Peg Kerr's Journal

Lume Books has now released Emerald House Rising! You can download it at Amazon here.



I had previously mentioned that print-on-demand copies of The Wild Swans are also now available. If you'd like an autographed copy, I was recently at Dreamhaven Books and Comics to sign copies:

What do you think? I'm still trying to figure out what I think of them. Adjusting a bit because it doesn't exactly resemble the world I created in my mind.

Which font do you like better?

I was a little underwhelmed when I first received it yesterday, but it's definitely grown on me in the last 24 hours, and I've already sent back a message to the editor that I like it:

I think the cover is subtle, elegant and lovely. I must admit to some disappointment that the idea I suggested wasn’t used, but oh well, Warner didn’t use it either al those years ago, and I’ve gotten over that disappointment before.[The idea of quilt swans morphing into real swans flying out of the quilt]. I am impressed at how the way the depiction of the swans suggests a misty morning light. The slight darkening of the frame around the cover is a nice touch. The font for the title looks good.

You know more than I do regarding how cover art suggests the genre of a book. To me, it doesn’t scream “fantasy,” and upon reflection, I think that’s fine, I suppose: there isn’t any fantasy in Elias’ story, and the only fantasy element in Eliza’s is the spell, but there is little else. It could be the cover of a mainstream novel, and that way may draw in some readers who don’t think of themselves as fantasy readers.

I was a little more doubtful yesterday when I first reviewed it. The choice of subject seemed obvious. But it IS obvious; that’s what the book is about. So the bottom line is, I like it. Thank you.

Oh, Rob would have been so happy for me.

For my friends who are authors:

Everything you need to know about ebook distribution is free ebook TODAY.

One thing I have REALLY been enjoying about my Nook is that I've learned how to download fanfics to a Word file, convert them to .epub files (using this very handy dandy free site) and put them on my Nook. I love reading long works, and now I'm not tied to my computer to read them anymore, nor do I have to print them off.

I switch between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings for the most part. This week I'm all about Lord of the Rings, specifically Éomer (why Éomer? I have no idea) and I've been discovering new fics by checking out the Middle Earth Fanfiction Awards finalists (MEFA). Here are some I've added lately:

Untold Tales of the Mark: The Banishment of Éomer by Katzilla. Dark and angsty. And LONG, around 340,000 words.

Otherwise, the fanfic authors I've particularly enjoyed doing Éomer stories are Lady Bluejay and Lialathuveril. Here a couple ones that are great fun:

The Abduction of Éomer, King of Rohan by Lialathuveril (a fun, somewhat screwball comedy. Think "'It Happened One Night' While Rowing Down the Anduin")

On the Wings of the Storm by Lialathuveril. An interesting premise: what if the year before the Ring War, Princess Lothiriel of Dol Amroth is sent to Rohan by her father to seek shelter from the war brewing in Mordor (and runs afoul of Wormtongue).

Of Falcons and Mûmakil by Lialathuveril

Bound By Duty by Lady Bluejay

I Can Only Manage One by Lady Bluejay.

Also good: The Sell-Sword and the Prince, by Lady Bluejay, about Lothiriel's father, Imrahil of Dol Amroth, and his encounter when he was young with Aragorn (known to him as Thorongil). The story starts as a high adventure with a daring raid on Umbar pirates and ends as a light-hearted romance between Imrahil and his future wife.

I discovered manybooks.net yesterday and have loaded onto my Nook free books by Jane Austen, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Rafael Sabatini, Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters, Fanny Burney, George Eliot, Alexandre Duma, père, and, ahem, Baroness Emmuska Orczy (talk about guilty pleasures). W00t!

I'm just loving my Nook. I was worried about cost when I got it for Christmas, but it's been a lot more economical than I was afraid it would be. I've bought less than half a dozen books to load on it, but I've read probably close to seventy books on it. I've downloaded dozens from the library. That's a great perk: you download a book and then you have the right to read it for three weeks, and you don't ever get any overdue fines. And wow, I didn't find out until this week that Barnes & Noble offers a free book for download every Friday. Yes! And I love the free web browsing I can do with it when I'm out at a coffeeshop, since I don't have a laptop (although keyboard input is slow and not ideal).

I wish it could download and use applications, since I don't have a smart phone. Maybe that will come someday with a software upgrade? I can hope.