C.J. Redwine

I'm excited to announce that the book formerly known as THE COURIER'S DAUGHTER has a new title. One that I think completely captures not only the essence of the main characters, but the spirit of the story. I had significant help choosing this title since I generally suck at titles. I owe a big thank you to my editor Kristin Rens and the rest of the talented team at Balzer & Bray for choosing it! (Please note that my suggestion to call the book FLAMING SWORDS OF DOOM was roundly ignored by everyone at Balzer & Bray. It remains to be seen if this was a smart marketing decision on their part.)

Ready for the new title? Here you go!

Defiance
I'm really in love with the title! Now, off to go change the title on Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook... :)

 
1. I think it's no secret that I despise most forms of technology, and they return the favor with interest.

2. Lately, I've had a lot of new-to-me technology to get used to. A new printer. A new laptop. And (finally) my very first smart phone.

3. Let's start with the printer, shall we?

4. It's lovely. And FAST. And very amenable to doing what is asked of it.

5. As long as I'm not the one doing the asking.

6. The other night I wanted to print out a few images for the storyboard I'm making for the novella I'm writing.

7. I opened the image in question and hit print.

8. Nothing happened.

9. The little print window stayed open on my laptop and it LOOKED like it was trying to do something, but nothing happened.

10. Then the print window on my laptop changed and informed me there was an error.

11. That's it.

12. An error.

13. All the advanced technology we have available to us, and we can't figure out how to make the computer actually TELL me what …

Thank you to all who entered the contest to win the one of a kind necklace designed by Tashina Falene especially for Dawn Metcalf's LUMINOUS. As always, I used random.org to choose the winner. And the lucky winner is

The Girl On Fire
Congratulations! You will receive an email from me shortly. Enjoy your necklace!
Didn't win this time? There will be another chance to win signed books and amazing jewelry in two weeks!

This is a post I wasn't sure I'd ever have to write. I've seen other authors talk about this topic, but didn't see this coming for me. I'm a huge fan of paying it forward, and I'm a staunch cheerleader for other writers, no matter what stage of the journey they're in. But since I'm starting to find myself explaining this fairly often lately,  I feel like I need to put together a more public response.

There are a ton of dedicated, talented writers working hard toward publication. Those of us a few steps behind our goal look for answers and inspiration from those of us a few steps further ahead on the path. I can honestly say that my own journey toward publication was significantly aided by the generosity of a few who were ahead of me on the path. One published author took the time to answer a newbie's questions. A trio of debut authors put together a web site that featured question and answer sessions with newly published authors. Agents ran blogs a…

Join me in welcoming YA author Dawn Metcalf as she explains to us why using a taser on a camel is a very bad idea. In honor of Dawn's debut book LUMINOUS, my jewelry designer Tashina Falene has created a one of a kind necklace inspired by the book. To enter, simply fill out the form at the end of the post. Good luck, and watch out for angry camels!





Dear Adventurous Tourist:


Congratulations! You have booked a well-deserved vacation that expands your horizons and lightens your wallet. You are willing to go where few modern book-lovers dare to tread: outdoors! You have your books and/or e-reader, your passport, your shoes, and now are looking for a way to secure that your belongings will continue to belong to you. While I am certainly a proponent of upholding one's own safety, I feel that I must caution the worldly traveler on bowing to what I'll term "American Excess". Nothing encourages the wonton wielding of sharp or pointy objects than carrying about such shiny …

Thank you to all who entered the drawing for Dawn Metcalf's LUMINOUS. As always, I used random.org to choose the winner. And the lucky winner is:

H.C. Palmquist
Congratulations! You will receive an email from me shortly with the details. Thanks again for entering and happy reading!

I was going to post one of my usual Monday lists (full of mayhem with a heaping side of crazy), but I've been thinking about something else and decided to share that instead.

The picture above represents part of the book I spent the last few weeks editing. I worked to write two new opening chapters, to subtly weave in character arcs, emotional truths, back story, and sensory detail. To bring important secondary characters forward. To increase the tension. To lay the groundwork for book two.

When I finished at 4:30 in the morning this past Saturday and sent it to my editor, I was so happy with it, I kind of wanted to make out with the whole book. I still do.

But then I started thinking. Stuff like "Oh, crap. What if no one else wants to make out with my book?" and "People are going to READ this. And they will look into a big piece of my soul. And some of them are going to say 'This is worthless. I'm going to give her a one star rating and use this book as …