Official Maria V. Snyder Blog

SHATTERED GLASS is a new eNovella and features Opal Cowan. I've been getting lots and lots of emails and questions about what happened to Master Magician Zitora Cowan (remember she retired as a Master and embarked on a quest to find her sister at the end of Sea Glass ?). I've finally answered that question and you can read what happened to her in Shattered Glass . This story fits in nicely between Night Study and Dawn Study - it actually overlaps Dawn Study a bit so you have to read it ;). Also the eNovella has the first TWO chapters of Dawn Study excerpted at the end. The cost is 0.99 US.  A portion of the proceeds will be donated to my daughter's friend Araella's medical expenses.  Her world was shattered back in August when she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer - she's just 18 years old! :( Here's the cover copy:   While trying to teach her adopted daughter, Reema how to work with molten glass, Opal receives a letter from Master Magician Zit

My Australian publisher, Harlequin TEEN Australia is really excited about the release of the last Study book, DAWN STUDY and are doing a bunch of promotions for the book!  One promotion is a special fan edition of DAWN STUDY.  This edition will be printed in hardcover (aka hardback) and have a very cool cover.  It will be a Mosaic of photos uploaded by my readers!  How cool is that?  The edition will also have ICE STUDY, the prequel to SHADOW STUDY as bonus content and a letter for yours truly  :) Details!  Only AU/NZ readers can upload photos - I know it's not fair, but according to the lawyers the privacy laws don't mesh from country to country.  You can try to upload a photo - but it might be weeded out due to your IP address.  Also please upload a photo of you!  This is your special edition and how cool that you get to be on the cover! You need to act fast - the end date is 15 November 2016.  Here's a link:  http://www.tweematic.com/dawnstudy/  

Original Magic Study cover Can you believe it's been 10 years since MAGIC STUDY was first published?  I can't. Then again I can't believe it's October 24th of this year already - where did September and early October go? Magic Study was first published as a hardcover in October 2006.  It was published a year after Poison Study hit the shelves and it was well received - it sold more copies than Poison and that's a good sign in the publishing world :). During the last 10 years, Magic Study has gone through a number of cover designs.  The original hardcover matched the original hardcover of Poison Study - they were based loosely on two different Johannes Vermeer paintings - Poison on Girl with the Pearl Earring - and Magic on The Geographer.   Unfortunately, the model who had posed for Poison's cover had returned to her native Russia and another model was used for the second book.  Can you see the difference? Original Poison Study cover I really

FIRE STUDY - Saihate no Yelena [Yelena at the Farthest Land.] FIRE STUDY was just released in Japan and my publisher was kind enough to send me a box of extra copies!  Currently being guarded by Valek (aka Kitty)  So I'm sharing the booty with my readers and giving away 3 copies to 3 lucky winners.  The contest is open to ALL worldwide! The cover was designed by Tae and is gorgeous - just like the other two. Although I will admit, this one is my favorite of the three.  However together they're just super cool. MAGIC STUDY - Yelena no Kikan   [Yelena’s Homecoming] POISON STUDY -  [Yelena the Poison Tester] Here's the Rafflecopter: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today I have an interview with Rebekah Turner, an Australian author who I met while traveling in Australia. A super nice lady who is also very talented!  I had the pleasure of reading her book, a near future, dystopian, science fiction, thriller a few months ago. I provided a blurb for her book, THREADER. "This story threaded its way into my heard and wouldn't let go! Be prepared for a late night." Rebekah is also offering 3 copies of her book as a give away! This is for readers in Australia and New Zealand only and I'm sorry to say the book is also only available in Australia and New Zealand, however I think you can order it (see below for a link). Cover copy: Welcome to the Helios Academy: evolve or die... It’s the year 2050 and life is increasingly hard for ‘non-citizens’. A slowly emerging young minority  has been exposed as ‘talents’;  they harbour mutations that give them special gifts – super strength, regenerative powers,  psychic gifts or the abilit

So much for my New Year's resolution to blog more :/  Can I blame spending the month of April in Australia and having to finish DAWN STUDY?  No? Sigh.  Well, I'm back with another Author Interview and this time with the lovely, talented Tosca Lee!  Her book, THE PROGENY came out today and I was lucky to be able to review an ARC and provide a blurb. My blurb: Be warned, once you start this book, it's impossible to put down! Also Tosca is giving away one copy of THE PROGENY - see the Rafflecopter below to enter to win! This is open to residents in the USA and Canada only. Cover copy: Emily Porter is the descendant of a serial killer. Now, she’s become the hunted. She’s on a quest that will take her to the secret underground of Europe and the inner circles of three ancient orders—one determined to kill her, one devoted to keeping her alive, and one she must ultimately save. Filled with adrenaline, romance, and reversals, The Progeny is the present-day saga of a 400-y

 Today, MAGIC STUDY is being released in Japan with another gorgeous cover by Tae. I love this cover - I thought the one for POISON STUDY was also super cool, but this one...just resonates with me.  She's clutching the butterfly pendant Valek carved for her. To celebrate the release, I'm giving away TWO copies of the book.  My publisher in Japan was so kind to send me extra copies and they arrived today - perfect timing.  See below for the Rafflecopter - it is open to ALL my readers worldwide. POISON STUDY earned lots of wonderful reviews when it was released in July 2015. One Japanese reader said:   I read this book while in the bullet train from Tokyo the other day...I almost missed my station. Wow, that was close. High readability from the beginning, and you won't be able to stop turning the pages in the latter half.  And Booklog wrote:  How many years has it been since I've acted like this? I couldn't stop thinking about the story, even started to sol

The UK office has generously offered to send me some extra copies of the UK edition of NIGHT STUDY!  And I thought to pass them along to my readers. I've a Rafflecopter below and all you need to enter is to post a comment on one of the blogs on my UK Blog Tour - please comment on the Night Study post and not some random post on the blog :).  I posted the links to them all - a few haven't put up their posts yet.  The give away is open to ALL!! February 25:  Reader in a Reverie  - The idea for Night Study February 26:  Feeling Fictional  - Introducing Valek February 27:  Black Plume  - Q&A with Yelena February 28:  Eclectic Ramblings of Author Heather Osborne  - Top Ten Reasons to Read Fantasy February 29:  The YA Commuter Reader  - Introducing Ixia March 1:  Laura Jayne Online  - Top Five Favorite Fantasy and SF Books March 2:  Under A Mound of Books  - 5 Tips for Writing Good Romance March 3:  Words From A Reader  - Q&A with Maria March 4:  My Little Bookis

Today is the official release date of the UK edition of NIGHT STUDY! My UK readers have waited patiently (well, most of them have ;) for three extra weeks.  To celebrate the release, we are doing a UK Blog Tour for the next two weeks.  I've been working hard on writing articles, answering questions, and putting together a few lists for the tour.  Some highlights: a Q&A with Yelena, and Valek takes some time to tell you about himself. Below are links to the tour stops, and you can see them all on the banner. February 25:  Reader in a Reverie  - The idea for Night Study February 26:  Feeling Fictional  - Introducing Valek February 27:  Black Plume  - Q&A with Yelena February 28:  Eclectic Ramblings of Author Heather Osborne  - Top Ten Reasons to Read Fantasy February 29:  The YA Commuter Reader  - Introducing Ixia March 1:  Laura Jayne Online  - Top Five Favorite Fantasy and SF Books March 2:  Under A Mound of Books  - 5 Tips for Writing Good Romance March 3:  W

Today I'm part of THE SHADOW QUEEN blog tour!  This is my first time being a stop for another author's tour and I'm so glad it's for C.J. Redwine.  C.J. asked me to read THE SHADOW QUEEN a few months ago for a possible cover quote. I loved the book and wanted to interview her on my blog and I ended up being a part of her tour.  Fun stuff! About the book: Title:  THE SHADOW QUEEN Author: C.J. Redwine Pub. Date: February 16, 2016 Publisher:  Balzer + Bray Format: Hardcover, eBook Find it:  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iBooks  |  Goodreads Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen. In the neighboring kingdom of E

I'm so excited to have Deborah Blake as my guest again!  She is one of the sweetest ladies I know! She's been super supportive of me and my writing since way back and I even had to pleasure of hanging out with her at a RWA conference in New York City. Her third novel in her Baba Yaga series of paranormal romance books, WICKEDLY POWERFUL has just been released.  I'm really enjoying this series of books and if you haven't read them, go buy the first book, WICKEDLY DANGEROUS right now....go on....I'll wait  ;) Along with the interview, Deborah is offering a signed copy of her book plus an adorable "Be Wicked" broom stick to a winner! Check out the Rafflecopter below to enter.  Open to ALL!! Cover blurb: Known as the wicked witch of Russian fairy tales, Baba Yaga is not one woman, but rather a title carried by a chosen few. They keep the balance of nature and guard the borders of our world, but don’t make the mistake of crossing one of them… Th

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing author Jordan Elizabeth about her latest YA release COGLING (love the cover!). Jordan emailed me years ago.  She enjoyed my books and she asked me for some writing advice. Over the years, she's been in touch with questions and updates about her writing.  She even invited me to be a guest speaker at her writing critique group in upstate New York!  Needless to say, I was thrilled when Jordan sold her stories and even more honored when she asked me to read COGLING for a cover blurb.  And this is what I said, "Hooked from the very first chapter, I loved this unique tale of adventure filled with engaging characters and non-stop action!" Jordan is giving away one copy of COGLING.  It's open to ALL - see below for the Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. Here's the blurb: When fifteen-year-old Edna Mather tears an expensive and unfamiliar pocket watch off her little brother’s neck, he crumbles into a pile of cogs right bef