The Adelfian Prophecies Series, now on Facebook!

Guess what, everybody? My epic fantasy series, The Adelfian Prophecies, now has its own Facebook page, where you can not only keep up to date on all the latest happenin's as I continue writing the series, but also take part in discussions about the series, ask questions about already-released or upcoming books, share favorite scenes or characters, talk about what the stories mean to you...and well, maybe even get a sneak peek or two.
I'd love for you to join me, so visit facebook.com/TheAdelfianProphecies, like the page, and let the journey begin!

Sneak Peek of The Second Prophecy!

As promised last week, here comes a special preview of the sequel to The Song of the Wren-Falcon!

Tentative Title: A Traitor’s Prayer

Possible Alternative Title: The Flight of the Moth

Characters: Many of the characters you know from The Song of the Wren-Falcon, but with a few new faces thrown into the mix—and, well, some old faces making re-appearances in such unexpected ways that they might as well be brand-new characters!

Conflict: Since the end of The Song of the Wren-Falcon, Adelfia has enjoyed six years of peace. Sorek and Orienne are busy with their growing family, as are Cyrus and Viette, and Ryker and Ashnin. Sorek’s biggest problems are trying to keep neighboring countries happy about trade rates, and trying to figure out where his four-year-old learned the word “disembowel”…until a message from Moritar gives him reason to fear that the peace they have been enjoying may not last much longer.

A mysterious dark power has taken hold in Moritar’s capital city. King Saras is dead, murdered by sorcery. And although the ominous turn of events points at Shekiah Hyn, the only known sorcerer remaining in Moritar, she has disappeared and not even Adelfia’s deepest spies can locate her.

Sorek fears that the peace is ending, and that things are about to take a turn for the worse. What he doesn’t know is that the Second Prophecy is about to fulfill itself in ways more wildly incredible than anything he could ever have imagined.

Old fears are about to raise their heads again. Old wounds are about to be reopened. Dark pasts will be revealed. Friendships will be strained to the breaking point. Love will bloom in impossible places. The darkness will deepen, and the cost of defeating it will climb.

What I’m Excited About: In this book I not only get to continue the personal stories of the central characters from Book 1 (characters like Sorek, Orienne, and Allegar), but I also get to dive much deeper into some of the secondary characters who didn’t really have that much time in the spotlight in the first book (characters like Gabriel, Albrius, and Shekiah). I’m so excited about this! It was hard for me to leave these characters largely unexplored and undeveloped in Song of the Wren-Falcon, but the wait is definitely proving worth it! (Now you all can get to know them as well as I do!)

I’m excited about the message of this story—in many ways a re-hash or continuation of the message of Book 1, but woven through enough plot twists and surprises to make it fresh and new.

I’m excited to introduce a couple of new characters as well…but their identities are still classified and you’ll just have to wait and read the book. :P

And of course, because I am a hopeless romantic, I can’t help being super excited about the two love stories that will play out over the course of Book 2. I won’t say much—this isn’t a spoiler post, after all—but I will say that one of the love stories will be both hilarious and heart-wrenching, and the other one will be deeply moving and absolutely gorgeous. And heart wrenching. (Sorry, that’s just the way it turned out. Don’t worry, my publisher and I are currently discussing the logistics of inserting small packets of tissues in the back of every hard copy of the book. [Some restrictions apply; not available with digital versions of the book.])

But what I’d really like to know is: What are you looking forward to in Book 2? What are you hoping to see? Share your thoughts! Who knows? If I like your ideas, you might just end up influencing the story. So don’t be shy!

So...what's next?

So now that Song of the Wren-Falcon and A Knight on the Old North Shore are out, what's coming up next from author Mary Ruth Pursselley?

I'm glad you asked!

Of course, if you're one of those who have been asking about the sequel to Song of the Wren-Falcon, let me assure you that it is in the works! I must confess, we're still in the first-draft stage at this point...but it's coming. Recent experiences with setting goal dates and deadlines for myself has led me to decide that I am not going to do so with this project, other than to say that, God willing and the Twilight fans don't attempt a world takeover, it will be out in the first half of 2016.
Since you've all been so sweet with your feedback about the book (and your reviews on Amazon make me want to melt), and it absolutely makes my day every time someone eagerly asks about the sequel, I thought I might as well give you a few little sneak peeks...next week. (Okay, sorry, but I can't help being just a little devious.) In the meantime, here's a look at what else you can expect to see from me over the next several months:

The Shadowfields - An historical novella in the spirit of The Secret Garden...with a tiny dash of Northanger Abbey thrown in. This one will be available both in print and as an e-book.

The Pirate Shrine - High-seas fantasy adventure with generous helpings of espionage, political intrigue, swashbuckling action, and maybe just a little romance. This one will also be available both in print and electronic versions.

Plus, more short collections like A Knight on the Old North Shore! I have two of these in the production stage at this point, but neither has a fixed title yet. These will be available exclusively as electronic versions, with a compilation volume of all of my short books planned to release in print eventually.

Of course, these plans are all writing-related, and there's a whole lot more than that going on in my life right now...but more on that at a later time, too. ; )

Calling All Bloggers! Free Books!

(I knew the 'Free Books' would get your attention even if the rest of the title didn't. ; ) )

Hey, everybody! As you know, my short book, A Knight on the Old North Shore, is coming soon, and I'm looking for a few enthusiastic readers to help me give it a good welcome into the fiction world.

Intrigued? Read on.

If you:

-Love to read
-Love fantasy
-Love old-fashioned storytelling and poetry
-Have a blog
-Love writing book reviews

...then send an email to editor(dot)thewriterslair(at)gmail(dot)com and tell me so. You could receive a free advance copy of A Knight on the Old North Shore! In exchange (okay, so I guess it's not entirely free if I'm asking for something in exchange, but...whatever) I'm asking you to write a review of the book (be honest--I want your sincere opinion, and you're not obligated to say you like it if you don't) and post it to your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, whatever you have. Once the book releases, I also ask that if you have an Amazon account you post your review on the book's Amazon page as well.

I'm only giving out five advance copies of the file, and it's first come, first served, so don't be shy and don't wait around!

Coming Soon: My New Release!

That's right! Since the release of my novel last November, I've been hearing from lots of you who read my book and wanted more. (Thanks, by the way! There's no better way to make an author's day!)
The sequel to The Song of the Wren-Falcon is still in the works...but it is in the works, never fear! So to tide you all over until it gets here, I'm releasing a mini-book collection of some of my short works.

A very few of you may remember my poem, A Knight on the Old North Shore, from several years ago. For those of you who don't remember, it was the first work I ever published, back in 2009. The interesting thing is that today, among those who know it, it is still by far my most popular and loved work.
So it seemed appropriate to make it the title work of this collection. It will appear alongside three other works, two short stories and another poem.
The official release date isn't set yet, but it will be soon, and of course I'll let you all know. This will only be available as an e-book, since it's so short (printing wouldn't really be cost effective for anyone involved), but it will be available in multiple formats, so no matter what e-reader you use, you'll be able to get it.
Stay tuned--I'll keep you updated on its release!

Song of the Wren-Falcon Trailer Now Live!

So, I know it's unbelievably late in coming, but after way too many technical struggles and complications, the official Song of the Wren-Falcon trailer is live!

Enjoy! And of course, be sure to let me know what you think!

Interview at The Dreaming Hobbit

Hey, all! Just thought I'd let you know that my dear friend and fellow spec-fic writer Emily Tjaden has been gracious enough to interview me about my writing in general and Song of the Wren-Falcon in particular.
Click Here to visit her blog, The Dreaming Hobbit, and read the interview!

Join the Discussion!

I know that at least most of you who have ordered a paperback copy of Song of the Wren-Falcon won't have your books yet, but I also know that some of you have already purchased the e-book version and started reading. (Give yourselves a hug for me.)
If that's the case, of course post your review on Amazon as soon as possible. Nothing helps a book get off to a good start like getting some good reviews right off the bat.
But once that's done, you can also pop in at Shelfari.com and join in a discussion about the book! General impressions are welcome, of course, but I'd love to get some deeper conversations going as well. How did the book make you feel? What did the story make you think about? Do you have a favorite or least favorite character? Who, and why? What are you hoping to see in the sequel? (You know, the kind of conversation you and a friend might have talking about books over a cup of hot chocolate.)

I'm excited to hear your thoughts. Chime in and let's get talking!

The Song of the Wren-Falcon Now Available on Kindle!

Well, it's Day 3 of The Song of the Wren-Falcon's existence as a published book, and it's a special day because it's now available as an e-book as well as in print!
I know some of you awesome people out there have already ordered your own print copies, and may I just say - you rock. But for those of you who prefer the e-book format (or who just can't wait for the print copy to arrive in the mail), the e-book is here!

Click Here to download the Kindle format.

Click Here for other e-book formats.

And of course, no matter what format you read The Song of the Wren-Falcon in, don't forget to write a review and post it on Amazon, GoodReads, and blogs. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think! :D

It's Here!

That's right, everybody. After seven-and-a-half years, eight drafts, countless revisions, and a title change, my first novel is now published and available.

Don't take this as bragging on my part (I didn't design the cover, after all) but...isn't it gorgeous? And really, I don't just mean the cover art. I mean the whole thing--the fact that it's finally--finally!--after all these years, 100% complete and out there on the market for real.
I've had the goal of becoming a published novelist since I was fourteen years old. Twelve years of struggling and striving. One hour ago, my book went live and that goal was achieved. Just like that I passed an incredible milestone and entered a whole new chapter of this wildly amazing adventure that God has dragged me along on.
And He's the reason for it all. Without Him, I never would have been able to see this novel through to the end. He is the One who gave me the endurance I needed, the One who held me up when I wanted to fall, the One who saw fit to plant a tiny little seed of an idea in my imagination, when He could so easily have chosen someone else, and so patiently helped me nurture and raise it into the amazing story it is today. I can say that without bragging too, because in a lot of ways I don't feel like I wrote this story at all. It was all God, and I was just the pen He chose to use.
I'm not a perfect pen; I know that I've made mistakes along the way, and that the book isn't perfect in all the ways it could be; but I can still say with absolute confidence that this is God's story. I have witnessed the transformation He has performed, from "tiny story seed", through "Mary's rather shallow interpretation thereof", to the story it is today. I know what God has used this story to teach me about Himself, and that is what gives me the assurance that He can use it to bless the lives of others as well, whether that blessing comes in the form of challenging someone to think about honor and loyalty and forgiveness in new and deeper ways, giving someone a new perspective of God's sovereignty, or simply letting someone enjoy an adventure.

I'm a writer; it's my job to tell a great story that readers will love. My livelihood depends on people buying and enjoying my book, so naturally I have to encourage you to hop on over and order your copy of Song of the Wren-Falcon. I want you to read it, love it, post reviews, put it in your local library, keep it on your bookshelf, share it, and recommend it. I want to hear your feedback and learn what you thought of it. I want you to be blessed by it.
But more importantly, I would love for each and every one of you to join me in thanking and praising God. Thank Him for allowing me to write this story. Thank Him for helping me see it through. Praise Him for the awesome aspects of His character that shine through this story. Thank Him for letting me achieve the dream He gave me twelve years ago.
Meanwhile, I'll be thanking Him for those same things, and also for all of you who have been so encouraging and inspiring to me. I'll be thanking Him for the wonderful adventure that my writing journey has been so far, and looking forward to following Him through this brand-new chapter that He opened up in my life when one little book popped up and went live online.
I know I've said it before--it seems like I've been saying it a lot lately--but God is good, my friends. That's just all there is to it.

It's Coming...

If you read my last post, you'll remember me talking about how God apparently likes changing all my plans of what I think I'm going to do. And then I said "I plan on doing NaNoWriMo this year". Should've seen that one coming, I guess. More than two-thirds of the way through the month, I've got a grand total of about 3,000 words written. Yeah, NaNo has been thrown out the window. For future reference, in case you were wondering: Don't attempt NaNoWriMo in the month your first novel is scheduled to release.

But that does bring me to a piece of big news: My novel is about to be released! "About to be," as in two days from now!
Well...that's the plan, anyway. And by now I think we should all be catching on to what happens to plans. But if all goes well, Song of the Wren-Falcon should be available for sale either Sunday or Monday, the 23rd or 24th!

Don't worry, I'll let you all know the minute it's live and available. You'll be able to find it here at the Lair, at Splashdown's website, or on Amazon. (And by the way, if you haven't checked out my Amazon Author page, Click Here.)

Since several of you have emailed or otherwise contacted me to ask how I've been doing through all of this, I suppose now is as good a time as any to share an update.
The simple answer is: AWESOME!!!
The more complex answer is: Exhausted, stressed out, panicking, giddy, distracted, sleep-deprived...and loving it.
I know, I know, that doesn't make any sense. But it's the truth. My publisher Grace and I are cramming to get five million last-minute things done for the book and I'm busy arranging book signings and interviews, on top of the normal work that Grace and I both still have to do. It's crazy and overwhelming, but I'm truly enjoying it. This is brand-new territory for me, after all. You only publish your first novel once, you know? And in my humble (though, I will admit, slightly biased) opinion, I don't think I could dream up or ask for anything to make the situation better. Sure, it's stressful. Sure, I don't remember the last time I got eight hours of sleep all together. Sure, I'm still miffed at my mother and best friend for forcing me to read an excerpt of my book aloud at the launch party on the 30th.
But if I'm honest...how many people get an opportunity like this in their lifetimes? What did I ever do to deserve any of this? The answer is "not many" and "nothing".
Everything that's happening right now is a blessing and a gift, completely undeserved, and I don't want to miss or take for granted one tiny bit of it.
The fact is, God is good. Understatement? Yes. There is no word that could even come close to capturing the immense goodness of our King. But at the same time, no. "God is good" is not an understatement. Reality is just that profoundly simple.

So on that note, I'm off to get back into my reality--because we're not out of the woods yet, and a lot still has to happen before the 23rd. Stick around!

The End of Summer, the Beginning of a New Chapter!

I know, it's been an unforgivably long time since my last post. Sincere apologies. It was a crazy busy summer that involved a lot of long work hours, a lot of writing, and a lot more editing.
There was a lot of fun stuff in there too, not the least of which was a day trip up to St. Louis for a get-together with a whole houseful of my fellow writers!

I don't know about where you live, but here in the Ozarks the gorgeous fall weather started on September 1, and it's now cool, misty, and breezy--in other words, perfect.
What about writing, you say? I'm glad you asked!
I just finished up the seventh edit of my novel, Song of the Wren-Falcon, and am currently working on the finishing touches. It shouldn't be long before I have a release date to reveal!  *girly, excited squeal*
Since finishing Song last week, I've been taking a bit of a break, letting my brain re-solidify after turning to complete mush. Now I'm looking towards future stories. Of course, Song's sequel is in queue, but I'm also planning to start on a new adventure in the urban fantasy genre. I'm pretty excited about that, especially since I'll be heading out to Colorado in a few days for a story research and scouting trip! (Yes, I'll post pictures.)

That's about it for now. I know, this is a kind of disjointed and half-baked post, but if I'm being honest I feel a little disjointed and half-baked myself after this summer. I promise I'll try to be more coherent next time. ; )

Steampunk versus Cyberpunk - The results are in!

Hey, all! Some of you probably heard about the epic genre-versus-genre contest that Splickety Publishing Group ran in issue 1.2 of their speculative imprint, Havok. If you didn't, here's the rundown: Havok hosted a competition between the Steampunk and Cyberpunk genres to see which one was the best.
Naturally, I enlisted on team Steampunk.
Good news: I made the top 3 in my division!
Bad news: My division lost, and Cyberpunk was declared "Ruler of the Genres." All of you who know how I feel about Steampunk will be able to guess how I feel about that.
But hey, I still made the overall top 6, which got my story, "Flesh and Bone," a slot in Issue 1.2 of Havok, so I'm happy as can be.
You can pick up your copy of Havok 1.2 (and, for you writers out there, keep up to date on all the latest contests and publishing news) at http://splicketymagazine.com/
Hope you enjoy all the results of an epic competition, but of course I especially hope you enjoy "Flesh and Bone"!

Visit my Amazon Author Page!

Hey, all! Just wanted to let you know that I now have an Author Profile on Amazon.com! (I feel so official.) You can check it out here:

http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Ruth-Pursselley/e/B00ILYM29E/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_11

Keep an eye out in the future for more additions to my book list--Song of the Wren-Falcon is in the works, and we're hoping for a 2014 release date! : )

New Short Story out in Havok Magazine

Hey, all! Some of you may remember reading about the flash fiction contest I won at the Realm Makers' convention last August. (If you don't you can refresh your memory Here.) Well, that story, The Mermaid's Pocketwatch, is now in print in Issue 1.1 of Havok Magazine!

Just thought I would let you all know. You can get more information, subscribe, order copies of individual issues, or learn how to submit your own writing to Havok by Clicking Here.
(And of course, be sure to check out Page 3 of this issue for The Mermaid's Pocketwatch!)

New from Splashdown Books: Aquasynthesis Again

Aquasynthesis Again, Volume II of the short story anthology from the authors at Splashdown Books, is now available to order via Amazon!

And yes, since I'm now officially a Splashdown author, I'm one of the lineup! I am very excited that my short story, "Steel Gray," gets to be a part of this unique project.
So Click Here to order your copy of Aquasynthesis Again! We're selling them at cost--only $5 apiece for a novel-length collection of short stories, woven together into a unified body with the skillful narration of author Fred Warren.
There are some cool stories in here, guys. You won't want to miss it.

Journaling - The final hours of NaNoWriMo 2013

Well, since a picture's worth a thousand words...

I did it! I hit 50,000 words at about 6:15 this evening... after writing about 8,000 words since 8:00 this morning. 8,000 words in a day isn't a record for me, but it's close to it.
Not only did I hit the 50K mark, but I finished the story too, which is an added bonus. For a while, I was afraid that the story was going to end up being much, much longer than that, but it all finished up quite nicely, I thought.
The finished story I ended up with is not even remotely close to the story I thought I was setting out to write, but that's perfectly okay with me. Honestly, I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. The story I ended up with is (in my humble opinion) far better than the one I thought I was going to be writing.
It's amazing what giving up our preconceptions and letting God take control of where the story goes can lead, hmm? I found myself surprised by a lot of things, totally lost now and then, and a little panicky a time or two, but it all turned out okay. Even though this story is going to need huge amounts of editing, expanding, and rewriting before I can even think about letting it out, I've got a great place to start, and a story that I never dreamed I would write already written in its first draft.
NaNoWriMo 2013 has been an amazing experience. I know some of you probably aren't finished yet - after all, we still have two and a half hours until the deadline - but I sincerely hope all of you had a NaNo2013 as great as mine was!

Journaling - Week 3 of NaNoWriMo

Well, this week left me a bit bogged down - i.e. behind on word count and completely surprised at the direction the story has taken. It has actually been a very exciting process, though. While I've always written from a Christian worldview and with the desire for my writing to please God, with this story I decided to consciously, intentionally seek to write the story God wants, rather than fighting for the story I want. So at the beginning I told God that We are the Rising is His story, and to help me write it the way He wants it.
I was expecting that to have some effects on the story, but I wasn't prepared for how dramatic those effects would be. What started out as an idea for a fantasy story about a man and a dragon fighting to avenge themselves on the empire that enslaved them has turned into a story about Christianity's earliest arrival in Western Europe, and about how God can even use something as horrible as the Roman Empire to accomplish His good purposes. Of course, there is some of what I'm calling "speculative history" thrown in there too. Basically, it's my imagination playing with the concept of domesticated dinosaurs. (I had to find something to do with the dragon character, after all.) Honestly, I would like to see a lot more Christian writers start exploring that concept. We have plenty of evidence that people in the past did domesticate dinosaurs, so why not incorporate them into our fiction?
But one thing at a time - and the first thing on the to-do list is to finish NaNoWriMo!
Best of luck, writers! We're on the home stretch, so don't quit now!

Journaling - Week 2 of NaNoWriMo

Well, over last weekend I got several thousand words behind schedule, and I'm still trying to catch up, but I've at least managed to close the gap to about 2,000 words.
As far as the story goes... well, it's interesting. What I had originally thought would be a story about a former gladiator and a dragon going off on a quest to become the scourge of Rome has turned instead into a story of a former gladiator wanting to do anything but go after Rome, and feeling very betrayed that during his absence his sister has embraced some new, foreign religion called "Christianity," which he sees as a Roman (and therefore to be avoided at all costs) thing.
This is absolutely nothing like I initially thought the story would be, but I'll be honest - I'm liking this new thread a lot!

Journaling Week One of NaNoWriMo

So far I'm right on target with word count. Hurrah!
Unfortunately, that outline I mentioned making, while it held together and proved very helpful, only took up about 12,000 words, leaving me with 38,000 words of completely uncharted story to write. I honestly thought the outline would take up at least 25 or 30K words, and I figured that making up the last few thousand wouldn't be too hard. But, I guess it was to be expected. Since when do stories do what they're supposed to do, right?
For a nice change, I haven't come up with any ideas for sequels to We are the Rising. However... I did decide to convert it to historical fantasy and turn it into the prequel to another one of my ideas, one I've had on the back burner for a while but haven't done anything with yet. So in theory, a few years from now We are the Rising and The Last Ember will be a set. No, I haven't said anything here at the Lair about The Last Ember yet. But if you want a look, Click Here to visit the story board I made for it on Pinterest. Come to think of it, you can do the same thing for We are the Rising by Clicking Here!

How is NaNoWriMo going so far for all of you?