Category Archives: Getting published

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UNDER A STARLIT SKY releases today!

UNDER A STARLIT SKY BOOK COVER

My second book UNDER A STARLIT SKY is officially out today! Here is the blurb from my publisher Feiwel & Friends:

Spring 1662. In the wake of Fouquet’s defeat, Henriette is keeping her promise to the Sun King and helping him build the enchanted Palace of Versailles he’s always dreamed of. But when her poor health worsens, her magic wanes and her husband Philippe fears for her well being to such an extent that he forbids her to remain Louis’ Source.

Forced to step aside, Henriette witnesses the swift rise of a new player at the French court: the handsome and self-assured Chevalier de Lorraine quickly becomes both Louis’s new Source of magic—and Philippe’s latest lover. With her ladies Louise and Athénaïs now both vying for the king’s attention, Henriette is more isolated than ever, and her place at Versailles has never felt more in jeopardy.

EM Castellan’s Under a Starlit Sky is the captivating sequel to the YA historical novel, In the Shadow of the Sun…

UNDER A STARLIT SKY is available as a hardcover, an ebook, and an audiobook.

You can now find all the information to buy UNDER A STARLIT SKY here.

You can also add UNDER A STARLIT SKY on Goodreads here.

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IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN has been out for a month!

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN EM Castellan Barnes and Noble

(IN THE SHADOW THE SUN spotted at Barnes & Noble – photo by Jessica Rubinkowski)

Hello gentle reader,

My YA historical fantasy debut IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN has been out for a month! Here is a quick recap of what’s happened in the last few weeks:

I was interviewed by book blogger Liv on her blog Liv’s Wonderful Escape. You can read the interview here.

I was also interviewed about my book by my agent Carrie Pestritto here.

Another fun interview was with Cynthia Leitich Smith at Cynsations about my inspiration for IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN and my publishing journey. You can check it out here.

I also took part in a guest post with my agent on the Literary Rambles blog. Carrie and I interviewed each other, and we talked about writing, publishing, and books. You can find the post here. There is also an opportunity to enter a giveaway to win a hardcover copy of IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN and a query critique from my agent (ends 21st March 2020).

This month I was also tagged in reviews, and I thought this one on the Forever Young Adult website was really fun.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN was also included on this list of 20 SFF YA Debuts to Watch Out For in 2020 on the Nerd Daily website.

Last but not least, IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN was the ONCE UPON A BOOK CLUB February Young Adult pick! If you haven’t heard of this monthly subscription box that features gifts to open as you read, check it out!

Have you read IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN since its release? 

If so, feel free to post a review online!

And if not, all the links to buy it as a hardcover, ebook or audiobook can be found here. If you’re in the U.S., you can also request it at your local library! And I’m currently running a giveaway on my Instagram account. You can win a signed hardcover copy (ends 13th March 2020).

Thank you for reading!

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IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN releases today!

Hello gentle reader,

I’m thrilled to share that my YA Historical Fantasy debut IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN releases today!

From Publishers Weekly:

“Castellan craftily infuses enchantment in every scene alongside romance and intrigue among the royals and their court, while luxurious descriptions and quick-witted dialogue make for a captivating read.”

EM Castellan In the Shadow of the Sun final

“France, 1661 – Henriette of England must navigate her arranged marriage to Louis XIV’s brother while keeping her magical abilities a careful secret from all at the Sun King’s court, but when a mysterious sorcerer uses a forbidden spell to murder royal magicians, she must decide if she will reveal her powers to help Louis defeat him and build a new, enchanted seat of power — the Palace of Versailles.”

US readers can find the links to buy the hardcover, ebook, and audiobook here.

International readers can buy the hardcover via The Book Depository or Wordery.

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You can now preorder IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN!

EM Castellan In the Shadow of the Sun final

Hello gentle reader,

If you want to preorder a hardcover copy of my debut IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN and receive it on its release day (11th February 2020), you can do so here:

US readers 

(preorders available from IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books-a-Million, and Target)

International readers

(preorders available from Book Depository or Wordery)

It is my understanding that some of these retailers are offering a discounted price for preorders. Thank you in advance for your support!

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Cover reveal: IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN

Hello gentle reader,

I’m very excited to reveal the cover design for my debut IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN, which will be out on February 11th, 2020 from Feiwel and Friends!

Blurb:

France, 1661 – Henriette of England must navigate her arranged marriage to Louis XIV’s brother while keeping her magical abilities a careful secret from all at the Sun King’s court, but when a mysterious sorcerer uses a forbidden spell to murder royal magicians, she must decide if she will reveal her powers to help Louis defeat him and build a new, enchanted seat of power — the Palace of Versailles.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41067779-in-the-shadow-of-the-sun

And now for the cover reveal…

 

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EM Castellan In the Shadow of the Sun final

Art director: Mallory Grigg  

Make sure to let me know what you think of this cover in the comments below!

And should you share this image elsewhere, please add a courtesy link back to this page. Thank you!

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The Book Deal Announcement

Hello gentle reader,

I began seeking traditional publication for my YA Historical Fantasy books in March 2012. I started this blog at the same time, never imagining how long (!) and how full of surprises my publishing journey would be.

Six and a half years later, I’m thrilled to announce that the U.S. publisher Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan) has bought my debut IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN and its sequel! Here is the Publishers Marketplace announcement:

EMCastellan

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN is my 7th completed manuscript. It’s the 6th manuscript I queried and the one that helped me connect with my literary agent Carrie Pestritto (Laura Dail Literary Agency). If you’re curious about my inspiration for this story, here is its Pinterest board.

If you’re reading this and you’re a writer dreaming of seeing your books in bookstores one day, I hope you’ll take heart in this post: getting traditionally published takes perseverance, a lot of work, and a bit of luck, but it can become a reality if you don’t give up, and if you keep writing the stories you love.

Have a lovely Sunday!

 

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The Wattpad Endeavour (part 3)

Hello gentle reader,

Eighteen months after joining Wattpad, my stories have now reached an unbelievable total of 255K reads, with THE BRIGHT AND THE LOST alone close to 200k reads. While I’m still hoping to get my books traditionally published one day soon, I’m also eager to show my gratitude to my Wattpad readers. As a result, and after discussing it with my agent, I’ve decided to start posting online my YA Victorian Fantasy LILY IN THE SHADOWS.

The first few chapters are now available on Wattpad here, and to my surprise, it has already been chosen by the Wattpad team to feature on their “Blast to the Future Past” list as part of the June 2018 Wattpad Picks! I’m absolutely thrilled readers seem to be enjoying this story, and I’m now posting a new chapter every day.

If you’ve been following my writing journey for a while, you may remember LILY IN THE SHADOWS has a long history. I wrote the first draft in 2013, and after querying it, it’s the manuscript that landed me my first agent. Many drafts and quite a few years later, the heart of this story about a deaf flower girl in a London gripped by a magical crisis remains the same, but thanks to many rounds of revisions based on CPs’ and agents’ feedback, the plot and writing have changed a lot. Despite never finding its way to a publisher’s desk, this story remains the one that taught me a lot about writing and revising.

I hope you’ll enjoy it!

LILY IN THE SHADOWS on Wattpad

EM Castellan - LILY IN THE SHADOWS promo

Cover by Stefanie Suzaya

Blurb

A YA Historical Fantasy set in Victorian London that mixes magic, romance and mystery.

It’s 1862, and London high society’s favourite pastime is magic spells. But between trying to make a living as a flower girl, dodging local gang leaders and coping with the fact that she’s deaf, sixteen-year old Lily Scott has no time for such lofty things. The last thing she needs is a strange epidemic killing all the flowers in the city. Out of a job and threatened with starvation on the streets of Whitechapel, Lily decides she can’t leave it up to some stuffy British Museum scientists in top hats to help.

Determined to solve the mystery of the dead flowers, Lily quickly finds herself in over her head as children disappear, librarians get killed by spontaneously combusting books and newspapers blame the phenomena on ‘dark magic’. Soon panic sweeps across the city, and Lily’s investigation becomes deadly when bombs go off everywhere she turns. From East London where the fog takes on a life of its own, to the gardens of Buckingham Palace which have been turned into a haunted forest, Lily needs to follow the clues and learn magic to sort this mess out before society collapses and she loses a lot more than her job.

 

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2016 Sun vs. Snow Contest for Writers

Hello gentle reader,

sunvssnow-copy2

In February, the fantastic Amy Trueblood and Michelle Hauck are hosting the Sun vs. Snow contest for the third time. And this year, they’ve been kind enough to ask me to be one of the mentors for the contest. I’m very excited to join in the fun, and I’m very much looking forward to helping a talented writer polish their entry.

Below you’ll find a brief summary of what this contest is about, but all the details for the contest can be found on Amy’s and Michelle’s blogs. Please do read them and follow both Amy and Michelle if you’re interested in participating.

Who is this contest for?

Querying writers with a completed and polished manuscript.

When can you enter the contest?

The submission window will open on 1st February at 4 pm Eastern time. Only the first 200 entries will be accepted.

How can you enter the contest?

You’ll need to send your query and first 250 words to the contest email address. More info on how to format your entry can be found here. Please do read Amy’s advice on how to submit your entry so you’re sure not to be disqualified.

Which categories and genres are accepted?

All MG, YA, NA and Adult genres will be accepted, excluding erotica.

Who are the mentors?

There are 12 mentors, divided into two teams, and you can find out all about them here and here. I’m part of Team Sun, on Amy’s blog.

Who are the agents?

 There are 17 amazing agents ready to read the selected entries, and you can find out all about them here and here.

Anything else you should know?

Yes. You manuscript can’t have been in the agent round of any other contest. Only one submission per person is allowed.

Any other questions?

Please feel free to contact Amy and Michelle via their blogs or on Twitter. You can find Amy here and Michelle here. If you tweet about the contest, don’t forget to use the hashtag #sunvssnow. Please note that on Friday 29th January (this Friday!), Amy and Michelle will be hosting two Twitter chat sessions with the mentors at 3 pm and 9 pm EST.  Do stop in and ask all your questions to the mentors. I’ll be there, so don’t hesitate to contact me @emcastellan.

And if you have questions for me before Friday, feel free to ask in the comments section below!

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Recent posts – The Great Noveling Adventure

tgnahead

Hello gentle reader,

I’ve recently posted twice on The Great Noveling Adventure blog. Maybe you’d like to check out what I wrote about Publishing in France here or my pointers on How to Prepare for a Twitter Pitch party here.

Have a great weekend!

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On Querying and Originality in Fantasy

NB: this was originally posted on There And Draft Again in January 2014, but I have tweaked it slightly to share with you again today.

Hello gentle reader,

If you’re a writer in the query trenches now or if you’re planning on looking for an agent and getting traditionally published in the future, you know that getting rejections is part of the process.

For the purpose of this post, we are going to assume the Querying Writer has done her research, finished and polished her manuscript, written a professional query letter and put together a list of relevant agents to contact, along with their submission guidelines.

There are many, many reasons for an agent to send the Querying Writer a rejection, and for nearly every single one of them there’s a solution. Sometimes, the agent will tell you what’s wrong with your submission: it’s called a personalized rejection. Other times, the agent won’t tell you why she’s rejecting your manuscript: it’s the infamous Form Rejection.

Thankfully, a few agents use Twitter to reveal the most common reasons why they reject a submission. They use the #10queriesin10tweets or #tenqueries hashtags. And one reason that keeps popping up when it comes to Fantasy manuscripts is this one:

sara-megibow-tweet

The premise isn’t unique/original/inventive enough.

In a sea of submissions, agents and editors are looking for a Unique Concept. Or a Familiar Story With An Unexpected Twist. They want the Unfamiliar. They want to be Surprised. As we do, as readers.

So how do you avoid being rejected for lack of originality? Here are a few pointers:

  • Research the industry: find out what’s on the shelves right now or what will hit the shelves in the next 18 months. This will give an idea of what agents/editors have already seen and aren’t looking for.
  • Avoid tropes in your writing: I recommend this website to find out which writing devices have been overdone.
  • Read: writing a Fantasy book requires reading Fantasy books, to avoid the annoying predicament which consists in writing a book that already exists.

Are you worried about how original your manuscript is or isn’t? Have you had rejections stating your premise felt too familiar? What have you done to ensure your book was as original as possible? Feel free to leave me a comment below!