You may know that I am a runner. Not super fast, but I try. What you probably don’t know is that I have lost several family members to cancer. In that, I am certain I am not alone. I won’t be the one who finds the cure for cancer, but hopefully I can help those who will.

I’ve signed up to run in the Terry Fox for Cancer Research event to be held in New York City, Saturday, October 13. I’m asking all my fans, friends, and family to help me raise some money. Everyone who donates or helps publicize the event will be eligible to win. As a way to say thanks for your support, I have one complete set of the series – A Darkness Forged in Fire, The Light of Burning Shadows, and Ashes of a Black Frost, all professionally leather-bound, to give away. Naturally, they’ll be signed and personalized. Open to fans around the world.

If you’d like to donate, please go here:

http://www.terryfoxrunnyc.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1024645&lis=1&kntae1024645=663CCE65F6F14DC88349F691E7057738&supId=366681764

To catch everyone up, I’m working on my next book which is currently titled The Tree Line. I’ll be handing it in to my editor this fall for publication in the summer of 2013.  The mass market edition of Ashes of a Black Frost is out in the UK and due out in North America late September. I don’t know the dates for the other territories, but I believe the Czech translation of Darkness will be coming soon. I know the Russian one is done and I think in stores.

I recently spent a week and a half in France and still dream of moules et frites and croissants with Nutella…not together mind you. I was the historian for a group of high school history teachers and talked about what happened at various battlefields in the Somme and Normandy. It was fantastic. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been to Normandy now, but someday I think I’m going to buy a little cottage in one of the villages and make it my summer place. Oh, and I’m including one of my hero shots. Seriously, I need to get me one of these!

My parents recently sold their home in Canada and are now living the carefree life of gypsies, albeit with a huge RV in tow and a home in Florida for the winter. When they’re not out gallivanting (love that word!) they pop into bookstores to do a little PR work for yours truly.  Today they were in Owen Sound, Ontario and stopped in at the Coles bookstore. We lived there when we were kids so there’s a connection. The thing I liked best about Owen Sound, and still do, is that it’s the birthplace of Billy Bishop, Canada’s highest scoring fighter ace. Anyway, my folks got a chance to chat with Angela and Jan of Coles and I wanted to thank them for welcoming my parents and taking the time to talk. It means a lot and I appreciate, and so do my parents. It might sound hokey to some, but those few minutes of interest have a lasting impact.

By the way, did I mention the title of my new book? It’s called The Tree Line. It’s a different approach than my previous titles, but then this fantasy is different from the Iron Elves. The title has several meanings, but the one that first resonated with me was the clear demarcation between two spaces. I like that concept, the idea of danger and safety, light and dark, and how over time those distinctions can blur and even switch. It’s one of the motifs I’m exploring as it mirrors the war in Vietnam which of course is the conflict I am using for inspiration this time. Oh, and after a great chat on Facebook with some readers I am ramping up my dragon research. I spent a couple hours today looking up the various melting points of metal and the general state of metallurgy and alloys in the Middle Ages. Fascinating stuff. But what does that have to do with dragons? You’ll see 🙂

I’m curious where you come down on the physiology of dragons. Reptile, mammal, or unique in their dragoness? Sentient, like Smaug in the Hobbit, Naomi Novik’s dragons in her Temeraire series, Anne McCaffery’s dragons in her Pern series, Eragon by Christopher Paolini,  or simply animals? Magical (see above) or not? Fire breathing or not? Over used or under-utilized? Are dragons always scaled (which suggests a reptilian heritage)?

Dragons live and breathe in the new world I’m creating for my next novel. I’m currently developing them and am elbow deep in their innards working out what makes them tick. As a result, I’ve been reading up on the thermal properties of a lot of materials, studying flight characteristics, and otherwise becoming very curious about where dragons currently roost in today’s fantasy.