new books

Halfway There!

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

45011 / 90000 (50.01%)

Halfway to a draft! And I’m at the halfway point in the story, so my counts are pretty good. I’m not going to lie — I wrote 25 words to bring the count over 45,000 words before I took my wordcount today. Because I was THAT CLOSE.

I was working on a beta read for another author last week, so again had no words on The Sea Prince. I’ll get back to that today. I need to put some more thought into the world, because it’s feeling a little flat. So that may mean going back and reworking some of it. Which makes sense. If I didn’t properly prepare the foundations, the structure isn’t going to hold together. And I did the initial worldbuilding for this project before I really knew how worldbuilding actually worked. Things are… sketchy in places. And you can use whatever definition of sketchy you like in that sentence. They all work.

The Chronicles of John Zebedee comes out one week from tomorrow. You can still preorder it and have it in your inbox on the 7th. Paperbacks wherever paperbacks are sold, and I’ll have signed ones if you want to order directly from me — you can hit the “Signed Books” link up top, or click here.

Which reminds me — I need to go order copies for me to sign!

(runs off)

Back now. Copies ordered. Website updated, and I’ll need to do that again because something changed and the covers are NOT rendering properly. I need to fix that.

Once John Zebedee comes out, my next release date is out of my hands — I don’t know yet when Morrigan’s Heir will be coming out. As soon as I know, you’ll know!

And that’s about all from this neck of the woods. Back to work, getting as many words in as I can before I head off for ICFA.

Posted by EASchechter in 2023 plans, accountability, John Zebedee, new books, presales, promotions, public displays of geekery, Release date, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, Worldbuilding, 0 comments

Worlds Begin. Worlds End.

And tomorrow, the world of Adavar ends. At least for now. I can’t think of any other stories that will be told in the world of Heir to the Firstborn, but that might change. I don’t think they will involve any of the current characters, though. Their story wraps tomorrow.

(click the graphic to go to the Amazon series page)

It’s strange. When I first started this series, it was supposed to be four books. If you’ve been with me long enough, you’ll remember me talking about how there was too much story for four books, so I was going to add a fifth one. And… yeah. Six books. Characters who REALLY got under my skin — I still say Owyn is my favorite out of all the characters that have walked out of my subconscious.

And it’s all over tomorrow. My part in it, anyway. Now it’s your turn, oh Reader.

(I will say that there’s one character who’s sort of poking at me, but I don’t know what they want yet. If they tell me, then there might be some more Adavar. But until they start doing more than a mental “I’m not touching you!” I’m going to ignore them and focus on Lorcan.)

The White Raven: Morrigan’s Heir
(The White Raven, Book 1)

18418 / 90000 (20.46%)

 

Now here’s an amusing tidbit. I wrote The White Raven: Morrigan’s Heir a few years before I started Heir to the Firstborn.  And there’s a character in Morrigan’s Heir who I now need to give a new name.

That was the first time I used the name Owyn. And he’s nothing like Heir’s Owyn, who is so much of a strong character and strong voice in my brain that the name Owyn is now being retired.

So when you finally meet Bran in Morrigan’s Heir, his name was originally Owyn.

And, with the Heir to the Firstborn coming to a close, I’ve made an executive decision.

I’m taking the rest of the year off. I need to reset and recover from what’s been a heck of a year, so I’m taking some time off. I have books that are piling up to read, research I want to do, movies I want to watch, and my house needs cleaning. I need to plan for 2023, and set my goals. Oh, and Cookiepocalypse is right around the corner! So I’ll be taking my winter break early, and I’ll pick up Morrigan’s Wrath in January.

You may now open book on if I can actually make it to January without writing new words.

 

Posted by EASchechter in 2022 plans, 2023 plans, baking, Children of Dreams, Cookiepocalypse, forthcoming works, Heir to the Firstborn, new books, post novel ennui, Release date, Ta-da, The White Raven, the-end-is-near, thinking thinky thoughts, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments

A World of Blurry Dilation…

Come with me, and you’ll be in a world of blurry dilation…

I’m typing this while still dilated from an eye doctor appointment three hours ago. Which means I’m touch typing. This is… challenging. And if any typos creep through, that’s why.

Announcements first —

The Wild West Paranormal project that I was working on has been cancelled, and I have these three novellas all finished and polished and ready to go. So I’m going to get them out into the world, and give Kindle Vella a try. The first three episodes of  John Zebedee and the Heir of the Elvenlands will go live on May 30th, with a new episode dropping every Monday. Link as soon as I have one, and I am really kinda digging the cover graphic I came up with for this.

There are two more graphics for Monstrous Town and for Witch Queen, and I’ll show those off later. And the collected Chronicles of John Zebedee will be my first release for 2023.

Another announcement — I have recently gotten the nod to join Book View Cafe, which is a cooperative publisher. As part of this, and for my first releases from BVC, I will be getting all new covers for the Heir to the Firstborn series, and they will be re-edited and re-released starting later this year. I’m really excited for this, and I can’t wait to show you all the shiny new covers.

I announced the cancellation of the audiobook project last week. I did talk to Mark after, and he’s still incredibly upset (honestly, we all are.) So once the Heir books are republished, I’m going to send a set to him and see if he’s interested and has the time to take them on, and we’ll go from there.

Haven’s Fall drops two weeks from tomorrow, on Kindle Unlimited, and paperback wherever paperbacks are sold. ARCS are currently closed for Haven’s Fall and for Where Home Lies, but I may open them up again because they closed too soon.

I’ve set The Sea Prince aside for the moment. Again. Not because I’m stuck, but because my brain wants to play in the new, shiny world more than it does in The Way Home (what, this old thing?) I’ll pick up The Sea Prince in the fall, and hopefully have that done by the end of the year. And I’m hoping to have The Way Home done by the end of the month.

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

136347 / 170000 (80.20%)

I just need to stop having these characters throw new plotlines at me that I then have to nip in the bud. I mean, really, this is the last book. I do NOT need to add in a new plot thread with all new characters who are NOT IN THE OUTLINE in chapter FORTY!

So those new characters have been squared away, and today is the day I start writing the last, long slide down to resolution. I think. Maybe. Once I can see straight.

 

 

Posted by EASchechter in 2022 plans, 2023 plans, accountability, annoying-muse-is-annoying, audiobooks, Haven's Fall, Heir to the Firstborn, John Zebedee, new books, promotions, publishing, Rebel Mage, Release date, The Sea Prince, the-end-is-near, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, writing-mom, 0 comments

So Busy!!!

This past week feels like I’ve been running from pillar to post all week, and yet I’m not sure I have much to show for it. Strange.

I didn’t get as many words down as I’d have liked, but I did get to write some interesting scenes that revealed once again that my characters keep secrets from me, and only tell me when it’s the right time. If you’ve seen “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” you probably remember the scene where Roger slips the handcuffs? And Eddie demands to know why he couldn’t do it before, only to have Roger reply that he couldn’t do it before. He could only do it when it was funny.

My characters only reveal things when it’s going to complicate the plot. However, I like this complication, so it stays.

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

94275 / 150000 (62.85%)

Then again, I usually like the complications, and they usually stay. My characters have more of a direct line to my subconscious, which is where these stories start. I figure they know what they’re talking about.

The Kickstarter has another month to go, and I really hope it picks up. If you want to see audiobooks produced for the Swords of Charlemagne books, please share the graphic and the Kickstarter link?

Another thing that’s still running is the Red Hot giveaway! You have until the end of the month to grab your free books!

The last thing that I’ve been working on is the revisions on the Rebel Mage books. Counsel of the Wicked and Haven’s Fall are ready, and I’m putting the final polish on Where Home Lies. All of the books will be out this year, with Counsel coming next month, on March 8th! You can preorder now on Amazon — these ebooks will be Amazon exclusives for purchase or for reading through Kindle Unlimited.

I was also interviewed for the These Mums Write podcast, which was an enormous amount of fun. As soon as I know the date that the episode will air, I’ll let everyone know. I think it’s in early March.

Okay, so maybe I did get a lot done last week. And I have even more to get done this week, including attending Boskone virtually this upcoming weekend, and finding out the results of the Paranormal Romance Guild’s Reviewers Choice Awards!

Wish me luck!

 

Posted by EASchechter in 2022 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, audiobooks, Boskone, contest, conventions, Counsel of the Wicked, forthcoming works, Haven's Fall, Heir to the Firstborn, Kickstarter, new books, product endorsement, progress, promotions, Rebel Mage, Release date, Swords of Charlemagne, upcoming books, upcoming work, Where Home Lies, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments

That was Quick

Tomorrow is February.

How did THAT happen?

Part of it was that last week was a blur — I was sick for a few days of it, and then it was over.  It wasn’t anything major, and I’m fine. But time and words both ceased to exist.

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

87541 / 150000 (58.36%)

Not quite as many words as I’d have liked, but there was some forward movement. That’s a plus.

Tomorrow, the Swords of Charlemagne box set drops. There’s still time to preorder.

 

Also tomorrow, the Red Hot giveaway begins — you can sign up for my newsletter, and get a copy of Hidden Things absolutely free! The promotion runs the entire month of February.

 

And on Wednesday, voting begins for the Paranormal Romance Guild’s Reviewers Choice Awards. I’m nominated in two categories. The Lady and the Sword is nominated for Best LGBT Fantasy Romance, and Swords of Charlemagne is nominated for Best LGBT Fantasy Romance Series.

The Kickstarter is ongoing, and is slowly moving in the upwards direction. The project is 5% funded, with 47 days left, and has been picked up as a Project We Love by Kickstarter itself. I’m updating regularly over there, with things specific to the books, and that I have never shared anywhere else. So check it out, and maybe throw something in the hat!

And finally, preorders are now open for the Counsel of the Wicked re-release, which happens on March 8th. The ebook will be available as part of Kindle Unlimited, which means it will NOT be for sale anywhere but Amazon. The paperback, however, will be available everywhere.

 

And I think that’s all the news I’ve got this week! Busy, busy, busy!

 

 

 

Posted by EASchechter in 2022 plans, Boosting the signal, contest, Counsel of the Wicked, forthcoming works, giveaway, Happy Book Day, Heir to the Firstborn, Hidden Things, Kickstarter, new books, promotions, publishing, Rebel Mage, Release date, Swords of Charlemagne, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments

I Want a Do-Over!

Last week was supposed to be a week off. Right?

Last week, I had two conventions back to back. Several professional obligations. Thanksgiving….

Clearly, I’m doing this whole week off thing wrong. I think I was more busy last week than I was in the previous MONTH.

And there were words in there, too.

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

55808 / 150000 (37.21%)
So… yeah, I need a week off from my week off. And I’m not even done yet.
KeiserSupercon is next week!
Cookiepocalypse is nigh! And I still don’t know what I’m baking! (other than three color cookies, because there must always be three color cookies. Always.)
And then?
Once the last cookie sheet comes out of the oven, I’m taking the rest of the year off.
….
…sigh….
You can stop laughing now. I know. I know!
I don’t do time off right, either.
This time for sure!

Posted by EASchechter in 2021 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, conventions, Cookiepocalypse, Happy Book Day, Heir to the Firstborn, Keiser SuperCon, new books, promotions, Release date, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments

Home Again, Home Again

And tired to my bones. But so, SO happy! The RWA Retreat in Nashville was amazing! Not just because I finally got to meet AND HUG some of the extraordinary people that I’ve been through Hell and back with, but because of the incredible sense of hope that came out of this past week.

The message of this entire weekend? We are romance writers. We are the RWA, and together, we can move mountains. We are going to come through this. Stronger and better than ever.

It. Was. GLORIOUS!

And the hotel — WOW! The Gaylord Opryland is amazing. And it’s a really short walk from the hotel to the Grand Old Opry, so like any country music fan? I made pilgrimage. (And I’m not ashamed to say that I was in tears walking up to the building. The sheer weight of history and passion in that structure is overwhelming.) There are too many pictures of the Opry and of the hotel to post here — my server would faint! So you’ll have to go look at my Facebook.  Opry pictures are here, and Hotel pictures are here.

There may be pictures of me from the retreat on someone else’s camera, from the Pen to Paper presentation, or from introducing Sherrilyn McQueen (writing as Sherrilyn Kenyon) on Friday morning.  I haven’t seen any yet. If I do, I’ll share them.

There wasn’t a lot of writing done while I was gone — most of what I did was in a notebook, in and around other things. (I did have some productive time, though. I finished my proofreading of Psionics for Skillskape, and I finished my readthrough of Metropolis and started planning out Tower of Light. That one is still in the squidgy early stages of story — have a vague idea of characters, but not much else. Which is fine, because I have quite a way to go on Heir to the Firstborn.

Heir to the Firstborn: The Crossroads
(Heir to the Firstborn, book 5)

123553 / 150000 (82.37%)

 

It’s official — Heir to the Firstborn is two books. Heir to the Firstborn: The Crossroads, and Heir to the Firstborn: The Way Home.  Which may mean some major revisions in Crossroads. We’ll see what happens once I get it to a point where stopping this one and starting The Way Home feels right.

Now, on the upside, that means that Crossroads should be out in November, in time to be my planned sixth release this year. And it also means I have a little more breathing room in figuring out what will be coming next on Patreon.

Tomorrow is a book birthday — Ashes and Light releases in KU. The paperback is up in Amazon today, and will be up everywhere else tomorrow… I hope. (There was an issue with Draft to Digital putting the paperback up for sale a month and a half early. They fixed it, but let’s see if it goes on sale tomorrow the way it’s supposed to!)

 

There’s not much else going on. This week is catch up. Next week is vacation, ending with the Vivian Awards, which will be livestreamed! I may be a mess coming itno that, because we will just be back from vacation. We’ll see.

No blog post next week! See you in two weeks, when I will either be a Vivian winner, or will in complete honesty say it was an honor to even final!

Tune in to find out which!

Posted by EASchechter in 2021 plans, 2022 plans, accountability, Ashes and Light, forthcoming works, Heir to the Firstborn, new books, promotions, Release date, Swords of Charlemagne, Tower of Light, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, Writer on the Go!, writing, 0 comments

Spring? Maybe?

The reason I say maybe is that we have 90 degree weather now, and will be going down to the 40s on Thursday. Whiplash weather means spring, right?

It also means allergies, and mine have been awful. I have complete sympathy for all of you out there who suffer through this season with itchy eyes, scratchy noses, and sounding like a pack-a-day lounge singer. There but for the grace of Loratidine go I.

Allergies make this season fun. When I had my first COVID vaccination, I spent the next three days sniffling and snorfling, and I have no idea if that was a vaccine reaction or allergies. Tomorrow is COVID vaccine, part two, and we’ll see how I feel over the next few days. I’ve heard that the days immediately after shot two are not pleasant. But it’s worth it.

I just don’t plan on getting much work done this week. And of course, it’s a newsletter week, so I’ll be prepping that well ahead of time.

I finished my edits on Table of Stone, and the proof copy is on the way. I’m almost done with the proofreading of Ashes and Light, so that means that Swords of Charlemagne is close enough to done that I can see the end from here. There are preorders up for the other three books and everything!

What the heck — have a cover montage:

In other writing news, Wings of Air released last week, and Heir to the Firstborn is a third of the way done! I think. Maybe. It’s a third of the way to my target words, at least,  and you all know how well I hit targets….

Heir to the Firstborn
(Heir to the Firstborn, book 5)

54267 / 150000 (36.18%)
I think I’ll be close this time. We’ll see.
Not much else is happening here, except that I’ve been bitten by a non-fiction bug that requires research and that may turn into a craft article (writing craft. Not fiber craft). We’ll see if that pans out.
Stay safe,  everyne.
Posted by EASchechter in 2021 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Ashes and Light, cover art, except-for-when-it-is, forthcoming works, Heir to the Firstborn, new books, plot bunnies, Swords of Charlemagne, Table of Stone, upcoming books, upcoming work, Wings of Air, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments

Release Day! Release Day! Release Day!

Tomorrow.

Wings of Air drops tomorrow(but maybe the paperback will drop tonight on Amazon. Depends on their systems.) If you preorder right now, you’ll have the book on your device in the morning. Amazon is here, and most of the other booksellers are over here. Smashwords is here, Google Books over here, and Eden Books is here.

I’m hard at work on Heir to the Firstborn (the final book of the series. Yes, this time I mean it.) I’m fourteen chapters and about a third of the way into the book.

Heir to the Firstborn
(Heir to the Firstborn, book 5)

47875 / 150000 (31.92%)

 

Yes, I said fourteen chapters and only a third of the way in. This is going to be another monster book. Which may mean that I switch up Heir to the Firstborn with Table of Stone on my publishing schedule, and push Heir to the Firstborn back to a November release. We’ll see how things go as I work, and as things start to open up and I actually (gasp!) start to travel again.

Travel is, I fully admit, not something at the top of my to-do list. There are a couple of events on my calendar, but to be completely honest? If they don’t happen, or if they happen virtually? I’ll be okay with that.  Somewhat. I like virtual events. I like being able to talk to people half a world away without having to fly there. But I really can’t wait for the in person events. I miss the hugs.

It’s hard, not knowing which way is up. Not really being able to plan because we’re not sure if the things we’re planning for are actually going to happen, and if they do happen, what form they’ll take. Prepping for a virtual event is very different from prepping for an in-person event. It’s harder to focus on a virtual event, at least for me, simply because I’m not removed from my regular space — there are still dishes and laundry to do, and all my stuff is right here. At an in-person event, it’s easier to be on, easier to be “Writer Liz” as opposed to “Mom Liz.” The act of putting on the appearance clothes and the makeup (which I usually don’t wear) helps put me into the headspace. But if I put on the appearance clothes and the makeup for a virtual event, it’s more like just dressing up, because it’s out of context — I’m really still in my office.

And I can’t hug the people in my screen.

But, this is the world we live in right now. And, since I plan on living in it for a LOT longer? The hugs are going to be as virtual as the conventions.

Stay safe, everyone.

 

Posted by EASchechter in 2021 plans, accountability, appearances, Best laid plans, Best planned lays, forthcoming works, Good news, Heir to the Firstborn, new books, promotions, publishing, Table of Stone, upcoming books, upcoming work, Wings of Air, WIP, wordcount, writing, 0 comments

A Day Off? What’s That?

Why are days off so much more busy than the days when I’m scheduled? Answer? Because I try to cram everything I can’t get done on the days when I’m working into the days when I’m nominally not working. Because the truth of the matter is that I’m never not working. I’m a mom, and an independent business woman, and I run a household. I’m never not doing something, and I’m not sure I know how to sit and do nothing. Even when I do yoga, my mind never shuts off. Today’s post is much later than I usually post, because today I got up, exercised, ate something, went to Trader Joe’s (and encountered my first maskhole being escorted from the premises for refusing to wear his mask properly), came home, showered, had lunch, had a conference call, had another conference call, made dinner, redid two covers (The Lady and the Sword and Wings of Air) because page proofs arrived and showed that I screwed something up on BOTH covers, and now I’m writing this post. I might get more proofreading done on Wings of Air before bed, but I still have edits to do on Ashes and Light, and I haven’t written a word on Heir to the Firstborn. There are some social media things I need to do for an RWA chapter, and those won’t be getting done until tomorrow, and I’m putting off some things for the Super SEECRIT Spiffy RWA project until tomorrow, too. Hrm… no wonder I’m tired. Heir to the Firstborn is progressing.
Heir to the Firstborn
(Heir to the Firstborn, book 5)
28828 / 150000 (19.22%)
I wrote a scene the other day and posted it to my Facebook, and it’s a nice example of how a scene really does change between the time it flows from my fingers and the time the reader gets it. The initial scene, as written, was this:

Othi’s jaw dropped. He looked at Owyn, then shook his head. “I… I don’t think I’ve heard you swear like that. You didn’t, when we were out in the deep. Or did you, and I just missed it?”

“Probably missed it,” Alanar said. “Owyn is very sweary.” He smiled fondly at Owyn. “One of these days, love, I should wash your mouth out with soap.”

“You and what army?” Owyn growled.

Alanar laughed and turned toward him.“If I get you in the right position, you’ll ask me for the soap,” he purred, and Owyn turned pink.

“Enough of that,” Aria said. “We have to leave, and we cannot wait for the pair of you to crawl back into bed.”

Alanar straightened and turned to face her. He smiled. “Oh, I wouldn’t be the one crawling.”

It’s a good scene. But that last line bothered me. It was out of character for Alanar. It was right… but why did he say that? So I let it percolate, and the finished scene still includes this exchange, but it’s very different from the original. And I’m not showing it to you because spoilers. You have to wait for Heir to the Firstborn. Today, for the first time, I started thinking about what will come next. Once I’ve finished publishing Swords of Charlemagne and Heir to the Firstborn, what’s next year going to hold? There are the plans to republish the Rebel Mage books, and I’ll need to design new covers for those, but what new fiction is coming? I’m honestly not sure yet. The White Raven: Morrigan’s Heir is over with Circlet, as is Blood Bound, Sapphires and Gold, and Bonds of Blood and Steel.  I don’t have any information on where those are in the process, so not data on them. The Chronicles of John Zebedee are off with the publisher putting together the box set, and those should be out in 2022. I need to write the second White Raven book, and I need plan out the rest of the Flesh and Blood series.  I think the series plan may be what I focus on once the edits are done for Swords of Charlemagne, while I’m finishing Heir to the Firstborn. As for the Patreon, once Heir is finally wrapped, I may try to resurrect The Willow Sword, and do that one next. Too many things. Not enough hours to do them.
Posted by EASchechter in 2021 plans, 2022 plans, accountability, Ashes and Light, BDSM Vampires, Best laid plans, Best planned lays, Blood and Steel, Blood Bound, Flesh and Blood, forthcoming works, Heir to the Firstborn, John Zebedee, new books, Patreon, Planning, progress, publishing, Rebel Mage, Sapphires and Gold, Swords of Charlemagne, The Lady and the Sword, upcoming books, upcoming work, Wings of Air, WIP, wordcount, writing, 0 comments