Writer of Fantasy. Wielder of Red Pens.

Tag: new release

Magical Examination

Hey, y’all! A quick announcement before getting to this week’s prompt. Fantastic Schools Sports is hot off the digital press, with paperback coming soon. I’ve been dancing as I waited to announce this one, because it was so much fun to write. Check out magical freeze tag here – but be careful! When the game goes wrong, you might just freeze with your face like that…permanently.

And now, on with the prompt! That’s why you stopped by, one assumes.

Let’s keep Cedar’s inspiration – Bang through all of it at the last minute – in the same setting.

***

Mikhail pulled on a tuft of hair and let out a curse as his glowworm faded. “Third one tonight.”

“We’ll be fine,” Liza said airily, and popped her gum, as if she were a teenaged human rather than djinn. “I plan to set my exams on fire. What’s your excuse going to be?”

“This was your idea.” He tried to muster exasperated scorn in his voice, but was too exhausted to care. “Bang through all of it at the last minute, you said. I’ll get impaled by an okapatapi tomorrow because I accidentally offend his third aunt by pointing my shoe in the wrong direction.”

“That was your first step wrong,” she said gravely, and tweaked his hair. “Listening to me. Hey, you know your hair like this makes you look like an okapatapi? Cool, huh?”

He hid a grin as he returned to the illustrated guide for magical zoology. Liza was the worst study partner he’d ever had, but she made the onerous more amusing…

***

My prompt went to Parrish Baker – check out what she did with a squid, over at MOTE!

On the way to war…

A cool thing happened whim I was noodling around one day, oh, almost a year ago.

A series of thoughts:

What would World War Two have been like in a steampunk world?

What if Sherlock Holmes was a strategist?

Hey, didn’t certain royal figures have wartime jobs helping the military?

What if nanogears and biomechanics mix?

…and what if I throw in a biomechanical octopus?

If an Octobot doesn’t tweak your fancy – and I’m not sure how it possibly couldn’t! – maybe this awesome cover by Cedar Sanderson will.

Steam Rising – out now!

Coming Soon News

I’m honored to be a part of an upcoming anthology from Sanderley Studios, centered around hope and healing in the midst of trauma and PTSD.

Once upon a time, a set of books gave me a code when a lot didn’t make sense in the world. Ultimately, I also found purpose. Books aren’t just words on paper.

There aren’t words enough to support those who have fought through their personal hells. But stories are another matter. Stories bring connections. This story was my effort to reach out a hand to those who are too lost to ask for help.

And if the darkness calls out your name, if that seeping void of emptiness lures you inside its stifling boundaries…you are not alone, even though you may not be able to see or sense your brothers and sisters. We’re here regardless, whether you see us or not.

In the United States, the new mental crisis hotline number is 988, nationwide. More US resources listed here. United Kingdom. Australia. Canada. Drop others in the comments section if you know them.

It doesn’t take much to make a difference. Sometimes a few words are enough, when they’re the right words.

I hope you enjoy The Way the World Ends, my short story in the Can’t Go Home Again anthology. It’ll be available in ebook format 20 November. Here’s the story blurb:

Klad Rieger isn’t a soldier to stop and smell the roses. Scent is mere sensory data when flowers are crushed beneath his boots on his way to the next mission. And the next. And the next, until it blurs into an endless haze of haunting purpose. But when the Empire abandons him, can he find the strength for one final mission?

And here’s the cover, which somehow managed to capture Klad precisely, down to the haunted expression. I couldn’t have described it to you if I’d tried, but it’s perfect.

Check out more details – and a lighter adult coloring book, now available – from Sanderley Studios here.

In Which I Talk Funny and Say “Um” a Lot

Podcast! Check it out here. Thanks to Joshua Bass of FinalxLegends Podcasts for the opportunity.

Also, here’s how to properly pronounce tsukumogami, because I got nervous and butchered it even after a lot of practice.

And if you’re so inclined, check out Paladin’s Sword and NEW short story Glitter.

Professor June Porter is worried. Her daughter Medina has shown no signs of magic, leaving her defenseless and isolated among magicians. Unless, of course, everyone’s about to discover just how special Medina is.

New Release!

Long story, but in talking about chainmail on the book of faces, I wound up doing a podcast. Kind of a rushed and surprised thing, definitely something new. I talked up More Odds Than Ends, too. I’ll post the podcast link when it’s done.

I also burrowed until I found the first Peter and June story, blew the dust off, and expanded it a touch. Definitely still a short story, but thought it’d go well together.

Plus, I got to play around with covers (thanks for the feedback, Becky and Jennie and Nik!). I don’t think I’ll ever be fantastic at them, but I was happy with this one.

Look, Ma, I made a cover!

Blurb for now: Professor June Porter is worried. Her daughter Medina has shown no signs of magic, leaving her defenseless and isolated among magicians. Unless, of course, everyone’s about to discover just how special Medina is.

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