The Summer Sale: Going International!

We announced it earlier, and it's under way: The second and third Monkey Queen books, The Brigadoon Boondoggle and Under The Stars Of Faerie, are now on sale in all non-US Amazon stores! Get both books for £0.99, €0,99, $1.29 CAN, $1.39 AUS, and at low prices at Amazon stores in Brazil, India, Mexico and Japan! This sale ends Monday, August 3, so don't wait! (Note: All Monkey Queen books are in English only.) Find buying links, and Willow's gorgeous cover art, after the cut!

Willow Wednesdays: An Anniversary

This is the second installment of our new feature, Willow Wednesdays! We'll be featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut! (WARNING: Reminiscing ahead.)

both the times she blogged, it was the rising of the sun

Don't forget - US readers can still get the third Monkey Queen book, Under The Stars Of Faerie, for 99 cents at Amazon.com! This is a Kindle Countdown deal, and it ends at 11:59 PM PST on Wednesday, July 29! We'll have more details this coming week on a special sale for all non-US Amazon stores! More after the cut.

We've discussed Awakened, the exciting debut novel from Darksbane Books' Shei Darksbane. If you head to the "From East Of Eden" blog, you can enter a contest to win a copy of the Awakened ebook AND a $10 Amazon gift card! This contest closes July 31, so enter today!

A reminder: You can also get all four Monkey Queen books as paperbacks! We're taking steps to change all four books to white paper stock for the interiors, and those new editions will be available in the next few days through Amazon. If you can't go through there and want paperback copies of any or all of the books, let me know and I'll get you a quote.

And finally, from the "weird calendar photo" department, heavy metal China Air stewardess mocks your in-flight entertainment choice.

The Summer Sale: Get Under The Stars Of Faerie for 99 cents US!

Beth could see the terminal, the other airships, the gloriously clear sky above, and Dawnhome below her, and she tried to take it all in, remember it all. She noticed the young pixie from the elevator was near her, sitting on her father's shoulders, beaming with joy. Then, she looked at Michiko, standing next to her, and saw that her friend's smile mirrored the young pixie's, and her own. "You were right!" Michiko said. "This is awesome!" Beth nodded, too happy and thrilled to speak, as Folly's Flight climbed, banked left and headed north.

The countdown is on...again! US readers can now get the third Monkey Queen book, Under The Stars Of Faerie, for 99 cents at Amazon.com! This is a Kindle Countdown deal, and it ends at 11:59 PM PST on Wednesday, July 29, so don't wait! And look for this wonderful cover by Willow!

“You were right about her. She is a hero.”

When a love-crazed gremlin kidnaps pixie waitress Mandy, Michiko Koyama, a.k.a. the Monkey Queen, and her partner in adventure Beth McGill journey to Faerie to rescue their friend. Circumstances force them to ally with the crew of a pirate airship, led by the mysterious Captain Ash. Dangers await them in the sky, on the ground and in their hearts.

And an old enemy waits for them, his trap set and ready to be sprung...and it could mean the end of the Monkey Queen.

Last chance! Get The Brigadoon Boondoggle for 99 cents US!

It may be the end for Michiko and Beth...and it's the end of this sale! Today is the last day for US fans to get the second Monkey Queen book, The Brigadoon Boondoggle, for just 99 cents at Amazon.com! This sale will end at 11:59 PM PST tonight, so don't wait! And enjoy this excerpt from Chapter Three!

The skinny man with the British accent and the sandshoes stood in front of the blue police box and smiled. "It's all yours, Beth," he said. "Everywhere, everywhen. And all you have to do is come inside." As he spoke, the door to the police box swung open.

"Do not be fooled, Beth McGill!" They both turned and saw the old, bearded man with the gray pointed hat and matching robes strike the ground with his staff. "Your place is by my side! Faithful companions! Epic quests! The world is yours!"

The skinny man snorted. "One world? I can give her galaxies!"

"And endless danger! You attract trouble everywhere you go!"

"I do not!"

"You take a vacation on a beach and a sharknado touches down!"

"Look who's talking! You lost how many on that first quest? Three out of thirteen?"

"But only one on the second! It's not that—"

"Enough prattle."

Shadows swept out of nowhere and engulfed the two men, ending their argument. Beth felt a moment of regret—she had been enjoying that dream quite a bit—but it faded quickly. She shivered. She knew that voice.

The shadows seemed to take form as a woman walked out from them. She wore a flowing black robe, her hair was long and black, and her eyes held a cruel joy. "Beth McGill," Muirin said. "We meet again." She smiled.

"How—" Beth started to say.

"How did I get into your dream?" Muirin strolled casually towards Beth. "I walk through shadows, and your dreams are filled with them. It's very exhausting, but revenge will be worth it."

Introducing: Willow Wednesdays!

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

The time has come for you to be...Awakened

It's here! It's here! You can now buy Awakened, the first book in Shei Darksbane and Annathesa Nikola Darksbane's exciting new urban fantasy series, Auralight Codex! Look for this great cover!

Geeky lesbian Dakota Shepherd was just a bored night security guard, working at a museum in Knoxville, Tennessee until one fateful encounter changed it all.
 
A rogue wizard. A demonic ritual. A silver chalice.
 
Dakota Awakened, Hellfire blazing from her hands.
 
Dakota's powers are a danger to herself and everyone around her, and she has to learn to control them quickly or risk losing her one chance to finally fulfill a lifelong dream.
 
While coming to terms with her new reality, she stumbles upon a secret that changed the course of her life.
 
Now she wants to know who is responsible for the holes in her memory, the blocks that hold back her powers, and all the years she spent alone.

Who put her back to sleep when she Awakened years before?

And as long as you're at Amazon, don't forget that you can still get the second Monkey Queen book, The Brigadoon Boondoggle, for just 99 cents! This sale will end at 11:59 PM PST on July 22. If you shop at any Amazon store other than Amazon.com, check back on July 31 for some great news!

Second hands that minds have slowed are blogging even faster

We start our Sunday catchup by reminding you that you can still get the second Monkey Queen book, The Brigadoon Boondoggle, for just 99 cents at Amazon.com! This sale will end at 11:59 PM PST on July 22. If you shop at any Amazon store other than Amazon.com, check back on July 31 for some great news!

And the rest of you, check back on Wednesday when we launch a new blog feature...and announce the next phase of the Summer Sale! More, as always, after the cut.

to Infinity 3.0 and beyond!

Don't forget that the Summer Sale continues! The second Monkey Queen book, The Brigadoon Boondoggle, is on sale at Amazon.com for just 99 cents! This sale will end at 11:59 PM PST on July 22. It's for Amazon.com only, but stay tuned for a special sale for non-US fans July 31-August 2!

After the cut: Hello. My name is Robert, and I'm a Disney Infinity addict.

Summer Sale update

Bad news for non-US Monkey Queen fans. As it turns out, I'm not able to offer any sale on The Brigadoon Boondoggle at Amazon stores other than Amazon.com while the Kindle Countdown deal we have right now is running. But stay tuned - I'll set up a special sale to run at all non-US Amazon stores for the weekend of July 31-August 2 to make up for it!

The Summer Sale continues! Get The Brigadoon Boondoggle for 99 cents US!

“Michiko.” She stopped and looked back at Puck. “Sometimes, you can't have everything go your way,” he said. “Sometimes you have to make the best of a bad situation, make a bad choice.”

“Maybe so,” Michiko said, barely keeping her emotions in check. “But this isn't a game. This isn't something you can decide by flipping a coin. Maybe you see it differently, but all I see are refugees who are scared because they may lose their new home and a lonely girl who can't even afford warm clothes. And I have to help them, all of them. It's why I do this.” She turned and walked away.

“Good luck with that,” Puck said to himself as he stood up. A moment later, he added, “Then again...if there's anyone who can do it, it's you.”

The countdown is on! Get the second Monkey Queen book, The Brigadoon Boondoggle, for just 99 cents at Amazon.com! This sale will run for exactly one week and will end at 11:59 PM PST on July 22. It's limited to Amazon.com, but by the end of the day we'll have a sale going in all the Amazon stores. Don't forget to look for this awesome cover by Willow!

Michiko, the hero known as the Monkey Queen, and geek girl Beth McGill thought it would be easy. They've become good friends since they started working together to save the world, why not become roommates? Of course, that was before the kitchen fire. And the broken bedroom door. Not to mention the cranky guinea pig.
But they have bigger problems ahead. A shady real estate deal has left two new groups of Emigres arguing over a meadow. Other Emigres are vanishing without a trace. And enemies old and new lurk in the woods, in the shadows, even in dreams.
Can Michiko and Beth stop the darkness that lies ahead...or will they be the next victims? 

Pluto

There are many things I could be blogging about tonight. I could be talking sales. I could be promoting cool stuff by friends and by total strangers. I could put up more photos and work Groot into them somehow. But I think all that can wait for another day.

Humanity is capable of many acts of pettiness, of cruelty, of evil. What's amazing is that, every once in a while, we manage to get something right. And one of those moments is taking place before our eyes, now that we get to see the first close-up photos of Pluto (and Charon). We're seeing and learning so many amazing things, and it's a tribute to everyone involved that New Horizons worked so well and is bringing us so much info.

Here's to hoping that, where space exploration is concerned, we won't call it a day. There's so much more to discover out there, so many wonders in the universe. I may not be around to see it, but I hope that someday we return to the moon, stand on Mars and the asteroids, fly alongside a comet. I hope that someday, humanity finally gets its act together, leaves pettiness and cruelty and evil behind, and proves itself worthy of traveling to the stars.

I guess I should have blogged in bed, my pillow wrapped around my head

Another reminder: Only three days left to get your copy of the first Monkey Queen book, Of Introductions And Abductions, while it's on sale for 99 cents US! And you can stay tuned to this blog for further sales and other updates, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter (we're @MonkeyQueenBks) or sign up for our mailing list! More after the cut.

The Summer Sale ends July 15!

The Monkey Queen smiled. "I need you, Beth. How would you like to help me save the world?"

Beth had not expected to hear that. "M-m-me?" she said.

"Yep!"

Beth stared at Michiko. She saw the scarf drifting in the evening breeze, Michiko's smile, the excitement and joy in the Monkey Queen's eyes. The geek girl part of Beth stirred, the part that wanted to chase Golden Snitches, stand with the Browncoats, ride on the Catbus, the part that wanted to take the wheel of an airship and set a course for the second star to the right. And that part almost said, When do we start?

The Summer Sale is nearly over! If you haven't read the first Monkey Queen book, Of Introductions And Abductions, it's on sale for 99 cents US, 0,99€, £0.99, and other reduced prices on Amazon through July 15! We're now available only on Amazon, for Kindle devices and apps, and part of Kindle Unlimited, so KU members (and Amazon Prime members with Kindle devices) can read all four Monkey Queen books for free! Just search your local Amazon or Amazon.com for "Monkey Queen"!

And the other three Monkey Queen books - The Brigadoon Boondoggle, Under The Stars Of Faerie and A Tiding Of Magpies - are just $2.99 each, and there are more sales coming soon! Check back here for more details, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter (we're @MonkeyQueenBks) or sign up for our mailing list for the latest updates!

Remember - the sale on Of Introductions And Abductions ends July 15! Look for this cover, with wonderful art by Willow!

getting to the sweet truth

Never let it be said that we avoid the issues of the day here at Monkey Queen Books. We're about to rip the lid off a controversial issue - after the cut!

time to be...Awakened

Heads up! Author, web designer and all-around awesome pal of us here at Monkey Queen Books, Shei Darksbane, is launching her debut novel on July 21 - Awakening, the first book in the Auralight Codex series! Join snarky security guard Dakota Shepherd as she discovers secrets about herself and the world around her in this new urban fantasy novel! (Be advised that this series is targeted for older readers.) We'll get publication links up as soon as they're available, but here's a peek at the cover:

There's also a contest taking place on the Darksbane Books Facebook page! Follow the instructions and you could win copies of Awakening and the upcoming second book, Hunted! And we're sure that you can do better than this photo:

In related news, I am also Groot.

Tanabata! Get A Tiding Of Magpies on sale! 99 cents US!

It's the seventh day of the seventh month! It's Tanabata! It's Qixi! Today is the day to join Michiko and Beth as they race to reach the Bridge Of Magpies in their latest adventure! And you can get the fourth Monkey Queen book, A Tiding Of Magpies, for just 99 cents US, 0,99€, £0.99, and marked down at all Amazon stores worldwide through July 8! Don't forget that the first Monkey Queen book, Of Introductions And Abductions, is still on sale as well, for the same price, through July 15!

Since Tanabata is, at its heart, about love, Michiko asked if she could share some of her favorite love songs! Find some classic (and some obscure) pop gems (it's what she likes) after the cut!

someone to blog beside him, and you just may be the one

First off, don't forget that there are two sales on Monkey Queen ebooks going on right now! A Tiding Of Magpies, the newest book, is just 99 cents US, to celebrate 7/7 and Tanabata, through this Wednesday, July 8! And Of Introductions And Abductions, Michiko and Beth's first adventure, is 99 cents US through July 15! They're available exclusively at Amazon, on sale at Amazon stores worldwide, and free to read with Kindle Unlimited! More after the cut.

Congratulations to Monkey Queen cover artist Willow! She raised over 3000€ with her crowdfunding campaign for her BD/comic The Journey Of Earth! The planned publication date is October; like her on Facebook or follow her on DeviantArt (and if you're not, you should) for updates! (And if you listen real close, you may, just may, hear rumors of an English translation down the road...)

But even bigger congratulations to my awesome pal Shei Darksbane and her wife Anna. After years of struggle, and even with a last-second fight from the religious right after the Supreme Court decision, the Darksbanes finally made their marriage official this past Friday! Love Wins! Now if they can just get their books finished. Hint hint.

And I am so hoping to be at a theater near me once this opens...

Tanabata sale! Get A Tiding Of Magpies for 99 cents through July 8!

"Anyone could see why the gods wanted today to be the day that Jiao and Yun got engaged," Beth said. "It's the seventh day of the seventh month, the day the author and the archer were reunited. It's Valentine's Day here. It's Tanabata. It's Qixi. And this—" She swept her arm out. "It's the Bridge of Magpies. The bridge of birds. Built on love and hope. And that's why I wanted to bring you to this place on this day."

July 7 is coming! The seventh day of the seventh month! Tanabata! And to celebrate, we're holding a flash sale, starting now! Get the fourth Monkey Queen book, A Tiding Of Magpies, for just 99 cents US, 0,99€, £0.99, and marked down at all Amazon stores worldwide! Look for this gorgeous cover by Willow! And don't forget that the first Monkey Queen book, Of Introductions And Abductions, is still on sale as well, for the same price!

“One for sorrow, two for joy.” 

When Jiao, a princess from Faerie's Far Lands, comes to the Wonderland Diner and Tavern looking for help, it's showtime for the teen hero called the Monkey Queen! Michiko and her best friend and partner in adventure, college student and geek girl Beth McGill, have to rescue the princess' boyfriend from the minions of a scheming warlord, and then race against time and fend off goblins, ogres and monsters to reach the Bridge of Magpies by the seventh day of the seventh month to fulfill a prophecy. 

But Michiko has been hiding something from everyone, even Beth, and no secret is forever. And when that secret is revealed... 

Everything will change for Michiko and Beth.

Read Chapter One here and Chapter Two here, and to kick off Tanabata, read "The Author, The Archer, And The King Of Magpies" here!

win a poster from Willow! (or, I knew I forgot something)

So after I post about Willow's crowdfunding campaign for her comic The Journey Of Earth reaching its final hours, I realize that I completely forgot to mention her latest giveaway! Head to Facebook and follow her instructions, and you can win your choice of one of three lovely The Journey Of Earth posters! And if her campaign can hit 350 percent, she'll give away three posters! Both the contest and the campaign end on Friday at around 3:00 PM Pacific time, so don't hesitate! Act now!

Last Chance to help Willow's journey!

Willow fans! Her crowdfunding campaign to get her BD/comic The Journey Of Earth printed ends on Friday! She's passed the 300 percent mark, and the book will now be printed in hardcover, but if she can reach 325 percent, and she's close, there'll be 10 more pages AND a PDF mini-sketchbook! Yes, it's in French, but for just $6 plus shipping you get a postcard and some nifty wallpaper (and with any luck the PDF sketchbook), and you can add $2 and get a button...and you don't need to know French to enjoy Willow's wonderful art! Go! Back her!

Oh, you may want to drop by Sunday for a special announcement. Just sayin'.