A Visit to Animal Adventure Park!

Some of you probably remember the fuss about April the giraffe, whose pregnancy was watched by millions of people around the world. April (and her calf Tajiri) live at Animal Adventure Park, which is less than an hour from my house and right down the street from my friends Robin and George, and my beloved goddess children Nate and Sophie.

On Saturday, pal Ellen and I drove through torrential downpours to get to Robin's house. Thankfully, the rain stopped just in time for our visit to the park. We spent three lovely hours hanging out and meeting all the animals, and seeing the many they'd added since our visit last year (including my favorites, the rare white lions, of which there are only 20 left in the wild and 300 in the entire world) and a kangaroo with her baby poking its head our of her pouch.

You get to feed many of the tamer animals, which is fun, and I got to spend the day with some of my favorite people, too. All in all, a wonderful day.

Here are a few pictures. If you can ever get there, you should really go visit.

April

Ellen making new friends

Wolf!

Black bear

One of the white lions

George, Robin, and Nate taking a break

Kanga and Roo

Little goats. Not endangered, but darn cute

Me with my favorite kids (and our booty from the gift shop), with Ellen hiding

Best portapotties ever

The whole gang at the end of the day

It's Harry Dresden's Birthday

It's hard to believe, but the youngest of the new kittens, Harry Dresden, turned one today. (The other two are a couple of months older, they think, but no one knows exactly when they were born because they came from a 25 cat hoarding situation.) Theoretically, this means they're not kittens anymore, but if you could see them racing around like maniacs and bouncing off the walls, you'd know that's not true.

The birthday boy today

The first day I met him. That's my coat he's curled up in.

It's hard to believe I've had Harry since January--this is a picture of him the first day I met him, when I went to where he was being fostered to see if he was the cat I asked Magic to send me. When he curled up on my lap and fell asleep, I was pretty sure he was.

He's really sweet--the most affectionate of the three, although like most cats, only when he's in the mood. He's also the only one who consistently sleeps with me, although sometimes I have to go fetch him and remind him that's his job.

To celebrate Harry's birthday, I decided to give my readers a gift. For those who haven't read it yet (gasp!), I've put DANGEROUSLY FIERCE on sale for the next week. It's normally $7.99 (to match the price Berkley set on the ebooks they put out) but for now, it is only $2.99! So if you've been waiting to get it, now's your big chance. It's available at all the usual ebook retailers.

Happy birthday, Harry Dresden!

2 Months until Cat Magic Book! (Giveaway)

We're getting closer, people! Today marks two months from the release date for The Little Book of Cat Magic! I'm getting excited. Are you?

You might be a little more excited when you see this month's fun giveaway package. Check it out.

GOODIES!

That's right. There's a copy of the Llewellyn Witch's Coloring Book (I just love mine), which contains some images from the Everyday Witch Tarot. Plus a cover flat of my last book, A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft, a fun notebook with the cover of one of my witchy novels on it, a black cat bookmark, a broom pen, a cat rubber ducky (I KNOW! How fun is that?), and my favorite, a hand-knit little black and white kitty that I got at a fundraiser for our local shelters. Such a fun bunch of goodies.

As always, all you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter form. Things you are already doing (like getting my newsletter) count. And of course, no purchase is necessary, although naturally I'd love it if you'd preorder the book.

Are we excited yet?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Day for Dangerously Driven!

It’s finally here! As promised, I’ve written a Broken Riders reunion novella featuring all three brothers. (And the Baba Yagas too.) It takes place after the events of Alexei’s book, DANGEROUSLY FIERCE, which came out earlier this year. The brothers have all finally found new lives, but there is still something missing—each other.

 Here is the back cover copy:

The Riders…three legendary brothers who were born to aid the Baba Yagas, until tragedy changed everything. Separated by guilt and circumstance, they will finally have a chance to come back together. But what will happen when they do?

Neither Mikhail, Alexei, nor Gregori are enthusiastic about the invitation to join the three Baba Yagas at Bella’s home in the Wyoming woods. But Bella and her apprentice Jazz have just spent a year in the Otherworld after Jazz’s disastrous attempt to cure the Riders’ loss of their immortality, so it isn’t really a summons any of them can refuse. As much as they might wish they could.

Each brother has his own reason to feel guilty, and they all mourn what they have lost despite having built themselves rewarding new lives. None of them is quite ready for a reunion. But they no longer have all the time in the world. So they get on their enchanted steeds (now a black Harley, a red Ducati, and a white Yamaha) and head out across the country, never expecting the adventures that lie ahead.

The brothers travel different roads to get to Wyoming, but they all end up on the same path. A surprise visit from an old friend might just show them that the journey is more important than the destination…especially when you travel it with those you love.

 Here are some buy links. It will be out in paperback too, hopefully within a few days. For now, you can find the ebook at most places. 
ETA: The print version is out now! Amazon--PRINT VERSION

 Amazon

 Barnes and Noble

 iBooks

Did I mention that the eBook version is only $2.99?

I think the ending might come as a surprise… I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it. Up next, maybe another Baba Yaga book? I have some ideas. Bwahahaha.

Of course, since it is a book release day, there will be a celebration giveaway! Pretty please help me to spread the word and also, if you read the novella and like it, don’t forget to take a minute to leave a quick review at Amazon, B&N, and/or Goodreads. Thanks so much!

Look what I'm giving away!

Harry Dresden thought I should give away a Fire HD Tablet, since most people will be reading this as an ebook.

Koshka, on the other paw, thought I should give away a signed copy of Dangerously Fierce, along with a bookmark and a magnet.

Then the photo shoot descended into chaos.

So I decided I'd pick two winners, and give away both!

I figured y'all would be okay with that.

As usual, all you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter form. If you're already doing something (like following the blog or following me on Twitter) you definitely get to count that. No purchase necessary, although of course I'd love it if you'd buy a copy of the book! I can only keep putting them out if they do well enough to justify it. *smooches*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

COVER REVEAL! Dangerously Driven

Here it is, the cover reveal for the new Riders reunion novella! I used the same cover artist who did the amazing cover for the third Riders novel, DANGEROUSLY FIERCE. You can find her website HERE

I think she did a great job--I hope you do too. The novella is finished and I'm just waiting for the last feedback from editors and First Readers. Hopefully it will be out in the next week or two. Watch this space!

With no further ado, I give you, the cover of DANGEROUSLY DRIVEN.

What do you think?

Three Months Until The Little Book of Cat Magic is Out

OMG! The Little Book of Cat Magic is coming out from Llewellyn three months from today! That might seem like a long time to you, but considering that the book has been in the works for about two years, it suddenly seems darned close to me!

It was about this time two years ago that my editor Elysia Gallo from Llewellyn sent me a late birthday gift. She had already warned me that it was something I would either love or hate... And when I opened the package, I was completely baffled.

Huh?

Why, I asked myself, would Elysia send me a book of Dog Magic? She knows I'm a cat person. Then I read the card and burst into laughter in the middle of my driveway. Basically, she said, "How would you like to write the Book of Cat Magic? You know you want to. Right?" And of course, she was right. As my agent said, when I ran the idea past her, "It's the Book of Cat Magic! Who else should write it?"

So that's how I came to write what turned out to be The Little Book of Cat Magic. I'm actually pretty proud of this book. It wasn't as simple or easy to write as it seems. But I think people are going to like it. For me, it is special for two reasons. One, it is my first HARDCOVER. (Seriously, how cool is that?) And second, and a bit sadder, is that this is Magic the Cat's last book with me. I just worked on the final proof edits, which require rereading the entire manuscript, and there is lots of advice from her, and mentions of both her and her brother Mystic. I won't kid you--it was tough.

But as my lovely readers reminded me on Facebook when I posted about it, that just makes it Magic's legacy, and her last gift to the world. And to me. That's pretty cool too, when you think about it.

So I'm going to be celebrating for the next three months, as we approach the release date of October 8th, starting with today, at the 3 months and counting down mark. I have found lots of fun cat-centric swag to give away, starting with this bunch of goodies. Harry Dresden "helped" me with the photo shoot. I can see this is going to be a problem...

That stuffed black kitty seems to be moving!

And now he has fallen over.

Quick! Take the picture!

Oh, great. Now Koshka is helping too.

In case you can't quite tell because of the helpful cats, this is a black cat themed goodie bag, with a stuffed black cat, a black cat bookmark, a fun pen, and a black and white duck-cat for the bath or shower. I'm giving away three of these, although accent colors might vary. Mostly just because they are so cute, I can't help myself.

Obviously, I'd love it if you preordered the book (publishers love that too). Here are a few "Buy Links" if you're in the mood.

Buy Links

Barnes & Noble |Amazon |iBooks |Llewellyn  

But even if you don't feel like preordering the book, feel free to enter the contest by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. As always, no purchase is necessary. I'll love you anyway, I promise.

If you can't wait three months to get a look at the book, I will be putting up sneak peeks and snippets on my PATREON for those who follow me at the $5/month level and above.

So tell me, are you looking forward to this book as much as I am?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

At the Faerie Festival

Every year my friends Ellen and Robin (and Robin's kids Sophie and Nate, my goddess children) and I go to the Faerie Festival, about 50 minutes from my house, and five minutes from Robin's. This year Robin's friend Nichole and her four kids joined us, and we had a grand time, despite the insane mid-90's heat and high humidity. Although we did retreat back to Robin's house for a nice BBQ and eating inside the AC...

Here are a few pictures from the event, which is a little bit like a Renaissance Faire with more goblins and trolls...

Me and my darling Sophie

Robin and Nichole and the kids (the troll wasn't ours)

So many cute dogs! Ellen always makes new friends.

Robin and Nate

It was so hot, the hair was up. Me and Nate, looking mildly overheated but happy.

The Faerie Queen, leading the processional.

I loved the tee shirt Sophie put on when we got home.

What's a faire without goodies?  A new oracle deck (bought from the illustrator, a fellow Llewellyn person) and a cool Matrushka key chain that made me think of the Baba Yagas)

One of the artists did all these cool acorn people! Of course I got the one who was reading a book.

I'm already looking forward to next year. And hoping it is a little cooler...