Finished reading: The Long-Forgotten Winter King by Annette Marie 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 📚

Each new book by Annette Marie is better than the last. She is the current master of urban fantasy.

Finished reading: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 📚 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Took far too many years to get around to reading this one, but it was worth it.

Finished reading: The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce 📚 Reread this for the first time in many years. It was the first proper fantasy novel I remember reading. I loved revisiting it.

Finished reading: These Fevered Days: Ten Pivotal Moments in the Making of Emily Dickinson by Martha Ackmann 📚

What an incredible book about my all-time favorite poet.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I enjoyed doing this short interview with Lucy Turns Pages. I hope you’ll check it out. 📚✍🏼

By way of a series of coincidences, I am rediscovering my love of Emily Dickinson’s work after many years. It’s rather like being reacquainted with old, missed, and much-loved friends. 📚

🔖 DRAFT2DIGITAL TO ACQUIRE SMASHWORDS - Draft2Digital | Blog ✍️😲📚

I’m in the midst of rereading The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce. It’s the first proper fantasy novel I remember falling in love with–right around age 8. (I always read far above my grade level.) Although I read this book countless times growing up, it’s been many years since the last time I picked it up; it’s out of print, so you really have to hunt to find a copy. Nowadays, The Darkangel would probably be considered Young Adult, and it is written somewhat like a fairy tale with both sci-fi and fantasy elements.

There are two things that have struck me most in reading it again now. The first is surprise that I read this book at such a young age. It is by no means extraordinarily sophisticated, but even for the way I devoured books as a kid, I’m amazed I latched onto it as much as I did. Some of the themes, and most certainly some of the vocabulary, had to have gone way over my head.

But the second (and more interesting) thing that has struck me is just how influential this book turned out to be in retrospect. In it, I see elements of the types of novels I grew to love as I got older, as well as themes and story elements that have informed my own stories. I did not remember the book that way; I’m only seeing it now when something like a quarter of a century has passed since the last time I read it. There are allusions to old mythology and folklore; there are elements of sci-fi in a predominantly fantasy setting; there is a young heroine who takes matters into her own hands and tries to help those worse off than herself. Is it any wonder that I love Divergent or The Hunger Games? There are vampires who are more human than monster; there are terrifying creatures of night who feel and suffer as we all do; is it any wonder I love Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles or anything by Stephen King?

This whole affair has made me want to dig out other books from my youth and see what other stories informed the reader and writer I’ve become–apart from the most obvious ones, of course. I’d been wanting to reread The Darkangel for a long, long time, but I never expected the journey to be this fascinating.

It is sad and ludicrous in this digital age how many albums, books, TV shows, and movies are just not available legally in any way. It’s infuriating. 🎵📚📺🎥

I am absolutely heartbroken at the news that we have lost Anne Rice. Her work has been a fixture in my life for more than thirty years, and she is one of my most important influences. I can’t believe it. The world will not be the same. 💔📚

I now have a profile on BingeBooks.com, and you can follow me there. I really like BingeBooks, both as an author and a reader. Other similar sites have always felt like work to me. BingeBooks is fun! 📚

I was so excited to be a guest on this episode of Lurking for Legends, where we discussed my books, the writing process in general, and more. Check it out and watch their other interviews. It’s a great show! 📚

I recently discovered Chirp, a US audiobook retailer from the BookBub folks. No subscription, just a daily email with incredible deals. If you use this link, you can get 20% off your first purchase, and I get 20% too. Really loving this place! 📚🎧

I’m ecstatic about the Dragon’s Brood Cycle book tour being brought to you by the fabulous work of Silver Dagger Tours. The tour features giveaway prizes, interviews, guest posts, and all kinds of fun stuff! I really hope you’ll consider following along! You can find the kickoff and schedule here and the first stop on the tour here.

I’m so excited to announce that Treasures and Trinkets: A Dragon’s Brood Tale is now available as an audiobook, narrated once again by the fabulous Reay Kaplan! It’s available now from Audible, and will be rolling out to other retailers.

Before she was a prisoner in Marianne’s crystal mines or just another face among the multitudes in the city of Seven Skies, Maddy had a different name and everything she could want—governesses, gowns, and gold to fill her pockets. And though she wasn’t the son her father had wanted, it was inevitable that one day she would inherit his title. But Maddy’s predictable world is turned upside down when an extraordinary servant girl challenges everything she’s ever known; there’s a wider world beyond the comfortable confines of her castle, full of wonder and magic, and Maddy finds that the one thing she doesn’t have is the only thing she really needs.

I’ve said it before, and I’m saying it again, Annette Marie is just one of the most astoundingly great Urban Fantasy authors working right now. I can’t recommend the Guild Codex series highly enough. You owe it to yourself to read all its subseries. 💜📚

All of my The Dragon’s Brood Cycle books are now available in wide release, including on Apple, Kobo, Nook, etc. Treasures and Trinkets will be coming to audiobook this summer! 📚

I’m so excited to announce that Treasures and Trinkets: A Dragon’s Brood Tale is coming to audiobook this summer! I can’t wait to hear the marvelous Reay Kaplan bring one of my stories to life once again! 📚

I had fun doing this interview with RebellionLit.com, where we discussed my work and experiences as a blind author of fantasy fiction. Check it out, along with the other author interviews they’ve done! ✍️📚

“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” —Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See 📚

🔖 Of mice and spacemen - “The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” turns 42 | Prospero | The Economist

I’m now participating in the Ask the Author program on GoodReads. You can check out the questions I’ve answered already and ask your own at this link. 📚

For the next few days, my books Haven Lost and Harmony’s Song are free in the US Kindle Store, and Haven Divided is $0.99 in the US Kindle Store or £0.99 in the UK Store. Happy reading! 📚

Treasures and Trinkets: A Dragon’s Brood Tale has been released! You can download it for free or find it at your favorite ebook retailer. I love this story, and I hope you will too. 📚

I’m excited and honored to have been invited onto the Writers' Showcase Podcast, hosted by the fabulous Christie Stratos .

The interview will be streamed live on Wednesday, 19/February/2020, at 2:00pm EST. You can watch live (or a replay afterwards) by clicking here.

I hope you’ll join us as we discuss writing, my experiences as a visually impaired author, and maybe a few other things!