Maker Faire

Winding Down

Winding Down

It’s the end of October, and my brain is starting the process of winding down for the end of the year. Which is a little bit of a problem, because I am two (I think two) chapters from finishing Have Yourself a Merry Little Witchmas, and it’s due in on Friday! No winding down! Must make all the words!

In a fun instance of “This is Liz’s brain on writing…” Witchmas is now set in the same universe as Heart’s Master. Which means that if I stay with writing Camber and Merlina (which I might, because they are SO much fun to write!), there’s a possibility of a cameo by a certain blind bardic mage.

I really do need to get back to that series and figure out where I broke Holy Orders (Drum Mage 2). And float the idea to my publisher that hey, it’s ten years old! Can we have a shiny new cover and re-release like we did with Sable Locks and Ravenborn? I’ll have to draft that email up later. Or next week, once Witchmas is put to bed.

There are still three shows before the end of the year, but those are short and once they’re done, they’re done. I’m looking forward to Maker Faire next week — I haven’t gotten our placement yet, but the early information shows us in the Opportunity building instead of Spirit (Spirit is where we were last year.) Once I know for certain, I’ll let you know where to find us. And by the time Maker Faire rolls around, I should have hardcovers for Ravenflight! Against all odds, the paperbacks showed up on Friday, right before we left for Author Night at Native Home Marketplace. Considering that they weren’t supposed to be here until November 7th at the earliest? I was more than a little shocked!

They’re very pretty! And they’ll be on the table to Maker Faire!

Back to work!

Promotions

Now Available!

A hero. A son of Eire. A reckoning long overdue.

Lorcan never asked for glory. Crowned a noble and hailed as a savior after crushing rebellion, he walks the marble halls adored by all—except himself. Haunted by prophetic visions, he sees not triumph, but torment: his family caged, his homeland threatened, and his cousin’s dark ambitions on the rise.

He knows where he must go.

Leaving behind the splendor of Empire, Lorcan returns to the emerald wilds of Eire, where ancient magic stirs and old loyalties are tested. Beside him stand his mates and his chosen kin—fierce, loyal, and willing to follow him into the heart of danger. But the blood that binds can also betray, and the most dangerous enemy may not be on the battlefield… but seated at his own family’s table.


Half Off Sale!

I am down to my final four complete sets of Swords of Charlemagne with the old covers. Remember, when these are gone, they’re gone! You can a single title for $12.50, or all four books for $37.50. This includes the thumbdrive!

Why? The Swords of Charlemagne have a new home with Riverdale Avenue Books! New covers and edits will be coming soon!


Sale!

To end the war with the Empire, all Prince Tarjiaan has to do is deny his heart and marry the Emperor’s granddaughter. Peace is assured…

Or is it?

On October 30th, and for one day only, The Sea Prince will be available wherever ebooks are sold for 99 cents! Click the image to see what other books will be available on the day!


Work in Progress

Have Yourself A Merry Little Witchmas

 
19408 / 25000

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

 
35962 / 90000 (39.96%)

Appearances

Maker Faire
November 7-9th, 2025
Central Florida Fairgrounds,
Orlando, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Winter Bazaar
December 6th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

Ravenflight Signing!
Spellbound Books
December 20th, 2025
12:00PM – 2:00 PM
Sanford, FL


2026 Appearances

ICFA
March 18-21th, 2026
Orlando, FL

***

Storyteller Summit
April 11th, 2026
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Oviedo, FL.

***

Summer Lovin’ Book Festival
June 6th, 2026
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Oviedo, FL.

***

Tanoshii Con
August 22nd – 23rd, 2026
Ocean Center Arena, Daytona Beach.

***

Smut Lovers Conference
September 16th – 20th, 2026
Orlando, FL

***

Page and Pen Festival
October 3rd, 2026
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Oviedo, FL.

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, Blood of the Raven, Maker Faire, Ravenflight, the-end-is-near, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, WIP, Witchmas, wordcount, Write Faster!, 0 comments
Is This Thing On?

Is This Thing On?

Tap. Taptap. Is this thing on?

I’m back. Did you miss me? Honestly, I know that the odds are good that most folks didn’t notice I was taking time off. But here we are in September, and it’s time for me to get back to work.

Sort of.

Because it took me much longer than I was planning to get The Coral Throne done, I’m not technically getting back to work yet. Not entirely, anyway. I’m working on edits for Tales from the Arena; Dead Man’s Hand. I’m blogging again, starting today, and the newsletter will come out later this week. However, I won’t actively get back to writing Tales from the Arena: King of Swords until October, after the Page and Pen Festival.

This schedule gives me one more month to catch up on Tasting History and get through my TBR pile. Of which I’ve read… well, one, and bounced off one. The one I read was For Whom The Belle Tolls, by Jaysea Lynn, which I’ve been waiting to dive into for ages — I got it on release day, but had to wait to start it. (Nope, not telling you what I bounced off.) The current read is Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis.

The pile hasn’t gotten any smaller, though.

I also got to the movies — we went to see KPop Demon Hunters for the singalong. SO much fun! Two more movies to catch before I’m back to work (three if you count seeing one from my couch.) What movies? Fantastic Four, Superman, and Sinners (that’s the couch movie.)

I’m also getting ready for the first of three shows in a row — Smut Lovers Conference is coming up starting the 17th. If you’re a Florida local. there’s a signing from 12 – 4pm on Saturday the 20th, and you can get your free ticket here. The week after Smut Lovers is Necronomicon Tampa, and then we wrap up the run with the Page and Pen Festival I mentioned already. Then I have a month to do promo for November releases (possibly two — no dates yet, but I’ll let you know once I know!), and get ready for Maker Faire!

For now, though? I’m going to get back to edits and recharging my batteries.

Promotions

Half Off Sale!

From now until they sell out, you can get the Swords of Charlemagne paperback books from me directly for half off. That’s $12.50 for each, or all four books for $37.50 when you use the code SWORDS. This includes the thumbdrive!

Why? The Swords of Charlemagne have a new home with Riverdale Avenue Books! New covers and edits will be coming soon!


Now Available!

To end the war with the Empire, all Prince Tarjiaan has to do is deny his heart and marry the Emperor’s granddaughter. Peace is assured…

Or is it?


Now Available!

Kidnapped from his home and sold as a slave in Rome, Raven-Prince Lorcan must survive in a world where entertainment is murder, diplomacy is betrayal, and love is a commodity. And where a raven who is only supposed to ever have one mate will somehow find two…

Read it before Raven’s Flight comes out!

Image of a book cover. Cover is red-orange, with an abstract design over which there is a raven in flight. Text reads Book One in the Blood of the Raven series. Raven's Fall. Wings of Blood and Desire. By Blood Betrayed.  Elizabeth Schechter

Work in Progress

The Coral Throne
(The Coral Throne, book 2)

121829 / 120000 (101.52%)

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

35962 / 90000 (39.96%)

Appearances

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

***

Necronomicon
September 26th – 28th, 2025
Tampa, FL

***

Page and Pen Festival
October 4th, 2025
Oviedo, FL

***

Maker Faire
November 7-9th, 2025
Central Florida Fairgrounds,
Orlando, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Winter Bazaar
December 6th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, appearances, conventions, forthcoming works, Maker Faire, Tales from the Arena, The Coral Throne, upcoming books, upcoming work, why-the-writing-is-slow, Writer on the Go!, 0 comments
Crunch Time!

Crunch Time!

My original plan was for this to be my last blog post before my break started on July 1st. Instead, while this is still going to be my last blog post until September, it’s crunch time that starts tomorrow. My break will start August 1st or whenever I finish writing The Coral Throne. I’m currently about two-thirds of the way done with the manuscript, and I will be spending the next month getting it to something approaching a draft.

I may not get much writing done today because today is the end of Q2, and there are things that need to be done. I’ve already updated my press kit and paid my quarterly taxes. Next, I need to revisit my plan for the rest of the year and reset my kanban board. (And supervise the unpacking of the van — it was pouring down rain when we got home from a show yesterday, so the books are all still in the back of the van. The Schechter men will probably do that while I make dinner.) There might be writing time after that, but I’m not counting on it. The real writing starts tomorrow.

Sometimes, I have to do the not-fun business things instead of playing with my imaginary friends. Adulting, right?

I did get to add a new show to the appearances list. We will once again be appearing at Maker Faire in November! I’m excited for it — I had a grand time last year. I’m waiting on the jury results for the Enchanted Knights Winter Bazaar in December, and I hope to have that added to our appearance list to round out the year. There might also be one or two other things, depending on release schedules and how they solidify. More information will be added to the website as I learn it.

Before I disappear into a deadline cave for the next two months, I want to say thank you to everyone who had been on this ride with me. I appreciate each and every one of you, and I look forward to making more magic with you.

See you in September!

Promotions

Half Off Sale!

From now until they sell out, you can get the Swords of Charlemagne paperback books from me directly for half off. That’s $12.50 for each, or all four books for $37.50 when you use the code SWORDS. This includes the thumbdrive!

Why? The Swords of Charlemagne have a new home with Riverdale Avenue Books! I’m waiting for my editor there to tell me when I have to take down the existing listings. Once that happens, these covers are going away. (Note: This sale does not extend outside of my bookstore! Books bought from other booksellers are still going to be full price until I take them down.)

Free Books!

Final day! Come find a selection of free steamy books! Click the graphic and take a look!


Now Available!

To end the war with the Empire, all Prince Tarjiaan has to do is deny his heart and marry the Emperor’s granddaughter. Peace is assured…

Or is it?


Now Available!

Kidnapped from his home and sold as a slave in Rome, Raven-Prince Lorcan must survive in a world where entertainment is murder, diplomacy is betrayal, and love is a commodity. And where a raven who is only supposed to ever have one mate will somehow find two…

Read it before Raven’s Flight comes out!

Image of a book cover. Cover is red-orange, with an abstract design over which there is a raven in flight. Text reads Book One in the Blood of the Raven series. Raven's Fall. Wings of Blood and Desire. By Blood Betrayed.  Elizabeth Schechter

Work in Progress

The Coral Throne
(The Coral Throne, book 2)

65937 / 100000 (65.94%)

Appearances

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

***

Necronomicon
September 26th – 28th, 2025
Tampa, FL

***

Page and Pen Festival
October 4th, 2025
Oviedo, FL

***

Maker Faire
November 8-9th, 2025
Central Florida Fairgrounds,
Orlando, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, accountability, appearances, Maker Faire, Planning, promotions, Swords of Charlemagne, The Coral Throne, Write Faster!, 0 comments
Making It!

Making It!

It’s Maker Faire Week and we are making it! Making what? Well… words. And making it to Maker Faire. I found out this morning that we will be in the Spirit building, in space SF6. According to the map, this appears to be Writer’s Row — we’re one of three authors in that aisle, and we’re next to a bookshop. So come and check us out and read all the things!

Tomorrow is Election Day. You’ve voted, right? Or you’re voting tomorrow? Remember, it’s important!

According to my wordcount, I am just over 75% done with King of Swords. According to the story… not even close. It might be closer to 50%, with the hinge coming in the next chapter. Which may mean this is two books. I hope not, but we’ll see. I’m just going to keep going until the story is done, and then I’ll decide when I edit if I’m breaking it up or just having having the third book be bigger than the first two combined. I’d like to see this book done by the end of the year, but… yeah, we’ll see how that goes. I’m not going to rush it — there needs to be some resting in and around the rest of the end of the year things.

Last week saw the first for me. Worlds Begin was #1 in two separate categories! (And, for the record, it still is! I took this screenshot two seconds ago!)

I have never before had a #1 in a category of anything — best I’ve ever seen was #2.

Once Maker Faire is over, I’ll be starting to reserialize the Heir to the Firstborn books on THEO. It’ll take me a bit to get all of the books uploaded, but once I do, they’ll be available to read the way I originally wrote them. (Mostly — the original serial wasn’t fully edited. Remember, the chapters were originally going live as I wrote them, with minimal edits. On THEO, you’ll be getting the finished and polished chapters.)

And that’s about all from my neck of the woods. Remember, if you come out to Maker Faire, let me know you saw this post and you get a discount on books!

Work in Progress

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

90396 / 120000 (75.33%)

Appearances

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Heir to the Firstborn, Maker Faire, politics, public displays of geekery, Tales from the Arena, THEO, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, Worlds Begin, Writer on the Go!, writing-mom, 0 comments