A Walk in the Woods + A Brief Writing Update

It's March, and Spring is finally showing its face once more. I enjoy winter, but usually by this time of the year, I'm also happy to see warmer weather and the sun for more hours of the day. Yesterday, I was able to get out for a 2.3-mile hike, and it was a really good decision! It was great to get out into the fresh air and get some exercise and sunshine even if it was only about 45 degrees. 

The stream was cold! But there's something about sticking my hand in running water that grounds me and calms me. And in this case, the shock of the cold woke me up a bit as well.

This hike was also the first time I tried out bird-watching. I got myself some binoculars and was able to see a handful of birds. A few were definitely robins. I know that much at least. Some were, I think, red-bellied woodpeckers. And there were at least two other types that I can't yet identify, but I hope to gain more bird knowledge and be able to identify more on the fly during my future walks.

My binoculars came with an attachment I can use to set my phone up and take pictures through the binoculars. I haven't quite figured that one out yet! But maybe soon I will. In the meantime, the picture on the right (from Wikipedia) is of a red-bellied woodpecker of the sort I saw.

credit: wikipedia

As for a writing update, I'm hard at work on two projects concurrently. One is the first draft of a mystery novel.You can keep up with my progress on the right side of the page under the Word Counts widget. So far, I have about 35,000 words out of an anticipated 85,000. Mystery is definitely a different beast than fantasy, but I enjoy reading mysteries and I'm enjoying writing this one. 

The other project is, of course, Book 3 of The Heartfriends trilogy. I'm revising the first draft into something with more detail and bones and cohesion. As usual, I have no idea how long that process will take! So far, each book of the trilogy has been a completely different experience. But I'm aiming for it to look more like an actual book than just words on pages by the summer, so we'll see how much trouble it gives me!

Recent Short Story Releases

Two short stories of mine have been recently released in anthologies. Read more about them below, and click the cover pictures to buy!  

 

Eighteen award-winning, veteran, and emerging authors bring you seventeen unique dragon tales that defy tradition. Winged serpents as large as continents, as well as those tiny enough to perch on the fingertip of a young girl. Dragons who inhabit the Wild West, Victorian London, Brooklyn, and a post-apocalyptic Earth. Scaly beasts who fight in the boxing ring, celebrate Christmas, and conquer the vast void of outer space. There are rockstars who meddle with dragon magic, clever and conniving shapeshifters, and powerfully exotic hybrids. Science fiction, urban fantasy, mystery, western, epic fantasy, YA fantasy...no matter the setting or the genre--here be dragons!

My story is called "Witherwillow." In a city divided between humans and dragonfolk, P.I. Iris Kane takes a simple case and ends up with more than she bargained for. 

Available in e-book or paperback.

 

They executed Alvard Lestrange for treason.

A necromancer.

A wielder of Death Magic.

This is the story of his victims, trapped in mundane objects for three centuries.

This is the story of the lives they will, unwittingly or maliciously, destroy.

12 authors. 12 stories. 12 souls, all caught in Lestrange's web.

My story is called "The Lengths We Go" and follows a warrior-for-hire whose latest job tests her very integrity.

Available in e-book or paperback.

The Heartfriends 5th-Anniversary Giveaway

 

NEW RELEASE: "Soldier and Servant"

 

It's release day for Reign: A Dark Fantasy Anthology, a collection of 500-word stories. Mine is called "Soldier and Servant." It's available in e-book and as a paperback on Amazon. Click here or the picture to get a copy!

REREAD: The Dying of the Golden Day, Chapter 6-10

Writing life got busy, but I'm finally back with annotations for chapters 6-10 of The Dying of the Golden Day!

UPCOMING RELEASE: Like Sunshine After Rain

 

I'm happy to say I have story called "The Witch and the Sunflower" in the upcoming charity anthology Like Sunshine After Rain, coming this summer from Raw Dog Screaming Press. Here's a bit about the anthology:

Raw Dog Screaming Press and international award-winning editor Heidi Ruby Miller are taking pre-orders for the charity anthology LIKE SUNSHINE AFTER RAIN. Proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The beautiful cover is by Brad Sharp. Interior illustrations by Sharon A. Ruby.

This limited edition anthology is available in lettered hardcover and numbered paperback editions. It hosts short stories, poems, and essays from 82 authors.

Find out more and pre-order your copy at the Raw Dog Screaming Press website. It's a limited edition, so get it before it sells out! And stay tuned for the launch event later this summer.

REREAD: The Dying of the Golden Day, Chapters 1-5

If you read my post about finishing the first draft of The Heartfriends Book 3, then you know I'm embarking on a reread of Books 1 and 2! Which I was a little bit intimidated by, to be honest. I started writing The Dying of the Golden Day in 2013 and published it in 2016, so it's been a minute since I looked closely at it.

Now that I've started to reread it, I thought it would be fun to do a short blog series with annotations on the story, like what inspired certain choices, how I drew from my experience in Kazakhstan, and notes about my writing process. I'll do about five chapters at a time, so let's begin!