forthcoming works

29
Jul
2024
The Wild Ride is Just Beginning.

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

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Cavalcade of Authors, Counsel of the Wicked, Covert Saloon, forthcoming works, promotions, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, writing-mom, 0 comments
01
Jul
2024
Reality is Overrated.

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

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, accountability, Counsel of the Wicked, Covert Saloon, forthcoming works, Heir to the Firstborn, politics, progress, promotions, SPFBO, Tales from the Arena, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
24
Jun
2024
The Mondayist not Monday Around

The Mondayist not Monday Around

Today is technically the middle of my week, I think. I didn’t have a weekend — I had a reading on Saturday, and a book signing at a local bookstore yesterday. So my brain doesn’t think it’s Monday, which means that I’m writing this rather late in the day because blogs only happen on Monday, and it’s not Monday, but wait, it really IS Monday! So that makes it the Mondayist not Monday around, I suppose.

It’s also the weirdest Monday I’ve had in a while. I mean, it’s not every day that someone does a U-turn so that they can flip you the bird from EVERY possible angle. (I didn’t do anything, I swear! I was waiting at a red light to make a left turn to go to the grocery store, and this person LITERALLY made a right turn to flip me off, then made a U-turn to do the same from the other side of the car! And I have no idea who they are or why their bad day is my problem!)

So, we’ve determined that I’ve had a strange Monday. This follows after a fantastic weekend, though. I had a live reading of my SPFBOX entry on Saturday evening. You can still see it here

On Sunday, I had a signing at The Writer’s Block, which is an independent bookstore in Winter Park, right near one of my favorite museums — the Morse Museum. Because I had limited time and space, I just brought the Heir to the Firstborn books with me, and I had a wonderful time! (And nearly sold out of Written in Water! I went home with one copy.)

Unless something else comes up, that’s it for my appearances for the rest of the summer. Which is good, because we have a list of “Things To Do Before College,” and I have some revisions to do in The Sea Prince. I’m also still tinkering with what will either be The Covert Saloon books or The Crossroads books — I haven’t decided on the series name yet. But I did learn something really cool — the Oklahoma Panhandle wasn’t part of the state of Oklahoma until 1890. Until then, it was just a void of space in between several states, and claimed by none of them. The Homestead Act didn’t apply, so people who lived there were living there illegally, and it wasn’t really part of the United States, even though it was completely surrounded by it. It was called either the Cimmaron Territory or No Man’s Land. It was a liminal space… and where better to set a Weird Western?

So I need to do some research in that area during 1870, so I have an idea of what I’m talking about. I also need to research the Gullah Geechee people of that time period (one of the characters who already walked out of my subconcious), the US Marshals, and how people traveled in that time and in that particular part of the country. If you think that I fell down a transportation rabbit hole again, you know me too well. (However, this time, it won’t be trains! It’ll be a stagecoach — there wasn’t a train that ran through that area until much later. However, the Santa Fe Trail runs very close to where I’m thinking the fictional town of Crossroads will lie. I just need to find out how long it would take to get from the start of the Trail to that point. That requires math, so I’m putting it off for now.)

Oh, and I need to write King of Swords. Which I should get to, since it’s after 9PM and I haven’t written a WORD today.

Work in Progress

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

6599 / 90000 (7.33%)

Promotions

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX, so it is STILL on sale! $.99 until it gets knocked out!

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

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, appearances, Counsel of the Wicked, Covert Saloon, forthcoming works, Heir to the Firstborn, progress, promotions, public displays of geekery, reality-is-stranger-than-fiction, research is fun, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?, WIP, wordcount, Worldbuilding, 0 comments
08
Apr
2024
Partial Eclipse of the Heart?

Partial Eclipse of the Heart?

If you’re supposed to fall apart during a total eclipse of the heart, what do you do during a partial eclipse of the heart?

We’re only at about 57% where I am, so the light got a little weird, and now it’s pretty much back to normal. The next time Florida will be in the path of totality will be 2044, I think. So… I’ll get to experience that when I’m in my 70s or so. Something to look forward to?

I’ve finished my readthrough of Morrigan’s Heir, and I did a quick read of Morrigan’s Wrath (for the first time since I wrote it, so there was a lot of “Oh, I’d forgotten about that scene!”) Now I’m reading for edits, and questioning some of the stylistic choices of Past-Me. See, Lorcan speaks Gaeilge in Eire (ancient Irish in Ireland) and he learns Latin in Rome. So Past-Me thought that it would make sense to italicize all the words in Latin when Lorcan was speaking Gaeilge, and all the words in Gaeilge when he starts speaking Latin.

Now-Me is wondering just what Past-Me was thinking because dear BOB, is that confusing and I am changing it RIGHT NOW.

Needless to day, there are a lot of editorial marks in my manuscript. I’ll still get it in by the end of month, though. My goal is to have everything complete before the Indie Bazaar. And then…

We picked up someone’s cap and gown today. May is coming at us at high speed, and Graduation will be here before you know it. The fun part of Senior year has started — prom was last week, and this week starts the Universal Orlando celebration of high school seniors known as Grad Bash, where the park is closed to the public and the seniors get the entire place to themselves overnight. I think EVERY high school in Central Florida participates, and it takes about two weeks for them all to have their turn.

So many things happening, and all of them wonderful!

Promotions!

I’ll be part of the Narratress Indie Book sale this weekend, from April 13th through the 15th. Grab a copy of Hidden Things for 99 cents, or any of the other books on sale! A quick look at the promo graphics showed some good ones, so don’t miss out!

Appearances

Join me on April 27th at Spellbound Books for Independent Bookstore Day! I’ll be part of the Indie Book Bazaar from 2 – 3:45PM, but Independent Bookstore Day is a full day event. If you’re not in the area, check out your local independent bookstore to see what they’ve got planned!

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, Blessed, edits, forthcoming works, progress, promotions, The White Raven, WIP, writing-mom, 0 comments
19
Feb
2024
It’s Blursday

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.

Posted by EASchechter in annoyance, easily amused writer, excerpt, forthcoming works, Frog and Fae, Planning, plot bunnies, progress, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, the-end-is-near, upcoming books, upcoming work, why-the-writing-is-slow, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
12
Feb
2024
Quiet Is Not Supposed To Be This Busy

Quiet Is Not Supposed To Be This Busy

Last week, I posted about how quiet it is for me in February. Well… quiet is not supposed to be this busy!

This week alone? I do not have a single morning where something isn’t happening, and I have booked afternoons on two of those days. And only one of those afternoons involves me being able to write once I get there.

Okay… it’s just one week. It’s not the entire month. Next week it quiets down again (except Monday. I may not blog on Monday the 19th because I will be getting an eye exam which requires my eyes to be dilated so much that I should be able to see God.)

The Sea Prince is coming along nicely. New characters are walking out of my subconscious and fitting in like I planned for them (I didn’t, and I had to go back and tweak an earlier scene to set the stage for them to even exist). And now it’s the “Oh, that character? Yes, I knew that he was an <insert spoiler here.> It’s been a running joke between us for years….”

I’ve gotten started on the new synopsis for The Coral Throne, and I’m starting to think about the third book, which may or may not happen. I know the title, but my original plans for it (again, old enough to drive in this state) are a non-starter. But that’s a whole book away, so I can think on that a while longer.

I have my preliminary schedule for ICFA, and I’ll be hosting at least one (possibly two) Author Readings, and then doing a reading of my own. I’m excited for this — I’ve being doing panels at conventions for years, but this is a little bit more. I’ll be reading Worlds Begin — the conference theme is Whimsy and Worldbuilding. I think my creation myth fits in nicely.

I’m also thinking about the worldbuilding for the new idea that popped into my head last month, where I wrote down the first scene and really had NO idea where any of it was going. Looks like it’s going to be a fantasy detective sort of thing, with heavy shades of Sherlock and Watson. That’s the idea, but the worldbuilding still needs work. Something to play with when I’m working on graduation things in May, I think.

Edits for Morrigan’s Heir should be along presently. I know I keep saying that. My editor had an attack of life, and says I should have things this week. I’m going to try to get that turned around as quickly as I can so I can do a reread of Morrigan’s Wrath and get that in. Once I have a date for Morrigan’s Heir, I’ll let you all know. I’ve seen the preliminaries for the cover, and I can’t wait to see the final of that. More as I know more!

Works in Progress

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

89023 / 120000 (74.19%)
Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, accountability, appearances, Deadlines Go Whoosh!, forthcoming works, ICFA, plot bunnies, progress, The Sea Prince, WIP, wordcount, Worldbuilding, 0 comments
08
Jan
2024
An Advanced State of Higgledy-Piggledy

An Advanced State of Higgledy-Piggledy

The first day of class is the perfect time to tell someone that their class isn’t at this campus, it’s at THAT one all the way on the other side of town. Right?

Needless to say, today has been in an advanced state of higgledy-piggledy.

I’m trying to convince my son that they’re predisastering the semester for everyone’s convenience. I’m not sure he’s buying it, though. Then again, I’m not sure I’d be buying it if I found out an hour before class that we have to drive half an hour to the back of beyond, to the campus with “Warning: Bear Crossing” signs on the walking paths. Oh, and if the person who was supposed to be doing the driving wasn’t home…

We made it work. The campus is pretty. There’s a Starbucks nearby (because of course there is), and the teacher seems to be a good sort.

But now you know why I’m getting to my blog post after 5PM Eastern… and since it’s after 5PM, I need to go start cooking dinner. Back shortly.

(time passes)

Two and a half hours later, I’m back to finish this post, and hopefully get some words in on The Sea Prince. Today feels like it’s been a lot longer than the clock says — the clock says 7:51PM. My body says 11:51PM and you should have been in bed two hours ago.

I’m not sure why we were all in such an all-fired rush to get older when we were kids. It’s overrated and I want my money back.

Off to attempt words. Wish me luck.

Preorders

Coming January 30th to all your favorite bookstores — Valley of Shadows (Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7)

Print preorder is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, which means you should be able to order the paperback at your favorite brick and mortar bookshop.

Works in Progress

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

64370 / 120000 (53.64%)

Appearances!

For ONE DAY ONLY, I’ll be having a Meet and Greet at the Spellbound Bookstore in Sanford, Florida! I will be there for 3PM to 4PM on January 21st, 2024. Come out and support small business!

Posted by EASchechter in a-writers-life-is-never-dull, appearances, forthcoming works, promotions, Release date, The Sea Prince, Valley of Shadows, why-the-writing-is-slow, WIP, wordcount, Writer on the Go!, writing-mom, 0 comments
01
Jan
2024
Rabbit, Rabbit!

Rabbit, Rabbit!

Welcome to 2024!! Saying Rabbit Rabbit at the new year is supposed to bring good luck. No, I’m not sure where it came from, but rabbit rabbit all the same.

It’s been a lovely, relaxing holiday, but it’s time to start ramping up to get back to work. I’m not going to get back to writing for another week — well, not back to writing The Sea Prince, at any rate. There’s something that popped into my head yesterday that I need to write down so I can see if I need to chase it or bank it for later. But when a really compelling voice waltzes into your head and makes you stop to listen, it’s something that need to be written down. We’ll see where it goes.

That story seed wasn’t the only thing to waltz into my head this holiday season. I had a character start talking to me, and I thought it was for something new. Nope… he’s one of the big bads for the Children of the Sword series, and I think the reason that it wasn’t coming together was that I was looking one way, and the story was really over there. What does that mean? It means that, while Swords of Charlemagne and The Chronicles of John Zebedee all exist in the same universe, the convergence of those two series isn’t happening where I thought it was.

Now, I’m not saying I’m going to run out and start writing Children of the Swords tomorrow. There’s too much research to be done — I know nothing about Edwardian England or WWI. That’s currently being addressed, so I’ll say that we can plan to see The Seer (Children of the Sword, book 1) at some point in the next few years.

What am I going to work on this year? Well, edits for Morrigan’s Heir will be coming this month, and then I have to read and revise Morrigan’s Wrath and send that in. Edits for Bonds of Blood and Steel will be along sometime later this year, and I’ll be turning those around as quick as I can. I plan to have The Sea Prince done no later than April 30th, because I’m taking May off entirely (why? High school graduation, that’s why!) Then, come July or August, I’ll be diving into Tales from the Arena: Dead Man’s Hand, because it is time to wrap up that series.

But that all starts next week. This week? I’m still on vacation. Still reading, still researching, still resting my brain.

Preorders

Coming January 30th to all your favorite bookstores — Valley of Shadows (Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7)

The print preorder will be set up sometime this week — I am waiting on the wraparound cover art.

Works in Progress

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

63623 / 120000 (53.02%)

Appearances!

For ONE DAY ONLY, I’ll be having a Meet and Greet at the Spellbound Bookstore in Sanford, Florida! I will be there for 3PM to 4PM on January 21st, 2024. Come out and support small business!

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, appearances, Children of the Sword, forthcoming works, Happy New Year, Heir to the Firstborn, plot bunnies, presales, Release date, research is fun, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, Valley of Shadows, 0 comments
04
Dec
2023
Lofty Goals

Lofty Goals

Lofty goals, I have them. I have perhaps three chapters left to finish in Valley of Shadows (which drops my wordcount from 90K to 75K.) I am saying this to the public at large, and with my WHOLE chest!

This week I am going to finish this book!!!

As I said, lofty goals. Doable lofty goals, but lofty goals. I’ll be posting my daily wordcounts on Mastodon and Blusky, so you can follow along as I race to finish.

Then… COOKIES!!!

I’m honestly looking forward to the break this year. Although getting me to actually stop doing ANYTHING will be… challenging. I’ve been going at a fever pitch since I started Written in Water in 2018, and I’m not sure I know how to do downtime anymore. Even my vacations are high energy (I vacation at Disney…which means I have fun, but I don’t necessarily relax.) So I’ve decided that once Valley of Shadows is done, I’m taking time away from the laptop. I’m not going to get back to The Sea Prince until January, and I might not even blog! (We’ll see if I hold true to that!)

So what are my plans for the break? Because it’s me and of course there have to be plans? Reading. I have multiple stacks of books to catch up on, and I just added more. There is SO MUCH TV to catch up on — I still haven’t watched season 2 of Loki, and there are about a half-dozen Star Wars shows I need to binge. I want to go down to Disney to see the holiday decorations and do the gingerbread crawl (I’m not sure when that will happen — our park passes black out the 19th.) And I have knitting projects I want to finish.

So, knitting and reading and bingewatching and cookies? Sounds like a plan.

Cookiepocalypse will start next week, so you can keep an eye on Instagram for that. So far, I know I’m making three color cookies to start, and struffuli (which Owyn makes in Wings of Air) to finish. In the middle? I haven’t decided, although I did have a request for oatmeal carob chip. (Hrm… I haven’t made molasses cookies in ages. Maybe I’ll make those, too.)

Follow the Instagram for the cookies — it’ll be a surprise!

In other, other news, my publisher said the most fascinating words to be the other day. Foreign rights. As in, they’ll be shopping them around, so they needed some info from me to put into the pitch. 2024 is promising to be very interesting indeed!

Works in Progress

Valley of Shadows
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

66861 / 75000 (89.15%)

This book will be done this week! I have said it!

Promotions!

The Smashwords End of the Year sale is coming up December 15th. My ENTIRE catalog will be on sale for 25% off ONLY on Smashwords!

Now, because of the Draft2Digital/Smashwords merger, I have TWO author pages on Smashwords (actually, I have four, but two of them are from publishers.) The two that I maintain will be combined at some point, but until then, the catalogs that will be on sale are here and here.

Posted by EASchechter in 2023 plans, 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, baking, Cookiepocalypse, forthcoming works, From the Writer's Kitchen, Heir to the Firstborn, Planning, progress, The Sea Prince, the-end-is-near, upcoming books, upcoming work, Valley of Shadows, Wings of Air, WIP, wordcount, Write Faster!, 0 comments
20
Nov
2023
Changes in Altitude

Changes in Altitude

This week’s blog is being written in my family room instead of my second floor office, which is why the title today is changes in altitude. I didn’t say they were BIG changes.

I’m downstairs because I’m monitoring the pumpkin crisp that I’m making for Thursday and Thanksgiving. (And I wish you could smell it. It’s AMAZING. Hrm… I know what recipe I’ll be putting in the next newsletter!) I’m on the last few bits of prep. All the shopping is done, the turkey is in the fridge and (I think) defrosted. Tomorrow I’m making apple pie bars and apple muffins for breakfast while we watch the parade, and I’ll take the sides I made and froze last week out of the freezer. Wednesday I’ll be putting the turkey into the brine and making stuffing. On the day, the turkey will get roasted, and the sides will all be heated up (the only one that’s actually going to be cooked on the day are the roasted green beans.)

Surprisingly, the writing has been going well, even in and around shopping and cooking and cleaning and way too many other things. And given where I am in the story, I’m projecting maybe another four chapters before I bring Valley of Shadows and Heir to the Firstborn to a close.

Wait… Valley of Shadows?

Yes. The Patrons have spoken, and the new title of Balance of Power is Valley of Shadows. The Patreon will still say Balance of Power, because I’m not going back to change all the previous chapters or the tags, but it’s all good. When the book comes out, it’ll be Valley of Shadows. And since it may very well be done before the end of the year, I’m going to rethink that March/April release date and move it up to something closer to the end of January/beginning of February. We’ll see how the editing goes, especially since I may be juggling Cookiepocalypse, edits for Valley of Shadows AND edits for Morrigan’s Heir!

Speaking of the Patreon, last week I got the sad news that one of my original Patrons passed away after a sudden illness. They had been a friend for years, even before I started Heir to the Firstborn, and they were part of the Patreon since I started the entire thing and it was still all called “The Elemental Project.” Valley of Shadows will be dedicated to them.

The final bit of news this week is that copies of Written in Water are back in Spellbound Bookstore in Sanford, FL. They’ve just reopened in a larger space, closer to the historic district. If you’re doing holiday shopping in the Sanford area, shop small and local, and check out Spellbound!

Works in Progress

Valley of Shadows
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

59057 / 90000 (65.62%)

New Release!

Wait, a new book on a MONDAY? I thought books dropped on Tuesdays!

Usually? They do. Because I can’t read a calendar, you get a new book a day early!

Snowbound — because brown paper packages aren’t the only things getting tied up…

Preorders are live wherever you buy books

Promotions!

First in Series Friday is THIS WEEK! Friday, November 24th (Black Friday in the US), the first books in Heir to the Firstborn, Rebel Mage, and Swords of Charlemagne will be on sale everywhere for 99 cents.

Then, on Cyber Monday, the sale continues! The Cavalcade of Authors will be holding a huge Cyber Monday sale, and for that sale, I’ll be adding in Forged in Fire AND Bones of Earth! To know when the link goes live for this one, you need to sign up for my newsletter. There will be one blast email on the morning of the 27th, letting you know the link is live.

Posted by EASchechter in 2023 plans, 2024 plans, accountability, Balance of Power, Bones of Earth, Boosting the signal, Cavalcade of Authors, consignment, Counsel of the Wicked, Draft by the Solstice, Elemental Project, Forged in Fire, forthcoming works, Heir to the Firstborn, Hidden Things, promotions, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, Valley of Shadows, WIP, wordcount, Written in Water, 0 comments