• In Which Handsome and Hideous Celebrates Its Paperback Book Birthday

    The paperback edition set among foliage. Both the small green leaves of the shrub and the cover of the book are sun-dappled. The central image is the book cover for Handsome and Hideous by Maria Fox. The main color is dark blue with pinpoint white stars. There is a crumbling octagonal tower in the background, circled by flying ravens. Over that image is a tattered red rose attached to black thorns. The title and author’s name are in silver, as are the decorative motifs in the corners.

    It seems incredible that it’s been a year since Handsome and Hideous first appeared in paperback! Since then, it’s appeared on the shelf at my public library, it’s stocked at my local bookstore, The Book Lounge, and it will soon be stocked at my local used bookstore, The Book Rescuers.

    Big shout out to independent bookstores who support local and indie authors! Big shout out to libraries for making stories and resources available to all! Big shout out to readers who try out less well-known authors! You are all part of making writers’ dreams come true.

    Happy print birthday, Handsome and Hideous.

    Handsome and Hideous is available from the usual vendors (including independent stores) in both e-book and paperback.

  • In Which I Visit My Friendly Neighborhood Used Bookstore

    Interior of a used bookstore. The photo is taken to see down a series of windows that have been made in the parallel rows of shelving, giving the impression of a tunnel. Books fill the all the shelves in every row. In the very last, farthest, and apparently smallest window, one can see the back wall, also with book-filled shelves. Over the window nearest the viewer are large white letters with blue polka dots spelling out READ. In the foreground. on the sill of this nearest window, are a few coffee table books.

    The Book Rescuers is a huge used bookstore with miles of shelving, places to sit and read or chat, work for sale by local artists and crafters, vinyl records, movies on VHS (!) and DVD/BluRay, and more. I love stopping by and wandering for a bit among the shelves. The vibe is chill, the books are many, and the chairs are comfy. There’s nothing like a good bookstore to make a community feel like home.

  • In Which Handsome and Hideous Celebrates a Book Birthday

    Image features the book cover on the left and copy in red on the right on a light gray background. At the bottom and top of the image are centered decorative elements in red. The title and author’s name on the book cover for Handsome and Hideous by Maria Fox are in silver, as are the decorative motifs in the corners. The main color is dark blue with pinpoint white stars. There is a crumbling octagonal tower in the background, circled by flying ravens. Over that image is a tattered red rose attached to black thorns. Red-letter copy reads, “A sorceress banished at birth…A prince desperate to save his dying mother…A stealthy enemy determined to destroy them both…Breaking the curse may be the easy part.”

    Real Life has been keeping me pretty busy this year, but I couldn’t let the anniversary of the first public appearance of Handsome and Hideous slip by unmarked. On this date a year ago, I pressed the “publish” button, half exhilarated and half terrified.

    Handsome and Hideous was out in the world at last!

    It was thrilling to go to the various e-book vendors’ sites and look up Handsome and Hideous and see it pop up. It’s still pretty delightful.

    In the past twelve months, H&H has joined the collection of my local public library. It’s available globally in both e-book and paperback, and currently sits on the shelf at The Book Lounge bookstore. Readers have been kind enough to let me know they’ve enjoyed it.

    Happy birthday, Handsome and Hideous! May you continue to find readers for years to come!

    (Naturally, I will note the book birthday of the print edition in a couple of months. Why pass up an excuse for celebration?)

  • In Which Handsome and Hideous Is on a Bookstore Shelf

    First, friends, let me apologize for being AWOL for a while! Real Life has been pretty hectic the past few months, both with joyful events and challenging ones. And of course national (USA) events have been turbulent. I’ve been trying to embrace the joy and rise to the challenges.

    One joy is a new bookstore in my area, The Book Lounge. It prominently features romance (several subgenres) a well as other fiction and provides a great place to hang out as well: comfy seating, coffee, lots of books to browse.

    They are excited to support local and indie authors. I’m pleased and proud that they have agreed to stock Handsome and Hideous in their Indie Authors section.

    If you’re in the St. Pete area, definitely check them out!

    The Book Lounge at 631 Central Avenue in St. Pete
    Bookshelf inside the store with Handsome and Hideous displayed. The shelves are red. In the center is a copy of Handsome and Hideous, set in a clear plastic stand, face out. The cover has an oval “Autographed Copy” sticker. To the left are two more copies, shelved with the spines out. Other books are also on the same shelf, as well as on shelves above and below.
    Handsome and Hideous on the shelf at The Book Lounge
    Me inside bookstore standing in front of bookshelf and holding a copy of Handsome and Hideous. The cover has an oval “Autographed Copy” sticker. Two red bookshelves are visible behind me, filled with books shelved face-out and spine-out. I am a white woman with dark-framed glasses and gray hair that is pulled back out of my face. I am wearing a red and brown flannel shirt over a brown V-neck shirt and blue jeans. Two more copies of Handsome and Hideous can be seen on the shelf behind me, over my left shoulder. I am smiling.
    Proud author holding Handsome and Hideous in The Book Lounge

  • In Which I Learn to Throw a Pot

    My youngest and I had a lot of fun learning to throw pots last weekend at a local pottery, the Clay Co-Op. 2 hours, we each got to make 2 pots, all materials included. (I’ll show you the pots once they’ve been fired in another couple weeks.) My next book has an important secondary character who’s a potter, so there was a whole second level of interest and enjoyment for me. Very difficult to take notes with hands covered in clay, but I tried to imprint as much as possible on my memory for later!

    Check the studio we took the class at, The Clay Co-Op. They also have members’ work for sale. Also check out the Clay Collective of St. Pete. Wherever you are, consider making an effort to support your local artists and craftspeople, if you don’t already. There are lots of people everywhere making beautiful, intriguing, and useful things.

    The inside of a pottery studio. In the center is a potter’s wheel. The wheel consists of a low, irregularly shaped table. The horizontal surface is yellow plastic. The three black plastic legs rest on red bricks. On the low table on the left side is a wheel, a mostly black circle with a steel border. On the wheel rest a metal scraping tool and a wooden pottery knife. On the table to the right is a plastic bucket filled with clayey water. A large clayey rectangular sponge is draped over the rim. On the speckled concrete floor is the pedal for the wheel, connected to the wheel and table by a cord. A low gray stool is to the left of the pottery wheel table. Toward the upper right, two more wheel stations can be seen. In the upper left stands a sturdy wooden table holding tools, not fully visible.
    A pottery wheel station at the end of class, after we cleaned our spaces!
    Table displaying some of the class’s finished pots. Visible are four finished but unglazed and unfired pots of red clay on flat wood squares. The are two small pots, fully glazed and fired, one yellow, one blue. In the bottom right corner is a crock holding several paintbrushes of different sizes and shapes. In the upper left are three objects like dark cake stands. A red pot on a wood square sits on a fourth stand, for easier painting. The pottery teacher’s red and white striped apron is visible, as is one arm steadying the wood platform. One can just see the blowtorch she is using to quickly dry the surface of the pot to ready it for painting with glaze.
    Some our class’s finished but unglazed pots. The teacher is quick-drying the surface of the pots with a blowtorch so we can paint on the glaze.
    A look at finished but unglazed and unfired pots from class. On a wooden table surface, in the center of the photo are two bowls set on thin wood squares ready to be painted with glaze. One can see the edges of two others along the right side. At the top of the image, from the left, are a plastic tub with tools, a green go-cup, and a white rag.
    A closer look at some of our pots before applying glaze. It will be fun to see what they look like after firing!

  • In Which I Bake Focaccia

    Every few weeks I like to make focaccia. Yesterday made some plain and some with onion, garlic, and rosemary. Very satisfying on a rainy evening!

    Seen from above. A white oval platter on a red tablecloth. Eight pieces of plain focaccia are arranged on the platter. One can see the dimples in the golden-brown bread and the Maldon salt flakes sprinkled on top.
    Seen from above. A wooden cutting board on a dark granite counter that is reflecting a lot of glare. On the board are twelve freshly cut golden-brown pieces of focaccia. A couple of pieces are angled for visual interest. Onion, rosemary, and Maldon salt flakes top the focaccia. To the lower right is a pizza cutter, resting against a couple of pieces.

  • In Which I Open a Box of Author’s Copies

    I’m not going to lie, it was pretty thrilling to open the box of author’s copies I ordered! You can order your own hard copy (or e-book) here.

    Seen from above. A large opened cardboard box containing trade paperback copies of Handsome and Hideous. Six copies are visible, with one copy pulled out of its packing place and set at an angle on top of the others. Along the top of the image bits of white rug and dark wood floor are visible.

  • I’m on Sci-Fi & Sunshine with Bria Burton!

    I was thrilled to appear on the podcast of my friend and fellow writer Bria Burton this week. Check out episode 22 of Sci-Fi & Sunshine on YouTube! We talk about AI, local bookstores, the writing process (we’re both gardeners/pantsers), and of course, Handsome and Hideous. I share a map of the kingdom of Tamtir that I drew while writing and several mixed media pieces I made (and rejected!) while figuring out the cover design.

    Bria and I have been in the same critique group for years. Check out her books, podcast, and more at https://www.briaburton.com/ !

  • Universal Book Link for Handsome and Hideous now offers both e-book and paperback vendors

    Blog banner using the images from the book cover of Handsome and Hideous. In the background, the stone octagonal castle left-center, the tattered red rose to the right, supported by a tangle of black thorns, and a starry dark blue night sky over castle, rose, and thorns. To the left are foregrounded images of the paperback edition, turned to show a bit of the spine, and a color tablet displaying the book cover. To the right in white letters is written, Handsome and Hideous by Maria Fox is now available in e-book and paperback! Vendors: https://books2read.com/u/bzx7o2. MariaFoxWriter.com. In the lower left corner and upper right corner are corner decorations in light purple.

    Just a quick post to let you know that I’ve updated the UBL for Handsome and Hideous to connect to both e-book and print sellers (clicking the link takes you to the URL given in the image above).

    Here’s a quick list of the vendor links available when you click here:

    E-book:

    • Kobo
    • Nook
    • Apple Books
    • Google Play
    • Smashwords
    • Kindle
    • Indigo
    • OverDrive (Libby)
    • Angus & Robertson
    • Thalia
    • Vivlio
    • Palace Marketplace
    • Fable
    • Casa del Libro
    • Beucher.de
    • FNAC
    • bol.de
    • Hugendubel
    • bol.com
    • ebook.de
    • Gandhi
    • Walmart (I’m trying to get this moved to the print list, since that’s the format the link offers, but I have not yet succeeded)
    • Booktopia

    Paperback:

    • Barnes & Noble
    • Bookshop
    • Books-A-Million
    • Amazon
    • Angus & Robertson
    • Foyles
    • Thalia
    • Hugendubel
    • Blackwell’s
    • Waterstones

    I think you can see why I’m using a Universal Book Link (provided and maintained by the fine folks at Books2Read). It’s a lot of links to create and disseminate individually.

    Books2Read keeps the lists updated and I also search for new listings every few weeks, so keep checking if you don’t see your favorite.

    Happy reading!

  • Handsome and Hideous is out in paperback!

    I am thrilled to announce that Handsome and Hideous is now out in paperback as well as e-book!

    The trade paperback of Handsome and Hideous is lying amid foliage. The cover is sundappled and shadowed by small, long leaves. The cover itself is dark blue with small white stars. The octagonal stone castle is not clearly visible in this light, but the image of dark thorns and a tattered red rose are. The title and author are in pale gray, as are the corner decorations.

    Isn’t it beautiful?

    The cover of the book Handsome and Hideous by Maria Fox is shown against a shaded gray background. The cover is dark blue with small white stars. The background image is an octagonal stone castle. The foreground image is dark thorns and a tattered red rose. The title and author are in pale gray, as are the corner decorations. In a red cursive font around the cover are written tropes that might interest readers. Red lines with arrows run from the cover at different points and each point to a noted trope. The tropes are: she’s the beast, quest, curses, sorceress and prince, finding one’s place without losing oneself, and fish out of water times two. Beneath the cover, in red, are the URLs for vendors and the author’s website. Vendors: https://books2read.com/u/bzx7o2. Website: MariaFoxWriter.com

    As it says in the image above, there’s a link for purchasing both e-book and paperback copies: click here.

    To purchase a paperback copy from Barnes & Noble or Amazon, click the link and then click on the Nook icon (for Barnes & Noble) or the Kindle icon (for Amazon).

    Paperback copies of Handsome and Hideous can also be ordered through your favorite independent bookstore, as it distributed through Ingram.

    You can also check your library for e-book availability or place a request for the print copy.

    Happy reading!

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