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.

Woman at Work, October 2025

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What’s Happening? October is just beginning. It’s my second favorite time of year because I love Hallowe’en. On the other hand, I have to put my garden to bed for the year. Lots of trimming and mulching to take care of.

What I’m Working On. Layouts and organizing for Standing Stones and Safety Zones are my top priority.

What’s Next? I’m a bit stalled until cover art comes in for Stones and Zones, so I’m pushing forward on The Warlock’s Army.

Where I’ll be. Fall Folk Festival is next month, and I always have a good time there.

Fun and Games. I’ve been very involved with a video game called Wildmender. The goal is to save the world by restoring habitats in a desert. My current read is Network Effect by Martha Wells, an author I really admire. She has a new book coming out later this month, and I can’t wait to get it!

Wishing you a soft and lingering fall!

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.

Fall Folk Festival

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Work continues on layouts for my next book, Standing Stones and Safety Zones. There are miles to go, but in the meantime I got a nice bit of news.

Fall Folk Festival has released their schedule of performances. They have me on Saturday in the early afternoon. This is a nice improvement from previous years, when I was scheduled on Sunday mornings. I will have books in the festival store, as always. This year I’ll be featuring my Cleodora duology.

Anyway, my brain might be full of type sizes and clip art, but this is something nice to look forward to.

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.

Just-A-Con

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I’m at Just-A-Con this weekend. It’s a tiny local “relaxacon” where attendees can roam around and spend time catching up. I’m bringing books and doing a reading, but the emphasis isn’t on sales. (Although I did sell well last year.)

The important thing will be the catching up with friends. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a lot of us are worried about the direction of our government, turning sharply toward control and destruction. Keeping our community together is more urgent than ever.

In fact, my first program item will be a check-in to see how everyone is doing. I’m also on one about DEI and why there’s such a backlash. But in a more fun vein, those of us who were at Worldcon will give a recap of our impressions, and we’ll be talking about trends in gaming (table top, rpg, video).

I hope you all have a chance to rest this weekend and reconnect with your friend group. We’re going to need each other in days to come!

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.

And the Title Is…

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Project X is taking shape. I know which two stories I want to include in the volume. I have an agreement with my artist on price and delivery. But, until yesterday, I hadn’t settled on a title. So I tossed out a few alternatives on my blog, Wyrmflight, for reader feedback.

First, I should specify that “Project X” has already been used. Part of my process in developing titles is to search for key words and phrases, so I can avoid duplication of existing work. If the previous title is older, say more than ten years, I might still use that title. If it’s within the past few years, then definitely not.

Some of the potential titles were “Two Stories” because it includes two stories, “Fantasy Times Two,” “Partners in Sorcery/Magic” or “Standing Stones and Danger Zones.” After hearing the comments, I’m opting for this last one.

As I imagined myself at book tables, talking to potential readers, I found that my other ideas were more awkward. Customer: “What’s the book called?” Me: “Fantasy Times Two, it’s about…” Customer, “Huh? No, that’s okay.”

On the other hand: Customer: “What’s the book called?” Me: “Standing Stones and Danger Zones, it has two stories in it. One of them has standing stones and the other one is about…” Customer: “Never mind, take my money!”

Or so I hope!

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, September 2025

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What’s Happening? It is Labor Day as I write this, and I’m enjoying a relaxing weekend. We went to a food festival yesterday, and had hoped to go to a local lake in the afternoon. However, my husband got serious about a home improvement he’s been putting off all summer. So just a quiet day for me.

What I’m Working On. The Warlock’s Army is my current WIP, as mentioned in several recent posts. However, I may need to pause it in order to assemble my next publication, due out in November.

What’s Next? “Project X,” that is. It is going to be a double feature, with one short story and one novella. I have given the story I want illustrated to a friend, who is a good artist, and I trust I will have cover art soon. However, I actually haven’t decided on the title yet. I have a few clever ideas, but nothing has jelled quite yet.

Where I’ll be. Just-A-Con, September 19-21, 2025. It’s a very small, relaxing convention where we’ll be talking about Worldcon, DEI, and more.

Fun and Games. In addition to my perennial game, Animal Crossing, I’m about to start a new one called Wildmender. The goal is to build a garden in a desert and explore some enigmatic ruins. My current read is Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders.

Wishing you a smooth segue from summer to fall!

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.

Some Nice News

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A couple of nice things have fluttered down to me, like little butterflies of happiness.

First of these, I was accepted to perform at Fall Folk Festival in November. It seems from the email format that I should have received this news earlier, but that’s fine. I can look forward to reading Lucy D. Ford’s work on November 8th or 9th, 2025.

Second of these, during the back-to-school staff training, the librarian let me know she wants to buy the Cleodora duology (Acorn Canyon and Willow Lake). I had loaned her the books during the last few weeks of the 2024-25 school year and she didn’t return them. Which I was irritating. But, she read them over the summer and they are appropriate for the school library, so all is forgiven!

Also, a submission window opened this week. I threw my short story “Curse Maker” through it. Let’s see if my lucky streak can continue!

Worldcon 2025

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I made it back alive! (No, there wasn’t really much question of that.) So, how did it go? It was a mixed bag, honestly. Not because of any major hiccups in the con itself, but other things that happened around it.

The Good. I enjoyed volunteering in the Green Room. The panels I attended were excellent. It was especially great to get into the very crowded Q&A and reading with Martha Wells, an author I really admire.

The Bad. Our drive across the state went well, until we reached Seattle itself. Then we got lost for over an hour, with the map program trying to send us into one-way streets. It also turned out that our hotel was five blocks from the convention center. That’s a longer walk than it seems like, when you have to go back and forth a lot. Also, the meals were costly at the convention center. That was expected, but still unpleasant.

The Ugly. My husband got lost and walked for an hour and a half. He ended up at the Space Needle, which wasn’t on our planned itinerary. He finally called me to say he didn’t know where he was, which freaked me out because I didn’t know where he was, either! We did connect and get back to the hotel safely, but he over stressed himself and basically missed 2 days of the convention because it hurt to walk. I didn’t want to yell at him, but there’s such a thing as a taxi if you need to get around in strange cities.

In the end, we came home a day early. I missed a couple of friends I wanted to get together with. And it really did seem like 5 days is too long for a convention. However, the art show was wonderful, and the dealer’s room was great, too. There were a whole lot of publishers there, which is possibly a topic for another blog.

I’m glad I got to go to Worldcon, and I was glad to get home. I have everything unpacked and put away. My summer break is over next Monday, but at least I have a couple of new books to read.

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.

A Gathering of Dragons

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While I’m at Worldcon, here’s a fun repeat from 2019. What if dragons had conventions?

Over the summer, I’ve been working as director of programming for SpoCon, my local science fiction convention. I’m going a little nuts, frankly. But it has given rise to a few fun thoughts. If dragons had a convention, what would their programming look like?

Humans: Friends or Food? Older and wiser dragons share their advice on whether to play nicely or take what you want.

The Perfect Hoard: A great hoard needs more than mountains of gold coin. Maybe you’ve thought of adding some gems or a bit of gold-plated armor. Experts discuss how to give your hoard personality and flair.

Fang and Claw vs. Flame Breath: Warrior dragons debate the best way to slay those pesky knights.

Lair Security: Are you troubled by sneak thieves and traveling salesmen? Learn a few new tricks to keep intruders out of your private space.

Human Arms and Armor: Information on the most common equipment used by knights and adventurers, with tips on how to overcome them.

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.

Getting Ready

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Worldcon is next week, and my real preparations now begin. As I previously mentioned, I’m volunteering in the Green Room. There were setups involved with that. They have a mailing list, Google group and Slack that I had to sign up for. That’s done and I feel pretty confident I can keep up with it during the weekend.

The convention is using a program called Guidebook. I’ve been going through it, marking panels I’m interested in. It also lets you connect with other attendees, so you can plan together. Everything from meeting for coffee to attending events together. Pretty cool.

Today and tomorrow I’ll be focused on printing documentation. Reservations, proof of registration, and so forth. I also need to pick which books I’ll donate to their charity auction. I need to prepare a list of questions for my Dragon Age meet-up. The conversation doesn’t usually lag at meet-ups, but I like to be ready if it does.

Monday, the actual packing begins! Tuesday, we drive. Wednesday is the official start of Worldcon. But never fear, I’m not forgetting about Wyrmflight. I have ideas for setting up some fun posts on my regular days.

If anyone else is going to be at Worldcon, look for me in the Guidebook and we can connect.

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.