IRON LEGENDS contest and giveaway

Guess what came in the mail today?

A box of shiny new THE IRON LEGENDS!






















So, now of course, this calls for a CONTEST.  Want to win a copy of IRON LEGENDS?  Remember, this is the anthology containing the novellas Winter's Passage, Summer's Crossing, and the never before seen Iron's Prophecy.  It also has a ton of extra content, like the Original Survival Guide to the Nevernever, a glossary of the characters, a sneak peek of THE LOST PRINCE coming in a few months, and a few chibi drawings by me scattered throughout the book.

So, do you want a copy?  Read on.


Here is the contest.  I was going to make this a Team Ash/Team Puck thing, but then I thought Grimalkin would be annoyed I didn't include him.  So, to be fair, I would like you to write a 150 word post titled "Why I Love [insert character name] From the Iron Fey Series" and post it to your blog, Facebook, Tumblr, wherever.  The post can be about whomever you like--Ash, Puck, Grimalkin, Rowan,ect.--but they must be mentioned in the series.  Pics are encouraged, as are drawings, poems, music, .gifs, and general creativeness.  Then leave me the link and your email in the comments.  

On August 18th, I will choose my favorite three and send them a signed copy of THE IRON LEGENDS.   


Easy enough, yes?

So, to break it down for everyone:

-Write a 150 (or more) word post titled: "Why I Love [so-and-so] From the Iron Fey Series."
-Post it to your blog, Facebook, ect.
-Leave me the link in the comments.

And now, the nitty-gritty:

-Contest will run until August 18th
-3 chances to win a signed copy
-Yes, it is INTERNATIONAL.


Everyone got that?  Okay, go forth and CREATE.

-Julie

Shirtless Ice-Boy teaser (Thanks, Team Ash)

So, Ash did not win his match in the YA Crush Tourney against Aiden, but it was a rolicking, hard-fought battle!  Both #TeamAsh and #TeamAiden did awesomely, tweeting into the wee hours of the morning.  Ash and Aiden themselves even joined the fun, tweeting back and forth to each other about the tourney, kilts, and the possibility of having to wrestle in a pool of mango jello should there be a tie.

Thankfully, for Ash, it was NOT a tie, but #TeamAsh was so wonderful I thought I would post a special teaser as a well-deserved Thank You for all their support, love, and loyalty to the Winter Prince.  So, Team Ash, here is your shirtless Ice-boy teaser.

Warning: This teaser is from the upcoming Iron's Propehcy novella, and will contain HUGE MASSIVE GIANT SPOILERS.  Read on at your own risk.

Iron's Prophecy teaser




***

Wandering back into the bedroom, my gaze immediately strayed to the large bed along the wall and the lump beneath the covers.  Pale light streamed through the half-open curtains, settling around the still-sleeping form of a Winter sidhe.  Or a former Winter sidhe.  Pausing in the doorframe, I took advantage of the serene moment just to watch him, a tiny flutter going through my stomach.  Sometimes, it was still hard to believe that he was here, that this wasn’t a dream or a mirage or a figment of my imagination.  That he was mine forever: my husband, my knight. 

My faery with a soul.    

 He lay on his stomach, arms beneath the pillow, breathing peacefully, his dark hair falling over his eyes.  The covers had slipped off his lean, muscular shoulders, and the early morning rays caressed his pale skin.  Normally, I didn’t get to watch him sleep; he was usually up before me, in the courtyard sparring with Glitch or just prowling the halls of the castle.  In the early days of our marriage, especially, I’d wake up in the middle of the night to find him gone, the hyper-awareness of his warrior days making it impossible for him to stay in one place, even to sleep.  He’d grown up in the Unseelie Court, where you had to watch your back every second of every day, and centuries of fey survival could not be forgotten so easily.  That paranoia would never really fade, but he was gradually starting to relax now, to the point where sometimes, though not often, I would wake with him still beside me, his arm curled around my waist.

And given how rare it was, to see him truly unguarded and at ease, I hated to disturb him.  But I walked across the room to the side of the bed and gently touched his shoulder. 

He was awake in an instant, silver eyes cracking open to meet mine, never failing to take my breath away.  “Hey,” I greeted, smiling.  “Sorry to wake you, but we have to be somewhere soon, remember?” 

***




That's all for now!  Iron's Prophcy, the last story of Meghan and Ash, will be released online this fall, and also as part of the Iron Legends anthology.

Hope you enjoyed!  Thanks again, Team Ash!  These types of stories are all for you.


-Julie

Anime Ash! Chibi Grim!

So, let me tell you a little secret.

Back when I first started The Iron King, even before I got published, it was a secret dream of mine to have one of my books turned into a manga or an anime.  This was my anime-crazy stage of life, and I often imagined, in hidden fantasies that I told no one about, how Puck, Ash, Grim, and Meghan would look in anime or manga form.

Well, now I don't have to wonder anymore.

The Iron King has just been released in Japan, and I have the great pleasure of showing you the Japanese covers.  When I saw them for the first time, I literally squealed with excitement.  There were Ash, Meg, Puck, and Grim, in ANIME FORM.  It was more awesome then I could have hoped for.



                                                            

Check out the Iron Fey Japanese website here: http://www.harlequin.co.jp/fairyprincess/  

And that wasn't all.  I discovered the artist, Hideyuki Mori, is on Facebook, and has done several more images for the Japanese Iron Fey series. His artwork is amazing!  I mean, feast your eyes on these handsome anime boys.  Recognize them?

 

Sigh.  Yup, that's exactly how I pictured Ash in manga form.  You can check out Hideyuki's artwork here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.472252169455998.128167.173069102707641&type=3#!/media/set/?set=a.472252169455998.128167.173069102707641&type=3  and let him know what you think of his work.  I think its fabulous.  Wonder if he'd be willing to do an Iron Fey graphic novel?  And if that happens, I wonder if my crazy little dream of The Iron King becoming a real anime will be a reality?

Hmmmm....

*Goes off to dream some more*

FandomFest and James Marsters

So, today was the last day of FandomFest in Louisville, KY.  And lemme tell you, it was crazy.  Not crazy for me, of course.  Bruce Campbell was there for one day only on Saturday, and the line to see him was scary long.  I'm talking down the hallway, across the foyer, and out the door long.  I'm talking two hours standing in the 103 degree heat just to get inside long.  It was long.

Needless to say, I did not stand in this line.

I only wanted to see one person, but we'll get to that in a second.  I was part of the literary track, and got to see cool authors like Jim C. Hines, Timothy Zahn, and Ernest Cline of Ready Player One fame. (Ernest was absolutely hilarious and the biggest geek I've ever seen. He deserves every second of his success.)

The biggest rush for me was getting to do a signing with Robin Hobbs, who is one of my favorite authors ever.  I brought a whole backpack of her books for her to sign, and she did because she is so nice.  So we sat together and chatted about book stuff and signed books, and then it was time for me to go meet JAMES MARSTERS.

I had been bugging one of the con managers for a meeting with James ever since I learned that he would be coming to FandomFest.  I adored Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Spike was my favorite character, and when I heard James would be in the same building as me, I HAD to meet him.  Because Spike is also the inspiration for one of the characters in The Immortal Rules (Jackal), and I wanted to give James a copy of the book, too.  Hopefully without sounding too much like a squealing fangirl.

It took a massive amount of cajoling and talking and pestering James' manager, but we finally pulled it off and they agreed to let me meet him.  So I waited until his autograph line had left, waited as his manager spoke to James, and then--

EEEEK, OH MY GOD I'M STANDING IN FRONT OF JAMES MARSTERS.

That was my little fangirl self screaming on the inside.  On the outside I shook his hand (AAAAAH), introduced myself, told him he was the inspiration for one of my characters, and gave him The Immortal Rules.

*Fangirl self*  SPIKE IS TALKING TO ME.  SPIKE IS HOLDING MY BOOK.

Sadly, I couldn't get a picture with just him and me because he was only allowed to take those kind of pics at the photo opps booth, but I did get several shots of us talking.  And James said the book looked awesome and that he would read it, so that was enough for me.

So that was my day at FandomFest, ending on the biggest high I could have hoped for.  There were some other really cool blips, like Luke Perry passing me in the hall, and Nicholas Brendan sitting in the very next booth, and of course Robin Hobb and all the readers and fans I got to talk to.  I floated home on Cloud 9 this afternoon, and it will be a day I won't soon forget.

Now, I wonder what stars have to align for James to actually play Jackal in an Immortal Rules movie?  ;-)