Apologies in advance and a snippet

I’m about to post SEVEN administrative posts on the blog, namely a welcome sequence. Hopefully you find it somewhat interesting, but I apologize in advance for spamming your inbox and I offer this snippet of Misfits 1 and a cool shot of a headstone that features heavily in the book in recompense.

“Where did you park?”

“On West Forty-First.”

“But you came in on Fraser.”

He went quiet for a moment, then asked in a deceptively casual tone, “How did you know?”

I laughed. “That’s for me to know, sorcerer.”

“And for me to find out?”

I grinned, feeling myself starting to flush again. What the hell was going on with my hormones? “I’m cultivating an air of mystery.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “With the undead turtle, the knitting, and the … “ He peered down at the colorful fringe of my poncho. “… beads clicking and clacking while you walk?”

“Yes,” I said haughtily. “You have absolutely no idea where to even start figuring me out.”

He laughed. A little uproariously for my taste. He sobered quickly though, murmuring absentmindedly, “mysterious through and through.”

I didn’t press my point.

Mysteries didn’t explain themselves after all.

– Misplaced Souls (Misfits 1), third draft

Misfits 1: off for story editing

I’m about to be sipping a hot chocolate, knitting by the fire, and enjoying a fav audiobook – One Fell Sweep, Innkeeper 3, by Ilona Andrews – but first, I wanted to share an excerpt to celebrate Misfits 1 being sent off for story editing (aka developmental editing) – YAY!

The snippet below is one of Michael’s fav (nonspoiler) moments from the book.

Mountain View Cemetary, Vancouver, BC. October 2019

He reached for me. And, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, I wrapped my arm around his again, leaning into him for comfort.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “For breaking the rules. For me.”

“Misfits unite!” I declared quietly, trying to jest but not quite making it work.

He snorted. “Misfits. Right. I’m not sure how I got grouped in with the rest of you though.”

“I didn’t write the club guidelines,” I groused. “I just enforce them. Hence having your back.”

– Misplaced Souls (Misfits 1), chapter one, third draft (unedited/unproofed).

Dowser 8.5 is in wild.

Living on the west coast of Canada means that I often wake up to find that a few voracious readers (in other timezones) have already consumed a new release while I slept, and Graveyards, Visions, and Other Things that Byte (Dowser 8.5) hasn’t been an exception. I’m so, so glad that so many of you have enjoyed hearing from Mory, Rochelle, and Jasmine. I very much enjoyed writing their novellas, exploring Mory’s and Jasmine’s voices as well as getting a chance to speak through Rochelle again.

I stumbled upon this picture two days ago, a long-time friend found it among his collection, scanned it, and sent it to me last year. And, after exclaiming for some time about being SO young and SO slim, I filed it among my digital photos without another thought.

I don’t often share personal photos (of myself), but I thought you might find it fun to see a tiny little bit of my life experience bleeding into the character of Mory. Allow me to present Narissa, my inspiration for Mory’s turtle, Ed.

MCD, age 20 (?), with a red earred slider semi-aquatic turtle, aka Narissa.

I also thought that today was an opportune time to mention that writing Dowser 8.5 has spawned numerous ideas for more side stories and that the Misfits of the Adept Universe series, starting with a Mory book, will be coming your way in 2019.

As always, thank you for reading. Without you it would just be me in my tiny writing shed wondering if the words I spend hours a day typing were ever going to be read by anyone else.

Okay. I’m making fudge marshmallow bars now. Then later there will be homemade pizza!!

Sunshine & Lollipops.