R. F. Long

(Yes, I’m late. Why does this surprise you?)

Well, it’s been quite a year. Let’s see if I can sum it up… er…

In January The Wolf’s Mate came out as an ebook, the novella tracking the further adventures of Jeren and Shan from The Wolf’s Sister sporting a gorgeous cover from Natalie Winters.

In February I finished the first draft of The Wolf’s Destiny.

March brought the Pheonix Convention or Pcon which is always awesome fun.

April and the awesome news that May Queen had sold to Dial Books for Young Readers. OMG the stress and excitement.  Then there was a blurr of contracts, rewrites, and a variety of things I’d never imagined.

In May Soul Fire came out in print. I was so busy I almost missed it. Poor neglected book. Paranormal Romance with sexy sidhe should never be neglected. If you missed it, you might like to go and look now. It also has a magnificent cover. I’ll wait.

Spent most of the summer writing Graffiti Angel and editing The Wolf’s Destiny. In July I went to the RNA conference in Greenwich which was incredibly fun! And just a bit glam!

Sad news reached me in August that my wonderful super-agent Colleen Lindsay was giving up agenting but luck was with me and the equally fantastic Suzie Townsend won the wrestling took me on and things have been going swimmingly since then. And I can still have random chats with Colleen about Dr. Who and mad cats whenever!

September… I think I lost September somewhere. Checked down the back of the sofa but no joy.

October means Octocon. George R. R. Martin was Guest of Honour. Met so many wonderful people! <3 to you all. I was also a Geek of the Week.  At the end of October we went to Ashford Castle for a Harry Potter night. It was awesome!

November was Wexworlds which was a winter wonderland edition as all the snow in the world decided to fall on Wexford that weekend. We met, among others, Eoin Colfer which made my son’s decade (a feat as he’s not quite a decade old)! It also brought rewrites on May Queen which are now all done.

December brought Songs of the Wolf to print, The Wolf’s Sister and The Wolf’s Mate collected together for the first time with another lovely Natalie Winters cover. My first and latest Samhain novella together. Pretty! And a freakin’ unbelievable amount of snow! I mostly hibernated. This also meant I got the second round of edits on May Queen finished early (Yay me!) and sent them back.

So what next? Well, we’ll have to see what 2011 brings. I’m off to Rome for a libraryland conference this week – will be sure to bring back photos. Many many photos. And tonnes of inspiration. I’ve started working on Forest King, the sequel to May Queen, and a number of other things (of course). Looking forward to the Pen dinner in February and PCon in March – anywhere writers gather really. RNA conference is in Caerleon this summer and as plans stand I’m definitely going. It’s only a ferry ride away. Ok, a ferry ride and a drive/train, but close enough. And this is the year we will knock May Queen into its final shape.

It’s shaping up to be an exciting year. Can’t wait.

Very soon.

On December the 7th to be precise…

Songs of the Wolf

the print edition containing both The Wolf’s Sister and The Wolf’s Mate, previously only available as ebooks, the first two Tales of the Holtlands – details and book trailers here

A love transcending race and culture…a love worth a fight to the death.

Read an excerpt here.

To celebrate I will be doing a giveaway next week starting on release day.

Don’t miss it.

ISBN: 978-1605049205

Pre-order Songs of the Wolf from BookDepository, Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

(Actually this really snuck up on me. I hadn’t realised November would go by so quickly. So yay! And Eek! And Yay!)

mainly powered by a hurricane and winter storms no less…

Here are a few bits of excitingness to keep us all going before December:-

–

WEXWORLDS // Sci Fi and Fantasy Fiction Festival 2010 // November 26th – 28th, 2010 // Wexford Town, Ireland

the Schedule is now available to download in .pdf format.

I’m hoping to get down on Saturday, but will definitely be there on Sunday as I have a couple of panels to be on.

12.00-12.50 Whites Hotel FREE

Current Sci-Fi TV Join Andrew Donkin with John Vaughan, Michael Carroll, Ruth Long, Peadar O’Gullinand C.E. Murphy as they discuss Dr. Who, Fringe, New V, Torchwood, Walking Dead and other popular programmes.

and

14.00-14.50 Whites Hotel FREE

Myth and Folklore in modern fiction – Join Herbie Brennan, C.E. Murphy, Oisín McGann, Maura McHugh and Ruth Long. Eminent authors discuss the uses and popularity of themes in Fantasy.

I’m also really looking forward to this:-

15.00 Alien 8 FREE

Grand opening of Alien 8 by Eoin Colfer – Join a vast selection of authors, who will happily sign your books among the many activities planned to celebrate the opening of this new Science Fiction Shop located in Selskar Square, Wexford.

Bookshops good! Free events wonderful!

There are also workshops (Lego! Rockets! Magic Swords!!!) which look amazing and all they’re asking for them is a fiver! What are you waiting for?

–

And speaking of December… only 26 days to go until …

SONGS OF THE WOLF comes out on 7th December 2010 and is available for preorder on BookDepository, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com and others. SONGS contains the two Holtlands novellas THE WOLF’S SISTER and THE WOLF’S MATE, previously only available in ebook format.

Reviews:

Better late than never in so many ways. First of all it has taken me all week to get around to posting this. Secondly WHY have I not been going to this coference for years???

I am, as with most writers, not the most extroverted of individuals. Never really had been, although I can do a good impression when I need to. I was determined to make it to my first RNA conference this year and I am so glad that I did. Had a bit of a stressy trip out to the airport between a late bus and heavy traffic, and a bit of a stressy time at the drop-off-your-bags points when I found a large group of Japanese tourists had arrived just before me and proceeded to re-pack their luggage in the queue! But Air France/City Jet were wonderful and the flight itself was a dream. When the air hostess asked if I wanted a drink I had a budget airline flashback and just asked for water, only to realise too late they were giving out wine as well. And sandwiches. And boiled sweets for take off (a trip back to childhood). And chocolates just before landing.

I should warn you, food will probably be a theme of this post.

The DLR was also wonderful and in no time at all I arrived at our accomodation in Greenwich. Yes, it was like being a student again. There was a party going on as I arrived and my lovely flatmates were drinking wine out of plastic cups. That didn’t stop the hugs and warm greetings.

Another theme of this post will be the friendliness and fun-filled nature of everyone I met at the conference. I couldn’t have asked for a better gang to hang around with than the ladies of flat 20, but everywhere we went people chatted, exchanged ideas, joked and generally had a wonderful time.

Read more…

I’m having a very happy Star Wars day (May the 4th, geddit??? ) as my paranormal romance Soul Fire comes out in print today. The author copies are sooooo pretty!

Currently its up on MyBookstore and More, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. I’ll add other sites as they pop up on my radar. In the meantime, here are the details.

“Soul Fire” from Samhain Publishing

“No question about it, Soul Fire is monumentally thrilling and exotic. I couldn’t put the book down. A rare treat for me, I devoured this story from beginning to end in one sitting and I want more! … An out of this world paranormal romance/fantasy story that will have readers clamoring for more, Soul Fire is one hot read I will be recommending to all of my friends.” — Amanda Haffery, ParaNormalRomance

“In Soul Fire, R. F. Long has created an intriguing world of light and dark magic. Of intense action and hot love. From the opening scene, she drew me in. Captivated me. She’s taken an age old tale of good versus evil and has freshened it up with unique characters … I recommend R. F. Long’s Soul Fire. It made me smile and love and not want to put the book down.” - Sandra Barkevich, Romantic Inks (read the full review here)

“a great fast read, like a snowball rolling and constantly gaining momentum.” - Natalie, IReadRomance.com

“Let me start by saying “wow!”…R.F. Long has the amazing ability to drag her readers into the story and carry them along for the ride. The characters were unique and out of this world, yet they seemed like someone you could get along with and have fun with… If you want to read something mind-blowing and incredible then I would recommend you read this story.” ~~ Tulip, Whipped Cream Erotic Romance Reviews, 5 Cherries

Iron born and iron bred.

Trust not iron, it will see you dead.

Rowan Blake could really use a magic wand to keep her struggling art gallery afloat. But the faerie key she stumbles across is far from a lucky charm. It’s a magnet for danger, and by touching it she’s unwittingly put herself in the middle of a war between the forces of light and dark. And in the arms of its rightful owner, Prince Daire.

While searching for his brother, Daire finds himself trapped in the Iron World with a mere mortal woman who ignites his passion like no other. Each stolen kiss deepens their attraction and sends him spiraling closer and closer to the edge of his inherent dark desires. Desires that act as a homing beacon for the Dark Sidhe, who are intent on forcing him to fight on their side.

The longer he lingers in her arms—and in her bed—the closer his enemies get to her door. And the greater the risk that the gateway to the Faerie Realm will shift, destroying not only his power to protect her, but his very life.

Warning: Contains enchantments, danger, some very scary monsters, a trip to the dark side and hot, soul-transforming sex with an immortal prince.

Read An Excerpt Online

Buy from MBaM!, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Thanks to Wyvernfriend for the tip off we went into Dublin today and found…

*drumroll*

a copy of The Scroll Thief in Waterstones!

Soooooooo exciting as it’s the first time I’ve seen it in the wild! Great was the squeeing (from me and from the family). We talked to the staff, and signed the book. And jumped up and down some more.

In other news, I’m guestblogging today at the Mad Genius Club on Myths – Old and New. Please stop by and make me look popular!!!

And just a mini reminder… Soul Fire comes out in print on Tuesday. Yay!

A while ago (I think) I mentioned that The Wolf’s Sister and The Wolf’s Mate would be brought out as a single print volume. The good news is that I have the cover and here it is. It will be called…

Songs of the Wolf

will be out on the 7th December 2010

and is up for pre-order on Amazon.com (Amazon.co.uk).

Irish writer Ruth F. Long’s contemporary YA fantasy MAY QUEEN, a darkly engaging mix of romance, adventure, fairytale, and folklore, about a teenage girl thrust into a faerie world where nothing is what it seems, no one is who they say, trust is a variable commodity, love can be used against her, and where the veil slowly lifts until she finds herself faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice—and not just her own, to Jessica Garrison at Dial Books for Young Readers, in a preempt, by Colleen Lindsay at FinePrint Literary Management (World).

– from The Swivet (and Publishers Marketplace)

So exciting. Unfortunately I’ve been a bit ill this week but working away on rewrites and doing some family history research as well – sick librarian cannot leave well enough alone… ever… Relax? What does that mean?

Back to work tomorrow. The headache is still lurking, but mostly gone. Planning to have a bath later on and try to soak some stress away.

As the news broke last night, I can finally share!

My wonderful agent Colleen Lindsay has sold my YA fantasy MAY QUEEN to Jessica Garrison at Dial Books for Young Readers. I am naturally calloo-callaying all over the place and have been DYING to share the news.

So this is me shouting it from the rooftops now!

And celebrating with the awesome Sir Christopher Lee reading one of my favourite poems – Jabberwocky.

In a strange way, its kind of harder to realise that rather than complete strangers, people you know, people with whom you interact, people whose opinions you can’t just shrug off with a “well it wasn’t their thing”, are reading my book. It’s brilliant but also somewhat terrifying.

Bogwitch (bogwitch64) posted her review of The Scroll Thief on Livejournal (and I now love her a lil’bit more!)

In other news, The Scroll Thief got an honourable mention in the LRC Best Fantasy of 2009 poll so thanks so much for the votes!

And other than that, things are ticking over. I’m working on the new WIP and its twisting arond on itself to create new and wonderful idea…