Hello!

Time for my yearly blog post, eh? I'm really not doing such a good job posting on here, sorry about that! Life has been it's usual busy round of work, teaching dance and writing. Oh, and reading some great books. These are some of the books I've read (or reread) last month that I really enjoyed;

- Changeling by Delia Sherman. Loved this one! Cute, funny, clever, action-packed, great heroine, fun worldbuilding, highly recommended to fans of middle grade fantasy.

- The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Caroline Mackler. A humorous but realistic look at being an overweight teenager in a family of thin, perfect (on the surface) people. Only suitable for older teens, IMO.

- Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede. Also loved this one. Set in an alternate history America, where pioneers on the frontier are kept safe by a magical barrier from the mammoths (!) and flying, winged creatures on the other side :) Eff, the main character, and her family move to the frontier to help her overcome the stigma of being a thirteenth child, which means she is destined to go 'bad.' Told with Wrede's usual verve and style, recommended for upper middle grade to lower YA readers. (And adults who like a good story!).

- Frederica by Georgette Heyer. A regency romance, one of my favorite authors, she has a deft touch with language and characterization. I am in awe of how she draws the loving relationships in Frederica's family.

- Moorish Spain by Richard Fletcher. Research for the latest novel.

Anyway, there were others, but those are the highlights. Currently I'm working on a novel set in alternate 10th century Spain. It was a period of time during which Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in relative peace and harmony, something that fascinates me as we're not able to pull it off today! (See Maria Rose Mencol's non-fiction book The Ornament of the World). Since I write fantasy the three religions have been morphed into three magical structures. My three main characters; Stefano, an apprentice parchment-maker, Abdul, a slave, and Agnes, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, are all slowly being drawn into the political intrigue of the caliph's court while each trying to find their own way in the world. The research on this one is pretty intense, but a lot of fun.

Ghosts & Shadows, the Argentinean ghost fantasy novel, is out shopping around for a home, so all my fingers and toes are crossed.

And that's all that's been going on my world lately. Have a nice weekend!
- Dena

Let me see here...

Just wondering if I post to blog it how it will show up on facebook. This is a test, this is only a test...

No words last night, just thinking about words and percolating while on the elliptical trainer. I do my best thinking in the shower or working out ;) And now I need a little more coffee to hit my brain before doing anything else.

It's off to work with me!
- Dena

Hello all!

If anyone has sent me an email in the past few months my website's email has been down. I apologize! Please resend. And I can't get a hold of the guy who originally set it up to have the problem fixed. So please temporarily use my name separated by a period at lycos dot com (don't you love trying to fool phishers?) :)

In other news...Shadow of an Oak is out there and searching for a home. I am anxiously trying not to either a) annoy my agent by bugging her constantly, or b) obsessively check my phone/email to see if anyone has called about it :) I'm doing okay at a) and failing miserably at b). In the meantime I'm working on a fantasy involving ghosts, desaparecidos in Argentina, and an exchange student. It's 230 pages into it - so dreaded middle of the book - and chugging along.

Just teaching two days a week, and I still love it. I took part of the year off to get married (yeah!) and am back into the swing of things. My new married name is what I'll be using for my adult paranormal fantasy novels, one of which is also searching for a home right now. So, yeah, lots of obsessive checking of email :)

And that's all for now. Other than to say that Haagan Daas raspberry sorbet is my new weakness.

- D

Yes, I know it's been a while. There's been a lot going on, though not a lot publishing-related, I'm afraid.

My latest novel, Shadow of an Oak, is out at publishers right now searching for a home. It's about a teenager, Leonie, who discovers that the children of the old Ojibwe gods and the Norse gods who came with the immigrants in her hometown of Minneapolis are now fighting for control. It has trolls, and magic drums, the world tree, and hockey. What more could you want in a book? :)

While it's been shopping around I've start work on a new book, Sombres y Fantasmas, or Ghosts and Shadows in English. It's about an American exchange student in Argentina who begins seeing the ghosts of the victims of the Dirty War. The research for this novel is eating my brain, though it's fascinating there were a lot of terrible things done during that time period and it's not always light reading.

Books I've enjoyed recently; O.R. Melling's the Faerie Chronicles, City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, and Laurie Mark's Earth Logic and Fire Logic (for adults).

If you've tried to email me through my website my inbox has crashed and I can't get ahold of my web guy to get it back up. Sorry :( Just leave a comment here and I'll respond.

- D

Hello all!

I hope that everyone has been enjoying the cold weather and wind chill of negative 15. Ah, yes, this is why I live in Minnesota. I never have to do my hair because it's always under a hat!

This week is Nutcracker week, where I teach a little about the history of the ballet and have my students act it out. It's a nice break from the usual class, and gives them a chance to express themselves. For those who've asked, I teach at Dance Spectrum in St. Paul on Grand Ave, and I strongly recommend the studio for those who're looking for their children. It's been running for 25 years, and has a very good reputation in the community and a high level of quality instruction (and I'm not just saying that because I teach there, I was very pleased to get the job).

For the holidays, I'm running a promotion for Shapeshifter's Quest. If you'd like a signed copy of the book, you can mail a copy to me and I'll pay the postage to mail it back! Here's a hint; if you buy it on amazon you can have it sent directly to me and pay no postage. A signed book makes a great gift, especially for those of you who know the author, and the book is appropriate for ages 12 and up. Since I'm not going to post my address in a public forum, you'll have to email me through my website (info@denalandon.com) and I'll send the details.

Thanks and have a Happy Holiday season!

- Dena

Last night I had a wine and cheese party for my boyfriend's birthday. Below are a couple of the people who attended. I'm the one all the way on the left.  

It's been a while since I've posted...

After a busy summer, I'm back in the swing of things for the school year. I started my first round of classes last week - Jazz 3&4 and HipHop2 down in Rochester. The sit-ups and push-ups kicked my own patootie! This week I add in teaching at the Rec Centers on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and on the 23rd I start teaching at Dance Spectrum in St. Paul on Saturday's.

Writing has been going well, I had three articles come out in Dance Teacher over the summer; one on problem kids in class, one on welcoming and integrating new students, and another on talking to teens about sensitive issues. I'm working on two other articles for them right now.

The current novel I'm writing is actually for adults, a switch for me. I'm up to 167 pages, and it'll be around 300 by the time it's done. It's a blend of humor, romance and fantasy, which is fun to write, though challenging. In case anyone was wondering, trying to write flirtatious dialogue that isn't totally cheesy is tough! Homefinding is still out at a few publishers, though two have rejected it. And I'm waiting to hear back from my last betareader with comments on Shadow of an Oak before I send it to my agent for his feedback.

And that's all for now -

D