Qiuniu: guardian dragon. Aka one of the nine. Territory: South America. Possibly involved with Haoxin (see hints in Dowser 6 and Dowser 8). Dark caramel skin. High cheekbones. Deep brown eyes, also referred to as ‘melted milk chocolate’ (Dowser 5). Ridiculously gorgeous. Brazilian accent. The most powerful healer in the world. Known for administering that healing via a searingly hot kiss. Also, a poet and musician. “Qiuniu always somehow carried music with him wherever he went. I never knew the tune, but I could hear hints of it” (Dowser 4). Skilled at warding technology against magic. He has been a guardian for 100+ years, second youngest. According to Jade, his magic tastes like roasted coffee and Brazilian chocolate.
Resides in the Nexus. But maintains a residence in Peru, along with a silver Mercedes SUV. Nexus door: gold-carved handle, intricately carved bloodwood.
Qiuniu. Dragon. The Guardian of South America. Healer. Drop-dead gorgeous Brazilian – even Pearl Godfrey has a massive crush on him – but thankfully he can get your heart going with a single, searing kiss. Sketch by Memo.
Qiuniu. Dragon. The Guardian of South America. Playful and sexy, just don’t invade his territory or ask for a commitment. Has brought Jade (and Kandy with some help from her pack) back from the brink of death on more than one occasion. Sketch by Memo.
It’s been another rough week for me, as it has been for all of us for far too long. Ugh. I hate complaining, but seriously? Here in BC our Covid numbers are GROWING, over a year after our first ‘shutdown’! Anyway! It’s a freaking gorgeous day, and I finally got through the fourth draft of Archivist 1, so let’s celebrate together!
Cover design by Elizabeth Mackey. Narrated by Jennifer Grace.
This is a first-come, first-win deal. The giveaway remains open until all the download codes have been claimed. I’ll give away codes for book 2 next Sunday, and for book 3 the week after.
If you listen to books via Audible USA (or a country other than the UK, such as Canada), then claim one of the codes below, click the link, and paste the code into the box that appears. You might need to sign in to your account, or create an account if you are new to Audible.
Please comment on the blog post below (not Facebook) and let everyone know which code you took (by number and country).
If you listen to books via AUDIBLE UK (or a country other than the US), then claim one of the codes below, click the link, and paste the code into the box that appears. You might need to sign in to your account, or create an account if you are new to Audible.
Please comment on the blog post below (not Facebook) and let everyone know which code you took (by number and country).
“Doran isn’t going to attempt to harm me,” I said calmly. “I’m a valuable asset. And he isn’t stupid.” My blood was also poison to him, if he could even sink his teeth through my dragon hide. He’d only claimed two hundred years though, so I didn’t think he was powerful enough to do so. Yet.
I, however, could skewer him through the heart with an exceedingly powerful bone blade before he even saw me lunge forward.
Not that I went around stabbing magical beings in the heart.
I just finished my first full pass on the story editor’s notes for Invoking Infinity (Archivist 1). Next, I’ll do another complete pass, smoothing the prose and making certain I haven’t inserted anything strange (i.e. continuity errors, etc) while working through the editor’s suggested changes/additions.
The book is now 104k. That’s long. I prefer to stay under 95k myself. But, the editor hasn’t recommended any cuts. Yet.
To celebrate getting through the last two weeks (which have been seriously, seriously rough for me headache-wise) I thought I’d share an excerpt from Chapter One and Dusk’s first day of work. I hope you enjoy it!
Leather-covered sketchbook (aka Infinity) created by Mille Cuirs. Ink: Caroube de Chypre by Jacques Herbin. Fountain pen: Parker Sonnet Ciselé Silver
I stepped through the door. Energy clung to me, trying to taste my magic, then slid off when it couldn’t gain purchase.
Like I’d said, it was difficult to ward against a dragon. We were magic, descended from demi-gods. Not that it couldn’t be done, but the witch who’d built the wards would have needed to have known that dragons existed in the first place. Outside of morality tales and mythology, of course.
The boundary wards yielded completely. My front foot landed on a worn rug set just inside the door to protect the oak hardwood. And the buzzing of all the magic objects on the shelves increased.
A wide grin swamped my face.
This already felt like home.
Literally. The library at my mother’s estate was filled with tiny touches of energy just like —
Something slammed into the side of my head, getting instantly tangled in my already wild hair and obscuring my eyesight. Tiny claws tried to hook into my skin, failing but then finding hold on my bottom lip. The creature latched onto my right upper canine and started nibbling and suckling.
Yes. On my tooth.
I laughed.
Still balancing the coffee and cinnamon buns in my left hand, I gently attempted to pull the creature off me. It clung with a tenacious strength that was usually only reserved for the starving.
And since going for my teeth was a bit of a clue as to what I was dealing with, this creature did have a rather specialized diet.
I managed to transfer its front claws from my lip to my forefinger, tugging it away from my teeth so I could peer at it. It assessed me with wide, dark-orbed eyes.
An imp of some sort. A wide classification for magical creatures — with or without wings — that ranged in size. Smaller than brownies but larger than pixies. This imp was the length of my forearm. Its eyes dominated its light-gray skinned face, except for the overly large mismatched teeth of its lipless mouth.
“That wasn’t nice,” I said teasingly, holding it loosely so I didn’t accidentally crush it. “You could have said hello.”
The imp narrowed its eyes at me, then it chittered discontentedly. It was unlikely it understood English, or spoke any language I could understand, but my tone should —
The imp sprung free from my grasp, attempting to launch off the coffees and Tupperware balanced in my other hand as it made its escape.
Four lattes in large paper cups and plastic lids didn’t make for a terribly stable surface.
Scrambling for footing, the imp leaped for the nearest shelf.
The lattes slammed into my chest and shoulder, lids flying off, and dumping hot coffee all over me.
Shrieking — even a dragon wasn’t completely impervious to heat — I lost hold of the cinnamon buns as well.
Hot liquid soaked into my hair and sweater, scalding the skin of my neck and collarbone, then dripping down my plaid skirt, all over my favorite brown boots, and the rug.
The imp watched me warily from the shelf at eye level to my left. It chittered quietly, disconcerted.
In other news, guess who didn’t actually hit publish on the paperback for Awakening Infinity (Archivist 0)? Ugh, me! I’m sorry. It should be available very soon.
I just dropped In Less Than a Moment (Moments of the Adept Universe 0.3) (aka Kandy 0.5) into the inboxes of my newsletter subscribers, and as promised, I actually remembered to start a thread where you could discuss all the secrets it reveals as a group.
The novelette (15k+) cracks Kandy’s background wide open – a large piece of the puzzle leading to the events of the Dowser series, as well as the upcoming Misfits 2. Yep, the Kandy stories are most definitely prequels to the second novel of the Misfits of the Adept Universe.
It is such a pleasure working with Tia on the Amplifier audiobooks. Not only is she a true professional, meeting deadlines and submitting practically flawless first passes, but she brings a depth and deliciously contained emotional component to Emma. Tia’s read is subtly evocative, tense in all the right moments, but also allowing hints of playfulness to filter through Emma’s narrative.
With Amplifier 4, I flung a TON of new characters at Tia and she handled them effortlessly, making each voice unique, yet never cartoonish or over the top. The story flows and engages thanks to Tia’s expertise and talent.
I very much look forward to working with Tia on Amplifier 5 later this year!!
Fingers crossed, Tia! And thank you so much for lending your voice to Emma, the Amplifier Series, and me!!
I’m making this tidbit of sunshine my desktop photo for the day – aka a little yellow daffodil that has braved the still-chilly morning temps to bloom – because I’m about to do a second pass on Kandy’s second short, In Less Than A Moment. And I know I’m going to blubber through it. Again.
I’ll just keep reminding myself that Kandy has found her pack, her family. Not that life is ever without strife but it can be filled with love and laughter at the same time.
***
In other news, I’m (slowly) putting together a Frequently Asked Questions, Spring Edition blog post so if you have any burning questions – LOL – drop them in the comments below and I’ll add them to the list (as long as it’s not too rife with spoilers).
Haoxin – guardian dragon. Aka one of the Nine. Territory: North America. American accent. Petite and curvy. Tan. Blue eyes. Slightly turned in eye teeth. Straight blonde hair (wavy in Archivist 0). Adores silk dresses in shades of blue, teal, and green. Carries a katana. Keeps an army-green Jeep Wrangler in Alberta. Likes espresso. Appears to be in her twenties but is 100+ years old. Accepted the mantle of Haoxin aka ‘Reckless and Adventurous’ in 2012 (one year prior to Dowser 3) from her mother. Youngest of the guardians. She can expand and contract her physical form. According to Jade, her magic tastes like sweet creamy tomatoes with a hint of basil.
Resides in the Nexus. Her family is from San Francisco, where she also maintains a penthouse apartment. Nexus door: cedar carved in a First Nations design.
T-shirt designed by Kandy: (featured in Dowser 8) heathered blue with white text, “Fueled by coffee. And epic mystical powers.”
Pronunciation: HAWK-SIN (but the K is soft) or click to listen to audio.
Haoxin. Dragon. The Guardian of North America. Playful and sexy, just don’t get her mad … she holds rather gigantic grudges (literally). Sketch by Memo.
Haoxin. Dragon. One of the Guardian Nine. Most definitely addicted to espresso. Occasional flirt. Possibly hooking up with the Healer. But more than willing to dance with an elder vampire when given the opportunity (with her katana on hand, of course and always). Sketch by Memo.
I started my day by digging back into the Archivist series with only a vague idea for a couple of scenes for Archivist 2 and A LOT of Things-To-Be-Revealed™ for many, many books after.
Usually, I firm up the core idea for the next book in the series while writing the previous book. I leave myself notes … like breadcrumbs to follow into the brainstorming and outlining. And, since I usually write with a thriller-type construction (aka the antagonist propels the plot) and I adore seeding those relationships/possibilities, etc, in previous books, that usually means that I know who the ‘bad guys’ are for books ahead.
But even with a long list of Things-To-Be-Revealed™ I still had no idea who the ‘bad guy’ was for Archivist 2. I had a bunch of fantastic characters, two or three great scene ideas, and a throughline for the romance storyline, but that did not equal a plot.
So I pulled out all the sticky note pads I had – index cards would have been better but apparently I no longer own any – and I started with listing and placing all the secrets.
Then, still stymied on book 2, I thought about how the Archivist series is different from my other series, especially the Dowser or Amplifier (which also feature powerful characters). The WHY I was writing it. WHAT drew me to explore the idea. It’s easy to get caught up in the relationships and the background and all the secrets, but the FEELING of the series as a whole needs to be really established by the end of book two (or three if you include the prequels). In my opinion, of course and always.
That FEELING is tied directly to the main character.
So, what makes one main character different from another?
Answer: how she interacts with her world. How she reacts. Her fundamental nature when confronted with change or a threat/challenge/hurdle or an offer or desire, etc.
Does she create, like Jade? Does she protect, like Emma? Does she love, like Wisteria? Does she believe, like Rochelle?
Short answer for Dusk?
Yes. To all of the above.
So knowing how my main character reacts to challenges, knowing her capabilities, how do I force her out of her comfort zone? How do I shake her to her core? How do I make her doubt? Falter?
A rather difficult thing to do when dealing with a practically immortal being with vast resources.
Continually finding/creating a ‘bad guy’ who is stronger than Dusk is rather … farfetched. [This holds true for Emma as well]. Making a bad guy smarter is possible, except that level of intelligence really relies on the writer (aka me) and I rarely manage to outsmart … anyone, so I have no illusions that I could pull off that dynamic in a story.
So then the bad guy has to be sneaky … has to be patient … has to learn how to play Dusk … how to manipulate her. Then they have to offer her something she can’t refuse or give her no other choice but to step onto the wrong path …
Thusly armed with my notebooks and sticky notes, I figured out the ‘bad guy’ for Archivist 2 by lunch.
Then with Ed Sheeran’s Afterglow (YouTube video) on repeat, I had the major plot points – aka the beginning, middle, and end – plugged into my structure (aka paradigm) by 2 p.m.
Oh, I won’t be silent and I won’t let go
I will hold on tighter ’til the afterglow
And we’ll burn so bright ’til the darkness softly clears
Ed Sheeran, Afterglow
And, ahem, I might have paused for a few moments early on and dropped a few notes into my notebook for Amplifier 6 (yes, I’m writing that series a book ahead now). 🙂
Headache or not, apparently the muse only needed a little juice. Though a hot chocolate, the brand new notebooks, and some pretty ink might have helped along the way.
In Less Than a Moment (Moments of the Adept Universe 0.3) aka Kandy 0.5 – first draft. 13,099 words. Done!
A shot of my desk while in the middle of writing Kandy’s second novelette. I’m honestly never certain why I do these things to myself – things requiring so much tissue – but I write what the muse wants me to write … blubbering and all.
Sorry, I really couldn’t find an excerpt that wasn’t a huge spoiler.
Stop reading now if you don’t want to wait until the end of March to read the rest.
***
Justin was dead.
I’d dragged him behind an industrial garbage bin … or maybe it was for recycling. At least I thought it had been me that had dragged him … blood streaking away from us back out into the middle of the alley. Justin’s blood. From the three gunshot wounds.
They’d shot him in the back.
I think.
Though it wasn’t yet clear to me who they were.
He’d gone down without a sound.
We’d been chatting and laughing … and …
Now Justin was dead.
Vaguely aware that I was panicking, I rolled Justin, tearing his T-shirt so I could get a better look at his back. I accidentally scored his pale skin with wolf claws that I hadn’t consciously manifested.
Blood was just pouring out of him, pooling underneath him. I was crouching in it, kneeling in it. His warm lifeblood.
I’d thought … if I could remove the bullets … but the wounds were already blackened at the edges, that poison spreading in dark veins of death.
Justin was dead.
Three bullets to the heart would do that.
Even to a werewolf.
If those bullets were silver.
And wielded by a sorcerer.
– In Less than a Moment (Moments of the Adept Universe 0.3), first draft except
***
If all goes smoothly, the third draft of In Less Than a Moment should drop in the inboxes of my newsletter subscribers on Thursday, March 25 – headache dependant, as always (unfortunately).
Reminder: my newsletter is not the same as following this blog and getting notifications. It’s not the same as following me on social media. You can sign up following the link under the image of the Adept Universe cookbook, either to your right (if you’re on a computer) or by scrolling down (if you’re on a mobile device). And, once again, I cannot force your email provider to deliver my emails to you. You must make certain you’re subscribed and check all your own folders – spam, junk, promos – on your end. 🙂
But! Don’t worry if you do miss the unedited shorts. I will be bundling them for publication at the end of 2021.
