Today my second novel, THE MAGICAL MISADVENTURES OF PRUNELLA BOGTHISTLE, went out into the world. Yay!

It’s been a challenging journey — this book gave me a lot of ups and downs. Like Prunella herself, it was prickly and hard to get to know at first. I actually wrote an entire draft from the point of view of the secondary character, Barnaby, with an entirely different plot, only to toss it and start over. But (also like Prunella) it was also an incredibly fun book to write, once I got to know it better and understood its true heart. Plus, it gave me an excuse to write about all sorts of neat things: giant alligators, mist-veiled bogs, brightly-painted steamboats, ancient curses, lost grimoires, spectral stallions, lonely ghosts, blind artists, loyal bloodhounds, pumpkin-headed jacks, magical masks, and monocle-wearing villains.

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to write this book, and I hope you all will enjoy it!

As usual, I encourage you to buy books from your local independent bookseller, if you are fortunate enough to have a good one nearby. If you want to order online, I recommend Powells!

I also highly encourage readers to check out their local library! You can request that your local branch order a copy if they don’t have it, or you may be able to get a copy via interlibrary loan.

And if you do read it and enjoy it, I’d be tremendously grateful if you posted a review on Amazon, B&N, Borders, Goodreads, etc. Word of mouth is what keeps books alive!

To celebrate release day, I’m wearing my Wicked the Musical T-shirt, since Elphaba is another fantastic prickly-but-good witch (Prunella would doubtless admire her greatly, especially her intelligence and her lovely green skin). I also made pistachio cupcakes (aka purple-spotted toadstools).

My webguru Lauren has given my website a sparkly new makeover in honor of the occasion. I love the new starry nebula header! There may be a few bugs lurking so if you happen to find any broken links, I’d be grateful to know about them.

I’ve added an excerpts of PRUNELLA and a sneak peek at my forthcoming 2011 scifi adventure CIRCUS GALACTICUS. Hope you enjoy them!

There are a whole lot of other great books coming out into the world right now. Here’s a bit about three of them I recommend!

I am honored to be sharing my release date with PERCHANCE TO DREAM, second in the Théâtre Illuminata trilogy by Lisa Mantchev. If you like clever dialog, luscious prose, hilarious fairies and/or theatrical hijinks check this series out! Congrats Lisa and Bertie!

Here’s me eating one of my bogcakes and enjoying my advanced copy of PtD:

And I’ve heard copies of SISTERS RED by Jackson Pearce are out on shelves now too — if you like wonderfully drawn and intense character relations, snappy prose, and a heaping of shivery romance (and don’t mind some gruesome bits — it’s a book about werewolf hunters, after all) then keep an eye out for that too!

And finally, today is also the release date for FOUND the third book in Sarah Prineas’s Magic Thief series. I have enjoyed the first two very much and am eager to get my hinds on a copy of the third. If you enjoy excellent characterization, thieves, dragons and magic, you should give this series a try!

Tags: prunella bogthistle