This Week on the Balcony:
Inspiration, new projects, and building a whole world from scratch 📚🖤🐦🔥
Hey, writing balcony friends!
I’m getting this out later than I’d planned, as it’s been kind of a hectic few days. My nephew is graduating college tomorrow, two of my nieces just got back home from their first year in college, my OTHER nephew got his wisdom teeth out, and I’ve been busy with a lot of stuff around the house, too, including a fair bit of ongoing work on the garden.
We also have a new duck mama in the courtyard! My mom accidentally scared her the other day (we didn’t know she was there), but she’s back thankfully and sitting on what looked like about 10 eggs the one time I got a look at them.
As for me, I’m pretty much back to normal now, health-wise. I still have a tiny bit of congestion I’m battling, but I tested negative for covid over a week ago, and feel pretty close to 100%. That said, I also feel extremely buried in work, like I’m still playing catch-up, and there are way too many things I want to do for the amount of time I have.
For the same reason, I still haven’t managed to go through my Japan photos well enough to do a dedicated post for those, either. I plan to get to that at some point, but right now I’m prioritizing writing and world-building, as I’m really in the thick of both things, designing this whole new world for the series I’m launching this year in a brand new world.
Which has been a trip, by the way. I think I mentioned last week how it really hit me just HOW MUCH work goes into designing a whole new world, and how long it’s been since I’ve done anything like it, at least to this degree.
The last time I worked on something this complex was when writing the first Bridge and Sword book. Hopefully this won’t take the 10 years THAT took (yikes!), given I was also learning how to write a novel back then… but even without that complication, it’s a lot of work. Vampire Detective Midnight required a fair bit of worldbuilding too, but because it borrowed a lot from the races I’d set up in the other Seer books, it didn’t feel quite like this.
I plan to share some from the new world / characters soon, but until I’m ready to do that, here’s the cover art for the first two books! I just finalized the second cover now that I’ve outlined more of the overall arc…
I really hope you like the covers! (I think they’re so preeety). You can probably get an idea why I decided to do this series under a pen name - it’s VERY different branding from my usual series. Also, it just made sense to create a name for this more “pure fantasy” kind of story.
Anyway, I can’t wait to share more about the actual books with everyone! It’s basically a whole new thing, even though SOME elements of the fanfic I wrote will appear at some point, if in a heavily modified form. Everything so far has been written completely from scratch, as it’s a whole new world and characters so really not very much the same at all. I’m beginning to think I won’t use many (if any) scenes from the fanfic, tbh, even heavily edited, just because everything has changed so much. Like I said, so far I haven’t used a single one. It’s all brand new, from top to bottom.
I just commissioned some original (human-only - NO A.I.) artwork for the series, as well, and have a slot with a different artist coming up in August, so it will be extremely cool to see aspects of the series and characters come to life through the eyes of both of these talented people!
I’m seriously thinking about doing some very pretty special editions for this series, as well, since it IS fantasy and that’s much more conducive to the type of edition I’d want to make. The covers above are for the regular store versions, and I’d likely hire a different person (possibly an illustrator) for the special editions (or maybe not - I planned to talk to my current cover designer to get her thoughts on this). Either way, me commissioning a few different artists now is twofold: to see if I can get a better feel for an aesthetic for the series and a stronger handle on what the main characters look like, but also, perhaps obviously, I want to vet a few artists for possible expanded roles in illustrating the books.
Speaking of which, my friend May Sage is doing a Kickstarter right now, and jeez louise, is it pretty! It’s been really inspiring in terms of what you can do with a lot of work and some really talented artists. You should definitely check it out if you’re a fan of paranormal romance. Click the image below if you want to take a look… I can’t wait to get the books I pledged for!
As for other things in the works, most of that has been put on hold for now, frankly, while I focus on writing and until I get through some of the family stuff that’s lined up for the next week or so.
After that, I should have time to get back to work on the audiobooks and to commission covers for paperbacks, as well as for the next Angels in L.A. novel and the next Quentin Black. :)
In the meantime, I’m spending the rest of today (after putting nematodes in my garden and all my houseplants, making signs and going to a protest with my niece and nephew and mother, and trying to nurse my cherry trees back to life after a horrible aphid invasion) …working on the new book and world-building. Tomorrow is the big graduation dinner for my nephew in Santa Cruz, and next week I have a friend in town to visit plus another family dinner, so yeah… it feels like summer! Which is hectic and crazy but also really lovely.
Hope all is well in your worlds!
And check out below for a few more treats…
My latest release ~
Briefly, he considered just running. He considered making a dash for the dimensional door. But he couldn’t do that. It was already too late.
The exciting conclusion to the Vampire Detective Midnight series!
Nick stood mere feet from the portal when the racial authorities descended. He stood mere feet from the dimensional door that should have taken him and his family away for good. He’d been close enough to touch it, close enough to feel it.
But it all got snatched away.
Now he’s back working the streets as a Midnight, a vampire owned by the human police. His bosses definitely grip his leash tighter since his near-escape, and tensions between vampires and humans ratchet higher all over the city. Hints of another race war are getting louder, but still, all Nick wants is to go home.
He’s investigating a double homicide at the edges of the vampire ghetto when a series of events make it clear things are changing far faster than he realized. War is coming, and Nick’s starting to remember his past, a past he did everything in his power to forget.
Can he outrun a world that wants to annihilate everyone he loves?
Can he make it back to his own world and the people he left behind?
Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Found Family - Dark/grey hero - Twisty plot - Lots of action! - Soulmates
Books from friends ~
So I screwed this up last week, posting it too early, but I’m doing a promotional swap with a friend, and her book is being offered for a special price of only $0.99 for a limited time! I think today is the very last day, unfortunately, so I hope you’re able to grab a copy before it goes back to full price! Check out the summary below, or click the image, or the button below to go directly to the sales page…
Be careful whose coat you pick up...
When Niahm, the beautiful stranger who saved her from danger, drops his cloak to the floor, Leo battles her anxiety and picks it up for him.
She doesn’t know Niahm’s cloak is actually his Selkie skin, and that her act of kindness is a marriage proposal of sorts.
Niahm doesn’t hesitate to pop the question, turning Leo’s world upside down. She is not ready for commitment. Her broken heart can't take another blow. Still, Leo can't deny her connection to Niahm is magical. Literally.
Will Leo be able to let go of her past and give into Niahm's charm? Or is their future star-crossed?
Fire and ice sizzle to steam...
Morgan is Leo's best friend/fierce protector. And she will make damn sure Niahm doesn't hurt Leo. This makes her collide with Gwyn, Niahm's sister—a beautiful, icy female who infuriates her. After an epic row, Morgan and Gwyn settle on a truce that becomes much more. They burn and melt each other's barriers with every fiery kiss. But when Morgan's darkest secret is revealed, will her relationship with Gwyn survive or sink?
FREE BOOK OF THE MONTH!
As a special treat in 2025, I’m going to be featuring a free book every month for the next twelve months, from an author friend. Here is this month’s free book!
Brand was raised to rule the Broods of Fenrir, but he’s shunned his destiny for decades, repelled by the brutality and discord within the wolf shifter society. But when a grisly murder stains the streets of Denver and one of the brood is implicated, he’s dragged right back into the heart of the passion he’s been desperate to avoid.
While investigating the murder, the disappearance of shifters in the local area, and a strange red wolf that stalks the shadows of the winter nights, he encounters the one thing that might finally bring him to his knees—and she has silver eyes.
With this new tempting distraction and the full moon approaching, unraveling the mysteries before him becomes more treacherous when the friend Brand swore to protect vanishes, and an old enemy is to blame. Challenging this particular foe will draw the attention of the most powerful of his kind and paint a target on the back of the woman he’s falling for.
As danger threatens those he cares for most, he’s faced with an impossible choice. Will he take up the throne he once denied or watch his world spiral further into chaos?
Broods of Fenrir is the first book of a gripping saga that delves into betrayal, redemption, and the primal forces that bind us all. Prepare to be enthralled by a world where loyalties are tested, and the fine line between humanity and savagery blurs.
And, as always, I appreciate you all so much! I’m still feeling very glad to be back, despite the craziness of everything since I returned from Japan. It’s nice to know I’m here and digging into work for the foreseeable future. :)
