Book Updates

So, y’all. This blog was meant to talk about my journey as an author (hence the title), which to be frank I haven’t done a lot of. So every month or so, I’ll let you all know where I am with everything that’s in the works.

The Winter Tales

As most of you know, I’ve been publishing a series of short novels every November. They are small, literally stocking stuffers, and are beautifully illustrated by the fabulous Carol Bales.

Each is of a different genre. The first, Raven Wakes the World: A Winter Tale, is literary magic realism. The second, Christmas Past: A Ghostly Winter Tale, is an urban legend-influenced ghost story. The Star in the East: A Winter Tale of Ancient Mystery, is an action/adventure tale—sort of a holiday Indiana Jones or National Treasure.

This year’s book, Makeup Test, is a rom-com, a first for me. While the first three dealt with grief and wonder, this one deals more with, well, aggravation—traffic, office politics, and stuff like that. Although I like to think that the wonder is there, too. Just … funny, pun-infused wonder.

Status: The first draft was submitted. It has since gone through a couple of rounds of polish, and I’ll submitting what I’m pretty sure will be the final draft later this week. It goes to the copy editor before the end of the month. Which is a good thing, because it’s already on sale. So no pressure.

I’ve just started next year’s Winter Tale, which at present is called Incandescent, although that might change. It’s a set in the Renaissance fair world of my novel Blackthorne Faire (see below), but it’s a stand-alone. You won’t have to have read Blackthorne Faire . . . nor the works of Shakespeare, which will also play a role. I think. I got the idea for this one when I read a thread on Facebook asking, “Who is your Book Boyfriend?” (#MrDarcy). So I wondered, what if it was the other way around? What if a character was slowly falling in love . . . with the reader? I don’t honestly know if I’ll be able to pull this one off, but I’m having a blast trying. It’s probably not the best idea to talk about this one since I’m not sure if it’ll work, but then, this is about accountability.

Status: Scarcely begun

I haver ideas for at least three more winter tales, although at least one may become an Autumn Tale. It will likely work best as a Halloween story. We will see!

The Epic Novels

Blackthorne Faire is completed and has been copy edited. It is presently at the proofreader and is scheduled for release in January of 2024. (If you see anything that says it’s coming in September, don’t believe it). I am thrilled.

A Planet Called Eden, my “big world” space opera adventure with astronauts and dinosaurs, is completed, and has gone through the development editing pass. It has not yet gone to the copyeditor or proofreader, but it’s basically done. It’s coming in 2025.

The Widening Gyre was my first novel, which I began way back in 1994 or so. It’s taken a while to get that one right. For years, well-meaning agents kept telling me to cut it down (to be fair, it was more than 330,000 words). When it finally got to my publisher, Lou Aronica, he told me to … wait for it … make it longer. The problem was, I’d cut everything that gave the characters a life outside the story. It’s now longer, but it reads much faster. It’s complete and has had its first editorial pass. This is a part of a series of four books. The second, Winter Kept Us Warm, is finished, and is with a beta reader now. I’m more than halfway through the third book, What the Thunder Said. I’ve written very little of the concluding volume, The Last Light Flickers, but I think it will be the shortest of the four (the third will likely be the longest). The Widening Gyre will be released in 2025 or 2026. Ironically, the initial draft was set in the year 2026, which seemed like way off in the future when I started writing it.