Smashwords Summer Sale

It's one of those weeks.

1. My computer is back in the shop. The techs failed to fix it. Grr.

2. My dog is really sick again. (Scavengers are not supposed to get sick.)

3. Both my parents might need surgery.

4. I have to start sewing a Shakespeare costume. (Actually, it's fun and I get to listen to audio books, but it's a lot of work.)

5. I have to drive down to Atlanta. (Also fun because I'm going to help my daughter check out apartments--she's starting a PhD program at Emory in August. But I hate driving.)

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's having a rough week. So we all need to celebrate and have some fun. And Smashwords is providing it.




Smashwords is having a big sale. Lots of books are heavily discounted, some are free. Both Screwing Up Time and Screwing Up Babylon are on sale. The only thing you need to do is use a coupon code at check out. Use the code SSW50 to get 50% off of Screwing Up Babylon. And use SW100 to get Screwing Up Time for free.

Not Your Sister's Unicorn

When I first started writing Screwing Up Time, I spend a lot of time planning and thinking about the time travel elixir. I wanted it to be a very natural, plausible, even scientific recipe. But, it needed a special ingredient. Something rare, something that bordered on fantastic, but not quite impossible.

Unicorn horn seemed like the perfect ingredient. Except, at the back of my mind, I saw all the silly unicorns—the stuffed animals with rainbow hued spirals, a kind of My Little Pony of the mythic world. And that gave me pause.

Historically, unicorns were powerful wild animals. Everyone from the ancients Greeks to Marco Polo spoke about them with respect. And ancient alchemists believed their horns (made up of alicorn) could be used to cure poisoned water and heal the sick.

Since Screwing Up Time was set in the Middle Ages, it only made sense that alchemists (and other ancient peoples) would use unicorn horn as an ingredient in a time travel elixir. And so, I decided to ignore the rainbow stuffed animals, trusting that my readers knew that unicorns were dangerous, unpredictable animals. Just check out the image below—it’s picture of a tapestry from the Cloisters museum in NYC. (I actually got to see the unicorn tapestries up close during a visit to the museum.) This ferocious beast is not your sister’s unicorn.



When I visit Paris later this spring, I plan to visit the Musee de Cluny where they have more unicorn tapestries. If they let me take photos, I'll be sure to post them here.

One more bit of excitement. This week, Smashwords is celebrating "Read An E-book Week," and Screwing Up Time is FREE when you use the coupon code, RW100, at the checkout. Enjoy!

Smashwords

Screwing Up Time and Screwing Up Babylon are now available at Smashwords!! So now they're available for any format e-reader!

Here's Screwing Up Time.

Here's Screwing Up Babylon.

Merry Christmas!!