Hidden Cabin

In the book I'm working on right now. The main character hides out in a hidden cabin in the mountains. I got the idea from a place in the Wasatch Mountains. My ever-so-great-grandfather Green discovered a basin long ago, which was named Green's Basin after him. It has a beautiful meadow with a kaleidoscope of sweet smelling mountain flowers. In the pines on the far side of the meadow is a hidden dug-out cabin. It's really hard to tell it's there except at a certain angle. Here are some pictures.

West side of cabin.

East side of cabin.

Front of cabin.

Step Back in Time

I spent all morning at This is the Place Heritage Park. It is a wonderful place in Salt Lake where they've got authentic pioneer houses and cabins. Yes, the actual ones used by the pioneers that have been preserved and moved up to the park along with authentic furniture and tools etc. It's like a living pioneer village including a blacksmith, barbershop, carpenter shop, print shop, hat shop, shoe shop, grist mill, gardens, livestock, houses and more.

As a fantasy writer I find it an excellent place to do research because it provides all the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feel of pre-technology life. I go there often, and always learn something new. Here are some pictures from today's visit.

The general store.

Pioneer kitchen

Some of the animals.

Carding wool.

Spinning.

Weaving.

Plants used to dye the wool.

Super Fun Vacation

I just got back from a great vacation to the Oregon Coast. The weather was sunny and cool, just perfect for time at the beach, boating on Devil's Lake, fishing, and attending a wonderful contracts and copyrights workshop. Here are some pictures. :)




Devils Lake where my son caught a beautiful (and tasty) rainbow trout.


The Beach Haven House we stayed at for a week.


The Newport Aquarium we visited.


The beach on a beautiful day. Not crowded. We had this whole section pretty much to ourselves. Flew a kite, built a sandcastle, found a bunch of seashells.


A sea otter at the aquarium. They were so very cute.

BYU Writer's Conference

This past week I attended the BYU Writing for Young Readers Conference. It was totally awesome. I got to attend a class taught by Tracy and Laura Hickman. I learned so much from them. We talked about the Campbell Monomyth and Dramatica Structure.

The other students in the class were terrific to work with and wonderful writers. I enjoyed every moment with them.

Here's a picture of me with Tracy and Laura and also a picture of my friend Janice Kidd with them as well.

Super Cool New Dragon Book

I'm super excited!

My friend, Clint Johnson's book is coming out the end of this week!!!!!

I've already gotten my hands on it, and it is an awesome book. For those of you who have read my books, Red Dragon Codex and Brass Dragon Codex, and loved them, you won't be disappointed with Clint's Green Dragon Codex. It has all the adventure, excitement, and lovable characters as other books in the series. I think I'd go so far as to say this is one of the best Dragon Codex books of all.

Here's Clint's announcement about his launch signing and more info about the book:

For those who don't know me, my name is Clint Johnson. My first nationally published children's novel, Green Dragon Codex, is releasing June 9th.

I just wanted to let you all know that my first book signing will be Saturday, June 6th, from 2:00-4:00 pm at the King's English in Salt Lake (1511 South 1500 East). I'll date all books as well as sign them, documenting that the signature comes from my first ever signing. I've included a press release about the book below.

For more information see my web site, http://www.clintjohnsonwrites.com/. If you know someone who might be interested, please forward this on.

Thanks! Clint

Green Dragon Codex
A huge new fantasy adventure with an even bigger question—
are dragons good or evil, and do they have a choice?

“So much fun to read…I love the humor in this book, the adventure, and the many twists and turns. And most of all I love the characters and how real they become. Highly recommended.”
---James Dashner, author of The Thirteenth Reality and The Maze Runner Series


Master scribe R. D. Henham is back, this time with assistant Clint Johnson, revealing another untold story of dragonlore: Green Dragon Codex (Mirrorstone, hardcover, $9.95, 978-0-78695-145-1). A playful romp mixing mystery and adventure in the best-selling Dragonlance realm, Green Dragon Codex makes real every child’s dream of having their own dragon—only this baby dragon comes with secrets, powerful enemies, and one terrible truth: he is destined to be evil.

The book follows Scamp Weaver, a boy too different, curious, and creative not to trip upon adventure some time in life. But when he discovers a dragon’s treasure chest it launches him upon a journey in which he, his brother Mather, and best friend Dannika debate whether an isthmus is where pirates bury their treasure, summon a chicken from other dimensions, and even drop a cow on a dragon—and in the meantime dare to address the basic question of good and evil: is our nature predestined or do we chose who we become, and can even dragons make that same choice?

Study and curriculum guides developed according to Granite District curriculum are available at www.ClintJohnsonWrites.com, along with chapter annotations, information on school visits and other resources for teachers, and much more. (Some material not available prior to release.)

Green Dragon Codex hits store shelves nationwide June 9th, 2009.

###
About the Authors:
R.D. Henham returns in a unique series on dragonkind, The Dragon Codices, a tie in to the New York Times best-selling A Practical Guide to Dragons. The author is a master scribe at the Great Library of Palanthas and (rumor has it) a wizard of terrifying power and unstable temperament who finds having a few ogres at hand useful.

Green Dragon Codex is assistant scribe Clint Johnson’s first published novel. He is a college writing tutor who has conducted over 2,500 individual sessions in his career, mostly with students who were not ogres at all. Mostly.

About the Book:Green Dragon Codex
By R.D. Henham (Clint Johnson)
Published by Mirrorstone
On Sale Date: June 9, 2009
Price: $9.95
Distributor: Random House
Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN: 978-0-78695-145-1

Evil Overlords of CONduit

Evil Overlord #1: Paul Genesse (seen here with me at our book signing)

Paul had his book release party for The Dragon Hunters on Friday night at the convention. In true Paul style he held it up on the 15th floor where he could look down through the clouds into the Void and ponder what winged monsters might come up to attack him. I feasted on Pizza, chocolate, and cookies while I waited in the eternally long line of his rabid fans waiting for a moment to bask in his evil overlordly presence (and get a signed copy of his book).

More Evil Overlords: Paul Genesse (again. He truly is evil), Howard Taylor, Dan Willis, L.E. Modesitt, Dave Wolverton.

Howard Taylor had his book launch party at CONduit as well. More pizza. More cookies. More chocolate. He even had this fluffy little eclairs that tasted like heaven. Two thumbs up from me. And his newest book. Scholck Mercenary: The Scrapyard of Insufferable Arrogance is terrific. I loved every page of it.

I really enjoyed Dan Willis's panel, On Writing. He had a lot of great material to share, and I can't wait to implement it in my own writing.

Dave Wolverton did the Main Address on Saturday where he talked about stories that appeal to the collective consciousness because of genetic memory. Way good stuff.

Late Saturday night a bunch of us got together, and I got to hang out and listen for scraps of wisdom from L.E. Modesitt. Truly an icon in the field.

On Saturday, I got to be on a fun panel about marketing YA/MG fiction with my editor Stacy Whitman and a bunch of my favorite YA/MG authors: James Dashner, Mette Ivie Harrison, Julie Wright, Dan Willis, and Sandra Tayler. We had a great time.

Sandra has a terrific new picture book out called Hold Onto Your Horses. The best picture book I've read in a while. Check out the website.

I also got to do a reading along with Aleta Clegg whose new book will be coming out soon. And then I got to do a book signing with Paul. A lot of fun there. Of course you never know what's going to happen when Paul is around.

Quite a memorable weekend.

I'm Doing a Reading

Great news. I'm going to be attending ConDuit this year Saturday May 23 at the Radisson Hotel, Downtown Salt Lake City, 215 West South Temple. Here's my schedule.

1:00 pm--Reading (From Red Dragon Codex and Brass Dragon Codex)
2:00 pm--Panel: How to publish and market your YA/MG book.
4:00 pm--signing

I'm pretty excited for this. Lots of my writer friends will be there. I look forward to a great convention.

Utah YA/MG Writers

I've been promising to put this list up for a while. Here it is finally. An incomplete list of Utah YA/MG writers in no particular order. Anyone that I've missed, feel free to speak up.

David Farland-Of Mice and Magic
Jessica Day George-Dragon Slippers
Brandon Mull-Fablehaven
Paul West-coming soon
Sydney Salter-My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters
Kristen Landon-Life in the Pit
Shannon Hale-Goose Girl
James Dashner-The 13th Reality
Tamra Norton-Comfortable in My Own Genes
Kristen Chandler-Wolves Boys and Other Things That Might Kill Me
Katie Parker-Just the Way You Are
Jannette Rallison-It's a Mall World After All
Randall Right-coming soon
BJ Rowley-Light Traveler Adventure Series
J. Scott Savage-Far World
Rebecca Talley-Heaven Scent
Julie Wright-My-Not-So-Fairy-Tale-Life
Elise Rasband-coming soon
Anna del C. Dye-Trouble in the Elf City
Wendy Tolliver-Secret Life of a Teenage Siren
Bree Despain-The Dark Divine
Rebecca Shelley-Brass Dragon Codex
Clint Johnson-Green Dragon Codex
Paul Genesse-The Dragon Hunters

I feel very lucky to live in a state with such a great writing community. :)

Dragons Coming Soon!

The Dragon Hunters, Book Two of the Iron Dragon Series by Paul Genesse is set to release this May 15th. Two days and counting. I'm so excited.

In the first book, The Golden Cord, The Drake Bloodstone had to choose between protecting his own people and leaving them to pursue a perilous quest against the dragons. Both ways his life and very soul faced destruction as he tried to fight off the forces of evil.

In the second book Drake and an elite bank of dragon hunters take up the hunt for the evil dragon, Draglune. But danger and betrayal await at every turn. Friends could be enemies, and enemies might be friends.

I got to read a review copy of Dragon Hunters. It is even better than the first book. Paul has done a wonderful job of creating a complex and terrifying world.

For anyone living near Salt Lake, Paul's book release party will be Friday May 22 from 3:00-6:00 Pm at the Radisson Hotel Downtown in Salt Lake City, 215 West South Temple at the "Con Suite" located in the back of the lobby. The ConDuit Science Fiction & Fantasy convention will be going on in the hotel, but anyone can attend this release party as well as go into the art show or dealers room for free.

Hope to see a bunch of you there.

My Website is Down

Hey all, I just found out my website is AWOL. I've called in some technical support and hopefully it will be back up soon. Sorry for the trouble.

Reviews of Brass Dragon Codex

The Brass Dragon Codex is a truly enjoyable book. It was a fast and friendly read, enjoyable for both me and my son.If you love dragons as much as I do, love a good story with the thrill of adventure, then you'll love R.D. Henham's Brass Dragon Codex. (Ali Cross)http://grrlinawhirl.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-brass-dragon-codex.html

The action goes on and on. And so, too, does the reader's interest. I'd definitely recommend this book to young, fantasy loving readers. (Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen)http://thewriteblocks.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-they-did-right-rd-henham-rebecca.html

In my wanderings through StoryLand, it's far too seldom that I find a book I want to absolutely rave about.This is one of the few! I loved it and I would whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone! (Wendy Elliot)http://wendword.blogspot.com/2009/02/review-brass-dragon-codex-by-rd-henham.html

This was an easy, fun read, which is very understandable, as it is aimed for ages 9-12. Still, part of the reason I read it in one day was it was hard to put down. There was a lot of action and conflicts from so many areas, (Annaliese Lemmon )http://storyengineer.wordpress.com/2009/02/18/review-brass-dragon-codex/

. . . it was a very fun book to read. I mean, hey, how can you not like a book with a lovable, free-spirited dragon and a cute little gnome? :o) I'm definitely going to read the rest of the books in this series. (Jewel Adams) http://www.jewelsbestgems.blogspot.com/

Author Extravaganza

Pleasant Grove Library Book Festival Fundraiser

This is an event you don’t want to miss!

On April 3rd, 2009 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Pleasant Grove Library, Provident Book and Humdinger Toys, Scholastic books, and fourteen authors are uniting together by appearing at the Festival and selling their books and other merchandise to help raise funds for the Pleasant Grove Library.

There will be author readings, door prizes, music, and more! All the proceeds from the Festival will go toward our library and its programs. This is definitely a family event so tell your friends and family to come meet their favorite author, do their spring book and toy shopping and show support for literacy and the library in our community!

Some of the authors that will be appearing: Rachel Ann Nunes, Julie Coulter Bellon, J. Scott Savage, Tristi Pinkston, Julie Wright, GG Vandagriff, Suzanne V. Reese, H.B. Moore, Christy Hardman, Jewel Adams, Rebecca Shelley, Elodia Strain, Anne Bradshaw, and Stacy Gooch Anderson.

Yep, even I will be there along with Redclaw the destroyer and her very tasty hoard of chocolates. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

The library is located at:

Pleasant Grove Library
30 East Center
Pleasant Grove, UT 84062
Phone Number: 801-785-3950

Book Signings

For all those who asked. Here is my schedule for book signings and presentations.

I'm having a book signing in Salt Lake at the Jordan Landing Barnes & Noble (7157 South Plaza Center Drive, West Jordan, UT 84084) Saturday, March 7 from 2:00-4:00 PM. I'm hoping to have some helium balloons for the kids.

I'm also signing at the Pleasant Grove Public Library April 3, from 7:00-9:00 pm.

I'll be presenting a workshop on researching and submitting to the national market at the Provo City Library room 201 from 7:00-8:30pm on April 22.

In addition I'll be at the LDStorymaker's conference April 24 and 25. At the Provo Marriot.

Most likely I'll be at ConDuit May 22 and 23. And MountainCon in the fall as well.

More Brass Dragon Reviews

From the first page, I was hooked. Who wouldn’t love a quirky little dragon that not only talks to inanimate objects, but gives those same objects a voice in order to take away some of his loneliness? This well written story drew me right in. As the story progressed, I found myself so deeply involved with the enchanting tale, that I lost track of time. (Christine Bryant) http://christinebryant.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-brass-dragon-codex.html

I found the characters lovable and flawed—great qualities in any story—and the plot was always moving, each chapter left me wanting to read more. . . . an excellent book for any age reader, (Nichole Giles) http://nicholegiles.blogspot.com/2009/03/book-review-brass-dragon-codex-by-rd.html

If you like dragons and gnomes, Brass Dragon Codex is a book with plenty of action. (Connie Hall) http://clhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/review-of-brass-dragon-codex.html

There are a lot of really crazy situations in this book, and I can only imagine how funny The Brass Dragon Codex will be to parents reading it out loud to their delighted kids. (Paul Genesse: author of The Iron Dragon Series)http://writerssymposium.blogspot.com/2009/03/brass-dragon-codex.html

I not only got to read a great book, but I got to read Brass Dragon aloud with my son and that’s one of my favorite things to do. Bonus points were also awarded to Brass Dragon Codex on the merit of actually holding my special needs son’s attention past chapter 1. (Alison Palmer) http://alisonpalmer.blogspot.com/2009/03/brass-dragon-codex-by-rd-henham.html

Book Signing and Blog Tour

I had a terrific time at the BYU Life the Universe and Everything Symposium this past weekend. I love getting to spend time with so many writer friends. I always learn so much from the panel discussions. Tracy and Laura Hickman were the special guests. Wonderful. Just wonderful main addresses from them. The conference was especially great since my editor, Stacy Whitman, was there. Here's a picture of us together at my Saturday book signing.

Note, my new hair-do, special for the occasion. My husband took one look at me and asked if I was having a mid-life crisis. LOL (I will not mention what age I'm turning very soon on my birthday). I think the stylist did a terrific job. Now if only I can manage to get my hair to go like that on my own. The odds aren't good.

Well, Brass Dragon Codex has launched and is doing very well. I've got a blog tour going. Here's excerpts and links to the first few blogs. More will follow.

Reviews of Brass Dragon Codex

The Brass Dragon Codex is a truly enjoyable book. It was a fast and friendly read, enjoyable for both me and my son.If you love dragons as much as I do, love a good story with the thrill of adventure, then you'll love R.D. Henham's Brass Dragon Codex. (Ali Cross)http://grrlinawhirl.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-brass-dragon-codex.html

The action goes on and on. And so, too, does the reader's interest. I'd definitely recommend this book to young, fantasy loving readers. (Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen)http://thewriteblocks.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-they-did-right-rd-henham-rebecca.html

In my wanderings through StoryLand, it's far too seldom that I find a book I want to absolutely rave about.This is one of the few! I loved it and I would whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone! (Wendy Elliot)http://wendword.blogspot.com/2009/02/review-brass-dragon-codex-by-rd-henham.html

This was an easy, fun read, which is very understandable, as it is aimed for ages 9-12. Still, part of the reason I read it in one day was it was hard to put down. There was a lot of action and conflicts from so many areas, (Annaliese Lemmon )http://storyengineer.wordpress.com/2009/02/18/review-brass-dragon-codex/

. . . it was a very fun book to read. I mean, hey, how can you not like a book with a lovable, free-spirited dragon and a cute little gnome? :o) I'm definitely going to read the rest of the books in this series. (Jewel Adams) http://www.jewelsbestgems.blogspot.com/

My New Book Coming Out

I'm super excited. Brass Dragon Codex releases this Tuesday (February 10, 2009)!

For those who are close to Utah, I'll be doing a book signing at the BYU Bookstore in Provo Saturday, February 21 at 2:00 PM and a reading at 5:00PM the same day as part of Life The Universe and Everything conference(upstairs in the Wilkinson Center I think). I'll also be on two LTUE panels on Friday at 1:00pm and 2:00pm.

I'm also having a book signing in Salt Lake at the Jordan Landing Barnes & Noble Saturday, March 7 from 2:00-4:00 PM. I'm hoping to have some helium balloons for the kids.

Most likely I'll be at ConDuit in the summer and MountainCon in the fall as well.

Brass Dragon Codex was a really fun book to write. I'm very happy to see it finally hitting the shelves. :)