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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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.

SPIN HAS ARRIVED!

I have copies available directly from me. It’s also available on Amazon, along with Lift and Tilt, as a trade paperback or ebook.

All the Holiday Cheer and Catching Up, Too

Hey everyone, long time no talk, yeah? Yeah. I haven’t kept this website as updated as I’d originally planned when I started it. I’ll get right to the point: life has been rough this year. I fell and broke/dislocated my right ankle way back in February, which was not fun. Lots of rods and pins had to be installed. We’ve dealt with other medical issues all year, and as of now, my maternal grandmother’s health is failing badly, and we expect this to be our last Christmas with her.

On a brighter note, I have sent Spin, the final Flying Ponies novel, to my editor and am waiting to hear back from her. It was a difficult book for me, much more difficult than either Lift or Tilt were, but maybe the last book in a trilogy is supposed to be. There’s a lot to wrap up, a lot of expectations riding on those final words. But I think it’s good. I think it’s fitting. I guess in March or April, when Spin gets released, we’ll see if the readers think so, too.

We saw Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker yesterday, and for me, it was everything it needed to be. Talk about wrapping up a series! Wow. And we know there’s more to come from Disney. My family just subscribed to Disney+ on Saturday, so we haven’t started The Mandalorian yet, but I’ve heard good things about it. My favorite fandom will always be Star Wars; my husband is a huge comic book fan, and I’m quite fond of a number of heroes, especially in the DC universe, but for me, the saga that George Lucas started back in 1977 will always be my fandom home. Rise of Skywalker was emotional for me, and I know it will be for a lot of people, just as it should be. It’s the ending of an era, and with Disney helming the franchise now, it opens the way for a new one.

I have the first novel in my next series all done, except for the crucial editing. It’s titled Clandestine, and it’s the first in the upcoming Traitors’ War series. It is set in the fictional world of Imperium, and the first book plays out on the fictional continent of Pentallia, a place where magic, called Illumination, has been outlawed. Different characters will tell the story through the series, including (but not limited to) a princess, a prince, a Shadowliege (assassin), a Knightagent (think a sword-and-gun wielding CIA agent), and an emissary searching for her place in the world. My plan is to release Clandestine in October of 2020, but we’ll see if that is feasible. The first chapter of it will be included in the back of Spin.

My goal for 2020 with this website is to update it once a week, and to talk about not only life in general, but the writing and author life. I hope to keep telling interesting stories.

Merry Christmas, everyone, or if you prefer, happy holidays. May the season bring warmth to you and yours, and may you make wonderful memories with friends and loved ones. My husband and I always wrap presents today, on December 23rd, and watch a movie while we do it. And tomorrow night, on Christmas Eve, after the service at our church, we hang the stockings and put out the presents, and then relax with a bit of Jack or maybe some rum, mixed in with Coke or eggnog. I like our traditions, and I know you all have yours, too. I hope they include Jesus, but if they don’t, know He is always willing to meet you.

Have a wonderful day, ladies and gents.

Book Issues

I know I haven’t posted here in quite some time, and I need to do better with that. I’ll fill you in on my issues with the second edition of Lift, the first novel in my Flying Ponies trilogy.

I ordered some second editions for an author event that I ended up cancelling out of due to family visiting from out-of-state. The first issue I noticed is that the manuscript is actually the first one from my ARCs, and not the one we used for the first edition. So there are some extra scenes in the second edition that shouldn’t be in there.

The second issue is that some chapter headings are not right. Those will need to be fixed now too.

I’m not sure what to do with the copies I have; I don’t know as Amazon will replace them, and I don’t really want to sell them. Once the issues are fixed, I will order more copies for my event in New Era, Michigan, in September.

The third book in the trilogy, Spin, has been pushed back to at least spring of 2020, instead of this December. This is due to my publisher being busy and some lack of funds. I’m hoping for late April or May at this point.

This pushes the first novel in my YA fantasy series, the Traitors’ War, back to probably June/July of 2021. I am planning to put the first chapter of Clandestine in the back of Spin so readers get a chance to see what the new series will be about.

I plan to keep this website updated more frequently, so please check back for more news and/or ramblings about writing.

A New Year Cometh

Here we are, on the cusp of a new year. We all have things we didn’t get done in 2018, things we never even got around to doing. Will those go on your 2019 resolutions list? Or did they turn out to be not as important as you thought?

I’ve found that making resolutions rarely works for me. It might for a day or three, or maybe even a week, if it’s something I’m serious about. So I make goals, instead. It might be in the same spirit as resolutions, but it sounds better, at least to me

New author goals include: publishing and selling Tilt; writing Spin, the final volume in The Flying Ponies trilogy; selling more copies of Lift; researching and starting a new novel (more on that later); and learning as much as I can about writing.

I’d also like to ride my pony, BJ, more and take my Jeep Cherokee to the sand dunes more often and go trail riding. And, of course, spend as much time with my family as I can.

Whatever your resolutions are, I wish you well with them. I wish a blessed New Year on you as well. May 2019 be amazing!

The Magic of the Carousel

The carousel horses in my trilogy, The Flying Ponies, are all based off real-life carousel horses. They are either aboard machines still in operation or in museums, where people can admire them. Some of them are on the carousel at the Grand Rapids Public Museum; their literary equivalents debut in Tilt, book two of the trilogy.

Two of my fans (and nieces) visited the museum with their family earlier this month and took a spin on the 1928 Spillman carousel. They also took selfies with a couple of the horses; Contessa is a palomino mare and Oriflamme is a palomino armored horse (the names belong to their counterparts in my books). I was given permission to share the pictures.

I love the beauty and majesty of antique carousels, and I love the fact that these two girls were able to ride this one and enjoy it. Carousels have charm and a certain grace, and if you are able to stand quietly next to their painted ponies, you might just hear them whispering.

Magic might not exist in a literal sense, but it can be found in life. One only has to believe and be willing to seek it out in the ordinary.

But What If It’s Bad?!

Yeah. I’m going to be blunt. I’m afraid to start editing Tilt, book two in The Flying Ponies trilogy because, GASP! what if it’s bad? Having gone through the editing process last year starting around this time with Lift, book one in the trilogy, I know it’s not fun. It’s not supposed to be, I don’t think. Oh maybe, if you can kill enough of the darlings and know where to embellish and how to do so, but what if the story itself isn’t good?

Sure, you can rewrite. You can do as many drafts as you pretty please. Still, the story itself, the inner thread that holds all those scenes and characters together – what if that’s so far past gone that you can’t find it? Or it unravels as fast as you grab at it? Then, might I ask, what?!

So this, then, is my dilemma. I am set to print off Tilt and start the editing process around August 30, give or take a day or so. I was eager to begin the process with its predecessor. I didn’t know any better. Some writers love editing and rewriting. For them, that’s where they find their story. For me, it’s not. I already know my story. I know where it’s going and what it should look like at the end of the book. It’s all those lines in the middle, the ones that twist and shape the story. What if those aren’t as elegant as I thought? What if my clever writing isn’t?

I’m not looking for assurances or reassurances. Maybe insurance – wait, that’s what my day job is for, so I’ve got something to fall back on should this writing endeavor fail. This is just me wringing my hands inside my head and wondering why on earth I thought I wanted to write for anyone other than myself. You know, though, I think every author, every writer, goes through this. At some point in time in your career, anyway. I’m just dragging my feet. That’s all there is to it.

So…onward into the unknown. We’ll see if the story is really there, if the characters are doing what needs to be done and in a timely manner.

We’ll see if these Flying Ponies are continuing in their nefarious ways!