Kira Brady

My writing friend Julie Brannagh has a new book out today - Seattle & football! Go buy it! I'm over on the Remembering Julie Brannagh group today giving away a copy of the Deadglass Trilogy and sharing how much Julie's support and friendship meant to me on my writing journey.

Necessary Roughness Tanner Cole’s football career was over in less than thirty seconds one Sunday afternoon. After a lifetime playing the sport he loves he’s been forced into an early retirement. Between figuring out his plan for the rest of his life and dealing with the pain of his injuries, this grouch...

Solar storms are fascinating - imagine one that could send the world back to the dark ages. How would you get around? How would you survive a mini post-apocalypse? Do you have your survival gear packed and ready to go? This was one of the inspirations behind the Deadglass world.

Here's How The White House Would Deal With A Huge Solar Storm That Could Send Us Back To The... The worst solar storm to hit the Earth in recorded history happened in 1859. Known as the Carrington Event, it generated auroras as far south as Cuba and caused havoc with the primitive electrical system of the time, generating fires in telegraph stations. It’s estimated that such a large solar stor…

Today's NaNoWriMo inspiration. I've reached 14k words!

"If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." -- Toni Morrison

Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison's incredible body of literary work includes the novels The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Sula and Beloved, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988. When awarding her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, the highest civilian honor in the US, President Obama said of Morrison: “Toni reaches us deeply using a tone that is lyrical, precise, distinct and inclusive. She believes that language 'arcs toward the place where meaning might lie.' The rest of us are happy to be following along for the ride."

To encourage your children's interest in creative writing, visit our blog post on "Fantastic Adventures and Amazing Tales: Encouraging Creative Writing and Storytelling" for a selection of writing-oriented books, toys, and activities for both children and teens at http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=4937

Included among the recommendations are three excellent guides for aspiring young writers: "Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly" for ages 8 to 12 (http://www.amightygirl.com/writing-magic), "Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook" for ages 9 to 14 (http://www.amightygirl.com/spilling-ink), and "Seize the Story" for ages 12 to 17 (http://www.amightygirl.com/seize-the-story).

Thanks to Teach Kids Productions for sharing this image!

It's not too late to join me (and thousands of others around the world) in writing a novel this month!

National Novel Writing Month November 1-30. The world needs your novel.

More creepy and fabulous research on crows that inspired the Deadglass Trilogy!

Crows Fear And Learn From Death Why do crows gather around their departed avian brothers and sisters? This was the morbidly fascinating scientific question that was occupying the mind of Kaeli Swift, a Ph.D. student in environmental science at the University of Washington. After extensive research – perhaps using the most inventiv…

Great interview in Cosmopolitan with my writing friend Dona Sarkar! She's awesome.

Get That Life: How I Became an Author, Fashion Designer, and Holograms Engineer Dona Sarkar always knew she wanted to create things for a living.

The Crash that will destroy Seattle: the real life version is much more terrifying than depicted in Hearts of Darkness.

The Earthquake That Will Devastate Seattle When the giant fault line along the Pacific Northwest ruptures, it could be our worst natural disaster ever.

When I first started writing, I roomed at a writing conference with Kelli Estes, and she's been such a source of positive encouragement ever since. I'm excited to announce that her debut novel, THE GIRL WHO WROTE IN SILK, is out today! I can't wait to read it!

Kelli Estes Every inch of the sleeve was intricately embroidered with richly colored threads, creating pictures as detailed as if they were paintings. Inara knew nothing of textiles or sewing, but even she could tell this sleeve was not merely a piece of clothing, but a work of art.

A little hint about my next book...

Nordic pride fills Ballard streets for Syttende Mai The sun came out just in time for one of Ballard's biggest events of the year, Syttende Mai. Here are a few shots of the festivities underway... &nbs...

I need this for my next book signing!

Dragon Cake Pan This Dragon Cake Pan is ready to hop into your oven and let your baking skills take flight. Made from cast heavy-gauge aluminum alloy, it holds around 10 cups of batter (c. 2 boxes of cake mix).

The true joy of a good book.

xkcd: Terry Pratchett Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).

Pictures of Golden Gardens, where the Drekar lair is set into the cliff face, from right after Hearts of Fire. I thought about setting a short story in this time period just so I could incorporate the streetcar driving through the forest in Ballard.

Throwback Thursday: The Golden Gardens of yesteryear As the sunnier and warmer weather approaches we thought it was time to look back at some photographs taken at Golden Gardens back in the day. Enjoy! The photo below, taken in 1900, shows 11 women w...

Some background for your Deadglass reading: I was attacked by a crow once, and I've been afraid of them ever since. There are thousands of them in Deadglass Seattle!

Crows Understand Analogies What birds can teach us about animal intelligence

The "dragon blood" tree??? Aw, man. I should have written that one into my books!

Behold: Some of the World's Oldest Trees A photographic journey into the woods

I had a lovely time at Secret Garden Books as part of Indies First Saturday today. I sold a couple copies of Hearts of Chaos, pimped some middle grade fiction, and wrote some book recommendations. Books make excellent presents!

Tomorrow I will be a guest bookseller at Secret Garden Books in Ballard at 4 pm as part of and Small Business Saturday. Please stop by for autographed copies of the Deadglass Series or just to get ideas for everyone on your holiday shopping list! (Or to say hi!)

This is SEATTLE!!! See the city that inspired the Deadglass Trilogy in this short video by the NYTimes. (Just don't be fooled by the weather you see in the film!)

36 Hours in Seattle Shake off the charcoal skies and wet weather to discover colorful art, a vibrant food scene, sweeping views and more during a weekend in the Emerald City.

A long overdue check in about writing...

Not Dead Yet | Kira Brady There comes a time in the creative cycle when an artist needs to take a little sabbatical and recharge one's creative juices, but I wanted to pop back in and

I can't wait to read Gunpowder Alchemy by Jeannie Lin!! Steampunk O***m Wars! It's up for early reads on Netgalley if any of you are so lucky to be members.

Gunpowder Alchemy | Jeannie Lin | 9780698135338 | NetGalley

This looks really cool. Disney-esque Steampunk!

Hullabaloo Steampunk animated film The greatest animated film you get to help make.

I had a lot of fun overlapping Seattle's past and present in building the Deadglass world, so I really enjoyed these time splice photos from Clayton Kauzlaric. It would be awesome to see some of Ballard or Butterworth's Mortuary!

Cross-time photos show snapshots of Seattle’s past and present, side by side | Quirksee If Seattle's streets could talk, they’re likely to tell you the stories depicted in Clayton Kauzlaric’s photos. Kauzlaric uses Photoshop to juxtapose

I really need to find a friend who subscribes to Starz. Anyone else excited about the new Outlander TV show?

PVP - outlandish

More gifts for writers & readers: Write Your Bestseller Tee!

Write Your Bestseller Tee | Mod Retro Vintage Sweaters | ModCloth.com Penning a chapter a day will take discipline. Discipline, and a whole lot of coffee. Set up your scribing stage by pouring yourself a double shot of espresso, tossing on this heather grey tee by FluffyCo with some wide leg jeans and wedges, and setting your cell on silent. This San Francisco-based b…

This is an awesome time lapse video of Seattle. If you want to see the setting for the Deadglass Trilogy in all its beauty, check this out!

Seattle Dream Pt. II "Seattle Dream Pt. II" is our tribute to the city of Seattle and the state of Washington. While most people think of rain and coffee when they hear the name Seattle…

Most of the authors I know are at the Romantic Times Convention this week. I've never been, but I've always wanted to go just for the costumes. I'd totally be the girl trying to get seven foot dragon wings into my suitcase. How about you?

Reader gifts: I really love the Litograph teeshirts printed with the actual text of books. I have The Last Unicorn shirt (by Peter S. Beagle) and wear it all the time. What book do you love so much that you'd like to wear it?

Litographs - Books on T-shirts, Posters, and Tote Bags Litographs creates art from literature. We design t-shirts and posters from the text of classic books. For each sale, Litographs donates one book to a community in need.

"Those of us who write do it because there are stories inside us burning to get out. Writing is essential to our well-being. If you're that kind of writer, never give up!" -- Judy Blume

Welcome new followers! Since FB only shows about 30 of you my posts, I don't post very often here on the fan page. The best way to find out about new releases is by subscribing to my blog. You can also subscribe to FB/authorkira to see more of my personal author updates, but I'm not sure how much FB shows those either. Thanks for your interest!

Seattle has applied to become a UNESCO City of Literature, because we are awesome. "Now that the 21st century has arrived, the people of Seattle stand prepared and eager to welcome the world once again, to invite the stories of all people, and to share a few of our own."

Seattle Officially Applied to Join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network Today Last week, I told you about a presentation at Town Hall Seattle to discuss Seattle's bid to become recognized as a UNESCO City of Literature....

Another giveaway plus interview at the Book Tart. Find out about the project I'm currently working on!

The Book Tart | Quickie with Kira Brady + Spotlight on Heart Of Chaos + Contest! Me: Kira hon! Welcome back to The Book Tart. I’m so very happy you didn’t make me (us!) wait too long for the third book in your Deadglass series, Heart of Chaos. *squees* I loved it! Here- Have a cupcake.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! The Book Tart is giving away all three books in the Deadglass Trilogy over on her blog. What's your favorite kind of shapeshifter?

http://thebooktart.com/blog-hop/seriously-shifter-blog-hop/

Check out the dramatic opening scene in Hearts of Chaos with this panoramic picture I took from Kite Hill at Gas Works Park! Still time to enter the book giveaway on my blog.

The View from Kite Hill | Kira Brady Hearts of Chaos opens on Kite Hill at Gas Works Park, right after the battle against Kingu that took place at the end of Hearts of Shadow. We stopped by Gas

Want to know more about the mythology behind Hearts of Chaos? I'm over at Anna's Book Blog talking about it. Please join me!

Anna's Book Blog: Interview with Kira Brady