The Wounded World Book Release

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's official! The Wounded World has launched! To celebrate we had a week of awesome memes, two giveaways, and a party! It was all a blast, plus we were able to support the library that hosted - Wiggin Memorial Library in Stratham, NH. I just want to start out this blog by saying a huge THANK YOU to everyone that participated and supported me in the whole endeavor. It was a wonderful week, and now The Wounded World is available for you to read, either in paperback or as an ebook.

Just in case you're interested (and/or loved them so much you want to go back and take a look) here are the memes we posted leading up to the book launch party. The official countdown!

The party was also a success. With over 35 friends, family, and new friends attending, I got to share my work with everyone and celebrate the birthday of my newest book, The Wounded World. You may not realize this, but I have actually been working on this book for 5 years. It's very exciting to finally have it out in the world.

Soooooo, click to get your copy!!!

Here is a compilation of all of the pictures of the event itself.

Finally, we held the giveaway the end of the night, with two winners: Catherine Plourde for a full set of books, and Bill Asher for a copy of one book of his choice. Congratulations to you both!

It was an exciting and fun evening!

Drawing the names for the raffle.

Now that I have published The Wounded World, I am thrilled to be launching myself into writing my next book, tentatively titled The Fall of the Flighters. I also am planning a blog tour on a variety of blogs, so stay tuned for snippets of conversations from my characters, memes, and other fun stuff.

It's been a fun year so far, and I have a feeling it's only going to get better. :)

Honey Bees and Dirty Feet

Last week I went home. And by home, I mean that place where I grew up with my brothers, parents, and quite a few animals of various species. The animal population has decreased significantly since I was home for a visit last. They are down to two cats, one dog, and five ducks.

As long as we are talking about ducks, let me mention that ducks are stupid. I mean, really, really dumb. Let me give you an example. I threw a green bean at them. They were so terrified of that bloody bean that they plastered themselves to the back wall of their little house for hours. Later, my mom put out a tray of lettuce, and one duck was so terrified, it got trapped between the lettuce and their swimming pool, unable to get to the safety of its duck house. 

Dumb. And hilarious.

But what I was really home for were bees. Bees. Beekeeping. Honey. The Honey Harvest Open House, to be precise. Each year, my parents and I host an event where the community can come over to our house, watch us extract honey from the hives, and learn about beekeeping, honey, wasps, and more. We have had a very positive response, and it's a lot of fun to do.

In preparation, we spent two days cleaning and prepping the bees. My dad and I had a lot of fun wandering around with bees on sticks.

This was part of a dry swarm that had been sitting in a tree for a few days.

This is my dad pulling some frames out to look for queens. On this frame, the bees have built some very interesting-looking comb.

Of course, extracting honey is never as simple as you expect it to be. So while we were preparing, we ran across three separate swarms, all of which were dry, meaning they'd been out of the hive for a couple of days and had started to build comb. One was 20 feet up in a tree, and we decided it was too difficult to get to. The others were low to the ground, so we captured them, just to give them a chance over the winter. 

This is us putting the swarm in a hive.

Once we took care of the swarms, though, we were able to grab a few supers of honey and cart them down to the honey room. Then, we let the event commence!

I, being a volunteer, was allowed to sell my books at this event. So that was fun, too. Plus I get to see people I knew a long time ago, which is also fun, and family.

Basically, my dad did live bee presentations and my mom sold stuff while I extracted the honey from the hives. I wish there were two of me. That would have made the whole day a million times easier. But we had friends helping out this time, and it was a whopping success.

And there you have it: one particular day in the life of Ariele Sieling the 1st, author.

Here is a wonderful gallery of pictures from the day:

Honey Buckets

These are the buckets we use to store honey. The ones in the picture are all empty and have been cleaned and stored.

Honey on Honey Stand

We sell honey on our honey stand year round. It's always so pretty!

The Field

I love our field in the fall. It's gorgeous, with all sorts of wild flowers. Of course, most people are pretty allergic to ragweed, so not everyone appreciates it quite as much as me. :)

The House

This is the house. We hosted most of the event on the right-hand side of the road, in the driveway near the barn.

A Swarm of Honey Bees

This is a dry swarm that dad and I caught the day before the event. It is unlikely that it will survive the winter, but we gave it a chance!

Ariele with a Swarm

This is me sitting next to one of the dry swarms. There were actually three around the bee yard, but one of them was way too difficult to catch, so we only snatched up 2.

In A Hive

This is dad working in a hive. We were taking the top boxes (supers) to remove the honey from, but left the lower ones so they would have food for the winter.

Bees Are Cool

This is just a cool picture of the little ladies.

The Apiary

This is a picture of the bees, with the apiary in the background.

Ariele with A Smoker

This is me. Look, I'm a smoker now! Just kidding. We use the smoke from the bees to calm the bees down when we start digging through their homes. Humans = the biggest predator.

A Frame

This is a frame where bees use comb to lay eggs and store honey.

Jerusalem Artichokes

These are Jerusalem Artichokes which grow to be 9 feet tall or taller. They're gorgeous.

Open House Sign

This is the sign we pounded into the ground in front of the barn.

Observation Hive

Dad put some bees in an observation hive so people could get up close and friendly with the bees.

The Tent

We set up a tent to provide shade for Mom and our friends who were selling products and providing free samples of cool recipes you can make with honey.

Decapping

This is me, decapping. I took the cappings off of the comb so we could get the honey out from inside.

Cappings

This is where we put the cappings after taking them off the frames. Then we let the honey drain out into a bucket and strain it. Later we use the wax for candles.

Live Bee Demonstration

Dad gave two live bee demonstrations, where he pulled frames out of a hive and answered questions about beekeeping.

Beeswax Candles

Mom makes candles out of the beeswax, in the shape of things like light bulbs, pumpkins, skeps, and Daleks (Doctor Who reference, everyone!).

The Honey Room

This is the room where we extract the honey. We have two big extractors and a bunch of other helpful equipment. It gets very sticky in here.

Sunrise

This is the sunrise in NY on my way home the next morning. I will say, NY has beautiful skies.

And as you saw in the first video, I do tend to wander around barefoot or in flipflops. So in case you have ever wondered what feet look like covered with honey and dirt, I will leave you with this:

Long story short: it's not pretty. :)

But, if you happen to be anywhere near Bath, NY next year, come to the Honey Harvest Open House, where you will find bees, honey, and local authors. :)

Wounded World Book Trailer: Behind the Scenes

Last month, I worked with some absolutely amazing human beings to create a book trailer for my upcoming novel, The Wounded World. Not only do I adore the art that was created, but I loved working with such a driven, cheerful, and professional team. Hats off to Julie Lawlor and Evan Sieling.

The book trailer was hatched as part of a larger scheme to promote the release of The Wounded World, and thus far we have received an overwhelmingly positive response.  Check it out!

Some of my favourite bits are the first shot, of Evan's foot coming down with a boom; the heartbeat sound effects; the ticking clock sound effects; the running fast shot from the side; and the very end when it ends with THE WOUNDED WORLD in big text. 

The process went something like this: 

1. Ariele had an idea.
2. Ariele talked to Julie. Julie was on board.
3. Ariele talked to Evan. Evan was on board.
4. Evan flew to NH.
5. The crew did 2 hours of filming.
6. Evan went home.
7. Julie pieced together the trailer.
8. Evan built the soundtrack.
9. Julie put the pieces together.
10. Ariele loved it and suggested some minor changes.
11. Evan and Julie made said minor changes.
12. It was published. Wooooooo!

During filming, Ariele's other friend, Josh, took some additional video footage, just for kicks. 

All in all, we had perfect weather (despite the downpour that happened 20 min before filming) and the whole project was seamless. Here are a few pictures.

Julie is Filming

Ariele watches Julie take some shots of Evan's running feet.

Strategizing

Evan and Julie strategize what shots to do next.

Getting it Done

Evan heads to a new spot, to go for another run.

Two Feet, Four Feet

Ariele provides the second set of feet for the shot with male and female feet.

Evan Runs.

Evan runs. Does it need more explanation than that?

Julie Films

Julie looks like a rocking professional, getting the best angle on Evan's feet. Also, she is wearing a cool hat.

Stay tuned for the release of The Wounded World on October 9th!!!

The Wounded World Cover Reveal

Guess what! The day is finally here! This book, The Wounded World, is the culmination of 5 years of work. Blood, guts, and tears were all spilled for the birth of my precious novel (just kidding about the guts part. Maybe.).

Today I am proud to reveal it's cover. Ladies and gentlemen, The Wounded World: 

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The Cover of The Wounded World, by Ariele Sieling

The Wounded World tells the story of Quin and his father. Upon returning to Pomegranate City, Quin discovers that his father has disappeared, taking with him knowledge that is very precious to his government and leaving behind a very dangerous new Door. As he sets out on his journey to find his father, Quin hopes that he hasn't stumbled onto a problem so big he cannot even begin to solve it. 

Followed closely by his good friend John, Quin travels from world to world seeking answers... but will he find them in time?

Written as a prequel the other two books in the series, this science fiction tale takes the reader from humor to heartbreak in one simply journey.

A Strange House: a non-excerpt from The Wounded World

This is a piece I wrote to help me characterize a certain individual in my next book: Meriym. Although this excerpt will not actually appear in the novel itself, it played a huge role in the plot development of my current NanoWriMo project. Enjoy!

Footsteps thundered in the silent and empty air, magnified by the hollowness of the space under the bridge; Meriym was running, terrified of the thing that chased her. Sweat dripped from every inch of her skin, and droplets of blood leaked from her hands where her nails pierced her fists from the intensity of her grip. She gasped and ran, one foot after another, praying for salvation and never looking behind her.

And then she tripped. The world slowed around her as she saw the brown and dusty earth rise up to embrace her – every speck of dirt seemed to float slowly by her eyes. The hungry, blade-like grass lashed at her arms leaving a trail of blood across her skin. A crow screeched overhead. She bounced a little on the hard ground, and then, with gritted teeth, rolled over to face the thing that chased her. The sky was greyish-blue, as if the sun hadn’t quite finished rising. And the path behind her lay empty.

She sat for a few moments, her chest heaving, gasping for much-needed air. Her hands feebly felt the ground around her. Her eyes took in the colours, the sights, the bridge – she was nowhere, yet she was safe. For the moment.

Standing slowly, she brushed off her skirts. Where had it gone – the thing that had chased her? A frown settled over her hardened eyes. What if it had the power to become invisible? She may not be safe after all.

Meriym turned and strode down the path, away from the bridge. There must be someone in this new world that could help her, protect her. She walked slowly, listening, hardly breathing, looking in every direction. With patience and perseverance she could – she would – outwit the creature. She would kill it, and every creature like it, revenge for destroying her people. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, only to see a strange shape emerging from just over the rise.

Hastening, Meriym’s eyes widened as she saw the strangest-looking house. Each side was perfectly square, and the four sections of roof peaked together in perfect isosceles triangles. Each side contained two windows and one door; the door was placed perfectly in the center and reached all the way to the top of the wall. The doorknob stuck out in precisely the middle of the door. The only thing that was not symmetrical in every direction was the set of steps that led up to each door on each side of the house.

Despite the uncomfortable balance of the building, the steps had begun to rot, and small tufts of grass grew through their weakened wood. Square shingles lay broken on the ground. A deep, dry, and unforgiving field spread out in all directions, with only one path leading away from the house towards the river which flowed a deep and unnatural red.

The house was odd, unusual, and utterly foreign. But it was a house and it appeared abandoned. Meriym swallowed and stepped towards it. With time, patience, and perseverance, it would become her fortress.