Into the Bargain, my romantasy with a secretive wizard's assistant, a feminist awakening and Bridgerton-but-with-magic vibes, is out today!
Cue the Kermit arm flail while Snoopy dancing and also making the Tina-from-Bob's-Burgers anxious noise.
If you haven't snagged it yet, grab while it's still 99 cents. That discount will disappear in a few days.
When life doesn't give you a lot of time to write, each book release feels rare and weighty.
So I can't tell you how much I appreciate the pre-orders and enthusiasm from advance readers. How much I appreciate you.
A book comes to life when it's read — writing it is only the beginning of the story. 🤗
Oh — and don't forget about the 🧚🏽fairy tale quest🧚🏽. You've got all month to read the novella, find the (mostly hidden) fairy tale references and enter for prizes.
Challenge a friend or enemy to best you, while you're at it. 😉
Here's a taste of Chapter 1:
The wrong man answered the door.
Pen put on her well-worn polite smile, hoping it concealed her anxiety. “Hello. I have an appointment to see the omnimancer.”
The man—a typic, no long queue of silver hair to mark him as a wizard—gave her a look that went straight through her. Did he suspect why she was here?
“Omnimancer Porten was called out of town.” He leaned against the doorway, framed by an impressive amount of ivy. “An emergency, you understand.”
“When do you expect him back, Mr. …?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know,” he said, unsatisfactorily answering one of her questions and ignoring the other.
She took a shaky breath. “May I wait, then?”
“I very much doubt he’ll be back today.”
According to A Lady’s Guide to Unimpeachable Conduct, this was the point at which a polite lady would murmur a polite thank you and politely turn away.
Instead, desperation pushed other words out of her mouth. “I would … I would nevertheless like to wait. Sir.”
He quirked his lips, one side only, in there-and-gone amusement. “You’re welcome to it. But there’s no one here except me, I should warn you.”
Pen stole a glance at his left hand, hoping to see a wedding ring. No such luck. She hesitated—but what choice did she have? He moved aside, and she held up the long skirt of her dress to step in, the cheerful noises of midday shoppers on Washington Street fading as he shut the door.
No question what the Lady’s Guide would say about this situation. And if her father were still alive, he’d be appalled. Alone with an unmarried man, Penelope!
But he was dead. That was the reason she was here, after all.
The unattached, possibly nameless man gestured to her left. “The receiving room is undergoing repairs, but you may sit in the library. Provided that you do not touch the books.”
All classified, no doubt—magic-users only. They’d both failed the test that would have given them access: this man at age thirteen and she, as a woman, at birth.
She felt as if she’d failed many tests since then, most just as unfair.
“Thank you,” she murmured, taking a seat that allowed her to watch the front door.
He gave her another look, an assessing one. Then he swept off, his dark frock coat swirling behind him.
📚🌟📚🌟📚
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