April 10th: My birthday and Goodreads Giveaway (Please read)

My Goodreads Giveaways for the USA and Canada end on April 10th, my birthday!

As of today, the 8th (which was when I went into labour with my son a year ago; he was born on the 9th though!) there are 316 Americans in the USA Giveaway, and 104 Canadians in the CA one.

I want to thank ALL of you for entering the giveaways. I'm sorry I couldn't give more, BUT if you go to my Facebook page and 'Like' it, I will be giving away some e-books for my birthday on Thursday (after the winners are chosen for the Goodreads giveaway--I'm not sure if they pick the winners in the morning or what).

If you have not won either giveaways, I encourage you to buy a paperback. It is also available in hardcover, and e-book for Kindle as well as all the other e-readers. You can find the links on my website.

Again, THANK YOU, and I hope you enjoy!


Katie Thornton-K

Celebrate the Spring Equinox! Bloodline and Red Dragon 1.99 on Smashwords!

To CELEBRATE the Spring Equinox you can buy Bloodline as a e-book for any e-reader here  for just 1.99! The sequel, Red Dragon, was released just a couple weeks ago, and is also 1.99!

Character Concept.

Character concept of me, done by Jaki Martinez

Jaki Martinez is one of the artists who did my book covers. She was doing character concepts, and so I commissioned one. This is absolutely fantastic!

Artists who did my covers.

I had the great pleasure of 'meeting' Jaki Martinez in a Facebook group devoted to a certain series of books that we both love. I had tried making my own cover, and had showed it to the group to get opinions. She contacted me and told me that she and her boyfriend, Mike, could make me a cover. Since they were recent art grads they could do it for marginally cheaper than other artists. They did some concept sketches for me, and needless to say I was blown away with what they had.

Concept drawing of Braelyn

So, I hired them. They kept me up-to-date on where they were, which was pretty exciting for me. Finally they showed me this:

Front cover

The whole background for the cover

I was astounded. Speechless. It was EVERYTHING I wanted. So when it came time for the second book, I went back to them.

Part of the cover for the second book.

Again, they astounded me. These two young artists were wonderful! And you know what? It was their first time doing a book cover when I hired them.

Back cover for the third book

Front cover for the third book

Here are the links to their portfolios:

Jaki Martinez

Mike Fertig

I highly recommend these two. They were fantastic to work with, and super nice. If you hire them, tell them I did so :) You can find them on Facebook too!

Cheers, 

Katie

Some more about me :)

This is my sweet son Daniel, who is just over 10 months.

When I tell people that I'm a published author and I'm working on more books in the series, and then go on to say that I have a 10 month old, they always act surprised. How can I be a mother and a writer at the same time? Well let me tell you, it can be difficult. Since he started crawling I can only write while he's napping; and now that he's walking I can't do ANYTHING on the computer because it's too distracting and he could get into something. Sometimes I can do a little bit of writing while he's up, but that's rare. Weekends are when I get the most work done because my husband is home and he can look after Daniel.

Our dog Kara and cat Orion.

We got Kara a few weeks ago. She's now around 13 weeks old. Her mother was a chocolate lab and we think the father was a border collie. She is FULL of energy and is very lovable. Our cat Orion we have had since he was born pretty much--he is almost 2! Daniel likes chasing Orion around, pulling his tail, and using him as a pillow.

This is my bookshelf in real life. All of these books (and more) are on my virtual bookshelf on my website.

I love reading. SO much. I'm the kind of person who, if it's a fantastic book, will get so lost in the book that if you try to talk to me I will not be able to hear you. I read The Fellowship of the Ring in three days. If it's a great book I will shut myself away some place comfy, have some snacks, a drink, and read, read, read. I'll only stop to relieve myself and then I'm right back at the book!
I don't know if you can see it, but there's a kukri blade on the top shelf. It was the inspiration for Braelyn's sword in the first book of The Bloodline Saga.

This is my husband, son and I back last fall.

I love my little family. My husband is so supportive of my writing, even if he's not a big reader himself. He still wants me to get another job though. I like being a stay-at-home mom and a writer!

This creepy look tree is in the bush behind my parents' farm. Doesn't it look neat?

I spent a lot of time as a child running amok in this bush. I got a lot of inspiration from it. I love nature. I also love growing trees. Oak trees are my favourite ones to grow. Such a tall, mighty and majestic tree from a little acorn! One of my characters, Tessa Oak, was created because of my love of trees and my love of Greek mythology. If you read my books, you'll understand ;)


Cheers!!

Katie

Settling in.

My husband, son and I recently moved out of my parent's place, the farm I grew up on. We're only five minutes away from them, but I miss waking up in the morning and looking out over the farm. In the summers it was very beautiful, with the smell of the growing corn and the smell of the farm itself. That farm was where my imagination flourished. Where I had my adventures running around the neighbours bush and playing on hay wagons.
I have my mother to thank for my love of reading. She taught me to read before I entered kindergarten, and I was an advanced reader. I started writing when I was 12 or 13--it's been 10 years, and I am still loving it.
Tolkien had a huge impact on me, as did Tamora Pierce. I love Fantasy, magic, and dragons. I love strong female characters, and that is what I write in my books. Yes they still find love, but they can take care of themselves.

Each of my heroines have a part of me in them. I value friendship above a lot of things, I crave adventure, I love animals, and I'm a romantic. Things in my past have changed me, made me stronger. A lot has happened in my short life. I'm twenty-three. I have been to Scotland, I have travelled across Canada (on a family trip). I want to see more of the world some day, but it'll have to wait until my son (and any other children I have) have grown.
Since I was young, I have wanted to do two things: be an archaeologist, and an author. I went to university to be an archaeologist. I spent two years there, and then I came home to try to pay off my student debt. Life happened and I met my husband. Our son is 10 months old now, and he's walking. I am so proud.
I have published one book so far. The sequel will be out soon. I am so proud of my book too! People are actually showing interest in it! I hope I don't let any of my readers down. I wrote what I would like to read, and I know others enjoy the same genre.

I think I went off on a tangent there. We're still settling in to our new place, with a new puppy to keep us even more occupied. At least the cat and the puppy are getting along. I'm a bit behind on my writing (thanks to Netflix) but hopefully soon I'll catch up.

Thank you everyone!!

Katie

Reviews and give aways!

2014 has begun off pretty crazy for me! After being sick numerous times and nursing a sick 9 month old, I got back into the swing of things. In January I started to revise Bloodline, and turned it into two separate novels, Bloodline (book I) and Red Dragon (book II). A good friend of mine, who was also a former English teacher of mine, edited Bloodline for me and wrote an absolutely wonderful review for me.
'"Braelyn stood there in shock as Yuri fell down to the ground choking on his own blood. She wondered at there being so much blood left after the amount that came from the stub of his arm, but then again she knew that the amount of blood pouring from her own wounds was significant." 
A book about courage, overcoming adversity and tragedy, and rising above, Bloodline is the first in the Bloodline Saga, by writer Katie Thornton-K. With strong character development, significant detail, and outstanding plot development, we, as readers, find ourselves rooting on main character Braelyn Ira’Aed as she disposes of one of her pirate captors, defeats many contenders in the gladiator ring to earn her freedom, and, finally, fulfills her destiny. This is a must-read for not only fantasy readers but all who read for the love of getting lost in a book. Bloodline will have you asking for more from talented new writer Thornton-K.'

I cannot even begin to express just how wonderful that made me feel. This woman, Shannon Mercer, taught my Grade 12 University level English class. She is a mother as I am, and she works for CKNX radio (am920). Now, she normally doesn't read fantasy, but to have her say that she thoroughly enjoyed my writing and thought that I was very talented...I started tearing up. That could be the hormones, but I was so incredibly happy to hear that from someone I have looked up to for years. Thank you Mrs. Mercer, for everything! Soon I will be doing an interview with her, so stay posted!

Currently the first instalment of The Bloodline Saga, Bloodline, is available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook. Check out my website for more details! The second book in the series will hopefully be out at the end of February. I am currently not only writing the third book, but a novella for the series that takes place after the events of Bloodline and before Red Dragon. 

My little family and I have finally moved into our own place (after living with my parents for the past year), so I may be a little off kilter for a bit while we unpack and completely settle in. We also got a puppy, which is just like having a newborn baby again, so I'm a wee bit overtired again. At least with my ten-month-old I get semi-good sleep, but with the puppy whining...

Anyways, I just did a give away on my Facebook page of 4 books. There is another give away on Goodreads currently that lasts until March 4th, 2014, for Canadians. So far the amount of people who have requested it has been surprising but it made my day. The winners of the give away on Facebook were also extremely ecstatic about it. I thank you all for being so wonderful, and I hope I do not let you all down!

In other news, my almost 10-month-old son walked several feet by himself today!

Cheers!

Katie Thornton-K.