​Hi Everyone,
 
It has been some time since my last post, so here’s a quick update.
 
Dragons of the Past, Book Four in the Dragons of Nibiru series, will be at the typesetter later this month and is targeted for release in April. I had a blast writing this latest in the series, and I hope you have as much fun reading it!

Dragon-Themed Gift Boxes
​
Lately, in addition to writing Book Five, Dragons of the Future, I’ve been busy expanding out the Dragons of Nibiru franchise with the release of the first of my dragon-themed gift boxes.
 
Here you can see the contents of a few that are already on store shelves! (Photos of the actual boxes coming shortly...)

​At this writing there are six boxes available:
​
          * Dragons and Crystals                        
          * Bath Time with a Dragon                                                          
          * Date Night with a Dragon                                                          
          * Dragons and More Dragons
          * Snack Time with a Dragon
          * Dragon Treasures

Each box includes a signed copy of Book One in the series, The Dragons of Nibiru, or any other book in the series—your choice! Each also contains a delightful assortment of interesting, tasty, useful or just plain magical items from artisans and small business owners, all related to the theme of the box.
 
Again, these boxes are available now. Just write me using the form on the “Contact” page, or email me direct: lorna@lornajcarleton.com. I’ll send you a list of the contents of the box or boxes you’re interested in. Once you’ve made your choice, we’ll make quick and easy arrangements for payment and shipping—and your box will be on its way! 
 
Soon this will all be even easier: Every box will be shown and described on a special page on this website, and you’ll be able to order directly from the site.

And by the way, I'm working on setting up super-fast shipping via DragonFlight Express, so no one will be kept waiting for their boxes to arrive.
 
One reason I started this box project was due to the impact covid has had on artisans and small businesses. I reached out to local craftspeople for the first of the boxes, but now I'm expanding my reach in creating future ones, all to assist others in making their creations and products known, and getting them into people's hands.
 
A few of the future boxes being considered include:
 
          * Dragons and Puppy Lovers
          * Dragons and Kitten Lovers
          * Every Senior Deserves a Dragon
          * Every Kid Deserves a Dragon
 
If you have an idea for a box theme, send it my way!
 
And if there’s an item you’d like to see in one of my boxes, please write and tell me about it.
 
Auctions and Prizes and Baskets, Oh My!
 
Over the past few months, I have donated books to several silent auctions and door prize baskets.  Below you can see an image from the grand opening of the Localeh Artisan Market​ in nearby Kelowna, where my books and boxes are now available.

Call for Artwork!

On a separate and important note, there’s still time to submit a drawing or painting for Dragons of the Past, before it goes to print. So please send your good work to lorna@lornajcarleton.com. Team Nibiru will announce the chosen artists and their artwork here on my blog, shortly before Dragons of the Past is released. Each winner will receive three signed copies of Dragons of the Past, along with $50 as purchase payment for their drawing or painting. Good luck!

That's all for now, but check back here now and then, because there's more exciting news coming soon...

Lorna 

​Hi All,
In my last blog post, I briefly mentioned the young artists whose drawings were chosen to appear in the new book, Dragons of Remini. They were kind enough to send me photos of themselves, and here they are!

Thanks again to all three of you. Your contributions add so much to the book—it’s wonderful! I really hope you’ll send new entries, too, when we call for readers’ artwork to be featured in book four of the series (Dragons of the Past) later this year.

Happy reading, everyone—and enjoy the artwork, too! And, if you can, I hope you’ll help me out by taking a few moments to send your thoughts on Dragons of Remini. And the earlier books too, if you haven’t already. I couldn’t begin to tell you how valuable your input is. Priceless!

Stay safe—but don’t forget to have some adventures, too. Especially the creative kind.
​
Lorna

​Hi All,

It’s a new year and a new beginning!

Dragons of Remini—Book Three in The Dragon of Nibiru series—will be available in your local store and on Amazon in a few weeks. I received a few preliminary copies, which I signed and distributed to some eager fans. You should have heard the responses—quite a lot of “Yippee!” and “It’s about time!” I agree completely. 😊  I hope they enjoy Celine and Fianna’s newest adventures, and hope you all will too. And soon!
​
Here’s the front cover, created by Danielle Hebert:

I think that’s stunning, and the readers who’ve seen it have said so too. What do you think?

In preparing Dragons of Remini, I wrote a blog post here to invite readers to submit artwork for inclusion in the published book. Team Nibiru thanks all of you who took the time and care to create and submit your wonderful drawings and paintings. It was a tough job to decide which ones to include, but we managed to narrow it down to three young artists’ awesome creations. Katrin Hierl-Steinbauer, Jordyn Polowaniuk and Brianne Robins were the artists we picked, and we hope you’ll enjoy their work as much as we do. You’ll hear and see more about them in an upcoming blog post.
​
Later in the year we will be doing this again—this time for the fourth book in the series, Dragons of the Past. So stay tuned, watch the blog here for the call for submissions, and if you feel inspired to get a head start, go right ahead! (In truth, we’d be happy to see your creative works any time. Don’t hesitate to send them!)
Here’s a photo of the first load of fresh, new copies, packaged up and ready for the trip home from the printer. Some of what you see here is actually new copies of The Dragons of Nibiru and Dragons of Earth; both are still in demand, which is very gratifying to your faithful author! 

​And here's your author with the trusty Dragonmobile, loaded and ready to roll! (Haven't quite worked up to flying yet, but stay tuned. I just have to find the right spell...

​The first copies of Dragons of Remini were hand delivered to Maggy Davidson, owner of Spirit Quest Books in nearby Salmon Arm, British Columbia. Maggy has been very supportive of me and my books since I first met her in 2017. I’ve done a few signings at her store and look forward to doing more once the covid restrictions ease.

Bookingham Palace bookstore, also in Salmon Arm, has also been wonderfully supportive. They were the next to receive a batch of the new book. Readers have been calling Bookingham to ask if my next book was available yet, so I’m very glad to be able to deliver.

Some of my co-workers at the utility company have encouraged me in my writing career. I have used some of their names for characters and places in my stories (good characters and places!) to show my appreciation for their support.
​
Below you can see Princess, who is stoked that her human, Kate, finally has the next book in the series. Princess loves to cuddle up to Kate at reading time, so the new adventure is making them both happy.

​Here is a shot of Kate showing the book to Otter, who lives with one of her friends. Otter checked it out carefully and advised his human to get a copy, too. 

​And here’s the lovely Amanda showing off her new copy. 

Thanks to each and every one of you for your support in this adventure. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about Dragons of Remini. Your feedback is more important than you might realize.

Happy reading!
​
Lorna

Hi All,

It’s been a while since I last put up a post; I hope all is well with each of you!

Sadly, due to ongoing events across the planet, my planned tours and book-signings remain cancelled. Bookstores just aren’t holding such events at this time, and so far, there’s been no news as to when I might be able to start back up. I miss being out there seeing you, and hope to resume in the near future.

On a positive note, an interesting and fun new project grew out of the current situation: I put together a brief video that will be part of a “virtual trade show”! The show was originally meant to take place in Denver, but that didn't work out, so they decided to hold it all online. It will be held June 26 through 28.

Now, normally such shows are only for people in a particular industry, but not open to the general public. However, through the magic of the internet, you can follow this link to come visit my "virtual booth"—whenever you like, and from wherever you happen to be.

I’m hoping to take part in one or two more such events over the next few months, too. Check back here on the blog (or on the Dragons of Nibiru Facebook page) for details, as they become available. These events are nowhere near as exciting as meeting my readers and soon-to-be readers in person, but they’re far, far better than no contact at all!

Making my trade-show "virtual booth" marks the first time I’ve created a video. The learning curve was quite steep, since I only had one day to complete the project, start to finish. Whew! Talk about short notice! I learnt a lot from my mistakes, though, and it actually was good fun overall.

As you may have heard, Book III of the Dragons of Nibiru series, entitled Dragons of Remini, will be heading to print soon. The artwork has not been finalized though, so there’s still time to submit drawings for possible inclusion in the book—as described in an earlier blog post. You can email them directly: lorna@lornajcarleton.com. Or, if you have a dragon friend, fly them to my home and hand them over in person! Your dragon will know the way.

One more bit of good news before I go: both The Dragons of Nibiru and Dragons of Earth are becoming available in more and more bookstores across the U.S.! Soon to be joined by Dragons of Remini—and the rest of the series, too. That’s right, my U.S. friends—Celine and Fianna are coming to your town.

Take care and stay safe,
Lorna

Hi All,

I hope you're keeping safe and healthy during these difficult times. To ensure that Team Nibiru is doing our part to help stop the spread of COVID-19, all book-signings have been cancelled until further notice. I am sorry to have to cancel, but we all need to do our part to stop the contagion. I promise to keep you briefed as things develop, with posts here and on the Dragons of Nibiru Facebook page, and a new book-signing calendar when new dates are set.

You’ll be relieved to know that Dragons have been found to be immune to all forms of the virus—as have natives of Mu, like Celine. And Jager is currently off-planet, so no worries there. Whew!

Now, on a cheerier note, I'm glad to say the third book in the series, Dragons of Remini, is moving closer and closer to release. There's no definite date as yet, but I’ll surely keep you posted.

Meanwhile, I have something special to share with you: a preview of the new book's cover!

Once again, Danielle Hebert of Team Nibiru has captured the essence of one of our dear Nibiru friends. My books would not be what they are without her enchanting contributions.

And now, here it is:

That's still in rough form, but it shows the concept. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

Stay safe and healthy. And maybe use this time to get in a lot of good reading; Dragon tales and otherwise!

Lorna

Hi All,
 
I hope you in the US had a great Thanksgiving holiday, and that all of you—everywhere—are enjoying this holiday season. I'm keeping outrageously busy juggling work, holiday activities, and progress on Book Three of the Dragons of Nibiru series. Whew!
 
I recently had the privilege and pleasure (and fun!) of doing a TV interview on station CFJC in Kamloops, BC. It was on their Midday news program, where I talked with host Tanya Cronin about the origins of the series in general, and Dragons of Earth in particular. Here’s a link to the interview; you’re cordially invited to check it out!

The latest book to be released (#2 in the series) has been well received, and many readers are now reaching out, eager to know when #3, Dragons of Remini, will be available. Well, I can assure you it's Team Nibiru's top, top priority!
 
Thanks to all of you for your great support. You’ve been a tremendous help on this journey.
 
Warmest regards,
 Lorna

Hi All,
 
We at Team Nibiru have waited several months since the last post about our “Name the Wand” contest, to give more readers a chance to exercise their imaginations and submit their entries. At last, we decided the suggestion we’d selected earlier was still the best – so now we’re ending the contest…and declaring the winner!
 
The winning name for the noble wand is “Mutuum,” submitted by Jim Kinnear and his son Seumus, of Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Here they are, with their dragon-sculpture prize!

Mutuum is a word from the Latin language, where it means “a loan or a borrowing for the purpose of consumption by the borrower.” That is, it is understood the borrower will consume the item borrowed, and instead of returning it, “repay” the loan with something of similar value, whether an object or a service. We love the sound of the name, and think its ancient meaning quite appropriate to the themes and messages of our stories. I’m excited to see how the tale of Mutuum evolves, and the roles the wand plays as the series unfolds.  

We decided we had to award a runner-up prize to Taelah Thomas of Penticton, BC, for the great name she submitted, complete with imaginative back-story. David Zerbo also earns honorable mention, for the name “Vindicator’s Wand,” and his intriguing explanation of how the name came to be.
 
And finally, a “Nibiru Ha-Ha” acknowledgement goes out to Jay Gould of Japan, for the name he suggested: “Wanda McStick.” Ha! Jay is a fellow author who’s also working on his third novel. His first, The Fang of the Dragon, is a great read. Check it out on Amazon!
 
Congratulations to all our winners!! You rock!
 
And thanks to all my fans and readers for your creative suggestions, and for taking the time to send them in!
 
We’ll be conjuring up even more contests down the road, so keep checking the website! At the moment, there is still time for you artistic types to enter photos of your drawings, paintings, sculptures, etc., for possible inclusion in future books. Remember, though: any work submitted must be a good fit for the story, following and forwarding the same sorts of “feel,” tone and messages as what you’ve read so far. Winning entries will be purchased from their creators, and included in an upcoming book, along with the creator’s name. Have fun!!
 
Lorna

Hi All,

What a blast I had on my August tour! It started with a great signing at the Coles bookstore in Nelson, BC.  It was so good to see everyone – including a couple of awesome ladies I graduated high school with, Sharon and Shauna. They came down to say hello and purchase their own copies of the second book in the Dragons of Nibiru Series, Dragons of Earth – just released. It was great seeing you two; thanks for your continued support!

Next I traveled over to Hill Spring, Alberta. This stop wasn’t about book signing, though; it was to visit with some Carleton relatives and enjoy a fun-filled family reunion. I arrived in time for the reunion dinner and dance at the Great Canadian Barn, then continued on my tour the next day.

My eleventh straight day of signings took place at the Coles store in Northgate Mall, in Regina, Saskatchewan. It was a fun day, and the Coles staff were amazingly helpful and cheerful. The event was made even better by a momentous event: selling the five-thousandth copy of The Dragons of Nibiru. A fabulous milestone for me. Adding to the excitement was the fact that buyer of #5,000 was one of the terrific Coles staff, Lacie. Big, big thank-yous to Kelsey, Lacie and Alisa for making it such a memorable event. You guys are awesome!

The tour’s last stop was the Dino-Con convention in Drumheller, Alberta. I had a blast – and met some truly interesting characters! Several were interested in my books, as you can see in the photos below.

I hope all who have their copies of Dragons of Earth are enjoying the continuing adventures of Celine and her friends. I’d dearly love to hear from every one of you. Send me a note, eh?! As for the future, I’m planning to release the third book in the series, Dragons of Remini, later this year. Stay tuned!

Lorna

Hi All,

I have a big, big, dragon-sized thank you to deliver today. It goes out to Sophie—one of my new young followers—and her marvelous mother, for their kindness and bravery.

Here’s what happened. Just a few days ago, during a book-signing event at the Chapters bookstore in South Calgary’s Chinook Shopping Mall, would-be thieves snuck off with one of the pewter-and-crystal wands from my display table. (Retail value: $240. Magical value: who can say?)

Sophie and her mother were at my table at the time of the theft. Recognizing what had happened, the intrepid pair dashed out into the mall after the thieves, to retrieve the wand. They succeeded! The wand was recovered, and I am so happy.  

And, if that wasn’t quite enough for one day, Sophie even presented me with a beautiful painting she had made! Here it is:

Thanks, Sophie!! It’s beautiful! And for your help, I couldn’t thank you enough.
 
Happy reading and magical days,
Lorna

Hi All,

Many thanks to all of you who submitted names for the "Name the Wand" contest! There was a lot of creativity on display in your suggestions - impressive!

I've now had time to give each entry careful consideration. And although there were several that were very close indeed, I couldn't settle on one that felt like just the right fit for the stories. I hate to have to say that, but at the same time, I do want the name that finally appears to have just the right ring to it, and make you faithful readers say, "That's it! Perfect!"

With that in mind and at heart, I've decided to extend the contest until December 15 (this year, 2019). This will give you even more opportunity to apply your creativity and inventive spirit. It also gives you the chance to read Book Two in the series, Dragons of Earth, if you haven't already, for even better insight and involvement with Celine, Fianna, and their friends and foes. And, as always, you may suggest as many names as you like.

By the way, a few of you submitted some back story to go along with your name suggestions. Details like the wand's composition, origins, special powers and the like. I've loved every one of these! Such details aren't necessary or required, certainly, but they will help in making my ultimate choice—and they're good exercise for your "creativity muscles," too; always a good, good thing.

Just as a refresher, here is the wand you'll be naming:

And your prize will be one of these handsome dragon sculptures—your choice!

How should you submit your entries? Just go to the "Contact" page and send me a message using the form you'll find there. I'll receive it right away.

Good luck and good naming!

Lorna