So being the little eavesdropper I am, I've noticed a couple of conversations here and there about the subject of Sean's sexuality in The Druid Stone. I've also seen the book shelved or categorized as "Gay for you" by various readers. Now obviously I have a lot of Thoughts on this topic, since Sean is half my baby, and I figured I'd share them here rather than intruding on reader spaces, my policy being strictly "Peep but don't poke".
As always, your interpretation of my writing is just as important as (if not more important than) my intention for the text. So think of these as some thinky-thoughts, not the Almighty Words Of The Author Which Make All Other Interpretations Incorrect. By all means, choose not to read this, choose to read it then disregard it, whatever. Or hell, treat it like the theories of any other reader. No need to prioritize my interpretation over anybody else's.
But for the curious, here's what I think, written up in a handy-dandy FAQ, of sorts:
Friday, 31 August 2012
Friday, 17 August 2012
The Druid Stone Update! Giveaway info and a favour to ask
The Druid Stone has now been out a little under two weeks! We spent a few days at 1 and 2 on the Carina most popular list, and broke the Top 50 of the Amazon Gay and Lesbian lists, our first time ever getting on any sort of Amazon bestseller list with a release (cool!). We've received lots of wonderful reviews, positive and critical, that have given us lots to think about. Our blog tour is going great, and we're getting elbow deep on work on a sequel starring a secondary character. Can you guess who?
If you've bought it or added it on Goodreads, thank you for your support. If you've reviewed it, thank you twice!
If you haven't yet bought the book, or you'd like to win some Irish bling, check out the following links for our giveaways!
Fiction Vixen Weekend Spotlight
(Ends today!) Read an exclusive excerpt of The Druid Stone and meet King Finnbheara. Leave us a comment for your chance to win one of two ebook copies of the book.
Carina Press Blog: Three Top Tips for Cowriting
(Ends Aug. 23rd) Learn a little about how Violetta and I cowrite all our books, as well as some advice on how to cowrite your own. Leave a comment to enter to win a super cute sterling silver pendant of an Irish triple spiral, which is featured heavily in The Druid Stone!
If you've bought it or added it on Goodreads, thank you for your support. If you've reviewed it, thank you twice!
If you haven't yet bought the book, or you'd like to win some Irish bling, check out the following links for our giveaways!
Fiction Vixen Weekend Spotlight
(Ends today!) Read an exclusive excerpt of The Druid Stone and meet King Finnbheara. Leave us a comment for your chance to win one of two ebook copies of the book.
Carina Press Blog: Three Top Tips for Cowriting
(Ends Aug. 23rd) Learn a little about how Violetta and I cowrite all our books, as well as some advice on how to cowrite your own. Leave a comment to enter to win a super cute sterling silver pendant of an Irish triple spiral, which is featured heavily in The Druid Stone!
(Ends Aug. 26th) Read about the trope of The Immortal Bisexual, from Jack Harkness way back to the Greek and Roman gods. Leave a comment for your chance to win a ebook copy of The Druid Stone.
And now for the favour:
I discovered last night that The Druid Stone is up for New Author Book of the Month on the Goodreads M/M group! Any author in this genre knows that to be featured there is awesome exposure for your book, so I'd like to ask that if you're a member of the group, and if you liked The Druid Stone or are interested in reading it, that you please vote for us in the second poll listed here! It would be very, very much obliged! :)
Monday, 6 August 2012
The Druid Stone is now available!
In the spring of 2011, I was a few months pregnant, mourning the somewhat sudden death of my grandmother, and dealing with a lot of mental health issues. Not surprisingly, my stressful job as a substitute teacher wasn't going so well. Basically, I was a wreck.
The one bright spot in my life was fandom, where I argued over favourite episodes, shared my love for characters, and wrote a whole pile of fanfic, which was the first time anybody had ever really read my writing. Violetta and I met each other through fandom; we edited one another's fanfic and even dabbled in co-writing. In May, she came to me with the idea that we try and take our enjoyment of co-writing and turn it into an original novel. We brainstormed, planned, argued a bit, and after months of work with the help and support of our fandom friends--especially April L'Orange and Emma (also known in cen_sceal), who edited our first draft--we wound up with a manuscript that would one day become The Druid Stone.
I don't want to get too terribly emotional about things, but this novel means a lot to me. I mean, I'm proud of everything I've written, and I've put all my heart into all of it every single time, but this novel is particularly special. Not only was it my first (that was finished, and saw the light of day, anyway), it kept me going during a rough spot in my life, kept me hoping, gave me something new to look forward to and explore. Opened up opportunities to me that I always thought were impossible. Getting accepted for publication by Carina Press out of the slush was a dream come true. Every day since has just gotten better and better.
So thank you. Thank you to the people who helped me realize this dream, my cheerleaders and editors and marketing people and reviewers and my readers, of course, who are the reason for it all. But thank you especially to Violetta for helping me make my dream come true.
(tears, flailing)
And now, without further ado, here's...
Five Facts about The Druid Stone
1. Since Violetta and I first met in Torchwood fandom, and because that fandom gave us so much support and joy, we left a few Torchwood-related Easter eggs throughout The Druid Stone, including a cameo by a well-loved character. (The scar on his face should be a clue!)
2. Violetta is a massive David Bowie fangirl. We channeled him when we wrote King Finnbheara, both the real life glam rock version and the King Jared one. We didn't manage to work in a reference to "the area", but I'm sure Sean noticed.
3. A specific scene from near the end of the novel, set in the mound, originally featured lyrics from the song "Wonderwall" by Oasis. In a later draft, those lyrics were replaced with less legally-dubious ones from a song in the public domain.
4. Muff, in County Donegal, is a real town. It really does have a Muff Diving Club. We included it thanks to my Irish husband, who suggested it after I asked if he knew any Irish towns with ridiculous names.
5. The model for Sean used on the cover is almost a perfect representation. When we wrote Cormac, however, we had someone else in mind: specifically, a young Paul Newman.
The one bright spot in my life was fandom, where I argued over favourite episodes, shared my love for characters, and wrote a whole pile of fanfic, which was the first time anybody had ever really read my writing. Violetta and I met each other through fandom; we edited one another's fanfic and even dabbled in co-writing. In May, she came to me with the idea that we try and take our enjoyment of co-writing and turn it into an original novel. We brainstormed, planned, argued a bit, and after months of work with the help and support of our fandom friends--especially April L'Orange and Emma (also known in cen_sceal), who edited our first draft--we wound up with a manuscript that would one day become The Druid Stone.
I don't want to get too terribly emotional about things, but this novel means a lot to me. I mean, I'm proud of everything I've written, and I've put all my heart into all of it every single time, but this novel is particularly special. Not only was it my first (that was finished, and saw the light of day, anyway), it kept me going during a rough spot in my life, kept me hoping, gave me something new to look forward to and explore. Opened up opportunities to me that I always thought were impossible. Getting accepted for publication by Carina Press out of the slush was a dream come true. Every day since has just gotten better and better.
So thank you. Thank you to the people who helped me realize this dream, my cheerleaders and editors and marketing people and reviewers and my readers, of course, who are the reason for it all. But thank you especially to Violetta for helping me make my dream come true.
(tears, flailing)
And now, without further ado, here's...
Five Facts about The Druid Stone
1. Since Violetta and I first met in Torchwood fandom, and because that fandom gave us so much support and joy, we left a few Torchwood-related Easter eggs throughout The Druid Stone, including a cameo by a well-loved character. (The scar on his face should be a clue!)2. Violetta is a massive David Bowie fangirl. We channeled him when we wrote King Finnbheara, both the real life glam rock version and the King Jared one. We didn't manage to work in a reference to "the area", but I'm sure Sean noticed.
3. A specific scene from near the end of the novel, set in the mound, originally featured lyrics from the song "Wonderwall" by Oasis. In a later draft, those lyrics were replaced with less legally-dubious ones from a song in the public domain.
4. Muff, in County Donegal, is a real town. It really does have a Muff Diving Club. We included it thanks to my Irish husband, who suggested it after I asked if he knew any Irish towns with ridiculous names.
5. The model for Sean used on the cover is almost a perfect representation. When we wrote Cormac, however, we had someone else in mind: specifically, a young Paul Newman.
♔
The Druid Stone is now available from the following retailers:
It is also available as an audiobook from Audible (with an Irish reader!)
For more information, including reviews, pronunciation guide, a soundtrack, and info on our upcoming Blog Tour, check our dedicated website at KnockmaNovel.com.
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