Genre: Paranormal Romance. Series (5 books) Complete (POV shifts).
A Conversation and a Hot Chocolate with Maria Vale: July 27, 2024 at 2pm PT. Join the guest list for the live zoom: https://forms.gle/4vEeH2TqLC2D8Upd6 (instructions and link will be emailed three days ahead)(also these lists don’t roll over, you must sign up every month, pretty please).
Giveaway (see paperback above): drop a question in the discord (there is a thread under July) or in the chat during the live zoom event to enter to win the autographed paperback and bookmark.
A Conversation and a Hot Chocolate with Hailey Edwards – video now available!
Follow me on YouTube if you don’t want to miss any other videos (though I will try to post here as well). This is an edited version of the live Zoom event, with fewer puppy interruptions, disarray, amusing tangents, and much less cackling.
June Giveaway: Kat won the autographed paperback of How To Live and Undead Life!
Other news (in brief):
By request, I just updated this post about ‘Vancouver according to the Adept Universe’ to include a bunch of my current favs (scroll down):
I’m awaiting the six character portraits from Nicole Deal for the limited edition eBook, but otherwise, the main book is all formatted and ready to go! The paperback will be available on release day as well (and the cover is sooo pretty!!). I’m implementing my social media blackout protocols and devoting next week to finishing the novelette that will be included in the limited edition eBook.
R&R Tours is handling the Release Day Blitz. If you’re an influencer or booksgrammer, please contact Shannon (and/or sign up to be a tour host). And just to avoid confusion, this isn’t about reviews (thank you in advance to all my lovely readers who take the time to leave them for me!!) it’s about having an active booksgram or tiktok, etc, that is focused on books/reading.
Okay … I’m sure there is more … there is always more … LOL … but I can’t think of anything else right now …
Teaser Tuesday will continue tomorrow with the beginning of the second chapter of Mirth, part one.
On Thursday, I drop my monthly newsletter in subscribers’ inboxes with four time-sensitive massive book treats. And those treats aren’t just from me (though I will take all the praise for coordinating it all)(okay, well, I sent a couple of emails and Brittany did all the heavy lifting. 😜). You don’t want to miss this, so make sure you’re subscribed and that you’re actually receiving my newsletters.
Click on this link for an older but still relevant newsletter troubleshooting post. Spoiler alert: it is not the same as being subscribed to the blog.
ETA: I hit publish on this post and forgot the third thing I needed to add. 😂 I’m focusing on getting all my outstanding packages (including the annotated copies of Dowser 1) finished and possibly shipped this week, so I’ll be closing sales on the slightly damaged exclusive editions of Dowser 1 – paperback and hardcover – in the next couple of days.
Influencer PR Boxes and eARCs sign-ups for a Release Day Promo Blitz are available via R&R Book Tours
Soulmates, Doorways, and Other Unruly Magic (Dower 9.5)
Release date: June 2024 [Kickstarter backers already have their exclusive copies].
Available for preorder.
Secret Audiobook Project:
Release date: midDecember (TBC)
CURRENTLY WRITING
[title to be revealed] (Conduit 1.5)
Projected release date: early Spring 2024
First draft in progress
A prequel series of shorts/novelettes, releasing after Conduit 1 because they’re riddled with spoilers, and for the first time at least, should be read out of order.
All of the Dowser Series Tenth Anniversary rewards, except the annotated copies, have been shipped/emailed!
ALL LINKS OF INTEREST IN ONE PLACE
Freebies and Extras (including various downloads and character illustrations/bios). Just FYI the cookbook and all the ‘extras’ will be given a major overhaul/trim in early 2024.
Adept Universe Reading Order (including full printable list). This info can also be found at the front and back of every book.
F.A.Qs
[slowly adding to these]:
Question: Do you ever offer ARCs or books to BookTok/Booksgram/BookTube Influencers?
I wanted to share another chunk of my alt-universe urban fantasy WIP with you today (19,357 words and going strong), but I’m feeling just a teensy bit overwhelmed between writing new words and getting Endings and Empathy (Amplifier 6) off to the proofreader. Let alone all the regular admin, etc.
Oh! And Julie (producer) and Erin (narrator) just dropped the audiobooks for Dowser 1, 2, and 3 in my inbox! So, while those are going to take some serious time to ‘proofread’ (in the evenings), anyone who participated in the Kickstarter will be pleased to know they are almost ready!
Anyway, a friend of mine, Thomas, send me this old photo yesterday (like old, old) of Michael, me, and my darling friend Janine attending a salmon BBQ before taking in a play at Bard on the Beach (aka Vancouver’s Shakespeare in the Park).
First, ugh, we all look so insanely young. And second, yes, I’m eating. I’m always eating whenever someone randomly turns a camera on me. I suppose you’re all not that remotely surprised, but seriously?
😂😂😂
Photo by Thomas. From left to right: Michael, MCD, and Janine.
I could probably dig through my old photo albums and share a photo exactly like this one once a week and not run out for the rest of the year. My Dad especially specialized in these ‘perfect’ captures (like seriously, he deliberately stalked me during family gatherings to get shots of me eating)(a weird pastime)(that I won’t take the time to read any meaning into).
We are barreling toward 2023 but instead of a year-end wrap-up, I’m feeling the need to write down everything that I already have scheduled in 2023 all in one place. Yes, already scheduled. Like, I really can’t get out of it at this point. 😂
Notes of interest (with more details and timing/dates below):
The first six Dowser series audiobooks, narrated by Caitlin Dunn, will no longer be available (one a month, starting in January with Dowser 1). I’ve requested the rights back from my publisher and I am having all new Dowser series audiobooks recorded with narrator Erin Moon (who is from Vancouver! Fun! Fun!). See the schedule and the upcoming Dowser Series Anniversary Kickstarter project for more info.
The Dowser series book covers are being ‘tweaked’ in anticipation of the upcoming tenth anniversary for Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1). The current covers will only be available until the beginning of June. The trim size of the paperback will not change, but if you like all your paperbacks to match I thought I better give you a head’s up!
Here’s a sneak peek at the cover for book one:
Book cover by Damonza.com
Endings and Empathy (Amplifier 6) is the final book in the Amplifier Series. Michael just read the third draft and gave me a teary thumbs up and so much praise I just had to stuff my face with all the holiday treats in the house and hang on for the overwhelming ride. So … the book is off to the editor and hopefully coming your way in March. And I hope you like it as much as my Michael did.
The Archivist series is continuing/ongoing – yay! – I’m proof ‘reading’ the first audiobook this week (last week of Dec 2022) with my notebook for Archivist 3 in hand and I know exactly what Dusk (and Sisu, and Kellan) will be conquering next.
I’m working on a new series for 2023/2024. Well, two new series, one is a space opera and one is a NEW urban fantasy (not set in the Adept Universe. Well, not exactly). Unfortunately, I can’t write both at once, so I think the sexy, sexy space opera will win out for 2023. We shall see!
A Tenth Anniversary Kickstarter for Dowser 1! The campaign will go live on January 10 2023 for a limited edition hardcover, paperback, and eBook, plus a brand new Dowser Series short featuring Jade, Kandy, and Kett. The actual anniversary is June 18, 2023 but it will likely take longer for the hardcovers to be printed, etc. Lots of stretch goals, including the all-new Dowser series audiobooks. More info coming (practically daily) through January, including cover/art reveals and polls.
Spill the Tea 2023! Join Hailey Edwards and Meghan Ciana Doidge for afternoon tea in Vancouver BC, Canada on Saturday, May 27, 2023! FUN! FUN! Tickets now available! Click here for more info.
The Dowser Series turns ten! At 12:05 am on June 18, 2023 everyone who participated in the Kickstarter (all tiers) will receive a brand new Dowser series novelette, a new recipe, and an anniversary eCard. And, of course, knowing me, other ‘things of interest’ because I’m always ‘adding on.’ 😂 I will send the ingredients list for the new cupcake ahead of time (or you can bake one of the other Dowser cupcakes, or even your own cupcakes, or buy some cupcakes, etc). And on June 18 there will be at least one live event, plus a massive giveaway, etc, etc.
Why a Kickstarter? I’ve been planning to request the rights back to the first six Dowser audiobooks for a number of years now (for many reasons, mostly because I prefer to be in control of my own work). When I realized that the rights reversion for the audiobooks lined up with the tenth anniversary of publishing Dowser 1, I thought it might be super fun to celebrate en mass. A Kickstarter is sort of like a preorder, special editions are crazy expensive, and the re-recording of the audiobooks is also crazy expensive. So why not see if my lovely readers were interested in a new Dowser novelette and/or a special edition? And, at the same time, helping me fund the audiobooks?
I’m insanely nervous about it, of course.
If you miss the Kickstarter, I will make the Dowser 9.5 novelette available on all retailers sometime in 2024. Please don’t miss the Kickstarter if you want – at minimum – Dowser 9.5 right away. I will not have the time/energy/bandwidth to accommodate individual requests. Thank you in advance.
ALL LINKS OF INTEREST IN ONE PLACE
Freebies and Extras (including various downloads and character illustrations/bios).
Adept Universe Reading Order (including full printable list). This info can also be found in the front and back of every book.
FYI: graphic doesn’t currently include Amplifier 5 or Amplifier 5.5
The shower glass just got delivered! Whoot! We MIGHT get into our new bedroom/ensuite by Christmas! But definitely by New Year’s! We’re racing the winter storms right now because we don’t have a functional wood stove, so if we lose power we’re pretty screwed. The wood stove needs to be moved from the corner of the ‘dining room’ to where our ‘bedroom’ is currently situated.
For those of you who don’t know, we’ve been living in a one-room cabin with two external tiny offices for SEVEN YEARS! And Michael has been – single-handedly, except for electrical and plumbing – building an addition for the last (almost) three years.
I desperately need to get more words refined (and then books published) because we are hemorrhaging money as we race to finish up over the next two to three months. 😭
But also: EXCITED!!
In other news, I’m commencing draft 3.5 of Endings and Empathy (Amplifier 6) today so that I can get it off for story editing before the holidays (fingers crossed). I’ve been working away on the Dowser 1 Tenth Anniversary Kickstarter in the background as well. [Most] everything should be ready to go for launch day on January 10, 2023. [I should have a ‘follow’ link via Kickstarter by the beginning of January, and I promise I’ll blog and talk about it a lot so no one misses out!].
Sunset shot from our property aka the reason we’ve lived in a cabin for so many years.
Me: what has happened to the A on my keyboard? I just bought it!
Also me: *double checking when said purchase was actually made* Oh … well … I mean, Jan 2021 really isn’t that long ago.
Me again: Hmm, I have been exclusively writing two series THAT ENTIRE TIME with an Amplifier and an Archivist. That MIGHT have something to do with it …
😂
A quick thank you for the fantastic release day for Recon Mission: Bee (Amplifier 5.5). Most of you seem to be enjoying the glimpse into the world of the Amplifier through a different perspective.
It’s been a crazy thirty days for me – with two releases (the first was Instincts and Impostors) and a big marketing push on the Amplifier Series, specifically the freebie run for The Amplifier Protocol (offer ends Oct 15).
October is my birth month – yes, as always, there will be ‘flash’ book giveaways over on Facebook on October 11, usually starting at 1 pm. I’ll try to post a reminder here – and also Thanksgiving (yum!!). So … generally my fav month of the year! I’m going to be pulling back from a lot of the ‘extras’ I’ve been doing throughout 2022 for the next two to three months so I can finish up the Amplifier series with the focused attention it deserves. But I will try to blog, as these posts generally reach the most readers (I believe).
A quick reminder that I try to keep my To Be Released list as updated as possible (I’ll update it now) and I also mention what I’m working on in my (somewhat irregular) newsletter (subscribe here).
Thank you so much for your continuing support!!
Now I need a hot chocolate and to dig back into the first draft of Endings and Empathy (Amplifier 6)!!
A pile of notebooks (for MCD’s Echo Saga space opera side project) along with a rollerball pen.
Me: *after returning home from picking up a prescription and some sugar so I can bake cookies later**so now totally exhausted, of course*: I can’t find my rollerball pen insert. It was right here, right beside my notebooks. I brought it inside along with the pen because I was fairly certain the ink was running thin in the pen. I left it on the kitchen table, made a bunch of notes, ate lunch, ran out to the pharmacy/store, and now I’m sitting back down to research transmutation and thusly noticing that the pen is indeed running a little thin on ink. And I’ve looked for the insert. I swear I’ve looked everywhere. And now I’m getting a trifle concerned that the puppy might have eaten it. Like it rolled off the table at some point, and I didn’t notice because I was playing with my notebooks and building a lexicon, and Molly Millions gobbled it up. Oh God, should I mention it to Michael? No, keep looking. *Gets attacked multiple times by said puppy while crawling around on the floor under the table and while attempting to look under the couch.* Shake out the notebooks. Again. No insert. Okay. Pile the notebooks neatly just in case the insert is hiding – stop, that’s the fourth time you’ve done that Meghan! There is no pen insert anywhere on the table or the floor! It’s in the puppy’s belly! You’ve poisoned Molly! Okay, Okay. Just breathe. If Molly ate the insert, then what? Can she actually pass it? Or if punctured, and you know she punctures everything, is it enough ink to poison her? Should I call the vet? Okay, calm down. Don’t mention it to Michael. Yet. Google it. Okay, Google. Right. That’s easier done on my laptop.
*puts Molly on a leash. Heads outside to my office shed. Momentarily held up by puppy, who suddenly wants to play, then finally manages to hook her on her outdoor run leash thingy and make it into the office*
*Walks up to desk*
“Looks down*
A ballpoint pen, a mechanical pencil, an eraser, and … wait for it … a rollerball pen insert.
Also me: Right. Okay. Cool, cool, cool. Apparently, I DIDN’T bring the insert inside with me.
Not as much of a mystery, or possible deadly poisoning as I thought. But, hey? Solved it.
😂
In other news, Recon Misson: Bee (Amplifier 5.5) is off to SFG (aka the editor) for story edit (along with the notes from the sensitivity reader, Natasha Lane), and auditions are slowly coming in for the audiobook. I ran a poll in the reader-run fan Facebook group and discovered that a few lovely readers would still like to purchase Adept Universe sticker sets, as well as six-packs (without foil) of the character cards I’m slowly designing with Memo’s sketches, so I’ll try to have some of each in my store by the end of the month. And it is possible I’ll do a foil card option as well, just because I want it. Ha.
Until the editor drops Instincts and Imposters (Amplifier 5) back in my inbox, I’ll probably work on my space opera side project, the Echo Saga, for the next couple of days. I already have the first two episodes (a novella and a novelette) written.
It’s been taxes, taxes, taxes around here – Michael is in the process of adding his receipts to the excel document we forward to the accountant so I’m off the hook for a few hours, hence the list of other things I’m working on today (see below). Why is it that jumping focus between projects is so draining? You’d think it would be the opposite, be invigorating.
[Deleted: a minor freak out about taxes, needing to spend less and release more books – MCD].
It’s Tuesday, May 31, 2022 … seriously? Crazy.
Here is a list of all the things I’m working on but can’t show you yet. And yes, I’m suffering. You know how I hate holding anything back. 😂
Gene Mollica Design has finished the cover art for Amplifier 5 and it is freaking gorgeous. Might be my fav of the series yet. Though I’m seriously partial to the cover for Bonds and Broken Dreams (Amplifier 2). They are starting on the art for book six now. Yep, I’m getting everything lined up!
The audition call is about to go out for a narrator for Zans’ novella: Recon Mission: Bee (Amplifier 5.5). Tia will be voicing Amplifier 5, of course, but Zans needs her own voice. I’m working with Tia’s engineer, Julie, at Whole Story Studios instead of doing the casting/producing/etc myself. So I can keep focused on the writing!
Memo is working on some illustrations for the Amplifier series. She’s done Paisley (including wallpapers for you to download – squee!) as well as Emma. And she is working on Aiden, Christopher, and Opal. I’ll get to share those soon.
The editor (aka SFG) is doing his story edit pass on Amplifier 5, and will also story edit Amplifier 5.5 once we get notes from the sensitivity reader, Natasha Lane. As soon as we get through this stage, I’ll be able to firm up release dates.
Note: I’m going to release Amplifier 5.5 separately in eBook and audiobook (because of the different narrator) but combine them in paperback (since the printing costs are already so expensive!).
A glimpse into the editing process: a page from MCD’s Amplifier 5 notebook. Aka working out the blood tattoo sequence for the rest of the Five and hoping I’m not screwing up the canon at the same time. Note the liberal use of white-out. LOL
Wow! Two updates from me in two days! I’m feeling rather productive!
I just sent Recon Mission: Bee (Amplifier 5.5) aka Zans’ novella off to the sensitivity reader, Natasha Lane. And I’ll forward her notes along with the manuscript to SFG (the editor) once she turns around on her read. Yay!
I’ve also started a search for a Black female narrator for the audiobook. Tia Rider will continue to narrate the main Amplifier series books – double yay!
And! Gene Mollica Studios has all the particulars for the book cover, so hopefully, I’ll start to see art soon as well. I’m excited!!
This is all a long-winded way of saying, I’m most definitely avoiding doing my taxes. Ugh. And now, I really don’t have any excuses. Sigh. Though I am going to play around with one of my Space Opera ideas, and brainstorm/outline Amplifier 6 over the next couple of weeks as well.
Oh! [I announced this on social media already] The sticker sets have all been mailed (as of late last night). Still waiting for the next round to be delivered to me, then I’ll relist.
How about a Zans snippet to celebrate? [I absolutely adore all the Fish/Zans interaction in the novella!]
Fish stood, crossing past me and into the tiny bathroom. He flicked on the light.
“I checked in there,” I said pissily.
He ignored me.
Like always.
I considered pulling out my phone and playing a game.
Fish stepped out of the bathroom, glowering. “Clean.”
“We grab our stuff from the motel and leave,” I said.
“We reach out to my contact,” Fish said, his tone dark. “And when we confirm he sold us out, we hunt him down.”
I sighed, heavily.
“Got something better to do?” Fish asked caustically.
I smirked. “Well, Emma might want some help with the wedding.”
