Today is the official release of C.L. Wilson’s Crown of Crystal Flame, the fifth book in her wildly popular and beautifully written Tarien Soul series. I have been a fan of this series since Book 1, Lord of the Fading Lands, and not once has Ms. Wilson let me down with her storytelling, her characters, her prose, and her emotion in all five books. So I wanted to celebrate with this hard-working, dedicated, and talented author, introduce her to those of you who may have yet to discover her and her books , and to also take a look back over the series as a whole.
I’ve, of course, read and reviewed all five of these books, and I never could do it justice with my woefully inadequate descriptions. I don’t think there’s a review out there that has captured the essence, the power, the beauty, and the emotion interwoven into each word, each page, each chapter, each book. All a reviewer can do with stories like these is hopefully give you enough something to pique your interest, to stir your heart, to turn on your curiosity to want to read them.
Thus, another reason I wanted to celebrate with you and C.L. today is in the hopes you might just want to make an extra run to the bookstore to finally have in hand these extraordinary books, especially now that all five are on the shelves. Ms. Wilson will be with us throughout the day, so if you’ve got questions after reading about her or going through the excerpts and reviews we’re going to share with you, leave a comment on any of the posts and we’ll make sure you get an answer.
I do want to tell you a little about C.L. Wilson and her books.
Like most authors, she started writing when she was very young, inspired by stories her mother would read to her. Then later she was inspired by JRR Tolkien and Ann McCaffrey to weave her own fantasy world, even going so far as to create the language spoken by her characters. She says fans will come up to her and actually speak Feyen to her during a book signing or other engagement.
But before that happened, Ms. Wilson did the usual sending 
manuscripts to publishers. And getting prompt rejection letters for all her stories, and, believe it or not, she even got a number of rejections for Tairen Soul. When I was lucky to have lunch with C.L. in San Francisco at the 2008 RWA conference, that’s a question I asked. I couldn’t believe someone out there had really turned her original book down. She looked straight at me, wide-eyed, and said, “You betcha.” I sure hope those people have found their brains since that time!
During this time C.L. also began to send her works in progress out to various contests. She was hoping for feedback rather than those darned rejection letters. However, the list is long and elite of the contest wins these books have won both before and after publication. There are many readers out there today who are quite happy that someone in the publishing industry finally woke up and smelled the coffee concerning C.L.’s original manuscript.
That original manuscript became two books, splitting the 1000 pages into easier-to-handle volumes, and Ms. Wilson was contracted to write more in the series, an additional two books. But the series seemed to take on a life of its own, Ms. Wilson’s characters wanted control, and, thus, the fifth book in the series was born.
Once readers were introduced to Rain and Ellysetta, the Fey, the Tairen, even the Mages of Eld, a literal snowball began. The books began to appear in hardcover. They were translated into other languages. A well-known artist even painted her rendition of the series fire-breathing, winged cats. C.L. says, “It’s as if Heather Carr lifted the [images] straight from my imagination and transferred [them] to canvas.”
Fantasy, love and romance, good and evil, death and rebirth, family are just the short list of what you’ll read in this series of books. Ms. Wilson has created a world with characters and a language all its own, with a power and beauty that will make you cheer, cry, groan, shout, smile, laugh, and will keep you turning page after page hour after hour. There’s not much more a reader can ask for.
Enjoy talking with C.L. today, reading previous reviews and excerpts as well as those of Crown of Crystal Flame, comment and ask questions. We have a full day planned for you, so come back often, things will be moving very quickly!
We also have a contest or two with prizes from C.L. – a signed copy of Crown of Crystal Flame and a few items of merchandise from the forthcoming Tairen’s Lair online store – a Fading Lands T-shirt, a Steli coffee-mug, a shei’tanitsa claiming vow wall plaque. One comment per person per post today, please, for the contests – you may comment more than once per post for discussion purposes, but only your first comment will count for each contest. You never know where we’ll pick a winner from!
Have fun!
I love Cheryls books and have a great respect for her as a person. This is my first time here and I do not know if this is the correct spot to blog with her. I am having a bit of trouble finding her
Thanks Sandy! And thanks ladies of TGTBTU Duck Pond for having me here today! I’m so excited to see this last book finally in print. As you know, the TS series has been a true labor of love – including a world and a character who’ve been part of my life for the last 10+ years! I hope all the readers who have befriended the Fey since LORD OF THE FADING LANDS first hit the stands will enjoy the final chapter in Rain & Ellysetta’s quest to save the tairen and the Fey, defeat the evil of Eld, and complete their truemate bond.
I’m going to be around all day, and will be checking in from various bookstores this afternoon as I make my way to tonight’s signing at the Carrollwood Barnes & Noble (Tampa, FL).
Hey Darlene – thanks for coming out! There will be a number of posts going up today, and I’ll be checking in on all of them.
cheers ~ Cheryl
lol you are going to be one busy lady today. I have 4 differant windows open on the computer for you today. Congrats on all your sucess. You have inspired me more than you can ever know with my own writing goals. I don’t feel so bad for not having anything completed yet after only 2 years. You befriended me 2 years ago and changed my world. Thank you
Darlene – inspring someone to write their own stories is one of most wonderful compliments i could ever receive! Keep at it!
I have been having lots of fun with Cheryl over at her blog in the days leading up to the release. I am excited to read about the Tairen’s Lair store opening up because I know there has been avid interest in a Steli coffee cup from all of us over at the Fading Lands blog. I definitely take my roasted!
LOL, Amy Kathryn! I love those mugs! I love everything Heather creates with her artistic magic 🙂
oh I missed this information… can someone update me?
I read A LOT of books and i can say without a doubt that the Tairen Soul series by C.L. Wilson is my ABSOLUTE favorite series of all time. She pulls you into a completely unique and wonderful world that you just never want to leave. If you havent read this series, give it a try- you wont be dissapointed. Join the Fey and Tairen on a wonderful journey through love, magic and danger.
What exactly is a vertial signing? and where can I get one of those mugs?
“…the forthcoming Tairen’s Lair online store…” this is all i’ve heard about it, but i’m excited. I know where im telling my hubby to shop for christmas, lol.
I’m so excited about CoCF finally being released! My Boyfriend works nights but I just had to wake him up early to go get my copy. He better get home quickly! I just can’t wait to read it. All the reaviews that I’ve read have said that it’s great but really…what else would you expect of CL Wilson? The world that she’s created is amazing.
Dude there are like 3 different post things going on. Which one is the main one? lol ^^
lol i discovered this too Cheyenne, I don’t know so I’m attempting to do all I can find just to be sure.
Congrats on the new release. Sending positive vibes your way for the NYT bestsellers list. You deserve it. Your books even top Anne McCaffrey’s for me!!!
To anyone out there hesitating on reading the books. My advice is “Don’t hesitate. Run to your nearest store before they are sold out. ” You’ll be missing the best fiction series to come our way in ages.
I say Kudos to Heather Carr for being such a bad ass artist! ^_- lol and I’ve been inspired to start writing again too because of these books, I’m actually starting on a fan-fic of it 😛 lol With Bel and Gaelen as the stars ^_-
The boyfriend just came home with my book! Gotta go…got reading to do! :op
Megan you lucky girl I have to wait
@ Cheyenne,
Oooh… fanfiction! I wanna read it!!
I have the first three books and have just started reading the first. I wanted to read the complete series once I started. I am so going to enjoy reading continuous from the first book to the last.
@Darlene & Cheyenne – Heather and I are putting together an online store for all things Fey. The Tairen’s Lair will (hopefully) be making its debut very soon. i wanted it to launch in concert w/the books’ release, but that didn’t happen. Hope to have more info very soon.
Also, a “Virtual Signing” is when an author goes to a physical bookstore to sign, but broadcasts the event over the internet – and takes autographing requests from the internet too. Marjorie Liu and I will be signing at Joseph-Beth in Cincinnati – and we’ll be streaming the event on our individual sites so anyone w/internet connection can participate. It’s gonna be so cool!!! I’m really looking forward to it!
Y’all make sure you do check out the Tairen’s Lair when it’s finally open – Cheryl surprised me with a Fading Lands t-shirt in Florida and it’s simply terrific! Rain in Tairen form, wings spread, all on a purple background – awesome! Make you sure get one when the store opens! And I’m checking out that Steli mug. I want one of those, sounds cool. Thank you again, Cheryl. I love my t-shirt!
I love your books and was glad to meet you at Dragoncon. And I am so looking forward to this book and tshirts hot dang I collect authors tshirts.
I love Cheryl’s books to pieces! I can’t wait to read CoCF, but will have to wait a few more days until it comes in to my local bookstores. I am loving the release countdown on her blog and the Tairen’s Lair sounds great!
I love Heather’s Tairen drawings, especially Steli. Is Cherryl considering a special addition set of the quintet of books complete with Heather’s art?
kaisquared
Yay, Happy Release Day! I have it now, going to start reading in a few minutes soon as I finish checking the rest of my emails. Cool, on the t-shirts and mugs, love to get those.
congrats on the release, cant wait for amazon to send my book…….
*gasp* No way!! ^___^ That’s freaking amazing!!! If I had the money I’d buy everything in the store once it opened ^_^ lolz