Hey awesome,

So I well and truly jinxed myself and the immediate area by talking about how lovely the weather had been...Since then, of course, it's been HOT. Not, you know, Texas hot (sorry to TX, especially this year, oof). But still - way too warm and humid and blehhhhhh.

I just want to sit in front of a fan and veg, and I have, as the gif suggests, coped with ice cream for dinner a few times. But I've also ventured out for blueberry picking, which - while sweat-inducing at the time - has also given me some healthier dinner options.

And also muffins. I refuse to have regrets. Besides, then I can chomp down on blueberries in various forms as launch day approaches...

That's right - this beauty comes out tomorrow (Friday August 12th)! The Lyons' Pride - and writing with Chris - is responsible for the most productive writing streak of my life thus far, and also I am deliriously proud of it. I may have made my co-author tear up, he definitely made me laugh out loud, and overall this is a book that will 1) serve as a neat entry point if you don't want to start 80ish books into the Four Horseman Universe (though you maaaay want to check it out afterward), and 2) take you through many many decades of a singular human's life in the great wide 4HU galaxy, with all the trouble, tragedies, and triumphs therein.

Want to know more - or just hang out with Chris + me as we talk book goodness? You can join our live book launch on the CKP YouTube, right here, at 9pm EST tomorrow 8/12.

Lyons' Pride will be available at midnight from the usual places, but also if you want to preorder the ebook, you can grab it here from CKP directly! However you get your eyes on it, after you read it...let me know what you think??

In less nerve-wracking news, DragonCon is coming up sooooon! I'll be there with tens of thousands of my favorite people - will you be there? I can't wait to be overwhelmed by all the awesomeness and talk all the nerdery - here's my tentative panel schedule (tentative because with a convention of this magnitude, there are bound to be shifts, and the directors + volunteers are working their tails off to make everything awesome):

Friday:

10:00am - Stargirl: Eclipsed

5:30pm - Upload: The Dream of Freeyond

10:00pm - Sinful Sci-Fi

Saturday:

1:00pm - Science Fiction Noir

2:30pm - One True Pairing Improv Comedy

4:00pm - The Evolution of the 'Badguy' Hero

8:30pm - Women Writing Fighting

10:00pm - Zombies vs Aliens: Humans Strike Back!

Sunday:

7:00pm - The Worlds of If: Multiverse Stories in High Fantasy

10:00pm - Sex Work in High Fantasy

Monday:

2:30pm - The Impact of the Darkholde on the MCU

After DragonCon it will be straight up Valkyries countdown time over here (back to exciting aaaand nerve-wracking). Ahead of The Valkyries Initiative release (September 16th, but who's counting (me, me, I am absolutely counting)), you can check out the latest Valkyries interview! This one is with a new author, Jordan Comeaux. She is a delight, as is her story (especially if you like having your heart stomped on a bit, which I do!), and I'm so excited for you to meet her. And in a little over a month, to meet her Valkyrie!

September is going to be a little bonkers for me, because the week after the Valkyries anthology, my second 4HU book with Chris Kennedy will launch - World Enders (September 23rd)!

Also part of the Phoenix Initiative, meaning it's a place you can start with the 4HU if you're not already all up in it, in World Enders an intelligent otter with a love of old Westerns gets assigned a hopeless case...and shenanigans, as you may imagine, ensue.

I guess I should get back to work so I have more good stuff for you post-September as well. Ahem.

In the meantime, if you need a little more on the e-reader to round out August, how about a free read or ten?

https://books.bookfunnel.com/kickbackandenjoy/k3perh4n1f

https://books.bookfunnel.com/fantasy-giveaway-reads-august/ebnsjcf6dw

https://books.bookfunnel.com/free-ebooks-for-sci-fi-lovers/v76zck2h1a

https://books.bookfunnel.com/authorversary/a6dju2o34h

https://books.bookfunnel.com/modernfantasyfreebies/d2ucf6qxmj

Til next time,

Marisa