Thursday, October 29, 2009

A word from Lana Richmond



Hey Everyone! Lana Richmond of Pixie Chick fame here. I'm still hijacking Regan's plans for her blog tour. Nick's cool enough to host us today and I just managed to get my email sent off before Regan. It's not like there was an option. Come on! Sky Pirates and Steampunk? It all sounds so much cooler than anything I've seen around my town lately.

My high school's got all the requisite classes - and by that I'm talking social, not academic. We've got band geeks, jocks, nerds, goths, and preps, but we're fresh out of Steampunk. I'm thinking of starting a trend though.

Thomas Riley (Nick's lead character) gave me a crash course in wardrobing and accessories. It could be Halloween all year round with Steampunk, because it can go subtle or all out. And none of it violates our school dress code. Besides, clothes are just another way to declare yourself and your interests. Who wouldn't want to declare themselves ready for any adventure?

Really, the goggles did it for me, although I'm liking the boots a lot. And the inventive gadgets...that's just fun and trouble waiting to happen. Since I don't sleep much, tinkering with gadgetry (no, Regan, not weaponry) might be a fine new hobby.

And who knows, the goggles might be the one thing I need to finally break through the Hobbitville portals.

My hometown is so boring, it's no wonder someone created a magic garden - they needed the fast ticket to somewhere interesting. But after poking around Nick's world of Steampunk, I'm going back to the library - maybe there are some alternatives hidden away in my town's history. If I find that we did have a few inventive types, maybe I can find a way to escape and explore without the Hobbitville magic after all.

Wish me luck!
Lana Richmond,
band geek, Pixie Chick, Hobbitville magic seeker, and potential Sky Pirate!


~Well, thank you Miss Richmond. I'm sure Regan will just be thrilled that you've done all of her tour stops for her. So now that you all have heard, Regan Black has a new short story on Echelon Shorts called The Shadow Stone. Want to know more? Yeah, I thought so. Here is the blurb about the new short:

Lana Richmond will not be the left behind when all her friends are using the magic of Hobbitville to escape their small Midwestern town for more exciting places. She's been trying–and failing–to use the garden's portals. The bruises haven't quite faded when Lana takes matters into her own hands and meets a stranger who promises to help her…on Halloween. Will Lana have the courage to follow her wanderlust, or will she settle for being the only Pixie Chick who can't work the Hobbitville magic?

I thought that would interest you. Ok, I guess I'm allowed to give you a little more. Here's an excerpt.

Lana is alone in Hobbitville the night before Halloween, determined to find what the kids call a touchstone - a garden statue that allows them to travel magically to other gardens around the world.

Lana's thoughts rambled back across the memories as she hovered over every stone of any artistic formation. It seemed memories didn't open portals either. She tried to amuse herself with philosophy as she moved from Brie's section on to the next portion of the
garden. "When something's lost, you always find it in the last place you look," she murmured to the cherub-faced cupid cloaked in shadows.
She reached out, more than a little conflicted. She definitely wanted to find her touchstone, but a cupid was so not her.
As expected, the cupid did nothing for her, but maybe that was because she expected nothing from it. Philosophy was an annoying companion tonight. She tried to rev up some enthusiasm and made a second attempt. Still nothing.
She moved on before she made herself crazy with circular arguments. "The lost thing's always in the last
place you look because you stop looking once you've found it."
"It is pretty silly to keep looking once something's
found," a deep voice rumbled out of the darkness.


Oh now you really want to read the whole thing. Gotcha. Try these:

Here's a link to all of Ms. Black's Kindle titles

Go here to purchase your own copy of Shadow Stone from Echelon (It's going to be the best $2.25 you've ever spent.)

I know... You want to know more about Regan Black. Click here to go to her blog.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Blog Tour Day 2 The Extras



So here we are… Officially day 2 of The Sky Pirate’s Barrage World Blog Tour. The tour came together with the help of a lot of people. Twenty seven to be exact. I realize that having someone come to your personal blog and basically say whatever they want can be a kind of space invading proposition, so I want to thank everyone that let me guest blog for a day. It really does mean a lot, not just the trust issue, but the fact that everyone has been so kind and helpful.

It’s so important to get the word out about the book and my aggressive plans for its promotion get more aggressive by the day. You have to think of it this way, there are 100,000 books released a year. That’s 274 books a day. Yeah, a day! What are your chances of anyone even seeing or hearing of it? Slim at best. So for the next month I will be all over the world (blog wise) promoting Thomas Riley. If I had the time, I would do 1000 blogs if I could.

If you know me, you know that I love everything DIY. I love to promote, to make things, to give things away and put personal touches on everything I do. If you’ve enlisted as a Sky Pirate, you’ve probably already received your enlistment papers, and flight credentials, so you know what I’m talking about when I say personal and DIY. It’s fun really. I enjoy those kinds of things. It’s what I would want from anyone that I ordered something from. If I ordered a book, piece of art or anything for that matter, how cool would it be to get an extra sketch from the artist or a secret stamp by the author? (Oops, did I just drop a spoiler?) If you’ve already spent money on something the extras can really mean a lot. What those extras say is “I care about you the consumer. I appreciate you spending your hard earned money on me, so I’m going to give you extra attention because you deserve it.”

That’s what we all want right? More for your money? In the spirit of asking you the reader a question. What is the coolest extra you’ve ever gotten? It can be from anything. An author, an artist, a fast food place… it doesn’t matter. What’s the best addition to a purchase you’ve ever gotten?

As you can see all over this blog, you can now purchase Thomas Riley at http://thomasriley.bigcartel.com
As well as www.echelonpress.com
If you want to enlist as a Sky Pirate or learn more about the book, take a gander at the web site: www.sirthomasriley.com

Friday, October 23, 2009

Thomas Riley Out Today!

Today is the day!
My first published novel Thomas Riley comes out on Echelon Press. It feels like forever, although this entire process really didn't take so long in the literary world.

I'll be at The South Carolina Writers Workshop for the release, which is even more exciting. So if you happen to be in or around Myrtle Beach... well stop by. If not you can get the book at my website www.sirthomasriley.com

Soon enough it will be everywhere, so if you want the specials that come with getting it now... they only last through today (Oct. 23rd)

From here I'm planning a grand Con tour for 2010 so look for massive dates as I'll be all around the country. Some stops include, San Diego, Atlanta, Highpoint NC, Chattanooga, Trenton NJ, St. Paul MN, Chicago, Los Angeles, and a bunch more.

Also, I wanted to recognize my huge influx of Swedish Sky Pirates! You all are awesome! If you want to be a Sky Pirate (It's free) go here: ENLIST ME NOW

Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Sky Pirate's Barrage World Blog Tour

In preparation for the book release, I'm embarking on a 30 day blog tour which I've aptly named "The Sky Pirate's Barrage World Blog Tour". If you don't know what a blog tour is, here's the short and sweet version. For 30 days I will "guest blog" on different blogs. Each one will be different and blog specific. So if I'm writing for an author's blog, I'll probably be writing well, about writing. If I'm on an art blog, I'll be saying something about art, cover art or design. If I'm on a Sky Pirate blog, I'll probably talk about wind resistance versus cannon velocity. You get the picture right?

I've gotten such a great response from everyone, I officially owe my first born to at least 30 people for being so generous with the private blogs. If you are hosting me for one of these days, I am truly in your debt. With that said, I'm always looking to add more dates to the tour and to do a second leg later on down the road. So If you have a blog you would like to share, please email me so that I may also be in your debt.

Email this address: Hazeltherabbit@yahoo.com

So without further ado here are the dates and locations for

The Sky Pirate's Barrage World Blog Tour:

Friday October 23- Interview by Jaymee Goh for TOR
Monday October 26- Writing & Life
Tuesday October 27- Life Of A Publisher
Wednesday October 28- Mysteries & Chitchat
Thursday October 29- Four-Door Handbasket
Friday October 30- The Magical Buffet
Saturday October 31- Inert Nashville
Sunday November 1 - Thomas Riley
Monday November 2 - Cicero's Children
Tuesday November 3 - Candid Canine
Wednesday November 4 - Write or Wrong
Thursday November 5 - Ubiquitous Ghosts
Friday November 6 - Teen Seen
Saturday November 7 - Rivet Gallery
Sunday November 8 - Dave Gates Design
Monday November 9 - Another Writer's Life
Tuesday November 10- Making Stuff Up
Wednesday November 11- On the Edge of the Chair of Literature
Thursday November 12- East Nashville Blog
Friday November 13- My Overstuffed Bookshelf
Monday November 16- Book Blab
Tuesday November 17- Opinionated? Me?
Wednesday November 18- Emeraldfire's Bookmark
Thursday November 19- Razlover's Book Blog
Friday November 20- I Read...
Monday November 23- Revenge Of The Book Nerds!
Tuesday November 24- The Adventures of B. Freret
Wednesday November 25- Myskoteket
Thursday November 26- Straight Jacket Chillers
Friday November 27- For Writers

In the meantime, Thomas Riley is on pre-sale right now and I'm giving everyone that pre-orders FREE shipping and signed copies of the book. Get your copy today and save some money. ORDER HERE

And if you just want free steampunk stuff, offers, discounts and exclusive contests Enlist to be a Sky Pirate HERE.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Pre-Orders Available Today!


I'm really excited. Sorry I've been a bit removed from the ole blog lately, but I've been concentrating on the book promotion and blog tour almost every waking hour. So, the moment has arrived. Thomas Riley is officially for sale via pre-sale on my website www.sirthomasriley.com

Sure your book will not ship until after October 23rd, but by pre-ordering I'm offering you a really good deal. 1) Free shipping until October 23rd. Get your order in and you've saved $3-$4. (Not bad.) 2) Every pre-order book will be signed and stamped. (You'll see, it's very cool.)

So summon your inner sky pirate and order soon before the discounts disappear.

Now's the time. Order Here

Cut and paste if the above link doesn't work.
http://thomasriley.bigcartel.com