A new project

I've had my brother and his family visiting, and I've been working on finishing up my fourth puzzle game in the Dr. Esker's Notebook series, and I've also had some work to do on the video game I'm helping write story for, so writing new novels has fallen a bit by the wayside. However, in the last couple weeks, I've found myself thinking hard about my next fantasy book while falling asleep, which is a sure sign I am ready to dive in. I did so last week, adding a few thousand words to the intro I'd written last spring. It's a story about a former soldier uprooted from her home by war who ends up with no options other than looting a battlefield. She finds a mysterious sword on the hip of a dead noble, and faces threats from other scavengers there. I'm not too far into it yet (only about 5000 words, and a full novel is usually 100,000 or more) but I like the vibe, and I'm finding a voice for the main character. I have a secondary focus character I'd like to introduce next, but I don't have him worked out entirely. But it's always exciting starting off on a new journey.

I'm setting this in the same general world as my Frosthelm novels, but it won't involve that city or the Inquisitors' Guild (at least as I plan it now). But that will be the general vibe - late middle age technology, relatively rare magic tied to items. At least as far as I know now - my books tend to develop themselves with only limited control by me as I write them, and I have no real idea where this goes other than the setup.

I hope to get farther into it as we move into fall. Ideally, I might finish it up before November and start something else for my annual NaNoWriMo effort, but that would be a pretty fast pace. We'll have to see, and I'll keep you posted here.

Some stories to try

I'm part of several author collectives, and we share each other's work to try to help all of us reach more readers. In many cases, the books we share are are free or discounted. Sometimes, they ask that you sign up for a newsletter like this one. Here are some new books I have to share this month:

First up is Her Perfect Murder by A.J. Faris. A murder mystery featuring an ex-con returning to her hometown and a private investigator pulling secrets from the past, this is a well-reviewed novel.

Next, I have Stonebearer's Betrayal by Jodi Milner, an epic fantasy replete with mysterious guardians and demons set on the destruction of the world. Great stuff, and right now, the ebook version is free.

Next, I have Lament of the Lightborn by Luna Fox and F. Lowberry, a fantasy adventure with dracomancers, which is something everybody needs. Fox and Lowberry have a number of other fantasy titles as well if this appeals to you.

Finally, I have Withdrawal by Bradley Lejeune, a free sci fi story about a potential war between humanity and a mysterious alien race.

Thanks!

Thanks so much for signing up for my newsletter. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for upcoming books! I love hearing from people. If you've read one of my books and wouldn't mind leaving a review anywhere (Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub, LibraryThing) I'd really appreciate it! Each review helps me reach more readers. 

I hope you and your friends and family are having a safe and rewarding 2023!

May the Bloodmother watch over you - 

Dave