Saturday, March 30, 2013

Banquet Invitation!



You Are Invited

to a Banquet

Where: Oriana Palace, Parumvir
When: April 11, 2013
What to Bring: A dish worthy to be served at a Banquet in Parumvir
What to Wear: Party Dress, of course!


Dear readers, I am very pleased to inform you of one of the upcoming events on this blog. For my birthday this year, I am going to host a Parumvir Banquet, and I want all of you to participate.

In order to attend this banquet, you will need to make a dish that you think would be appropriate to serve at a feast in Oriana. Take a nice picture of it (and of yourself in a Party Dress to go along with it if you like) and email it to me along with a recipe before the night of April 10th.

On April 11th, which is my birthday, I will compile all the pictures and recipes to host one glorious "banquet" online! We will all get to see each others' creativity and hopefully acquire a bazillion wonderful new recipes to add to our collections.

These recipes can be things right out of your cookbook or new inventions of your own. And remember, a feast is going to need:
A soup course
A salad course
A main course
A cheese course
A dessert course
So plenty of options for your creativity!
What do you think? Do you have some ideas brewing? Will you come up with some Goldstone Wood-appropriate names for you dishes?

Friday, March 29, 2013

A Darling Lunch

Today, I had the special fun of meeting an online friend/fan in person for the first! That's right, our own Clara Darling and her mom and sister drove twelve hours to come meet me in downtown Raleigh for a truly delightful lunch-date. I was so honored and pleased!

This is just after finishing some amazing desserts at Gravy, one of my favorite Italian restaurants.
 
Rohan came along as my escort, but sadly, we didn't get a picture with him. He acted as photographer instead.
 
 
What a wonderful afternoon we had, laughing and chattering about books and art and music and movies. Clara Darling is a girl after my own heart.
 
I thought I would share these fun pictures with all of you Goldstone Wood Imps. I wish all of you could have been there to enjoy Clara's sweet spirit and company along with me! Many thanks to her, her mom, and her sister, for taking such a roadtrip. It made my day!
 


P.S. Ian, I know who did this drawing now . . .  Your secrets are out!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Fan Art Contest: The Winner!

And the winner, of the Spring 2013 Tales of Goldstone Wood Fan Art Contest is . . . . .


 
Fey Fight
by
HANNAH WILLIAMS
Congratulations, Hannah Williams! What a fantastic painting this is, so full of energy and character and terrifying beauty. You captured the climactic scene of Starflower, a moment of villainy and true heroism. Looking at this piece, I feel as though I am gazing through a window right into the world of my imagination.
And the fans must have felt the same, because they have voted you their winner! You have officially won a free first edition copy of Dragonwitch. Email me your mailing address, and I will be certain you are sent one of the very first copies, hot off the press.
However, it was a very close contest, my friends. The top three were all within a single vote of each other! So I have decided to give prizes to second and third place as well.
The second place winner is . . .
 
Una
by
GWEN PHILLIPS
The lovely, naive, messy-haired princess of Parumvir is perfectly rendered in this elegant pencil portrait. I believe this must be Una near the end of Heartless, for there is a serenity and peace in her eyes, a sense of new wisdom and understanding. But she still has the mischievous quirk to her lips, like she's just managing to supress a grin at some antic of Prince Felix!
This gorgeous portrait captured the hearts of the voters. Well done, Gwen Phillips! We are all thrilled by your talent. Please email me your mailing address, and you will receive your second place prize: a Tales of Goldstone Wood coffee mug and collection of bookmarks, pencils, and pens!
And the breathtaking third place winner of this contest is . . .
 
Always Come Back for You
by
MELANIE MORGAN
I know I am not the only viewer to gasp out loud when I first saw this amazing piece! The dragon is alive with fire, and the scene is full of his fury . . . but that fury cannot overcome the deep love of Prince Aethelbald for his princess. What a powerful scene to illustrate, and so gorgeously done. I am in awe of your talent, Melanie!
Please email me your mailing address, and I will send you your third place prize: a collection of Goldstone Wood bookmarks, pencils, pens, and stickers.
 
Thank you to all the wonderful artists who participated in this contest. Every one of you (even those of you who turned in late projects) earned numerous votes from impressed viewers. I certainly could not have called the winner until the very end. I am blessed and thrilled by your talent, and I hope to see more wonderful work from all of you in contests to come!
In the meanwhile, I'll be putting many of these pieces up on the various fan art pages for these books. Feel free to submit more pieces for the fan art pages . . . or hold onto them for future contests! This one was so much fun, I think I might host another one this autumn. What do you think?
In the meanwhile, don't forget the upcoming Parumvir Banquet to which you are all invited in April. And soon after that I'll be announcing an exciting fiction contest. So keep your eyes open!
Be sure to congratulate the winners in the comments below.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Introducing: Jennette Mbewe!

Dear readers, I am excited to take a moment today to introduce an up-and-coming fantasy novelist to you. Jennette Mbewe, to celebrate the release of her new short story, Desert Rose, is here today for an interview . . . and a particularly generous giveaway from her publisher! Be sure to check below for the details. But first, let's meet Jennette and learn about her writing!




Can a desert princess find love with a foreign king?

Johari lives in the shadow of her beautiful sister until a foreign king notices her, but in her haste to prove herself worthy of affection she finds herself compromised and on a difficult journey to make things right.
 
 
Welcome, Jennette! I am excited to have you here on the Tales of Goldstone Wood blog. Would you mind telling us a little about yourself? Hobbies, personality . . . tea or coffee?
 
Jennette: Sure, but first I want to say thank you so much for doing this interview, Ms. Stengl. I am so honored and humbled, I just want to fall on my face before God, because it is all Him—not me! Thanks!

Now, a little about me…let’s see. For starters, I’m married to a man who believes in me and supports me in my writing endeavors. We have two precious blessings from God. Sam is four and Ariah is two, and needless to say, they keep me busy.

I don’t know about hobbies, but I do love to create whether its painting, drawing, writing, baking, sewing, hammering, scrapbooking, etc. I love to collect rocks. When I was a child, I would help my dad “pick rocks” to prepare the fields for planting, and he would tell me what the rocks were. I ended up collecting all the agates I could find, and now I have them in jars sitting atop my kitchen cabinets.

Speaking of tea or coffee. I have a similar story to yours, Ms, Stengl. I loved coffee until my husband, who is from Zambia, Africa, introduced me to English Breakfast Tea with cream and sugar. I converted. Although, I still love the smell of a coffee shop, especially it’s inside a bookstore, and I still do coffee every now and again.

 
What led you into the writing life? Were you always a storyteller?
 
Jennette: That is long story, but I’ll keep it brief. I loved books as a kid even before I could read. If you’d have asked me at eight years old what I wanted to be I would have told you an author. I had written and illustrated and stapled together my very first story about a missing cat who finds a home. I even had an author’s portrait drawn on the back. But life happened and the dream was swept under a rug and forgotten for many years. I continued to write in my journal to express myself, and in a way writing became my lifeline. Then in 2003, I was reading through the parable of the talents, and God asked me: What are you doing with what I gave you? And I was like: What did you give me? And the word writing formed in my mind’s eye. So I started putting one foot in front of the other, and my dream was rebirthed.
 
Tell us a little about your new short story, Desert Rose. How long have you been working on it? Is it part of a bigger project?
 
Jennette: Desert Rose is a story of a young woman who lives in the shadow of her beautiful sister until a foreign king notices her, but in her haste to prove herself worthy of affection she finds herself compromised and on a difficult journey to make things right. Her story is set in the world of Nälu thirty years before the first book of my fantasy trilogy. I’ve been working on it for about three months: writing, exchanging critiques, polishing it, submitting it, and then polishing it some more.
 
Can you pick a favorite character from this new story?
 
Jennette: Johari. She is naïve and makes mistakes, but she is determined to do what she thinks is right.
 
What inspires your work? Where do you turn when you need a renewal of inspiration?
 
Jenntte: Life. Anything and everything. I’ll see or hear something, and an idea will spark. Movies and books inspire me too. I love going outside and letting my thoughts to wander, but often times it’s while I’m washing dishes or folding laundry. Ha! Not sure about the renewing my inspiration yet. At the root of everything, my writing, my life, parenting, etc, is my philosophy: seek God first, and everything else will fall into place. So, I think my “renewal of inspiration” flows from that as well. I’m still learning.
 
What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the writing process?
 
Jennette: I love almost every aspect of the writing process from the birth of an idea, to brainstorming, to writing it, to editing it. I think the least favorite part would be the battles I have to fight in my mind that hinder me from being productive. Sometimes the alone aspect comes into a close second as a least favorite. When I’ve stumble upon a problem in my story, I wish I had a clone, so I could bounce ideas off and discuss the possible solutions.
 
If you were forced to pick a single favorite author, who would it be?
 
Jennette: Oh, this isn’t a fair question. Would it be improper to say Anne Elisabeth Stengl? I love the Harry Potter novels. J. K. Rowling’s creativity, red herrings, the interwoven plots amaze me and challenge me to think outside the box. Nothing really topped them, until I discovered the Tales of Goldstone Wood with the creativity, the interwoven plots, the allegory. And I was like: this is published by Bethany House?! Awesome! (*grin* Thank you, Jennette!)
 
So what is next on your publishing horizons? Can we look forward to more fiction from you soon
 
Jennette: Yes! I am so excited to announce that Secrets Kept, book one of the Hidden Dagger Trilogy has been contracted. Eek! There will be other short stories coming as well between now and when the book is published.
 
(Huge round of applause for Jennette, everybody!!!)
 
What are you actively writing right now?
 
Jennette: Right now, I am writing another short story set in the world of Nälu, but this time it has to do with the merpeople and dragons.
 
Would you share a short snippet from Desert Rose?
 
Jennette: Yes! I hope you all enjoy it.
 
 
SELECTION FROM
Desert Rose
 
 
Shades of night slipped between the trees. Her knees ached, and her feet began to tingle, so she repositioned herself and sat cross-legged. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she shivered. She wrapped her arms around her belly. She should return to the keep, yet she lingered.
 
Johari’s abdomen tightened. She exhaled through her nose. She couldn’t leave now. It was too late. She opened her eyes, but her vision darkened. The trees beyond her disappeared into a black abyss. Branches like grey spider webs stretched above her, crisscrossing against the starlit sky. Had it grown so dark so quickly? She blinked her eyes. Why couldn’t she see?
 
A shadow broke from the abyss and slid toward her.
 
Johari focused on the gliding form, but it wavered like a mirage. An icy chill encompassed her; her breath slipped through her lips in a fog. Johari shivered.
 
“No moon tonight, but the stars are bright,” the woman said.
 
Johari sniffed the air, but the woman had no scent. “Who are you?”
 
“I am nothing to you, but everything. I am a priestess of the Nuja.” She came closer, cloaked in tattered shadows, weaving on her feet.
 
“Are you drunk?”
 
“Nay.” She pointed to the heavens. Ribbons of blood dribbled down her pale arm. “The stars are bright tonight.”
 
“Yes, so you have said.” Johari glanced around. Why had she run out here beyond the protection of the king? She eyed the woman’s arm. “Are you hurt?”
 
“Death is written in the stars.” She lowered her arm.
 
“Death is a constant. I do not need a star to tell me that.”
 
“Silence.” She lurched forward. “The underworld groans as a woman in labor. It hungers for the death of this child. The queen will have her way.”
 
A contraction seized Johari. She grasped the tree roots. Not now. Not here.
 
cd
 
What a thrilling excerpt!!! I hope all of you readers are as excited to read this story as I am now.
 
And guess what? Jennette's publishers are also excited for you to read it, and they are offering such a generous deal. Anyone who leaves a comment on this post can email me (aestengl@gmail.com) and receive a coupon to download Desert Rose FOR FREE! That's right! Just leave a comment, email me, and I will send you the coupon and link you need in order to claim your free copy of this exciting new fantasy!
 
There is also a fun Grand Prize giveaeway for one lucky winner. Be sure to enter your name below for a chance to win goody prize packet, including the beautiful metal bookmark pictured below, a signed copy of The Clockwork Dragon anthology, and other exciting novels from AltWit Press.
 
 
 
Be certain to follow Jennette on facebook, and also visit her blog: http://jlmbewe.wordpress.com/. You can also check out her exciting book trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uyjdN8o3Gk.
 
And to you bloggers out there: Share this bookcover and description, and consider inviting Jennette to come do an interview on your blog!
 
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0cd5246/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway








Thursday, March 21, 2013

Goldstone Wood Fan Art Contest, 2013

The time has come, dear readers. The 2013 fan art contest is upon us. And Iubdan's Beard, do I have a number of fabulous submissions to share with all of you!

This year, the winner will be chosen by voting. To vote for your favorites, please email me the titles (and artists) of your top three picks. aestengl@gmail.com. I will compile these votes and announce the favorite a week from today! The winner will receive a free copy of DRAGONWITCH later this summer.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO VOTE! This contest is not limited to bloggers or fan-voters only. Invite your friends and family to pick their favorites!

Be sure to take a moment to tell the artists how awesome they are in the comments below.

A great big thanks and enthusiastic applause to the participating artists! You are all wonderful talents. Some of you made me laugh, some of you made me smile, and some of you completely took my breath away! I have been looking forward to sharing your work.

So without further ado . . . . (Click on the images to enlarge viewing.)

hg


"Wedding Vows"
By: Beka
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 

"Una and Felix"
By: Gwen Phillips
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
 
"Unveiled Illusion"
By: Courtney Dusenbury
From: Veiled Rose
Book 2

Detail of "Unveiled Illusion"
 
_____
 

"The Far Side"
By: Hannah Williams
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 

"Una"
By: Gwen Phillips
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____


"The Dragon's Kiss"
By: Therru Ghibli
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
 
"Tender"
By: Beka
From: Moonblood
Book 3
 
_____
 

"Quench My Fire"
By: Gwen Phillips
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
 
"Deep Dreams"
By: Kathleen
From: Starflower
Book 4
 
_____
 
 
"Sir Eanrin"
By: Gwen Phillips
From: Starflower
Book 4
 
_____
 
 
"Alone, But Unforgotten"
By: Courtney M.
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
 
"Captured"
By: Marisa Miranda
From: Starflower
Book 1
 
_____
 
 
"Lionheart's Venture to the Mountain"
By: Molly
From: Veiled Rose
Book 2
 
_____

"Mourning His Death"
By: Rebekah Elaine and Ruth Elizabeth
From: Moonblood
Book 3
 
_____
 
"Epic Standoff"
By: Rebekah Gyger
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 

"Imraldera Speaks"
By: Beka
From: Starflower
Book 4
 
_____
 
"The Princess"
By: Marisa Miranda
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
  
"Guardian of Goldstone Wood"
By: The Alpha Jan
Author Portrait
 
_____
 

"I Still Must Sing"
By: Rebekah Elaine and Ruth Elizabeth
From: Moonblood
Book 3
 
_____
 
 
"Imraldera"
By: SaraLyn
From: Starflower
Book 4
 
_____
 

"Goldstone Poster"
By: Hannah Williams
Series Poster
 
_____
 
 
"His Haven"
By: Rebekah Elaine and Ruth Elizabeth
From: Starflower
Book 4
 
_____
 
"Lumé and Hymlumé"
By: Jennette Mbewe
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
"Walk Before Me"
By: Maiden G
From: Veiled Rose
Book 2
 
_____
 

"Fey Fight"
By: Hannah Williams
From: Starflower
Book 4
 
_____


"Belle Loves Heartless Too"
By: Gwen Phillips
For Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
 
 
"Dragonwitch Poster"
By: Hannah Williams
From: Dragonwitch
Book 5
 
_____
 
 
"Nothing to Fear"
By: Beka
From: Starflower
Book 4 
 
_____


"Always Come Back for You"
By: Melanie Morgan
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 

"A Parumvir Chef"
By: Molly
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
 
"Goldstone Wood Imp"
By: Clara and Ian
For: Goldstone Wood Series
 
_____
 
 
"Daydream"
By: SaraLyn
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 

"Advertising Graphic"
By: Bree Holloway
For Series
 
______
 
 
"When You Imagine"
By: Kathleen
Author Portrait and Series Poster

 _____
 

"Angry Bird"
By: SaraLyn
From: Starflower
Book 4
 
_____
 

"Aethelbald"
By: Gwen Phillips
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
 
"The Wood"
By: Rebekah Gyger
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 
 
"Goat Girl"
By: Marisa Miranda
From: Veiled Rose
Book 2
 
_____
 
 
"ChuMana's Desmesne"
By: Maiden G
From: Starflower
Book 4
 
_____
 
 
"Aethelbald and the Dragon Girl"
By: Gwen Phillips
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____
 

"A Song So Old"
By: Beka
From: Starflower
Book 4
 
______
 
 
Click on the link below to see animation
"The Human Dragon - Short 2D Animation"
By: Ellen
From: Heartless
Book 1
 
_____