Comment to win THE LORD OF ILLUSION: http://plotmamas.wordpress.com/

I'm over at a dear friend's blog, answering some questions about where I've lived while my father was in the service. Stop on by, leave a comment, and you're entered to win a final copy of THE LORD OF ILLUSION. Contest is open through Sunday, so you have a few days to enter, although I'll be checking in to answer any comments today. Best of luck!

http://plotmamas.wordpress.com/

HOW I JUGGLE MY WRITING LIFE WITH MY REAL LIFE

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don’t necessarily juggle. It’s more of a melding of the two.

The great thing about being a writer is that you can work anywhere, and inspiration comes at any time. The most common places for me to have sudden inspiration is in the shower (which is why I keep a notebook in there, although my bathroom floor has a tendency to get soapy and wet), that fuzzy state between waking and sleeping, while I’m talking with my family about my latest book, and whenever I just relax and rest. It’s almost as if the back of my brain is constantly working and it just takes a nudge to allow it to come out.

So truly, I guess I’m thinking about writing all of the time, especially when I get caught up in a new magical world like the one I created in THE LORD OF ILLUSION. It explains many things. Like, why I have a tendency to wander off in the middle of a conversation, and have to ask my friend what in the world I was talking about to get back on track. Or why I have a tendency to walk into the corners of walls, or forget why I went into a room, or where I was going.

Is that why writers are thought of as a bit kooky?

Or is it just me? Maybe other writers have a way to juggle both worlds and I just haven’t mastered the trick of it yet. But I can see someone make a gesture and I’ll immediately think of how I can incorporate that into my character. Or watch people interact and think of how charming that would be for my hero/heroine. Or fall in love with a character from a movie and launch into an entirely new world with evolved characters of my own. Or see a wedding and wonder what characteristics made these two fall in love with each other and how they managed to overcome any obstacles in their way. Or suddenly wonder why things are the way they are, and what could change to alter the world as it is? Or see a single girl, and create a man that would be perfect for her. Or vice versa.

I lived, breathed, and slept THE LORD OF ILLUSION. I can’t turn the creativity on and off, although there are times when my imagination stalls, and other times when it jumps so far ahead of me that I can’t see the ending of where it’s taking me.

But despite looking like a bit of an airhead most of the time, I have to admit that I love it. There’s an old saying that life is what you make it, and I think that’s true. What you carry around in your head, what thoughts you choose to focus on, becomes your life; because it’s the way you perceive your world (that half-empty, half-full glass of water thing).

For me, I carry around love stories, new worlds of magic, characters that charm me, adventures that I can lose myself in. My life is wonderful, no matter what I’m doing in the ‘real’ world, so maybe not being able to juggle is a good thing.

As always, wishing you my magical best!

FOR WRITERS: Win a mentorship with a multi-published, bestselling, award-winning author!

Sign up for the Desert Dreams conference and enter to win a critique of your query letter and the first few pages of your manuscript from Kathryne Kennedy. She will also buy the winner of the drawing a drink (coffee or champagne, your choice :), to talk about your work and answer any questions you might have about the craft or industry. She will do her best to mentor you in any way you need. So if you have a friend who writes paranormal, fantasy, historical or science fiction romance, and would like a multi-published, bestselling, award-winning author to mentor her, please spread the word to your writing groups or your blog to suggest they attend the Desert Dreams conference in Arizona this year. http://www.desertroserwa.org

Kathryne has helped a few other writers with their queries, and one landed the NY agent she wanted, and the other two sold their work to a publisher.

BIO: Kathryne Kennedy is currently published with Sourcebooks Casablanca, one of the fastest growing romance publishers in the industry. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, have won several awards including the Golden Quill, and have been given Top Picks, a KISS award, and nominations for Reviewers Choice awards by Romantic Times. One of her books received an editor's choice pick from Library Journal, and another was chosen as a Booklist Top Ten Romance of 2011. So far, her books have foreign editions in Germany, Thailand, and Turkey, and have made many top ten bestseller lists in America and the UK.

Hurry! The registration deadline for the Desert Dreams Writer's Conference has changed to March 31st. http://www.desertroserwa.org

Sixty-Eight seconds of sparkling romance: Watch the book video for THE LORD OF ILLUSION

I had this posted on my website but forgot to add it to my blog, so if you haven't seen it yet, enjoy the book video for THE LORD OF ILLUSION!

Want to put your book into the top 100 paid on Kindle? Carolyn McCray has, and is taking appts at Desert Dreams: http://www.desertroserwa.org

Meerkats & Seahorses--two of my favorite things

Sharing some photos I took at the Wildlife World Zoo of one of my favorite land critters, and one of my favorite from the sea.

THE LORD OF ILLUSION is reviewed by Deb's Book Bag and The Good, The Bad & The Unread

Sincere thanks to Deb & Sandy for the lovely reviews!

http://debsbookbag.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-lord-of-illusion.html?zx=f9f1ae56aae8d7d1

The final book in the Elven Lord's series, The Lord of Illusion is everything readers want in the conclusion of a series. Kathryne Kennedy ties up all the loose ends and brings every story thread together for a climatic battle that will free England form the tyranny of the Elven Lords. Kennedy's world-building is unparalleled in the fantasy genre and her plotting is amazing. This is a book any romantic fantasy fan would be thrilled to read. Don't miss it!

I have loved this series from the beginning. Kathryne Kennedy has taken England as we know it and turned it on it's ear. It's a world under the control of some very maniacal and somewhat terrifying Fey. I loved the fact that Kennedy plays on the legends of the Sidhe, but also puts her own spin on it to give readers a very unique and interesting world. The seven realms were the stuff of legends themselves. It takes a keen intellect and a unfettered imagination to come up with something like that and Kennedy proves she has both.

The last book in the series, The Lord of Illusion is the culmination of everything the Rebellion has worked for. The overall story arc throughout the series has been the freedom of England from the Elven Lord's and Kennedy certainly doesn't disappoint. The action in this book alone is enough to make it worth the read, but the author adds so much more than just a final battle between good and evil. Though that is a great premise, the relationship between hero and heroine in The Lord of Illusion is just as powerful as the battles that take place.

Drystan Hawkes is a very unexpected hero. He is bookish, an academic and tends to be the odd man out when it comes to friends and acquaintances. He just doesn't fit in. He gives off a quiet confidence, but he certainly isn't one most people would consider a hero. That's what makes Kennedy writing about him so amazing. She can turn even the most ordinary of people into something more and she does that masterfully in this book with both Drystan and Camille.

Camille is every bit the tortured heroine. She is wise beyond her years and shows a strength that is profound. She has had a life riddled with abuse in just about every form imaginable. She has learned that she can't trust anyone and she only has herself to rely on, but she survives and she continues to press on. Her resilience was amazing and I loved seeing her character develop. She is almost like a flower that slowly begins to bloom. Tentative and scared almost, but still willing to risk. Not only is she seeking freedom for herself, but she may well be the key to the freedom of England itself.

This was such an amazing book. I admit that the Fire Lord's Lover is still my favorite, but I think that's because it introduced me to this magical world. But The Lord of Illusion is absolutely amazing. It wraps up the series in a good fashion. It leaves readers on a hopeful note and proves that good can outwit and win against evil. In a word is was superb and if you love romantic fantasy, you can't afford to miss this book or this series!

The Lord of Illusion is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

http://goodbadandunread.com/2012/02/27/review-the-lord-of-illusion-by-kathryne-kennedy/#more-17945

Sandy M’s review of Lord of Illusion (Elven Lords, Book 3) by Kathryne Kennedy
Paranormal Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 7 Feb 12

Do you have those authors you love who sweep you into time to the Scottish Highlands or keep you biting your fingernails well into the night after pages of gripping suspense or make you wish you’d been born in London during the Regency era to attend glittering balls or any other number of romance scenarios when you read? I know you do. I hope you’ll add Kathryne Kennedy to that list, because she’s one of the best when it comes to magical paranormal romance. Glamor and glitter have nothing on this author’s imagination.

Her Georgian historical romances have given England a whole new look with evil Elven Lords who escaped from Elfhame to find entertainment from and power over the English people. The seven sovereignties of these lords include Dewhame, Firehame, Dreamhame, Terrahame, Verdanthame, Stonehame, and Bladehame – all boasting powers with the elements from each sovereignty. In this latest book we get a look at the wonders – and evils – of Dreamhame – illusions as real as can be dance around, become menacing, and can even kill. The Rebellion to send these lords back to Elfhame is closer to its goal, and now their success rests with Lord Drystan Hawkes, one of a number of half-breeds who pull together to triumph over magic to finally lead normal lives.

Drystan is a bookish young man, pouring over old records and texts to find the key to unlock the door to Elfhame to banish the lords. The few scepters the Rebellion has been able to steal from their respective sovereignties now talk to him on a regular basis, but at least now he knows he’s not possessed by the devil as other youngsters believed when Drystan would be overcome by the voices. He’s finally found the woman who bears the mark of the white witch who actually witnessed the lords’ arrival in England. Dreaming of her has only made him want her more, to save her, and to love her if she’ll allow. On the journey to Dreamhame, Drystan tries to harness his magic to aid in his upcoming fight, but at best he can conjure the most basic of illusions.

Having been a slave nearly her entire life, Camille Ashton has managed to rise above her station twice, to enjoy the accoutrements she’d never know otherwise, only to be slung back into the hell of whippings and rape along with forced service to those of the court. She now plans to make her escape, no matter how slim the chances of her making it. Her life is about to change in a big way, but she has no idea it’s headed in a direction that will save lives. It takes Lord Hawkes rescuing her from soldiers and his subsequent secrets to make her believe those changes will be for the better.

The romance between Drystan and Camille is absolutely beautiful. He’s known for so long she’s the woman for him and he vows to earn her love and her trust. But trust is something so very difficult for Camille to give. As she gets to know Drystan better, though, she realizes there will never be another man who she can trust more. Their love blossoms in an Elven garden alive with beauty, music, and danger and Drystan’s illusions that surround them in worlds all their own, but then they must face storms that will whirl them into crisis after crisis in their efforts to save England.

The scenes in the second half of this book when the Rebellion face the Elven Lords over the unlocking of the door to Elfhame are some of the best in the book. They’re action packed with dragons and the magic from each sovereignty being given center stage as the battle rages. Both Drystan and Camille have come into their own, finding out what they’re made of and how they fit into this desperate fight for freedom. We also get to catch up with previous characters, and my favorite, the Fire Lord, has had a rough time of it, and things only get worse before they get better. It’s nice to see him smile, though.

As usual, Ms. Kennedy delivers in a huge way with her magical world of this series. Her characters are strong but vulnerable, and watching them grow, even when they don’t seemingly need to, is a buildup that culminates in characters never imagined. No matter what this authors does in the future, I will be in line for every book I can get my hands on. I won’t miss any of Ms. Kennedy’s magic.

Grade: A

Summary:

He’ll do anything to save her…

Rebel Lord Drystan Hawkes dreams of fighting for England’s freedom. He gets his chance when he finds a clue to opening the magic portal to Elfhame, and he must race to find the slave girl who holds the key to the mystery. But even as Drystan rescues Camille Ashton from Dreamhame Palace, it becomes unclear exactly who is saving whom.

For the fate of humankind lies with Camille…

Enslaved for years in a realm where illusion and glamour reign, Camille has learned to trust nothing and no one. But she’s truly spellbound when she meets Drystan–a man different from any she’s ever known, and the force of their passion may yet be strong enough to banish the Elven Lords from this world forever.

Read an excerpt. (click Excerpt tab)

Win prizes, books, and more books, at Publishers Weekly BHB party!

Every year Barbara Vey at PW's Beyond Her Book blog has a week-long anniversary celebration, with tens of authors participating and giving away prizes and books (including yours truly). You can enter multiple times to increase your chances of winning, so have a blast! Today you can enter at:

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/beyondherbook/?p=5716

Good luck and have fun!

FOR WRITERS: The Arizona Desert Dreams Conference!

The most interesting characters are the hardest to write.
Beth Andrews will explore ways to create complex, layered
characters who will jump off the page and into your reader’s heart.
Don’t miss this workshop at the Desert Dreams Writers Conference.

Registration closes March 31, 2012
http://www.desertroserwa.org

A sneak peek at the new cover for ENCHANTING THE LADY

I have to say that I adore this new cover for the re-release of Enchanting the Lady! I am over-the-moon with delight at the dragonette on her shoulder!

THE LORD OF ILLUSION hits #8 in the UK's bestselling eBooks!

From Books on Board:

Bestselling Romance eBooks
1. Hunting Season -- Liz Carlyle
2. A Perfect Blood -- Kim Harrison
3. The Revenge of Lord Eberlin -- Julia London
4. King of Darkness -- Elisabeth Staab
5. Unlocked -- Courtney Milan
6. Nightfire -- Lisa Marie Rice
7. I've Got Your Number -- Sophie Kinsella
8. The Lord of Illusion -- Kathryne Kennedy
9. Princess Charming -- Nicole Jordan
10. She Tempts the Duke -- Lorraine Heath

http://uknbc.com/?p=1450

Waving to those over the pond!
Kathryne