On This Day: Jodi's Birthday!

All hail Queen Jodi!

It's Lady Janie Jodi's birthday today! So Brodi and I wanted to take a moment to talk about how very much we love and appreciate our bestie and fellow co-author, Jodi Meadows.

Cynthia: We have a running joke with the Janies that Jodi Meadows is the one who grates the cheese --not CUTS the cheese, just to be clear, this is not a fart joke. Ahem. Every morning when we are working at one of our little writing retreats, we make breakfast together. I scramble the eggs, Brodi cuts the tomatoes, and Jodi grates the cheese. And in our talks about who-does-what in the writing of our books, Jodi loves to say that all she really does is grate the cheese.

But she does SO MUCH MORE than that.

Brodi: Yeah! She also maintains the peace and the calm and the positivity. And she also finds the coffee.

Exhibit A of how Jodi loves coffee

Cynthia: She does! I have a growing collection of pictures that I am someday going to collect into an album called JODI-LOVES-COFFEE.

But seriously, though, Jodi is a huge part of why the Lady Janies work. Brodi and I have had so many conversations about how Jodi is actually the most essential part of our group--she wrote the point of view of JANE, after all--she's like the sparkly purple glue that holds the Lady Janies together. If it were up to just Brodi and I, we'd be a total mess. But Jodi is like the gravity that keeps us on the ground (and corrects our grammar, without being judgy about it).

Jodi's also known as "the quiet one," the one standing silently in the background while Brodi cracks jokes and I blabber on about history.

Brodi: But if you get her talking about the right subjects, such as knitting or grammar or the proper placement of a period, or world building, or unicorns, she will talk your ear off. I have always admired her for being able to fly under the radar and then bob her head up for just a second to say something absolutely brilliant, leaving me wondering why I'm talking at all in the first place.

Cynthia: I liked Jodi the minute I met her. It was clear from the very start that she was an ultra smart, super sweet, completely awesome human being. And my opinion of her has only gotten stronger every day I've been around her since we met. I feel so unbelievably blessed to have Jodi as one of my friends--she is the very best kind of friend, the kind who is always there cheering for you no matter what, the kind of friend who will tell you what she really thinks but will always be kind about it, the kind of friend who inspires you to be a better person yourself.

Jodi writing in one of her many notebooks

Brodi: Not to mention that she is just an amazing writer! The first time I met her was on my first book tour. Harper put me with Jodi and Cynthia, and it was magic. I introduced myself to Jodi, and she shoved a pair of hand-spun/hand-knitted mitts into my hands. A gift. Little did I know that four years later, we'd all be knitting together with a passion! And writing. With a passion.

Cynthia: Jodi is also one of the hardest working writers I've ever met, which has been so inspiring for me to witness. She is just a great example of a writer who does the work, day in and day out, no excuses. And that's how we get her beautiful, intricately-woven novels. Jodi is such a thoughtful person--and I think that thoughtfulness is part of why her books are so rich in wonderful, imaginative details. She's kind of my writing hero.

Brodi: She is my human hero. I want to be the kind of human she is. This past weekend, at Y'allwest, a participant who had met all the authors said Jodi was "hands down" the nicest. And she was right.

So happy birthday, dearest Jodi! We both love you so much, and we're so glad to be writing books with you!

Jane and Jodi, just hanging out

Happy Book Birthday to The Mirror King

Hello, Lady Janie Cynthia Hand here. It's a special day today! Our fellow Janie, Jodi Meadows, has a new book that is hitting the shelves today! It's the second (and final) book in the Orphan Queen series, and it is (this kind of goes without saying) FANTASTIC, so we thought we'd take the time to tell you about it (in case you didn't already know. . .)

Here's some info on the first book of the series, THE ORPHAN QUEEN.

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others.

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

I feel extra fond of OQ because I have a wonderful memory of driving around Virginia with Jodi Meadows, back when we were first conceiving of MY LADY JANE, and the three of us each reading from our works-in-progress. I read a little from the draft of my book, THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, Brodi read from a hilarious book about a teen who runs a poker ring that she was working on (that I'm going to be poking at her to finish until my dying day), and Jodi read from THE ORPHAN QUEEN. And it was just. so. freaking. good.

And now you all can read it too, and it ends on a doozy of a cliffhanger, so you'll want to move right on to THE MIRROR KING to see how it ends.

Wilhelmina has a hundred enemies.

Her friends have turned. After her identity is revealed during the Inundation, Princess Wilhelmina is kept prisoner by the Indigo Kingdom, with the Ospreys lost somewhere in the devastated city. When the Ospreys’ leader emerges at the worst possible moment, leaving Wil’s biggest ally on his deathbed, she must become Black Knife to set things right.

Her magic is uncontrollable. Wil’s power is to animate, not to give true life, but in the wraithland she commanded a cloud of wraith mist to save herself, and later ordered it solid. Now there is a living boy made of wraith—destructive and deadly, and willing to do anything for her.

Her heart is torn. Though she’s ready for her crown, declaring herself queen means war. Caught between what she wants and what is right, Wilhelmina realizes the throne might not even matter. Everyone thought the wraith was years off, but already it’s destroying Indigo Kingdom villages. If she can’t protect both kingdoms, soon there won’t be a land to rule.

In this stunning conclusion to THE ORPHAN QUEEN, Jodi Meadows follows Wilhelmina’s breathtaking and brave journey from orphaned criminal on the streets to magic-wielding queen.

I can't wait to read it. . .

via GIPHY