I’m Cidney Swanson and I love Pie, Sunshine, and Big Fat Books! I write YA novels about kick-butt heroines and the boys they kiss (Oops! Spoiler!) This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck to give readers access to exclusive bonus material from new authors and to win awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize–one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours! Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are EIGHT contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or Read more…

Apparently it does. At least, NASA is hoping to take a page from an important bit of the SAVING MARS story. If you’re my age or even a bit younger, you probably remember when Halley’s Comet last came to call. At the time, there was a mania for sending a craft into the tail of the comet to find out what we could of its composition. The US, rather than missing out, chose to divert an existing satellite (used to observe solar phenomenon) into the tail of both Halley’s and the Giacobini-Zinner Comet. However, the scientist who “stole” the satellite promised to try to return it in the future. Fast forward thirty-one years to the present day. Apparently, the sun and the earth and the satellite formerly grabbing comet data are now in positions such that the satellite can be Read more…

A giveaway of 2 Kindles!! The first one is available via the rafflecopter below. The 2nd is available only to bloggers who post about this giveaway. You can find info on how to enter in the rafflecopter. Win a Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash ($229 value) Bloggers & Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HDX 7″. All New Kindle Fire HDX 7″ Giveaway The winner will have the option of receiving a 7″ Kindle Fire HDX (US Only – $229 Value)   Or $229 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)   Or $229 in Paypal Cash (International)     Giveaway Sponsors: I Am A Reader Feed Your Reader Inspired Kathy Ripple Effect Romance Series Author M.A. George The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something year Old Girl Meredith & Jennifer’s Musings Read more…

This past weekend, I was a presenter at the first annual Wordcrafters in Eugene conference where we were very focused on craft. (Where I also got the Best Swag Ever: a spa robe!) When I prepare for workshops or intensives, I often find myself revisiting some of my old writing, which leads me to ponder my writer-ly habits and traits. When I was a kid, I wrote stories.  Lots of stories. They had inciting incidents, escalating events, a climax, and a resolution. I didn’t know these terms back then, but I read lots of books, and reading taught me this particular order of events was a satisfying one for readers. Then, when I grew older and took creative writing classes and joined critique groups, I wrote description. Carefully, lovingly observed descriptions of the natural world, anatomies of conversations as they Read more…

Just a quick post to let you know Apple and Kobo have joined Amazon and Barnes and Noble in making VISIBLE, Book Four in the Ripple Series, available as an eBook. If you are waiting on the paperback, that should be coming in about four weeks. (Hopefully by St Patty’s Day!) VISIBLE picks up where Unfurl left off, so you should read books one, two, and three of the Ripple Series before diving in. Enjoy! Cheers, Cidney

If you have read about my writing habits, you know I like lots and lots of revision. I also find it super helpful to step away from my stories in between drafts. Over the course of a year and a half, I have a lot of “down time” during which I set my manuscripts aside to age. This year (and a half), I did something fantabulous with all that downtime: I wrote a whole ‘nother book! I am so very pleased to announce that the Ripple Trilogy now has a companion title. Okay, it’s a read-after title.  But it is full length and it is publishing just in time for Valentine’s Day.  *Squee!* VISIBLE, A Ripple Novel, tells the story of Gwyn and Christian in the days after Unfurl ends. If you aren’t already on the New Release List, you Read more…

This is just a quick post (and giveaway!) to let you know 2 things: 1) Rippler has been included in a 6 e-book Box Set for just .99 including best-selling authors SM Reine and Sarra Cannon! Woohoo! (And yes, they still pay us authors!) If you like your fantasy heroines edgy, you can pick up copies at these e-tailers: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo 2) Rippler, Chameleon, and Unfurl have received paperback face lifts! I love the new matte covers. To celebrate these two things, I’m giving away a signed copy of RIPPLER (US only) in all its matte-cover glory! a Rafflecopter giveaway

DREAMING OF BOOKS GIVEAWAY HOP The bookshelves, they are groaning once again. With the daughterling’s week-long vacay in the hospital (see Jan. 4 on timeline), I didn’t get some end of year cleaning done. I figure this blog hop is the perfect opportunity! Enter below to win a combo of 5 paperbacks/hardbacks (my random picks) from my groaning shelves (US) or your choice of one of my ebook box sets (INTL). Blog hop ends January 24th. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Me! And I did, too! And today’s Chinese launch of a rover to the Moon reminded me it was high time I blogged about my recent visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the launch of MAVEN, the probe traveling to Mars to figure out where all the water on Mars went to. I applied as a guest of @NASASocial, which you should totally check out if you are interested in space or going to see a launch some day yourself! https://twitter.com/NASASocial But really, pictures do such a great job of telling a story, so here are a few of my trip to NASA: We got to hear presentations from some of the NASA women behind MAVEN! I got to hang out at the countdown clock. That would be the same clock that counted down the Apollo missions! And then, Read more…

It all started with the phrase below: She was the kind of girl who slept with books on her bed. Well, to all good things must come “The End.” I finished drafting the Mars Series all the way to the end this past week. (Drafting, mind you, is not where I put in the serious hours. Read about how my brain works here.) Anyway, as I was doing this I kept asking myself, what else will my readers want to know? And then it occurred to me I could, you know, ASK my readers. So this is me, asking: what little or big “loose ends” are you hoping to see wrapped up when The Saving Mars Series is complete? I can’t promise that I’ll be able to fit everything in, but I can promise I’ll take your requests seriously. You, Read more…