I’m donating an ‘Adept Universe Swag Box’ to the 2021 Book Bonanza Raffle. The prizes are insane! And all the $$ goes to charity. If I understand it correctly, you buy raffle tickets for certain items to enter to win that particular item. And yeah, I’m about to drop some serious cash myself …
ADEPT UNIVERSE SWAG BOX
Donated by Meghan Ciana Doidge
Items included:
From the Dowser series: six audiobook CDs, nine recipe cards, and Cake in a Cup stickers.
From the Amplifier series: two autographed paperbacks, six oracle cards, and a sticker.
From the Archivist series: two autographed paperbacks and five bookplates.
From the Misfits series: one autographed paperback and a cashmere/merino/silk hat (adult size small/med) knit by the author.
I just bought raffle tickets for four items I’d probably never buy for myself: the Louis Vuitton Purse, Dyson Airwrap, Bose Sleepbuds, and an absolutely gorgeous quilt!
Fun! Fun!
Edited to add more pictures of the raffle items (they are a little blurred on the main page right now):
Treadmill desk, Archivist 0 uploaded on iPad, updated desktop picture, napping Persian cat, and hot chocolate – check! Commencing reread in 3 … 2 … 1 …
Apologies to the illustrator Nicole Deal for the red blush on my desktop. Sisu is definitely NOT pink skinned. I’m having trouble with my eyes/new prescription so I’m trying different filters.
I don’t normally reread my books after they’ve been published … almost never. But I’m (hopefully) coming out from under the oppressive headache that set in after my first Covid shot (Aka back to my regular level of constant pain. Sigh), and find – likely because of the break – that I’m still struggling to hold the entirety of Archivist 2 in my head. I have the linchpins of the entire structure and the first act (aka 28k words) written, but the writing isn’t flowing. I’m hoping a reread of the prequel and book one will envelop me in Dusk’s voice, and I’ll pick up where I left off easier.
I know I haven’t been as engaged with promoting and chatting about (etc) my newest release, Invoking Infinity (Archivist 1) as I usually am – I thought the headache was bad before my Covid shot, but boy, was I sadly wrong (and I have my second shot booked on July 21. Ugh.) – so I’m even more overwhelmed and excited by how my lovely readers have embraced the newest offshoot of the Adept Universe. Your support – reviews, retweets, shares, photos, etc – means so much, and never more than when I’m still seriously struggling (it’s been a ridiculously hard 18 months for the world at large)!
On Amazon USA alone, Invoking Infinity already has more reviews/ratings in the month and half that it has been available than the bulk of my other books. Yes, the bulk. And word of mouth is everything. Everything!
I keep getting asked about … well, every novel (from every series) that random readers seem to want (which is lovely, but seriously impossible). Short answer? Yes, the Dowser, Oracle, and Reconstructionist are all complete series. Archivist 2, Amplifier 5, Misfits 2, and numerous Moments of Adept shorts are in the works, to be released as soon as I’ve written each (in the above order). I do try to keep the bottom of my About Meghan and TBR page vaguely updated, as well as the Reading Order. Just FYI.
I submit the following snippet as evidence that words do continue to be written.
🙂
A page from MCD’s Moments of the Adept 1 notebook.
Chuckling, Kandy placed her hands on the ground and levered herself up into a crouch and then to standing.
The skin across her upper chest and arms was darkening, reddening, then rapidly blackening.
Crying out despite myself, I flung my hands forward. The outer circle responded instantly, reaching out for the injured werewolf and gently enfolding her upper torso in the healing I’d instinctively cast. I’d had no idea I could manipulate a barrier in that way. Though perhaps sitting in the middle of the epic flow of the ley line had something to do with it.
Kandy giggled, rolling her shoulders back and stretching as if she just gotten a great … well, I was going to say massage, but I doubted the werewolf luxuriated in anything less than mind-blowing —
“Ooo,” she purred, leering at me, and completely ignoring the interlopers. “That tickles all the right places, healer.”
Every single one of the interlopers turned to look at me. Even through my barrier I could feel their regard.
“My turn,” Kandy said, bouncing in place with anticipation. The burns had completely healed, and not only thanks to my spell, the werewolf healed quickly on her own. “But, let’s make it a party, otherwise I’ll just hear … yadda, yadda … so freaking bored … yadda, yadda … why do you get to have all all the fun … yadda, yadda … Text the dowser, Burgundy. Tell her to come play.”
She turned her attention to the heavily armored interlopers. “But … while we wait …. six … five … let’s see how many of you I can grab on my little, tiny lonesome … four …” Energy swirled around her, brightening and expanding. “Three … two …”
The leader threw an arm up to shield its face. Yes, I assumed there was a face behind the faceplate of the helmet. Anything else was far too creepy to contemplate at the moment.
“One!” A behemoth creature tore through Kandy’s clothing, then skin — all gray, patchy fur, thick muscle, and sickled claws. Standing easily seven feet, she lowered her large head between her massive shoulders, lips pulling back along an elongated snout to reveal wickedly long, sharp teeth. She had a strip of bright pink hair, like a mohawk or a mane, snaking across her head from her brow, down her neck, and along her spine, ending around the middle of her back.
The monster that was now Kandy cackled. Gleefully dark. The sound somehow amplified, brutally eager and malicious.
Fear grabbed hold of me, freezing me in place. Not that I’d been planning to move — what with being a three-hour hike from civilization and facing off with six armed, armored foes with unknown intent — but being able to breath was always nice.
The leader opened fire …
– excerpt from Momentary Incursion (Moments of the Adept, Burgundy 0.5), first draft
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “I’m just trying to follow the tempo.”
I laughed, oddly relieved that I wasn’t the only ignorant one.
Kellan pulled me a touch closer.
I didn’t resist. If I turned my head slightly, I’d be able to brush a kiss just under his jaw.
Oh gods, this was a bad idea.
“What do you transform into?” he murmured against my temple, moving me to the music.
“Nothing.”
“You might be witch-blooded, Dusk Godfrey,” he purred. “But that’s not all you are … you try to hide your golden glow but I see it between the cracks. It’s the same as the trail Sisu left through the city.”
“That was a spell.”
He hummed doubtfully. “Then why was the trail for Neve and Lile the same color as their magic?”
“I’m an archivist,” I said stiffly, clinging to the truth of that title.
“I never said you weren’t.” He sounded amused.
Hunting me, I realized.
I tilted my head back, deliberately catching his gaze and holding it. “I’m not prey. I’m not to be hunted.”
“Oh …” He flashed me a smile full of all sort of promises. “I’m not hunting.”
– title TBA (Archivist 2), chapter one, first draft
I finally got my hands on some absolutely gorgeous paperbacks for Invoking Infinity (Archivist 1), so I can finally celebrate with a series giveaway! YAY!
If you follow me on Instagram you might have noticed that I developed a bit of an obsession with knitting gnomes a couple of months ago. Thankfully I stopped at five. Three others already have pending homes, but that leaves at least one – blue gnome – for a fun giveaway extra!
Two autographed paperbacks, three bookplates, and a blue gnome (knitted by MCD).
Are you Interested in winning the autographed paperbacks and the knit gnome pictured above? If yes, COMMENT BELOW and tell me all about your absolutely FAVOURITE SCENE or bit of DIALOGUE from the ARCHIVIST SERIES. [and yes, ONLY the Archivist series]. Any scene, from any of the two Archivist books.
How about a close up for scale (okay, just so you can see how adorable the gnome is!!)?
Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. One entry per person. Only entries that FOLLOW THE GIVEAWAY REQUIREMENT will be counted. One winner will be selected by random number generator. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than to contact the winner. No purchase necessary – I gave away Archivist 0 for free and all my books are available from your library. The comments are moderated. I will approve your entry just as soon as I have a moment to do so.
I pulled this excerpt while putting together Baxia’s bio for the Adept Universe bible, love the tension between Pulou and Baxia. With Jade and Warner caught in the middle, of course.
The door to Southern Africa blew open with a blast of heat and rain that hit us like a hurricane.
I stumbled to keep my footing. Warner just leaned into the onslaught. Had I been questioned about it two seconds before, I would have sworn that weather couldn’t travel through the portals or enter into the nexus.
Baxia stepped through the open portal onto the white marble floor. Her otherwise bare feet were adorned with exceedingly cute golden toe rings and ankle bracelets inlaid with various gems. The storm that had pummeled Warner and me whipped back and around the guardian of Southern Africa. This left us exceeding damp and windblown, whereas Baxia’s bright African-inspired print maxi dress appeared to be bone-dry. Her ebony skin reminded me of the finest dark chocolate from Madagascar. I tamped down on the pure envy that rose as I stood before the powerful and beautiful guardian.
The rain bringer had come to the nexus.
Pulou stepped through the portal after Baxia, his fur coat showing no evidence of him having just walked through a hurricane. The remaining vortex of water and heat snapped back with the magic of the portal as the door closed behind the guardians.
Warner dropped to one knee and I curtsied deeply. I’d never actually spoken directly to the rain bringer. I understood her guardian gifts had something to do with water, or the control of water. Either way, a guardian who was preceded by a hurricane was definitely someone to bow before.
“Alchemist,” Baxia said. Though her accented English was lyrical, my title was spoken with a sharp edge, as if the guardian was unhappy to find me standing before her. “You do not have permission to enter my territory. If something lies between my borders that is deadly to guardians, you will let it sleep.”
Pulou shifted his feet uncomfortably. I peeked up through my curls to see Baxia glaring at the treasure keeper.
“Is that understood?” she asked him. Her guardian magic — an intoxicating blend of too-dark-to-ever-be-sweet chocolate, well-ripened papaya, and a hint of tobacco that lingered long on my palate — momentarily rose to cloak her in a golden aura.
Wind stirred, lifting the unruly curls off my face. The storm threatened to return as the question — or, rather, the declaration of war — hung between the two guardians.
Pulou turned his stoic gaze on my still partially bowed head. Then I figured out the question had actually been directed to me … or at least through Pulou to me, but for me to answer.
“I understand, guardian,” I said. “I would never walk where I wasn’t welcomed.”
“The map doesn’t lead you to Africa?” Pulou asked, sounding as if maybe he was hoping it did. He was cruising for a bruising, as Gran would say.
Yeah, and guardians were supposed to be peacekeepers. “Not that I know of, treasure keeper,” I answered. “We’re here to request passage to San Francisco.”
“The map leads you to North America?” Pulou asked. “A second time? That is surprising.”
“Not the map —”
“No one enters my territory,” Baxia repeated. Then she padded away. Magic glinted off her toe rings in a way that made me itch to add them to my necklace. Yeah, my magical magpie tendency was verging on obsessive-hoarder-disorder territory these days. I deliberately looked away from the guardian’s flashy feet. I really wasn’t interested in turning into Blackwell. The sorcerer was so obsessed with collecting powerful objects and powerful people that he’d allied himself with my blood-frenzied sister and risked the wrath of the West Coast North American Pack — twice. I knew which lines were not to be crossed. At least, I hoped I knew.
Pulou grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, “Stroppy biddy.”
Baxia – Guardian dragon. Aka one of the nine. Territory: Southern Africa. Child of a guardian. Ebony skin. Powerful and beautiful. Golden toe rings and ankle bracelets inlaid with various gems. Wears the mantle of the Rain Bringer and can control anything to do with water and aspects of the weather, such as dispelling tidal waves and hurricanes. “A guardian who was preceded by a hurricane was definitely someone to bow before” (Dowser 5). Second oldest guardian. According to Jade, Baxia’s magic tastes like “an intoxicating blend of too-dark-to-ever-be-sweet chocolate, well-ripened papaya, and a hint of tobacco that lingered long on my palate.”
She spends most of her time in her territory. According to Drake, Baxia “prefer[s] to walk the soil of her territory rather than the hard marble of the nexus.” (Dowser 5).
Pronunciation: BACKS_SEE_AH or click to listen to the audio.
Baxia. Dragon. The Guardian of Southern Africa. Rain bringer. Epically powerful, but territorial and disinclined to participate in guardian politics. Sketch by Memo.
Baxia. Dragon. The Guardian of Southern Africa. Commands hurricanes and tsunamis. Doesn’t particularly like anyone, especially Pulou. Sketch by Memo.
It’s Bookbub day! Yes, I cross my fingers every year (since 2014!!) that Bookbub feels that Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1) is something that their subscribers would be interested in checking out. And yay, today is that day!
But … then I feel slightly badly for all of you who have already read … well … at least Dowser 1 … so I wanted to do something special for my lovely, supportive readers as well. And what better reason to finally give away one of the ‘Reading Girl’ tumblers I commissioned from Bella Fox and Co (Etsy shop link)?
Yes?
Of course, yes!!!
And then, just to fill out the box, I thought I’d throw in a few more items:
A Dowser theme travel mug, all nine recipe postcards, a set of Cake in a Cup stickers, three autographed paperbacks (the first complete trilogy), and three MCD bookplates.
So what do you think? Interested in winning this sweet prize pack (pictured above)? If yes, COMMENT BELOW and tell me all about your absolute FAVOURITE SCENE in the DOWSER SERIES. Any scene, any of the nine Dowser books.
How about a close up of the travel mug and paperbacks?
Bella Fox and Co Dowser mug and the first Dowser trilogy in paperback.
Likes and shares are always welcomed and appreciated.
Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. One entry per person. Only entries that follow the giveaway requirement will be counted. One winner will be selected by random number generator. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than to contact the winner. No purchase necessary, Dowser 1 is currently free and all my books are available from your library. The comments are moderated. I will approve your entry just as soon as I have a moment to do so.
Giveaway closes SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2021 at 8pm PDT (giving me time to mention it to my newsletter, because there won’t be a free short this month).
Putting together Chi Wen’s bio this afternoon, I found this great scene with Chi Wen (and Warner) from Dowser 4. Note: the first use of the title, dragon slayer. And, of course, Jade assumes the far seer is referring to the newly awoken Warner. Poor, poor Jade, little does she know …
Warner stepped out of the portal behind me just as Chi Wen the far seer wandered into the room.
Ah, damn. I’d been trying to avoid destiny today.
Chi Wen, the eldest of the guardians, appeared to be an ancient Chinese gentleman. He loved to smile. As in, constantly. I wasn’t sure he was capable of any other expression. All gray hair and wrinkles, he came up to my collarbone, though he wasn’t particularly wizened.
As best as I’d guessed, he wielded oracle and telepathic powers. The oracle magic was like calling 911, except he was the only operator sifting through visions of disasters and pending worldwide destruction. He then tasked these imminent catastrophes to various guardians depending on their particular power sets. I wasn’t completely sure about the telepathic part, but I was fairly certain he could at least communicate with the other guardians without vocalizing his thoughts. Which was probably a good thing, because I rarely understood a word that came out of his mouth. And that had nothing to do with his heavy accent.
Chi Wen grinned at me like I was his own child safely home from the demonic wars … and in his mind, maybe I was. I curtsied with much more reverence and grace than I had for Suanmi.
I always tried to clear my mind in the far seer’s presence, but today I found myself repeating Please don’t touch me, please don’t read me in my head. The far seer scared me way more than any of the other guardians. Sure, they could all end my very existence with a single glance. But Chi Wen could show me my future, and that was utterly terrifying. Completely soul shaking.
Warner stepped up beside me. He wasn’t a stand-just-behind-my-shoulder-person like Kett, or even Kandy. With him being a mighty dragon — with obvious prejudices against my heritage — I was surprised he didn’t stride completely past me.
“Hello, dragon slayer,” Chi Wen called cheerfully as he shuffled toward us.
Warner cranked his head to look at me, actually taking a step away as he did so.
“Don’t look at me,” I said. “The far seer was obviously addressing you.”
“Yes,” Chi Wen said agreeably. “Every blade needs a solid hilt.”
Err … yeah, I had no idea what that meant. But I kept my mouth shut and tried to not flinch when Chi Wen patted my shoulder as he passed.
As he touched me, I suddenly realized I was drowning — and had been drowning for some time — surrounded by crushing water. I started to panic, to thrash, to die — but then I broke the surface, my mouth full of salty water and the warm sun on my face.
I gasped for air, realizing I was in the nexus — that I’d never left — as I filled my lungs with as much oxygen as they could hold.
Chi Wen was gone.
Warner was looking at me like I was a ticking time bomb.
“What?” I asked, as snarky as I could be to cover my near drowning in the middle of a waterless chamber.
