The End is Near …

I know, I know. That’s some title for the first blog post of the year. But it’s true! The end is near. The end of my fantasy series is near. I can see the finish line–I know how the story is going to end. I know who is going to live and who is going to die. I know exactly what the last battle looks like.

I just need to figure out how to get there.

Winter’s Light is the final book in my Winter Queen Series, which will wrap up the lives of so many characters I’ve grown to love. They’ve surprised me in so many ways over these last three years. And while I don’t consider fantasy to be my primary genre, I am going to miss writing about the land of Nfaros and its rulers. Excited as I am to begin focusing more on my historical fiction WIPs, I am going to miss the Sundragon sisters more than I thought I would.

Looking back over the progress of these novels, my heart soars over how they came to be. Winter Queen was born from a little idea I had during a very bad bout of writer’s block. I was stuck in the middle of another story, so I decided to simply write ‘for fun’ for a little while. And that is how Winter Queen came alive. It started with an image of two young princesses fleeing their city accompanied by the idea of a queen who could command an entire season. From there, it developed into something I never expected. Soon, there were ice fairies, dragon folk and a world full of strange and extraordinary people.

Have I ever told you The Winter Queen Series was originally a seven book series? When I realized how many characters I wanted to be involved, I thought there was no way I could do this in a trilogy. So I split the storylines into seven different books. Until the day I realized they might actually be published! On that day, I cut the stories down so they could fit into a four book series.

But even having done that, I worry. These last few days of writing with the story jumbling about in my head in bits and pieces, I start to wonder if I should’ve added more of the storyline to Dance of Shadows or Crown of Flames. I second guess myself about how I ended the second and third books of the series. I wonder if there was another place I could have ended them. If I could have tacked on a bit more so this last book would have been easier.

But then I realize, stressing over what I might have done is useless. All I can do now, is write. I look back at the difference between writing Dance of Shadows and writing Crown of Flames and realize it is no different than what I’m going through now with Winter’s Light. Will this fourth and final book be longer than the others? Most likely. From the Jandry Siblings to the Sundragon Sisters to the Malaki family, I have a lot of characters and storylines to wrap up.

And one of the most difficult parts of that is deciding exactly how these stories will end. Will there be tears? Well, if you’ve read my books, then you probably know there will be. I can’t seem to write without throwing in some emotional trauma.

For my part, I know I’m probably going to cry. Not necessarily because of what happens to my characters–I’ve been preparing myself for the end of this series for a while now and have known a few things about the conclusion since the first book was published–but more because the stories themselves will finally be complete.

I was so excited when Crown of Flames was released last year in June! As the writer, I think this one might be my favorite of the series so far (we’ll see how Book 4 comes out ;)). Crown of Flames not only introduced even more characters, but brought our favorites to a crucial point in the plot–a climax in a way. Two major battles were fought and whether they were won or not is up to you to find out.

I’m so proud of Book 3, the ending giving me a perfect opening into Book 4 as well as lighting the way to several conclusions. Whether you caught the hints of certain characters’ fates or not, I promise I won’t spoil anything. But I am so excited for you to see everything come together.

As we entered Awards season at the beginning of the year, I hesitated to enter Crown of Flames, simply because sometimes I feel the harder I try, the less results I receive. But then I realize–as I always do–that not trying won’t get me anywhere. So I entered and am looking forward to seeing the results. And if there are no results, then what did I lose? Nothing. Because either way, people saw and read Crown of Flames, simply because it was entered to begin with.

Oh, and by the way, if you wanna help a girl out … Crown of Flames is eligible for a nomination in the INSPYs awards. If you want to nominate it, click here.

Now, who wants a sneak peek? The final book of The Winter Queen Series should release later this year (as long as I get to writing like crazy!). So here’s a little excerpt from Winter’s Light (The Winter Queen Series, #4) to hold you over until then …

∞

“In fear they are here.” Jhaedra raised defiant eyes to Haileah. “If they saw Gwylan Almandreya, run to her they would!”

Haileah grabbed Jhaedra by a handful of her hair, yanking her close. “Do not speak that woman’s name!”

“Why? Because more powerful than you she is?” Jhaedra grimaced, a small smirk shining through the pain of Haileah’s grip. “Able to hold the Novices for long, you will not be. If run to wait out the war they do not, run to the Sundragons they will.”

“Let them! We do not need their pitiful strength. The Intermediates are all we need.” Haileah shoved Jhaedra away, sending the woman into a heap in the snow. “And if you do not remember your place and hold your tongue, I will soon have very little need of you as well.”

With a twirl of her cloak, Haileah spun back toward the camp. Jhaedra remained on the ground, watching until the woman disappeared among the tents. Then she looked up, peering directly through the tree branches at Taleah. The Frostling held her breath, unable to restrain the flurry of snowflakes falling from her wings any longer. A shower of them fell upon Jhaedra, making the Quintarian woman smile.

“Tell Adlae Sundragon,” Jhaedra murmured. “If survive Haileah’s wrath, I do, I will rally the Novices to her side.”

“Jhaedra!” Haileah shrieked, her voice bouncing among the trees.

“Fly, Frostlings! Fly!” Jhaedra hissed, struggling to her feet.

“Come dear ones,” Taleah said, grabbing both M’kela and Ilicya’s hands as she watched the Eventide Sister stumble away. “We must deliver this message and pray the Creator show mercy on Jhaedra Randeryn.”

In a flash of snow dust, the three Frostlings vanished into the sky.

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The Old, the New and the End of 2019

Merry Christmas!!!

I can hardly believe Christmas is less than two weeks away! 2019 has been a tumultuous year for me. There have been equal amounts of tears and laughter this year, along with periods of grief and anger that made me wish to the heavens 2019 would come to a hasty conclusion so I could start fresh in 2020. That being said, I am sorry I have been so silent this year! I am hoping to blog a lot more in 2020 (I know, I know, I say that every year but hopefully this time it will actually happen!).

For now, I hope you will join me in looking back over my 2019 year!

Early in the year, I received a wonderful and overwhelming gift. My sweet, loving grandmother made it possible for me to attend my 2nd ACFW conference. Shortly thereafter, this wonderful woman who I loved with all my heart passed away. I cannot even begin to describe what it was like, waiting for months after she passed to attend the conference, knowing I would not have been able to go this year if not for her.

Then, something beautiful happened. ACFW (America Christian Fiction Writers) often has a worship period during the meals they provide for the attendees. On the first night of the conference during the welcome dinner, we all stood up to sing during the worship. Standing next to me at the table to my left was a sweet older lady who kept glancing my way. Then, without a word, she reached across the space between me and put her arm around me.

Everyone–I kid you not–she was wearing my grandmother’s perfume. I nearly broke down in tears right then and there. Until that moment, I’d had a lot of trouble grieving for my grandmother. I have always been the type to grieve in private, but even that had been difficult for me this year. I thanked God over and over for that moment, because when that lady (who had no idea who I was or what I was going through) put her arm around me it was like my MaMa was giving me a hug! Finally, I allowed myself to grieve and I was so relieved.

This year, I suffered another loss. A friend who I hadn’t seen in a few years died tragically. I felt numb when I heard the news, because he was one of those friends you always think you’re going to see again someday, even though there are so many miles between you now. This added to the grief that made me want 2019 to come to a quick end. I miss him very much and hope he is at peace now.

This year, with as much grief as there was, there was also joy. I had another book release in June! Crown of Flames (The Winter Queen Series, #3) is now available to order on Amazon! I am so excited this book is available now, but also sad. Because this means I have only one more book to tackle in this series before I officially close out my fantasy series and will no longer visit the land of Nfaros. I am hard at work writing Winter’s Light, the fourth and final book of my fantasy series. I’ve hit a few snags so far, trying to bring every character’s plot to an end in a satisfying way without leaving behind too many holes in the storyline.

Considering these books are made up of SO MANY characters, this is harder than you might at first think! I need to keep the story interesting while also tying up any loose ends from the previous books while ALSO creating intense situations for some new characters that were introduced in Crown of Flames. All the same, I am enjoying writing Winter’s Light and hope that, if I finish within the next two months, I will have a release date along with a cover to share with you soon!

Now I’m going to do some major self-promoting … 😉

That being said, have you had a chance to catch up on the first three books of The Winter Queen Series? No? Why wait?

Catch up by reading Winter Queen (The Winter Queen Series, #1), Dance of Shadows (The Winter Queen Series, #2) & Crown of Flames (The Winter Queen Series, #3) now! Want them the easy way? All three are available together on Amazon Kindle for $13.47!

Travel to the beautiful land of Nfaros and catch up with the fierce Sundragon sisters as they fight to regain their father’s throne. Journey with the courageous Jandry siblings across treacherous lands. And fly with the People of the Dragon over the Nfaros Sea in the first three books of my series and be prepared for Winter’s Light (The Winter Queen Series, #4)!

In September, as I mentioned above, I attended the ACFW conference, and what an experience it was! I was able to connect with some wonderful people AND I heard Frank Peretti speak! Along with his keynote address, I attended several amazing workshops and learned so much.

I was also able to connect with the lovely Laurie Lucking who was nominated for a Carol Award for her novel, Common! I was so excited to meet Laurie because she has supported my fantasy series from Book 1 and has written beautiful endorsements for all three of the books for me.

She is such a lovely person and an incredible author! If you haven’t read her book, Common, then I highly recommend it! I am a lover of love stories, and this one was a great one! Not to mention it fell in the Young Adult/Speculative category, which I also love! As I say in my tagline: when it comes to genre, there are no limits. And I mean that in both writing and reading!

I met so many wonderful people at the conference this year and reconnected with some of my favorite people as well. I was especially excited to attend author Pepper Basham’s workshop! Pepper is one of my favorite authors and such a sweet person. She also endorsed my debut novel, The Lost Generation: A Novel of World War I, so when I had the chance to meet her at my first conference in 2017, I didn’t hesitate.

Speaking of The Lost Generation, have I mentioned the paperback is available on Amazon for $9.99? If you love historical fiction, then grab your copy now!

And speaking of historical fiction …

I did something else new this year. I wrote a World War II era novel. I finished it at a whopping 92,048 words and 350 (Microsoft Word) pages! It is currently titled The Good German Girl and I am so excited about it! I have stepped away from it for now because writing it was emotionally draining, but am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this novel.

I rediscovered my love for Historical Fiction while writing The Good German Girl and realized I wanted this genre to be my primary genre. That being said, The Good German Girl inspired several other World War II era stories that I have made a part of a series tentatively titled A League of Extraordinary Women Series.

This led me to participate in NaNoWriMo for the first time! And … I won! I wrote 51,346 words in November, beating my goal of 50,000 for the next book in my World War II era series in the month of November! What a satisfying feeling it was too, as I hadn’t written that many words in a single month in a while. I was very proud of myself and still am.

I loved participating in NaNoWrimo! I received so much support as I struggled through to achieve that very large word goal. I wrote even on days I didn’t want to write, and kept writing even when I felt like what I was writing was absolutely awful. As a writer, that’s very hard to do because I want everything about my story to be perfect. So when it’s imperfect, it’s hard to not simply stop and walk away for the rest of the day. NaNoWrimo pushed me to set a goal and stick to it and at the end, I was so very pleased.

Oh, and did you notice? I became a redhead this year! That’s right, I made the transition from brunette, to blonde, to redhead! And, may I say, this is my favorite color so far. Could it be? Have I finally made a permanent decision about my hair? Will I remain a redhead to the end of my days? You’ll just have to keep checking in on my blog to find out, I guess. 😉

Well, I think that’s all for now, folks. Thank you for stopping by and reading this incredibly long post.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I’ll see you in 2020.

Cover Reveal!!

So, the moment has arrived! It is time for me to reveal to you the BEAUTIFUL cover for Book 2 of The Winter Queen Series.

I am excited to say I am now in my second round of edits for A Dance of Shadows! We are one step closer to publication!

And now … drumroll please …

Tada!

A Dance of Shadows should be coming your way this October as long as all goes well! I am so very excited for you to find out what happens to our characters in this next installment of my fantasy series, as well as for you to be introduced to some new people and places!

Now, to finish up, here’s the summary for A Dance of Shadows!

The Winter Queen has brought the storm … 
and the Abyss roams the halls of the Blood Keep.

Ten days have passed since Sundragon blood was shed for a sacrifice by Raphaela Kael. Ten days since Lathan and Maxx Jandry fled the city in search of Princess Damari Kael and their niece, Noelle. Brecken Jandry, Brae’s loyal husband, remains a tortured prisoner in the Kael dungeons and no one in Sunkai is safe from Roderick and Raphaela’s wrath.

Damari Kael flees Sunkai with little Noelle Jandry, determined to deliver the child to the safety of the Shadow Lands, even as her own power emerges within her. The Eventide Sisters embark on a mission to join the Winter Queen. Across the land, Clea Jandry arrives in her birthplace of Molderëin where she is met with a savagery she thought long dead. Afra Malaki seeks the Creator’s will and the Queen of the Woodlands prepares for battle.

In the peaceful city of Quintaria, the Winter Queen grieves. But the shadows are coming for her. They carry a message for Adlae Sundragon, and they will not rest until all is revealed.

Don’t forget to add A Dance of Shadows to your to-read list on Goodreads, here!

Christmas, Fantasy, & Cover Reveals!!

Baby it’s cold outside! Neighbors are putting up their decorations, shopping ensues, and carols are being sung. Can you believe it’s already December 1st? We are another day closer to the biggest celebration of the year. A time to remember the miraculous birth of Jesus and celebrate Him and the many blessings we’ve received by His coming.

Winter has always been my favorite time of year. Something so magical happens when December arrives. Among these warm and fuzzy feelings, for me, the best thing to do is curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. Oh, how I love my books! 😉

But, at this time of year, part of the magic is how my inspiration soars! In case any of you were in doubt, Winter Queen was inspired in December.

I wanted to create a winter wonderland. A magical place where winter was fast approaching and the world becoming covered in a blanket of sparkly white was imminent. Where winter was not only beautiful, but important to the land. This built into a fantasy novel like no other I ever thought I’d write. I’ve always found winter to be such a lovely time, full of kindness, grace, and love.

Writing Winter Queen was a magical experience. Writing Book 2 has been equally amazing. Coming back to all the characters I came to love in Book 1 is so satisfying, whenever I begin work on the second book of a series. The characters from my fantasy series in particular, however, are so special. I can take them anywhere; they can do anything. And it all happens during the fiercest winter their world has ever seen. If you’ve read the first book, then you already know when the first snow of Winter falls upon Nfaros. Anticipating book 2? I hope you are! Because I have been working very hard to see it completed. But the story won’t end there, so make sure you keep following my progress.

If you have read Winter Queen, I hope you’ll let me know! Reviews are very important to the survival of a book, and the reviews I have received for this new release of mine have been very encouraging. It’s such a wonderful feeling to know people have read and loved your story. Especially when you put it all out there in a book like a fantasy! I think thoseare particularly frightening for a writer. The entire story comes from the author’s imagination. No historical facts. To create a world and the people in it entirely from my own imagination was scary! I didn’t know if it would sound ridiculous, or even make sense. Thankfully, it seems to have received the reaction I was looking for. 🙂

In case you were wondering, you still have a chance to win a free, signed copy of Winter Queen (The Winter Queen series #1) on Goodreads! Follow this link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/260480-winter-queen and enter for your chance to win!!

Speaking of fantasy novels … there are so many authors out there who love to write in this genre! So many who enjoy it, too, even if they don’t write it. Which brings me to the cover reveal mentioned in the title. I am very happy to help promote this debut novel from Laurie Lucking.

Laurie is such a sweet person! She was the first to respond to my request for endorsements for Winter Queen and she gave me a beautiful review! I am so very thankful to have met her and very excited to be a part of her cover reveal team for her upcoming release, Common. So–drumroll please–here is the cover and description for Laurie Lucking’s soon-to-be-released novel:

One person knows of the plot against the royal family and cares enough to try to stop it—the servant girl they banished.

Leah spends her days scrubbing floors, polishing silver, and meekly curtsying to nobility. Nothing distinguishes her from the other commoners serving at the palace, except her red hair.

And her secret friendship with Rafe, the Crown Prince of Imperia.

But Leah’s safe, ordinary world begins to splinter. Unexpected feelings for Rafe surface just as his parents announce his betrothal to a foreign princess. Then she unearths a plot to overthrow the royal family. Her life shatters completely when the queen banishes her for treason.

Harbored by a mysterious group of nuns, Leah must secure Rafe’s safety before it’s too late. But her quest reveals a villain far more sinister than an ambitious nobleman with his eye on the throne.

Can a common maidservant summon the courage to fight for her dearest friend?

Now, how GORGEOUS is that cover? I absolutely love the glow surrounding the young woman who takes front and center! I already know Miss Laurie is a beautiful writer based on her endorsement for Winter Queen and am very much looking forward to reading Common.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you all have a blessed and merry Christmas! Don’t forget, Winter Queen is available to purchase on Barnes & Noble and Amazon!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

It’s Here!

I am so happy to announce that Winter Queen has officially released! It is now available to order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

If you missed the Facebook launch party on the 17th, I wanted to let you all know it was super fun! Lots of people checked in and participated, but I think the big success of the evening was the Rafflecopter contest! We had two winners come out of that and I look forward to doing another one soon!

Here’s a little description of Book 1 of The Winter Queen Series now available to order:

She will bring a storm like none they’ve ever seen … and change the world forever.

It’s been five years since Roderick Kael murdered King Vihaan Sundragon, claiming the throne of Sunkai and all of Nfaros for himself. Five years since the Princesses Adlae, Mirae, and Brae were forced to give up everything they’ve ever known. Five years since the Creator of All allowed winter’s snow to fall. But now the wind stirs with a familiar chill. Winter is coming down from the Ice Mountains, brought by the only one who can wield the storm. The Winter Queen herself.

In a faraway wood, one who survived watches and waits for her chance to reclaim what is hers by blood and birthright. Within the walls of the city, another bears the burden of survival and the consequences that came with it. Across the sea, from the distant mountains, two strangers come in search of one who can save them from the ice of winter. 

Within the palace of Sunkai, evil stirs. Loyalties are tried; love tested. And amidst these strange events, the Winter Queen prepares her storm … and Nfaros is not ready for her rage.

I am super excited to share these characters with you! This story blossomed into something I never expected and the three Sundragon sisters are very dear to my heart now. When I wrote this book, I knew I wanted to create strong sibling bonds, as well as fierce female characters to inspire readers. I truly hope I accomplished that!

I hope you will enjoy this story and these characters as much as I enjoyed writing about them! Don’t forget, Winter Queen is now available to order!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

WINTER QUEEN Launch Party!

I am so excited about the release of my upcoming fantasy novel Winter Queen (The Winter Queen Series, #1). To celebrate, I have scheduled a special launch party for the release of the novel and I would like to invite all of you!

On October 17th, we will have our Facebook party where you will have the chance to win some prizes, learn more about the book, and just have some fun! This event is for everyone, even if you’re not super crazy about speculative fiction. 🙂

The link for the event is posted below. Hope you’ll stop by on the 17th!! 🙂

Click Here for Event: Winter Queen Launch Party!