Hey awesome,

It's heating up around here, but it's not 100+ degrees and there are blackberries growing on our fence, so I can't really complain. How's summer going for you?

The blackberries are a welcome new occurrence, which I might add to my list of favorite June happenings. Currently those involve my birthday (always an excuse for cake!) and then also Liberty Con, which is coming up this weekend. I'm heading that way today, and can't waaaaaait to see so many of my favorite people. Will you be there? My fab schedule is below, and if you are going to be there, definitely swing by and tell me you want to know about the secrety-secrets that will be revealed there. The password is...secrety-secrets (and don't worry if you won't be there - you get a peek at the secrety-secrets too, next time!).

Potentially related to the secrety-secrets, The Spider is getting closer and closer to a release date, aaaand now it has a cover:

I can't wait for it to be out in the world and people get to spend some time with Cynthia and Alida and Steed and Strall. Bill and I had a lot of fun writing it, and I can't wait to hear what you think.

If instant gratification is more your thing, The Phoenix Initiative: First Missions is out in the world and spent the majority of its first weekend atop the best-selling new release list. It's the largest 4HU anthology to date, and whether you've never read a Four Horseman book or you've devoured all 88ish of them, you can jump right in here and enjoy the many tales of merc companies' first missions.

My story features a group first met in World Enders, and more importantly is the third of three connected stories in this anthology following the travails of several companies. I got to do a braided trio of tales with Kacey Ezell, H.Y. Gregor, and David Shadoin, and whewww did we have a good time. I'd love to hear what you think! You can hear directly from me and some of the other authors (including the famous Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey), talking about our stories and the anthology as a whole, on last week's Inside CKP.

While you're over on the CKP channel, you can also see what I've been up to with some of my fellow feral ladies, Kacey Ezell and Melissa Olthoff, along with our special guest H/Y. Gregor. We talked about a ton of things, including the armor we use in various aspects of our lives.

Also, who would I be if I weren't enabling your TBR pile to reach alarmingly mammoth tendencies? Tons of fantastic (and free!) reads in the links below:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/urbanfantasyfreebies-jun/f24zgkq6gu

https://books.bookfunnel.com/speculativesummertimegiveaway/h9hm8sj8ug

https://books.bookfunnel.com/scifiction01/k7eqe21zf0

And for now, my TBR pile will continue to judge me, because it's time to hit the road and head to Liberty Con. Safe travels if you're traveling, and happy rest of June if not!

Til next time,

Marisa