Hi Peeps!

Things are still going better for me. I now have a permanent job (subject to six months probationary period) working 30 hours a week. My mental health is still improving (even with the anxiety weasels trying to get back into my brain by insisting things are going *too* well).

With a little stability in my life I’m starting to look forwards again and with Lord of the Wolves nearing it’s conclusion (seriously – I think this first draft will be done by the end of March) I’m starting to think about the book release a few months down the line. (I’ve also started the outlining on Book Three – The Summer Queen).

This means a few things:

1. Once it’s done I’ll switch over to posting Whisper on Saturdays while I edit Lord of the Wolves and I’ll also be looking for beta readers again.
2. Prior to the Lord of the Wolves Book Launch I want to get Haventon Born into the hands of as many readers as possible and, to be honest, it’s been selling abysmally because I haven’t had the energy for marketing.
3. So I’m planning a book relaunch for Haventon Born on May 8th (my birthday). This is just like a book launch only for an already extent book. And for that I need your help.

How can you help?

Firstly I need reviews on Amazon. Reviews help visibility and also many advertising outlets will only allow adverts by books with a certain number of Am reviews. If you read and enjoyed Haventon Born reviewing it on your local Amazon store would be a great help. (No bounties for this, I’m afraid, I don’t want to be accused of buying reviews).

Secondly I am trying to raise a small marketing budget. It’s not a large enough amount to do an indigogo or kickstarter for so I’ve set a target on my Ko-Fi page instead. If you enjoy my free stuff and have a spare dollar to throw in the hat I’ll acccept it gratefully. You can also see some of my Fantasy Maps and the occassional link to a piece of flash fiction on my Ko-Fi page. so it’s worth a visit even if you can’t donate.

And finally, as I mentioned, I need beta readers for Lord of the Wolves. If you volunteer for this you’ll get a free final copy of the ebook at the end.

So that’s what’s been going on for me. How have you been, peeps.

Start | LoTW Chapter Twenty-Three| Index | LoTW Chapter Twenty Five

“What about reading her mind?” David asked. “Wouldn’t that prove if she’s honest or not?”?

“Would it were so easy,” Lillian said. “Most often that would be a solution, but Lady Cheryl is a lorekeeper and the magic that grants them their deep knowledge of our kind also protects their minds from such probing so it may not be taken by our enemies.”

“It’s how we protect our secrets from the Hollowers,” Cheryl said. “To be a lorekeeper is to be both a living library and its librarian. On the positive side that means even if I were being forced to work against you – which I am not – Gwen wouldn’t be able to get your plans from my mind.” Read the rest of this entry »

Start | LoTW Chapter Twenty-Two | Index | LoTW Chapter Twenty Four

He was inside the sword David realised almost immediately. Mentally anyway. Though he was surprised that the inside of the sword appeared to be a fairytale castle.

“It is a little strange,” the woman sat on the stairs of the dais said. “But it’s coming from your mind not mine so you’ll have to figure that one out yourself.” She rose to her feet and he saw that she was dressed in armour of the same glowing milky ice as the sword and that she strongly resembled Sabren. He had a feeling that he knew who she was. Read the rest of this entry »

Start | LoTW Chapter Twenty-One | Index | LoTW Chapter Twenty Three

The man they called the Lord of the Wolves was self-evidently not human if you knew what to look for, David decided. While he had the amber eyes of of a werewolf they were flecked with silver and his skin was unnaturally pale. He also had razor sharp claws similar to David’s own but he didn’t seem to be able to retract them. He was also pretty obviously related to Sabren even though he was taller than she was. They had the same hair and similar face shapes and noses. As soon as they entered the room he and Lucy looked around at them. Read the rest of this entry »

Start | LoTW Chapter Twenty?| Index | LoTW Chapter Twenty Two

“Is it lighter than it should be out there?” David asked.

Kate nodded. “She’s summoned sunlight to her sword, as is her right as summer warrior. It puts most of us at a disadvantage so I severely doubt Liam well let that stand for very long.” Even as she spoke David felt something scratch across his skin followed by a loud crack. Everything was engulfed in a stygian darkness that pressed against his eyeballs. A moment later a slight glow appeared in the room and when he looked at it her realised that both the circlet on Kate’s head and the gun in her hand were glowing softly. “Good grief! Bloody overkill, Liam,” she said. “We need to be able to see.” She gave a wry smile. “He always forgets that most mistwalkers can’t see in the dark.” Read the rest of this entry »

Start | LoTW Chapter Nineteen| Index | LoTW Chapter Twenty One

Maelin paused outside Morna’s bar and took a breath to quell his uncharacteristic nervousness. His methods had made him enough enemies over the centuries ? most of whom he deserved ? that he feared a scene, or worse, if he was noticed by her client?le. He respected Morna enough not to want to bring trouble to her door.

It was Lucy’s suggestion that they appeal to the Unseelie ambassador. Morna was famously neutral but Lucy had an inkling that she had learnt about David and would be less neutral than before. He hoped she was right because he needed help to resolve this and Morna was one of the few people powerful enough to provide it. He took another breath and followed Lucy inside. Read the rest of this entry »

Start | LoTW Chapter Eighteen| Index | LoTW Chapter Twenty

A/N: Sorry this is late. I was waiting on a new laptop charger

The cat that walked calmly into Maelin’s lair was a pretty tabby that would have looked just like a short haired domestic house cat were she not at least twice the size of a normal cat. She was probably supposed to be there, Colin decided since she had one of the key discs attached to a flea collar. Indeed Maelin seemed unperturbed to see her. Read the rest of this entry »

Start | LoTW Chapter Seventeen| Index | LoTW Chapter Nineteen

Sabren looked much as Leisa remembered when they spotted her sitting in a quiet booth in one corner of Morna’s bar. She looked up and smiled at them when she spotted them arriving.

“Leisa!” she said as they approached. “The night’s are treating you well.” She turned and inclined her head to Michael. “Michael, honoured father of your line, it is a pleasure to meet you at last.”

“Thank you,” he said curtly. Read the rest of this entry »

Start | LoTW Chapter Sixteen| Index | LoTW Chapter Eighteen

A/N: If you missed my New Year Post about my returning schedule check it out.

—

Abigail didn’t seem anything like a potential renegade spy to David. Then again he wasn’t sure how an evil werewolf pretending to be a good one would seem. But as she slid into the seat opposite him at the table he was certain that this calm, collected young woman with an easy smile and laughter in her eyes wasn’t it. She had to know how little his family trusted her and that they would kill her if she put a foot wrong, but he had no sense of fear from her. Instead she seemed vastly amused by her situation. Read the rest of this entry »

Firstly Happy New Year to all my readers and thank you for your patience.

So 2017 was not a good year for me. I don’t think that’s any secret given that I vanished for half the year. I was already exhausred and then I had a mental health hiccup mid year but I am back in Cognitive Behavorial Therapy and on antidepressants and am doing much better. So it’s time to start posting again.

Now I don’t want to rush into things because I am still not 100% and my stamina is still low so I’m going to start by posting Haventon once a week on Saturdays starting on 6th January 2018 and if after a couple of months I’m okay with that we’ll see about adding a Wednesday and a second story (Probably Caredale).

If you want to find me online I mostly hang out on Mastodon these days (and tootplanet is a great little instance run by one of my friends). So that’s a good place to check I haven’t suffered a Creator Existence Failure should I vanish again. That will also be the place to see a little more of my writing as I am going to be continuing my tootserial Lawgiver’s Blade on there soon (more about that when I have a relaunch date).

Again thank you for your patience and see you on Saturday.