Hey awesome,

Happy good-goodness-it's-December! Time continues to have no meaning, but we've been getting tons of seasonal spirit at the Holiday Festival of Lights we're volunteering at, so at least it sort of feels like December?

I mean, a December that's often 70 degrees, allowing me to run off to the beach, but I'm certainly not complaining about that!

In other news I have been sitting on some news for a while that I am so ridiculously excited to tell you. First, you remember me talking about this, yes?

It's Chicks in Tank Tops, an absolutely fantastic anthology coming January 3rd, 2023 (though you can pick up an eARC right now if you don't like waiting), where I have a story ("Next Question") amongst some towering talents in the field.

And I love that story. I love that story so much that Talinn and Bee kept kicking around in my head, along with all the other issues and adventures that were in their future after the short story, and...

It's going to be a novel. A whole dang novel - and that's a whole dang novel from Baen.

Like, Baen Books, a publisher that has published some of my favorite authors, some of my favorite books - and that has a heck of a lot of representation on my bookshelves (when I don't, you know, live in an RV...).

Baen! I'm still a little (ahem, or a lot) googly about it. I'll turn it in during the early parts of 2023, and it's coming along well. Messy first draft well, but that's the point of a first draft. So I keep reminding myself...Anyhow! You can expect to hear about it more than once between now and its future publication date.

Baen!!

Do you read a lot of Baen books? What are your favorites? It's not that my TBR list needs more encouragement, but I hate to think I'm missing good stuff out there.

In also extremely exciting news, Bill and I are hoping to have The Spider done in the very near future, my kickoff Valkyries novel is in progress, and I have not one, but two other Valkyries novels mostly done and on their way from absurdly talented authors. 2023 is going to have a whole lot of kickass, ass-kicking characters, I can tell you what.

Also...2023 is right around the corner. WHAT. Anything you're most looking forward to in the new year?

Back to 2022, and also to other publishers that have a lot of book real estate on my shelves: CKP, full of amazing authors writing the sort of stories that keep you up too late at night. (#sorrynotsorry)

Like, for instance, Fred Hughes' fantastic Prince of Britannia Saga - book 2 is now out! Prince Commander continues the fantabulous story of Hazard:

From the cover copy:

Hazard King was ready to get back to a normal life…

Well, as normal a life as the next emperor of the Britannia Empire could expect, anyway. Hazard wanted to continue his naval career—to grow and take on positions of higher responsibility—because he knew the Swarm would be back, and he intended to be there to fight them when they returned.

He had learned how to delegate, though, and while he was training, the rest of Team Hazard was tasked with eliminating the Marxist spy network which they had discovered was mostly made up of rogue Imperial spies.

And somewhere along the way, Hazard needed to find time to get married and produce an heir. But at least that shouldn’t be dangerous, right?

Book one, The Prince Awakens is dang, dang good, and I have it on good authority the next books are coming out fast, so you don't have long to wait and can treat yourself early!

As for treating yourself, you can't go wrong with free reads!

https://books.bookfunnel.com/free-fantasy-sciencefiction-ebooks/nkhigqs91t

https://books.bookfunnel.com/free-fantasy-ebooks/17x66sf06w

And since "early 2023" is coming up real soon (I just keep rediscovering that fact)...back to work with me. Hope your December is delightful!

Til next time,

Marisa