Novels
Our Lady of the Absolute is scheduled for publication in Summer 2010.
The Dragonslayer's Sword is available at http://mundania.com/books-dragonslayerssword.html and elsewhere. Here's an overview of the novel, how to buy it in paperback or as an e-book, plus information about what I'm doing in regard to current and future novels.
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The Dragonslayer's Sword
by Resa Nelson
EPPIE Award FINALIST for
Best Fantasy Novel 2009
Trade Paperback $14.95
e-book $6.00
Mundania Press
http://mundania.com/books-dragonslayerssword.html
How to Order THE DRAGONSLAYER’S SWORD
If You Live in the United States:
- Order the paperback or e-book directly from Mundania Press – click here.
- Ask your bookstore to get the paperback for you from Mundania Press (bookstores can order a single copy at wholesale) or through Ingram’s or Baker & Taylor. Your bookstore will get a far better price by ordering directly from Mundania Press than from any wholesaler.
- Order the paperback from Amazon.com – click here.
If You Live in the United Kingdom or the European Union:
Ask your bookstore to order through their Ingram’s catalog. Or order from any Amazon site.
NOTE: Scroll down for a link to read the short story that inspired the novel.
Astrid is a blacksmith whose specialty is making swords for dragonslayers, despite the fact that she hates violence. She accepts that dragons are a menace and must be killed. She just doesn’t want to be around when it happens. Ironically, her lover and closest friend, DiStephan, is a dragonslayer.
Her happiness is shattered when DiStephan disappears without a trace, and a strange catalyst causes her life to implode without warning. Reality turns inside out as Astrid gradually learns the truth about the people she loves as well as those she disdains. With the fate of dragons, ghosts, and slaves in foreign lands resting on her shoulders, Astrid faces the challenge of deciding who she is and how she will stand up inside her own skin. Will she withdraw and hide from the world that has disappointed her so much...or will she rise to lead others to freedom and peace?
CLICK HERE to read the short story that inspired the novel!
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Unique Dragon Art and Artists
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A few professional artists contributed unique and special prizes to the Countdown to Publication Contest for The Dragonslayer's Sword. In some cases, the art was designed and created especially for this contest.
This section will describe each prize that has already been awarded and how you can buy the same or similar artwork directly from the artist. Enjoy!
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dragon bookplates
by artist Andy Volpe
email:
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Artist Andy Volpe designed a block carving of this dragon bookplate and then pulled each individual bookplate by hand on a printing press. He's offering a limited edition of this series. In other words, each bookplate is an art print in a limited edition. Normally, Volpe charges $75 for just one print. For visitors to this website only, he's offering an extraordinary offer:
* You can get a set of 4 bookplates for $75 (plus shipping and handling, which will be calculated according to where you live). That means you get four for the price of one.
* Another option is to request the dragon's tongue to be hand-painted. For painted bookplates, a set of 4 is $175 (plus shipping and handling). Again, Volpe normally charges $175 for one hand-painted bookplate -- again, you get four for the price of one.
Note: at this time, Volpe will accept only money orders. Contact him at the email address above to learn how to place an order.
Here's what Volpe says about this bookplate: "Also called an "Ex Libris", from the Latin meaning roughly, "The Book Of" (or, 'the library of'), was created by Andy Volpe for author Resa Nelson to help celebrate the release and publication of her first Novel, "The Dragonslayer's Sword."
"The image is a Linocut, or, Linoleum Block Print, and was hand-carved from original drawings by the Artist inspired by and based on the dragons featured in Nelson's novel.
"The block was printed by the Artist with Black relief/block oil-based ink, and printed on Stonehenge paper. The press used was a Conrad Machine Company press. The paper is acid-free Archival quality, meaning it should not fade or deteriorate over the years, especially when it is kept out of direct sunlight.
"This particular image is exclusive to Nelson's novel. The prints are hand-trimmed to apx. 4 1/2 X 4 1/2 inches, with an apx. 3/4 inch space for your name.
"A limited number of prints, packaged as a set of 4 bookplates, may be purchased from the Artist. The Artist is currently planning to make more sets available in the future, including different color inks and papers.
"You are encouraged to write your name (or anything else you desire) into the blank space below the image area. You may use anything from a pencil to a pen or even a calligraphy pen." |
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Dragon Soup
a book of poetry and prose
by Mary Turzillo and Marge Simon
http://www.vanzenopress.com/excerpt_soup.htm
Dragon Soup is a book of illustrated poems about dragons by Nebula award winner Mary Turzillo and Bram Stoker award winner Marge Simon. (It also includes three short stories by Mary, which were previously published in F&SF, Weird Tales, and The Ultimate Dragon.)
This is a lovely book of poetry that Mary Turzillo donated for my contest. Mary won the Nebula award in 2000 for her novelette, “Mars is No Place for Children.” I was lucky enough to be at the awards dinner that night. As each novelette nominee was announced, everyone in the room applauded politely. When Mary’s name was read as a nominee, people cheered. I got goosebumps when that happened, because I knew that meant she’d won. Sure enough, moments later, she was announced as the winner. In the years since I met her when we both attended the Clarion SF Workshop (http://clarion.ucsd.edu/), she’s become one of my favorite authors.
Mary is a terrific poet. This year alone she’s nominated for several awards, including the Pushcart award. Two of her poems from another collection (Your Cat and Other Space Aliens) are nominated for the Rhysling award. Dragon Soup's other poet, Marge Simon, won the 2007 Bram Stoker award for her poetry collection, VECTORS: A Week in the Death of a Planet.
You can buy Dragon Soup directly from the publisher (the URL for the website is listed above) or from Amazon.com.
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The Sword Tapestry
by Custom Quilts
http://acustomquilt.net
The Grand Prize of 2007 was the Sword Tapestry, a special piece of fabric art that was designed and created especially for my contest by Custom Quilts. I was so thrilled with the outcome of this tapestry that I custom ordered one for myself (shown on the left). I asked to reverse the fabrics (red background instead of green), the dragon is enclosed in a fireball, and I asked for an extra sleeve on the bottom.
For a limited time, you can buy your own Sword Tapestry from Custom Quilts and have it customized to your taste. The fabric is gorgeous, as is the workmanship. Notice the rhinestone dragon in the upper right corner. The tapestry measures about 29" wide by 50" long. Custom Quilts makes a wide variety of fabric art, including Celtic wall hangings. Check out the website at http://acustomquilt.net. Also, look for more detailed photos and information about this tapestry at http://acustomquilt.net/dragonslayer.htm.
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Clip art from
http://historymedren.about.com/ |
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The Dragonslayer's Sword
The story behind the story
My short story, "The Dragonslayer's Sword," was published in the premiere issue of Science Fiction Age magazine. "The Dragonslayer's Sword" was named the 2nd favorite story in the first Readers Top 10 Poll.
Sometime later, my editor Scott Edelman forwarded a letter to me from a B. Dalton bookstore manager in Texas. Apparently, readers assumed my short story was part of a novel. They were coming into the store and asking the manager how to order my novel ... which I hadn't written.
That got my attention. I figured all of my readers were smarter than me -- they were seeing something in the story I wasn't. But I didn't want to write a novel unless I came up with a big story that I loved with my whole heart.
Once the big story came to me, I began researching. Although it's not historical fiction, I wanted to model a specific time period, so I read history books. My main character is a woman who's a blacksmith, so I took a course in blacksmithing. Her specialty is making swords for dragonslayers, so I decided I needed to learn as much as I could about swords. I took courses in medieval weaponry, mostly the German longsword. In other words, I got a taste of how to use these weapons. (See Why I Love Swords.)
The image on the left is the first bookmark made to promote The Dragonslayer's Sword. The clip art is by Melissa Snell (Medieval Clip Art is copyright © 1998-2003). Click here to visit her website.
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Future Projects
The Dragonslayer's Sword is intended as the first novel in a series. I'm currently writing the second novel in my Dragonslayer series, The Iron Maiden.
I have 22 novels in my head, lined up like airplanes on a tarmac, ready to take off. The most challenging part of the process is choosing which one to write next.
I also write short fiction.
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