Launching MCD’s Adepts discord with a Dowser Series Buddy Read!

As some of you may or may not have seen, my lovely new PA Brittany is swooping in to help take over some of the more online social aspects of my job. And now I will have no excuse but to adhere to my self-imposed social media blackouts in the morning because Brittany WILL KNOW IF I CHEAT. 😂

As a part of building (and maintaining) a core online community, Brittany has decided to launch a dedicated Discord (MCD’s Adepts)* alongside a Dowser Series Buddy read. I’m sharing the invitation here (below) on my blog so you don’t miss out (if you are so inclined to join us) but it will not be hosted here or by me specifically.

If you haven’t met Brittany yet, here is her intro post on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Britt Brat (@brattyandbooked)

Why a Discord? As I’m sure you’ve noticed, social media reach has only worsened over the last few years. Even just recently my Instagram engagement levels have seriously tanked. This is not only frustrating to me but also to readers who are actually interested in seeing posts from me! Hence the Discord. With Discord, you’re the one to log in whenever you like and poke around to read or participate in the topics that interest you. Nothing gets hidden by the social media platform and nothing gets dropped into spam/promo/junk folders.

The MCD’s Adepts discord will be run by Brittany (in conversation with me, of course). I will pop in to chat daily (in the afternoons 😉). If you’d like to be a moderator, please message Brittany (she is @Britt|MCD’sPA) via the discord. I’m not sure she is looking for anyone but she’d be happy to know you are available if she needs you.

Right now Brittany and I are the only ones over there chatting. So please join us! Brittany has set up some specific channels already, and I’m sure she would be happy to set up more if you have requests.

What is Discord? Via Wikipedia: Discord is an instant messaging and social platform, which allows communication through voice calls, video calls, text messaging, and media and files. Communication can be private or take place in virtual communities called “servers”.

Website: https://discord.com (to download the app)

Beginners Guide to Discord: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045138571-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Discord

Dowser Series Buddy Read!

Brittany hasn’t read the Dowser Series yet! So she thought it would be fun to invite other readers to read along with her. She is spearheading this and there will be ‘share graphics’ and other fun things going on on my socials. But if you would like to really dig in with her and discuss then you can also join MCD’s Adepts* (discord).

JOIN MCD’s ADEPTS DISCORD

I have an idea for an MCD’s Fav Things: Book Club that will also implemented through the discord server (but only once I feel like I have the time to devote to it).

Note: the Discord links expire in seven days, but just let me know if you need a new invitation.

FUN! FUN!

Discussion thread: In But A Moment (Kandy’s prequel)

I don’t usually open up discussion threads on my blog, but I just dropped In But a Moment (Moments of the Adept Universe 0.1) (aka a Kandy prequel novelette) into the inboxes of my newsletter subscribers and realized that you all might like have one place where you could discuss it as a group.

The novelette reveals lots of little bits of the ‘evolution’ of Kandy from an 18-year-old to the 31-year-old who appears in Misfits 1 (as well as all the Dowser books and Oracle 1, of course). I’m planning on at least one more story from Kandy’s POV in 2021 and she also narrates the upcoming Misfits 2. The shorts are most definitely prequels for the plot that unfolds in the second novel of the Misfits of the Adept Universe.

Click here for Kandy’s bio and sketches.

Assume there are spoilers for the novelette, as well as any Kandy book, in the comments below.

Feel free to discuss among yourselves (I believe there is a follow comments button? So you can see if anyone replies, etc?).

I hope you enjoyed the read!!

Archivist 0: The Serialization Of

The first chapter of Awakening Infinity (Archivist 0) releases on the blog at 8:05 am (PST) on January 1, 2021. I’ll be posting a new section every Wednesday and Friday from January 1 to February 26. The entire novel is also currently available for preorder and will release on all retailers on March 2, 2021.

As with the prequel for the Amplifier Series, when I came up with the idea for the Archivist Series, I knew that we needed to see the inciting incident that takes place about a month before the main story – an introduction to Dusk and Sisu and how they’re connected to the guardian dragons – but it was too much info to be shoved into the beginning of the first book. It would have ruined the pacing.

Awakening Infinity (Archivist 0) is a short novel, approx 53k, that focuses on the relationship between sister and brother, Dusk’s doubts about her abilities, and the blissful moment when she realizes she is on the right path. It’s a quieter story (for me) but no less intense (fingers crossed).

I’m serializing the prequel for my readers as a thank you for traveling this far along in the Adept Universe with me, and also as an introduction to a new character, new series.

Things you might like to know (but feel free to ask any other question below):

Other than the reintroduction of (some of) the guardian dragons, the Archivist Series is a completely new series set within the Adept Universe. Minor, fun crossovers might occur but should not be expected. (Read: NO JADE!). Archivist 0 can be read as a standalone (if you wish to share/recommend it).

You do not need to be caught up in the reading order of the Adept Universe to read-along.

Please feel free to comment and discuss the chapters/parts in the blog comment section (or over in the Facebook fan group). Please feel free to share the blog posts and/or the memes. I’m hoping that gathering to read the prequel and discussing the story as it releases will be part of the fun!

The blog posts will be automatically shared on my Twitter and Facebook feeds but you might wish to also follow the blog itself so you don’t want to miss a post.

Are you ready to dig in?

I’m totally excited!!

***

Are you new to the Adept Universe? Awakening Infinity (Archivist 0) can be read separately, but the first book in the universe, Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1), is currently free as well! Click here for the recommended reading order of the Adept Universe.

How to subscribe to MCD’s blog

Here – updated April 27, 2023 with (fairly recent) pictures – is how to subscribe to my blog (so you can read along with the Conduit on #TeaserTuesday).

On a computer/desktop. Type your email into the box on the top right-hand corner of your screen. You can unsubscribe at any time. You’ll need to confirm your subscription. If you can’t find the email in your inbox, check your spam/junk/promotions folders. If you find the confirmation there, please drag it into your inbox to ensure that future emails arrive directly in your inbox. After you subscribe you will get an email each time I blog (not just the Conduit serialization posts).

On a mobile device. Scroll all the way down past the current blog posts. Type your email into the box situated between the ‘older posts’ button and the cover image for Archivist 0. You can unsubscribe at any time. You’ll need to confirm your subscription. If you can’t find the email in your inbox, check your spam/junk/promotions folders. If you find the confirmation there, please drag it into your inbox to ensure that future emails arrive directly in your inbox. After you subscribe you will get an email each time I blog (not just the Conduit serialization posts).

There you go! I hope you enjoy the read-along.

Amplifier 0 – serialization complete!

It’s a gorgeous Spring day here in the Pacific NorthWest – the sun holds a gentle kiss of heat, the garlic is sprouting, and Michael is building three, yellow cedar containers for the two new apples and the second grape we’re adding to our mini orchard.

I’m working on the 1st draft of Amplifier 2 while the proofreader has Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1). The preorder of A1 should start showing up on all retailers next week.

The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0) will ONLY be available in its serialized form on the blog for another few days, then I’ll remove it and officially release it on all retailers on March 26, 2019 (the preorder is already live on all retailers but Apple Books). I’ve bundled the novelette, Close to Home (16k) as a BONUS with the novella (40k), and also included a preview of A1.

Close to Home (Amplifier 0.5) will also be available as the preorder giveaway for A1, if you’ve already read The Amplifier Protocol. More on that when I launch the preorder giveaway.

I’ll send out a new release email on March 26 and include the info about the preorder and giveaways. That Tuesday I’ll also host my traditional release day party on Facebook, and I’ll be giving away an oracle card postcard (they are gorgeous), randomly, to twenty-two people as well as reading from the novel.

Okay! If you haven’t read The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0) yet start here: Chapter One, Part One. You’ve only got a couple more days to read for free!!

If you’ve been reading along with me, thank you for your comments and your encouraging words. It was terribly fun sharing a story with you in this format. I’m glad you were along for the ride. And I hope you’re ready for more Amplifier Series!!

Dowser 8: paperback giveaway

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. LUCKY #66 has been notified.

I got my hands on a box of Misfits, Gemstones, and Other Shattered Magic (Dowser 8) paperbacks yesterday. And you know what that means?

It’s time for a paperback giveaway! Yay!

So … are you interested in giving one of these beauties a home? I’ll even scrawl my name in it.

Yes?

Well, then!

Comment below to enter to win an autographed copy of Dowser 8.

Fun! Fun!!

Likes and shares are always welcomed and appreciated.

Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. One entry per person. 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.

Giveaway closes SUNDAY JULY 22, 2018 at midnight PDT.

Are you new to the Adept Universe? Book one is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).

Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.

I See Me: Author-Read-Along: Chapters Fourteen and Fifteen

*SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS*

CHAPTER FOURTEEN – important beats:

BELIEVING (and colour). “I believed everything laid out before me in black and white. No color anywhere on the page. No color to confuse or beguile my senses. No color to soften the message, or soothe the pain.”
CHOICES (right or wrong, choices must be made). “I was never handing over something precious to another person for safe keeping. No matter how trustworthy they seemed, or should be. Never, ever again.”
FATE/DESTINY. “I reminded myself that I didn’t believe in fate.” and “Causality, fate, and destiny were just too much to think about, ever.”
Blackwell texting – LOL

Favourite Quotes

Beau had found me in that diner. He bought me a piece of apple pie and rescued me from the living hell of my broken brain. I’d believed I was broken. For Beau, I’d act like I was whole. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 14

CHAPTER FIFTEEN – important beats:

Rochelle and Blackwell make a deal. Though – other than his obsession with Jade – it’s not completely clear what Blackwell is hoping Rochelle will see, what future he is hoping to thwart? Perhaps simply any future he doesn’t like the look of.
Too many realizations to sort through … “I didn’t have an unknown psychotic disorder.”
Questions about magic? If it’s real, then what? “Was magic energy? The energy I felt when I touched Beau, Jade, and Blackwell? Energy from where? And why me? What purpose did the visions have?”

Favourite Quotes

” … it’s a treat to be so near something of Jade’s creation without being stabbed by it.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Fifteen.

I See Me (Oracle 1) read-a-long

Chapter One
Chapter Two & Three
Chapter Four & Five
Chapter Six & Seven
Chapter Eight & Nine
Chapter Ten & Eleven
Chapter Twelve & Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen & Fifteen (above)
Chapter Sixteen

What were your thoughts, comments, and/or questions on Chapter Fourteen and Fifteen?

I See Me: Author-Read-Along: Chapters Sixteen

*SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS*

Last but certainly not least when it comes to the plot of Oracle 1. Here are my thoughts on the final chapter. Feel free to ask any questions or share any thoughts about I See Me (Oracle 1) here. Anyone reading this far shouldn’t accidentally happen upon any spoilers.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN – important beats:

CHI WEN, the far seer!!!
Rochelle’s parents get names!
“An oracle by birth.” Important wording here. 😀
“As you will see mine.” – this practically innocuous observation of Chi Wen’s is a HUGE hint to how he sees Rochelle’s role (specifically within the Dowser Series). But you’re going to have to wait for Dowser 5 and 6 to really know what he’s talking about 😛
Fate/Destiny/Luck – Chi Wen weighs in on the possibility of changing the future. “Magic moves where it will, not where we wish it.” This is an important hook into Oracle 2.
Rochelle seeing herself in the rearview mirror – “I didn’t recognize myself.”
Beau, Rochelle, and the Brave. Both have made ‘deals’ to save/protect the other.

Favourite Quotes

And wait, dragons were real now? Like fire-breathing, treasure-hording dragons with wings and scales and wickedly long claws? – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 16

Beau lifted my left hand and pressed a kiss to the black butterfly on my inner wrist. “I’ll follow your luck anywhere. Then I’ll fight and survive at your side if it runs out.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 16

“Me and you, beyond luck.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 16

I See Me (Oracle 1) read-a-long

Chapter Twelve & Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen & Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen (above)

What were your thoughts, comments, and/or questions on Chapter Sixteen?

I See Me: Author-Read-Along: Chapters Twelve and Thirteen

*SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS*

CHAPTER TWELVE – important beats:

Beau’s abandonment issues: “Don’t leave me,” he whispered fiercely. The idea was utterly preposterous. I laughed.”
The Dowser!! And Kandy 🙂
Getting to hear how the cupcakes taste from Rochelle’s POV. Love, love, loved it.
The alchemist fixes Rochelle’s necklace.
TENSION between Desmond and Jade.
All hell breaks loose. 😀

Favourite Quotes

I had a split second to mourn Beau. I was terribly sure that if I ever gained consciousness again, it would be without him. And what good would waking up be if I had to wake up without Beau? – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 12

“It’s broken,”I said. “It’s broken like I’m broken.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 12

CHAPTER THIRTEEN – important beats:

Rumble in the house!
First hallucination with the drugs out of her system and her mother’s necklace attuned to her magic.
More B/G of how the Pack functions – “sharing magic,” etc

Favourite Quotes

“If we can’t have Paris,” Desmond said. “At least we’ll always have Blackwell.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Thirteen.

I was within the vision. I breathed in the white light. I consumed it. It was me. It had always been me. This was me. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Thirteen.

My hallucinations up to this point certainly hadn’t been filled with fluffy bunnies. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Thirteen

She flinched. All that power, all that electric magic I could feel rolling off her, and I made her flinch. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Thirteen

“I don’t believe in fate or destiny.” Jade laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. “It believes in you.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Thirteen

Then, propelled by a force I couldn’t deny any longer – that I couldn’t hope to control – I sat on the bed to draw. Right now, that was all I could do. But later, I was going to thwart destiny. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Thirteen

I See Me (Oracle 1) read-a-long

Chapter Twelve & Thirteen (above)

What were your thoughts, comments, and/or questions on Chapter Twelve and Thirteen?

I See Me: Author-Read-Along: Chapters Ten and Eleven

*SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS*

CHAPTER TEN – important beats:

Going to the Pack for save haven … and “ignoring the most important thing [Beau’s mother] ever taught” him.
Lara!! From a different POV (not Jade’s). “I’ll gladly dance naked on his bloody, well-gnawed bones.”

Favourite Quotes

Don’t play nice, Rochelle. I want you, not the fake you who’s just pretending.” “What if the fake me is all I have now?” “Look deeper.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 10

Beau reached around me to grab my seat belt, but I slapped his hand away. “I’m crazy, not a moron” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 10

“Yeah, I knew how to deal with predators. Don’t be prey.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 10

CHAPTER ELEVEN – important beats:

Audrey! Learning to be a good beta, and failing at it.
Desmond! Everyone who thinks the Alpha is ‘handsome’ needs to reread Rochelle’s reaction/description of him. Also some intriguing displays of the Alpha power/magic that hasn’t been explored much in the Dowser Series.
Texting with Kandy – I love this scene.
Are cupcakes a possibility? LOL
Rochelle’s bravery is so compelling and even heart wrenching through these few chapters. She is totally lost, and yet willing to do anything for Beau. Even defending him against the Pack.

Favourite Quotes

“What magic to you wield, witch?” Desmond asked me. I raised my chin. “I’m not a witch.” “What are you then?” I thought about this for a second, then answered, “Crazy. Though psychotic might be a better word choice.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Eleven.

“Rochelle doesn’t eat meat,” Beau blurted, as if he was confessing some terrible sin. The three other shapeshifters turned to stare at me, completely aghast. Like I was condemning their religion or something. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Eleven.

I See Me (Oracle 1) read-a-long

Chapter Ten & Eleven (above)

Chapter Twelve & Thirteen

What were your thoughts, comments, and/or questions on Chapter Ten and Eleven?