Sims Medieval: Puck's Lament

Under the reign of good king Oberon, Arcadia was growing.


















And within the land there was a merry minstrel named Puck.

















Puck's music was quite popular.
















Wherever he went, people's spirits were lifted for a little while.
















As a poet and playwright, and one who appreciated the written word, Puck was extremely dismayed one day to hear tales of book-burning peasants in Arcadia.
















He decided to talk to these peasants, perhaps convince them that the written word wasn't the evil they feared.



















Sadly, the peasant's were stubborn,
















and quite rude.
















It did not go as expected.


































At all.





















Puck tried a new tactic, reciting a poem he'd composed, hoping it would touch them on a deeply personal level.



















Success! One of the peasants was deeply moved and asked him to teach her how to read.

















Puck was only to happy to help, and soon...

















word of her lessons reached the other peasants, who agreed to let Puck teach them as well. Everyday, they met in the forest, where Puck taught them the value of books and the written word.

















In thanks, the peasants composed a book of their own and presented it to their teacher, vowing they would never harm another page again.

















Satisfied that every page was once again safe in Arcadia's borders, Minstrel Puck went home to enjoy the fruits of his labor and relax with a good book.

Next up...teaching peasants about punctuation.

Team Puck: An announcement

Hey everyone, Puck here.

You might've heard rumors about a big, exciting Iron Fey announcement coming up. Well, I'm here to tell you its entirely true. Team Puck fans (of which there are many, I'm sure), your wish has finally been heard!

Remember a little novella called Winter's Passage? It was free for a time, and told the utterly boring tale about ice-boy and Meghan's journey to the Winter Court? Remember that?























Well, guess who's FINALLY getting their own story?


















(Hint: it isn't ice-boy.)

Yep, for the first time ever, I get to tell my version of a tale, in e-novella form, anyway. 'Bout freaking time, too. Who wants to read about dark, broody Winter Princes when you have me? My story is called Summer's Crossing (get it? Winter's Passage, Summer's Crossing?), told through the eyes of the one and only Robin Goodfellow.

They'll be unveiling the cover in a few weeks, I'm told, so stay tuned for more excitement.

Let the mad rejoicing commence. :P

--Puck

Too cute not to share

Check out this awesome fanart based on the April Fool's prank Puck pulled the other week.

If you don't remember, it went something like this:



"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, man, this is my favorite day of the year. HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!" --Puck


"You think that's funny, Goodfellow?"


"Oh, hey, ice-boy. What, you didn't think that was brilliant? Coming back from the dead and all? Hey, put that sword down. It was a joke...crap."


*Runs off with Ash close behind, waving his sword.*

















(Too awesome) ^___^

Return of the Sims Medieval: Once upon a Time

Back by popular demand...

The return of The Sims.

Medieval edition.


ONCE UPON A TIME...


Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there stood the small but quaint kingdom of Arcadia.


















Arcadia was ruled by Lord Oberon, a great a mighty elven king.

















Lord Oberon lived in the castle with his servants and subjects,




















And had many important tasks to attend to.


















Such as writing new laws...



















picking wildflowers...




















fishing in the stream...
































And visiting the tavern.
































Clearly, ruling a kingdom was exhausting. If only Lord Oberon had a faithful servant, an entertainer who could lift his spirits when the demands of the kingdom became too great. Lord Oberon needed heroes, but who among his people would answer the call?


















Who indeed?
















To be continued...

Contest Time: Dear Ash,

Who's ready for a contest?

Awesome. Now, who has a burning question they'd want to ask one of the characters of The Iron Fey? Who wants to be pen pals with Puck? Or just chat with Ash a little?

Now's your chance. All you have to do is write an e-letter to Puck, Ash, Meghan, Grimalkin, Razor, Glitch, whomever (It has to be someone from The Iron Fey series), and post it on your blog/Facebook/somewhere everyone can see. Write it like you're writing a letter to a friend, ask the questions you've always wanted to ask, or just tell them what you think of them. Be sure to include the contest and why you've chosen that particular character, then post the link in the comments section.

(ETA: Sigh. I keep forgetting to add if its international or not. It is. Pen pals from anywhere are welcome.)






















The deadline to post your letter is April 30th. And the week after in May, one winner will receive two things.

1). A signed THE IRON QUEEN.

2). A handwritten letter from the character they wrote to.


















A word of warning. I know many of you have burning questions about The Iron Knight and what comes after Iron Queen, but spoilers of any kind will NOT be answered. Sorry, but that's the one thing we can't reveal. Anything else, though, is fair game. If you want to ask a certain Winter prince what color his underwear is, that's up to you, though it might not be answered (by Ash anyway). So, have fun and get writing. I can already tell you the gang is completely thrilled to be doing this.

Puck: Ooh, ooh, ask ME the underwear question! Come to think of it, ask me any questions you want to know about ice-boy--I'd LOVE to answer them.

Grimalkin: And how would you know that, Goodfellow? Though I am not sure I wish to know the answer...

Puck: Ehehehehe, I work in mysterious ways, cat.

Ash: I'm going to kill you all.

The Iron Knight sneak peek

So, the cat is out of the bag.


Someone discovered what happened in Iron Knight, so I guess I might as well post it here. It will be on Harlequin's blog and The Iron Queen's Facebook page, too, if you don't believe me.


They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I might as well get this over with.


WARNING! Spoilers ahead. Do not continue if you don't want to know...


Last chance...




...


...


...



























Can't say I didn't warn you.

...



...



...





"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, man, this is my favorite day of the year. HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!" --Puck


"You think that's funny, Goodfellow?"


"Oh, hey, ice-boy. What, you didn't think that was brilliant? Coming back from the dead and all? Hey, put that sword down. It was a joke...crap."


*Runs off with Ash close behind, waving his sword.*




Happy April Fools!

Authors and Negative Reviews

It seems there has been a lot of drama going around the blogging world lately.

Normally, I don't post about heated topics. I'm highly allergic to drama and angst (Except in stories, of course), and I learned long ago that you really can't change people's minds about anything, so why point that spotlight on yourself? But, in light of the recent author/blogger drama on twitter and facebook, I felt compelled to add my two cents to the mix. So, this is my own opinion, garnered from the years I've spent as a writing professional, on Authors and Negative Reviews. Future authors and writers, this is especially for you, not to scare or scold or threaten, but just as a gentle caution of what to expect.

NOT EVERYONE WILL LIKE YOUR BOOK. This is a certainty. No matter how compelling, no matter how innovative or brilliant or well-written, no book can please everyone one hundred percent. If you don't believe me, find your favorite book or author and check them out on Goodreads. They will have 1 and 2 star reviews, just like everyone else. Some people will adore your book, some people will just think its okay, and some people will loathe it and want to burn it and scour your name from the face of the earth for writing such garbage. And it's okay for them to think that. They are entitled to their opinion. Really, that's all a review IS: an opinion. Which brings us to the heart of this matter...

YOU ARE GOING TO GET NEGATIVE REVIEWS. If you are an author, and you put your book out there for the world to read, you are going to get bad reviews. Sometimes, the review will be thoughtful and well-done, with the reviewer citing what they liked and didn't like about the story. That's the best kind of negative review, but it doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes the review will be snide and hateful, as if the reader despises you personally and says all kinds of ugly, unkind things about the story you've put your heart and soul into. Its amazing the things people will say on the internet that they wouldn't dare say in real life, but it happens. This is why many authors I've spoken to stay far, far away from Goodreads. Because Goodreads is brutal on authors, and some of us would rather not know. So, now that you can expect at least one negative critique of your book, how does one respond to such a review? What should an author do in the face of such bad press?

NOTHING.

Let me say that again. NOTHING.

At the very, very least, you can email or post a comment thanking that reviewer for their time in reading and reviewing your book. Then you go and rant to your best friend, or your hubby, or your dog. You do not take out your hurt and frustration on the reviewer. You do not leave a comment on their blog, defending yourself and your book. You do not tell them how wrong they are, and that they must have misunderstood your writing, and that everyone before them has given your book steller reviews. Because it doesn't matter. You aren't going to change their opinion--again with that word OPINION--and you are only hurting yourself and your career by acting in such an unprofessional manner.

Yes, I know. Negative reviews hurt. They downright suck. Believe me, I've gotten more then my share, and its not fun reading "Julie Kagawa, you give fairies a bad name." (Actual review.) I know your book is your greatest achievement, and that you've come far and struggled so hard to get it published, and you should be very proud of that. I know its hard when you wrote the best story you could, went through all the heartache and uncertainty of getting it published, only to have a virtual stranger put it down like its nothing, like we don't have feelings and it doesn't tear us apart every time someone is cruel. I know its unfair that we can't defend ourselves.

But that's the world of authors and reviewers, and the only classy way to respond to bad reviews is graciously or not at all.

Thankfully, there are many out there who will love your book and your stories, and those reviews will be wonderful and glowing and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But, if you are to swim these treacherous waters of authordom, you must also be prepared to lose a little blood, as well. This is just fair warning, take it from someone who knows, and start working on that thick skin. And a sense of humor can help tremendously.

So that's my two cents on authors and negative reviews. Comments and discussions are welcome. However, any mean, ugly, or hateful comments will be eaten by the gremlins.

Julie