What Released

I’m don’t think anything big released publicly since the last update in…July? But I do have Hell Fire (Elis O’Connor #4) serializing at Patreon now.

Elis O’Connor has finally crossed to the Oblivion dimension in search of her missing brother, joined by his witch ex-girlfriend Callie Young and part-demon Melinoë Takata.

Even though the dimension is dying, she figures her brother should be easy to find given he’s all but a prince to the creatures there. Instead, she finds a world descended into chaos and war, its former antichrist ruler toppled, and his supporters hunted down and slaughtered.

And the instability of the dimension during its death throes means they don’t have a lot of time left to find Devdan and get home again.

Elis figures at least being in another dimension means some of her troubles—like the police on her trail for her serial-killing extracurricular activities—will be on pause, but unfortunately, she’s not without enemies in Oblivion either.

Because someone believes the sins of the mother should be visited upon the daughter—and as the only child of prolific assassin Zara Lain, there’s a lot Elis can be made to suffer for.

Once again, Patreon is the only place to get these in ebook form, at least until the series is done 2-3 years from now, at which point I’ll consider a wider release (but am not guaranteeing it). There is a chance I’ll be setting the serials up at Ko-fi as a second option, but I don’t have the spare hours in the day right now for that.

We’ve had three Hell Fire bundles of chapters so far. That’ll pause in November for the extended preview of A Wild Kind of Darkness and then the rest will post in December, January, and February.

In August, patrons also got a short story about Gavin from Dweller on the Threshold/Watcher of the Woods and it introduces elements from Stranger in the Halls.

I’m fiddling a little with that book–I’m having trouble figuring out where it starts because it’s structured a little differently than the others, but if you want to know what it’ll be about, you’ll find the rough jacket copy at the end of that story.

What’s Upcoming

In three short weeks, Waverly’s second book releases. A handful of folks already have special edition hardcovers headed their way, though I do have some signed paperbacks still. (I’ll have more hardcovers in stock soon, and they’ll be on Amazon.)

A startling find has altered Waverly Jones’ whole world and given her a reason to stay in her hometown of Port Milton—which means she needs work to pay some bills. So when she’s asked to look into a sixty-year-old double homicide cold case, she takes the job, no matter how unlikely it is to be solved.

Behind decades of rumours and theories—most of them scandalous and unsubstantiated—a portrait of an unconventional woman in a very conventional small town takes form, and the murder baffles even Waverly. The evidence and case files are gone, the leads from sixty years ago were dead ends, and while there is no shortage of suspects and motives, it seems impossible any of the witnesses are still alive—let alone the culprit.

On top of that, the mystery disappearance of the detective she’s been in love with since she was seventeen finally has some answers, but has led to even more questions. What actually befell him eleven years ago? What happened to The Crossroads Butcher?

And will her sister’s body ever be found?

Again, this one picks up right where the last one left off (or about thirty hours later).

Kindle | Kobo | iBooks | Nook | Payhip | Paperback | Hardcover | Signed Paperback on Etsy | Signed Hardcover on Etsy (sometimes gift boxes are also available)

For patrons, the bimonthly short is written and scheduled for October 30–this is Zara’s POV, from when Elis was little. It’s a Halloween one, obviously.

I have been planning to write this for ages. Originally it was going to be a wide release (and possibly a little longer) so you might have seen it briefly on my Upcoming page here a few years ago. But let’s be honest: everyone hates my short stories lol. I think they go into them expecting novels? I have no idea, maybe they’re just terrible, but I’ve actually taken the River short and novella off from sale widely (I think Rebellion is still at Kobo, maybe?) because I sell maybe one or two copies every one to two years, and they tend to get one-starred. Publishing is hard enough, it’s not worth the sanity points for something I might make thirty-five cents on.

But we’ve hit a point in Elis’s series where this event from her past–that both Elis has hinted about as well as Zara did in Future Days–is going to be relevant, so this seems like a great time to post it.

Also upcoming, as I think I mentioned here: a rare sighting of everyone’s favourite bog witch at Kobo in another week.

What I’m Working On

I don’t even know how to answer that at this point–I’ve got nothing I’m seriously writing, as I have to switch gears and get another round of final revision done in Alone at Night before it goes for editing.

There are three horror novels “in progress” by which I mean I have a few thousand words but nothing seriously chewing at me to be written. Waverly 7, too, but I’m trying to hold off on that one until a little bit more gels in my brain (we’ll see).

That, still, is basically all I want to be working on though. It’s all Waverly all the time in my head.

I think that speaks to my anxiety right now. It’s bad, but it’s that undercurrent of anxiety in the background that is nonstop, so there won’t be a moment where the tension releases (maybe some in two weeks when I find out if the shots are working or not, but there is still tax stuff, and pet expenses as Rodney’s anemia is confirmed to be worsening). There is a lot about Waverly that is reconnecting me with when I was a child and very alone and writing as a way to cope with anxiety and trauma because it’s mystery based, which is what I used to write back then, and has bits of Twin Peaks’ DNA in it.

It is also not selling, like, at all lol, so “write a thing basically only a dozen people will end up reading” might be what I need right now, because fewer readers should hopefully mean less hatemail.

Other than that, I’m just catching up on freelance stuff–I’m still behind on email from when I was on holidays as every email I send results in three more at this rate (not a bad thing! Email me as needed! I need/want work! Just prepare for longer wait times the deeper my answer needs to be!).

A Note About Patreon

Yeah Patreon is doing a…thing again.

Remember how it started as a return to the art patron model? Which is why it’s called “Patreon” and supporters were “patrons”?

Why keep doing a thing like that when they could mash it into an attempt at a social network blog site and push non-paying members on us?

I’m big mad. At least I found a way to turn the “join for free” button off of the main page.

If you want free updates, you’ll find them here at my blog or at my newsletter. Patreon is not the place for that. Patreon is where I make money, just like Kobo and Kindle and so on.

Anyone previously following me has now been converted to a “member”, which skews the number of patrons (and why I think, in part, they removed the “goal” feature). Only I have access to how many are paying.

This does not alter my milestone goal, it’s just that patrons will have to trust me with regards to the numbers. The dozen folks now listed as “members” are not eligible for the eventual contest, nor are their numbers counted toward it. They cannot join the write-ins. I do not blame anyone who wants to join for free, but trying to be clear about my terms–you still have to be an actual patron supporting my work monthly to get stuff there.

It’s taken three treadmill sessions to write this and now I have to be off again. My eyelid is twitching from eyestrain but I don’t have time for rest, so here we are.

What Released

Last quarter was pretty busy.

The third Elis O’Connor novel, Soul Spell, released in paperback (grab it at Amazon or at my Etsy shop, which I will reopen when the local heatwave eases) in May and was available to all patrons in June. It’s now for patrons $5+.

And, of course, The Killing Beach released.

I looked back at old sales and preorder numbers for previous books to remind myself not to be totally discouraged, that it takes a long time for a new series to find it’s core group of even 50-100 readers who buy it and are devoted and talk it up. The couple of people who read it upon release enjoyed it and love Waverly, which means a lot to me, and have confirmed that the hardcovers turned out beautifully (still one in my Etsy shop with a gift box, once I reopen after the heatwave).

Kindle – Kobo – iBooks – Nook – Payhip – Paperback – Hardcover – Signed paperback on Etsy – Hardcover Gift Box

It’s still her head I most want to be in right now (reasons I dissected a little here), although her fifth book is still on hold for me.

I finished a couple of Patreon shorts. First is Heartbeats, which is Nate POV and set primarily during Soul Spell but also has a flashback to what would’ve been Demons of Oblivion #8, with Zara.

I’m also doing a West two-parter for his Patreon tier–Father’s Day part 1 has posted, and part 2 will be later this month. It’s a tricky one, set in the series’ distant future (well after what will be publicly published) and right before his limited edition pandemic novella I posted a few years ago. I’m not sure who will read it, but hopefully the spoiler-adverse download it and tuck it away for much later.

It helped me a lot to write it–it was an easier way to try to reconnect with the series and reopen that door to it again that I had to firmly close to release the previous book. So I’m glad I did it.

What’s Upcoming

I finished and scheduled Patreon’s next bimonthly short for August and it’s a Gavin POV one set after Watcher but before the final book.

I was kind of surprised at his popularity, but he’s a good guy so I guess I get it. That third book, Stranger in the Halls, is not on my writing agenda yet. I took at look at it the other day and realized I need a far better handle on the premise. I usually write most of my jacket copy–at least a rough draft of it–before I write the actual book. If I can distill the premise down clearly and concisely, then I know the book enough to write it. Stranger is still too vague for me to write, although I do want to get to it (despite Watcher really not doing well enough to justify the time spent on another horror book–but then at this point, nothing is justifying the time I’m spending on it lol).

The second Livi Talbot boxset is out on September 19 (the day before Solomon’s Seal‘s seven-year anniversary!?!).

If you’ve not caught up, that’s on Kobo, Nook, and Apple (and will be at Payhip). Reminder: I don’t do bigger boxsets on Amazon because of their pricing system penalizing books priced over $9.99 (and I don’t sell much there anyway).

The next big release is Waverly Jones #2: A Wild Kind of Darkness.

A startling find has altered Waverly Jones’ whole world and given her a reason to stay in her hometown of Port Milton—which means she needs work to pay some bills. So when she’s asked to look into a sixty-year-old double-homicide cold case, she takes the job, no matter how unlikely it is to be solved.

Behind decades of rumours and theories—most of them scandalous and unsubstantiated—a portrait of an unconventional woman in a very conventional small town takes form, and the murder baffles even Waverly. The evidence and case files are gone, the leads from sixty years ago were dead ends, and while there is no shortage of suspects and motives, it seems impossible any of the witnesses are still alive—let alone the culprit.

On top of that, the mystery disappearance of the detective she’s been in love with since she was seventeen finally has some answers, but has led to even more questions. What actually befell him eleven years ago? What happened to The Crossroads Butcher?

And will her sister’s body ever be found?

November 7 2023: Kindle | Kobo | iBooks | Nook 

The first chapter is currently up for all patrons.

There will be another special hardcover edition with an alternate cover and an interior line art illustration (that’s already done) closer to the release date.

Then April 2 2024 will be #3, Alone at Night. Kindle – Kobo – iBooks – Nook 

Tentatively, the first Waverly boxset will be out March 2025 and Silent All These Years, Waverly #4, in May 2025.

What I’m Working On

Whew, that’s a weird one.

I’ve got Hell Fire open in front of me right now, trying to get a zero draft done of that so I can get it scheduled at Patreon. I don’t know if I’ll have enough done by August to start, but I’ve reread chunks of Oblivion to remind me of the world and I’ve been through the first five chapters of Hell Fire and written another thousand words today.

I did get a strong draft of A Wild Kind of Darkness sent off for edits, and I did a quick revision on Alone at Night to get it ready for a heavier revision this fall.

I’m in the position I was in two years ago, although slightly better because at least I have two books on preorder and another done for 2025, but I’ve got all these zero drafts in progress sitting at like 10K words. I’ve written a lot of shorter things for Patreon this year but that’s it, and the lack of productivity is wreaking havoc on my self-esteem. Two years ago, I ended up getting a lot done, but at that point I was six months away from a medical appointment and it helped keep me sane. Now I keep having medical appointments and tests, and it’s hard to keep my thoughts on anything else (leading up to some out-patient stuff last week, I literally replayed Unpacking like six times in a row, no exaggeration).

It’ll be Aug 1 at this point before I know if there’ll be a medication change. No dysplasia or malignancy (which I logically knew was unlikely but my anxiety brain had me already planning my funeral), at least, and remission in some things but not others. Also, my liver is being an asshole.

After spending a small fortune on my senior cats (Doombuggy is fine; Rodney has some anemia we’re looking into), I realized I was spending on them twice what a new treadmill was going to cost me. If Shawn needed a treadmill, I’d get him a treadmill. I still have trouble with that for me.

I’m waiting until my next CC billing period starts, and then I’m getting one, and I’ll figure out paying for it (and getting the broken one removed) later. I have to get that activity in again, and it’s too fucking hot to walk (even at night; a few nights ago the humidity was at 80% and I couldn’t breathe).

So that’s where I am. I think if I’m back to walking a couple of hours every morning, it’ll help overall with writing as well. Hell Fire is top of the docket here, then I’ve got at least 3-4 others–Livi, Waverly, and a couple of these horror books–competing. I’ll need something scheduled for release fall 2024, but I haven’t figured that out yet.

Current Sales

For the month of July, Bloodlines is just 99c at Kobo.

Normally these updates post quarterly: Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct. So I’m a few days late here, but April was, well, April, and I wanted to get my monthly update out to patrons first.

What’s New

Watcher of the Woods released in February in eBook paperback, and hardcover.

I’ve done a couple of shorts for Patreon:

Both Vignettes are Waverly Jones prequel bits–that’s three now at Patreon.

“That’s it”, I almost typed, as if a new novel release and some new shorts is nothing lol.

What’s Upcoming

Of course, Waverly Jones Mysteries is finally starting at the end of this month!

Waverly Jones has been called misanthropic. Distant. Obsessive. Manipulative. And that’s without people knowing she talks to the hallucination of her dead sister.

She’s also a private investigator.

After a lengthy absence, she’s returned to Port Milton amidst the biggest homicide investigation her hometown has seen in over a decade. Bodies of middle-aged men have been washing ashore and the police have confirmed foul play but not much else—making it the perfect case for someone like her.

Particularly when she’s the one to find the latest body.

It’s not a coincidence Waverly happened across the newest victim. She’s been combing the beach because these men match the age and appearance of Detective-Sergeant Sebastian Kyle, missing these past eleven years after investigating the now-dormant serial killer who made Waverly’s sister his last victim.

Her familiarity with the murders has left her well-prepared when hired by the wife of one of the dead men, giving her a professional reason to dig deeper into these crimes. Have the police unintentionally fumbled this case in the wrong direction, or does the widow not know as much about her husband as she thought?

Port Milton has always had its secrets, and Waverly will drag every single one into the light to get to the bottom of this mystery. And maybe somewhere along the way, she’ll get another step closer to who killed her sister and what happened to Sebastian Kyle.

MAY 30

Kindle – Kobo – iBooks – Nook – Payhip – Paperback – Hardcover

Signed paperback on Etsy – Hardcover Gift Box

There’s currently an extended preview at Patreon.

The hardcovers are lovely.

It was a massive expense I am not going to get back–I’ll probably have to reevaluate next year whether or not I can afford to keep doing them. But for me, personally, I adore this book and I’m so glad to have it.

So those are up on Amazon, or I have one in a signed gift box at Etsy still left.

There are about eleven of you signed up to get the prequel short story delivered the day before the book is out. If you’ve preordered, or if you order the paperback/hardcover before the deadline, please forward your receipt/proof of purchase and get on the list! There are no immediate plans to publish that story, which means this is the only opportunity to get it outside of buying the hardcover.

I do wish I was doing some kind of launch even virtually, but I live in fear of no one showing up, and my anxiety spikes with those kinds of things. I might rewatch the pilot of Twin Peaks that day and livetweet it–if so, I’ll post ahead of time in case anyone wants to join in. If the bird site even still exists at that point.

A Wild Kind of Darkness is out November 7. This is Waverly Jones #2.

I’ve written the jacket copy so it doesn’t spoil anything, but I’ll skip posting it here anyway. Preorder in eBook is now live: Kindle | Kobo | iBooks | Nook 

Alone at Night (Waverly #3) is out April 2, 2024. It’s also up for preorder: Kindle – Kobo – iBooks – Nook

Tentatively after that, there’ll be one a year.

Also coming soon in paperback is Soul Spell, Elis O’Connor #3.

Serial killer and witch Elis O’Connor finally has a lead on her missing brother, and it’s brought her right back to the person who betrayed her, the one witch she doesn’t want to ask for help: Melinoë Takata.

While she weighs whether or not hopping dimensions with someone she doesn’t trust is worth it—or whether her brother is indeed a lost cause, considering it’s probably a one-way trip—once more the police coming knocking at her door. But this time they don’t bring suspicions and hopes she might incriminate herself: now they have actual evidence for arrest. With more than a hundred kills under her belt, it was probably only a matter of time before the OPP’s occult department was ready to charge her with murder.

The problem? Their evidence is for one homicide she didn’t commit.

And relying on Melinoë might be her only way of getting out of it.

It’s formatted and out for proofing right now. I’m aiming for June-ish. The eBook will temporarily be available for all patrons and then go up to $5+ patrons while the paperback will have a wide release.

What about Elis #4? Well…

What I’m Working On

I’ve got some health stuff going on, including a procedure the end of June, and it’s at that point I’ll have a better idea of what my summer schedule will look like (if I have to change medications, I might be looking at new side effects, and I don’t want my workload overburdened). To that end, I’m focusing right now on getting freelance work done and money saved up, as well as focusing on various writing commitments, so I’m delaying the start of Elis’s serial Hell Fire by a couple of months. I’m hoping I’ll be in a better position to start it in August.

I really hate doing this, but I can’t have delays with my preorder books, so I have to focus on those right now.

There are also some upcoming shorts for Patreon, one is done and the other in progress (plus some West POV stuff I owe).

Otherwise I’m focused on AWKoD revisions and trying to keep my head above water.

I hope y’all get a chance to read Waverly this month and enjoy.

Once again on the treadmill over here with my coffee and a 90s playlist. Let’s dive in.

What’s New

The big release was, of course, Charon’s Gold last October. I’m hoping that one finds its audience at some point this year. It was a very personal book–they all are, but like Yampellec, it cut pretty deep for me–and at the very least I hope it hits someone else the moment they need that story.

Witch Hunt also released in paperback–this is Elis O’Connor #2, at long last. Patrons at $5 can grab the final ebook, while everyone else can still get the rough draft in the archives.

In December, I posted the final vignette/short for the year at Patreon, which I do every other month. It was set at Christmas time post-Charon’s Gold, centered around Livi and her family trying to navigate former traditions while so much has changed in their lives. It’s called “Happily Ever After” and it’s available to all patrons.

Soul Spell also ended at Patreon, with the final update posting a few weeks ago. I’ll have the final draft of that on my radar soon (more below).

What’s Upcoming

Just under four weeks away now is my next standalone horror book, Watcher of the Woods.

I know, I know, Valentine’s Day is for romance books and I don’t go here, but it’s a long way until next October for horror fans like me, so here’s me throwing a bone for people who want something a little spookier.

Watcher is, though, about relationships. Romantic ones, yes, but also friendships, parent/child relationships, and how in all of them people aren’t always what we want them to be. And what some people will do to make someone else who they want.

It’s easiest to describe it as horror, but I also consider it a paranormal domestic thriller.

You can get the paperback or hardcover now (coming soon to my Etsy shop, hopefully by the first of Feb) or preorder the ebook for February 14.

Kindle – Kobo – iBooks – Nook – Paperback – Hardcover

After eighteen months staying home under rolling pandemic lockdowns with her girlfriend Joy, artist Thea Palmer has decided the strained relationship has run its course and she’s ready to end it—right after the stress of her birthday has passed.

Unfortunately, her surprise party comes with a special gift from Joy that puts the breakup on hold: a week-long cabin rental in the tiny northern Ontario community of Hope Falls, for just the two of them.

No phone.

No internet.

No contact with the outside world.

Joy says it’ll give them the perfect chance to reconnect and maybe restore Thea’s creativity after pandemic stress wearing down her desire to paint. But the cabin creaks at night under invisible steps, and the woods have trees that seem to shift in the corner of her eye. Thea swears she sees a strange white figure on the lake beckoning to her and an empty boat that drifts by in the early morning mist.

And Joy…Joy seems to be someone else entirely.

How To Catch Up: You don’t have to with this one! It is set in the world as Dweller on the Threshold and takes place a year later. There’s one crossover character, but I tried to treat it more as having hints and Easter eggs than necessary to read them both.

I’ve added it to my shelf now (still waiting on the hardcover) and it’s meant I have to shuffle some things around. Still three more paperbacks coming this year, so I’ll have to rearrange my setup, but right now the brag shelf is across the room from where I sit and work, and I like that.

There’s another shelf with my old serials in print form, small press work and anthologies, and pen name work, but this is everything in print from the past nine years.

Since I have stuff up for preorder like a year in advance at this point, I’m not going to go through all the upcoming stuff in detail in these quarterly posts but instead focus on whatever is closest to release.

Still, a reminder that there are more things coming, some of which are up for preorder.

Soul Spell (Elis #3) will be out in paperback at some point, probably in the summer. I haven’t done a revision pass on it yet so there’s no ETA, but the hope is to have it ready before the fourth book starts.

How To Catch Up: If you’re sticking with Elis’s series, you’ll want to read Blood Ties (#1) available everywhere books are sold, Witch Hunt (#2) available in paperback at Amazon or ebook at Patreon, and probably Season of the Bitch (prequel) though that’s not 100% necessary. This summer I’ll update the full Elis/Demons of Oblivion reading order list with some additional upcoming short stories and that closer to Hell Fire‘s start.

The biggie this year will be the launch of my new mystery series.

If you’re on Patreon, you know I’m fucking terrified this year. It’s a very big risk. But also, I’ve been in worse positions, and new books in new genres mean new Kobo promos I can get into. I have to hope all this work will pay off and Waverly will find her audience.

With all of my books, invariably someone says to me, “I could hear you narrating the whole thing”. Which is funny when you consider how vastly different the narrators are, but yes, there’s a lot of me in all of them. Outwardly I might sound like Livi, but I often find her the most distant from me, probably because she’s an adrenaline junkie; Zara, when in her most pain, is probably the closest to me at times, but also she’s more my id and not how I actually am. Ani in Soulless comes close at times, and certainly River is how I felt growing up when forced to deal with people.

Part of the pandemic and my fuck-you-forties, though, is stripping a lot of niceties away, and that’s what Waverly represents.

It’s part of why, I think, I had so much trouble initially with the book, trying different POVs and tenses, ultimately settling on first present. For the same reason I don’t think she’d translate well into a visual medium (as much as I see everything in my head full technicolour like a movie), I couldn’t write her in a most distanced POV. She lives in her head a lot of the time, and to understand her outward behaviour I think one needs to be in her brain. She’s my uglier inclinations–obsessive, anxious, manipulative, unfriendly and misanthropic, self-isolating–but she’s clever, darkly funny, and competent. After years of having little contact with others, and seeing how little others care for me and vulnerable people, I find it extra difficult to interact with people. At the end of the day, Waverly is my comfort place, where I can disappear and give no fucks.

Her first book is in copyedits right now, and you’ll get to meet her on May 30 in The Killing Beach, and continue her journey November 7 with A Wild Kind of Darkness.

The Killing Beach: Kindle – Kobo – iBooks – Nook

While I only have Kindle preorder numbers, I count six of you who have preordered the second book of a series you haven’t started yet, and that’s six people who will buy anything I write, I guess. If you’re one of them, THANK YOU. That means a lot to me.

At this point it’s looking more and more Waverly’s third book will slot into spring 2024, but we’ll see how the next few months shape up.

There are also a slew of Patreon things upcoming–stuff I have to finish writing, including West POV from Charon’s Gold and a bunch of vignettes. But that’s more…

What I’m Working On

In addition to those shorts mentioned above, the big thing right now, having finished my last WIP–the fourth Waverly Jones book–is writing Hell Fire, Elis O’Connor #4, to start serializing at Patreon this summer.

I’ve made word count, a bit at a time, at the Saturday Night Write-ins at my Discord server. Unfortunately, I’m diving into this book with exactly two scenes in my head, both of which are late in the book, so I’ve gotta figure out how to get there.

It comes together a little easier when I’m actually writing instead of thinking about writing–amazing how cyclical things can be, that’s how I used to write–but I’m burnt out and catching up because of holiday bills, so hoping I make more progress in February.

When I’ve got a super rough zero draft, I’ll go back and do a revision pass on Soul Spell, so I can ensure all the pieces are in place to set up things in Hell Fire, then do a pass on Hell Fire before scheduling it for serializing. Then I can turn my attention to…well, let’s see: horror books in progress, Waverly 5, Livi 7, etc.

Anyway, that’s all for me today–I’ve been on the treadmill a couple of hours now and my legs will feel like noodles, I’m sure, but I’ve gotta get some breakfast.

Oh, and Shawnie’s doing well–we’re transitioning back onto dry food and he doesn’t seem to have trouble with it. I’m very relieved, but back to saving up again in case he needs the rest of those teeth out later this year (please oh please oh please no).

Here he is taking my spot on the couch while I’m on the treadmill.