Jodi L. Milner is a writer, mandala enthusiast, and educator. Her epic fantasy novel, Stonebearer’s Betrayal, was published in November 2018 and rereleased in Jan 2020. She has been published in several anthologies. When not writing, she can be found folding children and feeding the laundry, occasionally in that order.
Back in October 2019, the ebook of Stonebearer’s Betrayal was removed from Amazon and hasn’t been available. While it was gone, the Stonebearer Saga brand underwent a huge renovation to renew and refresh its image in the marketplace. The biggest part of this was commissioning a fresh new cover that better represented my vision of the book.
Have I been crazy excited about this? Absolutely.
The story still revolves around Katira’s experience as she learns the truth about the magic which exists in both her world and her family, a truth which has been hidden from her.
Here’s the new back cover blurb:
Forbidden magic compelled Katira to live a lie, but learning the truth is far more dangerous than she ever dreamed.
When an innocent hunting trip turns into an attack, Katira’s world fractures. Her humble parents are actually legendary Stonebearers – immortal, powerful beings tasked with protecting the human world from creatures of the mirror realm.
Those cracks widen and shatter apart when the Archdemoness, Wrothe, escapes from her timeless prison and snatches Katira away, intending to use her as bait to destroy not only her family line, but the entire Stonebearer Society.
If Katira is to be made whole again, she must learn to trust the young stranger who’s trying to save her while finding the strength to accept not only her parents’ power, but her own.
No. I’m not writing a goals post. I refuse. Not even the most persuasive chocolate bearing sweet-talker can talk me into one. So there. Ha.
Why? No one wants to read a goals post. Yes, I totally have a few (hundred) goals that I’m making plans to make happen, but waxing all poetic about it all over the blog feels, well, pretentious.
That – and of the hoard of goals I put into writing, I’ll probably completely forget about 70% of them before January ends. It took forty years to figure out that when it comes to personal goals, I tend to go a little crazy – and I can’t handle crazy right now.
I really liked the idea of power words, but the idea faded out after the first few months. I still have two words posted here at my desk and I wouldn’t be able to tell you what they were. Note to self – don’t pick nine power words. Instead of digging deep into one idea, I was all over the place with a constantly shifting focus. It was an interesting experiment and if I did it again, I would approach it differently.
As a family, 2019 was busy. With all the kids in school but none of them driving, it means lots of being a mom taxi for me. We traveled quite a bit in our travel trailer, including heading down to the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. Currently, the kids love video games, board games, and exploring new places.
At the beginning of 2019 I’d just barely survived putting my first book into the world and was already on the edge of a significant burnout. Most of January of 2019 consisted of 6-8 hour days contacting reviewers and learning how to best market a new product, all while being a mom to young kids and also maintaining a home. What made me more tired than anything was not knowing what needed to be done and and trying to do all the things anyway. I’ve learned a lot this year and going forward I have a better plan for future releases.
Which leads me to my most significant moment of 2019, the decision to request back my rights to my first book back and create my own publishing label – Stone Orchid Press. This was not a decision I entered into lightly. I agonized for months over the pros and cons of staying with traditional publishing vs taking up the banner on my own. In the end, the flexibility of setting my own deadlines combined with having more control over the quality of the finished project and the production schedule helped me make my decision.
Going into 2020
My big focus for 2020 will be to find balance between my career as an author, taking care of myself, caring for my family, and keeping the household in order. As we left 2019, I worked actively to find a way to handle my schedule in such a way that I could do all four things in a very intentional way.
My big kick off announcement for 2020 is the rerelease of Stonebearer’s Betrayal in preparation for the release of the sequel novel, Stonebearer’s Apprentice, coming later in the Spring.
The best part of having authors for friends is that you always are the first to know when the best books are coming out. Haley and I have enjoyed each other’s company as we attend local writing events and she was awesome in helping me with my cover reveal last week.
I’m excited to announce the release of Haley Cavanagh’s latest book, Retaliation, the second book in her Oceanstone Initiative series.
Retaliation
The Oceanstone Initiative #2
by Haley Cavanagh
Genre: SciFi Romance
Publisher: Covey Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: December 27, 2019
One doctor, one alien lover, one botanist, and one engineer on a desperate mission to save earth from human destruction.
Sakota saved Astraeus and her friends from certain death, but in doing so, she gained the attention of the Oreck, who will stop at nothing to destroy everything in their path.
With their ship severely damaged, Sakota and her crew land on a nearby planet and seek sanctuary while they make repairs to return home. But nothing on this perfect planet is as it appears, and Sakota soon learns they’ve traded one danger for another.
Hunted and targeted, will Sakota be able to carry out her mission, or will everyone she cares about be destroyed?
One pre-apocalyptic Earth. One desperate space mission to find a solution. One unexpected alien.
When Dr. Sakota Thorell signed onto the mission to scout out a new, habitable planet, she knew discovering extraterrestrial life was always a possibility. But she never expected to find an alien adrift in space, nor for that alien to be so intriguing. Sakota feels an instant and undeniable attraction to Astraeus, but he represents a million possibilities, and just as many threats.
There are others hunting Astraeus, and his rescue may cost Earth its last hope.
Haley Cavanagh is a military veteran, wife, and mother. She is an alumna of Columbia College, a musical theater nut, and she loves to dive into any book that crosses her path. Haley resides with her family in the United States and enjoys spending time with her husband and children when she’s not writing. She loves to hear from her readers, and encourages you to contact her via her website and social media.
Just in time for the new year, Stonebearer’s Betrayal has undergone a massive face lift. This new cover captures not only Katira’s story in a new and powerful way, but also represents my growth as an author and my decision to become an independent publisher of my own works.
First, a huge thanks are in order to Fiona Jayde Media for transforming my ideas and thoughts into an image that represents everything I originally hoped the story to be. I loved working with her, and I’m looking forward to crafting covers for the rest of the books in the Shadow Barrier trilogy with her.
You’re probably wondering why I wanted to update my cover. It’s a long and complicated story that has everything to do with my writing goals and what needed to happen to bring them about. Long story short, after receiving a year of thoughtful feedback from people in the industry I trust, I knew a change was needed. Don’t get me wrong, the first cover was dramatic and moody and dark – which does represents some of the elements of the story . However, it didn’t capture Katira’s youth or insecurity and as she is the focus of the story, I wanted the picture to do that part justice.
A jaw dropping design by the talented Fiona Jayde.
The new cover shows Katira as a younger and far more feminine character. She holds the knife that Elan gave her in the beginning of the book and is encircled by magic symbolizing her plunge into the magical world. If you look closely, there are lightning-like lines skirting the outside of the image to represent the marks mature Stonebearers develop on their skin after years of working with the power. In the background are crumbling ruins, representing the Khanrosh where Regulus initially releases the demoness Wrothe and where the story’s climax takes place.
On January 2nd, the fresh new ebook and paperback of Stonebearer’s Betrayal, the first novel in the Shadow Barrier trilogy, will officially hit the shelves and be available for purchase once again.
Also coming soon, book two in the Shadow Barrier trilogy, Stonebearer’s Apprentice – hitting the shelves of online retailers on March 19th.
Want to be notified the second my books are available on Amazon? Be sure to follow me over there, it’s super easy and they will let you know whenever something new is available!
Would you look at that! I actually made it to a movie while it was still in the theaters. As a Christmas treat, my family went to see Frozen 2. I think I was probably more excited about it than my kids. I LOVED everything about Frozen and had high hopes for the sequel.
The story
At the end of Frozen, Anna and Elsa have finally rebuilt their relationship as loving sisters and have overcome Elsa’s fear of her unique magic. In the process, they also showed Hans that true love is far more powerful than greed. It was a wonderfully well-balanced story that rocked between humor and powerful moments of self-realization.
Frozen 2 picks up a few years later. We kick off the story with a prologue showing Anna and Elsa as adorable little girls. The King tells them a bedtime story about how the elemental spirits were angered and formed a magical barrier locking everyone out of the Enchanted Forest. Yes, it’s literally called that. Using a prologue like this is important, because it makes it feel like this new story line always existed, even before the success of Frozen 1.
What would have been more effective is if they managed to make some cryptic mention of the mist-shrouded Enchanted Forest in the first movie, but I digress.
Fast forward to several years after the events of Frozen 1 and we see Anna, Elsa, Cristoff, and Olaf generally enjoying life as grownups. Elsa starts hearing a magical call that no one else can hear. After repeated attempts to ignore it, she bursts out into the song intended to be this film’s version of “Let it Go.” It even happens at the same point in the film. For my writer friends, this is the inciting incident. The whole movie is very literally textbook Hero’s Journey, if you keep track of things like that.
I don’t do spoilers, so let the vagueness begin.
Elsa is determined to find out where the call is coming from so she sets out on a quest. Anna insists on coming. Ever since the whole frozen heart incident, she’s pretty dead set on staying by Elsa’s side – forever. (see what I did there?) They set off with Cristoff and Olaf and by the virtue of Elsa’s powers are able to get through the mist.
One revelation follows another until we reach an epic showdown where both Anna and Elsa are in very real mortal danger. To survive, they must resolve a conflict that started years before either of them were born, the heart of the problem behind the formation of the mist.
My Review
There was so much potential for this movie to be amazing . When it came to beautiful animation, stunning settings, and engaging characters, this film truly did have all the elements of what could have been an amazing experience. However, there was so much crammed in there, that the movie ended up falling flat for me. It was simply trying too hard.
For me, the complexity killed it. Not only do we have a much larger cast, but also two distinct cultures in addition to the people of Arendelle. We meet the people to the north which are the equivalent to an indigenous tribe and the elemental powers belonging to a mysterious magical island isolated in the North Sea. Even as a seasoned storyist, I struggled to remember who was doing what and why.
There’s also a whole lot of more mature angst. Olaf has this running gag about what it must be like to be old and mature because he’s figuratively still only a few years old. He sings a song about it, surprise. Cristoff is trying to propose to Anna and failing over and over, and he sings a song about it as well. Yep, that’s the one you’ve probably heard about, the 80s rock ballad. Anna and Elsa struggle with the death of their parents and trying to protect each other and Arendelle, and both sing a lot about it. And then there’s the angst of all the secondary characters as well. Like I said. Complex.
Does all this angst get resolved? Come on, this is Disney. Of course it does. Are the solutions ingenious and surprising, but still make sense? I’ll give that a solid 60%. They hint at the solution hoards of times so when it happens it’s like, duh.
In Frozen 1, the themes were “love conquers fear” with a splash of “follow your heart.” In Frozen 2, they beat you over the head with the theme as “take the next right step.” It’s not as compelling to say the least.
My Recommendations
I would recommend this movie to those who fell in love with the characters of the original movie and are happy to just see them again. They’ve grown up, developed their personalities and interests, and have become more complex and interesting people. Those who love folklore and magical origins and lots of familial angst, this movie will definitely scratch that itch is well.
Honestly, it’s not a bad movie. It just doesn’t have the same kind of punch as the first. But I would warn those who were hoping for a similar mind-blowing powerful experience as the first movie, that you might be disappointed. They tried to shoehorn in so much that it felt forced and even, dare I say, gimmicky.
I rate Frozen II 3 out of 5 stars
Psst! It’s cover reveal week for the rerelease of Stonebearer’s Betrayal – here’s a sneak peek! Launch day is January 2nd, and preorders will open soon!
Quite possibly the best Christmas present ever. Too bad it hits the digital shelves Jan 2…
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All images are used here under Fair Use for discussion, review, and educational commentary. They belong to their respective copyright owners.
This year I’ve developed a strange fascination with fountain pens. At the beginning of the year I taught a class with the Salt Lake Genre Writers, a chapter of the League of Utah Writers, and my friend there had this gorgeous pen. They told me all about how much they loved using it and all the different people in the League who were also pen aficionados. That idea of having a gorgeous pocket-sized piece of functional art stuck in my brain.
Years before, when I had been enamored with illuminated manuscripts and calligraphy, I received a very basic fountain pen set as a gift. I didn’t do much with it then as I was much more interested in the pens specifically used in calligraphy. Fast forward to a few months ago when I finally dug that old set out, cleaned out the old crusty ink, found a few cartridges that hadn’t dried out, and gave it a try.
There’s a reason fountain pens have stood the test of time. Compared to any other pen I’ve used, a fountain pen flows smoother and faster. Dare I say it it even beats out my beloved Uniball Jetstream 1.0. My initial foray into fountain pen use had me experimenting with different pen nibs in different widths. Initially, my favorite was an extra fine chiseled tip that gave just a hint of the calligraphy feel, without looking pretentious.
For my birthday I received a gift card to go shopping for a new beautiful fountain pen. While my newly minted fountain pen friends recommended a few different brands all ranging in style and price, I was drawn to the look of the Moonman pen. With its smooth curves and clear body, not to mention an impressively huge ink reservoir, I thought this would be the perfect pen to test drive. And did I mention purple? It came in purple.
Behold! My purple Moonman taking a space walk
Because I’d liked the extra fine points in my old set, I chose an extra fine point for my Moonman. Little did I know that extra fine points can vary between manufacturers. My Moonman screams along the page like the worlds best gel pen, both fast and incredibly smooth, but doesn’t have the sharp edges of a chisel tip. All hobbies have a learning curve, and this is mine. I still love using it, but perhaps if I get Christmas money I’ll invest in a different style and compare the two.
All in all, writing with this beautiful pen brings me joy and elevates my morning journaling practice. I love having it out on my desk where I can look at it. It feels great in my hand. Pens can be such simple things. We forget that the experience of putting ink to paper can be more than just jotting down words, it can be an experience.
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Over the last five years I’ve shared my reading lists with you, dear readers. Some years I’m really ambitious. Some years, like this year, I’m kinda burned out and creating a reading wish list is the furthest thing from my mind. I’m sure you can all relate.
Just for fun, here are the lists that I’ve ended up posting –
I knew 2019 was going to be a busy year. On the Goodreads Reading Challenge I only committed to reading a paltry 12 books. I’m proud to report I managed it and even better, will probably finish three more by the end of the year. Many of these books were books selected by my book club. Should you ever want to be challenged to read things you wouldn’t normally pick, being part of a book club will definitely help with that.
The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life, by Twyla Tharp
Books I’m currently working to finish:
The Naked Ape: A Zoologist’s Study of the Human Animal, Desmond Morris
Radical Honesty: How to Transform your Life by Telling the Truth, Brad Blanton
Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders, Neil Gaiman
The number one book that influenced me this year was one suggested by Annie Oortman, Radical Honesty. What struck me as profound is how the author connects secrets and dishonesty to physical conditions, such as chronic pain and fatigue. Holding back from telling someone the truth, regardless of the reason, quite literally weighs you down. While I have always endeavored to be very honest, this book takes that to a new level. It encourages people to be brave enough to say how they really feel in the moment and not let things fester.
The book I disliked the most was Eudora Welty’s The Optimist’s Daughter. The story itself revolves around a daughter and her stepmother as they navigate the death of the father. My book club chose to read it because it held examples of good description. While it did have plenty of that, the story itself moved so slowly and had so many scenes that felt unnecessary, that I got super bored.
Let’s discuss!
What were the best and worst of the books you’ve read this year? I’m looking to create next years list – if you’ve got some great suggestions, send them my way.
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There is this weird stigma when it comes to the idea of self-care. For most people, the very words summon up visions of eating chocolate, taking bubble baths, and indulging in activities seen as vain and selfish. This viewpoint needs to change. What self-care really means is to do the things that are necessary to lead a happy and productive life.
Everyone’s needs are different. Like me, some people have trouble sleeping at night. Some people might suffer from a lack of energy, especially in the afternoons. Some people might fight cravings for junk food and sweets constantly. Some people might suffer from depression which makes it almost impossible to do everyday tasks. My point is, your needs will not look like everyone else’s needs.
What works wonders for one person might actually make your situation worse. Personally, I find my self-care needs become far more time consuming in the winter than in the summer. The moment the days start getting darker, my energy begins to flag, my anxiety increases, and sleep issues become a more persistent problem. The drive to complete all the things on my various to do lists is just not there.
In the clinical world, this is referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder (or SAD). You are literally affected by the change in the seasons. It’s mother nature’s way of getting a final jab in before hibernating for the long winter. She’s still irritated at the invention of the light bulb.
Part of my winter self care routine this year stems from the tiny midlife crisis that kicked off a few weeks ago when I turned 40. All of the sudden getting in regular exercise and eating my vegetables seemed so much more important. This is the only body I’m going to get, if I’m not maintaining it in such a way that it runs well for me, then I’m setting myself up for a massive breakdown in the future. Something similar happened when I turned 30 and I realized that if I wanted to do anything with my life other than be a mom, I would need to start doing it.
Starting in early October, I pull out my happy light and use it in the morning while I’m working at my desk. It helps wake me up and simulates the natural sunlight I would have experienced in the summer and makes my brain generate more serotonin during the day and melatonin at night. I also get far more diligent at taking my vitamins. Currently I take a general multivitamin, calcium citrate, B-complex, magnesium, vitamin C, and vitamin D. All of these are necessary in maintaining healthy brain chemicals and aid in better energy production.
I also aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day. Some of it is while watching Netflix and using an elliptical, or if the weather is nice, going out for a walk. On alternating days I turn on Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. If you are looking for a darling down-to-earth yoga practitioner who excels at making yoga accessible to anyone, check her out.
The other two things I do are regular journaling and meditation. Journaling helps me to analyze things that I would like to find solutions to, while meditation helps calm down the brain chatter and helps me focus on the things that are important and need doing. After exercise, these two practices do more to help me counteract daily stress than anything else.
Does this mean everything in my life is perfect right now? No, it really isn’t. But when I’m diligent at keeping up my self-care, my tools to handle problems are kept sharp and well maintained.
I solemnly swear to not post spoilers, which makes writing about a third season of any show complicated. I hope you appreciate the verbal gymnastics required to do this dear reader, because when I woke up this morning, I swear my head wasn’t screwed on correctly. I’ve had perma-fog of the brain all morning.
Being super heroic is just the beginning
The story so far…
As we left season two, Ezran, upon learning of his father’s death, makes the difficult decision to return to Katolis and assume the duties as king. Callum and Rayla continue in their quest to take adorable baby dragon Zym back to his mother in the magical land of Xadia only to encounter the ancient dragon Sol Regem blocking their path. Viren, who has been consorting with the mysterious elf Aaravos, uses his dark magic to scare the other kingdoms into forming an alliance with him to go to war against Xadia and finally rid the world of the hatred and evils he believes are found there.
Up to this point, both sides of the world feel wronged by the other. The world of the elves is furious with that of the humans because they killed the ruling dragon king and supposedly destroyed the egg that was to be his heir. The human world is furious with the elves world because they are a threat that isn’t fully understand.
Entering season three there were lots of expectations, some of which were met, and several that will be left for a future season. Perhaps the biggest question was if Zym would be reunited with his mother, and what that would change in the world.
If Zym, the dragon prince, is reunited with his mother, the queen dragon of Xadia, it should resolve in part the largest complaint that the elves have against the humans. Part of my expectation going into season three was to see some of this happen. However, this is the primary conflict on which the entire show rests, solve it and the show would have to end or risk dwindling on into irrelevance.
These two are so cute together. Best brothers ever.
Season Three thoughts
In season three, there were several good steps toward a greater understanding between elves and humans. It had to happen, as both people and elves are starting to rally to a cause greater than just basic anger and hatred. The conflict is now elevating to a greater fight between good and evil and the stakes are getting higher.
How’s that for being vague? Yeah, I promised no serious spoilers. I meant it.
There is also several new and fascinating settings introduced in season three that I thought were awesome. We get to see Rayla’s village and the magic there, a black desert, and the home of the dragon queen, all of which have their own special traits and points of interest that made the world builder in me squee a little.
As the story continues, the relationships between characters continues to change and grow. Some of this earned an eye roll from me, any problem that is solved by the power of love tends to do that. But, I can’t watch Hallmark movies either, so that’s a personal failing on my part. The rest of you might find it charming. There are several surprises here as well between characters where I never thought the dynamic would change.
Did Zym get reunited with his mom? You better go watch it.
All in all, season three is filled with great storytelling with just enough tidbits of well-timed backstory to make the new conflicts not only hugely entertaining, but powerful as well.
Really Claudia? Put the adoraburr down!
Recommendations
For those of you who love a story with a deep history, complex characters, and beautiful art, Dragon Prince is a perfect choice. It continues to amaze and delight my whole family. I’m personally impressed at the effort taken to ensure that every detail of the story is well thought out and calculated for maximum emotional payout. It’s totally my kind of story.
I would warn viewers that while on the outside this show just looks like any other cartoon, it’s actually pretty complicated. Some people might be turned off at the learning curve required to understand what is going on and what the stakes are. The first few episodes of season one are slower because of the time spent catching the viewer up on the history of the world and its characters and why that matters.
After Rayla, General Amaya is the coolest character ever.
A request
If you have a show or movie that you’d think I’d love to watch and review, let me know in the comments! I love finding new wonderful universes to explore.
Are you watching Dragon Prince? What are your thoughts so far?
Psst, Jodi here – Big news!
The re-release of Stonebearer’s Betrayal is well under way and scheduled for the first week in January, with the exciting sequel set to release in March. Stay tuned for a fresh new cover reveal and more!
You can also find updates and post notifications on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram – chose the one you like the most!
All images are used here under Fair Use for discussion, review, and educational commentary. They belong to their respective copyright owners.
At beginning of this week I figured if I averaged 3300 words a day, I could finish my NaNoWriMo project on Wednesday, leaving the rest of the weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving. That averages to around three hours of intensely focused writing a day with no distractions. Lucky for me, two of those days the kiddos were in school and the third they slept in a few hours.
I’m proud to day that with lots of grit and determination (and an unhealthy amount of leftover Halloween candy) I slammed dunked my way to the finish before lunch on Wednesday. There’s nothing quite like typing the words “The End.”
Wow. While I’ve done the challenge for several years now, this is the first time I’ve finished an entire draft of a project with the intention of publishing it later this year. Just thinking about it is both exhilarating and terrifying. What if the story I came up with is actually really stupid and I haven’t realized it yet? What happens then? Was this entire month of work a waste? I guess I’ll find out soon enough when I read it in a few weeks.
Writing Isben’s story was challenging. I was confined to use and stay faithful to the already existing confines of the Stonebearer universe, including what point he needed to reach at the end of the story. While part of this meant a lot of thoughtful review of how that might limit the possibilities, it also meant I had some guidelines to follow – a perk I’d not had before.
The story starts on the day Isben discovers that he possesses the power of the Khandashii and follows his struggle for survival each day after until he reaches the tower of Amul Dun and safety. One of the characters he meets along the way is now my new favorite character, after Bremin of course. The more he showed himself to me, the more I liked him. Sven the bard has some delightful surprises up his sleeves and in his amazing wagon.
Vision board for Isben’s story
Should everything go to plan, Isben’s story will be coming to Amazon March 2020.
For the next two weeks, I will be taking a small break from the intensity of NaNo and will spend my time reading a few amazing books to recharge my batteries, possibly writing a short story or two, and catching up on the dozens of things that I allowed to slip through the cracks as well as what needs to be done to prepare for the re-release of Stonebearer’s Betrayal in early January.
Stay tuned, there are a lot of awesome things in the works!
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Jodi L. Milner, Author 