This week I've got Jenelle Schmidt, author of King's Warrior, sitting down for an interview. Let's see what she has to say.

1. Please tell us about yourself.

I grew up in the Western Chicago suburbs. I now reside in North Carolina where I melt in the summer and miss the snow terribly in the winter. I write fantasy and science fiction novels.

Besides writing, I have been an English teacher, a play director, a math teacher, and currently am working super hard as a stay-at-home-mom/author. I also play frisbee and soccer, root for the Cubs (despite the fact that they let me down year after year), love downhill skiing and riding horses and (as Ratty says in “The Wind in the Willows” “messing about in boats.” Unfortunately, I don’t get to do any of these things nearly as often as I would like.

2. What's the name of your newest or latest book and what's it about?

King’s Warrior is a story about a headstrong, adventurous princess who is sent on a quest to find the one man who can help ... [More]

Here she is, folks. The new (and first) cover for Fine Wine, a (very) short story that begins the adventures of my Assassin Without a Name character. You can read the story itself right here on my web site for free. Or, if you own a Kobo reader, you can download it there for free as well. It's coming to the iBookstore (for free, also), but they're taking their time putting it out on the salesroom floor, so I can't provide the download link just yet.

I'd love to make Fine Wine available as a free download on Amazon and BN.com, but neither of those retailers allow authors to price books (or short stories, in this case) for free. Not yet, anyway.

As for the cover, I really like it. It's not what you might expect for a fantasy story about an assassin, but it speaks to the content of the story itself and I really like the way the artist highlighted that this is part of a series with the silhouetted figure and text at the bottom.

If you haven't read Fine Wine yet, go read it now and let me... [More]

This week I've got Michelle Browne, author of the highly-rated The Loved, The Lost, The Dreaming. Read on to see what she has to say.

1. Please tell us about yourself.

I’m told that I’m a sweetie and full of sunshine and warmth. I like writing about dark and horrible things. I also love chocolate and strawberries and steak. I cannot go without reading a book or writing for more than a day at a time. I have a thing for magpies; I relate to them and also adore shiny things.

2. What's the name of your newest or latest book and what's it about?

It is a cross genre horror anthology called 'The Loved, The Lost, The Dreaming'. If you like madness, fairy tales, and regret, you will love this.

It includes a full length novel, 'The Underlighters' , and 11 stand alone short stories. Interested in worlds where a plague of nightmare-inducing Dust forces humanity underground? Where disembodied han... [More]

I thought as I received notable words from Wordnik's Word of the Day service, I'd post them here. If you like, sign-up for Wordnik's Word of the Day service yourself.

theic

One who is addicted to the immoderate use of tea; a tea-drunkard.

I take the hot seat this time over on the blog and web site of Jill Sanders. Go check it out.

While you're there, why not check out Jill's books? Finding Pride, the first novel in her Pride Series Romance Novels, is free on Amazon as I write this.

This week I've got Antonello Fiore, author of Killer Rumors, sitting down for an interview. Let's see what he has to say.

1. Please tell us about yourself.

Well first off, I have been married since last May to my beautiful wife, Sandy. She is my everything.

I am currently a Nurse’s Aide, working in a Home Care Agency. I graduated from Concordia University with a Bachelor’s Degree majoring in Theological Studies and a minor in Religion. I also completed the Canadian Certificate Youth Ministry Studies held at the Archdiocese of Montreal.

I am very active with my Church. I have been teaching the Faith First Catechism Program for over ten years, played guitar and sang with the choir, and have played the part as Jesus for their annual Good Friday play.

I am a huge sports fan. My favorite sport to play and watch is soccer. The leagues which I follow include the Italian league (Serie A) and Major League Soccer (MLS). My favorite teams are Juventus and the Montreal Impact, respectivel... [More]

I thought as I received notable words from Wordnik's Word of the Day service, I'd post them here. If you like, sign-up for Wordnik's Word of the Day service yourself.

quincunx

An arrangement of five objects in a square, one at each corner and one in the middle; especially, an arrangement, as of trees, in such squares continuously.

In botany, same as quincuncial estivation.

In astrology, the position of planets when distant from each other five signs or 150°.

A Roman brass coin of five unciæ.

A reliquary in the shape of a cross, the four parts of which can be folded over the central one.