Best Reads of 2025

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It’s coming to the end of the year, a time of reflection on all that’s happened and what is to come. Part of my “last month” is to look back on the books I read in 2025. I like to go through my challenge on Storygraph and remember where I was and what I was doing then. (It’s Storygraph because I swore off Goodreads in 2024, the same time I unpublished my books from Amazon.)

The first thing I realized was that I went easy with my challenge level. I set out to read 40 books and have read 47 so far. Next year I’ll push myself farther.

Of all those books, three really stand out for me. They are The Witch Roads and The Nameless Land, by Kate Elliott, and Queen Demon by Martha Wells. (Links connects to my previous reviews here.) In both cases, the books are listed as duologies, but it’s clear from the reading these will be continuing series. Elliott has two books, due to whatever vagaries of publishing led to releasing them within six months of each other. These are substantial books, and I won’t expect her to keep up that pace. (Although it would be great if she did!)

Honorable mention goes to Travis Baldree, with the cozy fantasy Brigands and Breadknives. This is the third in his Legends and Lattes series and it stretches the genre a bit. This is a good idea, I think. Authors shouldn’t be asked to produce the same book over and over. We have to keep ourselves interested before we try to interest readers.

By the way, don’t forget the Smashwords Year End Sale! All my e-books are 25% off until January 1, 2026. Take a look at my catalog if you’re interested.

Now I’m opening the floor to you. What were your favorite reads of 2025, and why?

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Woman at Work, December 2025

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What’s Happening? We’ve had our first snow of the year. Despite the traffic concerns, I do enjoy some of the wintery white. It just doesn’t feel like the holidays without snow.

What I’m Working On. The Warlock’s Army marches on. I’m at 270 manuscript pages and 75,000 words. Another major turning point is upon me. Revel Breed, the warlock in question, thinks all the witches and warlocks are conspiring against him. It’s going to get ugly.

What’s Next? I’m not planning any other stories just now.

Where I’ll be. RadCon in February of 2026. This is an annual event for me, and I’ve been trying to arrange for an Artist Alley table. I keep running into roadblocks. I still plan to go, but I’ll be really disappointed if my table doesn’t work out.

Fun and Games. Animal Crossing! I’m approaching the two-year mark with my current village. Although a new Switch is available, it sounds like I’d have to start over with a new village. Instead of that, I’m planning to give my village a complete make-over. I’m also doing another run of Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Wishing you a peaceful and healing holiday season.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Smashwords Sale

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Smashwords End of Year Sale

If you’re looking for a great read, the Smashwords End of Year Sale is perfect for you. The sale runs from December 8, 2025 to January 1, 2026.

During this time, all my e-books will be on sale for 25% off. My full catalog is included, both the titles in my own name and my pen name for juvenile work, Lucy D. Ford.

Great reads at a great price — what could be better?

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

The Tower in the Mist

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In a dark forest, a person faces a glowing doorway. Illustration by Tithi Luadthong. Book cover for The Tower in the Mist.

It’s that time of year! I’m shining a spotlight on some of my e-books for your consideration. Maybe you’re planning a trip and need an e-book to read at the airport. Maybe you have a fantasy reader on your gift list. The Tower in the Mist is first in my Minstrels of Skaythe series, where the whole saga began.

The Tower in the Mist

Mages vs. Amazons vs. Giant Badger vs. Tyranny!

Zathi’s job is to capture renegade mages, but Keilos isn’t like any other mage she’s dealt with. Her drive to bring him in only leads them deeper into a cursed forest. Together, warrior and mage will face deadly beasts and grapple with decisions that compromise every principle. Until they stumble upon a place of ancient, forgotten magic. Zathi must choose — allow Keilos to claim it, or kill him once and for all.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Going On With It

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Fall Folk Festival is in the rear view mirror for this year. I had a great time, as always. The audience was small for my reading, but very appreciative. No books sold this year; that’s usually how it is. I returned on Sunday to volunteer as stage manager, and I enjoyed the performances I did see.

My favorite act was the Raging Grannies, an group who dress up like old women and sing protest songs. I also got to see the PJAMERs, a community marching band that played — what else? — protest songs. It’s been that kind of year!

With all this handled, I’m back to focusing on The Warlock’s Army. It’s up to 235 pages (manuscript, not printed) and 65,000 words now. Jeniana has decided to become a spokesman for the witches who are dispersed around Revelary Lake. Meanwhile, Cassander is explaining to his father, Revel Breed, that Viola said no to his generous invitation. Revel is mad enough to let a few truths slip out.

This is a delicate passage, because it will connect to some things Jeniana already learned from Viola. Cassander won’t know all that and should be confused, but will actually connect to parts of Revel’s scheme that Jeniana doesn’t know about. I trust my readers to put the pieces together. It’s a fun scene to write, anyway.

Back to it, then!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Spirit of the Wolf

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At last, I have the purchase link for Spirit of the Wolf! You can pre-order through Wolfsinger Publications. Use the code NR2025 to receive a 15% discount until December 15, 2025.

The anthology is also available from Amazon or Smashwords, but I would prefer to send revenue directly to the publisher.

Spirit of the Wolf

Tucked deep in Colorado’s Wet Mountains, where pine forests whisper with the wind and the night sky twinkles with unfiltered stars, is Mission: Wolf; a place where the voices of wolves echo across the ridges.

Within these pages, authors from around the world honor that spirit in tales that span the mystical and the modern, the feral and the familiar. From legends of the first howls to stories of companionship, sacrifice, and survival, Spirit of the Wolf explores the timeless bond between wolves and humans. For wolves are the guardians of the wilderness and reflections of our own souls.

Each story sings with the essence of the pack: loyalty, freedom, courage, and the enduring hope that even in captivity, the wild heart endures.

Proceeds from this anthology will be donated to Mission: Wolf, a sanctuary built on compassion and dedicated to the care and preservation of wolves and wolf-dogs, and to teaching respect for the delicate balance between humans and nature.

So settle in. Listen closely. Within these pages, you may just hear the wolf’s call as it awakens the wild within your own soul.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Woman at Work, November 2025

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What’s Happening? It’s Hallowe’en as I write this. School was in a state of high excitement today! Presently, my husband is answering the door for occasional trick-or-treaters. Nothing like a bunch of kids in cute costumes to lift the spirits. (Ha ha)

What I’m Working On. The Warlock’s Army is still in progress. It’s at 60K words and coming to a major turning point. Cassander is trying to catch up with Viola, and Jeniana is confronting her Pop about hiding the implications from her.

What’s Next? I have no firm plans at this time.

Where I’ll be. Fall Folk Festival is this month. In fact, it’s next weekend! I guess I’d better decide what I’m going to read.

Fun and Games. New content was released for Terra Nil, which is a game where you restore ecosystems in a destroyed wasteland. The extra levels are challenging, and I’ve enjoyed them. I am not reading any books right now, but I do have an issue of Uncanny magazine in my e-reader. Kate Elliott has a new release out this month and I’m waiting eagerly for that.

Wishing you a spooky or spicy Hallowe’en, according to your own preference.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Busy November

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This November I have not one by two new releases! The first one will be Standing Stones and Safety Zones. The expected release is on November 15th. Just tonight (Friday, October 24th) I approved the cover art and I can’t wait to show it off!

The second will be Spirit of the Wolf, the anthology I posted on last week. I have a release date of November 18th for that one, but no purchase links yet.

Unfortunately these are both after Fall Folk Festival, which is November 8th and 9th, 2025. I wish I could sell copies there, but I won’t have them. That’s okay, it just means I can focus on the Cleodora Duology, which I completed last May.

My immediate job, now that I have the art, is to design the cover for Stones and Zones. Onward!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Queen Demon

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I read a great book, and I have to tell you about it! The book is Queen Demon, by Martha Wells, and it’s a follow up to her 2023 epic, Witch King. Honestly, I’m surprised at myself for not writing about Witch King more at the time. I got to hear Wells read a section of it at WorldCon, last August, so I was primed for the release last week. Obviously, the whole book did not disappoint.

Witch King consisted of two braided plots, one in the past and one in the present. In the past, a horrible army led by Hierarchs (sorcerers) had descended on a mostly peaceful world and was gradually conquering everything. Until a group of their hostages managed to start an uprising and escaped with their lives. In the present, that uprising had been successful enough that it founded the Rising World coalition. One faction had a conspiracy to turn the Rising World into an empire.

Events in both times are witnessed by Kaiisteron, a demon who is able to drain the life out of people and can change bodies at need. Kai’s people in the underearth have a treaty with surface mortals around how and when this is acceptable. In the past we meet Kai as a youth who gets caught up as one of the hostages and nearly dies. In the present, he is an almost unstoppable force. Though felled by treachery, he still manages to foil the would-be emperor’s plans.

Queen Demon picks up both plots directly from the conclusion of Witch King. In the past, Kai and his allies continue their war against the Hierarchs. We get a fuller sense of all the characters in Kai’s close circle. There are satisfying hints of relationships growing between them. In the present, Kai is tracking down a rumor that one of the Hierarchs is still alive. The truth of this leads to uneasy alliances with a couple of opponents from the previous book.

The best part of this series is in Wells’ world building. The Hierarchs left ruins scattered everywhere, which makes for a poignant landscape. It is a diverse world with people of all colors and sizes, having varied dress, foods, architecture, and manners. Everything is beautifully described. There are also a number of same-sex relationships that are not treated as being unusual, so bear this in mind if that sort of thing bothers you.

I do see some flaws in the work, factors that seemed random or maybe just weren’t well explained. That just means I might have to read it again soon, and see what clues there were that I missed!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Spirit of the Wolf

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I have a new publication coming out! My short story, “The Wolf God’s Path,” is part of another anthology from Wolfsinger Publications. Spirit of the Wolf is a charity anthology, benefitting Mission: Wolf, a wildlife sanctuary in southern Colorado that (no surprise) holds and cares for gray wolves.

“The Wolf God’s Path” is about a young woman embarking on a spirit quest. Lily is searching for an “alter stone,” a mystic stone that will allow her to change her path in life. The one she finds is guarded by Kirishac Redfang, the wolf god, who is not easily convinced that she is worthy.

One interesting thing about this story is that it’s set in the same world as “Mistress Henbane,” one of the tales in my forthcoming book, Standing Stones and Safety Zones. The title character, Mistress Henbane, is wise woman for a rural village. She’s partly a healer and partly their mystic defender. In Stones and Zones, we see Mistress Henbane having an adventure while healing someone. “The Wolf God’s Path” shows more of her ordinary duties.

I don’t have a release date yet for Spirit of the Wolf, but you can be sure that I’ll pass that information along as soon as I get it!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.