This mercury retrograde came for me hard. As someone born during a mercury retrograde in Leo, I thought I might be spared, but alas, I'm in the thick of it.
This is a time of noise, of old lessons returning to test if you've really learned or not. If you are feeling TESTED you are not alone.
But mercury retrograde, especially in Leo, the sign of warmth and courage, are also an opportunity to reflect on how we have grown and what bravery we're still trying to access.
Naturally, I drew the 7 of Swords for this new moon. This card is a reflection of regrets, self-doubt, and of forgetting why exactly you decided on the path before you.
Are you worried you're missing something? Are you rethinking a decision you once felt certain of?
It's important to make note of what regrets feel loudest right now. This Leo new moon forces bright light onto those regrets, and the 7 of Swords reminds us that all we can do is move forward with those choices and make the best of it.
Sometimes distance is clarifying, but it can bring up new doubts. This card reminds us that all we can do is make the best of it and keep moving forward.
In time, your true reasons will return to you. The retrograde is just a time to reflect (or ruminate) on old ghosts. Our goal is to be aware, not haunted.
Because of some mercury retrograde gremlins and limited time, I've had to forgo the more in depth pick a card reading this new moon, but I will be back in a few weeks for the full moon.
We are off and running on this year's birthday library drive with thirty audiobooks requested so far.
This year, I thought we'd take an even bigger swing to represent this milestone birthday.
Libraries are having a tough year. Between funding cuts and censorship lawsuits, they need our support now more than ever.
One of the best ways to help libraries is to use their services. Check out books, borrow books on Libby and Hoopla, and in this case, request that your library order your favorite indie authors' audiobooks.
Requesting that your library order books you want to read not only helps them effectively distribute funds to books they know their members want to read. It also shows that they are spending the tax dollars they're granted to fulfill requests from engaged patrons.
It also helps me since library copies of audiobooks tend to come at a higher royalty rate.
So what am I asking of you? Request my backlist from your local library and help me get THE LOST GOD Series, SONG OF THE DARK WOOD, and A LEGACY OF STARS into as many libraries as possible.
This birthday celebration will help your local library while also helping me reach tons of new readers, and who doesn't want to go shopping wiht someone else's money? Put those tax dollars to good use.
Then, pop over to my form and let me know which books you requested and from which library. For every book requested, I will add a tree to the FERAL FORTIES AUDIOBOOK FOREST, and I'll keep a weekly tally on my Instagram stories of how the woods have grown.
On top of my undying gratitude, I have another little gift. If I reach 40 requests by August 20th, I'll do a giveaway, and one lucky winner will get The Storm King Library T-shirt from Book Club Clothing Company and a $25 donation to the library of their choice.
Follow progress every Friday over on Instagram, or wait for the update in the new moon newsletter.
THE POISON DAUGHTER Art:
Today I have a special treat. Some of you may have seen this over on Instagram a little while back, but I know not all of you are on there, and even those of you who are might have missed it with how the algo likes to play. You've all been so good to me, and the world is crazy, and I thought you deserved a lil treat.
My lovely assistant,Anastasia, was kind enough to beta read TPD, and nailed it once again with Henry.
A reminder that this standalone dark fantasy romance is coming October 3, 2025. The preorder is live, and there will be some fun goodies for preorders closer to release. So hang on to your receipts.
If you are interested in an ARC and you are not already on my street team, you can fill out the interest form here.
What I'm Writing:
THE POISON DAUGHTER - Post-Copy edits
Thrilled to have my copy edits back with minimal heartache. Huge shoutout to Erin, who always culls my comma aversion, and to Alicia, who did a final continuity edit to catch any tiny tweaks I needed to make to the timeline/world.
I feel really good about the draft now. I will do one last readthrough and then send it off to Tabs for a proofread next week and then it will just need formatting!!!! WE ARE SO CLOSE WITH THIS BEAST OF A BOOK!!
BALLAD OF THE HEARTLESS - Drafting Take Two
Still plugging along and between mercury on my back and getting TPD copy edits back, i have not been as focused as I was hoping to be, but slowly and surley I'm making progress.
I don't have a whole lot to say here because I'm still in the early part of the draft when it feels a bit messy. Often this stage feels like "have i ever written a book before" and "these characters are so lame and undeveloped". No matter how many books I write, I always end up back here.
I certainly notice it more with standalone books than I did when writing The Lost God Series. The benefit of a series is that you know the characters really well, the more you move through the books. The challenge is that you have to keep unearthing new layers and complexities in their internal worlds and relationships. It's easier in some ways than a standalone, and in other ways it's much harder.
For the TBR Stack:
The Summer Storms by Sarah Maclean - I love Sarah's writing, and I read this one while I was away last week. It was a departure from her usual romance, since it's more of a family saga, but i saw a reader describe it as a trojan horse to get people into romance, and that made me laugh, becaus eit's acurate. There's a strong romance sub plot, and i just loved all the characters and watching this wealthy family fight over the inheritance of their enigmatic billionare father.
Book Bonus Chapters:
A Legacy of Stars bonus epilogue is now available here and should be read after finishing the book, as it contains some major spoilers.
Song of the Dark Wood bonus chapter from Cade's POV is now available here. It does contain spoilers and should not be read until after you've finished the book.
The Lost God bonus chapter of Rainer's POV is now available here. (This is a spoiler so don't read it until you're finished reading the book.)
The Memory Curse bonus chapter of Evan and Sylvie's meet cute is now available here.
The Storm King bonus chapter of a villain POV is now available here.(This is a spoiler so don't read it until you're finished reading the book.)
The Godless Kingdom bonus extended epilogue is available here. (This has MAJOR series spoilers. Don't read it until you finish The Godless Kingdom)
TLG, ALOS, & SOTDW Merch:
I am delighted that there are currently three shops offering some amazing and creative bookish merch.
Creations by Polich Co. has some stickers for The Lost God Series, Song of the Dark Wood, and A Legacy of Stickers and Pins.(Including out Little Dove logo in sticker and pin format)
Sheila Reads and writes A new moon for grounding our intuition... This new moon in Virgo offers us insights into our intuitive journey. Virgo energy offers us the grounding we need to better trust that soft intutitive voice in our bones, if we can just release intuition. It doesn't matter if I'm doing a collective reading for this newsletter or a private reading for a client, there always seems to be some part of the reading that's directed at me. (Stop attacking me, Tarot) Today's new moon...
Sheila Reads and writes A full moon for wild dreaming... After the muddle of the past few weeks, this full moon is a clarifying moment. Aquarius offers us a safe space for dreaming and encourages us to tap into our weirdest impulses. Aquarian energy pushes us to think outside of the box and to trust in our own originality. Whatever strange clarity is coming to you now, whichever odd steps forward seem suddenly apparent, it's time to trust the wisdom in your weirdness. I drew the 9 of Cups Rx...
Sheila Reads and writes A full moon for celebrating progress... A practical Capricorn moon paired up with a lot of major astrological shifts has really made for some chaos in the world, and it shows no signs of slowing down. It figures I drew Temperance for our collective reading. Ah, we met agian, old nemisis. A card that asks us to move slowly, to think before we act, to show discernment and patience as we try to sort through complicated feelings. What a nightmare...amirite??! All jokes...