Okay first off, wow, I completely forgot about this blog! Sorry! Anyways, I'm still alive and still writing and working on far more projects than I will likely ever have time to finish. However, I thought I should let you all know that I published another book recently! It's not the second book in The Gemquist Chronicles, sadly that book is still being resurrected, but it is the first book in another series that I'm working on. The series is called Guilded Kingdoms and it's a series of interconnected, standalone high fantasy, fairy tale retellings. The first book came out the end of last October and I'm already working on book two!
So, fun thing about this book is that there are actually two paperback editions! Why two? Well, when I painted the maps and illustrations for the book (yes, there are maps and illustrations) I made a slight whoops while I painted the maps. It was a silly mistake, but I completely forgot to consider the greyscale value tones when I painted them and they ended up being too close together to work with the standard black-and-white interior printing that books usually us. So, I decided to go with colour interior printing and, if I was going to go with colour, I thought I might as well make the most of it and paint some illustrations as well and scatter them throughout the book. It ended up with 2 maps and 13 illustrations.........and then I found out just how much more colour interior printing was and my jaw about hit the floor. I knew it was going to cost more, but had no idea it was going to be more than double the cost to print in black-and-white. This meant that I ended up reworking all the interior artwork anyway to make sure they would work alright in black-and-white and I released two paperback editions instead of just one!
Without further ado, allow me to introduce From the Ashes, Guilded Kingdoms Book 1!
As mentioned, From the Ashes is the first book in a series of interconnected, standalone, high fantasy fairy tale retellings. The first one being a Cinderella retelling. Here's the synopsis:
A young artist desperate to be free.
For nearly seven years, Lael Verane has lived under the ever watchful eye of her stepmother. Forbidden from leaving the grounds of the estate and locked away whenever visitors come to call, Lael's only solace is in her art. There's just one problem: due to another of her stepmother's strange restrictions, art is not welcome at Avarill.
A prince on a mission.
Agents of the Crown have been dying and elves are disappearing from across Rynn. Prince Nathyn Trysele is determined to find out why. His only clue? A letter from the deceased spymaster, but he's convinced that the answers he seeks are buried somewhere in the Caeth night-markets.
But not everything is as it appears and, in a kingdom where art guilds and magic collide, deadly secrets lie buried that could tear the kingdom apart.
The ebook is available on Amazon for $4.99 and can also be read via Kindle Unlimited. For the paperback, the standard copy is $18.95 and the special, colour interior edition is $33.95. Be sure to click on 'see all formats and editions' to make sure you get the version that you want as Amazon defaults to only showing two. Otherwise, you can also use the links listed in 'My Books.'
Amazon link
Hi, all! Long time no post! I'm still around, but blogging just got away from me. So, here's a little update on what's new!
"Miss Gemquist and the Pearl of Peking" got a new look a couple years back. I decided I wasn't entirely happy with my original cover and so painted a new one in Corel Painter. I love it so much better!! So here's the new cover:
I know that it's been almost 3 years since book 1 was released, but, please don't despair! Book 2 is still in progress, it's just faced a major set-back. Last December, I was all getting ready to make the grand announcement that my second novel was finished and off to the editing/formatting stage when my computer had a catastrophic malfunction with the word processor ðŸ˜. I'd been just days away from finishing the actual writing, but the malfunction irreparably corrupted the file. I spent months taking my laptop to different PC repair places or techs that I knew, but no one could resurrect even a smidgen of the original file. So, I'm left with no other choice, but to begin the rewriting phase all over again.
So please bear with me! I don't know how long it will take me to do it, but I've no intention of just giving up. In the meantime, you can always reread the first book or recommend it to your friends and family! It's available on Amazon in either Kindle or paperback format or can be read for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription!
I have been itching to make this announcement for months! For the last several months I have been deep in writing, editing, rewriting, re-editng, cover designing, and hiring a formatter for my first novel. And now, after months of work, it's finally done!!
"Miss Gemquist and the Pearl of Peking" is the first book in my series "The Gemquist Chronicles." A young adult/new adult Steampunk/spy adventure with a hint of romance thrown in. Here's the synopsis:
Miss Loralai Gemquist, the 23-year-old daughter of famed gemologist
Jacob Gemquist and granddaughter of Lord Bramwell Gemquist, The Baron of
Aethleton, thought that her life couldn’t get more difficult than
surviving the London Season and the schemes of her match-making aunts.
But when she discovers an anonymous note, her life will never again be
the same. Thrust into a world of shadows, secrets, and intrigue, she’ll
be forced to use all her wits, intellect, and knowledge of gemstones as
she tries to prevent a war when a priceless, Chinese pearl is stolen.
Along the way, she’ll meet some unexpected allies and make some
dangerous enemies as she learns who she can trust, but just one false
step and it will be more than her life on the line.
The ebook is available on Amazon for just $2.99 and is also available on Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Online Lending Library. A paperback edition is also in the works and should be available within the next week or so if everything goes well.
