--and Bridget possesses the rare ability to banish them.

San Francisco's senior exorcist and his newly assigned partner from the Vatican enlist Bridget's help with increasingly bizarre and dangerous cases of demonic possession. But when one of Bridget's oldest friends turns up dead in a ritualistic sacrifice that mirrors her father's murder, Bridget realizes she can't trust anyone. An interview with her father's murderer reveals a link between Bridget and the Emim: a race of part-demons intent on raising their forefathers to the earth in human form. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the Emim's plan before someone else close to her winds up dead, or worse--the human vessel for a Demon King.

Trust me when I say that on August 23rd, I will be first in line for this amazing book.

Happy Release Day!

Ok, technically it's tomorrow, but a happy early release day to my fellow Leaguer, Anton Strout!

Dead Waters, the fourth book in his Simon Canderous series, hits shelves tomorrow. Go, buy, read, love!



Other recent/upcoming releases to look out for:

Play Dead, the fourth Dog Days novel by John Levitt. I desperately love this series, largely because of the unique way the main character approaches his magic. Wonderful reads, and this most recent installment is available now!



And coming up March 1st, we have Blackout, the sixth book in Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros series. (Yes, I have a series fetish. Sue me.)



March 1st also gives us River Marked, the latest in Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. Dying to read this one.