My new novel, Except the Queen, written with Jane Yolen, is now available for pre-order at Amazon. It's due out February 2, 2010.

Terri and I have finished work on the Journal of Mythic Arts' Farewell Issue and it is now online. There's lots of great reading here from nonfiction, fiction and poetry -- lots of poetry in fact! There is also art and a short film. It has certainly been a challenging and rewarding last four years organizing, editing, designing, and coding quarterly issues -- and we saw each issue grow in size and offerings, which is pretty cool.

So head on over to the issue and have a look. And if you see something you really like, don't hesitate to stop by Endicott Studio Newsand tell us about it.

Terri Windling and I have decided it's time to say good bye to the Endicott Studio and the Journal of Mythic Arts in order to pursue (at long last!) our own novels. It has been a wonderful and creative time in its own way, and I know I shall miss much of it. But it's a good time for us to return to our own (some what neglected) projects and push ourselves in a new direction. Thanks to everyone who has contributed in the past -- and here's to the next generation of Mythic Artists!

Stop in and visit the newly re-designed Journal of Mythic Arts website and blog. Terri Windling and I have been working hard over the last month to redo the whole site so as to make all the material of the last ten years much more accessible. We've also decided to shift from a quarterly schedule to adding new material as it comes throughout the year. Should actually give us time to work on our own writing at last. Stop by and tell us what you think.

Finally! I have an author website and blog on typepad. I am still adding content to it and tweaking it, but I am pretty pleased to have it up finally. Do stop by and visit...there is a blog which I will hopefully update a bit more often than this one!

I have finally made the move from the midwest to the southwest. We have arrived in Tucson and are semi-frantically house hunting. As Tucson sits in a basin surrounded by magnificent mountain ranges, it is almost impossible to find a house with a bad view. Just the drive to the local supermarket takes my breath away as the Catalinas tower over me. It is also the monsoons here and the desert is green, green, green. Everything that has leaves is bushy, flowers are blooming, and the air is fragrant. I am setting up my new office, re-discovering where I packed everything, and looking forward to getting to know this new city.

   
The contracts are finally signed and Jane Yolen and I are now set to turn our novella "Except the Queen" into a novel. We are pretty excited about it -- we feel there is a lot more story to tell, especially the stories of Robin and Sparrow, the star-crossed youths that Meteora and Serena take in. We are also pleased to be able to round out some of the smaller characters as well -- the sculptor Jack and the shape-shifting trio of witche-- and give them bigger roles. In the meantime, you can find the novella in The Fair Folk, edited by Marvin Kaye (and winner of the World Fantasy Award for best anthology).


The art above is by Charles Vess and you can see more classic fairie art in Terri Windling's fine article here, in the Journal of Mythic Arts, Summer 2006.

So Terri pushed me to make a slide show of my book covers. I have to say it's like a retro history of bookcover styles--clearly I don't write fast enough to keep up with current styles. I missed having one of the shiney foil covers with the big embossed letters. Soulstring is so quaint looking, though at the time I was grateful that heroine on the cover was dressed modestly.

Just to say that I have a posted a review of the incredibly talented Chris Barzak's new novel, One For Sorrow here.  And check out the MySpace page for Adam McCormick, the novel's protagonist. 

Terri and I put together a huge issue of 13 short stories, poems, articles, a great memoir piece by Jeff Ford, an article on Geraldine McCaughrean's White Darkness by reviewer extraordinaire Colleen Mondor, and a terrific art gallery of young talented artists for the new summer issue of the Journal of Mythic Arts featuring young adult fiction.

The stories range from Chris Barzak's gentle magic realist story about a boy and his sister who is evolving into a tree of life, to Cathyrnne Valente's rich baroque pirate tale set in Venice, Gwenda Bond's sleek and modern take on a Greek oracles, Holly Black's hip and grim world of Ironside, and O.R. Melling's poetic tale of mythic Ireland.

I also have a story, "Jack Straw" in this issue-- a rural midwest tale of a young girl's encounter with Death.

Stop by and enjoy the issue -- and don't be afraid to let us know how you like it.