Pilgrim of the Sky — Review Roundup!

13 Tuesday Dec 2011

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Release day is finally here, and though the book’s been available on Amazon for quite some time, it’s now officially available everywhere. I thought it might be helpful to read some tidbits of reviews that have been coming in!

You can purchase the novel at the Candlemark & Gleam Website, at Amazon, and at Barnes & Noble.

From Library Journal:
Maddie Angler’s lover, the brilliant and eccentric graduate student Alvin Roth, has disappeared and is presumed dead. Instead of moving on with her life, Maddie travels to Boston with Alvin’s socially challenged younger brother, Randy, to deliver a box of research papers to Alvin’s adviser, Dr. Keats. This simple action propels her into a parallel universe where she discovers through encounters with a more gregarious Randy that Alvin is not only alive but that he has discovered the secret of multidimensional travel and grown dangerously powerful.

VERDICT
Steampunk meets goddess worship in this unusual and highly original story of loves that cross the borders of time and space. Exploring the concept of multiple universes and the social, artistic, scientific, and religious differences among them, Barron’s debut is an sf adventure that mixes high action with exquisitely detailed depictions of everyday existence in these alternate worlds.

From The Steampunk Chronicle: (full review)
“Natania Barron’s first book, “Pilgrim of the Sky” from Candlemark & Gleam publishing is magical romp between worlds mundane, affluent, spectacular, primitive, and then back again.  This is a work of romantic Steampunk fiction where faces and bodies can be switched almost as quickly as fortunes and loyalties.  Behind those faces and – as she learns – behind Maddie’s own face, lie enormous power that brings the various worlds into great peril if she cannot solve the mystery of her beloved Alvin’s machinations and decide which allies she will draw close and which enemies she must draw closer.”

From Stories of My Life: (full review)
“Maddie is one of the best heroines I’ve read about. Or perhaps I should say she’s one of the best written: Natania Barron manages to take us to the deep pits of anodine life and near-depression at the beginning, when she thinks her old boyfriend is dead. She manages to confuse us with her feelings regarding the “special” brother of said boyfriend, with whom she’s forged a bond that, at times, feels uncomfortably close to love.

“Then, she blends it perfectly into the misgivings of a whole new reality, a place where she doesn’t know who to trust and where faces, familiar and alien alike, haunt her from a past that only at times belongs to her. In this world, Maddie makes mistakes and amends, and her change towards heroine begins.”

From So Many Books, So Little Time: (full review)
“Pilgrim of the Sky is a trip through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole for a new audience of readers. It is a ethereal mirage of splintered gods, improbable magic, and the threads of humanity that weave us all together. Above all it is a story about love, in each of its aspects and all of its possibilities.”

You can also check out the Goodreads page for the book, where apparently the trend is to ask for a sequel. :)

Pilgrim of the Sky Available for Pre-Order!

01 Tuesday Nov 2011

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That’s right! Pilgrim of the Sky is available for pre-order over at Kickstarter. The pre-order bundles come with a variety of exclusives, from eBooks to audiobooks to lovely hardcover versions!

Technically, we’ve already hit our goal (we did it in two hours! wow!) but these exclusives are only available here. From the project listing:

It’s time to get ready for the print run of Pilgrim of the Sky by Natania Barron, the world-hopping, semi-steampunk multiverse odyssey that Cherie Priest calls “… a lush, dreamy fable – both vintage gothic, and modern mystery … lovingly laced with magic and darkness from start to finish.”

Pre-ordering today will help us finance the print run, and in return, you can get all sorts of limited-edition rewards and extras!

How can I sell you on the book? Well, if you’re looking for a book that falls into one category, this is not that book. If you’ve been hoping to read something that truly crosses genres, you’ve come to the right place. Plus, there’s bonus floating mansions, talking birds, a vampiric pegasus, and alternate worlds. You know, as you will.

I am not Walt Whitman.

02 Tuesday Aug 2011

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Thankfully. As much as Pilgrim of the Sky is indebted to poetry, I will not pull a Walt Whitman. No, I will walk away from this last iteration and let the magic happen. I will let the type be set and the prose be written and lo, I will be happy. Yea though I may freak out at times and wonder at my own abilities, I shall not waiver…

Which is the long, roundabout way of saying that last night (at the unsavory hour of 1:30am) I sent the last pass of Pilgrim of the Sky away, and that is it. It’s the sort of book that lends itself to details and, as such, lends it self to constant connections. I made the last round of connections, added the last few flourishes, tightened up a few really long dialogue scenes, and hit “send.” Maybe some people have easy books. Maybe it feels less frightening when you don’t have multiple worlds and string theory and transcorporeal travel. I don’t know. I certainly know that with all those things (and, bonus floating mansions!) it was hard to just walk away.

Thankfully other people have read the book and understand it, and I am not in this alone. My wonderful friend Dorothy was the first to read the book, what feels like ages ago. And she liked it. She got it.

And I hope you will, too. I hope the premise of the book strikes you, and that you agree to come on an adventure across worlds and hopefully encounter a story that is unusual and memorable. That’s really the highest hope of any writer, I think: That our stories will be remembered. Maybe you’ll never look the same way at The Birth of Venus or sculptures of St. Sebastian again; maybe you’ll laugh the next time you a see a Rococo balustrade; maybe you’ll contemplate just what would go in to a metal corset. Maybe someday soon you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Now, on to other books and thoughts and contemplations. Thanks to my fantastic editor, Kate, and my friends who’ve inspired the book along the way (my lovely writer’s group where I first shared the story and yes, even that other publisher who rejected the book…)

Final Book Cover, Final Edits

24 Sunday Jul 2011

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Well folks, we’re hitting the home stretch. Last week we finalized the book cover (see the lovely picture!) and this week I’m elbow deep in the last of the edits. The book has already been through the ringer with the editors, but I can’t leave well enough alone. While I’m not doing anything groundbreaking or world(s)-shattering, I think the subtle changes I’m making are going to make for a better book. Most of the changes occur in dialogue sections, since the book meanders into infodumpy territory inadvertently a few times (sort of happens when one person gets sucked from our world to another, y’know?).

In other fabulous news, A.M. Tuomala, another author in the Candlemark & Gleam family, just received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly for her novel, Erekos. Who says small presses can’t make loud noises? Rar!

And one last thing: you can also check out my Facebook fan page for updates on the book as they happen. I’ve been trying to post more tidbits there, and save the longer posts for here. But you never know what mischief I might be up to!

Sneak Peek at Cover Art for Pilgrim of the Sky!

19 Sunday Jun 2011

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This deserves a much lengthier post, because I really can’t overstate how much I adore Brigid Ashwood and her art. We met a few years ago through various steampunk connections, and we’ve been friends ever since.

When it came down to talking about who would do the cover for my Pilgrim, I really couldn’t think of anyone else more suited than Brigid. We both love steampunk, yes, but we’re not married to it. We both have a deep and abiding love for mythology and fantasy, and since that’s at the heart of the book (not to mention its relationship to art in general) I had to ask. And she consented!

Well, the last few weeks she’s been showing me sketches of her work in progress. Suffice it to say I’m absolutely in love with her work right now, and the thrill of getting to see Maddie come to live through art is just an amazing experience. And it’s made all the more special because Brigid and I are friends and share so much.

Anyway, without further ado, please take a look at the progress so far for the cover of Pilgrim of the Sky. There are lots of little Easter Eggs in the frame (the frame itself it taken from the book) including appearances by Maddie’s sort of alter-egos, M’ora and Matilda. The outfit is also taken from descriptions in the book, when Maddie visits Second World (a steampunk alternate world of sorts) and gets all dolled up.

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Pilgrim of the Sky Vlog #1: No Pun Intended

20 Wednesday Apr 2011

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In which I talk titles. And Wordsworth. And birds! No, seriously folks. This is my very first vlog post in which I hope I don’t babble too much (it’s a good thing we weren’t talking Keats because I might have actually made a fangirly squee) but hope to give some insight into how the book got its name, and what the process was like behind some of the imagery.

I even wrangled up some fancy transitions!

Also, apparently it’s all a la mode these days to do vlogs in front of bookshelves. That’s not exactly how I roll.

Welcome to another world…

11 Monday Apr 2011

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How shall I start this? I have never been in this position before, a place where for the first time something of mine will become so public. This autumn, my first novel, Pilgrim of the Sky, will find its way into the hands of readers. Some may come because they love steampunk and heard this has something to do with it – and it does, in part. Some may come because they heard it was a romance, and it is – in part. And yet others still may come because they’re looking for fantasy, science fiction,  or something altogether unclassifiable. I hope they will all be pleased. And if they are not, I understand. Books are strange things, and from the beginning I’ve thought of this as my odd little book. And odd little books aren’t usually the sort of thing that exist without polarization.

Not surprisingly I have tried many times to put this book into just a few words, and failed. Pilgrim of the Sky is not mainstream. It is not “the market”. It is a book about a woman, the people she loves, the worlds she travels, and the power she commands. But even that sells it short. It is about this woman and reflections of herself. It is about this woman and the decisions she makes with the power she is given. It is about this woman and the way she loves. And perhaps more than anything, it is a book about this woman who has to look at herself far more deeply than any of us ever have to. Because she is so much more than most of us will ever be.

Perhaps that is confusing. Or tantalizing. Or both. My hope is that in the coming months I’m able to shed some light on this rather unusual novel. It took a very long time to write, you see, and it is taught me many things along the way. I’ve learned about rejection. I’ve learned about my limits. When I began this book I was a word typing machine. 4000 words in a day was easy. But now, writing goes far slower. It turns out the human body has limitations. After spending the better part of my lifetime cramped over a keyboard, things just don’t work like they used to.

But that is neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that this book has brought me great joy. It has brought me a feeling of great accomplishment in one of my darkest hours. In the next few months, I hope to be able she share with you a little bit of what went into Pilgrim of the Sky. I will talk about poetry, mythology, religion, feminism, art, history, philosophy, physics… I think you get the point.

So this is all a very roundabout way of saying please, stay tuned. You never know what — or who — might be lurking in the shadows.

The windows were drawn tight with thick velvety curtains cinched with clasps to keep out the cold. Whatever dream this was, she was finding a strange, vague sort of joy in the detail of it, in the vivid intensity. It was as if she’d walked into a chiaroscuro painting, what with all the firelight and texture. Perhaps that was her defense mechanism, after all–descending into great artworks. Was this Carravaggio, she wondered distantly?

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