A Book Warming Party

I am so excited – tomorrow, I will be hosting a Book Warming Party for fellow writer Cairn Rodrigues, author of The Last Prospector. The original plan was to host a virtual book tour whistle stop and signing down by the train station, but neither of us could whistle, and once we got to laughing about that, we couldn’t stop.

The Author

Cairn Rodrigues claims she’s new to the world of publishing, but you’d never know it. One of the things that drew me to Cairn in the first place was her willingness to yell “Cannonball!” and jump in with both feet and blind faith.

Born and raised in Sacramento, Cairn is a devout lover of California. That’s how she puts it – and every time I read that, I imagine a book: “Devout Lovers of California.” Cairn also loves animals (even the cranky ones, like Tyra); indulges in therapeutic and holistic gardening; watches a shocking amount of television; and has a real thing for Bruce Springsteen – that last bit, a fact that she manages to slip sideways into just about every conversation. Hell, even Solstice was created by “a mysterious Boss” who “sired the first prospector 1,000 years ago.  Charged to search for a treasure unnamed, an unbroken line of men have been caretakers, shepherds and warriors for Solstice since the misty times.” In a rare interview with Cairn Rodrigues on the hot seat, Ian Hutson asks, Is Cairn Rodrigues truly The Last Prospector? #asmsg #fantasy Now, I’m sure we’re all burning to know:

[Tweet “Is @Springsteen the mysterious Boss behind Solstice? http://jahangiri.us/2013/a-book-warming-party/ “]

Maybe if enough of us Tweet that, he’ll drop by and let us know. Be sure to tell him we’re cooking up lots of good food and drink – he can bring the band and roadies for protection.

Cairn knows how to warm up an audience. She started her debut book tour with a bang, in Let’s Write About Sex. Cairn’s whirlwind tour paused at Cara Lopez Lee’s blog with Travellers Welcome, a reminder to us all to enjoy the journey.

Other places you can find the not-so-elusive Cairn:

• Amazon page  http://amzn.to/1dnQYjR
• Blog  http://thelightstealerssong.com/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheLastProspector
• Twitter  https://twitter.com/CairnRodrigues
• G+  google.com/+CairnRodrigues
• Goodreads  http://bit.ly/19XGeYR

The Book

A.K. Anderson wrote a great review of The Last Prospector, and talked about why she couldn’t put it down – even if, in some ways, it wasn’t her usual preferred fare.

Speaking of fare, you’re in for some yummy treats tomorrow as we talk about food and drink in the world of Solstice. Before retiring from professional kitchens – obviously so that she could stretch her culinary creativity even further through her writing! – Cairn attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and worked in many facets of the hospitality industry.  She was the chef and owner of the Café 455 in Sacramento until giving it all up to pursue her career as a writer in 2007.

Being an only child, and a writer, I am naturally drawn to a fantasy worlds – creating them, living in them (if only briefly, in my head) – but it’s hard for me to relate to this “warring twins” thing. The Last Prospector Blog Tour stopped briefly at TwinningforTwins, where they chatted about the twin goddesses, Ylumya and Ynoirya, in the world of Solstice.

The Party

So, the baby book’s been bopping around the blogosphere for a week, and it’s time we kick back and enjoy a little celebration. Naturally, Cairn’s cooking up a tasty post to whet our appetites (and maybe a #blogcrawl-worthy drink special). But you’ll have to pitch in, if you want to win the Book-Warming Party Present: a one-of-a-kind (maybe last of its ilk) book cozy designed especially for The Last Prospector and hand-crafted in a multi-strand, ultra-micro-batch by me:

It comes with a matching bookmark (which you’re welcome to pretend is a caterpillar from Solstice, or a miniature, multicolored feather boa for your Barbie Doll – get creative, but send me pics or it never happened):

I’ll admit that it’s a better “book cozy” than “book cover” – at least for a softcover book like The Last Prospector. You might try lining it with a bit of cardboard to give it more spine. But it was lovingly crafted just for you – and even comes with a handmade button so you can protect the world of Solstice from prying eyes or whatever’s lurking in the bottom of your bag:

You can use the caterpillar to guard your current page. Keep reading to find out how to win this cozy little cover sweater for your copy of The Last Prospector.

Back Story

Everyone loves a little back story, right? Well, I didn’t learn to crochet until last summer. My friend Kathy A. tried to teach me while I was recovering from breast cancer surgery in February 2011, but adding hydrocodone on top of my natural impatience with mundane things like counting to ten, the venture seemed doomed from the start. A lot of fun, mind you – but doomed. I have a lopsided square of impossibly pink shells and Vs to prove it.

Last July, our family spent a relaxing week at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. We rented a house that was within walking distance of the beach, the Boardwalk, and a sweet little yarn shop: Kitschy Stitch. I wandered over there with some of my husband’s cousins, and on impulse, bought a crochet hook, a book, and some “practice yarn.” I spent hours re-doing the same four inches, but there was something hilariously fun about a bunch of us professional women sitting around on couches acting like domestic goddesses. It definitely satisfied that tiny voice inside that occasionally whines, “I hate technology! I wanna be Amish!” (The other voice was okay with this, because the house also had wi-fi.)

My first project was an infinity scarf in three shades of “practice yarn” purple. I get lots of compliments on it, surprisingly enough. Once I’d proved to myself that I actually could count (and that it was somewhat less painful to do so than to rip out the same four square inches of yarn for the 500th time), I moved on to hats. At Thanksgiving, I made torshi – and decided I would make handmade gifts for everyone. I wondered, aloud, what would work best as a gift wrap for homemade soap.

My husband, bless his heart, didn’t miss a beat: “You should crochet wash clothes and wrap each one in that!”

Dammit. Challenge accepted.

So I was telling Cairn about this, while we were plotting (as writers do) and planning this tour stop. “Well, a book cozy would be nice,” she said. Probably joking. But one should never joke about these things.

Challenge accepted. Dammit.

I couldn’t quickly find a pattern for a book cozy or cover that would fit The Last Prospector (6″ x 9″ x 1″ – it’s burned into my brain, now). So I decided I could wing it.

Emboldened by my success with a purple sweater and later, a whippet sweater whipped up sans pattern, after measuring an actual dog and crocheted mostly in the car on the way home from Dallas after Christmas (don’t worry – my husband was driving):

So why not? Remember:

“In Solstice the unlikely is probable, magicks are mundane and all the stories are true.  It’s a land of stunning natural beauty, filled with exotic wildlife (and maybe a Book Caterpillar or two!) and vibrant cultures.  Powerful factions like the whore’s guild make the rules, ancient enemies find new strength and dreamers are waking up all across the land with one message.

“The Final war between the Twins has started.  A victor must be decided this time.”

You may need a book cozy. Maybe you can soothe the Twins.

How to Win The Prospector’s Last Book Cozy

It’s a contest, not a giveaway. Visit my blog on Sunday, February 9, 2014. Between Sunday and the last day of February, leave a comment on Cairn’s guest post (hold your horses – it won’t be published until Sunday!). To qualify as an entry into the contest, your comment must include any of the following:

• a recipe using foods from Solstice
• a recipe using foods that are locally available that you think the Prospector would like
• a recipe for colorful food and/or drink that pays tribute to the world of The Last Prospector

Entries will be judged during the first week of March on taste (literal taste, if at all possible), creativity, and how good they are at entertaining your hosts at this little Book Warming Party (that’d be Cairn and me). You’ll need to be willing to provide me a physical mailing address (and, if you’re outside the U.S., chip in $10 via PayPal to share with me the costs of shipping and handling). A winner will be announced on or before March 8.