TAMER OF HORSES Progress Report

A few housekeeping notes:

• The TAMER OF HORSES goodreads galley giveaway is still happening! Make sure you're entered to win and maybe tell a friend :) The giveaway ends on the 31st!
• TAMER should be going up on Netgalley during the month of September -- I'll have links for you as soon as I can get them and I hope very much those of your who netgalley will do me the honor of early reviewing TAMER OF HORSES! If you are NOT on netgalley but are interested in an e-ARC, I currently have an epub and pdf available. Shoot me an e-mail at amalia[dot]carosella[at]gmail[dot]com and let me know! If you've reviewed for me before I'm happy to have you read and review again! (And if you're waiting on the the mobi, I'll get it out to you as soon as I have it!)
• I am slowly but surely making my way through the final proof of TAMER after my time out for family-palooza and Olympics. I cannot overemphasize how long a month this has been. Really. As much as I love TAMER (and I do love it SO MUCH!) I can't wait to have all this proofing behind me and get back to writing new words! 
• If you're a kindle reader, you can pre-order TAMER OF HORSES right now! I'm hopeful that I'll have the paperback up for sale a little early, but either way, October 3rd is just around the corner! 

That's all I've got for the moment -- just trying to get through to the other side right now. Some days writing and publishing is a joy full of rainbows and puppies and thrilling excitement and other days it's more of a slog through the marsh with mud sucking at your boots and mosquitoes buzzing around your head. I've been feeling more slog than puppies and rainbows lately, which means it's probably about time for a little bit of a break/vacation to refill the tanks, so it's a good thing I'm nearly finished!

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Tamer of Horses Goodreads Giveaway!

This has been a strange and difficult week. And it's only going to get weirder and potentially more difficult for non-author me as the month goes on. I hope you'll hang in there with me!

But I have some good news for YOU, blogfriends and followers -- the Goodreads Giveaway for a TAMER OF HORSES Galley is now LIVE! So make sure you enter to win if you want an early review copy of Pirithous and Hippodamia's adventures! (Please note: this is an uncorrected proof, and there may be errors/typos I'm in the process of catching, and other small changes made to the text before publication.)

There is actually only one other print galley of this exact cover and edition in the world, so it's a super rare win if your name is drawn!

TAMER OF HORSES takes place about 25 years or so before the events of HELEN OF SPARTA, so if you haven't read those two books, you're free and clear to pick this one up! In fact, it's a most excellent place to start :) But if you HAVE read Helen, expect to see some familiar faces! (Those Greek heroes got around, what can I say?)


I also wrapped proofs on DAUGHTER OF A THOUSAND YEARS this week (there was definitely a couple of days when I thought I wasn't going to make my deadline, but in a herculean effort, I delivered two days early instead. *phew!*) DAUGHTER will be available in February 2017 -- but don't let that stop you from adding it on goodreads or getting your pre-order on in the meantime!

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Tamer of Horses Galley

So these babies arrived in the mail recently -- the advance uncorrected proofs for TAMER OF HORSES. And I'll be giving just ONE away on goodreads, so keep your eyes peeled for information about that next week!

Final copies with the final finished Lane Brown cover art are next, once I make sure everything is as clean as I can possibly make it! And if you'd like to follow along with my proofing for both TAMER and DAUGHTER OF A THOUSAND YEARS, I'm posting updates with commentary on goodreads pretty much daily!

And now I'm back to work!

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A Sneak Peek from TAMER OF HORSES

Those of you already following along on Goodreads know I've been (hopefully) final proofing TAMER OF HORSES, and one of the things I love to do is work in small nods to pieces of mythology that aren't part of the immediate narrative I'm retelling, and because it's my birthday, I thought I'd share! This is one of those small moments which takes place shortly after Hippodamia and Pirithous meet. She's still pretty unsure of him, and I'm pretty sure you won't blame her for it! Pirithous is... very Pirithous.

“I have bread, cheese, and fruit enough for both of us. And a skin of water for you, steeped with mint.” He guided her through the central courtyard. “My physician tells me it is quite good for stomach ailments, but I find the mint clears my head if I have not slept well.”

He had thought of everything, and now he held her hand, it was clear he had no intention of letting her go. Her fingers twitched, but he only threaded her arm through his, smiling down at her as if he did not hold her trapped at his side.

“I hope you had a pleasant night, my lady.”

She flushed, her gaze falling to his bare shoulder, and the glint of scattered golden hairs across the expanse of his chest. “I fear I slept poorly.”

“That has ever been my own experience beneath a strange roof,” he said, leading her between the tall columns and down the wide porch steps. The palace walls loomed over them, but Pirithous turned away from the gates. He frowned slightly. “I much prefer to sleep upon the porch, or a balcony, where I might see the stars. As long as I can see the sky, I know myself free.”

“Free of what?” she asked, in spite of herself. There was something about his expression that drew her, and a distance in his eyes she did not like. “I cannot imagine any man imprisoning a son of Zeus.”

“No,” he agreed. “But it is a dream which haunts me all the same. Blackness and unbreakable restraints.” His frown deepened, then he shook his head and laughed, his eyes warming again when they found hers. “It is nothing, I am sure. Just a child’s fear of the dark, poorly remembered. The night has ever been my friend.”

TAMER OF HORSES will be available October 3, 2016, and you DON'T need to have read HELEN OF SPARTA or BY HELEN'S HAND to enjoy it, but you'll definitely see some familiar faces if you have! :)

And those of you wondering -- the cover art went out YESTERDAY to newsletter subscribers, and you can pre-order it NOW for kindle!

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