So it's Sunday again. This marks week three of actually managing to update my blog, go me :D Happy summer solstice everyone! So far it's been a wonderful spring and a promising look into summer. The weather has been great. Warm and sunny, with periodic rain to water everything. It's been so nice that a lot of the flowers, like the daisy's and foxglove, all bloomed earlier than usual here. They normally don't start blooming until mid June. But they are past their prime already and almost done. We had daisies in full bloom in May.

There's so many activities I want to do with the kids, the beach, zoo, picnics, camping, that I can already feel fall encroaching. This summer is going to go by in the blink of an eye.

I'm finally past the halfway point in my revision of Flight. At this rate it's going to take me another two weeks before I'm done *sigh*. I'm hoping it will pick up speed. Keep your fingers crossed.

Now, for anyone who hasn't seen my twitter or FB, Emergence started a kindle countdown sale yesterday. As of this moment it is at .99c for the next 4 hours then it goes up to $1.99 for 40 hours. It will be on sale until Saturday. So if you got the paperback but want the kindle as well, or just haven't gotten it yet and want to, now's the time. It won't go on sale again until after Flight is released.

So, today I guess I'll leave you with a few pictures I had planned to upload from RadCon back in February. Better late than never, ;D

I had a beautiful blog post. It was wonderful. I came up with it in the shower. And when I got out, it was gone. Now you'll have to make do with this one.

Slow... Why does it have to be so slow. <grin>  So the revision on flight is in progress. I got all of the Beta's back. I smashed them all together (thank you combine feature) and got to work. I love that feature. Putting them all together in one document really lets me see the places where more than one person has commented on the same problem. Not to mention I only have to go through the document once.

At first glance, as I scanned through each as they returned, I didn't think there would be much in the way of drastic changes. So I was optimistic that I would get through it quickly. I have a rainbow of Beta's ;) Each specializes in different things. Some are writers who give me great feedback based on knowing the craft of writing, others are nit pickers who find my grammar or punctuation or redundancies. Then I have readers who don't necessarily know craft but they know my story, both past and future. Then there are the cold readers. The people who I hope will one day pick up my story just to read it. It's amazing what they find.

I love having so many different viewpoints to help me make my story better. The comments, while at first glance seemed straight forward, when I got into them really caused me to delve deeper. Showing places where the reader wanted to know more that I didn't see for the forest. The end result comes in new scenes, characters that didn't have as much screen time have found the light of day. Questions that weren't important to me I now realize I need to answer. It's an exciting thing. I know that it's stereotypical for writers not to want to change their babies. But I love (and hate, lol) the revision process. I don't have a problem whacking out phrases, lines or even entire scenes if they aren't working. Sure, some times there's a touch of whine (but I liked that) But on the whole if it doesn't work it goes. And I can always see the improvement for the pruning. Makes the tree more healthy.

So that's where I'm at this week. I'm only a quarter of the way through instead of done like I had hoped. But I really like the direction it's going. Now that school is out I'm hoping I can move faster, keep your fingers crossed.

It's amazing how fast time can go by. I had thought I would post updates after Radcon, and any number of other times since then. But somehow I always feel self conscious about what to say. Even when I have awesome stuff to report :)

Radcon went amazingly well. Not having ever sold in person before I took my box of books and figured it was way more than I needed. But I got the shock of my life when I nearly sold out that box over the weekend. I want to thank all the wonderful readers who were interested enough in my book to take it home with them. I can't wait to go next year. And by then I should have 4 titles in hand.

So, in an effort to try and actually stay on top of the blog I've decided to work at making sure I make a blog post every Sunday. Even if I have no idea what to say, lol.

This week is easy, so much time has passed that there's lots to talk about. First on the list is Flight, the second book in the Genesis Chronicles. I have gotten it back from all the Beta readers and just today started the revision. I'm 35 pages in and hope to have it off to the editor by the end of the week.  After that I'll be able to hopefully lock down Flight's release date, but I'm hoping for the beginning of August :D

While Flight is out visiting I'm going to finish up the second draft on Sundered, the first of the Cambion novels. A paranormal romance about the Kelusis, the race of Incubus/succubus which are symbiotic with humans. I can't wait to dig deeper into this story.

On a super exciting note I got a wonderful piece of fan art from J. Voss.  At the moment in my writing if I had to pick one favorite character it would be Kieran, so I can't say how happy this made me.

And in so many ways it means 'I've made it' to me. My ultimate goal with my stories is to make someone feel. And to influence someone to dream about it to the point that they want to make something, fan art or fic, is a dream come true.

And I wanted to share it with you. :)

So, the moment I’ve been waiting for (and of course all of you too, right?) has finally arrived.  The first book in the Genesis Chronicles, Emergence, is finally available for sale.  Both the trade paperback and the ebook are available at amazon.  But you can also buy the trade paper through my createspace estore front if you click this link.

It’s been twenty-five years since people started to change in the Pacific Northwest…  Since the emergence of the first Valkyries.  Most find it easier to pretend the problem doesn’t exist.  That the contagion isn’t something that can touch them.  Unfortunately the next to transform, and sprout wings, could be anyone.

Most of all, Jessica Reuther wants nothing more to do with Valkyries.  But when a recovery team comes for her, she becomes the contested bone among the wolves.  And a vicious game of tug-o-war ensues while she is forced to face a reality she prayed would never come.  In the wake of her metamorphosis, a new kind of change begins to sweep through the fledgling race, one that could have devastating consequences for humanity.

Emergence is the first instalment in the Genesis Chronicles series.  The second book, Flight, is in revisions at the moment and will be released later this summer.  If you would like an appetizer of the start of the book, I have posted the first four chapters under the books button at the top of my website.

And Merry Christmas, Yule, and all the other holiday’s I’ve missed writing about.

It’s been a very good holiday season here for us.  Today the sun is shining bright on a cold frosty morning.  The water is clear out over the straight.  We don’t get days like this often enough.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good rain storm but when its weeks straight it
 
gets pretty boring.  I’m sure I would get sick of sun if it was out all the time too.

The holiday season was beautiful.  We decorated inside and out.  And had family come from far and near to celebrate with us.  The kids are at an age where staying home was important to them.  It’s the first Christmas they both remember having at home and they made
the most of it.  The hustle and bustle and hecticness was fun but it is nice to start to get back to our own schedule. 

With the end of the holiday’s and this bright shiny day out, can’t help but start to dream about spring. And what better way than setting up our seed order for our garden this year.  Our favorite seed supplier is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  If you haven’t heard of them I highly recommend looking them up for your seed needs.  They are all non-gmo and organic seed.  I also really like 
potatogarden.com.  They sell great potatoes to grow.

So the huge dreams of bountiful garden harvest have begun.  Only the passing of the year will show how close to the dream we come, but the journey will be fun and worth it.

On the writing front, we are stepping closer to that dream accomplished.  Cover concepts are being thrown around for Emergence.  And if we are lucky it’ll be more than a concept soon.  As soon as Emergence is out the gate then I can finish the last of the first draft of Dae’s book, the first Cambion novel I have planned.  Then on to the edits for Flight of the Valkyrie, the book after Emergence.

The work plan for the year is etching itself out into the calendar and if we can stay on the road it’s looking like it’ll be an excellent year.

I hope all of yours will be as bright and sunny  :D

Hello from the far reaches of the Olympic Peninsula.  The rain forest is actually a few hours drive from us, but you couldn't tell that from the mud this summer.  It has been a very cold, wet year. 
This is a picture of a six week old cashmere goat.  He and his twin sister are the first babies born to my 6 year old son's goat Dorcus.  She has been an amazing mother.  Raising her twins effortlessly.
The great reclamation project has begun.  The job situation has us living and working three hours away from the farm, and that has taken a toll.  But we are getting back home and starting to get it ready for us to spend more time there again.
I wish I had thought to take before and after pictures of the garden.  One year of neglect (two growing seasons) has caused mother nature to over take us.  A huge blackberry grew up at the corner of our house.  The bush was ten feet tall by twenty feet in diameter.  One year unchecked.  That was all it took.  I expected to find sleeping beauty when we got through it.
It will take a few more trips to bushwack our way through the jungle of the garden to have unimpeaded access to the house.
We did manage to reclaim the lillys and an old rose.  And much to my three year old daughters delight we planted a couple of flowers.  She has been very distressed at not being allowed to pick flowers in the city.  So I got her some black eyed susans.  She won't be able to pick them right away, but the prospect is there and she was very excited.  I'll try and remember to get a couple of pictures of the plantings. 

So, it looks like the height of summer has impacted my writing life.  And the near future looks the same.  Sorry for the unexpected hiatus on The Equilibrium Saga.  Poor Ashton and Silren are going to just have to continue bleeding to death in his mother's garden for a couple more weeks.  I will endeavor to get a few episodes ahead in between the summer activities. 
We have nice weather here in Seattle and I'm taking advantage of it as often as possible.  Since I won't be able to put up story episodes I'll make an effort to post more regular blog posts with pictures of our activities.  We have family from out of state visiting this coming week so there will most definitely be beach pictures.
And if you want something different from Equilibrium to read, I posted the prologue to a book I'm working on in the Hub forums.  Let me know what you think if you feel like it.

Thanks for stopping by,
Siana.

Summer has landed in Seattle!  Beautiful, sunny, hot (for us 70’s and 80’s is hot, lol).  We are heading into week number two of lovely weather.  And my phone app has it projected out for the next ten days, at least.  So now I need to figure out how to schedule my time to make sure I still get some writing done, while doing all the summery-fun things with the kiddlets that I’m really looking forward to.  A zoo trip is a given, along with a family favorite of picnics J  We have a great park close by that we can run up to for a quick lunch, or dinner, picnic whenever we get the motivation.  But with this stretch of weather before us, I really want to go camping.  We’ll see if I get it on the agenda. 

This past weekend I spent at Westercon.  Four days of awesomeness.  I shared the time with one old friend and two new friends.  Who didn’t feel new at all with how well we all clicked.  I hope we get the opportunity to do it again sometime.  I attended panel after great panel.  Met wonderful people and learned a lot.  But most of all had a great vacation from life.  I think I needed that. 

This week’s episode of Equilibrium was a lot of fun to write.  It didn’t fight me tooth and nail but just flowed out.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.  Tonight’s release of The Equilibrium Saga is Reveille Part 2.

Upon the advice of the fearsome Nightmare, of all things, our heroes flee the tainted gate in search of another.  Can Ashton deal with the knowledge of this gate’s location?  And can he survive the darkness that surrounds it… and something more precious?

 

Do you like how the story is turning out?  What do you all think?  We are still in the very beginning and there’s a lot more to come.  I would love to hear comments and have some discussion on it.  Either on the social networking site you found me through, or over in my blog, itself.  Come and ask a question, or leave a comment on the forum.  

And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  Meetings part 1. 

http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html 

You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar. 

Thanks for reading,

Siana.

I hope everyone in the US is having a wonderful holiday?  We are going for a family picnic at a local park with friends.  The kids will get to run around while we adults get to visit, then off to another friend’s for a spectacular view of the evenings fireworks over lake Union.

That leads us to the postponement of tonight’s episode.  There is just too much holiday fun today.  So the first installment of Reveille, chapter four of The Equilibrium Saga will be posted tomorrow evening.

After returning home to find a year has passed without him, and having both the normal and paranormal threaten his life, Ashton has finally realized that it is time to discover the full potential of his powers.  But is it too late?  For the darkness threatens his new friends, and chokes off the means of finding the one who can bring his gifts to fruition…

Do you like how the story is turning out?  What do you all think?  We are still in the very beginning and there’s a lot more to come.  I would love to hear comments and have some discussion on it.  Either on the social networking site you found me through, or over in my blog, itself.  Come and ask a question, or leave a comment on the forum.  

And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  Meetings part 1. 

http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html 

You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar. 

Thanks for reading,

Siana.

It is that time of the week again.  The fourth part of Rip Van Winkle from the Equilibrium Saga is set to come out tonight. And I wonder about this announcement. I use it as a place to talk a little bit about the story, and what has happened, or might happen.  And also (especially for those who find this post on a social network site) to give a link to the beginning of the series.  I reserve the story blog only for the story.  So that sort of post doesn’t work there. My question is… Is it annoying to get a post without the story?

And maybe I just worry too much, lol.

Last week, Ashton unwillingly found himself by the park where he had previously been taken away by the Unicorn, Silren.  In his confusion, he was both confronted by a gargoyle and shot at by an unseen enemy. He would be dead if it wasn’t for his new friend and a detective, who is certain Ash has a connection to the recent murders.  As they flee to take Ash to safety, he has to wonder what exactly his life has been saved for.  And does he want to know the answer?

Do you like how the story is turning out?  What do you all think?  We are still in the very beginning and there’s a lot more to come.  I would love to hear comments and have some discussion on it.  Either on the social networking site you found me through, or over in my blog, itself. Come and ask a question, or leave a comment on the forum.   

And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  Meetings part 1.  

http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html  
 
You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar.  

Thanks for reading,
Siana.

Happy Summer Solstice everyone.  (well, everyone on this hemisphere, lol)  We have a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest.  Sunny and (almost) 70 degrees.  A great day for a trip to the park with the kids.  Which is the plan for our afternoon.  They get to run around and play, while I sit in the grass with my outlines.  Couldn’t ask for a better way to celebrate the new season.  How did you all enjoy the day?  I hope everyone’s weather has been as nice as ours.

It is Wednesday again. And time for the next installment of the Equilibrium Saga.  Part three of Rip Van Winkle will be released tonight.  7 pm PST.  Last week we left Ashton standing on a street corner, staring at the park near his old work.  With no idea about how he came to be there.  Last he knew he was in the middle of an argument with his mom.  In her kitchen!

New allies and old are drawing near.  And the first ominous signs of the coming war filter into the worlds.  Darkness is spreading.  Will Ashton’s light be enough?  


Do you like how the story is turning out?  What do you all think?  We are still in the very beginning and there’s a lot more to come.  I would love to hear comments and have some discussion on it.  Either on the social networking site you found me through, or over in my blog, itself. Come and ask a question, or leave a comment on the forum.   

And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  Meetings part 1.  

http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html  
 
You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar.  

Thanks for reading,
Siana.