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Busy, busy, busy writing and editing. Here are some links for you.
Authorgraph: You can get a number of my books electronically signed by me.
Article: The Anthology Balance. I wrote an article for the Locus blog about the balance between diversity and what sells. Hint: diversity sells.
Review: Shattered Shields video review by Other Realms Book Reviews. This is a first for me. Kind of exciting. She liked it.
Review: Shattered Shields. This one is from 50 Book Challenge. Another good review.
Podcast: Geekerati interviews me and Bryan Thomas Schmidt about Shattered Shields and a myriad of other things.
Horror Selfies: Read more horror! It’s good for your heart. Also, don’t forget about All Hallows Read. Give a scary book for Halloween.
I got tagged by Jody Lynn Nye to do this Character Blog Tour. Since I just typed “The End” on Chimera Incarnate, the fourth and final book in the Karen Wilson Chronicles, I figured this would be a nice wrap-up to the titular character.
1.What is the name of your character?
Karen Wilson
2. Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
She is a completely fictional character who is vaguely based on the looks and personality of several authors I know. I absolutely adore Karen.
3. When and where is the story set?
It is set in the modern day in the fictional city of Kendrick in Washington. It located between Port Angeles and Port Townsend around the left and bottom edges of discovery bay. In truth, I took the weirdness of Port Townsend and it historical weirdness of Seattle and riffed off it for Kendrick.
4. What should we know about him/her?
At the start of the series, Karen is a mundane 911 operator. Her parents worked in Emergency Services and she followed in their footsteps. Though she gains supernatural allies, she does not have any powers of her own. She is forthright, determined, and willing to take changes. This often gets her hurt.
5. What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
The main conflict is that the “Master of the City” has chosen Karen to be his representative because “she helps people.” Karen knows nothing of the unspoken rules to interacting with the supernatural factions of Kendrick and breaks them all. She forces the cold war into a hot one because the status quo isn’t healthy for anyone. But, as you might imagine, that doesn’t go well for Karen.
6. What is the personal goal of the character?
Now that Karen’s eyes have been opened to the supernatural dangers within Kendrick and threatening the city, she just wants to protect as many people as possible. She also wants to help forge a new understanding between the various factions. As an outsider, she is most qualified to do this. With some of her allies, she has a chance of succeeding.
7. Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
The Karen Wilson Chronicles is made up of four books: Caller Unknown, Children of Anu, Keystones, and Chimera Incarnate. These books are available on the publisher’s website, Amazon. Barnes & Noble, and DriveThruFiction.
8. When can we expect the book to be published or when was it published?
The first three books are already out and Chimera Incarnate will be out in March 2015.
I’m going to tag: M. Todd Gallowglas, Ivan Ewert, Dylan Birtolo, Peter M. Ball, and Wendy Hammer. They may choose to do this blog tour or not.
REVIEW: My anthology, Coins of Chaos, was reviewed by The Nameless Zine. They liked it.
INTERVIEW: Sarna.net interviewed me about The Nellus Academy Incident.
ARTICLE: FlickFilosopher wrote an article about the TARDIS Little Free Library I have in front of my house.
COVER REVEAL #1: The Future Embodied anthology has revealed its final cover by the amazing Galen Dara. This has my story, “The Bathory Clinic Deal,” in it.
COVER REVEAL #2: Evil Girlfriend Media reveals the cover for my anthology, Bless Your Mechanical Heart. The cover art is by the wonderful Larry Dixon!
COVER REVEAL #3: Baen Books has revealed the cover of my anthology, Shattered Shields, co-edited with Bryan Thomas Schmidt, by the talented Todd Lockwood.
I absolutely win the cover art game this week. I am happy dancing all over the place.
Interview: New Interview with me from Muse Hack.
TOC: SF Signal lists the table of contents for Shattered Shields, the military fantasy anthology from Baen Books edited by me and Bryan Thomas Schmidt. It will be released on 4 November 2014.
TOC: I’ve finished the story selection for Bless Your Mechanical Heart anthology from Evil Girlfriend Media and am in the process of writing up and sending out the story contracts. However, keep your eyes peeled on the EGM website for the official TOC and all that.
Cover art: New book cover for The Nellus Academy Incident, my YA Battletech novel and the story of how it came to be.
Open Call: Reminder that Apocalypse Ink Productions is open for linked novella queries for modern day dark speculative fiction.
Guest Blog: I talk about why Human for a Day is my favorite anthology edited so far.
Interview: Pat Flewwelling (who has the coolest last name) interviewed me for Nine Day Wonder with an editor’s focus.
Interview: Dave Gross interviewed me for his Creative Colleagues blog series. We talked about keeping a schedule and balancing editing versus writing and RPGs.
Review: A starred review in Publishers Weekly – Elementary: All-New Tales of the Elemental Masters – I have a story in this set in the wild west called “The Price of Family.” It’s a dark story.
Recommendation: Broodhollow. A lovely, creepy webcomic by Kris Straub set in the 1930s. You should start at the beginning. It’s got a subtle wrongness to it on top of the outright horror.
I’m about to run off to a long family reunion / vacation thing. So, me on the internet might be scarce. Though, I always have Twitter and my phone. The cat / house sitter has the usual instructions to text me daily cat pictures and to spoil them rotten. In the meantime, here’s a link round-up: an interview, an announcement, a photo, a release!
First up, I was interviewed on Jim Knipp’s blog.
Rogue Games has announced my book, Colonial Gothic: The Lost Colony.
David Mitchell and his brother did a horror photo based on my In a Gilded Light collection story “Finishing Touches.”
And a reminder that my Coins of Chaos anthology is released on Oct 15 while I’m away.
First up, I was interviewed on Alethea Kontis’ website for her MoAA Interviews series. It was a fun little interview.
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The Cascade Writers Workshop was a really good small writers conference. About 100 people in total—I believe. Admittedly, I was a second stringer with all my lectures competing with the likes of Cameron McClure and Nisi Shawl. Still, I really enjoyed the lectures and panels I did. This conference was a relax-a-con for me over all. It was, basically, a writers workshop for introverts, by introverts. Low impact and everyone understanding when someone ran back to their room to “work.”
The highlight of the conference for me, as always, is the people I meet—both new and familiar. On the new side of things, I got to meet Tor Books Senior Editor Claire Eddy, Donald Maass Agent Cameron McClure, and Evil Girlfriend Media President Katie Cord. All three women are delightful and great to talk to. I think I have found an evil twin in Katie. There are already plans in motion. Keep your ears open about a forthcoming project or two between me and Evil Girlfriend Media.
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The other hat I wore was my small press publisher hat as JayWake was hosted in the same hotel Saturday night. Jay Lake and Apocalypse Ink Productions decided that JayWake would be the perfect place for a book release party and a JayWake limited edition of his Process of Writing book. We had 50 hardback copies and they all sold out. We have 1 held back for a official release date contest along with a JayWake pin and a smooshed penny.
I must admit, it was a hard, weird, good evening for me. I was so happy to see Jay so tickled pink. I was happy so many people loved the book. But, at the same time, the reason for the party was hard. Really hard. I’ll admit to hiding behind my wall of table and books and just listening to the laughter of the roast… and not much more.
Sale: I just signed the contract for “A Nightmare for Anna” for a forthcoming anthology “By Faerie Light.” Sounds like it’s going to be a fabulous anthology.
Interview: Designer’s Diary: Savage Mojo – Shanghai Vampocalypse (Suzerain) – http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=35173
Publication: Happy new book to me! I’m very pleased with CHILDREN OF ANU, the second book in the Karen Wilson Chronicles. It was edited by the awesome John Helfers and the cover image is by Amber Clark of Stopped Motion Photography. The girl on the cover of the book is a representation of one of the villains in the book, 14 year old Victoria Mordecai.
Health: I started using Fitbit just over a month ago. Numerous authors talk about how a healthy mind contributes to a healthy body. I believe it. Thus, Fitbit. There’s something in the awareness of movement and steps taken that make me want to do more. To improve. It’s kind of like having a word count makes me want to write more. I’ve made a concerted effort to move more – number of steps taken and number of flights climbed. It feels good.
Freelance Gig: I’ve been working on a quiet freelance gig for a while. Now I can talk about it. Along with writing for the Shadowrun Returns kickstarter anthology with a story called “Lock and Key,” I’ve been writing and editing on the Shadowrun Returns videogame. I’m loving the work even though it’s hard and sometimes the hours are long. I really think those of you who like videogames will really enjoy it. I’m really happy to be working on it with such fabulous people at Harebrained Schemes.
Sale: Also in the Shadowrun universe, I’ve signed a contract to write a Shadowrun novella focused around a High Threat Response Team Doc Wagon team. Tentatively titled: A Day in the Life of a Lifesaver.
Convention: From June 12-16, I will be at Origins Game Fair as part of their Library. I will be appearing on panels and manning a table selling my books. Please come by and say hello. Get a book signed. There’s a no shyness zone around me. Here’s my list of panels:
I have a new interview up at Roleplayers Chronicle. Lots about Colonial Gothic and Shanghai Vampocalypse.
There is a SFWA Reading on Tuesday, the 23rd, in Kirkland.
I will be reading at Soul Food Books in Redmond on Wednesday, the 24th with Brenda Cooper, Keffy Kehrli, Cat Rambo, K.C. Ball, and Caren Gussoff. It starts at 7pm.
I sold “A Card Given” to the What Fates Impose anthology, edited by Nayad Monroe.
Here’s the cover image of CHILDREN OF ANU. The character on the cover is a version Vicki. I love it! Cover photography by Amber Clark.
Interview: MIND MELD: SF/F Reading And Buying Habits In A Digital World.
Review: Horror Novel Reviews likes DANGERS UNTOLD.
Sale: I have sold my Shadowrun story, “Locks and Keys”, to the Shadowrun Returns kickstarter anthology edited by John Helfers. This anthology is based around a number of missions in the forthcoming game.
Cover: Final cover of BEYOND THE SUN anthology forthcoming from Fairwood Press. Isn’t it awesome. I love seeing my name on book covers. It never gets old.
Jennifer Brozek is a multi-talented, award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her YA tie-in novels, BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident and Shadowrun: Auditions, have both won Scribe Awards. Her editing work has earned her nominations for the British Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and multiple Hugo Awards. She won the Australian Shadows Award for the Grants Pass anthology, co-edited with Amanda Pillar. Jennifer’s short form work has appeared in Apex Publications, Uncanny Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, and in anthologies set in the worlds of Valdemar, Shadowrun, V-Wars, Masters of Orion, Well World, and Predator.
Jennifer has been a full-time freelance author and editor for over seventeen years, and she has never been happier. She keeps a tight schedule on her writing and editing projects and somehow manages to find time to teach writing classes and volunteer for several professional writing organizations such as SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She shares her husband, Jeff, with several cats and often uses him as a sounding board for her story ideas. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com or her social media accounts on LinkTree.
