Last week for Free Copy of "Not an Egg!"

In celebration of the success of Dragons' Geas Children's books, Rebecca and I are giving away five copies of Not an Egg!

We are currently in the process of story-boarding our next children's book as well. Sign up to win a copy today before it ends! Last day will be April 8!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Not An Egg

by Cheryl Matthynssens

Giveaway ends April 08, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Outcast in Process of Audio Production

I am so excited.  After Outcast came out, my brother, who is a trucker, was asking when it would be on audio. I was like, "I have no idea how to do that."  So asking around, I was referred to a company that links writers and narrators

I have had four auditions and two are in my favorites. One was so exceptional that I am waiting on pins and needles to see if he will accept my offer. If he does, Outcast will be on i-tunes, audible ect in about two months.  It should release about the same time as its sequel is coming out.  I will keep you all updated.

Have a creative and inspired day!

Visual representation of Korpen
Cheryl Can't Draw! Grins!

Advanced Studies in Dragonology: The Five Important F's.

As an avid student of Dr. Earnest Drake, I have decided to continue his delightful studies with the help of Keensight.  Having been fortunate enough to make friends with two dragons, Farloft and Keensight, as well as increasing slowly my contact with several others, I hope that my findings will be helpful to other dragonologists and writers.  Today I wish to expound on the five F's of dragonology, originally postulated by Dr. Drake.

Foresight - It is very important for a student of dragonology to have proper equipment and a genuine good sense of instinct.  For example, in the kit of required equipment should be fire retardant clothing.  This will not help with the heat of the breath weapon, this is enough to cook you without the flame, but it does show proper respect for the dragon's abilities.  Balms and solvents for burns are a must in any good kit.  In addition, carrying a proper array of gifts to offer is a must for all dragonologist field equipment.

Fieldwork - Most of us are not going to be lucky enough to have a dragon come calling.  Theresa and I have been fortunate to have this access to a dragon but let us be honest, if you live in the city it is just not going to occur. A dragon sighting in a large city such as Seattle would cause a great deal of panic and a calling of the military.  No proper dragon is going to expose his kin to such a search of militant persecution and should he decide to reveal himself, he will be select in his location. No, you must venture out into the dark places, the rocky places and the deep sea to find a dragon in his own environment.  I am fortunate to have 80 rocky acres shielded from public view.  Keensight can fly in from the north with none the wiser. I am not sure how Farloft and friends visit Theresa without a panic.

Forwardness -  A dragon does not respect fear or threats.  He does respect a healthy dose of humor and bravery, however.  Keensight tells me that the only reason he did not eat Alador's father is that the man was quite hilarious in his forward approach.  Keensight stated that when he asked Henrick why he should not just eat him, the man went on to explain how to eat a Lerdenian would be quite deadly for him.  The bony nature of a Lerdenian was bound to stick in Keensight's throat and then he shared that Henrick went on to tell a multitude of digestive issues that could ensue if Keensight would have eaten him.

Frankness - Do not lie to a dragon.  They seem to pick up on lies quickly. Perhaps it is their own mastery of the skill but it does not do to get caught lying to one.  If you are going to lie to one, please refer to the first F, as you will need to pack a good deal of gear to get away if discovered. Also be frank with other dragonologists.  It does not do well for our profession if lies are continued to be propagated.  Keensight gets most upset when he reads some of the tales about dragons.  He wonders how the writer would ever put a self respecting dragon in such a position. He then often threatens to find said writer and eat him regardless of the digestive issues.

Fatalities - This should be avoided at all costs. Your field notes and such will be quite lost if you die in the dragon's presence.  In addition, one can hardly declare to be an expert in the field if you died in your studies.

I hope this helps others as they move forward in the studies of dragons.  Dragons exist for when so many tales abound in the histories of men, if they did not exist before, we have brought them forth from the imagination into the realities of history.

     If a beginning student, please reference Dragonology by Dr. Earnest Drake, edited by Dugald A. Steer. 

Now Signing E-books

I have just signed up for a service that will allow me to sign e-books.  It is really an awesome thing. I will always be a brick and mortar, let me hold the real thing person.  I have books all over my house.  However, I know that for some people and especially our youth, this trend is changing. (mourns the loss and clings to books)

In that light, I have signed up for Authorgraph that will allow me to send signatures that can be kept with electronic copies of my book.  I doubt it will ever increase the value of an e-book like it can a real book, but for some people, it is still awesome to know that the author took the time and they have something from them.

That being said, if you give me a little information in your Authorgraph request, will personalize my response.  If you are going to take the time to ask me to write you something and sign it, I will take the time to answer something real back.

You can start your author collection for free.  It currently costs nothing for authors and enthusiastic readers to sign up.  Get your author collection at https://www.authorgraph.com/

I hope to see you there!

Just When I Begin to Falter...

It has been a rough week for writing.  Editing is far from my favorite thing; I would much rather be working on the next big scene.  Add to this, the fact I have the creeping crud that has hung on for two weeks.  My doctor's advice: Emergence C and chicken soup. Thanks Doc!

 I had submitted Outcast to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest but apparently I am not good at writing a pitch and the first round was judged completely on the pitch.  It didn't make the cut.

Then, Amazon launches my .99 cent countdown which I was doing to help prepare my readers for the upcoming release of Blackguard and Amazon totally broke the thumbnail on every country's website.  I quickly wrote to them to fix it but they didn't. You can only do countdown once a quarter and I did mine with a broken thumbnail.  As you can see, this is a recipe for the blahs.

So in the midst of virus fed disappointment and editing blahs, I get the most delightful email on a conversation thread I have for Outcast on Amazon.  I have reposted it below and I hope Barry does not mind.  I wanted him to know how such a kind word to a struggling writer can come at the most perfect of times.  I finished reading and writing back to him with a great smile on my face.  My heart is lighter and I am a bit more determined to get that polish on the sequel.

While we as writers only know a small percentage of the smiles we bring to our readers,  know that every kind comment from a reader brings a smile to the writer.  Thank you Barry for a kind word when I needed it most.

Barry B says:
Can not wait for the sequel. I spend a lot of time reading fantasy books in fact it is said that if you study something for 10000 hrs you are an expert, if that is true I would be an expert fantasy reader with the amount of fantasy books ive read. at times I get bored with the same old type of story and consider stoping for a while if a lot of the books ive read for a while have only been ok, but then I find a gem or in your case a bloodstone and my faith is renewed. so I hurry online to see if there are more and am crushed that there is not but then delighted that there is more coming. please keep churning them out the best ive read in a few months at least thank you.

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Still on my list of favorites!

“Magic

Sandra’s seen a leprechaun,

Eddie touched a troll,

Laurie danced with witches once,

Charlie found some goblins gold.

Donald heard a mermaid sing,

Susy spied an elf,

But all the magic I have known

I've had to make myself.” 

― Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

Outcast in Countdown!

To celebrate the release of The Blackguard which is now in the major edit portion of the publishing process, we are releasing Outcast for .99 cents for the next 36 hours in the USA.  There is not an option for Canada or Australia, two other countries that offer me this great support but I will see about dropping their prices manually for the next three days as well.

The United Kingdom will go into Countdown on April 2, 2014.  This will run a bit longer over there but again, will celebrate the release of the second book.    So if your friend has not bought it yet and you are a follower of my blogs, tell them to hold off till April 2, 2014.   Many have said the book is overpriced in the UK but unfortunately, that is the price you have to list it at for at least two weeks prior to and two weeks after a countdown.

I thank everyone that has supported me through this process.  My fan base has been growing exponentially and everyone has been supportive.  My editors have told me that book two does not disappoint but ultimately, this is for the opinion of the reader.

Alador's story is one I have to tell.  It is weird. I used to hear other writers say that and not know what that meant.  But once you bring a character to so much depth and life, they take on a life of their own.  There has been twice when my fingers have been flying over the keyboard that when I reread what I wrote, I was like how did he get himself into this situation. Well, ultimately, I put him there.   It takes another writer to know that in some ways, Alador put himself there.   It is a strange feeling of knowing your character has a mind of its own.  One such scene is when he decides to get a look of bloodmine stones versus natural bloodstones.   Even his father was like, don't start a ruckus.  But its Alador, he seems to leave a trail of "ruckus' in his wake.  

I promised no spoilers so I will hold to that. I hope you all enjoy book two and for those who have not read Outcast yet, pick it up for e-reading in the next three days.  It won't come back down for at least another 3-6 months.   Have a balanced day and may your dragons ever be gentle.

Coming soon - The Blackguard - Releasing Prologue

The crack of the whip filled his ears before additional fire lanced across his back. He arched in pain as much as his bindings would allow. His eyes were focused on the flickering flame of the torch that lit the wine cellar.  There were no windows, just three flickering torches casting mocking shadows on the wall.  His eyes stung with the salt of seawater and sweat creating a film in his vision.
The mage focused on the flame once more, trying to recall the reasons he was angry.  His anger increased his powers and if he could flame them high enough, maybe he could find a way out.  The crack sounded and his body arched.  Someone moaned nearby and it took a moment to realize that the sound had come from him.  His entire back felt on fire as the crystal barbed leather left snaking trails of welts and blood.
He forced his thoughts to the lies and betrayals.  So many lies had fallen around him, from his own lips.  Coming to Silverport was supposed to have been a good thing, a chance to grow into power.  The whip cracked again and the pain of the new strike across already welted skin brought a new level of pain and he screamed against the leather in his mouth.  How had he come to be here? How had this happened? The darkness threatening, finally claimed him and he sank into the dark comfort of oblivion.

Update on The Blackguard

I am getting a lot of questions now on the release of The Blackguard, second in the series for The Blue Dragon's Geas.  My editor and I have chosen May 1, 2014 as our release date.  The illustrator is working to achieve this date as well so if all goes well, this will be the true release.

Some things I have been asked:

Where does The Blackguard take place?  

The home capital of Lerdenia - Silverport?

Is this the end of the story?

No, this is the next chapter in Alador's journey to becoming a full mage.

Are there still dragons in the story?

Alador continues to have dreams so yes, the dragon cameos are still occurring.

Does he go back and get Mesiande?  

That is a spoiler, you are going to have to read to find out?

Who is your favorite character in The Blackguard?

Hands down, it is Jon.  I love his matter of fact answers and the way he thinks.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

There were a lot of threads put out in the beginning, the hard part was making sure that all the threads were tied up other than those that were designed to carry on into book three.


Those are the questions I have so far.  Feel free to to post more if you have them. I will answer those that are not spoilers.  I also just got my business cards so thank you to Becky Hunt who drew Keensight for them.  I will soon have two views of Keensight as Heather Scoggins is working on her rendition of him as well in a redesign of Outcast's cover.  Feel free to email me or write. I look forward to corresponding with all my fans.

My First Book Signing! Will be March 22, 2014 in Washington State.

A local bookstore invited me to do my first book signing.  I am so excited.  I have promised my friends around the country that if they can find a coffee shop or a bookstore willing, I would come do a book signing and visit.  

Ran into a bit of a barrier there.  My illustrator wanted me to come back to Minnesota to do some signings there; because I am an independent author through Createspace, many are turning her down.  So for those of you who are using a similar type of publisher for your work, this is how I and the local bookstore got around that.   I ordered a quantity of each book in advance and I am just going to give her a percentage.  We agreed on 30 percent.  She wins.  I win.  But most importantly, I am doing my first book signing! *Dances*  

So for my fans and friends around the country, I will gladly come visit if you set up a book signing.  I even offer kick backs!  As you can see, if I know where and when, I can bring the books!  Below is my first book signing poster!  I am so excited to share my journey with all of you.  Today, as I write this, I am still in the top 100 in at least one category in three different countries.  You are all wonderful!  Without all of you, my dreams would not be coming true.  Without the reader, there is no use for a writer!

If  you are in Washington State, I would love to meet you on the 22nd.  Look forward to many smiles, handshakes and hugs!