Dragon’s Hoard 2

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I’m excited to say that I have a new publication! One of my short stories is in the anthology, The Dragon’s Hoard 2. “By Promises Bound” was featured in my blog event, Queen Titania’s Court, on the release date, June 18th. It’s a fun look at the story, so I hope you’ll mosey on over there.

This anthology is a second volume following The Dragon’s Hoard, originally edited by Carol Hightshoe for Sky Warrior. When she reacquired her rights, she not only republished The Dragon’s Hoard through Wolfsinger, she made an anthology call. This was so well received, Hightshoe decided to publish not one but two more anthologies. The Dragon’s Hoard 2 is the first of these.

I started working on my submission back in April of 2023. The interesting conflict that came to me was between a dragon that wanted to expand its hoard, and a person begging the dragon not to kill them. Somehow the Pied Piper legend got involved, too. So in my story, the Pied Piper (second of his name) is trying to make a deal with the dragon. I hope you’ll buy the anthology and check out my story!

In other news, my books will once again be part of Smashwords’ Summer Sale. All through July, my books will be 50% off if you buy them through Smashwords. Stay tuned for more details on that.

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.

Not Yet

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The Spirit Binder isn’t bound in stone quite yet. Last week I wrote that I hoped to finish by the end of school… which was yesterday… but no joy.

It’s all right. The most critical resolution is written. Now I’m in the glide to the ending. There are a few more things to be wrapped up before I can say the first draft is complete. I’ll get it done soon.

I don’t know about other writers, but I always find myself over-explaining at the end of a story. Cleodora is being left with a lot on her plate. I just need her to be aware of the challenges ahead, not acting on them. This leaves the reader to think about how they might play out.

The first draft, as written, is pretty much a mess. I planned it as a middle grade novel between 30,000 and 40,000 words with Lucy D. Ford as the author. I haven’t done much with Lucy, and I wanted to change that. However, the current tale is about 80,000 words. That would be a good short novel… for YA or adults. If I want to keep it with Lucy, it would have to be split into two 40,000-word middle graders.

One big issue is Cleodora’s age. She’s 13, an age that naturally makes this a middle grade story. I wonder whether adult and YA readers would accept a younger main character. On the other hand, there is some content that may not be appropriate for middle grade readers. Taking it out would require a more substantial revision, which could mean The Spirit Binder doesn’t publish until spring of 2025. I was hoping for this November.

I want to take my time in deciding. I also need a break from Cleodora’s story. There are a couple of anthologies that I want to write stories for. After that change of pace, I can come back to her tale fresh, probably later in the summer.

Decisions, decisions. But they’re the good kind, so — Onward! Until I write “the end.”

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 Titania’s Court

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It’s going! You should visit! Yesterday’s installment even featured one of my stories, “Hag” from the collection Aunt Anne’s Archive. It’s a different look at my character, so I hope you’ll take a look.

In other news, I’ve felt stymied with my current WIP, The Spirit Binder. My goal was to finish before school gets out next Friday. I didn’t think I would make it. But, last night as I was half-asleep, I realized there are only about four more important scenes. By golly, I might do 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, June 2024

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What’s Happening? Queen Titania’s Court has begun at my blog, Wyrmflight. It’s an online gathering of independent fantasy books that extends through the month of June. If you’re looking for a new summer read, you just might find one.

What I’m Working On. The Spirit Binder approaches its conclusion. I was hoping to finish by the end of school, but that’s in two weeks. It should be wrapped up by the end of June, though.

What’s Next? Revisions! My plan was to have The Spirit Binder in shape to publish in November. However, it’s going to need a lot of work, and that requires think time. I’m hoping to write a short story or two before digging into the second draft.

Where I’ll be. No in-person appearances are on my calendar at the moment.

Fun and Games. Animal Crossing is an endless game of collections and creativity. My current goal there is to breed blue roses, a thorny project that has several steps. I’m also waiting until school ends to get myself a new video game. It’ll probably be Dredge, the Indy game where you fish up increasingly strange creatures.

I hope you have some fun plans for the summer, too!

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.

New Publication

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That’s right, I have yet another forthcoming title! This time I wasn’t in charge of the timing, though. Wolfsinger is bringing out their next anthology, The Dragon’s Hoard 2, on June 18th, 2024. I don’t have any purchase links yet, but rest assured, I’ll noise them about once I get them.

This publication falls in the middle of my June book event, Queen Titania’s Court. Unfortunately, participation has been a bit thin this year. A lot of the authors who regularly participate seem to be at a lull between books just now. I planned to fill the gaps with a couple of my own books or anthologies I have a story in. Heck, why not? It’s a no-brainer to fit The Dragon’s Hoard 2 into the mix.

With this in mind, I’d better get back to writing and formatting my blogs for Queen Titania’s Court!

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.

New Stuff

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A couple of major new SF/Fantasy shows have come out on streaming lately. Having seen just a couple of episodes of each, I have some reactions.

Fallout, on Amazon Prime, is based on a video game series that my husband and I both played extensively in the past. As such it features settings and factions from the game that are familiar to us. I was very impressed by the attention to detail. The costumes and sets are re-created very accurately from the games.

It’s set in a post-apocalyptic America, with ruins and relics scattered all over. The plot events are correspondingly harsher. I do recall that in the game, you continually encounter locations with micro-stories embedded that are almost always tragic and/or horrific. Watching the first few episodes, I found it almost too dark to enjoy. Again, this is faithful the source material. In general, I’m just not a horror fan. Others may not be bothered.

Dead Boy Detectives is the other show. It’s based on an off-and-on comic series from DC in the ’90s, which spun off the more famous Sandman. Unlike Fallout, I knew almost nothing about Dead Boy Detectives when I started watching. I can’t attest to its faithfulness to the source material.

Despite being sometimes dark (I mean, two of the main characters are ghosts) the tone is lighter and more humorous. For instance, Crystal, the psychic character, carries on conversations with them, but only she can see them. You constantly see people in the background looking around for who she’s talking to. Where Fallout follows two or three plot threads, Dead Boy Detectives has just one, so it came across more focused to me.

On the other hand, fan reaction indicates there’s a gay romance, either hinted or explicit. Bear that in mind if such content would bother you.

Anyway, I’m interested to know if any of you have watched these shows, and what you thought of 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.

Woman at Work, May 2024

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What’s Happening? Wow it’s 7:30 pm and still light outside. I had put out my geraniums and a few other flowers, and then we were supposed to have frost overnight. Everything made it through okay, though. My peas and potatoes are coming up. I do love this time of year!

What I’m Working On. Still working on The Spirit Binder. Cleodora is investigating the reasons for the drought and hitting dead ends. She’s made a key ally, though.

What’s Next? My short story collection, Aunt Anne’s Archive, is up for pre-orders on e-books only. There’s one more check I want to do before finalizing the paperback. Its official release will be on May 15th. You can get if from Amazon or Books2Read. It’s also time to do my final planning for Queen Titania’s Court, coming in June.

Where I’ll be. MisCon Science Fiction Convention is held in Missoula, MT, on Memorial Day weekend. I’ll be on panels and have a chance to sit at the Spotlight table with my books.

Fun and Games. I’ve been enjoying Stray, where I play as a lost cat having to find my way through a post-collapse sealed city populated by friendly, humanlike robots. And I’m also playing Animal Crossing for the cute, chill vibe.

I hope the longer days are shining some light on your life, too!

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 Months

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After I finished setting up the pre-release for Aunt Anne’s Archive, I paused to take stock. I’ve been shocked at how much has gone on for me within the past six months.

In August, I released Renegades of Skaythe, the paperback that combined my novellas “The Renegade of Opshar” and “Prisoners of the Wailing Tower.” Then in November, I published the series finale, The Tale of the Drakanox. I also read from my work at Fall Folk Festival in November of 2023.

In January, Wolfsinger published Borne in the Blood, an anthology that includes one of my stories. In February, I was Author Guest of Honor at RadCon. That’s something I will never get tired of talking about! Another anthology, Wee Folk and Wise, was re-issued in late March. That was one I edited.

Next month, Aunt Anne’s Archive comes out. Then in June it’s Queen Titania’s Court. People who aren’t familiar with my career might have the impression that I’m such a dynamo all the time, but honestly… I think I might need a break after all that!

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.

Sold/Aunt Anne

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Light glows through the windows of a magical library.

I recently received the contract for a short story I submitted to an anthology last fall. Whoot! Of course, it won’t come out until 2025, so it’s hard to get too excited. Nevertheless, I took a few days to bask in the moment of success.

In addition to that, Aunt Anne’s Archive is up for pre-orders with a release date of May 15th. I’m currently going through the printed proof for last minute corrections.

What’s in it? Twelve short stories, from the brooding “Bonewood Forest” and “Hag” to the humorous “Buried Treasure” and “Rosewood’s Challenge.” Some of them are previously published, while others are coming to the public for the first time. And all for just $9.95!

Pre-order from Amazon or Books2Read if you’re interested.

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 It Done

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How do you know when you’ve written enough for one day? In terms of productivity, that is. This was a topic in one of the panels I did at RadCon last February. It was very interesting how many different techniques people have to stay on task and meet their goals.

One of the authors worked in Hollywood and almost everything was written toward deadlines. He basically worked in a series of sprints. Setting a timer, writing as hard and fast as he could without doing revision. Then at the bell taking breaks, having drinks or snacks, answering e-mails and secondary writing tasks. After a while, he set the timer and did it again.

One of them went by word count. She set out to write a certain number of words before her session could be over. I know another who only has weekends for writing, and he crams in as much as he can until he’s exhausted. At a convention, I once heard an author say he began writing at midnight and went until six o’clock in the morning. That would never work for me!

For myself, I go by pages. I have to finish two pages before I can be done. But if I’m near the end of a chapter, then I have to finish the chapter. That may not sound like much, but I have a day job and a house to maintain. I have basically an hour after dinner for writing. One night of the week is reserved for gaming, and two nights my siblings will call to talk. If only they all got along and would call me together on Discord! I could have another uninterrupted work night.

Anyway, I’m curious how you get your writing done. In sprints, by the clock, or by the word? Something else? Let me know in the comments!

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.