The Beauty of Darkness!
    It's almost here! And before I hit the road and the prepub craziness turns to a whirlwind of fun chaos, I wanted to take a rare quiet moment to thank you.  Thank YOU the readers.

   This journey began back in the fall of 2013 when the arc of The Kiss of Deception came out.  The Kiss of what? It was a brand new trilogy that few had heard of. But a few advanced readers read it, embraced Lia's story, and spread the word (thank you!) From there a few more read it, and then a few more. You went on this journey with us.  Yes, and with Rafe and Kaden too. By the time The Heart of Betrayal came out, there was an army of you rooting for this trio, and you spread the word even more!
Along the way, you tweeted, blogged, and instagrammed, sharing your thoughts with me and others. I giggled and laughed (the gifs!), admired your art and graphics, and loved your thoughts and reactions.

Now The Beauty of Darkness is almost here, and you are continuing to share and spread the word to new readers, for which I will forever be grateful.

THANK YOU to all for going on this journey with Lia--and me. One last leg to go!

Thank you too, for the many who have preordered this final book. It makes a huge difference and means the world to me. Thank you so much.

I leave on tour soon. I hope I'm coming to a town near you and we'll get to meet! If not, I hope at some point in the future I will make it to your hometown!

Here's where I'll be going.  If you click the links you can see addresses and store details.  (From most of these stores you can preorder signed personalized books if you hurry. Check with individual stores.)
 
   Tuesday, August 2nd, 6:30pm
Dove Library, Carlsbad, CA
  Wednesday, August 3rd, 7pm
Hicklebee's, San Jose, CA
  Thursday, August 4th. 7pm
University Bookstore, Seattle, WA
  Friday, August 5th 6pm
Tattered Cover, Aspen Grove,Denver, CO
  Saturday, August 6th 3pm
BookWorks, Alburquerque, NM
  Sunday, August 7th 3pm
Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, IL
  Monday, August 8th 7pm
Joseph-Beth Booksellers. Lexington, KY
  Tuesday, August 9th  7pm
Towne Book Center & Cafe, Collegeville,PA
  September 9, 2016 TIME TO COME
Chapters Metrotown, Vancouver, BC

Sending bouquets and love.

XO

First off, I want to clarify. . . this is not Lia's "official" kavah.
     The Remnant Chronicles are stories, and stories are made up of words that create images, so whatever image you imagined, IS what her kavah looks like. I don't own the words, I just put them down. (This applies to book covers too! They are not the final say on what a character looks like.) So, back to the kavah. Here's what The Kiss of Deception tells us about it:

•      There was a lion claw.
•      There was a vine.
•      It was made with a henna dye
•      Lia thought it was beautiful
•      That's it.

       So I doodled around and this was one possible way I thought the kavah might look--a little snip of grapevines and a lion claw. Lia's kavah was supposed to be temporary, lasting only a few weeks, but in Lia's case something went wrong (or maybe right?) and some of it became permanent. On my Pinterest page I have a bulletin board of henna body art and designs where you can see how elaborate they can be. Maybe these pictures will help spark some of your creative energy.

Now for the giveaway part!
What do you have to do to enter?  This:
1)    Draw a kavah! It's easy! There's a "blank" kavah below that you can add your own designs to (a fine point Sharpie works great. Just print the blank out on a piece of paper and have at it!) OR you can start from scratch. Interpret Lia's kavah for yourself. From badass to sweet, I'd love to see what you come up with!
2)    Post a picture of your kavah creation on Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr
3)    INCLUDE this hashtag in your tweet or post: #RemnantChronicles (This is a must!)
4)   Follow instructions on Rafflecopter entry below. Leave a comment. (edited to add: You don't have to wait to do this step last--you can do it now.)
The giveaway ends at midnight on 7/20/16

That's it! And yes, it is open internationally!

THREE random winners will get:
1)   A signed and personalized hardcover of The Beauty of Darkness
2)   A Beauty of Darkness heart-shaped fan! (for my amazing fans)
3)   A Remnant Chronicles Charm. Hang it from your purse, backpack, zipper, belt loop--your pony tail! Whatever suits you! Inside the little antique brass book it says, "In the farthest corner, I will find you."
4)   Signed bookmarks from all three books.
5)   A mini poster of the gorgeous map! (and the reverse side is the cover of The Beauty of Darkness)

And last but not least, the "blank" kavah I mentioned is below.
Have fun with this! Doodle your heart out! It is quite relaxing.
Or ditch the blank and create something entirely new!
I can't wait to see what you come up with! Neither can Lia!
XO

2015 was a wild, jam-packed year.
It left me tired, and breathless, and ever so grateful.
And as 2015 was winding down I was finally able to finish the  draft of THE BEAUTY OF DARKNESS, Book 3 of The Remnant Chronicles! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Milestone achieved!
Here's a Flipagram (My first one! Are you on Flipagram?) which gives you a quick glimpse of 2015--and what it's like writing a first draft while a whole LOT of other stuff is going on!
Deep. Breath.
THANK YOU to all of you who helped make 2015 an amazing year.  I loved that I got to meet so many new fans, and reconnect with old ones! And continued thanks for your blogs, tweets, instagrams, book tubes, and all the ways you spread the word about The Remnant Chronicles and embraced Lia, Rafe, and Kaden's world. YOU are the best.

And now 2016 is starting out with a bang!
MORRIGHAN, my e-novella which is a prequel to The Remnant Chronicles, is out on January 12!!! I'm very excited!  It's an ebook and there are lots of places where you can preorder and download it. My publisher has more information HERE on the remnantchronicles.com site.

I hope you love this tale the way I do. It started out as a short story, but then the characters of Morrighan and Jafir took hold of my heart, and a hundred pages later I was still engrossed in their world and lives. I learned their secrets, their hopes, and their sorrows even as I wrote the story. It was both heartbreaking and a joy to watch it unfold.

MORRIGHAN, is about the girl Morrighan, who is the namesake of Lia's kingdom, and also about Jafir, a boy from a clan of scavengers, two young people trying to survive on their own terms in a world that has been devastated by disaster. When they meet, history is changed forever, both for them and all the kingdoms of the Remnant yet to come.

Before borders were drawn, before treaties were signed,
before wars were waged anew,
before the great kingdoms of the Remnant were even born
and the world of old was only a hazy slate of memory told in story and legend,
a girl and her family fought to survive. And that girl’s name was Morrighan.
​

 So to celebrate a new year and two new books on the horizon, I think it's time for a giveaway! Don't you?  
Enter for a chance to win one prize package that includes:
One signed paperback of
​The Kiss of Deception
One signed map/poster
Remnant Chronicles Stickers

Go #TeamLIA!

Thank you for marking your calendars for January 12 and the e-novella MORRIGHAN!

​Happy New Year all! I hope the coming year brings you peace and the best kinds of challenges.

​XO