Cover for A BED OF BLADES (Sequel to A GIFT OF POISON)!

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely holiday season. I was sick for almost three weeks, which put me waaaay behind on my writing, but FINALLY I have gotten the sequel to A Gift of Poison back to my editor and I'm preparing for the release in February.

Aaaand I've got the cover finished and ready to show you!

A Bed of Blades is book two in the series, which will be called The Kingmakers' War.

Briand Varryda hasn't seen Kael and his company of Monarchists since they succeeded in destroying the Barrow Bridge and thwarting the march of the enemy. She's been hidden away for two years with the Hermit, forgotten.

When the Hermit protecting her is killed, she flees, hiding among thieves from the insidious Seekers. Briand doesn't want to be a pawn for the Monarchists or the Seekers. She doesn't want to pick a side in the war. She simply wants to live and be free.

When another thief betrays her, Briand makes a deal for her freedom and joins another Monarchist plot with the enigmatic Kael to steal a legendary treasure from a dragon-infested cave. But there are problems. She might have feelings for Kael. The Seekers are pursuing them. The caverns rest beneath an estate of perilous dangers.

And Briand has secrets of her own.

<<You can pre-order it by clicking here.>>
 
So that's the summary. I'm really excited for you guys to read it.

After A Bed of Blades releases, I'll be at working on Steam and Glass. More information about that soon.

Other news - Of Sea and Stone is on sale temporarily. So if you haven't read it, you can get a copy here.

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?

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!

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.

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.

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...

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!