The Emerald Flame: Browse Inside

By Allan | Monday, 25 October 2010 at 14:06
Category: Writing | Tags: , ,


Browse Inside this book
Get this for your site

Hey, everyone! There’s even more of The 3rd Warrior Princess book to see if you follow the above link!

Inkpop - Live Chat - 27th October - 4pm EST.

By Allan | Monday, 18 October 2010 at 09:08
Category: Writing

I have some more information now about the “live chat” forum I will be on later this month.

As it says above, this will take place on the 27th October, for an hour from 4pm EST - I’m sure you people will all be able to work out what time that is in your own time zones. Apparently this is about an hour earlier than these chats usually take place - this is because it will be 11 o’clock at night in London where I live - if we left it any later, I’d probably fall asleep at the keyboard.

It is open for Inkpop members - of which there are apparently over five thousand - so if any of you people would like to join in, you’ll need to register. All you need to do is go to www.inkpop.com and click on the Register button in the upper right-hand corner. Two options will appear, connect with Facebook or Create a new inkpop account - click on the Create a new Inkpop account.

Fill in the registration page.

After doing this and clicking yes to the Terms and Conditions of Service box, you will be taken to a profie page. Fill in as much or as little of this as you feel like. Save changes. You will then have an Inkpop profile.

I’m certain you are all a lot more computer-savvy than I am, so I’m sure you won’t have any trouble figuring out what you have to do to ask me questions - but apparently I will be sent a specific URL one week prior to the actual live chat. If this is relevant to Inkpop members I will post it as soon as I have it - so keep an eye on this page, okay?

I hope some of you will feel like taking part in this live chat - it should be fun!

I’ll post more information about the dial-in Internet Radio show I’m taking part in soon.

Warrior Princess 3: The Emerald Flame - sneak-peeks

By Allan | Saturday, 2 October 2010 at 07:48
Category: Writing | Tags: ,

For all of you who have been asking me about the sneak-peek chapters of the forthcoming 3rd Warrior Princess book - good news! I have now posted two and a half chapters for you to take a look at. Those who have Warrior Princess 2: Destiny’s Path in hardback will recognise the first chapter from the back of that book, but the rest will be new to you.

You can access the chapters by going to the BOOKS page and then clicking on the appropriate links on the sidebar on the right hand side. Or you can go into the Warrior Princess page, then to The Emerald Flame page and link through from the bottom of that page.

In the next few days I will post some information about the live chat hour I am involved in later this month.

Picture Gallery

By Allan | Friday, 24 September 2010 at 08:14
Category: Writing

Some of you will probably already have spotted that I’ve added a Picture Gallery to my site. I’ve been promising it for a while, and now it’s actually up and running. Well, almost running. It’ll be running properly once I find out how to download more pictures and organise them and geeky stuff like that.

First of all, I’d like to thank my friend Jules for setting all this up for me, I couldn’t have done it on my own. thanks, Jules!

For the moment there’s only one page in the Gallery - a set of sketches I did of Tania’s sisters. Now, one of the really great things about books, is that they allow every reader to have in their mind the image of what everything and everyone actually looks like. So, if you have a different image in your head of how the Princesses look, that’s absolutely fine. Your ideas are as valid as mine.

I’m planning on posting some more pictures soon, so you might like to keep an eye out for that.

Meanwhile, I’ve been asked to take part in an online live chat about writing Fantasy. It’s late in October, and I’ll let you have more info about it as soon as I get it.

The sneak-peeks for The Emerald Flame should be up in the next few days, so Warrior Princess fans should watch out for them.

Elfennacht - The Faerie Path in Germany

By Allan | Wednesday, 8 September 2010 at 10:13
Category: Writing

Over the past few months I have been getting a steady flow of mails from German fans of The Faerie Path (called Elfennacht in Germany), asking me when books five and six will be appearing in their country.

Unfortunately, I have bad news for my German fans - the final two books of the Faerie Path series are not going to be published in Germany. The publisher has decided not to continue with the series - and has stopped it right on the cliffhanger of book 4! I am very disappointed and upset about this, as you can imagine, but there is absolutely nothing I can do about changing their minds. It would have made more sense for them to only publish the first three books than to leave readers hanging in the air with the end of book 4!

I have been suggesting to my German fans that they might wish to buy the final two books in English and try reading them either with a friend who can read English or with a dictionary at their side. This is not a great solution to the problem, but I really don’t know what else to suggest.

The only other possibility, is that if enough fans in Germany make contact with the publisher, demanding that the books be published in German - a large enough pile of letters might make a difference. I don’t know if this would be the case, but it might be worth trying!

Meanwhile, to all my German fans - my apologies that you will not be able to read Tania’s continuing adventures in your own language, and huge thanks to you for being so loyal through the four books that you have read.

September And Everything After

By Allan | Wednesday, 1 September 2010 at 08:19
Category: Writing | Tags: ,

I do like September.

Here in my part of the UK, the sunlight becomes golden and it slants across the sky, throwing long shadows. And early in the morning, the grass is wet and cool and the sky is bright, and those great big fluffy white clouds go sailing past like galleons under full sail. It always reminds me of holidays when I was a kid. We’d go every year to a place on the coast called Camber Sands, and we’d stay in a wooden three-roomed chalet. There was a very long garden, with a wooden gate at the back. And if you went through the gate you’d have sand underfoot and it would only be a short walk up and over the dunes to get to the beach. And when the tide was out, the beach was 400 yards deep - and golden sand all the way. Oh, and the chalet where we stayed was called Veraglad - anyone recognise the name???

Arya, who set up the Fan Forum and Fan Club site, is running a poetry competition. You’ll find out all about it if you go to http://mysticrealms.co.nr/ . There are prizes - a signed book of mine, for one, so do check it out if you’d like to try your luck at being a poet, even if you don’t know it. Sorry, I didn’t mean to write in rhyme, but I find it happens all the time. There you go again, you see - I don’t know what is wrong with me. I’ll start another paragraph, before you all begin to laugh, because my face is blue and orange..there! That’s stopped it - nothing rhymes with orange!

Quite a few of you have been asking whether The Charmed Return will be the final book in the Faerie Path series. Well, at the moment, it does look like it will be. I do have more ideas for Tania and Co but the publishers right now think 6 books is enough. If you’d like to see a 7th, 8th or 9th book, then probably the best way to make it happen is not to ask me - but to go directly to the publishers and demand more Faerie Path books! I think that if enough of you make contact with Harper Collins, you might make a difference…who knows? It might be worth a try.

and now I come to the riddles that I posed as a teaser for The Charmed Return. Well, as I said right at the start, I’m not about to give the whole plot away - but there have been a lot of really smart guesses - I’m very impressed. Liz and Victoria in particular have got a lot of things right, but a few wrong - you’ll just have to decide for yourselves which is which. The only other clue I could give you now…hmmm…let me think. Well, the first 7 people in the Power of Seven were the Princesses - but the second bunch of 7 people in the new Power of Seven are not Tania’s sisters - they’re closer to her than that. As for the rest - well, sorry, but I think you may have to be patient with that!

Warrior Princess book 3 is out in a few weeks - October 26th to be precise. I’m planning on posting some sneak-peek stuff here very soon, so keep your eyes out for that.

And finally? Well, I have mentioned this before, but I’m going to be on an American-based radio show in November - and its a show where people can call in to ask questions or just say hi! In a few weeks, I’ll give you the details of how to listen to this show and how to call them and speak with me. I hope some of you will want to do that.

I think that’s about all the news for now. Happy September!

The Charmed Return - riddles and conundrums

By Allan | Monday, 16 August 2010 at 11:56
Category: Writing | Tags:

FP6 HC JKT des2.inddHere at last is a sneak-peek look at the cover of the 6th Faerie Path book: The Charmed Return, hot off the presses, as people used to say.

For anyone not yet in the know, the book is due out towards the end of January 2011. At the end of 2010, I am planning on posting some sneak peeks of the book online, so watch out for them in Nov/Dec.

Meanwhile, I have been asked if I’d be prepared to post some riddles based on the storylines in The Charmed Return.

here are the rules of the following riddles:

There are no rules except for the ones that I make up as I go along. If you work out the whole plot from these riddles and ask me if you have got it right I may say “yes” or I may say “no” or I may say “no comment”. I may give further hints, or suggestions based on questions you ask, but I may not tell the truth, or I may tell the truth, or I may say “no comment”. (I’m not about to give the whole plot away for everyone just because some of you are really really good at this kind of thing.) The riddles are all based on true things in the book - none of the riddles are untrue.

Okay: here goes.

1,2 & 4 are trapped in amber.

3 is no more, alas, but why do birds flock around the Dolorous Tower?

5 arrives, but can 5 really be alive?

6 and a boy appear when they jump through a hoop - but which of 2 boys and how are they here?

7 is half lost, but the Green Girl will help 7 to reunite.

The formula for the return:

TFP (221+4=T)=TLQ (135+11=A)=(181+24=G)=(248+7=F)

The answer is: 4 of 7.

5 of 7 is 50% TA+50%AP. In other words, 1 of 7 and 5 of seven are the same power twice over.

6 of 7 and 7 of 7 are hidden in TCR.

Together these 7 will make a new Power of Seven.

The Solution:

When Brother cries Uncle all evil is done - so why are the horses still galloping from the North, and who is the new Captain of Weir?

And if all is well, what does this mean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_End_(Camden)

That’s it.

For those who enjoy this kind of thing, happy puzzling.

The Charmed Return

By Allan | Monday, 9 August 2010 at 08:45
Category: Writing | Tags: ,

I’ve been getting a lot of emails asking me when the 6th Faerie Path Book will be in the stores.

The most recent was from Sheridan Fox (Hello Sheridan!). I tried mailing back, but got a “failed” notice - which made me think it was probably time to post about the publication date of The Charmed Return.

So - here goes: The Charmed Return is due to hit the stores on the 25th January 2011.

At some point later this year I will be posting sneak-peeks online here to whet your appetites - so watch this space!

Meanwhile, I know a lot of you are real fans of the Warrior Princess series - so I’d just like to remind you that the 3rd book in the series is due out in October this year - and that I will be posting sneak-peeks in early September, I hope.

I’m on holiday right now, and I only dropped by my computer for a few moments, so that’s about it for now. Oh, except to say I’m really pleased by how many of you people are visiting the Forum site and engaging in conversations about all things Faerie and Warrior Princess.

bye for now - hope everyone is having a great Summer.

The Sundered Lands - The Six Crowns

By Allan | Tuesday, 20 July 2010 at 08:35
Category: Writing | Tags:

usa-trundle-smaller-front1Most of you will know about the new series for younger readers that I’ve been working on with the illustrator Gary Chalk. Well, book one of the series “Trundle’s Quest” came out in the UK last Saturday, so we all have our fingers crossed that people are going to like it. The book is aimed at readers from 8 years old and upwards, so if any of you have younger brother and sisters or cousins or brothers or sisters of friends or relations or neighbours, and these people like fantasy and talking animals and flying ships and adventure romps, these books might be just the thing for them. Or maybe you like that kind of thing yourself? I know I did when I was in my teens!

The books are also going to be published in America - by Greenwillow (They’re affiliated to Harper Collins who publish Faerie Path and Warrior Princess), but they will have a different series title. In the US the series is going to be called THE SIX CROWNS. If you check out Amazon.com you’ll see that book one “Trundle’s Quest” is due to hit the stores on March 22nd 2011. In America the books will have different covers, so don’t get confused - despite the completely different covers Trundle’s Quest in Sundered Lands and in The Six Crowns is exactly the same book.

Something else you could do if you have time is to check out the brand new website Gary and I have put together for the series here in the UK - www.sunderedlands.co.uk. (You can find it on my “links” page). We’re not sure if there will be a different website for the US version, or what, but I’ll let you know as soon as we do.

Oh, by the way - one thing you will notice in the US version is that I’m called “Allan Jones” - this is because the publishers don’t want to confuse readers of Faerie Path and Warrior Princes by using “Allan Frewin Jones” or “Frewin Jones” - because this new series is very different from those other two series.

I have two copies of the UK version of Trundle’s Quest which I will sign and send to the two first people who ask.

allan-frewin-jones-and-gary-chalk-015b

The Lost Queen - Photographs

By Allan | Tuesday, 13 July 2010 at 10:31
Category: Writing

okay, for the next in my series of “I was there” photos. These relate to scenes in The Lost Queen.02-post-office

this is the Post Office in Richmond where Tania and Edric tried to discover who had sent Tania her Soul Book.

08-riverside-walkHere’s the riverside walkway where Tania met her other self “Gracie” with Nanny Perks.15-titanias-garden

And the next picture is of the gardens that front the apartment where Titania was living - with the block of apartments in the background.