This month is a busy travel month for me—a family vacation, lots of work travel, and a whirlwind of deadlines. After years of a global pandemic (and with recognizing that the threat of Covid isn’t over), it’s something of a relief to stretch my wings again…although I’m discovering that the stress of travel is something I’d forgotten about!
Star Wars Spectacular in Orlando!
Bummed you’re not heading to Star Wars Celebration in London? Me, too. Fortunately, the good folk who make Star Wars books happen are working with BN Plaza Venezia to make a fun day to celebrate Star Wars stateside! There will be an entire day of fun crafts, meet and greets, and events, and you can stick around to see me and Mark Oshiro chat books as I sign copies of The Princess and the Scoundrel (and any other book of mine you’d like signed).
PS: I also recently updated my website to include all my upcoming events—California, Arizona, and more! You can view them here.
Join Me on a Global Quest!
My choose-your-own-story video game, The Global Quest, is currently being featured by Storyloom, and I’d love for you to check out this story!
The Global Quest is a fun adventure that’s currently (almost) done with its first arc—after one more chapter, publishing soon, the story’s first line is done. The premise is simple but fun: a girl chooses to take her inheritence in the form of an adventure, competing with at least one other person to find the hidden treasure after following a series of clues.
Every clue Ellery uncovers is a real life clue based on real art, history, and culture locations. Ellery and her best friend, Cara, race against their competitor (and potential love interest) Brennan…but there’s a wild card in the mix who’s trying to cheat them both out of the prize.
I love a lot about this video game—so much so that I may one day turn it into a novel. But for now, I hope you’ll give The Global Quest a read while you can read it for free—because while the bugs are almost entirely gone from the platform, Storyloom is still in beta, allowing people to read for free. (Technically, each chapter costs a coin, but you’re gifted all the coins you need to read.)
The interactive nature of this story game is also so much fun. You not only get all the clues as Ellery gets them—with a chance for you to figure it out before she does—but you also get to dictate who she ends up with romantically. The best friend, Cara? The competitor hot-guy, Brennan? Or would you prefer Ellery remain single and focused? I’ve written different endings and storylines for each of these possibilities, so the choice really is up to you!
Also, frankly, I feel super clever for linking five different countries together with a totally accurate but obscure riddle and I need people to appreciate how neatly I made such wildly different lands and artefacts line up…
Don’t Miss the Next Book Sale!
Last month, Museum of Magic went on a special sale, and I’m pleased to say that it was so successful that the powers-that-be have decided that another book of mine will go on an even steeper sale soon! That book is going to be offered for the whopping price tag of free…and that’s all I can say right now. If you’d like to be sure to grab one of my ebooks for absolute free soon, the best thing to do would be to follow me on Amazon. It’s super easy and free—just go to this link and click the follow button under my picture.
Museum of Magic in the Scribbler Box!
This is a project I’ve been working on since January—getting Museum of Magic in super fun subscription box! Scribbler Box is a monthly book box designed by writers, for writers—who are also obviously readers!
The book box features some really cool content that’s not in other book boxes—not only did subscribers get a signed copy of Museum of Magic, but they also got a booklet that talked about the unique way I wrote the novel and how writers can incorporate chance into their own writing. Additionally, I wrote a novella, “A Map of the World” that shows how two characters in the backstory of the novel met in the past.
There’s also a Publishing Process Inside Look that details differences between self pub and traditional pub—and there were a ton of other goodies inside the box, including a notebook with waterproof paper, a fun enamel pin, a magnet, a bag of caramel popcorn, and more!
While the box featuring my book is sold out, the company is great, and I loved working with the people there to make this box happen.
What You Missed on Patreon
I’ve shifted monthly fun mailings to be exclusively on Patreon now! Last month, Patreons all got a cute magnet with a writing quote on it. This month will be a bookmark…featuring something special added on to it :)
Additionally, subscribers got:
New chapter planning sessions for House of Hex, with the chance to vote for fun new twists!
A group critique session on a member’s first 500 words
A video workshop on story structure with a downloadable handout
Real number data on how successful a BookBub deal was and how to utilize one
Real number data on the costs in time and money to get a book into a book subscription box
What I’m working on now…
House of Hex, a YA fantasy with witches and witch bottles, sequel to Museum of Magic. Available on Patreon and Kindle Vella.
Secret adult science fiction project: complete draft, currently on sub.
Night of the Witch 2: First draft is almost done, at about 75,000 words.
Adult fantasy novel: at around 11,000, heavily outlining and drafting scenes.
Video games!
Ghost in the Machine: YA horror, choose-your-own-path story, completely done.
Global Quest: YA adventure, choose-your-own-path story, first arc done, starting the second arc.
Side gigs!
Weekly posts and videos about writing at Patreon
SNHU as an online adjunct in the MFA writing program
Accepting critique and coaching jobs with Wordsmith Workshops—in addition to doing Word Lab! Also, we’re starting live and in person retreats again!
Actively doing in-person school, library, and book fair events—book me for panels, signings, and workshops for both adults and teens on writing! If you’d like to get an idea of some of the programming I do, I describe it a bit here.