giveaway

Sep

2023

No More Peopling.

I had a blast at Necronomicon — the Writing Sex panel was awesomely fun, and next year I’ll be pitching a panel I’m calling Mystery Science Sex Scene 3000, where we have audience members read snippets of our work, and identify the authors for fun and prizes.

I love conventions. Honestly, I do. But I spend the week after a convention recovering and avoiding talking to people. Partly because my throat is usually shot by Sunday — talking through an N95 mask is hard. (I did have a small air purifier for panels so I could unmask, but three days of talking is about two and a half more than I’m used to.) The rest of the reason is that I’m not an extrovert. I just play one at conventions. So by the time we get home, I’m ready for no more peopling for a while. My brains are spongy.

Today was a mellow day (see, spongy brains above). Only the essentials have been unpacked and most of the convention stuff is still stacked in the living room. I reconciled inventory records, paid taxes, and got somewhat caught up on things I missed over the weekend. No real writing yet today, and there may not be, but I did discover that there’s been a setting turned off in Scrivener for The Sea Prince, and it wasn’t tracking new words!

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

62021 / 120000 (51.68%)

Balance of Power
(Heir to the Firstborn, book 7)

27250 / 90000 (30.28%)

In other news, I’ll be doing another Cavalcade of Authors promotion in October. This one runs from October 13-15, and you’ll need to check every day because there will be new books EVERY day of the promotion! Click the graphic to sign up for more info. I’ve put Forged in Fire into this promotion.

Also, as of 5:19 Eastern on September the 25th, Written in Water is still in the running at SPFBO. It’s getting nervous over here…

And I think that’s about all I have the brain for today. Go sign up for the giveaway!

Jul

2023

Prep and Promo and Sales and Wheee!!!

Nominally, we’re on vacation this week.

Notice that I said nominally. In reality, I’m prepping for a Facebook takeover tomorrow, and more next week. I may have blog interviews coming up, and the big Cavalcade of Authors book giveaway is coming up the weekend of August 4th (click the picture to sign up for updates!)

My takeover schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, July 25th, 1PM Eastern — Tribe Called Success Literary Cafe

Friday, August 4th, 1PM Eastern — Laverne’s News

Saturday, August 5th, 1PM Eastern — One-Click Book Addicts.

There may be other events, so keep an eye on my socials!

There’s another giveaway for the month of August — the Brave New Worlds giveaway, which starts August 1st and comes with a chance to win a $20 gift card

As far as I know, Written in Water is still in the running for SPFBO9. I know the blogger who was assigned my book has read it, but I haven’t yet seen the results being posted anywhere — they apparently come through slowly, as each blog posts their reviews and which books are being cut and which are being named semi-finalists. It’s a little nerve-wracking, to be honest. But the Discord where the entrants hang out is a good place, and there’s congratulations and commiserations in equal measure where appropriate. (I’m hoping for congratulations when it’s my turn, but we shall see!)

While waiting for the shoe to drop for book 1 of Heir to the Firstborn, I’ve been working on book 7.

Balance of Power
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

3401 / 90000 (3.78%)

And I have two new favorite characters — Tiras and Gannet. Tiras is Aeris’ Fire, and Gannet is her Water. The pair of them… well, take a look:

“Her Air and her Fire were a study in opposites — Gannet was both unusually pale and unusually big for an Airborn — his long hair was almost white, as were his feathers, and he was nearly as large as Aeris’ uncle Othi. His wingspan was twice Aeris’ own, and she didn’t think he was finished growing. Tiras, on the other hand, was outwither — presenting as neither male nor female — and they could only be described as delicate. At eighteen, they were the youngest of Aeris’ Companions, and as dark as Gannet was pale. They were stunningly pretty, and so slightly built that it seemed as though they would blow away in a strong wind. But looks were deceptive — Tiras knew more about fighting than the rest of them put together, and had proved it by breaking Gannet’s nose less than a week after the Heir’s Progress had returned to the Palace.”

A word on the above — Tiras is described as outwither. Outwither is a word that was created by Josie Giles, based on existing dialect and etymological patterns of word development in Scottish, and it means non-binary. There’s also a Scottish pronoun that I attempted to use for Tiras, but I could not get my brain around it and remembering the usage was slowing me down. I may go back in and change it, but that will be on the editing pass (the pronoun is thon, and usage dates back to the 1850s. Neo-pronoun? Not hardly!) For more information on outwither, check out this Tiktok, by a Scottish poet who is teaching and spreading the Scottish language as far and wide as she can.

This isn’t the first time I’ve used Scottish in Heir to the Firstborn — in Wings of Air, I use the word mirligoes, which is also Scottish.)

I know I said I was done with this universe, but it’s nice to see some old friends. And once this is done, then the series is DONE.

Stop laughing.

Jul

2023

I Like Big Books…

This is the theme of a big promotion that I and a bunch of other authors will be participating in the first weekend of August. 200 books in a variety of genres, and I’m not even sure anymore how many authors.

If you’re interested in getting in on this giveaway, click the graphic and it will take you to signup page. My book in the lot is Written in Water.

The second graphic just makes me giggle. I love this theme.

Written in Water is also going to be free in the Brave New Worlds promotion in August. The page for that is not live yet — I’ll share it once we get closer to the date.

The final Written in Water news is something I keep forgetting to post. Written in Water is one of the three hundred books included in the 9th annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, a contest created to increase visibility for self-published fantasy. No news on anything yet, but we’ll see

I’m realizing as I get closer to the end of Broken Feathers that there might be another book in there. I need to let it percolate, but now there’s now a plot bunny hopping around my subconscious mind. But Broken Feathers will be done… maybe this week? If they cooperate? Then I’ll make some notes for this other book, and put my attention fully onto the reread and revamp of The Sea Prince with my original coauthor.

Yes, coauthor.

The Sea Prince and another project were originally written with my friend Danielle, who started WAY back in the misty vastness of time with me in The Night Court. (that play-by-email role playing game I’ve mentioned?) She had an attack of life, and I shelved the projects. I reached out to her two weeks ago to ask her how I should proceed with The Sea Prince, and if she wanted to jump back in. She said yes, so we’ve been going over what I’ve written already, and we’re going to jump into new chapters once school starts. Thank goodness for Google Docs and Discord!

Once school rolls around (one month from today!), I’ll also be turning my attention to the Still-doesn’t-have-a-title Book 7 of Heir to the Firstborn. Something to do with balance…

(No, I’m not taking suggestions.)

And that’s the state of the writer at this stage of the game.

May

2023

Late Post, But A Good Reason….

This is posting rather late on Monday, but there’s a very good reason for the delay…

That’s the final wordcount on The White Raven: Morrigan’s Wrath. That’s a draft, folks!

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

106550 / 106000 (100.52%)

So, now what? Now, this manuscript gets read over quickly, to make sure I didn’t forget any scenes that I meant to fill in later. I’ll compile it from Scrivener, and print it off… and then put it off to the side for a bit. I’ll be sitting on it until I get the edits back for Morrigan’s Heir, and then I’ll read both of them one right after the other. That way, I can be sure that the details in both agree. (and there are some edits that need to be added to Heir, because of things that changed in Wrath. And one character name that needs to be changed because the name Owyn is now retired.)

Once that’s done? I’m off for the summer! Which means… well, this house needs to be cleaned. And I have worldbuilding and research to work on. And SO MUCH READING to catch up on.

And I have a short story to write. There’s one thread in Wrath that didn’t get tied off, and one couple that’s getting their own short. But I’m in no rush.

In other news, Hidden Things is currently part of a giveaway, and you can check out the other books here. The giveaway runs until May 20th. Just in time for beach reading!

Since it’s late, that’s all there is. I’m going to bed now!

Sep

2022

Late Post is Late

It’s been a Monday. That’s my reason and my excuse. Monday. That and I’ve been busy!

Written in Water is now up for sale with the new cover and edits. If you see an electronic copy with the old cover, it’s the old version. There shouldn’t be any vendor with the old covers anymore, except in paperback.

The updated paperbacks will be coming in November. That will, I hope, give vendors a chance to sell out of the old stock. I hope.

The rest of the Heir to the Firstborn series are not available for sale. That’s so people don’t buy the old copies expecting new updates. I’ll be relisting them as the new edits are completed and run through my editor. Forged in Fire will be coming in the next two weeks or so.

Today, I finished the edits for Visions in Smoke, so I’m now onto the rewrites for Children of Dreams.

I have updated the giveaway to include the revised edition of Written in Water. So… want it free? Go here!

And in other news…. I’ve just approved the final proof of the anniversary edition of Princes of Air. The cover is ready. There’s bonus material. I can’t wait!!!! SOON!!!!

Boy, I cannot WAIT to see Princes of Air on the table at a convention next year! It has never before been available in print.

I think that’s all. And even if it isn’t, it’s late (for me, yes, this is late.)

Mar

2022

Spring Flowering

Here we are, coming up on the end of the first quarter of 2022. And… I don’t know. Still feels very much 2020-ish in here.

I’ve been saying for years that normal is a setting on my dryer, but really, I’d like some normal at some point. Or at least… something closer to what was normal back in 2019. But… yeah, that’s not happening. 2019 normal is what got us into this 2020-ish limbo. Maybe someday we’ll have a new normal, but it’s still too soon for all the upheaval and the way things are now to feel “normal” yet.

Boy, I’m clearly in a mood today, aren’t I? I’m going to stop now before you all hit the ‘X’ on this window.

Work on The Way Home continues, and I had a really good writing week this past week. I’ll be heading into the final plot arc fairly soon. I think this one will need some heavy edits. I’m realizing now that there are some plot holes early in that need to be addressed. Will it be 170K words? Maybe not, but it may be close. Watch this space and see!

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

115906 / 170000 (68.18%)

We’re in the final days of the World of Fantasy giveaway. There’s still time to go and grab over thirty free books, and enter for the chance to win a $20 gift card.

Starting on April 1st, there will be another giveaway. Love and Romance will run from April 1st to the 22nd, and will offer the chance to win a $25 gift card, in addition to 29 free books. (I’m not sure why the graphic says Contemporary Love Stories, because there’s historical romance and paranormal in the list.) The link will not be live until Friday, but you can take a look to see what is being offered.

On the subject of new work, I haven’t yet gotten back to working on the short pieces I mentioned last week. I spent most of the end of last week working on a new school talk presentation for this Wednesday. Once the talk is over, then Tell Me is on my list for finishing up. I also need to tweak the cover a little. It’s almost there. Almost.

I’m still deciding on the next project. Right now, it’s coming down to Tower of Light (the Metropolis retelling) or Tales from the Arena: Dead Man’s Hand. But neither of those will work for Patreon, so I need to figure that out, too. I might possibly take up The Sea Prince again and see if I can figure out where that one went wrong.

Decisions, decisions.

Mar

2022

This Post is Late.

But it’s here, which counts, I suppose.

I spent most of last week at ICFA (the International Conference for the Fantastic in The Arts), which was wonderful! Take an academic conference, and smash it together with a science fiction convention. Papers presented on animation and video games and fairy tales and movies and just about any other media in which you find science fiction and fantasy. Bring in some luminaries and legends, and finish it all off with a formal award banquet.

Which I suppose is a way of saying that I have not written a WORD since last Tuesday, and I haven’t touched The Way Home since last Monday!

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

110386 / 170000 (64.93%)

I finished up the synopsis for Tales from the Arena: Dead Man’s Hand on Tuesday, so I’ll dive into that at some point. But for now, I have The Way Home to work on, and the other, smaller project that I have going.

I forget if I mentioned that? I could go back and look at last week’s post, I suppose, but I’ll just say it again. I’ve got a series of BDSM short works planned, under the name E.A Butcher. Why the pen-name? Because there’s nothing paranormal about these, and they’re written in second person point of view. The premise is a pair of lovers, who take turns being the one in command. He calls her Pet, and she calls him Poppet. I’m about half done with the first one, and we’ll go from there and see how they go.

On the downside, the Kickstarter failed to fund. Not a shock, really — it had started going backwards, and the early traction never really picked up again. So I’ve learned a thing or two about Kickstarters, and I know for next time. What does it mean for the audiobooks? That they’ll be coming out more slowly than I’d originally planned. That’s all. We’ll still have all four, and I will try my hardest to make sure that Mark is the one reading all of them. Production is still underway, and we’re still working on getting the voices right.

There isn’t much else to talk about right now. I’m still trying to wake up and catch up from a long few days away, and tomorrow is am early morning because school is back from spring break. Which means there’s two months left to school, so I really need to get to work on finishing The Way Home before school gets out!

One last reminder — I’ve got a freebie out in the Worlds of Fantasy giveaway. Written in Water is free, just for signing up for my newsletter. There are over thirty other book in the giveaway, too, as well as the chance to win a $20 gift card! Click the graphic to check it out.

Mar

2022

Fitting an entire week into two and a half days

Or at least, I’m trying to.

The International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts starts Wednesday, and I’ve been looking forward to it since i attended the October conference. It’s local, so I’m commuting Wednesday and Thursday, but I’ll be staying on site Friday and Saturday. Which means getting everything I usually do in a week done today, tomorrow, and Wednesday morning. All while trying to make sure I get in some words, finish up some things, do laundry, and pack.

Speaking of words, if you’ve been paying attention to the wordcounter, you might notice a change this week…

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

109552 / 170000 (64.44%)

I bumped the total words for The Way Home. It’s going to be massive, but it’s also going to be complete. There will not be a book seven for Heir to the Firstborn. That thump you heard was my foot going down.

If you haven’t yet started the Heir to the Firstborn series, and you want a low-entry way in, Written in Water is a freebie in the Worlds of Fantasy giveaway, which runs until the end of March. All you have to do is sign up for newsletters, and you also have the chance to win a $20 gift card!

I’m working on some stunt writing — some purely erotic non-speculative BDSM short reads that will be going up in KU under the name E.A. Butcher. The pen name is because this is very different from my existing work. The title of the first one will be Tell Me, and I’ll let you know when it’s available.

In other news, unless there’s a miracle or a sudden, INCREDIBLE boost of pledges in the next six days, the Kickstarter for the audiobooks for Swords of Charlemagne will not fund. In the past week, it’s gone backwards. But I’ve learned a thing or two (or six,) and the next time will be better.

And that’s about everything, I think? Even if it isn’t, I need to go cram some more things into a day that’s already way too short.

See you next week with a conference report and possibly a sale link for Tell Me!

Mar

2022

Reflections

This past weekend, I did something that I haven’t done in a while. I sat down and reread one of my older works. Not because I was researching anything, or checking details for a sequel. Just… read it.

I re-read House of Sable Locks.

It’s a daunting thing to go back and read the second book you ever wrote, and realize that it’s possibly the best work you’ve ever done. That you’ve written twenty-four books since that one, and that none of them have reached the benchmark that led one outlet to call House of Sable Locks a modern erotic classic. (that outlet no longer exists — it was Cliterati, for the curious.)

Now, that’s not saying that the rest of my work is crap. It definitely isn’t! (House of Sable Locks isn’t my only award winner, after all.) But I think that they all are a step below that level. Well, maybe Hidden Things is closest. Or Written in Water. Or maybe not — House of Sable Locks was something truly special.

And it was my second book. That’s really kind of mind-blowing. You’re not supposed to front-load your writing career!

While I’m pondering this, I’m also working on book 26:

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

105627 / 150000 (70.42%)

(If anyone just happens to be looking at my Goodreads or Amazon book list and thinking — hey, there aren’t 25 books here? The Rebel Mage books are being reissued this year — see below. I have one under contract with Circlet/Riverdale, three in the Circlet/Riverdale queue, and three set up for another project.)

Counsel of the Wicked drops tomorrow, and I’m really looking forward to having these books back out in the world. Yes, the Rebel Mage books are dark. No, I’m never going that dark again. But I did it once, and I did it well.

Written in Water is free in a couple of places this week. Smashwords is having their Read an Ebook promotion this week. And I have a Book Cave giveaway for this entire month — sign up for newsletters, get free books!

And the Kickstarter is… well… going backwards. I have to say, it’s very disheartening. I’m trying to put my mind to how to turn this around and go forwards again, and not coming up with much. But there’s still time. And hopefully, my appearance today on the These Mums Write podcast will help!

Not much else to report in. Time for me to go back to trying to exceed my early brilliance and write a new modern erotic classic.

Feb

2022

We’re Doing What? When?

Some variant on this question was repeated a few times during Boskone on Saturday. Why? Because the Writing the Naughty Bits panel was scheduled for 12 noon.

During the day.

I don’t think I’ve ever done this panel during the daylight hours! Ever!

So, for the first time ever, we began the panel by asking “Is there anyone in the room/Zoom who is under the age of 18? Will you please leave?”

It was a fun panel. Writing the Naughty Bits is usually is a fun panel, but this was also a Circlet Press reunion panel.

Being a virtual guest at a convention is fun, but it’s not nearly as much fun as actually BEING at the convention. For one thing, I’m not really there, so I get distracted by things around the house, and things that are a little more immediate, and whups! Con is over!

The recordings of the panels that were offered via Zoom are still up, though. So I’ll be able to go back and see the panels that I missed. (If I remember to do that before they take them down in 30 days…)

I didn’t get a lot of work done on The Way Home this weekend, but I did a decent amount last week.

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

97128 / 150000 (64.75%)

I also have a good idea as to where Tale from the Arena: Dead Man’s Hand is going, so I may start writing that in the next week or two, and finally bring some closure to that series.

The Kickstarter is… well… it is. There are three weeks left, and it’s nowhere near where it should be. I’m starting to resign myself to only getting book one out this year. Unless a bag of money falls into my lap, that is. I do have a sample to listen to in my inbox, though. I’m saving it for after dinner.

The Bookcave giveaway is also still ongoing. There’s one week left for you to grab a bunch of free books and samples, and all you need to do is sign up for some newsletters.

The entire Rebel Mage series is now up and ready for preorder, and will be exclusive to Kindle Unlimited for the foreseable future. I’ve also set up a box set, which will be available a month or two after Where Home Lies (Rebel Mage 3) releases.

And that’s pretty much where I am at the moment. Also, it’s late and I need to go make dinner.

giveaway

No More Peopling.

Prep and Promo and Sales and Wheee!!!

I Like Big Books…

Late Post, But A Good Reason….

Late Post is Late

Spring Flowering

This Post is Late.

Fitting an entire week into two and a half days

Reflections

We’re Doing What? When?

Works in Progress

Appearances

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