First Sentence of THE BONE MAKER

 My favorite sentence to write is the first one. It invites the reader into your world. Here's my first sentence from THE BONE MAKER (coming 3/9/21 from Harper Voyager):

"Kreya always wore her coat with many pockets when she went out to steal bones."

http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/BoneMaker.htm

 

THE BONE MAKER, coming in March!

 Just switched to my 2021 calendar and it's starting to sink in...  It's a new year, which means new books! In March, my next book for adults, THE BONE MAKER, comes out from Harper Voyager! It's a standalone epic fantasy about bone magic, second chances, and five former heroes -- one broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one unable to let go of the past, and one dead. I loved every second of writing it, and I can't wait to share it with you!

http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/BoneMaker.htm

RACE THE SANDS is an Amazon Best SFF Book of the Year!

 Eeeeeeeeee!!! RACE THE SANDS (my epic fantasy about monster racing) is one of Amazon's Best SFF Books of the Year! So very thrilled and honored to be in such incredible company! Thanks so much, Amazon! You made my day!

https://amzn.to/2UH3KcH

 

World Fantasy 2020 Schedule

 Very excited for this weekend's virtual World Fantasy Convention! It's always been one of my favorite cons, due to the plethora of awesome people who attend. Here's my schedule (all times in MDT):

- Fri 3pm Panel "Tropes and Archetypes" with Sarah Beth Durst, Cheryl M. Morgan, Sharon Shinn, and Kryssa Stevenson
- Sat 1pm Panel "What's New in Books for Teens?" with Sarah Beth Durst, Cindy Pon, and James Van Pelt
- Sat 2:30pm Reading with Sarah Beth Durst

Hope to see you there!

Capclave 2020 Schedule

Very excited to be a Returning Guest of Honor at virtual Capclave this weekend!

Here's my schedule:
- Sat 1:30pm Panel "Magic - Obvious or Mysterious"
- Sat 9pm Kaffeeklatch (signup required)
- Sun 1:30pm Panel "Sarah Beth Durst and Friends"
- Sun 4:30pm Panel "YA Dark Fantasy"

I'm especially looking forward to the "Sarah Beth Durst and Friends" panel. Never been on a panel with that title before! Best part is I get to chat with the phenomenal Leah Cypess, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Diana Peterfreund, and Jon Skovron!

Capclave is an SFF convention run by the Washington Science Fiction Association. Virtual attendance this year is $10. Hope to see you there!

https://www.capclave.org

SPARK is a Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee!

So happy!! My MG book about a quiet girl and her lightning dragon, SPARK, is a 2021-2022 Nominee for the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award for Grades 3-5! This is the 3rd state list for SPARK! Yay!!! Thank you so much, Louisiana librarians! And congratulations to all the other nominees!

https://www.crt.state.la.us/Assets/press-releases/2021-2022_Louisiana_Young_Readers_Choice_Award_Nominated_Titles.pdf

Cover Reveal for EVEN AND ODD!

COVER REVEAL!!! I am absolutely in love with the cover for my next book for kids, EVEN AND ODD! The art is by the amazing Brandon Dorman, and the book (coming June 2021 from Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is about two sisters who can work magic but only on alternating days.

When the hidden border between the mundane world the sisters live in and the magical land they were born in shuts abruptly, Even and her sister Odd must find a way to reunite their worlds -- with the help of a unicorn named Jeremy.

http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/EvenandOdd.htm

 

SPARK is a Nebraska Golden Sower Award Nominee!

Got some lovely news! I just found out that my MG book, SPARK, is a 2021-2022 Nominee for the Nebraska Golden Sower Award! Yay!!! Thank you so much, Nebraska librarians! And congrats to all the other nominees!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BDxoQsdsco9lURdHw0c5tAG-Cxmqlxil/view

Cover Reveal for THE BONE MAKER!

 COVER REVEAL!!! So excited to share the cover for THE BONE MAKER, my next novel for adults! It's a standalone epic fantasy about bone magic, second chances, and five former heroes -- one broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one unable to let go of the past, and one dead. Coming in March 2021 from Harper Voyager.

Thanks so much to Damonza for the amazing art, my fantastic editor David Pomerico, and the whole Harper Voyager team!

http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/BoneMaker.htm

THE CLONE WARS: STORIES OF LIGHT AND DARK is out today!

Today is the book birthday for THE CLONE WARS: STORIES OF LIGHT AND DARK, and I'm extremely excited to be part of this anthology and a part of Star Wars! I fell in love with Star Wars a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), and it's been a major influence on all of my books.

Very thrilled to be in this anthology with Lou Anders, Tom Angleberger, Preeti Chhibber, E. Anne Convery, Zoraida Cordova, Jason Fry, Yoon Ha Lee, Rebecca Roanhorse, Anne Ursu, and Greg Van Eekhout, edited by Jen Heddle!

Each story is a retelling of a Clone Wars episode from a different character's point-of-view.

My story ("Almost a Jedi") centers on Ahsoka Tano, as seen through the eyes of Jedi youngling Katooni. I loved seeing the Star Wars universe through the eyes of a girl who desperately wants her first lightsaber -- because I was once a little girl who wanted a real lightsaber.

I was too young to see the first Star Wars movie in a movie theater, but my parents taped it off TV. Our warped recording alternated between black-and-white and color every few scenes, but I didn't care. I watched that VHS tape over and over until it failed.

Years later, I remember going to the movies with my husband purely to see the trailer to the long-awaited Episode I. Pretty sure I cried from over-excitement when the Lucasfilm logo appeared. I know I cried during Episode VII when that lightsaber landed in Rey's hand.

Star Wars shaped my sense of what Story is -- Story-with-a-capital-S. You can see its influence in all of my books. I'm always trying to capture that same sense of adventure, humor, and hope in my own writing.

So I am enormously thrilled to have had the chance to retell an episode of the very awesome Clone Wars series. Thank you to Jen Heddle, Disney Lucasfilm, and Star Wars for the extraordinarily fun writing experience!