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Mar

2026

Do NOT Pinch Me!

It hasn’t been a week yet, and I swear that I’m still dreaming. If I am, do NOT pinch me!

Let me explain. The 11th annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off has started. This is my third time entering SPFBO, and I honestly had no expectations other than possibly getting some new reviews. I entered Written in Water three years ago, and Counsel of the Wicked two years ago. This year, I entered The Sea Prince.

The blog that was assigned The Sea Prince has one of the strictest judging criteria in the contest, They read the first 10% of each entrant, and decide which of those are strong enough to want to read more. They started their eliminations last week, and promised to update on every Wednesday.

Yesterday, I saw the Discord notification that they had released this week’s eliminations and their second semi-finalist. I clicked the notification and saw the graphic included The Sea Prince.

Then I saw the first response — “Congrats @Liz Schechter – The Sea Prince !! It was a great book and you deserve it!”

WAIT, WHAT????

The Sea Prince is a SPFBO 11 Semi-finalist!!!

To say that I’m shocked is like saying that Everest is a little tall.

The contest is only a month in, and it will take months before the winner is named. The field will get smaller, and the competition that much greater. The books will all be amazing… and I’m a part of that.

I’m dreaming.

Don’t pinch me.

(if you’re a newsletter subscriber, yes. This is the same as the intro to this month’s newsletter. I couldn’t think of a better way to say it! If you’re not a newsletter subscriber, click through Spells and Spaceships below, and you can grab a free copy of The Sea Prince.)

Promotions

Free with Newsletter Sign-up!

For the entire month of March, you can download any of the Spells and Spaceships books for free (newsletter sign up required). That includes The Sea Prince! You can also enter to win a $25 gift card to the bookstore of your choice!

Yearning for a New Way to Read Fantasy Romance?

Check out Yearn! Newly launched, women-owned, and backed by luminaries in the romance world. Combines the best of Booktok, KU and Goodreads, without the toxic messes.

You’ll be able to find my work there soon — the entire Heir to the Firstborn series. The Coral Throne, and The Chronicles of John Zebedee will all be part of the catalog. And if you use my referral code, you’ll get 50% off your first month! That’s good even if you have to wait for the Android release — put the code in when you join the waitlist, and you’ll still get 50% off your first month.

Referral Code: Schechter50
Download the iOS app here.
Android users (like me?) Sign up for the waitlist here.

Now Available!

The Imperial Navy has been destroyed. Now Tarjiaan must save his kingdom. With his beloved Nika by his side and their consort Daanir at his back, he must gather his allies and defeat the traitor hiding beneath the waves. To save his people, Tarjiaan must master his newfound magic, defeat the traitors, and conquer his deepest fears.

The end of the war is in sight, but treachery runs as deep as the ocean.

Buy now!

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

51394 / 100000 (51.39%)

Appearances

Enchanted Knights Fairytales and Fables
March 14-15th, 2026
Oviedo, FL

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ICFA
March 18-21th, 2026
Orlando, FL

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Storyteller Summit
April 11th, 2026
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Oviedo, FL.

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The Great Geek Gathering
May 2nd, 2026
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Oviedo, FL

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Summer Lovin’ Book Festival
June 6th, 2026
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Oviedo, FL.

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Summer Creatives Market
July 18th, 2026
10:00Am – 3:00PM
Sanford, FL

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Tanoshii Con
August 22nd – 23rd, 2026
Ocean Center Arena, Daytona Beach.

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This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2026-Signing-Author-1024x1024.png

Smut Lovers Conference
September 16th – 20th, 2026
Orlando, FL

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Page and Pen Festival
October 3rd, 2026
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Oviedo, FL.

Mar

2024

Caffeine and Weirdness

It’s the Monday after ICFA, and all that’s keeping me going at the moment is caffeine and weirdness. Which lets you know it was an amazing conference! But now I’m ready to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Anybody’s hat. Anywhere in the state of Florida.

Plop. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……

In previous years, I attended ICFA for the panels and papers, to volunteer (because I enjoy that), and to see people (which is why I volunteer at registration. I see EVERYONE!) This year, I was an attending creative for the first time ever, which meant that I had a panel to moderate, a reading of my own, and a signing, and I could have books for sale in the book room. The panel that I moderated was a reading, and I was supposed to start by introducing each author. However, the programs didn’t arrive on time, so I didn’t have any bios! So, given that the theme of the conference this years was Whimsy, the authors suggested I make things up — a challenge to my improv skills! It was great fun!

Friday night was the Lord Ruthven Assembly meeting, which is a group of scholars and creatives who focus on the depiction of Vampires in pop culture, literature and in non-fiction. It’s a fantastic group, and because of the work I’ve been doing for them over the past year, I was elected ~~Vampire Queen~~ President of the Assembly. Which means it’s my responsibility to administer the Lord Ruthven Awards. So if you have a book (fiction or non-fiction, or even graphic novels or games!) coming out in 2024 that involves vampires, I want to know!

At some point, I’ll have a book out involving vampires. Not sure when, but it’ll happen.

I have one more major thing going on before I go offline to focus on family for May and June, and that will be the Indie Book Bazaar on April 27th, hosted by Spellbound Bookstore. I’ll be there from 2:00PM to 3:45 PM, so locals can come and see me for my last outing until September and Necronomicon.

In the meantime, there’s not enough caffeine and weirdness in the WORLD to keep me going today. I think I just heard another hat fall….

Giveaways!

For the month of March, you can download a copy of my dark fantasy romance Counsel of the Wicked FREE through the On Fire Romance promotion. (Content warning — this book is the darkest thing that I have ever written, and includes on the page explicit sexual violence. Go carefully.)

Image of a flame. Text reads "On Fire. Free Spicy Romance Ebooks. March 1-31"

Feb

2023

Monday? Why Does It Have To Be Monday?

I was going to ask why it always seems like Monday, then I realized that I blog on Mondays, so of course it always seems like a Monday when I do this. It IS always Monday when I do this!

(pause for more coffee)

It’s been an eventful week, in a good way. Last Monday, I got the cover art for The Chronicles of John Zebedee, and I’ve set up the preorders! Not all the stores are available yet (Barnes and Noble is slow), but most of the big ones are ready, so click the graphic to order!

This one, I actually forgot to post about last week — Children of Dreams has been nominated for a Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Award! These books are nominated by reviewers, but voted on by the public, so if you’ve read Children of Dreams, please click on the graphic and vote!

I started The Sea Prince back up again, since edits are off my plate for right now. I’m not sure when I’ll get the edits for Morrigan’s Heir, but until I do, I’m going to keep plugging away on Morrigan’s Wrath and on The Sea Prince

The White Raven: Morrigan’s Wrath
(The White Raven Duology, Book 2)

36067 / 90000 (40.07%)

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

41188 / 120000 (34.32%)

I’ve started giving some thought to the books that will follow The Swords of Charlemagne and The Chronicles of John Zebedee, because the two will converge in Children of the Swords. I don’t have a fully fleshed out idea just yet as to where the story is going, and there’s some research to be done. So that’s a teaser for you (Another teaser? The first book is tentatively titled Seer.)

And I’m about to roll the Rebel Mage books out wide — meaning that you’ll be able to order the ebooks from places other than Amazon. That will happen Friday, February 10th, so if you’re looking for those books on Apple or Kobo, Friday will be the day to start shopping!

There isn’t much else going on in this neck of the woods. This time of year is usually quiet, so I’m taking advantage of that and making words.

Time to go make the words.

Jan

2023

Preorders and Covers and Pages

And a good Monday to you all! Happy end of January!

Why am I so cheerful? Because I finally got the cover for The Chronicles of John Zebedee squared away!

The preorders are being set up now, and as soon as I have the links, I’ll share them. Look for them in the newsletter on Friday! (Are you not getting my newsletter? It’s only once a month, and there are recipes…)

Children of Dreams is up for an award — the Paranormal Romance Guild’s Reviewers Choice Award. This award is voted on by the reading public, so if you read and enjoyed Children of Dreams, go vote! Voting is open for another few days, and you can find the ballot here. I also had a fun interview, which you can see here.

I’ve been busy with The White Raven: Morrigan’s Wrath, too. It gives me something to do while I wait for the edits on Morrigan’s Heir.

The White Raven: Morrigan’s Wrath
(The White Raven Duology, Book 2)

33415 / 90000 (37.13%)

I’ve seen a lot of talk recently about writing history, and presenting a rosy view of history. Which, I’m not going to lie, I’m totally doing in The White Raven. There are details that are accurate, but the view of Rome… not so much.

The thing is, I know I’m doing it. The White Raven isn’t set at a fixed point in Celtic history. It doesn’t have to be — it’s a fantasy. I do mention Rome in Princes of Air — there’s a comment in Niall’s book about dining while reclining like Romans, and that’s all it was. A throw-away comment that wasn’t meant to do anything more than give the reader an idea of what was going on. To Niall, Rome was a concept, not a place. He’d heard of it, but that’s all.

Lorcan actually experiences Rome as a place. However, the Rome he experiences is only tangentially the Rome that actually existed. There was never an Emperor named Lucanus, for example. This is a fictional Rome set in my fictional universe where Gods walk among men… and sometimes do more than walk. So I can pick and choose what parts of Roman history I want to use, while being relatively accurate to Roman culture and religion.

Which is probably going to get me into all sorts of difficulties with the history people. But it’s fiction, and I’m going to put an author note in the books saying pretty much what I just said to you. That this is my fictional world, that it’s only lightly based on the Rome of our history, and honestly, there are men and women who can turn into ravens in this universe. That doesn’t lend itself to an accurate depiction of Rome…

So we have a fantasy romance, set in a romanticized version of Rome, starring a man who can turn into a raven because reasons.

This absolutely sings historical accuracy, right?

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Do NOT Pinch Me!

Promotions

Free with Newsletter Sign-up!

Yearning for a New Way to Read Fantasy Romance?

Now Available!

Work in Progress

Appearances

Caffeine and Weirdness

Giveaways!

Monday? Why Does It Have To Be Monday?

Preorders and Covers and Pages

Works in Progress

Appearances

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