Merry Belated Christmas!

Since Russian Christmas has yet to arrive, it didn't feel out of place for me to spread some more holiday cheer. 
There's nothing like the golden glory of the traditional Christmas tree . . .

Also, there is this:

And it still feels absolutely surreal.

Happy holidays!

Mini-Blog Tour: My Bookish Ways

This time, the blog that interviewed me is also hosting a giveaway of a copy of ARCHON.  Enjoy!
http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/12/interview-giveaway-sabrina-benulis-author-of-archon.html

Sale Day!!

ARCHON is officially on sale starting today, which means I am as nervous as a turtle on stilts.  To all of you out there who pick up a copy of my book, thanks so much!!

On another unrelated but deliciously cute note, thanks to Christmas my Toki-Doki unicorn Pepperino

now has a mate.  Meet Bellina:

If you think this is all too cute you are absolutely right.  Toki-Doki should be sued for criminal adorableness.

Author Series: The Road to Publication Part 2

I promised to continue this post series for the sake of any aspiring writers out there who would like an insider's advice.  I hope this is helpful to you.
Today, I'm going to talk about the second half of my previous post about developing an awesome book idea that you'd like to see published: Writing for You.
When I talk about writing for you, I am referring to the blessed opposite of the strategy to pen a novel for the sake of either pure fame or cold hard cash.  Or because you're afraid of your own imagination. Check out part 1 of this series for why selling out could be both a clever strategy and still the worst career move possible.
Writing for you, however, means exactly that.  Think of it as a large chunk of chocolate onyour dinner plate, and you don't have to worry about sharing.

Yeah, now we're talking.
Anyway, writing for you is a delicious strategy for many reasons.  Most of those reasons are frankly based on moral integrity.  But the tops is this:

YOU WILL BE USING YOUR IMAGINATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You will also have a lot of fun doing so.
For instance, let's say you want to write a novel about time-traveling griffins from the planet Saturn.  It's what you crave to write, it's what you love.  The characters live, walk, and breathe within your mind.  You can actually feel the story moving within you, and when you sit down to write the excitement is so great you could type and type for hours without a break.
However, you're afraid.
No one is buying novels about griffins from the planet Saturn, someone tells you.  Good luck with all that.  Best to write a book you already know and then just change the title and the names of the main characters.  Easy money, kiddo.
Well, here's the argument.  How do you think Harry Potter, Twilight, and the Hunger Games (and I go back to these because they are so widely read and known) got to where they are?  It's because they either a.) did something radically different and unique, or b.) took a basic plot and still uniqued the heck out of it.  One could argue that there are no "new" plots, only derivatives thereof.  But in essence, those authors didn't give a darn about the market when they wrote those books.  They simply wrote them because the characters and the world wouldn't let them sleep if they didn't obey.
Besides, who's to say that a novel about time-traveling griffins from the planet Saturn won't revolutionize the sci-fi world?  When it comes down to it, all stories are preposterous--until they are written well.
Here is my moment then to invite someone to actually take on my challenge and write a short story about time-traveling griffins from Saturn.  Go ahead, I'd love to see your take on it. ;-)
Oh, but we also aren't done here.  There are cons to writing for yourself . . . for your own personal bliss . . .

Yes, it's a sad but true fact.
Number One Con: you don't get published. Yet.
Number Two Con: you get published and people look at your book askew, like it's wearing a pig suit.

There is also number three, which is inbetween: you are an amazing artist, and your subject-matter is timely yet unique (a werewolf thriller for example), but:

PEOPLE JUST DON'T GET IT

Which usually amounts to the wrong people reading it in the first place.  Do people who expect soft-porn romance in The Lord of the Rings novels really deserve to rate it low?  Really?

So, in a nutshell, this is how you develop awesome book ideas.  Either you sell out or stand out.
Neither choice is guaranteed or safe, and so I say with a grin and a sincere prayer for the best:

Mini-Blog Tour On and On: The Qwillery

An interview at The Qwillery blog: http://qwillery.blogspot.com/2011/12/interview-with-sabrina-benulis-december.html
They asked me a lot of questions, so if you are curious to know more about an author's thoughts on her own book, it's the place to go.

Mini-Blog Tour Continues: Post at Suduvu.com

Suduvu.com invited me to write a guest essay about Archon and why I wrote the novel.  If you check it out, feel free to comment here or at the post itself.  I always like to hear what people have to say.  I brought up my religious background for the first time, so that makes it a little different.  Everyone always asks me how religion has influenced my views on angels and demons.
My common answer?
It's made them a whole heck of a lot scarier. *grin*
Here's the link at: http://suvudu.com/2011/12/guest-essay-sabrina-benulis-on-her-novel-archon.html

Blog Event at Rabid Reads

I'm participating in another holiday blog event at Rabid Reads.  I really like the short story I wrote for the post, and tried to be creative with the idea of Christmas wishes while also being true to the atmosphere of my novel.  Once again, I'm always open to comments about the story.  Check it out here at:
http://networkedblogs.com/rCUyA