Preview: Of Indigo and Ice: Chapter One

Happy Saturday!

Of Indigo and Ice, the third tale in The Tales of the Snow Queen series is nearly ready to release. (22 October 2015. Eeep! ?) So I thought I would celebrate by sharing the first chapter. In a lot of ways, this book is topsy-turvy to the other books. Although, to be fair, the muse warned me of this from the outset. I just didn’t believe her at first. ?

So, while Of Indigo and Ice is getting all sparkly and spangly, I hope you enjoy!

OIAICover

The Moon frowned at the tapestry the stars had woven.

A fanciful tale, to be sure, but one edged in darkness with a wildness that unraveled into the night sky. They were usually much more optimistic than this, although even they were given to weariness and fits of bad humors every so often.

How could they not when they stared down into the face of mortality night after night?

It didn’t surprise her that the witches were involved. They had been from the beginning, and their tales were usually long and crooked.

As she puzzled over the story, moonbeams perched on her shoulders and tangled in her hair, she gradually became aware of a rather solid presence behind her that had started out impatient, and was only growing more so.Read More


Pre-Order for Of Firebirds and Frost Live!

Happy Saturday!

❄️I’m happy to announce that the pre-order for the second tale in Tales of the Snow Queen is live!❄️

Of Firebirds and Frost picks up a short time after Of Wind and Winter ended. While each story is a complete story in and of itself, your reading experience will be best if you have read Of Wind and Winter and Bottomless before you read Of Firebirds and Frost.

To celebrate–this has been a book long in the coming–I wanted to share my favorite passage in the entire book:

She looked to Frost, but Frost shook her head. “This isn’t my choice to make. It is yours.”

“I miss them,” Aneira said.

“They miss you too.”

“Why does it have to be so hard?”

Frost sighed. “Difficult choices are something my kind and yours—and all those in between—share. Life must break your heart, for how else would you discover your wings?”

Aneira frowned, far from comforted. “Not everyone will fly.”

Frost bowed her head in acknowledgement. “But all must be given the opportunity”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“The Story can be cruel,” Frost said, looking beyond Aneira to something only she could see. “But it exists before the once upon a time, and lasts far past and they all lived happily after or they all died horribly in the end. Too many forget this, or they never understood it in the first place.”

“And what is your place in all this?” Aneira asked, curious. Her heart, if she had had one, had already made up its mind. All that was left was to speak it out loud to make it real, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for that.

Not yet.

Frost shrugged and cocked her head to the side. “Mostly I listen to Stories. Sometimes I tell them.”

“But did you fly?” Aneira asked.

Frost laughed, a soft, mellow sound of sunlight on velvet. “I like to think so.”*

“And will I?” the question came as a sigh. A tiny fear that had tricked its way past her lips. She regretted it the moment she spoke, but words, like snowflakes, could never be recalled once they were made real.

Frost laughed again and gestured for Aneira to take her hand. “There is only one way to find out.”

The world trembled as Aneira reached out and caught hold of Frost’s hand.

If you enjoyed the first book, be sure to check out the second. 🙂 Of Firebirds and Frost will officially release on August 20, 2015. Aneira’s story will be told over four complete novels. Book one told us of how she got one foot jerked into a world of magic while she strove to keep her other rooted firmly in the world she had been born into. The second book will focus on why that’s such a tricksy balance. ❄️

* There’s a joke in here that will be revealed in another book.

OFAFcoverfinalebookAneira thought she had accepted her fate, but the longing for home grows strong enough that she sneaks into the Babas’ cottage to see if she can find a way to spell herself home.

Instead, she stumbles in upon a theft in progress. To make matters worse, the Babas had simply been waiting to spring their trap. They need both Aneira and the thief’s help, and they aren’t above threatening life and limb to get it.

As before, the Babas offer a choice: retrieve a firebird egg and the maiden they wish to apprentice, and the baby firebird in their possession will be free to find a more hospitable home. Refuse, and the selfsame firebird may well end up plucked and lightly seasoned.

The tasks are far from simple—especially when their journey takes them to the heart of Summer’s country. (An unpleasant proposition when your heart is made entirely of frost.)

Time grows short, and Aneira must decide if her heart—and the hope of returning home—is worth more than the fate of a baby firebird and a maiden she has never met.

The choice she makes will set her on a course that will either save who she is or destroy who she has the potential to become.

Amazon | ( Sorry, I’m not able to set up a pre-order for Barnes and Noble) | iTunesGoogle Play | Kobo


Sneak Peek: Of Firebirds and Frost

OFAFcoverHappy Saturday! This week, I wanted to share something that’s been bubbling on the pot. I’m happy to announce the second tale in the Snow Queen series. It’s currently going through its final edits, and then through copy edits, and should be available soon.

To celebrate, I’d like to share the first chapter. I’ll also, over the course of the next couple of Saturdays, be adding two short stories from the Snow Queen world to the library.

I’m working on the third book (OF INDIGO AND ICE), and am hoping to finish the series this year. I’m excited to see where things go from here and can’t wait to share! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this brief snippet of that which is to come.

Have a great weekend!

OF FIREBIRDS AND FROST: CHAPTER ONE

The moon was restless.

The velvet sky stretched out before her, lit with thousands of stars and possibilities, each enticing her to forget. Or, if forgetting was too much to ask, to remind her of her duties and privileges.

But for all the stories the constellations whispered, for all the promises the shooting stars hinted at, three memories saw her growing paler and paler with the passing of each night.

Four, if one was being particular, but the other memories all tied to the fourth, and giving the Babas Yaga the distinction of distressing the moon would only serve to encourage them.

A moonbeam.

A firebird.

A girl.

All bound together by the nefarious workings of a single witch. A witch multiplied by three, now that she’d set her sisters free.

As if the world hadn’t problems enough.

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