Saturday, April 27, 2013

Greater Treasures Book Tour



Being a private detective in the border town of the Faerie and Mundane worlds isn’t easy, even for a dragon like Vern.  Still, finding the wayward brother of a teary damsel in distress shouldn’t have gotten so dangerous.  When his partner, Sister Grace, gets poisoned by a dart meant for him, Vern offers to find an artifact in exchange for a cure.  However, this is no ordinary trinket—with a little magic power, it could control all of mankind.  Can Vern find the artifact, and will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for the life of his best friend?

Vern and I are going all out on this book tour, with lots of Vern posts and prizes, too.  Check out the schedule and hope to see you around the blogsphere!

30-Apr
http://fabianspace.blogspot.com
Tour Announced
1-May
http://gloriascorner.com
Interview *
1-May
http://timewithtannia.tripod.com/
Interview &Vern Talks About Duty *
2-May
http://sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com
5 Rules for Fantasy
2-May
http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com/
Vern Talks Zombies
2-May
http://fabianspace.blogspot.com
About the Cover
3-May
http://grace.splashdownbooks.com
Interview *
3-May
http://reviews.splashdownbooks.com
Review
4-May
http://lincolncrisler.info
Story Determines Style *
5-May
http://apiusman.blogspot.com
Interview & Review
5-May
http://virginialorijennings.com/blog/
Interview
6-May
http://www.letters-to-the-cosmos.blogspot.com
Review & Interview 
6-May
http://tributebooks.blogspot.com/
Interview
7-May
http://beccabutcher.wordpress.com
Faerie vs. Mundane Investigation *
8-May
http://harliewilliams.com
Interview *
8-May
http://thewriterschatroom.com
Chat Ettiquette w/a Dragon
9-May
http://iansrealandmore.blogspot.com/
Battling Knights, and other Scams
9-May
http://virginialorijennings.com/blog/
Information 
9-May
http://snoringscholar.com 
Review
9-May
http://fabianspace.blogspot.com 
Exclusive Excerpt
10-May
http://www.christopherbunn.com
Vern on Global Warming
10-May
http://speculativesalon.blogspot.com
Review *
11-May
http://www.weigandchris.com
Interview
11-May
http://newauthors.wordpress.com/
Self-Publishing Tips *
12-May
http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com
Variety in a World *
12-May
http://thewriterschatroom.com
Live chat with Karina & Vern, 7 pm EST *
13-May
http://sarah-janelehoux.blogspot.ca/
Interview *
13-May
http://tmarquitz.com/blog/
Annoying Virgins
14-May
http://harliesbooks.com
Becoming a Dragon PI *
14-May
http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com

On Writing Vern
15-May
http://www.jqrose.com
Dragon Hobbies *
16-May
http://virginialorijennings.com/blog/
Review
16-May
http://fabianspace.blogspot.com
Self-Publishing Adventure
17-May
http://kittyb78.wordpress.com/
review
18-May
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Haunt_at_PNR/
Live chat with Karina and Vern *
18-May
http://diannesagan.wordpress.com
Review
20-May
http://thebumpyroadtopublishing.blogspot.com
Growing Your World
21-May
http://spellbindings.com
Review *
21-May
http://www.erinmhartshorn.com/blog
Vern's Dogs
22-May
http://ShaunaRoberts.blogspot.com
Interview *
23-May
http://anneejohnson.blogspot.com
Stories are Like Sonnets
23-May
http://virginialorijennings.com/blog/
Vern on Knights *
23-May
http://snoringscholar.com
Vern On Motherhood *
23-May
http://fabianspace.blogspot.com
About Cambridge Ramada
26-May
http://www.writersfunzone.com/blog
Writing Novellas *
26-May
http://writersandauthors.blogspot.com
On Amazon Ranks *
27-May
http://bagfullofbooks4kids.blogspot.com
Review Roundup
28-May
http://slowandsteadywriters.blogspot.com
Improving Your Writing *
29-May
29-May


http://virginialorijennings.com/blog/
http://writerlywednesday.com

Tweet Chat
Interview
30-May
http://www.bookinglyyours.blogspot.com/
Trailer
30-May
http://fabianspace.blogspot.com
Review Roundup

* indicates a prize being given that day, either a free e-book or something from Vern's warehouse.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Like 007? You'll LOVE Dragon-Oh-Seven!

Cover art by Lex Valentine

Get it this month from the publisher and 10 percent of the proceeds go to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy: 

The magic is Faerie.  The technology, Mundane.  When they meet, the survival of the world rests in one dragon's…er…claws.  See Vern as you've never seen him before!  


For a dragon detective with a magic-slinging nun as a partner, saving the worlds gets routine. So, when the US government hires Vern and Sister Grace to recover stolen secrets for creating a new Interdimensional Gap-- secrets the US would like to keep, thank you—Vern sees a chance to play Dragon-Oh-Seven.
No human spy, however, ever went up against a Norse goddess determined to use those secrets to rescue her husband. Sigyn will move heaven and earth to get Loki—and use the best and worst of our world against anyone who tries to stop her.
It's super-spy spoofing at its best with exotic locations (Idaho--exotic?), maniacal middle-managers, secret agent men, teen rock stars in trouble, man-eating animatronics, evil overlords and more! 




 Introducing CIA Agent Rakness, Stan Rakness




If you love adrenalin-rushing action...
If you love dangerous romance in exotic locations...
If you love nail biting suspense...
If you love laughing so hard you draw stares...
Then you'll love Live and Let Fly!



Still not convinced?  Read the excerpt:


Charlie started to close the door behind us, his other hand gripping the handle of his dagger so tightly I could hear the leather wrap on the handle strain, as we listened to the footsteps coming our way, slow, bored. My predator's instincts rose; then I had a great idea. I shook my head at Charlie and winked, and he shuffled out of my way, leaving the door ajar. I settled myself with my back to the door, just inside the shadows and let the script play itself out:

CLUELESS MINION enters Stage Left. He pauses, hearing a noise, but does not report it. Instead, he fondles the stars on his name tag and moves toward the empty hallway, his mind on adding another. (Probably saying, "I was proactive today!")
CLUELESS pauses at door, hesitating. He stands and, back to the door, reaches for his walkie-talkie.
Suddenly, a well-muscled and gorgeously scaled tail whips out from the crack in the door and wraps itself around his neck. He only has time to grab ineffectively at the tail before he's drawn into the darkness. The door shuts behind him.
Pan shot of the empty hallway.
FADE TO BLACK

I slammed my victim on the floor and pinned him with my forelegs, then I leaned my face in nice and slow, making sure he got a good look at my fangs before he saw my eyes. "Where's the girl?" I growled low and menacingly.
"Wh-What g-g-girl?"
Charlie crouched down by Stutterboy and glanced at his name tag. "Look, Philip, we're in a bit of a hurry. We know Rhoda Dakota's being held captive somewhere nearby. Now you can be a good survivor and tell us where…or you can be dinner."
"I-I don't—"                 
"Phil A. Minion." I mused and drooled a bit for effect. I live for these moments, I really do. I licked his cheek and asked Charlie, "Can I have fries with that?"
"Why not? This is Idaho."

Or hear an excerpt:



Enjoyed that?



You can buy Live and Let Fly at http://tinyurl.com/LiveAndLetFly or Amazon.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Taking a Sabattical--from Karina

Dear Friends, You all know how much I enjoy writing Vern stories and blogging in my dragon's voice. However, lately, it's been more pressure than joy to write and to keep up this blog. I've decided that the best thing for me to do is take a break from writing I feel obligated to--including blogs--and just concentrate on writing that I want to do, when I want to do it. I am not quitting writing, just scaling back. 2013 promises to be a BIG year for my family, with one child graduating, two leaving home, Rob retiring, and our moving into our "forever home," wherever that may be. I also want to explore self-publishing (the first of which will be DragonEye novellas). Right now, however, a weekly blog is just pressure instead of fun, so I know I need a break. Please check Vern's and my Facebook pages for information. Otherwise, on behalf of Vern, Sister Grace and myself, God bless you and keep you laughing. Karina

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

A DragonEye view on Lust and Greed

Let me start with the basics of Faerie dragons:  We're immortal.  We're androgynous.  We don't reproduce.  We were created at the beginning of time from God's greatest imaginings and have been around ever since.  So we have no use for lust.

Greed, however, is a different matter.

Of the seven deadly sins, dragons are most prone to greed, wrath, and pride.  (Although, to be fair, what you humans call "pride" is really just a natural acknowledgement that we are the superior species on Earth--but that's another post.)

What's the deal with dragons and greed?  We're natural hoarders, like I mentioned in my Apologia on Dragon Greed. At any rate, I'm not here to psychoanalyze my species.  I want to compare lust and greed.

I've had the unique position of being in human form, with all its accompanying, irritating hormonal consequences, once "helped along" by a curse I still owe a demon a roasting over.  So, I've felt lust, and I've got to tell you, it's not all that different from greed.  For one, it's a basic emotional desire--object or person, it's still that kind of feeling.  At its heart, it's about possession: permanently or until you lose interest, the goal is to own that object or person in some way.  It's the same for lusting for power: you want to make it yours.

Of course, there's a certain biological mechanism involved.  If humans weren't attracted to each other, there wouldn't be much "fruitful and multiplying" going on.  Since dragons don't procreate, we don't have that mechanism, and thus don't lust.  However, as hoarders, we do have the mechanism for collecting, which makes us susceptible to greed.  Every species has its weak point.  The problem, as I see it, is when you let that biological drive get the better of the spirit God gave you, i.e., your conscience.

Of course, that also means the remedy is the same for both--a clear conscience guided by perspective and prayer and some proper education in moral values.  Works for greed as well as lust.

Unless, of course, you're a dragon cursed into human form and influenced by enchanted perfume, but that's a story I don't plan on sharing anytime soon.


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

An Apologia on Dragon Greed

I got asked the other day about the dragon hoarding instinct and if it wasn't really just a sin to want to acquire stuff.  (Not that I'm getting to do that much in my current situation, mind you, especially since SOME PEOPLE have yet to purchase my latest adventure, Live and Let Fly.  What's wrong with you? Why are you denying yourself hours of entertainment and me any my writer our piddly royalties?)
C'mon.  You know you want it.

What was I talking about again? Oh, yeah.  Greed.

Here's the short of it:  Dragons have a hoarding instinct.  We are built to want stuff--and not necessarily gold and jewels.  That, ironically enough, is a stereotype placed on us by humans.  I have a friend, Hrrowrssh, who had a fondness for joints.  You know--elbows, knees, hips.  He's got a collection stretching to the Paleolithic.  He actually had the dwarves carve out a mountain so he could display them.  I once spent fifteen years with him, just going through the collection.  My favorites were the ones of things he'd eaten himself.  My own tastes change.  I like relics--or things I suspect will make great relics someday.  I'm quite a connoisseur at it, actually.  I know a lot of you probably think any old piece of junk becomes a relic if it's old enough, but real relics have history, meaning, and significance.  Your singing fish plaque ain't gonna cut it, no matter how many thousands of years it survives.

Now you can blow off our desire to acquire as simple sin, but it has its uses.  For one, where are you going to find a better collection of joints in both universes.  (And you can laugh, but the paleontologist of your era have been drooling over my friend's odd habit.)  I have object (now priceless) that would have been erased from history by now, some for civilizations long forgotten.

"Well, what good is that, if you're the only one who has them?" you ask.  Three words:  Lance of Longinus--and if you don't get the significance, you will once Karina publishes "Greater Treasures."  next month, maybe.  Suffice to say, some relics should not be left to other species.  Dragons know how to hoard, protect...and leave well enough alone.  I'll tell you more about the lance some other time.

For that matter, it's a misconception that dragons greedily hang onto their wealth.  We have been known to display certain selections--if the visiting party can keep their paws off it.   Think of all the trouble tourists have caused with flash photography, greasy fingerprints, and "no one will miss this pretty rock."  We will also redistribute on occasion.  I sold an artifact I'd kept for 8000 years to a museum because it completed its collection.

Dragons have rules, just like humans have rules for gaining wealth.  We don't raze villages in order to get a sparkly.  However, if that village has come after one of us with the proverbial pitchforks and torches and we raze the village in self-defense, why not grab the sparkly?  Hrrowrssh never went around biting the elbows off interesting creatures, but if he certainly took them off his prey.  We are always glad to accept gifts, trade, grant favors for items, etc.--dragon commerce.  And yes, we have a stash of gold and jewels--but usually that's in case we see something we just have to have.



Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Dragons are not Inherently Evil

Once again, Karina has gotten into a discussion about dragons and how she should not write the adventures of one because they are creatures of evil.

This, of course, hearkens back to Revelations, to whit:
Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.Revelation 12:3

 So, naturally, I'd like to draw your attention to Exhibit A:
Count the heads, please.  Thank you.
But say, you don't buy that.  After all a dragon is a dragon, no matter how many heads, right?  And if the bible says the dragon is  the symbol of evil, then all dragons are evil.

Well, let's talk serpents, shall we?  It wasn't a dragon that tempted Eve, but a serpent, right?  And when the Israelites complained against God, what invaded their camp?  Serpents.  But I see serpents all over this earth.  You keep them as pets--even good Christians do.  But some are "good snakes," you say?

So some snakes are good, but all dragons are bad?  Speciest, if you ask me.

Oh, but let's look a little further.  When the Israelites were being attacked by the serpents, what did Moses do?  Drive them out?  No--he took it to God:

and Yahweh replied, 'Make a fiery serpent and raise it as a standard. Anyone who is bitten and looks at it will survive.' Moses then made a serpent out of bronze and raised it as a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent and looked at the bronze serpent survived. Numbers 21: 8-9
So, God used the serpent for His will. 

Hmmm.. that sounds familiar.


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

What I did in school

One of the kids from Church asked me to go to show-and-tell this week. 

The teacher had a fire extinguisher handy.  Seriously?  I may be from the Middle East, but I have more self-control than that.  Anyway, the kids were sufficiently impressed and I used my charm on Mrs. Willoughby, so it turned out all right.  The kids asked the usual second grade level of questions--no Mensans there*--and then I invited them to pet me.

That's why I bother with these things, you know.  Who needs a masseuse when you can have 30 little kids give you a good scale rub?  and the little hands are perfect for scratching behind my cheek crests.  No, I do not thump my leg like a dog.  I can, however, be coaxed into a purr. It always ends too soon, but I go home happy and relaxed.

Stan calls me a sensualist.  I just tell him it's a dragon thing.  He wouldn't understand.

*In Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, Vern does show-and tell for the kids of Mensans.  That's where he learned his tail spikes are called thagomizer.