Eolyn's Fall Equinox Sale

The Kindle and Nook editions of Eolyn will be on sale for $0.99 this weekend only.  If you don't have your copy yet, now is your chance.  If you have your copy, please spread the word, so your friends can enjoy the magic, too! 

Speaking of Kindle, the Kindle Book Review recently posted a very nice review of Eolyn, describing the novel as "masterfully written".  You can read the full review here.

I have a new author interview up on the Reading Cat this week.  Find out how I started writing, what my favorite food is, and what I really think about love.  My Orangeberry Book Tour continues Monday, September 23, with a guest post at Just My Opinion.

If I haven't given you enough virtual places to visit yet, don't forget Heroines of Fantasy.  Mark Nelson is back with us for the autumn season with a fun post on how to define productivity.  On Monday, guest author Louise Turner will join us.  Louise is just a week away from launching her debut historical fiction novel set in 15th century Scotland, entitled Fire and Sword. I cannot wait to read it!

And if you want a real place to visit, come join us in Blue Springs Missouri this Saturday for the Wordstock Poetry and Book Festival.  Organized and sponsored by Prospero's Parkside Books.

Enjoy the harvest moon this weekend, and whatever you do, celebrate fall equinox in style.  I'll be back with more news and updates next week.

Sequels and Secrets

Here's the most difficult part about writing the companion novel to Eolyn: 

Every so often -- actually, more often than not -- I get very excited about something that just happened in the story, and I want to tell the world about it. 

I can't, of course.  Because these are the plot reveals and little details that will make the story rich and surprising for the reader, and as the author I have a moral (and commercial) obligation not to spoil that experience.  So I must bite my tongue, and sit patiently on all the delicious secrets of High Maga until the day you discover them for yourself and can let me know what you think. 

This is one of the reasons why I think I will always be a writer who needs to run in a pack; to have companion authors with whom to share the thrill of discovery involved in story telling.  People who can also help chart the course of the story, and tell me whether that 'brilliant' idea I just had really is brilliant, or whether it's a dud that would best be deleted before the larger public discovers just how bad a draft can be.  I'm very grateful to have companions in writing at the moment.  So thank you, Companions -- you know who you are -- for sharing the adventure.

I've been spending an inordinate number of weeks trying to figure out what Sir Drostan would do next, as part of a battle scene I'm crafting for the new novel.  Yesterday I had a chance to sit down with it again, and I think I am very very close to at last pulling all the threads together and making the scene work the way I want it to.  When I finish with Drostan, we'll be at about 105K for the current novel.  I'm estimating High Maga will wrap up at about 130K, though it may extend a shade longer than that.  If everything works out as planned, we will know by this summer.

Last week was a good week for Eolyn  on Amazon, as customers posted three more five-star reviews.  Here's what one of them had to say:

"It amazes me when I read a book that can transport me into a new world.  I loved this book...it was wonderful...delightful...exciting...I couldn't put it down and was surprised with the unpredictable ending.  I can only hope that there is continuation of the Eolyn saga!  PLEASE GIVE US MORE!"

What can I say?  It gives me a great feeling to read such positive feedback, and a lot of motivation to keep writing.

On Heroines of Fantasy this week, guest author Sandra McDonald picks up the topic started by Kim Vandervort last week, with her post Sensible Clothing for Heroines.  Please stop by to read and comment.

Also, remember Down to Earth 2012 is just around the corner, and Eolyn's birthday bash will follow soon after that. Stay tuned for more details.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you are in for a great week.

A Most Treasured Read

It's been a good week for reviews on Eolyn's Amazon page.  Three new reviews have been posted, all of them lengthy and detailed with respect to what worked and what did not work for them.  Coincidentally, each of the reviews posted this week also have some significant spoilers; so you may want to think twice before reading them through if you have not yet sat down with the novel.  In the meantime, here are some highlights:

Gastreich was able to weave recognizable bits of fairy tale, folklore and legend into the stories that surrounded Eolyn's childhood and education of her mystical inheritance. There's also a very strong thread of Feminism that runs through this book; and I mean that in an awesomely good way....The characters were so rich and intriguing, I absolutely loved them. 

-Trish Heinrich (3 stars)

The threads woven throughout "Eolyn" are not, as with most other books in this genre, neatly tied off and snipped, and they do not form a perfect tapestry depicting "Happily Ever After". Some of the most important characters in the story are portrayed as complex personae with ambiguous morality and hidden motivations that are never revealed. It is this aspect of the book that readers will find at once disturbing and disturbingly realistic...

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and it has already earned a place on my "Most Treasured" shelf. It is in a class of its own, and I hope to read more soon from Karin Rita Gastreich.

-Yin Haan (5 stars)

As a reader, there are certain topics or themes I really like in a book, certain tropes I particularly love no matter how many times I encounter them. Eolyn has a great many of my favorite fantasy tropes....The thing that made this book a joy to read and not just another familiar, commonplace fantasy novel is that each of these tropes were thoughtfully and deftly handled by Gastreich, often tweaked in satisfying and unexpected ways, and not just invoked as trite clichés that don't offer anything new or interesting to a reader...

I especially appreciated the feminist themes and questions of this book, which echo real life themes and questions in our world. (And isn't that precisely what good speculative fiction should do?) In the context of this particular fantasy world, Gastreich comments on sexism, sexuality, autonomy and personal choices, work vs. relationships, our relationship to our bodies and the natural world, and more. Her romance between Eolyn and the Mage-King feels true in its messiness and difficulties, and not just like a stereotypical fairytale. 

-Julia Dvorin (5 stars)

Thank you Trish, Yin-Haan and Julia.  I am delighted that you enjoyed the read, and really appreciate you taking the time to write such thoughtful and detailed reviews.


In other news this week:

Author Terri Guiliano Long is hosting the celebration For the Love of Love on her blog.  Over forty authors are posting short vignettes about the experience of love.  The event started on February 14 and will continue through February 22; I will be posting on February 22.  Please stop by to read the different contributions.  You can vote for your favorite every day, and by doing so will be entered in a raffle to win some fun prizes.  More information is available at Terri Guiliano's blog.

On Heroines of Fantasy this week, we've been talking about heroes, and especially heroes in love.  Please stop by to read everyone's thoughts and to share yours.  As always, it's been a fun discussion.  I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

Hugo Award Nominations

We've entered the season of nominations for this year's Hugo and Nebula Awards.  In order to nominate, you must be registered as a supporting or attending member of WorldCon by no later than January 31, 2012.  The deadline for award nominations is March 11, 2012.  Please visit the WorldCon webpage for more information about registration and the nomination process.

Several Hadley Rille Books titles and artists, including EOLYN, are eligible this year for nominations. If you are a member of WorldCon and would like to consider Hadley Rille titles for nomination, you can contact editor Eric T. Reynolds for a free pdf copy of the title(s) that interest you.  More information, including a complete list of eligible titles and artists, can be found at Eric T. Reynolds livejournal blog.

In other news, author DelSheree Gladden has finished reading EOLYN and posted her review this past weekend.  "Eolyn was a beautiful story," she writes, "one I highly recommend." To read the full review, please visit Gladden's blog The Edible Bookshelf. 

Last but not least, anyone up for a fun discussion should visit Heroines of Fantasy this week, where we are talking about the rules of magic, the foundations of magic, and magic as the "essential face of fantasy".  Please stop by to read everyone's thoughts and share your own.  Looking forward to seeing you there.  

Have a great week!

Christmas Treats

Looking for a break from the holiday madness? Join us this week on Heroines of Fantasy, where author Kim Vandervort invites everyone to Pause, breathe and read.




Speaking of holiday madness. . .

Just when I thought EOLYN updates might be slowing down as we approach Christmas, I actually have a lot of exciting news to share this week.

New customer reviews have gone up on Amazon, including this assessment from SavoirNoir:

Eolyn...is quite a change in pace in the epic fantasy. For one thing, it's quite iconoclastic in its treatment of sexuality, especially women's. For another, it has a well-thought-out and different magical system that though reminiscent of Raymond E. Feist, but has made it all her own. The journey of the eponymous heroine is at times harrowing, amusing, sensual but always human. Add to that a spash of Spanish realism that at times feels like Marquez and you have a quite different first novel that satisfies, in its own way, the many various tropes of an epic fantasy; Babe in the woods (literally!), revenge, sweeping war, and coming of age, even as it plucks with a more modern tone at the concepts of love and sex.

To read more customer reviews, please visit Eolyn's page on Amazon. And remember, Kindle and Nook editions of Eolyn are available for just $2.99 through the holidays!

One week from today, on December 19, I'll be participating in Adopt-an-Indie's blogtalk radio show, starting at 8:00pm EST. There is a great line-up of authors for this event, including our recent guests on Heroines of Fantasy, Carlyle Clark and Suki Michelle. Clark's and Michelle's spot will be at 8:20 EST; my slot (really, EOLYN's slot) will be at 9:00pm EST. Please mark your calendars with the date and time, and share the news with friends.

Now for the really great news: I was delighted to learn this past weekend that a pitch I wrote for the sequel to EOLYN, entitled HIGH MAGA, won first place in the Best Pitch Contest at thenextbigwriter.com In drafting the pitch, I had a lot of great feedback from authors and reviewers at tNBW, so a big thank you to everyone for all your help and support.

To celebrate, I'm posting the winning pitch for HIGH MAGA this week.  I'd thought to put this off a little longer, but what the hey -- It's Christmas.  This marks the first official preview of the sequel to appear on this blog.  (Drumroll, please!)

HIGH MAGA follows the story of Eolyn, a courageous and fiercely independent woman whose struggle to restore magic is set against a complex background of political intrigue, impossible love and pending war.

Eolyn, the last of the High Magas, founds a new coven in the isolated province of Moehn. The young girls she trains will, she hopes, revive a millennial tradition of women's magic.

Akmael, the new Mage King of Moisehén, must defend his land against invasion by the Syrnte, whose witch-queen has summoned long-banished creatures of the netherworld to aid her conquest.

When the Syrnte army descends upon Moehn, Eolyn's school is burned and her students killed, captured or scattered. Aided by Borten, a loyal knight of the king to whom she is increasingly drawn, and the devious and untrustworthy Mage Corey, Eolyn must escape the occupied province and deliver to Akmael the weapon that might secure his victory.

Their collective journey will test the limits of love and endurance, until Eolyn comes to understand -- perhaps too late -- that she also carries the shadow that could unleash Akmael’s doom.


. . .If you are among the growing number of readers anxiously awaiting the sequel to EOLYN, you'll be pleased to know that HIGH MAGA topped 90,000 words last week, and is scheduled for release in 2013. 

Thank you very much for stopping by.  I hope everyone has a great week.

EOLYN Past, Present and Future

This week on Heroines of Fantasy, I revisit one of my favorite holiday topics, ETA Hoffman's The Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King.  Please stop by to read the post, and join authors Kim Vandervort, Terri-Lynne DeFino and I as we celebrate Stories of Christmas Past. 

Also, Hadley Rille Books is offering the Kindle edition and Nook edition of EOLYN for just $2.99 through the holidays.  Magical reading at a fantastic price.  Take advantage of this great offer while it lasts. 

December has only just begun, and already I am reflecting on 2011 and thinking forward to 2012. 

2011 has been a great year for EOLYN.  Since we celebrated her birthday with Hadley Rille Books on May 7, the novel has sold to an international audience in hardcover, paperback, Kindle and Nook format, including readers from North America, Europe, Central America, Australia and Asia. (And if there are other regions of the world where she is being read that I haven't mentioned, please by all means, let me know!)

Some particularly memorable highlights from EOLYN's debut:

In April of this year, Publisher's Weekly gave the novel the following review:  Though Eolyn becomes the hope of a rebellion, she never has to carry the whole weight of the story; Akmael, the "witch" Ghemena, and other characters develop many intriguing facets. Gastreich allows her heroes to have flaws--including moments of cowardice--and some victories bring new sorrows. Vigorously told deceptions and and battle scenes will satisfy fans of traditional epic fantasy with a romantic thread.   

At the end of that same month, students at Avila University received a special preview of the novel at our Pre-Launch Party. The Launch Party on May 7 was held at the Writers Place in Kansas City, Missouri, and attended by an enthusiastic crowd, including guests from Chicago, Washington DC, the United Kingdom and Germany. 

Since then, EOLYN has made appearances at several booksignings and conferences, including Powell's Books in Portland OR, Prospero's Books in Kansas City, Who Else! Books in Denver CO, the KU Bookstore in Lawrence KS, ConQuest, Bubonicon, the Campbell Conference, and the World Fantasy Convention in San Diego CA.  The novel has also been favorably reviewed by book bloggers and authors such as Eliabeth Hawthorne, Carlyle Clark and Dane Grannon, as well as by customers on Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Goodreads. (By the way, if you have read EOLYN but have not yet posted a customer review, please take a moment to do so.  Help other readers decide if this is magical medieval fantasy is the right story for them.) 

EOLYN has also been added to the collections of public libraries across the United States. (If it's not yet available in your library, please take a moment to request it.  Help make this epic fantasy, with its strong female protagonist, available for everyone's enjoyment.)

So, what do we have planned for 2012?

Well, I'm just beginning to answer that question.  I would like to visit some new cons next year, and have put LunaCon, ConQuest, WorldCon and MileHiCon on my calendar for the moment.  In the next few days, I intend to meet with my editor regarding book signing venues, and will keep you posted about that.  Also, watch for more editorial reviews of EOLYN in coming months.  And there will be some special events and surprises. . .that I have to keep under wraps for the moment. 

2012 is also the year in which I plan to finish the sequel to EOLYN, scheduled for release in Fall of 2013.  Interested in a sneak preview of book two?  Keep your eyes on this site. . .

Happy Halloween

I had a special Halloween treat this week, with two more customer reviews appearing on Amazon. 

From W. Anderreg:  "The world was intricate, believable, both sinister and wonderful, and with a rich history."

And from Johnny F:  "Personally i would read the next 10 books from KRG, on the chance that i enjoyed just one of them as much as i enjoyed this."


To read the full reviews from both these Amazon customers, as well as other reviews that have been posted, please visit the Amazon Customer Review Page for EOLYN.

We just got back from a great weekend at the World Fantasy Convention in San Diego, CA.  I met many talented authors, participated in a panel on Exploration in Fantasy, listened to interesting discussions, and brought home a new stack of novels for my book shelf.  Also, we spent quality time with some good friends from college, explored tide pools along the sunny coast, and visited the San Diego Zoo.  All in all, it was a wonderful trip.

November is Adopt-an-Indie Month, and EOLYN will be featured along with other titles from independent presses and authors. New reviews will be made available every day, along with blog posts from authors and publishers about the "indie" experience.  I will let you know when the review for EOLYN is up, but keep an eye on the web site, as it is bound to be a source of a lot of interesting information during the month of November. 

This week we have a new guest on Heroines of Fantasy.  Terra Whiteman, author of The Antithesis, is sharing her thoughts on duality in fantasy.  Please stop by to read Terra's post, and share your comments and insights on the topic.

Those are the updates for today.  Again, Happy Halloween to everyone and have a great week!

New Reviews and Good News

EOLYN has two new customer reviews on Amazon.

From JElizabeth:  "Young readers will love the brave heroine and the thread of adventure that runs through the novel; adults will appreciate the social, political, and romance elements."

From kenaparsons:  "Gastreich's careful crafting of the friendship of Achim and Eolyn makes their bonds of devotion a power not eclipsed by political ambition, cruel sadism and thirsts for revenge. This is artisan storytelling at its finest - evokes yet transcends a tradition and confronts themes relevant to the reader within an alternate universe."

To read more from these as well as other customer reviews, please visit EOLYN's web page on Amazon.

In other news, this weekend I'll be at the Longview Literary Festival.  This two-day event will feature panel discussions, book signings, workshops and more.  I'll be participating in the following activities on Saturday, October 15:  Meet and Greet the Authors, Hadley Rille Reading, and the Panel Discussion "Self-Promotion 101".  Believe it or not, exact times are still up in the air, but the day will run from 10am to 6pm, and I'll be hanging out doing stuff the whole time.  Also, Hadley Rille Books will have a table, so please stop by to talk to Hadley Rille editors and authors, and to browse a great collection of Hadley Rille titles.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Last but certainly not least, discussion is fast and furious once again this week on Heroines of Fantasy.  Please stop by to read Kim Vandervort's post How Much Reality is Too Much in Epic Fantasy, and share your thoughts with us while you are at it.

Tomorrow We Ride South Together

The title for today's post is taken form a quote out of a soon-to-be-famous book by a largely unknown author. I chose it because it marks the end of one journey and the beginning of another; a new adventure that will not be undertaken alone, but in the company of good friends who share a common vision. 

It seems an appropriate quote for this particular moment in my internet life.  Next week, I will get on my virtual horse and trot over to another corner of the e-universe to begin a new project with fellow authors and esteemed Magas Terri-Lynne DeFino (FINDER) and Kim Vandervort (THE SONG AND THE SORCERESS, THE NORTHERN QUEEN).  Our project, entitled Heroines of Fantasy, is a new blog dedicated to the discussion of fantasy fiction in general, and women in fantasy in particular.  I wrote about this last week as well; if you'd like a preview of the new blog, please click HERE. 

It's been about a year and a half since I started this blog for EOLYN, and while I'm very excited about the new project, it's a bittersweet moment to be letting go of my weekly posts on this site.  I've really enjoyed sharing the backstory of EOLYN:  the history of Moisehén, the structure of its magic, the landscape in which its people live.  It's also been fun relating the journey of publishing this novel with Hadley Rille Books.  In a very real way, this blog has documented one of the most exciting periods of my life, and to be able to share it with all of you -- to feel your support and enthusiasm while bringing my first novel to press -- has made it a truly unforgettable experience. 

To give you an idea of how far Eolyn has journeyed since I started posting, here are a few fun figures:

Since its inception in May of 2009, the blog for EOLYN has received nearly 8000 hits. 

The countries most represented in terms of visitation have been the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Costa Rica (pura vida, mis amigos Ticos!), Australia, Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, Slovenia and France. 

The top five most popular posts to date have been:

Middle Magic

Women, Epic Fantasy, and George RR Martin

The Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King

Epic Love

Strong Female Protagonists

To learn what people are saying about EOLYN, check out the reviews on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Goodreads.  You can also read the full text of the Publishers Weekly review of EOLYN on this site. I have been very pleased with how people are responding to the novel; there's nothing more fulfilling for a story teller than to know you are telling a good story.

In so many ways, Eolyn's journey has only just begun, so while I will no longer be posting regularly on this blog, the story does not end here.  You can still come to this site for announcements and updates about events and signings, or friend Eolyn on Facebook to learn what con, bookstore or library I will visit next. 

In the coming weeks, I will probably reorganize this site to make the existing information more accessible to new visitors, so that http://eolynchronicles.blogspot.com/ will remain the best place to go for inside information about the novel and the world in which Eolyn lives.

And, if you would like to embark on a larger journey through magic and fantasy -- one that will include discussion not only about the world of Eolyn, but about many other worlds and their heroines besides -- please get on your virtual horse (or whatever your prefered method of fantasy transport is:  dragon, damselfly, magic carpet...) and 'ride south' with Kim, Terri and me to our new blog Heroines of Fantasy.  I know you will not be disappointed.

I want to thank everybody who has followed this blog over the last year and a half.  Your comments, support and readership have meant the world to me.  Thanks to you, the novel EOLYN is off to a grand start.  I look forward to seeing you next week at our new location, http://heroinesoffantasy.blogspot.com/, where we will begin brewing up some special magic just for you.

What People Are Saying About EOLYN

Hadley Rille Books editor Eric T. Reynolds once said to me, "Authors like to know they're being read." 

It's true.  When I first started writing EOLYN, my core motivation was simply the need to write; but as I began to share the manuscript with an ever-wider circle of readers and critics, the need to be read became increasingly important.  Now, with EOLYN in print, every time I hear it is being read -- and enjoyed -- it adds a spark of brightness to my day. 

Since its release this past May, EOLYN has garnered several reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, all of which have been positive.  That's not to say readers haven't had an occasional minor complaint, but for the most part people are enjoying the adventure.  Some feedback from Amazon readers:

"...a book to first savor at great length, and then revisit over and over again. Ms. Gastreich's characters become as real to the reader as the next-door neighbor, and much more beloved."

"...a great story that will take you on an emotional journey with romance and thrilling action."

"When it's summer within the story, you'll feel the heat....When it's winter, you'll feel the chill down to your bones. Ms. Gastreich's uncanny talent for truly creating a world her readers can become part of is a rare gift, and one she shares abundantly in Eolyn."

"Gastreich's Eolyn focuses on the emotional, political, and physical conflicts between powerful and three-dimensional characters."

"The ending is superb, both the climactic battle and its aftermath leaving no easy answers or trite successes: it's a real-world ending..."

"I cannot wait for her next book."

In addition to the Amazon reviews (which you can view in their entirety on Amazon's page for  EOLYN), it seems not a day has passed without someone somewhere mentioning a reader's enjoyment of this novel.  Word has come to me about friends of friends, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandchildren, adults and young alike, some connected to me, others not, but all finding a moment of escape and adventure in the pages of EOLYN.  Here are some comments you won't find on Amazon, as they have arrived through other channels:
 
"One of my birthday gifts to myself was to stay up until 1AM the night before so I could finish EOLYN."
 
"At first I didn't think I would be interested in the subject matter, however, the vivid descriptions made her characters come alive and the countryside so real, one could almost smell the forest."
 
"It was really surprising in the directions it took.  I enjoyed it a lot!  At first I thought it was a young adult novel, but it quickly changed into a much more politically charged book.  And I liked the ending a great deal..."
 
"I just finished your magical book Eolyn and now am ready for the second one. Hurry!"


All this to say, if you haven't yet indulged in the adventure of reading EOLYN, now is the time to do it.

The novel can be ordered online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, and is available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle editions (with the release of the Nook edition soon to come).  If you're feeling tight on your book budget (and don't have a Kindle or a Nook), look for EOLYN in libraries.  As of this writing, twenty-eight public library systems in eighteen states carry the novel.  For all you expats in my adopted country of Costa Rica, EOLYN is also available at the Mark Twain Library at the Centro Cultural Norteamericano Costarricenses. 

Check it out -- literally or figuratively.  You will not regret it.

FRIENDS AND FANS OF EOLYN IN DENVER:  I'm going to visit you next weekend!  Stop by Who Else! Books, 200S Broadway, Denver, Colorado, 80209, on Saturday, July 23, to talk about the novel in particular, and fantasy in general.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.  The fun starts at 3pm.  Hope to see you there!