International Support. The Byways books may key off of the fifty states as their threefold adventure unfolds, but that doesn’t mean the race is limited to American fans. Much to my delight, a bundle of international postcards arrived from a reader in Australia! The photographs of Armidale in New South Wales show several facets of the city she calls home. Take a look… Continue reading BYWAYS: Hometown Challenge [Australia]
Spotted in SCBWI. When I flipped through the latest issue of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators magazine, my attention was snagged by an article called “Where’s My Editor?” by Kim Childress. Why? Because she’s one of my editors for the Byways books! Continue reading CHIT-CHAT: Where’s My Editor?
Good News! Rakefang is now live in the digital bookstores at both Barnes & Noble and Kobo. Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Rakefang finds Tupper Meadowsweet a young man by Flox reckoning, but he no longer fits in with his own people. Wild hair, stealthy grace, and foreign fashions make it obvious that he’s lived with Pred since boyhood. For three years, he’s been on the lookout for Continue reading RAKEFANG: Barnes & Noble and Kobo
I’ve been following wordnik since my first days on Twitter, participating in their (now defunct) daily challenge to use their Word of the Day in a sentence. I have fond memories of silly word-related contests, and I often retweet their List of the Day. Hey, I even won a wordnik t-shirt! So it’s only natural that when they began putting words up for adoption, I jumped at the chance to Continue reading CHIT-CHAT: Adopt a Word
Book Birthday! Today’s the release day for the third volume in the Galleries of Stone trilogy. Rakefang just went live on Amazon … and should be available soon in other book venues. BUY IT NOW! >>
Tupper Meadowsweet is a young man by Flox reckoning, but he no longer fits in with his own people. Wild hair, stealthy grace, and foreign fashions make it obvious that he’s lived with Pred since boyhood. Continue reading RELEASE: Rakefang
“I heard this mountain was guarded by a tiger,” the man rejoined, sounding wholly unconcerned. “They said nothing of a tigress.”
Ulrica snarled something in Terse, and he answered in kind. Switching back to Verit, she ordered, “Lift your lantern! Let me see how many lies are reflected in your eyes!”
He immediately obliged, and Tupper had his first good look at the traveler. Ragged clothes that must have been fine once. Dusty boots that had traveled far. Blue eyes with an audacious glint. A broad-brimmed hat adorned with a fluttering cascade of black feathers, gleaming green, purple, and gold in the lamplight. Curving talons at each fingertip. A prominent, beaky nose. The clues and cues took several moments to add up, but when they did, Tupper reached a dazzling epiphany. Real Grif weren’t red.
—excerpted from Galleries of Stone, Book 2: Harrow
The Stone Merchant. In the back half of Galleries of Stone, Book 2: Harrow, readers meet a Grif merchant by the name of Torio Kite. Continue reading FOLKS: Torio Kite
The third and final book in the Galleries of Stone trilogy is set to release in less than a fortnight, so it’s high time we did a cover reveal! Tupper Meadowsweet is no longer the newly-nubbed boy of ten who first arrived at the Statuary to cook and sweep. He turns sixteen in Rakefang, the age when most young Flox turn their thoughts to courtship.
Book Three. The third and final volume in the Galleries of Stone trilogy is due to release on Tuesday, February 24, 2015. As of yesterday, Rakefang‘s cover has been finalized, so look forward to Friday’s cover reveal! I’ve been swapping emails all week with Hannah Christenson, illustrator extraordinaire. Art peeks are my favorite kind of teasers, so I have to share! Continue reading COMING SOON: Rakefang
Last weekend, I attended the reception for the San Diego Public Library’s 49th Annual Local Author Exhibit. To take part, you contribute a book written during the previous year, which is then included in a huge display on the downtown library’s first floor. Continue reading NEWSWORTHY: Local Author Exhibit
Every Byways book is a story, but it’s also a game. There’s an educational element to this series of kids chapter books. Details in each story are borrowed from its assigned state. (As in the United States of America.) Byways will work through all fifty in order of ratification, so Book #2 covers our second state—Pennsylvania. Sharp-eyed readers will spot cities and towns, icons and emblems, famous firsts and claims to fame. Hide and seek. Search and find. Fun and learning. Continue reading BYWAYS: Pennsylvania
C. J. Milbrandt 