The Calm Before November

October is, quite thankfully, turning out to be a quiet month on most fronts. I may have overbooked myself just sliiiiightly in all of 2021. Technically I overbooked myself for 2020 because 2019 went so well, but then most everything rolled over and weekends collided and more event opportunities became available that I hadn't signed up for yet. Partner that with my ambitious publishing schedule, being down with covid myself, caring for MIL, and my daughter's health issues...and well, it all got to a lot too much. So when two events cancelled this month, I was very okay with that. I've spent one quiet day working in my very weedy flower garden and another zoning out to Netflix. (currently wrapping up TURN: Washington's Spies after watching the last season of Lucifer after all of Arrow) No. I do no have a Netflix binge problem. I'm totally fine. 

Given that previous paragraph, it shouldn't be a huge shock to say that I'm officially bumping Seeker: Book 4 of The Narvan to a Spring release. I'm waiting for Minor Years to appear in my inbox tonight from the proofreader. That book, if my world doesn't fall apart, should be out at some point in November. 

If you've read Trust and would like a review e-book copy of Minor Years - which directly follows Trust and leads up to Chain of Grey), let me know in the comments below.  

My plans for October involve formatting Minor Years, relaxing, doing a quick outline for my upcoming NaNoWriMo project, relaxing, signing books at Fandom Fest in Benton Harbor MI, relaxing, and doing some more weeding in my garden. 

Why all the need for relaxing? I mean, on top of that first paragraph of ugh? November is NaNoWriMo year 16 for me and that means its time to churn out a super rough draft of new novel! And also, do book signings every weekend. Then there's that Thanksgiving thing, and only my daughter knows if she's sticking with college or moving back home and whatever that might bring. Woo boy. I'm exhausted just looking at this.

Will I book myself a little lighter next year? Yes. Will I not publish 5 books next year? Yes. Have I learned a little something here? Yep. Will I continue to spend too much time watching Netflix? Also, yeeessssss.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Which brings us to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: Where in your writing do you draw the line with topics or language?

If you've read my books, you undoubtedly know that language is a no line thing. I am no lady. I swear like a sailor as do most of my characters. Some far more than others, but yes, profanity abounds. 

Topics, however, are a different. I try to steer clear of  most controversial topics because I want readers to enjoy the story rather than listen to me preach my views. 

I did once write a suicide story. It was heartbreaking and written to help my cope with the loss of a cousin. Once it was complete, I read it and then deleted it. Not because it was horrible, but because it had fulfilled its purpose. To this day, that's the only story I've ever deleted. Everything else, even the cringe-worthy garbage, is gathering dust somewhere on a shelf or hard drive. I suppose, to answer the question, I draw the line at stories that are too personal or might hurt people I know no matter how fictionalized the content might be. 

Are you doing NaNo this year? Are you a fan of swearing or not?

 

Cover Reveal and IWSG September

It took nine months but I'm finally feeling sort of kind of maybe on top of things for a day or two. Shhh, I didn't actually say that out loud. *looks around nervously*

The Minor Years - a Narvan Novel has been sent of to the proof reader as of Monday morning. The cover is mostly done. The blurb is written. The cover? I should share that, shouldn't I? 

I'm excited to share this novel with everyone this fall. It's a companion novel to the main series, told from the point of view of the secondary characters and takes place in the gap between Trust and Chain of Grey.

An official release day is coming. Stay tuned!

Seeker: The Narvan Book 4 is hanging out in Canada with Stella. Check out her book and her book reviews while you wait for her to finish putting red marks all over mine. 

In other news, I'm working on a short story for a special project while waiting for another author to finish her edits so I can proofread her next book. And brainstorming on a proposed new co-authored series. Always plenty of projects. Never a dull moment!

Where can you find me this month?

Newaygo Logging Festival - Newaygo, MI - Sept 3-5

Frontier Days - Charlotte, MI - Sept 10- 12

Monroe Pop Fest - Monroe, MI - Sept 17 & 18

Berlin Flea Market - Marne, MI - Sept 25

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Which brings us to... this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: How do you define success as a writer? 

Success is a lot of of things. Finishing a book. Your first book. Your next book. Sticking through any book through the editing process. Getting published. Doing your first book signing. Top of my list would be having readers come back year after year for my newest book. Readers make all the work worthwhile. Thank you, readers!

IWSG - Spindelkin and Upcoming Books

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

August means lots more book signing events, new chapters of Spindelkin and progress on upcoming releases. 

This month, you can find me at:

 August 7 - Art in the Park - Holland, MI

August 14 & 15 - Blueberry Festival - South Haven, MI

August 17 & 18 - Manistee Co. Fair - Manistee, MI

August 21 - Arts and Drafts - Norton Shores, MI

New chapters of Spindelkin are available on Kindle Vella. The first three chapters are free. Vella is also still giving away 200 free credits if you sign up now.  

Princess Amira has heard wondrous stories about the kingdom of Katra, but her illness has kept her from seeing any of it. Her maids last only weeks and the king and queen are busy. When the queen gives birth to a baby boy, Amira hopes to finally have a playmate. But her bother is misshapen like one of the terrifying storybook forest creatures. He’s left alone to die. In order to save him, Amira must defy her parents and everything she’s ever known or face loneliness for the rest of her days.

I've been busy working through my projects along with everything else. The Minor Years is in line edits and Seeker : Book 4 of The Narvan is heading off to developmental editing this weekend. Yay for progress!

And now on to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group Question: What's your favorite writing craft book? 

Stein on Writing has been the most helpful for me. Lots of great advice for character and plot development and just enough humor to get you through the editing process. 

IWSG: July brings book news and more signing dates

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Wherever you are, I hope you're enjoying your summer. I've been spending my weekends outside meeting readers, which really, beats doing yardwork any day.  

This month you can find me in: 

Allendale, MI at Out of the Barn July 9-11

Ferrysburg, MI at the Tri Cities Artist Incubator July 17

Grand Ledge, MI at the Island Art Fair July 31

Book updates:

Traveling Circus at the Skeleton Key (book 3) is now available at many online retailers. This was my first go at co-writing a book. I figured why not make it interesting by diving in on book 3? If you have any young adult readers, give this fantasy series a try. Magic powers, a circus, a mermaid, and so much more!

Spindelkin is releasing to Kindle Vella, which is due to go live at some point in the next week or two. The first six chapters are available with new chapters releasing every week or so (as my schedule allows). I'd hoped to have the whole book ready to go on Vella when it opened, but then life interrupted my ambitious plans with caring for my MIL for three months, health issues with my daughter, and then me catching Covid. Things are all better now, but now I'm far behind on my self-imposed schedule. Spindelkin is also a YA fantasy, along the lines of a dark fairy tale, intended for a younger audience than my current books but enjoyable for adults as well. 

The Minor Years: A Narvan Novel completed major edits and is now in the nitpicky editing phase before getting a out loud read through and then heading off to the proofreader. This one is on track for a fall release.

And now.... This month's IWSG question: What would make you quit writing? 

Quit as in never start back up again? Probably nothing short of loosing my facilities or death. I write for me as much as for an audience.  However, there are things in life that have made me take a break from writing such as: having babies, a divorce and other stretches of super stressful situations, and illness. I suppose that's good news for those of you waiting on the Book 4 of The Narvan. :) 

Release Day: Bound In Blue • The Narvan • Book 3

Release day for Bound In Blue is finally here! 

Join Vayen as he returns to the Narvan to clean up the mess left by those who took over while he was away in the third book of this space opera series. He's advised the Navan before, pulled the government and economy out of a tailspin while dodging bullets, and dealt with the manipulative High Council. It should be easy to do it all again, right? 

Plagued by PTSD, a lack of lucrative income, and dealing with a partner who's got his own ideas and another he can't stand make things tough. Then his worst nightmare shows up. Can he protect the Narvan, his family, and retain what little hold he has left on his sanity? 

Excerpt:

“I hate to complain boss, but it’s been eleven days since anyone has tried to kill you. No one’s even threatened. I’m getting bored,” said Neko. He’d been my ever-present shadow since Stassia and I had decided to bring our family back to the Narvan six months ago.

“Sorry, I doubt the Premier is going to make things any more exciting for you.” Granted, he was five minutes late for our meeting, but I wasn’t going to get aggravated over that quite yet.

The door opened, allowing the Artorian Premier’s secretary to bustle in. “Please accept our most sincere apologies for the delay, Advisor Ta’set.”

He bowed and sat in the chair to the left of the Premier’s desk. The Premier joined us a moment later, his usually crisp and pressed shirt appeared rumpled and his thick silver chain of office hung askew. He wiped at a stray grey hair on his lined forehead and gave me a tight nod.

“Do we have a problem?” I asked.

“We need more funding. All this scrambling and juggling is going to fall apart any day. Work will grind to a halt and protests will spring up. It’s all downhill from there.” He shook his head and took his seat. “Your designated replacement drained us dry.”

“He has been dealt with.”

Merkief. The stench of burnt flesh made me gag. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“And I appreciate your advice on recovering our losses, truly, but it’s not enough.” His hands fidgeted on the desk. He licked his lips. “We’re going to need a loan.”

“A loan is only a bandage. We need to address long-term solutions.”

And I had no credits to loan, not after financing Jey’s reclaiming of the Narvan from Kess and then relocating my family during my imprisonment. Stassia’s income on Pentares had given us a little cushion upon our return, but on a good day, with a couple years worth of Kryon payouts thoroughly and wisely invested, I would have been hard-pressed to hand over the amount that it would take to bail out an entire planet’s financial problems.

“We’ve already addressed those solutions. Progress is being made, however, it’s not working fast enough.” He licked his lips again.

I rested my oversized grey replacement hand on the desk, mere inches away from his. His gaze darted to the ugly black nails protruding from the thick grey fingers. Stassia had suggested that I get a more fitting replacement now that we were back home, but I’d grown used to this mismatched one. It fit me just fine.

“You’ve enjoyed a long term of office,” I said.

He sat back in his chair, nostrils flaring. “This isn’t my fault. We did what was asked of us.

We’ve always given what you and your people ask for. Always. Because you’ve treated us well. You’ve helped us recover and grow and expand faster than we’d thought possible. I’m asking this one thing, this one time, for your people. We need this loan.”

Damn all the High Council manipulation and infighting between Merkief, Jey, and Kess. They’d created a hellish mess of the tidy and productive package I’d left behind. Jey had been making strides to set things right during my long absence, but there was a lot of damage to recover from. The Premier was right. It wasn’t his fault, and my people shouldn’t have to suffer for it.

I sighed. “I’ll need details, where the credits will go, what you’ll lose if you don’t get them. On each and every damn program potentially affected. Got it?”

Hopefully, Stassia could help me figure out how to pull credits out of nowhere. When we’d destroyed the High Council, we also destroyed our source of lucrative income. Jey and I had been strategizing for over a year before I’d returned to the Narvan, trying to figure out how we could generate the income we were used to having at our disposal. Neither of us had come up with a sustainable answer.

The Premier nodded and then gave me a look like a man about to ask how I meant to kill him. “And the terms of the loan?”

“Will be discussed when I give you my answer.”

He stared at the desktop. “And when—”

“When I get to it. This might be my homeworld, but it’s not the only planet in the Narvan.”

He stiffened. “Thank you for your kind offer, Advisor Ta’set. I’ll get that information to you shortly.”

I stood.

“Where to next?” asked Neko through our linked connection.

“Home.”

Hopefully no one would want to kill me there either. Neko might be bored, but I’d had enough of dodging bullets for several lifetimes.

Available in E-book and Print at all your favorite online locations including:

Signed paperback direct from me:

Amazon

B&N

Kobo

Upcoming Release: Bound In Blue

The third book in The Narvan series is nearly here.

Bound in Blue is available for pre-order!

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Or buy the paperback direct from me and get a signed copy shipped to you.

Release day is Feb 20.

Vayen’s quest to keep the Narvan at peace has left him scarred both inside and out. Struggling to hide his hallucinations, memory loss, and flashbacks from everyone, he’s been advising the Narvan on a consultant basis from the distant colony of Pentares, but he longs for the comfort of home.

When Anastassia thinks she might again be able to host a link, she’s eager for them to return to the Narvan. Stepping back into the advisory position they’d both left behind, now side by side, is a dream come true. Except home doesn’t offer the ease Vayen had hoped for. Surrounded by reminders of Merkief and the High Council, his PTSD becomes impossible to ignore. He’s falling apart inside.

The Narvan is attacked by an enemy Vayen prayed he’d never face again. His nightmares come alive as havoc spreads across the system. Now he must face his darkest terror before everything he loves is ripped away.

 

December wrap up & IWSG

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

How are we in December already? On one hand, it feels like the year has flown by, and on the other, it seems like a whole lot of nothing happened. Probably because it was all canceled.

2020 the year of CANCELED

Let's hope 2021 is more eventful. In good ways.

So let's see, wrapping up 2020:

I'm mostly booked for events all through 2021 so hey, other than obsessively checking my calendar to make sure I'm not missing anything, I'm all set there.

Bound in Blue: Book 3 of the Narvan is being held over to 2021 for publishing since I was not able to get out and promote Book 2. Book 4 is still slated for Fall of 2021.

Everyone in my house has remained generally healthy.

Cover art for Spindelkin is 3/4 done.

I miss talking to readers but the majority of the few shows I was able to do went really well. So overall, I'm going to call sales successful on that front.

I co-wrote a book, which was an interesting and new experience. That should be out in 2021 as well. 

Which also brings us to this month's IWSG question: Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why? 

Definitely! I write all year, but November is my dedicated pound out a lot of words month, thanks to NaNoWriMo.

This year I participated in my 15th year of National Novel Writing Month and had my earliest win ever on day 17.  Why? Because I retired as ML last year so I could just sit back and write instead of wrangling writers and hosting events all month. I also didn't have any book-selling events all month. = lots more time to write.

This November, I wrapped up the first draft of The Minor Years: A Narvan novel and the first draft of Spindelkin, a YA fairy tale. Both books were about halfway done at the beginning of the month, so it feels good to have fully finished drafts to dive into editing in the new year.

I also broke my 60K in a month word record with 75K.

How was your 2020?

  

IWSG: Whew! That Was A Productive Month

 Last month flew by while I was wrapped up in so many things. Getting back out to meet readers in person felt really good. As did just being out among people again. 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

The first day of the Newaygo Logging Festival was a tough one. The crowd was fairly steady for a scaled-back event and our booths were all quite spaced out, but it had been nearly seven months since I'd spent a full day being social. I spent the hour ride home in much-needed silence. By the second day, I was feeling more in the spirit of things. By the next weekend at the event in Charlotte I'd found my stride again and everything went smoothly. I've done two more events since. If we connected at one of those shows and you're reading this, it was nice to meet you! 

Thanks to relaxing guidelines, I do have one more show in November in Kalamazoo. I'm still waiting to hear on Grand Rapids Comic Con. With both of those being indoors, things are up in the air with restrictions that seem to change every single day.

In addition to finally getting out to talk to readers again, I've been hard at work on Bound in Blue: Book 3 of The Narvan. The last round of edits is wrapping up and then it will head off the to the proofreader and then it's onward to formatting. Without further ado, here's the cover:

                                        

I've also been busy writing the blurb for the back cover, critiquing chapters for other authors, reading a couple books for fun, and doing a proofread of a book for a local author friend. I'm also plotting my upcoming NaNoWriMo projects and toying with cover art for Seeker: Book 4 of The Narvan and Spindelkin. I've been on kind of an artwork kick lately. On the plus side, I started drawing again. I haven't done much of that in a very long time, like probably around twenty-some years.

How was the end of summer for you?

 

IWSG: August and Project Updates

And so we come to another first Wednesday. Normally I'd be dragging my feet after a busy June and 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

July event schedule, facing another five weekends of  August signing events, but alas, tis not the case this ill-fated year. Instead, I've been busy working around the yard, building a new shed to house my chickens and ducks, building a run for them, and putting in a new block firepit area. My yard is getting a lot of attention. 

I've also been writing and doing a bit of editing for friends. Now that Dreams of Star and Lies is out, I'm back at work on my next project. An author I've done many events with invited me to co-write a book with him. I've never co-written anything before so this has been an interesting endeavor, and I would guess not the exact norm on how this is done, but it's working for us. It's also a YA fantasy novel on a G-rated level, which if you've read anything I've written, you'll understand this is not my usual realm, but it's been a good warm-up for getting back into my own YA fantasy, Spindelkin, which is on the older end of YA, whereas this current project is on the younger.

Recently, I reformated his first book and edited the second so I was familiar with the story and characters. This, being book three in the series, has been moving along fairly quickly. He's been writing the bare bones of the plot and I'm fleshing it out. Only two chapters to go and then that is heading off to beta readers. 

Once Book three of Traveling Circus is wrapped up, I'll be diving back into my reissuing of Destiny Pills and Space Wizards. No new content, but updating the front and back matter, new artwork, and formatting to match my more recent books. Next up is a final edit of Book Three of The Narvan, Bound in Blue, once I go over the last round of edit suggestions. When I send that off to my proofreader, I'll be diving into the reformatting of Sahmara and The Last God. Now that I can do reflowable ebooks, I'm looking forward to getting all my books updated. 

I'm hoping to have Bound in Blue mostly wrapped up before November, when NaNoWirMo begins. I'm already toying with what to work on for that. I have a vampire story I'd like to try, and if that falls through, I have a book set in the Navan universe half started and Spindelkin to finish. There's never a lack for things to work on, just the energy to do so. 

And speaking of planning.. This month's IWSG question is: "Although I have written a short story collection, the form found me and not the other way around. Don't write short stories, novels or poems. Just write your truth and your stories will mold into the shapes they need to be."

Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn't planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?

Oh heavens, yes. Often when I start a story, when I'm truly pantsing it, I may have an inkling what genre it might be or what length I'm aiming for, but once the words start flowing... Well, the story becomes what it needs to be.  

The only time I know for sure if I'm going to make the story stick to a novel or a short story, is during NaNo because I need to have at least a very loose plan to make it to 50k in 30 days. That loose plan might only be genre, a character name and an inkling of the beginning scene or end, but it's a plan nevertheless. 

Most of the short stories I've written started without any particular genre in mind. Those usually launch with a concept or 'what if' question and wander into whatever genre fits as I go.

How about you?

Online reading of Trust

Last week I did an online reading session with How Writers Write with my long distance poetry buddy Michael D Jones. He's got a new book out too.

We talked about Trust, The Narvan, Chain of Grey and writing in general. Check it out here

It's crazy world out there and in here too

With this whole viral virus thing taking over the world and bringing many things to a standstill, daily life as we knew it a week ago seems so long ago. Today, being my birthday, I thought I'd take a moment to make a few lists to keep all the crazy in perspective.

Things I'm grateful for:

1. I already work at home. Literally, the entire lower level of my house is dedicated to my home businesses. So hey, zero change for me there. 
2. My main business is online (on various platforms). I'm all set with social distancing. 
3. While many people, my son included, are off work due to closures, I'm working overtime.
4. We regularly buy a three-month supply of toilet paper online and are all set for a while yet. 

Things that have changed this week:

1. Last Saturday my 89-year-old MIL ended up in the ER for a leg infection. The hospital was full and couldn't admit her. She didn't want to transfer to the next hospital an hour away, so she's currently staying with us. So yeah, I'm working overtime and playing nurse. If I ever get around to publishing The Minor Years, which chronicles Anastassia's time as a Seeker on Veria Minor, yeah, it's based on real-life me right now. 
2. My daughter is a high school senior and her school is closed for a month. We have no idea how or if graduation will happen. Or AP exams. Or lots of things. Lots of uncertainty going on for a kid who already struggles with anxiety. On the plus side, she gets to do what schoolwork they are assigning on her own time from the comfort of her room and also sleep in. So in that one regard, it's kind of a dream situation. 
3. I officially became another year older. And after two weeks of overtime with one to go, I'm feeling it. 

Things that are not so great:

1. I'm trying to evaluate my MIL's health situation and weigh the choice of maybe sending her back to her home or into a nursing home for good. Because apparently, out of five kids, I'm the one willing to make that decision.
2. Nursing homes are also on lockdown so we can't tour any of them.
3. I don't currently have time to make a bunch of phone calls, fill out forms, or be a nurse.
4. I don't remember the last time I had a full night's rest thanks to my own sleep issues and my little dog's peanut-sized bladder and now I'm also getting up at least twice a night to help a full-grown human get out of bed and use the bathroom.   
5. As it turns out, it's really rough to release a book while events are being canceled left and right and social media is on Covid-19 takeover. 
6. I really want to be working on Dreams of Stars and Lies, but my brain is too scrambled to concentrate.

I hope you're all healthy, your pantries and TP are stocked and your employers are taking care of you. Until next post, keep washing your hands and let's hope this all blows over very soon!

Release day for Chain of Grey, The Narvan #2

It's release day for Chain of Grey  • The Narvan #2!

You can find your copy at your favorite online bookseller or request it from your local bookstore. If you'd like your library to carry it, you can request that too. The Narvan series is available in both print and ebook.

Chain of Grey (Book 2): Amazon / Kobo / B&N 
Trust (Book 1) is also being re-released.  Amazon / Kobo / B&N

Due to the virus outbreak, my March and April book signings have been cancelled, but I will be happy to sign a book for you at any future events once this chaos gets under control. Let's hope that happens soon.

Life outside the Narvan is not as ideal as Vayen would like. His job is unfulfilling, the people aren't his, and even after five years, Anastassia still hasn't quite forgiven him for stranding them in obscurity. 

Vayen's idle daydreams of returning to the Narvan turn into a nightmare with an assassination attempt. Old friends have become enemies and old enemies are even less happy to see him. Threats barrage him from all sides, endangering not only his own life but those of his family. 

There are too many hands vying for the Narvan, sinking the system into chaos. Vayen's well-intentioned plans have blown up and his homeworld, along with everyone else is suffering. Putting the Narvan together again means showing his face to the High Council, who will want to make an example of him for betraying their trust.

Staying out of it will get him killed. Unfortunately, his odds with jumping into it aren't much better.

Here's a sneak peek of the opening of Chain Of Grey...

I didn’t think my shipping business was overly successful, not to the point where anyone would want me dead because of it. But as I lay there on the floor, observing the fine spray of my blood on my office wall, I had to consider that I might be wrong.

        Heavy footsteps drew closer.

        Damn. I knew I was rusty, but it was still disappointing to know that I’d not done any serious damage with the two knives I’d managed to throw before toppling from my chair. I tried to peer around my desk, but my body wouldn’t cooperate.

        Rhaine was going to be pissed when I missed dinner yet again.

        The footsteps stopped. Something tingled inside my head. The telepathic barriers I’d erected years ago dissolved as my strength faded. The tingle came again as someone invaded my mind. It was a familiar touch, one that sent my head reeling as much as the blood loss.

        The blurry form of my killer loomed over me. “Oh Fuck! Vayen? Is that really you? You’re alive?”

***

Whispers told me I was dreaming, but I ignored them in favor of enjoying a quiet meal with my family. We sat around the table in our little house on Veria Minor, Ikeri shoving sweet yellow fruit into her mouth until her cheeks were bulging, Daniel looking guilty, and Rhaine giving me a look that said I should ask why. I didn’t. Instead, I slowly ate the meal I’d made after coming home from my day at Dugans, savoring this normal moment I’d never thought to have.

A moment that wouldn’t exist if the High Council hadn’t drugged me into forming a bond with my partner. If they hadn’t demanded that I kill her. If we both hadn’t had to give up what we’d worked so damned hard for and ended up here, around this table.

Ikeri giggled. Juice dripped down her chin. I laughed, ignoring the pressure in my head that was likely the warehouse informing me of a late shipment. Rhaine and I had agreed on no work or datapads at the table. I’d deal with it in the morning.

Except, it occurred to me that it wasn’t a message on a datapad. I tried to will the pressure away. I’d closed off all my telepathic contacts from my previous life. Other than Daniel, who was sitting right there picking at his dinner, no one else in our colony was telepathic. Beyond that, my link was gone. No one should be in my head in any manner.

My hand itched for a gun, but I hadn’t used one of those in five years. They were safely locked away in a chest in a closet under the armored coat I’d folded up upon arriving on Minor. For peace of mind, I allowed myself two small knives when I left the house, but I was home now and they were put away. I didn’t need weapons anymore, certainly not in my own home.

We were safe here. I picked up my fork and ate another bite.

Ikeri slid off her chair and grabbed my hand, tugging me toward the common room where we sat most nights to watch the local vids. Rhaine was talking as I stood. I had the sense that she was telling me what trouble Daniel had gotten himself into, but the words I heard were wrong, muffled, confused. It wasn’t her voice, but a familiar man’s voice. One I didn’t want to think about. Ikeri tugged at me again, more insistent and with more strength than I expected. I started to fall.

I woke with a gasp to a view I never thought I’d see again. I prayed to Geva I’d stepped out of one dream and into another, but when I blinked for the tenth time, the cold metal room was still there. The grey metal ceiling, metal walls, crisp white sheets on the narrow bed, my old clothes on the shelf beside me—my room on the buried ship on Frique.

Merkief stood over me with his hands clasped together as if he’d been praying. “I’m so sorry. If I had had any idea you were Isnar K’turoc, I would never have taken the job. I swear. It wasn’t one of your known aliases, and it was just a quick and easy contract, no setup.” He grimaced. “Sorry, not to make you feel insignificant.”

“It’s all right. That’s what I was going for.”

Had I ever really been gone? Being on the ship again made my years on Veria Minor seem almost surreal. 

IWSG and Chain of Grey Release Announcement

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 
and find links to all the other 
participating writers.

It was a busy February! Productively so, even. Which was a nice change of pace given the past couple months. First up was the redesign of Trust. After my publisher shut down at the end of 2019, rights reverted back to me. I wanted to stay with the current distribution and layout so I relearned InDesign, of which my knowledge was twenty-some years old from when the first version of the program launched. That Desktop Publishing trade school class is still paying off all these years later, I tell you. Go trade school!

After a bit of tweaking on in the inside, the content is all the same, barring a few typos which I fixed while I was there, I played around with the cover a little too. Everything is generally the same. The book is currently out of print but will be re-released in both print and ebook on the 16th.

Which brings me to Book Two: Chain of Grey. Release date is also the 16th. The initial batch of print books arrived today and I'm happy with how they look. But, let me tell you, it was a stressful month of reformating the one, and formatting the other and nailing down the cover details on both in order to have them for the start of my book signing line up for the year. I hadn't used Ingram before, but now I've learned that too. So much learning. And waiting to see if the finished product turned out right. Talk about insecurities. Gah!

Big sigh of relief! I'm happy to be able to release them into the world very soon.

If you would be willing to host a blog post around release day, please let me know.

IWSG and Book Two of the Narvan Cover Reveal

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 
and find links to all the other 
participating writers.

I'd say I know where January went, but it was all a blur so let's hope 2020 month #2 is a little more kind with sleep and time availability.

Since this is an Insecure Writer's Support Group Post, and I'm bowing out of the usual monthly question, I'll at least cover some writing stuff. What am I feeling insecure about this month? My event schedule. I'm booked through August already. However, I've scaled back this year so I can meet some publication goals and not be stretched quite as thin as I was last year. But I had a lot of fun meeting so many readers at various cons, faires, festivals, and craft shows. But I also want to get some new books out, because they're done and just sitting there glaring at me. But. But. #needaclone

I'm also hesitant to load up my fall because my daughter will be going off to her first year of college and she's been suffering severe anxiety issues. I'm hoping this will go really well for her and she'll love it. She's very excited and is planning to share a dorm with a long-time friend. They act as mutual support pals for one another already, each with their own issues so, yeah, hoping for the best, but thankful she'll only be an hour from home if something arises. 

January did allow me a few days to do an edit for a friend. It's been a while since I've had time for that and it felt good to dig my claws into a book again. Crazy thing about that, I've had two other author friends inquire about edits/critiques in the past couple weeks, totally out of the blue. Must be something in the air. 

With the Narvan series back in my own hands, I've been busy doing a bit of tweaking to the formatting and cover of Trust before I republish it. That has also allowed me to get warmed up for formatting Chain of Grey and finally motivated me enough to kick out the cover. I'd been banging my head on the desk over cover images for most of the month, which was not helping with my stress level at all. My intention is to have the re-issue of Trust and the new Chain of Grey book live by the end of the month. Good to have goals, right?

This coming weekend I'll be over in Lansing with ten of my fellow Michigan Authors at the Mid- Michigan Women's Expo. We have an awesome network of indie authors and I'm trading a weekend visit at one of their houses for a weekend visit at my house next month for the Grand Rapids Women's Expo. Keeping expenses low is a goal we all share. 

Shall we get to this cover? Because I'm already stressing over what to do for book three, Bound in Blue, which is also up for publication this year, and I need a few minutes of feeling accomplished. Without further ado...

January IWSG and 2020 Goals

This year launched with a stressful and exhausting beginning. I haven't had a quiet day since Dec 28. It's been one long exhausting day and overtime after another. Great for paying bills, as far as the overtime goes, but with everything else on top, it's been a lot to deal with. The other stuff is mostly health issues for other family/extended family members but it's beginning to take a toll on me too. Thankfully, I don't have anything author-related planned until early February. I hope to be more awake and alert by then.

My annual one word resolution is READ. I've been so focused on writing/editing for the past couple years that I haven't had much time for kicking back with a book.  I hope to do better with that this year. To get me in the right mind-set, I'm looking into a book club at a nearby indie bookstore. Beyond that, my TBR stacks are spawning baby stacks. It's out of control...but I keep coming home with more books. So yes, I need to tame those a bit.

2020 Goals:
1. Due to the publisher of The Narvan closing down at the end of last year, first on my list is republishing Trust myself.
2. Chain of Grey: The Narvan - Book Two, is proofed and awaiting formatting and then is next up for publication.
3. Publish a second short story collection. The stories are all written, but await a final edit and then the whole proof/format/publish routine.
4. Publish Spindelkin - a MG fantasy/fairytale. This was my NaNo 2019 project. It needs an ending, but is generally outlined and then onward to editing/beta reads and the rest.

I'll be doing slightly less events this year so I (in theory) have time to accomplish these goals. I'll be updating the list over there ---> as events are added throughout the year.

If you'd like updates on when any of those projects are published, please sign up for my newsletter. Also over there ---->

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 
and find links to all the other 
participating writers.

And now, its time for the first Insecure Writer's Support Group post of 2020. This month's question is: 
What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just "know" suddenly you wanted to write?

This is a popular question. Which, thankfully means it's an easy one to answer. My third grade teacher launched me into writing with a Scholastic writing competition. I wrote a horrible little story about a dog who got lost, complete with pictures, and won for our grade. That meant I had to go to the local college to an award ceremony, which was utterly terrifying for an extremely shy kid. A year later, my fourth grade history teacher and I clicked and I started slipping her short stories (which were also awful, btw), and she would covertly slide them back to me the next day with encouraging notes on them.

So for all you teachers out there, doing your little one on one things with what little time and energy you have in light of everything else, it's greatly appreciated, even it's not apparent at the time.

December IWSG and Post NaNo Wrap up

Another month has sped by with a flurry of activity.  

Writing:

I was busy writing away on my new project for November's annual effort during National Novel Writing Month. In my many travels at book selling events there's been a need for more kids books in the sci-fi fantasy genre. Something around upper middle grade, but not quite young adult. So many kids pick up my books but sadly, its the ones not appropriate for their age. While A Broken Race and Destiny Pills & Space Wizards does fit for teens, I have nothing to offer in that 8-12 year old range. So, this November, I set out to fill that gap in my book offerings. Thus, Spindelkin was born, a fantasy story about an 11 year old girl and her journey to find out who she truly is this fairytale world.

In my usual rebel NaNo form, I also had a second project going, working on whichever story fit my brain on a given day. The second project? A companion book within The Narvan universe. So, sort of  Book 5, but in actuallity, Book 1.5, as it takes place in the gap between Trust (book 1) and Chain Of Grey (book 2) that gives some of the other characters time to have the spotlight for once.  Confused yet? Sorry. It's a book that I'm working on. We'll leave it at that. 

Publishing:

Several people have asked when Chain Of Grey is coming out. My hope was Fall 2019. However, the publisher had delays and now has announced they are closing shop as of the end of the year. Which means, my best answer for you is Spring 2020 when I release it myself. 

Also in the works is a new short story collection (currently in need of a witty name), featuring several longer science fiction stories along with a few shorter ones. From my recollection of said stories (one of which was also on a couple year hold for an anthology through said publisher) I believe this collection will also be YA friendly. 

Events:

Oh. My. Goodness. What a November. And also December. I've really enjoyed meeting those of you who are readers as well as reconnecting with author friends when we share a table/booth. If you read a book and are looking for another one or haven't made it out to meet me yet, you can find me at:

The Beechwood Church Craft show in Holland on Dec 7 with author Diane Burton (mystery, science fiction romance and MG Science Fiction

The Holland Civic Center Holiday Craft show in Holland on Dec 14 with author Joan Young (mysteries for adult and MG and nonfiction hiking adventures)

Author Pop Up Night at the Bluestocking Bookshop in Holland on Dec 19 with authors Vera West (sci-fi romance), Diane Burton, and Troy Wymer (sci-fi and sci-fi romance)

Muskegon Barnes and Noble on Dec 21 signing books with multiple authors to suit all your last minute bookish gift giving needs.

Life: We launched a new home-based business last week and got our first customer today. Because we're already running several home-based endeavors so why not?  Income is always good to diversify!

This was also my 10th and final year acting as Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo. My schedule just doesn't allow for as much time to devote to all the planning and events as I used to have. When I stepped into the role of inciting writers to get out of their homes to write together, to meet one another, to hopefully make long-lasting friendships, I had no idea what to expect. As it turns out, my little region flourished. I've watched writer kids grow up through high school, go off to college, and get engaged. Socially awkward and introverted people made connections and have come back year after year. Writers became more confident. Some even began to pursue publishing. It's been a wonderful journey and many friends have been made. Fortunately, I had two talented people pick up my torch this year so the region is in good hands for the future.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 
and find links to all the other 
participating writers.

This month's question is: Let's play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you 
describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream? Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest of us. What would you change or improve?

Am I living the dream? Mostly, sorta, yes. So here's what I can tell you if you're not quite there yet. Finish something. Then put that down and finish something else. Keep writing. It's how you discover what you're good at and what you need to work on, and your voice.  

Make writer friends at all stages of your journey, they will help you along the way. 

Realize that finishing a book is just beginning to write the book. 
Revision and editing are what actually makes a book good. 

Understand that getting something published or publishing something yourself doesn't mean you're going to sell thousands of books. You will need to work for it. You will need to talk to people, readers and interviewers. You will need to invest in ads and/or events to get your book in front of people. You need to be active on social media. Selling books is not just about writing books. 

The best part about publishing a book is talking to readers. Yeah, that talking thing again. But having someone come up and tell you they enjoyed what you wrote is a great feeling. So back to that first thing, finish something. :)

Chain Of Grey Update

With all the events I've had going on this summer, you may have surmised that my editing time has been a bit on the low end of the schedule spectrum. I'd hoped to have Book Two of The Narvan in hand by November, but that just isn't going to happen. It's also like the publisher has three other books they're trying to get out before mine. The new goal is the end of January.

I'll be taking six weeks off of book signings to relax. Will I actually relax? Probably not. I'm not good at that. But, as of this moment, I don't plan on scheduling anything so I can maybe spend some time working on one of the countless projects lingering on my computer. Because...yeah...a new book came to me the other night. I may have finally hit upon a YA fantasy idea I can follow through with. Maybe. We're treading lightly with the idea right now, considering, pondering. It may be my NaNo novel this year instead of Narvan's possible book five - which is halfway done so yes, that is also happening. Or may just happen for me to read, but it's in the works.

So much in the works.

After having January off, I'll be heading over to Lansing for the Women's Expo for three days: February 7-9. It's sure to be a good time, meeting readers and hanging out with some of my author friends. There are always good times with that bunch.

But for now, this is my view. Lots of scrawled notes highlighted in orange so I don't miss them.

My computer has read the book to me. I've made notes. This book's biggest editing problem is missing "a" in sentences. That's a new one for me. I'm usually missing "the". You kick one problem and pick up another, I swear.

But as soon as I wrap up making these corrections, it's off to the publisher to get into the formatting and proofreading queue. And cover creation. You'll see what they come up with as soon as I have it in hand.