forthcoming works

Apr

2025

It’s So Quiet!

The new windows and doors are in place, and the inspection happened this morning. If we leave out some trim that had to wait for the inspection, then the job is 99% done. We’ve been in this house nearly 19 years, and the windows that we had were original to the house. They were old, single pane, and not well installed to begin with. If there was an owl in the tree outside my window, I knew about it (and once, so did the person in my Zoom call.) Now, the one thing I’ve heard said most in the house this weekend is that it’s so quiet.

Very little writing got done last week. Between all of the powertools and the noise, and just the fact that there were six very lovely contractors all over the house for an entire week, there was very little focus. (seriously, they were very lovely contractors. If you’re in the Central Florida area and need windows replaced, use FAS Windows and Doors.)

Not everything was neglected last week, though. Layout for The Sea Prince is ready. I’ve ordered the cover, and I’m waiting to see what the cover artist comes up with. I’m looking at a June 10th release (or thereabouts) so that I can order my books and have them for the June Renaissance Festival in Oviedo. I’ll hopefully have something to show soon, and a preorder set up by the beginning of May. Edits for Dead Man’s Hand are also done, and now I need to get into rewrites. Or I could save the rewrites for summer, and send two complete manuscripts on to my publisher in the Fall.

Decisions, decisions….

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)

28615 / 90000 (31.79%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

32294 / 90000 (35.88%)

Appearances

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

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

FaRo-What?

Yesterday, my husband/Darling Editor looked at my calendar and asked “FaRo-What? What’s FaRoBub?“

“It’s a book promo event. One day only, 200 free books. I’ve got Hidden Things in for free download. That reminds me. I need to get KDP to call me. It’s not free on Amazon yet.”

So that was part of my Sunday — making sure that Hidden Things was free for today. And it is, and people have noticed and WOW, that’s a lot of downloads! I hope everyone who grabs a copy enjoys it!

Tomorrow, the fun starts of getting the prices turned back on. That’s always an adventure.

I’m finding that writing has been… interesting over the past month. I may have to shelve one of these books I’m working on and focus completely on the other, because writing TWO books where the main theme is standing up against tyranny and injustice to protect a weakened nation is a bit much for my heart right now. I may focus on The Coral Throne, because the turnaround on getting that published will be faster than on King of Swords. I’m looking at publishing The Sea Prince in late spring or early summer, so focusing on book 2 of that series seems to make more sense. I haven’t even started my editing run on Dead Man’s Hand, which will be going in to my publisher because it’s part of a series.

If I sound like I’m trying to convince myself, you have much to go on.

I have a release date for Morrigan’s Heir — I’ve been told we go LIVE February 11th! There isn’t a preorder link yet, but that will come sometime this week and I’ll post it to all the socials once I have it. I also received permission to share the cover, which is below. This cover has been a long time coming — that stock image (and the stock image that will be on Morrigan’s Wrath) were purchased years ago, and I sat on them until it was time to put together the covers, when I sent them to the cover artist and said “What can we do with these?”

I can’t wait to see it in print! I’ll have copies by the Enchanted Knights event in March — they won’t get to me in time for Saturday.

Yes, this Saturday! I’m gearing up for our first in person event of the new year. Love is in the Air is this Saturday from 10AM to 3PM at the Lakeside Community Center in Port Orange, Florida. If you get there early, there will be swag bags for the first people through the door (18+ only), and in those bags, you’ll find a little something from me! You have to come early to find out what, but I assure you that it’s cute.

Time to get back to work!

Coming Soon!

Coming February 11th!

Work in Progress

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

13876 / 90000 (15.42%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

7049 / 90000 (7.83%)

Promotions

Today is the day! FaRoBub– 200 free fantasy romance and paranormal romance books.

Appearances

6th Annual Love is in the Air
February 8th, 2025
Lakeside Community Center
Port Orange, FL

***

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

***

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

***

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

Dec

2024

End of the Year Roundup

This will be my final blog post of 2024. Which… it’s been a YEAR, hasn’t it. Anyhow, time for the end of the year roundup.

Published in 2024

Valley of Shadows (Heir to the Firstborn, book 7)

Outlines in Development

Covert Saloon (three book series)
The Mentalist’s Cat (series of unknown length)
Children of the Swords (Five book series, sequel to Swords of Charlemagne)
Men of Mortal Seeming (Book 3 of The Artificer series)
Holy Orders (sequel to Heart’s Master)

Works in Outline

Iron and Silk (four book series)
Midnight Wars (two book series formerly known as Frog and Fae are Friends)
Tower of Light (standalone)
Flesh and Blood (Books 2 – 5 in a five book series)
The Coral Throne (Book 2 of The Sea Prince)
The Willow Sword (standalone)

Books in Process

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords

Manuscripts in Edits

The Sea Prince (The Sea Prince, book 1)
Morrigan’s Wrath (The White Raven, book 2)

Books under Consideration

Blood Bound (Flesh and Blood, book one)
Bonds of Blood and Steel (The Artificer, book 2, sequel to House of Sable Locks)
Sapphires and Gold (standalone, I think… there might be another one in this series.)

As of right now, Morrigan’s Heir is looking like an early 2025 release. I don’t have a date yet, but if that shows up before the end of the year, I’ll post it in my socials.

As of right now, I don’t have anything that I’ve committed to in 2025 with the exception of ICFA in March. I’m considering a show in May, but it’s an outdoor venue that would require us to break out the tent, and I’m not sure I’m up for that anymore. There are a couple of things toward the end of the year I know that I want to do, but I don’t have dates yet for them.

Once I’m done with King of Swords, I’ll be taking up one of those works in outline. Possibly The Coral Throne, since I think The Sea Prince will be out in 2025. However, Iron and Silk has been yelling at me (and people who I’ve let see the series plan have also been yelling at me.) It may be time to get to my Venetian-inspired Pirate Princess. It might be both — we’ll see once the current manuscript is done.

i wish you all the best for the end of the year. Be happy. Be healthy. Take some time for yourself if you can. And whatever you celebrate at this time of year, make it the best.

See you in 2025

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

103442 / 150000 (68.96%)

Promotions

It’s time for Smashwords End of the year sale, and everything in my catalog will be 25% off! The sale starts Thursday the 12th and runs until January 1st.

Since my accounts still haven’t been merged yet, I have two Smashwords accounts, so If you want the Heir to the Firstborn books 1 through 6, you can go here. However, if you want Valley of Shadows (Heir to the Firstborn 7) or any other of my books, go here.

Dec

2024

Cookies Called on Account of Pain.

I’ve had to delay the start of Cookiepocalypse. With my incredible sense of comedic timing, on Day 2 of Cook All the Things, I pulled a muscle in my back badly enough that standing is mind-numbingly painful. Cookies called on account of pain. I should be up to baking later this week or early next week, and I have a list of four cookies so far (there might be one or two more before I’m done. I’ve been challenged to make a coquito shortbread to go with the coquito poundcake….)

There wasn’t a lot of writing last week, because cooking and pain medication don’t add up to a lot of words. Granted, they’re words I’m starting to wonder if I really need, but I think I’m just going to keep going the way I’m going and see how the story falls out. If it needs to be cut, then I’ll cut it in post. If I second-guess myself, I’ll never get done.

The Sea Prince is going to be off to a sensitivity reader today or tomorrow. Writing a character who is a double amputee was more than a little challenging, and I want to be certain that I’ve done it right. If I haven’t, then I need to know what to fix. I’m hoping to have this book out in early 2025, but that will depend on how much work needs to be done when I get it back. Once it’s done and out in the world, I’ll need to start The Coral Throne.

The other thing I need to start is planning for 2025. I know I’ll be at ICFA in March. I’m considering a mall show in May, and that’s about all I have written in warm Jello at the moment. I’ll update the list of appearances as soon as I know where I’ll be.

That’s all for this week. Make sure you check out the books on sale with Stuff with Fantasy!

Special Offer!

Stuff With Fantasy is hosting the December Dash promotion, where you can buy signed books and book bundles directly from indie authors (like me!) I’m already set up with a 25% off coupon on my signed book site for those dates. Use code DECDASH to get the discount, and your books will arrive wrapped, with a gift tag for you to personalize, and with a couple of goodies added for good measure. (Please note: anything purchased this week will be shipping on Monday the 9th, because I’m not up to running to the post office every day this week.)

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

100602 / 150000 (67.07%)

Appearances

All done for 2024!

Nov

2024

Now Entering The Holiday Zone

Alternate title — There Are Cookies In That Nebula.

Yes, we have entered the Holiday Zone. Thanksgiving is next week, and then… well, if you’ve been around for a while, you know what comes after Thanksgiving.

COOKIEPOCALYPSE!

(Image of three layer cookies on a clear plate. The cookies are green, yellow and red, with a white chocolate coating.)

Oddly enough, I still have no idea what sorts of cookies I’m going to make this year, other than three color to start and struffuli to end. Those are non-negotiable. Other than that? I’m going to take a poll at Thanksgiving dinner, because everyone who will be eating those cookies will be sitting at that table.

I sincerely doubt that there will be a draft before the Solstice, which is my usual rallying cry at this time of the year. King of Swords will continue until I finally hit the end, and I can no longer say how long that will take. Editing this beast is going to be all kinds of fun — how many of these too-many-words are going to end up on the cutting room floor? Find out sometime next year!

If you follow me on Tiktok, you saw that last week, I dropped off copies of Written in Water at the newest bookstore in Orlando, the romance bookstore The New Romantics. It’s SUPER cute (and, I didn’t realize, Taylor Swift themed!) They’re doing soft-openings on the weekends, with the grand opening on December 7th. If you’re in the area, check them out!

I’m starting to wind down for the end of the year. I may not blog next week because there will be cooking practically every day. I have no more shows (and resisted the urge to add one). If there are no last minute sales through my website, then I can close the book on what was a very good year.

Now I just need to finish this book….

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

95866 / 150000 (63.91%)

Appearances

All done for 2024!

Oct

2024

Once More Into the Beach… errr…Breach…

It’s a show week! Ready for Wizards, Witches and the Weird in Daytona Beach! Once more into the beach… errr… breach, dear friends…

Since we’re on show three of four, everything is still stacked in the living room, waiting to be loaded into the car on Saturday for a “what time did you say we have to leave???” departure on Sunday. I’m in space 38, which is along the left wall as you come in to the Ocean Center, and three from the end. Remember, if you mention you saw this post or that you follow me on social media when you come to the table, you get a discount on purchases!

I’m really looking forward to this show — it looks like it’s going to be a fun day, and the vendors look fantastic! (There’s a list if you go to the event link above.)

I’m also looking forward to the show in two weeks, which will be two days at Maker Faire Orlando. I don’t know where I’ll be setting up yet, but as soon as I know, you’ll know.

Before all of that? Early voting just opened today in Central Florida. We’ll be voting tomorrow. GO VOTE!

And then? What’s after Maker Faire?

A long rest before I start cooking for Thanksgiving. Cleaning my house. Finishing King of Swords. Edits on Morrigan’s Heir (and possible Morrigan’s Wrath.) And seeing what I’ll be writing for my first original piece for THEO. I’ll be starting with them with reprints, to give myself some time to get things planned and get started, but it’s looking like this is where my serial writing will be heading, and my serial writing is going to be a bit more spicy in the future! Since they take all heat levels, my work there may be starting with rerunning the Heir to the Firstborn serial, starting with Written in Water. As soon as my work on THEO starts going live, I’ll let you all know. And if you’re an author interested in taking a closer look? Click the blog button at the bottom of the THEO page. There’s more information there.

And remember… Cookiepocalypse is coming…

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

84098 / 120000 (70.08%)

Promotions

Kobo is doing a Free First in Series promotion for the entire month of October, so you can grab a copy of Hidden Things for free! (You can find it free where ever ebooks are sold — not just Kobo.)

I’m also a part of Enchanted Realms, and this promotion also runs for the entire month of October — sign up for newsletters, get free books and enter to win a $30 gift card!

Appearances

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Oct

2024

Cleaning Up.

The storm is over, and now it’s time for cleaning up. Which, for us, wasn’t too bad. The pile of hurricane debris on the driveway is definitely smaller than it could have been. And once again, the storm gremlins played Frisbee with the lid of our compost container. I’m not sure what it is, or how they do it, but some storms just manage to unscrew the lid and fling it around the backyard.

There’s also the inside cleaning up — we have two leaks that are usually not an issue, but for a big storm, we have to prepare in advance. We go through quite a few towels. We’ll be getting those taken care of once the storm season is over, as well as getting the roof repaired.

Goals — finish this book before I have to abandon my office for potentially up to a week. Right now, it looks like the damage to the roof was minor — it just appears to be a missing shingle. But once the team gets up there, they’ll be looking for other damage. If there’s other damage, that means roof work, which means WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM directly overhead for DAYS. (When the roof was replaced in 2010, it took them a week, but it was August and like an oven on our roof, so they had to go slow.)

Finishing this book — King of Swords is short about 30K words, more or less. Assuming that the book comes in where I think it’s going to, and doesn’t meander off into the weeds for another couple of thousand words. I mean, there are scenes that I want to include, but that I’m not sure will advance the plot. However, I want to write them because they make me happy… So I’ll write them, and then cut them in post if they’re not necessary. That’s what editing is for, after all. Right?

I’m still working on plotting out the Covert Saloon series — if you missed me talking about it, it’ll be another Weird Western. The pairing that I thought was going to be book three is apparently going to be a slow burn through all three books. The book 2 pairing is now taking over book one, and a third pairing in book three with a character I didn’t plan for. Yup, I just take dictation for the voices in my head.

Time to go listen to what my characters want to do next.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

79220 / 120000 (66.02%)

Promotions

I’m also a part of Enchanted Realms, and this promotion also runs for the entire month of October — sign up for newsletters, get free books and enter to win a $30 gift card!

Finally, I’ll be participating in a Stuff Your Kindle event from October 18-20th. There are over 400 books that will be free or discounted for that weekend, and I’ll have Written in Water up for free!

Appearances

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Jul

2024

The Wild Ride is Just Beginning.

Last week was something else, wasn’t it? And the wild ride is just beginning.

I’m feeling a little more hopeful about… well, everything. The political news has evened out and looks very promising, and I’ve managed to get all those vendors to admit they’ve screwed up and get the supplies I need out in the mail (in theory. They’re not here yet. But they were supposedly mailed last Thursday.)

So things are looking up. Which isn’t to say that they’re not also promising to be exciting, but they’re exciting in a positive way, which is good.

I’m a third of the way into King of Swords, and enjoying myself enough that everything else has sort of fallen to the wayside. I do need to get back into working on plotting out The Covert Saloon series and revising The Sea Prince, but King of Swords is just so shiny and fun!

I haven’t had any updates on The White Raven books yet, but I’m hoping for something in the next month or so. Morrigan’s Heir is supposed to be out this year, but I don’t know what the turnaround is with my new editor, so I don’t know if I should be looking at edits coming in sometime next month or sometime in October. I’ll check in with him if I don’t hear by mid-August, and see where we are. I’m really looking forward to seeing these two in print and having you all meet Lorcan properly.

I need to make up my mind on what I’m doing with The Sea Prince when it’s all revised and ready. Do I want to run it through Kindle Vella? Or should I shop it around? Maybe I just want to just go ahead and self-publish? Decisions, decisions. If you have opinions, let me know? Where would you want to read a sort of steampunky Master and Commander-ish novel?

Next week, there may be no blog post — we have the double whammy of a young man getting three wisdom teeth pulled AND a 50/50 shot at the first hurricane of this season to make the right turn in the Caribbean and head for Florida. If I can post, I will, but I might be busy.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

29959 / 90000 (33.29%)

Promotions

Only two days left of the Smashwords Summer Sale. You can pick up my entire catalog 25% off here and here.

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX, so it is STILL on sale, but because of the Smashwords sale, it’s even BETTER — it’s FREE (only on Smashwords)!!! But only for another two days!

Starting on August 1st and running through the entire month of August, Written in Water will be on sale via Kobo! For all of August, start the series for only $1.99. (And because I’m fond of you guys, the sale will be wherever ebooks are sold, not just Kobo.)

The Cavalcade is having a Free Book Promo for this weekend only! August 2-4 you’ll can browse and download books of all genres. The link will be coming in my socials and my newsletter on FRIDAY. If you don’t get my newsletter, you can sign up here.

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024

Jul

2024

Reality is Overrated.

I think that says it all. Reality is overrated, and I’m going to hide in a fantasy world with a guaranteed happy ending for a while. It’s better for my heart.

Not saying I’m not going to do anything. Voting is something. Raising money is something. (The Romancing the Vote auction starts today, and you can win a full set of Heir to the Firstborn.) But it’s still weird and scary out there, and I’m trying to stay informed while not overloading myself to the point of rocking in the corner.

I sat down and did my review of the first half of the year, and I’m doing pretty well in this year’s goals. But I noticed that there’s something I’ve been saying I’m going to do for over a year, and I still haven’t started. I have had on my plan to do a read-a-long of Written in Water, reading a chapter a week on Tiktok. And for some reason, I keep putting off getting started on that. Not sure what’s going on my head that’s causing the mental roadblock, but it’s time I figured that out. Maybe I just need to set a date to start and let the deadline override the roadblock?

I’m trying very hard not to let the Covert Saloon overtake my entire writing world — it’s shiny and new and it wants to be a real live book RIGHT NOW. But it has to wait — right now the work in progress is King of Swords, and the progress is going very well. I still have to have the first two books open to refer back to, but that’s more because it’s been eleven years since the other books came out. The characters are still very familiar, and I’m enjoying the process of writing their story of fighting back against a fascist government…

What can I say? Your output comes from your input. And I said I’m hiding. I didn’t say I wasn’t paying attention.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

10006 / 90000 (11.12%)

Promotions

Support Democracy and get cool stuff! The Romancing the Vote auction starts today!

In and among all the other cool stuff is a COMPLETE set of Heir to the Firstborn in paperback. The bids are still low, so it’s a steal! Click the image to go right to the item in the auction.

The Smashwords Summer Sale is live! And, because of reasons too silly to go into here, I have two author pages. You can pick up my entire catalog on sale here and here.

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX, so it is STILL on sale, but because of the Smashwords sale, it’s even BETTER — it’s FREE!!!

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, FL

Now Available!

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Now Available!

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Coming Soon!

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Special Offer!

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