Some Very Knife Things

[rj_anderson]

Some Knife-related news and other lovely things that have cropped up in the past few weeks:

First, the end of February brought me a new LJ friend, who drew this lovely piece of fan art and captured the Knife in my head so perfectly that when I first saw it I cried with happiness. It also came with a beautiful review of the book -- thank you, cirtholien!

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Early in March I learned that Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter has been shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year award. It also made the Ontario Library Association’s Best Bets For Children, which is a list of ten books selected on the basis of their literary/artistic merit, as well as their appeal for children. I'm thrilled and honoured to be on both these lists!

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Then, from March 23-25, Spell Hunter was the first-ever mass market title to be featured on the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour. When I signed up for the tour I wasn't sure how well Knife's story would be received or how many would be interested even in reading it -- but I have to say I was blown away by the number and quality of the reviews and the depth and insight that many of the reviewers brought to the book. Even though a couple of participants had misgivings about the content or felt the story was less meaningful than they'd hoped, they always expressed themselves graciously and there were some terrific discussions in comments. Here are some highlights:

Rebecca LuElla Miller's opening post on why books like Spell Hunter are worthwhile and also her excellent review;

My fellow Blue Boarder Sally Apokedak talking about Weaving in Worldview and how to handle spiritual truth without preaching;

Fred Warren's shrewd, humorous series of posts.

Thanks to all the CSFF bloggers who read Spell Hunter and took the time to post about it!

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And lastly, look at what showed up in my mailbox today! It's the complete and unabridged audio book version of Knife, as read by Emma Parish, from Oakhill Audio in the UK! I can't wait to sit down and give it a proper listen...

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And tomorrow, I look forward to telling you all how much I adored and enjoyed "The Eleventh Hour", also known as the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who. Though I suppose I've just told you what I thought of it already... but rest assured, I have much more rabbiting on to do about the new Doctor, the new companion, and the story than that!

Comments

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

Oh yay! I can especially appreciate the fan art. :) Congrats on the accolades. :)

[tessagratton.livejournal.com]

That fan art is GORGEOUS. Congrats on everything. :D

[sarah-prineas.livejournal.com]

Yay for all the good things!

So did you ever figure out the reader's regional accent?

Here's a funny thing. I was *sure* the audio reader for MT was English, though an odd word here and there should have clued me in sooner. Turns out he's American. But he does all the British social register, which was very cool, I thought.

[newport2newport.livejournal.com]

Fabulous drawing, and I love that so many wonderful things happened during your absence from the internets. Also? I'm glad, very glad, to see you back!

[dawn-metcalf.livejournal.com]

OMG! *dies* How perfect!!

[kerravonsen]

\o/ That is a LOT of win happening! Go you!
And go cirtholien for the lovely fanart.

[shoebox2.livejournal.com]

Excellent stuff, all of it. And yes, that is a gorgeous bit of fanart.

[tinpra.livejournal.com]

That is all truly fantastic news! Congratulations on the nominations. I'm looking forward to seeing the posts about your wins :D

[lydaclunas.livejournal.com]

I love love love the fanart -- I agree, it's kind of perfect!

And I am glad you have returned! (I'm one to talk, since I haven't updated LJ in like 2 months. Heh.)

[infiniteviking]

That art is gorgeous. :D The WINGS... eeeee! cirtholien is amazing!

Congratulations on being shortlisted and all those positive reviews! And on the audiobook! And I'm looking forward to your Eleventh Hour thoughts Very Much. ^_____^

[fandoria.livejournal.com]

Ooh what exciting news! And that fan art is just gorgeous.

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Somehow, that audiobook looks very enticing. The art is nice, too.

(Mary, who is wondering when we will get #11 in the U.S., and plans to avoid spoilers addiduously!)

[haworth-attard.livejournal.com]

I'm late with my replies, but congratulations! When you read from it in Bayfield, I knew it was going to be a good seller.
My best,
Barb

[scarvenartist.livejournal.com]

*turns pink*

Congrats on all of the recent awesomeness! I loved reading the CSFF reviews - particularly appreciated Sally Apokedak's comments on the role of the Christian in relation to art, and how that comes through in the book. And gaaaah, audiobook. WANT.

(Also, I'm so happy to hear you've finished the draft of Arrow - I hope revisions go swimmingly!)

[ekjohnston.livejournal.com]

You're from Stratford?

*friends*

[rat-icefen.livejournal.com]

I loved Knife and only just finished Rebel which was just as good maybe better. I really liked the fan art of knife, it's very good, thumbs up to the artist and of course the author who wrote such wonderful books.

Knife

[(Anonymous)]

I love Knife! It is my favorite book! I spent my Sunday locked up in my room reading it (much to grandmothers and friends annoyance although, one of them was very proud of me because I never read....). I even woke at 5 am on Monday and decided to read Rebel for two hours until my alarm went off because I was almost finished. I have been nagging all my friends to read it and have gave in! Yay! Can't wait for Arrow! :D