So heads up, SAPPHIRE FLAMES is available for preorder on Amazon. There is no description yet. I do not recommend buying. You don’t even know what it’s about. (It’s about murder. Lots and lots of murder.)
While on Amazon, I happened to see the Silent Blade and it has several reviews which indicate that people were upset with “reprint” of the story. I feel like we’ve done everything we can to explain the situation with Samhain going out of business and rereleasing the novelette as self-published release. We strongly recommend that you join Publishing Newsletter to keep up with all the new developments.
I have come to the conclusion that no matter how much promotion we do, someone somewhere will completely misunderstand it and then be upset they were not properly informed. š It’s just the nature of the beast.
I read a cool book yesterday called THE SEVENTH WIFEĀ BRIDE (I am a dumbass.).Ā It’s has a fifteen year old protagonist, but it’s not a YA.Ā It’s more like the retelling of Blue Beard. I liked it all the way to the last 90% of it. I previously tried BRYONY AND ROSES by the same author, with the same result. Loved it until the conclusion.Ā
I’m a bit frustrated right now with the way writing is going, so I may be hypercritical, too. Exercise your own judgement. š
See you tomorrow for the discussion of Thanksgiving menu.
If people don’t listen, it’s a lot like the Dr. Seuss deal, “People who mind don’t matter, and people who matter don’t mind.” Same thing to me,,, you’ve told us how it is, QED
And for what it’s worth, if you re-wrote the phone book, I’d preorder it, because I’ll bet you folks would throw in some amazing comments to spice it up, and it’s be worth whatever it cost to buy it.
This!
+1000 ??
Soooo true!
I made the same comment only about a grocery list. Honestly if ilona wants to write about paint colors at Lowes, I will also buy it
Agreed! You have a zillion rabid fans out there who love every single thing you do. Ignore the rest of them!
I have found that the tendency is to “skim” news/information. The quotes are because most of the skimming does not seem to be very efficient or effective– very little information is imparted. Don’t worry overmuch– you’ve done what you could. I still love the stories.
Too late, already preordered!
Proud member of the BDH
+1
Yep- what Russ said! š
+1 and put in for the release day off work…. sadly my company is changing programs for next year so I’ll have to put in for it again but meh š
+ Me Too (We don’t really need the description. We know it’s about Catalina and a continuation of that universe. That’s enough for me.)
+1 the minute I read āSapphire Flames is on preorderā automatically hit the hyperlink and preordered!
+1 Me too. š
+1
Preordered a couple of days ago. What do you mean, we donāt know what itās about? Itās about Catalina. Youāve said that repeatedly. So.
Good luck with Thanksgiving. I did a 1/2 Thanksgiving this year, and since I live in Austria (Vienna), itās always a question of when the USians/Canadians/Austrians & Germans who beg to come because they love turkey and food/Brits have a free Friday (!) night in common. So weāve already done ours, and like I said, I did half the side dishes, but everyone loved what was there, and loaded up the Tupperware I told them to bring for leftovers, so Iāll count it as a success.
The one thing that makes me really nuts is the standard size of the Austrian fridge is about 1/3 to 1/2 again bigger than a dorm room beer fridge. If I took out ALL the other food and the shelves, I could fit the turkey in sideways. But not the pan. Which means we have to pick up the turkey āThanksgiving morningā. Which means the first year I was FRANTIC trying to figure out how to brine a turkey in 2-3 hours (it IS possible. Buy a middle-of-the-road cognac (Hennessy works) and add 1/2 cup or so to your brine. And be CAREFUL, because it can go from tough to mushy very abruptly).
Anyway, good luck with bypassing the frustration. And my hopes for a completely smooth and stress-free Thanksgiving!
What Siobhan said. I do too know what it is about. It is about Catalina. I ordered it a week ago.
Oh no – what didn’t you like about The Seventh Bride? Ursula Vernon is one of my favorite authors, and I do a re-read of her books every so often. I’ll recommend Summer in Orcus as a lighter, more children’s-genre offering that’s one of my all time favs.
+1 This is the EXACT book I was about to recommend of hers. Though I did like both Bryony and Roses as well as The Seventh Bride. The Nine Goblins was a fun, light hearted read (though the Raven and the Reindeer was pretty dark). I liked the first book in the Clockwork Boys series but the second story was… baffling ::shrug:: meh. But I like her. š
Ok, so I don’t want to ruin your reading experience, so I am going to put a spoiler space here just in case.
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The way the novel is structured, there should have been a grand sacrifice in the finale. You could argue that not killing one of the wives was a sacrifice, but it felt really anticlimatic. There was a big build up to going into the clock and inside the clock there was very little oomph. She wonders around, finds the Clock Wife, and relatively easily convinces her to go back with her. I wanted something bigger and more edge of the seat.
I’m sure SAPPHIRE FLAMES will be Great. I have yet to read something you’ve written and not enjoyed it.
Sorry about the book you read. I hate we I really like a book except for the ending.
Thank you for the sippits in to your life. Can’t wait to hear what’s for Thanksgiving dinner.
I’m sure SAPPHIRE FLAMES will be Great. I have yet to read something you’ve written and not enjoyed it.
Sorry about the book you read. I hate we I really like a book except for the ending.
Thank you for the sippits in to your life. Can’t wait to hear what’s for Thanksgiving dinner.
Cant please everyone, someone always complains. ??āāļø.
Did you read the sequel to Tsumiko and the Ensalved Fox. It wasnt as well done but still a great read!
I want to go hide from Thanksgiving but its my turn to cook this year.
@ Keera : I did! Agreed, not as well done. There was too much going on, not enough about the interesting relationship between Kimiko and Eloquence. But it was still good, and I definitely want more Suuzu and Akira! The next one is Tamiko and the Two Janitors… I’ll read that one too.
Totally agree! I still loved it but the focus was off a little. Second book syndrome!
There will always be someone who complains because they werenāt hand-fed whatever they felt they needed. I appreciate how you DO keep your fans/readers informed. Yes it is a rerelease….and…. Books can be returned so can e-books at Amazon, as well as orders cancelled. It is possible to check your titles before you purchase, too. I do.
Personally, I bought the stories when it first became available on Amazon and I keep them in my āDownloadedā section of my reader. Nothing makes you feel better after a long day than a little Ilona Andrews.
Hopefully, those that kvetch, will move on to something else to kvetch about. Please have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
āThere will always be someone who complains because they werenāt hand-fed whatever they felt they needed.ā
And there will be some who can be hand-fed and STILL complain. Ilona could show up at their house with a copy of the book, explain personally why this was what they would be getting, get them to not only say they understand but also repeat it back in their own words, and they would complain when it arrived. I spent tooooooo many years in customer-facing jobs where this kind of thing happened ALL the time. It does make you really hate people sometimes.
Too true, unfortunately. ?
If you write it I will love it. Just pre-ordered it. It will be wonderful I know. (A member of the BDH)
First time that I will not follow your recommendation.
Because I am preordering the hell out of Sapphire Flames! ?
This reminds me a lot of the Casual Vacancy coming out in a flurry of articles and interviews about how it WASNāT like HP at all and people still complaining about…it not being like HP lol. You canāt help it. Beauty fades, Dunn is forever.
No Thanksgiving here in Europe but Thursday is my bday so menu suggestions are always welcome, especially since your food always sounds really yum.
Happy birthday!
Happy early birthday!
Happy Birthday ?????? !!!
āNo Thanksgiving here in Europe…ā
You need to make friends with a couple of US expats!
Thanks all ?.
I will take that advice, Siobhan- or at least a couple of Canadians (everyone needs more Canadians in their life!).
+1
Happy birthday to you! Turkey, sweet potatoes/yams, and pumpkin pie (custard, not chiffon or cheesecake) are the only non-negotiable requirements in our family. There are a million recipes out there for each. Siobhan is right – surely you can track down an ex-pat or two!
I have been going crazy lately for sweet potatoes (I thought yams were a different thing?) but I have yet to make them with marshmallows like we see here in the movies. Honestly, that seems…extreme lol. Iām not knocking it, but I think Iāll stick to butter lol.
Pumpkin pie is another thing I want to try, I bought a can mix from an U.K. supermarket that has an American section, as I didnāt think Iād get the spicing quite right!
I just finished making no bake pumpkin pie which is a wonderful recipe I have used for years! I like to put the filling in single serve, graham cracker crusts and give the option of putting Cool Whip on top. I will share the recipe when IA posts about her feast!
I boil my sweet potatoes till tender, cool off a little before peeling and cutting into round slices, then melt butter in the microwave, add brown sugar and just a little water to make slightly thinner, then stir the sliced sweet potatoes in the sweet sauce till coated and microwave for desired temp. One year, I tried a recipe with sweet potatoes that had a pecan topping that is baked in the oven… it was very good! Hope I can find that recipe!
I just finished a book that I was not sure I liked until the ending and now I can’t wait for the next one.
I believe you are correct. No matter how many times and ways you tell someone and everyone something, there are those that didn’t listen, didn’t read, didn’t understand. You just can’t make everyone happy or aware. I don’t even think it’s possible, even if you turn yourself into a pretzel trying.
Thanks for being awesome. Hope the writing gets better.
It’s a Murphyism: If you explain something so clearly that no one can possibly misunderstand, someone will misunderstand anyway.
It is a Murphyism! Even if it can’t be misunderstood, it will be!
This has been proven over and over and over again. The awesome part too. Don’t sweat it.
In the defense of the reviewers, the description on Amazon does not say that it is a reprint. If they donāt follow your Facebook page or blog, then there is no way that would know.
Kinsmen Book 1 is very clearly stated,,, not book 3 or book 4, but book 1
The blurb leaves no doubt and states very clearly that it is about Meli Glades and Celino Carvanna ????
How on earth could anyone think it was a new story? š
It doesn’t state that it’s a reprint, because that label applies to the second edition of the book, meaning two editions are simultaneously available. The Silent Blade on sale now is the ONLY version of the book available. š
Sapphire Flames is Hidden Legacy Book 4. Of course it will be good. Just read that series last month and am looking forward to the next one. I also just re-read all of the Innkeeper books except Sweep of the Blade, and I’ll re-read that one as soon as I get through the book I HAVE to read for my book group meeting next Monday. So far not enjoying that one.
You have never disappointed me with any book or story. I will buy whatever you write because you are my absolute favorite author. I mean I read like crazy and you are my number one favorite filled by David Eddings, Anne Mcaffrey, Patricia Briggs, Susan Mallory, Christine Freehan, And many many others. I’m an eclectic gal and your my number one. Dont let any others frustrate you due to lack of checking your blogs etc.
You guys do absolutely marvelous..
You have never disappointed me with any book or story. I will buy whatever you write because you are my absolute favorite author. I mean I read like crazy and you are my number one favorite followed by David Eddings, Anne Mcaffrey, Patricia Briggs, Susan Mallory, Christine Freehan, And many many others. I’m an eclectic gal and your my number one. Dont let any others frustrate you due to lack of checking your blogs etc.
You guys do absolutely marvelous..
I love that your number two is David Eddings. His stories were my intro into fantasy.
I believe The Redemption of Althaus was the last of David Edding’s work that has been published. David completed it after his wife passed, and his son had it published after David passed. There may be other unfinished or unpublished books, and the son may be preparing them. I hope so.
I was fascinated by Redemption’s House at the End of the World, a tardis, with its many windows. The Window to Everywhere and Everywhen was pure magical.
A tardis is a structure, as small as a pocket and as big as a castle, that is larger on the inside than it is on the outside.
Like Doctor Who and his/her Tardis!
Except it is a blue, Britain police box.
Wishing you and yours a happy Thanksgiving. Looking forward to hearing what’s on the menu this year.
Try “Empire of Sands”, I just finished it and it was pretty good…
Totally ordering Sapphire Flames.
And just a warning re the Thanksgiving menu: Costco is a war zone. I think even Dina and Sean might hesitate.
Murder? Always a topic in which it’s worthwhile to invest, I say {buys 20 copies, then realizes that it doesn’t make sense to do that digitally…}
I appreciate the reprint. I didn’t discover you until someone mentioned you on Patricia Briggs site last fall and in my true fashion, I read the first Kate books immediately bought everything else available… I hate it when books of authors I like go out of print and I have to beg my friends who own used bookstores to look for them.
Have a good holiday… maybe that’ll clear you head so the writing becomes clearer.
Writing about “lots and lots of murder” is bound to be a reason for frustration. If you add the unfortunate criticism to the mix… emotional rollercoaster guaranteed. So, time to disconnect. Try “The Dodo” in youtube. Animal vids make for sweet and nice autotherapy. Best wishes ?
It really doesn’t matter what the book is about. I would probably buy your grocery lists if you would publish them. Preorder, check.
Good luck with the writing. I’m confident that whatever isn’t flowing at the moment will sort itself out and be spectacular as usual.
Happy Thanksgiving!
+1
I’ve seen a lot of reprints and rereleases from authors I like over the years. By far the best way I have seen it handled was in the very beginning of the book blurb. One single sentence right on top. Pretty much the only instance where there weren’t a bunch of negative “It’s a reprint!” reviews.
Don’t take criticisms too badly, especially from Amazon. If the Amazon blurb details what the item is and explains how long it is, then complaints are all on them. I have always felt that some people are paid to make negative complaints or feel they must have something to complain about no matter how good the item is.
That said, I usually like having a detailed blurb of an item before I buy it, but your work I preorder without even knowing a firm title.
FYI: If you need a proofreader, I volunteer.
+1 to all of this, especially the preorder.
Will also proofread, but as a dyslexic probably will be less useful. I am good at noticing the incorrect use of archaic words, though. (For instance, the past tenses of slay are “slew” and slain””, not “slayed” for both. I have seen this in professionally edited books recently.)
You cannot trust Amazon. It is annoying that they forget whether you have bought a title or not. I have titles that I bought a month ago that Amazon says I do not own and books that Amazon lists as “bought” that are not on my list of owned books (aka Manage your content and devices”).
I always check the Kindle app on my iPad if I have any doubts – of course there is the problem that an author may have been wrongly alphabetized…
I discovered that if you pre-order a title and then cancel the order before release day, it will still show up as a bought book. Drove me crazy until I started checking the order.
Also, if there is a cover change, the old cover disappears from the Amazon website. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought the same book twice, lol.
I did buy the Kinsman collection tho even though I have the original releases because my Fire is old and extremely touchy and I am too. It may or may not download a book. I liked the idea of having the collection together in one book. ?
Now I wait patiently for whichever will be the next release and re-read the books I have.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. ?
Only scan read the whinners and ignore as soon as it registers. Suggest you change your music choices and do some happy dancing before your next work session. It might not give inspiration but it might get you giggling!! Positive thoughts being sent your way!
Pre-ordered. Thanks for the heads up. š Already seen snippets, know your work is amazing so of course it was pre-ordered.
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink. You can tell them it was a reprint 50 different ways and they will still complain – because they didn’t listen. Sigh.
Preordered. Yea yea yea. Some people are professional complainers. They just need to gripe. I say let them get it out of their systems. Amazon is great about returns. I returned a book I had bought with different cover. No problem. I knew within 3 pages I had that book.
A lot of people are clueless, mostly because they don’t pay attention. Roll your eyes and move on is usually my reaction, mostly because I can’t slap them and move on! I pre-ordered Sapphire Flames. You write, I buy. That’s the way it is ?I’m looking forward to the Thanksgiving menu discussion!
T. Kingfisher is amanzing read all the books. I also highly recommend The Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine two part by them.
And if you like them and havenāt already – read Robin McKinley!!
Also worth trying if you havenāt already: Juliet Marillier
I heartily second Robin McKinley, with a caveat. Some of hers are better than others. The good ones are insanely good. The not so good ones can be a bit lame. Sunshine is one of the best vampire novels ever. Beauty and Rose Daughter are great retellings of Beauty and the Beast – yes, two different versions. The Hero And The Crown and The Blue Sword are favorites, bordering on YA. Spindle’s End and Chalice, also good. Others, YMMV.
The Blue Sword is one of my favorites! I reread it regularly.
Sunshine, the blue sword and the hero and the crown all favorites of mine
Yāall are awesome. That is all.
Unfortunately you picked the two of T. Kingfishersā weaker books. I highly recommend Jackelope Wives (short stories worth gory fairies and elderly women who actually have agency and worth, gasp!), The Raven and the Reindeer (very Nordic adventure/romance), and Summer in Orcus.
Don’t buy the book because it has no description? That’s just silly. Haven’t found an Ilona Andrews novel I haven’t loved, so I’m not really worried about pre-ordering anything!
+1,000
Right? If I recall correctly it wasn’t all the long ago that the BDH preordered an IA book that didn’t even have a title yet and drove it toward the top of the Amazon list before it’s release date.
Preordered. Can’t wait, but in the meantime I’m rereading Diamond Fire and listening to it on Audible.
I am never worried about pre-ordering your guys books. You are at a count of 26/26 winning books in my opinion + any of the short stories I might have missed in my count of your book that are out. I have enjoyed them all. I will happily buy any story you guys choose to release.
Pre-ordered!! HA!
Happy Thanksgiving! Looking forward to seeing your menu discussion.
Murder sounds awesome. Whoa, I am way too in to murder right now. Actually, I kind of would like to murder some parts of my own writing, which feels kind of topical. (I am *waaay* behind on sleep, and in the damned and determine to get this all turned in tonight come hell or highwater so I can sleep for real, and then go shopping for yarn.)
If the yarn shop is open.
A dear friend and former lab member who is now in med school (and crazy hiker, and generally someone I really liked) was hit by a car while out running and is now dealing with all kinds medical problems and pain, and insurance / legal problems and that kind of pain, while grimly trudging through med school because hell no she’s not going to take a year off.* And she’s cold all the time because stress hormones, and if she shivers it hurts because broken ribs and… yeah.
When I started the end game here, my sister knitted me this amazing thick blanket, and every time I feel down, or cold, I wrap myself up in the tangible reminder that my family loves me. So… if I can get everything together, my reward is going and buying yarn to make my friend a nice warm shawl, and knit it over the long weekend. (This also involve finding yarn in colors and textures that I can work with. I have a plan, but there is flexibility…) Being away from home and injured and doing the grim march of doom is so close to home. (We all went in on a fancy fresh delivered to you door blended soup thing for her liquid diet. Yigh.)
* If I could tell my younger self one thing from serious injury situations in my own past, it would be to take the time off and get better. But I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen.
And bah, this was a rant.
You have enough credit that I’ll buy anything you write – but I do try to read the descriptions š
I wasted a bunch of time looking at overseas etsy yarn vendors, and it might not have been productive, but it was therapeutic?
If you need a quick grin, check out the website for A Sheep at the Wheel. It’s a yarn shop in Georgetown, Texas. The cartoony visuals and punny names are great.
Also, Artiphany has a design called “Social Knitworking” featuring ewes knitting on a bench. It’s available in card, mug, and tote bag form, at least.
I work for neither of these places. I simply like the patterns. ( I am allergic to wool – puts a crimp in my knitting choices )-: )
Thanks – I will!
I’m usually more of a spinner than a knitter, and I haven’t been spinning enough for various reasons that will hopefully change. (It does make it easier for me to work with non-wool things.)
She is cold because of the stress hormones? Tell me more…
Actually, this is really on the shorthand considering how beaten up she is – that kind of injury deregulates your body in a ton of ways, and not being able to thermoregulate can come from a number of sources.
But for a super short answer dealing with the general case (and I’ll try to come back and do it justice when I have time) – and keep in mind I’m talking about physiological stress, ACTH cascade, yadda yadda, which doesn’t entirely map to popular literature stress – when you have a lot of cortisol and other stress hormones in your system for a long time, which can happen for a ton of reasons, emotional stress being yeah, a thing, but something being messed up with your body being even more pressing, you go into what I often thing of as a almost hibernating sort of zone. Craving more sleep, tired, wanting richer food, lethargic, etc. etc. (There are also wonderful hair and skin effects – it all depends on the severity of the effect.) Lack of thermal regulation isn’t uncommon, though for the degree of injury my friend is dealing with, well, she has plenty of options to pick from.
Caveats: I am a researcher, I am no longer actively a biochemist, and I haven’t been following the neuroendocrine side of things as closely as I used to because argh, busy.
Hang in there! Foolish people will always be foolish. I’ve always been happy with your releases and stories; I have no doubt that will continue.
On a happy side note, I’ve written over 30,000 words of my NaNoWriMo story this year. Reading and re-reading your stories has motivated me to write my own story, create my own world, and hopefully some day share my writing with others who’ll enjoy it. So, when some silly people get you down with their shenanigans, just think about those of us who you motivate!
You can’t tell me what to do, I’ll preorder that book if I want to! Which I do, and have done š
My only frustration with the kinsmen stuff is that the kindle copy I purchased ages ago dissapeared from my library. I’m really not ok with losing access to things I paid for like that, but that’s more an Amazon/Digital age issue and not something directly in your control.
“Itās about murder. Lots and lots of murder.” Do we really need more of a book description than this to buy one of your books?! You could say its about cooking and as long as a certain Quillian was doing the narrating in full drama mode I would be all over it! Looking forward to whenever the release date is!
Steve West as the Quillian. Cooking.
OMG.
I did not preorder yet, not because I have any question about how much I want to read this book the instant it is released, but because the first and only time I put in an early pre-order, there were a whole bunch of screw-ups as the seller updated the listing, and two days before the release, I got a notice that my pre-order was cancelled. My book arrived several days late. Now I wait to pre-order.
I am waiting to preorder when the print format is available to go with the other Hidden Legacy books purchased.
You can’t please everyone. Serously, you can’t. Please don’t tie yourself in knots over it.
The queen of fairytale/legend rewrites will always be Robin McKinley for me. Deerskin remains one of the most difficult and heartbreaking books I have ever read.
Itās at the top of my list as well.
See, Deerskin is possibly my least favorite of hers. Not fond of The Outlaws Of Sherwood or Dragonhaven either. Sunshine is my favorite.
Have you read the ones she won awards for? The Blue Sword & Hero & the Crown? Those (and Chalice) are her very best, IMO, but I also read them in my teens, so they were formative. Deerskin is disturbing in a āmake those who are comfortable, uncomfortableā way. Briar Rose is absolutely lovely.
Outlaws of Sherwood and Dragonhaven are definitely not her strongest (although the preface to OoS was again formative for my thinking). Sunshine WAS excellent ā it was the first time in a while that I as a reader saw McKinley as an author struggle with her material (Dragonhaven felt kind of phoned in), and it was an emotional experience to read and see that.
Chalice is my very favorite, followed by Blue Sword and Hero & the Crown. Then Deerskin. But Robin McKinley is also one of my very favorite ā as in top 5 ā authors.
If you buy a kindle book, and realize you’ve already read it, return it for refund within 7 days.
Actually… I didn’t realize the reprint/self-publishing thing until I saw the Facebook & blog post a couple days later. Not everyone reads subscribes to your newsletter, reads your blog, follows you on Facebook. I apologize for being harsh here, but it’s not made clear anywhere on the Amazon listing that it’s a reprint. So yeah, there will be people *will* think they were duped by the reprint, and I think that’s a valid concern for them.
Like someone else said upthread, the easiest way to avoid all this is to update the book description with something like “REPRINT 2018, NOT A NEW STORY” or something to make it blatantly obvious with the book itself.
It’s because it’s not a reprint. Again, the publisher went out of business. This is the only copy available. If there was another edition out there, this would be a reprint. This is not a reprint but a replacement of the original.
Oki, I have no dog in this for lots of reasons, primarily that I had my copies of the Kinsmen novellas downloaded (never to be deleted now) and that I didnāt buy the ānewā ones.
Is it possible to have, instead of āreprintā, āpreviously releasedā? Or āthis is the current release of the previously published āSilent Bladeā/āSilver Sharkā?
Or do you not have control over the way itās described?
I pre-ordered the Kinsmen all in one book. For Sapphire Flames, I can’t pre-order yet through Barnes and Noble. If I could, I would. I agree with everyone about who needs the synopsis of what the book’s about. We, the BDH, know that whatever you and Gordon write, we will get.
As for those who complain the Kinsmen book coming out is a re-print…sigh. People would know if they read the synopsis posted on the website they get the book from. Sometimes you may have to have a bullhorn and say very, very, slowly “It. Is. A. Reprint. Due. To. Former. Publisher. Going. Under.” š
I spend a lot of time looking at detail pages on Amazon, and I assure you, even if the book description says in bold & italics that it’s a reprint or contains reprinted stories, there’s a good chance *someone* will miss that and submit a 1-star review because they’d already read it. People don’t read the description, then criticize the item when it’s not what they thought. I’ve seen it more than once.
I preordered Sapphire Flames anyway. I think we really know enough regarding what it’s about – Catriona. And I’ve never read one of your books or stories that I didn’t love. š
Ignore the people who complain. You two are the best of the best. I also bought the multiple copies of Silent Blade for a couple of reasons: 1) I believe in supporting my favorite authors so they continue to write books (and I think they are just for me…not really cuz I have purchased copies for others too); 2) I was too lazy to check my kindle app to see if I already had a copy. Egg on face but I like breakfast so I am not upset. Oh yeah, theyāre probably the same type of people who complained when there was a delay this year in the Innkeeper when itās FREE. The noive of some people….
āPreorder with one clickā *click*
Really, Authorlords? Catalina and lots of murder? Sounds terrific! Is it August yet?
Hmm, I remember you saying once you thought you should give the money back. Gordon said NO. On that note does he know your telling us to save our Money? Bet he Doesn’t! We always look forward to your books. We always will. Also some people aren’t happy unless they have something to whine about.
I have friend who loves to wear a button that reads “If I’m not bitching, check my pulse.”
I love her, but it is so true.
I haven’t got a clue what your dribbling on about dear, just keep writing and ill keep reading and loving it and those that don’t like it, can, well – poke it, ta ta š
I’d love to pre-order but being in Aust, the amazon site here is always a couple of weeks behind on pre-orders, don’t worry, I’ll keep checking now I know its available on US site š
Love everything you’ve ever written so its a no brainer to pre-order. I’ll also do the paperback cause I like them all sitting on my shelves all together.
I never preorder, but you can bet I am in the store whatever Tuesday it shows up.
If people don’t check into something before they buy it, that’s not on you. It takes 2 seconds to Google Silent Blade and see it’s a reprint. So I wouldn’t worry about it- buyers need to take responsibility for their own purchases.
Agreed. Also, I fail to understand how people who claim that they’re ‘such fans of IA that they auto-buy anything’, can’t recognise a reprint from the blurb alone. There’s a clear outline of the story listed, so it’s not the writers’ fault.
Also, Sapphire Flames is available for pre-order on Kobo UK. Mine’s ordered.
Right? Not to mention THE TITLE HASN’T CHANGED. And it’s listed as “Book one of Kinsman!” If you don’t recognize the title, wouldn’t you at least recognize the series title? Lol.
I left an amazon review saying I was happy they brought it back instead of leaving it out-of-print. God forbid an author makes their backlist available ?āāļø
if i see something new from an author i follow and have not heard anything about it in various upcoming book lists, i check the copyright date and if it is not current, i check to see if its a reprint. It is not on the authors to track my reading habits.
+1 to everyone here.
How can someone not know what they have in their library? Also, how can they not read the # of pages and then complain that it wasn’t full length?
Plenty of the BDH have either purchased the Kinsmen series for the first time, or all over again, just because (ok, maybe the cover was the deciding factor for me).
Ok, so I bought the original, now the new cover version and what the heck, I also pre-ordered ” The Kinsmen Universe”.
I have to say that I do not know all that I have in my library. I DO agree that it is MY problem, and if I buy something twice, I need to suck it up because I’ve been a dumba**.
Still, my Amazon booklist is 1000+. I seriously need to delete some titles but, but…
Maybe I should change my screen name to “Book-devouring Hoarder” LOL
+1 I have 5 Kindles so full of books that they barely work. Easily several thousands. No way do I know all the books I have, but if I buy one twice itās still on me. Amazon returns ebook purchases within 7 days if Iām not mistaken.
Yes, very easy to return kindle books. I finally wised up and put a password on my kindle because my (at the time) 3 year old kept expecting it to work like an ipad and was accidentally buying books. I never had an issue returning those purchases.
I will say that because this was a new edition, Amazon can’t warn you that you’ve purchased the book. (Didn’t matter in this case because my original purchases had disappeared.) I do wish the description included “reprint”, but even if it did, people would still complain that they didn’t know.
I was incredibly happy to finally have a copy of Silent Blade to read! And you know, you can sort by author on the Kindle and find out if you already have it. So my comment to the complainers is, just stop!
And as for not pre-ordering Sapphire Flames – too late, baby! It’s the next Hidden Legacy, I do not need the blurb. But pleeeease don’t kill off any favorites!
Thanksgiving dinner looks like a major yummy occasion at the Gordon household. Everyone have a good holiday!
I agree. Buyers are responsible for their purchases. Besides Iām excited that it was reprinted.
Thank you everyone for saying what needed to be said !
People needing to take responsibility for their own actions !
Honestly , oh sorry shades of mom…, anyway the people who buy the books are responsible for their purchases. Now that both Amazon and Barnes and Noble let you know when you have bought a book previously there is no excuse. As for Turkey day… turkey on the grill. My husband has a Premo. Think green egg different brand, steamed beans , grilled Brussels sprouts, company potatoes, sweet potatoes casserole, frozen pumpkin custard pie, apple pie and hot spiced apples cider?
I don’t buy everything you write – but I put in a pre-order for Sapphire Flames. And I don’t care if it’s basically a pig in a poke right now.
I’m not able to buy everything immediately either (sorry on a budget here), but my town library is awesome (Funny, but your books are/were mostly there in German AND in English – the only exception are those, that fell apart after to many rereads š ) and they often put suggested books on the “must have”-list. Often the one who asked for it, is also the first one reading it, as soon as it arrives. So tomorrow, I will go and let it put on the list – preorder is available now …
What do you mean discussion on thanksgiving menu?! TURKEY, MASHED POTATOES, SAGE STUFFING, GREEN BEANS, CARROTS, PUMPKIN and APPLE PIE. THE END
Is the rest showing off?
or Turkey, Sage and Black Pepper Cornbread Dressing, Fried Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli, Greens, Pound Cake, and Apple Pie.
Just Sayin’
Wellll, the greens and sweet potatoes do sound pretty good. And I guess I have to concede sweet potatoes are pretty traditional. Alright, I stand corrected.
Wait. I can’t cook good greens. I knew there was a reason for my limited menu.
Depending on the type of greens, you can blanch any greens in hot, salted water for a few minutes, put them in cold water to keep the vegetable green, and then finish them up in oil or butter with pepper and a little bit more salt. You could add cooked bacon for more flavor.
If steaming is wanted instead of blanching, you could do that as well. ?
Collards tend to not do well like this, IMHO, but it works really great for mustard greens and kale.
I say there’s room for it all!
I will actually be working, but I take in the sweet potatoes (pre-baked, sliced 1/2 inch rounds dredged in sugar and fried) and dressing to work for a potluck. Those are the traditional family things that make it feel like Thanksgiving to me.
That’s awesome that you’re working and doing that cooking too. But I notice you didn’t say anything about greens. Now, I have tasted some pretty awesome greens, and I just can’t cook like that. That to me comes under the heading of SHOWING OFF.
Greens are touchy, the best I’ve made had been hand picked that morning at the farm up the road from my house. Yum. But usually, it’s the liquid smoke (for vegetarians), smoked turkey wings, or bacon that make the difference. I also tend to put crushed red pepper in as well.
I definitely taste and adjust the recipe as needed. One year I decided they needed Sriracha. Which was awesome (probably the sugar plus the heat).
I have to point out that dishes vary by region and by family. My stepmother proudly served giblet dressing and giblet gravy, and I pretended to eat both. (Stirred it around and spread it out, before putting it in the garbage.)
My family made oyster stew and/or oyster stuffing for holiday meals, but my ex didn’t like them, and his mother claimed that she couldn’t stand the smell, so she banished everyone who ate either to the far end of the table. (Sometimes, someone would bring one or the other to contribute to the meal, because my MIL’s father really liked them.)
Personally, I *loathe* giblets as I do black pepper and sage, so none of them appear on our menu in any form. I and my children are ambivalent about pumpkin pie (it’s not horrible, but it’s also not chocolate), so dessert is also up for grabs.
Our constants are turkey, green beans and sweet potatoes, but our leafy greens are presented as salad; probably because we’re Northerners. š
Ha! I started the “tradition” of working the holidays to avoid my MIL’s god awful holiday meals. I was so upset I conspired thereafter to ensure I had what I considered appropriate holiday meals.
And her Oyster stuffing made me nauseous. Blech!
I find turnip greens to be pretty forgiving. I was about to leave them off the menu this year, but I just can’t. My other dishes are so rich that I need those savory greens.
Hum, I might have some leftover Chinese while I detail my car, or I might cook some chili. I need to do that and freeze it for work. But hey, at least I get a day off.
Hey, Boston market you can order a Turkey, dressing and their really good cranberry salad. I forgot to put cranberry dressing on my list (I like it with nuts).
I was just going to say you forgot the cranberry sauce. I make mine from scratch. (The secret is to boil the cranberries in a good cranberry juice NOT water.)
I live in a good sized small town in the middle of now where in the Mid West. No Boston Market here.
Yāall are awesome and thank you for your amazing books! Please donāt let the silly people in the world get you down š
+ 1 million!!!! ?
By the way, I voted for your book as best book of the year on Good Reads. Heads up horde – cast your vote on Good Reads, if you havenāt already. IMHO you (Ilona and Gordon) truly deserve to win, and I hope you do!! There is a reason you have a BDH who canāt get enough of your books – you are amazingly talented and write wonderful stories!! Try not to let the intellectually challenged get you down. There will always be some who complain and find fault no matter what you do or say. It is very difficult, but try not to let these (I will continue to call them intellectually challenged) people get you depressed. You are extremely talented and gifted authors who are very generous in the amount of time you spend communicating with your fans. You are very clear about things (such as āThis is a reprintā), and are not responsible for anyone who cannot read what is right in front of them! Thank you for all you do, and I hope you win best book of the year for Fantasy on Good Reads. ?
Speaking of BDH as I have never read anything of yours that I didnāt like I have ordered Sapphire Fire on the clear understanding that I donāt know what itās about and I have been warned so on my own head be it. ?
I love Hidden Legacy ????
Isn’t all the books about murder in some way? Pre-order!!!!
To preorder or not to preorder…I’m not entirely sure if you’re serious about the not recommending the version of “Sapphire Flames” that is available for preorder. I mean, are you concerned about issues because it doesn’t have anything up with it yet, or are you poking fun at the people who don’t know how to use google?
On the one hand, I can’t see you letting us know that it’s available to preorder if you had concerns about it, but on the other, by telling us you wouldn’t buy it, this post would serve as a warning that there *are* concerns.
On a side note: have you read any of the Sevenwaters books by Juliet Marillier? The first book is (loosely) based on the “The Six Swans” story, but she takes it a different route from there. It’s worth a try, anyway?
-Tiffany
Pre-ordered it! Can’t wait to see what happens with Catassandro (or was it Allessina?)
š
Cassandro has been our ship name for it on the Fb group.
+1 for Cassandro.
I preordered Sapphire Flames. No description was necessary. And take reviews with a grain of salt, unless itās someone you know and respect. ;o)
I also pre ordered. First, you have is a snippet and that was enough. Second, your worst book is better than 80% of what is our there.
The AL have worst books? I don’t recall any! LOL But truthfully, any Ilona Andrews book, novella, short story, snippet… anything I can get, I want.
+1. But I would say āweakestā book instead of āworstā. They just donāt write bad books.
Agreed. It’s like: Best, Bestest, and Bestestest
+1- BTW my husband claims these are non existent words like when I tell him he is the Bestestest Husband Everest! (not the mountain). Sigh and English is his native language š
SERIOUSLY … their worst bokk
Is there such a creature … Then i thought about it …
It would have to be something i didn’t get, didn’t engage me, didn’t care about the outcome … ummm
O K, we all have our moments, i agree
I pre-ordered! It’s an Ilona Andrews Hidden Legacy book. Nuff said!
So true.
LOL, true.
I auto pre-order everything from the AL’s that isn’t a reprint. And yes, I can actually look and see if something is a reprint or not. Especially when the book title is the same.
Hmm Turkey, no ham this year. Dressing, mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, sweet potato soufflƩ, cranberry sauce and cranberry salad, peas croissants, and pumpkin pie. Probably should booze it up a little to get through the day.
Y’all are making me sad here with all of the food talk. š I may have to go by Walmart tonight when I get off and buy a pumpkin pie and some whipped cream. I need to get some groceries anyway so that I can fix a couple of big batches of chili to freeze for work.
If I know my sisters, they will call me and gloat about all of the good food that they are stuffed on at mom’s house and gee, didn’t I wish that I could come home for the holidays this year?
Well if you have a K&W or Cracker barrel restaurant near by, I know they are serving Thanksgiving meals.
Hmmm. And I know I can get greens at Cracker Barrel. But I bet I can’t get dark meat. Restaurants always serve Turkey breast, which I don’t find as flavorful as dark meat.
Nope, we have a McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, a Taco John’s and a Chinese buffet, a Steakhouse a Mexican place, a deli and a couple of other local similar things.
Buttered noodles? That’s a new one for me.
My family did buttered noodles with a twist – you browned chopped onions in the butter (or blackened them if you were my mom), then tossed the butter sauce over the noodles. A nice oniony flavor (but I had to pick out the black ones from mom’s efforts). My guess is it’s a northern dish as she was from PA and I’ve never seen it anywhere in the south.
Yup, add in some chicken, especially Rotisserie.
Champagne! Actually I get those splits of Proseco (Italian champagne) because I can’t drink a whole bottle; its just not the same the next day. I think maybe I’ll go to Publix and see what I can get to just heat up. They take orders for heat and serve Thanksgiving meals, and then they have extra odds and ends for sale individually. That way I get the taste of thanksgiving without tons of cooking. Still, left overs are really the best thing about thanksgiving, so maybe I’ll go the whole route.
I bought a set of what I hope will be 12 teaspoons from Amazon. I was down to 3. ? Will see if I got it on the first attempt…someone put a picture of the spoons w a mug, so fingers crossed!!
It’s making me smile that Ilona says don’t buy the book yet and everyone is like, hahaha, of course we’re buying it… I’m looking forward to what comes next for Catalina! I also love Runa already!
House Krahr strikes again! They “borrowed” your spoons as well for the wedding. ?
I enjoyed the Seventh wife but she also wrote a book called the Nine Goblins which I enjoyed much more. I recommend it for the humour if nothing else.
Just a question: Is the author T. Kingfisher? Becauses I find a book called Bryony and Roses under that name, but only a book called The Seventh Bride. So now IĀ“m a little confused….
Thanks for the help
I call it the 20% factor, as in 20% of the population is completely stupid. No matter what, where or how you put it out there someone somewhere is to stupid to see the fraking signs!!! Iāve done the research.
Only 20%?
At least 50% of the people that you deal with are below average remember.
I was glad to see the reprint-I missed them the first time around. They worked for me. I also enjoyed Swine and Roses-interesting to see the first version of Nevada and Catalina’s world.
Donāt sweat it!!! People need to actually READ before they comment. You keep in doing what youāre doing!!ā¤ļø
Really?? I write donāt stress and it didnāt save it. Thank you overloads for writing what you do. You entertain me more than you can know!! I REALLY APPRECIATE what you do!!
OO! Canāt wait for Sapphire Flames!
All hail the power of the BDH. When the pre-order availability was announced the ranking for all Kindle books for SAPPHIRE FLAMES was 3775 and the sub-categories rankings were 159, 175 and 295. In the next few hours the BDH was busy with the pre-order button and now the ranking for all Kindle books is 130 and the sub-categories are 2,2 and 4.
Anne in Virginia
I am just curious. How much of the story do you map out before you begin? Do you have an outline you work from? Is it completely organic, meaning you donāt know until you sit behind the computer screen?
Please include paperback version. I donāt own a kindle. Plus I like reading a book the old fashion way .
Diamond, now sapphire, then emerald and ruby?
Thank you and looking forward to Thanksgiving menu discussion.
Possibly. The publisher thought jewels would be fun. š
Just preordered Sapphire Flames. My rational even though I don’t know what it’s about,
You wrote it
You don’t write bad books
It’s about Catalina
nuff said.
+1 Yea, I ordered it too for same reasons. Who’s Runa?
The Magus Venenata from Diamnond Fire who detected and neutralised the poison at the bakery.
Try Summer in Orcus! I think you might like the ending better.
Just snagged Byrony and Roses, thanks for the rec!! š
I really liked the Author’s short story Jackalopes Wives. It made me smile.
Understand and can appreciate the frustration.
I will say that as a reader / purchaser it helps to see in the book description if it is republished / rereleased. I just checked Silent Blade (B&N) and did not see it noted there in description that it was a re-release.
While well noted and discussed here, not everone reads this site. I just started this summer. I own every book of yours, started reading your work when the first Kate Daniels came out. Already owned (and love) the Kinsman but as I purchaed / read it so long ago I’m not positive I would have recognized it was a re-release.
New covers throw me. My brain indexes on the images. When I think it might be familiar, I specifically look for the author note in the short description.
Not a complaint – just trying to offer insight from the purchasers side. I can see how it happened. Im sorry that it frustrates you.
This is the only version of the novelette available. To say it’s a reprint would imply that there is an earlier edition. There isn’t it. That edition disappeared with the publisher. š If you delete the Samhain edition from your Kindle, you cannot redownload it. It is gone forever.
DO NOT induce Nightmares
I would never de … le … te … and then there are power outages & device provider upgrades and new design
… Aa
AAaaahhhh
My Precious nooooo
Oh wow! Totally dramatic! Totally true! Totally laugh myself off my feet funny!
Huh, I accidentally archived my Kindle awhile ago and lost a bunch of books. I think they must have been in my library from a Kindle unlimited trial or something because there were a few I’d read multiple times but couldn’t find a purchase receipt for. Oddly the Sahmain versions just downloaded back to my Kindle fine right now. I know archive isn’t the same as delete but it should ease the device failure terror.
Ilona – Thanks for the explaination. Makes sense when explained that way.
However, not exactly working as expected on my device. To explain what I see on my Nook better…
I had purchased both of these along time ago. Silver Shark reloaded with new cover. Silent Blade retains an older blue and black cover of a woman holding a blade. I also see Silent Blade for purchase. If I wasn’t reading the blog and matching book names / known about cover update I could have easily bought a second copy.
Wanted to test so I could provide data. I just bought it. I now have TWO copies of the Silent Blade book on my Nook.
I suspect others saw a new book available for purchase and did an auto-buy. They learned when reading it was a duplicate of something they had.
The 2 orginally purchased books group together (one new and one old cover). The second copy purchased just now shows up as a stand alone, not grouped with other two. Clearly there is some functionality not working right / as anticipated.
Hope this helps better explain what’s going on.
Don’t buy it she says… It has no description, she says…. pfft
Take My Money!!!
Me too!
lol – so true!
Me too!
The Kate Daniels series was on my list of books I’d preorder sight unseen months ahead, but not other series of the authorlords. Hidden Legacy is now on that list, too.
Are there other non-American readers here who order their e-books on Amazon.com? Because I noticed recently that a lot Kindle-titles aren’t available to me right now – even e-books I bought earlier this year – and it seems that Sapphire Flames is one of those books. Which means I can’t pre-order it. I know Amazon has a problem with this, so if it isn’t fixed soon, I could change my address to a hotel in the USA or something like that, and buy the e-books that way (but I prefer not to, since I buy my paper books on the German Amazon for example), but I think a lot of other international readers don’t know about it and they can’t find books this way. I know other readers tried contacting Amazon about this problem, but they don’t seem to understand it. (https://davidgaughran.com/2018/11/12/amazon-kdp-books-unavailable-international-readers/?fbclid=IwAR0zwham1LjCy7P3mlk8Df-6xo2saTaDyP232sgYIHVmNwPku-OpooKSFQI) Has anyone else here the same problem?
I saw that on Amazon.de when I tried to gift a Kindle book to my husband (by making him buy it, since I’m registered on Amazon US). (Unfortunately not an IA book, John Scalziās Collapsing Empire is much more to his taste). He checked the news in German, and itās a publisher/pricing issue.
Have yāall noticed that new Kindle releases that used to be $9.99 are now $14.99? The publishers raised the prices on anything that comes out in hardcover, because they think theyāre losing money on hardcover sales (they might be losing a bit, but I canāt afford to buy hardcover, and at these new prices, I have to be much more choosy about my pre-orders).
Anyway, I donāt know about the other Amazons, but at least Amazon.de is protesting the price increase for now.
We don’t have a national Amazon-store where I live, so this means that 1) a few yearq ago I had to buy my Kindle on the American Amazon (and pay higher shipping costs) and 2) that I can only buy e-books on the US Amazon. Only those books became more and more unavailable to me the last months. So I’m also a bit frustrated. The stupid thing is that I didn’t think to check if this was a bigger problem. It took someone else mentioning it on Facebook to put things together.
I order kindle books with a Russian address from Amazon.com and I have not experience this problem. Maybe it’s Amazon.de?
Try going to Amazon.com and placing the order there without changing anything else.
germany here,
i started kindle on amazon.com because of the english books,
but for the last couple of years ~3-4 i use amazon.de, you have to search for the books more direkt when they come out but ilona andrews is always there
Thank you for the information, Michaela. I’ll check if buying English e-books on Amazon.de is possible for me. I couldn’t in the past, but maybe it is possible now.
The strange things is that I could (and did) pre-order The Kinsmen Universe without problems on Amazon.com, but that I can’t do the same for Sapphire Flames.
I know you know this, but I’ll add my support to the “disregard people that don’t read the specifications” crowd.
To those buyers, “You were given the information by IA and by whatever retailer you use. You either didn’t read or didn’t pay attention. Bummer. The End.”
I am also curious to hear about your Thanksgiving dinner. Different parts of the country have their traditional dishes. While you have moved around, you are basically a Southern couple, so I expect that influence, but I also wonder if there is a Russian flair.
I am a transplant, but moved to the Pacific Northwest (Tri-Cities, Washington) with my North Dakotan mother and Canadian (Manitoban) step-father in 1978. We don’t really have hard-and-fast traditions, and several of us are trying to eat a lot less carbohydrates, so our menu has evolved. FYI, we are having turkey cooked on the Komodo Komado grill (my step-dad’s), cranberry relish, salad, green beans almondine, sweet potato sham, cauliflower faux-tay-toes, oyster dressing, rolls, pumpkin pie pots de creme, and chocolate pots de creme.
I hope your Thanksgiving is fantastic. <3
I like to look at the copyright date. I find I do this a lot with the Linda Howard books to make sure its not something I already read. That’s where I find its not a new book.
The problem with that is that with slightly older books, the copyright date on the e-book as listed on the Amazon page is the copyright date of the e-book. So if a book originally published in 1990 makes it to Kindle in 2016, the Amazon Kindle page lists it as having a 2016 copyright. One must be very careful where they are looking ?.
Now that is good to know
Thankee kindly
I find it ironic that readers donāt read the warnings! But on the hand I teach English and I am surrounded by teachers who donāt read!!! A case in point, I have just finished coordinating our schoolās senior Formal(like a prom) and one of my colleagues went to the wrong venue because he didnāt read the invitation! You could have heard my sigh across the ocean in the USA! ( also as this is a massive social event at our school, not sure how he missed the other fifty conversations about it) Have to keep smiling!
Bwa ha ha ha! I’m a K-12 librarian, it’s a true fact that teachers are just as bad as their students when it comes to not reading instructions. We once had to close the library because we were holding some IB exams in the group study rooms. I sent all staff emails and included it in morning announcements for a week. I made a sign as large as my double doors, it was neon orange. I completely covered the doors with it and it was clearly visible at the other end of the hallway. Teachers and students “never saw a sign” and were confused that the library was closed to them for the morning.
i think you mean the seventh BRIDE (not wife)
i think you mean the seventh BRIDE (not wife)
i think you mean the seventh BRIDE (not wife)
You don’t recommend pre-ordering? ILONA!! Everything you two write is excellent, pre-order-worthy, addictive!! Can hardly wait to read it! The snipped you gracefully let us read ….. just can’t wait!! Have all your books and absolutely love your style, imagination, snark!
Found “Silent Blade” and “Silver Shark” absolutely captivating and in no way was disappointed! There will always be “negaholics”, just ignore them!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family; we haven’t so much to be grateful for!
It may help some people to know that Amazon will refund you for a book you think is horrible or that you already have, etc. Perhaps folks won’t have breakdowns if a refund is only a few clicks away. Go into “Account and Lists”, a dropdown menu, and choose “Your Content and Devices”. Click on the box under the heading “Actions” that is next to the book’s name. Click Return/Refund (I can’t remember which), and go from there.
You have seven days to do this. My advice is, if you’re going to buy a book you’re not sure you’re going to love, don’t buy it until you know you’re going to start reading it. With access to the Internet, we can download a book to our Kindles immediately. A caution: if you take this as an invitation to use Amazon like a public library and ask for a refund for every ebook you buy, Amazon will have a problem with it.
How ridiculous and sad people can be. I have multiple copies of yāall work and itās Great with me ?. You know you really like a book when you try to convince a family member to read it which is what I did with my sister last week. I told her about the the Dawn of Dae series by Trillian Anderson. I like how she unfolds this world to her readers and all the support characters!! They make me smile and laugh because even when one cant talk or say just one word the reader gets the meaning loud and clear…āMommy!ā….ENJOY
Dear Ilona, having been unable to get Silent Blade before I was absolutely thrilled when you mentioned it would be republished. And very glad when it was available, so please rest assured there are a lot of people out there you made very happy with this book (as with all of your books actually).
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving menu: we (okay, āIā because I am the oldest family member) have been making the exact same Thanksgiving menu my Mom made in 1988… her last thanksgiving… all of her recipes, just like she did. Okay, maybe I added a few things now and then but the majority of the dishes are exactly the same in honor of My Mom. This year is different. My grandkids are grown and have their own lives/obligations so we are going to do Lubyās! Spend a few hours together as a family. Enjoy each otherās company and then head out to visit with others. Iām heading to Mayfield Park in ATX afterward to visit a place that was precious to my granddaughter (who we lost 11/15/14 when she was 19). The peacocks were her āfavorestā thing!?
I’ve read both those books as well and completely agree – really interesting main characters, great premise/twist on an old story and then ERGH.
Publishing updates sound a lot like what I try to do with parents at schoolāput the information out on multiple platforms, direct email, etc…and then thereās someone who complains that weāre lacking transparency and/or refusing to acknowledge a problem!
I wrote something that I really, really liked (it landed in revision hell along with so many other things). One morning, I got up with the ending ready to type in. So I did. Then I re-read it and said, “I hate books that end like this. This *cannot* be the end. Even if it feels fantastic right now, it just can’t be.”
I spent a while reminding myself that I was the one in charge and it didn’t have to be, but I can’t shake that closing image. And because it came out of me and I have all the background, it has way too much emotional impact on me and I still think of it and wonder.
Just wondering.. why is it showing up for only $5.32? Will it be a novella? Not that I’m complaining, it’s just that it’s much less than I expected to pay for a brand new book (compared to the Iron Covenant and Kate Daniel series).
In any case, I’ll wait for it to pop-up on the Apple bookstore before I order – it gets confusing when I need more than 3 apps to find all my books ;).
And thanks Ilona, I love all your books, but the hidden legacy ones are my favourite. Can’t wait to see when Alessandro and Catalina meet again!
Nope, full length. It’s the first in the trilogy so it’s priced lower.
āCāmon, just TRY it. The first oneās free.ā
Pre-ordered and I don’t care. I have bought books on speculation before that have made me gag and then others were a complete delight. That’s how I find new and exciting authors, story lines and characters that I’m happy to invest in. I’m invested in the hidden legacy series and enjoying every bit thus far. I’m looking forward to the evolution of the Baylor House and everyone in the family.
Despite your recommendation to NOT buy it… I have in fact gone ahead and pre-ordered. Thank you for the heads up š
If there is a publication-chain snafu, it’s not like Amazon charges me until you release the book and it’s delivered to me. And now I don’t have to worry about missing it — not that I would. Innkeeper has me trained to come by once a week, and your blog content for another time a week, so if I miss an upcoming release with ALL that… well, it will be a pleasant surprise right around my anniversary.
The Seventh Wife, not to be confused with Wife Number Seven, a story of modest sister wives and the man they all. . .love. Amazon.
It’s due in august
oh shades of giving birth …
still waffling
NO ifs ands buts maybes sortas likas kindas No nada! Getting the book but
By August 2019, when they FINALLY charge my card, I can almost guarantee I will have a 99 cent conflict that will result in fees & having to listen to some dipwad explain,
‘ that as a courtesy to ME! they charged me when they delivered AND NOT when l ordered’
NOPE been burned too many times …
About complaints, l have every book you have published * that l am aware of.
OH how my heart stutters and thrills when you announce a new release … then we hit that whole truth in disclosure thing you do … BLAM thud ugg … reeling from the collision with a reality l so seriously do NOT want to accept l am at times forced to slap my hands THEN sit on the damn things BECAUSE ! ! ! ! Ordering them (re-releases) will NOT cause them to transmute to something new.
I mention this solely, so you may have a different vision of one more person telling you (l know not why) of the act they performed in self delusion of the known facts.
You told us. We know & if enough attention was not paid Caveat Emptor … eh
Truly truly purchasing will not cause them to transmute
This is a mundane plane dammit
* l can’t find 2 of my edge books … paperbacks … l know people who read … l had em … somewhere, never mind
I still can’t pre-order Sapphire Flames on Barnes and Noble. Anyone else?
Neh Capt, it is not there.
They just launched a new upgrade, my library is scrambled. Ilona gave me nightmares; if my nook is now showing the new cover, Do l still have my old samhain book or the new re-release.
Is it ridi cu lous to be afraid to read to find out.
While I will definitely get Sapphire Flames I will not pre-order it because 1) I like to support my local B&N and 2) If I pre-order it I will forget and then get 2, which I have done in the past. I gave the extra copy to my library.
Ok…. Several thoughts in brief bullets below:
* It is utterly astonishing what people complain about.
* Flush the negativity.
* Ilona and Gordon are far more awesome than chocolate chip cookies.
* All kidding aside you have far more support and supportive fans than silly ones.
* I also voted for Iron and Magic on Goodreads.
* One of my favorite things about the blog is getting to read comments from people in other countries.
* Of course I’m going to purchase Saphire Flames…silly!
* Can you tell I just got home from work?! LOL
FRUSTRATION
The Seventh Bride; No you are not being hypercritical
The heads ups was critical to my ability to enjoy this tale.
Good story, strong voice, sensible hesitations … she’s 15, a little hysteria, helplessness, mindlessness … but she kept losing the mind that would allow her to triumph.
‘She’s just a kid,’ is a symptom of ‘let her be a child’
The openning of this tale introduced a character with a mind, who knew they were being trapped in a situation they needed to grow into. To take control of and battle their way out of.
The ending reduced her to a crybaby, when she had worked so far to a resolution where she could have claimed her magic without being a ‘victim’. I enjoyed the read.
SOMEONE IS LYING!!
Amazon: “Sapphire Flames has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.”
The creator/author/power-that-is aka author-lord: “There is no description yet.”
Well not lying, but incompetence on the part of (most likely) Amazon.
I am also amused that a company which started life as an on-line bookseller allows a sentence such as ” has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher” to go live on its world wide web site. Why not “Descriptive copy for is not yet available from the Publisher”?
You could write my shopping list on an envelope and I’d want to buy it. Happy Thanksgiving!
This is me reading my teacher evals at the end of the semester! If you’d just read the syllabus… ?
I really don’t want to wait. I want to read SAPPHIRE FLAMES desperately… Thank you for all these wonderful stories.
I care not about the lack of description. I have faith in you. You rock. You’re awesome. You da woman. And da man. But I’m a Nook girl so I’ll wait.
I love Ursula Vernon aka T.Kingfisher (almost as much as I do you guys) but not all of her stories work for me, and I agree that The Seventh Bride and Bryony and Roses have flaws, so you called it right as far as Iām concerned. š But when sheās hitting on all cylinders she writes amazing stories, mostly in the fairytale genre, but with twists. I adored Summer in Orcus, and Jackalope Wives is one of my favorite short stories ever (itās free online at Apex magazine, as is the excellent sequel, The Tomato Thief).
Hope your Thanksgiving day was great!
Oooh, don’t forget that “Jackalope Wives” is available for a free listen on LeVar Burton Reads. LeVar Burton!!!! I squeed so loudly when that came out.
Try Ursula’s Clocktaur War books, “Clockwork Boys” and “Wonder Engine”. They’re wonderful and she has another novella set in the same world coming out on the 27th. You’ve got a ninja accountant who’s allergic to everything, an assassin, a disgraced paladin, and a misogynist academic monk (he learns better eventually) on a suicide mission to find out how to destroy the Clockwork Boys, which are (apparently mechanical) four-legged juggernauts that vaguely resemble centaurs. Oh, and if they go off-mission, the flesh-eating tattoos they were given will eat them alive. Love her so much. š
Amazon.com.au haven’t caught up yet so unable to preorder š Must say has been quite educational reading your thanksgiving prep given we don’t have it here.
We are going to the beach for christmas so I’m having to do a fair bit of preplanning to do a christmas lunch as people expect it. š
Loving your books and sad the end appears to be in sight for Sweep of the Blade as I won’t be able to get all excited on saturdays anymore lol