Why Is My Brain Stuck In Venice?
Jul 04, 2026 5:01 pm
It's July!
And summer seems to have finally arrived. It took a while, but the summer temperatures are looking like they will stay for a bit. I'm looking forward to warmer weather and a little less stress.
And speaking of stress, great strides have been made in shifting all my books off Draft2Digital. Tales of the Norse Gods, Chronicles of the Undead, the Saga of the Outer Islands series, the Entangled Nightmares series, and the Heyward and Andersen series are back up on Kobo and Barnes and Noble, plus they're now available on Google Play Books. Murder, Magic, and Maple Fudge is still only available on Amazon as I'm contemplating putting it in Kindle Unlimited. But even with that book in limbo, phase one of the great book migration is complete. Phase two involves my poetry books, and phase three involves the backlist. Lots to do yet, but at least all my books are delisted from Draft2Digital.
And now for the big question: did I make any progress with my editing?
Well…
My Book Report, or A Vampire Ate My Homework
Remember last month when I mentioned my deranged brain wasn't focusing on my editing and wandered off to write in two other projects? This month it took off on a whole new tangent. It started with an anthology submission. I've been wanting to get back into submitting to anthologies, and this cool vampire anthology fell across my feed with a due date in September.
Great, I can work on it as I edit, no rush.
Nope. My brain obsessed over this story (fitting, as the story is a vampire obsessed with a mermaid), wrote a 3600 word first draft and refused to look at any other story.
So no editing. Good news though, the new story is set in my world of the Obsidian Blade series, and I fleshed out the backstory a bit. Bad news, I discovered a historical inaccuracy with what I wanted to call my mermaid race, so I'll have to figure something else out. Also, my brain/muse has now decided there with be a prequel story involving the Obsidian Blade and my new vampire character explaining how the Obsidian Blade decided to stay in Venice.
Honestly, I don't know what is wrong with my brain, but it seems to be stuck it Venice, so I may have to push up the timeline for that series.
But Adventure at Reichenbach will be published this year. I hope.
Art
I'm still looking for suggestions on what you'd like to see as designs based on my books. No guarantees all your suggestions will be within my art capabilities, but I'm willing to give things a go.
So if you have any ideas you'd like me to try, feel free to send them my way.
The Shadows and Ink Podcast
The June episode has aired, with author J. M. Shaw dropping by to chat about her books and her autism diagnosis. It was a great show and well worth a listen. Our upcoming July 20th chat is with author Tricia Copeland where we will talk about witches. On a sadder note, the podcast will be ending with this season. So, if there is an episode you've been putting off listening to, I wouldn't wait much longer.
Check out the link below to see the latest episode.
So, you may have noticed a few format changes in this newsletter. That is because SendFox has a new editor. While this is an improvement, it does have a few bugs (one of which ate the first draft of this newsletter). But the good news is that these glitches are being fixed, and I managed to reconstruct what I wanted to say this month.
Giveaways and Books To Browse
Fun Free Fantasy
Ends July 31st
Not-So-Sparkling July Reads
Ends August 1st
HORROR
Speak of the Devil by Antony J. Stanton
A young Romani girl surviving in medieval Transylvania tries to warn her clan of the evils looming in her visions.
Her father is too preoccupied with the dangers from the Ottomans and the Transylvanian soldiers, both.
Too scared to speak of the Devil, for to speak too loudly encourages the most Satanic of visits.
The only one who believes her is a young knight she shouldn’t even be talking with.
But to ignore these grim warnings has led to death before now.
And it may well do again.
And the girl’s visions are looming larger, ever more vivid. But is death from the Ottomans or the soldiers the worst they should fear?
A historical vampire thriller.
Speak of the Devil is a free novella companion to the award-winning and epic Blood of the Dragon series.
STEAMPUNK
Cressida's Agents by Mikala Ash
Cressida Troy, after being mesmerised into betraying humanity, is now the wife of Mon Ilson, the alien leader, and is crowned Empress of Space. While pretending to be the love of his long-life, Cressida is desperately seeking a way to redeem herself, and somehow save human civilization from destruction at his hands. Then her former fiancé, Jacob, is captured and brought to the moon. Can she earn back his love, or has her seeming betrayal hurt him too much?
Meanwhile on Earth, Marjorie, in the guise of a brothel madam and casino owner, is acting as an agent of Mon Ilson. Her goal is to learn from him the secret of immortality, and for now she must do his bidding. A violent assassination attempt on her airship Fortuna brings her into the strong arms of handsome Squadron Leader, Sir Christopher "Kit" Colby. Her attempt to uncover the mastermind behind the plot leads them both into deadly danger.
The Steel Inside by Abi Barden
A secluded island, a husband who loves her, no memory. What could be wrong?
Sarah wakes up with no memory. She doesn't even recall Gabriel, her loving husband. But it's a big house, lots to explore and journals to read. Only the person in the journals doesn't sound rational. Is she living with a madman? Then there are the horrors she discovers in his laboratory. Terrified, Sarah has to find a way to escape and to face the truth.
My Merch Stores:
Vintage and artsy designs on a variety of products
Scifi, fantasy, and horror designs on a variety of products
My shop on Redbubble featuring a variety of products.
Including evil chicken merch.
(with books and book merch)
Find me on:
Website | Facebook Group | YouTube | BookBub
My Amazon page | My Books on StoryOrigin
That's it for this edition. And I'll return next month with more updates.
