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December 11, 2009: A quick update to say that my partner Shasta and I will be getting married on May 15th, 2010. (You can follow the link to check out our wedsite, if you're interested!) Wedding planning is keeping me very busy (as I have a ton of sewing to do) so of course, the writing bug had to pop up to make life just that much busier! The first chapter of Prayer of the Handmaiden, the second book in the Ithyria series, is now complete, and the second chapter is underway! Keep an eye out for site updates as the new book comes along. In the meantime, Romantic Interludes 2: Secrets has been added to the Books page; check it out! July 27, 2009: Sorry for the recent silence, but some new events in Merry's personal life have kept her very busy: Merry and her partner, Shasta (yes, that is her real name!) just got engaged! They're planning a May wedding so things will be a little hectic in the meantime. In writing news, Merry's new short story "The Whisper" will appear in the forthcoming anthology Romantic Interludes 2: Secrets, coming in September 2009! This new collection of romantic short stories features work from some of the best writers in the business, including Ali Vali, Cate Culpepper, Gun Brooke, JD Glass, Nell Stark, Radclyffe and more! Mark your calendars! March 11, 2009:
In addition, Merry's working on a new short story for Romantic Interludes 2: Secrets, the second installment in Bold Strokes' romantic short story anthologies. This little piece is about a sexy lesbian superhero -- keep an eye out for the new book in September 2009! December 23, 2008: Long time no update -- Merry and her girlfriend just purchased a house over the summer and their lives have been consumed with home improvement projects, which have left very little time for writing! However, Branded Ann was nominated for a 2008 Lambda Award in the "Lesbian Novel" category, and four new review links have been posted on the Publicity page, from Just About Write, Curve Magazine, and Lambda Book Review. Sorry these were posted so late; they're really some awesome reviews and Merry was SOOO excited to receive them! Prayer of the Handmaiden, sequel to Sword of the Guardian, is Merry's next project. Stay tuned for updates! April 4, 2008: Merry's short story, "Rebellious Heart", has been accepted for inclusion in Bold Strokes Books' upcoming Romantic Interludes 1: Discovery anthology! This is a short romantic piece about two actresses in the Japanese all-female Takarazuka Revue theater. The anthology will include a total of twenty stories from some of today's best-selling lesbian authors -- mark your calendars for this one! January 9, 2008: Updates all over the site, to celebrate the imminent release of the new book! *A special download on the Branded Ann page; a recording of the first chapter as read by the author October 17 , 2007 : Branded Ann is now available for pre-order on Amazon! The new book will be coming out January 14, 2008. Mark your calendars, and watch the website for more information! July 30, 2007: Branded Ann is now in the editing stages, thanks to my newly assigned editor, Cindy! I'm having a great time working with her so far. But, my deadlines are a lot shorter this time around so I'm going to be GLUED to my computer for the next month, I'm afraid... Also, my girlfriend Shasta (yes, her name is Shasta... the unbelievable coincidence is certainly not lost on me) is an extremely talented massage therapist. I spent the weekend putting together a website for her business, Feathers N' Flight. Please take a look if you have the chance, and if you're in the Denver area consider asking her for an appointment! I promise it will be well worth it, she's really good at what she does. :) June 18, 2007: The GCLS convention was an unbelievable experience. Sword of the Guardian was awarded TWO Goldies, in the categories of Debut Author and Speculative Fiction!! Merry was so excited she just about passed out getting up and down the stairs of the stage to accept the awards. (and she hadn't even prepared a speech! AH!! She's taking notes for next time, just in case.) A full convention report and photographs will be put together soon! June 6, 2007: Merry's on her way to Atlanta tonight for the 2007 Golden Crown Literary Society conference, and she's super excited. See the Publicity page for a list of the panels she'll be sitting on, and if you're going to be there, definitely drop by! You may also expect a con report and pictures when she gets back. ;) May 5, 2007: Merry's back from her signing in Austin (pictures on the Publicity page). It was so much fun, and she met so many fantastic people. A huge picture update that's been due for a while; three new albums are up on the Personal page, with new photos in the personal album, too... and lots of new fanart and photographs from Readers. The second Ithyria book is now officially underway... keep an eye out for coming updates! April 4, 2007: The first draft manuscript of Branded Ann is now complete! Merry's submitted it to her publisher and is awaiting feedback from the new editor she's been assigned. The second Ithyria novel, tentatively titled Prayer of the Handmaiden, will be her next project. She'll be starting work on it in May. Also, there's a fantastic review of Sword of the Guardian in the latest issue of Curve magazine. It's volume 17, #3, on page 69.  Merry's completely starstruck to have her book featured in her favorite magazine, alongside so many amazing celebrities, and she's planning on buying out her local stores just as soon as she can get her hands on them. Go get your copy today! March 21, 2007: Chapter Sixteen of Branded Ann is complete. Two more chapters to go! March 20, 2007: Merry will be visiting a friend in Austin, TX next month, and will be attending the Sapphic Reading Group's next meeting. Date: April 13th, 2007 Their book for discusson that week is Brenda Adcock's Reiko's Garden, and I have it on good authority that she'll be there for a signing, too. So if you're going to be in the Austin area please do come by and say hello! March 13, 2007: The 2006 GCLS Award Finalists have been announced, and Sword of the Guardian made it to the shortlist in both the Speculative Fiction and Debut Author categories! Merry's so excited, she's walking on air today... March 12, 2007: Chapter Fifteen of Branded Ann has been finished, and the outline for the final chapters has been... well... finalized. Looks like the story will be concluded in eighteen chapters total, just as Merry had originally estimated. March 3, 2007: Chapter Fourteen of Branded Ann is complete! The story is taking its own path, a little, and turning out differently than Merry had expected... but it's promising to be a very good new direction. :) February 23, 2007: It's official. Merry will be attending the 2007 Gold Crown Literary Society Convention in Atlanta, GA from June 7th through June 10th. This will be the first year she's been able to go! More information will be coming as schedules are worked out. If you're located in Atlanta or nearby and plan on going, contact Merry and let her know. She'd love to meet up with you! February 13, 2007: Chapter Thirteen of Branded Ann has finally (FINALLY!!!) been completed. Five more to go, and fifteen days... February 12, 2007: The new website design has been launched! February 11, 2007: The base oils came in and Merry has mixed up batches of Talon and Shasta perfume oil for the shop page. Get yours while you can, the supply is very limited! ^~ February 9, 2007: Fellow BSB writer and author of the Tristaine series, Cate Culpepper, will be using Merry's picture as inspiration for the appearance of one of her characters on the cover of her upcoming Queens of Tristaine. Merry's having fangirl moments like WHOA... She's loved this series for years and is so immensely flattered for the chance to be Brenna's face. Everyone should pick up a copy when it comes out! February 7, 2007: Sword of the Guardian has been nominated for a Lammy (Lambda Literary Award) in the category of sci-fi/fantasy/horror. ^_______^ February 4, 2007: Merry's CafePress Store is open, and products have been added to the shop page. February 1, 2007: A new design for this site is under construction, and Chapter Thirteen of Branded Ann is progressing! January 31, 2007: Ever wanted to ask Merry about her book, her favorite ice cream flavor... or anything else, for that matter? Now's your chance! Join Merry in the BSB Authors Connect Yahoo Group the week of February 25th for their Ask-the-Author feature! She'll be answering questions from readers all week long. *^^* January 11, 2007: Sword of the Guardian has been nominated for the 2006 Goldie Awards in the categories of Speculative Fiction and Debut Author! The winners will be announced at the GCLS Conference, taking place from June 6 -10th, 2007 in Atlanta, GA. |
Branded Ann has been named a finalist for
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