easily amused writer

Nov

2025

“So The Frogs in Narnia are Smashed.”

This morning, the words “So the frogs in Narnia are smashed,” were uttered in my kitchen. This incredible out-of-context phrase came courtesy of my son.

Context? Okay. This requires explaining some old Schechter Lore, though.

Maybe about fifteen years ago, we had a tiny little frog in the house. We had a cat at the time, so I wanted to catch the frog before the cat did. The frog hopped underneath the coffee-table in my family room… and vanished. I moved the coffee-table, but there were no signs of that frog. Jokes were made about a portal to Narnia underneath the coffee-table.

Five years later, right before Halloween, I’m standing in the kitchen, which looks out into the family room, and I see something small and dark come out from underneath the coffee-table.

A frog.

This sort of cemented the whole “portal to Narnia” thing in our house.

Flash forward to yesterday. I have a bottle of wine that I was saving to make the cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving (I’ll put the recipe into the newsletter next week, so you can sign up for that here.) Back in the spring, we were supposed to have a guest who was a recovering alcoholic, so we put away our bar setup and put the bottle of wine in the pantry (they ended up not coming over.) When I went to retrieve the bottle yesterday, it was gone. It wasn’t in the pantry. Nor in the bar. Nor in the other cabinet where we store our potent potables. Multiple searches by multiple people turned up nothing.

This morning, over breakfast, I mentioned to College Boy that I was going to be running out to the liquor store because I needed the wine for the cranberries, and I told him about the search and not finding this bottle of wine. He paused, nodded, then said, “So the frogs in Narnia are smashed,” like this was the most logical thing ever said in my kitchen.

Sure, we’ll go with it. I hope Aslan likes a sweet bracchetto.

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A hero. A son of Eire. A reckoning long overdue.

Lorcan never asked for glory. Crowned a noble and hailed as a savior after crushing rebellion, he walks the marble halls adored by all—except himself. Haunted by prophetic visions, he sees not triumph, but torment: his family caged, his homeland threatened, and his cousin’s dark ambitions on the rise.

He knows where he must go.

Leaving behind the splendor of Empire, Lorcan returns to the emerald wilds of Eire, where ancient magic stirs and old loyalties are tested. Beside him stand his mates and his chosen kin—fierce, loyal, and willing to follow him into the heart of danger. But the blood that binds can also betray, and the most dangerous enemy may not be on the battlefield… but seated at his own family’s table.

Now Available!

Stories of Love and Desire

Join us on THEOReads, where you can find stories that celebrate love in all forms, and in all heat levels. Check out the November curated recommendations! (Click the graphics!)

Work in Progress

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

35962 / 90000 (39.96%)

Appearances

Enchanted Knights: Winter Bazaar
December 6th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

Ravenflight Signing!
Spellbound Books
December 20th, 2025
12:00PM – 2:00 PM
Sanford, FL

2026 Appearances

Galentine’s Day Sip and Shop
Native Home Marketplace
February 5th, 2026
6:00pm – 9:00 pm

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

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

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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

Feb

2024

It’s Blursday

I had my eyes dilated at 8:15 this morning. It is now 1:41 PM and I still can’t see clearly out of my left eye. The light sensitivity is better, but I had to turn down the brightness on both of my monitors. And I couldn’t see to drive a certain young man to class, but attendance isn’t mandatory so rather than pull Darling Husband out of meetings, we all just stayed in because it’s Blursday.

With everything going on last week, it wasn’t as much of a word week as I’ve had. I still made my target of 500 words a day for six days (words on Sunday are bonus words), so it wasn’t a bad week. It just wasn’t as prolific as the previous weeks have been. But that’s okay.

The synopsis for The Coral Throne is coming slowly. Which, it can come slowly — I’m not in a rush to get to it, and I want to make sure I get things figured out before I get to the scene where X has to attack Y and how does that work exactly? (You’ll find out. I promise. But I have to work out the details.)

There’s also this other project of mine, which currently has the placeholder title of “Frog and Fae are Friends.” I put the excerpt that popped into my head and wouldn’t get out into my newsletter a few weeks ago, and it’s been percolating in the back of my brain since. I think this might be the next Patreon project if the sex stays behind closed doors, and I’m trying to worldbuild without pushing the existing Coral Throne worldbuilding out of my head. If you missed the excerpt in the newsletter, I’ll pop a short sample of it down below. It may turn into a fantasy Sherlock Holmes kind of thing, which would be new for me, but that seems to be the direction it’s leaning. We shall see.

Still waiting on edits for Morrigan’s Heir, but if my editor’s week last week was anything like mine? I get it. I TOTALLY get it. And considering that I’m maybe a chapter and a half from finishing The Sea Prince? I can wait — a delay lets me get this manuscript finished before diving into edits, and gives me the space to let The Sea Prince get out of my head before I go back to reread it for revision. It’s all good.

So, tell me what you think of the excerpt.

Works in Progress

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

92468 / 120000 (77.06%)

Placeholder title “Frog and Fae are Friends.” — Excerpt

Desperate times call for truly fucked up measures.

I know better than to mess with mages, let alone steal from them. I know. But I was at the very end of my non-existent rope. It had been a long, hard winter already, and there were still three moons before even an hope of a thaw. The benevolent shelters for the needy were full to bursting, and even I’d had the coin, the cheap inns were full as well. There was not a bed or a slice of floor to be had anywhere in the slums of Alatrea. Not for the likes of me.

What there was, though, was a mage, who’d taken residence in a posh, new, townhouse right before the first snow. He hadn’t been settled long enough to claim the place as his home-ground – that took at least six moons for the strongest mage, and a year or more for the average spell-slinger. That mean that the usual protection spells weren’t going to be foolproof yet.

I just wasn’t usually that much of a fool.

Apr

2022

It’s Still Monday.

Heir to the Firstborn: The Way Home
(Heir to the Firstborn, book 6)

124393 / 170000 (73.17%)

****

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, book 1)

25784 / 120000 (21.49%)

It’s late, but it’s still Monday. So this still counts as being a Monday blog.

Today, I played hooky. After morning yoga, I went on a morning date with my husband. We headed down to Disney Springs, wandered around, went shopping, and went to lunch. If you’re ever in Disney Springs and want a good quick service meal that handles food allergies really well, go to D-Luxe Burgers. They’re Disney-owned and fantastic.

They’re also verging on the ridiculous. At some point in the past year, they added lettuce buns to their menu, because they were having a hard time sourcing their gluten free buns. So today, they asked if we wanted a gluten free bun or a lettuce bun.

Most of the time, when you get a lettuce bun, you get a messy burger wrapped in a few leaves of limp lettuce.

This is what you get at D-Luxe:

If you can’t tell, that’s approximately a small head of lettuce, sliced in half, with a burger in it. Lettuce bun indeed!

(AND IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!)

Got back home in time to pick High School Boy up from school… completely forgetting that he had clubs today and wasn’t going to be out for another half an hour. (He opted out of clubs today when he found out I was early. More time to play Clone Hero.)

Which means that today I did yoga, I’ve backed up my computer, I am writing this blog post, and I will probably not write a single word… and I’m good with that! Today was a recharge day. A “fill your own bucket” day. And I talked about that in my Carline Talk on Tiktok.

My what on which?

I have a series of short videos on Tiktok that I recorded while waiting in carline, and which I call my Carline Talks. (Over the summer, these will change to Coffee Time with Liz). I talk about writing in general, and about various and sundry, and today was about filling your own bucket — giving yourself permission to stop and relax, something most creatives are lousy at doing. The thing is, if you don’t recharge, you eventually burn out. So give yourself a break, and read a book. Watch a movie. Go do something fun. And come back renewed and ready to start again.

I give you permission.

(a quick note — I will be changing hosting companies for this website within the next week. Hopefully, the website won’t go weird in the changeover.)

Feb

2019

Works in Progress: Table of Stone and Forged in Fire

Table of Stone
Swords of Charlemagne, Book 4

Forged in Fire
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 2

I realized yesterday (I think) that I never updated the blog last week. I’m going to have to start doing it some other day than Sunday. Sunday is family day, and I don’t always get onto the computer.

Words proceed apace on both Table of Stone and Forged in Fire. Table of Stone got a slow start, mostly because I was busy with everything to do with getting Written in Water ready for publication, and the Highland Games, and the OCLS Writers conference that I attended last week. (Which was amazing, and if you’re in the Orlando area next January, I highly recommend it.) Once things calmed down, the words started flowing again.

Speaking of Written in Water, the first review on an ARC hit Goodreads this afternoon. I’m very pleased — first reviews are always nerve-wracking! We’re now just over two weeks from publication, and I just hit the approve button on the paperback proofs. So yes, there will be dead tree versions of the book! Once the sales links are up for those, I’ll post them.

Now, an excerpt from Forged in Fire. Writing this made me giggle, so I’m figuring it’s a good thing.

***

“He’ll be starving when he wakes up,” she added. “I’m not sure what we left for him will be enough.”

“It’ll have to be,” Owyn answered. “We won’t have anything else until we get to that village. Unless we hunt…” he frowned. “Or fish. You lived on the canoe with him. Do you know how to fish?”

“Not the way they do it,” Aria answered. “They used nets and spears underwater. I’m not sure about how to do it from land. I know how to open oysters. But I don’t know how to tell where to find them.”

Owyn nodded slowly. Then he perked up. “How about crabs? Aven said there were crabs in… in where we found that poor bastard. You can eat crabs, can’t you?”

“Me?” Aria asked. “Or us?”

“Us.” Owyn moved Trinket to his shirt pocket. Then he got to his feet and brushed the sand off his trousers. “I’m pretty sure we can eat them. Come on. Let’s go see if we can find some.”

Aria got up and followed him down the beach and around the rocks. It seemed like a good idea. She just hoped that Memfis knew what to do to prepare crabs — it didn’t seem fair to make Aven prepare his own meal, even if he didn’t have to catch it. By the time she caught up with Owyn, they were around the rocks and into the sheltered cavern where Owyn and Aven had found the body. Owyn was standing near the edge of the pool of water, frowning.

“Now what?” he asked as she came closer.

“It was your idea,” she pointed out. “Do you not know how to do it?”

Owyn grimaced. “I was kinda hoping you did. You hunt. Aven hunts. I’ve never hunted before, and where I’m from, catching crabs has a whole ‘nother meaning.”

Aria blinked. “What does it mean?”

He blinked. “You don’t know? Right.. well, it’s not a good thing. That’s all I’m going to say. So what do we do?”

Jun

2018

The Opposite of War isn’t Peace. It’s Creation.

I can’t say I’ve never written a creation myth before. I’ve done it once or twice, for projects that never really got off the ground and that I might someday go back and revisit. So I know basically what I’m doing. And yet…

I homeschool my son, and one of the things that we discovered and incorporated into our homeschool day was Crash Course. There are Crash Course series for just about anything — the History of Games was very popular in our house.

Then we discovered Crash Course Mythology. My son is already very interested in mythology (thank you, Rick Riordan!) so this seemed a logical choice of next series to watch. Hosted by Mike Rugnetta, it’s a fantastic overview of a variety of myths from a wide range of cultures.

Why is this a problem?

It isn’t, really. It’s just that I’ve heard so many myths told by Mike Rugnetta that now I’m hearing his voice narrating the creation myth I’m in the process of writing!

After the initial “Why do I have your voice in my head?” reaction, I decided that this was a good thing. If I’m writing a creation myth on par with the ones that were presented in Crash Course, I’m clearly doing something right.

Right?

So… wanna see this creation myth?

Come join me on Patreon.

Apr

2018

Trying something new

For the first time, I am posting to the blog from my phone.

Let’s see how many typos get past me, hmm?

I got a new pretty today.

Neat scarf, right?

Look closer….

Yes, that’s text. Can you read it?

It’s the text of Princes of Air. It’s a custom piece from a company called Litographs.

I’m kinda giddy about how this turned out. And it’s going to be fun wearing it, knowing that there are at least half a dozen sex scenes on this scarf alone!

May

2017

Oasis Schedule

I’ll be a guest at Oasis in two weeks, and I’ve gotten my panel schedule. You can find the full descriptions and the rest of the schedule here.

Friday:

Beginning Writers Workshop
1:00 PM
Phoenix (room)

Publishing scams
02:00 PM
Orion (room)

Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me
(Just like the game show on NPR!)
08:00 PM
Galaxy II (room)

Saturday

What Makes a Series?
10:00 AM
Atlas

Midway Writers Workshop
12:00 PM
Phoenix

Head Hoppi-Loppin
07:00 PM
Phoenix

Genre Boundaries: Romance and Erotica
(This is the same panel participants as last year’s “Everything You Ever Wanted to know about (writing) Sex” Should be fun!)
09:00 PM
Orion

Sunday

Media Panel
10:00 AM
Phoenix

Yes, But Would You Date Them?
12:00 PM
Atlas

In addition, I’ll also have a table in the dealer’s room. So if I’m not on a panel, that’s where I’ll be.

Nov

2016

Shall we play a game?

No, not Global Thermonuclear War.

What we’ll be doing is more like a scavenger hunt.

Here’s the game: I’ll be at Chessiecon the weekend before the cover reveal blitz. I *will* have the cover art for Heart’s Master by then.

So come find me. Tell me The Magic Words ™, and I’ll not only give you a special sneak preview of the cover, I’ll give you a code for a free book from the Circlet catalog!

What are The Magic Words?

For that, you have to be following me on Twitter. I’ll post the Magic Words of the day every morning before I leave my room. Find me, whisper the words to me, and I’ll show you the cover art and give you your prize!

See you in a couple of weeks!

Aug

2016

So… this happened.

I do not yet know when the awards will be announced. But yay!!!!

In other news, Burden of Truth has been retitled. It is now Haven’s Fall, and it is with the line editor. I’ve been told that I’ll have edits back soon, and we’re shooting for a November release.

I’ve seen the cover, and it’s AWESOME. And that’s all I can tell you, so there. NYAH!!!

Sins of the Father is coming along, and is so far off outline that I can’t see the original route from here. I’m fairly certain that it will still end up in the same place, but instead of my original map, I’m taking the scenic back roads. Which have been educational — I never would have figured out that THAT character was the ultimate big bad otherwise. (Seriously, this one character has been thumbing their nose at me for two and a half books now.)

And in other, other news, I’ve found out that one of my publishers is closing their doors, and will be reverting rights. They’re being very lovely and generous about the whole thing, and even including cover art in the reversion. I’m sorry to see them go. But just when I think I’m out of the self-publishing gig…

Apr

2014

An eventful day!

First, I found this fantastic review of both House of Sable Locks and Tales from the Arena: Opening Gambit. I particularly like the reference to the House as “a… Victorian BDSM Disneyland.”

Then… I found out that House of Sable Locks is a finalist for Best Bisexual Erotica in the Bisexual Book Awards!

(Is it petty for my second reaction to be “Take that, RITAs!” Second reaction because my first was “Holy crap, I finalled!”)

easily amused writer

“So The Frogs in Narnia are Smashed.”

Promotions

Now Available!

Stories of Love and Desire

Work in Progress

Appearances

2026 Appearances

It’s Blursday

Works in Progress

Placeholder title “Frog and Fae are Friends.” — Excerpt

It’s Still Monday.

Works in Progress: Table of Stone and Forged in Fire

The Opposite of War isn’t Peace. It’s Creation.

Trying something new

Oasis Schedule

Shall we play a game?

So… this happened.

An eventful day!

Works in Progress

Appearances

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