Crossing the Naiad in Paperback!

Posted on March 29, 2014 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

Designing the front covers for my paperbacks is easy. I want them to match the ebook editions, so a little adjustment to allow for the difference in size – thumbnail ebook versus X” by Y” trade paperback – and it’s good.

Front cover images of a naiad underwater

Designing the back cover is fun! It’s like an art puzzle. How do I take the visual theme of the front cover and continue it on the back in a way that will work? Satisfying to work on the puzzle. Even more satisfying to solve it.

Designing the interiors involves similar pleasures of visual ingenuity and creativity.

All the design work is play for me.

Then comes the hard part!

I upload the files to CreateSpace. I look at the digital proof online. It looks good. I order the physical proof. The margins on the cover are different than those I’ve specified in my files. I make a guess as to what CreateSpace will do at their end.

(They’re not organized in such a way that I can talk with the technician who actually does the work of converting my files for the print-on-demand printing machine.)

I upload the files again. This time, the margins are correct, but the title on the spine has slipped and is lopsided. I make more guesses about the best adjustments to make. I upload the file again and order yet another proof.

The cover is perfect! Yay! But as I flip through the interior – the interior that has been proofread umpteen million times – I spot a typo. It’s in the copyright statement about fair use. I grit my teeth and decide to live with it. Then I spot another typo. Grr! This one is in the body of the story. No, I can’t live with it. I correct the files again. This time, the proof copy is perfect.

I click the approve button at CreateSpace.

And three days later, my book is available for purchase on Amazon! As several more weeks go by, my book makes its way into the extended distribution system. Eventually it will appear in such bookstores as Powell’s in Portland, Oregon and Fishpond in Australia!

Now, that makes it all worthwhile. But you can see why I’m pretty thrilled when I make it all the way through the gauntlet of CreateSpace.

Recently, a spate of my books has passed through that treacherous channel. Today I’m pleased to announce the release of Crossing the Naiad in paper.

Front and back book covers depicting a naiad underwater

Its truth forgotten in the mists of time, the old bridge harbors a lethal secret. Neither marble statues awakened for battle nor an ancient roadbed grown hungry, something darker and more primal haunts the stones and the wild river below.

Kimmer knows the stories, but she doesn’t know why the crumbling span feels so fraught with menace. Her way home lies across the ruin. Dare she take it? Or will horror from the lost past rise up to claim her, when she does?

Crossing the Naiad as a trade paperback:
5″x 8″ trim size • 46 pages
ISBN-10: 061589058X
ISBN-13: 978-0615890586
Amazon.com I Amazon UK I Amazon DE I Amazon ES I CreateSpace

Crossing the Naiad continues to be available as an ebook:
Amazon.com I Amazon UK I Amazon DE I Amazon ES
B&N I iTunes I Kobo I Smashwords

Just a few weeks ago, Crossing the Naiad received a very positive review on Goodreads!

“A quick, refreshing piece of literature. Like a cool sip of water after a grueling endurance marathon . . . It’s swift and concise, but the prose is eloquent and deft, to the point, yet gracefully articulate . . . again I am enthralled with the completeness of the picture the author is painting. The world comes to life . . .”

Livli’s Gift in Paperback!

Posted on March 25, 2014 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

After printing umpteen million proof copies – okay, I’m exaggerating! it just seemed like that many – CreateSpace has finally disgorged an edition that looks the way I want it to! Livli’s Gift is now available in paperback. I’m thrilled!

Livli paperback photo 3853

Livli heals challenging injuries among the pilgrims to Kaunis-spa. Its magical hot spring gives her an edge, but Livli achieves spectacular cures mainly because she refuses to fail.

A pioneer, she hopes to match her new ways for banishing hurt with new ways of living.

But the sisters of Kaunis-lodge fear rapid change. What precious things might they lose while tossing old inconveniences?

Livli pushes forward the new, and one influential foe pushes back. Kaunis-home will keep its revered traditions, even if Livli loses almost everything.

Everything . . . and the one thing she absolutely cannot lose.

Livli seeks an answer in the oldest lore of her people, something so ancient, it′s new. But mere resolve against failure meets an immovable counter force this time. Victory requires more.

Must surrender spell defeat? Or could letting go harness real power?

Livli’s Gift as a trade paperback:
6″x 9″ trim size • 212 pages
ISBN-10: 0615743080
ISBN-13: 978-0615743080
Amazon.com I Amazon UK I B&N I CreateSpace

Livli’s Gift continues to be available as an ebook:
Amazon.com I Amazon UK I Amazon DE I Amazon ES
B&N I Diesel I iTunes I Kobo I Smashwords

Update: A lovely review appeared on Goodreads over the weekend, so lovely that I can’t resist sharing it!

“I have never read a novel that made me feel so good. Mrs Ney-Grimm, you absolutely BLEW MY MIND! . . . It was so unique, so original . . . Usually I blast through the pages of a book that I love, but Livli’s Gift made me want to go as slow as possible, absorbing every moment of bliss.” – Goodreads review

New Release! Devouring Light

Posted on January 15, 2014 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

I started this story with the idea it would go into an anthology of short stories – all with roots in a zoo theme.

In my mind, I labeled this story Star Circus, so it was a little off from the theme. But I was longing to tell it, so I figured: “Close enough!”

As I wrote, Star Circus veered further off course and got long, too long for the anthology.

Since I’d dreamed up another idea for my “zoo” story, which I was also aching to tell, I let this one, Devouring Light, have its way with me. All the way to its glorious conclusion.

And now it’s ready for you to enjoy! Devouring Light, in a bookseller near you! 😉

* * *

Can one small good deed offset ultimate destruction?

A goddess of ancient times under a volcanic sun Mercurio stands watch over the first planet, guiding it through the perils of the void. Part messenger, part prankster, he cocks an eye for danger, but not from afar. Close to home lurks the real risk that his festival for Sol’s 25th anniversary will be a bust.

Failed negotiations with constellations and his fellow guardians send him to the brink of complete frustration…when a beautiful celestial wanderer fetches up at his domicile, seeking refuge.

Her form beguiles. Her mystery intrigues. And Mercurio’s fascination with his visitor poses yet another threat to Sol’s celebration.

Will Mercurio recognize his role as cat’s paw soon enough? Or will a looming menace – more lethal than any of the guardians imagine – threaten the solar system’s very existence?

Devouring Light is available as an ebook in electronic bookstores.
Amazon.com I Amazon UK I Amazon DE I Amazon ES
B&N I Diesel I iTunes I Kobo I Smashwords I Sony

Skies of Navarys in Paper!

Posted on November 11, 2013 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

Get it, because you like full bookshelves. Get it, because you enjoy a stylish book on your coffee table. Get it to read. Get it to give as a gift. (Grin!) The trade paperback edition of Skies of Navarys is here!

Navarys paperback photo 3844

Two friends. Two ways of approaching life. One dilemma.

Liliyah studies energea as all thirteen-year-olds in Navarys do, devoting her mornings to mastering the music that controls her magic. Afternoons, she hobnobs with the artisan crafters and shopkeepers who built the island city-state into the trade capital of the world.

Her friend Mago faces struggles unsuspected by carefree Liliyah. His father, a renowned inventor, succombs to irrational flashes of rage. His mother holds a lethal secret close.

When a royal geomancer announces that the goddess Evaia shrugs, every citizen on the island springs to action. Disaster waits on no one’s leisure! Amidst the uproar, the aeromancer Palujon steals Mago’s father’s latest invention: unique lodestones with the potential to revolutionize life as the Navareans know it.

Mago discovers the theft and vows to make good his father’s loss. But Liliyah questions Palujon’s motives. Why would a man of his stature break the law? Is he truly a rogue?

Two friends. Two answers. Life and death hang on their choices.

Here are the “stats” for the trade paperback:

5″x 8″ trim size • 116 pages
ISBN-10: 0615880320
ISBN-13: 978-0615880327
Amazon.com I Amazon UK I B&N I CreateSpace

Skies of Navarys is also available as an ebook in electronic bookstores.
Amazon.com I Amazon UK
B&N I Diesel I iTunes I Kobo I Smashwords I Sony

New Release! Resonant Bronze

Posted on October 22, 2013 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

It usually takes several weeks for a new release to go live on all the different e-tailer sites. I tend to get impatient, waiting and waiting for the new book to appear!

I’ve been especially eager for Resonant Bronze to debut. You see, Skies of Navarys is the first story in my Lodestone Tales, while Rainbow’s Lodestone and Star-drake are the third and fourth. What about the second? How can you have a proper sequence when number two is missing?

Well, it’s missing no longer. Resonant Bronze is here!

Resonant Bronze The warriors of Torbellai brought back a prize in the night, and young Paitra wants to see it. Even hidden away in the armory, the artifact changed the whole mood of their mountain citadel from dread foreboding to hope. And Paitra’s people need hope to turn the tide in their long war against the troll horde. Might this small triumph presage a mightier victory?

But the warlord hid the fighters’ plunder for good reason. Forged by trolls and radiating magic, it presents grave risk to the soul and spirit of any who approach it. Sneaking past the weapon smiths into the armory with his brother, Paitra still believes his home a safe place for boy’s mischief. But bronze hammered by trolls is anything but safe. Opportunity cloaked within its lethal enchantment awaits the right unlocking key. Could Paitra wield that key? And will he survive his curiosity?

Through death into magic and sound, Paitra confronts . . . resonant bronze.

Resonant Bronze is available in electronic bookstores.
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Ebook Release: Crossing the Naiad

Posted on September 10, 2013 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

For fans of Sarvet, as well as readers who enjoy tales of how the dead past reaches forward through time to touch later ages, Crossing the Naiad follows Sarvet on the first adventure of her wanderyar. Below a ruined bridge, she encounters two lowlanders and two ghosts.

water spirit under water Its truth forgotten in the mists of time, the old bridge harbors a lethal secret. Neither marble statues awakened for battle nor an ancient roadbed grown hungry, something darker and more primal haunts the stones and the wild river below.

Crossing the Naiad is available in electronic bookstores.
Amazon.com I Amazon UK I Amazon DE I Amazon ES
B&N I Diesel I iTunes I Kobo I Smashwords I Sony

Sarvet’s Wanderyar in Paper!

Posted on August 26, 2013 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

I’m delighted to announce that the trade paperback edition of Sarvet’s Wanderyar is now available for readers everywhere to enjoy. Order it from Amazon. Order it from CreateSpace. Order it from Barnes & Noble. Or order it from your local independent bookstore. It’s all good!

Sarvet's Wanderyar, print on demand edition

Sarvet walks with a grinding limp, and her mountain culture keeps girls close to home. Worse, her mother emphasizes all the things Sarvet can’t do.

No matter how gutsy her spirit or bold her defiance, staying put means growing weaker. But only boys get wanderyars. Lacking their supplies and training, how can Sarvet escape?

Can dreams – even big dreams – and inner certainty transform impossible barricades into a way out?

Here are the “stats” for the trade paperback:

5″x 8″ trim size • 112 pages
ISBN-10: 0615743099
ISBN-13: 978-0615743097
Amazon.com I Amazon UK I B&N I CreateSpace

And, of course, for ebook lovers, Sarvet’s Wanderyar continues to be available as an ebook. Amazon.com I Amazon UK I B&N I Diesel I iTunes I Kobo I Smashwords I Sony

Ebook Release: Skies of Navarys

Posted on August 13, 2013 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

Three cheers! Skies of Navarys is available from all the e-tailers at last! (Kobo took a while to have the book go live. Not sure why.) But here it is, the very first tale about the lodestones of old and how they came to be.

Three airships over landscape, feature size Two friends. Two ways of approaching life. One dilemma.

Her friend Mago faces struggles unsuspected by carefree Liliyah. His father, a renowned inventor, succombs to irrational flashes of rage. His mother holds a lethal secret close.

Mago discovers the theft and vows to make good his father’s loss. But Liliyah questions Palujon’s motives. Why would a man of his stature break the law? Is he truly a rogue?

Two friends. Two answers. Life and death hang on their choices.

All seven electronic bookstores:
Amazon I B&N I Diesel I iTunes I Kobo I Smashwords I Sony

Troll-magic print edition!

Posted on January 18, 2013 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

The picture says it all, doesn’t it?

I’m delighted to announce that Troll-magic is here in a trade paperback edition!
And – am I allowed to say this? – it’s such a pretty book!

photo of paper books

Fighting against a nightmare pales beside fighting for a dream.

An accursed prince and her own longing for music challenge Lorelin to do both.

But tradition and a hidden foe stand squarely in her way. How do you make dreams real when vision fails, allies undermine you, and all roads toward hope twist awry?

Can courage, honor, and loyalty prevail against a troll-witch’s potent curse?

Set within the enchanted North-lands, this new take on an old Norse folk tale pits distorted malice against inner wisdom and grit.

Troll-magic is available as a trade paperback from Amazon.
You may also order it from your local bookstore!

ISBN-10: 0615702546
ISBN-13: 978-0615702544

Of course, the novel continues to be available as an ebook for e-reader aficionados.
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New Release! Perilous Chance

Posted on December 25, 2012 by J.M. Ney-Grimm

cover image for Perilous Chance If only Mama were well. If only Papa were . . . not like this.

Clary needs a miracle, but wonders rarely step forth to solve life’s problems.

While her mama lies wearily abed and her papa spends the day . . . elsewhere, Clary struggles to look after her younger sister and their baby brother. And longs for more than making do. If only.

Then, one spring morning, Clary and Elspeth visit the old bramble-grown quarry to pick wild cabbage leaves. Hidden within the rock’s cleft, Clary’s miracle awaits. But this miracle sports razor-sharp talons, world-shaking power, ravenous hunger, and a troll-witch to guard its sleep. When it cracks the egg, will Clary survive?

Something wondrous this way comes!

Perilous Chance is available in electronic bookstores.
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