The Curious Leaf: Voyage to the Sea 001

TCL#2 CoverKya stood at the helm of The Curious Leaf, her face drawn and pensive as she stared out into a sea of charcoal clouds.

“You’re afraid,” Hearthorne said from her silver pot.

“I don’t like the look of these clouds,” Kya said. As if to underscore her words, a strand of lightning flashed in the distance. The clouds grumbled peevishly among themselves, ready and mutinous.

“Have a little faith. It would take more than a mere storm to sink a faerie vessel.” Hearthorne gazed out at the sky with open appreciation. She had always loved the moments leading up to a good storm—when the air fizzed with the magic of the sylphs and storm sprites. “But I wasn’t talking about the storm.”

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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

New Release: Dragonspell

Dragonspell-Kindle

You’re never truly done with a series until you’ve written the prequel. ? At least, that’s how The Fairy Godmother Dilemma series worked for me. (The actual writing order–as opposed to reading order–was Firespell, Frogspell, Catspell, Applespell, Trollspell, Dragonspell. Reading order is: Dragonspell, Catspell, Firespell, Applespell, Frogspell, Trollspell.)

This is the story that predates Catspell by a bit. (How’s that for specific? ?) And goes into a bit of the background of Pickle-Prick et al.

A fairy godmother can never catch a break.

Nerissa should have been getting ready to celebrate another successful Happily Ever After. Instead, she has to track down her runaway DID—Damsel in Distress—who may or may not have been kidnapped by a dragon.

A dragon who happens to be a close, personal friend.

But time is running out. Her DID has attracted the attention of some very powerful winds bent on gaining their freedom—and they aren’t above using her DID to gain it.

So that’s one fairy tale temporarily on hold while Nerissa deals with a dragon, seven errant winds, and her DID.

Because if there’s one thing a fair godmother won’t tolerate, it’s an Unhappily Ever After.

If you’ve ever wondered about The Fairy Godmother Dilemma, Dragonspell gives you a perfect taste of what is waiting, although there is an extreme lack of Myles and all the snark his POV brings to the story. (This is, of course, his favorite book because it predates his knowledge of both the cats and fairy godmothers.)

By way of thanking you and all the readers that have stuck it out with me, Dragonspell is free. Download your copy today!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Google Play | Kobo

Make Way For the Dragons: An Unscheduled Vacation Among Other Things

*glances guiltily at last post*

*looks up at what appears to be quite a lot of Foot of Dragon that is planted firmly in her sternum and just above her heart*

So. I can explain.

You know how it is. You’re going around catching words, finding stories, and trapping characters–when out of nowhere: WHAM!

A dragon lands squarely on top of you and refuses to budge.

The dragon didn’t necessarily* land on top of you out of malicious intent. But a dragon is a dragon, and most people aren’t equipped to function normally when one is using them as a footstool.

Hence the unplanned “vacation” from this site.

The good news is that dragons eventually move on, and this one is stirring. The bad news is that I’m going to need another week or two to get things running again. The better news is that I haven’t been lazing about while I was being jellied. Nope. I’ve been working, as best I can.

Exhibit A:

TFGDBSCoverTwo things you might notice:

  1. This is my first box set. Yay! And it’s up for pre-order now. It’s also on sale. From now until the 29th of October it will be $3.99 everywhere but the iBookstore. (If you shop there, email me. I’ve found a clever workaround. ?) After that, it’ll go up to $8.99, which is still a good deal for six books, but not as good as the sale price. Fair Warning: I hate fiddling with prices across the platforms, so I don’t anticipate putting this on sale again any time (ever) soon.
  2. The second thing you might notice is the first book: Dragonspell. Heh. Yeah. Apparently the series wasn’t going to be complete (minus a collection of short stories that’s not going to happen for a couple of years) until I’d written the prequel I hadn’t realized was sitting there waiting for me to write it. If you joined the Wonder-Kin, then I’ve already sent a link for you to download the book for free.

If you haven’t, now would be a good time to join. Trust me on this. ? But if you haven’t, don’t worry. You won’t miss out. I’ll be release Dragonspell on the 8th of October and setting it for free. (It will take some time for it to be price matched on the Kindle. Apologies for that.)

In the meantime, here are the links for The Complete Dilemma:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Google Play | Kobo

Exhibit B:

OIAICover

The Third Tale (out of four) in the Snow Queen series is going through edits at the moment, and will hopefully *crosses fingers* have an October release. Not enough time to do a pre-order for this one. Sorry.

That just leaves the fourth, and final, tale to be told–which is currently being written. Along with the first book in a new series that is a companion to the Snow Queen series and takes place in the same world.

More news on that series in a bit. ?

I’ll also be sharing more details–along with the first few chapters of Of Indigo and Ice once it’s through edits and the release date gets closer.

So yeah. Haven’t solely been napping between dragon toes. ?

 

Provided the dragon can be persuaded to find greener pastures, fatter sheep, and somewhere else to rest its backside, I’m planning on going onward and upward with the serials. This means we’ll be starting the second episode of The Curious Leaf, and continuing with Mira Morganstein, The Faerie Thief, and Secrets of the UnderWhere.

I really can’t wait to dive back into these stories. I’ve got some exciting things planned–both for the near future and the future further out.

Until then,

Don’t forget to dream!

 

*Still under investigation. There are a couple of characters under review that shouldn’t leave town–yes, using portals, dragons, and eldritch magic counts.

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