Year in review

Farewell, 2013

I'm actually a little in shock that 2013 is very rapidly coming to a close. It's been an incredibly busy, hard, exhausting, and rewarding year, both in my author life and my personal life.

While the first quarter of the year was fairly uneventful, minus a small personal moment as I realized it was my last year as a twenty-something year old, the rest of the year was a "hang on tight" kind of year.

It began in May with my very first author event at Cascades Library in Ashburn, VA. It was equal measures thrilling, exciting, terrifying and just wonderful. I was able to meet so many authors from my area, and had a great day

Next on the ride, the release of Heart of Kylassame, my second novel and the second book in the Land of Kaldalangra series. A bit darker, a bit broodier, and much more emotional, releasing this book into the wild was a similar feeling to, I imagine, when I send my daughter off to college. Stay strong, little book, and work your magic.











Speaking of daughters, somehow mine turned two in July! I'm definitely in shock over how fast she is growing, and how the time is flying by. I began writing The Lady of Steinbrekka before I was even pregnant, and published it one month after my kiddo was born. Wow.

It wasn't all fun and games though. In August of this year we finally said goodbye to our beloved Catahoula. Katie had lived a very long life (14!) and was able to make her way to the rainbow bridge with her head on my husband's lap and my arms around her. A peaceful and pain-free ending for such a wonderful member of the family.

This Christmas I was able to add a new member of the novel family to the grid, with the release of Soul of Asimina! While I love all of my book children equally, this is my current favorite. The main characters in this book are in the 19 - 25 range, and boy do they do their own thing. I would regularly be writing this book only to stop and go, "Wait, you just 
did what with who? I'm in charge!"










And finally we ended with a new additional to my non-book (real? regular? human/animal?) family, a betta fish. While the tank may look like it was fully designed by my 2 year old, it was actually my husband who picked out the decor. That being said, the 2 year old loves her fish, who she named Momma. 






So that's it for 2013! What's next? Who knows? Well, I know a little. I'm hoping to put out two books next year, both contemporary fiction and a break from the Land of Kaldangra series. While I do have a fourth book in the series in the works (Katrina's story) as well as a possible novella (Sula's story), it's going to be just a little time until those will be hitting the shelves.

It's been fun 2013, now let's ring in the new year!

Interviews!

I am so excited to be a featured author on the Indie-Licious blog today! They are highlighting my newest release, Heart of Kylassame, as well as interviewing me so that all of my readers, and the Indie-licious readers, get a glimpse into the mind of Kristi Strong.

Here is just a bit of the interview :) To read the entire interview, including how I came up with the name for Heart of Kylassame, be sure to go visit my interview on Indie-Licious!

It's a pleasure to have Author Kristi Strong stop by Indie-Licious to celebrate her new fantasy novel. Now lets delve, shall we?

About Kristi Strong:
1. Can you tell us a bit about when you first discovered you wanted to be a writer?

"It sounds cliche, but I have loved writing ever since I was a little girl. My mom was a big journal writer and I always wanted to write pages of beautiful cursive like she did. Once I learned to write, I had fun writing stories about gardens with magical fruit, and found that the school assignments I loved the most were ones were I could write creatively.

I didn't imagine I could become an author until 2011 however, when I discovered the world of self-publishing. It allowed me to write my books the way I did best, without hard deadlines or having to manipulate the characters into something they were never intended to become."

2. Is there a book that most influenced your life? 

"Oh wow, good question. I think a big one for me was The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (over a decade before it became a movie). I read it when I was a preteen and it helped me realize that life wasn't always going to be fair, or logical, or what I thought it would be. It allowed me to view the world around me in a much different manner."

3. Favorite food?

"Macaroni and cheese, but the home-made kind, not Kraft. I just love when it's all ooey-gooey cheesy with the crispy breadcrumbs on top."

4. Favorite thing to do when you aren't writing? 

"Crochet. It's my other creative outlet. I am forever working on crocheting purses, blankets, hats, or other projects."

Teaser time - Heart of Kylassame

It's teaser time! I've been taking a short hiatus from these so that I don't reveal too much of the story, but with Heart of Kylassame releasing in just 28 days (Eek!) I thought I would give you a little appetizer.

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     Mikel turned toward Rhea, who had remained seated on her mare, Kalar. “Welcome to Asimina, Lady Rhea. It has been too long since we have had your grace shine among us.”

     Rhea glanced at him before shifting her empty eyes to the village. “There isn’t much to shine anymore.”

     Mikel exchanged a sharp glance with Sebast. “Well, we will just have to fix that now, will we not?”


     Rhea ignored him and, with the quiet encouragement of Sebast, slid off her mount. “Some things can’t be  fixed,” she whispered, but allowed the long-time protector of Asimina to lead her into the village.

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What is happening to poor Rhea? I seem to really be giving her the raw edge in the book. Hopefully it will all work out for her, but who knows?

FHS Book Club Meeting

I had a wonderful opportunity to meet with the faculty at a local high school who had chosen the Lady of Steinbrekka as their May fiction novel! It is certainly daunting to have a group of teachers reading your work, and part of me was terrified that they were going to hate it.
Quite the opposite, it seems :) We had a wonderful question/answer session and everyone was also very excited about the bookmarks I handed out, as well as the sneak peak for the cover of Heart of Kylassame, coming June 26th.
Here are some of the wonderful questions they sent my way (paraphrased because I have a horrible memory, even of my own answers)

Do you have a favorite character?
My favorite is definitely Rowan. He's like my fantasy husband, you know, if I were ever kidnapped and taken to another realm. Savin is my second, and he's like my fantasy boyfriend. Obviously I have a hand in giving them qualities I like, but they also developed a bit on their own, and I like how Rowan "grew up" over the course of the book(s).

Are you Rhea?
I wish! Parts of me make up Rhea, like my archaeology background, horse experience (the story she tells KataOlya is a true story of my past), as well as my fondness for cats. But, I think it's safer to say that Rhea is who I wish I could be. When writing, I am able to think of how I would react to a situation and then have time to formulate the results. This allows Rhea to be stronger and wittier than me. I'm the type of person who thinks of the perfect response...5 minutes later.

How do you write? Do you use an outline?
(I will do a post on this later, but here's the short answer). I typically have a loose plot outline for each book. Normally I have a beginning and an end, but the details in the middle get kind of fuzzy. Mostly I just write down things I want to have happen on paper, and then they all begin to magically connect, sometimes with much frustration on my end. The Lady of Steinbrekka was much more outlined than Heart of Kylassame (due out June 26th), and I gave up within 2 pages of Soul of Asimina (due out Christmas 2013) because the characters weren't listening to me anyway.

What inspired The Lady of Steinbrekka?
It sounds cliche, but I had a dream about some of the scenes and the rest just kind of happened. I dreamt (from the pov of Rhea) about getting kidnapped and waking up to see this evil High Prince who wore my friend's face. I knew I had to save him, but couldn't figure out how. I also dreamed the scene with the Gormellyn. Then I just had to figure out how to connect them.

What is it like to be a famous author?
I wouldn't say I'm famous (yet?)! It's still processing for me. Some days, like when I get awesome reviews or make a profit, it's really incredible. Mostly, I just feel like a person who likes to write books, and who is lucky enough to be able to share them with the people around her and have readers who enjoy the work.

When do you write?
Whenever I can, which is not nearly as often as I like. I have paper near me so I am scribbling plot lines and ideas all day, but really can only sit down and write when my child is asleep. Of course, that's also when I have to clean/cook/pay bills, so that's why it takes so long in between books! One day I'll be able to just sit and write for 8 hours a day, but that is not today.

Heart of Kylassame Cover Reveal!

It's here! It's here! It's finally here!! After a week of mystery and taunting on my behalf, I proudly give you,

I am in love. Not just a little love, a lot of love. Jenny Laatsch from JennLaa Designs was able to get me this beautiful, custom cover in less than 48 hours and it's exactly what I wanted. No, it's even better than what I wanted. She took what I wanted, and then made it 1000 times better in ways that I didn't even know possible.

And now that there is a cover, I can finally announce....

That's right! June 26th is my anticipated release day for Heart of Kylassame! Perfect timing for summer vacation, don't you think?

Get ready for a reveal!

Okay, so I was going to put this off a little more, but I just can't! I am super excited to announce the cover reveal party for Heart of Kylassame!

For this cover, I was given the priviledge of working with Jenny Laatsch from JennLaa Designs and let me tell you, she is AMAZING! Contacting a cover artist just 3 weeks before your anticipated release date is typically a really stupid not a safe thing to do, at all, but she had the first draft of the cover to me within 24 hours, and the beautiful, breath-taking, incredible final product to me within 48 hours from initial contact.

I can not say how much I loved working with her. I gave her my concept, sent in the other book of the series, and she took what I gave her and then made it 1000 times better. It was like she reached into my mind and plucked out all of the artistic details that needed to be there, but which I never told her needed to be there.

The full cover, in all its glory, will be revealed this Friday, May 24th, right here on Strong Novels. Don't miss it!

Character Spotlight - Faulks

     While Faulks is a minor character in The Lady of Steinbrekka, he becomes a key player in the second and third books of the series, Heart of Kylassame and Soul of Asimina.

     A wild hawk with russet colored wings and a larger than average size, Faulks was given to Rowan by Queen Sula in honor of Rowan’s 5th birthday. Though he left for unknown reasons after the death of Queen Sula, he returned to Rowan when the man was old enough to venture from the castle walls.

     The character of Faulks was inspired by the many hawk sightings I had while writing The Lady of Steinbrekka, and then when I began Heart of Kylassame. I have always been fascinated with the beautiful predatory birds, but rarely was able to view them in my daily travels. When I began writing The Lady of Steinbrekka, I began to see at least two hawks per day on my daily commute to work.

     This became significant to me when I found out that I had become pregnant. Every day I would see more and more hawks, almost as if they were watching over me. Once I gave birth, the numbers dwindled down, but I still occasionally see one sitting on a power-line, watching over me as I make the commute home.

Teaser Time - Heart of Kylassame

It's teaser time! This is another little tidbit from the second book in the Kaldalangran series, Heart of Kylassame, soon to be released!

~ * ~ * ~

A taller figure dressed in black approached the house carefully, moving slowly down the center of the pathway. He stepped onto the first step of the porch and tripped, then gave a short scream of shock as icy cold water splashed down from the bucket that had been tipped by a trip-wire strung over the step.

He retreated, the whites of his eyes gleaming in the darkness as he looked for the defenders of the house. When he moved back five steps, three other youths joined him, and they moved towards the house in a military V formation.

~ * ~ * ~

It certainly seems like things are not looking well for the people of the realm, but looks can often be deceiving. You will have to be sure to read the entire story to find out the details.

Need something to tide you over while waiting at the bus stop? Maybe you are looking for your next good read. Be sure to check out the teasers found in the Teaser Blog Hop! You might find your next best read.

Sneak Peak, part 2

Are you ready for the second installment of the Indie-licious teaser blog hop? 

This is another bit from Heart of Kylassame, the 2nd book in the Kaldalangra series. Heart of Kylassame is due to be released Summer 2013, so make sure to read Lady of Steinbrekka so you know what's going on ;)

Lianna walked forward tentatively, eyes open wide in fear. The fountain was frozen, the water caught mid-flow as it had tumbled down the carved stone. The ice was clear in the summer sun, slightly melting in the summer heat before refreezing, an endless cycle of desolation. She could see the red swirls that had rippled through the water before it froze, the tiny red droplets that gleamed on the white surface of the pool. In the depths of the pool, the ornamental fish swam slowly, sluggishly, their resilient bodies succumbing to the freezing temperature above.

Dmitri folded his hands within his long-sleeved brown tunic. “It began yesterday. The roses and the fountain had frozen over when Lady Rhea left the garden. When I checked the clearing this morning the frost had spread to the entire area, and is slowly overtaking the entire garden.”

His nearly blind eyes shifted from Savin to Nyssa. “The garden reflects the heart of Lady Rhea. That was apparent so many years ago when her love and hope released us from the icy prison. Now,” he gestured to the icicles hanging from the tree branches, “something has caused her heart to go cold, and thus, we follow.”

Need something to read while you wait? Check out these other awesome teasers from some incredible authors!

Character Spotlight - Ayewoke

    This very first character spotlight is going to focus on the character of Ayewoke. Ayewoke can be found as a character in the books, Lady ofSteinbrekka and Heart of Kylassame.

    Ayewoke is a form of Magi, a woman with extraordinary powers who resides in an area of Kaldalangra known as Steinbrekka. Steinbrekka is a rocky, desolate region that is home to many supernatural creatures and people. The desolation of the realm has made it the perfect place for King Verikhan to send any people who come into his realm, either by accident or through kidnapping. There, they are brain-washed and, usually, die from the assault on their body and minds from the natural and supernatural forces in the region.

    When Rhea goes to Steinbrekka to be brainwashed, she meets the ancient Magi, Ayewoke. There, Ayewoke gives her the help needed to survive the ordeal. She realizes that Rhea is not just an ordinary woman, and decides to act as her emotional guardian once Rhea leaves Steinbrekka. As Ayewoke is not welcome in the court of Kaldalangra, she achieves this by transforming into her other form; that of a little gray cat.

    This character was born out of two very different but equally powerful images.

http://nativeamericanencyclopedia.com/running-eagle/

    The first is an image that has always stuck in my head; that of the old-world tribal Matriarch. These women lived in a time when it was not possible to erase wrinkles, smooth lines, and dye their hair to hide the grays. The elderly were venerated and cherished for their deep wells of wisdom and experience, and considered vital members of the community. 

    These are women who have a primal, dignified beauty, and every wrinkle tells a tale of the full life they have lived.

    It would not be hard to picture a woman, such as this, sitting on an isolated rocky peak in a supernatural region of another world.

    The second image, oddly enough, is based on my childhood cat, Ewok. Ewok was a very special little gray cat (sound familiar?) that was always looking out for me while growing up. She would follow me into the woods for hikes, sleep beside me at night, and brush away my teenage tears with her little paws. 

   

    She was in her twelfth year when I began writing The Lady of Steinbrekka, and passed away in a mysterious fashion when I was writing the final chapter of the novel.

Sneak Peak from Heart of Kylassame

Hi everyone, and welcome to a special sneak peak from my newest work-in-progress, Heart of Kylassame, which will be released during the summer of 2013.

Heart of Kylassame is the second book in the series, Tales of Kaldalangra. Be sure to Read the first book, Lady of Steinbrekka, today! Lady of Steinbrekka is available for Nook, Kindle, and Paperback.

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Rowan turned as the crowd gasped in alarm and then gave a restrained smile at the sight of his wife walking beside the massive cat. She looked regal at that moment, and he was given the uncomfortable reminder that not only she was his wife, but she was the Lady of Steinbrekka. It did not surprise him, then, that the Makaholr would show up on this day. Somewhere he must have sensed that his lady had been threatened, that her mate needed his assistance in carrying out justice. 

She looked beautiful and terrifying as she walked through the grasses, the crowd of people shrinking back at the sight of the giant cat. Her entire essence changed during that walk through the crowd. Blue jeans and cotton shirt shimmered, and when he blinked she was suddenly wearing a deep crimson gown, so well-fitted it seemed to have been sewn onto her body. The neck dipped low on her chest, revealing the carved-stoned ladybug pendant that he had given her two years prior. He had made that necklace for his mother, the Queen, and she had returned it upon her deathbed. It belonged to Rhea now, a woman his mother would have loved, had they ever met.

          The people behind him shifted nervously at the sight of the pair. The cat moved slowly, stealthily through the grass, muscles rippling and fangs bared as those large, green eyes  fixed on the criminals. The women walking with the cat was a stranger to them, indeed a stranger to all who lived in Kylassame. This was not the friend who smiled at their antics, watched the children, or danced with them at parties. This woman was formidable, a protector of the threatened, and her feline companion a harbinger of justice.

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Want to be delightfully teased by some other fascinating stories? Check out these great posts from the Indie-licious blog hop! I can't wait for these stories to come out!