Long Time No Post…

Hey everyone, how are ya? Or should I say, the two or three people who might still follow this blog? It’s been a long time since I’ve shared anything here.

So, first things first. I have fourteen novels published (ten exclusively to Kindle Vella). I’m currently writing and publishing two more to Vella. I am hoping to be done with them over the next couple of months.

After they are finished, I hope to start book three of the Traitors War series. Destiny, book one, is available on Amazon as a paperback and e-book (it, along with all three of the Flying Ponies books, are in Kindle Unlimited). Deceit, book two, is available on Vella.

In 2023, my husband and I are hoping to start publishing my Vella novels to paperback and e-book. The first book we will do this with will be Deceit. I also hope to start offering book merchandise that goes along with my novels.

That’s the current plan, so we shall see how it goes. I hope you have a wonderful New Year’s, and hopefully I will be posting a lot more here.

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I Don’t Know if You Know This…

But writing is difficult. Incredibly so, some days. Enough that I want to give up sometimes, because I get convinced no one is going to read my work.

Books are work. Some people don’t realize that. I mean, you walk into a book store, snatch your fave author’s latest book off the shelf, pay for it and leave. But as you’re doing that, or sitting down later to read it, do you ever consider the time and bloody effort it took to write it? If not, don’t worry. Most people don’t.

Writers get frustrated. We wonder why other authors are selling more or making more money or have more Instagram followers than we do. I’ve been blessed to have a muse who works cheap and doesn’t complain about the time we put in, but I get tired. And I wonder if it’s worth all the effort.

I wonder if I’m any good at what I’m doing. Especially when I don’t get reviews on my books. Or when people say they’re reading something I wrote and then never comment on it. Is it worth all the effort? Why put myself through it?

Because I freaking love it, damn it. Not gonna apologize. Since I made the decision to only publish my books on Kindle Vella (super easy to access them, by the way – they’re all available through the Kindle app on your phone or tablet, or go to Amazon and look my name up), I’ve been able to write and publish more. I have 14 books up on Amazon now. Four of them are being written; you can read the chapters (episodes) that are currently posted, and I’ll add more as I finish them.

But as much as I love it, it is hard work. And authors don’t always get a lot of validation, either. We don’t make much money from our work, even though we wish we did. I’d love to go down to two days a week at my job and write more, but that’s not going to happen any time soon. This isn’t a pity post. It’s a post to say, hey, next time you pick up a book, stop and appreciate the work that went into it. Leave a review. Send the author a message on Instagram or Twitter (lf you liked it. Let’s not be a jerk, okay? Plenty of that out there already on book sites).

Anyway. Thanks for reading. I hope you’re enjoying the book you’re currently reading.

💖💫📚

My work space.

What Are You Reading?

It’s been a bit since I’ve posted here. Life definitely gets busy, doesn’t it? Things you meant to do don’t get done.

What have you been reading lately? I’ve been reading mostly YA sweet romances – three quite addicting.

If you need a new read with romance and suspense, might I suggest Got a Bad Case, first in the Riven City series?

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09623MZJP

Vella on the Kindle App!

It’s finally happened. Kindle Vella stories are now available on the Kindle app for both iOS and Android, meaning you have easy access to not just my Vella books, but a whole slew of other great books. My Vella books available are as follows: Riven City series – Got A Bad Case I Need a Hero Get Your Game On Riven City Holiday Specials series- Drop Them Bones Take Me Home See Me Through Traitors War series – Deceit Big Sky Country series – Fast Horses Also available are my Flying Ponies trilogy and the first book in the Traitors War series, Destiny. 💖📚💫💖📚💫💖📚💫💖📚💫💖📚💫💖💫💫💖📚💫 #kindleapp #KindleVella #vellabooks #indieauthor #indiebooks #amazonbooks #authorlife #lmransombooks #traitorswarseries #rivencityholidayspecials #rivencityseries #bookstagram #newfiction #yafiction #YAfantasy #romance #romanticsuspense #newbooks #thewritingcommunity #writing #vellawriter #vellaauthor #michiganauthor https://www.instagram.com/p/CYrli1XL3qh/?utm_medium=share_sheet

Are You in the Know?

Hey everyone, how is your holiday season going so far?

Have you started the Riven City series yet? No? What better time then during the holidays?

And if you have, are you all caught up? Big things are going down in the city!

Did you know you can leave reviews for Vella books on Amazon? And give each episode a thumbs up? If you’re reading and enjoying my stories, I would appreciate reviews, follows and likes. That shows Amazon that readers are seeing and enjoying my work, and helps me make money.

And while I would write even without getting paid, the money is nice.

Charlie Dragon and Goals

Good morning. How is everyone today? I’m taking a vacation day and working on I Need a Hero, book two in the Riven City series I’m publishing on Kindle Vella.

My goal for September is to finish up I Need a Hero so that in October (my favorite month) I can write and publish Drop Them Bones, the first holiday special in the series. It revolves around a recently renovated hotel, a masquerade ball, some supernatural happenings, and a firefighter and his girlfriend trying to survive the night.

I’m still loving Vella. I can share so many more stories with you all there. I am planning to publish Deceit, book two in the Traitors War series, in either October or November, too, alongside my Riven City books.

I also got a new writing friend, Charlie Dragon. He came from Menards, and though a bit pretentious, I’m enjoying him. He does like to offer suggestions for my book, which isn’t always appreciated, and he asks a lot of questions, some of which I don’t know the answers, because I don’t outline or plot out my books. At least, not in any great detail.

Have a wonderful day, friends. And if you want to read Drop Them Bones in October, I would suggest reading the first two books in the series, Got a Bad Case and I Need a Hero, first.

Meet Charlie Dragon, my new writing companion and mascot.

Got a Bad Case

Book One in my new clean romantic suspense series, Riven City, is now complete.

Now Entering Riven City

On April 13th, the day Destiny released, Amazon announced the arrival of Kindle Vella, a new platform for both writers and readers. Authors will be able to upload stories to Vella chapter-by-chapter. These are called “episodes.” The first three episodes of a story can be read for free, and after that, a reader will need to purchase “tokens” from Amazon (the amount of money for said tokens will vary, and they will be sold in bundles as well). Amazon will split the money made on stories 50/50 with their respective authors.

Why is this such an exciting opportunity? It opens up a whole new way for authors to share stories with readers. I am currently writing a story that will run concurrent with the first few books in The Traitors War series. This story involves characters from the kingdom of Battleclash as well as buccaneers. It will likely be shorter than my published novels, and offer readers a chance to see more of Imperium. It will also, hopefully, keep readers excited about The Traitors War series and engaged with it until the next book releases.

After that side story is published to Vella, I will introduce a new series that will only be published on Vella. Right now it’s titled Riven City, and is set in the city of the same name. Each story will revolve around different sets of characters: police, firefighters, boxers, librarians, harbor patrol, street racers, and of course – criminals. Characters from one story could and will pop into others, thus tying all the stories together. I’m excited to introduce Riven City and its inhabitants to all of you.

Kindle Vella will likely launch before the end of July this year. I will be sharing more about it and the stories I’m posting there in the future. Thank you to everyone who has bought Destiny or any of my Flying Ponies books – I greatly appreciate it and you! If you feel so inclined, leaving reviews of any of my books on Goodreads and/or Amazon would be most appreciated, as well.

Have a wonderful weekend!

What Comes Next

Destiny has been out in the world now since Tuesday, and has three wonderful reviews (by the way, one of the best things you can do for an author is leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon, or both, if you’re feeling really inspired). So what do I do next? Take time off? Rest? Relax? Celebrate?

Relax and celebrate, for sure. But rest? Take time off from writing? Not so much. My brain and my muse (Glucinda is her name – if you know where I got the name, cookies for you!) don’t really work that way. Book two of The Traitors War is already finished and has gone through the first round of editing. I’m not ready to start book three yet, so I’m switching gears and working on another story idea, about young ladies in a secretive society who kill things during the Victorian age in England. Interested?

There are a few other ideas nestled away in notebooks in my office that I plan to tinker with on and off in-between books in The Traitors War. Most of those ideas involve fantasy elements in some way; fantasy is a substantial part of my writing wheelhouse, and I don’t have any plans to stray from it for the next ten or so years.

The Traitors War will probably (I say probably because I’m not exactly sure yet) be a run of six books in the main series, accompanied by one standalone and a duology; all three books will be continuations of the main series, and will feature some of the characters (the ones who survive, that is….muwhahahaha….) These will take, if I publish one book a year, the next nine or so years. After that, this idea I’m working on could be published, or one of my other ones. At this point, I can’t say. A lot depends on my muse and what other ideas we come up with during that time.

At the moment, though, I’m working up a first draft of the Victorian killer girls, and I’m liking what I’m seeing. The characters are telling me who they are and what their goals and dreams are, and that’s an excellent start to our relationship. It will take at least one or two more drafts before it will be what it needs to be, and before it ever goes to my editor, but we’re getting there. It’s a process. Destiny took sixteen years to get ready. We’ll see if these ladies can beat that.

Have a wonderful weekend! If you’re traversing Pentallia, make sure to take a weapon, or maybe find a Shadowliege for an escort. They’ll be fairly harmless, as long as they don’t have a kill order for you, and they know where all the best taverns are.

Capture the Ponies!

Some visitors to this website may not know about my first trilogy, The Flying Ponies, so I thought I would do a quick post. This is the back cover copy for Lift, the first book in the trilogy:

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Flynn, moving into the heart of the Michigan woods with her family is the biggest adventure she’s ever had. A self-proclaimed geek girl with a penchant for Sherlock Holmes, she wonders if she’ll ever have an exciting quest of her own.

But when she discovers an antique carousel tucked into the woods near her new home, her life soon spins out of control. For the ponies are so much more than their faded paint portrays. Filled with primal magic, the ponies are alive, and they have been waiting for her for a long time.

With the help of a young carousel caretaker named Black, Charlotte soon discovers that the Flying Ponies are in danger from others who want to possess them and their magic. Drawn into a battle for the carousel and ultimately the entire world while navigating her first true romance, Charlotte may have more adventure than she ever bargained for . . .

The Flying Ponies are available on Amazon, as both trade paperbacks and e-books.