New Releases Folks! And an update FINALLY

I am a terrible blogger lately. Usually I can't get enough of posting this and that randomness on my personal blog, and occasionally remembering to tend to my author page. Shame on me! And worse, there's been SO much going on lately.

Did I mention that I'm co-authoring a series with author Shéa MacLeod? Yes, I am. And the first book has been released! Behold!

The new series!

Book 1~ Click here to go to Amazon & buy it, because it's AWESOME SAUCE!

Oh Noz!

I also released another installment of the Red Slipper Series at last! 

More Awesome Sauceness (with werewolves!)
Click & Buy yo~!

I will be at Wizard World Portland along with my co-author again this year, so come by & grab a bookmark, say hi, buy a book and get a tin of tea!

Post-Comic-Con Recovery

Yes, it's taken me this long to recover from Wizard World Portland Comic Con. It's a pretty epic con and I sold SO MANY BOOKS, and met SO MANY AWESOME PEOPLE! I love the conventions so much, I can't stop doing them. I'm really looking forward to the Rose City Comic Con coming up in September.  I hope you'll drop by and visit!

Problem of Ghosts is off to a lovely start. I'm really having a great deal of fun with the Red Slipper series (Regency, With a Twist!)--and I think I'l be doing more of these books. Regency with wizards; Regency with Ghosts, and coming up soon (I hope) Regency with Werewolves and Regency with Giants! There are so many fun places to go with this one.

I also have some other genres on the cooker, and am slowly pecking my way through them. I've tried to refine my production process and stick to one project at a time. Being a Fly-By-The-Seat-Of-My-Pants kind of writer, with a healthy dose of attention deficit disorder, I tend to go Squirrel too often. But my mentor Shéa MacLeod is teaching me that focus is what works, and Problem of Ghosts is evidence of that. So apart from stopping to write down the new ideas that come along while on a project, I have been working exclusively on the book tentatively called Magpie.

Will I go back to epic fantasy, and possibly Tinna's world? I don't know yet. Tinna's trilogy has sort of burned itself through me and left me breathless. So now I am focusing on lighter fiction.  The time may come when I go back to check in on Tinna, her two husbands, Avria and the baby Istvan.

In the meantime; I sold MANY of the trilogy at Comic Con this year.  I even snagged a Lady Sif who was so reminiscent of Tinna in book 2, I had to have a photo op.

My table assistant cosplayed at Tinna from book one, but would you believe I didn't get a decent image of her? I'll bug her and see if she got one.  She spent the convention like a little embassador, roaming wildly and spreading the word of Tinna and her world.

I'm plugging along! I'll have a fabulous giveaway to offer soon, so stay tuned!

An update and some event details

Hi Everyone!

It's been a few months of ups and downs. I lost my mom last month.  It's an interesting dynamic, considering how many relationship issues I had with her--any of you who read the Tinna trilogy know this. I dealt with my issues in my fiction. I imagine I will somehow cope with my grief in the same way.  It's weird to lose a parent you don't get along with. I find myself grieving the parent she *could* have been. How strange we are, we human creatures. :)  I guess the idea that Fantasy is an escape from reality is kind of BS. I think there are lots of elements of the authors' lives intermingled with the fantastical creatures and five-mooned skies.

So what else is new? Well, lots.  I've already posted my participation in a few events, but here's a refresher:

The Passion in Portland Author Event -- September 15, 2015

You can find details HERE. General admission is FREE, but registration is required. So please click through and look at the ticket options. There are some 'buy-up' opportunities where you get a chance to get in early, get to stalk your favourite authors (like me!) and more.

Here is an interview of the Organizer, who explains the packages and also talks about the charity to which the event will be donating:




The Rose City Comic Con - September 19 - 20, 2015 

This will be my first year at Rose City Comic Con, hopefully the first of many years! It's a local con and it seems like it's going to be great fun. I will be co-tabling with my friend and fellow author Shéa MacLeod [Website - Facebook - Twitter]. She is my 'Wing-Chick" so to speak, and we have a good time together at events.  Come and visit us!

Wizard World Comic Con Portland - February 19, 20 and 21 2016

This will be my fourth year attending, third year participating the Wizard World Comic Con Portland. Shéa and I will be present and accounted for with fine corner tables in the Artist's Alley.  This year, I've drafted my Amazing Über Fan Jathia as my table helper. So be prepared for uninhibited enthusiasm and cuteness.

So... if you're in the Portland area during these times, come in and see me. I'm a schmoozer, I'll sign books and make bad jokes. It's what I do! See you soon, I hope. :D

What's new and wonderful?

First and foremost, Tinna's Reign; Book Three of the Trilogy of Tinna is available for download in eBook format.  The hard-copy will follow soon.  Along with the release of this book is a full redesign of the covers for the trilogy and I think all three are mighty bold and fun.  Do you not agree?

Book 1, Tinna's Promise
Available at Barnes & Noble for DL.

  

Book 2; Tinna's Might
Available at Barnes & Noble for DL

Book 3: Tinna's Reign
Available for DL at Barnes & Noble.

Or just click here to view the series.

So that's one project that's finally done. ::Oy:: It hasn't been easy to get my stuff together, I won't lie, but I've gotten a bit of a boot in the pants from this year's Wizard World Convention. I had such a great time, and met a couple of fans, and there's nothing better than that for validation, is there?

So I have other projects underway. Something post-apocalyptic, some of the ones I mentioned prior, and another alternate timeline, which will take time, because it requires some research.  But I am working on stuff, this I promise you. :)

So download book three and enjoy the conclusion to this trilogy. Will there be another set of books in Oromoii? Who is to know? ::smile::

Some convention/signing news!

It looks like I will be at the Wizard World Comic Con in Portland again in January. I'll be sharing a table with author Shéa MacLeod, whose website describes her books as 'urban fantasy scifi post-apocalyptic paranormal romance with a twist of steampunk.'  What's not to like about that? We're both Oregonians, and we hang out with the same costuming people, so why not team up and present our work at the 2015 Portland 'Con? It's all very exciting.  We will have candy and swag. So come and see us!

Next September both of us also will be attending the 'Passion in Portland' author signing event. I am especially excited about this event, because I get to meet so many new local(ish) authors.  I hope I will see you there too! By then, I should hopefully have another release or two to promote.

I'm working hard now that my baby has gotten a bit older to involve myself in more events to promote my books and get to know my readers, and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone. :)  I will announce any other events I may be doing in the interim.  Like the Passion in Portland page on FaceBook for more information, and like my new Facebook page (completely politics-free!) too! I'm always offering little giveaways to the followers on the page. Join me.

The Wizard King - Sneak Peeks

Hello Internet world. As you may have noticed, Mirandamayer.com and the blog got a bit of an overhaul today. They were combined into one. It needed it. It's funny how something looks suitable and good for a bit, and then all you want is to change it.  I wanted something a bit lighter and brighter, especially for the launch of my newest book, 'The Wizard King', which will be launched in January at the Wizard World Portland Comic Con.

This month, we had a killer photo shoot up at the Timberline Lodge. This cool vintage building was a 'New Deal' project in the thirties, organized to create jobs during the great depression. They employed a great number of brilliant artisans and skilled craftsmen to assemble this impressive building, and today it stands as a testament to craftsmanship and forward-thinking.

The exterior of the lodge was portrayed in the movie 'The Shining' -- depicting what was called The Overlook Hotel in the movie.  It does not have a hedge maze, nor is the interior even remotely like what was shown in the film.  The interior is extremely rustic.  The lighting has the quality of that of an great old manor, with bright, white light pouring into darkened interiors, bouncing off the rugged textures of wood and stone, giving, at least in my view, an old-world castle type of light quality, something like the old oil portraits. It was what I was looking for.

With a great team of people, from photographer to hair and makeup stylist, we tramped up there with our lovely models and took a series of beautiful shots.  I will post some examples of them (ones we are not using for the book cover).

Model Robyn Wodiuk takes a rest on some of the many heavy-timbered
structures about the lodge.  The setting is modern compared to the
look of the cover. But none of that will show in the cover.

Model Robyn portrays the sweet, graceful Ynith.
All elegance in a white regency-style round gown,
and a seemingly endless swag and rumple of shawl.

The outdoors are cast in the white light of
snow.

Robyn in all her elegance.

Model Breck Warren portrays
the somewhat sinister character of Arnsword.

A lovely photo, in spite of the modern trappings.

All men should aspire to wearing cravats.

The lovely Ynith/Robyn.

This image was one of my favorites of the shoot, but it was unsuitable for
the cover, there are no winter themes in The Wizard King. I just
wanted the lodge's lovely lighting. But I love this photo, regardless.

The Wizard King is a Fantasy Romance novel, a sort of alternate world with Regency themes.  The costumes were made by Stephanie Johanesen of Mount Hood Creations (Robyn's beautiful gown and accessories), and Breck's costume was created by Morgan Shanafelt, who also styled the hair and makeup for this photo shoot.

Photographer was Julie Savage Lee Photography.

The final cover will be revealed when the book is released.

Comicon 2014 and More

Greetings all.

I've been in stealth-mode. Being a new mom ain't easy, but hell if it isn't amazing. It is filled with all sorts of experiences that will end up bleeding into the stuff I write, this is without a doubt.  Aaaanyway... What's new? Not too much, but there are some things here and there.

I've added Blackroot and am working on adding the Belletrist in as Print-On-Demand in addition to eBook format. I will post links as they come.  The Belletrist will be as inexpensive as I can swing it, since the eBook is free, but I will be adding illustrations for each short story to make it special.

Also, I have secured a spot in at the WizardWorld Comic-Con at the Oregon Convnention Center in Portland on January 24, 25, and 26 of 2014. I'm very excited. It is my first comic convention. I will have a stock of all of my books with me, I will be signing, and selling, and also carrying some art material and information and such from my book-cover illustrator, Abigail Larson.  It's a ways off, but if pregnancy taught me anything.. Time flies, so plan on coming and stop by my table to say hi. :)

I'm working on a new manuscript and will be going back to Tinna's Reign soon.  I have been working on writing again, which is good. So that's it for immediate news. Follow me on Facebook, and you are free to friend me if you can handle my Atheist-themed posts. ::hehheh::

Toodle-oo.