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promised

Spotlight on Leon

One of my favorite and most frustrating scenes to write happened when Leon was having a fight with Gaia.  This scene drove me mad, mainly because I could not get Leon to talk. He was so brittle and enraged that he refused to speak to Gaia, which meant he refused to speak to me, too.  He actually walked away from me when the scene opened, which was my first surprise.  I knew we were in trouble.  As I tried to advance the scene forward, physically walking… Continue reading

Spotlight on Gaia Stone: Teen, Midwife, Idealist, Rebel, Leader

It’s impossible to sort out my thoughts about Gaia from my feelings about her to write anything objective on her as a character. I thought I could do a profile about her, but that feels too detached, too clinical. It involves seeing her from the outside like a reporter, which I can’t do because I only know her from the inside out. I thought of doing an interview with her. After all, I once asked Chardo Will a few questions while he was working on his barn, but even Will… Continue reading

Almost Real!

Squee moment!

My editor sent me the cover of Promised, so naturally I wrapped it around a copy of Birthmarked to see what it looked like for real.  Not too shabby!

I’m particularly pleased with the description on the inside flap. Go, Gaia, go!

After defying the ruthless Enclave, surviving the wasteland, and overthrowing Sylum, Gaia Stone now faces her greatest challenge yet—to lead the people of Sylum back to the Enclave and persuade the Protectorat to grant them refuge.  But in Gaia’s absence, the Enclave has… Continue reading

Book Tour Ahead

When I told one of my friends Macmillan was sending me out on a book tour this fall, he said, “Of course.  Isn’t that what publishers do for all their writers?”

As readers, we know from activity at our local bookstores that writers are regularly coming through, giving readings and signing books. Because these events are so visible, it seems like publishers are always sending out writers on tour.

But actually, from a writer’s perspective, it’s rare to be sent on a real, publisher-run book tour, and I was… Continue reading

Q. What’s It Feel Like to Finish Writing a Trilogy?

A. It took a while for it to hit.  I’d been revising Promised on and off for months as it went through its final stages, and then one day in June, I was in New York having lunch with my editor, and she said she had a couple last catches on the second pass pages for me to look at.  So we sat at the round table by the window in her seventh-floor office, and turned through the tabbed pages for the last tiny things.  For instance,… Continue reading

“Ruled” Cover

*UPDATE: The story will be released earlier than expected! Now it is due out on Wednesday, September 19th!

“Ruled” (Birthmarked 2.5) a short story that bridges the gap between Prized and Promised, will be released on Tor.com  Wednesday, September 19th, two weeks before the last book in the trilogy.  It’s another glimpse of the Birthmarked world from Leon’s perspective, and it catches the outsider looking in.

Many thanks to Julie Dillon for the cover artwork.

"Ruled" by Caragh M. O'Brien. Cover Art by Julie Dillon. The story goes live 9/25/12.