Queen Titania’s Court: Introduction

You were at work, the midnight shift, when the overhead radio crackled. Canned music faded away. A silvery voice called your name…

You were at school, searching the library for a certain book. Deep among the shelves, a pair of jeweled eyes peered out. A clawed hand beckoned…

You were on vacation, camping among old growth forest. As darkness fell, fireflies lit the sky. Their flickering gleam spelled out a message…

You were in your garden, rooting out weeds, when your spade clanged against a buried object. You worked to dig it out. Instead of a stone, you uncovered a trapdoor…

The call has gone out, and the path has opened. You are invited to join a fantastic gathering of magical people and creatures. Denizens of all realms, whether Elfin, Angelic or Demonic, are summoned to Queen Titania’s court for her Midsummer Night Ball!

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Scheduled Books

June 1:      Amberley Martin, The Rogue and the Peasant

June 4:      Janna Ruth, A Drop of Magic

June 8:      David Lee Summers, Breaking the Code

June 11:    Lyndi Alexander, The Lost Chord

June 14:    Jamie Sands, Onesies and Ouijaboards

June 16:    Jillian St. Kevern, The Secretary and the Ghost

June 18:    Sheryl Hayes, Chaos Hunt

June 21:    Ash Banks, Margin Street Zeroes

June 23:    M. H. Bonham, That Dragon Was In No Way My Fault

June 25:    Sam Schenk, Running Interference

June 28:    Deby Fredericks, Prisoners of the Wailing Tower

July 1:       Grand Finale

It’s going to be a super fun month of books and fantasy. I hope you’ll all enjoy and share!

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Dithering

This week I’ve been going on with The Tale of the Drakanox. Duessa’s POV sections and Ar-Lizelle’s POV sections are racing toward a collision. This is one of the things I like best about having more than one POV, and having those characters be on opposite sides. Both characters know trouble is coming, but as a reader, you can really see them going opposite directions in the same lane of traffic.

Ar-Lizelle is pretty intent on recapturing Duessa’s team. Duessa’s team is practicing new strategies as they prepare for trouble. Potentially a lot of characters are involved here. I need to choose who gets featured. I also need to choose whether everyone will make it out of the confrontation. I’m still getting my head around all that.

This is nothing new to me. I always dither a bit at this point in a story. I know I’ll find my way through it. Onward!

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

The Twitter Thing, Part 2

Okay, it’s been a couple of weeks since Elon Musk announced he was going to buy Twitter. Now he has announced that Twitter may be unworthy of his buying. Why? There are too many bots (fake accounts).

Really? A man who sends spacecraft into orbit with remote control, and wants us to buy electric vehicles with bots driving them, thinks there is something wrong with bots?

I’m spotting something fake here, but it isn’t the bots. Tesla’s stock fell sharply upon the purchase announcement. Rumor has it that Musk discovered he couldn’t actually afford to buy Twitter. His limitless wealth found a limit.

Since I was wary about the change of ownership, this doesn’t displease me. Based on Musk’s increasingly odious public statements, I’m relieved. It has been interesting to watch this public drama unfold, and wonder what’s happening behind the scenes.

This is the kind of strange-but-true stuff we writers can plumb for plot twists and characterization!

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Happy Anniversary

Hey, it’s my book anniversary! It was three years ago, on May 15, 2019, that I self-published The Tower in the mist, which turned out to be the first Minstrels of Skaythe novella.

At that time, I had only an inkling of a series taking shape. That there would be a group of mages exploring non-violent resistance to an overlord’s cruel regime. That each adventure would stand alone, yet build into something greater.

Now it’s been three years, and I’m working on the series finale. Happy anniversary to me!

https://us.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QL476BJ

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The Tower in the Mist

Mages vs. Amazons vs. Giant Badgers 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.

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Bits and Pieces

The work week continued being stressful with extreme student behavior, but I’m sure you’ve heard me moan about that enough. There’s a lot of residual tiredness, but I still managed to work on The Tale of the Drakanox. It’s well above 57,000 words now. I worked in a fun scene of bonding with Piyaro, Hawk Squad and Shonn traveling together. A bunch of young, energetic guys are camped out beside a lagoon. Sergeant wants them to wash up. What are they going to do?

If you said “massive water fight,” you are correct! The other two plot threads are getting intense, so the reader needs a humorous break. And so did I.

The other thing going on is Queen Titania’s Court, which begins in two weeks. Only four of the authors have turned in what I need, so I took a few minutes to poke everyone about it.

Besides that, my garden is calling me. It’s still too chilly to put my tomatoes and peppers out, but I have the soil amendments ready and seed doesn’t care so much about light frost. It will feel good to build something. Guess I’d better get out there!

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Interference

It’s been a heck of a day. I’m not sure I’ll get much writing done tonight.

The high-stakes testing has begun, you see. Special Ed students get to take their tests in the Resource Room, with supports that General Ed students don’t get. That means we can’t run our regular groups in that room. I am still expected to run those groups on a full schedule, though. Fun!

I left for work early today hoping that I could find an alternate location and prepare material that I could teach without access to my normal setting. But, as I passed below a dark viaduct, there was something on the road. I got a flat tire.

After pulling over safely, I went through the telephone maze to call AAA and they told me someone would be there in an hour. So I started getting out my spare tire and trying to remember all the steps to change a flat, in case I could do it myself in less than an hour. Meanwhile, several people in shiny hummers drove by and gave me side-eye.

Luckily for me, a street person came by and said, “Oh, I can do that!” So the street person fixed my flat tire and I gave him a few bucks with thanks. Then I called AAA back through the phone maze and said I didn’t need them. I will never let anyone say mean things about street people again. If anybody understands how it feels when the world takes a turn against you, it’s street people.

Anyway, I was only 1/2 hour late to work and still before my groups started, so I scrambled the material together and I don’t think the kids noticed anything weird because we were in a different place, and that was already weird.

After work, I went to a tire shop, where the guy said, “Let’s take a look… Oh, I can’t fix that.” (Yeah, the tire had a visible 3″ gash.) An hour and a half later, and $300, I had a set of new used tires (because it’s a Subaru and the whole set has to match for AWD). Okay, the tire replacement was on my to-do list. This is not the way I wanted to be taking care of that.

So I’m really tired. But despite it all, I do have an idea for at least a few paragraphs. Guess I’d better get at it!

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Finding Family

Mother’s Day is here (or will be by the time some of you see this). It’s made me think about how, in my own work, family is so often a major factor.

This might not be surprising. We humans are social, and we grow up in families. When we’re writing, a character’s family and upbringing has a major impact, no mater what external stuff is going on in the plot. “Found family” is a major trope in all sorts of fiction, because it resonates with something we all know and need.

In my current series, Minstrels of Skaythe, there is one book that involves motherhood more than the others. That’s The Ice Witch of Fang Marsh. Meven (the ice witch) is not looking for a family. She is only trying to save herself. Then she gets targeted by a street kid, both of them unaware that family is about to find them.

I hope you’ll take a look at The Ice Witch of Fang Marsh. And, happy Mother’s Day!

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53271636-the-ice-witch-of-fang-marsh

The Ice Witch of Fang Marsh

Meven is a renegade, hunted by the cruel regime of master mage Dar-Gothull. Her desperate desire is to lose herself in the treacherous Fang Marsh. Only there can she live the life she wants, in freedom and safety. To reach the marsh, Meven must sneak through the town of Eshur, where her old enemy, the wicked Countess Ar-Torix, commands dozens of spies and guards. It should be no problem!

What Meven doesn’t know is that she’s already being tracked. Ozlin was thrown out because of his emerging magic. Now he’s starving on the streets of Eshur. Caught stealing, he’s about to be imprisoned in the brutal temple school.

Until Meven recognizes his power and intervenes. Suddenly she has a new, desperate desire — to save this mageling boy, and maybe save herself as well.

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Woman At Work, May/2022

What’s Happening? It’s been a damp and chilly spring, but my cherry tree is in bloom! Those beautiful white flowers are threatened by late frost, though. Despite that, I’ve been buying tomatoes, peppers and geraniums. This weekend I hope to put my first seeds into the ground.

What I’m Working On. The Tale of the Drakanox will definitely be my summer project. It’s grown to 54,000 words and the end is nowhere in sight.

What’s Next? I’m happy to say that I’ve added a few things on my calendar. After Queen Titania’s Court, next month, I have SpoCon science fiction convention in October, and Fall Folk Festival will be in November. It’s not much, but it’s something!

Fun and Games. As a birthday gift, my kid gave me a Pokemon game for the Switch. It seems I am about to go on a Pokemon journey. I find the battles a bit repetitive, and I miss the characters having voices. But it’s keeping me interested.

I hope you’re all enjoying new things this spring, too.

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Rainy Day

Last weekend was pretty exciting. My husband and I went out and looked at new bicycles as a birthday gift to me. Last year, we took my old bike to a local swap event and sold it, thinking we’d be able to get me an upgrade. No such luck. I’ve been bikeless for a year (the exercise bike downstairs doesn’t count).

No longer! I’ve been looking forward to us both getting out on our bikes together, but it’s been raining all morning. Oh well, the forecast says tomorrow will be nice.

I also was hoping to get out and finish cleaning up my garden area. Maybe I could even put my early seeds in for radishes, lettuce, and such. That one I might still get to. It depends whether this is a drizzling rain or a steady soaker.

If outside work is not possible, there’s all the housework that I didn’t do on spring break. Or, gosh, I could pick something from my to-be-read pile! One way or another, I’ll keep busy.

This might sound like Episode # 62 of “Why I’m Not Writing Today,” but actually I wouldn’t be writing anyway. I always keep Saturdays open for things like bike rides.

What about you guys? Got any big weekend plans, writing or otherwise?

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

The Twitter Thing

Those of you who use Twitter, either for salesmanship or personal connections, have no doubt heard about the platform being under new management soon. First there were rumors of a hostile takeover by Elon Musk. Then there was a poison pill that held it off. But now the sale is peacefully concluded. It’s interesting, sort of, as a writer, to watch how organizations can publicly proclaim something, but then instantly double back and do the exact thing they were fighting against. I guess the resistance was just a tactic to increase the price?

I’m concerned about this, to be honest. First of all, Musk sets me on edge. People who proclaim so much about freedom of speech, usually turn about to against it. As sole owner, Musk will have too much power to censor speech that he personally doesn’t like. He has followers, sure, but he also faces skeptics on Twitter. Now he’ll have the power to silence them. Depending on how he enforces community standards, I can foresee a tidal wave of misinformation that swamps the world.

In addition, Twitter is also one of my main social medias at the moment. I get a lot of news on Twitter, even if it has to be followed up for accuracy, and I’m in touch with a lot of fandom. I promote my books more there than anywhere. Plus, where will I get my adorable “cape beansies” pet art? Anything that might tamper with the experience makes me anxious.

I’m not going to vow, as some friends have, to leave Twitter immediately. Maybe it’ll be okay. It isn’t as if I actually enjoy having comments appear in my conversations that turn out to be advertisements in disguise. Even as I have to remind myself to hype my books sometimes, it might be a good idea for me to look around and find a few new arenas for promotion.

Because, when all is said and done, there are few things I trust less than a rich guy who says he’s going to save my freedom of speech.

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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 website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.