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


New Book Release

Happy Friday!

I’m happy to announce the release of Bottomless (a short story set in the world of Tales of the Snow Queen) in anticipation for the August release of Tale 2 of the Snow Queen: Of Firebirds and Frost. It isn’t vital to read, but it provides extra context into both Lyralind and the world if you read it before Of Firebirds and Frost.

Bottomless

Bottomless was previously published in the Saltwater Curiosities anthology last year, but I published it as a standalone specifically as an extra for the Tales of the Snow Queen series.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iTunesGoogle Play | Kobo


Moon Bait (Part 3)

Curiosities-of-the-Moon-Curiosities-1-KindleThe witches laughed as they stepped out of the shadows the cottage cast upon the clearing. The sight of their hooked noses and bright eyes would haunt the moon for a very long time, provided she survived whatever witchery they had planned.

“Silly child,” the first chided. “Silly, silly child.”

“It wouldn’t have been a very effective spell if you’d heard it,” the second said.

The third said nothing. She just gave the moon a sweet look that hid sharp things like teeth and claws and rusted knives, and somehow that look said everything.

“You cannot kill me,” the moon said with more surety than she felt in that moment. “I have no blood to bind my death.” Never before had she appreciated being immortal.

Read More


Moon Bait (Part 2)

Curiosities-of-the-Moon-Curiosities-1-Kindle“Yes. The familiars serve the witches.” She gathered the cloak close about herself, careful to keep the hem from dragging or catching on any of the needles. She wanted to make sure she returned the cloak in exactly the state she’d borrowed it in.

“If you’re sure.” He grinned at her before resuming the course he had chosen.

The cat walked for a time, leading her along a path that only he could see, for he certainly didn’t follow any of the trails crisscrossing the forest for very long. Every so often he’d stop and clean his paws, watching her through glowing eyes as he did.

On the third such stop, rather than sitting down, he remained upright, his ears straining at the night. “I think I have need of the first favor,” he said without turning around.

Wordlessly, the moon lifted the hood from her face, washing the forest about them with her silver light. Without warning, the cat darted off to the right and ran up the side of a tree as though the earth’s pull had no permission to impede his movements.

Read More