Retreats, Anthologies and Covers

Is anyone else wondering where May went? It’s been an exciting month, though also with it’s tragedies as our thoughts go out to the people of Manchester.

Retreat, Refresh, Return

Writing While Soaking up the View

On the first weekend in May, I headed up to Toowoomba for the Omega Writers Retreat. Beautiful weather and surroundings, great speakers, delicious food, great company. Some of the highlights:

  • Deb Porter’s presentations on publishing and good style
  • Delicious Gluten Free food and plenty of it.
  • Time to write, to soak up the beauty, to chat
  • A time of reflection and worship and prayer for each other
  • Chatting with emerging writer, filmmaker, actor – Charis Joy Jackson on the way up
  • Seeing new publications and talking to other writers
  • Attending Ruth Bonetti’s second launch of From Midnight Sun to Southern Cross

I’m looking forward to next year.

Charis and Jeanette

Anthologies

Some of my stories will be published in different anthologies this year.

  • Stasia’s Stand (YA fantasy) in Crossroad Anthology (Birdcatcher Books) – 1st July 2017
  • Rendezvous at Alexgaia (Sci-Fi Space Opera) in Futurevision (1231 Publishing) – 1 pm, 9th September 2017 (Northlakes Library, Northlakes, Qld, Australia)

Exciting development (for me at least 🙂 ) – I have another 10,000 word Sci-Fi story accepted for another anthology. So watch this space!

Events

  • I had fun participating in the Page Turners Book Launch – with the launch of Cindy Tomamichel’s Druid’s Portal
  • Next week the SF/Fantasy Faire is on again next week – don’t miss out on a great line-up of Science-Fiction and Fantasy authors
  • Wombat Books is celebrating 8 years of Publishing – 2-5 pm 17 June, Redlands College, Anson Road, Wellington Point
  • Launch of Blood Crystal – end of June
  • Launch of Crossroads Anthology – 1st July
  • Launch of Futurevision Anthology – 9th September
  • Oz Comic Con, Brisbane – 23-24 September

Reduced price – short time only

Until the end of the week, Heart of the Mountain is on sale at 99c USD.

Fantasy adventure under the mountain – as the twins Retza and Delvina join with the abovegrounder, Zadeki, to save the underground realm from disaster.

If you haven’t read it yet, why not grab a copy from the following outlets:

Amazon US

Amazon Oz

Other outlets (Nook, Kobo etc)

Final Edits and New Stories

So, what else have I’ve been working on?

  • Edits for Blood Crystal (Book 2 Under the Mountain) and Akrad’s Children (Book 1 Akrad’s Legacy).
  • New short stories – both a couple of sci-fi shorts and some fantasy pieces.
  • A cyborg trilogy – finished a rough first draft of book 1 & halfway first draft on book 2
  • Filling out the plot for Stone of the Sea (Working Title) of Book 3 in the Under the Mountain novella series
  • Covers for Blood Crystal and Akrad’s Children

Cover Reveal

This Friday, I’ll be releasing the book cover of Blood Crystal … watch this space.

Looking forward to an exciting year.  Wishing you the best in your reading (and writing) adventures.

Jeanette

Update and Events April 2017

Hard to believe that it is April already. So what’s been happening?  I’ve been writing, editing, blogging and critiquing.

Futurevision anthology:

I’m thrilled that my short story Rendezvous at Alexgaia (a follow-on from Space Junk) was accepted by 1231 Publishing for the Futurevision anthology. The anthology will be released in September with a physical launch on 9th September at the North Lakes Library, North Lakes (Brisbane), Qld.

Other stories include:

‘100 Words’ by Nola Passmore, Ground Zero by Raelene Purtill, ‘Bad Hair Day’ by Julian Green, ‘Dragons in Area 51′ by Kasper Beaumont,’Sanctuary’ by Nyssa Baschel and many others.

It’s going to be a fantastic anthology – you can read excerpts of each story here.

March Events:

I’ve participated in a number of online events and launches in March:

Our Books Are Not Free week long event.

Mirren Hogan’s online launch of her historical novel The Night Witches (check it out Night Witches blog tour on Jenny’s Thread).

The Science-Fiction and Fantasy authors and artist Faire – run by Author Gibson and friends.

Spring into the Elemental Series by Alex Carey

If you missed out on the fun of these events – two more opportunities are imminent – an opportunity  discover new speculative fiction authors and books, enter competitions, win books and prizes and to support emerging indie and small press authors.

Don’t Miss Out

In 7 hours – Mirren Hogan and Erin Yoshikawa’s release party of Nightmare Rises. I have a slot at 11:30 AEST.

And on April 12 (or April 13 in Oz) the Fantasy and Science Fiction Network are holding an online Drop Everything and Read Day – I have a slot on 8:30 am Wednesday AEST.

Blogging:

As usual, I’ve participated in a number of guest blogs including talking about Secondary World and Portal Fantasy – and have also featured on a number of blogs – Promote Me and Tuesday Spotlight.

Like a Woman anthology

There’s an opportunity to submit to the Like a Woman anthology, a follow-on from Like a Girl anthology (original home for Lakwi’s Lament). This is also a speculative fiction charity anthology, with profits being donated to a group that supports victims and survivors of domestic violence.

Hard at Work:

Otherwise, I’ve been hard at work (well actually, having a great deal of fun), writing and editing.

I’ve done a full edit of Akrad’s Children

I’ve been hard at work on Blood Crystal, the sequel to Heart of the Mountain.  I’ve completed a second draft & will go through it at least once more before sending it out to beta-readers. I’ve also started working on the cover.

Blood Crystal excerpt:

Boom, boom. Something heavy smashed against the outer cavern doors. Delvina braced herself, the stone floor vibrating beneath her boots. This assault was longer and more ferocious than the last. She gripped the rim of the basket she was hauling and shuffled closer to her brother, Retza, reassured by his solid presence and the faint smell of rock dust and mushroom soup on his rough clothes.

Retza pushed his lips into a stiff smile. “It’s going to be okay.”

‘Yes, maybe this time.’ Delvina swallowed against the sudden tightness in her throat. How long could they withstand the former Overseer Uzza’s attacks. How long before food and supplies dwindled. Old Barekia had repaired the Crystal Heart, but now it was producing only half the power. How long before it failed? Again. Cold fear fingered her heart and squeezed the breath from her lungs.

I’ve also written a couple of flash fictions – ‘Eating Time’ and ‘Rookie Mistake’ – and a short story ‘Moonflame.’ I have several other short story ideas on the boil and am hopeful that one or more will appear in upcoming anthologies. Watch this space 🙂

Otherwise family have kept me busy with various challenges and successes. My daughter, Kathleen O’Hagan is a budding young artist, winning several prizes over the last 2-3 years, including recently 3rd Prize in the Mosman Youth Art Prize (seniors 15-17). You can see more of her work on her KathleenOHaganArt website.

I hope you too have had a productive and successful few months & with many enjoyable reads along the way.

Jeanette O’Hagan

***

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Launchs and Events: February 2017

Did you come to the Lakwi’s Lament Launch? We had a fabulous time.

And the year has already been busy with writing, other events, publication plans.

Happening Now – Our Books Are Not Free Facebook Event

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Not sure what to read next? Looking for a range of great books? Over 100 authors are participating in the Our Books Are Not Free event over 5 days – why not join the event & check out the authors and books https://www.facebook.com/events/206705409792190/

My slot is 2pm Tuesday, 14 February 2017  Queensland time (which is 3pm in EST Australia & 11:00pm 13 February 2017 EST USA). It would be fantastic to see you there.

 

Lakwi’s Lament Launch

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A big thank you to all my fabulous guest authors – Paula Vince, Lynne Stringer, Adam Collings, Mirren Hogan, Kasper Beaumont, Adele Jones, Nola Passmore -and all wonderful participants – whether you dropped in for a few minutes or stayed until the last one left – for your inspiring and heart-felt answers and enthusiasm and refreshing party supplies. I couldn’t have done it without you. There were lots of fabulous questions and competitions with prizes won.

Can I remind you – if you haven’t got a copy of Lakwi’s Lament – it’s available at Amazon or Draft2Digital – ie Kobo, Apple, Nook etc.

Just 99 cents US. I’d love you to read it & review it 🙂

Check out my Amazon Central page for my other stories –
Heart of the Mountain: a short novella
The Herbalist’s Daughter
and the stories Broken Promises in Another Time Another Place
and Ruhanna’s Flight in Glimpses of Light

Both Anna and Lakwi appear in Fever & the associated stories posted on my Jeanette O’Hagan Writes website.

 

Reviews

It’s a truism that authors love reviews.

Thanks to my lovely readers who have posted reviews of Lakwi’s Lament, Heart of the Mountain and The Herbalist’s Daughter on Amazon, Goodreads, blogs  or Youtube. Here’s a small selection 🙂

 Heart of the Mountain:

‘Captivating characters and a plot that draws you in from the start. This well crafted work is recommended reading.’ Adele Jones, GoodReads

‘Jeanette O’Hagan creates a world rich in lore and mystery. It kicks off with a good action hook and there is an undercurrent of dire consequences for failure. There is plenty of action, well interspersed with snippets of background reveal and lovely imagery,’ Ladyhawk, Amazon

The Herbalist’s Daughter:

‘An enchanting story with engaging characters. Looking forward to reading more of this world.’ Shelley Nolan, GoodReads

Lakwi’s Lament:

‘Lakwi isn’t the typical princess. I liked her spunk and how she thinks on her feet so to speak. My one complaint is the story wasn’t long enough. I wanted to know what happens next and would gladly read more in the series.’ Jenny Blake, Amazon

I always enjoy Jeanette O’Hagan’s stories and this one is no exception. She writes engaging fantasy stories. … It is suitable for older readers too and is a very quick read but with a rich storytelling world. Rebekah Rodda, GoodReads

Lakwi’s Lament also featured on Adam Colling’s Bulletin

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Month of Poetry

I had a fabulous time with Month of Poetry. This Year I decided to experiment with different poetry forms-form A to Z (Acrostics to ZamiLA rhymes). It was stretching at times, but a lot of fun. Here was my List Poem 🙂

A Novel Cake

Take a modicum of talent
a cup full of dreams
and hard work in equal measure,
mix together vigorously.
Stir in two aspirations well beaten
and half a cup of constructive feedback
until reaching a smooth and creamy consistency.
Add chopped metaphors (never mixed) to taste.
and a pinch of optimism.
Bake well in the scorching oven of opinion.
When cool, sprinkle with crystallised hopes.
Allow to settle to release the flavours
and garnish with a swirl of revision.
Serve with a generous side of promotion.
 
Warning this cake may cause tears but has been known to be addictive.

 Jeanette O’Hagan 15 January 2017

 

I’ve submitted a number of the poems to competitions and anthologies. To read more about Month of Poetry check out Jenny’s Thread

 

Coming this year:

‘Stasia’s Stand’ is due to be published in the Crossroad anthology later this year.

I’m submitting some short stories to a couple of anthologies and will be involved as editor in Like A Woman anthology – a spec-fic charity anthology in support of victims of Domestic Violence.

The sequel of Heart of the Mountain – Blood Crystal should be out in a couple of months & Akrad’s Children (the first book in the Akrad Legacy series) later this year.

To keep up with cover reveals, publication dates, launches and more–subscribe to my email Newsletter here. http://eepurl.com/bbLJKT

Thanks again. And hope to see you at the Our Books Are Not Free Event

Jeanette

January Update 2017

Hi – a quick update of happenings in January.

Lakwi’s Lament Launch

I’m thrilled to be hosting a e-launch of Lakwi’s Lament on Facebook , Saturday 4th February at 2-4 pm (Queensland time, UTC +10).

There will be competitions, giveaways and glitter (well, maybe not the glitter). We had a hoot at the Heart of the Mountain launch last August. This time I will be joined by other fantastic authors. I would be chuffed you and your friends can join us – to accept the invitation follow this link.

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Lakwi’s Lament: a short story (By the Light Books, Jan 2017) follows the adventures of Princess Lakwi. Suitable for ages 12+ it is set in the world of The Herbalist’s Daughter & the Akrad Legacy Series. It is aimed at a younger audience than my other stories, though entertaining for older readers too.

Lakwi would love to read the books in the Royal library, but girls aren’t allowed inside. Her passion for books attracts the attention of her dashing older brother, Prince Rokkan, and her suave cousin, Lord Haka. Will her drive for knowledge lead her into more trouble than she can handle?

Lakwi’s Lament is available as an e-story on Amazon, Draft2Digital, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and other distributors.

Lakwi’s Lament originally appeared in Like a Girl Plan Anthology (Far Horizons, 2015). Like a Girl celebrates and supports education and opportunities for girls and women. Like a Girl anthology is also available on Amazon, with stories from a range of Australian and International authors.

My stories and books can be accessed at Amazon Central page .

January Doings

Apart from getting ready for the launch of Lakwi’s Lament – I’ve been participating once again in the Month of Poetry (see here) – writing a poem each day in the month of January. I’ve also deep in edits of Akrad’s Children (Book 1 of the Akrad Legacy Series) with view of publication later this year.

This coming Saturday I’m attending a workshop by award winning Karen Tyrrell – author of Me and Her: A Memoir of Madness, Bailey Beats the Blah, Songbird Superhero and other books.

On February 11-14 – I’ll be joining with over a 100 authors will be showcasing their books on Facebook at the Our Books Are Not Free.  You can participate here

The sequel to Heart of the MountainBlood Crystal is also in progress, as well as a couple of other short story ideas. Watch this space!
Looking forward to seeing you all at the launch 🙂

Jeanette O’Hagan

December update

These a meme I saw recently that goes something like this:

January

February

March …

blink

December.

I’ve got to say, it does seem like I blinked and the year is almost finished.

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 Since September

  • I’ve released The Herbalist’s Daughter as a e-story on Amazon and other digital outlets.
  • I had a fantastic time a few days in Katomba with the quirky quills & then at the Omega Writers Conference in Mulogoa. Meet old friends, made some new ones, was encouraged and inspired in my writing journey and had the opportunity to inspire others through a Bootcamp session.
  • Had fun at the Be Creative Camp especially in the watercolours workshop – letting my imagination roam.
  • Wrote 50,000 words as part of NaNoWriMo in November
  • Had a short story – Stasia’s Stand – accepted by Birdcatcher books for an anthology in 2017
  • Received some good feedback on Rasel’s Song though the Caleb Competition
  • And also some feedback on Heart of the Mountain’s cover ‘a simple, clean design that makes its point well’ Joel Friedlander, e-Book Cover Design Awards, November 2016

 Anniversaries

This December is the second year anniversary of Tied in Pink: romance anthology (December 2014) and the first year anniversary of Let the Sea Roar, Another Time Another Place, and Like a Girl (December 2015).

The Herbalist’s Daughter (in Tied in Pink) was my first published story. I now have seven short stories and over eight poems published. It’s been an exciting two years 🙂

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 Future Plans

I’m planning on publishing Lakwi’s Lament (a short story originally published in Like a Girl anthology Dec 2015) in January and hoping to have the sequel to Heart of the Mountain edited and published early next year.

I’m also working towards publication of Akrad’s Children, Rasel’s Song and Mannok’s Betrayal.

So far all my stories (with the exception of Sandy:Perfect Plans in Let the Sea Roar and, possibly, Space Junk in Genre-lly Speaking) are set in the world of Nardva – though often in different places, times and/or cultures.

Reviews

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I’ve also been chuffed with some fantastic reviews of Heart of the Mountain: a short novella both on Amazon, Goodreads and different blogs.

“She (Jeanette O’Hagan) skillfully weaves plot and developing relationships into a gripping, high stakes tale and wraps it up lickity-spit with a satisfying conclusion that leaves you keen to read more.” M. Adams, Goodreads

“This is an intriguing novella with a richly detailed storyworld.” R. Rodda, Goodreads

“Jeannette O’Hagan takes readers on a fast paced adventure of intrigue, mystery and action. She leaves us wanting more. The fantasy world that O’Hagan has created has depth and originality with a rich history and fascinating characters.” L. Painter, Goodreads

and many more on Goodreads

 “Jeanette O’Hagan creates a world rich in lore and mystery.” K. Beaumont on Hunters of Reloria

 

If you have read and enjoyed Heart of the Mountain, I’d love you to leave a review (it doesn’t have to be long). And if you haven’t read it yet, copies are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and other outlets.

I’ve also read some fantastic books (more on this next post) including craft books and fiction – YA, Sci-Fi and fantasy. (See upcoming post – Jeanette’s 2016 Spec Fic Picks).

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2017

While there has been a lot of sadness and tragedy during 2016, and some challenges for myself and my family – it has also been a year with lots to celebrate and appreciate. I treasure the support and encouragement of my readers and fellow writers.

Wishing you and your families a Christmas time and New Year – full of joy, peace and love.

Jeanette O’Hagan

Space Junk and more

Another story, another anthology, book events, reviews and a free offer – this month’s update 🙂

Space Junk

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Thrilled to receive my copies of Mixed Blessing Genre-lly Speaking anthology. This anthology with 65 authors and has flash fiction pieces in a range of genres: Romance, Mystery, Humour, Historical, Inspirational, Science-Fiction, Poetry, Adventure, Children, Young Adult.

My Sci-Fi piece ‘Space Junk’ is part of the anthology – and it’s wonderful to see pieces from fellow Aussie authors – Christina Aitken, Anusha Atukorala, Deb Porter, Nola Passmore and Simon Kennedy.

 

Omega Writers Book Fair

The Omega Writers Book Fair was a great day – I enjoyed reading the poem ‘A Long Time Ago’ from Like a Girl Plan anthology and an exciting excerpt from ‘Ruhanna’s Flight’ in Glimpses of Light. For more on the Book Fair check out this post or the event page.

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Books in Our Backyard 2015 (BOBY)

Three contributors to Glimpses of Light – Lynne Stringer, Charis Joy Jackson and myself attended the launch of the Books in Our Backyard 2015 catalogue in which Glimpses of Light is listed.  It was an enjoyable night – especially running into to Avril Sabine (prolific fantasy author) and fellow Margie Lawson Immersion grads Raelene Purtill (fantasy) and Tania Joyce (Romantica).

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Instagram

While I do spend most of my social media time on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads – I’ve been having some fun with Instagram.  If you frequent any of these, l’d love to connect with you there.

 

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It’s been great to see some good reviews of Heart of the Mountain.

It was featured by Adam Collings on You-tube (about the middle), as well as on the Vince Review and a number of Goodreads reviews. I also had a chance to talk about writing Heart of the Mountain on the Write Flourish.

I’m revising the sequel Blood Crystal, hoping to release it before the end of the year.

 

 

The Herbalist’s Daughter

The Herbalist’s Daughter was originally released in the Tied in Pink Romance anthology (Far Horizons, 2014).

I’m currently offering a FREE COPY The Herbalist’s Daughter to anyone who signs up to the Jeanette O’Hagan writes Newsletter by the end of this month (30 September 2016).

It’s been a busy few months.  Thank you for  your interest and support. Wishing you many hours of happy reading.

 

Jeanette O’Hagan September 2016

Launches, Retreats, Book Fairs and More

When I finished the Masters in (August) last year, I imagined I’d be a little less busy –  hmmmm

It’s been busier.

Heart of the Mountain

At the end of July, I was excited to release Release of Heart of the Mountain: a short novella as a e-book (available at Amazon but also Kobo, Barnes and Noble etc).

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Heart of the Mountain: a short novella

YA Fantasy Adventure in the lost realm deep under the mountain.

Twins Delvina and Retza’s greatest desire is to be accepted as prentices by their parents’ old crew when they stumble across a stranger. Trapped under the mountain, young Zadeki’s only thought is to escape home to his kin. Peril awaits all three youngsters. Will they pull apart or work together to save the underground realm?

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The launch was a lot of fun with over 20 people actively involved in the competitions and many receiving prizes. Reviews of Heart of the Mountain have been favourable – on the Vince Review, on Goodreads. and on Adam Collings (youtube).

I’m currently working on the sequel in the Under the Mountain series – Blood Crystal – so watch this space.

Retreats, Courses and Intensives

The year has been busy with retreats, courses, intensives and crit groups.

Nola Passmore and I joined up in the QWC’s Year of the Edit with Dr Kim Wilkins in August last year. This online course finished up in July and was full of practical tips, practice and critiquing with a bunch of other great writers. We had fun looking at different aspects of our novels (Rasel’s Song for me).

Omega Writers TmeOmegaRetreat16ax400oowoomba Retreat in May was a great time to catch up with old friends, make some new ones, learn some more craft and get some editing done.

 

 

I’ve enjoyed being part of the Intricate Worlds (science fiction and fantasy) critique group (which meets monthly), the Omega Science Fiction and Fantasy group (on Skype monthly) and the Between the Lines Book Club (again meets monthly)

By far the biggest highlight has been a 5 day immersion class with Margie Lawson. This was intensive course, mostly 12 hours days as Margie shared powerful deep editing insights and gave valuable one-on-one time.

Fantastic, empowering, inspirational.

I am excited about putting all I’ve learned into practice with my novels and stories.

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Omega Writers Book Fair

Raelene Purtill and I are organising Omega Writers Book Fair of local authors – just 2 days away now on Saturday, 3rd September.

The last few weeks have been busy, busy, busy, but I’m thrilled with how things are shaping up – 16 stalls, 2 workshops with a range of books from children’s to adult, fiction and non-fiction including YA spec fic authors Lynne Stringer, Adele Jones. Raelene Purtill and Lisbeth Klein.

Both Lynne Stringer and Adele Jones have new books ready to be released.  Lynne has written a contemporary novel Once Confronted and Adele has her final book in her YA medical-science trilogy – Activate.

*** Registrations for the two workshops

– The Power of Story by Paul Clark and The Writing Life by Raelene Purtill

are still open. ***

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Coming Up

My flash fiction ‘Space Junk’ is soon to be published in Mixed Blessings Genre-lly Speaking (Breath of Fresh Air Press)

Glimpses of Light will be in the Books in Our Backyard (BOBY) catalogue – launching 9 September, 2016 at the Queensland State Library

Omega Writers Conference is coming up fast – this year in Sydney at the end of October.

I’m writing Heart of the Mountain sequels and editing Akrad’s Children and Rasel’s Song

Special Offer Extended

As part of The Heart of the Mountain launch – I offered an epub or mobi of ‘The Herbalist’s Daughter’ (originally published in Tied in Pink Romance Anthology) for anyone who signed up to Jeanette O’Hagan Writes newsletter – I’m extending the offer to the end of September 2016.

Why not sign up now – either on the side bar or by following this link.

It’s been a full and busy year and looking forward to new releases in the near future.   I’ll keep you posted.

Jeanette O’Hagan

Heart of the Mountain is here.

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of Heart of the Mountain: a short novella.

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Count down to Launch

I hosting an E-launch of Heart of the Mountain on Facebook

2-4pm Australian EST, Saturday 30th July 2016.

Join in the fun on the FB event page for competitions, prizes, and release details. https://www.facebook.com/events/596826930491016/

Love you to join the event if you’re a lover of fantasy or fantastic adventures 🙂.

Heart of the Mountain: A Short Novella

Twins Delvina and Retza’s greatest desire is to be accepted as prentices by their parents’ old crew when they stumble across a stranger. Trapped under the mountain, young Zadeki’s only thought is to escape home to his kin. Peril awaits all three youngsters. Will they pull apart or work together to save the underground realm?

YA Fantasy Adventure in the lost realm deep under the mountain.

The adventure continues with Blood Crystal, Story 2 in the Under the Mountain series.

Heart of the Mountain now set up on Goodreads 🙂
https://www.goodreads.com/…/…/31276257-heart-of-the-mountain

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Reflections

I originally wrote Heart of the Mountain for the Glimpses of Light anthology, but it soon took on a life of its own and grew too big for the designated word limit. I loved the story and have developed it into a short novella (or long short story).

It is the first in the adventurous tales of young Zadeki. The events of this story occur many years after ‘Ruhanna’s Flight’ (my eventual successful submission for Glimpses of Light) but a few centuries before the events of the Akrad’s Legacy series and the other Tamrin Tales (such as ‘Fever’, ‘The Herbalist’s Daughter’ and ‘Lakwi’s Lament’).

The story, in part, is inspired by other great story tellers such as J R R Tolkien, Jeanne DuPrau’s City of Ember, Frances Hardinge’s A Face Like Glass, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon and my own vivid memories of descending into the depths in an Underground tour of Mt Isa Mines, Mt Isa. I have endeavoured to make this story my own.

My heartfelt thanks to my wonderful editors, Nola Passmore (of The Write Flourish), Paula Vince and to my redoubtable critique partners and beta readers Nicole Nugent, Kathleen Hillenberg, Suzanne Hay-Bartlem, Raelene Purtill, Julian Green.

I also had fun with the cover design and appreciate the tough and truthful critiques of my young artists in residence, as well as suggestions from Suzanne Hay-Bartlem, Kathleen Hillenberg, Christina Aitken, the Swinburne Creative Writing Critical Friends and the Omega Writers Science-Fiction and Fantasy Groups.

I’m especially grateful for my family—my loving husband Tony, my precious children, my parents Tom and Jean Curtis—who instilled in me a love of faith and fantasy—and siblings, Tom Curtis, Frank Curtis and Kathleen Hillenberg, whom I’ve shared many wonderful adventures.

Most of all, I’m grateful to my Maker in whose creative footsteps I can only hope to follow.

 Jeanette O’Hagan  July 2016

LAG Blog Tour launch

On 14 January 2016 Like a Girl anthology was launched.

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Why Like a Girl?

Did you know Beatrix Potter, the famed author and illustrator of the much loved Peter Rabbit books, was also a ground-breaking scientist? It’s true (see here). In the past, women’s achievements were often not seen as significant or worthy of attention. Sadder still, even today girls and woman are less likely than boys to be encouraged to learn or to explore the talents and abilities they have been given.

Unicef states:

‘Despite progress in recent years, girls continue to suffer severe disadvantage and exclusion in education systems throughout their lives. An estimated 31 million girls of primary school age and 32 million girls of lower secondary school age were out of school in 2013.’

They go on to say:

‘Providing girls with an education helps break the cycle of poverty: educated women are less likely to marry early and against their will; less likely to die in childbirth; more likely to have healthy babies; and are more likely to send their children to school.’

UNICEF ‘Girl’s Education and Gender Equality, 23 July 2015

In Like a Girl, fourteen authors from around the world have contributed their stories to raise money for PLAN Australia’s support of girl’s education.  Like a Girl is a celebration of the strength and resilience of women, told in a variety of genres and voices, the proceeds of which will help empower girls and women across the globe. It turns the derogatory term ‘like a girl’ on its head, celebrating the contribution girls and women can and have made.

Like a Girl features stories and poems by Jeanette O’Hagan, Avril Sabine, V. Hartman Di Santo, Kathryn Hogan, Mary Grace, Coralyn Swift, Christina Aitken, Mark Taylor, D.L Richardson, Mimi Emmanuel, Erin Yoshikawa, Druscilla Morgan, Michelle John and Mirren Hogan.

They use intelligence, humour, adventure, imagination and deep emotion to explore themes of resilience, determination against odds, empowerment, significant relationships and women’s achievements.

Why Girl’s Education is important to me.

My poem ‘A Long Time Ago’ in the Like a Girl anthology, is drawn from my own school day experiences. I’m glad that, I not only had to the opportunity to finish school and go on to university, but that both my parents encouraged me to learn and to pursue my dreams.

Over the years, I’ve practiced medicine, taught theology, and am currently raising a family and pursuing my love of writing fantasy, poems, social commentary and blogging about life and writing.  The story I wrote for LAG, ‘Lakwi’s Lament’, is situated in the narrative world of the Akrad’s Legacy series (the first book due to be published in 2016). It explores the tension between a girl’s desire to learn and what her family and community expects of her.

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 Availability

Like a Girl is available from Amazon and other outlets.

Check it out on GoodReads.

Blog Tour

This post is the first step in the Like a Girl Plan anthology blogtour which will include reviews, reflections on the importance of education or women, prizes and giveaways.  (See below). Profits from this engaging anthology go to Plan Australia’s efforts to support and improve girls education.

Blog tour stops include:

Stop 1              24 Jan – Jeanette O’Hagan http://jeanetteohagan.com

Stop 2              25 Jan – Paula Vince http://vincereview.blogspot.com.au/
Stop 3              27 Jan – Mimi Emmanuel https://liveforeverhowto.wordpress.com/
Stop 4              29 Jan – Lynn Fowler  http://christianbookreviews.lynnbfowler.com
Stop 5              1 Feb – Maree Long

Giveaways

Today, I’m giving away a copy of Like a Girl to the person (not involved in anthology) who leaves best comment on the positive impact of girl’s education either personally or in the life of someone connected to them. This competition is open until 1 February, 2016. Winner to be announced on this blog.

I will also be giving away a copy of Another Time Another Place to the first person to sign up to my email Newsletter (see in side bar.)

Three other copies of Like a Girl are on offer through Like a Girl Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Next Exciting Stop

The next step on the Blog Tour is with multi-published, award-winning author of intriguing and thought provoking New Adult inspirational fiction, Paula Vince. I love Paula’s stories and am looking forward to her post on Monday 25 January 2016. You will be able find it here.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to participate in prizes and giveaways, but more importantly, to be entertained and moved while supporting a worthy cause.

JeanetteLAGnATAP

 Available on Amazon