Heir to the Firstborn

Nov

2023

Back to Work

It’s the first Monday after Thanksgiving, and it’s time for me to get back to work. This book won’t write itself. Valley of Shadows has three, maybe four chapters left. And my incentive to get this done quickly is that December starts Friday, and that means…

COOKIEPOCALYPSE IS COMING!!!

I need to sit down and decide what cookies I’m making this year. There will definitely be three color cookies — there have to be three color cookies or it’s not Christmas. There will be struffuli on Christmas Eve (and if you want that recipe, check out Love at First Bite, which is a collection of recipes available as a free download from the Cavalcade of Authors.) But in between? I’m not sure yet. I need to ask the family what they want. As always, there will be pictures posted to my Instagram — I know there are some of you who wait for those pictures every year!

As I bake, I’m also going to get back to my research for Imaginative Anthropology. I’ve been putting that off because I had too much on my plate, but baking and reading seem to go hand in hand. There will also be the planning for next year, revisiting my business plans and setting up my annual goals for 2024. The end of the year is a busy time for the small business.

At some point, we have to put up the tree, and Hanukah starts next week (blended household, in case you didn’t know.) Fall semester is over next week, and we’re all very much looking forward to Winter Break. We found out last week that Teen Boy has been accepted to his top college, but we haven’t committed yet — we want to hear from the last two and see what they’re offering. But top school has started the process of evaluating the college credits he already has, so we’ll see what they come back with.

Spring semester will be all kinds of interesting and exciting — here’s hoping that senioritis holds off until the first week of May, though!

So much happening in 2024! But I need to finish 2023 first, so back to work!

Works in Progress

Valley of Shadows
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

62071 / 90000 (68.97%)

New Release!

Snowbound dropped today! You can get it anywhere you find ebooks!

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

Promotions!

Cyber Monday Sale is Live!!!! You can find the first three Heir to the Firstborn books for $0.99 cents each! In addition, Hidden Things and Counsel of the Wicked are also still $0.99!

Nov

2023

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.

Oct

2023

Closing In On The End.

Here we are, closing in on the end of 2023. Halloween is tomorrow, and then we get into November and the slow slide toward a new year. Yesterday, I hit the halfway point on Balance of Power, which means I’m well on my way to finishing the book by December, just in time for Cookiepocalypse. Planning for 2024 has started (slowly, but it has started), and I’m looking forward to closing the book on 2023.

It’s been a good year. A weird year, but a good one. I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve come to a lot of realizations that will change how I work going forward. What, you ask? Well, working multiple projects at a time isn’t something sustainable for me anymore, to start with. I have to focus on one thing at a time in each category — planning, researching, writing and editing. If I try to do more than one in each category, then none of the others get done. Time to adjust so I can accomplish more by doing less.

I forget if I let you all know that Written in Water didn’t make the finals for SPFBO. It had a fabulous review, though. You can see the finalists here, and there’s still one more to come (by tomorrow, I think!)

So what’s in the cards for 2024? Keeping in mind that things are still in the squidgy, warm Jello stages of planning, 2024 holds at least one convention (possibly three — I applied to present at ICFA, and I’m in the waiting list for a convention that I’ve never done before), more events with the Cavalcade, at least one but possibly two books from Riverdale Avenue Books (Morrigan’s Heir is still on the roster for this year, but they have Bonds of Blood and Steel, and I will be sending them Morrigan’s Wrath once I finish the Heir edits.) There will be at least one self-published book — that would be Balance of Power, and getting research done for Imaginative Anthropology and for the worldbuilding for Iron and Silk.

So, if I keep with the categories, here’s my 2024 starting lineup.

Planning:
- ???? (at the moment, I have a pile of story outlines ready to go. So this with either stay empty for a bit, or just be business planning.)
Research
- Imaginative Anthropology
  - Iron and Silk research when done
Writing
- The Sea Prince
  - ???? when done (Either Tales from the Arena: Dead Man’s Hand or Tower of Light.)
Editing
- Balance of Power
  - Either The Sea Prince or whatever comes back first from RAB.

I’m looking at perhaps a March or April publishing date for Balance of Power, but that will depend on several factors (how long edits take, how long cover creation takes, and what other books I have releasing and when.)

On a personal level, someone who lives in my house and is taller than I am now graduates in the spring of 2024, and starts college in the fall. All the applications are in, applications for scholarships have started, and we do the financial aid paperwork in December. Then we wait…

Oh, and there’s a two-years-postponed vacation in there somewhere. I really can’t wait for that!

Works in Progress

Balance of Power
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

47097 / 90000 (52.33%)

The Sea Prince
The Coral Throne, Book 1

63623 / 120000 (53.02%)

Promotions!

First in Series Friday is Coming! 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.

Oct

2023

Keep It Simple

Otherwise known as the KISS Principle — Keep It Simple, Stupid (or whatever other s-word you want to have there. This is how I learned it). It governs a lot of forward facing properties from set design to costume design to websites. And translated into Liz Speak today, it means that I personally should not have two locations on my website to update the same information, because I will invariably forget that one of them exists.

Brought to you by the fact that I just remembered I had an Appearances page on this website, which hadn’t been updated since early 2021.

Oops?

It’s fixed now, and the Appearances widget has also been updated. I’m finished with appearances for this year, but there are two on the calendar for 2024 so far, and I’m waiting for more info on a couple of others.

Work is continuing, and I’m still waiting for edits on Morrigan’s Heir. My editor says that they are minimal, however, I don’t know how he defines minimal. Here’s hoping the turnaround will go quickly because this book was advertised for 2023, and I don’t want to let anyone down who was waiting. Once edits on Morrigan’s Heir are finished, I’ll go through Morrigan’s Wrath and make sure everything is consistent, and then send that in.

I’m hoping to have Balance of Power done by the end of the year. I just started chapter 14, and I’m starting to think this will be a shorter book than the others. My projection said 90K words, but I think it’s going to be closer to 65 – 70K. We shall see. And once that’s done, then I’ll go back to The Sea Prince and get that finished. Yes. Finished. This time I MEAN it.

And then? Well, I’m going to start the research for Iron and Silk, because my Pirate Princess is yelling at me. But is she yelling louder than Teren, the Three Day Emperor from Tales from the Arena, who finally told me his story and is just waiting for me to get it on the page? Or maybe, just maybe, I might pull out the bones of The Willow Sword and write that one — it’s started, but something wasn’t right with it, and I think it’s just that I’m not meant to write YA, and this needs to be aged up. Again, we shall see.

I do know that I’m going back to working on one writing project at a time. One in research, one actively writing, one in edits. I don’t seem to be able to balance two writing projects at a time anymore. I think I burned out that portion of my writing brain. But that’s okay. I’m still getting words on the page, and there are still so many books to write.

Works in Progress

Balance of Power
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

43409 / 90000 (48.23%)

The Sea Prince
The Coral Throne, Book 1

63623 / 120000 (53.02%)

Promotions!

My no longer final promo for the year is THIS FRIDAY, 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!

I’ve also decided to do that First in Series Friday for Black Friday, marking down Written in Water, Hidden Things, Counsel of the Wicked, and The Chronicles of John Zebedee. So keep an eye out for that information — I need to make graphics for it and get some ads set up.

Oct

2023

Fourth and Goal

No, I don’t watch football. Well, not anymore. I used to, but the last time I watched football really was… well, yesterday, to be honest. But it was the Funday Football on Disney+, where they did real time animation of the football game from London (it was hilariously glitchy.) No, In this case, fourth and goal doesn’t mean how far you have to go in football. It’s how far we have to go in 2023. October 1st marks the beginning of the fourth quarter. I’ve done my fourth quarter planning and my goals are up on my kanban board. It’s time to look toward bringing this year to a close.

My immediate goals? Finish Balance of Power. Keep working on The Sea Prince. Edits on Morrigan’s Heir will be in some time this month, so I’ll be turning those around to get the book out by the end of 2023. And then I have to revise Morrigan’s Wrath to get that in to the editor. The anniversary edition of House of Sable Locks will be coming out soon (how soon? I don’t know!) and there are things to be done for that. There’s research that I really should get back to doing, although that’s lower priority to closing out the year and revisiting my business plan for 2024. I’m also considering pulling some of my short stories and getting them up for sale, but that may be a 2024 goal and not a 2023 goal.

Balance of Power
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

30416 / 90000 (33.80%)

The Sea Prince
The Coral Throne, Book 1

62124 / 120000 (51.77%)

Work on The Sea Prince has slowed down a little, and will slow down even more once the edits come in. Co-writing is much more of a juggling act than writing a book solo, because my interruptions rarely coincide with Danielle’s interruptions, which means that one of us is usually waiting on the other to look over things. We’ll eventually get the hang of this and get this book done.

The SPFBO judges have to announce their finalists by October 31st. This means that, at some point this month, I will find out if Written in Water will continue on in the contest. I’m surprisingly okay with either option. There are so many amazing books that have been cut already so if I am cut, I’ll be in fantastic company.

Keep an eye out for a special blog post/newsletter post in the next week or so — I’ll be able to show you the beautiful new cover of House of Sable Locks!

Promotions!

A new Cavalcade of Authors promo is coming this month, from October 13th through the 15th. Again, 200 books or more free for download. For this one, I’ve put Forged in Fire into the pot.

There’s also a single day event on October 27th, hosted by Stephanie Freeman. You can find more information on that and sign up here. For that event, you can grab free copies of The Chronicles of John Zebedee!

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!

Sep

2023

Convention Prep!

Convention prep is my week this week — getting ready for NecronomiCon. After I posted last week, I found out about a schedule change — the Writing Sex panel will now be held on Friday at 8:45 PM. This is still the earliest it’s ever been scheduled, so I’ll have to make sure to clear the room of minors before we start.

Friday, 5:00 PM — Make, Remake, Reboot
Friday, 8:45 PM — Writing Sex ( the earliest I think this panel has ever been scheduled…)

Saturday, 2:00 PM — Don’t Panic! Balancing the Two Worlds of of Life and Creativity
Saturday, 3:15 PM — Let’s Structure Your Story.

There may also be a reading — I haven’t gotten confirmation yet.

Now, if you stop in to see me at the convention, I’ll have a table in the far corner of Writer’s Alley (if I’m reading the map write, all the way to the left as you enter.) People who mention this post, or that they heard about the convention from my social media will get 10% off their purchase at my table. I also have special tote bags that are free with a purchase of $50 or more. (There may also be gluten-free/dairy-free baked goods, if I get a chance to bake.)

The Sea Prince
The Coral Throne, Book 1

53063 / 120000 (44.22%)

Balance of Power
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

26572 / 90000 (29.52%)

I’m hoping to get more words in this week, but with convention prep my main priority and baking my secondary priority, I may not get quite as many in as I hope. Thankfully, edits aren’t in my inbox yet… and watch me jinx myself and end up with edits on Friday as we’re about to leave!

….

And I just got a brain-bending email that has stopped me cold. In a good way — it’s not bad news in the slightest. Rather the opposite, actually — it’s nice when people hold you in high esteem. It’s something I’m not feeling capable of doing just yet, but… wow. Nice that they think that I’m capable.

Yes, that’s vague. Purposefully so. If something comes of it? I’ll tell you.

It’s time for me to run away and get more things done. Here’s hoping to see some of you at the convention!

Sep

2023

Brains empty.

And today is a day when the words just don’t want to word. Occasionally, those happen to everyone, so I’m not too terribly worried about it. It probably as something to do with the fact that I’m a little under the weather today. So for today, I’ll take it easy, which is something I tend to forget to do for myself.

I think that’s a problem we all have these days — we take care of everyone else, and conveniently forget that if we don’t take care of ourselves, we CAN’T take care of others. And then we fall over and nothing gets done.

Oddly enough, this is the topic of one of the panels I’ll be on at NecronomiCon, which is happening in Tampa September 22-24th. I have two panels on Friday night, and two on Saturday afternoon —

Friday, 5:00 PM — Make, Remake, Reboot
Friday, 7:30 PM — Writing Sex ( the earliest I think this panel has ever been scheduled…)

Saturday, 2:00 PM — Don’t Panic! Balancing the Two Worlds of of Life and Creativity
Saturday, 3:15 PM — Let’s Structure Your Story.

In addition, I will also have a table at Writer’s Alley, so stop in and see what I’ve got for sale. I will have copies of Princes of Air on my table for the first time EVER, and they’ll be discounted because there’s a formatting error in the book that’s being corrected on later copies.

For my local fans, you still have a couple of days left before Written in Water leaves Spellbound Books. The bookstore is moving in October, so Written in Water isn’t being renewed for another consignment period, but it may be picked up again once they’re settled in their new space (which will be sometime in November.) So you have until Friday to get a copy locally and support a small business!

Written in Water is still in the running in SPFBO, but the end of the first round is coming up soon. It’s been fascinating to see the blogs coming in with their reviews, their cuts and their nominations, and the SPFBO Discord has got to be one of the most amazingly supportive writing environments I’ve ever found. I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a contest that’s been quite this rewarding. But there’s still the waiting…

The Sea Prince
The Coral Throne, Book 1

53017 / 120000 (44.18%)

Balance of Power
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

23636 / 90000 (26.26%)

There isn’t too much else going on in this neck of the woods. Just getting words down, and getting ready for the convention. And trying to take it easy.

Catch you all next week.

Sep

2023

Calendar Fall

On September 1st, I saw something on the news that said that September 1st was the first day of calendar fall. Which… if you live someplace where you don’t have actual fall, like Florida, then having a purely calendar fall makes sense. I guess. School started a month ago, and Spooky season started July 5th, but sure, it’s fall now.

(If you think I’m joking about spooky season starting July 5th? There was Halloween merchandise on sale in Joann’s Fabrics over a month ago, and the wholesale clubs have the Halloween themed candy out.)

In two weeks we’ll be at Necronomicon in Tampa. I’ll be on four panels (I think it’s four? Maybe five) and I’ll have a table in Writer’s Alley. I WILL have print copies of Princes of Air (for the first time EVER!), but I will not have the new covers on House of Sable Locks just yet. (I MAY have a cover reveal for Sable Locks in the newsletter this week. Do you get my newsletter? Would you like to?)

I’ve heard from my editor about Morrigan’s Heir, and I should have edits in hand next month. He tells me that the edits are minimal, so there’s still a good chance that we’ll have this book out in 2023! More as soon as I know more!

In terms of current writing, things are moving slowly with The Sea Prince, as the characters reveal things that I hadn’t realized where there. And I am just about to finish chapter 6 of Balance of Power, racing to keep ahead of my Patreon! There’s a new myth in this book, which I’m currently working into the narrative, and which may show up as a short at some point later.

The Sea Prince
The Coral Throne, Book 1

49934 / 120000 (41.61%)

Balance of Power
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 7

18966 / 90000 (21.07%)

Two projects that I thought were hibernating have started to stir, one of which led me to reread Heart’s Master for the first time in an age. All I can say is that when I finally get around to writing Holy Orders (and yes, that’s the title of the next Drum Mage book), it’s going to be very obvious that there were a bunch of years and a lot of growth as a writer between the two books. Maybe I can talk to my editor about a re-edit at some point?

The other thing that started to make waking-up noises is the short/novella/what-is-this-going-to-be that will tie The Chronicles of John Zebedee into Swords of Charlemagne, and lead the way into Children of the Swords. The astute reader may have noticed the throwaway line in the first part of John Zebedee that told you it was the same universe. Did you catch it? Children of the Swords is still a few years down the line, because I know nothing of Gilded Age England, or about England in WWI, and I suppose I could just watch Downton Abbey, but that feels like cheating. I have to do research.

Written in Water is still in the running over in SPFBO, with just over a month left in the first round. The suspense is getting real over here!

And today… I applied to be part of the creative track at ICFA.

And that’s about where I am in my area. Planning for edits, writing words, creating worlds, and trying to keep ahead of my readers on Patreon. Busy, busy, busy!

Back to work!

Aug

2023

Back to Work!

Today is the first day of college classes, which means that I am now seriously back to work. Even though I’ve sort of been back to work for two weeks now. Now I’m serious! I mean it!

Yeah… it’s past 2PM and I haven’t written a word yet. So maybe not quite?

I’m learning more about the characters in Balance of Power as I write. One of Aeris’ Companions has hayfever. In the books, they say that they’re flower sick. But it led to this delightful little scene:

“How long have you been awake?”

“Who says I’ve been asleep?” Tiras opened their eyes and sat up.

“You drooling on my sleeve says you were asleep.”

“And snoring,” Aeris added. “You were snoring.”

“I was not!” Tiras protested. “I don’t snore!” They looked up at Gannet. “Do I?”

“Not much,” Gannet admitted. “Except when there’s Maiden’s Lace blooming. Then you get all red and blotchy, and you snore at night.”

“And Maiden’s Lace is in season now. There must be some growing along the road.” Dyna set down her stitching and held out her hand. “Let me see.”

“I hate Maiden’s Lace,” Tiras grumbled. “My head gets all foggy and my visions get weird. Owyn says he’s never heard of a Smoke Dancer whose visions are controlled by their nose before.”

Aeris frowned. “But Smoke Dancers used to train in the vents of the Smoking Mountain, and they were breathing in the smoke. Owyn was one of the last trained that way. So why is smoke different from the scent of flowers?”

Gannet looked thoughtful, then shrugged. “Because Smoke Dancer sounds more impressive than Perfume Dancer?”

I have to admit, the whole idea of Perfume Dancers makes me smile. According to Gannet, they use fans. And… well, I’m not sure if it’ll come up again later in the book, but it’s fun when something like this comes out of my fingers, because it amuses me.

Work on The Sea Prince continues, and we’ve moved into writing new content instead of fixing the content that already existed. There were a lot of changes to the existing files, which adds up to changes for the direction of the story, and I think I like where this is going a lot more the original. It means that we may not get to use one scene I’d planned for, but maybe we will. We shall see.

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

49406 / 120000 (41.17%)

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

11990 / 90000 (13.32%)

In other news of the writer world, Written in Water is still available as part of the Brave New Worlds giveaway. You can enter for a $20 giftcard to your bookstore of choice while you browse the books — over 50 of them!

Image of deep space, superimposed with a woman looking down and away. Text reads "Brave new Worlds. Free Sci-Fi and Fantasy Ebooks. August 1-31. Win $20."

And I’m starting to get ready for Necronomicon next month. I got my shipment of copies of Princes of Air over the weekend… and discovered the formatting error. So the copies that I have on hand will be discounted at Necro while my publisher gets that corrected. I’m hoping to have the anniversary copies of House of Sable Locks, but I’m not sure where we are with the new cover, so while I have my fingers crossed, I’m not holding my breath.

It is, however, a very pretty cover and I will get to share it with you very soon.

Maybe… next week?

Tune in to find out!

Heir to the Firstborn

Back to Work

Works in Progress

New Release!

Promotions!

Changes in Altitude

Works in Progress

New Release!

Promotions!

Closing In On The End.

Works in Progress

Promotions!

Keep It Simple

Works in Progress

Promotions!

Fourth and Goal

Promotions!

No More Peopling.

Convention Prep!

Brains empty.

Calendar Fall

Back to Work!

Works in Progress

Appearances

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