Spring Book Events and IWSG

It's winter here in West Michigan. Lots of snow, temps in the teens during the day, and snow plows galore. This is grey and white, our official winter color pallet.

Winter means we're not spending much time outside. I'm not a snow loving person other than to sit inside and look out at it. Ah yes, pretty. Now, back under my blanket with a warm computer on my lap. During nature's break from yard work, I'm busy booking events, sewing, and working on edits for Seeker. 

You can find me in Michigan and Indiana this Spring:

Feb 5 Byron Rec Comic con

Feb 11-13 Lansing Women's Expo

March 5-6 Hall of Heroes Con 

March 18-20 Grand Rapids Women's Expo

April 8-10 Grand Rapids Comic Con Spring Fling

April 24 Tulip City Comic Con

April 29 - May 1 Whitestown Viking Festival

What have I been sewing? Well, I'm doing five Ren Faire events this year and all are multi-day, so I decided to make a new set of clothes with options. Also, the first event is a Viking Festival, which I simply don't have anything to wear for (dramatic sigh) so a new outfit was in order. Being in April means it could be cold. Could be warm. One never knows. An outfit with options was needed. Layers!

This is layer one. It's super soft and comfy. I do have one ren faire dress that's form fitting and let me tell you, it takes two people to get into and laced up. I'm often without a maid at these things so I'm favoring comfort and ease these days. I'll leave the sexy wench and corset garb to the younger people. Ideally, I need to get a long leather belt for the waist but that's later add-on right now.

This is layer two. Or layer one if its a nice day. Its lighter weight. There are two more layers that I've yet to sew. Or cut the patterns for, actually. Lots of projects going on here. Then I'm going to attempt some weaving for more traditional trim, which I haven't done since high school. As you may gather, that was a while ago.

You may remember from last month that I was attempting to finish a cross stich project from fifteen years ago. Well, I did it! I don't recommend letting your project sit around for fifteen years as the colors fade, you discover that you weren't paying very close attention to the pattern fifteen years ago, and the cloth isn't actually as cream-colored (it was dirty and a bit stained on the edges) as you thought it was. But it's done and I'm happy with how it turned out (mostly that its done). 

And this brings us to February's Insecure Writer's Support Group part of my month's post. Do I intend to write more than a monthly post? Sure. Do I actually do it?  Uhhh,.. Is it next month already? 

This month's question is: Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn't around anymore? 

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 is kind of a sore spot for me. Support wasn't something I had much of early on. I had a few teachers in elementary school that encouraged me to write. One high school creative writing teacher did her fair share of encouraging too. She passed away years ago. However, when it came to friends and family, there were a lot of crickets. 

When my first short stories were published twelve years ago, I had a family member buy a copy. I thought I was onto something, but even when my first couple books were published, its was crickets in the support gang. I wasn't until I'd been published for ten years (no, seriously) that family and friends really started catching on and actively supporting, encouraging, and buying. 

So for those of you who feel lonely out there in the book-filled world, your time will also come. As with all aspects of writing, patience is key. And hey, support is what this group is all about, right? 

Guest Post: The Business of Short Stories Book Release

Whether you're looking to add short stories to your repertoire as a solo pursuit or in addition to novel writing, The Business of Short Stories covers every aspect from writing to marketing. Learn the dynamics of short story writing, where to focus your editing efforts, how and where to submit, how to handle acceptances and rejections, what to do with reprints, and how to market yourself and your stories online and in person. The information in The Business of Short Stories has been distilled from over a decade of short story publishing experience so you don't have to learn the hard way. You'll find information on submission formatting, cover letters, querying a collection, sending proposals to writing events, how to create a website, SEO, social media, and so much more. This is an invaluable resource for short story writers.

There's never been a better time to get into short stories!

ISBN: 978-1-7320314-5-6

Format/Price: Print ($13.99) and e-book ($3.99)

Release Date: February 1, 2022

Pre-order E-book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PFSTJ2V
Paperback pre-order link coming soon!

Shannon Lawrence has made a career of short stories, with over a decade of experience and more than fifty short stories published in magazines and anthologies. In addition, she's released three horror short story collections with a mix of new and previously published stories. Her true crime podcast Mysteries, Monsters, & Mayhem is going into its third season. 

Website: www.thewarriormuse.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewarriormuse

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thewarriormuse

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewarriormuse/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/shannon-lawrence

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/shannondkl

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shannon-Lawrence/e/B00TDKPOAO

Podcast Website: www.mysteriesmonstersmayhem.com

2022 One Word, IWSG, and Upcoming Events

Now that the holidays are over, it's time to start looking forward in to the new year. Tiptoeing. Quietly. Not touching aaaanything.

I haven't had much luck with my One Word Resolutions the past few years due to the world falling apart and various other things out of my control, but hey, why not play along like this year might be different? I'm going to play it safe with RECOVER. 

Currently I have a cold. Just one of those plain old chest colds that due to the coughing, make everyone run for the hills. I've had Covid. I'm sure I can handle a cold. Other than recovering from that, I'm looking forward to recovering some spring events that were still cancelled in 2021, some mythical 'free time' that went to taking care of my MIL and my daughter during their heath crises, and some mental wellness by doing some of the non-writing hobbies that I haven't made time for in years. 

One of those is a cross stitch that I started at least fifteen years ago and has sat untouched on the stand, 2/3 done, staring at me longingly, for the past seven years. Current goal: finishing this thing! It matches a plate that my grandmother gave me. I'd like to get them framed together. Eventually.

Those events I'm hoping to recover? Here's my spring line up:

Feb 5 Byron Rec Comic Con

Feb 11-13 Lansing Women's Expo

March 5-6 Hall of Heroes Con

March 18-20 Grand Rapids Women's Expo

April 8-10 Grand Rapids Spring Comic Con

April 24 Tulip City Comic Con

April 29- May 1 Whitestown Viking Fest

And that brings us to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question:

What's the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

 overcome it?

Biggest regret: not having more proofreading early on in my writing career. It seems there are always typos, however, the goal is to have as few as possible or if the angels are smiling upon you, none at all. I've found typos in short stories I've had in various magazines and anthologies. Even in my books that were published by a publisher. So it's no surprise that self-published books often have typos too.

I've learned not to expect anyone else to find them all during the editing/proofing journey. Everything I submit anywhere now goes through a process to eliminate as many of those pesky buggers as possible. This way, editors and proofreaders can hopefully catch the few that are missed rather than being overwhelmed by the brunt of the typo load.

The super secret process? Read the story on screen. Find typos. Print the story, read the pages. Find typos. Have the computer read it too me. Find typos. Read the whole darn thing again. Find significantly less typos. Then it goes to other eyeballs. And still, when it comes back for the final proof before printing, I'll read it again, and find a few more to fix. Every. Darn. Time. 

We're all human. Typos and all.

NaNoWriMo, Planning Ahead, and IWSG

And November crawls to a close. For the second time ever, I stalled out before 50K. I'm okay with this. I've won far more than my fair share of NaNos. Too much stress this year, overtime, overbooked, and very little sleep. I've been perpetually exhausted for months. So at 35K, I found peace with just letting go. I'll get back to the story at some point. It was going well and I was enjoying it. Frayed, being urban fiction, is something totally different than what I've written before and I'd like to see how this emotionally charged story wraps up.

On deck for December: wrapping up Spindelkin on Kindle Vella. The story is done, it just needs a bit of editing and then getting the second half of the novel posted. Click the cover off to the left if you'd like to give this YA dark fairy tale a try. The first three chapters are free. Also on the agenda: sleep, quiet time, recharging the internal battery, and copious amounts of ice cream and hot chocolate.

January will be devoted to making a few minor tweaks to my current novels, taking inventory for events for the new year, and finalizing my book signing schedule. At them moment, it's looking like 28 weekends. Cutting that to 26 is ideal, but we'll see. I'll be focusing on Renaissance Fairs, Comic Cons, and larger art festivals in 2022. 

February is my scheduled month to dive into the last edits of Seeker: Book 4 of the Narvan. I hope to have it completed by April/May. 

Beyond that, I intend to get Spindelkin out in print by fall or it may wait until spring 2023. No crazy five book publishing plan for 2022.  Is any of that subject to change? Sure, my motivation goes in spurts and sometimes I just have to roll with it, but at the moment, my motivation is declaring a well-deserved vacation.

Books make great gifts! You can purchase signed copies of all of my books and have them shipped directly from me to you by clicking on the "Buy Signed Copies" tab at the top. 

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 to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: In your writing, what stresses you most and what delights you?

Not a whole lot stresses me with writing. There's plenty of that outside of my fingers on keyboard. Usually writing is my happy place. But in the spirit of answering the question, I'll go with getting through the middle. Stories always start out with a sort of manic energy, when you're full of ideas and excitement about seeing this new word baby flow on to the page. But that wears off. It can be easy to wander off to other new projects or begin to doubt that you're on to something worthwhile for all the time you're spending on it. If there's anything I've learned in all the novels I've written, or started writing, the middle is where I trail off. If I can get past that 50 to 60% point, we're golden. 

Delights me? Seeing a story come together, when the dots connect, the plot threads tighten, the characters come alive. There's some of that in the first draft to be sure, but a lot of the most gratifying moments happen in edits, once the whole story is in my head and I can see how to pull it together tighter, and add those emotional or detailed scenes that I breezed over in the first draft. There's a lot of delight in writing. Thankfully. That's why we keep doing it, isn't it? Or maybe we're just mad. :)

Book Release, IWSG, and NaNo!

First, the exciting news... The Minor Years is now available in paperback from your favorite online retailers. 

On idyllic Veria Minor, Anastassia struggles to fit into a life she never wanted. She’s lost everything she’s worked so hard for.

According to her cover story, she’s now an acolyte Seeker, a mother, and wife of Isnar Ka’turoc. In reality, the Council’s torture has left her with only a whisper of her telepathy, she doesn’t know the first thing about raising a kid, and the man she’s stuck with is the same one who ruined her life. If she wants to stay among the living, she must learn to forgive and adapt.

When the Narvan unexpectedly falls into Jey and Merkief’s hands, the one thing on both of their minds is revenge. Kess killed Anastassia and Vayen, but he now has the High Council’s protection. To make things worse, he’s been awarded the advisory position for the Narvan’s neighboring system, including control over the wealthy planet of Merchess, which had provided much of the Narvan’s funding.

Strapped for credits, at each other’s throats, and attempting to meet the High Council’s demands, Jey and Merkief wage a covert battle with Kess. If the violence explodes, everyone will suffer.

Available at all your favorite online retailers or visit me at Grand Rapids Comic Con Nov 12-14 or at the Bluestocking Bookshop in Holland on Nov 27.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Minor-Years-Jean-Davis/dp/B09JV9SMMR

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/.../the-minor.../1140385885

Direct from me: https://link.waveapps.com/h6pd82-z9s9y9

Ebook links are coming soon.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Next up is this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: What is harder to do, coming up
with the book title or writing the blurb?

While titles take their sweet time coming to me, I'm going to have to go with writing the blurb. Having to stare at the entire novel and figure out what bits create the most enticing blurb without giving too much away but also providing enough detail is challenging. The two things (now that I've done a bunch of them) are:

1. Focus on what happens in the first few chapters rather than the whole book. The stakes obviously have to draw from the main plot, but the characters and what they generally face are often laid out at the beginning.

2. Write a synopsis. Somewhere about book seven or eight, those vile things started coming to me before I even write the book. I credit that to the agony of having to write seven or eight of them from the whole novel after the fact. My brain apparently said, ok, enough of that! Let's just start there and then write the book. So while I still claim to mostly be a pantser, I guess this edges me toward planster territory. Staring at one to three pages of the synopsis is much easier to digest for blurb purposes than trying to analyze the whole novel.

And that brings us to National Novel Writing Month.

I'm launching into an Urban Fantasy this year for something different. That's been on my list of Speculative Fiction subgenres to try for a while now. After spending so much time on YA books Spindelkin and The Traveling Circus and The Skeleton Key last year, I'm having to make a conscious effort to drag myself back into writing for the adult market.

Don't get me started on the title. I don't have one. Currently, the project is known as "Witty Title". I usually find the actual title as I write. Since I'm only on chapter two, it will likely be a while before that happens. So far things are moving along smoothly thanks to my handy synopsis.

If you're participating in NaNoWriMo and want to be buddies, I'm Gypsywitch on the NaNo site.

And now I better get back to writing because sadly, this blog post doesn't apply toward my daily word count.

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. :) 

IWSG June - Meeting readers and a new upcoming release!

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

 Are we seriously halfway through the year already? It seems like every time I write one of these posts the

 time that has passed seems to have flown by in a blur. At least I'm back out at events. It's been great talking to people in person again. I've done a renaissance faire and two craft shows since my last post and met a lot of readers. And got sunburned, even as I sat there this past weekend on a particularly chilly day shivering after it being nearly 90F the weekend before. Ah Michigan weather.

June brings more book signings. I'll be in Charlotte this weekend, then Holland, White Lake, and finally, Muskegon at the Lakeshore Art Festival. There's also a free virtual book festival going on this month through Pages Promotions. Meet several indie authors every night and get entered to win free books just by attending. I'll be a guest on June 25.

I hope to have another book release date announcement this month. This time, I've co-authored a young YA fantasy novel, Traveling Circus and the Skeleton Key - book 3 of a series. 

And now onward to this month's IWSG question:

For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?

Currently, now that I've written around fifteen full novels (some of which you'll never see), I only wait a few weeks to a month between rough draft and first edit. Usually I go on a binge reading fest or hit Netflix as way to cleanse my writer brain of what I've just written so that I can review the story with fresh-ish eyes and get to cleaning it up.

That said, I also have books that are still in first draft from when they were written years ago that are waiting for their chance at a re-draft. Most of the time those books are ones that are missing something. That could be a middle or ending, have a major plot issue, or maybe just that spark that drives me to dive back into the story and clean it up with the first edit. I'll get to them eventually.

Overall, I'd say writing lots of books helps refine your process so you churn out a cleaner first draft, know how to productively approach your redraft/first edit, and learn just how much time you need to read that first draft objectively.

IWSG: May brings book signings!

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

 As usual, time is flying by and I missed my post by a day, but I'll squeak this in anyway because that's how life is going right now. Life beyond writing is highly interrupted, drama-filled, and hectic. As you may imagine, that's having an effect on writing things too...like keeping up with blog posts. 

In lighter news, festivals, craft shows, and book signings are finally happening again! Hooray! You can find all the places I'm going to be along the side bar over there ---> In addition to those, I'll be at the Bluestocking Bookshop in Holland, MI this Saturday with my newest books: Not Another Bard's Tale and Bound In Blue - Book 3 of The Narvan. June will also be super busy as I'll be taking part in the Pages Promotions Reading Regatta along with 50+ other indie authors. If you like winning free books and meeting authors (virtually), stop by and get all the details.

And onward into this month's IWSG question: Have any of your readers responded to your writing in a way that you didn't expect? 

I can't say as I've had that come up yet, but I have had a few amusing comments here and there. One interaction that comes to mine is from a young woman I met at a book event early last year. She'd purchased one of my books and then turned up grinning at another event later that year to tell me that she'd loved it. It was dark just like I told her it would be. Unfortunately, that didn't narrow anything down for me as to which book she'd purchased because they all have a dark side, but I'm always happy to hear readers enjoy my books, no matter which one it might be. :)

Release day: Not Another Bard's Tale

Not Another Bard's Tale sprang to life during NaNoWriMo in 2008. The story languished on my hard drive for several years without a middle and then for many years after it was finally complete due to the lack of time to devote to applying the finishing touches and editing. Guess what? It turns out a pandemic that causes pretty much everything to be canceled for a year offers a writer a lot of unplanned 'free' time.

Look for a lot of new books in 2021. Authors have been busy typing away in their socially distanced writing caves. Not Another Bard's Tale is the second of five books on my schedule to release this year.

Inspired by my teen-love for Monty Python's Holy Grail, and later enjoyment of John Moore's book Heroics for Beginner's, Not Another Bard's Tale leans heavily into the fantasy parody genre. 

Bruce Gawain has been between knightly quests for longer than he’d like to admit. In the town of Holden, he meets a seer who tells him where he can finally find his destiny. All he has to do is travel to the distant Wall of Nok in Gambreland. With only three coins to his name, Bruce isn’t getting much further than a barstool at the town’s inn.

As luck would have it, the innkeeper’s beautiful daughter Svetlana and her flock of troublesome god-gifted sheep need an escort to Gambreland. With a paying job, everything seems to fall into place for Bruce’s quest… except for Svetlana’s killjoy bodyguard sister, an evil overlord with looming prophecy issues, and a dragon threatening to eat the townspeople until its stolen treasure is returned.

Bruce sets out with his pan-wielding companion Mydeara and the negligibly talented bard, Harold to seek out the Wall of Nok. Will they find Bruce’s destiny, return Svetlana safely home, and save the people of Holden from the vengeful dragon?

Available in Paperback on Amazon and Ebook: Amazon / Smashwords / B&N / Kobo / Scribd

Excerpt: 

Bruce glanced toward the docks where several ships were moored, their masts bobbing madly as a sudden rush of heavy wind buffeted the sea-side market. Horse-drawn carts raced by and shouting came from the next street over. He gripped the rough wood of the stall and squinted against the blowing dirt to read the poorly painted sign: Holden’s famous Herman! The great seer of the West!

A hunched man in a faded blue robe adorned with what may have been golden stars and moons bared his scant teeth. “I see an auspicious future for you, knight.” He held out an age-spotted hand. “But the details require payment.”

His past hadn’t been all too profitable and presently Bruce was in a state he preferred to call ‘between quests’. If a single coin could give him a push in a better direction it would be well spent. He dug into the coin purse he wore under his armor. He placed a chipped copper disc with a hole in the middle onto the seer’s palm. “That’s one of my last. You better tell me something worthwhile.”

“You listen to old Herman now, my visions always be true.”

People hurried past, glancing over their shoulders. “Get on with it then. The day’s almost done and I need to find the inn.”

Herman cleared his throat with a great hacking cough, followed by a hesitant wheeze and another cough, slightly less phlegm-filled than the last. “Show me your palm.”

Bruce held out his hand, wondering what the old man hoped to see in the fading light. He probably had his prophetic line of mysterious words already on his tongue; the palm was all for show. He scowled, already wishing he’d spent his coin on dinner or a pint of ale.

“All right then.” Herman traced the lines on his palm with thin, wrinkled fingers. “What you seek lies at the Wall of Nok. You must travel far and the way will not be easy.”

A shadow passed overhead, like a brief sampling of nightfall, but then it was gone. Something crashed at the other end of the marketplace. The ground shook. Screams filled the air.

What a load of dung. Bruce yanked his hand away. The evening air grew warm, almost unbearably so within his armor.

The shaking of the ground became more intense. The wooden stalls creaked. A host of people ran by. Shopkeepers watched them. Several abandoned their wares and joined the running crowd. Herman eyed the coin with determination as it bounced about on the quaking counter of the stall.

Bruce made a grab for his coin.

The surprisingly spry seer snatched it up. “When you reach the wall, you will find—”

A giant, green-scaled head atop a long neck lined with wicked black spikes loomed over the booth. Two great golden eyes surveyed Bruce and then locked on to the old man. The dragon’s jaws gaped open to reveal two wicked rows of teeth.

Bruce screamed like a little girl.

The dragon snatched up the seer and chewed with what appeared to be great satisfaction. It swallowed and then picked at one of his dagger-length teeth with a claw. The copper coin fell onto the counter.

The dragon’s rancid, hot breath blasted over Bruce. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the nearest lake is, do you? I always find mystics a bit dry.”

Bruce pointed to the far end of town with a shaking hand.

“Thank you.” The dragon flapped its wings, knocking flat the booth and all of those surrounding it, sending the goods flying in all directions.

As the dragon lifted into the sky Bruce’s reflexes finally kicked in. He drew his sword. Another rush of people, scattered in their efforts to pick a direction in which to flee, flooded through the decimated market.

A young man stopped, gazing up at the dragon and then following its line of ascent to Bruce and his sword. “You scared the dragon off! You saved us all!”

“I don’t know about...” Bruce glanced at the sword in his hand. If he meant to change his fortune, he was going to have to up his advertising game. “Yes. Yes, I did. Fearsome beast, but no match for a knight like me.”

“Behold, our savior!” the man called to all who passed by. 

IWSG April: Upcoming Release - Not Another Bard's Tale

It's April, the weather is awesome. It's finally warm! And there is sunshine! Why am I inside??? Oh yes,  must work to pay the bills. 

Spring is busy doing it's springy thing around here. there are flowers, I've got the itch to finish out my flock with a few new chicks and my ducks are now a year old and are busy being happy ducks. I've also been writing. Well, editing, mostly, but that still counts.

April also marks the upcoming arrival of my next book, Not Another Bard's Tale. NABT was first drafted in 2008 as my third NaNoWriMo novel. It's gone through some significant revisions over the years and sat in the cold dark of my hard drive for long spans until finally Covid shut everything down for a year (and then some) and hey, I had far more 'free' time than usual. So I was productive and did a lot of writing as well as editing to get several books ready to release this year. 

Not Another Bard's Tale is a comedic fantasy novel following Bruce, the not-so-esteemed knight, his plucky side kick Mydeara, and the negligibly talented bard Harold as they journey to a far off land to find Bruce's destiny. Along the way they face an evil overlord with looming prophecy issues, a hungry dragon, and a love-sick troll. This adventure through fantasy tropes will be out at the end of the month! 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Funny that this months' IWSG question is: Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?

Because yes, I do like to experiment with different things with my novels. That's the nice thing about doing stand alone novels and short stories, they're far easier to try out new POVs and styles than delving into an entire series. 

Not Another Bard's Tale is different than many books as it's told through a progression of POVs. Each of the characters get to carry the adventure for a chapter. Some of the core characters repeat in the second half of the book, other do not. The chapter lengths also vary greatly, but are geared toward giving everyone the part that best conveys their character's part of the story.