Funny Chicken Anthology {Call for Submissions} — CLOSED

Funny Chicken Anthology

Submit a funky chicken work!

Story can be in any genre, but it must be light-hearted with chickens (or chicken-like creatures) integral to the plot. The more outlandish, the better. As long as you can pull it off.

Probably 5,000 words or less (I’ll read anything less than 10,000 words)

Royalty split. Probably Bundle Rabbit (or something like it) so I’m not in charge of the money. Included authors will have to set up their own account on Bundle Rabbit.

I’ll handle the cover and editing. I’ll do big picture editing but also have a proofreader.

Ebook only. No KU. No PreOrder. This means it’ll probably be a wide (on all platforms) title.

This will be a six-month run.

Anthology will unpublish NOVEMBER 29, 2020.

This is a *fun* project for me. While I hope it will make a lot of money, the reality is that it probably won’t. If you submit to this anthology, then you are also acknowledging that you are okay with that for the duration of the term (until 11/29/2020). 

 

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MOAR DETAILS!

 

Proofreading matters. Please send your best work.

Please follow Shunn’s Manuscript Format. See Here.

Submit to: bokerahbrumley@gmail.com

In the Subject Line, please include “Chicken Submission_Your Name_Story Title”

PAYMENT: Royalty Split

EDITOR: Bokerah Brumley

PUBLISHER: JOYFUL PEACOCK PRESS (AKA: Me)

 

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TIPS & BEST PRACTICES

1. Don’t be a jerk.
2. Don’t be a drama-monger!! (I probably don’t care about the latest industry gossip from anywhere.)
3. Don’t be a prima donna.
4. Be patient.
5. EXPECT EDITS.
6. Final inclusion in the anthology is MY call. It’s okay to tell me ‘no’… when it’s important, but I may so ‘no’ right back. Pick your hills to die on accordingly.

 

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Proposed Timeline

SUBMISSIONS OPEN through April 30, 2020

APRIL 15 – MAY 10, 2020: READING, R&R’s (Revise & Resubmit Requests) sent before and throughout this period

MAY 15, 2020: FINAL ACCEPTANCE/REJECTION EMAILS W/CONTRACTS SENT

MAY 20, 2020: CONTRACT DEADLINE ** (contract and final edits MUST be in by this date), PROOFREADING Begins, Authors must create a Bundle Rabbit profile and accept invitation via Bundle Rabbit.

MAY 26, 2020: ANTHOLOGY ASSEMBLY & UPLOAD

JUNE 1, 2020: TITLE LAUNCH 

JUNE 1, 2020 – JULY 1, 2020: Month-long Blog Tour (Participation expected)

JUNE 1, 2020 – JULY 1, 2020: Ads (through preorder and new release vendors and possible newsletter swaps and social media posts from my hired PA’s)

JUNE 1, 2020 – JULY 31, 2020: Anthology Authors Newsletter Share Dates (Participation expected)

NOVEMBER 29, 2020: UNPUBLISH

**If your story is not returned with edits accepted/rejected to me by this date, you will not be in the anthology. If your contract is not also returned by this deadline, you will not be in the anthology.

Anthology WORD COUNT GOAL: The More the Merrier

 

 

Saturn Anthology Submission Call – CLOSED

Here it is!

THEME for the Anthology: TIME, AGE, and ENDINGS

Naturally, I would like to see science fiction and fantasy stories for this anthology. I’m interested in anything that relates to the themes, including clever time travel.

My favorite short stories tend to be about 5,000 words. Though, I can be seduced with an incredible bit of flash fiction. I like romance alongside my action. But I like a good action-only story, too. If you submitted under the old guidelines, you’re grandfathered in. Don’t stress it. Those still apply (except where indicated below).

Ideally, I’m looking for a great opening line. (Tips here) with a story that pulls me through. Avoid filter words (Tips here and More Tips here).

Most R&R’s I send will probably be asking for improvements in these areas.

I enjoy literary reads, but stuff has got to happen. Save the philosophical waxing and long internal dialog for your novels. These things work but probably not in short form like this.

Proofreading matters. Please send your best work.

Please follow Shunn’s Manuscript Format. See Here.

Submit to: bokerahbrumley@gmail.com

In the Subject Line, please include “Saturn Submission_Your Name_Story Title”

PAYMENT: Royalty Split

EDITOR: Bokerah Brumley

PUBLISHER: TUSCANY BAY BOOKS

PREORDER HERE

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TIPS & BEST PRACTICES

1. Don’t be a jerk.
2. Don’t be a drama-monger!! (I probably don’t care about the latest industry gossip from anywhere.)
3. Don’t be a prima donna.
4. Be patient.
5. EXPECT EDITS.
6. Final inclusion in the anthology is MY call. It’s okay to tell me ‘no’… when it’s important, but I may so ‘no’ right back. Pick your hills to die on accordingly.

 

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On a personal note:

This is my first ever submission call for my first ever anthology (the original Saturn submission call is listed at the bottom; I am accepting stories based on that sub call as well).

So far, I’ve been in nearly two dozen anthologies and collections (some of which remain in publication and some of which do not). I’m familiar with several different managerial styles. Our timeline is outlined below.

For more information about my works in publication, try here.

Official Bio: Bokerah Brumley lives on ten permaculture acres, complete with sheep, goats, peacocks, turkeys, geese, guineas, ducks, chickens, five home-educated children, and one husband. She serves as the president of the Cisco Writers Club and moonlights as an acquisitions editor for The Crossover Alliance.

For more information and a complete list of published works, please visit:

www.bokerah.com

 

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Timeline

SUBMISSIONS OPEN through September 30, 2020

OCTOBER 2020: READING MONTH, R&R’s (Revise & Resubmit Requests) sent before and throughout the month of OCTOBER

OCTOBER 31, 2020: FINAL ACCEPTANCE/REJECTION EMAILS W/CONTRACTS

NOVEMBER 2020: MORE EDITS!!!!

NOVEMBER 30, 2020: CONTRACT DEADLINE & FINAL DATE FOR ALL EDITS TO BE IN TO EDITOR (ME)**

DECEMBER 2020: PROOFREADING & ANTHOLOGY ASSEMBLY

January 18, 2021 – February 18, 2021: Month-long Blog Tour (Participation expected)

January 29, 2021 – February 5, 2021: Ads (through preorder and new release vendors and possible newsletter swaps and social media posts from my hired PA’s)

FEBRUARY 2, 2021: ANTHOLOGY RELEASE 

February 2, 2021- February 5, 2021: Anthology Authors Newsletter Share Dates (Participation expected)

**If your story is not returned with edits accepted/rejected to me by this date, you will not be in the anthology. If your contract is not also returned by this deadline, you will not be in the anthology. Anthology WORD COUNT GOAL: 120,000 words

 

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<<ORIGINAL SUB CALL>>

Saturn. The most beautiful of the wandering stars, surrounded by a mysterious and remarkable series of rings, crowning the planet in glory.

Jupiter may be the king of the planets, but Saturn is the progenitor, named for the powerful and terrible Titan that fathered the gods themselves. Saturn is the lord of Time, Age, and Endings. And when everything else disperses into a heat death and the cosmos is an empty void, it is Time that will rule over all.

The frame story of Saturn will be set in John C. Wright’s City Beyond Time universe! Don’t know what that is? Read the book, it’s awesome. (<–This is no longer applicable.)

Stories do not need to be set in that universe.

However, they can be.

Bullet point form:

• Word count is 500-10,000
• Poems will be accepted
• Reprints will be accepted
• Simultaneous submissions will be accepted
• Stories can be about the actual planet Saturn, time, age, and endings. The Titan Saturn may also feature, and stories may be set in the City Beyond Time universe.
• Submissions should be in standard manuscript format, though please italicize instead of underline when appropriate. If the story is not in standard manuscript format, it may be rejected without being read. Seriously. I’m not kidding here. For that matter, ditto if the stories are under 500 words or over 10,000.
• The subject line should look like this: SATURN SUBMISSION_Story Title_Author Name
• The deadline is December 1, 2017. After that, you’re out of luck. (Changed to September 30, 2020.)

 

{Passing Time}

At dawn, a cow trailer rumbles by on the county road, and rain scents the cool breeze.

Eggs and bacon and coffee on the table, mostly consumed, now ignored.

Johnny Cash, my peacock, screams at the sound of the cattle guys going about their tasks. The peahens (Cinderella and Snow White) answer back.

The Youngers (the three stooges of the peafowl flock) yowl at each other while John Wayne–the one that imprinted on people and my oldest taught to fly from arm to arm as chick–hangs out on the front porch.

The gobbler gobbles, strutting across the driveway, tossing his insults and turkey trash talk across the garden alley.

The rooster crows, and the chicken hens let the world know that they’re about to give their gift for the day. The guineas kick up a fuss because they can’t go five minutes without adding their two addled cents to the world.

The livestock guardian dogs bark warnings at a pair of coyotes that lope across the cow fields next door, and the puppies watch with interest. Some of them mimic and mime their parents, but they’re all young still-yet and mostly playful with teeth.

A hawk flies over, and the turkey hens pop warnings at each other while the goose squawks for the chicken pullets and ducks to take cover. Ducklings peep in the poultry house just beyond our back door.

Goats and sheep bleat and baa to one another over fences, discussing the morning rations and their favorite greens on the fresh lawn salad bar. They herd around our middle child, asking for scratches and extra bits of feed.

The oldest child, the one on the cusp of adulthood, stands at the open window, shaking his head.

He has the patience of a farmer with a steadfast and tender heart to match.

“It’s pretty amazing out here,” he says, “when they’re all talking to each other and happy, doing their part of their life out here. It’s something else.”

And then he’s quiet for a long time, listening to the earth breathe as I sip my coffee and the others go about choring.

On his own. Alone.

A season bears down on us, a thunderstorm, building on the horizon. It happens, invited or not. Time doesn’t wait on mamas to be ready.

He knows what comes next, and I do, too. He’s two-parts in a hurry and one-part not ready.

And I can tell he already misses us.

My breath catches, and I have to blink away the tears so he won’t see them.

He won’t be here… this way… for much longer.

It’s good and right and the way these things are supposed to go.

Yet it makes my heart ache that he’s half-way gone in his mind, planning his brave tomorrow before today is barely started…

Even while he’s standing here in front of me.

 

 

 

A Dream Within a Dream {Kristina Mahr}

 I’m so exited about this duology, and I was pretty pumped that I was allowed to join the launch team. I hope you enjoy meeting Kristina Mahr as much as I have!

 

 

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All That We See or Seem (Dreamworld Duology book 1)

Every night, seventeen-year-old Reeve Lennox finds herself under a noose.

 

By day she is a lady of Acarsaid’s royal house, daydreaming of adventure and love. But every

night in sleep she wanders through a nightmarish city, an invisible witness to the screeches of monsters and the screams of their victims. Her only consolation is Bran, a battle-torn young man with a selfless heart and eyes that reflect the stars.

Yet while Reeve falls deeper into her dreams, in truth she is engaged to Arden, a mercurial nobleman who has long been cured of his belief in love and breathes fire and flattery like other people breathe air.

Torn between two lives, Reeve struggles to remember what’s real. Until night and day collide, with a revelation that threatens all of Acarsaid.

 

 

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A Dream Within a Dream (Dreamworld Duology book 2)

Invisible to the man she loves, Reeve Lennox fights to reclaim him from a dark world.

As her wedding day nears in Acarsaid, her betrothed Arden offers only his wayward soul and saucy tongue.

 

At night she desperately tries to reach Bran, the young soldier of nightmarish Tenebris who holds her heart.

However, her king insists that the realms of Tenebris and Acarsaid must remain separate, lest the evil wizard Rancore brutally conquer all.

But the dark magic of Tenebris defies mere distance. A war is coming, one only Reeve may be able to prevent, if she can reunite her family on opposing sides.

With two kingdoms at stake, Reeve must discover her strength and her family’s legacy before all is lost. Yet righting the wrongs of the past may require the sacrifice of her truest love.

 

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Meet Kristina

What is one thing you hope readers take away from your books?

 

I hope Reeve inspires people to take their lives into their own hands.

I hope Reeve inspires people to take their lives into their own hands. She has spent so much time waiting for life to happen to her that it takes her a while to realize that she’s right smack in the midst of it. All of this is life. Even if we don’t have the thing we want most yet, or we’re not doing exactly what we want to be doing, it’s important that we get ourselves on the path we want to be on and don’t sit around waiting for someone else to get us there.

What inspired your story world?

I had the story idea and Reeve already in mind before I built the world, so the world is a product of both of the idea and her character. I built Acarsaid as an island, with rules similar to Victorian England, to isolate Reeve as much as possible. I wanted it to be light and airy and idyllic, so it seems like the very opposite of a prison, but it serves as something like one to Reeve. And then I built Tenebris, the world she visits in her dreams, to be a stark contrast. Dark and dangerous and sinister, but there, Reeve is allowed to be more free than she is in Acarsaid.

What is your favorite part of your story world?

I love the falcons in Tenebris, the world Reeve visits in her dreams. I studied several different birds of prey before settling on the peregrine falcon as my inspiration. They’re so beautiful, and I wanted them to retain that beauty even though they’re obviously monsters in that world.

What character do you identify with the most and why?

Reeve. Reeve all the way. I see so much of my younger self in her, that idealism and single-minded determination to find love.

If you could sit down with one of your characters, who would it be?

Arden. I think he’s a delight. He’d keep me on my toes throughout the whole conversation, not to mention the fact that he’s pretty easy on the eyes…

Favorite writing inspiration?

I draw most of my inspiration from reading, but lately, I’ve been finding it in music, as well. There’s nothing like finding a character’s song. The one that represents them perfectly and helps you get into their head.

How do you practice writing?

I really found my voice as a writer by dabbling in short stories. My writing partner and I did a short story project where we each wrote a short story a week for 20 weeks. It really helped me learn to generate ideas and develop plots/characters.

I also have an ongoing poetry project that I’ve been cultivating over the past two years. I write at least one poem a day, though typically it’s more like three. It really helps me stretch my writing muscles and play with words in ways that often find their way into my novels.

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About the Author

Kristina Mahr devotes her days to numbers and her nights to words. She works full-time as an accountant in the suburbs of Chicago, where she lives with her two dogs and two cats, but her true passion is writing. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends,

reading, and waking up at the crack of dawn every weekend to watch the Premier League.

 

Social media links:

Website

Twitter

Instagram

Guest Post from {H. L. Burke}

I’m so excited to have Dragonista, H. L. Burke on my blog today, chatting about magic systems in her works! (Pssst… She JUST released To Court A Queen! CLICK IT! You know you want to!)

Take it away, Heidi.

To me, magic is like 75% of the reason I read fantasy. I know some authors out there tout that they write “magic-free fantasy,” but there are also people selling sugar-free candy and decaf coffee … these people aren’t to be trusted. (Unless they have dragons. Dragons are always magical.)

But anyway, because I write fantasy, I write magic. Also, because I get bored easily, I like to mix up what exactly this means by including different magical systems in different books. Weirdly, the more restrictive and specific a magic system can be (like when magic can only do a short list of things in a few specific ways), the more fun it is to work with. Limitations can often spark creativity, as anyone who’s ever had to play the “Oh no, I forgot to go shopping and now I have to make dinner out of one onion, a can of chicken broth, a box of pasta, and half a leftover rotisserie chicken” game will tell you.

So I try to come up with new ways to write magic every few books.

Magic is a type of sound. Magic is granted via communion with fire salamanders. Magic is a series of tubes with cats running through them … no, wait, that’s the internet.

The magic system in To Court a Queenis “fairy tale,” which is an easier one to do because rather than being a scientific system, it’s based off of tropes that most readers accept as part of the genre (we don’t know why a kiss turns a frog into a prince, but we understand that it does.). However a book series I have without this advantage was my Spellsmith & Carver trilogy. When I came up with the concept of two rival magicians forced into a Steampunk-fantasy version of a buddy cop movie, I realized if it was going to keep my interest, the magic had to be something more complicated and exciting than “magician throws fireballs, go boom.” (Not that there isn’t a place for that. I played a gnome mage for like three years in World of Warcraft. I LOVE throwing fireballs.)

So I went to the most EXCITING things I could think of.

Mathematics and computer programming.

(Please control your excitement.)

Okay, full confession: I don’t know how to program computers, and I was never that good at math … but what is math? It’s symbols arranged into equations. And computer programming, in “simplistic, even Heidi can get that” terminology, is a series of written commands that a computer can execute.

Magic in the world of Spellsmith & Carver works with a series of written symbols that a magician can write in different spells (formulas) and when the spell is activated, magic flows through the symbols and follows the written commands. If you leave a symbol off or write the wrong symbol, it either doesn’t work or does something unexpected (and usually bad … just ask Auric Spellsmith what happens if you miscount the number of sun-symbols needed for a warming spell.). The spells are inscribed on different mediums (which are called quires and different quires have different properties such as how much magic they can contain before being “expended” or how stable the magic will be. Common quires are paper, wood, stone, and wax) with an enchanted metal rod called a stylus.

Skilled magicians must memorize standard spells as well as learn how to adapt magic to create new spell formulas on the fly, and magicians will often have their own “style” they’re good at. Jericho Carver likes common sense, straightforward magic, simple magic that cuts to the heart of any given problem. Auric Spellsmith is more creative, loves theoretical magic, and usually prefers elaborate and complex spells, even when a simpler one will work … but it’s often those with the least in common who complement us best.

Now, To Court a Queendoes not have the magic system of Spellsmith & Carver, but it has the snark. If you like snarky stories with magic and adventure, you’ll probably like either Spellsmith & Carveror and To Court a Queen… or both.

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To Court a Queen

He doesn’t want to get married, but he wants to be a frog even less.

Knight errant, Devin, takes a shortcut through the woods, only to be captured by fairy forces. The fairy queen has run out of breathing males to fight for her hand, and Devin, while not ideal fairy stock, is breathing–for now.

Telling a vain fairy queen you’d rather not be her one true love is a ticket to life on a lilypad, so the knight agrees to face three challenges to win Queen Agalea’s hand. When a clever servant girl offers to help him navigate the trials in order to stop the constant bloodshed of the courtship ritual, Devin jumps at the chance. However, as he balances “flirting” with his “beloved” and overcoming tasks specifically designed to kill him, he finds his heart drawn to his new partner in survival.

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Author Bio:

H. L. Burke is the author of multiple fantasy novels including the Dragon and the Scholar saga and The Nyssa Glass YA Steampunk series and Coiled. She is an admirer of the whimsical, a follower of the Light, and a believer in happily ever after.

Follow H.L. on social media:

Twitter (for random snarkiness and occasional book snippets.)

Facebook (for longer form random snarkiness, occasional book snippets, and #dailydragon posts where I share my favorite dragon related finds.)

Website (my website (and mailing list) for news and deals.)

Instagram (my instagram for #TheodoretheDragon awesomness.)

Reader Group (my reader group if you want to be the first to hear about beta and ARC reading opportunities as well as my day to day struggles and weekly live videos.)

 

 

Meet our New {Friends}

We’ve been busy hauling wood chips/mulch. The county said we could have everything we wanted, so we’re making good on it. #WasteNot Ground cover is good stuff to have on hand for ground cover, weed control, or composting.

It’s, also, toe-trimming time, so we’ve busied ourselves getting all the hooves caught up.

Last time, I promised to include pictures of the new pasture residents.

This is Chocolate.

She’s not impressed with my picture-taking.

 

Meet Ginger (on the left) and Maryanne (on the right).

I might be channeling my inner Gilligan.

 

Meet the mother/daughter duo, Snickers and Milky Way.

I’ve made a lot of changes to the herd for next year. I’m focused on switching to great milkers–good-natured, high production–and adding some fun color to our mix in the field. We don’t raise show goats or registered goats (my sister does!), so I decided to have fun with it.

 

On the sheep side of the farm…

We’ve gotten another ewe for Mountain Man.

 

There he is… cheesing for the camera. He thinks he has fabulous neck hair.

Meet Marmelade!

That’s her. In that fashionable teal collar.

My peachicks are also starting to get some color on their necks.

And John Wayne is still happy to sit on my arm.

We’re going to have to get a falconry glove, though.

He’s got some sharp claws!

 

It’s been a good day, here on the farm.

Thanks for visiting, and come back soon. (:

~Bokerah

 

 

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Here’s this week’s giveaway.

You could win a killer {<—see what I did there?! (:}

Buffy the Vampire Slayer prize pack.

Updates from {Home}

Good morning from my world!

(Scroll down for the giveaway.)

 

 

It’s such a beautiful day here that I’ve abandoned my story to play with goats and scratch their ears. The humidity is higher than we’re used to, but the rain has been watering the earth and turning the grasses green once more. That makes everything happy.

I’ll have to get back to building my fictional towns soon. New Haven, New York, and Yearly, Texas, won’t wait for long.

But first, we’ve had a few new additions! Two goats named Ginger and Maryanne. We have a new sheep, a ewe, named Marmalade, and tomorrow will welcome two more new arrivals. Pictures soon!

Choose Joy today, friends!

And, as always, if you need a bit of a pick-me-up, drop me a line. I’d love to hear from you!

 

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CHECK OUT THESE BOOKS!

Enter to win one of FIVE $50 gift cards in LitRing’s Fall Into Books Giveaway. Each entry gives you a chance to win! But you’ll see that no one loses with all these great books to discover! Ready to dive in?

Enter below!

 

https://www.litring.com/fall-into-books/.

Behind My Camera

Last week, I was trying to catch a shot of my “idyllic life.”

This is the morning shot I was going for.

Pretty sweet, right? (: One of the many reasons we love it out here.

But this is what was happening behind the camera.

I flipped my camera around to “selfie” mode.

That’s my livestock guardian dog, Coal, breathing sweet nothings about bacon and whatever else his hungry heart could come up with. In my ear.

The forward view… Literally, like, five seconds later.

Mountain Girl was not a happy ewe. You know. Since my phone still isn’t food.

This is a great illustration of how everything can so often look one way from the outside, but really only be a small part of the story. This applies to families in the restaurant, to people on social media, or even to the jerk behind me in the drive-thru line.

Stuff isn’t always what it seems, and mountains might be moving, lives might be changing just out of sight. Whatever your mountain is. Don’t give up.

#KeepOn #ChooseJoy #LetsGetThereTogether

Thanks for reading my stories (both real-life and fiction) and for tagging along on our adventures!

~Bokerah

P.S. We’ve had more babies! (: Twin boys this time.

***If you need encouragement today, hit me up.

I’d love to cheer you on.***

 

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Here’s that giveaway, darlings.

Supernatural Prize Pack (Click here)

 

 Supernatural Prize Pack (Click here)

Giveaway ends August 29, 2018, so get there in a hurry!

 

Supernatural SuperFan Giveaway + Waiting on Babies…

I’ll have a fiction freebie next week.

But, in the meantime, I’m sitting out here in this field, waiting on labor to kick in. You know, the kind where there’s bellowing and pushing and then a baby at the end?!

Okay. Okay. It’s NOT my labor that I’m waiting on. I’m not even waiting on a human. Though, I am waiting on kids.

My goat nannies are about ready to pop.

 

One already did. Poker had twin girls earlier this week.

Since I’m out here waiting on the babies, I found something special to keep you busy.

Here’s a fantastic giveaway!

Supernatural Prize Pack

 

 Supernatural Prize Pack

Giveaway ends August 28, 2018, so get there in a hurry!

 

Interview with {Sarah Ashwood}

“On Earth, Annie’s voice brought her fame and fortune. In Aerisia, it brings her magic, but the cost of that power may mean the destruction of Aerisia itself.”

Hi, Sarah. I’m so glad you’re here! I want to thank you for agreeing to chat with me about your career as a writer and your latest fantasy work. First, though, tell me about you and why you write fantasy. What is it about the genre that you love?

I grew up loving Disney fairytale movies (Sleeping Beauty was my favorite), and that drew me into loving and reading fairytales. Loving fairytales drew me into loving fairytale related themes, such as knights and castles, warriors, dragons, fairies, etc. Along with that, a favorite book of mine growing up was the time travel book Max and Me and the Time Machine by Gery Greer, where two boys buy a time machine and accidentally travel to 12^thcentury England. Actually, I still love that book! It sort of introduced me to the idea of travelling back and forth between worlds. As I got older, I fell into Lord of the Rings, Robert Jordan, and others of the fantasy greats. All of these things together produced an enduring love of the fantasy genre, specifically portal fantasy, which is what I tend to write. I guess the main things about fantasy that I love is how it combines a little bit of everything!

What inspired your latest new release? Tell me about those characters. 

Several things inspired it. I enjoyed the male MC, Cole, so much in my Sunset Lands Beyond trilogy where he was a side character that I wanted to tell his story. He is Simathe, which is a non-human race of immortal warriors in my fantasy world, Aerisia. At first glance, the Simathe appear very cold and dispassionate and emotionless, but if you dig deeper you see they have a strong sense of honor and are committed to the preservation of their homeland, even if their methods are sometimes considered suspect by outsiders. Out of all my Simathe, Cole was the most…outgoing, I guess you could say? And I wanted to showcase him in his own book.

 Also, in this new series, which is related to my first Aerisia trilogy, I wanted to take a closer look at some of Aerisia’s unique races and their worlds. Aerisian Refrain, the first book of my brand-new Beyond the Sunset Lands series,delves heavily into the world of Aerisia’s fairies, their mysteries and their magic. Subsequent books in the series will deal with the Moonkind, people of the moon; the Warkin/Dragonkind, people who live with dragons; and then the Simathe culture itself.

Lastly, I wanted to explore a connection between music and magic, so I created the female MC, Annie Richards. She’s a powerhouse singer/entertainer on Earth, who is brought to Aerisia by creatures straight out of her nightmares. Here, she discovers the power behind her voice is magic, the legacy of creatures long-banished from Aerisia. Along with all this, Annie is part Cherokee, so I really enjoyed waving aspects of Cherokee folklore into this book as a celebration of her heritage. 

As a writer, what is the hardest part of the creative process for you?

Whew. Well, finding time to write when my kids—3 boys, ages 6, 4, and 2—are otherwise occupied. Like at naptime or bedtime.

What feeds your creativity? What do you do if you have writer’s block? Does that happen to you?

I would say reading and music both feed my creativity. Also working out and running. That really freshens my mind, I think. If I get writer’s block, going for a nice run will open my mind. If I can’t get out of the house to run, I’ve been known to find inspiration while housecleaning. Honestly, just the act of getting up and moving around helps.

What’s the most interesting place you’ve been?

Oh my, that’s hard to say. I’ve actually visited 49 of the 50 United States, so I’ve been lots of interesting places. The giant Sequoias in California, Multnomah Falls in Oregon, Niagara Falls, and the Grand Canyon are some of my favorite places I’ve visited.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?

Oh Rome, for sure. I’m obsessed with the ancient Roman Empire. It’s a life goal to visit Rome someday.

What do you hope readers take away from your books?

Good feelings, I hope. Also a sense of good triumphing over evil. I deal with some hard issues in my books, but I do not like sad endings, so I never plan to write a book that leaves readers with a sense of hopelessness or despair. We have enough of that in real life.

Remind me once more about your latest release and where we can find your books.

My latest release is Aerisian Refrain. It’s the first book in a brand new series, Beyond the Sunset Lands. Although it is related to my Sunset Lands Beyond trilogy, you don’t have to have read the one to enjoy or understand the other.

Brief description: “On Earth, Annie’s voice brought her fame and fortune. In Aerisia, it brings her magic, but the cost of that power may mean the destruction of Aerisia itself.”

You can find all of my books here on my website!

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About Sarah Ashwood

Don’t believe all the hype. Sarah Ashwood isn’t really a gladiator, a Highlander, a fencer, a skilled horsewoman, an archer, a magic wielder, or a martial arts expert. That’s only in her mind. In real life, she’s a genuine Okie from Muskogee who grew up in the wooded hills outside the oldest town in Oklahoma and holds a B.A. in English from American Military University. She now lives (mostly) quietly at home with her husband and three sons, where she tries to sneak in a daily run or workout to save her sanity and keep her mind fresh for her next story.

Sarah’s works include the Sunset Lands Beyond trilogy and the fantasy novella Amana.

To keep up to date with Sarah’s work and new releases, sign up for her newsletter. You can also visither website, or find her on Facebook, Pinterest,Instagram, and Twitter.

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You can also read some of Sarah’s marvelous work here.