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I would be a big loser if I didn't post something on Rayla's birthday and it's winter solstice to boot! In the US, today is the shortest day of the year. Here is a link to 5 facts about winter solstice. I knew number 5 was a fact but now I know why! Today is also a special day for one of our main characters - Rayla. If you read the book do you remember what her mother and Aunt gave her for her thirteenth birthday? If you haven't read the book, here is a sneak peek: "Rayla took out and admired her wand. Wands were used to channel a witch’s life force and were not selected until their thirteenth birthday. This insured that the wand would complement the witch’s style and personality. Rayla’s wand was made of willow wood, chosen for mischief and flexibility, and had three bands of red on the handle. These bands represented Rayla’s fiery passion for life." I searched for some information on willow wood wands and look what I found on http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Willow: Willow is an uncommon wand wood with healing power, and Garrick Ollivander noted that the ideal owner for a willow wand often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it.[2] While many confident customers insist on trying a willow wand at Ollivanders (attracted by their handsome appearance and well-founded reputation for enabling advanced, non-verbal magic) the willow wands there have consistently selected those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in the Ollivander family that "he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow."[2] I think this fits Rayla...magically! Don't you agree? I found the wand below on a site. While it's not exact, the natural elements remind me of Rayla's wand. 
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Hi TWF Fans. It's official. As of June 21st, summer is here! June 21st is a day packed with fun bits of information:
Summer is also a time to relax, soak up some sun and fall into a great book. Where is your favorite place to read during the summer? Take a pic and share.   The most asked TWF fan question? Where is book two? Unfortunately, not published - yet. What?!? It's not because I don't have ideas. I have spiral notebooks full of notes and sketches. Idea! I think I will share some of them in my next blog. That will give you a little taste of what's to come. So back to why. It's because of time! I work full time, have family and friends that I love and adore (and we all like to play - a lot), I'm in the midst of selling my house and getting ready for a big blow-out final house-party. Where am I going?. My husband, Tim, and I, are moving into a tiny home. A 30' Airstream trailer to be exact. Why? Reducing the overhead cost of life, reducing the amount of stuff to do, to fix, to maintenance. All of that will lead to more time for me to write. That will be a relief. A pleasure. A joy! In the meantime, thank you for sticking with me and being UBER patient. I see book two in our future. AND once I have book two in hand, I'll be back at the Comic Cons to say hi! Can't wait! L.K. Craig
We had the most wonderful time at this years Phoenix Comic Con! The crowd was delightful, the costumes were fantastic (some of our favs are included below...that's L.K. with Sharknado!), and the book sales blew us away! Our books, plushes and tees on sale for $5.00. This was a price that most could not pass up! Why the sale? This fall we will be publishing book two of the The White Falcon: TALON Series...Allies! We want to pump up the energy and get the first book, Taking Flight, out to as many people as possible. Again, thank you for your support! We can't wait until the next Comic Con!!!! L.K. Craig and Team TWF P.S. If you have not read book one, Taking Flight, click here to purchase!  We are beyond excited!
The White Falcon sat on the wait list and waited and waited (as one does on a wait list)! Finally, we received the treasured email that said, "We have a spot. Would you like to join us?" Heck ya! This is excellent timing because L.K. Craig will release book two of the Talon Series: Allies this fall. She wants everyone to have a chance to read book one, so books and stuff are on sale! You can get all three: a book, plush and t-shirt for just $14.99. So what are you waiting for?!? Buy The White Falcon: Taking Flight so you can meet Gabriel and Rayla, discover why Sir Zachary has a nervous twitch and meet Xavier Baldric and many other creatures you will grow to love. And honestly others you will hate because we all know every great book needs a villain. Muahaha! I hope Santa was good to you this year!
He was super good to me. I was blessed to be surrounded by good drinks, great food, and amazing company! Traditionally, this is the time we look back at the prior year and vow to make the new year better. My look back was easy and obvious...finish book 2 of the TALON Series: Allies. I've let conflicts of time be an excuse and just barely scratched my way into chapter 5. We have all heard of writers block and I've been fortunate, to date, not to have that issue. When I sit down to write the characters come alive and are begging to be revealed. When I'm not writing I'm disciplined and jot down my ideas for Window Worlds or future plot twists. No, my issue is just doing it! When I wrote book one, I was out of work and spent 4+ hours each day - writing and researching. Nothing else. I did not allow other obligations to interrupt my writing time. As a result, I was able to write book one in just a few months. Fast forward to book 2. Now I'm working (thank goodness - even struggling writers need to pay the bills) so my time is more limited. Finite. But that is the same for all of us. Time is finite. We only have 24 hours so this struggle applies to anyone that wants to add a new process into an already busy day: working out, eating better (yes, that takes more time), reading more, etc. BUT if it's important it needs to make the top of your list. It needs to be a BIG rock. I love that visual example (big rocks, pebbles, sand) and have shared it with others - link to follow in a moment. Funny. Even though I know about it and have shared it with others, I could not see the mistake I was making. I let lower priority items crowd out what was important to me - writing. In 2015 I found time to get lost on the internet when I could have been writing. I watched all 8 seasons of Dexter (fantastic by the way) when I could have been writing. I even researched new book ideas when I should have worked on The White Falcon. So my New Years Resolution is to stay focused on my most important items. These are my 2016 big rocks:
What is your New Years Resolution? Share in the comments below. Oh ya! The link to the demonstration about time (skip to :50 to bypass the into). Do you know what your big rocks are? And I love this YouTube video on Will Smith. He built a wall one brick at a time. I will be writing The White Falcon: TALON series one page at a time. What will you do in 2016? Happy New Year! We wish you love, health, and prosperity! L.K. Craig and Team TWF It's that time of year again and our holiday gift package is better and bigger! This holiday season it includes BOTH a t-shirt and plush!! This amazing package is sure to please anyone that loves adventure-fantasy books. For just $19.99 (plus tax and shipping - sorry we wish we could make those go away), you get:
Happy Holidays! L.K. Craig and TWF Team P.S. Sorry this offer has SOLD OUT! But you can still get all three items for $24.99, just visit our online store.  This summer I've used my fun in the sun time to work on book two of the TALON Series: Allies. I am SOOO excited about the about how the book is unfolding that I must share a small preview.
Enjoy! Every Giervalkien witch remembers receiving his or her first invitation to the Verenigin Fields. After turning of age, on the dawn of the first field gathering, an invitation appeared on the witch’s night table. With great anticipation the witch held the newly arrived invitation in his or her hands and waited for the magick to crawl into their heart and search for pure intentions. It started with a warm glow that traveled through their fingertips and hummed in their hands. The warmth slowly crawled up the witch’s arms like tentacles tentatively circling and searching. The warmth left a wake and traveled faster as it swirled around their head, neck and chest. Finally plunging into their heart. If pure intentions were found, the warm glow would course through the witch's veins and the invitation would guide the witch to the fields. If evil or ill will were discovered, the warmth would turn icy cold. Then the invitation would wither away and turn to ash. This process was repeated each time the witches were called to gather in the Verenigin Fields. That morning Angela heard Sadie whoop and holler from her adjoining room. She knew that Sadie had picked up her invitation and received the familiar, warm welcome. But this time Angela was afraid to touch her invitation. While she meant no harm to the witches, she had ill will in her heart. Her husband, Jerund, had been killed in battle almost two years ago, her daughter, Rayla, had jumped through a Witches Window just three months ago, and Angela blamed all of this on Malik. Her heart was empty from her loss and hatred had slipped in to fill the space. Would the invitation misread her intentions? Or would it be compassionate and understand? Angela was unsure and afraid to find out. Sadie bounced into Angela’s room and jumped onto the bed. She brazenly, as any sibling would, leaned over Angela and snatched up the invitation. “No,” Angela said annoyed and turned away. “What are you waiting for?” Sadie questioned and pressed the invitation into Angela’s hands. Warmth spread over her hands and traveled up her arms. While the magick swirled around her head and neck, Angela exhaled. She had forgotten how good this felt. When the glow reached her heart, it paused. Angela’s heart was pounding. Those fleeting seconds felt like a lifetime. What was taking so long? She looked up at her twin, tears filled Angela’s sapphire blue eyes. But Sadie was doing a jig on the bed, unaware of her sister’s angst. Then it happened. The pause ended and the warmth plunged into Angela’s heart. Pure unconditional love coursed through her veins. Sadie saw the shock on Angela’s face. “Of course you get to go,” Sadie said and leaned over to hug Angela. Then whispered in her ear. “No matter how much we hate that shriveled up old beast Malik.” Angela returned the hug. She was blessed to have Sadie in her life. That is a small taste of book two. Let me know what you think by adding a comment below. If you haven't read book one yet...what are you waiting for? Check it out! For the 2014 Christmas season TWF has come up with a Christmas bundle. An autographed softcover copy of The White Falcon: Taking Flight and a Sir Zachary plush all wrapped up and delivered in a festive holiday bag. OR order the Christmas bundle w/T-shirt. Enjoy these specials for just $19.99. Order now! This offer will only be available while supplies last.  Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo is destined to be amazing!
Why? TWF will be having its first ever raffle/drawing! How do you participate?
Future posts will show off all of our new stuff! Until then check out all the fun things happening at the expo this year! Check out Sunday. I'm a HUGE Firefly fan and so excited to see Kaylee on Sunday! Friday at 5:30PM HOT TOPIC MAIN STAGE HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST, PRESENTED BY DISNEY’S BIG HERO 6 Open to all children in costume 12 and under, the Kid’s Costume Contest is a judged event with prizes for the costumes the judges love the most! Registration for the contest begins at 5pm adjacent to the Hot Topic Main Stage. Saturday at 9:00AM HOT TOPIC MAIN STAGE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH STAN LEE, POWERED BY WEEV Get intimate with Stan Lee and learn about all of the new projects he’s working on at POW! Entertainment. Powered by Weev: We will be collecting video questions from fans and guests of Comikaze, some of which will be used in the panel on the big screen! Download the Weev app and ask your question! Participants: Stan Lee, Chris Gore Sunday at 10:30AM HOT TOPIC MAIN STAGE SPOTLIGHT: JEWEL STAITE The Firefly and Stargate star takes the stage! Participants: Jewel Staite Comikaze Expo Programming L.K. Craig and the TWF Team! |
