What's New?

Seventh, the second book in the Water Lovers of the Islands series, will be released on April 19, 2009. This novel follows Elantho né Hethigal, the haughty, aristocratic talevé readers first met in The Fifth House, on a diplomatic mission to Tash, southernmost of the Seaward Islands, where the son of the local matriach refuses to come to the Blue House of Lachant. While readers may have found Elantho cold and overbearing in the last book, they will surely enjoy his encounter with the hotblooded, good-natured Eshandri in this one. Eshandri represents a new kind of Water-lover--the surano: free-living, tattooed, and powerful enough to tempt any closeted talevé from the mainland. Will Elantho forget his grief over his lost love to join Eshandri, or will he find the customs of the southern Islands too alien and repulsive?

Maps

Some readers may know that I draw my own maps for my books; one appears in the print version of A Crown of Stars. For this newsletter, featuring books about the Water-lovers, I thought it appropriate to bring out the map of the Seaward Islands. All maps are drawn on creamy, acid-free drawing paper with a .005 black ink pen, which yields extremely fine detail that doesn't always scan well.

Featured Book

This April will be 2 1/2 years since Dead to the World was first published by Phaze. The second edition continues to be a print bestseller, and it continues to bring in high marks from reviewers, including a recent 5-star review from Whipped Cream Reviews. This is not a book for the faint-at-heart. Erred, the protagonist, is a Water-lover captured while on pilgrimage and sold as a Tajhaani pleasure slave; his journey from privileged prince and talevé to bed slave are not the stuff of harem fantasies--he does not fall in love with his captors. However, Erred does find love amid the heartache and humiliation, and Tajhaan is a world vivid with political intrigue, lush beauty, and treachery. Dead to the World can be purchased as a print novel through Amazon and Phaze.

Molly's Last Word

Molly does not actually have the last word this month at all--but don't tell her that. This month's spotlight is on Molly's big sister Sarra, a 10 1/2 year old Shepherd mix adopted in 1998 from neighbors who neglected her as a puppy by leaving her alone outside. Sarra very much enjoys being a single dog, and while she does not play with toys (she doesn't seem to know what to do with them), she likes attention from her human family. She likes walks, and is friendly toward other dogs, but is very shy around strange people, and is afraid of children. The highlights of her day include barking at the mailman and eating Molly's kibble. I will not tell you what else this dog is known to have eaten.