Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Princess Kandake - Released Today!


Today is the official launch date for Stephanie Jefferson's PRINCESS KANDAKE - Warrior By Choice....Appointed to Rule.

My post of January 4, 2012, explained the inspiration behind this story. If you missed it, you can read it here. The January 11 post covered all the work Stephanie put into the cover design, including how she made a leather breastplate. Here's the post if you missed it.

What's really cool about this book is that under the title "Nubian Princess," it made the semi-finals in Amazon's 2010 Breakthrough Novel Award contest. Although the manuscript didn't win, it received a great review from Publishers Weekly:

"This stellar historical novel brings ancient Nubia to life as one girl struggles to understand her destiny. Kandake, 14, is the youngest child of King Amani, ruler of Nubia. Her desire is to protect the land she loves as a warrior, but the decision is not in her hands. When Great Mother announces Kandake as the heir to the throne, she sadly accepts the inevitable, striving to understand Great Mother’s reasoning. Meanwhile bandits have been raiding Nubia’s trading caravans, and Egypt, Nubia’s ally and neighbor, is asking for assistance to protect its borders from the Assyrians. When Kandake’s brother Alara fails to return from a hunting expedition, King Amari makes a difficult decision: Nubia must use her resources to defend her border. Alara’s rescue must take second place. Unwilling to accept this decision, Kandake and her friends sneak away to find Alara. This skillfully crafted novel weaves cultural details into a remarkable, well-structured plot featuring a strong African heroine. The characters are fully developed, and their motivations, inspirations, and the growing maturity of these teens are believable. Readers will eagerly hope for a sequel to resolve the larger political issues facing Nubia and its future Queen."

Readers who are capitivated by Princess Kandake will be pleased to know Stephanie has finished the first draft of the sequel.

You can buy Stephanie's debut novel here:

Stephanie's doing a book tour this month. She's scheduled for lectures and books signings at the following locations in Southern California, open to the public:

Cal State University San Bernardino - Pfau Library, Wednesday, Feb. 15 at Noon

Corona Library, Thursday, Feb. 16 at 3:30 p.m.


Congratulations, Stephanie! It's been amazing witnessing your journey with all its highs and lows, twists and turns, and your recent miraculous recovery from a massive heart attack! This is truly a time to celebrate! Cheers to your health, happiness, and a prosperous writing career!


13 comments:

Stephanie, PQW said...

Oh Lynn, thank you so much. I so appreciate your encouragement and help. You were there, cheering me on, from the first word to the last. What a friend!

Old Kitty said...

CONGRATULATIONS to Stephanie Jefferson!!! I wish her all the best with her gorgeous novel and hope she enjoys all the tours and book signings etc! Such exciting times ahead for her! Yay! Take care
x

LynNerdKelley said...

Stephanie - That's why I'm so excited for you. Witnessing the whole process you've gone through just makes this day that much sweeter! Woo hoo!

Old Kitty - Thank you! You're a gem, you know that?

Maria Cisneros Toth Blog said...

Great blog post, Lynn! And HUGE congrats to Stephanie! Your debut novel is awesome!!!!

Jeremy Bates said...

congratulations for your debut novel

catherinemjohnson.com said...

Congrats to Stephanie on her release day. Thanks Lynn.

jerzey72 said...

Oo looks great

Anonymous said...

Very cool! Congratulations on the launch!

Author A.O. Peart said...

All the best to Stephanie and congratulations on the sequel progress!

LynNerdKelley said...

Thank you all for commenting and making Stephanie's launch extra-special!

Coleen Patrick said...

Congrats and all the best!! :)

Theresa Milstein said...

I congratulate Stephanie too. Nice to hear it had made it up there for ABNA.

nutschell said...

Congratulations Stephanie! Sounds like a great book!

Happy weekend!
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com