Once upon a time, I—
Will Scarlet: “Wait. What do you mean, ‘I’?”
Y’know. I. As in, ‘me, myself, and’.
Will: “But you opened this post with ‘once upon a time’. When you do that, you’re usually like, ‘an author did this or that, and stuff happened, and kingdoms rose and fell, yadda-yadda,’ before finally delivering the big reveal: ‘And that author – *solemn nods* – was me.’”
Allyn-a-Dale: “Wow, Will. Spoilers, much?”
Will Scarlet: “She does it EVERY TIME!”
Not this time! Because I am an unpredictable, plot-twisty wordsmaster, is why.
Now, again from the top: Once upon a time, I came across a Kickstarter / author call for an anthology titled “Sword and Sonnet”. The theme? Battle bards.
Allyn: “A promising premise indeed!”
Right? So I had me a little brainstorming session, and whipped up a short story featuring a noteworthy minstrel—
Will: “Ha! Noteworthy – like musical notes, right?”
Um, not intentionally. I just meant exceptional—
Allyn: “Like Father?”
No! Like Ballady Sol!
Will: “Cool! So, when does the antho come out?”
Will: “But… you didn’t hype the release at all…?”
Allyn: “Psst. Will. I don’t think her story was included in the book.”
To my disappointment, it was not. Not every excellent story will make every cut. I guess mine wasn’t what they were looking for.
Will: “Well, what the deuce were they looking for?!”
Search me. I haven’t yet read the “Sword and Sonnet” e-copy I received for backing the Kickstarter. Not because I’m bitter! – (*cough* at least, not entirely *cough*) – but because I am really bad about settling down to read non-paper books.
Allyn: “Alas for the world, deprived of your short fiction brilliance. However shall we carry on?”
Pretty sure you’re being at least 80% sarcastic, right now, but there is yet good news. Because you know how I roll, boys: When life hands me a ‘no’…
Will: “You make your own ‘yes’!”
When one publisher closes a door…
Allyn: “You open a window.”
10 segue points to House Gant. Behold the blurb and cover art for…
“Windows and Sol: A Bard’s Beginning”!
Once upon a time, ‘wandering songster’ was no kind of career for a woman.
Now one minstrel-in-the-making is going to change Wilderhark’s tune.
From the author who introduced Wilderhark Tales’ Gant-o’-the-Lute and Outlaws of Avalon’s Allyn-a-Dale, a new voice rises into a brave ballad of its own: That of a girl with an ear for music and a heart determined to follow wherever it leads, no matter what forces of man – or of nature – stand against her.
“The Soul Shepherdess” – Young Solwen’s fateful encounter with a man o’ music and his sullen apprentice opens her eyes to the road she’s destined to take, along with the hardship that will be her traveling companion.
“In the Window” – Although Harper Rove-a-Day couldn’t feel less qualified to serve as minstrel master to his extraordinary trainee, he just may have what it takes to learn a lesson or two from /her/.
“The Names She Played” – To hear hidden music is not merely Solwen’s gift, but her only chance in a deadly game with one of the world’s oldest songs.
Tales of singing. Tales of striving. Most of all, tales of true love.
Coming next week – and available for pre-order now!
Will: “Nice! So you’re re-releasing Balladry’s origin story from the Wilderhark Talettes and debuting the ‘battle bard’ short, all in one tidy package.”
Allyn: “E-book only, same as ‘Beyond Her Infinity’?”
Correct. ‘Tis more cost effective for me, that way. And since I’ve still got a picture book to fund…
Will: “Hint, hint, blog readers! Any and all help would be most appreciated!”
…Wow, if I only had a dollar for every interruption in this blog post. Anyway, keeping costs down on my end means better bargains for the readers. Only 99 cents a copy, folks!
Allyn: “Best of luck wished to you and Balladry Sol on finding your rightful audience. They can be hard to reach, but they’re out there.”
And it is with that belief our author battles on.
(And that author – *solemn nods* – was me.)
(Will: “I KNEW IT!”)
Ever On Word 