Join my new email list

I’m starting a new email list for book news and updates. If you’d like in, you can join here:
Basically, it’s really easy to miss things on the Internet, so this list is for anyone who wants to be sure they don’t skip the important stuff. (Or at least, the important stuff as it relates to me and my books.) I’ll keep posting more frequent updates here (along with a whole bunch of other stuff) here, too, of course!

TusCon GoH, Faerie After award eligibility, and a Drawing the Moon movie

1. I’m GoH (Guest of Honor) at TusCon 41, October 31-November 2, 2014. I’d be delighted if you could join me! 2. SFWA members can nominate 2013 books for the Norton and Nebula awards from now until February 15. If you’re so inclined, Faerie After is among the many fine books that are eligible this year. 3. “Drawing the Moon” will be a short film this summer, directed by Chelsea Garland. Check out the movie’s facebook page for updates.

News, reviews, and where I’ll be in November

My short story “Drawing the Moon” is being adapted into a short film by Chelsea Garland–details on the movie’s facebook page. “Drawing the Moon” originally appeared in Bruce Coville’s Book of Nightmares. Elizabeth DiFiore created a series of images inspired my short story “Tearing Down the Unicorns”–see her art here. “Tearing Down the Unicorns” first appeared in another Bruce Coville anthology, A Glory of Unicorns. It’s so easy for it to feel like the things we write are “through” within a few weeks or months or maybe a year after we release them into the world. I love these reminders that everything we create echoes out far beyond that.
Takes on Faerie After from Shorewood Library, Faerie Winter from Random Amber, and Bones of Faerie from Nerdy Enough and Randomly Reading and Ranting.
I’ve been taking the past few months off from traveling/conferences/speaking (though I was very sorry to miss everyone at Sirens!) for some much needed retreat/vacation/book-finishing/well-charging time, but will be around and about again in November: Saturday, November 2, 1-2 p.m. Signing at Mostly Books 6208 E Speedway Blvd Tucson, Arizona Perfect for some early holiday shopping–plus, it’s the day before my birthday, so there’ll be cookies/cake, too! Friday-Sunday, November 8-10 TusCon Science Fiction Convention Hotel Tucson City Center 475 N Granada Ave Tucson, Arizona I’ll be reading Friday night at 9 p.m.–come join me!

Faerie After / Bones of Faerie trilogy spoiler post

Faerie After (aka, the final book of the Bones of Faerie trilogy) has been out for a couple months now. As for the entire series, I’ve been careful to avoid spoilers when talking about the books. Except here. This is a place for spoilery discussion of all three books: questions, thoughts, things you just want to chat about. I might share a few thoughts of my own about the writing process for the final book that I haven’t been able to talk about other places because of spoilers, too. I’ll check in regularly, so do jump in, now or later!

“You, whose people sent fire raining from the skies, would lecture me about right and wrong?”

Sanah Dillon interviews me at YA Books of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Head on over to learn what Liza, Matthew, and Allie’s original names were in the very first draft of Bones of Faerie, or just to enter to win a copy of Faerie After. The interview is part of July’s Summer Author blitz–check out all the blitz posts here. Mettie Ivie Harrison recommends Faerie After:
I love the mix of post-apocalyptic dystopia and fantasy in this series. Love, love, love! … This is what speculative fiction does that realistic fiction doesn’t do as well. It makes us think we are getting a fun story, and then there’s a twist and we realize we are suddenly looking at ourselves in a new, and not always so happy way.
More thoughts on Faerie After from Breathless Book Reviews and Novel Grazing Redux (aka Mrissa). And: Bones of Faerie trilogy fanart! Lady Skylar’s take on Liza at the arch, and Moozy6’s take on Liza and Ben. 🙂
Header text from Faerie After.

“… the story was from when Faerie was new, and the human world that would follow little more than a dream.”

In the Bones of Faerie trilogy, one of the differences between the town protagonist Liza grows up in and the town the young healer Allie grows up in is that Allie’s town was quicker to value magic than Liza’s was, for all the dangers magic holds. Another difference is that Allie’s town values storytelling, which any writer or reader will tell you is almost the same thing. So it’s not surprising that it falls to Allie to tell Liza the first half of the story of the Faerie realm’s First Tree, which she’s learned from the fey in her town, at a point in the story where they’re both in need of a distraction. And I keep thinking that story makes for a nice excerpt. **** excerpt / mild Faerie After spoilers ahead ****

“You take care of the magic. I’ll stand watch over the rest.”

My Shelf Confessions reviews Faerie After:
“Simner has a way of connecting you to her characters on an intimate level. Their struggles with each other could very well mirror your own struggles with loved ones … Simner has a deft skill at writing characters I can directly relate to.”
I also have a guest post up at My Shelf Confessions this week on talking to my characters and how Matthew became a wolf.

“… they considered storytelling a skill as important as sowing a field or wielding a bow.”

In the Albuquerque area? I’ll be reading at Alamosa Books’ Summer solstice party this Friday night at 7 p.m. The party itself begins at 5:30–do come! (And if you’re not in Albuquerque, spread the word to those who are.)
Alamosa Books has some lovely things to say about Faerie After:
“Janni Lee Simner has a gift for moving a plot along at a relentless pace but making it feel whispered and ethereal. Her books are tantric, but rather than emptying you of emotion these pages fill you up … you cannot disbelieve the story—no matter how fantastic—when wrapped in its magical web.”
VOYA also reviews Faerie After this month:
“Fans of the first two novels of this series will be delighted to read the wrap-up to this trilogy … Liza continues to be a strong female protagonist, and the supporting cast of characters, both faerie and human, are well drawn and interesting. Besides the suspense of survival, this story also explores the themes of use and abuse of powers and talents. This is a satisfying finish to the Bones of Faerie trilogy that both junior and senior high students will be eager to read.”
My Shelf Confessions reviews Bones of Faerie and Faerie Winter:
“Faerie Winter exceeded my expectations for a sequel! I felt about it the same way I did Bones of Faerie. That it was a great story and by the end I would have been satisfied if I learned there wasn’t going to be another book. Lucky for me its a trilogy but even better that each book thus far in this trilogy has done such a stellar job of standing on it’s own legs.”

Marietta Zacker asked several Nancy Gallt Literary Agency clients, including me, for our thoughts on writing YA for her guest post on Pub(lishing) Crawl. You can see our thoughts, and her definition of the genre, there. Arizona Jewish Life included me in their summer roundup of Jewish Arizona authors. There’s still time to watch VLC Productions’ most excellent Faerie After trailer and win the entire trilogy.