Interviews, Guest Posts, Giveaways, and Summer Leaves

The last two weeks have been busy for me. Just before Thanksgiving, I did an interview and a guest post. Just after Thanksgiving, I released a new e-book.

Yesterday evening, Homeschooling Teen Magazine released the interview; this morning, Sarah Holman posted the guest post up on Homeschool Authors.

In conjunction with these, I am running a free book promotion on Amazon. Today, and through tomorrow, Sweet Green Paper and The Last Heir are free on Kindle.

As for the e-book, I am happy to announce the release of Summer Leaves: A Story in Three Acts. It is the second book in the Sons of Tryas, with Beauty of the Lilies leading the way.


Ruark, Lord Heir fourth in line for the throne, and once first in line, came so close. Still, he missed it entirely. His brother reigned, and dreamed, and Ruark himself wandered, burning his restlessness on distant, wild planets.

Then the premier of the Assembly found him, with an offer to give him everything he ever wanted, at only a small cost to his soul.

In Summer Leaves, Shannon McDermott continues the story of the sons of Tryas, begun in Beauty of the Lilies.

Sold on Kindle Amazon; estimated length 67 pages; price $2.99.

To read the beginning of the book, go to Amazon and either “Look Inside” or download the sample.

“Beauty of the Lilies” Release and Giveaway

Almost two weeks ago, I published my novella Beauty of the Lilies to Kindle Amazon. Beauty of the Lilies is set in the same universe as The Last Heir, starring one of Emperor Alexander’s predecessors – Jediah, the painting emperor.

Of all the stories I have written, this is the only one whose nucleus was a character. In The Last Heir, Elymas Vonran – the Premier of the Assembly – asserts, “A passive emperor is still the emperor.” In the first drafts of that scene, Vonran then cited a historical example: Emperor Jediah, “who devoted himself to his family and his painting”.

Eventually I cut this, moving the Premier directly from his assertion to his point. But I never forgot about the painting emperor. I wanted to write a story about him, and when I finally set myself to the task, I had two thoughts. The first was: This could be funny. The second was: This could be sad. From this, the whole story came.

The whole foundation I laid down for the story – the plots, the other characters – was measured according to Jediah. I wanted to paint, as it were, the painting emperor. Beauty of the Lilies is the portrait I ended up creating. A companion piece, Summer Leaves, is to be released next month.

This weekend, October 12 and 13, Beauty of the Lilies will be available for free download. If you read and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review on its Amazon page or a rating on its Goodreads page.

Another description of the novella, along with the prologue, may be found here; I also published an Author’s Commentary in Part I, Part II, and Part III.

News

So, today, I have another announcement. The Kindle Edition of The Last Heir is now being sold on Amazon. Again, I’ve set a promotion for this weekend, September 21 and 22, when the e-book will be available for free download.

Over the past week I’ve been building up my profile on Goodreads; I’m starting to figure out the site. I’ve heard Goodreads called the Facebook of readers, seen several writers praise it to the sky, and now, I suppose, I’ll see for myself.

A week from today I’m scheduled to review Hero with Prism Tours. I’m about halfway through the book, slowed down by the fact that, this time, I couldn’t get a Kindle copy from NetGalley. They disabled the option partially on account of “reader experience issues”, which is ironic because the decision has given me all sorts of reader experience issues. The end of these is that I am now reading the book on my computer, which is why I am reading more slowly.

Prism Tour is also set to do a Cover Reveal for The Goddess Tithe, by Anne Elisabeth Stengl, early next week. So, maybe, I’ll see you there.

Doings

I’ve been busy this past week, with various projects. One of these was getting onto Amazon.

The Last Heir is now on Amazon, eligible for free shipping and boasting one review. I also published Sweet Green Paper: An Adventure of Christian Holmes to Amazon Kindle. I enrolled it in KDP Select, making it free to rent for Amazon Prime Members.

And getting, incidentally, free promotional days. A promotion is set for this weekend, September 14 and 15; Sweet Green Paper will be available for free download then.

Beyond this, I’m busy editing my novella Summer Leaves (a companion story to Beauty of the Lilies) and making preparations to begin my next novel. Last Saturday I had thought I was about ready to write the first scene, but while planning it out, I decided to do some further research. I should stockpile some more scientific facts.

And maybe read some more pulp fiction. Outpost of Jupiter wasn’t bad.