Tales from the Arena

Sumer Is Icumen In

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!

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)

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

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Draft by the Solstice, progress, promotions, Raven's Flight, Ravens Fall, Release date, summer, Tales from the Arena, The Coral Throne, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, Write Faster!, 0 comments
On Your Mark…

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!

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!

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…

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)

40974 / 90000 (45.53%)

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

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, 2026 plans, accountability, Draft by the Solstice, forthcoming works, Iron and Silk, Planning, progress, Tales from the Arena, The Coral Throne, The Iron Virgin, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, Write Faster!, 0 comments
What An Odd Thing to Say.

What An Odd Thing to Say.

I need to remember to start saying “What an odd thing to say.” to people who come up to my table at events and proudly proclaim, “I don’t read!” I mean, you have to admit that this is a very odd thing to say to someone selling books. Do they do that in Barnes and Noble, too?

I’m not talking about the people who consume their media in other formats, who stop at my table and tell me, “I prefer audiobooks,” or the ones who prefer to do their reading on a tablet. I understand that. (I like non-fiction in audio, myself.) I’m talking about the people who seem to have an allergy to consuming media at all, and who will let anyone in the vicinity know about it. I don’t get it, and in not getting it, I never know what to say to them. I mean…

This is brought to you by the second show in a row where it seemed as if everyone who stopped at my table was a proud non-reader.

June will turn things around. We have another Renaissance Faire, and The Sea Prince will release on June 10th. More information and The Sea Prince cover and preorder link are both down below. Paperback preorders for The Sea Prince have not yet been set up. Those are waiting until I get the paperback proof to go over. That should happen soon — I just got the shipping notification.

I’m trying to decide if I want to take one of the WIPs and set it aside until Fall. That will allow me to focus on getting the other one done before I take July and August off. And if I do that, which one? (Okay, that’s sort of an easy question. I’d focus on The Coral Throne, so that I can get it out late this year or early next. Finishing King of Swords can wait, because traditional publishing takes time. My publisher already has a backlog of things from me.)

I should have an idea of what I’m doing by the end of the month, and then I’ll have all of June — well, most of June — to finish. This might push The Iron Virgin back a bit, but will give me more time to do research into Venice and Constantinople (the two cities that inspired places in the series.) Speaking of research, Tasting History seems to have set the seeds for another Weird Western, but that one is percolating until I have more of an idea other than the main character is a young hobo, and there are vampires. That’s a new area of research somewhere down the line.

Remember, your output comes from your input, so you should consume all the media. You never know where it will take you.

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!

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…

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

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

34643 / 90000 (38.49%)

The Coral Throne
(The Coral Throne, book 2)

37992 / 90000 (42.21%)

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 Mall

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, Draft by the Solstice, forthcoming works, Iron and Silk, Planning, plot bunnies, progress, publishing, Release date, research is fun, Tales from the Arena, The Coral Throne, The Iron Virgin, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, Worldbuilding, 0 comments
Setting Sail!

Setting Sail!

No, we’re not going on another cruise. Not this year, anyway. The Sea Prince is setting sail on June 10th! I got the cover teaser for The Sea Prince on Friday morning. It’s down a little bit, and I am loving this cover (another winning cover from GetCovers!). Full cover reveal and the preorder link will both come at the end of the week, so keep an eye on my socials for that.

Your klutzy author managed to keep from stretching her length (and possibly hurting herself badly) in the parking lot at Ikea this weekend. I saved myself by catching the door pillar of my car with my left hand, and something with my right thigh. I have no idea what, but the bruises in the left arm and right leg are starting to come in despite slathering arnica on it as soon as we got home. There was also a general “wrench everything OW!” that goes with stopping a heavy something (me. I’m something) in mid-fall.

I’m fine. Nothing broken. But ugh… gravity is not my friend.

We’re coming up on the end of the spring quarter, which means that I’m supposed to be coming up on the end of a manuscript. Ah… not really? I’m hoping to have both The Coral Throne and King of Swords wrapped by the end of June, though. Which means I really need to get moving because neither of them are even halfway done. I might have to put one to the side to focus on the other if I want to have anything finished before I take July and August off. But which one?

Probably King of Swords, to be honest. I’m self-publishing The Coral Throne, which means I need a faster turnaround. If I get the two Tales from the Arena books off to the publisher by the end of the year, rather than in the Fall, it’s still going to be a time before they see print. Getting The Coral Throne done means I may be able to finish out the series by the end of the year (assuming that it stays two books, which for me is a pretty big assumption.)

Decisions, decisions. I’m also still waffling on what to write next.

I have an in-person show this weekend. Come see me in Ormond Beach at the 6th annual Mother’s Day Bazaar, being held at the Ormond Beach Elk’s Club. More details down below, or at the link.

Coming Soon!

Image of a tall ship on a blue background. The words The Sea Prince. Elizabeth Schechter are superimposed over the ship.  A book with a ripped wrapping is on the left of the ship, the rip revealing a similar blue background and a partial image of a man with a beard.

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

DAANIR: His newly-awakened magic saved his prince, but the cost was his place at Tarjiaan’s side.

NIKA: Forced to marry Tarjiaan, the Butcher of Meradon, she expects a monster, but finds a man willing to fight the world for her before he even knows her name.

Together, Tarjiaan, Daanir and Nika must navigate a course through secrets, truths and lies in an attempt to end an endless war. But there’s an unseen threat lurking below the waves, and the battle is much closer to home than any of them expected.

The Sea Prince sets sail on June 10th!

Cover reveal and preorder link coming NEXT WEEK.

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…

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

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

32096 / 90000 (35.66%)

The Coral Throne
(The Coral Throne, book 2)

35181 / 90000 (39.09%)

Appearances

Image of a white background with purple and yellow flowers. 
Text reads 6th Annual Mother's Day Bazaar. Saturday May 10th, 2025. 10AM to 3PM at Ormond Beach Elks Lodge. 285 Wilmette Ave. Ormond Beach, FL 32174. If interested in being a vendor, email ftlosevents@gmail.com. Come find mom, grandma, your aunt, friend or yourself the perfect gift for Mother's Day. Plus, door prizes will be given throughout the event. Free to attend.

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

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 Mall

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, accountability, appearances, cover art, presales, publishing, Release date, Tales from the Arena, The Coral Throne, The Sea Prince, WIP, wordcount, Write Faster!, Writer on the Go!, 0 comments
It’s So Quiet!

It’s So Quiet!

The new windows and doors are in place, and the inspection happened this morning. If we leave out some trim that had to wait for the inspection, then the job is 99% done. We’ve been in this house nearly 19 years, and the windows that we had were original to the house. They were old, single pane, and not well installed to begin with. If there was an owl in the tree outside my window, I knew about it (and once, so did the person in my Zoom call.) Now, the one thing I’ve heard said most in the house this weekend is that it’s so quiet.

Very little writing got done last week. Between all of the powertools and the noise, and just the fact that there were six very lovely contractors all over the house for an entire week, there was very little focus. (seriously, they were very lovely contractors. If you’re in the Central Florida area and need windows replaced, use FAS Windows and Doors.)

Not everything was neglected last week, though. Layout for The Sea Prince is ready. I’ve ordered the cover, and I’m waiting to see what the cover artist comes up with. I’m looking at a June 10th release (or thereabouts) so that I can order my books and have them for the June Renaissance Festival in Oviedo. I’ll hopefully have something to show soon, and a preorder set up by the beginning of May. Edits for Dead Man’s Hand are also done, and now I need to get into rewrites. Or I could save the rewrites for summer, and send two complete manuscripts on to my publisher in the Fall.

Decisions, decisions….

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…

Work in Progress

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

28615 / 90000 (31.79%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

32294 / 90000 (35.88%)

Appearances

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

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 Mall
Oviedo, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, accountability, forthcoming works, Joy of home ownership, Planning, slow-writer-is-slow., Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, why-the-writing-is-slow, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Not Enough Caffeine

Not Enough Caffeine

Some Mondays, there is just not enough caffeine in the world to get going. Today is one of those Mondays, and I am dragging. It doesn’t help that there isn’t anything on my schedule today other than my usual Monday things — I could totally blow today off. But that puts no words on the page, and I’ve hit scenes in both WIPs that I really want to write, so more coffee it is!

This is the last week before the new windows go in, which means that it’s the last week I have before I have to be distracted for a week or so. I have no idea how I’m going to work next week, or how much I’m going to get done. And that goes double for everyone else in this house — Darling Editor works at home, and College Boy has classes all next week. I’m going to try to arrange the major disruption in his room during times when he doesn’t have class, but we’ll see. They start on the second floor next Monday at WAY TOO EARLY in the morning. Whee! Once it’s done, the house will be more thermally stable, and it won’t get as hot on the second floor in July (and the windows are all hurricane rated!) We just have to get through next week.

The only way out is through. That’s true for a lot of things, not just first world problems about home renovation. While there might be a lot of complaining about it, all that complaints do is provide a pressure release. After all, there’s a reason they call it venting — you have to release the pressure before the vessel explodes!

So this week, I’ll get in my words and get ready for next week, and when next week comes? I may not get as many words on the page, but that’s okay. I’ll be focusing on family/domestic stuff. Words will be there when I get back to work.

This Sunday, you’ll be able to find me at Spring is in the Air, in Leesburg, Florida. I’ll have the entire catalog there, including shiny new copies of Raven’s Fall! And yes, I will have the hardcovers!

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…

Promotions

Today is the last day of the Narratess Spring Sale. Grab a copy of The Chronicles of John Zebedee for only $1.99!

Work in Progress

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

26997 / 90000 (30.00%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

27792 / 90000 (30.88%)

Appearances

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

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 Mall
Oviedo, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, Blood of the Raven, Ravens Fall, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, why-the-writing-is-slow, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Yawn….

Yawn….

I think it goes without saying that the Monday after a conference is the longest Monday to every Monday. Yawn….

ICFA was fantastic, and I’m sorry to any of my friends who I know were at the conference but that I did not get a chance to see and say hello to! I didn’t realize that having something scheduled every day (sometimes two things scheduled every day!) would mean that I barely saw anyone! Despite that, it was an amazingly productive conference.

This week is going to be catching up and trying to get things finished before the end of the quarter. I want to get the series development of Covert Saloon wrapped up and off my to-do list — I’m on the last book and I have an idea of where it’s going. I just need to write it down. And I think I can get the edits of Dead Man’s Hand finished this week, too. Which will leave me open to get The Sea Prince ready to release at the end of Q2. That’s the plan, anyway.

I also need to do some research before putting together a call for submission for the Ruthven Literary Bulletin. As part of my first year as LRA president, I pulled the operating documents so they could be revised. That was when I discovered that the LRA is supposed to be putting out a journal! I’ve never compiled a journal, but I know people who do it on the regular, so I talked to them at ICFA, and after several meetings, we have a plan. However, I still have to find out what the Bulletin was like before it stopped being printed. That’s this week, and once I know, I can write a call for submissions for the new Bulletin. My aim is to have the new Bulletin out by the end of the year at the earliest, or by next ICFA at the latest.

I think it goes without saying that there was NO writing done last week. (Okay, very little. I write 351 words on King of Swords.) So I’m not updating the wordcounts below.

Okay. Time to go get caught up!

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…

Work in Progress

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

22670 / 90000 (25.19%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

25166 / 90000 (27.96%)

Appearances

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

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 Mall
Oviedo, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, edits, ICFA, promotions, public displays of geekery, Tales from the Arena, upcoming books, upcoming work, why-the-writing-is-slow, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
FaRo-What?

FaRo-What?

Yesterday, my husband/Darling Editor looked at my calendar and asked “FaRo-What? What’s FaRoBub?

“It’s a book promo event. One day only, 200 free books. I’ve got Hidden Things in for free download. That reminds me. I need to get KDP to call me. It’s not free on Amazon yet.”

So that was part of my Sunday — making sure that Hidden Things was free for today. And it is, and people have noticed and WOW, that’s a lot of downloads! I hope everyone who grabs a copy enjoys it!

Tomorrow, the fun starts of getting the prices turned back on. That’s always an adventure.

I’m finding that writing has been… interesting over the past month. I may have to shelve one of these books I’m working on and focus completely on the other, because writing TWO books where the main theme is standing up against tyranny and injustice to protect a weakened nation is a bit much for my heart right now. I may focus on The Coral Throne, because the turnaround on getting that published will be faster than on King of Swords. I’m looking at publishing The Sea Prince in late spring or early summer, so focusing on book 2 of that series seems to make more sense. I haven’t even started my editing run on Dead Man’s Hand, which will be going in to my publisher because it’s part of a series.

If I sound like I’m trying to convince myself, you have much to go on.

I have a release date for Morrigan’s Heir — I’ve been told we go LIVE February 11th! There isn’t a preorder link yet, but that will come sometime this week and I’ll post it to all the socials once I have it. I also received permission to share the cover, which is below. This cover has been a long time coming — that stock image (and the stock image that will be on Morrigan’s Wrath) were purchased years ago, and I sat on them until it was time to put together the covers, when I sent them to the cover artist and said “What can we do with these?”

I can’t wait to see it in print! I’ll have copies by the Enchanted Knights event in March — they won’t get to me in time for Saturday.

Yes, this Saturday! I’m gearing up for our first in person event of the new year. Love is in the Air is this Saturday from 10AM to 3PM at the Lakeside Community Center in Port Orange, Florida. If you get there early, there will be swag bags for the first people through the door (18+ only), and in those bags, you’ll find a little something from me! You have to come early to find out what, but I assure you that it’s cute.

Time to get back to work!

Coming Soon!

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…

Coming February 11th!

Work in Progress

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

13876 / 90000 (15.42%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

7049 / 90000 (7.83%)

Promotions

Today is the day! FaRoBub– 200 free fantasy romance and paranormal romance books.

Appearances

6th Annual Love is in the Air
February 8th, 2025
Lakeside Community Center
Port Orange, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, 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

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, cover art, forthcoming works, Hidden Things, public displays of geekery, publishing, Release date, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Phantom Bagpipes

Phantom Bagpipes

I’m currently listening to K-pop and electrosynth because I’m attempting to drown out the phantom bagpipes that I’ll be hearing for the rest of the week. Why?

I’m not sure which group this was, but I took this video yesterday at the Central Florida Highland Games. This was our… eleventh year, I think? When we started, College Boy was in kindergarten, and we missed two years — 2021 (if I remember correctly, there were no Games in 2021 due to Covid) and 2022. It’s the twelfth or thirteenth year for Bairn Care, the baby care facility that we run, and the Central Florida Highland Games are the only games that offer this kind of facility (thanks to a group of which I am a part.)

Brief interruption because one of the electrosynth songs in my playlist has BAGPIPES! Time to go listen to Epic.

I love the Games, even though I think I’ve gone to watch the actual Games part maybe twice in eleven years. It’s a chance to reconnect with friends who I don’t see nearly often enough. There’s excellent music and shopping, and if you don’t have a special diet, there is a food vendor that offers the best Fish and Chips — pieces of fish so large that our first year, we dubbed it Moby Dick and Chips (and that name has stuck!) If you’re in the Orlando area on Martin Luther King Jr weekend, it’s a great day out. Just get there early, because parking is… challenging. We had some weather move through on Sunday, which meant that it was less crowded, but it was still a good day.

Eight years ago, on a quiet Sunday morning at the Games, I wrote the synopsis for The White Raven books. The memory just came up in my Facebook, and I find it amusing that the first of those books will be out sometime in the next month or so. I’m just waiting on page proofs of Morrigan’s Heir, and a final cover to start promoting.

This year, there wasn’t any work done at the Games because there were no quiet parts to the morning. Saturday, families started coming to the tent almost as soon as the games started, and we had a steady flow all day. Sunday, we knew there was weather coming in, so we spent the quiet parts of the morning prepping the site and the tents for the storm. I think I maybe got a few small pages in a Field Notes notebook, but that’s maybe a hundred words written. Time to catch up on work.

Thankfully, this week is quiet, and once we get caught up on chores, I don’t have to leave the house until Friday. I can really focus on writing and getting the words on the page. I need to get my edits done from the sensitivity reading of The Sea Prince, but the read through of Dead Man’s Hand can wait until after ICFA. (Or I might take it to ICFA and work on it in my downtime.) And I need to start getting ready for my first event of the year (details listed below and on my Appearances page.)

Time to get back to work!

Work in Progress

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

9495 / 90000 (10.55%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

3280 / 90000 (3.64%)

Promotions

It’s Bookmas! Every day for the rest of the month, you can get free ebooks and free tools for writers, with a new book or tool every day! Check out today’s offerings here!

Appearances

6th Annual Love is in the Air
February 8th, 2025
Lakeside Community Center
Port Orange, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, 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

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, ICFA, progress, Revisions, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Tik… Tok…

Tik… Tok…

The clock is ticking down. Tik…tok…tik…tok.

Now, I’ll admit that I don’t post as much as I used to on Tiktok. Part of that is that when your thing is “Carline Talk,” you have a limited lifespan — once your kid no longer has carline? You’re kind of done. The other part is that the moderation team is… something. I’m not sure what, but they are something (I got a community strike for saying that Ursula was Disney’s contract lawyer — make it make sense!)

But Tiktok is where the book people are, so I stayed. I had some lovely interactions with other writers through Booktok, learned about new books and tools and indie bookstores. Promoted my books and helped promote others. And I learned things — about politics, about uprisings and unrest. I followed people who knew more than I did, and I watched people my son’s age grow and become active in their communities, and push back against the powers that be.

And that’s the problem, isn’t it? The powers that be could not control the narrative on Tiktok. So it had to go.

I’m still hoping for a last minute miracle. But I’m not holding my breath.

Where will I be? Here, of course. Always have a social media avenue you control. ALWAYS. So I have my blog, and I have my newsletter. I’m on Bluesky and Mastodon and Tumblr. I have the whole Meta suite — Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — but those are becoming increasingly more toxic, and I am probably going to focus my marketing efforts on Bluesky and Mastodon. Heck, I even fired up my Fetlife account! (That was mostly to find out what the heck was going on with some nasty local doings — I can’t say I’ve ever sold a book via Fetlife, but I have met a lot of wanna-be doms who lack reading comprehension.)

I’m keeping an eye on Neptune (and am on the beta testing team), so we’ll see where that goes, and I got an email this morning about a crowdsourcing campaign for a social media network aimed at adult content creators. And in the meantime, I’m working on not one, but TWO novels where our hero has to step up and fight back against a corrupt system oppressing his people. If I had a nickle, right?

The first week back was getting into the groove of writing after being off for a few weeks. I didn’t make the wordcount that I wanted on either manuscript, but I did get started on both. Baby steps. This week will be more. Maybe. It’s Highland Games week, so I won’t be writing at all this weekend unless it’s on paper (and they’re calling for rain, so I might not even be doing that. We will see.) If you head out to the games, I’ll be over in Bairn Care, near the clan tents. Come and say hi!

Work in Progress

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

7629 / 90000 (8.48%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

1401 / 90000 (1.56%)

Promotions

It’s Bookmas! Every day for the rest of the month, you can get free ebooks and free tools for writers, with a new book or tool every day! Check out today’s offerings here!

Appearances

6th Annual Love is in the Air
February 8th, 2025
Lakeside Community Center
Port Orange, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, 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

Posted by EASchechter in poking badgers with spoons, politics, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, this-is-why-we-can't-have-nice-things, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments