Bring on 2013!

Not that 2012 wasn't a great productive year, personally and professionally. Most goals were attained but a few are still elusive. There's just something about a new year; a new start, beginnings, hopes and prospects. The top things I'm anticipating for next year include:

Mid-year, the third in my series on Moorish Spain, Sultana: Two Sisters will be published. The penultimate draft is going through the critique group, whose members have provided incredible and encouraging feedback. I'm also happy to announce the next title in the series is underway (more on that in 2013) with plans for a total of six books on this topic through the next two years, spanning the history of the Nasrid Dynasty as rulers of Granada.

Audio book versions of On Falcon's Wings, Sultana and The Burning Candle are coming! Each title is currently in production through Audiobook Creation Exchange. The wonderful voice talent of audio book narrator and actress Sherill Turner, voice actress Maureen Boutilier and bilingual voice artist Laurence Krambule will bring the medieval period in England, Spain and France to life in these stories. Each of the narrators provided a perfect audio sample of the respective work, so I'm excited about listening to final versions by the end of winter.

Last but definitely not least, the Turkish translations of Sultana and Sultana's Legacy will be available from Istanbul publisher Beyaz Balina Yayinlari. Something about this bit still feels surreal. Yes, I've read that signed contract a few times. As part of it, the publisher will provide some free copies of the translated works. Do you think I have enough time next year to learn to read in Turkish?

I wish everyone an amazing and inspired New Year. May all your goals for 2013 be fulfilled!

Torn Between Two Loves: Paperbacks or E-books?



My Kindle knows I'm cheating on it
with the occasional paperback. It just
doesn't care. Can this love triangle
continue forever?

 My latest stack of books for review arrived, including a re-issue of Persia Woolley's Queen of the Summer Stars that I'm so thrilled to read. Then I was asked, "Do you still read real books? Did something happen to your Kindle?" Huh? I was somewhat taken aback by these questions; are the books on my Kindle not real books? Should I tell the Kindle I've been cheating on it with some paperbacks every now and then? 

Some of the ebooks I ordered because they were written by favorite authors, while others are from writers who are just breaking in and I loved a sample of their work enough to want to read more. Then, there are books for which I could not bear to wait even two days to receive with free shipping from Amazon. Yeah, sometimes it's that bad.

I've accepted my cheating ways: Kindle satisfies my occasional need for instant gratification, but paperbacks are just so familiar, never needing a charge to get going and sometimes, they just smell so good! I don't see any reason why I should have to choose between books on my Kindle or paperbacks. It's not a problem to want both, is it?

Have you recently been using an ereader? Do you prefer paperbacks or ereaders? Has the advent of ereaders changed your buying and reading habits?