Stenciled Edges + A WalMart Exclusive Edition?!
This is the prettiest book in the entire world, I swear
I’m not going to delay sharing this, because it’s simply too amazing. BEHOLD:
That’s right! ALL hardcovers of The Crimson Throne are coming with gloriously beautiful stenciled edges (hidden knives! thistles! gothic arches!)!!! AND!!!! We are getting a Wal-Mart exclusive edition!!!! I have never had a Wal-Mart Exclusive Edition before!!!! I cannot even believe this is real!!! But look at that stunning alternate cover. I can’t decide which one I like best!
If you pre-order any edition—standard or the exclusive—you’ll get the fancy edges. All the first print run is getting this treatment…but after that print run sells out, it’s gone for good, so if you want this, your best bet is to pre-order a copy from whatever retailer you love most. (And, as always, shout-out to Malaprops—I’ll sign copies ordered from my local indie!)
Wordsmith Announces Our First Summer Retreat!
We recently revealed over at
that we’re doing our first summertime retreat! As a former teacher, I wanted to do one in the summer for ages, and I’m so glad we’ve been able to find a way to make this work.For the last days of July/first days of August, we’ll be in Pigeon Forge, TN, where we’ll have a serene writing retreat house with gorgeous mountain views.
If you are a writer at any stage of the writing or publishing process, we think you’ll get something amazing out of our retreats. I went into more detail here, but briefly:
Workshops in the morning with specific, actionable info that we really use in writing
Critiques from both of us, with follow-ups and guidance
Meals and lodging are all a part of the process, so you don’t have to worry about a thing
Serene writing time, a community of like-minded author friends, and lots of fun!
If you think you’d like to join us, I’d love to tell you more about our retreats! After ten years of these programs and lots of success stories from our alumni, we’re so proud of the community we’ve built and the authors we’ve gotten to know along the way.
ALSO! If you won’t take my word for how awesome Pigeon Forge is, here’s one of my fave YouTuber’s recent trip to Dollywood, lol
Upcoming Events:
Join me, former Wordsmith alumna Jo Schulte, my anthology editor Vania Stoyanova, and authors S. Jae Jones and Kristen Dwyer for a fun event at Malaprops next week!
You can join us in person or online.
Other Bits & Knits
If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed that I’ve become enamored with knitting! It all started when I researched nålbinding, an early form of knitting used by Vikings, but I’m fully entrenched in the yarn now.
My most recent project was this leafy-lace headband made with some yarn from local-ish Briar Patch Fibre Co.
I’m currently working on a pretty complicated piece (that is fortunately small) that I hope to reveal soon! And I’ve got a knitting plan for my upcoming travel. I have no idea what clothes I’m packing, but I DO know which books and which knitting needles I’m bringing with me, hahaha.
Meanwhile, on Patreon, the characters solved their most recently clue by discovering my favorite picture of Queen Elizabeth I:
There is a lot of symbolism in this portrait, but readers of Global Quest now know a little bit more about it…but they’ve still not fully solved the clue to discover where the characters will be going next!
As a reminder, I post one chapter a week of this fun story, and I’m making it interactive by sending patrons clues in the mail to see if they can solve the riddles before the characters do.
And for the writers, I’ll be posting the next Idea to Finished Project video soon, plus we’ve had essays on publishing, AI, craft tips, and more!
The latest clue breakdown and research post should be public and free now, if you’re curious :)
What I’m Working on Now
Adult romantasy novel: 111k words—officially done the first round of edits
Crimson Throne 2: First round done and with our editor!
Global Quest: Updating regularly on Patreon
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!
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.
I feel horrid that I missed the writing group this month. Just dealing with executive Dysfunction