Author Updates, New Year's 2023
The harrowing story of a fuzzy sweater + book news and updates.
What’s In This Update
Making the Sweater Work (a short story)
Hello New Year’s 2023 (intro & welcome)
Upcoming Releases & Projects
Secondary Project Updates
Additional Book Things & Freebies
Housekeeping
Making the Sweater Work
It was an unplanned gift. I hadn’t asked for a sweater, and the gifter hadn’t intended on its giving; he only saw that I was cold and offered what he had. Still, I shouldn’t have accepted. Should not, indeed, have been so grateful. My suitcase was packed to the gills. I had to sit on it, all my weight, to make it close. Where would I fit this fuzzy monstrosity? And what, anyway, would I want with such an oversized hand-me-down? Well, I put on the sweater, and I knew I’d be making room. For I loved, instantly, the ugly wool (alpaca) and the little buttons (acrylic) and the lined interior (fleece). I loved that the sweater was old, and either from Peru, or Argentina (the gifter couldn’t remember). I especially loved that it was heavy and shapeless, because these days, all I want is heavy and shapeless. I wrapped my arms around myself and pretended the sweater was giving me a hug.
Ten minutes later, I started to sneeze.
Was it something in the air? Or could I be allergic to wool? Tragic. The gifter offered to take back the sweater, find me another less allergenic option, but my fingers curled protectively around the hem. No, I said. It’s probably just dusty from years in the closet. I’ll give it a good wash. That’ll fix it.
Once the holidays were over, I packed the sweater away (no amount of sitting sufficed; an extra suitcase was acquired for the purpose) and traveled home. We’d agreed that dry cleaning was the best bet for such an article, but I’ve never taken anything to a dry cleaners, and anyway, it was raining, so I stuck the sweater in my washer and turned it to delicates. No soap. Fifty minutes later, out it came, looking much the same, only damper. Then it was time for the dryer (sans heat) and at last, seven air-tumble cycles later, the sweater was 95 percent dry and ready for its final test. I shoved the carbuncle over my head and spent the rest of that afternoon in a state of cautious hopefulness. I was warm. I was not sneezing. The sun came out and the birds began to sing.
Then my neck started to itch. ■
Hello New Year’s 2023
Happy New Year & Welcome
I forgot, until about thirty minutes ago, that I have an author update due today, so I’m writing this at ten in the morning Pacific Time, with the goal of sending it out by noon. I’m not yet recovered from the holidays, it’s been raining for two straight weeks, and I’ve been spending most of my time offline with my phone in a drawer. In short, everything over here is a bit out of whack.
There’s lots of good to be had in it, though. I set a goal at the start of December to write 1k words a day. This is the first time I’ve ever chased a wordcount goal, since historically wordcounts don’t work for me. And yet…this time they are? Over the past 41 days, I’ve written 41k words. That’s a lot for me, as I tend to be a slow and picky writer. It’s been an exercise in letting go some of my perfectionist tendencies and just getting the story down. I like how it feels.
I hope the holidays treated you well, or if they didn’t, I hope you’re settling nicely back into your regular life. For me, aside from the thousand words a day and my sudden and unplanned hiatus from most of the internet, I’ve started a new house hunt (we’re looking to trade our flat in San Francisco for something a bit more suburban), I’ve kept up my lofty reading goals (currently: Mystic and Rider by Shannon Shinn), and I’ve got a new sourdough starter that’s taking over my life.
This update covers the books I’ve been working on, where everything is in the publishing process, and what I hope to accomplish next.
Upcoming Releases & Projects
To Poison a King (Heirs of Isla #1) + ARCs
To Poison a King is all set for publish day on April 4, 2023. The physical copies are due to arrive to my doorstep on Friday, meaning I’ll soon be holding the book in my hands for the first time. It’s one of the most exciting days for an author: finally seeing all that hard work in print.
If you missed it, you can read the full book announcement here. You can also preorder the book on Kindle, paperback or hardcover (and remember to save your receipt for preorder gifts, which I’ll be announcing in February). For those of you on Goodreads, I hope you’ll also save the book as Want to Read.
I will soon be in need of readers who are interested in receiving an ARC (advanced reader copy) of To Poison a King in exchange for an honest review. The copies will be delivered through e-reader (all physical copies have already been spoken for). Spots are limited, so if this interests you, please keep an eye out for more info coming in my author update next month. (If you were part of my cover release last year, there is no need to reapply!).
To Save a Kingdom (Heirs of Isla #2)
To Poison a King is getting a companion novel! Companion novels are not quite sequels and not quite standalones. They’re often set in the same world as each other, but feature different characters and separate storylines. I’m excited to announce To Poison a King’s companion novel called To Save a Kingdom has a tentative fall 2023 release. The cover for Kingdom is also in the works, and I’m more than happy with how that’s going. I wanted the two covers to compliment each other, similar but different, and that’s the direction we’re heading.
YA Space Fantasy (Title TBA)
I’ve teased this book a few times, and I’ll continue to do so up until I get to make some bigger announcements. Last year, I wrote my very first YA novel that follows the story of an intergalactic gunman named Keller Hartman who finds himself caught up in a plot involving a future-predicting simulation, a host of quirky characters, and an infuriating flight partner. Though it’ll be a while before this book takes to the shelves, I’m already so excited for you to meet these characters and read their story.
Secondary Projects
The River of Reversal (Free Short Story!)
Last month, I revealed my very first short story, The River of Reversal. The story takes place six years before the start of my upcoming full length novel To Poison a King and introduces Selene as she was in early childhood, before she makes the mistake that will change her life. It's about choices and fate and a father's love for his daughter. The story (specifically, the legend of the River) plays a major role in the plot of the full length book, which makes me even more excited to share this. Like handing you a little piece of the Kingdom of Isla.
The River of Reversal is free to read. I’m giving this book away as a thank you for sticking with me through another crazy year of writing. You can download The River of Reversal to enjoy on your preferred e-reader right now through BookFunnel, or you can quickly access a web version on my site.
Book Recommendations & Reviews
I’ve always shared book recommendations with you guys, but I’m also trying to writing more thoughtful reviews for the books that really wow me. You can find an updated list of those here.
Additional Book Things
January Freebies
Every month, I like to partner with other authors who are offering readers free books. It’s a great way to discover new favorites, so follow the links below to check out the full giveaways.
Fantasy Freebies - 37 books
Age of Fantasy - 59 books
Love at First Spell - 101 books
Winter Fantasy - 120 books
Epic & High Fantasy - 104 books
Fantastic Realms Free Reads - 64 books
New Worlds for the New Year - 131 books
New Year, New Fantastical World - 84 books
Free Fantasy Books - 54 books
Housekeeping
Social Media
I’m currently on a hiatus from social media and am not sure what my plan is moving forward. Still, if you’d like to find me, I'm on Instagram, and not really but sometimes on Twitter. And also on Goodreads and BookBub.
My Affordability Policy
I’ve written a note regarding my book affordability policy. Please read this post if you'd like to learn more.
Leaving Reviews for The Elvish Trilogy
Elvish has now well surpassed 1,000 reviews on Amazon. Your support has directly impact my success as an author, so to all of you who've taken the time to leave a review, thank you, thank you, thank you. If you'd like to continue to support me, I would so appreciate some new reviews for Elder and my latest release Ember. Let's show these books some love, too!
Thank you for sticking around, reading what I have to say and supporting me on this journey. And as always, happy reading.