Status - February 2020

As y'all noticed, my output over the last year significantly slowed down, in part because I'm finding Tangleways challenging.  An odd thing, given I have a very good idea of what I want to write in it.  I think, because I consider Pyramids the best book I've ever written, I keep worrying that the direct sequel won't live up to it, and keep trying to get every word right.  Giving myself permission to just write the book I want is important.

On the plus side, I am writing a ton lately, but that's because I put Tangleways down for the moment to give myself some head space, and went back to a silly side-project I've been writing on-and-off for a couple of years.  It's a high school romance with a lot of explicit sex, which definitely doesn't fit the rest of my output - I ususally don't even put sex scenes in my books because mostly they're unnecessary to the story.  But I fell in love with the characters, and have been having a lot of fun writing 'Firsts'.  [I'll probably publish that under a pen name, since it's completely off-genre, but I'll link to it from here.]

Apologies to all those waiting for Tangleways!  I've been keeping you on a chain for quite a while now, but I promise not to pull a McKinley!  Once I've gotten Firsts (and maybe Seconds) out of my system, I'll definitely have given myself enough distance to look at what I've done on Tangleways with clear eyes, and I'm already finding myself looking forward to getting back to it.

Snow Day - a Touchstone short story

Interrupting my packed schedule of reading Chinese webnovels, here is a bit of seasonal fluff for the Touchstone fans.  It was meant to be a quick short story, but turned into 10,000 words somehow.

Expect character glimpses and worldbuilding - this is not a plot-heavy story, though I did end up thinking quite a bit about the times of the year when families get together to have arguments about minor things but generally be cheerful at each other.

[The snow, of course, is not seasonal at all for Australia.  It was 44C here yesterday, but thankfully cooler today. (I'm not anywhere near bushfires, btw, though we do get a fair bit of smoke from them.)]

As usual, the publication process will take varying amounts of time depending on the retailer.  I'll add links below as they come up.  [Published in 2020 or 2019 depending on what part of the planet you're on. :) ]

Smashwords
Amazon US, UK, AU
Kobo US, AU
Google Play

Search Apple's app to get the story there (this usually takes a couple of days to publish).

Listening to the stars

And here, to interrupt the Touchstone books, is And All the Stars!  Brilliantly narrated by Coralie Bywater, listening to this in audio only makes me want to see this one as a movie. :)

• Apple (search through Apple Books).
• Audible.
• Kobo.
• Scribd.

Also available through a host of other channels.  Check your favourite distributor to see if it's there.

I'm hoping Caszandra will be out first quarter next year (still in production).

That will probably be it for audio books for some time - I enjoy listening to them, but it will take quite some time to see return on investment for them.  Hope you enjoy this one!

Lab Rat Chitter

Next off the rank for audiobooks is Lab Rat One! 

• Apple (search through Apple Books).
• Audible.
• Kobo.
• Scribd.

Also available through a host of other channels.  Check your favourite distributor to see if it's there.

I've also commissioned an audiobook for And All the Stars.  While I don't think audiobooks will be a big return on investment for me, I love listening to them myself, so couldn't resist at least one more.

Cover Reveal: Swift the Chase

Here's some fun news - a compilation of stories from a bunch of cool authors.  I've not really participated in this kind of thing in the past, but it's hard to resist having my name on a cover with some of my favourite authors.  I also really like the cover (done by  Jenny Zemanek of Seedlings Design studio).

Swift The Chase features scenes or shorts from 9 authors, including Intisar Khanani, Raf Morgan, Casey Blair, Rachel Neumeier, P. Djélì Clark, Sherwood Smith, Joyce Chng, and Melissa McShane (and me, of course).  It's be out on 8 October 2019, free on most platforms.

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Magic—danger—and the thrill of the chase!

Experience the rush of racing across rooftops with thieves—or the desperation of fleeing an assassin who knows you a little too well. From the fish market of a tropical island sultanate, to the monster-filled alleys of a steampunk London, to a land where souls take different forms as they rise or fall through the layers of the world, this collection of chase scenes and vignettes set in nine distinctive worlds will leave you spellbound.

Find unexpected allies, unshakeable enemies, sudden twists and turns, and always the swiftness of the chase—whether you’re on the hunt, or racing for your life.

This sampler includes an exclusive bonus scene set during the events of Tea Set and Match by Casey Blair, available for free online, and a scene from an unpublished novel by Rachel Neumeier not available anywhere else. The excerpts by Intisar Khanani, Raf Morgan, P. Djèlí Clark, Sherwood Smith, Joyce Chng, Melissa McShane, and Andrea K. Höst are from longer works that are available for sale at all major retailers. 

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I'll be participating in a Facebook launch party on the release day, and there's even a giveaway (which includes an audio copy of Stray! (see the Rafflecopter giveaway)

Sentence by sentence

Still making progress on Tangleways, but as the title suggests, not very quickly.  I'm having a very consumer-oriented year, just reading and reading, with a side of game playing.  Very unlikely to get a book out this year as a result, though I am having fun with the story, even if it's not a fast one to emerge.

I really like Iona and Wen (both of whom appeared briefly in Pyramids, and have larger roles throughout the series).

I promise not to let my current addiction to Chinese webnovels alter the story too much.  No face-slapping.  No revenges.  Am going to make quite a few of you cry, though, because there's a third character I like a lot in this story, and they're in an unwinnable bind.

Glitches

Note that the last chapter of the audiobook is currently appearing after the glossary and character list. I've put in a request to fix and will let you all know.  When it's fixed, you should be able to download a correct version, but until then just skip past the character list and glossary to hear the last chapter!