Happy New Moon & Lunar New Year!

Well, it has been a rough couple of weeks. Between wildfires in the western US, bitter cold in the Northeast, and a new administration in office, there has been a lot of disruption.

Some very big Tower moments for many of us and I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling unsettled. Often when those feelings come up the first thing we want to do is take action. If that's where you are at, I have an action item at the bottom of this section that will only take one minute.

I drew the 4 of Wands Rx for this new moon and that feels very appropriate. When so many of the pillars of our lives have been shaken up, this is a moment for recentering ourselves. Who and what helps us find calm right now?

Maybe the answer is nothing. This might be a time for rebuilding. But the 4 of Wands asks us to pay attention to what we need to feel stable. If we can't identify it in ourselves, we can't ask for support from those around us.

I know many of us are feeling weary. This process might take some trial and error. It might mean asking trusted loved ones what they think might help you most. But this card asks us to find a way to be safe inside our own minds first, and that can take some doing.

The Lunar New Year is a great time to think about what we would like to leave behind and what energy we want to bring into this new season. Think about how you want to feel and what you value most now.

Thrive and contentment are the two words I am starting with this year. They may change over time, but I'm really trying to deprogram myself from hustle culture and learn to be more present. If you want to share, you can reply to this email and let me know what you're working on this year.

I hope this Lunar New Year Moon treats you kindly.

One Quick Action: If you are looking for something to do, here is a way to help now and it only takes a minute. Libraries are under attack from this new administration. Censorship in libraries is not just important to me as an author and a library kid, but it's critical to education and the preservation of our culture. Everyone deserves to see themselves represented in stories. Fill out this form via the American Library Association to take a minute to tell Congress to stand up for libraries and librarians and preserve free speech.
​
No one teaches us about setting good boundaries. Sometimes we need permission to take care of ourselves and protect our peace.

What you'll find in the rest of this email:

• A Pick a Card reading
• A DIY Tarot Reading
• A LEGACY OF STARS DUST JACKET REVEAL
• Upcoming Audiobook releases
• New SONG OF THE DARK WOOD SWAG
• A Writing Update (with some new BTS content)
• A Reading update

A LEGACY OF STARS Dust Jacket Reveal:

Last newsletter, I shared the front cover but here you can see the full spread hardcover jacket spread for A LEGACY OF STARS, coming April 10, 2025 (the two year anniversary of TLG). I know the questions are coming, but yes there will be a case cover design as well. The hardcover is not up for preorder yet but I will be sure to give you a heads up when it is.

The amazing Charlotte Slegers (who also did the in-book illustrations for SONG) did this cover for me and it came out so beautifully and captures the essence of the story so well.

The ebook preorder is up now. Paperback and Hardcover won't be up until much closer to release. I am planning preorder incentives similar to what I did for SONG. In the meantime hang on to your receipts.

You can also add it on Goodreads.

SONG OF THE DARK WOOD Announcement:

Just in time for Valentine's Day Book Club Clothing Company has a new SONG OF THE DARK WOOD design. I am partial to the red myself, but I have seen several other options on my street team members and I can honestly say that you can't go wrong with any of them. Click the picture to get yours now.

Reminder that the SONG OF THE DARK WOOD audio release is scheduled for March 18, 2025. The preorder for SONG is already up on Audible, libro.fm and other audio retailers, and hopefully at your local library. The other two books in the series will come out simultaneously with their ebook and paperback releases.

If you have not purchased a copy yet, you can find it at your favorite online retailer.

If you have already read the book I would be so grateful if you would leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Thank you so much.

THE GODLESS KINGDOM AUDIO Coming Soon!

I just received THE GODLESS KINGDOM review files on Friday and I've been dragging my feet listening, not just because I'm so heavy in drafting mode at the moment, but because I don't want it to be over. I have loved every moment of listening to this series. On February 11, 2025 the series will be complete in all formats.

A quick reminder that the entire LOST GOD series is available for on libro.fm, audible, and wherever you get audiobooks. You can also request it at your local library as it will also be available on Libby and Hoopla.

What I'm Writing:

THE POISON DAUGHTER - Current Stage: Draft 1 Complete

As I write this I am in the midst of finishing the final chapter of THE POISON DAUGHTER Draft and holy cannolli is this book a chonker. I am a wee bit nervous because even the first draft is longer than THE GODLESS KINGDOM. This would not have been a problem in the past, but recently I have been adding word count in revisions instead of cutting it. So there is a strong chance it will get longer over the rounds of revisions and that is a bit daunting.

That said, I shouldn't be entirely shocked. I knew going in that this was the most complicated book I've ever attempted in both plot and romance arc and more twists and turns translated to more book.

Although its length makes me nervous (yes, that's a TMC joke), I am so excited about this book. I've had a great time writing the prickly FMC and although this character is quite flawed and complicated, I enjoyed the challenge of writing a romance arc for her.

So what's the next step?

I'm going to do one last readthrough to clean up the draft which is surely riddled with adhd half-finished sentences and accidental word substitutions. Then, I'm going to chuck it at Liz and Tanya and say "help me!" I'm very lucky to have them and I think I will owe them both a coffee or a bottle of champagne for the time investment in this one. They will probably have it for a month or so, and once they send me notes, I will likely be picking this back up in March for the first developmental edits. I'll talk about that more as it's happening so you can follow along with more of my draft to publish process.

What I'm Reading and Recommending:

Iron & Ember by Helen Scheuerer - First a massive congrats to my friend Helen on her first hyrbid publishing release. This series is a spinoff from her LEGENDS OF THEZMARR series and I am only about 20% into the audiobook and already in love with our prickly alchemist FMC. Needless to say, if you like an angry FMC with a score to settle, this is your book!

Swallowed by Meg Smitherman - I had the pleasure of reading an early draft of this book and I LOVED it. It is a scifi horrormance about an expedition and some very frisky plant life on a far-off planet. It was such a great, quick read and I cannot recommend it enough.