Hello dear reader,

This is the first time we've been apart for so long! Two weeks! And they've flown by, haven't they? Over here in Virginia we're in post pandemic-ish stage. It's now up to the store to decide if masks need to be worn or not, which is a great move forward. I think it's definitely something to celebrate!

It's a Mask-Off Sale!

I've slashed all the prices of the paperback and hardcover books that I have in stock here in my office. Which means every purchase will be signed!

Even my hardcover, interactive journal is on sale!

Please note: An Audience with the King has the old cover, but the story is unchanged. Stepping Across the Desert is the current cover, but the cover will be changing this summer to snazz it up a bit. Just FYI.

Check out the sale here.

In other news, I've been reading a lot of short stories doing something called deep reading.

I had never heard of deep reading before this spring in one of my writing classes. Probably because I didn't study any form of writing in college. Apparently when you get your MFA, they teach you all about deep reading. Any of you know about this?

Basically, it's a deeper look at the sentence structure, the scene structure and asking a lot of questions. It's reading, not for the pleasure of reading, but to see how and why the author wrote it in that way.

Okay, okay, that's a bit of a butchering on the definition. I make it sound boring, but it really isn't. I can get really into it, if I can concentrate.

Anyone else having trouble concentrating these days? It's either red-eyed cicadas distracting me (or the knowledge that they're coming. Duh-duh-duuuuuuh!) or the birds screeching at each other or the dog jumping on me or just forgetting what I was doing.....

In other news, the revamp of Stepping Across the Desert is complete! Not much was changed, just some smoothing out of the accents and making sure the grammar is perfect. (Heads up, the book on sale in my shop is the original version, so there are a few typos in there. If you prefer to wait to get it, I completely understand. Or you could get a signed copy from me for a few bucks....and then get the perfected version once it comes out...)

Look how many different directions I've gone in this email...Concentration is needed over here. O perhaps another cup of coffee...

Pick up a new read!

Lately, I've been digging into Alice Monroe's short stories. You can read some here, here and here.

If you're looking for a fantasy book, there is a promotion going on. Click the button to pick some out!

Fantasy Promotion!

Before I leave you for another two weeks, I want to invite you to join me for a live writing sprint. I'm having three next week and you can sign up for all of them or two of them or just one of them. They will all be different!

A live writing sprint with me consists of two prompts. I'll read the first one, then give us 15 minutes to write. Then I'll read the second one and give us 15 minutes to write. Then we gather together and read our writing if we want.

It's a great way to hone your writing skills and meet other writers! The groups are always small, a lot less intimidating that way. And if you don't want to read, you don't have to. No pressure. But we all know that it's just a rough draft, a spilling out of words, and no one expects anything perfect from you. Please come see how much fun they can be!

Sign up!