Grief Hits Hard

Grief

March 2019 was a traumatic month here in New Zealand. We are a small nation of 4.7 million people, usually with only 2-3 degrees of separation between us, so the recent act of terrorism, killing fifty people, is still ricocheting though many people’s lives. In the face of such loss, our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expresses our shock far more eloquently than I could.

Grief is tough. And when a violent incident takes a loved one, it’s so much harder.

My heart goes out to anyone affected by loss, no matter the circumstances.

How I Dealt with Grief

Sixteen years ago, today, I lost my 2-year old son, overnight from an unexpected  illness. It takes a long time to heal.

To anyone experiencing grief, here’s what I learned:

  • Keep going – don’t give up.
  • Seek support and a safe way to express how you feel
  • It will take time, but it will get better. For now, that will be hard to believe.
  • When you’re ready, give yourself permission to find new things in life that you enjoy.

It took me 14 months to laugh again.

Two years to function properly. (Although, I still had to get up each morning to look after my family.)

Years after my son died, I started writing, which is now woven into the daily fabric of my life. I have readers around the world who love my stories. Who experience the value in emotion expressed through fiction, and know the power of story to help heal us, and give us courage to keep going when things are tough.

Grief and flowers

Reach out to someone who is hurting and provide them a place of solace. And if you’re hurting, reach out to someone who can help. Some of the strangers I met on my journey through grief have become some of my best friends today.

Don’t give up hope. Share your compassion.

And to everyone around the world who has been affected by losing loved ones in Christchurch, New Zealand, kia kaha, aroha nui and our hearts go out to you in this continuing time of need.

Feel free to share your tips for dealing with grief by leaving a comment.

Happy New Year

Christmas flew past on cute dragon’s wings!

Cute Dragon My kids got me a cute dragon for Christmas. (Those of you who’ve been around my site since 2013, will recognize my old web banner in the background. Yep, I need to update my screen saver!) They deliberately chose a multi-coloured cute dragon so it would look like Zaarusha! Although I do think she’s a bit more fierce.

The end of 2018 was especially frantic, with mad a race to meet deadlines for several stories. It’s been a great year. The Riders of Fire series has been racing off the shelves in our local bookstores and also off the Amazon shelves worldwide. The page reads on Kindle Unlimited have been soaring.

Thank you for your support. It’s fabulous to hear feedback from readers around the world who have read Ezaara and Dragon Hero and are keen to read book 3, Dragon Rift !

Happy New Year

Swiss-Germans have an expression called ‘sliding into the New Year’, which refers to whatever you did on New Year’s Eve. During the first week of January, they often ask, “How was your slide?” and, “Did you have a good slide?”

Well, I had a great slide, with a few good friends, singing karaoke until 3am! As well as writing, I’m passionate about singing and about my friendships. I’m lucky to have strong network of friends who have helped me get through many crises and difficult times.  I’m a bit of a workaholic (many writers are), but this year, I hope to spend some time with my friends and family, having fun — when I’m not locked in my office, writing my heart out.

And yes, this was a hazardous evening. Just getting this photo taken, I was nearly impaled in the nostril by a unicorn horn several times!

What will 2019 bring?

I’ve committed to writing many Riders of Fire books this year.

Dragon Rift and Dragon Strike will both be full-length epic novels. Then I’ll be writing  some shorter works about characters my readers love:

  • Dragon Healer (Marlies & Hans)
  • Dragon Mage (Master Mage Giddi)
  • Sea Dragon  (Ithsar, of the Robandi Desert)

I’ve also had many other ideas — if only I could type as fast as I can think.If you haven’t read Riders of Fire yet, you can start with my free books: Bronze Dragon and Silver Dragon. Bronze Dragon is available on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble or Smashwords. Silver Dragon is only available on my website, here and will be ready in a few days! So sign up to get this exclusive prequel novelette.

I hope you have a great 2019 with lots of adventures and happiness.

Check Out the Photos – NZ Launch – Riders of Fire

Riders of Fire Launch Photos

We had a great Riders of Fire launch today, with archery, sword fighting, dragon crafts, a treasure hunt and medieval costumes. It was wonderful to see everyone having fun and really cool to share Dragons’ Realm with them.

Giant John led us in archery.The target?

Well, here he is. I don’t know what he did to deserve that role…But he performed admirably! Even though archers big…

… and archers small, took shots at him.
Luckily his body armour didn’t get pierced!
And the winner of the archery contest?

Well, here’s why Isaac did so well. Arrow nocked, sighted… and fired…… with great trajectory and even better facial expression!Our local journalist came long to interview the teens who’d read the book!

There were dragonets……and a definite cosplay winner!
Company of the Dragons sent Tara and ‘Fluffy’ to fight the people…
Giant John just couldn’t resist the challenge.
The sword fighting was intense … So was the book signing!
The treasure hunt was made possible courtesy of Ava Fairhall……who created an oversized map of Dragons’ Realm in brilliant colour……which even teens wanted for their bedroom walls! (I’ll post about the map-making journey soon!) Ava hid 5 tiny, -well-disguised treasure chests on the map… which kept everyone busy. The winner had a keen eye and a fast pen, skills needed by every dragon rider!More winners…Kids made their own dragon wings and flappable dragons……even big kids! I mean, who doesn’t want to be a dragon, right?
We had a blast. The whole community pulled together to make this happen—from my fantastic cover artist, Christian, in the Philippines, to my family, the archers and human target, our sword fighters,  map maker, editors, critique partners and caterer! A big THANK YOU to everyone who made this launch possible. A special thank you to my business partner, A.J. Ponder, my teen beta readers Ash, Lisa and Denika, and all of my readers and reviewers! Without you, none of this would be possible.

To all of my readers: enjoy your adventures with Riders of Fire!

Ezaara & Dragon Hero, with Dragon Rift & Dragon Strike in 2019.

Don’t miss out. Join my reader’s group here, for my free Riders of Fire stories, Silver Dragon & Bronze Dragon, coming soon.  Thanks again for being part of this wonderful, supportive community.

Chatting with Sherri – dragons!

Sherri Rabinowitz & Eileen Mueller talk dragonsToday, Sunday, at 3pm New Zealand time, or Saturday 7pm Californian time yesterday, I’ll be on air with Sherri Rabinowitz on her show on Chatting with Sherri, hosted at BlogTalk Radio.

It like being a time-traveller, speaking on radio today and knowing that people in America will be hearing us yesterday! Yeah, we kiwis always laugh at the confusion that our timezone creates in the rest of the world! Luckily, when you visit Sherri’s site, your local time shows so you’ll know when to tune in. Pop over and try it!

Sherri and I haven’t caught up for while, so we’ll be discussing all things dragons, including Ezaara and Dragon Hero, the new books in my young adult Riders of Fire Series, and why people like dragons.

You may even discover the crazy hobby I had that inspired me to write about dragons, a hobby that took me to Switzerland, where I met Kurt.

Enjoy the show and I’ll enjoy chatting with Sherri!

Ezaara and Dragon Hero, books 1 & 2 in Riders of Fire, a young adult dragon rider series by Eileen Mueller

Eileen on Blog Talk Radio

audio-15604_1920Radio host Sherri Rabinowitz interviewed me on Blog Talk Radio  about winning a Sir Julius Vogel Award, my books, dragons, and my real passion in life.

We also had fun discussing interactive fiction, strategies for dealing with bullying, kids’ literacy and literary festivals. It was  blast. Please download the podcast here. I hope you enjoy listening to the show!

Sherri is an actress, radio host for Blog Talk Radio and author. Her Amazon page is here.

Podcast is here.

Download Instructions: Go to the dark bar at the top of the screen and click the download button (a cloud with and arrow in it. Sherri says it resembles a tree! She’s right.)

Dragons with Lee Murray

Interviewed by Lee Murray

 

Lee Murray Writer
Lee Murray

Talking dragons is one of my favourite past-times. Okay, and reading, writing and flying on dragons too… Whatever, dragons are cool. My middle-grade dragon fiction caught the attention of Lee Murray who has won five Sir Julius Vogel Awards and an Australasian Shadows Award for writing and editing.

 

On her blog Lee Murray.info, she interviews me about my dragons – yep, about the one that’s too short to fly, others that hide in the bathroom, your desk, and even in… Oh well, you’ll have to pop over and visit Lee and I to find out the rest!

2016 Sir Julius Vogel Awards

Dragons Realm - shortlist 2016 Sir Julius Vogel Award best youth novelThe short list for the 2016 Sir Julius Vogel Awards has been out for  a while. Although I’ve been very busy writing and have neglected to post this earlier, I’m very excited to be a finalist in two categories!

  •  Dragons Realm is shortlisted for Best Youth Novel
  •  I’ve also been shortlisted for Best New Talent.

To be eligible for Best New Talent, writers must have had their first story or book published less than four years ago. MIne was my short story Dad’s Wisdom, in the Baby Teeth anthology in 2013. A writer may only ever be shortlisted twice for this category.

Check out all the finalists here. The winners will be revealed on June 5th at Au Contraire, the New Zealand National Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, in Wellington this coming weekend.

Storylines Family Day – Antarctica Zone

    Storylines Family Day Michael Fowler Centre Wellington

Sunday 24 August 10am-3pm

Shackleton Bear Goes SouthShackleton Bear.

Well, he’s actually come north, all the way from Christchurch to be with us for Storylines Family Day in Wellington! Author John McCrystal has gone all out to bring you a wonderful Antarctica Zone for Storylines Family Day.

We’ve collected samples of marine life from 1NIWA, real stuffed penguins from Te Papa, oodles of slides, photos and pictures, a real snow tent from Antarctica NZ, and a replica of the old stove from Shackleton’s hut in South pole.  Of course, Shackleton bear will be very happy to meet you! Visit him in our version of Shackleton’s hut!

ShackletonsHut
The real Shackleton’s Hut in Antarctica

Come along and make snowflakes, snow globes, and bear masks! Meet Shackleton, see John’s presentation about going to the Antarctic with Shackleton Bear and try on a real Antarctic snow suit!

IMG_8346

bear-mask20140731_112026

We also have a Monster Fun zone, a Bugs ‘N Bees Zone, a War Zone, and more fun.

Storylines Family Day – Monster Fun Zone

Storylines Family Day, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington,

Sunday 24 August, 10am-3pm

At Storylines Family Day there’s a great Monster Fun Zone.Three of this year’s featured authors had books about Monsters so we decided to let everyone enjoy the fun!

Phoebe Night Creatures
By Jenny Hessell
tabiwha
By Moira Wairama.
Mrs-Mos-Monster-cover
By Paul Beavis

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are two Monster Parades with our monster authors judging, and monster books as prizes. We can only guess what their criteria will be — the loudest roar, the funniest costume, the best growl or monster scowl? Come along and find out. Parades at 11:30am & 2pm.

monster parade-grey

Paul Beavis has been at work in his studio creating some monstrous props for kids to have fun with… rumours are that kids can have a turn being one of Mrs Mo’s monsters… come along to Storylines Family Day and find out how!

Mrs Mo's Mosnter

Moira Wairama is bringing her taniwha along to join the monster parade.

Storylines Family Day Taniwha

And although Phoebe is brave when she gets haunted by night creatures, we’re going to have a monster tunnel that kids can leap into to battle their fears. Yes, they can go straight thru the monster’s teeth and wriggle inside it! They’ll never be afraid of monsters in the night again! Here is a top-secret sneak preview of the monsters costume! It will look much better on the tunnel! See you tomorrow, Sunday 24 August, WP_20140823_005Michael Fowler Centre, 10am – 3pm. Go here for a copy of the program. Go here for more info about other Storylines Family Day activities. See you there!

Storylines Family Day – Wellington

Storylines Family Day is coming to town!

What is Storylines Family Day? A fun action-packed day of bringing books to life for kids (old and young.) I’ve been coaxing stuffed penguins out of Te Papa, cajoling entomologists to let their precious bug and spider collections see the light of day, mingling with monsters, sweet-talking soldiers, and skating on thin ice to help create an Antarctica zone.

MrsMoandMonster
Meet Mrs Mo’s Monster in the Monster Fun Zone.

How? With a fantastic committee of dedicated book enthusiasts whose creative ideas have brought our festival to life. Storylines Family Day 2014 will be a day to remember!

Come along and make a monster, be a monster in our monster parades, or climb though our monster tunnel!

Meet Shackleton Bear and visit his Antarctic Hut. See Antarctic marine samples from NIWA. Wriggle into an Antarctic suit, then go into an Antarctic sent to experience Shackleton’s hut.

ShackletonsHut
Shackleton’s hut is still intact in the Antarctica today.

 

WW1trenches
Life was tough in the trenches in WW1.

Get camouflage paint and try on army gear with real NZ Defence Force soldiers. See the World War One gallery and taste hardtack. Make weapons, I mean, poppies and medals. Learn about Gallipoli.

At Storylines Family Day, you can meet beekeepers, try on their gear, and check out lots of creepy crawlies!

Help illustrators make murals, meet your favourite authors, see storytellers and performers in action. Join in with the ukulele orchestra, see string ensembles and hear Virtuoso Violins in action.

And if you just want to curl up in a corner with a  book, you can go to our Scholastic books Out Aloud zone and listen to your favourite kiwi authors read their stories.

Come along and have some fun.