Tag Archive for wings unseen

Pondering the Orb features Wings Unseen!

I am delighted that the Wings Rising series appears on the current episode of Pondering the Orb, a vidcast from fantasy author Jay Requard. In the episode, Jay reads the first chapter of Wings Unseen, Book 1 in the duology. This is where we first meet Vesperi Sellywn and the story gets going with a bang–or more fittingly, a poof.

Watch it here:

The episode also features a conversation between Jay and Sam Montgomery-Blinn, who’s actually the reason that Jay and I met in the first place! Sam invited us both to read for an NC Speculative Fiction Night in 2013, which was also celebrating the launch of Bull Spec #5, which Sam edited and in which my “Bother,” my first SFF pro sale, appeared. I actually still have video of my reading that night!

Unfortunately, I think Jay stays just out of the frame, but Sam introduces me at the pedestal. That one night was the first time I met so many great authors local to the RTP area, some who’d become critique partners, some Game of Thrones TV night buddies, and others support in all the ways that we authors need each other to continue in this career.

Thanks, Jay, for sharing Wings Unseen on Pondering the Orb and for reminding me of those wonderful memories. Sure, some writers are known for their drama, but in my experience? Writers are just plain awesome and supportive people. You should get to know a few. 😉

Preorder Wings Unfurled!

I am delighted to share that you can now pre-order Wings Unfurled. Officially Book 2 of the Wings Rising series, Wings Unfurled releases on December 6, just a little over a month from now. Just in time for those holiday gifts, right? *wink wink nudge nudge*

The print version is $18.95 and the ebook is $8.95.

At the Meerkat Press listing page for the book, you can see all the ordering options. But if there’s one thing authors know, it’s that we should give you direct ordering links to your favorite service whenever possible! So here they are:

You can also order it from your fave local bookstore!

Now, the first question you’re going to ask me is which vendor should you buy it from so that I get the most royalties? The answer is honestly that I get the same royalties no matter where you buy it from. But if you’d like to support my publisher, then ordering directly from Meerkat Press is best.

The second question is “So, what’s it about, Becca?”
Well, here’s the backcover blurb!

The vicious claren that used to plague the reunited countries of Medua and Lansera are long gone. So what are the new dark patches appearing in Lady Serra’s second sight?

She rushes to King Albrecht to report the danger, only to discover that he’s ailing and Vesperi, Prince Janto’s wife, has fled far to the north to grieve her disappeared daughter.

Vesperi still wields the silver flame, possesses all the authority she’s ever wanted, but nothing can heal the wound of a missing child. When the silver moon Esye begins to fade, a gnawing fear preys on her for the first time since she escaped her father’s cold rule.

Ominous creatures once thought mythical are now rampaging through the countryside. Janto sends Serra to investigate. But without her friendship and Vesperi’s love, he fears he cannot slay this challenge. He failed to find his own daughter, after all.

To save the Lanserim, the legendary bird with three heads must fly again. Will Janto, Vesperi, and Serra find the strength to raise it? Or will this menace, with the might to drain a moon, devour them first?

I hope that gets you excited to read about the new adventures and challenges Vesperi, Janto, and Serra face, six years after the events of Wings Unseen. I also shared a geeky writer note on book structure with my newsletter subscribers this past weekend, so I’m going ot share it with everyone now: I didn’t know that Wings Unfurled’s organization would so closely follow Wing Unseen’s when I started writing it, but I’m delighted that it worked out that way. Wings Unseen is laid out in two parts: The Breeding Season and The Culling. Wings Unfurled also has two parts: Moonfall and Moonrise. Two stanzas of prophetic prophesy are also very important to both plots! Here’s a teaser of the first two lines of the new prophecy from Wings Unfurled:

When leaps the mighty cantalere
the dark brother drains his foes.

Uncover the rest of that prophecy and what it portends for the Lanserim by preordering now!

Wings Unfurled Flies in 2022!

I am so delighted to announce that Wings Unfurled, the sequel to my epic fantasy novel Wings Unseen, will be coming out in 2022! Meerkat Press will publish the sequel, just as they did Wings Unseen. Here’s their official announcement of the upcoming publication.

Some of you may remember that I wrote Wings Unseen as a standalone novel. Or rather, I first dreamed of it as a trilogy in the early 2000s, but by the time I seriously started writing it, in 2009, the going advice was that a first-time novelist couldn’t get a multi-book deal. So I shifted gears, focusing on writing the full story in one book instead. That made for a much tighter narrative, but by the time I began shopping the manuscript around, the collective wisdom in speculative fiction was back to recommending series of books as the best bet for a writer, first-time or established!

Luckily, Meerkat Press took the risk on Wings Unseen as a standalone book, and I’ve always been happy that I could tell people that the story is complete in and of itself.

wings unseen rebecca gomez farrell meerkat press cover fantasy

Such a shiny, pretty debut novel!

But after its release, my publisher, Tricia Meeks, the driving force behind Meerkat, mentioned that she’d be interested in a second book. So of course the wheels of a new story for Janto, Vesperi, and Serra began turning!

My wheels don’t turn very fast. Wings Unseen was published in 2017, and I didn’t begin writing Wings Unfurled in earnest until October 2019. Yet somehow, I managed to send off the manuscript’s third draft for consideration by Meerkat in March 2020, and they purchased it! That’s the fastest I have ever written a book, for sure – faster than I’ve written most short stories, to be honest. I’m definitely someone who puts manuscripts aside for a while, letting time do the solving of plot puzzles before coming back with fresh eyes.

So what’s Wings Unfurled about? Well, I’m not going to spoil it, but it begins about six years after Janto, Vesperi, and Serra have rid Lansera and its formerly Meduan lands of the invisible plague of claren and the thrall of the Guj. I won’t tell you more than that for now – except to tease that there’s a fourth, and briefly a fifth, new point-of-view character in the book. Not a pigeon this time! But rest assured, there are plenty of feathers left to lash in Lansera.

I’ll be dropping hints about Wings Unfurled along the way to its publication, leaving you a tasty trail to follow until then. Maybe I’ll even share a recipe for the lemon cakes that Janto, and another family member, so loves! Waits are always easier to endure when there’s a snack.

grandview bakery, pittsburgh bakeries, cupcakes, lemon cake, almond cupcake, los angeles

That image is of Pittsburgh’s Grandview Bakery’s almond cupcakes – NOT Mar Pina’s lemon cakes in Lansera, but not far off from what I imagine…

Come to the Alameda Author Series on 2/25!

I would love to have you join me in Alameda for this author event. As I’m the only author on the agenda, I am a bit nervous about having a turnout…this is why I usually invite more authors to read with me. 😉 RSVP through Eventbrite right here, and yes, it’s free. I will have copies of Wings Unseen available for sale.

Host Kevis Brownson and I will have a conversation about my writing and the organizations I’m involved with, then I’ll do a reading, then there will be audience Q&A, and then a signing and reception to wrap up the evening. 6 pm is early! So don’t worry about sliding in a bit late.

Here’s the series description: For the third year, the AAUW Alameda presents a spring series of talks featuring authors who live and write in Alameda and nearby, now co-sponsored by the Friends of the Alameda Free Library. Our February author Rebecca Gomez Farrell will discuss her novel Wings Unseen and her current writing projects.

Hope to see you there!

FogCon Appearances 2018!

Find me at FogCon this coming weekend! I’ll be moderating, sitting on panels, and giving a reading during this jam-packed three days of speculative fiction lovers and writers coming together in Walnut Creek.

The Borderlands vendor table will have copies of Wings Unseen for sale, should you be looking to pick up a copy. And I’ll have a pen for signing, of course. Don’t be shy, just come up and ask for that signature!

Here’s my schedule during the con:

Friday, 3/9, I’m moderating The Play Within the Play: An Analysis of Going Meta in Speculative Fiction at 3 pm. Description:

Among many other qualities, Shakespeare was a master of using plays within his plays to amplify his themes and plot arcs. This technique of self-reference has been used for dramatic and comedic effect in many works. Orson Scott Card had Ender Wiggin playing through a story game that ultimately tied into and reflected his “real life” story; P.C. Hodgell has traditional stories in her novels that shadow the main action; Stephen King pulled the ultimate coup and wrote himself into his Dark Tower series as a character, incorporating his struggles with substance abuse into the decay of the universe; Michael Ende’s novel The Neverending Story famously loops in on itself. Is this an effective tool for writers to use? What makes it work and when does it fall flat? Let’s analyze the phenomena!

At 8 pm on the same day, I’ll be a panelist during the Speculative Fiction, Science and the Sacred session. Description:

As scientists learn more and more about our astonishing universe, from the macro to the micro, does science begin to awe and inspire, as religion can? Does religion fall away, or evolve? How does science affect our mood, our hope, and our outlook on life? What might religion look like in “the future” (very scientifically advanced societies, such as in Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series)?

And immediately after that, I’ll be participating in the Broad Universe: Rapid Fire Reading at 9:30 pm. This is the second year we’ve done a rapid fire reading at FogCon. They are a fun way to liven up a reading, cycling through the authors two times, reading short selections rather than a longer work. The variety never stops! Broad Universe is an organization that supports the work of female speculative fiction writers.
On Saturday, 3/10, my final panel will be Wilderness in SFF at 10:30 am. Description:

Wilderness is an interstitial space, existing between cities, roads and settlements. People have held many different views of wilderness form a place to be tamed, to a place to be preserved. Yet the idea of “untouched” wildlands remands problematic. Recent scholars such as William Cronon have questioned if wilderness even exists. How have works such as Lord of the Rings, Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor & Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley engaged with these ideas? How will our changing ideas about wilderness effect new and future work?

Interested in attending FogCon? More info here. Let me know if you’re coming! Though I will not be on the agenda after the Wilderness Panel, I will definitely be at FogCon for the rest of Saturday and likely Sunday, too.

Catch me at the first ever Terra Incognita Reading on Thursday!

Join me on Thursday, 1/25/18 at 7 pm at the Octopus Literary Salon for a brand-new Bay Area reading series: Terra Incognita! Sponsored by the Escapery, a Bay Area organization offering adventures for artists and writers of all levels, Terra Incognita is a genre fiction-based reading series that showcases Bay Area authors. Each month, a different genre or hybrid genre will be represented, ideally including a range of authors of varying skills and publication history. And the first month’s theme is Speculative Fiction!

That, of course, is fortunate for me, being a speculative fiction writer. I’ve met Terra Incognita’s host, Haldane King, a few times, and I’m thrilled to be a part of his new reading series, especially as genre fiction is underrepresented on the literary scene at large. Though I must say, I’ve always been warmly welcomed when reading horror, fantasy, or science fiction anywhere I’ve gone in the East Bay and San Francisco. Thus, I’m mostly excited we’ll have one more outlet of creative genre expression for us all.

Nick Mamatas, J Curtis, Jackie Haudek, Samuel Walsh, and myself will be the inaugural Terra Incognita readers. Enticements include a free drawing for Nomadic Press poetry chapbooks, and the great refreshments at the Octopus. Donations are welcome, and I’ll have copies of Wings Unseen for sale.

If you’d like, sign up at the Facebook event. Or just show up! I hope to see you there.

octopus literary salon, book launch, wings unseen, rebecca gomez farrell

Last time I read at the Octopus Literary Salon.

Order Your Autographed Gifts of Wings Unseen by 12/16!

We’re only 20 days out from Christmas, and thus the time for gift giving is upon us! For $15, you can send a signed, personalized copy of my epic fantasy, Wings Unseen, to anyone you love – heck, it’s cool if you send it to someone you only kind of like, too. 😉

My friends, Paul and Ann, whom I kind of like, I guess, getting their signed copies at my book launch.

$15 includes the book, and my signature and a personal message, filled out from your instructions on whom I should address that message too. It also includes shipping costs! What is Wings Unseen? Here’s my full page on it.

This price is only available until 12/16. After that, I won’t be able to ship via media mail in time for Christmas. But I am happy to use a more expensive shipping option to get it to your loved one for opening under the tree!

Loki guaranteed for good cuddling.

How to order? You can contact me via direct message on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram or just email me at becca@thegourmez.com. We’ll discuss payment and shipping methods – either Paypal, Square, or Venmo will work, and I am amenable to other shipping options, but the price will reflect those other options.

Or you can just order Wings Unseen off Amazon! It’s only $12 currently, which is a deal! But that doesn’t include author signature…

Happy holidays, dear readers, friends, and family!

I’m Literally Reading 10/24 at Flywheel Press’s Literally Series!

Woosh! That was my schedule zooming by too fast for me to keep up with it. Thus, I haven’t had time to give my next reading much promotion, but there’s still time! Barely.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday 10/24, I’ll be reading at the Literally series at the Shop at Flywheel Press in San Mateo at 7:00 pm along with author Peter Carroll. Flywheel Press is an art and design center in San Mateo that has fostered a unique creative space in many different forms: as a letterpress studio, a co-working space for artists, a First Fridays destination, an art gallery, and a provider of classes for kids and adults.

If you’d like to share your own work, there will be an open mic afterward, too! And of course, I’ll have Wings Unseen available for purchase, should you like a signed copy. 😉

I hope you’ll join me!

Join me Friday, 10/20, for the Speculative Fiction Cantina Livestream and an At the Inkwell Reading!

I’m going to be busy this Friday promoting my fiction, through two different mediums! You, of course, are invited to join in.

First, S. Evan Townsend will interview me at 3 pm PST for the Speculative Fiction Cantina Livestream and Podcast show.

This show takes place weekly and includes a reading, so I’ll be sharing a selection from Wings Unseen. It’ll be a chance for my “radio voice” to come out, which people have told me I have for most of my life. I’ll be appearing along with author Brian James, and based on past shows, it should be a fun, casual time of speculative fiction appreciation. You can tune in here on Friday at 3 pm PST: LINKY LINK

Second, I’ll be reading for the At the Inkwell Flash Fiction Night, which takes place at Alley Cat Books in San Francisco at 7 pm.

This is the second time I’ll have read with At the Inkwell, which is a national organization dedicated to helping writers get more exposure through reviews and reading series. The Alley Cat Books space is one of the best I’ve been to for literary readings, and I’m excited for flash fiction to be the chosen topic – it’ll give me a break from reading book excerpts! I’ll likely be sharing “What Scattered in the Wind,” which is published in Little Letters on the Skin, and some Halloween-themed micro-fiction I’ve been working on. If there’s time, perhaps “Hobgoblin” will also make an appearance at the mic. More info on the event is here: LINKY LINK.

I would love to see you at Alley Cat Books or know you’ve tuned in to the Speculative Fiction Cantina this Friday!

Reading at Shades & Shadows in Los Angeles 9/16!

This coming Saturday evening, I am thrilled (or is it chilled?) to participate in Shades & Shadows, Los Angeles’s only dark fiction reading series:

Details:

8:30 pm, doors open at 8
$10 entry fee. Tickets here.
THERE WILL BE CAKE
At the Mystic Museum
3204 Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA

Click here if you’d like to RSVP at the Facebook event!

Dark fiction, you ask? But isn’t your fantasy novel YA? Well, as many of the reviews can tell you, Wings Unseen is quite a bit darker than some readers expect for YA! I did pitch it as having elements of horror, for both the creatures contained within it and the horrific power struggle in Medua. Believe me, there is plenty of darkness to draw from in the worlds of Lansera and Medua. Now will I go dark horror, dark magic, or darkened halls for my selection? You’ll have to come to find out! This is my one and only SoCal stop on my book tour, so I do hope you’ll make it. If not, stay tuned for the podcast release of the evening’s festivities….which may take a while — the Shades & Shadows crew is about a year behind in podcast production. So you’re best bet is to show up! I hope to see you there.

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