The King’s Guard, a new e-novella in the Fire & Thorns universe, has a cover!

Description and cover below. Available July 30!

“Hector of Ventierra is the youngest commander of the Royal Guard in his kingdom’s history. But before he was lord commander, he was a lowly squire. In this short fantasy novella, set in the world of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson introduces readers to Hector before he became the man Queen Elisa fell in love with. The King’s Guard also includes a teaser chapter for The Bitter Kingdom, the conclusion to the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

At fifteen years old, Hector is the youngest squire in the most elite military force in the country. And his first day is disastrous. Everyone assumes the only reason he was recruited is his close personal association with King Alejandro, not because he’s really earned it.

But Alejandro needs Hector for a secret mission, one that gives him the chance to prove to everyone—including himself—that he is worthy to be a Royal Guard. Hector must break into the ancient Fortress of Wind to retrieve something so important that the kingdom’s future depends on it. What Hector finds in the fortress will stretch his bond of friendship with his king near to breaking. And it will prepare him to become the fearsome warrior and lord commander Elisa will never let go.

A riveting prequel to Rae Carson’s epic and acclaimed Fire and Thorns series.”

I am so, so pleased to finally be able to share a couple of amazing blurbs for The Bitter Kingdom, the third and final book of the Fire and Thorns trilogy, which will be released on August 27, 2013.

“What’s a blurb?” you ask. It’s when someone Important or Influential reads something and likes it enough to say an Official Nice Thing about it. Like an endorsement. Except not paid. Unless you count undying gratitude as currency. Which I do.

Anyway, two authors whom I respect immensely, both as writers and human beings, have said Official Nice Things about The Bitter Kingdom, and here they are:

“What a conclusion to a spellbinding trilogy! The Bitter Kingdom cements Rae Carson as one of the best fantasy authors to grace the shelves. I love this series to pieces, and so should you.”

 - Marie Lu, New York Times best-selling author of the Legend trilogy

“The perfect conclusion to one of the most brilliant modern YA fantasies on the market today. Readers will love this whole series, and while I didn’t want to leave Elisa’s world, The Bitter Kingdom hits all the right notes. This is YA fantasy as it should be.”

- Beth Revis, NewYork Times best-selling author of the Across the Universe trilogy

The Bitter Kingdom has a release date and a cover! The final book of the Fire & Thorns trilogy will be published on August 27, 2013. (We’ll just pretend that it didn’t sneak out on the internets last week and that I haven’t gotten two dozen emails/tweets/Facebook comments asking about it…)

I’m so excited to share the final chapter of Elisa’s story. Things get CrAzY in book 3. Notice the ICE and SNOW and PINE TREES? Those are not-subtle hints about what happens.

You can pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In the meantime, though, you can tide yourself over with The Shattered Mountain, a digital-only story about Lady Mara that will be released a whole lot sooner on March 26.

Anyhoo…Here it is:

Hey, everyone. I have plunged into the wild, wild world of self-publishing and made a previously published short story available for FREE*. Yay, free stuff! “Dangerous Voices” is a high fantasy story that first appeared under a different title in Weird Tales Magazine, #345 waaaay back in 2008-ish. I’ve since cleaned it up a bit and given it a cover, and now you can all read it.

Here is a description, followed by links where it can be downloaded, followed by the cover:

Errik has been a prisoner–and alone–for a long, long time. He lives for the moment each day when the window of his dungeon cell shines a bit of light onto his bearded face. But everything changes when he gets a new neighbor–a young girl with a voice as beautiful as the springrise. 

They both know the rules: No singing. No speaking. Voices are dangerous. But they can’t help themselves. And soon enough, Errik begins to remember himself, why he’s here in this dark place, and why his captors will stop at nothing to ensure his silence.

Download at:

Barnes and Noble

Sony

iTunes

Amazon (*Not free yet. Amazon doesn’t give authors the option of posting something for free, but they’ll eventually “price match” the other retailers. In the meantime, feel free to download it elsewhere or just hang on for a bit. I do not want anyone to have to pay for this!)

Smashwords

Kobo (It hasn’t appeared yet, but soon, I hope!)

And here is the lovely cover, thanks to Jenn Reese at Tiger Bright Studios:

Enjoy!

The Crown of Embers comes out in less than a week! That means it’s time to hit the road. I’ll update as I learn more, but here’s what we have so far. If you come to one of my appearances, please introduce yourself. Be sure to remind me if I know you from Twitter or Facebook–I’ll probably recognize your name and/or handle!

Rae’s Schedule:

Sept 20, 6:30 pm
Columbus, OH
Signing and launch party for The Crown of Embers at Cover to Cover Children’s Bookstore.

Sept 29, all day
Austin, TX
Austin Teen Book Festival, signing & panel: “We’re Not In Kansas Anymore,” with Libba Bray, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, Leigh Bardugo, and Sarah Rees Brennan.

Oct 4, all day
Minneapolis, MN
Heartland Fall Forum, signing and “moveable feast.”

Oct 12 – 14
New York, NY
ComicCon New York—panel and signing, info forthcoming.

Oct 17, 7:00 pm
Upper Arlington, OH
Central and Southern Ohio SCBWI, featured speaker

Oct 20, all day
Cincinnati, OH
“Books by the Banks” book festival

Oct 26, 6:30 pm
Columbus, OH
Ohioana Book Awards reception & panel

Nov 3, all day
Wooster, OH
Buckeye Book Fair

Nov 18 – 20
Las Vegas, NV
NCTE/ALAN Conference. Panel info TBD.

Woke up this morning and discovered that certain news had made its way all over the internet already (I love living in the future):

From Publishers Weekly Deals for June 18: “Agent Holly Root at Waxman Leavell closed this deal, and said the new trilogy is ‘a sweeping and romantic fantasy’ that follows a teenage girl whose magical ability to find gold puts her in a dangerous position during the American Gold Rush.” (Click link for full article.)

So, yep. Another epic fantasy trilogy, except this one is set in one of the most epic moments in American history. I grew up in California’s Gold Country, and the place has always seemed magical to me, with its rolling hills and twisted oaks and rushing rivers. I can’t wait to get to know it even better.

The series is as-yet-untitled, though I’ve been referring to it as The Goldscryer Saga in my head. But it’s a long way off, and I have the Fire & Thorns series to finish, so I’m leaving the details for later. For now I’ll just say that, like the Fire and Thorns trilogy, these books will feature magic, romance, adventure, and a teen girl determined to find her own way.

I have a vague memory of sobbing incoherently to Agent Holly when she called me with the news, which may seem a little odd, because I’ve been through all this before, right? But for me there was something very special about Book Deal #2. It means that maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a career at this gig. Which is everything I wanted all along.

Also, I love my publisher. I’m so glad they are stuck with me for 3 more books!

Speaking of career, please excuse me while I run off to finish writing The Bitter Kingdom. Hope you’re all having an amazing summer.

I am sooo excited to finally announce that my digital novelette, “The Shadow Cats,” will be published in e-format by Greenwillow/HarperCollins on July 17. Check out this cover. Isn’t it gorgeous? Greenwillow really knocked it out of the park.

This 54-page story is an official prequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns. It’s told through the eyes of Elisa’s older sister, the crown princess Alodia.

Here’s the cover copy:

“Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. And it was not Alodia.

Alodia is the crown princess of the realm. The sister who knows how to rule, and the one who is constantly reminded that she has not been marked for a grand destiny. But Alodia has plans, and she will be the greatest queen her people have ever known. So she travels–with her hopeless, naïve, chosen sister–to a distant part of their land, to begin to secure her supporters. This region needs its princesses, for it is plagued with a curse. The crops don’t grow, the spring doesn’t arrive, and a fierce jaguar stalks the shadows, leaving only empty homes splashed with blood behind. If Alodia can save them, no one will be able to deny her strength and her sovereignty.

But what she discovers could change the fate of her kingdom, if not her world. And it will most certainly change her opinion of her younger sister.”

So, yeah, it was super fun to get inside Alodia’s head. She remains an important presence in the next two books in the trilogy, so I hope this will give readers a glimpse into what makes her tick and enrich their overall experience.

“The Shadow Cats” is now available for pre-order wherever ebooks are sold. Buy early, buy often! My starving kitties thank you. I thank you. Hope you enjoy!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

**UPDATE**

You guys. Your comments are amazing. Thank you so much. My to-read pile just grew to the size of Everest. A winner has been notified, but if I don’t hear back, I’ll pick another. Thank you thank you to everyone who commented. I’m so impressed with how much and how passionately everyone reads! Love, Rae

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I just received advance readers copies for The Crown of Embers, which is a sequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns that will be released in September. What’s a girl to do with such bounty? A giveaway, of course!

Embers is a much more romantic book than Girl. Slight spoiler: There is kissing. So, for a chance to win–and in honor of romance in young adult novels–please leave a comment telling me about your favorite literary romance so I can be sure it’s on my to-read list (doesn’t have to be YA!).

Sometime on Friday, (aka when I drag myself out of bed) I’ll do a random number generator thingy and pick a winner. I’ll accept comments here, on my Facebook post, and on my Goodreads feed.

This is what I’m giving away: A signed ARC of The Crown of Embers. A signed hardcover of The Girl of Fire and Thorns. AND, because I’m feeling very generous and because I want EVERYONE to read this book because it’s THAT GOOD, my precious, precious ARC of Veronica Roth’s amazing Insurgent, which comes out May 1.

Winner take all. INTERNATIONAL.

So, comment away! What literary romances are absolute must-reads for me?

The Crown of Embers has a cover!!

This book is the sequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns and will be released on September 18, 2012. Here is a description:

Elisa is a hero. She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country’s ruler should be secure. But it isn’t.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from both foreign realms and within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears once and for all, Elisa must follow the trail of long-forgotten—and forbidden—clues from the deep, undiscovered catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her goes a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man who—despite everything—she is falling in love with.

If she’s lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.

Several Happy News Items today:

HNI#1: The Girl of Fire and Thorns made the final ballot for the Andre Norton Award, which is voted on by SFWA along with the Nebulas. The community of science fiction and fantasy writers pretty much raised me from a pup. So, while it might be cheesy and cliché to say that this nomination means sooo much to me, it’s also true. It’s also an understatement.

Lots of great books on the ballot this year, and it’s amazing to see my book on a list alongside of them. In particular, I’m a big fan of Greg van Eekhout’s The Boy at the End of the World. (Seriously, read it.) And The Freedom Maze is on my nightstand right now! So many books, so little time… Click here to check out all the Norton and Nebula nominees.

HNI#2: The Girl of Fire and Thorns was also named to ALA’s Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list for 2012. Click here to see all the books on the list.

HNI#3: I heard a rumor that ARCs for book 2, The Crown of Embers, are winging their way out into the world very, very soon.

HNI#4: I finished copyedits on The Crown of Embers. Hard to believe I’ll soon have TWO books published.

That’s it for now. Hope everyone is triumphing over the cold dark of February. (Space heater, FTW!)