Love Archon's cover?

If so, here's some great news! Archon has been nominated at Aussie Owned & Read's website for best international YA book cover, but I need your help to win the contest!  The link is here: http://aussieownedandread.com/2013/04/25/743/ . Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link to vote! Easy peasy. 

You know, I am not certain if you have to be an Australian native to vote, but hey, every little bit counts!

My travel bucket list now officially has a kangaroo on it.  :-D

Oh, yeah, and my lil Aussie birdie says THANKS BUNCHES EVERYONE!

THANKS!!!!!

Status of Book 2--We're Getting There!

For me, writing a first draft is often the most magical part of creating a novel.  When I am that deeply invested in a story, so immersed in it that I almost eat, drink and breathe it, there is no describing the feeling.  Like I am watching a movie reel and simply noting what I see, I sit back and type as events unfold before my eyes.  Surprises happen.  Plots twists come out of nowhere.  Sometimes everything I had originally planned for a story takes a turn in the opposite direction.

That's the real enchantment of writing .  Then--there comes the hard work.  By hard work I mean re-writes and revisions.

Revisions are difficult enough.  They often involve some re-writing, editing, cutting, expanding, pretty much anything you can think of that would twist your story around in the direction your editor finds necessary.  But your original vision was there in its truest form.

Re-writes, however, are another beast entirely.  They are brand new first drafts.  They are taking the 5% of your previous first draft that actually worked and creating something the same yet entirely new. In other words, they involve the same investment as the original first draft if not more so, because now you have to make sure certain things are different no matter where you planned the story to go.

Last November, I finished the first draft of Covenant.  Months later, I was told I needed to re-think the general direction of my story. This month, I delivered a new story as promised.

Now I wait.

If all goes well, Covenant will enter into the revision stage sometime later this winter.  I can only keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best, like all authors do. 

This is a common plight for writers.  When our publishers say jump, we must often reply, "How high?"  But that isn't really a bad thing in the long run.

It's just teaching us that we can always jump higher than we originally thought.

So I jumped higher with this version of Book 2.  We're getting there, so I thank from the bottom of my heart every fan and interested reader for their patience.  Hopefully by this spring, Covenant will be solidly on its way to production.  Just one more moment yet--and my, how time flies . . .

Archon Paperback Now Available!

Ah, November 6, a momentous day for both the United States and little old Sabrina.  Today our country gets a new president, and I as a happy author get to see a new edition of Archon go up for sale.  Look for a much overdue glossary in the back of Archon's paperback edition, as well as those optimistic ending words: To Be Continued.  Also, check out the new low price at these fine online retailers:

http://www.amazon.com/Archon-Books-Raziel-Sabrina-Benulis/dp/0062116908/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352212666&sr=1-1&keywords=Archon+Sabrina+Benulis

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/archon-sabrina-benulis/1104158559

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062116901

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Archon/Sabrina-Benulis/9780062116901

http://www.bookdepository.com/Archon-Sabrina-Benulis/9780062116901

Happy reading! :-)

Author Interview at Fantasy Books Blog

This particular blog author interview comes courtesy of a reader named Sabrina (no I am not joking or making that up haha) who much like my previous blog interviewer is also from Romania.  The interview itself is in Romanian, but thanks to the magic of Google Translate, you shouldn't have any difficulty copying and pasting if you are interested.  :-)

Find it here at: http://www.justfantasybooksadis.blogspot.ro/2012/10/interviu-cu-sabrina-benulis-archon.html .

Okay, the translation isn't perfect, but you get the gist of things, right?  >_<

Email me if you need solid clarification.

Only a few days till the Archon paperback goes on sale and I am hard at work on the second book.  Because, you see, us authors are always horrendously hard at work . . .

Author Interview at I Eat The Books Blog

My latest interview comes courtesy of a generous book blogger all the way in Romania!  Check it out if you're interested in what fantasy creature I would actually like to be if I had a choice, my current passion other than writing, and of course, the ultimate advice for any would-be writer or author. 

Here's the link at: http://ieatthebooks.blogspot.com/2012/09/interview-sabrina-benulis-author-of.html?spref=tw

In other news, the countdown to the Archon paperback has begun.  About a month or so to go. :-)

Finally-Revisions On Covenant Begin!

At long last I have received the editorial notes for Book #2 in The Books of Raziel series! 

How do things look?  Well, to sum everything up, I have a lot of work to do.  That isn't too surprising--many authors have to work long and hard on the second book of a series to get it right.  But I hope my fans can be patient, because I will be doing my best to make the story as enthralling as I can.

That being said, I would like to open up this post to any fans with opinions out there.  I would love to hear what characters you are most looking forward to seeing again, and also where you think the story might be headed.

I can't make any promises that is how the story will ultimately turn out, but it's always nifty to jump into a reader's head.

So feel free to post or message me if you have any fun comments/thoughts.

I'll update again soon, especially considering that the paperback for Archon is coming out on November 6, 2012, and I am hoping to do at least one or two giveaways in celebration. :-)

And now . . . I've got to put my nose back to the grindstone . . .

Status of The Books of Raziel, Book #2

Okay everyone--I'm going to admit that waiting sucks.

I have been getting questions from various people about when Book #2 will be released, etc.  So I'm going to tell you what I know right now.

Here's the skinny on what's going down over at HarperCollins: I have line edits for Covenant.  Unfortunately, I still do not have the editorial notes.  Without them, I can't revise the book.  And so I wait, and wait, and wait. And in the meantime I keep myself busy, because just sitting there and waiting would be plain dumb, right?

The publication date right now is June of 2013, though this could change.  Believe me, I was hoping for sooner rather than later, but we authors have no say over release dates.  >_>   So I hope you can all be patient with me, everyone!  I am doing my best for us all.  Honestly, it kills me because I love Book # 2 and I know you will too.  But, hey, such is life.

Be assured, however, that I will keep everyone updated when I am updated.

In the meantime, Archon will be released in paperback on November 6 of 2012, which is an amazing milestone for any author.  The content remains the same, although I was able to include a helpful glossary this time--something I had hoped for with the hardcover.  Also, the final words at the end of the paperback now say, "To Be Continued" if only because I never realized how many people read Archon and thought it was both the beginning and end of the story.  Far from it! Stupid me, I know . . . O_O

Anyway, if anyone else has any questions for me, feel free to contact me here, or through email, FB, Twitter, etc.  I'll make sure to get back to you ASAP.