Tuesday, November 3, 2015

New Frost Book!

Hi everyone,

I've got a fun announcement!

So for a while now I've wanted to write Ann's side of the story from the Frost Chronicles. A LOT of things happen behind the scenes for her, and I think it's pretty interesting. So those of you who loved the Frost, it's coming back!


Storm and Glass will follow both Ann and Korr, and it is super spoilery for the other books in the series, so... while it can be read alone, I think you'd probably want to read the others first.

I'm not entirely sure right now when the book will release, so you can sign up for the New Releases Newsletter to be notified, or check with the blog as I will post more information as I know. Everything is a little slower than I'd like, but mostly that is due to my teething, crawling baby. I

In other news, I have a cover for the sequel to A Gift of Poison. Stay tuned for that to be revealed along with a summary and title soon.

PS ~ How is it already November?

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

IN DAWN AND DARKNESS is here!

Hi everyone!

In Dawn and Darkness is here! You can grab a version for your Kindle here.

You can get the Nook version here.

Print coming in a few weeks!



I hope you all enjoy the final book in the Secrets of Itlantis series. Ending a series is bittersweet, as always, but I am already in the thick of writing the sequel to A Gift of Poison.

Of Sea and Stone is also on sale for a short while to celebrate the release. So if you haven't read the books yet, or know someone who might enjoy them, be sure to check it out or spread the word.

Happy reading!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

A Free Copy for Review and a Survey

Hi everyone!


In Dawn and Darkness comes out next week. I am so excited for you all to read it. I hope you enjoy the conclusion to Aemi's story. (You can pre-order it now on Amazon).


But while you're waiting to read it, I have two other things to share.

1. If you haven't read it yet, one of my FAVORITES, A Gift of Poison, is available free as a review copy here. You can grab a copy in exchange for honest reviews. More details at Xpresso Book Tours site.



2. I made a short survey to gain more information about my readers. I'm interested, and I think this data will help me in the future. So if you have a few minutes and you feel inclined, you can answer a few questions by clicking here. I greatly appreciate it.

Oh! I'm also hoping to have a giveaway to celebrate the release of In Dawn and Darkness, so stay tuned for that.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Writing is Scary



Writing is scary.

I wonder sometimes if we authors admit that enough.

Finishing a series gives me knots of anxiety in my stomach, and stress-dreams, and fresh fear about the next project that looms. Because they always LOOM, you know? Deadlines loom. New things cast shadows in my mind, shadows of doubt about capability to finish, to pull it off, to deliver.
Maybe that isn’t so different from other things in life, but it feels like a microcosm of life in the sense that I’m always starting and finishing these big, emotional journeys with the books, and it’s exhilarating and exhausting in equal measure.

I’ve started work on the sequel to A Gift of Poison in earnest now that I’ve finished revisions on In Dawn and Darkness. This is scary for me because I really, really love the characters in AGoP in a way that’s very personal, because I’ve carried them in my mind for a long time (I wrote the first draft of that book about 10 years ago). I want to do right by them by giving them a good story. By really telling the story well.

I have to do some mental coaching to psyche myself up for it at times. I talk myself to the cliff, and then I talk myself into jumping. And I have to write the parachute.

It. Is. Scary.

I think a big piece of the fear is facing my own thoughts about things, and another piece is the way the story changes as it takes shape on paper. I want it to be GOOD. I worry it won’t be. That I’ll write it the end, and the whole thing will collapse on itself. I always have the fear of “what if I can’t finish?"

It's like I have to keep proving each time that I can and I will.

With writing, as with man things, the only way out is through.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Preorder IN DAWN AND DARKNESS!

Hi everyone,

In Dawn and Darkness is up on Amazon as a preorder. You can find it here.

And here's the cover!


After this book releases, I'll be continuing to work on the sequel to A Gift of Poison.

When I'm not writing, I've been trying to catch up on my reading. I just finished The Girl on the Train and I loved the way it was structured, the unreliable narrator, the whole thing. I'm on a bit of a thriller kick. Reading Gone Girl now (I know, I know, I'm really late to that party). I'll be choosing a new series from my long list of ideas to work on soon and I'm thinking something creepy. Maybe my zombie-ish novel, which has been waiting so patiently on my hard drive...

Monday, July 6, 2015

And the winner is...!

We've got a winner for the dedication in my upcoming book, In Dawn and Darkness (Secrets of Itlantis #5)!

Congratulations, J. Oh!

Thank you everyone else for entering. I can't wait for the book to release, and I hope everyone enjoys the conclusion to the Secrets of Itlantis series. If you haven't already, you can subscribe to the newsletter to be notified when the book is available for pre-order (and when it releases).

I love all of you amazing readers!

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Who wants to have IN DAWN AND DARKNESS dedicated to them!?

 
We're getting closer to the release of the final book in the Secrets of Itlantis series, In Dawn and Darkness. I realized the other day that I don't have a person lined up for the dedication, and as you guys may remember, sometimes I like to dedicate my books to readers.

So I thought I'd make a Rafflecopter for the dedication. Here it is!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Drafting: Faith, Patience, and Hope

Writing a first draft is an exercise in faith, patience, and hope. Faith in yourself that you'll actually produce something useable, patience for your neurotic worrying that you won't, and hope that you'll like it when you're done. You might even love it.

Right now I feel like I've got a tattered quilt of words and I'm trying to sew it together, scene by scene, into something that makes sense. I've been gone a few months taking care of my baby, and an absence like that always seems to shake me a little in the confidence department.

But it will come together. Writing is a bit magical, I think. The stories begin to make sense after you've slogged through half a draft, spewing words and hoping there's some method under all the madness. And then, almost miraculously, there is.

IN DAWN AND DARKNESS is the last in the Itlantis series, and that is bittersweet as always, but I have so many other stories waiting to be told, and some of them are getting impatient. I'm eager to sink into them and play around with new worlds and characters. But first I have to do this final piece of the Itlantis story justice. I just might need a doughnut (or ten) while I'm at it.

In the meantime, if you're waiting, sign up for the newsletter to be sure to get notified when IDaD releases.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Are you a blogger or reviewer?

Hi everyone!



I'm still on maternity leave, but I wanted to share this opportunity with anyone who is a blogger or reviewer. You can sign up HERE to receive a free e-copy of my newest novel, THE SEASON OF LIGHTNING, in either .mobi, epub, or PDF format to review. Check it out if you're interested!

Friday, February 20, 2015

The Season of Lightning is Available!

Hi everyone!

Well, The Season of Lightning beat my (human) baby out into the world. It's now available for purchase on Amazon, for Nook, and coming very soon in print on Amazon (available now in print here).


This is my favorite book I've written. I hope you all enjoy it very much. Meanwhile, I'll be lying on the couch waiting to go into labor.

Here's a quick refresher on the summary:

Emma meets Robin Hood in an antebellum-esque fantasy set in the same world as A Gift of Poison.
Verity Elysius is the only daughter of a famous retired general and rich plantation owner. She lives in an insulated world of wealth and privilege, where she spends her time riding her horse, sassing her lady's companion, and being tormented by the family's handsome but irritating nobleman friend, Lord Roth. But when a mysterious, masked vigilante called the Hawk begins stirring up trouble and freeing silvras, the oppressed lower class, Verity's world is turned upside down as she is challenged about everything she knows about her world and her place in it.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Want to Win an Amazon Giftcard?

Hi everyone!

This week, Of Sea and Stone is being celebrated with a blog tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours!


Today you can find things to read at these stops:

-Book Briefs
-A Dream Within A Dream
-100 Pages a Day
-Cosying Up With Books

There's a giveaway, and I wanted to give everyone a chance to enter by posting it here. Prizes include a signed copy of A Gift of Poison (US and Canada) or a $25 giftcard to Amazon (open internationally).

Enter to win here

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The Season of Lightning Chapter 1

Hi all,

I thought I'd share the first chapter of The Season of Lightning, my newest book that releases on Feb 20 (and available now for pre-order on Amazon). The book will be releasing on Nook and in paperback as well.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



THE SOLDIERS HAD their guns pointed straight at me.
The sky was cloudless and blue as azure above us, the air dry and hot with late summer heat. I was bruised from falling off Gryphon, my horse, and my temper was as short as the hair of a newly articled servant.
I’d escaped from the house on horseback after another argument with the housekeeper about my inability to keep shoes on while walking the grounds. Riding Gryphon hard across the gold-brown flatlands outside the fields of the plantation made my head clear, so I’d given him slack in the rein­s, and that brat took the bit in his teeth and ran wild for the Jessu River, which cut like a jewel-green snake through the hills between our land and the port city at the edge of the sea. He’d been startled by a hawk in the foothills and thrown me, and then my companion, Trilly, had shown up with the air of a martyr and the scolding of a sergeant to usher me home on foot.
We’d been arguing about the propriety of my actions when the soldiers appeared, guns slung across their arms, on patrol against smugglers that sometimes roamed the river at night. I’d known immediately by the expression that crossed the big one’s face that we were in trouble.
Now, he was toying with us like a cat plays with an injured sparrow.
They were young soldiers—new ones I’d never seen before—the buttons on the gold-embroidered uniforms still sparkled clean and bright in the sunlight, the fringe on their belt-ends still hung straight and soft and clean, unstained by the dust of the canyons that edged the river. Their faces were sunburned, their eyebrows drawn together like locked gates as they looked at me. One was tall, with bright blond hair that marked him as barbarian-blooded somewhere in his past. A foreigner. He jerked his chin at me.
“What’s your business on this road?”
He spoke with the lazy drawl of a man who knows he will be having some fun and who wants to take his time so he can savor it.
The second soldier, who was smaller, swarthier, and darker-haired, an Austrisian, looked away at the twisted trees lining the water of the Jessu instead of the boardwalk we stood on. One of his eyebrows lifted a little, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the courage to speak in front of the blond.
“I was riding my horse, and I fell off when a bird flew up from behind a rock and startled him. He reared, dumping me. We were walking home, where he has surely already gone.” My words came out stiff and hoarse instead of cold and strong like I wanted.
The yellow-haired soldier frowned. “Let me see your papers.”
This was, of course, an outrage. I wasn’t carrying papers because I didn’t have any, because I wasn’t a bonded servant or a silvra freewoman, or a tyrra like these men assumed. My hair might be curly with a hint of red-brown and my skin milky with a touch of bronze in the summer like a tyyra, the river people who lived in our land as immigrants and strangers, but I was the daughter of a plantation owner, an Austrisian, and I had every right in the world to be walking on this road with my companion.
“Didn’t you hear me? I want to see your papers.”
“I don’t have them, you idiot. I don’t need them.”
“Oh?” His mouth turned down, but his eyes sparkled. The malice in them made me furious instead of afraid.
“My name is Verity Ely—”
“Shut up. I only want to see the notification that you have the right to escort this seevver along this route. I don’t want a sob story.”
I quit feeling frightened when the word seevver left his lips like a breath of smoke.
“You pig,” I snapped, drawing in a quick, sharp breath. “We don’t need papers. Get your guns out of our faces before I have my father arrest you. I—”
“I said shut up!” He stepped forward fast, grabbing my shoulder hard. Trilly screamed, and the other soldier started to raise his gun at Trilly.
The soldier’s hands dug into my arm. His eyes blazed as they stared into mine, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw his weapon in his hand, and the way his fingers tightened reflexively over the trigger. His breath was hot against my chin.
“I’ll teach you to insult me, you little minx. Your father, you say? He’s probably dead in a ditch somewhere, shot for insolence against a patrol. You need to be taught a lesson.”
I heard the sharp rap of a horse’s hooves on the boardwalk, and my mind screamed out for salvation from this new person, but the soldier ignored the sound of hoofbeats, drunk with his station and the power that came with his firearm. He knew as well as I that no farmer would mess with him, not with a gun in his hand, not with the uniform he wore on his back, not with the fury written all over his face.
My heartbeat pulsed in my throat. My shoulder ached beneath his hands. I saw the way his jaw tightened as though he was holding his temper in check, but just barely.
“For the last time, girl,” he growled. “Your papers.”
The hoofbeats halted behind us, and a cool voice cut in. “I knew that the regiment had taken to importing barbarians to do its dirty work, but I was unaware that it had begun recruiting the brain-injured.”
I knew that voice. My heart sank.
The soldier swung around with a swagger of confidence, lifting his gun. As he caught a glimpse of the man who’d dared to interrupt his interrogation, his hand slipped on my arm, and I yanked away.
“Sir,” the soldier muttered, his tone grudgingly deferential.
The nobleman on the horse tapped one gloved hand against his thigh as his lips pursed in a scowl. He darted a look at me that embodied pure scorn before returning his attention to the two soldiers before him.
“I am of course assuming that you were unaware that you were accosting the beloved and only daughter of General Elysius?”
Their faces turned ashen as they realized their horrible, horrible mistake, and I smiled tightly at the way they darted furtive glances at me, their mouths snapping open and then closed, as if they were holding in curses. The dark-haired one stepped away from Trilly hastily.
“Give me your regiment numbers,” the young nobleman snapped, looking disgusted at having to continue even conversing with them. “I’ll report you myself. If you are lucky, you’ll get by with only a caning instead of a full dismissal.”
He remained astride his horse and watched as they wrote down their regiment numbers and gave them to him. My eyes lingered on the pistol strapped to his leg, the fine lambskin boots that came almost to his knees, the crisp white gloves that covered his hands. Lords, I had such terrible luck. Of all the people to have rescued us, it had to be him.
After the soldiers scrambled away, not daring to look back, he turned to us, his mouth folding back into its characteristic smirk. “Ladies.”
I wiped the beads of sweat from my upper lip, avoiding his gaze. I was thankful, naturally. But...
Trilly, on the other hand, gasped out a sigh and snatched up the fallen bonnets and basket, trying without success to smooth out the wrinkles from the bonnets. “Lord Roth, I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t shown up.”
I swallowed the snarl that came to my lips, because, after all, he had just saved us. Gratefulness was in order.
His lordship dismounted smoothly, and his eyes found mine. There was a lazy sort of appraisal in them, as always, as though he’d measured my talents and faults and found me wanting in every way. I busied myself with brushing a bit of mud from the full bodice of my gown.
“Thank you,” Trilly said to Roth.
“Oh, it was nothing. I’m sure Verity would have been able to find something to say to keep that lackey at bay.” He folded his arms, as if waiting for my smart reply.
“That’s Miss Elysius,” I snapped, feeling stupid for being unable to think of anything wittier to say to him. “Anyway, we really must be going. We’ve lingered here long enough, and Mimi is probably frantic about us. Goodbye.”
Roth tsked cheerfully under his breath. Now that the soldiers were gone and the danger was over, he was sarcasm as usual.
“Is that any way to thank me?”
I grabbed Trilly’s arm and pulled her down the pathway for my father’s plantation, my silk shoes barely whispering against the planks of the boardwalk that carried us safely over the waters of the Jessu.
“I could send a baou, so you wouldn’t have to dirty your shoes,” Roth suggested.
I knew he was upset with me for getting myself into trouble with the soldiers like an idiot, no doubt, and I knew he was probably also upset that I was being nasty to him about rescuing us.
Perhaps I should care, but it was Roth.
I left him standing beside his horse on the boardwalk without a reply, and his chuckle rang in my ears, infuriating me.
 

Sunday, February 1, 2015

You Won't Believe What's Available for Pre-Order!

Haha, sorry, forgive my clickbaity title. I couldn't resist--been reading some Buzzfeed lately. Seriously, though, THE SEASON OF LIGHTNING is now available for pre-order!

This is probably my favorite book I've written to date. It's very near to my heart, and it feels a little vulnerable to publish it, but at the same time, I'm thrilled to pass the story on to readers who can love it and make it their own. I think that's the magic of reading, that partnership between author and reader where they work together to build a world, the author on the page and the reader in his or her imagination. It's magic, you guys, and it's the coolest thing. When people tell me they enjoy something I wrote, I want to thank them. It's their creation too, in a way, because they took words on a page and made a masterpiece in their minds. Without that, there is no story.

Anyway, sappy feelings aside, this is the last book I'll release before I have my baby. I will be taking a bit of a break from writing to focus on mom stuff, although hopefully I'll be popping in here and there on various social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. And if he sleeps a lot, maybe I'll do a little writing when I have the time. I'm itching to finish the Itlantis series and get to work on the sequel to A Gift of Poison. I've already plotted and brainstormed for them both, and done a little drafting. When I have titles and summaries, I'll put those on the blog.

In the meantime, The Season of Lightning releases Feb 20 and I hope you'll all check it out.






Emma meets Robin Hood in this antebellum-esque fantasy set in the same world as A Gift of Poison.

Verity Elysius is the only daughter of a retired general and rich plantation owner. She lives in an insulated world of wealth and privilege, where she spends her time riding her horse, sassing her lady's companion, and being tormented by the family's handsome but irritating nobleman friend, Lord Roth. But when a mysterious, masked vigilante called the Hawk begins stirring up trouble and freeing "silvras," the oppressed, elven lower class, Verity's world is turned upside down as she is challenged about everything she knows about her world and her place in it.

(You can find it here)

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Super Secret Book!

Hi everyone,

If you've been reading For Wreck and Remnant, I hope you've enjoyed it. I've already plotted the final book in the Secrets of Itlantis series (eek!) and begun drafting it as I have time, although I'm really busy right now doing things like organizing baby clothes. :D

HOWEVER I also have a new book coming out very soon, probably next month. This is something I've been working on for a long time, in between other things. I've been talking about it a little bit, and I wanted to give you a few more bits of info today.

The book will be called The Season of Lightning. It's set in the same world as A Gift of Poison, only several hundred years in the future. This is one of my favorites, you guys. I really love this book. My editor really loves it. My husband really loves it. So I hope you love it too.

Here's a bit of a summary:

Emma meets Robin Hood in this antebellum-esque historical fantasy set in the same fantasy world as A Gift of Poison. Verity Elysius is the only daughter of a famous retired general and rich plantation owner. She lives in an insulated world of wealth and privilege, where she spends her time riding her horse, sassing her lady's companion, and being tormented by the family's handsome but irritating nobleman friend, Lord Roth. But when a mysterious, masked vigilante called the Hawk begins stirring up trouble and freeing silvers, the oppressed lower class, Verity's world is turned upside down as she is challenged about everything she knows about her world and her place in it.

I'm really looking forward to releasing it! Check back for a pre-order option soon, or sign up for the New Releases Newsletter to get information about when it becomes available.

Monday, January 12, 2015

FOR WRECK AND REMNANT is here! Also, a sale!

Hi everyone,

A couple of cool things!

First, For Wreck and Remnant (Secrets of Itlantis #4) is now available for purchase on Amazon (Nook and paperback coming soon). This one is my husband's favorite in the series, and there are a few big reveals and answers about secrets... I hope you enjoy it.

EDIT: You can get the Nook version here and the paperback here on Amazon or here on Createspace.


Second, Frost is on sale as a Kindle Countdown Deal at 99 cents (normally $3.49) for a very limited time. If you (or someone you know) haven't read the Frost Chronicles, this is a great time to start. You can grab a copy here.


Other news - I've just finished the first round of edits for the New-Book-That-Has-Not-Been-Named. I am seriously behind on title selection with this one, ughhh. Choosing a title can be really easy sometimes, and practically impossible other times. This is one of the latter. Working on that today, actually. Again, this book is set in the same country as A Gift of Poison, but a couple hundred years in the future. It is one of my favorites ever and I really think you guys are going to like it. Think Zorro! So stay tuned for more info about that, and maybe a pre-order option pretty soon.

I'm also kicking around a completely new idea that I find delightful. I might be crazy, because I have a bunch of other stuff on my calendar to write/complete. But I really like this new idea. It is calling to me. Don't worry though--I have already starting drafting Secrets of Itlantis #5, as well as plotting/working on the sequel to A Gift of Poison. Both of those will come out this year, hopefully around late spring and summer, as I'm taking a few months off after I have my baby.

Happy reading!

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Upcoming Book Releases and News

Hi everyone!

Hope 2015 is treating you well so far. It's really cold here in GA, and the flu is everywhere, so I've been hunkered down at home, massively pregnant, and getting a lot done while I stay warm and avoid getting sick. Here's what's happening in the next month or so with my books:

For Wreck and Remnant is available to pre-order, and will release on Jan 12. I hope you guys like it. My husband says it's his favorite of the series so far, for what that's worth.

And my super-secret extra release is coming out in (I think!) February. I got it back from my editor this week and I'm working on revisions. I really hope you guys like it. Lemme give you a few ideas of what it's about:

-The book is set in the same world as A Gift of Poison, but several hundred years in the future. Briand is mentioned, but not integral to the plot. If you haven't read AGoP, you can totally read this book. It won't spoil anything and it stands on its own perfectly fine.

-I would describe the book as a cross between Gone With the Wind and Zorro, but fantasy.

-This is my husband's favorite of all the books I've ever written.

-My editor loved it too.

-This book is real close to my heart.

So that's a few facts, and I really hope you guys enjoy it when it comes out. Like I said, I love it a lot. I hope to have a title and cover in the next few weeks or so, maybe some excerpts and teasers to give you a better idea of what it's like!

And I'm already drafting Secrets of Itlantis #5 AND the sequel to A Gift of Poison.

Like I said, I've been cooped up over here.

Happy New Year, everyone!

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