Tuesday, September 29, 2015

3rd Annual #NAMEthatBUTT Challenge begins October 6th!!

To get you ready, let's recap THE RULES:
  • Comments will be moderated.  You will NOT see your comment appear immediately after posting! 
  • I post a butt and clues, you guess who that butt belongs to in the comments. If you guess right, you get 5 points. 
  • There may be a bonus clue posted on Wednesdays over at blog.amaliacarosella.com -- when applicable they will be announced on Tuesday in the main post and instructions for how to bonus it up will be included in the bonus post!
  • If you CORRECTLY identify the artistic work (title/artist) in question, you earn a bonus 5 points total: 2.5 for title, 2.5 for artist. (Provided of course, that it differs from the subject's name alone and the artist is known at all)
  • The following Friday, I reveal the full backside image of the sculpture in question! If at this time you can correctly identify artist/title/subject of the piece, you can earn up to 3 points (total -- 1 point for artist, 1 point for title, 1 point for subject) 
  • You may guess artist/title/subject/book from which I've quoted until the next round of NAME THAT BUTT begins. (Usually the next Tuesday -- I'll reveal the previous week's sculpture and offer the next butt for guessing!)
  • I'll keep a running tally of correct answers/points.
  • For Olympians, Greek AND Roman names are acceptable for the subject guesses. For example, if the butt belongs to Mercury, I will also accept Hermes as a correct answer. Titles of works must be exact, however.
  • A new NAME THAT BUTT may NOT be posted every week, depending on Things, but it's my hope they will be. 
  • There will be Prizes at the finish. They will be shipped internationally. I haven't decided what they'll be yet, but for sure they will include #NAMEthatBUTT postcards/stickers.

Tune in for the first butt on the 6th of October!!



Forged by Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1) Tempting Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1.5) Fate Forgotten (Fate of the Gods, #2) Taming Fate (Fate of the Gods, #2.5) Beyond Fate (Fate of the Gods, #3)
Postcards from Asgard * Honor Among Orcs (Orc Saga, #1) Blood of the Queen (Orc Saga, #2) * Helen of Sparta
Buy Now:
Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

BUTTober is Coming!

I *just* got back from a cross-country trip to Oregon, and since the last couple weeks have been INSANE with edits and research and more edits and more research, I do not have much of a blog post for you.

But I wanted to tell you that #NAMEthatBUTT is coming back! Starting in OCTOBER, and I'll be incorporating a new spin to the game, relating more directly to my books -- both written by Amalia Dillin and Amalia Carosella -- which I'm hoping will be extra fun for fans, but if you haven't read any of my work, don't worry. You'll still only need to arm yourselves with your love of mythology to play!

And now, to sleep off my jetlag!




Forged by Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1) Tempting Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1.5) Fate Forgotten (Fate of the Gods, #2) Taming Fate (Fate of the Gods, #2.5) Beyond Fate (Fate of the Gods, #3)
Postcards from Asgard * Honor Among Orcs (Orc Saga, #1) Blood of the Queen (Orc Saga, #2) * Helen of Sparta
Buy Now:
Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

SALE: Honor Among Orcs for just 99cents!

Ramping up to the release of BLOOD OF THE QUEEN, I've got a special promotion happening this week!


HONOR AMONG ORCS is just 99 cents (kindle-countdowning up to 1.99 later this week) and BLOOD OF THE QUEEN is available for pre-order at a reduced price, too! Just 2.99!

That means you could order BOTH kindle books for less than 4 dollars this week -- a wicked deal, which I hope you'll take advantage of it!

Next week the pre-order price for BLOOD OF THE QUEEN goes back up to full price (and Honor will be back to 4.99), so get it while it's hot! And expect delivery on your kindle October 20th, for your reading pleasure. Want to know more about what's in store for you in BLOOD? Here's the back cover copy:

Less Beauty and the Beast and more Tolkien, this second Orc Saga adventure will force Arianna and Bolthorn to overcome their greatest fears, with the life of their unborn child and the safety of their world hanging in the balance. 

Princess Arianna never wanted to return to her human kingdom of Gautar. Not after she helped murder her abusive father to escape. Not since the orc Bolthorn defied death and tradition to make her his wife. And though the coldest days of winter are behind them, Arianna is still recovering the strength she needs to bring their half-orc child safely into the world.

The Ancestors, however, have other plans. Bolthorn's kin disappeared through the mountain passage to Gautar months ago and Arianna won’t abandon any orc to the cruel mercy of her father’s people. Just as worrisome, Arianna’s sister is trapped within the castle, a pawn and plaything of the new king.

But there is power at work in Gautar that even the Ancestors fear. Power and magic that a princess and an orc cannot hope to conquer alone. Hiding their expedition from human eyes would be difficult enough, but the growing dangers they face across the mountain threaten to destroy not just the human kingdoms, but the safety and freedom of the orcs, as well.

Go Forth and Grab Your Copy of HONOR (and pre-order BLOOD!), and if you enjoy it, don't forget to leave a review!!


Forged by Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1) Tempting Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1.5) Fate Forgotten (Fate of the Gods, #2) Taming Fate (Fate of the Gods, #2.5) Beyond Fate (Fate of the Gods, #3)
Postcards from Asgard * Honor Among Orcs (Orc Saga, #1) Blood of the Queen (Orc Saga, #2) * Helen of Sparta
Buy Now:
Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

While I Was Away (II)

For at least 15 years, I've wanted to dye my hair an unusual color. So this summer, I finally did.


because if you can't have blue hair when you're a full time author, working from your living room couch, when can you? Of course, by now it's looking much less blue, and much more green and faded, and I'm debating the merits of re-dyeing it or just cutting off the bleached ends and going back to regular old brown. The maintenance of keeping it blue is maybe more trouble than it's worth -- I miss my old (non-colorsafe) shampoo, and not having to worry about getting my hair wet when I go swimming.*

But it was fun to be blue for a little while. And maybe one day I'll be brave enough to dye my hair something even more dramatic -- but for now... 

For now, with so much on my plate with edits and deadlines and The Next Book that needs researching and writing, I think I'm leaning toward a nice, simple trim. 


*in retrospect, perhaps dyeing my hair blue at the height of summer was probably the most inconvenient element of the pool-water/swimming concern. Live and learn!



Forged by Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1) Tempting Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1.5) Fate Forgotten (Fate of the Gods, #2) Taming Fate (Fate of the Gods, #2.5) Beyond Fate (Fate of the Gods, #3)
Postcards from Asgard * Honor Among Orcs (Orc Saga, #1) Blood of the Queen (Orc Saga, #2) * Helen of Sparta
Buy Now:
Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

While I Was Away

We went to Denver for the Historical Novel Society conference at the end of June... and snuck in a trip to the zoo, of course. Because I can never resist a zoo with big cats --


That glass he's pacing in front of is a viewing window for visitors to get a more up-close and personal glimpse of their beautiful Siberian Tiger. While I was inside (barely holding myself back from plastering my face against the glass) there was a woman with a baby in her arms -- I don't know how old. Less than a year, at a guess, but don't quote me. Every time the tiger paced TOWARD us, this kid would BURST into tears. She/he definitely has a stronger survival instinct than I do!

To be fair, this tiger was massive. Just incredible to see and have that perspective up-close. In a lot of the zoos I've been to, guests were primarily looking down on them from a distance, in a pit, or across a moat, and it definitely makes a difference to have the nearer view. I mean, I've met a tiger in person up-close and personally before (and told that story here!) but she was downright petite compared to this guy.

We also had the opportunity to feed the Giraffes, which offered another dose of size-perspective. See that guy's head? It's MONSTROUS. Because Giraffes are MONSTROUSLY LARGE. (And I don't care what anyone says, herbivores of that size are WAY more terrifying than the largest predators.) His eye is bigger than my HAND you guys. LOOK AT IT. LOOOOOK!

And then we saw the Gorillas.

You have to understand that I studied wildlife biology in college before I made the switch to classical studies. My career goal while I was working toward that degree was to become a zookeeper. I wanted desperately to work with animals -- because I love them. Always have. Always will. Particularly big cats and large predators. And I also believe that zoos are necessary to conservation. There are too many people who would not think twice about the plight of an endangered species if they had not gone to the zoo as a kid and fed the giraffes, or saw the elephant paint, or pressed their face up against the glass and looked into the eyes of the pacing tiger. We need to SEE these animals in order to care about them as individuals, rather than abstract concepts -- and in that respect, the animals in zoos (and marine parks) are ambassadors for their species. They are (perhaps unwittingly) sacrificing their freedom for their wild cousins, and I know that accredited zoos are doing their very best for the animals in their care via vets, nutrition, social/enrichment activities and so on, because the people who become zookeepers LOVE these animals, too.

But it hurt my heart to see the Gorillas in their enclosures. It broke me to look into their eyes, to watch their casual so human movements and gestures. It's SO easy to see the intelligence, the consciousness and the sentience in gorillas. It's easy to look at them and see them as people. And it hits hard, the realization that these people are caged for our gawking pleasure. That we need them to be, because otherwise there wouldn't be enough goodwill to keep them alive anywhere on this planet.

And it should. It should hurt. It should be shocking and painful and uncomfortable. We should look at ALL the animals in zoos and see their majesty at the same time as we wish for a day that zoos won't be necessary for conservation efforts and breeding programs. For a day when we, as a world community, recognize the value of protecting their lives in the wild without caging them first. (And I would be lying if I didn't have a moment of man, it would be awesome if we could communicate with animals and then let them volunteer for zoo duty if they wanted it!)

For the time being, I can only hope seeing the gorillas made everyone else just as uncomfortable as it made me, so maybe when they get that flyer from some wildlife org needing donations to save the tiger or the gorilla or the maned wolf or, or, or, they'll remember that moment, and do what they can to help.



Forged by Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1) Tempting Fate (Fate of the Gods, #1.5) Fate Forgotten (Fate of the Gods, #2) Taming Fate (Fate of the Gods, #2.5) Beyond Fate (Fate of the Gods, #3)
Honor Among Orcs (Orc Saga, #1) * Postcards from Asgard * Helen of Sparta
Buy Now:
Amazon | Barnes&Noble