
Now Available! Unicorn Seasons: Four Magical Unicorn Tales

Unicorn Seasons is available most places ebooks are sold. Read excerpts here, or pre-order your copy from any of the e-tailers below: – Kobo (and their many independent bookstore partners) – Barnes and Noble – Amazon – Smashwords – Apple (to come) And of course, if you feel inclined to spread the word, I’d be grateful!A unicorn for every season. From a mythical time before the winds were fixed to the corners of the earth to a present-day forest where unicorns are not—quite—extinct, this ebook exclusive collection by acclaimed fantasy writer Janni Lee Simner brings together four magical tales about unicorns and the humans who are forever changed by them. In Lost or Forgotten, a unicorn sacrifices his mortality for the woman he loves, leaving their descendants to mourn the loss. When sisters Sara and Amelia hear the trees calling to them one spring night, they have to decide whether to take on an ancient sorrow—or accept an ancient magic. In Unicorn Season, Megan’s small-town summer turns more interesting when a local boy offers to help her find unicorns in the nearby mountains. But why is Josh so interested in the elusive creatures? Megan may not know as much about unicorns—or Josh’s motives—as she thinks. In Tearing Down the Unicorns, Stacey is furious when her older sister tears the unicorn posters from their walls. Then she sees a real unicorn dancing in the autumn night, and she discovers there’s more to the mythical creatures than those rainbow-and-butterfly bedecked pictures show—and more to herself, as well. In Windwood Rose, Miranda has been haunted all her life by strange music and uneasy dreams. When a unicorn appears in the snow one winter afternoon, it may have the answers she longs for. But will it be willing to give her all that she seeks?
Welcome to Bordertown is a Locus Award finalist!
I’ll be at Phoenix Comicon May 25-27 (Memorial Day weekend). Come join me, and a whole bunch of other folks, too!
lnhammer and I are offering up a ten year run of our holiday cards over at magick4terri. Originally designed for family and friends, these contain a mix of original poetry (by lnhammer), fiction (by me), and other stuff (by both of us).
I’ve made the e-chapbook of my short story “Drawing the Moon” available for free on Smashwords until the end of the month–just use the coupon code LS36E at checkout.
2. Just in time for Halloween, I’ve made one of the short stories I’m most often asked about—”Drawing the Moon,” which first appeared in Bruce Coville’s Book of Nightmares—available as an e-chapbook! Copies are available from Smashwords (multiple formats for all ereaders and computers), Barnes and Noble (epub format for Nook and most other ereaders), and Amazon.com (mobi format for Kindles). (ETA: Am also working on google books–will update when I have more info there!)
Here’s a short excerpt:
Andrew knew that the moon had stolen his parents away.
He tried to explain to Elizabeth once, after the funeral, but she didn’t understand. Her face turned horribly pale, and she whispered, “They’re dead, Andrew. Don’t you know that?” And then, just in case he didn’t, she drew him a picture. She used her red pencils, and some of Andrew’s crayons, besides. She used rusty-red for the brick buildings, brownish-red for the mugger’s jacket, rosy-red for Mom’s torn sweater on the sidewalk. And bright red for Dad, where the knife had gone through his chest.
Andrew tore the drawing up—not because looking at it sent icy shivers up his spine, though it did—but because she’d gotten the drawing all wrong. She’d left out the moon, large and round in the night sky, and that was the most important part …
Last month, for her final senior project, illustrator Elizabeth DiFiore created a series of illustrations based on the story, which were interspersed with the story’s text at her final show. They’re a take on what the protagonist Stacey’s fiery unicorn-inspired dance might look like, and you can see them here at her Imagekind store. Elizabeth DiFiore was kind enough to send me prints of Dancing Fire and Like I’m Flying, and they’re even more lovely in person than in these pictures–so much joy in them.
So much fun, to see a story transformed! This has had me smiling all week. (And hey, since the artist has just graduated, there’s a good chance she’s available, should you need an illustrator. I look forward to seeing more of her work out in the world, myself!)
Maybe the universe really does know. I’ve been coming on all sorts of small reminders of just how magical story is the past couple weeks.
There are some Bordertown stories available online here and here, along with some Bordertown poems here. Kirkus and Underwords both have interviews with Welcome to Bordertown contributors up, and there’s still time to enter the Welcome to Bordertown giveaway, too.
Now, I think I’m going to turn off the wifi and imagine I’m sitting in a Btown cafe as I work on my book about faeries and humans. Doesn’t seem too much of a stretch today, really. 🙂
And speaking of magic … this collection of magical prizes for helping to spread the word about Bordertown is just breathtaking. I’ve been helping gather and organize donations for it, and it’s been all I could do not to talk about it until now. Seriously, go look! And then mention Bordertown somewhere (on your blog, on twitter, on facebook) and link to it from the contest post for a chance to win.
If you’d like to borrow Welcome to Bordertown, and you’re willing to commit to both reading it in about a week and to them talking about it somewhere online, leave a comment below. I’ll mail you my copy, and then when you’re done, you’ll mail it back to me, and I’ll send it on to the next person on the list. (ETA: And will keep doing so until the book itself goes on sale at the end of May, however many people that turns out to be, and at that point see whether it’s still in good enough shape to keep sending around.)
What do you think? Anyone interested in an early read?