Tag: books

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BOOKS! I have books!

As I work my way back into the writing groove, everything feels rusty and foreign. I’ve written a poem a day so far this month, some of them suck, some are okay. I’m attempting to be more present on social media…well, Threads anyway. I’ve tried to maintain a posting schedule here (Wednesdays and Saturdays).

This weekend I hope to work on one of the novels I’ve got started

The world seems so dark right now, that I need to find the light where I can and my characters are the light I choose.

However, I also need to get some cleaning done. And shopping. Somehow Thanksgiving is next week! Oh! And that means that Christmas is around the corner. Do you have readers on your list this year?

I have hardback and paperback copies of most of my novels on hand. I am happy to personalize and sign and mail them out to you!

Hardbacks $20 ($35 for 2, $50 for 3) +shipping
Paperbacks $10 ($15 for 2, $25 for 3) +shipping

If you are interested, reach out to me via email. Let me know which book(s) you want, how you want them personalized, and make sure to include a mailing address. I’ll get back to you on the shipping cost. I can take Paypal, Venmo, cashapp and Zelle for payment.

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available now!

The first three books of the Blood Witch Saga are all available now, before Christmas! Do you have a reader on your list? Know someone who loves strong women, and urban fantasy, and wants to go on an adventure?

These are the books you’re looking for!

Follow Thána Alizon as she discovers that she is not the orphaned, mediocre middle-management corporate lackey she has believed herself to be and sets off on an adventure to find the family she never knew she had, traipsing through portals into other worlds, encountering mythical beings, dangerous cults, an ideological war, and a medieval plague.

Each portal takes her further from who she was and brings her closer to who she was meant to be.

Get yours now by clicking on the image above or this link.

Happy Holidays, Readers!!

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Mörderin: The Blood Witch Saga Book 2

This morning I signed the contract for the second book in the Blood Witch series, Mörderin. This story takes Thána on a new journey to find her long-lost sister. It introduces new races and characters, and presents Thána with new challenges and a rescue that may be more dangerous than the infiltration of the Kourt.

It also introduces Xen, who is both agender and asexual, a Pixin who is friends with Thána’s sister Daria, and accompanies Thána to try to save Daria. They will become a trusted companion who will help Thána survive in a world torn by war.

Here’s the blurb:

Seeking to reunite her family, Thána and her mother Alaina head back to the world where Daria lives with her husband and son. However, the once vibrant city where people traveled freely through a collection of portals has been reduced to rubble and Daria is now a prisoner of the invading army.

With her magic still in nascent stages, Thána agrees to a daring and dangerous rescue mission with Daria’s husband and friends, once again putting her life on the line for a family she barely knows.

To make it work she has to perfect magic beyond her skill set and rely on those she’s only just met, not to mention breaking into a prison camp and getting out again in one piece.

How hard could it be?

And, on that note, I should get the day job started. Happy Wednesday, Readers! May it be filled with joy and kindness!

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books!

I read a lot of books. Like, a lot. My bookshelves are always overflowing. I read a lot of different kinds of books: sci-fi, fantasy, biographies, classic literature, books about religion and history, books about current or recent events, true crime…with lots of stops along the way.

I have recently been dipping my toe into books about business and industry, largely due to my day job sponsoring a book a month, which we get together (virtually) to discuss. This is a genre I’ve always struggled with, largely due to my rebellious nature. I tend to buck the status quo and dislike the homogenization that industry seems to require.

In a normal time, I have two or three books that I’m in the midst of, usually one non-fiction, one fantasy or sci fi and possibly a book of poetry or an anthology of short stories. In the last year or so, however, I’ve had trouble focusing on much. I’m reading in an all or nothing sort of way. I’m either reading or I’m not and I can not seem to deal with more than one book at a time.

Considering the size of my TBR pile, this is problematic! I got a new bookshelf yesterday, so I can finally get those boxes out of the garage later today. The house is coming together. I have a table and chairs coming today, and a few other things as well.

I hope your Wednesday is filled with wonder, Readers, wonder and joy.

Photo by Ed Robertson on Unsplash

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rainy monday

It’s a rainy Monday here in California. The cats are both curled up sleeping. My bathroom floor is flooded (landlord hasn’t fixed the leaky roof yet). I’ve been at the computer since 5am.

There’s so much going on it feels weird to just be sitting here.

I think I found a new house, so I’ll likely be moving in January. Which means packing over the holidays. Fortunately, I have more than a week off to do it in.

I really dislike moving, but I really need to get out of this place I’m in. And this place I looked at yesterday was really cute. I’ve already started packing, and my aim is to do at least 3 boxes per day going forward. I’ve emptied the TBR bookshelf already. Tonight I think I will tackle the big book shelf in the office.

One thing that’s nifty about packing though? You find things you forgot that you owned. I found attachments to my vacuum cleaner I don’t remember ever seeing. I found my Wii, and a stash of old photos.

And while the act of moving sucks, the idea of a new place is luring.

I better get back to the day job, Readers. Happy Monday!

Photo by reza shayestehpour on Unsplash

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zero drafts and idle hands

Yesterday I completed the zero draft for the third Blood Witch book. This is a pretty huge accomplishment, even if there is still a lot of work to do. This means I have all three in some state of “done” and it’s time to run back to the beginning with my notes of all the changes that need to be made in books one and two.

Of the three of these, I think the middle book came the easiest and there were a lot of times struggling through book three felt like I was trying to push my way through frozen molasses.

Book one is the most complete and polished. Three is the least.

I guess this is what comes of trying to write during the apocalypse. I am glad I didn’t push out book one when I thought it was done, because some of the changes and tweaks I need to make to better set up two and three will also make book one better.

I’ve settled on tentative titles, but realize that a publisher may suggest changes.

So where does that leave me, here on a Monday morning before the dawn? To be honest, I’m running through my packing list for Sirens in my head (still need to do meds/makeup/toiletries/electronics). I’d like to say I’m not going to poke any of the three books until after Sirens, but I won’t promise. After all, I can’t seem to sleep past 5am these days, and I need something to do with my hands.

But that does remind me that it’s Monday, and I have to stop working early to go get a COVID test, so it must be time to suck down some Death Wish Coffee, put on my tech writing cape and crown and get to it.

Have a wonderful Monday, Readers! Treat yourself with kindness and love.

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planting bulbs of growth

With the approach of Samhain, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want out of the coming year. The last two years have been among the most difficult in my memory, or at least that’s the way they feel to me right now. I know we tend to romanticize the past which casts today in the role of being more real, but really, look at what we’ve lived through in recent years.

So, what do I want?

There are the things I always want: to get out of debt, to lose weight, to become a best selling author…but for me, for this year, I want to address things that are tangible, that are attainable.

I feel I am in a good place as I face into the next rotation around the sun. I’m in a good job with good people doing work that I enjoy. I have what I need and a lot of what I want. What would make life better?

More organization, especially around the house.

Stop procrastinating, especially the little things.

Spend more time with friends, which is necessarily impacted by the pandemic and my own agoraphobia.

Read more. I have a stack of books in my TBR pile that I’ve been meaning to read all year, but I’ve been hampered by the notion that the time spent reading should be spent doing something more productive.

I haven’t nailed down what I’m planting this Samhain, clearly. But I can feel the veil thinning, I can sense the strong strum of a heart that *wants*. Good thing I have a few weeks to figure it all out, I guess.

What are you putting into the fertile soil for the coming year, Readers?

On that note, I need to jump on that day job thing. Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash

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inspire me

So, where do the stories come from? What makes a good story? Or…what makes a story good?

As with all art, it is up to the Reader to decide whether a story is good or not, and for many they can’t tell you why they feel that way.

Some of us like to read dark, dystopian stories that let us see that the hell of our reality could be so much worse. Some prefer lighter and brighter stories that let us see a better world/future. Some are in it for a driving plot. Others prefer character driven stories. Some want action. Some want comfort.

When I’m reading I like a lot of different kinds of stories. I am drawn to science fiction and fantasy, especially when the characters are vibrant and relatable, even if they are aliens or elves.

However, when I write, tend to stick a little closer to home. All of my published work, and the current series I’m working on, take place in our world (at least to start). My characters are where my story comes from, what my stories rely on. Without them, there is no story.

So, what makes a good character?

Look at the people in your own life. See them for who they are, all their faults and foibles, all of their joys and triumphs. Each of your characters should be that real. Take your time with them, yes, even the background characters should have their own life.

When I am just getting started with a character, I build what I call a character sheet. It includes name, age, height, build, eye and hair color, etc. Then I will add a short backstory. I have a section for character traits (lazy, loves cocoa, overly casual, etc), and how those traits play out in behavior.

It makes a good reference point while writing, but it also gives me what I need when I read through the story for that character. And yes, I read through each story for each character before it goes to my editor…yes, that can be a lot of read throughs!

Probably 80% or more of what goes onto the character sheet never makes it into the story, other than being in the character. For background characters that can be as high as 90%, but I could pick up that character and write the story from their point of view at any time because I know them that well.

My characters are people. Sometimes I hang out in the bar in my head with them while they tell me who they are.

What about you, Reader? What do you look for when you’re reading?

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…for the love of words…

I love words.

I love long words, short words, weird words. I love unusual words and common words. I love combinations of words that absolutely, perfectly describe something or someone.

I love twisting words around until they come out just right.

I’ve been drawn to words and how we use them to communicate since I was a child. I learned to read rather young and I loved to immerse myself into the worlds of the books I read. Then I learned that I could write my own worlds, create my own stories with the words that I loved.

As is true of anyone, my first attempts at that were…shall we say, not good. From my juvenile poetry to my first attempts at short stories and even novels, my love of words only grew, and fortunately, my use of them improved over time.

Today, I hold in my hands a book of poetry…my poetry. Words that I wrestled with, slept with, scribbled out onto loose leaf paper or the back of receipts, words that I typed out in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep until I got them down.

There is a satisfaction in this project that is a little different to any of the novels I have published. It is more intimate, because these words often come from deep within my understanding of who I am.

And, I love who I am. I hope you will join me on this journey. Find your copy at Amazon or other online retailers. May this Tuesday serve you well and bestow kindness upon you, Readers.

Photo by Jeremy Beck on Unsplash

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thinky thoughts Thursday

I have had a number of thinky thoughts swirling in my head this week, ranging from ideas about gardening as a metaphor for living to notions about gun control, the medical industry, the fact that medicine IS an industry, the right to live, transgender children and so much more.

None of them have tumbled out whole yet though, so maybe I’ll just swirl them around a bit more.

While I do that, lets do a little navel gazing, shall we?

As an author, I like to pay attention to things being said in the world of books, from buzz about new or upcoming releases, new authors making their debut, books that are “banned” or panned or otherwise talked about.

And, as a fairly liberal minded soul seeking genuine equality/equity, but also understanding that we continue to evolve as a society, I am open to reinterpreting old ways to eliminate or preface things that we now see as troubling or problematic.

So, I support Disney prefacing movies with notes about the climate in which they were created, and not letting children just consume a movie that might have problematic content without engaging parents in the conversation.

And I support a publisher’s decision to pull books from publication due to problematic/racist depictions, even if the author is much beloved. As we have seen a lot in recent years, even people who we adore are not perfect.

So, it is with Dr. Seuss. He wasn’t the perfect children’s author we want him to be. He was a man of his times, and those times and his beliefs colored the work he did. The books that his estate has chosen to stop publishing are still available, if you can find them. They never were big hits, so I imagine even before they stopped producing them they were not easy to locate.

We do have to face the dilemma of what to do with problem people when we love their work, but can not abide something about them. How do you separate the love of all things Harry Potter and the anti-trans stance of the author? How do you continue to hold on to the love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when you discover that the creator is an abusive asshole? How do you hold onto childhood memories with affection when you discover that Dr. Seuss, Laura Ingalls Wilder and others were racist?

I guess that’s something we each have to decide for ourselves.

Photo by Juan Rumimpunu on Unsplash