Strid: A Luminous Beings Mystery Launch Day!

It's here! It's finally here!!! The Luminous Beings series has officially begun as its first volume is published today. Click here or on the cover there to visit the book on Amazon, where it is in Kindle, paperback, and hardback format as of today! I can barely believe this day has arrived because it seems forever since Lucy and Annie first knocked on my door to tell me their story.

Several years ago, in what I lovingly call The Before Times, my sewing partner, Rennie ride-or-die, and friend Anne suggested that I should write a book about a duo that solved crime and looked steampunk-fabulous while larking about with giant hounds...not unlike those called Baskervilles. This was after I wrote a short piece about a train heist gone wrong, a mysterious woman with an Irish Wolfhound, and a gun that could shoot a rope of pure electricity rather than bullets. 

I did, and after several revisions and the decision not to include ALL the characters I came up with in one book (because that, children, is how 200k word count/800p fantasy novels are born), I managed to produce the lovely book-baby shown here. It is a steampunk-adjacent reimagining of West Yorkshire in the Edwardian industrial age, with a retelling of Irish mythology, an underwater gorge, and some very large hounds. 

Lucy and Annie Boyd were orphaned when their father and mother disappeared under strange circumstances. Annie, a tinkerer and inventor, had been working on some clockwork to help her mother after an accident in the mill - but losing her mother did not destroy her interest in creating. Lucy, a bookworm and general loose cannon, helps her sister test her creations with an eye to helping local law enforcement solve crime and clean up the village of Ingrow where they live.

How could they know that the murders at the mill were linked to ancient Celtic warring fae, who made their entrance into the human realm via the Strid, a dangerous underwater gorge in the middle of the River Wharfe?

This book is the product of a love affair with the North of England, and I hope that it will intrigue and inspire you as much as that part of the world did for me - and that you find your own Annie to round out your Lucy, and an Aoife and a Beaux to watch your back.

Just be careful where you discharge those weapons, okay?

Music Monday: Spoilers, Sweetie

Okay, this is the last Monday before Nanowrimo starts, so I'm going to share with you a cinematic trailer from a game, and I want to show you what it is like for me as a writer. Sometimes when I heard a piece of music I can SEE the story unfolding along with it. For this one, I was running errands and this piece came on and y'all...I got to a traffic light and just cried. 

I know y'all are not surprised at all...at the very least I'm sharing my crazy.  Enjoy - the video is beautifully done.

Music Monday: Unstoppable

 Going along with my love of superheroes and super ballads...this one is a great one for writing inspiration, coupled with one of the best superhero movies I've seen in ages and it doesn't even have Loki! (wrong pantheon) This isn't the original music video but it certainly fits.

Unstoppableby Sia
All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this townI'll do it 'til the sun goes down and all through the night timeOh yeahOh yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hearLeave my sunglasses on while I shed a tearIt's never the right timeYeah, yeah
I put my armor on, show you how strong how I amI put my armor on, I'll show you that I amI'm unstoppableI'm a Porsche with no brakesI'm invincibleYeah, I win every single gameI'm so powerfulI don't need batteries to playI'm so confidentYeah, I'm unstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayI'm unstoppable today
Break down, only alone I will cry on outYou'll never see what's hiding outHiding out deep downYeah, yeahI know, I've heard that to let your feelings goIs the only way to make friendships growBut I'm too afraid nowYeah, yeah
I put my armor on, show you how strong how I amI put my armor on, I'll show you that I amI'm unstoppableI'm a Porsche with no breaksI'm invincibleYeah, I win every single gameI'm so powerfulI don't need batteries to playI'm so confidentYeah, I'm unstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayI'm unstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayI'm unstoppable today
I put my armor on, show you how strong how I amI put my armor on, I'll show you that I amI'm unstoppableI'm a Porsche with no breaksI'm invincibleYeah, I win every single gameI'm so powerfulI don't need batteries to playI'm so confidentYeah, I'm unstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayI'm unstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayUnstoppable todayI'm unstoppable today

Music Monday: Still Feeling It

This song always gets me up and moving, but the lyrics sometimes weigh heavy. Here's to your Mondayest Mondays. May you boogie through them until Tuesday, at least.

Feel It Stillby Portugal
Can't keep my hands to myselfThink I'll dust 'em off, put 'em back up on the shelfIn case my little baby girl is in needAm I coming out of left field?
Ooh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, nowI been feeling it since 1966, nowMight be over now, but I feel it stillOoh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, nowLet me kick it like it's 1986, nowMight be over now, but I feel it still
Got another mouth to feedLeave her with a baby sitter, mama, call the grave diggerGone with the fallen leavesAm I coming out of left field?
Ooh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, nowI been feeling it since 1966, nowMight've had your fill, but you feel it still
Ooh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, nowLet me kick it like it's 1986, nowMight be over now, but I feel it still
We could fight a war for peace(Ooh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, now)Give in to that easy livingGoodbye to my hopes and dreamsStop flipping for my enemiesWe could wait until the walls come down(Ooh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, now)It's time to give a little to theKids in the middle, but oh 'til it fallsWon't bother me
Is it coming?Is it coming?Is it coming?Is it coming?Is it coming?Is it coming back?
Ooh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, yeahYour love is an abyss for my heart to eclipse, nowMight be over now, but I feel it stillOoh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, nowI've been feeling it since 1966, nowMight be over now, but I feel it stillOoh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks, nowLet me kick it like it's 1986, nowMight be over now, but I feel it stillMight've had your fill, but you feel it still

Is this...Throw WAY BACK Thursday?

Y'all. Just...watch. I am enchanted. The line about being able to afford one's own sword and not needing said knight...perfection.

Music Monday: Say MY Name

I have never made my love for Tom Hiddleston's Loki a secret. Let's just start there. Loki, the Norse trickster god in their original form AND the MCU's Loki have both inspired a lot of my antagonists AND protagonists, and the Hiddleston Loki is no different. If you can listen to this song and not think of Loki...specifically that clip from ComicCon when the MCU was hyping Thor:Dark World when Hiddleston appears and interrupts a panel as Loki...

Anyway, this video, Loki || Say My Name [collab with StoryDetective], is a perfect blend of the two and I love it. Enjoy, and know that this song will be blaring every time I sit down to write.

Spectrum

by Florence + the Machine

When we first came here

We were cold and we were clear

With no colours in our skin

We were light and paper's thin

And when we first came here

We were cold and we were clear

With no colours in our skin

Until we let the spectrum in

Say my name

And every colour illuminates

We are shining

And we will never be afraid again

Say my name

As every colour illuminates

We are shining

And we will never be afraid again

Say my name

As every colour illuminates

We are shining

And we will never be afraid again

And when we come for you

We'll be dressed up all in blue

With the ocean in our arms

Kiss your eyes and kiss your palms

And when it's time to pray

We'll be dressed up all in grey

With metal on our tongues

And silver in our lungs

Say my name

And every colour illuminates

We are shining

And we will never be afraid again

Say my name

As every colour illuminates

We are shining

And we will never be afraid again

Say my name

As every colour illuminates

We are shining

And we will never be afraid again

And when we come back we'll be dressed in black

And you'll scream my name aloud

And we won't eat and we won't sleep

We'll drag bodies from the ground

So say my name

And every colour illuminates

And we are shining

And we'll never be afraid again

Say my name

As every colour illuminates

Say my name

As every colour illuminates

We are shining

And we will never be afraid again

Say my name

As every colour illuminates

We are shining

And we will never be afraid again

Say my name

We are shining

Say my name

Say my name

And we will never be afraid again

It's here! Sorta...

Strid preorder opens today!!

A magical detective tale set in Victorian Yorkshire. Irish mythology meets the Industrial North through a deadly underwater gorge. Sisters Lucy and Annie must find their roots to save West Riding from an ancient threat.

Cast your mind back to a Yorkshire that could have been...

Head to Amazon and preorder your copy today! Strid releases on 27 October and I can't wait for you to meet Lucy and Annie.

Music Monday: Of Arcs and Stone and Rifts and Storms

So, I'm still thinking about Em and Alex...and Lex today. This song speaks to me when I think of them, but it also makes me think of my own expat journey. To boot, it is just beautiful, speaking of wandering and travel and new lands and home. The best line, the one that encapsulates everything I'm thinking about as I start work on the next Arcstone novel, is the chorus: "In the cathedrals of New York and Rome/There is a feeling that you should just go home/And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is."

(This live version is particularly lovely.)

Cathedrals

by Jump Little Children

In the shadows of tall buildings
Of fallen angels on the ceilings
Oily feathers in bronze and concrete
Faded colors, pieces left incomplete
The line moves slowly past the electric fence
Across the borders between continents

In the cathedrals of New York and Rome
There is a feeling that you should just go home
And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is

In the shadows of tall buildings
The architecture is slowly peeling
Marble statues and glass dividers
Someone is watching all of the outsiders
The line moves slowly through the numbered gate
Past the mosaic of the head of state

In the cathedrals of New York and Rome
There is a feeling that you should just go home
And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is

In the shadows of tall buildings
Of open arches endlessly kneeling
Sonic landscapes echoing vistas
Someone is listening from a safe distance
The line moves slowly into a fading light
A final moment in the dead of night

In the cathedrals of New York and Rome
There is a feeling that you should just go home
And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is

Music Monday: This is the Time

I heard this song in the car and was struck. Or shook. I might have been shook. Anyway...

This has always been one of my favorites by Billy Joel, and the meaning has changed as I've gotten older. I'm on the other side of that life that he talks about, in the aftermath. But it also speaks to the decisions that are coming for Em in the upcoming sequel to Rift that I'm drafting during nano this year. She has been running madly toward the next thing for so much of her life...when she has time to slow down and look around, what will be left? I think of her when I hear, "You've given me the best of you, but now I need the rest of you."

And come on...Alex/Lex? "So stay with me baby, I've got plans for you..." Right? Maybe that's just me.

And that's all I can say because of SPOILERS, SWEETIE. 

"This Is The Time"by Billy Joel
We walked on the beach beside that old hotelThey're tearing it down nowBut it's just as wellI haven't shown you everything a man can doSo stay with me babyI've got plans for you
This is the time to rememberCause it will not last foreverThese are the daysTo hold on toCause we won'tAlthough we'll want toThis is the timeBut time is gonna changeYou've given me the best of youAnd now I need the rest of you
Did you know that before you came into my lifeIt was some kind of miracle that I survivedSome day we will both look backAnd have to laughWe lived through a lifetimeAnd the aftermath
This is the time to rememberCause it will not last foreverThese are the daysTo hold on toCause we won'tAlthough we want toThis is the timeBut time is gonna changeI know we've got to move somehowBut I don't want to lose you now
Sometimes it's so easyTo let a daySlip on byWithout even seeing each other at allBut this is the time you'll turn back to and so will IAnd those will be the days you can never recall
And so we embrace againBehind the dunesThis beach is coldOn winter afternoonsBut holding you close is like holding the summer sunI'm warm from the memory of days to come
This is the time to rememberCause it will not last foreverThese are the daysTo hold on toBut we won'tAlthough we'll want toThis is the timeBut time is gonna changeYou've given me the best of youBut now I need the rest of you

Music Monday: Right Now

Well, I can't tell you why this song speaks to a project that I'm going to start working on soon because I am notoriously horrible with spoilers...but I can tell you that it is a YA book - a real one, not one that starts as YA and then becomes NA because I'm an old lady who thinks she is still in her late 20s - and that it is a fantasy series. 

But I heard it as I was running an errand yesterday and it hit me that this is the motivation for one of the MCs in this story, especially this line: "Miss the beat, you lose the rhythm / And nothing falls into place, no / Only missed by a fraction / Slipped a little off your pace, oh..." I mean that line could be written on my tombstone or be found if you looked me up in the dictionary. That's my whole life, right there...and that's her life too.

Crap. Spoilers. Anyway...while I'm not a fan of what I like to call Van Haggar, the music in this song is all Eddie Van Halen and his amazing skill on the piano and guitar, and when this mysterious YA story becomes a movie this song will be in the soundtrack, no doubt. 

,/center.

Right Now
by Van Halen

Don't want to wait 'til tomorrow
Why put it off another day?
One more walk through problems
Built-up and stands in our way, ah
One step ahead, one step behind me
Now you gotta run to get even
Make future plans or dream about yesterday, hey
C'mon turn, turn this thing around
, hey
It's your tomorrow
(Right now),
C'mon, it's everything
(Right now),
Catch a magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
Miss the beat, you lose the rhythm
And nothing falls into place, no
Only missed by a fraction
Slipped a little off your pace, oh
The more things you get, the more you want
Just trade in one for the other
Workin' so hard, to make it easier, whoa
Got to turn, c'mon turn this thing around
, hey
It's your tomorrow
(Right now)
C'mon, it's everything
(Right now)
Catch that magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
It's enlightened me, right now
What are you waitin' for?
Oh, yeah, right now
, hey
It's your tomorrow
(Right now)
C'mon, it's everything
(Right now)
Catch that magic moment, and do it right, right now
Oh, right now
It's what's happening
Right here and now
Right now
It's right now
Oh
Tell me, what are you waiting for?
Turn this thing around

Music Monday: An Early Throwback Thursday

So I sat down last night to find something to watch on tv and stumbled across one of my favorite movies from my younger days, The Lost Boys. While there are cultural things that were lost on me as a teenager not growing up on the West Coast, I was mesmerized. To this day I still am, even though I've seen it so many times that I know all the words.

I still say good dog when Nanook knocks the vampire into the bathtub.

So this just makes sense that I would find this movie after discovering an old manuscript in my hard drive and thinking for a few minutes about trying my hand at writing paranormal romance. 

You will all be glad to know that I'm sticking to fade to black for now.

Cry Little Sister (Theme from "The Lost Boys")by Gerard McMahon
Last fire will rise behind those eyesBlack house will rock, blind boys don't lieImmortal fear, that voice so clearThrough broken walls, that scream I hear

Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Blue masquerade, strangers look onWhen will they learn this loneliness?Temptation heat beats like a drumDeep in your veins, I will not lie
Little sister (Thou shall not fall)Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
My Shangri-La, I can't forgetWhy you were mine, I need you now
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)(Thou shall not die)(Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)

Music Monday: It Will Never Be Enough

So I'm on what I like to call the Clock App (algorithms be damned) or, as it is actually called, TikTok, and I joined last year during lockdown because I wanted something to do. I expected funny cat videos and a few really cringeworthy dance challenges and don't get me wrong, I found that...and more. There are hashtag communities there, of like-minded folks, such as #booktok and #writertok and so forth, and so many talented cosplayers and actors and the like.

Lately, there has been a lovely trend of readers making videos to try to speak to the reason why we read adventure and fantasy books. Most of the time you see a person reading at the beginning of the video with someone else asking (or the words are written on the screen), "why do you read so much?" And the terribly talented person goes on to show clips from or cosplay characters from several well-known movies/books/tv shows, often becoming the heroes and acting out their lives...because "...I know now that this world will never be enough for me." (by TikTok User @montropolis)

This is why I write, y'all. This is why I continue to write, to quote "Hamilton," like I'm running out of time - this world will NEVER be enough. This song nails it. (Also, I love Kelly Clarkson's version from The Greatest Showman Reimagined, so that's the one I chose.)

Never Enough (from The Greatest Showman Reimagined)

by Justin Paul / Benj Pasek

I'm tryin' to hold my breath
Let it stay this way
Can't let this moment end
You set off a dream in me
Getting louder now
Can you hear it echoing?

Take my hand
Will you share this with me?
'Cause darling, without you

All the shine of a thousand spotlights
All the stars we steal from the night sky
Will never be enough, never be enough

Towers of gold are still too little
These hands could hold the world, but it'll
Never be enough, never be enough for me

Never, never
Never, never
Never, for me, for me
Never enough, never enough, never enough
For me, for me, for me

All the shine of a thousand spotlights
All the stars we steal from the night sky
Will never be enough, never be enough

Towers of gold are still too little
These hands could hold the world, but it'll
Never be enough, never be enough for me

Never, never
Never, never
Never, for me, for me
Never enough, never, never
Never enough, never, never
Never enough
For me, for me, for me

Next time, on Brave Lettuce...

Image by Darwin Laganzon from Pixabay 

So, there are two projects on the horizon that I want to tell you about - two upcoming novels, that are special...SO special to me, but in very different ways.

The first one is special because it is at least three years in the actual writing, but probably ten years in the making. When I lived in West Yorkshire for two years, I took copious mental notes about the landscape, the architecture, and the people, knowing that there was a novel in there somewhere. Then I discovered steampunk and thought I could write a novel in that genre. Spoiler alert? I was wrong. However...I did manage to cobble together a story involving dodgy Irish mythology, an underwater gorge that has killed people (that part is true), and two enterprising Victorian sisters who happen to have very large dogs and solve crimes.

No? Okay, how about this: A magical detective tale set in Victorian Yorkshire. Irish mythology meets the Industrial North through a deadly underwater gorge. Sisters Lucy and Annie must find their roots to save West Riding from an ancient threat. Better?

Anyway, my first Luminous Beings novel called "Strid" will be opening for pre-order on the first of October. Watch this space for more information and ordering links to Amazon.

The second piece that is coming out in November is special to me because it revisits Orana and introduces readers to one of my favorite characters I think I've ever written. She was a secondary character in the Nature Walker Trilogy, though her actions (under the control of everyone's least favorite wizard, Taeben) brought about the resolution of that story arc and brought Gin and Sath into their roles as Guardians. Now that they are off saving the world, again, I thought it was time for my readers to get to know Tairneanach a little better. 

Born into power and forged by betrayal, Tairn's life has blown off course more often than it has kept true. She survived retribution for her role in the death of the Qatu'anari Princess Royal by agreeing to live in the far northern citadel of the dwarves, Thror Mydin, where Tee could keep an eye on her.

A decision to take a well-deserved break from her nanny duties leads Tairn to a chance meeting with an old friend on the road to the Outpost. From there, she joins a rescue mission and goes up against a demigoddess bent on resurrecting an ancient evil and enslaving the above-ground citizens of Orana. All in a day's side trip, right?

The second in the Guardians of Orana series, "Red" will be open for ebook pre-order on the first of November, so watch this space for more info for that book as well.

Music Monday - Tomorrow is Today

So back when I was in college, I was in a play my senior year called "The Shadowbox." The director chose wonderful music for the opening, intermission, etc. and most of it dealt with the same theme of the play - a look at families in a hospice, each dealing with impending death in different ways. I didn't know anything about anything back then, but boy did I think I was ready to play a 40-something mother of a teenager who was visiting a husband dying in hospice care. 
This song drifts in and out of my life, as do my other two favorites from that play, but today this one spoke to me about my upcoming Nanowrimo project - the sequel to Rift, and the continuing story of a young woman going too far into her gaming universe to be able to hang on to her real life. I've been thinking about Em and Alex a lot lately, and Lex, Alex's avatar in the game and alter ego. And this line sort of jumped out at me in the car: And someday, when your dreams are leaving you, I'll still believe in you. There's sort of a Peter Pan and Tinkerbell quality about videogame characters - do they exist when no one is playing the game? Do they remember things and people? 
If Em stops seeing Lex as a sentient being, does he revert to binary code?
Anyway, this is from what I think to be one of Billy Joel's greatest albums, Cold Spring Harbor, and it always takes me back to a dusty theatre in a small college in Tennessee...I wonder if my Maggie is still walking the boards and still grieving a life she hasn't quite lost yet?

Tomorrow is Todayby Billy Joel
I've been livin' for the momentBut I just can't have my wayAnd I'm afraid to go to sleep'Cause tomorrow is today
People tell me life is sweeterBut I don't hear what they sayNothing comes to change my lifeSo tomorrow is today
I don't care to know the hour'Cause it's passing anywayI don't have to see tomorrow'Cause I saw it yesterday
So I listen for an answerBut the feeling seems to stayAnd what's the use of always dreamingIf tomorrow is today
Still I'm waiting for the morningBut it feels so far awayAnd you don't need the love I'm givingSo tomorrow is today
Oh, my, I'm goin' to the riverGonna take a ride and the lord will deliver meMade my bed, I'm gonna lie in itIf you don't come, sure gonna die in it
Too late, too much givenI've seen a lot of life and I'm damn sick of livin' itI keep hopin' that you will pass my way
And some day if your dreams are leavin' youI'll still believe in you
I don't care to know the hour'Cause it's passing anywayI don't have to see tomorrow'Cause I saw it yesterday
Though I'm living and I'm singingAnd although my hands still playSoon enough it will all be over'Cause tomorrow is today

Music Monday: It's come to this

 Y'all, anyone that knows me knows that this is one of my favorite songs. Back in the day when I was awake into the wee hours running around Norrath (Everquest), I always had music playing alongside the voices of my group on Teamspeak. Quite frequently this song was in the mix, and it will always remind me of charging up to an angry NPC...as well as swapping out my heals as fast as I could to keep the fighters propped up.

But now it holds a different place in my heart as the absolute theme song for my Nature Walker Trilogy, as well as a fantastic driving song...as long as I have cruise control set. I'm a GenX 80's child, and not ashamed to have this tune blasting. I can't believe I didn't have this one as a Music Monday before!

(Before any of you come at me for misogynistic tendencies...in my head, it's often she or they rather than he...)

Holding Out for a Heroby Bonnie Tyler
Where have all the good men gone and where are all the Gods?Where's the street wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need
I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the nightHe's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fightI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning lightHe's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soonAnd he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life
Somewhere after midnight in my wildest fantasySomewhere just beyond my reach there's someone reaching back for meRacing on the thunder and rising with the heatIt's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet
I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the nightHe's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fightI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning lightHe's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soonAnd he's gotta be larger than lifeI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
Up where the mountains meet the heavens aboveOut where the lightning splits the seaI could swear that there's someone somewhere watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rainAnd the storm and the floodI can feel his approach like a fire in my blood
I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the nightHe's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fightI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning lightHe's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soonAnd he's gotta be larger than life
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night