Dragoncraft comes out today. A writer spends a lot of days working for a handful of days like today.
Dragoncraft is a sequel to Glass Girl, though I tried to write it so it could be read independently. In Glass Girl, glassmaker Emlin was the sole point of view character, and Addy was her love interest. We never saw into his head, which is good, because he’s a trickster and a liar and those work much better if we can’t see what he’s really thinking.
Addy’s heart is in the right place though, and several readers told me he was their favorite character. He’s my favorite character too. As a matter of fact, he’s my favorite type of character-a trickster. I love clever characters whom everyone underestimates, people like Miles Vorkosigan or Gen (from Turner’s The Thief).
I should say that this puts me out of step with much current YA fantasy which often features domineering male characters, so much so that there was a discussion of it on Reddit in which one commenter asked why we were still valorizing toxic masculinity. Maybe I’m too old to appreciate the trope, but these domineering characters make me want to shout “Run!” at the girl character. I felt that way all the way back to Bella in Twilight. Edward snuck into her room to watch her sleep and disabled her car, and the book treated that as romantic. Ack!
Given the affection for Addy, I split the point-of-view between him and Emlin in Dragoncraft. And of course, then I had them keeping secrets from one another. Addy enjoys doing that, but Emlin is deeply uncomfortable, poor thing. It was fun to write and I hope it’s fun to read.
Dragoncraft is available on all the online sites in both paperback ($14.99) and e-book ($3.99) format. The last time I looked, the e-book of Glass Girl was temporarily on sale at Amazon for $1.99 if you want to read the story in which Addy and Emlin first meet.
Discounted version of Glass Girl
Greetings from the Heartland
Subcommandante Yakbreath
Congratulations!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Subcommandante Yakbreath: Thank you.
And thanks to Water Girl for setting this up for me. Balloon Juice consistently encourages me in my writing. IOW, it’s your fault.
MattF
Apple Books has both for $3.99 each.
WaterGirl
@MattF: Apple Books as in iBooks?
Kristine
@MattF: Apple Books’ prices tend to be higher. Sometimes they’re included in sales, sometimes not.
MattF
@WaterGirl: The ‘Books’ app.
Bostondreams
Looking forward to this. A great fantasy/sci fi series that can help wash out the taste of toxic masculinity in the genre is ‘The Locked Tomb’ series by Tamsyn Muir. Most of the main characters are some version of queer and fucks with gender (two female characters in the third book are called the Tower Princes and present as pretty masc, and another character is male bodied and presenting but uses she/her for example), though it DOES have quite a bit of toxicity in other forms. The power dynamics alone are fascinating. The tag line ‘Lesbian Necromancers in Space’ does a disservice to the series, and the audiobooks are amazingly narrated.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@MattF: Both e-books, right? Yeah, I think that $1.99 for Glass Girl ebook may have been just at Amazon. That’s one of the decisions my publisher makers
WaterGirl
@MattF: Oh, right, they changed it from iBooks.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Bostondreams: I used to have a long commute and audiobooks made a huge difference. There were days when I looked forward to getting back in the car. And I got them from the library
Bostondreams
@Dorothy A. Winsor: This particular series is narrated by Moira Quirk and I don’t think I have ever heard someone do such a good job with so many different characters!
MattF
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Yes.
@Bostondreams: I thought the initial book in the series was terrific, the second was pretty good, and the third was unreadable. I sure hope Muir gets back into form to wind up the series.
Bostondreams
@MattF: Harrow the Ninth blew my mind and its my favorite in the series. I enjoyed Nona quite a bit though, especially when Ianthe and Kiriona make their appearances. And the backstory with God and his Saints. And ‘The Unwanted Guest’ short play with Ianthe and Palamedes set in barracks over the course of a few seconds was fascinating. But I know some folks wish it had stayed as part of the last book instead of becoming its own.
WaterGirl
I sent this part of the post to my niece yesterday:
She wrote back:
Baud
Congrats!
Delk
@MattF: I lost interest in the third and gave up reading it.
eclare
@WaterGirl:
Seconded! Your niece has a good ear.
eclare
Congratulations!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@WaterGirl: Your niece is obviously brilliant.
Bostondreams
@Delk: I can understand that. I do think Muir did an interesting twist on the ‘came back wrong’ trope with Gideon Nav/Kiriona Gaia. But the third book is I think pretty mixed in reception.
DEBG
Congrats!
Do you have any plans to release audiobooks? I haven’t been reading books lately because listening to them is so much fun! Plus I can weave or knit complex stuff with audiobooks.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@DEBG: As far as I know, my publisher isn’t putting out audiobooks. But I get what you’re saying. I listen to audiobooks while I do puzzles too.
WendyBinFL
Hooray! I loved Glass Girl, and The Wind Reader and The Wysman, all of which I purchased and inhaled this time last year. Can’t wait to leap into Dragoncraft, which is now in my Kindle! All the best with your latest launch, Dorothy!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@WendyBinFL: Thank you, Wendy. You’re making me feel good here.
Steve in the ATL
Congratulations on another book! You must be one of the most prolific authors on B-J.
I would love for you people to give us some insights into the writing business. What makes money these days—books, video game scripts, screenplays, poetry (kidding!)? What type of stuff is selling? If I publish a novel under the name “Davis Baldacci” will it become a bestseller before anyone figures it out?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Steve in the ATL: I can tell you that what I write doesn’t sell big, at least not with my small press which can’t provide much distribution.
In general, in books, romance is the biggest selling category, followed by mystery. You should write courtroom drama. I wouldn’t use Balducci’s name, though. Maybe Dadiv Badulicci?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Steve in the ATL: Actually, if you gave a court associated mystery a real Atlanta vibe, that would be promising. People like reading about an area they’re familiar with.
stinger
Just got an email saying that my copy of Dragoncraft “has been processed” and I assume will be shipped soon from the publisher. So happy for you today, Dorothy! Congratulations! I so look forward to reading the further adventures of Emlin and Addy!
kalakal
Congrats! Looking forward to reading it!
Steve in the ATL
@Dorothy A. Winsor: it is no mystery why I couldn’t write romance—just ask my wife!
As for courtroom drama, is that still popular? Hasn’t been overdone?
Will have to consider whether I spend enough time in Atlanta to get the vibe here….
Princess
Congratulations!!
WaterGirl
@Steve in the ATL: Pretty sure that a novel set in WTF? would be a location where nearly everyone would find that it feels like home.
sab
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I got it before the release (yay pre-orders.) I like these kids (your characters) so always happy to read more. Cannot comment more without spoiling this or Glass Girl, but I was surprised bit less so than last time, but still surprised.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@stinger: Thanks for ordering from the publisher. They make a little more money that way. OTOH, my amazon ranking doesn’t go up. My editor keeps trying to decide which matters more.
They sent me your address and asked me to send one of the books they send me for US orders. So it’s in the mail.
sab
@sab: I have the solid book now, so I will order Glass Girl in solid book also.
I have a small house without much shelfspace, so I love my Nook. But I also remember visting my grandparents house and reading all my mother’s favorite books in the attic. The entire Wizard of Oz series for example. All those feminist princesses.
Me reading e-books deprives my grand-daughter of that discovery, so I am trying to get books she might like in paper.
dnfree
I really enjoyed the first book (although I am not entirely sure I figured out all of the twists), so I will also order this one and look forward to reading it. You have a good assortment of characters.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@dnfree: I’m glad you enjoyed Glass Girl. I had to write about Addy again. He amused me.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@sab: The covers are nice too, and you don’t see those in ebook much. The art is good and the cover is sort of soft to the touch.
Steve in the ATL
@WaterGirl: “he strode confidently into the courtroom, well rested from his night at the Hilton Garden Inn, his suit only slightly wrinkled thanks to the great care shown by the Delta baggage handlers…”
Betty
I really enjoyed Glass Girl and look forward to getting Dragoncraft. Fascinated with all the details involved in creating a whole new world.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Steve in the ATL: Exactly!
Bizarrely, John Scalzi’s Starter Villain starts and ends in Barrington, IL, which is where I live. I was surprised by how much I liked seeing streets and other landmarks I recognized.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Betty: Some writers really get into world building. It’s their favorite part of writing fantasy. I’m less devoted. Mostly I make up as much as I need to make the story work.
Glass Girl was set on a reimagined Capri, where we’d recently been on a business trip for Mr DAW. I thought about the streets leading up from the harbor and around town. I had a lot of time to walk around while Mr DAW was working.
MomDoc
Congratulations on the new launch! I will have to check this out!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@MomDoc: Thank you. I hope people like the book.
Writing a book is like creating a sort of magic. The story existed in my head. Now it will exist in someone else’s. In between, I’m not sure it really exists at all. It’s a kind magic really.
Steve in the ATL
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I read that a couple of weeks ago at the suggestion of a jackal and loved it. “Persephone is my intern” was one of many great lines!
And Barrington is quite nice. You must be selling at least a few books!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Steve in the ATL: Mr DAW designed some stuff for tractor engines that made John Deere very happy. We English professors/YA writers have always depended on the kindness of others.
Steve in the ATL
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I was in Moline a couple of weeks ago (not bragging, I swear!) and saw Deere headquarters. It’s quite nice. I walked around the park on Sylvan Island before my flight. Struck up a non-political conversation with a local real estate magnate, and as I walked away he said, “Say hello to Peachtree for me…and vote for Kamala!” Was pleasantly surprised!
stinger
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Thanks — that’s lovely!
The copies I give as gifts will be from Amazon, if that helps. ;-)
Kayla Rudbek
@Dorothy A. Winsor: John Scalzi has an excellent sense of place. Living in the DC suburbs, I really liked his Locked In series, and it has the most DC sci-fi protest ever in it. The Android’s Dream is also another one where I can tell that he lived here.
J.
Congratulations! I missed this post. May you have great success with your latest!