Happy Friday!

Day Al-Mohamed and I are featured in an interview over on the fabulous My World In Words and Pages blog. Co-interviewing is nearly as much fun as co-writing! Check it out:

http://melissa-melsworld.blogspot.com/2014/06/author-interview-with-danielle-ackley.html

And if you have a question we didn't answer in the interview, feel free to leave it for us in the comments section and we'll answer it there!

Also, if you have a blog, we would love to do a guest blog about our new novel, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn: A Steampunk Faerie Tale.

Best,
Danielle

To celebrate the upcoming release of my newest novel, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, co-written with Day Al-Mohamed, we are holding a GoodReads Giveaway:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21531932-baba-ali-and-the-clockwork-djinn

Come, Best Beloved, and sit you by my feet. I shall tell you a tale such as sister Scheherazade could have scarce imagined.

In the Nejd there is nothing at all…except secrets. A band of thieves wish such secrets to remain hidden.

In England, far from his desert home, Ali bin-Massoud serves as apprentice to the famed Charles Babbage. One night a mysterious box is delivered by a clockwork falcon and Ali’s world is never the same again. Heartache, danger, and thieves mark his journey as Ali is summoned home at the death of his father.

It will take faith, knowledge, and yes, love to realize his destiny, and more than a little skill with steam-driven technology. Can he unravel the mystery of the puzzle box and the clockwork djinn before it is too late? An ancient legacy and Ali's very life depend on it.

Hear you the tale of Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn.

"Fantasy needs more heroes like Ali bin-Massoud, and more stories like Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn. This charming story deserves to be well read. Read it, let it sit with you a while, and then read it again." —Luke's Reviews

Dark Quest Books and Author Danielle Ackley-McPhail are proud to present her newest solo collection, Consigned to the Sea, stories of mystical, nautical fiction where our heroines pit themselves against pirates, witches, and the forces of nature. The book will officially launch at a Book Launch to be held at this year’s Lunacon (www.lunacon.org).

’Tis Said We All Return to Whence We Began…

Is it any wonder then why so many are drawn to the sea? Throughout the history of Man the crash of the waves has been a siren song…a promise…a curse. Above the waves is a challenge that makes or breaks many a man or woman. Below is another world both magical and menacing.

In Consigned to the Sea you will find the vast spectrum of what the oceans have to offer. The wonder of a mermaid yearning to reach the sky… The wrath of the selkie protecting its own… A dragon waging war against pirates…

Whether you root for the sailor or the sea, here is a collection you can treasure.

“Dripping with tension, Consigned to the Sea is a powerful tale with interesting twists toward the end and a strong lead. Recommended.”—Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Rise Reviews

102 pages | $9.95 | 978-1-937051-96-9

Well...the insanity that is Kickstarter is done for me...for now anyway. A thanks go out to all the supporters of the Athena's Daughters Kickstarter I've been going on about for weeks. The fundraiser was a resounding success that managed to fully fund not only the original anthology we were going for, but also two other companion volumes. Two of the books are guaranteed to be in hardcover as well as paperback, and with original artwork created specifically for the project.

For those who were not able to contribute, thank you for your extreme patience during this time when Athena's Daughters was virtually all I talked about.

Now on to other news! This is going to be a very busy year for book releases. I don't have release dates or cover blurbs yet, but here is some of what you can expect later this year (in no particular order):

Hellfire Lounge 4 - anthology - Bold Venture Press

Bad-Ass Faeries: It's Elemental - anthology - Dark Quest Books

Consigned to the Sea - Solo pirate-themed fantasy collection - Dark Quest Books

Lucky 13 - anothology - Padwolf Publishing

Athena's Daughters - Silence in the Library Press

Trouble on the Water - nautical anthology - Dark Quest Books

Gaslight and Grimm - steampunk faerie tale anthology - Dark Quest Books

Ali Baba and the Clockwork Djinn - novel with Day Al-Mohamed - Dark Quest Books

More info to come as it is available.