Joy Nash | A Letter From Rhys

To the Once and Future Readers of my tale,

I left Avalon as a lad of fourteen winters.

It was not my choice. The sacred isle was my soul-home. It was there I learned the magic of the Goddess. The white mists cast by Cyric, my grandfather, hid my clan from its enemies. To my mind, there was no reason a Druid should venture into the outside world.

Cyric knew differently. My grandfather's visions showed him a time when the Light would fade from Britain, when war and chaos would threaten the survival of our people. Only on Avalon, hidden in the teachings of The Lady, could the Light survive long enough, grow strong enough, to influence that grim future.

To read more of Rhys' letter and to comment for a chance to win please click here.

Joy Nash | Birth Order and Writing

Oldest? Middle? Youngest? Only?

Does your position in your birth family determine aspects of your personality? May psychologists believe that it does. A glance around my own birth family (6 siblings), as well as the family I gave birth to (3 kids), tells me there’s a nugget of truth in birth-order/personality theories.

An added bonus: yet another character-creation aid for writers. When I dreamed up the various members of the Santangelo family in A Little Light Magic (Leisure Books, May 26), I kept birth order personality traits in mind. Here’s a quick rundown:

Nick Santangelo (hero of A Little Light Magic): The classic oldest child. Conservative, responsible, workaholic, protector, doesn’t like to take risks. Nick’s a business owner, which is not unusual for an oldest child. He’s used to making decisions and giving orders (having practiced in childhood on his younger brothers). He doesn’t often let loose and just have fun – everything’s tied up in work and responsibility for Nick.

Click here to read the rest of Joy's blog and to comment.

Joy Nash | October Favorites

Apples - I just can't get into eating apples in the summer. Once fall comes, it's like I'm discovering apples all over again. I like the tart kind. Braeburn and the new Honeycrisps.

Hot, homemade soup - Something else I don't make or eat in the summer. It's a great easy meal for autumn. (Today's soup is split pea.)

Fall foliage - I lived in Florida for a while as a teenager, and I really missed seeing the leaves change. Now I'm lucky to live in an area with lots of trees and lots of fall color.

Crunchy Leaves - All that fall foliage leads to crunchy leaves! I love stomping through them.

First frost - So pretty. Time to get out the big, comfy sweaters!

My wedding anniversary - Twenty-three years this October. I can hardly believe it.

Pumpkins - Sometimes I grow my own. Not this year, though, so I'll be picking up some big ones soon.

Jack-o-lanterns - Some pumpkins eventually become Jack-o-lanterns! I was a little disturbed when the supermarket started selling pumpkins with pre-painted jack-o-lantern faces a few years ago. I'm a purist. Gotta carve my own, usually on the day before Halloween.

Costumes - I love to see what the neighborhood kids come up with!

Halloween - This is getting to be a lot of people’s favorite holiday, and I can totally understand why – it’s so much fun! I get into decorating the front lawn with tombstones, plastic skeleton bones, jack-o-lanterns, etc, for the big night. I play a scary-sounds tape during trick or treat, which is a big event in my neighborhood.

I was so glad that Immortals: The Crossing is an October book! It’s perfect because the story takes place on Halloween. What better time for a "Crossing" into the realms of the dead?

Hope your October is healthy, happy, and fun!!

Make your blogging pay off enter Joy Nash's ONE DAY BLOGGING CONTEST for a chance to win an authorgraph copy of Immortals: The Crossing

Joy Nash
www.joynash.com/