Tag: Aud Supplee

Friends’ Book News!

As I make progress on the second book in my fantasy duology, several of my writing friends have news of actual book releases, upcoming or already accomplished! These range from nonfiction books on passionate interests to fantasy novels for both the young and the mature reader. I’m so pleased for my colleagues.

Here are the books, in approximate order of release.

My Canadian “friend of the pen” Kilmeny MacMichael has not one but two publications. The first is a chapter in the book Cooking The Detectives: A bite sized guide to the tastiest TV detective shows by Jenny Hammerton. Kilmeny describes it as “introductions to many popular and excellent TV detective shows… gossip about acting celebrities and their relationships with their kitchens… recipes from said celebrities…” plus her chapter about detective characters on the radio.

And after much dedicated work, Kilmeny’s very own book Blackmail, Bodies and Baked Noodles: A Guide and Recipe Collection Celebrating Box 13 is now available as an e-book and in a print format that should be easy to use for cooking! Here’s the description: “This book includes an introduction to each episode in the old time radio Box 13 series alongside half a dozen recipes from the voices of America’s golden age of radio and seventy recipes in total. Come and sink your teeth into history and adventure.” The recipes sound delicious! And if you’ve never enjoyed the excellence of old-fashioned radio drama, Kilmeny would be a good guide for where to start!

My old friend Susan Bensema Young has exciting news: she has just released her own passion project, Advanced Braidwork for the Model Horse after more than 3 years in the writing and decades of aspiration. Congratulations, Sue! As she describes it, “I have wanted to document my miniature braidwork techniques for many years, and this is it! This 225 page book exhaustively covers eight of my favorite pieces of braided headgear…There are 47 beautifully hand-drawn full page Plates and 323 photographs (all but 2 in color), buttressed by a couple of full page drawings.”

Her works are truly pieces of art in miniature. You can see many, many examples of her art on her website, and read more about the book in her blog. You don’t have to know anything about model horses to appreciate the beauty of these pieces.

My local friend Bernie Mojzes now has his own book of fantasy for the mature reader, Mistress of Bees available for Pre-Order, to be released on September 16, 2025. “Noble or ignoble, human or otherwise, everyone knows there is only one person in Ashbury to turn to when things go horribly awry: the self-proclaimed “Lady” Maris Goselin. Handy with a spell or a blade, Maris is known for her wit, her cunning, and her temper-and of course for her loyal bees.” I know I’m intrigued! (Plus I’ve had a peek at its excellent map.)

Meanwhile, my friend Aud Supplee is hard at work on the fourth book in her “Winnie and the Wizard” series. As a fan of her first three books for young adults and the young at heart, I’m very eager for the fourth book to come out! I must confess, I’ve had sneak peeks at Book Four as Aud has shared drafts of chapters with me, and I am really enjoying what I’ve read. Of course, since reading Frama-12, I feel like the characters Winnie, Mikey, and Kip are good friends of mine, and I’m anxious to see what happens to them. You can read a bit about the books progress on Aud’s blog.

Frama 12 Cover Art
Book One in the Series

I am so very pleased for you all, my friends! Congratulations on your hard work and exciting book news!

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Book Review: Aylen Isle by Aud Supplee

Happy Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

After too long a hiatus, it’s time to wake up my dormant blog. And what better way than to celebrate some things I love: fairy tales and Aud Supplee’s books.

I’ve enjoyed observing Tell a Fairy Tale Day for several years ( 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024), and this year I particularly want to celebrate Aud’s latest book, Aylen Isle.

An enchanted sword and an out-of-control wand. What could possibly go wrong?

Aylen Isle isn’t a fairy tale retelling, but it has many fine fairy tale elements: a bewitched princess, conjurers and wizards, tree sprites, a forest with magical perils and healing “mother trees,” and an enchanted sword with a quite unusual origin (a stone enters into it, but not in the way you might think). All this in the refreshing twist of a tropical island!

Best of all, Aylen Isle centers on some of my favorite fictional young people: Winnie, semi-reluctant heroine on more than one world; her adorable little stepbrother Mikey (who knows something about magic and multiple worlds); and their friend Kip, aspiring magician. They all have important roles in helping the bewitched princess and preventing their nemesis from bringing trouble to the kingdom of Aylen Isle—or any other world, for that matter. And that’s only part of what they have to deal with!

I’m not alone in my love for Aylen Isle. Kirkus Review calls the novel “A gripping adventure enhanced by a creative plot, lively dialogue, and strong female characters.” (If you don’t mind mild spoilers, check out their excellent full review here.)

And the Readers Choice Awards’ 5-star review calls Aylen Isle, “an imaginative and well-crafted novel, which draws readers into a magical world of adventure and self-discovery. With a well-paced plot, timely-twists and turns, and a relatable female protagonist, the book will keep readers engaged until the very end.” (Their full review has mild spoilers, too.)

Aylen Isle is the third book of  Winnie’s, Mikey’s, and Kip’s adventures together. In my opinion, you’ll enjoy this book more if you’ve read at least Hutra, their previous adventure, first. And really, part of the joy is seeing all these young people grow and deepen over time, so why not start with Frama-12, the beginning of it all?

Read more about Aylen Isle (and the whole series) on Aud’s blog.

I recommend Aylen Isle for fantasy lovers from Young Adult to Young at Heart!

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A Quintet of Good Book-Related News

This isn’t all strictly new, as some of these things happened a bit ago, but it’s good news nonetheless and I’m quite happy to share it. In the approximate order I learned about these, here goes.

First, the adventures of “Winnie and the Wizard” continue! My friend and critique partner Aud Supplee has gotten the green light for the third book in the series, with the working title “Aylen Isle.” I read a recent draft of the book last summer, and it’s such a fun adventure. I’m eager to see how it’s evolved since then. You can read more about this announcement on Aud’s blog.

Stan Gale, another writing friend and critique partner, has recently published “A Living Faith.” I’ve had the pleasure to read much of Stan’s writing over the years; it is always thoughtful, thought-provoking, and warmed with his personal voice. I recommend his works for anyone looking for inspiring devotional reading.

My writer friend Kilmeny MacMichael has had two poems recently published, one in an Off Topic Publishing Poetry Box. This subscription sends you an original poem, organic tea and artisanal chocolate to “savour while you read.” (If I lived in Canada, I’d surely indulge!) She has another poem about a merman in Worlds of Possibility, an anthology of uplifting science fiction and fantasy.

And she has a story in an upcoming anthology called Red Eyes & Tired Lungs, collected to bring some good things out of a summer of wildfires. I’m looking forward to Kilmeny’s new writing.

Jason Zeitler, my Running Wild Press colleague, released his novel Half-Caste in December, published by Polyphony Press. I enjoyed Jason’s short story, “Inglorious Carnage,” in the third volume of Running Wild Anthology of Stories. His new novel, described as a “thrilling tale of political intrigue, love and loss, and the soul-stirring value of friendship,” sounds fascinating. You can find out more about Jason and his work here.

And last (though not chronologically), in 2023 I finished the medieval-esque fantasy novel I’ve been working on for lo, several years now. It is the story of a girl who swears she will not be helpless in the face of prophecy, but will face her fate and protect her people. This is still a draft, but not a first draft, as I’ve been editing it as I go with the help of my excellent critique partners. Partway through, I realized this story will take two books to tell, so I have launched myself into Book Two now. I’m enjoying adventuring with my heroine!

Congratulations to Aud, Stan, Kilmeny, and Jason. Much success to you and your new works!

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Tell a Fairy Tale Day, 2023

Happy National Tell a Fairy Tale Day! I’ve enjoyed blogging in honor of this day for a number of years now, and today I’ll continue that tradition with three notes.

First, a reminder of some Steampunk fairy tales and (at least) one dieselpunk folk tale. Gaslight and Grimm is available now. Grimm Machinations and Greasemonkeys will be available around April 1st and can be pre-ordered now (scroll down past new releases on that page). I’ve read samples of each of the latter two and I’m eagerly awaiting the full anthologies. You can read more about them in my interview with Bernie Mojzes, one of the authors.

Next, Hutra by Aud Supplee is available now: not a fairy tale exactly, but a fine fantasy with animal communication and portals to other worlds – and let’s not forget the “wizard!” I read this book in its infancy, and I’m excited that it’s making its debut. You can read about it on Aud’s blog.

And VT Dorchester’s short story, “Ain’t No Cat” also just came out this month. Though it takes place in the American West, it’s haunted by a creature of Celtic fairy tales: the banshee. I’ve been hearing a bit about this tale for awhile now, and I’m very happy it’s out in print (and pdf). You can read a bit about it on VT’s blog.

Congratulations, Bernie, Aud, and VT!

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Updated! Publication News for Frama-12

Frama 12 Cover Art

My friend Aud just shared this good news: her fantasy novel Frama-12 is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Update as of May 7th: you can now also pre-order the e-book and paperback on Barnes and Noble and the paperback on Bookshop.org! All sites have the same prices for the same formats.

Frama-12 is a fun, light-hearted YA fantasy with depth and heart. If you’ve read my blog recently, you know I’ve read this novel since it was a youngster of a book, and I’ve watched it grow up in our critique group. The characters Winnie, Mikey, and Kip have won my heart, made me laugh, made me worry, made me cheer.

Here’s how Aud describes it:

“Winnie Harris, following a warrior code in honor of her mother’s fighting spirit, will do whatever it takes to protect her little stepbrother, Mikey. Kip Skyler, charming to everyone but Winnie, impresses her stepbrother with his sleight of hand. Now Mikey wants them to pass through a time tear into Frama-12 and save the inhabitants from an invasion. She’ll be the general and Kip the wizard.

Winnie sees two problems with the mission. Frama-12 is just a fantasy game, right? And Kip is majorly annoying. But she’s only half right. If the incompatible teens can’t work together, an enemy could march through a very real time tear and attack Earth.”

I am so excited to read Frama-12 in its grown-up form! It comes out July 13th, 2022 and I’ve already reserved my copy. Like I’ve said before, I kind of feel like a proud aunt waiting for my niece and nephews to step out on stage for their big debut.

You can read about Aud’s adventures on the journey toward publication with Wild Rose Press on her blog. It’s been an exciting ride to follow!

Frama 12 Cover Art

“Alternate worlds? Alien armies? Summer vacation just took a wild turn.”

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