Categories
teaser writing

Dowser 8: teaser and preorder links

I’m heading into Vancouver tomorrow to see an allergy specialist. Yes, it only took me a year to admit I needed to get tested and another three months to get an appointment. The often-daily headaches are the worse part, and I seriously hope the doctor has some insight on curbing those.

Anyway, since it will be quiet around here, but likely a storm of chocolate and food photos over on my Instagram account, I thought I’d drop a teaser on the blog along with some preorder links before I took off.

After I get back from Vancouver, it will be all about Dowser 8 all of the time. I’ll post the preorder ‘big box’ giveaway, and excerpts, etc. All leading up to June 28!!

BTW, it was the editor who insisted this (below) should be the next teaser I shared. So blame him. 😉

“Warner!” I slapped him on the shoulder. “Stop being drunk for a moment, and listen to me. The fire breather is not going to be cool with you and Kett getting drunk with Drake, then me feeding him penis cupcakes.” – Misfits, Gemstones, and Other Shattered Magic (Dowser 8)

PREORDER NOW

AMAZON – iBOOKS – KOBO – BARNES & NOBLE – SMASHWORDS

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.

Categories
ebook marketing publishing self-publishing writing

Dowser 8: cover reveal & synopsis

PREORDER COMING SOON!

RELEASE DATE: JUNE 28, 2018

Synopsis: Two more elves were at large in Vancouver, but thankfully they’d been keeping a low profile while I faced the most daunting task of my twenty-seven years — planning and executing my wedding. I was dealing with a disgruntled grandmother with an extensive guest wish list of the magically inclined, all of whom didn’t particularly like each other. Plus a fiance whose concept of time was altered whenever he stepped into a dimensional pocket, and a best friend who’d spent months planning what was certain to be an insane bachelorette party. How was I supposed to find time to worry about possible invasions, or the motley crew of magical misfits who had unrepentantly upended my peaceful existence?

Not that I was complaining.

Who didn’t love wielding deadly weapons, opening a bakery, and marrying their soul mate in the same week? Or was that just my sort of thing?

Book cover by Elizabeth Mackey Design

***

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.

Categories
Little Pleasures personal reflection

The mystery of the disappearing caramels.

I feel like the only possible way I could have eaten the nine salted caramels that came in this box from Hummingbird Chocolate Maker in twenty-four hours is if Michael has been ‘helping’ me.

However … I’m somewhat concerned about accusing him of stealing caramels from my stash. Because, if he hasn’t, I’ve just admitting to eating nine caramels. In twenty-four hours.

It’s a mystery that is doomed to remain unsolved.

Just as long as I get the box into the recycling bin without Michael noticing.

Categories
baking giveaways

And the winners of the cupcake naming contest are …

Chill in a Cup – first suggested by Erin W. Thank you! The recipe for Chill in a Cup – mint chocolate cake with mint chocolate buttercream – will be in my newsletter on May 1, 2018 along with an exclusive excerpt. So click here to make sure you’re subscribed.

Tingle in a Cup – first suggested by Linda R. Thank you! The recipe for Tingle in a Cup – mint chocolate cake with mint buttercream – will appear in my newsletter on June 5, 2018.

Both recipes will be added to the Dowser cookbook, and a new download will be made available on the release day for Dowser 8 (which hasn’t been set yet, sorry – soon!!)

Both winners have been notified by email.

Categories
editing writing

Things I googled today.

I’m doing a final pass on Dowser 8 before I send it back to the editor for line and content editing. At this point I’m scanning the entire book, checking on and (hopefully) resolving anything that I’ve highlighted in my previous pass(es).

Highlights usually denote new sections that I’ve written (in response to the editor’s story notes) that I want to go over a few more times. I also highlight certain words that are bugging me (this happens a lot while I’m writing) and things that need to be double checked – timeline, background, etc.

And some highlights are things that need to be verified by google. Because I often don’t want to take the time while writing to go online and possibly break my flow.

So I thought it might be fun to make a list of the things I googled while doing a final editing pass on Dowser 8.

  • Is there a a series recently built brick townhomes on the corner of Vine Street and West 2nd Avenue in Vancouver? Nope! I’m mixing up streets. According to Google Maps, the red house with the tiny picket fence is still there!
  • Are there lights along the seawall path by Kits Pool? Google Maps confirms yes!
  • The menu at Browns Socialhouse.
  • Amedei Porcelana Chocolate Bar (I have one in the house, but I was too lazy to go look at the label).
  • Was BC Place built for Expo 86? Answer: Nope. 1983. Removed reference in text.
  • I also spent A LOT of time poking all around Gastown on Google street view.

Also, for fun, here are a few things I had to double check from the other books during my final pass:

  • Was Jade wearing cupcake pajama pants in Dowser 4? Answer: Yes.
  • Jade first met Yazi four years ago? Answer: July 2013. So almost four and half.
  • Was the Southern Pack mentioned in Oracle 2? Answer: No! I changed the name to the Gulf Coast North American Pack
  • Are there laurel hedges at the top of Gran’s driveway? No specific mention in Dowser 1, so I went ahead and added them.
  • Double checked the description of Pulou’s knife. Seen in Dowser 4: a nasty-looking blade with a gigantic emerald embedded in the center of its guard. And in Dowser 6: shortsword with the huge emerald embedded in its guard.
  • Description of the treasure keeper’s ivory Buddha. In Dowser 4: a three-foot-tall Buddha carved out of some sort of tusk. And Dowser 6: The three-foot-high carved ivory statue was still wearing my mangled katana like a lopsided crown.
  • Pulou’s age: 600? Answer: Nope. 500+
  • Taste of the elf’s magic in Dowser 7: “It came with the smell of rain after a terrible dry spell … a storm on the horizon … and, underneath the wildness, sharp woodsy notes — cedar and sap, perhaps.”

I need to go over the final scene again but I’m going to leave that to tomorrow when I have fresh eyes.

Categories
excerpts teaser tuesday writing

Dowser 8: the trick was …

Even beyond elves running amok, the tenor of Vancouver was changing. And it always got worse before it got better, didn’t it? The trick was getting through the worst of it without losing anyone in the process.

Or murdering anyone, I supposed.

And I had yet to pull off that feat.

– Dowser 8, Chapter 3, fourth draft

And, because you might ask, I haven’t set a release date yet. 🙂 Late-spring/early-summer, best guess.

***

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.

 

Categories
Knitting

Knitting while married

Me: The class schedule for Knit City 2018 is out. It looks like they have some great instructors!

Michael: Do you get to fan girl? *teasingly* Oooh, is Andrea Mowry going to be there?

Me: *narrows eyes at Michael**then, scanning further down the list, discovers that Andrea IS going to be teaching**gushing ensues*

Ahem.

And there is a lesson on how to know you might talk about knitting, and one knitting designer in particular, a little too much. 🤣

Link round up:

Knit City

Andrea Mowry (I follow her on instagram)

Some of the items I’ve knit with Andrea’s patterns:

Find Your Fade #1 – Click picture for Ravelry project page
Fade Your Fade #2 – click picture for Ravelry project page
Pint-sized So Faded – click picture for Ravelry project page
Comfort Fade Cardi – click to view Ravelry project page
Categories
editing Knitting writing

It might not look like it …

… but I’m working through the editor’s (aka SFG’s) story notes for Dowser 8 today.

I’m three-quarters of the way through knitting armwarmers in Gauge Dye Works’ self-striping merino twist yarn in the Sweet Baby James colourway. If knitting updates interest you, I usually post more on my Instagram page.

Yep, this is what brainstorming a ‘missing’ scene looked like earlier this afternoon.

I’ve also spent the day trying to convince myself that I have absolutely no need for a new iPad, even if I would totally have fun writing with the pencil.

And .. that’s editing in a nut shell. For this book, at least.

Categories
writing

The shadow leech strikes after midnight.

I wrote this note to myself for Dowser 8 over a two months ago. Bring Freddie back? Where? It has been stuck to my desk through writing the third draft of Dowser 8, the entire first draft of Dowser 8.5, and the second draft of Mory’s novella in D8.5. Frustrated with it taunting me, I stuck it to the front of my current notebook a few days ago.

 

Then, last night while lying in bed and trying to will myself to sleep (as I do every night) and not even thinking about the Freddie hole in Dowser 8, I was was hit with ideas for not one but three scenes (in Dowser 8, Dowser 8.5, and Dowser 9) involving Freddie. Concerned I might forget, I scrambled to find my glasses in the dark (I didn’t want to wake Michael) and email the ideas/scenes to myself. Actually, it probably would have been easier to get out of bed and grab my laptop. Ha.

My point? The muse moves in mysterious ways. And I have absolutely no idea why – after racking my brain for months for a good way to weave Freddie further into the three books – I suddenly figured it out while lying in bed and trying to fall asleep.

There you go.

Bonus: finding emails with scenes sketched out in my inbox the next morning. Plus I didn’t sleep badly after that at all!

I’m working on the second draft of Rochelle’s novelette in Dowser 8.5 today! Fun! Fun!

Categories
giveaways writing

Dowser 8: cupcake short list

Okay, I put out a call for cupcake names for the two new cupcakes featured in Dowser 8 last week. And you all submitted A LOT of amazing possibilities. I took some time this afternoon to short list a bunch of the suggestions, attempting to pair them together in a way that worked for me.

So without further ado here is my shortlist.

Cupcake #1 (first row): chocolate mint cake with chocolate mint buttercream

Cupcake #2 (second row): chocolate mint cake with mint buttercream

Chill in a Cup          Tingle in a Cup

Brisk in a Cup          Shiver in a Cup

Snuggle (or Snug) in a Cup          Satisfaction in a Cup

Rush in a Cup          Quiver in a Cup

Flutter in a Cup          Frisky in a Cup

Spark in a Cup          Seduction in a Cup

Awe in a Cup          Exhilaration in a Cup

Now, I’m going to send this list to Michael to see if he can help me narrow it down. I’ve only done a first pass, so I have a feeling a few of these pairing might be swapped around before we settle on just two names.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit. It was difficult to narrow the pairings down. I actually had a bunch of single entries that I really liked but I couldn’t get them to really work with any of the other entries.

Reminder: some of the suggestions were doubled/tripled/etc. When the final two names are selected, the FIRST person who submitted the name for consideration will be contacted and awarded the prize/credit.

Thank you for playing along!!

_____________________________

Edited:

Michael’s (and my) finalists:

Snuggle in a Cup          Frisky in a Cup

Chill in a Cup          Tingle in a Cup

And now I think I’ll need to write the recipes and test bake the cupcakes in order to decide which of the two options suit them best. So you’ll have to give me until next weekend to finalize the giveaway!!

Fun!