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Monday, March 10, 2014

Go, go, Amtrak Residency!

View from the Empire Builder train.
Yesterday, I applied for an Amtrak Residency.


Shah Ismail the First.
My goal is to take the Empire Builder train from Portland to Chicago to work on the first draft of my non-fiction work on the Safavid Empire (1501-1722), then visit the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago for further research and polish.

Back when I finished my first Master's degree, I knew I had a line on a fascinating and important time in history. I want to write a popular history to show the roots of modern Iran.
Another view of the great American landscape.

Wish me luck!

Random, awesome pictures.

I was browsing the Wikipedia Commons website and found too many cool things.

The library at the Vienna University of Technology. I've been there. Quite frankly, those owls are the most awesome library decoration, ever.

Lake Bondus in Norway. Can't you just see the dragons lurking in the mist?

Keeping with the bad-ass owl theme.

Peter Paul Rubens and his first wife, Isabella Brandt. I think she looks like a trouble maker!


Thursday, March 6, 2014

Virtual Book Tour: The Emperor's Treaty by Chacelyn Pierce

Chacelyn will be awarding a $15 Starbucks GC and free digital copy of The Emperor's Treaty to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Check out the tour dates HERE so you can enter a lot!

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The Emperor's Treaty (The Calaeron Duology, #1) Arryn, the newly crowned Emperor of New Phalba, must find a means to strengthen his kingdoms from impending foes. To end a blood war that has carried over millenniums, he petitions to marry one of his race’s mortal enemy—the Moekan dragons’ crowned princess. Even though the bond with the Moekan dragons will aid against a looming attack on his empire, Arryn can’t help his attraction to the dragon princess Shann living in his palace.



Eager to make the best of her situation and please her new husband, Shann is willing to face the challenges of a dragon ruling the Fae Empire. Winning his trust proves to be a tougher challenge with odds stacked against her. Will the lies about her cause Arryn to break the new peace treaty? And can she stop him from starting a war that will change everyone's future?

Excerpt:

Shann shimmered under the full moon like an apparition. She'd chosen her dressmaker with great care, and it paid off. Even though the Phalbans' hostile glares tracked her movement, the sparkling material gave them awe. She'd had a dragon with the affinity for stone craft it from stardust and diamond powder. Even among the natural beauty of Arryn's homeland, a gem-crafted dress was a wonder to be seen. At least that's what the Elven handmaiden had said when helping her dress. Gems were rare in New Phalba, their resources being mainly fabrics and cultured silver from the northern mountains. Kell said her dress was likely the most expensive thing in the kingdom, other than the outrageous dowry her father sent the emperor.

When the soft harp-like music picked up in tempo, Shann's nervous gulps were no longer audible. She clutched Kell's muscular arm as she stepped down the beaten path. Blood rushed to her ears as she marched toward her betrothed, the elf she hadn't seen yet. Shann caught a glimpse of him on the bridge over the Meyra River. The bridge she was to wed on. From her place on the path she could see the top of the White Willow her servant had told her about. It was a sacred tree, and out of respect for the willow flourishing throughout the empire, Phalbans wore white. It was an understatement of sorts; the Elven attendees seemed to glow like star shine. They lined the path and trailed behind her to watch her marry their emperor.


AUTHOR Bio and Links:


A rocker by heart, Chacelyn Pierce is constantly ear plugged with heavy tunes blaring to stir up the phantom personalities that swarm her mind. It’s no surprise that she enjoys writing and reading to satiate her appetite for the male antagonist in a story. Married to a blatant redhead and mothering a diva, there is never a dull moment in the house. As a native Texan, she doesn't personally own a horse but follows the unwritten southern rule of knowing how to ride one. When she’s not testing the emotional capacity of her characters, she works as a dog groomer.

Links




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