As usual, I’m using an image from Valheim for this progress report to indicate mood and how I feel about my writing.
There’s a lot happening. Most of it is great, but there are also learning curves involved, and some uncertainty and worry. I think those scraggly Swamp trees represent that part quite well.
On the other hand, I see a lot more freedom. A lot more potential, and that makes writing a lot more fun and exciting. But let’s take things in order.
Moon Rises Release Day!
Today is the day I picked to officially release book 8 in the Winds & Pillars series: Moon Rises.
Of course, it’s about Moon and thus the last of the Pillars to escape the Sacred Square. She does so in her own unique way, feeling quite superior about it all. Of course, she soon runs into problems:
Moon’s magic is about to doom her
As the time for her impending sacrifice is drawing closer, Moon is determined to escape certain death. Having encountered a fellow Pillar on his flight almost a year ago, she knows it’s possible.
Yet when Moon finally makes her break, the world outside her prison is very different from what she assumed. Luckily, she finds refuge with an old shoemaker who is more than willing to hide her for a few days before sending her out of the Empire and to safety.
Supplied with new clothes and a fake name, Moon stumbles from village to village, leaning on sheer determination, begging for help, finding it in unexpected places along with affection and wisdom. Danger surrounds her at every moment, though, one simple misstep could lead to discovery by the Priests, and a painful death – and Moon does make plenty of mistakes, sometimes for the best reason.
Finally reaching West Harbor doesn’t mean Moon’s trials are over, however. Sneaking onto a ship as a stowaway incurs the captain’s wrath, while her magic stokes his greed. Only the Navigator shows any interest in Moon as a person – but can that friendship save Moon when things get beyond dire?
Moon Rises is Book 8 in the Winds & Pillars series, a fast-paced adventure with many twists and turns, where unexpected friendship, magic, and even love overcome arrogance, ignorance and greed.
Yes, it’s a long blurb. But I hope you liked it anyway.
You can buy the book directly from my store: PayHip
Or you can pick your favorite story from this universal link: Books2Read
New German Short Story!
I also snuck in another short story in German, from an anthology that I edited myself. It was only published as a print paperback by a small publisher, and has since gone out of print. So I made my story from it available as an ebook – it’s really a shame that the publisher is not doing ebooks.
Here’s the blurb – see it as an opportunity to practice your German, or simply scroll down to the next item in the post. There’s more exciting stuff waiting for you.
Ein wütender Zentaur. Ein magisches Buch. Fremde, die zu Freunden werden.
Voller Liebeskummer rennt Janina in den Wald, will nur alleine sein und vergessen. Doch dann hört sie seltsamen Lärm und Hufschlag. Ein Pferd alleine im Wald? Da muss sie eingreifen.
Doch sie findet kein Pferd, sondern einen sehr wütenden Zentauren. Zum Glück gelingt es Janina, ihn zu besänftigen. Aber Marendal hat außer Janina noch ein viel größeres Problem: Er muss in seine Welt zurückfinden, um ein magisches Buch zu seinem Stamm zu bringen.
Kann Janina ihm dabei helfen?
Wenn Sie magische Kurzgeschichten mögen, in denen Mädchen stark und mutig sind, wo Krieger ein sanftes Herz haben, und in denen Feinde zu Freunden werden, dann ist das die richtige Geschichte für Sie.
You can grab it from my store: PayHip
Or you can buy it from your favorite dealership: Books2Read
Writing Progress Report
The last few weeks have been a little chaotic, interrupting my writing, but the truth is that I’m having fun again. Finishing Moon and diving into Wolves 10 is fun, and I honestly cannot wait to start on Spirit Sings, the final Winds & Pillars book.
What changed?
Aside from the book marketing class, I finally figured out a way to create covers for my books that I can handle on my own. Das magische Buch up there is one example.
I’m actually creating a brand with those new covers and have rebranded a lot of my old covers – mostly for the short stories. A lot of them had absolutely awful covers. Now those display my author name in really big white letters, they have a gradient and a fairly simply image to indicate genre – and that’s it.
I want people to recognize my books at a glance. (I will do Sequoia and Here be Dragons eventually, as well.)
That’s the whole point of having a brand, right?
And yes, I will rebrand the Dragons, first of all. I do love some of those covers, but dear gods is that series a mess. The Wolves are next, probably when Wolves 10 is done and ready to be published, while the Zell covers already have new versions.
Enter Kickstarter!
One of the things I’m learning in the new class is how to handle Kickstarter and set up a project that will actually fun.
Right now, I’m still on the steep part of the learning curve, especially as setting up a successful project does mean creating print versions (softcover and hardcover) through Ingram Spark. (Sorry, that’s probably a lot of gobbledegook.) What that means is that new print versions will become available next year, first through Kickstarter and then through actual book stores world-wide.
Yes, I’m excited. I’m also scared.
To share some of the excitement, I’m giving you a glimpse of the new Franssisi Four Chronicles covers here, in thumbnail. You won’t see those anywhere else anytime soon.
(I love the branding on them. LOVE it.)
And once my first Kickstarter goes up in spring of 2027, you’ll hear all about it. (But do consider signing up to my newsletter below to be sure not to miss it.)
I have so many plans! There will be collections. Bonus stories. Special editions, not to mention the new print versions. Would you be interested? (Let me know in a comment!)
Pockets of Happiness Report
Yes, I’m still coloring, but I also took a drawing class just yesterday. I’ve always dreamed of being able to sketch my own characters, both to help me visualize them and to share them with you.
Now, so far, my attempts have been fairly clumsy. You may know I’m pretty good with stick horsies, but that’s really all I thought I could do.
And then, I got some instruction and learned some tricks and after a frustrating hour or two of trying to draw a complete person, I shifted to faces. Guess who came out to play?
Yes, it’s just a crude sketch. And the chin is wrong. And the blue lines are support lines, and lots of other things are less than perfect.
But this is the first face I drew, with maybe ten hours of drawing people under my belt, that actually has some personality.
I think that’s Grix, the cute and adorable Goblin from “A Goblin’s Plight”. And as you can see, she’s also quite courageous.
(Want to look up that book? Here.)
The Ember Alert! Notice
Last, but not least, it’s once again time to mention Ember, my little dragon familiar.
She’s the secret star of my newsletter, with the little Ember Tales that are just about her (and sometimes her friends). I’m not posting them anywhere else, so if you want to read them, you’ll have to sign up below.
In addition, you’ll get writing news and book deals (some for my own store). The newsletter regularly goes out once a month, always on the 13th, because I love that number. Deal?
Sign up right here.
