obvious bit is obvious, if you can bear it

So, how is that little gold chocolate bear doing? We'll check after the cut...

Willow Wednesdays: Bewitching!

Welcome to Willow Wednesdays! We're featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut!

Little gold bear and cranky archer

So, what happened to our little gold milk chocolate bear?  Let's find out after the cut!

tear the top right off of my blog

Sundays mean catchup, and I get to start with a follow-up from last Sunday's post: Work on the sixth Monkey Queen book has officially begun! I know I said last week I'd be waiting for NaNoWriMo...but I found a hook for the opening scene and got excited. As mentioned earlier, this will be the first part of a trilogy, and it will test Michiko and Beth like never before. More, including an important appeal, after the cut.

Fan Art Fridays: Michicrow!

It's Fan Art Fridays! After the cut, get ready for Halloween with a spooky take on Michiko!

Willow Wednesdays: Cheese it!

Welcome to Willow Wednesdays! We're featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut!

For those of you in or near France, Willow will be appearing at Quai des Bulles in Saint Malo this weekend October 23-25! She'll have copies of her graphic novel The Journey Of Earth for sale, along with lots of other merchandise!

She'll also be appearing at Art to Play in Nantes November 21-22. The con organizers are holding an art contest, and Willow submitted this drawing of her original character Aubergine:

You can help Willow win this contest! Just head to Facebook and like her drawing there!

Art © 2015 by Willow. All rights reserved; used by permission. You can view Willow's extensive gallery on DeviantArt, see her works in progress by liking her Facebook page, follow her on Twitter, and buy prints and much more at her Society6 webstore, including exclusive Monkey Queen items!

of awesome archer princesses and trolling idiots

So it turns out I need to talk about Once Upon A Time earlier than I thought. More, and a few unkind words about some morons, after the cut because spoilers.

girl don't you know we can work it out with blogging

Let's start this Sunday with a reminder: If you're new here and want to get a taste of Michiko and Beth's adventures, the first two chapters of all four books are posted on our website! Click the link and join up with the Monkey Queen! More after the cut.

Been a quiet week here at Monkey Queen Central, but that's only on the surface. Progress is being made on getting the fifth book, Redblade, ready! I'm waiting for the beta reader to finish; when that's done, I'll give the draft one last pass. Willow has already sent in some sketches for the cover, and as usual, they look wonderful! I'll announce a publication date when everything is ready.

Also, there is a new short story, "The Troll And The Garter", written and ready! However, it has spoilery moments, so it won't be published here until after Redblade is out. I'm also working on another short story, but it won't go up until sometime in February. You'll understand why when you see it.

And November is NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month. I'm not going to be an official participant, but I do plan on starting the actual writing of the sixth Monkey Queen book on November 1, and wrap up the first draft by the 30th. Part of the plot has been changed over the last month or so, and there's still a bit or two that needs to be filled in, but I think it's going to be a corker of a book.

No notes on Doctor Who this week, as I missed the broadcast. It's the first of a two-parter, so I'll watch both parts at once next week and give feedback then. I did watch Once Upon A Time, but I was busy writing the aforementioned story so I didn't pay close attention, so more on that next week too. But I'm glad that somehow Yaz(oo) got some love. They were a good band, and "Only You" is a good song. But this one is better.

And finally, this made me very very very happy. Bork bork bork.

Willow Wednesdays: On the Journey

Welcome to Willow Wednesdays! We're featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut!

Disney Infinity: Waking Up

Disney just released images for the first Disney Infinity figures from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Previews here. Holy cow, they look sweet.

I've got a bottle of wine, I'm blogging fine

First, a reminder: If you're part of Kindle Unlimited, Amazon's service that lets you read unlimited ebooks, you can read all four Monkey Queen books for free! And if you're in Amazon Prime and own a Kindle, you can use your free monthly download for our books as well! Read, spread the word, and support Michiko, Beth and their adventures! More after the cut.

Fan Art Fridays: The Rare Kitty!

Welcome back to Fan Art Fridays! See today's art after the cut!

Willow Wednesdays: Pass the crumpets

Welcome to Willow Wednesdays! We're featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut!

Today, we spotlight one of Willow's many Japan-inspired works. It's called "Tea", and I think it shows off Willow's exquisite design sense quite nicely.

Art © 2015 by Willow. All rights reserved; used by permission. You can view Willow's extensive gallery on DeviantArt, see her works in progress by liking her Facebook page, follow her on Twitter, and buy prints and much more at her Society6 webstore, including exclusive Monkey Queen items!

But what you have blogged you must believe, if you can

Leading off this Sunday: If you missed it, a new short story was posted on Thursday - "The Names Of The Stars". Click here to read it! And if you want to read all the Monkey Queen short stories to date, they're always available on our blog! More after the cut.

Fan Art Fridays: How Sweet!

Today, we're kicking off a new feature called Fan Art Fridays! Back in January, we showed off our first Monkey Queen fan art, a sketch of Michiko by Willow's friend Mrion; you can see it here. But for some reason, a slew of fan art has suddenly come our way, and while all of it makes us smile, none has made us happier than this piece from our youngest fan! Here's Michiko, as drawn by 8-year-old Cupcake!

The Names Of The Stars: A Tale of the Far Lands

Read the new short story "The Names Of The Stars" after the cut!