BYWAYS: New Jersey

State Facts,

Byways Entries

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 #3 covers our third state—New Jersey. 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: New Jersey →

BYWAYS: A Peek at Book #5

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Book 02, Aboard the Train

“Girls, this is important,” Ewan said, talking fast. “The quickest way to reach Mister Nathan is if I carry both of you.”

“Two is too heavy,” Tamaqua said.

“Not if I Change.”

—excerpted from Byways Book #5: Inside the Tree

A Ewan Johns Adventure. I’ve been busy behind the scenes getting the next batch of Byways books ready for their May release. The fun part is definitely working with Hannah Christenson on cover illustrations. Today, I’ll share a sneak peek of an early sketch for the cover of Inside the Tree. Continue reading BYWAYS: A Peek at Book #5 →

BYWAYS: Hometown Challenge [Australia]

Postcards & Notecards,

Byways Entries

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] →

RAKEFANG: Barnes & Noble and Kobo

Book News

Good News! Rakefang is now live in the digital bookstores at both Barnes & Noble and Kobo.  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo

Galleries of Stone 03_Rakefang by CJMilbrandt

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 →

CHIT-CHAT: Adopt a Word

Anecdote

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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 →

RELEASE: Rakefang

Release,

The Trilogy is Complete!

Galleries of Stone Trilogy

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! >>

After years of searching for someone brave enough,
Tupper Meadowsweet finds her at Pennyflax & Quince.

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 →

FOLKS: Torio Kite

Folks, ,

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“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 →

COVER REVEAL: Rakefang

Preview, , ,

_Rakefang Header

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.

After years of searching for someone brave enough,
Tupper Meadowsweet finds her at Pennyflax & Quince.

Continue reading COVER REVEAL: Rakefang →