Book Launch: The Druid's Nature

[Cover art by MythologyArt on Pixabay]

She's here! Elys is here! I've really enjoyed making the change to novellas that focus on one event and one character (or two in this case, maybe four? Anyway...). While Taeben's story (The Wizard's Bond) ended up exactly as I expected (like he was going to redeem himself with his backstory? Come on...), Elys took me in a different direction than the one I'd planned. I hope you enjoy it if you give her a chance. It's out in paperback now and eBook on October 10th (I will figure all this out one day) and I will have paperback copies at Multiverse next weekend. I'm so excited!!

Get your copy now: 

Amazon Kindle Copy

Amazon Paperback Copy

Signed Paperback Copy from my Website (still listed as pre-order but I'm working on that)

Music Monday: Ikara as Rob Zombie, sorta...

The song "Dragula" by Rob Zombie is always on my playlists, especially ones for driving. I guess I'm just GenX enough that I need songs with that kind of driving beat to listen to while I'm actually...you know, driving. Anyway, I was listening to it as I left the house to go to work one day and it hit me...I could see the cinematic in my head of Ikara rising from his prison in the Underworld and flying across the length of Orana as the foliage and vegetation beneath him withered and died. Then, at the very end of the song, I saw him step onto the beach at Gudaveh and look back over his shoulder from the Dark Side of the World toward those who sent him to the Underworld in the first place. "Soon." DELICIOUS chills.

This is like the one where I saw the souls in the labyrinth but I'm going to shut it before I give even more spoilers. Here's Ikara's anthem...enjoy.

Music Monday: Geronimo...with some context

We are less than a month out from the newest Orana story greeting the world, and this song made me think of the protagonist, Elys. If you haven't read my other Orana Chronicles, Elys is a wood elf druid who was born with the soul of a warrior. Part of her backstory involves getting unsanctioned training from a high elf which led to both of them being banished. Where Gin is a healer and generally a mother figure, Elys is...a firebug. She is the one that doesn't care what the size of the room is, she's casting fireball. 

Except when she is with her "wee man," the gnome warrior, Hack. The two of them are soulmates on the level of two halves of the same whole...but don't bring it up because she will deny it. In "The Druid's Nature," I'm introducing you properly to Elys, and I hope you find her as endearing and hilarious as I do. This song is all Elys, jumping before she thinks things through. "Y'all stand back, I'm gonna try something." Enjoy.

(Those who know me know that I am VERY careful when using any words that might be a slur or the inappropriate use of an indigenous term or something offensive to a culture different than my own. So I have researched this song up one side and down the other (wonder where THAT idiom is from? Hmmm...) and have landed on it not being offensive because it is using the name of an Apache hero in a way that recalls bravery, which is how he is remembered. Still...I will take it down in a hot minute if I find out I am wrong. HOT. MINUTE.)

Music Monday: Elys and Hack

I'm almost to edits on the latest novella in my Orana Chronicles series, and this one focuses on two of my favorite secondary characters, Elys and Hack. Elys is a wood elf druid who prefers burning things to healing her party members and Hack is a gnome warrior that adores her. They go through a lot to be together, and their banter is one of my favorite parts of writing them. This song just made me think of them. Enjoy.

Music Monday: Relax my Beloved...Ginny

I was hopping around among playlists on a LONG drive recently and found an old one called "Music for Orana." As I was on my way to a book event in Knoxville (hello LONG delays on I40 from Asheville to the Tennessee state line), I put that on to get me in the headspace to sell the stories I wrote about my Orana characters...who have in many ways become more real to me than some real people in my life. Authors, you know what I mean about the voices that wake you up in the middle of the night to deliver a plot twist...

Anyway, the title for this song by Alex Clare slid onto the screen just behind my steering wheel and I took a quick second to remember what part of the books was inspired by this song. Two seconds later I knew... This is what I imagine it is like for Gin to feel the bond in her mind when Taeben is controlling her but convincing her he does it because he cares for her. 

Relax my beloved, don't worry for me

Don't shed a tear for me, always be near for me

Be confident my love, don't bow your head for me

Promise you'll smile for me, don't ever cry for me

He is soothing her and convincing her to let him take care of her. He wants her to be the best version of herself, unlike the Qatu Sath who wants to hold her back so he has to rescue her. He begs her to smile for him, though her smile is the bit that brings into sharp focus what he is actually doing, and it breaks him a bit each time.

Enjoy. The lyrics are in the video.

Appearance Alert: SC Comicon!

For my second signing event in 2026, I'm over the moon (with Artemis II) to get to tell you I will be at SC Comicon this weekend! Saturday and Sunday, 10-6ish, I will be in the Vendor Hall in Artist's Alley with books ready to go home with you!

I will be in space 1032 (marked on the floor map below) which is on the opposite side of the hall from last fall if you came to the one day Fall Comicon, and will have all of my Orana Chronicles epic fantasy novels, The World of Arcstone litRPG duology, and the first in the alternative fiction series Luminous Beings series, Strið.

I hope to see you, not just because my books need homes but because the line up for this Comicon is amazing! Anson Mount (Star Trek: SNW), Ron Perlman (Beauty and the Beast), Ruth Connell (SPN), Mark Sheppard (SPN, Firefly)...it's going to be amazing! Also, there will be authors I love there, including Darin Kennedy, Matthew Saunders, and the Crowded Shelf!

For more info, click here. See you this weekend!

Music Monday: What Dreams May...Be Wild

Back to the beginning here...we didn't lose power during the storm, and we've had another one since then--just snow this time--and during all this time with nowhere to go and plenty of time to write...I haven't.

By write, I mean put words on a page. I have, though, had some of the craziest dreams and I've been taking notes and I may have a second book in the steampunk adjacent series in the bare bones stage. It's the wildest dreams phase.

This song first came to my attention on what I lovingly call the clock app, in a series of videos describing the MMC in a rom com, but even though I don't write those I can use the descriptions from the videos and the general feel of the song. Hang on, Elys and Hack, your story is developing.

Music Monday: Geeking Out in 2025

This weekend I had a table at the Geekery Market in North Carolina. 

My festive safe space, complete with books.

It's like a Christmas Market for nerdy types and it's always a good time. Even though I didn't sell many books, I feel like the ones that found homes were where they were supposed to be. 

But this song is one of a group of songs that really seem to address how this geeky lifestyle makes you feel...they have several others (Sometimes you've gotta backstab a MF is one of my favorites) but this one reminds me of my own group, Lorem Ipsum, and our poor DM ("why are you like this?") The line, "You can't stop what can't be planned," absolutely is our table at any given session. So after a fully geeky weekend, I bring you Chaotic Stupid Forever. Enjoy. No roll required.

The Upstate Renaissance Festival, 12-14 September!

My wee bookshop, September 2023

 So it won't look exactly like that, but you can look for the tapestries and some bunting to find me! The Upstate Renaissance Festival is one of my best events all year, and I'm so excited for next weekend. I started out with this faire working with The Hounds of East Fairhaven, who are hosted each year by Livy & Co, purveyors of the finest collars and other accoutrement for your canine friends. But after that I thought about applying to sell my books and I believe the first year (not 2022, when the monsoon hit and my canopy tried to pull a Mary Poppins) I was one of only a handful or less of authors there. Last year I was inside a building which was fantastic because SC isn't quite convinced to move on to autumn by September.

The booth indoors, September 2024

This year the faire has outgrown the lovely spot in downtown Greer and will be at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, SC. I'm excited, but this will be a new experience for me. I always have help setting up and breaking down thanks to Hubs, but the last time I was solo in my tent outdoors I was still in the throes of chemo. We'll see! I did the faire last year solo, but as I've mentioned I was indoors.

I will be right next to the Livy & Co. tent, though, which will be good because our new Irish Wolfhound, Stanley, will hopefully be making his HOEF debut with my friend Anne...you may remember her as Bryn's "Auntsie" and resident Wolfhound Whisperer. Fingers crossed, and more on our big blond boy in another post. 

But if you're in the area next weekend and looking for something to do, this faire has been charming fun for the last few years and can only be more so with more space. Come see me, get copies of my books signed (as well as the other authors that will be there), and just generally enjoy the day! The faire opens Friday the 12th at 5pm - 10pm, then Saturday and Sunday from 10am - 6pm both days. There is more information here, so have a read and then come visit!

Huzzah!

Music Monday: Back Where Gin Belongs

So when I can't sleep, I often have my Alexa read my own novels to me. I know how that sounds, and I'm not saying that my books are so boring that they put me to sleep. I'm saying that they are familiar and that is soothing to me...like the fact that I watch The Big Bang Theory over and over. Lately I listen to them in order...and wish that I was at the point where I can offer professional HUMAN-read audio books. 

Anyway, this song is, for reasons I can't fully explain, The Nature Walker Trilogy. This is a video with lyrics on the screen, so no need to put them below. Enjoy.

Music Monday: The Air I Breathe

Miss me last week? What I am not so lovingly calling The She Hulking (radiation) has come to an end and I can sort of think straight. This song spoke to me about many of my MCs and the found family vibes that permeate my writing. Enjoy. 

Music Monday: Before you go...

Hey, so I'm still safe from Whamaggedon as of this morning. You? I'm also up to my ears in Getting Things Done for the DayJob™ so I'm going to leave you with this pretty little song that speaks to me of my current WIP (not to be confused with the Orana novel Edit In Progress that is sadly ongoing) and of the two MCs that seem to orbit each other at the moment without being physically together. Cryptic enough? I'm also coming off a very happy Critmas celebration with my DnD group yesterday, followed by trees taking out my power for a few hours so...normal levels of insanity around here. Lewis Capaldi, do your magic! (Lyrics in video.)

Music Monday: Don't Dream, Con is Over

This weekend was amazing! I spent my time with a table and some authors at ConCarolinas in Charlotte, NC and got to see faces I only see now and again and hug a lot of necks (more on that later). It is never long enough, and I'm reflecting on why this morning with the help of a little Crowded House (I mean, 80s music...GenX, y'all). Enjoy...I'm going to need more coffee.

(lyrics are in the CC)

Music Monday: Leaping into Camp Nano Like...

...get it? A Catapult?

Listen, I had many other puns involving felines that were MUCH worse, so...you're welcome. 

I have a feeling I have posted this song already before it got lost in the seventy-eleven playlists that I have for every significant moment in my life, but if so, enjoy it again. Another writer I follow on Twitter just finished Darkness and referred to Sath and Gin's relationship as "delectable" (what? Maybe I AM a romance writer after all? No...). I heard this song again recently and it really does bring me into the mind of the Royals of Qatu'anari, so I'm sharing it with you. Romance with a side of never-ending danger and a bit of sarcasm - Sath and Gin all day long. Since this April's Camp Nano isn't going to be in Orana, I'm getting all my Sath and Gin vibes out here. 

Maybe. 

Probably not.

Catapultby Jack Savoretti
Following the headlightsGot to find a way back to youI can be the white knightYou can play the princessWe'll be running like outlawsHiding in the midnightBreak down them gatesLet in the sunlight
Throw me over these wallsHigh up in the atmosphereIf I could catapult my heartWatch the empire fallI'm gonna get you outta hereIf I could catapult my heartTo where you are
You say you had your heart brokenWhat a stupid little thing to doNow you're tied to a train trackBut I'm a gonna comeAnd rescue youMake no mistakeI'll do whatever it takes
To get over these wallsHigh up in the atmosphereIf I could catapult my heartWatch the empire fallOoh I'm gonna get you outta hereIf I could catapult my heartTo where you areIf I could catapult my heart
Oh throw me over these wallsOoh high up in the atmosphereIf I could catapult my heartWatch the empire fallOoh I'm gonna get you outta hereIf I could catapult my heartTo where you areIf I could catapult my heartTo where you areI'm gonna catapult my heart

Music Monday: It's me...hi.

 Yeah, I know, I'm always late for everything. Maybe I'm the problem...it's me?

Sorry. Seriously though, I periodically stumble across songs by Taylor Swift that I can feel in my soul, and this is one of them. It also speaks to some of the characters in my books who haven't been exactly anti-heroes but come very close. Gin will wreck her own life, again and again, to make sure everyone else is all right - definitely the problem. Tairn doesn't need anyone else...until she does. She will stare directly at Orana's sun but never into the mirror.

Also, y'all...the lyrics are AMAZING, even though they sometimes aren't as musical as some might prefer. Anyone that can use narcissistic altruism in a pop song gets my vote. The video has captions, so no lyrics this week.

Music Monday: A Bit of Heartbreak, after a Win

 First things first, I finished Nanowrimo this weekend. The lucky thing about having it in November is that there is a holiday in there that sees me off work and full of cheese, wandering about and asking what day it is...and with plenty of time to write. The manuscript isn't done but I can slow my pace a bit.

Now, that said, the story is turning out to be a lot darker than I'd originally thought, and with that darkness comes me seeking out writing inspiration that matches. This is one of the most emotionally evocative songs I know and when it came up in my playlist I had to take a moment and just live in the feelings. The first time I heard it I think I gasped out loud in the third act. I would say enjoy, but...sit with it for a bit.

The Highwaymanby Loreena McKennitt
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty treesThe moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon the cloudy seasThe road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moonA highwayman came ridingRiding, ridingA highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door
He'd a french cocked hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chinA coat of glaring velvet, and breeches of brown doe skinThey fitted with never a wrinkle, his boots were up to the thighAnd he rode with a chill and a twinkleHis pistol butts a twinkleHis rapier hilt a twinkle, under the jeweled sky
And over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark of nightAnd he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barredHe whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting thereBut the landlord's black-eyed daughterBess, the landlord's daughterPlaiting a long dark red love-knot into her long black hair
One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize tonightBut I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning lightYet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the dayThen look for me by the moonlightWatch for me by the moonlightI'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way
He rose upright in the stirrups, he scarce could reach her handShe loosened her hair in the casement, her face burnt like a brandAs the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breastAnd he kissed its waves in the moonlightOh, sweet waves in the moonlight!Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west
He did not come at the dawning, he did not come at noonAnd out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moonWhen the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moonA red-coat troop came marchingMarching, marchingKing George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door
They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale insteadBut they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bedTwo of them knelt at the casement, with muskets at their sideThere was death at every windowHell at one dark windowFor Bess could see, through the casementThe road that he would ride
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jestAnd they bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breastNow keep good watch and they kissed herShe heard the dead man say"Look for me by the moonlightWatch for me by the moonlightI'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way"
She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held goodShe writhed her hands 'til her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!They stretched and strained in the darkness and the hours crawled on by like years!'Til, now, on the stroke of midnightCold, on the stroke of midnightThe tip of one finger touched it!The trigger at least was hers
Tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clearTlot-tlot, in the distance, were they deaf that they did not hear?Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hillThe highwayman came ridingRiding, ridingThe red-coats looked to their primingShe stood up straight and still
Tlot in the frosty silence, tlot, in the echoing nightNearer he came and nearer, her face was like a lightHer eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breathHer finger moved in the moonlightHer musket shot her in the moonlightShattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him with her death
He turned, he spurred to the west, he did not know she stoodBowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red bloodNot 'til the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hearHow Bess, the landlord's daughterThe landlord's black-eyed daughterWatched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there
And back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the skyWith a white rope smoking behind him and his rapier brandished highBlood-red were the spurs inthe golden moon, wine-red was his velvet coatWhen they shot him down on the highwayDown like a dog on the highwayAnd he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat
Still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the treesWhen the moon is a ghostly galleon, tossed upon the cloudy seasWhen the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moonThe highwayman comes ridingRiding, ridingThe highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door

Music Monday: Nano Week Two

Y'all, the first week is always so easy. The target wordcounts are lower. The project is new. Your characters are still paying attention to what you want them to do. None of them have gone off the rails...yet. It's coming though, you know it is. And that complete nightmare happens in week two, but you need hope. Hope that the characters will finish running amok and come back home to where you want them - or that where they've gone is where the story needs to go. You've got to be unbreakable, so that at the end of the next two weeks, you remain undefeated.

(no lyrics this week because they are in the video)

Music Monday: But where IS home?

I may have already featured this song on Music Mondays past, but it is such a favorite and a good writing inspiration that I'm going to do it again. I make no secret of my love for both Genesis and Phil Collins as a solo act, and this song was on my radar way back in 1995 when my family and I spent six weeks living abroad in the UK. I can't hear it now without cringing at how much I ignored all of the fantastic things I had to learn in favor of six weeks of homesickness and longing for friends far away. Spoiler alert: all those things were still there when I got back, but I won't ever live in that house with my parents and my sister again. So now I listen to this and I think of home as where you need to be at that moment in time, with those that you are meant to have around you...just as my main character will discover in the Nano project that starts in...JUST OVER A WEEK. WHAT?

Take Me Homeby: Phil Collins
Take that look of worry, I'm an ordinary manThey don't tell me nothing, so I find out all I canThere's a fire that's been burning right outside my doorI can't see but I feel it and it helps to keep me warm
So, I... I don't mindNo, I... I don't mind
Seems so long I've been waiting, still don't know what forThere's no point in escaping, I don't worry anymoreI can't come out to find you, I don't like to go outsideThey can turn off my feelings like they're turning off the light
But, I... I don't mindNo, I... I don't mindOh, I... I don't mindNo, I... I don't mind
So take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home, oh Lord
'Cause I've been a prisoner all my life, and I can say to you
Take that look of worry, mine's an ordinary lifeWorking when it's daylight, and sleeping when it's nightI've got no far horizons, I don't wish upon a starThey don't think that I listen, oh, but I know who they are
And, I... I don't mindNo, I... I don't mindOh, I... I don't mindNo, I... I don't mind
So take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home, oh Lord
Well, I've been a prisoner all my life, and I can say to youBut I don't remember
Take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home
'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home'Cause I don't remember, take, take me home
'Cause I don't remember...

Man, it has been a week...

Cover Art: The Temple

So I am back at the DayJob™ now and...y'all. How did I forget everything that it entails in one short summer break? I mean, I haven't forgotten how to interpret, thankfully, but the other stuff has put me in the front seat of the struggle bus. It's also made me put off things that need to get done for my other life as a writer.

One thing that is coming up sooner than I'd thought is the release of my 8th Orana Chronicles novel, The Temple. EIGHT! I don't know how that happened or what I was doing when it did, but this beauty will be in preorder for e-book starting in October and released in all formats on November 5th. What?

I look back at those seven books in line ahead of The Temple and I can see a definite progression in the story arc, in my writing, and in character development, and that's a good thing. But it is leading me to think more broadly and after I got book two in the Arcstone series pulled into a second draft for last July's NaNoWriMo I think I might be ready to add a second book to the Luminous Beings series as well as branch out into some vampire fiction.

And here is where I can clearly hear the voice of my mother in the back of my mind cautioning me to finish one thing at a time because she knew me very well and she knew that often my excitement can override my ability to manage my time. 

So for now...let's just focus on The Temple, which follows the events of Red. Where that book gave Tairn a chance to step into the role of the main character, this one gives that same ability to Hack and Elys. I say every time that this is my favorite of the Orana characters, and while I love Hack and Elys dearly I still have a soft spot for Tairn. They have a strength of character that she has only just developed - and they have each other.

And that's all I can say without pulling my usual spoilers, so there ya go. Watch for more information on the release of The Temple...and be good to yourselves. Time flies by, whether you're having fun or not, it would seem.

Music Monday: Fighters, in All Forms

I write a LOT of female characters. Some of them are strong from the get go (Em/Madelyne, Annie, Elys) and others have to come into their strength (Gin, Lucy). But one thing that both types have in common is that they have an opposite, a motivator, and that isn't always the antagonist. Tairn, for example, could sit back and blame Taeben for her woes but her motivator is herself, really. She is fighting against years of letting herself believe that she is inferior to her sister, Nel. That's what makes her a fighter...

Fighter

by Christina Aguilera

After all you put me through

You'd think I'd despise you

But in the end, I wanna thank you

'Cause you made me that much stronger

Well, I thought I knew you

Thinkin' that you were true

Guess I, I couldn't trust, called your bluff

Time is up 'cause I've had enough

You were there by my side

Always down for the ride

But your joy ride just came down in flames

'Cause your greed sold me out in shame

After all of the stealing and cheatin'

You probably think that I hold resentment for you

But uh-uh, oh no, you're wrong

'Cause if it wasn't for all that you tried to do

I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through

So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it makes me that much stronger

Makes me work a little bit harder

Makes me that much wiser

So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster

Made my skin a little bit thicker

Makes me that much smarter

So thanks for making me a fighter

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, yeah, yeah, yeah ohh

Never saw it coming

All of your backstabbing

Just so you could cash in on a good thing

Before I realized your game

I heard you're goin' 'round playin' the victim now

But don't even begin feeling I'm the one to blame

'Cause you dug your own grave

After all of the fights and the lies

Guess you're wanting to hold me

But that won't work anymore (no more, aha, it's over)

'Cause if it wasn't for all of your torture

I wouldn't know how to be this way now and never back down

So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it makes me that much stronger

Makes me work a little bit harder

It makes me that much wiser

So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster

Made my skin a little bit thicker

Makes me that much smarter

So thanks for making me a fighter

How could this man I thought I knew

Turn out to be unjust, so cruel?

Could only see the good in you

Pretended not to see the truth

You tried to hide your lies

Disguise yourself through living in denial

But in the end you'll see, you won't stop me

I am a fighter and I (I'm a fighter)

I ain't gon' stop (I ain't gonna stop)

There is no turning back

I've had enough

Makes me that much stronger

Makes me work a little bit harder (oh)

It makes me that much wiser (oh yeah, oh yeah)

So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster (yeah)

Made my skin a little bit thicker (yeah, yeah, yeah)

Makes me that much smarter (yeah)

So thanks for making me a fighter (Fighter)

You thought I would forget but I, I remembered (ooh-ooh-ooh)

'Cause I remembered (ooh-ooh-ooh)

I remembered

You thought I would forget (ooh-ooh)

I remembered (ooh-ooh)

'Cause I remembered (ooh)

I remembered

Makes me that much stronger (ooh-ooh)

Makes me work a little bit harder (ooh-ooh)

It makes me that much wiser

So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster

Made my skin a little bit thicker

Makes me that much smarter

So thanks for making me a fighter