Tales from the Arena

May

2025

Sumer Is Icumen In

Sumer is icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweþ sed and bloweþ med
And springþ þe wde nu,
Sing cuccu.

If you’re not familiar with old songs, Sumer Is Icumen In is the oldest recorded song. Some people may have been introduced to the song through the movie The Wicker Man, but it’s far older than that — first written down in the mid-13th century. It’s in Old English, and roughly translated, the first line means “Summer has arrived.” It’s very pretty, and meant to be sung in six parts, as you can hear below.

@rashaanroriallwood The buck farts—excuse me? and yet this is one of the most sophisticated musical pieces from medieval England. Sumer is icumen in is a 13th-century English canon from a manuscript believed to have originated at Reading Abbey around 1260. It’s the earliest known six-part polyphonic composition in Western music and combines earthy realism with intricate counterpoint. The cuckoo sings, the lambs bleat, the bulls leap—and yes, the buck passes gas—all layered in a joyful round celebrating the arrival of summer. I’m singing and playing it on clavichord, bringing this medieval loop to life 800 years later. #sumerisicumenin #medievalmusic #clavichord #earlymusic #readingabbey #englishcanon #medievalcanon #13thcenturymusic #polyphony #loopculture #historicalperformance #oldmusic #musicology #earlynotation #britishlibrary #middleenglish #medievalvibes #ancientmusic #oldinstruments #folkloremusic #musicnerd #buckefarts #cuckoosong #historicalinstruments #counterpoint ♬ original sound – RashaanRoriAllwood

(And yes, there is indeed a lyric about bucks farting.)

Why am I writing about incoming summer? Partly because it’s Memorial Day today, which is the unofficial official start of the the summer season. School in Florida is out this week, and the spring quarter of college ends, too. June starts in six days….

And I have about half a book to finish writing, and I’m not completely certain it’ll happen. I think I’m still a couple of chapters from the hinge point of The Coral Throne, which is also when I’ll reevaluate my total word goal (the hinge is the halfway point. I think the wordcount will be going up by 10K or so.) Which puts me into a Nano situation — can I write 50K words in a month? Tune in and see!

Right now, I still think that this will be a two book series. I really do. We will see if the book agrees with me.

I find that I’m looking forward to July and August, and taking some down time. There are so many books I want to read, and I’m planning on reading as many as I can once The Coral Throne is a draft. Top of the list is For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn — my paperback is just sitting there waiting because I can’t spare the attention to read it. Also in the pile is Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis, Till Death by Kellan McDaniel, and both books in the Royals and Romance series by Sara Raasch. I started The Nightmare before Kissmas, (Royals and Romance book 1), and it’s adorable. Then I had to put it down because finish writing the book, Liz.

Fall quarter starts up in September, and that’s when I’ll get back to King of Swords. Unless something happens to punt it back in the queue, that is. Flexibility is key when you have several irons in the fire.

Also in my queue this month is a long-awaited call for submissions for the Lord Ruthven Bulletin, the journal put out by the Lord Ruthven Assembly. I’ve never edited a journal before, but as President, that’s one of my duties. It’ll be an adventure and a learning experience (oh, no, not another learning experience!) That’s something I hope to have at least a draft on by the end of Q2… which is the end of June. When I’m trying to have a book done.

Back to work!

Stuff with Fantasy Bookish Solstice!

Coming June 14th is the Stuff With Fantasy Bookish Solstice event, where every book is 99 cents. I’m not sure how many books are included in this sale, but it certainly looks like a lot!

Preorder Now!

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?

The Sea Prince sets sail on June 10th!

Preorder Now!

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

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Work in Progress

The Coral Throne
(The Coral Throne, book 2)

44831 / 90000 (49.81%)

Appearances

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

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

May

2025

On Your Mark…

On your mark… get set… GO! This is the point where I close the file for King of Swords and put those notes to the side so that I have a hope of finishing a manuscript before the end of June. I’ll pick Teren’s story back up once I finish The Coral Throne, or in September, whichever comes first. Which means I may be pushing back on starting The Iron Virgin until January of 2026. (or I may launch right into it while I’m still in a nautical state of mind. Which means I need to get on with my research, and get the books I’ve been putting off ordering.)

I really do want to keep The Coral Throne (the series) to two books. I think I can, if I can rein in the side quests and “oh, that’s a fun detail that takes us off on a nifty tangent that advances the plot but adds 15K words.” However, I should probably go looking for stock photography that fits my mental image of Nika, because if there is a third book, then the title of the current one will be changing and The Coral Throne will become book 3. Which will put Nika on the cover of book 2 and Daanir on the cover of book 3.

And, of course, now that I said it… nope. Two books. This series is TWO BOOKS.

(But I’m still going to see if I can find her…)

Now that I can focus on one book and one book only, I’m hoping I can get the other half of this book done before I take July and August off to read and do research.

With that being said… GO!