16th April 2008

I’m delighted to announce that THE MASTER, the third and final volume of my Time Master trilogy, is now available from Mundania Press!

Though many of you are, of course, already very familiar with the climax to the story of Tarod, Cyllan, Keridil and this particular round in the endless battle between the powers of Order and Chaos, I hope you’ll join me in a cheer - or three! It’s a terrific feeling to know that the whole trilogy is available again at long last, and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has waited so patiently.

Mundania tell me that the Time Master prequel trilogy, Star Shadow, will begin publication very soon - a great thrill for me, as vols. 2 and 3 have never been available  in the USA before. In the meantime, The King’s Demon, first of my four ’standalone’ fantasy novels, will be out very soon, and there will be plenty more to follow.

The Master is available in hardcover (including signed limited editions) or paperback. Full details are on Mundania’s web site at www.mundania.com - and as an added bonus, anyone who buys direct from them will also receive a free downloadable companion story, written specially to accompany the book. I must confess that I haven’t actually finished writing the story yet (oops!), but as soon as it’s completed it will be sent to readers who have already bought their copy of The Master.

This is a great week for me, because tomorrow - April 17th - also sees the publication by Bragelonne of the very first French language edition of L’Imposteur - book 1 of the Chaos Gate trilogy. You’ll have seen the gorgeous cover in my previous journal entry…

All in all, I think Cas and I will be having a little celebration toast tonight!

Filed under: Louise's Journal by Louise
1 Comment »

Yes, I know, and I’ve got to apologise again, haven’t I? Sorryyyy! Mind you, I haven’t had that much to report over the past few months, so perhaps it’s a little more forgivable…

 Plenty to tell now, though. Firstly, I’m delighted by the launch of the first two books of my new Mermaid Curse children’s quartet from Puffin. They did me proud with the Sea Horses covers, but these are, if anything, even better. They seem to have been very well received, too; though of course it’s early days yet. Book 3, The Rainbow Pool, will follow in June, with another superb cover, and the fourth and last episode, The Golden Circlet, is scheduled for publication in October.

Before that, though, Mundania Press are pulling their schedules back together, which means that the final volume of Time Master - The Master - will hit the shelves and the Internet any day now, as will the first of my four standalone novels, The King’s Demon. I’m really happy about this, as it will be the first time that the standalones have been available in the USA. I’ll let everyone know when they’re launched.

And next month - April - is publication time for L’Imposteur, the first book of the Chaos Gate trilogy, in French translation. The lovely guys at Bragelonne (who have already published Time Master) have really pulled out the stops on the cover, depicting the sorceress Ygorla in all her beautiful villainy:

‘Fraid I couldn’t resist putting a LARGE print on this page! Stephane, my editor at Bragelonne, asked if I happened to have Ygorla’s phone number. I replied that it might not be such a good idea, as she’d be trouble with a capital T! More details on Bragelonne’s web site, via my Links page. And an English language reprint of Chaos Gate is in the pipeline from Mundania, too.

Less happy news, though, is that publication of Bad Seed, which continues the adventures of Shar Tillmer from the Time-Master-world Daughter of Storms YA trilogy, has been postponed until… um… well, no one seems to know. I’m waiting to hear further news from Hodder. More anon - I trust!

That’s the major publication news for the time being… now to smaller but, I hope, cheering matters. Firstly, the eBook of Lord Of No Time will be available again soon from my shop page. It’s a new version, with additional illustrations by my husband, Cas - some full pics., not just vignettes - and… wait for it…. CHEAPER! The reason for this is that the original version was made for me by my previous web host, who charged a commission on each copy sold. The new version was created in-house, so no commission applies and I can pass the saving on to readers.

And secondly… in a major clear-up of our house (oh boy, did it need it! :)) I’ve finally located and unearthed my collection of out-of-print books; in particular the Indigo series. Now, I have a problem. I don’t need all these copies, so would be happy to sell some. They’re unused, and of course any copies sold would be signed and dedicated. But… how much should I charge? I don’t want to rip anyone off; on the other hand I (quite literally) can’t afford to let them go at an un-commercial price. So I’m currently trying to research and decide on a pricing that will be fair to all concerned. I’ve seen some staggering “asks” on eBay and other online sellers. But my collection would come direct from the author, the numbers are very limited, and - sorry to say it - the likelihood of Indigo being re-published in the foreseeable future is pretty small.  I would have to scan every page of all 8 volumes and correct all the hiccups that even the best OCR software throws up, and that is a truly mammoth task that would put paid to any new writing for some time to come.

So, does anyone have any thoughts on this? Your input would be most welcome!

Right; enough of publishing for now. Spring is here (in the Northern hemisphere, anyway; apologies to readers south of the Equator! :)), everything in our garden is growing at a berserk rate, Simba has a gale in his tail and has already nearly tripped me up twice this morning as he dashes around like a streak of furry lightning. I thionk he’s been chewing his catnip plant again… Cornwall has been storm-rocked in the past couple of weeks, as UK readers will probably know. We’ve had some spectacular high tides, and at night could hear the sea roaring like a furious lion. And the wind - well, suffice it to say that, in Newquay the other day, I got out of the car and was nearly blown flat on my face. Our local BBC radio station website has a selection of wild sea photos sent in by listeners, and they’re well worth a look - if you log on to www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall, and look at their storm gallery, you’ll see what I mean! I also came across a breathtaking video clip on the Newlyn Harbour site (Newlyn is Cornwall’s major fishing port - Google Newlyn Harbour and you’ll find it), which is a salutary lesson to anyone thinking of getting too close to the water in those weather conditions. I can feel storm scenes building in my imagination for the next book I write…

Speaking of writing, I think I’d better go and do some! Thanks to everyone for not ticking me off about my erratic journal entries. Many thanks, too, to all the people who proffered sympathy over my sprained ankle! It’s now 98 percent better, though I still get the occasional annoying twinge, especially in wet weather.

Oh, and Simba IS going to do his blog. When he’s got over his spring fever…

Filed under: Louise's Journal by Louise
3 Comments »

13th November, 2007

 Sigh! I seem to spend half my life apologising for my own inefficiency, and guess what? Here I go again! This time, though, there is a good reason for the lateness of this newest journal entry, as last month I managed to lay myself up with a sprained ankle. And it really was the silliest accident: I’d been working at my computer, sitting on the draughtsman’s (as opposed to typist’s) chair that I favour for work. Ankles were crossed and, naturally enough, went a bit numb after an hour or two. I then stood up, tried to walk into the kitchen and discovered - a little belatedly - that my feet had gone numb and I couldn’t feel or control them. Result - I went the proverbial purler on the floor (luckily my office is carpeted!) and whang went the left ankle, compounded by the fact that I was wearing wedge-heeled flipflops (no comments, please, about my fashion sense! :)). To cut a long story short(ish), I’ve been immersed in an extremely boring world of elastic bandages, anti-inflammatory painkillers, arnica tablets and a lot of very rude words, and am only now able to hop around for short distances with the aid of a walking stick.

Anyway, that’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it! So again, apologies to the vast hordes of people (!!) who have been struggling to survive without a Louise Cooper journal update…. :-))) Seriously, this enforced immobility has made me realise how easy it is to take the fundamentals of good health and reasonable fitness for granted, and my heart goes out to anyone who doesn’t have that basic fortune.

Writing has, of necessity, taken a back seat lately, so I’m a little behind on schedules but starting to catch up. The fourth and final volume of the Mermaid Curse quartet is well on the way to being completed, and I must admit that I’m loving every minute of it. A lesson I learned long ago from a very fine author is that, if the writer of a story enjoys what they are writing, that enjoyment will show through in the finished work. If that’s the case - and I firmly believe it is - then I think that this new story will capture a few imaginations out there. I certainly hope so.

PUBLICATION NEWS

November 25th will see a ‘first’ for me, and one that I’m very excited about. A short story of mine, titled Friends, will be published in the Sunday Express, a major UK national weekly newspaper. It’s only 1,000 words long, and is part of a series the paper is running of brief tales with a slight ‘bite’ to them. I’m thrilled to be a part of this;  it’s a great accolade. So I  hope that my UK friends will all rush out and buy a copy of the Sunday Express on the 25th!

Further good news is that the new Mundania Press edition of The Master, third and final volume of the Time Master trilogy, should be out within a few weeks. As a lot of readers know, there have been some considerable delays in the planned publication schedule, but it seems now that the problems have been resolved. My standalone fantasy The King’s Demon will follow on Master’s heels, and Mundania are looking to publish the Star Shadow and Chaos Gate trilogies, plus three more standalones - Sacrament of Night, Our Lady of the Snow and The Summer Witch - by the end of 2008. I’m anticipating a lot of proofreading! But it’ll be worth it, as I think anyone who has bought one of Mundania’s editions will agree.

And last but not least, starting next year there will a French language edition of the Chaos Gate trilogy! The lovely guys at Bragelonne, who scored a hit with their editions of Time Master, have now bought the sequel, and Strann, Karuth, Tirand - and, of course, Tarod and Yandros - will, I hope, make themselves known to a whole new readership. I’ll post publication dates when they’ve been finalised.

Here in Cornwall the oyster season has just begun, and the event was marked by the four-day annual Oyster Festival in Falmouth. The Festival is a wonderful occasion, with seafood cookery and marquees hosting arts, crafts and local history, as well as a fabulous selection of Cornish produce; including, of course, oysters galore. The Falmouth oyster fleet is now the only one in Europe that harvests entirely without engine power of any kind, and the sight of the beautiful and gracious working boats sailing out to their work is one to remember. Our shanty group, Falmouth Shout, sang to entertain the crowd on the final day. I just wish I hadn’t forgotten that tapping one’s foot in time to the songs is not advisable with an injured ankle…

Oh, yes.. and Simba’s blog. Well, I did talk to him about it, and he thinks it’s an excellent idea. He doesn’t want to call it a ‘blog’, though, as that rhymes with ‘dog’, and Simba and dogs don’t mix all that well. So because he’s a cat, he wants to call it a ‘blat’. Who am I to argue? The only problem I have now is pinning him down to SAY something, as the weather is still very mild and he’s spending most of his time having fun outside. And now that the daylight hours are much fewer… well, have you ever tried to find an energetic black cat in a dark garden? Then you know what I mean…

 That’s it for now - and I really WILL try not to leave it so long next time!

Best to all,

 Louise

Filed under: Louise's Journal by Louise
5 Comments »

10th August 2007

I’m happy to say that the online shop is now up and running! The page is titled ‘Dancing Mackerel’ because that’s the name of our own mini-publishing imprint - and, as you may already have seen from the News section, our first printed book is now available. When Penny, the author, first showed Cas and me the story we loved it; Cas was inspired to create a series of gorgeous illustrations, and we’re all very proud of the finished result. Hope you agree!

The shop is starting off in a very small way, with only a couple of items available as yet. But I have Cunning Plans (:)) and hope it won’t be long before there’ll be more goodies on offer. It’s far too corny to say ‘Watch this space’ - so I won’t. Only I just did. If you see what I mean…

The other big news is that the children’s page is also live on this site now, with a special mention of my forthcoming new quartet for Puffin Books. I’ve recently completed book 3 and have started work on the final volume; you can find details, a taster and the absolutely stunning covers for books 1 and 2 in that section. The setting, this time, is at Mount’s Bay on Cornwall’s south coast. I haven’t named the fishing port where my young heroine, Lizzy, lives, as it is fictionalised to a degree. But if you know Cornwall, you might be able to make an inspired guess. The photo shows the Severn class lifeboat that Lizzy sees on her visits to the harbour, and which has a significant role in the story…

Frogs and other trivia…

Apropos of absolutely nothing, a small, greenish-yellow frog has decided to move out of our garden pond (which is very small and already houses 20 of his friends) and take up residence in a large bucket that has filled up with rainwater. He (or she? How do you tell?) spends most of his time with his head poking out of the water, just chilling out and watching the world go by. If his presence means a few less slugs around the veg. beds, I’ll be well pleased!

And cat trivia (how can an ailurophile like me resist? )  Simba has become a toy-boy! The object of his interest is Miss Bella, who has just moved in with our lovely next-door neighbour. Miss Bella is about five years older than Simba, rather genteel and shy, with a lovely pattern of black-and-white fur. I’m not sure if they’ve actually met yet, but I’ve seen the way he looks at her from a distance when she’s sunning herself in her garden. I await developments… Maybe I should give Simba his own blog on the site? He can’t type, but if he dictates it to me, I can write it for him. What does everyone think? Anybody out there speak Cat?

We’re coming to the end of our Carnival week as I write this - a fun week, as it also included Cas’s birthday. I won’t tell you how old he is. Suffice it to say that I played a certain Beatles track on the birthday morning, just to make the point! There are lots of holiday visitors here, the beach lifeguards are working their socks off, and plenty of events are coming up, including a mini-regatta and ’round the rocks’ swimming competition, and our annual Lifeboat Day, which is always a terrific spectacle, especially when the guys from RNAS Culdrose search-and-rescue squadron fly in to perform a sea rescue display. The Sea King helicopters with their superbly skilled pilots are awesome to watch, whether they’re hovering over a boat at sea…

or coming in for a flawless landing on the beach…

Well, that’s it from me for the moment. More soon. And do let me know if you think I should give Simba his very own blog. He certainly thinks I should - though I suspect it would contain a lot about the relative merits of different cat food flavours, with the occasional mouse review for good measure!

Hope you’re enjoying your summer - or winter, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere!

Filed under: Louise's Journal by Louise
3 Comments »

What a month of contrasts June was! So many summer activities, but all taking place in weather that felt more like March, and an extremely wet March at that. However, the elements didn’t daunt any of the hundreds who turned out for the Falmouth Shanty Festival, and I think it’s safe to say that it was the best yet. Everyone sang themselves silly (our group should have been renamed Falmouth Croak by the Sunday evening! :)) and it was lovely to make new acquaintances and renew old ones. Even the dashes through the downpour from one venue to another were fun, in their way. And above all, we raised a lot of funds for the RNLI, to help in their work of saving lives at sea.

 Here’s a shot from the Rogues’ Gallery  - I love those umbrella hats!  The photo was taken by my lovely friend Alisoun, who came over from Seattle especially for the festival. Now, that’s what I call dedication! Oh, and I suppose I’d better explain the parrot. Our mascot, Keelhaul, was indisposed (furry toy parrots don’t like getting wet) so one of our number, the indefatigable Mark, volunteered to take his place…  If you really want to see more, the gallery on www.falmouthshout.com reveals all…

 As well as having fun, Cas and I have been busy workwise, too - and I’m delighted to be able to announce two exciting pieces of news. I’l give details in the order in which they’re happening…

OUR FIRST ‘REAL’ PUBLICATION!

Dancing Mackerel, our own - and as yet very small - imprint, is proud to launch What The Urchin Saw, its first physical (as opposed to eBook) publication!  It’s a delightful children’s story, written by our friend and fellow Falmouth Shout singer Penny Anne, and illustrated in full colour by Cas. It will be available in various outlets throughout Cornwall, and also through the shop page on this site. Which brings me to apology time, as the shop isn’t yet up and running. My fault entirely; I’ve been tardy in getting the copy together, and webmaster Mark is being very patient with me… But we should be there soon, and full details will then be available by either clicking the Shop link on this site, or by going to www.dancingmackerel.com. Thanks for your patience!

A NEW LOUISE COOPER CHILDREN’S QUARTET

I mentioned in my previous journal entry that I’m now working on Mermaid Curse, a new children’s quartet with a Cornish setting. Well, Puffin have just sent me the cover visual for the first book, The Silver Dolphin - and I can honestly say that it’s one of the most fabulous covers I’ve ever had! I’m waiting to get the OK to post it on the website; as soon as I do, it’ll be here in glorious colour. I can’t wait for everyone to see it! I’m utterly engrossed in writing the quartet, to the point where I’m even dreaming about the story, which I always take as a good sign. :) And as it takes place in August, I can even use it to imagine that it’s summer…!

More soon - and apologies again that some of the pages aren’t yet up and running. As the old song goes, ‘It’s coming on by degrees…’

 Louise

Filed under: Louise's Journal by Louise
1 Comment »

11th June, 2007

Well, this is it—my first attempt at writing and posting my journal on the new web site. Firstly, I want to say thank you to everyone who has contacted me, both personally and through the message board, since the site went live. Webmaster Mark and I are both delighted that you like the new design and format.

I’m sitting at my desk writing this and listening to the Goon Show on BBC 7 at the same time, which is a peculiar combination! But I’ll try not to be overly influenced… Summer has arrived; we’ve already had some wonderful weather here in Cornwall, and even though it’s cloudy and showery today, it’s very warm. I’m hoping that the gods will grant us a fine weekend, as this Friday (15th) sees the start of the annual Sea Shanty Festival in Falmouth, which is one of the year’s highlights for Cas and me. The festival is organised by the Falmouth Shout shanty group, with whom we’ve been singing for a couple of years now, and its purpose is to raise funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. As Cas is a launcher with our local lifeboat crew, and I’m station treasurer, it’s a cause close to our hearts. This year promises to be the best yet, as we have singers coming from as far afield as the Republic of Ireland and Brittany, all giving their services for free. So if you happen to be anywhere near Falmouth this weekend, come along and join the fun! There are full details on the Shout’s own web site (see my Links page)

As well as Shout singing activities, writing is keeping me busy. I’m working on Mermaid Curse, a new children’s quartet for Puffin, which I’m very excited about. Like Sea Horses it’s set in Cornwall, and is the story of a girl called Lizzy, who discovers the astonishing truth about mermaids—and is led into conflict with their evil Queen. The first two books, The Silver Dolphin and The Black Pearl are finished, and I’m now totally engrossed in The Rainbow Pool. Publication starts in February 2008; more details in due course. There are further new projects in the wind, but my superstitious side is urging me to hold back on talking about those until I have some definite news…

I must confess that I haven’t been in the sea yet—the water’s still too cold! But there’s plenty to do in the garden at this time of year. I’ve been trying to get a good photo of Simba. our black cat; only snag is, he won’t keep still for long enough. But I think I’ve managed one that puts his lovely personality across. He’s a very tall cat, if you know what I mean; not fat, but big. A friend of ours said on first seeing him, ‘He’s not a cat, he’s the Beast of Bodmin!’ He’s also very vocal; when he comes in from the garden he announces what he’s been doing, at great length and great volume. It’s a shame that we can’t speak Cat; I’m sure his adventures have been fascinating. Anyway, here he is, just about to roll over and ask to be made a fuss of…

I think I’ve probably waffled enough for my first journal. It’s a learning curve, as the saying goes; as time goes by I’ll get better and more coherent ( ). For now, though, hope you’ll enjoy this snippet, and I’ll be posting again soon.

Filed under: Louise's Journal by Louise
1 Comment »

Hello - and a welcome from Louise to the new web site. I hope you’ll be as delighted with it as I am! This my first ‘practice run’, as I’m learning how to use everything; before long - with a following wind - - I’ll be posting my first journal entry, with news of new projects and more.

 A few people have actually beaten me to it, and signed up for the journal and message board before I did! By the way, Mark says that if you haven’t yet received your password, please bear with us - it’s in hand!

 Right - onward and upward…!

Louise

Filed under: Louise's Journal by Louise
No Comments »

Hello there,

My name is Mark, I am obviously not Louise. I’m the guy who had designed and coded Louise’s brand new site.
I hope you have enjoyed looking around it, it’s been a lot of fun to make!

I am writing this note here just to explain the lack of content in this here journal. The site went live about five minutes ago so I imagine Louise will be writing her own introductory entry soon enough.

Well as soon as I’ve popped round to show her how to use this thing…..

So yes, stay tuned for Louise’s first entry, coming very soon…..

Aslo all ‘Under Construction’ pages will be gone soon enough, we just thought it’s better to have some stuff up then nothing at all.

Remember you can sign up and write on the message board right now at:

www.louisecooper.com/journal/messageboard

When you’ve signed up either here or on there you can comment on journal entries as well as start discussions and send messages on the message board.

Hope you enjoy it.

I will be an occasional moderator on the site so you will see me around.

Till then,
Mark
www.pensandpencilsandpens.com

Filed under: Introductions by Mark
No Comments »