neato keano

Iron Key, Active Brain

A key of iron, on a stump of wood…

This was my most popular Mosstodon pic lately. I can see why, it stopped me dead in my tracks while out with Boxnoggin. Intellectually I know someone doing work on the park infrastructure (or the road nearby) set it there and forgot it, or someone found it on the road and put it there so it didn’t puncture a passing tyre. But the visual glutton in me was arrested by the image, and the storyteller in me immediately began spinning tales, not just about the stranger who had placed it there for reasons I could guess at but would never know but also about a visitor from another world finding such an item, or a catastrophe striking and a survivor finding it in the wreckage, or even of the iron thing vibrating through layers of the real to become a magical key in some far-off dimension.

I amuse myself so handily it’s a wonder I need the internet at all. My brain is always like this. I’ve never in my life experienced a single moment of boredom, because the entire world is a smorgasbord and if for some reason the table is temporarily bare there’s always my inner expanses, and those never dry up. Of course, it could just mean that I’m very easily distracted, but I don’t mind. I like it that way.

The thingummy–I want to call it an eyelet, but that’s probably inaccurate–was gone by the time the dog and I wandered back through, which isn’t surprising. It was enough to see it once; the ideas remain. If I end up writing about an iron key in a few years we’ll all know why.

Can’t wait. Have a good weekend, my beloveds. (And don’t forget Friday Night Writes tonight!)

Hello, Cabbage

Cabbage and fennel in the foreground, blurry nasturtiums in the back. I am unsure if the cabbage seeds have actually sprouted, and I’m sure the fennel is going to do better because cabbage is surprisingly picky. It wants Very Good Soil, but these fellows are going to get what they get.

I mean, yes, I have a compost pile and I spread the resultant black gold every year, but reading the instructions on the free packet of cabbage seeds convinced me that they are finicky bastards who will probably not like anything I do for them.

And yet sauerkraut is so good for one, and if I manage to get a single head of cabbage out of the deal I will consider myself on the path to mastery.

Anyway, I am pleased as punch. I mean to spend the weekend off, probably finishing garden-bed preparation. But what I plan and what happens ain’t exactly ever been similar (even if I’m wearing a cunning hat).

And when I come back after Memorial Day, there will be a new serial premiering. Holy wow. Already halfway through the year. Maybe I’ll just spend the weekend not trying to think about that.

Over and out…

Almost Royal

In late spring, there’s an explosion of color as the rhododendrons and azaleas flower. It’s short indeed, but very vivid, and I like this particular bush. It’s friendly all year round, being on our usual morning canine ramble route. The lithadora under it is apparently the source of many fine smells, so both Boxnoggin and Miss B halt there for a good long while.

While they busily untangle the day’s news, I often exchange pleasantries with this fine lady. She’s far taller than me, but very gracious and willing to speak at length about the weather. The dry spring is nice, most of the plants are saying, because it’s cut down on slug and snail production. Which means more vegetation.

I call this particular flower “almost royal” because it’s purple and quite majestic in its own way. There was an azalea I ran past yesterday positively loaded with white blossom, but I didn’t get to slow down long enough for a picture. That’s all right; this is just as good.

Here’s hoping for a pleasant weekend, my beloveds. I’ve lost almost a week to the immense psychological relief of being vaccinated; I need to get back to work in the worst way. But there’s always time to walk the dogs, and have a little small talk with an almost-royal almost-tree.

See you next Monday…

Some Magic, and Some Mystery

I’m still ill and only upright for short periods of time, so I’ve got something a little different for you today, dear ones. I’m participating in an upcoming ebook box set with a collection of some very fine writers, and just LOOK at this beautiful cover!

Secrets mixed with magic can be deadly.

Secrets have the power to protect or destroy. Forgotten lore, mysterious weapons, and magical libraries can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Covert missions, secret societies, and lost memories can provide salvation. Prepare for adventure and unlock the many secrets in MAGIC & MYSTERY!

Delve into these exciting worlds with USA Today and International best-selling authors Megg Jensen, Lilith Saintcrow, Krista D. Ball, Skyla Dawn Cameron, Jane Glatt, and Rhonda Parrish.

This collection of 6 novels includes:
•DAUGHTER OF DRAGON ASH (Artifacts of Indarra Book 1) – by Megg Jensen
•SOLOMON’S SEAL (Livi Talbot Book 1) – by Skyla Dawn Cameron
•A MAGICAL INHERITANCE (Ladies Occult Society Book 1) – by Krista D. Ball
•ONE IN THE HAND – by Rhonda Parrish
•PIRATES & PRIVATEERS (The Intelligencers Book 1) – by Jane Glatt
•DESIRES, KNOWN – by Lilith Saintcrow

On sale April 9, 2021; available for preorder through Amazon, Amazon CA, Amazon UK, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Apple.

My particular offering for this ebook set is Desires, Known, my genie-and-accountant romance packed with snark and not a little gore. This is a limited-time, limited-edition set only in ebook, and it’s chock-full of amazing. I was thrilled to be asked to participate.

And now, since I’ve been out of commission for days and look to be out for still more, I have a few fires to put out while I’m upright and conscious. Pretty sure I’ll run out of steam in an hour or so and have to stagger down the hall, barely making it to the bed before I collapse. I hate being ill, and whatever this is, it’s awful. It doesn’t seem to be Covid, though, since I’ve been able to smell all the way through, there’s no fever, and no digestive upsets. (More than you wanted to know, I’m sure.)

The more I rest, the better it will be later. At least, that’s the hope.

See you in a bit…

Bee Ware

You might not be able to see it, but the crack between the concrete and the dirt behind the sign holds the entrance to a beehive. On warm mornings they are busily flying in and out, pollinating, gathering, doing their bee business. The people who live there put the sign up a couple weeks ago, and I think they absolutely mean to leave the bees alone long-term since they’re not harming anyone. Which makes me feel good; every time I pass plenty of the little fellows come to say hello and play tag with Miss B.

When I’ve felt like humanity is a shitshow not worth saving this week, I’ve thought of this–people quietly leaving the bees alone, merely putting up a sign to protect both the hive and passers-by. And somehow, it makes the rest of us worth fighting for.

We don’t have to be awful. And really, most people aren’t.

Gods grant I remember it.

RELEASE DAY: Finder

That’s right, my lovelies! Today is the (long-awaited) day the sixth book in the Watchers series drops!

He’s not the only one watching her. . .

For years Jorie Camden has been quietly helping her police friends pursue cold cases, and she’s paid the price over and over again, her talent for Finding stretched to the limit. Now something different is stalking the streets, taking children–something old, and foul, and Dark. The cops won’t admit there’s a problem, so what can a Lightbringer do but solve the mystery on her own?

Caleb is a Watcher of Circle Lightfall, and his mission is simple: protect the witch he’s assigned to–the witch who just happens to be able to touch him without causing agonizing pain. It’s his one shot at redemption, and it’ll take every weapon he has, plus his willingness to play dirty. Even if his witch seems to be chasing something no one can see.

Yet something Dark is indeed in their city. And now that it’s aware of pursuit, it has plans for Jorie and her talent–plans not even Caleb might be able to stop. . .

NOW AVAILABLE AT AMAZON, B&N, KOBO, GOOGLE, AND APPLE.

It’s been a long, long time. This book has had a particularly difficult road to publication (though nothing like Afterwar, thank every god there ever was or will be) and honestly I never thought it would see the light of day. But it has, it’s finally here, and I’m super glad. A big shout-out goes to Brenda Chin, editor extraordinaire, who didn’t give up on the book (or me!) when the going got tough, plus the crew at Belle/ImaJinn who didn’t either. And, as always, a special thank you to my lovely Patreon and Gumroad subscribers, who got to see little bits of the book and cheered me over the finish line; last but not least, thank you to all the fans who wrote to reassure me that yes, you would like to read another book about the Circle’s black-leather knights.

I have other news in the pipeline, but today is for performing my usual release day feat of sticking my head in a bucket of ice water and staying there until the performance anxiety abates a bit. Soon enough I’ll be back at work, as usual; it’s nice to reach a mountaintop and gaze at all the peaks yet to climb, breathing deep and knowing you’ve at least scaled one.

Some days, one is enough.

Audio ROADTRIP, and FINDER!

Well, isn’t this a banner Tuesday?

I’m pleased and proud–as punch, as Lee would say–to announce that Roadtrip Z is now in audio! Narrated by the amazing Erin deWard, the adventures of Ginny, Lee, Juju, and the gang are now available in a silken voice, ready to slip into your ear-holes. Cotton Crossing and In the Ruins are both available now; Pocalypse Road and Atlanta Bound are forthcoming.

I don’t often go back to previous work, but last night I got down the omnibus. Paging through it, I just had to smile; Lee is just so Lee and Ginny is so damn Ginny, and Juju’s the absolute best. Of course I couldn’t tell a zombie story without a dog and a road trip, either.

I do have some free audiobook codes, and if I can scrape together the energy newsletter subscribers and other patrons will get a chance to win a few.

But that’s not all the news I have for you today, my beloveds. Oh, no indeed.

You guys have seen bits of Finder’s Watcher here and there; my subscribers have, of course, seen more. I am also pleased and proud to report that the latest Watchers book (my goodness, we’re up to six now) has a cover, and will release on August 21, 2020.

He’s not the only one watching her…

For years Jorie Camden has been quietly helping her police friends pursue cold cases, and she’s paid the price over and over again, her talent for Finding stretched to the limit. Now something different is stalking the streets, taking children—something old, and foul, and Dark. The cops won’t admit there’s a problem, so what can a Lightbringer do but solve the mystery on her own?

Caleb is a Watcher of Circle Lightfall, and his mission is simple: protect the witch he’s assigned to—the witch who just happens to be able to touch him without causing agonizing pain. It’s his one shot at redemption, and it’ll take every weapon he has, plus his willingness to play dirty. Even if his witch seems to be chasing something no one can see.

Yet something Dark is indeed in their city. And now that it’s aware of pursuit, it has plans for Jorie and her talent—plans not even Caleb might be able to stop…

The preorder links are coming up as I type this (Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Google, and Apple) and there will be a paperback release too. As soon as I have the links for the latter I’ll update the series page.

It’s been a long, difficult time getting this book to print; I couldn’t be happier that we’ve finally done it. Now, of course, I need to be thinking about the next one… but that’s for another day.

I woke up pretty down about the state of the world, but there are good things happening right now too. I have to keep telling stories or I’ll drown; hopefully, said stories will provide other people with a little relief.

And as usual, there’s dogs to walk and maybe a run to get in, though the latter might take a back seat to a nap. I don’t feel rested at all, and there’s miles yet to go today.

I suppose I’d best get started, then.