April 2024 Update

Holy moly, getting a house ready for sale takes more than I realized. All the little things that I’d been putting off until later over the last 20-ish years have come due. For example: “One of these days, I’ll replace that light fixture with a more contemporary one.” Riiiight. Well, I’ve replaced eight light fixtures and have another to go inside the house, plus the one on the front porch, and I need to replace the fan/heater thingy on the ceiling in the master bath. I also have to change out the glass doors in the shower of the master bath for some from this century (house was built in the early eighties). Then there’s the whole updating the kitchen appliances. Ugh. So much to go. Thankfully, a month after I bought the place, I replaced all the hardware (drawer pull knobs, cabinet knobs, door knobs inside the house and the front doors, towel rods/hooks, toilet paper dispensers, etc.) with nice ones, trading out the freaky green-streak enameled brass (and ceramic spheres for the pulls and cabinet knobs) with pretty brushed nickel items. I also recently had the beautiful red oak in the back yard trimmed along with the trees out front next to the street. But still. So much to go. And the moving, too, though I am moving items a little at a time right now as I continue to get things done that I can do (like cleaning and dusting places I normally don’t bother with), before getting professionals for the remaining stuff (like replacing those appliances).

Ugh. I just remembered. I have to replace the tank fill valve in the upstairs bathroom. I have the thing, I just need to do it. /sigh

So, while I am still recording voice memos with ideas that pop in my head for characters and plot for book 2 (which I will get to, I swear!), I’m focused on getting things ready for the move and sale.

Until next time, happy reading!

P.S. If you like sports-themed stuff (or growth-themed tv shows) you might like Haikyu!!, a volleyball anime that I’d forgotten just how much I loved until I caught an Aussie volleyball guy’s reaction video on the series. Been catching his videos when they come out. That anime is so good.

March 2024 Update

Hello folks.

I’m making this post a little early because I’ll be too busy the next few days. Lots of real life things going on, as well as work on another project (non-fiction), but I’m still making notes and voice memos on plot ideas, character personality ideas (for new characters), interesting things that could happen, ideas on new ways to use the magic of the world, and such. But I’ve also been working on an idea I thought might be interesting regarding my existing books. I wondered if I could sell posters, or digital art (for customers to use to print themselves), or maybe even jigsaw puzzles featuring art from the books, or playing cards—lots of interesting ideas that might not all make it to reality. I actually worked on a couple of posters in what I’m thinking of calling a Magic Terms line, where I’d feature vocabulary and definitions. See an example below of the poster for Madhya/Mid-Shifter (click for bigger size). I’m still working on setting things up (I’ve actually got a bare-bones newly created store on Etsy HERE with an initial, high-quality, high resolution digital version for download, but I will flesh out the store more later). What do you guys think? Crazy? Might work? I’m not sure but am willing to give it a shot.

Anyway, that’s what’s going on here. Hope everyone has a nice Easter (those who will be egg-hunting), and, until next time, happy reading!

February 2024 Update

Hey folks.

Been taking it a little easy, giving my brain enough no-hard-thinking time to do its thing and make interesting connections while I jot ideas down occasionally for plots, scenes, dialog, characters, the evil Discordant drug, new veer to show off, etc., etc., etc. I’m also jotting down things that were introduced or were unresolved at the end of the first book, so I don’t forget to work them into a plot or subplot. An interesting and terrifying (for me) bit of trivia: I almost left out the resolution to Val’s ‘short-term secret,’ but after a particular read-through I got to the scene where he says that, and I was all, Hey. Did I include the resolution and stuff for this? And I replied to myself: Hmm. I think so? But of course, after scrolling to where it should have been, I saw that I had not. So I fleshed out what I’d intended on the spot—exactly how and where to include it, what I wanted to be said and happen, and all was well. Crisis averted. With that as a lesson, I’ve been going through my head jotting down (typing down?) things that were deliberately left open along with newly introduced things so that I can continue spooling out those plot threads.

In other news, after one RL thing ends, another begins. I’m starting the process of moving. You know, straightening out all the little tings around the house that need it, like, cleaning up the shed and moving unused terra-cotta plant pots and saucers in there from the patio out back and from the bump-out bay windows with their plant shelves, getting the trees trimmed, (the roof was replaced a couple of years ago, so that’s good), replacing the rollers on the master bath shower sliding door, organizing the kitchenware and dishes stuff, going through my closets, figuring out which things I’ve accumulated over the years I need to throw away, etc., etc., etc., and then there’ll be the packing and the move itself and the selling of this house. Ugh. So much to do. All of that will take up some of my (a lot of my?) time for the next few months, too.

On a positive note, I saw the new live-action ATLA on Netflix. I thought it was pretty good for the reduced amount of time (episodes) Netflix allowed the producers. Book 1 was over twenty episodes, and the Netflix show was only given eight. /shrug. I loved seeing Appa and Momo in ‘real’ life. Also, the bending was light-years better than the joke presented in that live-action movie. And the actors! Such great choices. The only one I thought was far off was the guy they cast as General (Admiral) Zhao. He didn’t quite feel or sound the same (and I don’t mean he should have had the other guy’s actual voice, I mean they just sounded different. Intonation, stress, how the voice is pitched—how he said words and sentences didn’t feel as ‘mean,’ or ‘tough-guy’ as the animated voice actor). He was fine, was just a lot different than the other guy sounded, so he seemed like a completely different character. Overall I really liked the show and look forward to more episodes. Especially those with Toph. Oh my gosh. She’s the goat.

Anyway. I’m working away on the next book. I have a fun/interesting character that I think people will like. Well, I like him, and hopefully readers will, too.

Until next time, happy reading!

January 2024 Update

Hello folks.

The past few months have been very hectic IRL, but I’ve been keeping at this series. I really like the characters and ideas in it and want to keep it going. In that vein, I’ve been thinking about the next book, letting things percolate and such. Got some high-level ideas on the main new character (not the “main character,” but of the new characters there might be, he will probably be the one (or one of the ones) that has the most focus, out of the new protagonist characters. I’ve also been ruminating on how the ‘big bad thing’ of the book will work in more specific detail. I know who’s going to be using the thing, I just want to work out more about how the thing will work in detail, making sure the way it does allows for interesting ties to various groups, people, and such.

I’ve also been contemplating on whether to / how to introduce more of the pantheon of gods and how best to work newly introduced ones into the plot. Nothing like a god tossing a big, divine monkey wrench into a plot or subplot to stir things up, after all. Veer, too. What new interesting/fun/scary veer can show up?

At any rate, it’s still early days, but I am chugging along, as it were.

A slightly early Happy Lunar New Year to you all, and until next time, happy reading!

The Updated Version of That Which Elevates Us, book 5 of the Dragonlinked Chronicles, is Available on Amazon

Hello folks.

The updates to the fifth (and last, so far) of the Dragonlinked Chronicles books, new edits and new covers, are live on Amazon. Buyers of this book (any of them, now) will get the new covers and edits. The new covers for book 5 are shown below.

Now I can focus on the next Books of Veer and Magic volume, of which various ideas have been percolating. I know the over-arching conflict, I just needs me some details.

Until next time, happy reading!

The updated Of Gods, Trees, and a Sapling, book 4 of Dragonlinked Chronicles, is available on Amazon

Hello folks.

Dragonlinked Chronicles Book 4, with its updates and new covers, is available for purchase on Amazon’s sites. Thumbnails of its covers are below. Click on each to bring up a larger preview in a new browser tab.

I’m currently working on finishing the cover of book 5, only have the last bits on the new back image (inside image of eBooks) to do.

Until next time, happy reading!

The Updated Version of A Storm in the Desert, Book 3 of the Dragonlinked Chronicles, is Available from Amazon.

Hello folks.

The updated A Storm in the Desert, featuring new edits and new covers for eBook and trade paperback versions, is now available for purchase on Amazon. Previews of the new covers are below. Click the thumbnails to open a larger version of the preview in a new browser tab.

On to book 4!

Until next time, happy reading!

The updated version of The Bond, book 2 of Dragonlinked Chronicles, is available on Amazon

Hello folks.

It took longer than expected for this because I noticed a couple of issues with the new cover AFTER I had already submitted it for the trade paperback version. That version takes about a day to be approved, and you cannot make changes during the approval process. Anyway, I fixed the issue and resubmitted both books yesterday, and they are both now available (with the corrected new covers).

Thumbnails of the new fancy covers are shown below. Click to open a larger version in a new browser tab.

Next is book 3, of which I’ve almost finished the extra part of the new cover (what goes on the back of the trade paperback version and inside the eBook version).

Until next time, happy reading!

Dragonlinked, Book 1 of Dragonlinked Chronicles, has been updated on Amazon

Hello folks.

I have completed uploading the update and new cover for the first book in my young adult fantasy series, Dragonlinked Chronicles, titled Dragonlinked, and its new version is available for purchase in both eBook and trade paperback formats. The links in the menu at the top of the blog, in the book section of the library, will send you to the Dragonlinked page on Amazon, though I do not have all marketplace links there (I will when I update those entries).

Thumbnails for previews of said new covers are below. Click on them to open a larger preview image in a new browser tab. Yes, that is a baby Anaya (well, as close as I could get her) on the back of new trade paperback cover. eBook readers get a cropped version (but with her full glory) on the title page of the interior of the eBook, so they get to see the little cutie, too.

I’m waiting for word on The Bond, atm, for notification that both formats are approved and available, while I work on A Storm in the Desert.

Until next time, happy reading!

EDIT: Oops. Put the wrong preview of the paperback cover. It was even smaller than I intended. Correct one is up now, to show off Anaya even better.

Handlers of the Wondrous and Strange is now available for purchase

Hello folks.

My newest books is now available for purchase from Amazon sites. It took a bit longer than typical, real life issues and creating a whole new universe and all, but it is finally here. I hope you all have as much fun reading it as I had writing it! Links that direct to country-specific amazon sites are available below for your convenience (in the order Amazon listed them to me). Keep in mind that though I offer my books on all these sites, the books are only available in English. I’ve not looked into the process and potential headaches of translations.

eBook: US – UK – DE – FR – ES – IT – NL – JP – BR – CA – MX – AU – IN

Trade paperback: US – UK – DE – FR – ES – IT – NL – JP – BR – CA – MX – AU – IN

Now I’m off to work on completing the updates to the Dragonlinked Chronicles books. After that comes updating the blog menus and then starting work on the next book, a new character of which I already have in mind.

Until next time, happy reading!