Progress on DAUGHTER OF AITHNE, and Plans for May

I've been working this week on a scene with a new character, Mariel.  She is one of Eolyn's students, part of a new generation of magas, and a maga warrior.

I like Mariel a lot.  She has a lot in common with Eolyn -- similar origins and temperament. I tend to think of her as the kind of maga Eolyn might have become, had she not been burdened with the love of a King. 

Not that I have any issues with the kind of maga Eolyn became.  I love Eolyn just as she is!  But Mariel enjoys a freedom that her tutor did not, in part because of the constraints of her relationship with Akmael.

As much as I like Mariel, things will go badly for her in this third novel. The noose is starting to tighten around Eolyn and her followers.  Mariel is one of the primary targets of the enemies of the magas; they know that if they get to her, they can bring down almost everything Eolyn has managed to rebuild in a single, devastating strike.  Worst of all, Mariel has no clue as to her own importance, or the danger she is in.

I'll stop there -- have to, or we will start getting into spoilers.

May is on the horizon, and it is going to be a very exciting month.  I'll be returning to Virginia Beach for another writing retreat this year with Terri-Lynne DeFino and eight other magnificent women writers.  I am so looking forward to that week; I can almost taste the salty air of the sea already!

The last weekend of May, as I hope all of you already know, is ConQuesT, Kansas City's own science fiction and fantasy convention.  It's going to be a great weekend with authors and fans from all over the country, and a few from beyond the borders as well. Guests of Honor include author Patrick Rothfuss, artist John Picacio, and editor Teresa Nielsen Hayden. 

Hadley Rille Books will be well-represented, with editor Eric T. Reynolds, and authors Terri-Lynne DeFino, Mark Nelson, Lawrence M. Schoen, Christopher McKitterick, and Mary C. Chambers, among others.  Artist Tom Vandenberg will also be there.  HRB will be launching Mark Nelson's second novel King's Gambit, which just received an awesome review from Publisher's Weekly.

As a warm-up to ConQuesT, Hadley Rille Books and Prospero's Parkside Bookstore are hosting a Tolkien night the Thursday before the con.  There will be reading and food contests, games, roundtable discussions, and all-around Tolkien revelry.  I'll be talking about this a lot more as the dates get closer and plans firm up, so please keep an eye on this site (or follow Eolyn on Twitter & Facebook) if you'd like more information. 

I invite you this week to visit Heroines of Fantasy, where my post on empathy and fiction has inspired some fun discussion.  Does reading make us more empathetic?  Or do empathetic people simply like to read more? Hope to see you there!