Happy Interdependence Day! It's been 25 years

For those of us in the US, today is Independence Day, celebrating the day we
as a nation decided not to be ruled by England. In other parts of the world,
though, it's just July 4. But wherever we are, no matter what culture we're
currently in, today is Interdependence Day for my husband and me, because it's
our anniversary.

We got married on July 4 in Brooklyn, NY, 25 years ago, in the restaurant in
the tallest building in Bay Ridge. We chose that spot because that's where we
lived; we loved the area (the southernmost tip of Brooklyn, right before the
Verrazano Bridge, which leads you to Staten Island), and by having our
reception in that building, we could see the fireworks over in Manhattan. It was one day
that we knew most everyone we wanted to invite would have off, and
surprisingly, neither the church nor the restaurant were booked. It was a lovely, sunny
day (okay, it was summer in New York: It was scorching, the church wasn't air-conditioned,
but the sky was a beautiful blue), and we remember it fondly still.

Eventually, we moved away -- across the country, even, to Washington state --
but we had the opportunity to go back to New York a few years ago, just in
time for our anniversary. We had dinner at the restaurant at the top of that
same building, and watched the fireworks over in Manhattan again. We remember
that fondly, too.

How is any of this relevant? Well, I write romances. And our wedding was
romantic. And it's Interdependence Day. So Happy Interdependence Day, one and all!

Eilis Flynn
ECHOES OF PASSION, on sale now

It's about a guy, see, and he's dreaming about a girl

ECHOES OF PASSION releases today! It's part of the sci-fi Hunters for Hire series available from Ellora's Cave and Cerridwen Press! Here's a bit about it:

Neotia Prime… The home world of the Neoti and the Vozuans was destroyed by a doomsday device twenty years ago, but the troubles and unrest that led to the event still plague those who resettled on the twin planet.

When Daegon Bosaru arrives on the unnamed world, determined to uncover who is out to smear his dying father’s good name, he discovers that the tragedies of that civil war still haunt those who remain. Not only that, the mysterious, beautiful woman he’s been seeing in his dreams over the past twenty years may have information he needs. But when he finally meets Imreen Dal in the flesh, she seems not to know him—and furthermore, she runs from him every time she encounters him. Why?

Rumors persist that the crazed dictator who set off the doomsday device may still be alive…with fresh plans for conquest. Bosaru needs to find out how his father, the mysterious Imreen and the madman are related…and stop another world from being destroyed.

Buy it now (since I have no shame left) at: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-7007-echoe..s-of-passion.aspx

Eilis Flynn
ECHOES OF PASSION, on sale now!

The countdown begins ... well, it continues

I got my author copies of ECHOES OF PASSION yesterday, and I was pleased. For one reason or another, I didn't see the book after I turned in the manuscript, and so I was in the dark as to whether it had weathered the editing stages. As a rule, after I finish writing a book I don't revisit it (I mean, if it's done, it's done, and I don't see any reason to go back unless it's to look something up), but it had been so long since I had seen it I felt I had to do something. So I did: I sat down and read my book. 

As I did, a few memories of the writing process came trickling back, little by little. I remember writing descriptions, piecing together the descriptions of a war that was waged twenty cycles (approximately two and a quarter years) ago, the battles and the outcome. I remember writing the descriptions of a settlement that had seen more than its share of sorrow and mystery, the descriptions of a lover who never was. Sometimes the descriptions came on like a waterfall, while other times ... well, they didn't. (I'm sure you know that feeling.)

Most of all, as I was reading, I remember shaping the people. The green skin of the Neoti and the golden skin of the Vozuan, so close in so many things cultural and physiological but so far in others. And I remembered why I write; shaping those people, the places, the stories can be an amazing experience.

Only 15 more days until launch! I can't wait!

Eilis Flynn

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

Friday Night Reflections: Great summer read - Insufficient Mating Material by Rowena Cherry

Friday Night Reflections: Great summer read - Insufficient Mating Material by Rowena Cherry

Voice is picky

So many other people do articles on craft, so I tend to shy away from them. But something happened a few days ago and I felt compelled to comment. (If I didn't feel compelled I don't know what I'd be doing writing about it. But anyway.)

I work with someone at the Day Job who's not much of a reader. In fact, she jokes (but not really) that she reads one book a year, and she chooses it just before she goes on vacation for a week to the family vacation place beside a lake. The place has no Internet, barely electricity, so reading is the way to go. She's got a dozen books that she's started to read at the lake but never finished. She'll finish them someday, she says.

This year, though, she may finish the book she chooses. Recently, she saw the movie Twilight, and got so curious about the story that she picked up the source novel ... and LOVED IT. She devoured it and had to read the next ... and the next. She can't imagine what those people who disparage these books are thinking, she says. She's never read anything like them!

Now, I have to admit I've never read anything by Stephenie Meyer. Like my coworker, I figure I'll read 'em someday, but they're not really in my bailiwick (I've read enough vampire novels in my day, and I can't imagine that these YA versions are much different from the adult romance version). But my coworker was raving about them, and that makes me curious. I know it's got to be the voice -- and voice is, as we're told, over and over, what makes all the difference.

Two examples. Stephen King. Brilliant writer of short fiction and nonfiction, but his horror novels leave me cold. But I know it's the voice that brings 'em in. I've read two of his novels, and I remember admiring his technique, but while I recognize his craft, it's not something that hits my heart or gut. Will I have nightmares? Eh. I applaud him for everything he's done, but it's not to my taste for the most part. Next.

Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Mertz. My personal favorite. Her voice spoke to me the first time I read Ammie, Come Home, and it has greeted me like an old friend every time since. I've always loved her work, but I know others have only nodded and said, "She's okay." 

And that's mostly voice. Does it suck you in? Does it transport you to a land not of your choosing, and do the characters appear in your dreams? If so, damn but the author's done his or her job. And won a convert to boot. 

My coworker is afraid that she'll finish the fourth book in Meyer's series before her vacation, but I pointed out that even if she does, there ARE other books out there that she'd probably like just as well. I could suggest a few (more than a few, in fact), but of course, it's her own personal journey to find that voice that speaks to her in quite the same way. 

And it's every writer's wish that a reader makes that discovery of his or her own books!

Eilis Flynn

ECHOES OF PASSION: 7.2.09

Only 29 more days to launch!

Technology stares me in the face

Technology is an underlying theme in much of what I write, mainly because it both fascinates me and alarms me. And the fact that I managed to destroy three computers at work in three months has a little something to do with it too. 

So knowing that, what does The Hub get me for my birthday? That's right, technology. He got me a Sony eReader because, as he explained, an epublished author needs to have a Reader. Or a Kindle, but the Reader was closer, and he could examine it (and I have certain reservations about the Kindle).  I spent the entire day (because I took a vacation day) on line trying to find out how to make it compatible with my Mac, because of course it's Windows only. And I found the software to do it, and so I rubbed my hands together with glee!

And could not get it to work. Not unusual; my learning curve for tech has always been fairly long, and this was no exception. And managed to run down the battery completely, so the next day I had to go out and get an AC adapter. And then I charged it, and sat down to work with it again. 

And managed to wipe out the data that already came with it. Sigh. Still couldn't upload any  books. The next day either. 

It's been a week and it stays there, mocking me. I may have to break down and see if I have any better luck on the Windows machine downstairs. Sigh.

But at least I have high hopes that I'll be able to read my next book on it -- ECHOES OF PASSION is coming out on July 2, so one way or another, I will! I will!

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

Only 43 more days! I will conquer the Sony  beast. I will! I will!

I'm starting to wonder

I managed to kill computer no. 3 at work today. The third in three months. I'm starting to wonder about the jokes I've made through the years, about how technology doesn't like me. I DON'T THINK IT'S A JOKE!

Meanwhile, in decidedly nontechnical matters, I'm down to my last three teas in the house. Well, there are six, but I've decided that the liver tea etc. will stay where they are. Until I feel like drinking icky-tasting tea. The other three teas I have left are a motley bunch -- one of them is Market Spice tea, from Pike Place Market; one is unnamed, but I prudently put it into what used to be a Superman peanut butter jar (which gives you a clue when I got both the jar and the tea, which is to say, a long, long time ago); and a tea from a foreign country not Japan or China, but somewhere in Africa, if I can make out the postmark. The end is in sight. I cannot wait. Fresh teas, somewhere ahead!

Eilis Flynn

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

Only 55 more days to launch!

Does it ever change?

I have a book coming out from Cerridwen Press on July 2, and I find myself looking forward to it. And I'm amused by that, because I thought I was over that kind of thing. ECHOES OF PASSION is my fourth book with CP, and I figured I was pretty much in the groove, downright blase, for the routine -- you know, you write the book, you submit the book, you get the book accepted, and then your editor takes over. (Oversimplified? You betcha!) 

But the deal is, everytime is a little different. The first one is different from the second one (the first one is WAY different from anything else!) is different from the third. The first you're terrified of doing something wrong; the second you're wondering if you're going to do something wrong; the third you're fairly sure if you keep doing the same thing you'll be okay, but the fourth ... can you make any new mistakes? 

And the answer is, of course you can. You just don't know what it is yet. So I'm keeping that in mind. And because I've changed editors, the way things get done is a little different too; it's something else to remember.

But the big thing I have to remember is that it's only 57 days until ECHOES OF PASSION comes out. It's still a thrill!

Eilis Flynn

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

earth day, and the I-5 mountains

This past weekend The Hub and I went down to Portland, OR, where he had lunch with his cousin Jonathan and I went to the Readers' Luncheon, sponsored by the Rose City Romance Writers. The speaker was Lucy Monroe, and she was fabulous, as alway. After lunch (and Luncheon), we headed back north to Seattle. The trip going down (at an unspeakably early time of morning) we couldn't see much, thanks to the thick fog that blanketed the route, but on the way back home? Wonderful. Scenic. Mountains!

At this time of year, most mountains are covered with snow, and yes, there is a certain sameness to them because of it -- but the snow is gorgeous, particularly when the sunlight hits it just right, and the entire mountain glows. That was the case with Mt. Hood, seen here without that glow, but quite handsome, nonetheless:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hood

What we found remarkable is that with all the times we could have seen Mt. Hood in all its glory, we'd never seen it like that, whether because of pollution or weather or stress (if traffic's bad, do you notice anything else? I thought not). 

Farther north, we saw a mountain with an amazingly rounded top. Never seen anything that before. Until we realized it was Mt. St. Helens, and we'd just never seen it from that particular angle. The image of St. Helens here is clearly not rounded, but it sure looks as if the top's blown:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._St._Helens

I was in Seattle in 1980 when St. Helens blew. A fine layer of ash fell on my mother's yard, but it quickly disappeared. Not so in Yakima, in the middle part of the state; the wind must have been just right, because the town got something like six inches or more of ash, and it was not nearly as easy to get rid of, but it had to be done, and fast, because it could suffocate local vegetation and animals. And people, who were advised to stay inside for a while. The mountain's still around, after all these years, and still reminding us that we've got to keep an eye on her.

An hour or so later, we saw the first signs of home. Mt. Rainier is just known as "the mountain" in Seattle thereabouts, because it is omnipresent. It's there when the weather's clear, and it's there when the pollution's high (just murky). The first Japanese who came to this area saw the graceful lines of the mountain and were reminded of their own distinctive mountain, and referred to Mt. Rainier as "the American Mt. Fuji." The angle of this picture makes it look far less like Fuji than it does from other angles, but on a clear day, from the right perspective, it's understandable. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rainier

Where we live, the mountain's not quite visible; we need to go five minutes one way or another to be able to see it. But we still regard ourselves as fortunate that it's close enough to see. 

Happy Earth Day. And that includes our mountains.

Eilis Flynn

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

Coming soon from Cerridwen Press

The shape of things to come

Terry Odell's post on green tech (cerridwenpressauthors.blogspot.com) had me thinking about the technology of tomorrow, specifically tech like "electronic paper," tech as thin as paper and reads like it but something that changes -- imagine a newspaper that holds the information of the Sunday New York Times but is one sheet thick. You turn to the page to whatever you want to read, to the size you want it to be. It's an amazing concept, but when you consider there's a light source just as thin and easy to manipulate, right now (but not marketable due to cost), you know it can't be too far away. The Star Trek (original series) inspired us to expect something the size of a paperback book to read from and write on, and we have something a lot like those now. If that's the future realized, what's the real future going to hold? I'm not sure we can fathom it.

It's not just the far-flung future, either, that this is the case. I remember reading recently that the spy gadgets we were amused by on the TV series GET SMART were the source of inspiration for the real-life CIA. The CIA scientists would see something on the show and try to figure out how they could make a variation for their own uses. (But no cone of silence, as far as I know. After all, on GET SMART, they never could get the cone to work!)

The book I have coming out in July, ECHOES OF PASSION, has a control device that's smaller than a paperback but a little thicker than a sheet of paper, easy to pocket and easy to overlook. It's a coin, basically; distinctively shaped and integral to the plot. Because The Hub works at a mint (where they design coins), I got a chance to see how intricate coins could be, and that was my inspiration. 

But once I thought about it, it's not new at all. I have something about that size, something distinctive, a control device. You probably do too. Got a garage-door opener?

Eilis Flynn, www.eilisflynn.com

83 days to ECHOES OF PASSION! On sale at Cerridwen Press at 7.02.09

Bryl's Blog: Honor National Humor Month!

Bryl's Blog: Honor National Humor Month!

Every year, April fools come out of the woodwork

Every year, I dig out the link to the piece I wrote about April Fools' Day, just to remind myself that having a sense of humor is important. If you try to nurture the child within, if you have a fondness for pranks, if you, frankly, have a juvenile sense of humor and see no reason to grow up, you'll appreciate the article:

eilisflynn.blogspot.com/2008/04/april-foolery.html

Happy April Fish!

Eilis Flynn

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

A dead man fell from the sky...: Anal Impalement

A dead man fell from the sky...: Anal Impalement

A dog named Woof, and a smart Capuchin monkey

Horror yarns may not be what you expect from this blog, but Jack Kilborn's AFRAID is a remarkable gripper which features villainous males who certainly behave like animals (that is an insult to animals) and a couple of animals who behave much better than most of the humans in the story.


Afraid by Jack Kilborn is a horrifying book with a particularly satisfying ending.

I like cozies. I might as well be honest about that. Also happy ever afters. Further, in the interests of full disclosure, you should know that I read AFRAID by Jack Kilborn (with a view to a review) because Joe Konrath dared me to do so. He has a thick skin, and a strong stomach... and anyone who reads AFRAID needs both.


This is not a book to take on a fishing trip, especially if you've left your loved ones at home, alone. In fact, this book ought to come with a free membership of the NRA. You'll want your Brinks alarm turned on, and a loaded shotgun under your mattress if you read AFRAID in bed at night. You might want one of those panic button pendants, too.

Be warned. It is gruesome. AFRAID is the sort of book to be read aloud, in a large group. Maybe journalists who need to be kept up all night --for a slow-to-break story on Airforce One, for instance-- or secret types on a stakeout, would get a bang out of AFRAID.

The villains are seriously, SERIOUSLY, nasty. My own most horrible villain (Insufficient Mating Material) rendered his victims insensible, had his wicked way, then took a small plug of pubic hair for a souvenir. Jack Kilborn's baddies do a great deal more than that. You get a sense of the horrors to come when a faceless bad guy sits on his first victim's bed, and when she asks what he's going to do to her, he says "Everything."

And that's just page 7.

This book contains some sick stuff. Nothing is off limits. Think Hannibal Lecter times five --or six by my count-- with the absolute might and force of the US government backing them up...or at least covering them up.

The pace is relentless, the characterization --unfortunately-- is excellent. You will care about these people. No one deserves to die the way so many do. The writing is crystal clear, like carved coal, dark, sparkling, with more than an evil glint. There's no silliness, no messing about, and nothing strikes you as implausible at the time, even if some of the violence is over the top.

You won't want to put down this book until you reach the last line. It's a good last line. Really good. Yay for the animals!!!

best wishes,

Rowena Cherry
SPACE SNARK™

Scroll down the playlist for Knight's Fork related interview
http://www.theauthorsshow.com/

Then sign up to apply for your own interview!