Alright, so sadly, the blog title says it all: the 12-18-12 release of OBSIDIAN has been postponed. Right now, I would say indefinately postponed officially, with hopes that by next Tuesday (the 25th, aka Christmas) it will miraculously appear. If that is the case, I will let everyone know on this blog by Friday, the 21st.
But, now before you get upset, I have a really good excuse.
I am getting married!
It's in less than three weeks, and my sister/webmaster set the release date for Obsidian, before I'd even met my future husband. So... that can take up a lot of unexpected time. Please have patience with me. I will do my best, to get it out by Christmas, if not then, the next week and so on. Thank you all for your support, and to everyone looking forward for the Obsidian release, I am sorry. I hope it will be worth the wait.
As for a gift both christmas and apologetic, please listen to and enjoy these songs that it is highly likely you've heard 1 thousand + times on the radio, each day. And yet, they fit OBSIDIAN (and EMBER'S third installment) very nicely.
Hello all. Were you starting to wonder whether Obsidian, AKA: EMBER book 2, is still coming out in December? Well, wonder no longer. It is (even if the last chapter or two ends up being a couple dots, like this: "And then Jaden and Evelyn were runnning from the... and... then... End of Book 2").
How does that sound? No matter what it couldn't be a worse cliffhanger than book 1, right?...
Anyhow, Obsidian isn't quite finished yet in actuality, but I'm reading back through to do the final edits of the rest, and to pledge I'll have it out by the 18th, I'm posting CHAPTER 1. Which is aptly named "Fera" since "Fera" is the setting for the whole (or almost whole... o_O) of Obsidian.
I don't want to give too much away, but since the first chapter will do a bit of that anyways, I'd like to share some pics for the new setting.
Check it out...
So... obviously, none of these are the exact match. They were just inspiration for me. The final setting picture (just before the motorcycle) is from a SW* game, Knights of the Old Republic. That planet is called Taris. It was a really big inspiration for Fera, and the whole of Ember book 2.
As for the bike, that may or may not be why Obsidian is set in a different period. ;) I won't say anything about it, except that it will NOT belong to Evelyn.
Here's another one...
...belonging to (cough, cough) someone else.
If you haven't guessed who gets the two motorcycles by now, you're bound to be really surprised by all that happens in Obsidian.
Also, Evelyn will wear this:
And I will try to get her to wear this, in yellow...
But she hasn't done it yet (final chapter stuffs!) so I'm not so sure....
And let's see, a couple extras...
Boys will have something like this...
Girls will have something like this....
And in this book, none of our main three amigos will look anything like this...
Which is to say, they won't look much like themselves. (That's Jaden, Evelyn, and Ikovos, from left to right)
But let me vouch for Jaden, that he is really plus-plus in a hoody.
Two more things before the Chapter 1 sneak peak...
One:
Here's one of the main theme songs for Obsidian (because every blog should have something to listen to).
Two:
Have you ever wondered what Jaden and Ikovos' last names are? Come on, it's Evelyn AVEST, and then Jaden... um... and Ikovos... umm. The coolest thing about Obsidian is that you get to find out! If you'd like to guess, leave a comment. If you get it right, I'll send you an ARC**. You only have three weeks though, then you'll really find out. So guess now.
AND... last but not least, here's the first Chapter of Ember book 2, Obsidian. Let me know what you think in a comment, please. And enjoy! -Tess
-------------------------------------------
Chapter 1: Fera
“Oh!” I gasped, hands jolting to my
heart. “My goodness gracious, Jack. I can’t believe you just did that again.”
The boy--Jack Gallin--smiled back
pleasantly. We were in a large room, quite lively with people, each working at
their respective desks. Like I was. Like Jack was supposed to be. The walls were gray; windows were scarce. This was
new base of operations for us and I wasn’t adjusting well.
“I can’t help myself,” said Jack,
hopping over to his chair at the opposite end of my desk. “It’s too funny to
hear what you’ll say next.”
I eyed him, picking up the papers he’d
dropped off for me. They were reports; ones that I was responsible for filing.
I had a feeling that I already knew what they would contain.
At the moment... for five months now... I
worked at a place called D-Roe. As far as I knew we handled little more than
local crime busts, inside work, and personal protection... but the sheer number
of employees told a different story. There were sixty-eight in our office
alone; most worked out in the field. I didn’t know much about the whole thing
to be honest. I’d joined for one reason and one reason only. Since entering
this world I’d been contacted by the Gaeln only once... and that one time
they’d instructed me to come here. I’d agreed because... well, because there hadn’t
really been another option for me. Here at D-Roe my job was simple: read and
log crime reports. No thinking, no adding, just cataloging.
“I mean ‘goodness gracious’?” mimicked
Jack. “Who says that?”
Jack was and had been my desk partner
since joining D-Roe. He was eighteen, same as me. He had light, ambiguously
shaded, hair, and an odd arrangement of facial features; he was very thin, and
he always wore the same clothes. He was funny, never too deep, and the cause of
ninety-nine percent of all my procrastinating. I was convinced that if not for
him, I would be out of the gutter position by now.
He laughed, throwing his hand out
loosely. “No, no. Wait...‘blast it’.That’s
my favorite. I love it when you say that. Or curses. Curses!”
“Jack, really--is there a point to
this?” I half whispered, leaning in towards him. My eyes scanned the room of
active workers. “We’re in enough trouble this week as it is...” I caught sight
of the window; it was still light outside, probably close to three. That meant
three more hours for me.
“Alright. I’ll be good,” he replied.
I smiled, then took a knife and sliced
open the envelope. No surprise at the contents.
Insufficient photographs of two nameless
boys. Insufficient because they were orphans, streets urchins, whatever you’d
like to call them. The whole idea I could still barely grasp. But here, on this
massive metropolis, with hundreds of thousands of people all living in a
ninety-mile radius, there were a lot of kids that got lost in the mix.
The problem lately--the problem with
these two--was unexplainable disappearances. If not for the fact that some of
the boys had already been being tagged for surveillance, we probably never
would have noticed. The first kids that had vanished were known to do illegal
transport work for some not-too-pleasant characters. We’d started checking with
them to no avail. And now these two made
what?...Sixteen?...Sixteen now.
I sighed, then spread out the papers for
filing.
“Same deal?” Jack asked across from me.
I nodded and he sighed too.
Having had some...experience with the
issue, Jack wasn’t a fan. But like me, he was scarcely permitted to work on the
case.
“How old this time?” he asked.
“No way to know for sure,” I noted--unnecessarily--we
never knew for sure, “but I’d guess
around nine or ten by the faces.”
“And that makes--”
“Sixteen.” I finished.
“You’d think they’d want all the help
they could get,” drawled Jack sharply.
I continued to work. “Well, it’s
becoming a higher priority case. Maybe they’ll sign you on.”
“Right,” scoffed Jack. “And lose all my
valuable assistance with paper-pushing?... No one can staple like I can baby!”
He snapped a stapler at me, already back to grinning. I knew inside he was more
upset than that.
“Well I think that if Tyson, or any of those fuddy-duddy higher-ups had
half a brain, they’d have you heading up the project.”
He spread his arms. “Well, thank you.”
I barely got out a “you’re welcome” when
another file dropped onto the desk.
“Make sure these get in today, Gallin.”
I stiffened at the voice. Oh dear. Sure enough, I looked up just
in time to catch Tyson walking away.
Tyson.
Six-foot-two, chestnut hair, silver-blue
eyes, age twenty-nine, head of our department, and one fatal characteristic. The
characteristic that set my heart off double-speed. The characteristic that
cracked my voice and blurred my focus. The characteristic that blew my
composed, contented, feigned, little world to pieces.
One characteristic, that’s all it took.
Tyson reminded me of Jaden.
“Do you think he heard you?” asked Jack,
with a humored smirk back in Tyson’s direction.
My eyes blinked and I tried to still the
papers shaking in my hands. “Ah...” breathe,
Evelyn, breathe “...I don’t know.”
Days were always harder when I heard
Tyson’s voice. Tonight would be a difficult one.
I winced up at Jack so I didn’t seem
unduly affected, then we both went back to working.
#
The next three hours passed too slowly.
I was close to the last one out, as usual, despite Jack’s extra work. I guess I
was a little bit of a perfectionist when it came to cataloging. I hit the
switch on my desk lamp with a sigh and headed out the door.
Our office was hidden on a nondescript
level of a large, business skyscraper. Like everything on Fera, the structure
was connected with a dozen others by lifted metal causeways encased on the
sides with glass and the tops with full ceilings. Out on the wider
intersections everything was open--just the sky to envelop them.
I peered down through the glass window as
I walked the hall--my usual habit. You wouldn’t hit the literal bottom of Fera
for at least half-a-mile if you jumped, but the surplus of tiered decks made
seeing the full descent a rarity. The sound of the automatic door brought my
head up; I walked through without hesitance to the main intersection deck
outside. The bustle of people never failed to amaze me. That and the cold.
Dear,
goodness. I hugged my slight green sweater around my body and
just kept moving.
Out here the sky was a dim blue, only
parted by the taller tips of the silver skyscrapers and passing ships. It was
almost always like this on my way home from work, though if I was lucky the
clouds would also glow a brilliant pink. Still, the fluorescent white and blue
lights that lined almost every building, platform, and causeway, were brilliant
enough.
A gust flew by me and I tightened my
sweater again. I wished I could close my eyes as I walked sometimes, but there were
too many people here. That was alright though... by the time I got home it would
be less busy. My apartment--a thirty minute trek from D-Roe--was in the not so
brilliant part of town. Not terrible, just... a single girl with an
indeterminate job couldn’t afford to live in the ritz--or the upper city as it
would be called in Fera. My place was down a few decks, not quite to the
mid-low level. Here the sky was less visible, and the metal coverings were less
sparkly. A few cheap shops flickered colorful lights across the walkways;
including BQ’s which Jack and I sometimes went to. He’d offered to go tonight,
but...no--not tonight.
I entered the cove that preceded my
apartment elevator, waving to Old Bill, the landlord, as I passed. He usually
stopped me to complain about the less consistent tenants, but today he seemed
to be too occupied with a new cleaning contraption. The last one he’d shown me
was astounding: a metal disk you set in the middle of the room that--once
triggered--would sanitize the whole area with a single bright flash. Needless
to say after seeing that, I’d really never pitied his complaints about cleaning
any longer.
I took the stairs in two’s tonight. I
was on the second floor of the tenement, five doors down the hall that wrapped
around in a circle.
Absently, I typed in the code that would
release my door lock, waited for the lag, then stepped in. The metal wall closed
behind me and I sank to the floor.
Oh...
My eyes closed and my head fell back, papers dropping forgotten to the floor.
You see, outside I could pretend that all of this was normal. That flying
ships, and mile-high buildings, and fluorescent lights, and transports,
electricity and planets -- that all of these things weren’t in any way unusual.
I’d grown up here after all. Evelyn Avest, daughter of Cal and Ryanna Avest,
who’d died when I was twelve. Lived with my--now off-world--aunt up until six
months ago. Received a full education on the middle levels, but had otherwise
no distinguishing accomplishments to boast of.
That was me. That’s the I.D. the Gaeln had
given when I’d gotten here... at least in a roundabout way. In actuality the
Gaeln, who I consistently had trouble not despising, hadn’t appeared to me once.
When I’d first woken up on Fera, six months ago, all I’d had to go off of were
two slips of paper in my pocket. The first had been a note telling me to go to
D-Roe’s address, inform them that I was referred here by a company called Lange
Inc., and acquire a job. The second paper had been a coded I.D. slip, which had
informed me of my “past” here on Fera. I still didn’t know now why D-Roe had
accepted me and I still didn’t know what Lange Inc. was. But my new employers had
set me up with a place to stay; I had started work, and shortly thereafter I’d met
Jack.
All I’d been able to do at that point had
been to trust that what I was doing at D-Roe mattered... just like the Gaeln had
promised.
But now... normally at this point at
night, I wouldn’t have let myself fall to the floor. I wouldn’t have let myself
think about the past. I would have taken a shower, done some work, eaten
dinner, and gone to sleep.
Like
I’d said: not tonight.
I drug myself off the ground, leaving
the papers where they were. I slipped my feet from my boots, and manually
flicked off all the annoyingly automatic lights. I closed the shades and brought
my blanket over to the couch; sunk down in, all bundled; then held out my hand
in the almost pitch darkness.
Every sign of Fera was gone except for
the low hum that couldn’t be escaped.
I did this on my bad days--maybe once a
week, twice lately. It was stupid because it always felt worse the next day.
Don’t
do it, Evelyn, I thought, just once, before giving in
to the rushing memories.
I thought about my life long before, in
Tiver; when I was never contented. I thought about that morning by the lake
with Sylvanus, and my journey to the Meoden dimension. Of Thoran jumping in
with his flaming green sword. And of sweet Cornelius, fainting in the woods.
I thought of Ikovos... how brazen he’d
been from the start--how thoroughly awkward I
had been. I thought of the cold walk through the night, and the towering lodge;
the impossibly long, once mysterious, hall that had led to the small study of
glowing books. Then the fire, too bright to be normal, burning on its own,
mesmerizing me with its elegant movements. Then the boy... leaning against the
wall with a smirk on his face...
I wouldn’t get farther than this. I
never did. All I could see was his face, mind darting though all the moments I’d
had with him... up until that night in the library... when he’d wrapped his
hand under mine and...
There.
The violet flame lit above my palm.
Deep, more blue than before, more dim, but otherwise the same. I lifted it to
my eyes with an unstable smile. I concentrated solely on it, on the way it
removed the built-up chill from Fera that I could never get rid of. It would
flicker wildly, threatening to go out until I thought of Jaden again. His
incredulous brow lifts, his unhinderable confidence, the clear tone of his
voice, the way he had looked when he kissed me... because I had to remind
myself that this perfect, magical, boy, that would have made every second of
the rest of my life something rather like paradise, had actually wanted me too.
Loved me too.
Yes--then the flame steadied.
I smiled, but the empty holes were
already beginning to stab at my stomach, in my chest. I laid on my side, set my
hand out, carefully, and pretended for as long as I could that I was back in
the study. Just overly tired, having a strange sort of nightmare. And in the
morning I’d see Jaden and everything would be fine.
Yeah...
just a dream that he would assure me was very silly... just a silly dream.
--------------
* SW stands for Star Wars. Always.
**ARC stands for "Advanced Reader Copy". It's what gets sent out to reviewers before the final edits are done on the novel. Sort of. Real Description.
Hey, I just wanted to show everyone some of the reviews we've gotten on Love Sworn. We've sold 50+ copies in the first month! Two of these reviews are from amazon. One is from my website. If you like what you hear, please read the book!
Review #1: 5.0 out of 5 stars "Best book in years" August 23, 2012 By Avid Reader (Amazon Verified Purchase) I have to admit I am a sucker for a beauty and the beast story any day of the week. But this one really out shines any of the others I have read. I LOVE the charaters. They are so real I was constantly waiting to see what was going to come out of their mouths next. It was tightly written, which is a rare thing these days. And I loved that the author stuck to the story structure of the well know story but at the same time made it her own. She knows her stuff!I laughed the through the whole book, but found it touching too. I would recomend this as a delicious read for all ages.
Review #2: 5.0 out of 5 stars "Best Epilogue Ever" September 14, 2012 By Scott R. (Amazon Verified Purchase) Disclaimer: This review is very similar to another one I just wrote because, hey, it's Beauty and the Beast. We know how it starts, we know how it ends. It's the getting there that's the fun part.
So, in my search for new werewolf novels (my favorite genre) to read, I discovered that Beauty and the Beast came up with werewolves in it.
Well, this is a fun book. A riveting book. The characters, including and especially the supporting cast, were amazing. Tight plot, great dialogue. I will admit I really hated Dmitri at the beginning, but I guess you're supposed to. And I even got to experience the story without that awful "Be My Guest" song in my head.
And like I said, it has the best epilogue ever.
Review #3: Love sworn is just another of an exceptional book written by Tess Williams! I have been following her since Ember and i get so excited every time i see that a new book is coming out! I cant wait for this december for Obsidian!!! Thank you Tess Williams and keep up the great work!
(now continue reading below to find out where to get the book)
*UPDATE END*
Alright. So Love Sworn is OUT as of today, August 23rd, 2012.
Synopsis:An enchanted castle, a self-absorbed rich boy, a painful curse, and the quiet heart of a beautiful girl... Can a monster fall in love? Love Sworn is a modern day retelling of the classic story, Beauty and the Beast, with a werewolf twist.
How's that sound? I'm going to keep these post short and sweet, so you can get on to reading Love Sworn.
If you want a PAPERBACK version of Love Sworn, please visit lulu. The price is $13.99.
FYI: If you don't have a Nook or Kindle, etc., you can go to smashwords and download the book (for $.99) in many types of files, so don't think you need an e-reader. You can also download a Nook or Kindle program for your computer, for free, from Barnes and Noble or Amazon.
RECAP:
-Love Sworn e-book: $.99
-Love Sworn paperback: $13.99
-As long as you have access to a computer, you can read Love Sworn on Smashwords, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.
Positive Report: Love Sworn already sold 2 copies yesterday (before it was even "officially" out). Awesome, right?
Look at that face? That's Max. He wants you to start reading about him. So go, go read the book. Then let me know what you think. Here on blogger, or in an e-mail. Oh, and don't forget to check out the new Love Sworn page, on my website.
Love Sworn. That's the topic up first. It is OFFICIALLY coming out. The OFFICIAL date is August 23rd, 2012. Yup that like a few weeks away. Yup, that's part of why I've been so busy.
Here is the cover. Read the snippet on the back if you like.
Pretty soon, we'll have a page up on the website just for Love Sworn. Then you can read more about it. Until then, I hope you'll be looking forward to it! It's going to be available as an e-book, for the usually $.99. And also on lulu.com, in paperback (price yet to be determined, but between $10-15).
Now, for OSC. Here he is...
Wait, no... that's just the cover for one of his most famous (or, um... most famous, right?) novels: Ender's Game. Here he is...
Er... not actually. This is just a page from the newishly made comic book for Ender's Game, depicting two stars of the story (Ender Wiggin and "Bean"). Don't be dissuaded by Bean's size. He's a tough one. Awesome artwork, right? Now, if only someone would do a massively large drawing of the "giant" that Ender, er, um... well, I better not say. It'll ruin the story. But Mr. Card, if you're reading this, you know what I'm talking about (hopefully?) Please convince the creators of the Ender's Game film to star the giant in the main poster. And have Drew Struzan do it. The guy that painted this:
And this. And these:
Wow. Those posters never fail to impress. Click Drew's name above. Check out his site. You won't be disappointed.
Now, back to Mr. OSC, here he...
No. Nope. That's Asa Butterfield. Aka, "Ender". What do you think? He's gotta be bossing, if he's going to be Ender. Because Ender Wiggin ...spoiler, spoiler, spoiler... (don't try to click that by that way, cuz I just typed "spoiler" three times and it would be really annoying if your wanted to read it and it didn't do anything)
This is Asa from Hugo. He looks pretty serious, doesn't he? We rented the movie just to see him; it was a little strange (about making movies) but that's okay. Asa was awesome. Ender's Game could be a great film.
So long as...
Aw. There he is. Mr. Card. That's my favorite pick of him, and he is just so great. He's got to be one of my biggest inspirations. It's not just his stories and the passion and full-heartedness with which he writes his words (his characters are SO cool), it's also the sort of blogging his does, the way he goes about doing his book signings and the way he teaches other writers.
On that note, I've brought up Mr. Card, more overly to complain. You see, Mr. Card lives in Greensboro, NC. Where do I live? Greensboro, NC.
Where do I go see my movies? Regal Grande Theatre at Friendly Avenue.
Where does Mr. Card oft see his movies (at least according to his blog, hatrack)? Regal Grande Cinemas at Friendly Avenue.
And where do I go all the time to read and write? The Barnes & Noble at Friendly Avenue.
And yet, yet, when Mr. OSC came for a showing there not two weeks ago, I couldn't make it. NO! I didn't make it.
He was coming for a signing of his new book, Earth Unaware. Which I haven't read yet (so, I know, you're thinking, why am I complaining, it's not as if I should have shown up not having read the book). Still, I'm positive it's going to be great.
Right now, I'm reading (cough cough, listening to*) Speaker for the Dead. The sequel to Ender's Game. *Though I found out recently that he actually wrote Ender's Game, as more of a PREQUEL to Speaker for the Dead. In other words, Speaker for the Dead, was perhaps the original story in his head.
At any rate, the story certainly reflects that. It's rich, and fully absorbing, also sad enough to make you cry and cry and cry (for seemingly no reason...)
Reminds me of a little, awesome movie my family and I just recently watched called: Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below or Hoshi o ou kodomo in it's original title. It's a Japanese film by Makoto Shinkai. And perhaps these still-frames will give you an idea of just how beautiful the film is...
If you like Hayao Miyazaki movies, then you're sure to like this. But fair warning, it's pretty scary, and (as previously alluded to), very sad. It deals a lot with death (actually, that's kind of the theme of the whole movie. But it's good! Check it out!
Speaker for the Dead, reminds me of just how great a character Ender Wiggin really is. I think in today's culture, a lot of people are seeing strong men as ones who don't feel strongly, or never get lonely. Ender's character really opposes that. I can't wait to see Ender's Game, even if there's a slim chance it'll be as good as the book. It's still exciting!
And lastly, on OSC, in case you've already known everything I've said (having read the very popular Ender's Game, etc, as many have), then do yourself a favor and read this book next:
Enchantment. I liked it (loved it!) every bit as much as Ender's Game. It's just a touch darker though. But I'll never forget the main character. He's referred to as "Ivan" through most the book, but I continue to think of him as "Vanya". The name he's introduced with.
Enchantment is a sort of Sleeping Beauty retelling. It's an excellent story. Very romantic!
Alright, and that's about it. I meant to blog about Sly Cooper 4 as well, but I'll save that for another time. (I'll do a expose' on him!) The man (er... raccoon) behind the mask.
Ah, shucks, I'll at least post this:
So cool...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 23rd! Mark the date.
Next time: Obsidian news, reviews, (sly 4 :D) and... ORIGAMI YODA! (because THIS just came out today...
And I need time to read it...
May the Force be with you!
EDIT* In other news... The Secret of the Forune Wookie isn't really out until the 7th. WHY CRUEL WORLD!?! And yes, before you ask, I DID drive all the way to the bookstore and plan a whole hour's worth of busy schedule time to peruse it. Thus I was stuck.... staring blankely off into space... or rather at the Barnes and Noble sign which read: "The Secret of the Fortune Wookie" out August 7th, pre-order your copy today.
Well, I don't want to pre-order it, Barnes & Noble. I want to order it. And I want to get it like a taco at Taco Bell: right away. And now I've REALLY deviated into rambling. This is why I should be reading. About origami star wars characters... (*heavy sigh, as I slowly saunter off)
Alright, so even with all the announcements there have been about Obsidian (the second to Ember), coming in December this year, I'm actually going to be releasing a book before then. For SUMMER!
Here it is:
Love Sworn is a re-telling of the classic story of Beauty & the Beast. I wrote it a few years ago, but I never released it (or tried to get it picked up by an agent) since there had been so many "Beauty and the Beast" remakes coming out then.
But now since I've got my website up I decided: "hey, it's awesome. Let's just go for it."
I'm not sure how much I should say about the story.
Let's see.... it's set in the modern day (arizona), but I wouldn't say that that plays a very huge role. (as far as setting).
There aren't any talking clocks and pots (as with the Disney version). But ... er... let's just say, here's a couple pics of two of the main characters:
His name is Lensan.
And her's is Verlaine.
Also, from the cover I imagine you could guess "wolves" play a big part.
Yes, that's because, well... hmm... check the tag at the end of this post if you're really curious for a spoiler. Otherwise I'm not going to say. Then again, once my sister writes the synopsis for me (and you, and everyone) to read, she'll probably mention it.
So... werewolf-ism is involved.
That's all I'm saying.
The two MAIN main character's names are: Adelle & Dmitri.
They share the cover, and SPEAKING of that! That cover was painted with water colors by my awesome sister. I drew it. It's not finished up completely yet, but while you're here, if you don't mind helping me out, I'm trying to decide on the final cover between:
...this... and...
...this. Oh, the conundrums presented by a single button on Photoshop. I should never have clicked that "auto-tone". Pfft. Anyhow, which do you like better? You could leave a comment to let me know. The first is the original medium colors. The second is adjusted, but the cooler tones might match the theme of the book better, I don't know... give your oppinion!
Lastly for today, here is the playlist (working) for the book. Most of the songs belong to Dmitri (as you will see) cause he's just cool like that.
(General)
Crack The Shutters - Snow Patrol
Transformation - Beauty and the Beast
When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge
House of Wolves - My Chemical Romance
(Both)
White Lines & Red Lights - Between The Trees
Against All Odds - Mariah Carey & Westlife
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
Only One - Yellowcard
(Adelle)
Everytime We Touch [Candlelight Mix] - Cascada
(Dmitri)
Everything - Buck Cherry
Prozak - Dexter Freebish
The Widow - Mars Volta
Do You Love Me - The Contours
Reverse This Curse - Escape The Fate
Sugar Daddy - Jackson 5
Your Smiling Face - James Taylor
Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon
U Can’t Touch This - M.C. Hammer
Is This Love - Bob Marley
Let Me Be Your Wings - Thumbelina
You Got It - Roy Orbison
Crazy For This Girl - Evan & Jaron
Please Don’t Leave Me - Pink
Until The Day I Die - Story Of The Year
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails
One Sweet Day - Mariah Carey [Feat. Boyz II Men]
Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough - Patti Smith & Don Henley
Something - Across the Universe
Creep - Muse
Yup so that's it. More announcements should be coming soon (including the exact release date). Listen to a few of those songs, and don't forget to comment! Happy Independence week by the way!
If you've been to the "coming soon" page you know that Obsidian is almost finished up, entering into the editing process and will be out for sale 12.18.12; this year! So... I thought I'd post some sneak peaks for it. NOT actual chapters or anything; too soon for that. :) But playlist, pics, a few videos. Me and my sister have an argument going on about what Jaden looks like (he's the male lead for Ember/Obsidian in case you didn't know), so if you've read the books, have a look, and let me know which team you're on. He always comes in the form of a youtube vid, yay for music! So without further ado...
The PLAYLIST...
Who Knew - Pink Bright Lights - Matchbox Twenty Come In Closer - Blue October Look After You - The Fray Miserable At Best - Mayday Parade Heartless - The Fray Please Don't Leave Me - Pink Evelyn - Hurts Already In - Jon McLaughlin
Most of the first book's playlist songs belong to Evelyn (i.e., they're from her point of view), so I decided this "sneak-peak " playlist for Obsidian, would be a few of Jaden's songs. "Who Knew" starts from the end of Ember (book 1) to the start of Obsidian. It's sort of a "between the books" song. "Come in Closer" by Blue October, encompasses a lot of the feel of Obsidian. "Please Don't Leave Me" by Pink & "Heartless" by The Fray (yes, it's a Kanye West cover, if you were wondering) are both the main songs for Jaden in Obsidian. Where I'd say he's most "at" if that makes sense. Yeah, doesn't sound good, does it? He'll be okay.
As far as the "Evelyn" song by Hurts. I'm not usually into the name, actual-name, song thing. But this one just fits so perfect. Here, listen:
And so...
On to the Jaden's appearance issue.
This is what my sister believes he looks like:
Yes, the main boy of course. No doubt you've seen this video? I told her that maybe if I were drawing Jaden or something I could possibly use him as a model (not really), but to me, he doesn't have enough... er... depth or something. I don't know. Jaden-ness.
On that note, here are my picks:
A mix between that, and...
...that. She's even less crazy about the second, than the first. And no, Jaden would probably never be caught dead in that hat that Enrique is wearing, and yet: it's something about his movements -- and Jon McLaughlin's (who's an awesome artist by the way--listen to all his songs!). They're deliberate movements; passionate, but controlled. That's all Jaden to me. It's more about what's going on inside them then their looks. Though the looks fit too! Especially if you could mix them together.
I picture Jaden darker skinned, and somewhat foreign. My sister suggested "gypsy" and I'd say that's the right term. Gypsy is actual just another name for Romani people who live in parts of Europe, and they're actually traceable back to India, or close to it, in southern Asia. Insteresting hunh? yeah, I just found that out. Of course most people know about Gypsies for themselves. Think of Jaden like that!
And if you've read Ember, please leave a comment mentioning which one you'd say fits best! Or do you have your own suggestions? Sadly, I still haven't found an Evelyn.
Here's the closest:
Haha. Yeah, sure, it's Evelyn from "The Mummy". Now you're really not going to believe me that I don't have a name thing. Still...
And that's about it. I'ma get back to work editing, so you can look forward to reading. Thanks for stopping by!
Hey, so I just got back from a trip to the ocean. It was really great. I went just by myself and got a BUNCH of writing done on OBSIDIAN, the sequel to EMBER. I always read about aspiring authors wishing they could get off alone somewhere, without responsibilites, then they could definately write. I know it's important to make yourself write during the busy times, as well, but I feel really blessed to have this free time at the beach. I have awesome friends (sort of more like family) that let me stay at their condo at Carolina Beach, near Wilmington, NC. The area around there is SO cool. I thought I'd list out some of the things I did. So without further ado...
One of my favorites things to do is walk from the condo to one of the nearby cafes. The walk goes through town which is really cool, (there are a lot of fun, little shops). This time I was there, they had this famer's market going, as shown in the picture. It kinda of wraps around the lake, as you can see. They had live music, and food (really cool looking pastires, yummy! plus taste-testers), and jewelry. Oh, and it was really cool they had a local author doing a book-signing. They do this every Saturday morning. But when I walk throuh town, I just put my headphones on and totally imagine/plan out what I'm going to write once I get to the coffee place. It totally works! Try it if you're a writer!
So then...
These were really cool, I found at one of the shops. I took pictures because my sister loves sea-turtles. We're going to try to make the blue one, maybe, because I didn't by them (I only had my bike, so no way of getting them home). But I DID buy two excellent hoodies for really cheap. They say Carolina Beach on them. Yup, they're cool.
Okay, and cool thing number 3, and probably the COOLEST out of all of them. This little guy right here:
His name is "Jashan" and he's a White Bengal Tiger (once called "Royal Bengal Tigers"). He's at the local zoo, Tregembo Animal Park. It's a really cool zoo, because the animals are so close, also you can feed them peanuts or corn. There's this crazy animal there, called a Zedonk. Yeah, you read that right. Ze-Donk. Half zebra, half donkey. He looks like this:
And he's uber-cute. He munches corn out of your hand, and it's totally precious. You can pet him (if you distract him with food) and he also has a goat buddy. But anyways, back to Jashan. He's a great White Tiger, and very active. Between my two last trips, I saw him eat chicken, lay up on a table (rolling back and forth on his back mind you, sort of like this:
...only with his eyes closed). And he took a bath in his little pool, and he played in a hose fountain, and he even got up on his back legs and roared at one of the zoo-keepers. (like playfully). But it was cool.
I love (me and my mom) white tigers because of Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck. Hopefully you've read it. If you haven't, DO SO! Ren's the best. Anyways, I like to pretend Jashan is Ren. Now lastly...
That's my mode of transportation. I know, I know. I should have taken an actual picture of me on my bike, but I was alone! So... sort of impossible. This was my first time taking my bike to the beach, and I've gotta say, for anyone who rides, it's the best place. Fast roads and not a lot of lights. Plus the ocean air, and perfect weather. On the way there I had a collosal full back-pack on my shoulders (which sounds harder to manage then it is), on the way back, I had that plus a bag, so there was sort of a leaning tower of luggage behind me. Also I lost a glove somewhere along the highway. Such is life.
So, that's about all for my trip. If you thought the place looks cool, and you live near North Carlina, please check out: BlueSeasProperties or facebook. For my friends awesome condo. It's right on the beach!
A super-awesome reader/reviewer on Goodreads, Shauna of Ireland, has written a review for Fallen Kingdom! Read it below, and after that make sure to check out her other reviews. She reads lots of books. She's also just recently gone off to Spain for a few months to teach english, so show her some support by leaving a comment on her goodreads page, or just keep her in your prayers.
Alright, without further ado, here's the review... (haha, that rhymes) (I'm so witty) (not really) (oh, just ignore me, it's not like I'm a writer or anything... o_O...)
(oh, and p.s., there is one uber-minor spoiler, but you'll be forwarned)
------- I felt the knife shake in my grip and I steadied it. I gathered together all the deaths and pain that I knew to call on. I drew upon Kraehe, and I drew upon Luffie, and I drew upon Tobias.
This is a murderer, I chanted to myself.
This is a murderer and I do not know him.
Oh, my traitorous heart.
Damn you, Tess Williams. Why couldn't you have just killed off Cyric before Ellia had the chance to infect me with all the feelings?!
What a roller coaster of emotions…I actually cried. Tears. For Cyric!! Not something I could have ever imagined myself doing after finishing book one.
Fallen Kingdom opens on a battle field, jumping right back into the thick of things. Ellia and Cyric each remain on opposing sides of the war, both doing their damnedest not to let their thoughts stray to the other.
Of course, this separation couldn't go on forever, because then where would our story be?
So when Ellia sacrifices herself by sending a wounded fellow warrior off on her chimera (spoiler)[and let me just say, I love that more time is being given to the granted animals throughout this book (un-spoiler)] she is taken captive (yes, again. that's gotta smart) and transported back to Akadia, and back to Cyric.
I loved Ellia's bravado, her fighting spirit. She's really come into her own this installment.
I did not love listening to stupid Cyric's stupid rationalizations for all the stupid stupid stupid things he does. Idiot. (No, that's a lie, I really love to hate that boy.)
It's all right though, because Ellia has a plan to regain her freedom. After all, she is a Ciralli warrior. Able to easily out-skill any of their best fighters, even kill them, to free herself.
Except Cyric's her designated keeper, and there's a big difference in turning your mind away from someone who was once your friend, and galvanizing yourself to kill them.
I felt my fists coiling with rage. I would have killed them--I would have killed anyone that Lox had left me with, I’d already determined to. I’d been in battles. I knew how to kill evil men. But why had it been Cyric?
With book one fresh in my mind, I had no such compunction. What matter that it's Cyric, Elia? Kill him, kill or at the very least maim him!!
She doesn't, of course. And as time went on I would, more often than not, find myself smiling stupidly at their exchanges. Though in my defense, much of this was for all the moxy our heroine was displaying.
Weren’t battles still waging? Weren’t people still dying? And wasn’t I on the opposite side of Cyric? Yet at the same time, I had never felt more sure of who I was and what I was doing.
...I’d seen who he was; now everything he did, every way he responded made me more sure that he was not evil. That he had only convinced himself to be, that he was confused, and scared. This was Cyric Dracla. He was my best friend. I knew him. He’d been mine from the moment I’d seen him, I’d decided this. I’d let him go because deaths and wars and betrayal made all of that not matter. And here I was with the same dilemma, yet I felt certain that it was not right to abandon him anymore.
Somehow, someway, (I still don't know when or how she did it) Ellia won me over to her way of thinking. That is one loyal and determined friend.
At the end of the first book I scoffed, 'There is no way that boy could ever redeem himself in my eyes', but now I say 'Redeem yourself, Cyric! Redeem yourself!! You can do it!!!'
Tess Williams has managed that rare feat of creating a sequel even better than the first, so if you haven't read Fallen Prince yet- I am officially giving you the all clear.
Bring on book three!
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
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Da-da-da-dah! (hoping that reads like a resounding chime of success) Fallen Kingdom is official available to buy. Check out the links in the panel of my website to get your copy. It's available on smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon for 99 cents. If you read it, please review, or let me know what you thought in an e-mail. You can find the address on the "contact" page of my website.
If you're into book playlists, here are most of the theme songs for Fallen Kingdom.
Hopefully I'll do a post in the future explaining which songs are whose and what they mean, etc. Please note that there are sadly two major theme songs missing from this playlist. They are:
and
Unfortunately, they don't have these two available on playlist.com, but I'm attempting to learn how to put songs up there, so it's likely that they soon will. :) If you happen to know how to do it, please let me know in a comment or something.
Lastly, a lot readers seem to want a better picture of what the chimera from the Fallen Trilogy look like. I thought I'd put up a few of the pics I used as inspiration to give you an idea.
First there's this peice by *sandara on deviantart. This is definately the closest to how I picture the chimera, especially Luffie (Ellia's chimera).
All of the chimera, even the boy ones, have heads that resemble a female lion's. Luffie specifically has flecks of turquoise in her hair and turquoise eyes--just the same as this one! The differences would be in torso, since the chimera of the Fallen Trilogy have "feathered wings like those of an eagle, and serpent tails like those of a dragon."
These next two aren't technically very acurate to the Fallen Trilogy chimera, but there are some similarites, particularly in the coloring of the three-headed chimera as well as it's tail. And then in the wing-to-body ratio of the second one.
This second drawing is done by njoo on deviantart by the way. It's titled, Dark and Day: Chimera.
So, that's about all for now. Please enjoy Fallen Kingdom and thank you for stopping by!
