Author’s Note: To celebrate my better than expected ebook sales for the month of September, I have another new chapter of Moonlight! Should the muses continue to favor me, I’ll have the next one on Oct. 13th.

Thanks for reading! ^_^

Moonlight Ch. 46

Magebound has been formatted, uploaded and proofed! It’s ready to be published via CreateSpace and should be on Amazon by the end of the week and in other bookstores in 6 – 8 weeks. Like I did with Breach and Broken Wings, I’m going to order some copies of Magebound myself and offer signed copies. I’d like to get an idea of how many people are interested so I can decide if I should get 10 or 20 copies. Since it was previously published, many of you may already have a print copy, and I don’t want a big box of books sitting around my bedroom if no one wants them, lol!

I also have two copies of Broken Wings and three copies of Breach available, but I can order more if I run out and I do offer discounts if you want to order multiple books at once.

Magebound – $10

Breach – $10

Broken Wings – $12

Any two for $18

All three for $25 (A $36+ value based on current Amazon prices)

Shipping and handling is $3 for one book and +$1 for each additional book within the US. I’ll do international shipping if you’re willing to cover the cost (which is crazy expensive, in my opinion). I accept PayPal.

If you’re interested, please leave a comment so I know how many books to order, or you can email me at katicalocke(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks!

Katica Locke: Hello, everyone. Today, I have the pleasure and honor to introduce the great Lord Sactaren, Traxen’s resident mage. Welcome, M’Lord.

Naeven Sactaren: Thank you, Ms. Locke. It is an honor to be here.

KL: Please, call me Katica.

NS: Of course. Whatever you want. This is your dog and pony show, after all.

KL: Am I detecting a bit of hostility, Lord Sactaren?

NS: Oh, no. I don’t have anything better that I could be doing with my time.

KL: I love your thinly veiled sarcasm.

NS: Oh, you caught that, did you?

KL: Well, I am a writer. It helps if I can pick up on the subtleties of human language…You are human, aren’t you?

NS: What else would I be?

KL: (smiles) Any number of annoying things. Maybe I should run a DNA test to be sure.

NS: (sighs) Yes, I’m human. All of my ancestors have been human for as far back as I could trace them — fourteen generations.

KL: Why is that? Your family have something against other species? Xenophobia?

NS: Hardly. My aunt married a faun and I had a third cousin who had a thing for goblins, it’s just that interspecies unions rarely produce viable offspring. Like a horse and a donkey make a sterile mule.

KL: Interesting. Have you ever had an interspecies affair?

NS: Who hasn’t? Now, I was promised a sack of fan mail from the semi-literate peasants who read my book.

KL: Your book? Excuse me, but Magebound is my book, or else Lark’s book. Not your book. And don’t insult my fans.

NS: Am I not the ‘mage’ in Magebound? I think that entitles me to first billing. Have you decided who will play me in the movie?

KL: I seem to be losing control of this interview. Let’s do a few fan letters and then you can get back to ogling Lark and skulking around the back room, or whatever you have to do that’s so important. (digs into mail bag) Here’s one from Angelina in Syracuse, New York. ‘Dear Lord Sactaren, can you introduce me to Jan Besteth? He’s so gorgeous!’

NS: (icy stare) Very funny.

KL: (laughs) Okay, for real. She asks, ‘Why don’t you do something productive with all your powers? If I had magic, I’d use it to help people.’

NS: Good for you, Angelina. And while you’re helping people — who won’t appreciate it, by the way, they’ll just demand you do more for them — the magic will slowly strip the morality from your soul until you are as greedy and selfish as I am, and you will become just another in a long line of altruistic mages who succumb to the same, inevitable fate.

KL: Wow, aren’t you just a box of sunshine. Next question: From Sylrivie in Rakish Bend on Eixiin. ‘Dear Lord Sactaren, do you wear boxers or briefs?’

NS: I prefer to go commando.

KL: Okay, last question. This one is from Magebound Junkie in India. ‘Dear Lord Sactaren, in the upcoming sequel, will be any less of an asshat than you were in Magebound?’

NS: (eyes turn red) Excuse me? An asshat?

KL: Well, that’s all the time we have for today folks. Thanks for joining us and if you missed our interviews with Lark and Schaff, you can find them linked on the Magebound page. Until next time, this is Katica Locke, signing off.

Katica Locke: Hello, everybody. Today on the show we have Schaff, one of the stars of Magebound, the ‘paw behind the scenes’, if you will. Welcome, Schaff.

Schaff: (leaps into the seat of the chair and sits with his tail curled around his paws) Hello, Katica. Comfy chair.

KL: Thanks. So, would that be an accurate description of your role in this book?

S: Sure. I pull a lot of strings, more than might need to be plucked, on occasion, and not everything turns out like I intended, but you know what they say — you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make two self-absorbed, bull-headed men have one stupid conversation.

KL: (laughs) Speaking of Lark and Lord Sactaren, do you have any ‘feelings’ about their future together?

S: Of course. But why should I make your job easier? Figure it out yourself.

KL: Any feelings about your own future? Because you could be written out of the story in a heartbeat.

S: (snickers) Seriously? Is that a bag of my fan mail sitting beside you? Because I have a feeling those would turn into hate mail real quick.

KL: (mutters) Pest. (papers rustling) All right, let’s see what what questions the fans have for you. From JennyRed in Fairbanks, Alaska. ‘Dear Schaff, what do you like most about living in Lord Sactaren’s castle?’

S: Great health plan, including vision, dental, and a free gym membership.

KL: C’mon, seriously.

S: Do you really think my fans expect a serious answer? Besides, I am serious. Do you think I look this good at my age because of diet and exercise? Naeven takes good care of me.

KL: All right, fine. Next question, from Mach I. Ran in Eugene, Oregon. ‘Dear Schaff, what does it feel like to be a shape-shifter? Does it hurt?’

S: Sorry, that’s two questions. You forfeit your turn. (snickers and shifts to bipedal form) Tell me, Katica, did that look like it hurt?

KL: It didn’t seem to. It looked like it was easy.

S: I wouldn’t call it easy — it takes effort and practice — but the only thing I feel while doing it is a tingling in my skin and a tightness in my bones…or maybe the other way around. I don’t pay that much attention. (lounges in the chair) So, what else have you got?

KL: Let’s see…Andrea from Germany writes, ‘Dear Schaff, What would you wish for your birthday – a scratching post, maybe?’

S: (tail twitching) Do I look like a house cat? I keep my claws sharp on the legs of witless assistants and Naeven’s good furniture. For my birthday I want an 84 inch trans-plasma, 3-D TV with galactic surround sound, but good luck getting it through customs.

KL: Okay, Andrea also asks, ‘What is your favorite food?’

S: Oh, that’s a toughie. Either chicken liver, young rabbit, or those squishy caterpillars that are infesting Daron.

KL: Caterpillars? (gags)

S: Oh, but they’re so tasty, all chewy and gooey and squirmy. (grins maliciously)

KL: (digs into the mail bag) Here’s one from Cantina Revels in Lachymere on Ashael.

S: Ooh, a local girl. Read on.

KL: She writes, ‘Dear Schaff, do you have a girlfriend?’

S: Sorry, sweetie, I like guys. Next question.

KL: Okay, do you have a boyfriend?

S: I don’t do relationships. Nobody is going to tie this carefree bachelor down. Do you have another letter, or are we done?

KL: I think we have time for one more. I Heart Schaff from Melbourne, Austrailia writes, “Dear Schaff, what role do you play in Spellwrought?’

S: The most important one, obviously. (flashes a sly grin)

KL: And that’s all the time we have. Thank you, Schaff, for joining us today and remember folks, Magebound is now available through Amazon, Smashwords, and now Barnes & Noble. Be sure to join us on Thursday when I interview the sexy and enigmatic mage himself, Lord Naeven Sactaren. Until then, this is Katica Locke signing off.

Author’s Note: Yay! Finally a new chapter! I’m going to try to have another one on Sept. 29th, but if I can’t, I promise to have one on Oct. 13th.

Thanks for reading! ^_^

Moonlight Ch. 45

Katica Locke: Hello, everyone. Today we have a very special guest: Lark Arren, the star of Magebound. Welcome, Lark. Thanks for joining us. Please, have a seat.

Lark Arren: Thank you, M’Lady. It’s a pleasure to be invited here.

KL: Please, call me Katica. I’m no more a Lady than you are!

LA: (nervous laugh) All right, M’L– Katica.

KL: Good, now that that’s settled, let’s talk about Magebound. What’s it like having an entire book filled with your thoughts, your feelings, your life?

LA: Well, it was a bit intrusive, to be honest. I never expected it to have so much about me. I didn’t think I was that interesting. But now…I feel a bit more comfortable with it. Parts are still very embarrassing, of course (blushing).

KA: I can imagine. Do you have a favorite part of the book?

LA: Hmm…saving Calae’s daughter, definitely. I liked running the shop and helping people, but that was the moment that I realized I could really make a difference, I could make things better.

KL: And that’s important to you?

LA: Of course. Before Lord Sactaren bought me, I was nothing. No one cared if I lived or died. Most of the time, I didn’t even care. And then everything changed. People’s lives were better because of me. That’s a great feeling.

KL: One more question and then we’ll dip into the mail bag and see what sort of questions your fans have for you. Lord Sactaren — what’s he really like?

LA: Boy, you do ask the tough ones, don’t you, M’Lady- I mean, Katica. He’s…I don’t know. There are moments when he seems like the kindest, gentlest man I’ve ever met, but most of the time, he scares me to death, mostly because I never know what he wants or what he’ll do. I don’t think he does it on purpose. It’s like he’s constantly at war with himself, like he’s two totally different people. I just wish I knew which one was real.

KL: Maybe I’ll ask him when he comes on the show next week. (laughs)

LA: (pales) Will you really?

KL: No, don’t worry. Let’s check the mail bag, shall we? (paper rustles) Ah, here’s one from Lark’s Biggest Fan in Dayton, Ohio. ‘Dear Lark, what would you do if you could do anything you wanted?’

LA: Anything? I’d want to see my parents and sister again. If that wasn’t possible, I’d want to help people, do something big, something no one else could do, like stop a wildfire or bring rain to drought-stricken land.

KL: Okay, next question is from Raynebow in Miami, Florida. ‘Dear Lark, what is your favorite color?’

LA: (looks down at his shirt) Um…blue, I guess. I’ve never really been given a choice in the color of the clothes I wear. But yeah, I do like blue.

KL: Me, too. Okay, last question. This one of from Jace Lagara in Siva Delta on Nethmalon. ‘Dear Lark, what can you tell us about the upcoming sequel, Spellwrought?’ Now remember, Lark, no spoilers. (laughs)

LA: (chuckles). Right. Well, Sactaren and I get to know each other better and I make a surprising discovery about myself. I meet a few more of the villagers, make some new friends – and some new enemies – and Lord Besteth puts a curse on me. How was that?

KL: (smiles) Perfect. Thank you so much for visiting with us, Lark.

LA: You’re welcome, M’L- Katica. I enjoyed it.

KL: That was Lark Arren, star of the newly re-released Magebound, a story of tragedy, triumph, magic, and seduction, available at Smashwords and Amazon. Be sure to join us on Monday when I interview Schaff, the snarky machiran who calls the castle of Traxen Mage his home. Until then, this is Katica Locke signing off.

 

*If you would like to have your questions read and answered by your favorite characters, it’s not too late! Schaff and Naeven are waiting. Post a comment containing question, who to ask, and a name and location (can be made up).

Yes, folks, after far too long, Magebound is finally available as an e-book. 😀

Magebound

104,000 words, including the 13,000 word short story The Trouble With Feelings, Character Biographies, and three new articles.

$3.99 at Smashwords and Amazon. Other retailers, like Apple and B&N will have it later.

 

Woohoo! Happy dance! 😀

Now that Magebound is practically published (I’m waiting on Amazon and Smashwords to do their part; I will probably be able to post links tomorrow) I want to do character interviews as part of my promo, like I did with Breach. I also want to include questions from fans, so if there’s anything you’ve ever wanted to ask Lark, Naeven, or Schaff, now is your chance. Silly or serious, leave your question in a comment and be to sure to say who the question is directed at.

If I don’t get any, I’ll just have to make some up, but I guarantee they won’t be as good as yours. ^_^

 

Well, I survived my first week of work. ^_^ It was crazy, but I was glad to see my co-workers, and of course the kids! My schedule this year is very flexible, which is great since my mother’s first cataract surgery is tomorrow (Monday) and I can leave early to be with her.

Now, about Magebound — I’ve been writing like crazy this past week. I think I wrote more in the last five days than I did all summer. I finished the bonus story, finished the three new articles, and am nearly finished with the character bios. Then it’s just a matter of proofreading one last time and putting the finishing touches on the formatting.

I did rework the cover because the one I had wasn’t the right size or DPI for CreateSpace. The new one is simple, kind of classic-looking, but maybe not what you’d think a fantasy novel should look like. I like it, though. You can check it out here: Magebound Cover

I still can’t give a release date, but it could be as soon as this week for the e-book version. The print version is going to take longer, maybe a month or more, due to the time-consuming page layout and formatting involved. But I figured most people have been wanting the e-book anyway.

I’ll keep you updated and hopefully we can have a release party soon! ^_^