happy-happy- joy- joy

Joy

This past week, I’ve been watching all the writers I know come together to celebrate and support Harris/Walz. And I think I figured out why this particular ticket is so attractive to writers, and especially to romance writers, even without knowing the platform or where things are going to go. Most of us were already going to support the Democratic ticket because Never Orange Never Again. But this feels more than that. This is electric.

Part of it is the whole Project 2025 “porn will be illegal and we get to say what porn is and we’ve been calling romance porn for years so there you go…” But there’s more.

Have you noticed how happy Kamala and Tim are? How much they laugh? How much they enjoy living and being and being out there with the people? How they celebrate the differences? People are noticing. There’s hope for a lot of people for the first time in a long time. And that’s it. That, in my opinion, is the reason that so many of the romance writers are throwing their support behind Harris/Walz.

There’s joy in the world again. There’s hope. There’s kindness. And we are drawn to joy. We have to, or we wouldn’t be writing romances. Happily ever after, right?

Now, we still have a way to go before our happily ever after, and we can’t be complacent — that way lies both defeat and despair. But I honestly think we’re going to get there now, and the weight is starting to lift.

Remember to check your voter status. And if you’re not registered, remember to do that.

Support joy.

Work in Progress

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

40887 / 90000 (45.43%)

Promotions

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX (I’m kind of shocked — Written in Water was out by this point). So it’s still on sale wherever ebooks are sold.


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.)

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, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, accountability, Counsel of the Wicked, happy-happy- joy- joy, politics, Tales from the Arena, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Caffeine and Weirdness

Caffeine and Weirdness

It’s the Monday after ICFA, and all that’s keeping me going at the moment is caffeine and weirdness. Which lets you know it was an amazing conference! But now I’m ready to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Anybody’s hat. Anywhere in the state of Florida.

Plop. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……

In previous years, I attended ICFA for the panels and papers, to volunteer (because I enjoy that), and to see people (which is why I volunteer at registration. I see EVERYONE!) This year, I was an attending creative for the first time ever, which meant that I had a panel to moderate, a reading of my own, and a signing, and I could have books for sale in the book room. The panel that I moderated was a reading, and I was supposed to start by introducing each author. However, the programs didn’t arrive on time, so I didn’t have any bios! So, given that the theme of the conference this years was Whimsy, the authors suggested I make things up — a challenge to my improv skills! It was great fun!

Friday night was the Lord Ruthven Assembly meeting, which is a group of scholars and creatives who focus on the depiction of Vampires in pop culture, literature and in non-fiction. It’s a fantastic group, and because of the work I’ve been doing for them over the past year, I was elected Vampire Queen President of the Assembly. Which means it’s my responsibility to administer the Lord Ruthven Awards. So if you have a book (fiction or non-fiction, or even graphic novels or games!) coming out in 2024 that involves vampires, I want to know!

At some point, I’ll have a book out involving vampires. Not sure when, but it’ll happen.

I have one more major thing going on before I go offline to focus on family for May and June, and that will be the Indie Book Bazaar on April 27th, hosted by Spellbound Bookstore. I’ll be there from 2:00PM to 3:45 PM, so locals can come and see me for my last outing until September and Necronomicon.

In the meantime, there’s not enough caffeine and weirdness in the WORLD to keep me going today. I think I just heard another hat fall….

Giveaways!

For the month of March, you can download a copy of my dark fantasy romance Counsel of the Wicked FREE through the On Fire Romance promotion. (Content warning — this book is the darkest thing that I have ever written, and includes on the page explicit sexual violence. Go carefully.)

Image of a flame. Text reads "On Fire. Free Spicy Romance Ebooks. March 1-31"
Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, appearances, awards, BDSM Vampires, Boosting the signal, happy-happy- joy- joy, ICFA, Necronomicon, Writer on the Go!, 0 comments
Release Week!

Release Week!

The time has come — it’s release week for the final book of the Heir to the Firstborn series. Look at them!

Image of the seven books in the Heir to the Firstborn series. A small, stuffed Highland Cow plush looks over the covers.
(Coo and Boo approved)

And there we have it — the complete Heir to the Firstborn. And when I say complete, I really mean it this time. No more story here. It’s done. REALLY, it’s done.

Which is… a little bizarre, to be honest. I started the series on Patreon in June of 2018 with an outline for four books. Now, five and a half years and seven books later, I just announced on the Patreon that the page will be going dark at the end of February, and will stay dark until I have something new to share there. (Which, I think I do, but right now it’s just an opening scene. It needs more fleshing out.)

Seven years isn’t the longest I’ve spent on one series, I don’t think. I mean, Tales from the Arena isn’t done yet, nor is The Artificer (which started with House of Sable Locks). But neither of those was intended to be a series. Heir to the Firstborn was always planned out as a series, and it just sort of kept going. But it’s the longest I’ve worked on a single creative project continuously, because I was posting a chapter a week every week non-stop for the first six books.

Getting those characters out of my head after all this time? Takes a complete change of subgenre… so I’m currently working The Sea Prince as a palette cleanser (I described it to someone last week as a sort of fantasy-steampunk Master and Commander. Except it’s Age of Sail, so timing-wise that might be candlepunk? I don’t know. If you do, let me know!)

The Sea Prince has been in my queue since 2009 — it’s almost old enough to drive in this state. There have been a lot of false starts and a lot of putting it back on the shelf before I finally figured out where the story was broken. Now? I’m on chapter 23, and starting to pull this book toward a close (and how many of you are gasping in shock because didn’t I just get started on this again less than a month ago? Yes, yes I did. The words have been FLOWING. I’ve written five chapters in three weeks. That’s roughly 15,000 words.) I think there may be between 25K and 50K words left, but I can see the end from here, and I like it.

Then, of course, I need to write the second book in this series…. hopefully, it won’t take me as long as it took to write the first one!

Preorders

Coming TOMORROW to all your favorite bookstoresValley 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)

78426 / 120000 (65.35%)
Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Happy Book Day, happy-happy- joy- joy, Heir to the Firstborn, Release date, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, Valley of Shadows, WIP, wordcount, writing, 0 comments

Halfway through October

Here we are, halfway through October. Not bad so far. People who have been with me for a while know that October is not my favorite month. I’ve said before that the only thing October has going for it is that it ends in Halloween. My reason? Everything bad happens in October, and this year has not been an exception to that rule (thankfully, everyone involved is fine, but dammit, October!!!)

I’ve been largely focusing on writing Balance of Power, because I am barely keeping up with my chapter a week schedule for Patreon. I’ve currently just started chapter 13, and chapter 11 goes live tomorrow for upper tier Patrons, and Friday for everyone else. That’s not a great buffer, especially with the holidays coming up. I *think* this point is the midpoint, so we’re looking at about 26 to 30 chapters total. And this will be IT. The last book! I mean it this time!

Stop laughing.

Now, this does mean that The Sea Prince is on hiatus again, but it’ll be a short one, and I did already plan for it — edits are coming soon for Morrigan’s Heir, and I was already going to put The Sea Prince on the back burner so I could get the edits turned around and back out the door, then get the revision of Morrigan’s Wrath out to my editor by the end of the year. Then it’s a waiting game to see which edits come in first — Morrigan’s Wrath, or Bonds of Blood and Steel.

Wait… what?

Last week, when I announced the tenth anniversary House of Sable Locks, I kind of forgot to mention the bonus material included with the new edits… chapter one of Bonds of Blood and Steel. The sequel to House of Sable Locks will be coming from Riverdale Avenue Books sometime next year. The manuscript is already with my editor, which is why I say I’m not sure which edits will get to me first. More information as I have it!

And that’s where we are today. Not everything that happens in October is bad, I suppose.

Works in Progress

The Sea Prince
The Coral Throne, Book 1

63623 / 120000 (53.02%)

Balance of Power
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

39128 / 90000 (43.48%)

Promotions!

My final promo for the year is on October 27th, hosted by Stephanie Freeman. You can find more information and sign up here. For that event, you can grab free copies of The Chronicles of John Zebedee!

Now, that being said, maybe I’ll do a First in Series personal sale for Black Friday. We shall see. (For anyone keeping score, that’s Written in Water, Hidden Things, Counsel of the Wicked, and maybe I’ll discount The Chronicles of John Zebedee because that’s technically a series-in-one.) Watch this space for announcements!

Posted by EASchechter in 2023 plans, 2024 plans, Balance of Power, Blood and Steel, circlet, forthcoming works, happy-happy- joy- joy, promotions, publishing, Sable Locks, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, writing, 0 comments

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!

Posted by EASchechter in 2023 plans, accountability, giveaway, happy-happy- joy- joy, Hidden Things, kvelling, post novel ennui, SQUEEE, summer, Ta-da, The White Raven, thirty, WIP, wordcount, yippee, 0 comments

I Have An Excite!!!

Why am I excited? Because Friday, this happened:

I had NO idea that the release date was Friday, or I’d have said something sooner!

Now, this new edition contains two bits of new material. The first is old new — I wrote The Ice Raven for the Princes of Air launch ten years ago, and it was serialized on the Circlet Livejournal. It’s never before been available for sale.

The second new bit of material is an exciting announcement, because you get a sneak peak at the first chapter of The White Raven: Morrigan’s Heir… coming in 2023 from Riverdale Avenue Books!

Lorcan finally gets his own books! Two of them — I’m starting The White Raven: Morrigan’s Wrath today. (That was the mystery synopsis I was working on a few weeks back.)

The White Raven: Morrigan’s Wrath

0 / 90000 (0.00%)
***

The Sea Prince
(The Sea Prince, book 1)

37782 / 120000 (31.49%)

Yes, I am still going to be working on The Sea Prince.

In other writing news, I finished the rewrite of Children of Dreams, and I’ll be setting up a preorder for that and Visions in Smoke this week.  I’ll post links to those on all the social media once they’re up. Bones of Earth went live last week, and is updating everywhere. Not sure what’s happening with the paperbacks — they’re listed as publishing, but Amazon hasn’t updated to the new information, and Barnes and Noble is still listing the old prices. Remember, if you find books with the old covers, it’s the old content.

Not much else to share, and I need to get on getting on to writing.

Have a great week!!!

 

 

Posted by EASchechter in 2023 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, Bones of Earth, Children of Dreams, Forged in Fire, forthcoming works, Happy Book Day, happy-happy- joy- joy, Heir to the Firstborn, kvelling, Princes of Air, SOLD!, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, Visions in Smoke, WIP, wordcount, yippee, 0 comments

Focus? What’s that?

<deep breath>

HOLY CRAP! HE WON! HE WON! HE WON! HE WON!!!!

<deep breath>
<resume composure>

So… how was your weekend? Mine was fantastic but unfocused. There were exactly 369 words written on Saturday. The rest of the day was devoted to the polar opposite of doomscrolling — joyscrolling.

Spider Robinson wrote that shared pain is lessened, and shared joy is increased. There was an amazing amount of shared joy on Saturday! And tears. There were tears.

And now, I’m trying very hard to focus and get back to work. I’m behind on my Nano word count, but only by about 900 words. I can pick that up this week, no problem.

Wings of Air
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 4

112629 / 150000 (75.09%)
***
John Zebedee Meets the Witch Queen of Elfland
6516 / 30000 (21.72%)

 

I’m starting to feeling that Wings of Air is wrapping up. I’m through the big reveal, and on the downhill slide to the end and starting Heir to the Firstborn. I’m not sure how many more chapters there will be in Wings — I need to see what loose ends need to be tied off here, and which can get woven in to the next book.

And John Zebedee Meets the Witch Queen of Elfland (I might shorten that to John Zebedee Meets the Witch Queen) has gotten off to a good start. Had to make some changes in Monstrous Town because of reasons, but they weren’t major changes.  And, as usual, I keep having to stop and looking up details about the area. Did you know that Texas has records of all their land-grants going back to the 1800s? And you can pull them up and read them online? It’s very cool.

In other news, my last convention for the year cancelled this morning. Not surprising, since KeiserSupercon was a smaller event that would have been held in-person. It’s been a strange year, and I’m really glad we can see the end of it from here.

Now, I’ve been promising a cover reveal, haven’t I? The Hidden Things cover went out in the newsletter last Friday, so now it’s time to share it here.

In 773 AD, Roland, a young man of King Charles’ court, was gifted with the sword Durendal. That sword was one of four swords of rare power, three of which were held by Wardens, mages charged with protecting the sacred bloodline of the Merovingian kings. The last sword was held by their mentor, the mage known to history as Turpin. That same year, a Saxon priest seeking retribution against Charles enlists the aid of a mage who seeks the swords for his own purpose, setting into motion events that lead to the battle at the Pass of Roncevaux, and to Roland’s death.

A thousand years later, a research group doing excavations in part of Aachen Cathedral uncovers a collection of books and scrolls, a ring, and a sword. As they uncover the sword, they are attacked. Summoned to the site by the power of the magical attack, Yael Mystere and his apprentice, Warden-in-training Doctor Douglas Keith discover the sole survivor – Margaret Prentice, the daughter of the man leading the excavation. A second attempt on her life fails, sending Yael, Douglas and Margaret on a quest for the power behind the attacks ─ a power that has been waiting a thousand years to win the swords at all costs.

Hidden Things (Swords of Charlemagne, Book 1). Coming in 2021. Preorders going up soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by EASchechter in 2020 plans, 2021 plans, accountability, Best laid plans, Best planned lays, cover art, forthcoming works, happy-happy- joy- joy, Heir to the Firstborn, Hidden Things, John Zebedee, Keiser SuperCon, KermitArms, kvelling, Nanowrimo, politics, promotions, Swords of Charlemagne, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, Wings of Air, WIP, wordcount, yippee, 0 comments

Fly, My Pretties!!!

Today, I have something happening that I rarely do — I actually don’t think this has ever happened to me before.

I have four book releases today!

One of these is an anthology appearance, my first with Riverdale Avenue Press. Under The Cape is a sexy superhero anthology edited by Rachel Kenley, and it was fun to work on.

My story in this anthology is Time for No Mercy, and yes, that’s a Doctor Horrible reference.

The other three all re-releases of short stories. I’m starting them out in Kindle Unlimited, to see how they do. So in 90 days, they might go wide. Or they might not. It’s an experiment.

First up — my erotic retelling of an already erotic poem.

To Market.

Do not go to the Goblin Market. Do not try their wares.

 

Second release was inspired by Tom Smith and his song Kidnapped by Pirates is Good.

Her Captive

What do you do with a kidnapped sailor…?

 

And finally, my action romp through an ancient temple.

Fools Rush In.

When someone tells you that something cannot be done, proving them wrong might just be interesting.

 

(I’m really very pleased with how that cover came out.)

EEEE!!!! New books!!!!

Posted by EASchechter in happy-happy- joy- joy, kvelling, new books, publishing, Release date, short story, SQUEEE, Ta-da, Under the Cape, yippee, 0 comments

DONE!!!

A longer update tomorrow. For now, I’m just here to say that it’s DONE! That’s a draft!

Blood Bound
Book One of Flesh and Blood

84870 / 84000 (101.04%)

Posted by EASchechter in accountability, BDSM Vampires, Blood Bound, Flesh and Blood, happy-happy- joy- joy, kvelling, SQUEEE, Ta-da, thirty, to-dos, yippee, 0 comments

Preorders and Words and Excerpts, Oh, My!

First, PREORDERS for Forged in Fire are LIVE!!!

You can order on Amazon here, from Apple here, and just about everywhere else by going here. New bookstores will be added to that link, so if your bookstore of choice isn’t there yet, keep checking back — it will be! There will be print, but those will come later — I’m waiting for proofs before I approve them for distribution.

Second, it’s week six on the two works in progress.

<

p style=”text-align: center;”>Blood Bound
Flesh and Blood, Book 1

29336 / 95000 (30.88%)

***

<

p style=”text-align: center;”>Bones of Earth
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 3

16465 / 95000 (17.33%)

Blood Bound is being a  lot of fun. Enough that I kinda neglected Bones of Earth last week. Need to fix that — when I’m working on two projects, I really do need to work on both of them, even when one is new and shiny and the other is book three of a series. I’m about to hit a pivotal part of Bones, which means I need to actually, you know, write it down and not leave it in my head.

(Boy, telepathic storytelling would be a real timesaver. In a scary sort of way. But the edits would be a real mindblower and I’m stopping that right now before I have a new plotbunny….)

I shared an excerpt of Bones of Earth over on Facebook last week (edited for spoilers). Here’s something from Blood Bound.


Daniel laughed and turned to look at Hiro’s profile, and realized something — Hiro’s fangs were ever so slightly visible. He was certain they hadn’t been before. And he wasn’t certain of the etiquette — did he ask about them? Was it like seeing someone with their fly down? Or was it just something you weren’t supposed to comment on?

“Daniel, what is it?” Hiro glanced at him. “You are staring.”

“Sorry,” Daniel murmured. “Ah… your fangs are showing? A little? And… they weren’t earlier.”

Hiro nodded. “I know. I am feeling a touch… unkempt. I regret that I will not be able to spend tonight with you, my Daniel. It is time that I fed properly, and I have given you a promise.” He reached out and rested his hand on Daniel’s leg. He squeezed, then returned his hand to the steering wheel as they merged onto the Henry Hudson Parkway.

“I could—” Daniel started.

“No,” Hiro interrupted. “I want you to understand the commitment we will make to each other before you bare your throat to me. I want you to be completely comfortable with the idea.” He smiled. “I am not willing to frighten you the first time I bite you, and have that color the way we will continue. I will visit with the local Chancellor’s deputy, and make arrangements. That is how it is done when one does not have a bond.”

“Is it?” Daniel asked. “No one talks about that.”

Hiro nodded slightly, not turning from his driving. “These are things that are best handled in private. The taking of living blood is… deeply personal.”

Daniel coughed. “Right. Sorry?”

Hiro smiled. “Do not apologize for being curious. You may ask me anything. I may not answer immediately. I may need to think about my answer. But you may ask.”

“I’ll make a list,” Daniel promised, making Hiro laugh. Then he gestured out the window, toward the trees on the left side of the car.

“Before I forget, I want to go there.”

Daniel craned his neck to look out the driver’s side windows. “There… what’s up… oh, you want to go to the Cloisters? Sure, we can do that. It’s a nice walk from my place, if you don’t mind walking up hill.”

Hiro nodded. “We will do that. I will, as you say, make a list. I have never been in New York before a month ago. I want to see everything.”

Daniel grinned. “Sure, we can play tourist. I’ll take you on the subway. Maybe to a Mets game with Trace.”

Posted by EASchechter in accountability, BDSM Vampires, Blood Bound, Bones of Earth, Elemental Project, Forged in Fire, forthcoming works, happy-happy- joy- joy, Heir to the Firstborn, presales, promotions, publishing, Release date, Self-publishing, upcoming books, WIP, wordcount, writing, 0 comments