Kalayna Price

Hey everyone. As you've probably noticed, October has been a month full of events for me. I also have a book due in a couple days--talk about being busy. I apologize for not being around as much as normal. I will attempt to get back on a regular blogging schedule soon. Anyway, one of my favorite things to do while at an event is to steal a couple of the other attending writers for a quick chat about their books and ask them for some tips for aspiring authors. At RoundCon last weekend, my victims lovely volunteers included Rachel Aaron and J ohn Hartness . I hope you enjoy!

I know I mentioned RoundCon a few posts back, but I'm giving it another post just in case you are in the area and want to come, but maybe forgot or missed the first post. (Besides, it's not like I'm exactly clogging the blogsphere with posts right now--deadlines and some aspects of my personal life are killing me at the moment, but I'll start blogging regularly as soon as I get caught up on everything. Promise. You'd rather books than blogs, right?) Anyway, RoundCon 2011.1 starts TODAY. The writer's track is new for 2011, so if you're in the Columbia area and want to hear professionals from all different walks of publishing--from nationally bestselling to small press to self published--talk about writing, craft, the business, the market, and I'm sure any topics  you guys might desire us to discuss please make plans to come check out the Con. Seriously, we have several great tracks lined up, but if there is a topic you'd like to know more about or ...

Today I'm wishing a very happy release day to my friend and fellow Magical Words author, A.J. Hartley, for his brand new release  Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact . This book marks the first in a series and AJ's first adventure into middle-grade fiction. I haven't yet had the pleasure to read it, and while middle-grade fiction isn't usually added to TBR, this book certainly sounds intriguing so I plan to pick up a copy soon! AJ sent me some additional information I can share with you guys, so please welcome him to the blog! A. J. Hartley: So you’re a kid: a boy of about 11. You’re in the mall in an unfamiliar city, feeling lost, alone and a bit home sick. You look up and you see a bird in one of the plastic trees. You like birds, so you watch it, trying to figure out what type it is. Then there’s a shadow overhead and the little bird gets hits hard by something much bigger, something hawkish but with leathery bat-like wings and the face of… well, if it was...

I can't believe it's already October. That said, I have two events coming up that I hope I'll be able to see some of you at. Next weekend, October 15th and 16th , I will be in North Carolina for the literary weekend at the Carolina Renaissance Festival . I think this event will be a ton of fun not only because of the great writers I'll be there with, but because, well, it's Ren Faire--how can you go wrong with that? The following weekend, October 21-23 ,  I'll be in Columbia, SC for RoundCon 2011.1 . The writer's track is a relatively new add-on for the convention, so if you have a chance, I hope you'll come check it out. A full schedule of panels is up on the website, but here is my schedule for the con: Friday: Detectives & Mysteries Sex & Violence - Writing Emotional Action Scenes Saturday:   Writing a Series The New World of Publishing Sunday: World-Building Tension - Build it or Break it?   It's going to be a busy ...