Blood of the Raven

Mar

2025

PACK ALL THE THINGS!

I have basically a day of writing before I have to PACK ALL THE THINGS and head to ICFA — aka geeky-academic wonderland. I have an entire checklist of things that have to be done between now and midday Wednesday. Yes, writing is on that list. So is making scones, making hard-boiled eggs (in this economy?) and making overnight oats. I need to go to the store tomorrow and pick up a couple of things for breakfasts in my room, and packing will happen tomorrow and Wednesday morning.

My schedule for this year is:
Wednesday:
3:30PM Opening Session: Horror Storytelling to Understand Reality (Ballroom)
Thursday
8:30AM Reading (Vista A)
Friday
4:15PM Reimagining the Night (Magnolia)
6:00PM Lord Ruthven Assembly Meeting (Captiva A)
Saturday
6:00PM BIPOC Caucus Networking Event (Cove)
7:00PM Reception (Ballroom Foyer)
8:00PM Awards Banquet (Ballroom)

In and around those, you’ll either find me at panels, volunteering at the Registration desk (I’ll have scones!), or somewhere working on edits for Tales from the Arena: Dead Man’s Hand (I’m thinking outside near the pool.) Unfortunately, the copies of Raven’s Fall that I hoped would be here in time to have at the book room were… well, I was told that they couldn’t deliver the package. And then the post office said that they gave the package back to Amazon (after only one attempt?) So I’m thinking that the books were damaged in shipping, and a new order has been placed. Which means that there will be copies on the table at my show in April. I hope.

(I really want them here! There are hardcovers in that package and one of them is for ME!)

Today I had my first “When is the next one coming out?” interaction, and that never, ever is going to get old. I love hearing that people have enjoyed my work. Writing is an interesting job — you’re there with the voices inside your head, taking down the incident report for whatever shenanigans they’ve been up to. Then you polish it up, put a cover on it, and send it off into the world, and most of the time? You never hear anything about it. But those few times when a reader reaches out to you to tell you that your words meant something to them?

BLISS.

Now Available!

Kidnapped from his home and sold as a slave in Rome, Raven-Prince Lorcan must survive in a world where entertainment is murder, diplomacy is betrayal, and love is a commodity. And where a raven who is only supposed to ever have one mate will somehow find two…

Work in Progress

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

22670 / 90000 (25.19%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

25166 / 90000 (27.96%)

Appearances

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

Necronomicon
September 26th – 28th, 2025
Tampa, FL

***

Page and Pen Festival
October 4th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

Mar

2025

The Most Mondayest Monday That has Ever Mondayed.

Today has been the most Mondayest Monday that has ever Mondayed. The Monday of all times. I hope to never again have a Monday like this. Because this Monday started off with the entire family sitting in a closet because of a tornado warning, and when I pulled the news on my phone, I learned that A. there was a storm on the ground IN MY TOWN, and B. the storm track on the weather radar was MY STREET.

One of the local news stations has their studio on the other side of town, and they were a direct hit — the weather guy was live on the air reporting, showing the traffic camera feed as the tornado hit. That gentleman deserves a raise — he was on the air the entire time, warning the people in his own building to get under cover while being unable to do so himself.

I just now found out that the National Weather Service has confirmed the tornado was an EF2. Thanks. I hate it. Let’s never do that again, okay?

It’s bright and sunny out now. Although every time the wind picks up outside my window, I’m ready to head back to the storm shelter/primary bedroom closet.

Not how I intended to recuperate after a FANTASTIC Saturday at the Myths and Legends Renaissance Faire, I can tell you. The show was amazing — great crowd, great vendors, the wandering performers were awesome, and we sold a a bunch of books! LONG day, though — ten hours on site from set up to when we pulled out of the parking lot. The next Faire is in June, and we will be there!

My next thing will be next week at ICFA — where I will start my conference off as part of the opening session, a panel on the role of horror in storytelling, with Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Owl Goingback. Now that I have the time to think about it, the imposter syndrome is going in to overdrive! (I can speak on the topic, but… yeah, those are some heavy hitters!) I should have copies of Raven’s Fall by then, so I’ll bring a few for the book room.

I’m also sitting on some exciting news that I can’t say anything about until it’s announced. SQUEE!!!!

Now Available!

Work in Progress

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

19525 / 90000 (21.69%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

21082 / 90000 (23.42%)

Appearances

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Necronomicon
September 26th – 28th, 2025
Tampa, FL

Feb

2025

Blursday

Usually, when I say it’s blursday, I mean that the days are all running together and I don’t know what day it is. Today, though, I know exactly what day it is. It’s the day I get my eyes dilated enough that I see all timelines at once. It’s not a fun experience — my appointment was at 8:15 this morning, and here it is 3:20 in the afternoon and I still can’t see clearly. But things look fine — everything is status quo, so we’re good for another year.

(Why do I do this? Because I am so VERY nearsighted that it’s possible for my retinas to self-destruct with no warning.)

Thankfully, I don’t have much on my plate today. I finished my revision pass on The Sea Prince last night and sent it back to the sensitivity reader, which brings it one step closer to publication. Once I get the all clear from the sensitivity reader, I’ll get the layout done and the cover ordered. I’m looking at a summer release, so that I don’t dilute Raven’s Fall.

The first reviews are starting to come in for Raven’s Fall, and I’ll be honest — I am reading them. I know that it’s not recommended for writers to read their own reviews, but I want to see what people think! And I’m loving that every review so far has called out the accuracy of my research. That makes EVERY bit of web crawling and cross-referencing and finding obscure references worth it! And to my reviewers? You are going to LOVE Raven’s Flight for just that reason! There’s a reference list of healing herbs used in one scene, with the proper names in Latin and Gaelic, cross-referenced from Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica (c. 64CE) and John Cameron’s Gaelic Names of Plants (1883).

Do I overdo it on my research? Possibly. Do I need to go and spend three hours to find a reference on trains from Aachen to Salzburg in February of 1899. in order to find out of there was a direct train, or if they would need to change trains? Possibly not, especially when those three hours of research translated to three lines of text. But my readers are the ones who will know exactly what trains I’m talking about, and will know that I’ve gotten it right. So I owe it to them to get it right from the start. And yes, someone did know the train I was talking about, and did appreciate that the research was correct!

In the case of Raven’s Fall? The areas of research I spent the most time on were on types of gladiators, on Roman weddings, and on Roman baths. Now, no one has yet mentioned the baths in a review, but that was, I think, the largest research topic for me — in what order were the rooms experienced, how were things heated, and what rooms were included. Part of the research was a surprise — actually experiencing a caldarium! (Really, who expects to find a reasonably accurate Roman bath experience on a Disney cruise???) For the record, the baths Lorcan experiences are a combination of the Old Baths at Pompeii and the Baths of Caracalla (with a slight hint of flavor from the caldarium in the Rainforest Room on the Disney Fantasy.)

I am history geek, see me over-research!

Now Available!

Work in Progress

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

15673 / 90000 (17.41%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

15354 / 90000 (17.06%)

Promotions

Stuff with Fantasy is coming February 28th! Over 300 authors, over 300 books, free for the taking! One day only!

Appearances

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Necronomicon
September 26th – 28th, 2025
Tampa, FL

Feb

2025

Updatey Things.

New book means new updatey things on websites and price lists and all sorts of places. And it means that I’m thinking of how to add in new options.

I already sell signed paperbacks on my website. If I started selling ebooks directly from my website as well, would that be of interest to people? You’d actually OWN your copy (instead of licensing it from some big retailer.) There’s the added bonus that if spicy romances are banned, you wouldn’t have to worry about books being taken off your reader without your consent, which is what would happen if you buy through Amazon (they’ve done it before, in 2009.) I’m interested in seeing what people think before I take the next step and spend money on upgrades and subscriptions.

I also need to make a request of everyone out there reading this. If you have a Netgalley account, you can apply for a review copy of Raven’s Fall. It’s been a week, and either Amazon’s ranking systems are broken (again) or no one is buying my new book. I really think it’s the former, but a review would go a long way to helping get this book in the public eye. (If you don’t have a Netgalley account and still want to review? Talk to me. I have review copies.)

I started my last pass on The Sea Prince today, while sitting at the dealership waiting for my car’s oil change. This is the pass where I go through and read the sensitivity reader’s comments and make those changes, and so far, it’s pretty minor. I hope to have this done this week so I can send it back to her for final thoughts. Which means… maybe May for a release? I still have to do the layout and commission a cover.

The other thing I need to work on this week is the panel I’m leading at ICFA, on the reimagining and reinvention of classic monsters in modern pop culture. It’s a panel discussion, so I really just have to put together questions and talking points, but I want to make sure they’re GOOD questions and talking points. This is going to be my first time on the academic side of presenting, and I’m really looking forward to the discussion.

My to-do list seems to be getting longer by the minute! Off to do all the things!

Now Available!

Work in Progress

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

15673 / 90000 (17.41%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

11848 / 90000 (13.16%)

Promotions

5 authors, 8 minutes each – on February 20th, come find your next favorite speculative fiction read by women authors and non-binary authors with us! **FREE* tinyurl.com/m5n37k5n

Stuff with Fantasy is coming February 28th! Over 300 authors, over 300 books, free for the taking! One day only!

Appearances

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Feb

2025

What Do You Mean, New Release?

I have a FULL day today. Packed. This morning, as I was getting ready to leave the house, I opened Bluesky. And saw something I wasn’t expecting — a book had released. MY book had released. What do you mean, new release? I wasn’t expecting that until tomorrow!

It’s true! Raven’s Fall is now available wherever your ebooks are sold! Paperbacks are coming, as are HARDCOVERS!!! (I think my New York publisher heard me squeeing from Florida when they told me hardcovers!)

And… since Princes of Air is the prequel to this book and the one after it, it’s going to be getting a relaunch as well. (Yes, I know we just did that. We’re doing it again. It’s like the Time Warp.) This time, though? The relaunch will include a new title — Raven Princes, Prequel to The Blood of the Raven series.

I’m not sure when that’s going to happen, but it is happening.

The more I look at this cover, the more I like it. I just got the final artwork on Saturday while I was at a show, then I was working on a promo thing all day yesterday, so there wasn’t ANY time to show it off. I thought I’d have a day to start getting the word out and letting folks know that it’s out on Netgalley for reviews.

(By the way? It’s out on Netgalley for reviews….)

It is a very good thing that I didn’t schedule myself to write today, because I don’t think there will be a WORD written on either WIP. Between the release, and a class I had at two, and a Smut Lovers Conference Facebook takeover tonight, and then a writing meeting? My head is spinning. In a good way, but WHOOSH.

And now I need to go whooshing off to get something else done. But wow. The book is out!!!!

Now Available!

Work in Progress

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

14393 / 90000 (15.99%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

10276 / 90000 (11.42%)

Promotions

6 authors, 8 minutes each – on February 20th, come find your next favorite speculative fiction read by women authors and non-binary authors with us! **FREE* tinyurl.com/m5n37k5n

Stuff with Fantasy is coming February 28th! Over 300 authors, over 300 books, free for the taking! One day only!

Appearances

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Blood of the Raven

PACK ALL THE THINGS!

Now Available!

Work in Progress

Appearances

The Most Mondayest Monday That has Ever Mondayed.

Now Available!

Work in Progress

Appearances

Blursday

Now Available!

Work in Progress

Promotions

Appearances

Updatey Things.

Now Available!

Work in Progress

Promotions

Appearances

What Do You Mean, New Release?

Now Available!

Work in Progress

Promotions

Appearances

Works in Progress

Appearances

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