WPFP Blog Tour - The Big Launch!

Well, well, well. Today is a big, big day!

Why, you may ask? Well, only because my best book yet is being released!

After years of scratching at notebooks and tapping at keyboards, bouts of exhilaration and near-tears, and writer's block lasting up to a year at times.

Six computers. At least five notebooks. Five drafts, but only two that were completed.

Seven months of intense editing, several times when I honestly considered throwing the whole thing in the trash. Thirteen beta readers who kept me from doing just that.

And now, after so many years, so much time and effort, I am releasing Water Princess, Fire Prince into the hands of the public to read, and enjoy, and rip to shreds as they will.

You can click the above image to go through and buy the kindle copy. The Paperback edition is available HERE. For this week only, it's just $14.99, so get it now. The price will be going up to, I think, $17.99 after I announce the giveaway winners, so I can opt the book into the expanded distribution channels.

Once you've read the book and fallen love, be sure to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads, and then join the goodreads fangroup!

Also: FREE BOOKS!!! (What's one of my parties without free books involved, may I ask?)
Currently, all three volumes of the Bookania Quests are free on Kindle, but My Kingdom for a Quest is free TODAY only, so get it now!

Sew, It’s a Quest: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005G3ZFKG

Do You Take This Quest? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CFDHFT4/

TODAY ONLY:

My Kingdom for a Quest: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RN7T004

As for the stops I'll be making today, you can check out:

Interviews:
Overactive Imagination - Jakob
Flights from the Aerie - Me
ElvishPens, Fantastical Writings - Me
Reviews:
ShireReviews
ScatteredJournal Pages
A Heart Redeemed


Also, Giveaways! I have two. The first is a rafflecopter giveaway with the prize being a signed physical copy of Water Princess, Fire Prince and a bottle of Citrus Bliss, which is a essential oil blend of about seven citruses and vanilla extract - and as readers of Water Princess, Fire Prince know, that's the smell of warm bathwater in Rizkaland.

The other prize is for the person who leaves the MOST comments during this tour, be they here on my blog, on my posts for the tour - including the countdown posts I was doing last week - or on the interviews and reviews and such on other blogs. (And yes, you can comment multiple times on the same post, but there must be someone else commenting between your comments, or you must be replying. And constructive comments, please. Don't be commenting just to be commenting, or I won't count it.) I'm not entirely certain what this giveaway's prize will be, but I'm kinda leaning towards a chance to Alpha read book two. If so, if there's a tie, then I'll award the prize to both people who tie. 

Oh, and one last thing: I turned comment moderation off last night and capcha on. Have fun with it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WPFP Countdown - 1!!!!!!

1

Just one more day before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?

Anyone who has preordered their copy should be receiving it tonight, because Kindle works that way and is awesome.

Anyway, as many of you know, Clara is a huge fan of the classics, and she quotes them frequently. So today, I'm sharing a list of the books whose mentions made their way into Water Princess, Fire Prince. For the record, she never directly quotes anything that is copyrighted - I don't want to mess with infringements and such - I had one of my beta's try to correct a quote, but I had deliberately reworded it. Onward!

Pride and Prejudice. I pretty much stole the opening line for Water Princess, Fire Prince. Also, Clara quotes P&P in part 5 as well. 

Gone with the Wind. It's a quote involving corsets.

Oz. More of a reference than a direct quote, but Clara brings it up when talking about how she's been thrust into a new world and isn't used to it yet. She talks a bit about Ozma of Oz, as well.

Nutcracker. How could I write a book about a Clara and not include references about the Nutcracker?

Alice in Wonderland. This book possibly provided the most quotes in the book. There was another one I had planned, but it didn't make the cut. I'll put it in book 3 instead.

The Hobbit/LotR. My Beta Readers all agree that my references to Tolkien's work were some of the best.

The Prince and the Pauper. Only one quote, but it's an important one.

The Princess Bride. Couldn't resist the one - but again, since TPB is not yet in the public domain, I didn't directly quote it. 

Romeo and Juliet. "But soft! What light on yonder mountain breaks!"

There may be more, but I'm not calling them off the top of my head at the moment.

WPFP Countdown - 2

2

Just two days before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?

Today I'm sharing some pins that my beta readers found/created for the pinterest fanboard I made for them. Sorry about this post being late - I thought I had it scheduled.

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On the Spiced Pomella cider - Amanda B. and I actually made ourselves some for real with the above recipe the other day. I went the easy route and used the instant packets, she used actual apples. Both of us were very pleased with the results.

WPFP Countdown - 3

3

Just three days before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?

Today I asked all of my beta readers to drop in with a word about how amazing Water Princess, Fire Prince is. Here is their response.

Disclaimer: No, I did not sneak into their houses and hold them at knife point until they gave me these, nor did I bribe with chocolate. There may have been bribes of spoilers involved, though.

"Water Princess, Fire Prince is an amazing journey into a fascinating new world. It contains the attributes of what creates an epic fantasy book: characters that are easy to connect with, sweet romance, adventure, breathtaking danger, exciting battles, and a touch of humor. I can't wait to dive into Rizkaland again in the next book!!!" -G. Paige ( www.aheartredeemed.wordpress.com)

"Water Princess, Fire Prince is an exciting, cliché-busting trip to a unique world. I thoroughly enjoyed Clara and Andrew's adventures and all the intriguing character relationships that developed. And upon reaching the last part of the story, the plot twists blew me away. When the moment of realization finally set in for me, I had to go back and read the beginning all over again now that I understood. This story is a cleverly plotted masterpiece." -- Amanda Fischer (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16808888-amanda)

Andrew and Clara are pulled into a thrilling journey of danger, love, and war despite their own wishes. The task can only be accomplished together, if the pair can face the daunting task of working side by side. But here in Klarand, water and fire can truly mix.

-Hope Schmidt

www.writinginthelight.org

Water Princess, Fire Prince absolutely blew me away. Everything about it was done ever so fantastically; from the worldbuilding to the characters, and the dialogue to the imagery, this book is exceptional. I fell in love, and I sincerely believe everyone else will too.

-Amanda Beguerie

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/36642861-amanda

http://www.scatteredjournalpages.com/

The depth of Kendra’s years of work on Water Princess, Fire Prince shines through her characters. She has infused life and realistic personalities into Clara, Andrew, Laura, and their friends. The idea behind the masterfully-done plot touches a chord inside of us – the thrilling realm of speculative imagination that adulthood never truly loses. Pursuing this has yielded a rich and deep story that reveals the workings of God in the lives of those whom He has called.

- Erika Mathews, author of Promise’s Prayer

Writingeditor.org

www.writtenrest.blogspot.com

Two teenagers... dropped into a world as bizarre to them as Narnia must have been for the Pevensies... informed that not only are they required by ancient prophecy to save this world... but according to the prophecy they must also marry each other.  Andrew and Clara at first want nothing more than to escape Rizkaland and just go home; yet as time goes by, they find themselves becoming attached to this strange world... but what about each other?  A unique new reading adventure for readers who love clean Christian fantasy.

- Melody Muffin 
http://thesplendorfalls.blogspot.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/44438031-melody-muffin

Water Princess, Fire Prince is author Ardnek's best book to date! The world she weaves is highly developed and entertainingly creative. Her characters develop along their adventure, and bring the reader along for the trek. You don't want to miss this story.

-Abbey G. Werff, http://dollsbooksthingsthatmatter.blogspot.com/

Phenomenal! There are few books I have enjoyed more that this. I can't really explain why. It is one of those stories that is so well interwoven that it is hard to separate the message from the story.

- Bria Snow

"Water Princess, Fire Prince is one of my new favorite books! I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys portal fantasy, with a unique world and cast of characters it's easy to fall in love with."

Sierra Blasko

Blog: flightsfromtheaerie.blogspot.com

Water Princess, Fire Prince is a fun and exciting new addition to the portal fantasy genre. Readers will thoroughly enjoy Kendra's worldbuilding and characters in this fascinating adventures. And for the fangirls, there's Clarand- 'nuff said.

-Sarah Taleweaver

Dreams and Dragons

Goodreads

“Water Princess, Fire Prince is a fun venture into portal fantasy with unique worldbuilding, interesting and relatable characters, unexpected twists and turns, and an absolutely unforgettable adventure. This is a fantastic story. Kendra’s best so far.”

—Morgan Elizabeth Huneke, author of Time Captives

WPFP Countdown - 4

4

Just four days before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?

Today I'm sharing the cast list so you can get a brief overview of all of the major and most of the minor characters in the book.

Abraham: Lord of Lower Klarand

Alith (ah-LIHTH): Bookdaughter, advisor to the Wind Prince and Leaf Princess

Alphego (ahl-FAY-go): Creator and Keeper of Rizkaland and Klarand. He appears as a white lion, with the head and wings of an eagle. His body is covered with lamb’s wool and his head and wing’s with dove feathers, with rainbow feathers edging his wings.

Amber: The Lady Dragon, a terrible sorceress.

Andrew: The Fire Prince

Clara: The Water Princess

Dina (DEE-nah): Li’Daughter of Upper Klarand

Dular (DOO-lar): Alith’s husband, advisor to the Wind Prince and Leaf Princess

Erik: Lord of Upper Klarand

Essua (es-SOO-ah): Li’Daugher of Upper Klarand

Granite: Amber’s husband

Henre (ahn-RAY): Clara’s sword instructor

Jakob (JAH-kob): Lor’Son of Upper Klarand

Jasmine: Clara’s energetic young maid

Jill Anna: A seamstress

Josef: One of Abraham’s men

Karlos: Lord Abraham’s young son

Kiona: Queen of Rizkaland of the line of Violet

Laura: The Doorkeeper, a traveler between worlds

Leaf Princess: Sister of the Wind Prince

Martin: Clara’s martial arts instructor

Phillip: Bugslayer in the Kastle

Rhodan: The oldest of Abraham’s men

Rigel: Clara’s archery instructor

Roxanne: Lady of Upper Klarand

Sarai: Phillip’s wife and fellow Bugslayer

Stephan (STEP-han): King of Rizkaland, Kiona’s husband.

Tnika (tuh-NEE-kah): A Bookdaughter, successor to Alith as advisor

Tyrus: King of Rizkaland, of the line of Ralph

Wind Prince: Ruler of Klarand

Zimon: One of Abraham’s men

WP,FP Countdown - 5

5

Just five days before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?

Today I'm sharing some worldbuilding and a related video I filmed last year but didn't get around to posting. Enjoy!

Rizkaland is a cylindrical world, divided by seven mighty bodies of water, known as Riva, into six islands and the mainland. It has no magnetic field, so compass directions are referred to as up, down, ea and wea. Each of the six islands and including the mainland, run from the very top of the world to the bottom, though they differ greatly when it comes to widths. They are separated from each other by Rizkaland’s seven Riva.

Klarand

As of the time of Water Princess, Fire Prince, many of the islands were still uninhabited. Of the inhabited islands, however, the most important was Klarand, with served as a barrier between Amber’s Island, and the mainland.

Klarand is divided naturally by mountains and forest into four sections. Upper Klarand is mountainous, and the inhabitants are predominately miners and soldiers by trade. Lower Klarand is predominately forests, and men there are hunters and tenders of animals. Both Ea and Wea Klarand are flatlands, and are populated with farmers. In its very center stands the Kastle, an impregnable fortress build directly into a mountain by Alphego himself.

Rizkaland

The mainland of Rizkaland is the largest portion of land in this world. In its center stands Loray, a circular castle built around Alphego’s Hill, which is where Alphego stood to create this world.

The mainland is predominately farmland with scattered forests.

Rintae

The desert island of Rintae was largely uninhabited at the time of Water Princess, Fire Prince, though a few nomadic tribes had wandered in through from other worlds.

Isle of Talking Beasts

The name of the Isle of Talking Beasts is a slight misnomer, as the only talking beasts that live there are the magnificent horses. It is a jungle island, thick with trees other vegetation.

Chinok

The mountainous island of Chinok was uninhabited, and in truth, unnamed at the time of Water Princess, Fire Prince.

Silink

Literally translated as “narrow,” Silink is the narrowest island in Rizkaland, scarcely a mile at its widest. It is mostly sand, and is uninhabited.

Amber’s Island

Also known as the Isle of Banishment. Little is known about the geography of this island, for none who have step foot on this island have ever returned, save Amber and her husband Granite. There is a guise on this island where, should you step foot on it, you cannot leave again for another five hundred years. The people of Klarand and Rizkaland send people to this island as a form of capital punishment.

Author Interview - Ashlee Willis

So I'm taking a quick break from the countdown to WPFP's release (Just six more days though!) for an interview with an author I love about a book I'm wonderfully excited about. It's Cinderella, which has been on my mind of late, so let us commence!

Book Description: 

Deep in a forest glade, the fey folk dance with Isidore, a young human child. Their kinship is the very fabric of her childhood. When her mother dies and her world darkens with sorrow, Isidore finds her belief in the fey folk wavering.

The love of her new step-sister, Blessing, proves an unexpected gift in her time of need. Yet even as their friendship blooms, Isidore begins to see that Blessing is everything she herself has always wanted to be, but is not. Jealousy grips Isidore as she watches this beautiful new sister steal away all she holds dear.

Driven to desperation, Isidore turns to the fey folk once more. She has only one wish to claim from them, one chance to make things right. But she must tread carefully. For wishes, like hearts, are easily broken. And obtaining the one thing she desires could mean destroying the one thing she truly needs.

 Author Bio:

Ashlee Willis is the author of fantasy for young adults. While most of her days are balanced between writing, reading and being a stay-at-home mom, she also finds time to enjoy forest rambles, crocheting, and playing the piano. She lives in the heart of Missouri with her family.

1. What drew you to write a Cinderella retelling?

I actually wrote it in response to the Rooglewood Press contest that was going on at the time. I don't believe I would have ever written a Cinderella retelling on my own, as Cinderella has never been one of my favorite fairy tales. The version I've published now has gone through some hefty revisions and changes from the original that got sent into the contest, however!

2. What are the twists that make your retelling unique?

The one thing I knew I wanted to do differently was tell the story from another person's point of view. So I chose to tell A Wish Made of Glass from the stepsister's angle. The rest of the story, however, is based so loosely on the original Cinderella tale(s) that it would almost be a stretch to even call it a retelling. I took the elements I thought were intriguing from the older versions and simply inserted them into a story of my own.

3. What do you think is the great attraction of the fairy tale Cinderella and why it's such an easy tale to retell?

I think its attraction lies in its simplicity and its beautiful happily-ever-after. Which, in fact, is what made it such a difficult tale for me to retell! I like complicated, troubled characters and plots, and stories that don't wrap up every loose end perfectly. And while I did keep a small part of the simplicity and happily-ever-after in my story, I added a lot of darkness that wasn't in any of the originals.

4. What would you say is/are the essential elements of a Cinderella retelling?

I'm not sure there are any particular essentials. But if it's going to be a retelling (or rather a rehashing, like mine!), it needs to at least be recognizable to anyone who knows the original Cinderella story. Maybe you've got the same cast of characters, maybe you kept some of the great props from the original (pumpkin, glass slippers, etc.), or maybe you've just stuck closely to the original and made one or two small, significant changes . . . anything goes. That's why fairy tale retellings are so varied and creative and intriguing, and why so many people love to read them.

5. What is your favorite traditional version of Cinderella? Your favorite modern retelling (besides your own)?

Charles Perrault's version has always been my favorite traditional version. I liked that he took the freedom to make some of his own changes to the tale by turning the slippers from gold to glass, and even by coming up with the idea of lizard footmen :) Of modern retellings, well, I actually featured some of my favorites on my own blog recently, along with interviews from the authors. Without a doubt these five retellings are ones I'd recommend to anyone looking for a Cinderella fix ;)

I am incredibly excited about this book!

Thank you so much for having me! It was an honor, Kendra!

Twitter Page:

https://twitter.com/BookishAshlee

Facebook Page: 

http://www.facebook.com/AshleeWillisAuthor

Author Website: 

ashleewillisauthor.wordpress.com

WPFP Countdown - 7

7

Just seven days before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?

So today, I'm going to share some of the concept art that I've drawn for WPFP over the years. I'm not the best of artists, but I make a valiant effort.

WPFP Countdown - 8

8

Just eight days before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?

Today, since it's Sunday, I'm going to talk about Alphego, which is what the Rizkans call God.

I believe I've mentioned before that the Rizkaland legends were originally based on Narnia, so it'll come as no surprise to say that Alphego is based on Aslan. However, when we started to put together the play, we realized that we didn't have any lion costumes, but we did have a giraffe costume, so we did the logical thing and made our Aslan character a giraffe.

Named Jeptha. No, I had no idea there was Bible character named Jephthah at the time - I was just slapping syllables together, just as I always do.

So time went on, and I kept scratching away at scripts for what is now Rizkaland #2, and my mother informed me that a giraffe was probably not the best choice of personifications for God (much as I love the majestic creature) and so after much hemming and hawing, we settled on a Jaguar instead. After all, I reasoned, they don't have lions in South America. Had Jesus come to the jungles of Brazil, he surely would have described himself as a Jaguar, yes?

Jeptha remained a jaguar until about ten to twenty thousand words into what is now the final draft of Water Princess, Fire Prince, as in, until less than a year ago. How do I remember this? Well, there was a line that threw my Beta readers for a loop, referring to whiskers.

However, I'd never quite been satisfied with Jeptha the Jaguar, partially because of the Bible character, partially because Jaguars aren't actually ever mentioned in the Bible.

So I sat down to plot with my mother again to plot one evening, and she suggested that I blend several of the images of God that we find in the Bible - perhaps a lion covered with lambs wool? Perhaps with an eagle's wings, but covered with dove's feathers.

And I really liked the idea, and a couple days later, when I discovered this pin on Pinterest, it sealed the deal.

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There it was, the image I was searching for for my Jeptha character. And yet, I still didn't quite care for the name.

Well, Jeptha lasted until the end of the draft, until Christmas Eve and around midnight when I was writing up my Christmas post, and I was talking about how my various worlds celebrate Christmas, and I naturally shared the above image with Rizkaland's celebration (which happens to fall on the first day of summer/first day of the year), because I had just found the picture and I really liked it.

And as I was half asleep, I was playing around with the names of God, in particular the Alpha and Omega - which is an angle that I've not taken before - and ended up with Alphego, which I really liked. At first I was merely going to make it the name of the griffon-like creature I had created, but then I decided - hey, why not make it the name of Jeptha himself? So after some positive feedback from my fans, I threw Jeptha out the window, and did a find and replace spin on my word document (but forgot about the whiskers mention...)

Oh, and the last bit of the story is another pinterest pin:

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After all, Rizkaland is a world of rainbow color. When I saw this picture, I couldn't resist.

WPFP Countdown - 9

9

Just nine days before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?

So today, I'm going to share a sneak peak!

“When I open my eyes, I will be back in my own bed, and this Water Princess business will have all been just a bad dream.”

Clara opened her eyes to find herself staring up at the velvet curtains of the canopy bed that was in the Blue Room. She rolled her eyes, and then squeezed them shut again.

“Let’s try this again. In any normal situation, I would be waking up back at home and I would not be a prophesied hero who has to fight a crazy dragon lady.”

She opened her eyes again. Still in the canopy bed.

She sat up. Obviously, this was a bit more than just a dream. Frowning, she pulled back a corner of the curtain, only to be hit by a blast of cold air. “Oh, that’s right,” she muttered. “It’s winter here.”

She shoved the curtain closed and buried herself in the blankets again. Normally, she didn’t stay in bed very long in the morning, but normally she also awoke in her own bed – or at least in a bed in her own world.

“This isn’t a dream,” she whispered, making herself hear it. “Unless I’m in a coma, and I frankly doubt that. Coma dreams are usually crazier than this.”

It was true. The events of the night before were far too orderly and logical for them to have been a dream. Sure, the water was rather vividly colored, and there was the whole Water Princess business, but no one had randomly sprouted a second head, and beyond the sudden plunge from swimming pool to waterfall, there had been no illogical changes of setting.

“Time to start believing impossible things. I’ve a ways to go if I’m to catch up to six.”

An uncomfortable scratch rose in the back of her throat, and she felt the unmistakable prick of tears. Swallowing and taking several deep breaths, she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Get ahold of yourself, Clair!” she scolded herself. “Winners don’t cry. Olympic champions don’t cry. A true master is in control of her emotions at all times.”

She lay there, repeating those words for several minutes, and then sat up.

“I’ve got to get back home.”

WPFP Countdown - 10

10

Just ten days before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?

So today, I'm going to share some of the pinterest inspiration pin specific to this book.

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