WIP

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

Here Comes the Rain Again…

Here comes the rain again. And the wind. And the pressure changes. Hurricane season in Florida is a pain in the sinuses. Right now, Idalia is a Tropical Storm, but by the time it makes landfall on Wednesday morning (I think that was the last projection), it will be a Cat 3 hurricane.

Now, this isn’t our first rodeo. We have our supplies. We have water, batteries and charcoal for the grill in case we have to cook outside. The porch is cleared, and all that’s left are a few things that need to be moved to the garage tonight after dinner. And we’re well inland and, like Obi Wan, we have the high ground. We’ll be good.

However, now that all the prep is done, the waiting starts…

In writing news, today is the last day of the Narratess August Indie Sale. Hidden Things is currently 99 cents, and there are over 300 other books to choose from.

There’s still also the Brave New Worlds giveaway, which ends Thursday, and where you can win a $20 gift card to the bookstore of your choice.

Writing is going slowly at the moment, mostly because my sinuses are yelling, “Danger, Will Robinson!” (I can’t remember starting to feel hurricane pressure two days before the actual storm before…)

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

49416 / 120000 (41.18%)

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

15803 / 90000 (17.56%)

I still haven’t gotten permission to show the new House of Sable Locks cover, but I do have a tentative schedule for edits for The White Raven: Morrigan’s Heir, so the end of my year is going to be PACKED. Touch wood everything goes well with that and we’ll be able to keep to the 2023 release date.

That’s about all for me. Now, it’s just the waiting.

Catch you all next week!

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!

Aug

2023

Back to School… Sort Of

I decided that even though someone doesn’t start classes for another week, I’m getting back to work on the actual school schedule. So when the high school went back to school, I went back to work. Balance of Power and The Sea Prince are both underway. Chapter one of Balance of Power went live on the Patreon last week, I’m currently finishing up chapter three, and Danielle (my co-author) and I are underway with The Sea Prince.

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

48284 / 120000 (40.24%)

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

9027 / 90000 (10.03%)

As a reminder, Brave New Worlds is still ongoing for another two weeks, which means that you can still grab up to 50 Science Fiction and Fantasy novels and enter for a $20 gift card. You can grab a copy of Written in Water there, just for signing up for my newsletter.

I realized (at the urging of a colleague, that I really needed to get around to updating the cover for Worlds Begin, the Heir to the Firstborn creation myth, so that it matches the rest of the series.

I got the new cover the other day, and It. Is. GORGEOUS!

Cover for Worlds Begin. A wreath of green leaves and flowers, surrounding the title Worlds Begin in gol

(Reminder — Worlds Begin is a freebie everywhere EXCEPT Amazon, who refuses to set books permanently free. If you want it on Amazon, please price match. Or download from Smashwords and use Send to Kindle.)

I’ve also seen and approved the 10th anniversary cover for House of Sable Locks, but I haven’t yet been given permission to share it. Yes, my “modern erotic classic you’ve never heard of” (according to the now-defunct Cliterati website), is now ten years old. I can’t believe it either. (At some point, you all will see the sequel. It’s written. I promise. And there will be another, but that one is a title and a vague idea.)

There isn’t much else happening at the moment. Waiting on edits to come in, waiting on new books to arrive for Necronomicon in September — I will have copies of Princes of Air on the table! But for now? Time to go make some more words!

Catch you next week, hopefully with a new cover to show you!

Aug

2023

“Time is a concept and I don’t believe in it!”

One of my son’s favorite things to say is “Time is a concept and I don’t believe in it!”

He holds this truth so strongly that he is not, in fact, a high school senior.

He’s a college student. His last high school class was done last May. He’s taking all college courses from this point on, and when he graduates high school this May, he will also be receiving his Associates degree.

I’ll admit, this whole “earn a two year degree in high school” concept is still a little bizarre to me. I mean… he’s starting school ten days after his peers, and won’t actually have to GO to the high school unless he’s meeting with his counselor or attending a school function. What sorcery is this?

And, of course, it’s going to do strange things to my writing schedule. I’ve been writing to the school schedule for ages. And now… that’s not the schedule anymore. So I’ll figure it out.

I have set up the first chapter of Balance of Power to drop on my Patreon tomorrow for Early Access tiers, and on Friday for regular tiers. And that will be the pattern as we go. I don’t have much of a buffer yet, so it’ll be a little hectic going forward. But the story starts tomorrow, and new subscribers can get in on the ground floor.

I’ve also gotten a new cover for Worlds Begin, so that it matches the rest of the series. I saw the final proof today, and it’s GORGEOUS! I should have the files tomorrow, and I’ll get things uploaded tomorrow or Wednesday.

And work should start back in on The Sea Prince this week or next. Some of the work that was done already hasn’t really been touched in 12 years, and… well, it shows.

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

43823 / 120000 (36.52%)

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

6445 / 90000 (7.16%)

There are some other things in the works right now as well, but I can’t say anything more until I know more. Just know that there might be some excitement coming down the line.

Brave New Worlds is still ongoing as a promo, and there are 55 books to choose from! Go check it out!

Jul

2023

All the Promos!

This is going to be one busy week for me! I have two Facebook takeovers, a promotion that starts tomorrow, and another one that starts on Thursday. So let’s get that out of the way first.

The Facebook Takeovers are on Friday and Saturday:

Friday, August 4th, 1PM Eastern — Laverne’s News

Saturday, August 5th, 1PM Eastern — One-Click Book Addicts.

They’re only 15 minutes each, so blink and you’ll miss them.

The first promotion, which starts tomorrow and runs all month, is the Brave New Worlds promo through BookCave. Sign up for author newsletters to download over 40 Fantasy and Science Fiction books, and enter for a chance to win a $20 giftcard to the bookstore of your choice.

If you don’t want to sign up for newsletters, then we have the BIG Tribe Called Success promotion, which will be this weekend ONLY. SO MANY BOOKS! All genres, and all free.

Neither of those links are live yet — Brave New Worlds goes live tomorrow, and the Tribe link goes to a sign up for a reminder email.

We’re also getting ready for school this week — Senior Year starts next week. We get the schedule THIS week, and I’m not ready to be the mom of a high school senior. I’m not. He was just five a minute ago.

Once school starts, work starts back in on The Sea Prince, and on Balance of Power (which I have admittedly been poking at since I finally knew the title.)

The Sea Prince
The Coral Throne, Book 1

43823 / 120000 (36.52%)

Balance of Power
Heir to the Firstborn, book 7

4202 / 90000 (4.67%)

Chapter one of Balance of Power will go live on my Patreon next week. Joining me on Patreon also allows you to go back to the beginning of Heir to the Firstborn and see how it has evolved since I first started this project in 2018, and tiers start at $1 a month.

I started something new last week — I put signed copies of Written in Water into a local bookstore on consignment! Spellbound Bookstore is an absolutely adorable little bookstore right at the edge of historic Sanford, Florida. (If you’re local? It’s across 17-92 from the Firestone on 1st Street, on the corner facing the Burger King. Parking and the entrance are in the back.) Three copies will be there for at least 40 days, so go check it out and support a local bookstore!

(Okay, two copies are left. I know one has already been sold.)

I also entered a consignment agreement with This Bookstore Kills Fascists, which isn’t open yet but it coming to the Tampa Bay area. They will have the entire Heir to the Firstborn series available once they’re open. Those won’t be signed, but I have signed bookplates if you want an aftermarket autograph — just message me!

I’m going to have a chat with a third bookstore next week, so I’ll let you know how that goes.

Now, you can already get my books in paperback at your local bookstore but they have to order them for you. Or you can get signed copies directly from me.

Catch you next week, with hopefully more news!

WIP

Fourth and Goal

Promotions!

No More Peopling.

Convention Prep!

Brains empty.

Calendar Fall

Here Comes the Rain Again…

Back to Work!

Back to School… Sort Of

“Time is a concept and I don’t believe in it!”

Works in Progress

Appearances

Find My Books!

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