S.T. Bende's Blog, page 3

YOU GUYS!!! I can't even!!! I mean . . . it's STAR WARS!!! STAR!! WARS!!! *muppet flails*This big-time fangirl is over the twin suns (or over the Death Star, depending on your loyalties #TeamRebel) to get to be a part of this AMAZING storybook from Disney Lucasfilm Press!!There aren't enough words to express my absolute JOY at getting to write about the characters I love SO VERY MUCH. I've happily slept in the overnight lines for Celebrations (here, here, and here), so to get to be a part of this project was quite literally a fangirl dream come true! Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy Stories arrives in a galaxy not so far, far away this September, and I was THRILLED to have the opportunity to write two stories for the collection! If you're a fan of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and my personal favorite Darth (MAUL!!!), then you and your Padawans (or just you. Hey, I get it. #FangirlForever) are in for an amazing treat. Brian Rood's illustrations are BEYOND GORGEOUS, and the team at Disney Lucasfilm Press has put together a book filled with action, friendship, and of course, hope. So much love went into this project, and I can't wait to get to share it with you! The Prequel Trilogy Stories are available for pre-order on Amazon. Official release date is Sept 26, 2017. Happy reading . . . and May the Force be with you!

It's here! The first book in theNIGHT WAR SAGAis now available to read forFREEon Kindle Unlimited. ClickHEREto meet the crew tasked with protecting Midgard (Earth) from the Norse goddess Nott. And, of course, to find out why Leia Stone and I Happy reading - we hope the new crew makes you smile!!As an Environmental Studies major, Allie knows the planet is in trouble—a series of natural disasters recently rocked the northern hemisphere, and species across the globe are going extinct. What Allie doesn’t know is that her world’s decline is a result of an ancient battle called the Night War—the Norse goddess Nott’s crusade to control the weakest of the light realms. And Allie most definitely doesn’t know that her existence is the only thing stopping Nott from dragging the earth into total darkness.When four gorgeous guys show up claiming to be Allie’s Asgardian protectors, she thinks they’re delusional. And when they order her to hunt down the pieces of an immortal weapon, she’s convinced they’re insane. But when Allie’s attacked, the guys’ crazy stories of demigods and dark elves begin coming together. And Allie’s not sure what scares her more—losing her life to the Goddess of Night . . . or losing her heart to one of her protectors.Let the hunt begin.

In case you missed it, I spent my week at Star Wars Celebration Orlando. On Thursday night, I camped out for the40th Anniversary Panel(and totally bawled my eyes out at all of the awesome), and now it’s time to do it all again for the Episode VIII panel!! I’ll never forget the epic energy of the Episode VII panel atStar Wars Celebration Anaheim. That was a life changing moment for me, and I can’t wait to see what the crew of The Last Jedi has in store for us tomorrow! Here we go!!Friday Night: Camping for the Episode VIII panel6:00 pm – Back in line!! Passed about 1500 of my newest Star Wars friends as I circled the outside of the convention center to find my spot in the queue. Thank the maker said spot is in the shade! And on some grass!! What a great place to sit for the next two hours, until they open up the basement for us!6:30 pm – The friendly state trooper warily watching our line asks us why we’re doing this. We explain, and do our best to convert him. We don’t think it worked. Or maybe he’s just laughing at us because he’s . . . nope, it definitely didn’t work. He’s laughing even harder. Must be part Sith.7:00 pm – The line is moving forward! We must be going into the basement early! Oh, wait. We’re stopping. Now we’re just standing in the sun. On a very busy road. Must scoot closer up on sidewalk.7:30 pm – The line moved again!! We’re going inside the—oh, nope. Now we’re standing by some very stinky dumpsters. In the sun. But the good news is, we found Juan, the 17-year-old boy who saved up all year to come here from Colombia, and he’s joined us! Love that sweet kid.8:00 pm – We made it into the metal detector line. We may be here for a while . . .9:00 pm – We are in the hall! And if the lady with the little number clicker thingy was telling the truth, we are, in fact, the 1,500th (ish) people in the hall! We are so totally going to get into the Episode VIII panel!!9:30 pm – OMG THE PIZZA CART IS IN HERE AGAIN. THIS PIZZA TASTES SO GOOD.10:30 pm – Better try to get some sleep before the 1:00 am DJ party. Sleep mask down, pillow plumped, Chirrit channeled, fingers crossed.11:00 pm – What. Is. Happening? Who is on a bullhorn and why are they talking so loud? This is prime pre-DJ sleeping time. My Star Wars besties look majorly annoyed.11:01 pm – OMG the guy on the bullhorn is Rian Johnson, the director of Episode VIII!! And he just said he’s going to walk the hall and sign things for us!! RIAN JOHNSON IS GOING TO WALK THE HALL AND SIGN THINGS!! He is so the coolest guy EVER!! Star Wars besties look super happy now.11:55 pm – OMG RIAN JOHNSON SIGNED MY CELERATION BADGE!!12:30 am – I’d better get some pre-DJ sleep. But how can I sleep? I met Rian Johnson!! And he is SO VERY, VERY NICE!!5:30 am – OMG I slept!!! The DJ never came!! And according to the still-angry security guard, it’s time to move up in line. Someone should really buy that guy a waffle. Ooh, speaking of . . .6:30 am – YES!! They still have waffles!! And this one is delicious.[image error]8:00 am – We are all wearing the most beautiful, red wristbands I have ever seen in my life! We are so getting in! I really hope we get to see a trailer. Please, please let there be a trailer.8:30 am – Oops! It’s time for my phone session with my energy medicine tutor. When I signed on for Elsa classes to help with my Ære Saga research, this was not the environment I pictured studying in. But I am one with the Force, the Force is with me. #Chirrut I’d just better explain to my poor tutor where I am, in case she wonders about all the tired energy signatures around me. Wait. Why is she laughing so hard when I tell her where I am?9:30 am – Session over! I am so totally grounded and centered in present time right now. Mad props to my tutor for creating calm in the chaos. Good thing the Force is strong with her! Now to brush my teeth in the convention center restroom!9:35 am – Dude. I miss my hotel bathroom. Did I mention it was a very lovely hotel?10:15 am – We’re moving!! We’re going upstairs to the Galaxy Stage!!10:45 am – We. Are. Still. Going. Upstairs.11:00 am – OMG we are in! And there are still seats in the 4th row! OMG WE WILL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SEE THIS PANEL!!11:05 am – Man. Running in full out gazelle-mode while wearing a partly-pleather Star Wars costume was NOT my brightest idea. Make mental note to buy a more BREATHABLE cosplay for next Celebration. Those girls dressed as Rey look all kinds of cool, and not at all sweaty. #squadgoals11:10 am – The lights are dimming! The Episdoe VIII panel is starting!! And the totally tiring last few days were absolutely worth it because . . .OLAF is hosting this panel!! And we get to see Rey! And Finn! And Luke!But not Kylo. Word on the street is he’s off wreaking havoc with Hux and Phasma. Last day of the Republic, and all.AND THAT POSTER!! REY IS SO TOTALLY LUKE NOW! She’s standing in almost the exact same pose as Luke in the Episode IV poster! I could not possibly have more goosebumps right now.AND THE TRAILER!! Holy mother of pearl, that trailer!!Being in that room, with the energy of 3,000 extreme Star Wars fans, to watch that trailer for the very first time was a moment I’ll never forget. Words can’t express what Star Wars means to me. It’s so much more than just a movie franchise – it’s a community; a way of life. The Force truly does surround us and bind us together, maybe not in the way it does the Jedi, but in a very real and tangible way, all the same. So much love goes into these films, both from the creative team and from the fans. Rian Johnson walked that convention center basement for FOUR HOURS in the middle of the night, to share his love and excitement with us. George Lucas returned to Celebration to remind us that he created this world to lovingly guide our youth into adulthood, and to hopefully help said youth see value of choosing to align with the Light Side. Kathleen Kennedy and the team behind this new trilogy gave us a poster that shows a young woman standing where Luke Skywalker once stood – holding the saber that shines Light through the galaxy, creating a ripple effect that both empowers and encourages girls in the same way our beloved Princess has since Episode IV. The significance of that poster moved me in ways very little else could. I am SO grateful that today’s girls will have not only Princess Leia, but also Rey, and Ahsoka, and Hera, and Sabine, and even Captain Phasma to look up to. (Full disclosure, I have a massive girl crush on Phasma. She is a kick-butt chick, no question.) And to be able to come together with this AMAZING Star Wars community to mourn Carrie Fisher at Mark Hamill’s tribute . . . To celebrate the next wave of books in the Star Wars extended universe -- I am SO pre-ordering the YA Princess Leia book from Claudia Gray, and I desperately need Drew Daywalt’s BB-8 book!And to soak in the incredible energy of the fans crazy enough to spend two nights in a basement just to celebrate the Force . . . it was a beautiful, exhausting, perfect experience.Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab some caffeine and sneak in a few edits onDefender, then pass out for as long as humanly possible. After I watch The Last Jedi trailer one more time, of course. #Priorities Good night . . . and May The Force be With You. Always.

It’s no secret that I am a MASSIVE Star Wars fan. Like, bake Wookie Cookies on May the 4th, NEVER miss an episode of the Star Wars Show (or Rebels Recon! We love you Andi Gutierrez!), stalk Fandago on multiple servers on multiple devices every time movie tickets go on pre-sale, and then stalk Fandango again after it comes back up from the inevitable crash, and yes, sleep in convention center basements in hopes of getting into the big panels at Star Wars Celebrations. And this week, I got to join eleventy-billion of my fellow Star Wars fans at Star Wars Celebration Orlando. My goal was to score seats at both the 40th Anniversary Panel, and the Episode VIII panel. #lifegoals I’d heard the hall would hold anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000 people, depending on the size of the stage, and being both a numbers kind of gal, and an overly-paranoid kind of gal (seriously, I am WAY more C-3P0 than BB-8), I knew a two-night campout was in order. I learned a lot atStar Wars Celebration Anaheim, so this time I came prepared. (See C-3P0, above.)Thursday Night: Camping for the 40th Anniversary Panel8:30 pm – Arrive at Orlando Convention Center to camp out with thousands of my newest soon-to-be Star Wars BFFs, and a group of awesome Star Wars friends I shared floor space with in Anaheim. The official line opened at 8:00 pm, so we should TOTALLY get into this panel!9:30 pm - We are still standing in the metal detector line. I REALLY hope we get into this panel.10:00 pm – Whew! Made it through the metal detectors! And it looks like there are only about 2,500 people in line ahead of me!! We are so totally getting into the panel! I hope. Now it’s time to settle in for the night!10:30 pm – Air mattress set up. Pillow plumped (the one that I may have borrowed from—and returned to! Hey, I’m honest!—the very nice hotel room currently being occupied by my luggage), legitimate sleep mask at the ready. Time to meet my line neighbors!10:40 pm – Aw! Juan, the 17-year-old who saved up all year to buy his ticket to come here all the way from Columbia, is the sweetest kid. Must buy him breakfast in the morning if there are any food carts in here. Please, God, let there be food carts in here.12:00 am – LOVE my line neighbors, and DOUBLE LOVE getting to catch up with my old SW friends! Now to walk around, say hi to the super cool guy dressed as Radar Technician Matt (after the rain comes the rainbow!), and . . . IS THAT A PIZZA CART?? OMG THEY HAVE FOOD THIS TIME!! Must get a pretzel.12:30 am – Belly’s full of pretzel. Better put on my sleep mask and get some bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day!! Goodnight, Star Wars friends!!1:00 am – What. The. Helheim. Why is a DJ blasting Miley Cyrus at us? At one in the morning? I mean, I like to Party in the USA as much as the next gal, but . . . now? Really?1:30 am – The DJ moved on to Don’t Stop Believing. I stopped believing I’m going to get any sleep tonight about ten minutes ago. (Though I did sing along from behind my sleep mask when he played Weird Al’s “The Saga Begins.” I am a fangirl, after all.)1:35 am – My Australian line neighbors are leading a rousing chant of “No more DJ!” while I commence a meditative mantra of “I am one with the Force, the Force is with me.” Maybe Chirrut Îmwe can help me get some sleep.2:00 am – The DJ has stopped, but the light saber battles have begun. Chirrut must be on a donut break.5:00 am – Chirrut IS one with the Force! I slept! I know this because I awaken to an angry security guard yelling at my line to pack our things and move forward. Only six hours until the panel!5:30 am – OMG somebody just said we might not all get in. Resume channeling Chirrut.7:00 am – We have our wristbands!! We are all getting in!! Circle through line, all the way around the basement, and return to nearly the same spot in line. Briefly question logic of moving in one massive circle, then just thank Chirrut that there is a shiny Galaxy Stage band on my right wrist. Thank you, Chirrut!8:00 am – DUDE! THERE IS A WAFFLE CART!! And my Star Wars besties brought me a Red Bull. I 9:00 am – We are moving forward! It must be nearly time to go into the panel room!10:15 am – We. Are. Still. Moving. Forward.11:00 am – OMG WE ARE IN THE ROOM!!! And every single minute of the last fifteen hours was so totally worth it because . . .George Lucas is here!!AND HARRISON FORD IS AT HIS FIRST EVER STAR WARS CELEBRATION!!Mark Hamill just made me cry with his awesomeness!! And George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy’s tribute to Carrie Fisher made me cry even harder.And . . . a curtain’s going up. Why is a curtain going up? Wait. OH. MY. GOD. IS THAT JOHN WILLIAMS?? AND AN ORCHESTRA? He’s conducting Princess Leia’s Theme. OMG JOHN WILLIAMS IS RIGHT OVER THERE, CONDUCTING PRINCESS LEIA’S THEME IN TRIBUTE TO CARRIE FISHER. My hands are shaking too hard to take a decent picture. And there aren’t enough tears. Not nearly enough tears. The grown men behind me are openly weeping. Right on, grown men. Right on.Losing Carrie Fisher was a massive blow to the Star Wars community. But to get to celebrate her life here, like this, with the creative forces who worked with our princess, is a blessing I will never forget. And to see George Lucas speak about his vision for Star Wars . . . to hear him tell us that he wanted Star Wars to be exactly what it means to me, and countless fangirls (and boys!) like me – an epic space adventure with mythological and psychological themes that resonate so beautifully across cultures and generations . . . a guide post for young people on the precipice of adulthood, that hopefully guides them toward the Light Side of the sometimes-scary grown-up world. Well, that was an experience I’ll never, ever forget.But now, it’s time to visit my luggage at the very lovely hotel room it’s currently enjoying all to itself. Because in five short hours, we’ll all be back in line to do this all again for the Episode VIII panel!! May the Force be With Us!And also, the Red Bulls.

I am ridiculously excitedto finally be able to tell you about one of the Secret Projects that's kept me in the writing cave for the past few months. USA Today bestselling author Leia Stone and I have teamed up to give you a brand new Saga, releasing this spring on Kindle Unlimited!Night War Sagais an original series that introduces one spunky co-ed, one vengeful goddess, and four super hot Norse guardians.Want a little peek?Night War Saga: ProtectorLove. Honor. Protect.As an Environmental Studies major, Allie knows the planet is in trouble – a series of natural disasters recently rocked the northern hemisphere, and species across the globe are going extinct. What Allie doesn’t know is that her world's decline is a casualty of an ancient battle called the Night War – the Norse goddess Nott’s crusade to control the weakest of the light realms. And Allie most definitely doesn’t know that her existence is the only thing stopping Nott from dragging the earth into total darkness.When four gorgeous guys show up claiming to be Allie’s Asgardian protectors, she thinks they’re delusional. And when they order her to hunt down the pieces of an immortal weapon, she’s convinced they’re insane. But when Allie’s attacked, the guys’ crazy stories of demigods and dark elves begin coming together. And Allie’s not sure what scares her more – losing her life to the Goddess of Night . . .or losing her heart to one of her protectors.Let the hunt begin.The Night War Saga begins this spring on Kindle Unlimited.You can pre-order book oneHERE!This week, Leia and I are diving into the second Night War book, so it's time for me to head back into the cave. Mange takk for all of your support. I'mso excitedto get to share Allie's story with you, very, very soon!Skål, y'all!xoxo, S.T.

Hei hei!It’s been a while,ja? I’ve been deep in the writing cave for the past few months, working hard on a project I'll get to share with you very, very soon! For now, I’m super excited to pop in to share some fun Ære Saga news:Perfekt OrderandPerfekt Controlare now available on audiobook! How fun is that?This process was a huge treat for me, because listening to these books on audio gave me the chance to experience them for the first time as a reader (listener?). So often in the creative process, I get trapped in my analytical mind – focusing on the best way to communicate what a character’s feeling, or articulating their voice correctly, or making sure my pacing is on par. But when I was reviewing the audio files, I got to just sit and experience Mia and Brynn’s stories. And it was so incredibly fun, getting out of the ‘author’ seat and popping into the ‘reader’ chair. It gave me a whole new perspective on our crazy Norse crew, and I loved it!Iwas blessed to get to work withDara Rosenbergin bringing the girls’ stories to life. She blew me away with her interpretations of our characters, and I thought you might enjoy getting to know her a little bit better. Without further ado, I give you the amazingly talented Dara!S.T.: Dara, how did you initially get into acting?Dara: I began acting in middle school when I went to a Drama Magnet School in Miami, Florida. From there I went to Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and then on to NYU's Cap 21 Musical theater program at their Tisch School of the Arts.S.T.: How did you move into voice over work?Dara: After doing a ton of theater and on camera work, I realized that what really made me happy was working behind the mic.  I love telling a story with just my voice and honestly wearing yoga pants to work really is awesome!Perfekt Order onAudible-iBooks-AmazonS.T.: #Truth. What do you love about doing audio books? What’s the most difficult thing?Dara: I love audiobooks because I get to tell the story as a whole.  I am every single character as well as the narrator.  I truly feel like I get to represent everything the author intended without being biased towards only playing one character.(S.T.: Let me just jump in and say, the first time I heard Dara do Brynn I squealed like a little girl. I have a special affinity for Brynnie, and Dara’s characterization of her was absolutely spot on!)Recording an audiobook is not a quick job like some voiceover work.  There is a lot of prep work and then over 8 hours of day in the booth recording for a week for each book.  While the time requirement can be a lot on your body, there is nothing like a finished product!!S.T.: Has narrating books changed the way you read books for fun?Dara: It absolutely has. Unfortunately, I find myself narrating every book I am trying to read for recreation.  My mind can't just shut off the technique!S.T.: What’s your all-time favorite book?Dara: I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb.  I just can't explain what that book did to me.  I read it 10 years ago and I still affects me.S.T.: I understand. Much Ado About Nothing was my eye-opener read – it showed me a world I never knew existed. Dara: Living in New York is amazing. I have been here thirteen years, and I don't know how to function most other places. I love the quick life style and how you can get pretty much any type of cuisine 24/7 delivered to your door in thirty minutes. And yes, I have seen Hamilton. How I got tickets is insane but let's just say I had a special guardian angel. It was incredible, and luckily now I have a good friend in it who got me and my husband tickets for next month!(S.T.: So jealous!!)S.T.: You worked on Perfekt Order and Perfekt Control back to back – bless! Did you connect more strongly with either of the girls?Dara: I loved different things about Mia and Brynn and was able to find a connection to each character.  For me, I think I had more fun with Brynn because I enjoyed her relationship with Henrik and just that MAJOR crush she felt. We all know what that is like and I thought the emotions were captured so well on how she felt. It definitely felt the most relatable for me anyways!S.T.: Which of the characters were harder to voice?Dara: It's always difficult to narrate men's voices but you have to remember that the listener know I am not a man and creates a suspension of disbelief while listening.  I try and just capture the depth of that character and what they are saying and feeling so it makes it as real as possible for the listener.S.T.: If you could be friends with any of the Ære crew in real life, who would it be?Dara: Probably Mia. She is so incredibly thoughtful and it's always nice to have a good friend nearby! But I mean I wish I knew Tyr and Henrik. (FOR MY OWN SELFISH REASONS)S.T.: Ha ha! Do you have a dream (acting) role?Dara: I don't really. I think just good books make my job so much better. An amazing story and a great lead character makes my job a dream!!S.T.: Thank you so much Dara! I am so thankful you shared your amazing gift with us. I can never thank you enough for bringing these characters to life so beautifully. Skål!Perfekt Control onAudible-iBooks-AmazonYou can listen to Dara’s narration of Perfekt Order and Perfekt Control onAudible,iBooks, andAmazon. I hope you enjoy her take on these stories every bit as much as I did!!I have to duck back into my writing cave, but I’ll be back soon with another fun update. Trust me, it’s going to be a big one. Skål, y’all!S.T.

I get a lot of questions about the Arcata compound from The Ære Saga. Tyr's held out on me until now, but he'sfinallygiven me clearance to share some of the pictures from one of my visits. Apparently the God of War managed to delete all the pictures I took of his house, "for security reasons, S.T. You understand." (No, I don't, you mean ole Norse god!)But he left me with the ones of the forest surrounding his property. Want a peek?Asgard's Arcata Compound is surrounded by hundreds of acres of towering redwoods, majestic ferns, and tapestries of fallen logs.It's covered from bottom to top in every imaginable shade of green, and peppered with secret bridges and hidden trails.Filtered sunlight streams through the treetops, seemingly straight from Asgard...And enormous trunks tower above the forest floor.Despite my dedicated efforts, I've yet to meet any Ewoks on my visits to Tyr's neck of the woods. But if you ever find yourself near Asgard's Arcata Compound, be on the lookout for cheerful author types......and for Asgardian hijinks! Henrik's brother recently came for a visit. And apparently Gunnar convinced Henrik to up the fun factor at the compound by building...A ZIPLINE. Because, why not? And also, because #GunnarsFunner.Isn't the Norse crew's Arcata forest gorgeous? Now if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to a god about some missing pictures. And possibly schedule another trip to the Arcata Compound. For research purposes, of course. Care to join me?Skål!S.T.

Have I mentioned lately that I have the greatest readers in all the realms? Well I do. Y'all are the greatest. Readers. In all the realms. I mean it.I was so incredibly thankful to get to meet some of you at Nashville's UtopiaCon last week. From the RagnaRockstars who've been by my side for a year, to the warrior who reads Elsker and Ære during chemo, to the model who shared a brand-spankin'-new Loki tattoo (that totally matched my dress! #LokiFansForTheWin), to the adorable middle schooler who

Our crazy Norse crew is SO EXCITED! We're having our first EVER sale on The Elsker Saga Box Set (books 1-3, PLUS novella)!! From now through June 12th, the complete Elsker Saga is on sale for just $0.99. We've never put it on sale before, so if you haven't already read the COMPLETE story of the Norse God of Winter and the mortal girl who captured his heart, grab a copy before it goes back up to $5.99. I adore this cast, and while I readily admit #GunnarsFunner, there will always be a soft spot

Happy Syttende Mai week! Our Norse crews are off celebrating Norway's constitution day with waffles, songs, and most likely, an Asgardian parade that involves Gunnar irritating Ull as only Gunnar can do, while Henrik tries to convince our perma-stoic Tyr to wave a flag. Can't you just picture the Andersson brothers causing all kinds of trouble in Asgard? #NoBoundaries   Here on Midgard, I've already started my own celebration. I had a bit of a waffle fest over the weekend, and I plan to make a