The Amplifier 5 curse is finally broken …

… but not without one more last hurrah.

My Friday started off exactly as planned. Pilates, hot chocolate, and then into the office to write the final chapter of Amplifier 5 – the denouement I’ve had in my head for over a year.

I climbed on my treadmill, put on my computer glasses, and started reading through a section of text that I’d highlighted to rewrite at the end of my day yesterday.

Then I reached for my hot chocolate.

And knocked it across the room.

Yes.

500 ml of dark, hot chocolate in perfectly frothed skim milk, flung … in an instant …

All …

Over…

My …

Tiny office.

White painted walls and baseboards (flat white paint, which is great for touching up but not so great for wiping off), a pilates reformer, hand-stained pine flooring, a portable heater (which was on and instantly dried all the liquid splattered across it), and a ten-foot-long wall of white cabinets (seeping through the seams into the cupboards themselves).

Molly Millions was delighted at this sudden explosion of tastiness dripping off practically every surface of the room. It was a miracle that she wasn’t in her doggy bed right beside me at the time, because it also got soaked.

I didn’t scream.

How? I have no idea. Except I had a puppy to grab and leash.

Long story short, hot chocolate gets EVERYWHERE. I had to dismantle my pilates reformer, and the parts of it that can be, are currently in the wash. Did you know that even well-finished plywood (such as the interior structure of my pilates ‘box’) can’t be cleaned of soaked-in liquid? Not even with a liberal application of hot soapy water? Ditto with the slightly perforated padding (for traction, I assume) on the jump board.

So … an hour later the floors, walls, cabinets, desk, heater, and pilates reformer were scrubbed and dried – and I’d managed not to cry about any of it. I made myself a second hot chocolate and treated myself to the latest installment of the Innkeeper novel that Ilona Andrews is currently serializing on their blog …

Then I wrote the final chapter of Amplifier 5.

MCD’s notebook for Amplifier 5. Brainstorming commenced in July 2020, but it took until May 2022 to complete the first draft.

It took me almost two years, but I now have a complete first draft of Instincts and Imposters (Amplifier 5). Along with a Zans novelette (Amplifier 5.5) (which will be included with Amplifier 5).

The curse is broken, but not before it tried to break me.

One.

Last.

Time.

😂

I’ll begin tackling the second draft on Monday.

Becca’s questions, answered in part.

When I published The Full Reading Order of the Adept Universe, as of Jan 2022 in preparation for the release of the collection of stories in Moments of the Adept Universe 1, Becca accepted the challenge of re-reading the entire universe! 40 stories in total!

And, as of a few minutes ago, Becca has questions.

Ahem.

A LOT of questions!

So … for fun, I thought I’d have a go at answering Becca’s lingering concerns/hopes/wishes:

  1. Readers will catch a glimpse of Mory and Liam in Misfits 2, and Mory is slated to narrate Misfits 3.
  2. No current/set plans for Freddie, though I wouldn’t be surprised if she shows up in the Misfits books.
  3. I politely suggest a re-read of the Reconstructionist trilogy. While I understand that readers come to their own conclusions while reading, and I really should keep my mouth shut about it, I was very careful in how I constructed the trilogy. It ends exactly as it always was going to end, exactly how I set it all up from the VERY beginning. And it is the only ending that Wisteria – it is, after all, HER story, not Kett’s – could have survived. It also happens to be the right choice for the executioner, who doesn’t know himself as well as he likes to think even after 1200+ years (see Estelle’s comments, plus see the third Dowser trilogy and Misfits 1).
  4. Unlikely. 😂
  5. Maybe. As a bonus scene after Amplifier 6 (aka the end of the main series). Maybe. But only for fun. And only because readers keep asking.
  6. Yes.
  7. The ‘secrets’ hidden in Dusk’s power (as well as other secrets) will (mostly) be revealed in Archivist 3.
  8. Ditto the above.
  9. Will be slightly less of a mystery after Archivist 3, but still likely quite mysterious (how’s that for an ‘answer? 😂).
  10. See Misfits 2.
  11. See Misfits 2. And one (?) more Kandy short story.
  12. See Misfits 2. 😂
  13. Yes. [See the timeline].
  14. No plans for anymore ‘making babies’ (that will never be a big theme in my books, as I’m not a mother myself) but more families will expand by other means and there will definately be more ‘marriages’ (aka unions/mates/bonded couples), next up see Amplifier 6.
  15. Hmmm, Tony can go either way at this point … and I’m not talking about sexual orientation.
  16. No plans for any more Dowser POV books. I’ve explained why in length in previous posts (they are trilogies, readers getting nasty, etc), so I won’t reiterate it all. But there will be more Jade, probably always. I do adore her myself.
  17. Besides being rare? I think just the nature of their power answers that question, but also see Amplifier 5 (hint), and more fully, Amplifier 6.
  18. The reasons behind the twins not being accepted into the Academy has been hinted at in a few places. See the later Dowser books, Misfits 1, etc. Its rooted in their abusive childhood (see At Just the Right Moment) and the Academy’s prejudices/concerns about that trauma. With that said, Gabby will narrate Misfits 4 and more shall be revealed!
  19. Yes. See Amplifier 5.5 (Zans’s POV) and Amplifier 6.
  20. Not anytime soon. 😂 Way too complicated. Though I posted an early version of Dusk’s family tree (not canon!!) when I worked it out for Archivist 0.

Done! Hopefully, that was as good for you as it was for me. 🤣

Thank you for (re)reading and commenting, Becca! And the rest of my lovely readers, of course and always.

Drafting my newsletter now …

Amplifier Series Trivia Quiz!

And … I bet you saw this coming!!! … here is the quiz for the Amplifier Series! Ten random questions in total. If you haven’t read the Amplifier Series yet, the prequel is The Amplifier Protocol (technically it comes BEFORE Dowser 1 in the timeline) and the first book is Demons and DNA, which comes AFTER Dowser 9 in the reading order.

Amplifier Series quote meme designed by Elizabeth Mackey Graphic Design

Click here to take the quiz!

Adept Universe Quizzes (so far).

Dowser Series Trivia Quiz

Oracle Series Trivia Quiz

Reconstructionist Series Trivia Quiz

Amplifier 5: whole and amazing …

I know some of you just wish I would write faster instead of sharing work-in-progress snippets. But I have to celebrate the little things that hit me in the moment! Like a sort of reverse fuel, you know?

Sometimes … it’s not just the sad stuff that makes me blubber while writing …

I slid off the couch, kneeling before the dream walker and taking her hands. “You are not evil. You are not inherently dark. You aren’t even half and half. You are whole and amazing. You are everything that has happened to you, yes, but you are also everything you are going to do in this world, including being a family with me and Aiden. And Christopher and Paisley.”

“And Samantha,” she added.

I pretended to internally debate it. “Yes, all right. And Samantha.”

– Instincts and Imposters (Amplifier 5), chapter five, first draft

Reconstructionist Series Trivia Quiz!

Updated April 17, 2022: I have been informed *by Michael* that I made the Reconstructionist quiz WAY TOO HARD. So I have swapped out two questions and rephrased one other in an attempt to make it more accessible. Link below.

I’m really trying to find the line that is interesting but not too hard, yet I’m still worried I’m making these Adept Universe quizzes too easy! Nonetheless, here is the quiz for the Reconstructionist Series! Ten random questions in total. If you haven’t read the Reconstructionist Series yet, the first book is Catching Echoes and it comes after Oracle 3 (or Dowser 6) in the reading order.

Reconstructionist Series book covers – by Damonza!

Click here to take the quiz!

Adept Universe Quizzes (so far).

Dowser Series Trivia Quiz

Oracle Series Trivia Quiz

Amplifier 5: the biggest, baddest?

Lani grunted noncommittedly. “Mercury herself is something pretty to look at though. Miles and miles of creamy skin and those white blue wolf eyes.” She flashed me a grin. “I might grab some tea first.”

I shook my head at her, but she sauntered off toward the treats with her hands still stuffed in her back pockets. Far more confident among unknown magic users than I was, even though I was the biggest predator in the room. In the entire area, perhaps.

The silver-haired witch — Pearl Godfrey — was watching me. Her indigo gaze was piercing, but neutral. I couldn’t feel even a hint of power from her. Yet.

It was possible I was wrong about being the biggest, baddest Adept in the library.

– Instincts and Imposters (Amplifier 5), first draft

So … who do you think would win in a one-on-one fight? Pearl or Emma?

Are you new to the Amplifier series? The prequel is The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0). Are you new to the Adept Universe? The first book (in the full reading order) is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1) and it’s currently free!

Sometimes all you can do is a …

… page one rewrite. After talking my issue(s!!) (see my last blog post) with writing the next Amplifier book over with Michael ad nauseam, I finally came to the conclusion earlier this morning that I was forcing Amplifier 5 to be something it was never meant to be – a full-length novel. I was trying to combine the next two Amplifier stories (aka not necessarily novels) into one book, gearing up for capping the series at book 6 (technically a seven-book arc, plus shorts, counting the prequel).

And now that I’ve come to that conclusion the only thing I can do about it is … a page one rewrite.

*cue silent weeping*

On rare occasions, even a detailed plot and well-utilized notebook aren’t a solid enough structure on which to build a great novel.

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve gone so far off track (with an outlined book!!) that I needed to scrap everything and reimagine the story I wanted to tell. I actually can’t remember the last time I had to start with a blank page, and in this case, a new blank notebook.

Thank goodness I have a habit of overbuying notebooks! LOL

Here we go!

New notebook + redraft = a fresh start for Amplifier 5.

To clarify, Amplifier 5 will (likely) will now consist of an Emma novella and a Zans novella. And the projected release date will definitely shift further into 2022. Though, thankfully, I have a draft of the Zans story already done.

Here we go (for the fourth time)!

What I should be doing … part 42

What I should be doing: writing Amplifier 5. You know, the book I’ve been working on since 2020.  

What I’m actually doing: writing a prequel short for a new (urban fantasy, portal fantasy?) universe. 

I really don’t know what is wrong with me. Aka why can’t I focus on what I’m supposed to be writing? Other than being in constant pain, of course.

Michael says I should be happy that I feel like writing anything at all while recovering from major surgery. Unfortunately for me, logic rarely counters fretful anxiety aka the shoulds that I allow to build up in my beleaguered brain. But … I must admit, there is always truth in the ‘focus on new words’ idea … writing is a balm for just about anything, so … maybe I should listen to Michael (this one time only). LOL

Yes, it takes multiple notebooks when brainstorming/worldbuilding a new series/universe.

Have no idea what I’m talking about? I shared the ‘first words’ I wrote for Waypoint 42 in the Muse is Not Monogamous in April 2021. Also, there is a huge hint about this upcoming project in Burgundy’s Moments of the Adept Universe 1 novelette. Did you catch it?

Oracle Series Trivia Quiz!

Okay! Next up in the Adept Universe quizzes: the Oracle Series! I tried to cobble together a mix of questions, some obscure and hopefully some tricky. Ten in total. If you haven’t read the Oracle Series yet, book one is I See Me and it comes after Dowser 3 in the reading order.

Oracle Series book covers by Elizabeth Mackey Graphic Design

Click here to take the quiz!

Did you miss the Dowser Series Trivia Quiz? Well then, click the link to take it!

MCD health update and a Kandy snippet.

In case you haven’t seen my posts on my various social media platforms, I had a hysterectomy (everything but ovaries) almost two weeks ago. I’ve been taking my pain meds diligently and reading a book a day but getting seriously restless. This afternoon, I’m doing some slow walking on my treadmill desk, which in turn spawned some slow, slow writing on a short, short Kandy story that I was hoping to include in Moments of the Adept Universe 1 but didn’t quite make it.

Needless to say, my publishing schedule is now even more delayed than usual. As are my newsletters, etc. But I’ll get back to work on Amplifier 5 as soon as I’m up for it.

Here is a tiny Kandy snippet to tide you over (hopefully).

I stood on the land of the pack of my birth and felt nothing.

The gate had been open, but the long drive was filled with vehicles so I’d parked my Jeep on the street and walked. Walked until the behemoth of a house loomed over me. The white siding and columned front porch showed signs of age for the first time in my recollection. The dusty pink roses woven through the trellis that stretched up to Justin’s bedroom window on the top corner didn’t quite hide the broken cross brace midway up. And I could see that the untreated splintered wood had grayed with age.

Five years and five months of age to be exact.

I’d broken that trellis the last time I’d sneaked out of Justin’s bedroom. Though he’d asked me to spend the night, and nothing happened clandestinely in a house occupied by adult werewolves, no matter how stupidly large that house was, so sneaking around was just a game.

Just a game.

Fooling around with Justin and Dedra at the same time.

Pretending I wasn’t committed to anything or anyone, least of all some imposed sense of place, or status within the pack. The pack I’d been born into, bred into really. Bred to be the best of the best.

At the time I’d thought that walking away was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, ever have to do.

I’d been wrong.

And not for the last time.

Because it was possible — no matter that I was happy as I could be in Vancouver and within the loose structure of my pack of choice — I wasn’t going to be able to bring myself to walk through the front doors, let alone jog up the few steps leading to them.

My mother was dead.

– A Moment of Reflection (Moments of the Adept Universe 0.8), first draft