My First Review

I've been rounding up information for my website and thought it would be nice to have a blurb or two about my book on there. Ali Cross and Karen Hoover were nice enough to step up to the task. Ali just finished reading it, so decided to do one better and wrote a review.



Here's Ali's review:

“Blood Bound: Keeper of the Crystor is a tricky tale that takes your heart and mind on an exciting danger-filled journey. You start out with normal things, people you know, places you can relate to—only to discover that things are not as you’d expected, people are not just people and anything can happen.

At least, that’s how the story was for me. I liked Kira and could immediately relate to her feelings of insecurity and reclusiveness. So when Kira had to adapt to the changes around her, to learn and grow—I grew right along with her.

C.K. Bryant does a brilliant job of writing a fantasy that combines what we know with what we don’t, love with hate, danger with hope. She had me turning the page, sitting on the edge of my seat and wishing I could read the next book in the Blood Bound series right away. A truly excellent modern-day fantasy that I highly recommend for fans of fantasies that feature a strong female protagonist.” Ali Cross – Author of Desolation: The Devil’s Daughter

AND, Karen's Blurb:

"C.K.Bryant is a master at playing with the heartstrings. She plays them like a master strums the harp, sometimes in harmony and sometimes discordant, it all serves a purpose and leads the reader through this symphony of words. Keeper of the Crystor is a book to remember."

Karen Hoover, Author of The Sapphire Flute

The above picture is one I used for inspiration for the character of Shandira. The artist is Larry Elmore. Thanks for the wonderful comments girls.

Music Monday

This is the first song on my playlist for the second book in the Blood Bound series, "Death's Betrayal." Enjoy.



What About Now - Chris Daughtry

Shadows fill an empty heart
As love is fading,
From all the things that we are
But are not saying.
Can we see beyond the scars
And make it to the dawn?

Change the colors of the sky.
And open up to
The ways you made me feel alive,
The ways I loved you.
For all the things that never died,
To make it through the night,
Love will find you.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late,
What about now?

The sun is breaking in your eyes
To start a new day.
This broken heart can still survive
With a touch of your grace.
Shadows fade into the light.
I am by your side,
Where love will find you.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love, it never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late,
What about now?

Now that we're here,
Now that we've come this far,
Just hold on.
There is nothing to fear,
For I am right beside you.
For all my life,
I am yours.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late,
Baby, before it's too late,
Baby, before it's too late,

Let Me Have It!

Wow! I've been so busy writing and trying to get my word count up with NaNoWriMo that I completely spaced about posting. So here's the deal. Last week I wrote about what to expect AFTER you're published and the anxiety of being in the public eye. Most of you and those who comment on my other blog said that giving presentations was the best part and looked forward to it.

So, here's your chance.

Give me a brief explanation of your presentation platform. What message do you want to leave with your audience, both those who read your book and those who listen to you speak. Will you be humorous or serious? Will you use props or just wing it with you and your fans?

Let me have it guys. I'm excited to hear what you've got planned. After all, we know you'll all be published and famous soon, right?

Letting Go

The baby quilt you see in this picture was made by the loving hands of my niece, Kathleen, over 16 years ago. She was only 15 and put hours of work into making it just right for a baby that never came. Unable to have children, my husband and I had applied for adoption and were anxiously waiting to get the call that our baby girl was here. We already had a boy from my husband's previous marriage, so requested a girl, even though we told ourselves it didn't matter and we'd take any baby, as long as it was healthy. Our son had a multitude of physical and mental disabilities and the thought of another such child with such problems seemed overwhelming. We had high hopes.

After almost 4 years of waiting, even though we were told the average wait was under 2 years, we finally got the call. They had a beautiful little boy for us. But before we could agree to be his parents they needed to inform us of his birth mother. She was mentally delayed and they feared it may be genetic. The child they were offering us was not only not a girl, but may have a disability. Our hearts were filled with joy, even though we knew the road may be hard. We told them yes.

Putting aside all the girl names we'd picked out, we brought our little boy home to a nursery decorated with pink carpet and pink gingham curtains. The bassinet had a pink bow and Minnie Mouse decals adorned the walls. In the closet were pretty little dresses and the dresser drawers were filled with pink little booties and Onsies that read "Daddy's Little Girl." I spent the next few days lovingly replacing the pink with blue and relying on friends and family to scurry around collecting needed "boy" things. My sister threw a baby shower so we'd have boy clothes and a name was picked.

Joshua Edward. Our pride and joy.

As the years have passed, the crates filled with all those little girl things have slowly dwindled as friends and family have brought little girls into their homes. With each new addition, I've given more and more away, slowly giving up hope that we'd get our little girl. Each time, the tears came and went, even though we never regretted the decision we made to bring Joshua into our home. Not even when he was diagnosed with Autism.

This week, my niece brought a precious baby girl into this world.

Rachel Tecia.

She is the most beautiful little gift from God I've ever seen. As this is Kathleen's 6th child (third girl) I thought it was time to return her gift. The quilt she so lovingly made remained in a box, unused, for all these years and is the last item of hope I clung too.

At 47 years old, I think it's time I let it go. But it's not that easy.

I've spent the better part of the morning fighting back tears, knowing our home will never be graced with the giggle of little girls or invitations to tea parties. I will never braid her hair or buckle her shoes for church. There will be no boy friends coming to court and no asking her daddy to give her away. And since our oldest son, Steven has passed away and Joshua will probably never get married, there will be no granddaughters to spoil in my golden years.

So, today is a tough one. As grateful as I am for a wonderful life and two precious boys, I have to let my hope of a little girl go. Life has been good to us and even though I still struggle with this one thing, I know that the Lord's will is in all things and that someday I will understand the choices that were made on my behalf. But for now . . . we welcome Rachel and hope that she will live a happy and healthy life. Thank you Kathleen for this precious gift. As much as I regret having to return it after all these years, it is time. Cling to this little one you hold in your arms. She is a precious gift and you are blessed to have her.

Blood Bound: Death's Betrayal

In a week or so I will begin the editing process on book one of the Blood Bound series, The Keeper of the Crystor, and am looking forward to seeing the finished product. I have learned so much about the craft of writing while creating this story and breathing life into the characters. It's hard to believe it started as a silly dream I had about a trip to the mountains with a friend of mine. I began writing it in April of 2007 just for fun. I wanted to see how it would sound as a story. The first three or so chapters are the dream.Who knew it would actually be written, published and in the hands of hopefully thousands of loving fans?

Yesterday I started writing the second book in the Blood Bound series, Death's Betrayal. After taking a much needed break from the fantasy genre, I'm back to loving my story. I didn't realize how much I missed it. I'm only about half way through the first chapter and have so many new ideas of where to take it. There will be more magic and a lot more danger because the setting has changed. Instead of being in Kira's world (our world) they are in Xantara, where Octavion, Lydia and even Kira's magical gifts and powers are strengthened. I can't wait see Kira grow into a warrior and kick some Darkord butt.

So stay tuned for more about Death's Betrayal and look for The Keeper of the Crystor in bookstores all over the country starting May 12th, 2010. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Look Before You Leap

I heard a story on the radio this morning about a deer that jumped the fence at a zoo. It's activity was caught on cameras as it landed . . . right in the lion's den. Needless to say, the deer was injured so badly it had to be put down.

It got me to thinking about the choices we make in life and how sometimes, even though we think there may be something wonderful on the other side of the fence, the reality isn't always pleasant. I've made a lot of choices in my life that I'm not proud of, but I always seem to work things out and come up still breathing. I guess I've been lucky.

Sometimes we go into a situation only thinking about that one little thing that's held up in front of our eyes that looks so great you've just got to have it, like that used car that is a great deal, or the painter that will paint the entire house for half what the other guys will. You pay the money, drive it off the lot or agree to a color, thinking everything will work out just how you want it to.

I have a friend who paid a lot of money to go to a writer's workshop that lasted a week. The author sponsoring it made all kinds of promises about teaching them the craft, only to disappoint her. She anticipated spending several hours a day having information presented to her, but was given an average of only two. She was then told to go back to her room and given an assignment which she spend all afternoon and evening working on. The next day the author in charge, said he didn't want to see them, it was practice. She felt cheated of the opportunity to glean from this persons experience and knowledge and most certainly robbed of the money she invested in what she thought was going to be the experience of a lifetime. She didn't even know if she'd done the assignment right or if she'd failed miserably.

I've made some choices lately that leave me thinking I should have been a little smarter and done my homework. But now there's little that can be done. Even though I know the road ahead could be a little rocky, I have to believe that it will all work out and those things I've lost in the process will make way for better things that will bring me joy. I guess the best thing to do is try to have a positive attitude, pray for strength and guidance and push through it.

In the meantime, I will take the car to the mechanic before buying it and get references on the painter, along with a million other things I should be doing.

"As Long As You're Dreaming . . ."

While you're dreaming of getting published and holding that beautiful book with your name printed on the front cover, think about what all that means. I think some people believe all they have to do is write the book and then sit behind a table once in a while and sign a few autographs. They couldn't be more wrong.

As the release date for my book, The Keeper of the Crystor, gets closer, I've been giving a lot of thought to the marketing plan and what kind of image I want to portray to my readers. After attending a book launch party hosted by my publisher this weekend, I realize that there is a lot to selling a book. Not only do you have to be available for those book signings, but you also need to be willing to speak in public, make presentations to schools or universities (depending on your genre) and even teach your craft at writer's conferences.

There's also a lot of traveling involved. Unless you have someone who can afford to fly along with you, this could be a very lonely job. You think sitting behind a computer all day is lonely, try three weeks going from one city to another, living in dumpy hotel rooms and flying with a plane full of strangers. Sounding more glamorous by the moment, isn't it.

My point is this--plan for it. While you're waiting to hear back from that agent or editor, think things through. What will my platform be? Can I really get up in front of people and sell myself and my book? Is there someone who can tag along to make the trip easier and more exciting? What can I do now to make my book sell better? Set up a blog or website? Facebook or Twitter? How can I sell my book before it is even accepted for publication?

Thinking these things through and getting started now will put you ahead of the game. When that agent comes to you and asks, what do you have to offer, you'll be ready. When you give that pitch at the next writer's conference and the editor pops up with a wild question about marketing, you'll stand out in the crowd as being prepared and confident.

So, tell me. What will you do? Do you have a unique twist to your marketing plan? Is there something about you that is different enough to stand out in the crowd? And last but not least, what will you tell people about yourself?

The Party Is Over, But The Memories Live On

My husband, Ed, and I had a wonderful time at Mark Shurtleff's Book Launch party hosted by Valor Publishing Group. It was held at Barne's and Nobles in the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City. What a wonderful event this was. I was so busy enjoying the music and readings and all the people that I neglected to take pictures of everyone. I did happen to snap a few, so thought I would share. If anyone took more and wants to share, I'd really appreciate. You all have my permission to copy these and use them wherever. Enjoy.

Mark Shurtleff reading the first chapter of his book,
"Am I Not a Man, The Dred Scott Story"
Brought tears and chills to the entire room.

Me, Ali Cross, Kimbery Job & Daron Fraley

Shanna Blythe, Me, Elizabeth Mueller, Kimberly Job & Karen Hoover


After the party, a few of us went next door to the Tai restaurant. Oh, man was the food good . . . oh yeah, and the company was pretty awesome too.

Ali & David Cross & My hubby, Ed

L. T. Elliot, Shanna Blythe & Elizabeth Mueller

Stacy Gooch Anderson & Karen Hoover


And then, as if we didn't get enough of each other Tuesday night, we had to have lunch at Ali's house the next day. Tons of fun and girl chatter.
My poor hubby sat in on the whole thing and I must say he did pretty well. Thanks for being such a great supporter and loving my friends, sweetie. Love you!

L. T. Elliot, Ali Cross, Me, Karen Hoover & Elizabeth Mueller
We were so sad that Shanna Blythe and Shari Bird were not able to join us. Maybe next time.

Nichole Giles and Me
(Added this photo late, thanks Nichole for sharing)