They say February is for lovers, or something like that. I say, every month is for Word Lovers! And this month, I have all kinds of special things to share with you.

First up is this fun little surprise. Every year, my Christian Mommy Writers group holds a swoon contest for Valentine's Day. As someone who typically doesn't write romance, I haven't ever entered, but of all the wild things, this pirate showed up in one of my recent stories, and I have to say, he's pretty swoon worthy. So, I decided to throw him and my assassin into the mix, and of all the shockers, they brought home the bronze!

So, just for funsies, I'm going to share this little five sentence peek into one of my upcoming stories! This is just a small part of a scene that I condensed for the competition. It looks a little different in context, but here it is...

“Please state the obvious, Captain—why did you come to save me, and why do you bear the image of my name tattooed on your skin?”

Her intensity freezes me in place, and I am undone under the ferocity of her stare, but pirate though I may be, I cannot lie to her or leave her to wonder. “Because, (endearment redacted), I wanted to have a way to be close to you, even when you shut me out; I wanted to have a memory of you near my heart, even when you lash out and call me names; I wanted to possess some small part of you, even when I know I will never cage you.” This time I do step closer, and as much as I can feel her desire to fly in the face of my response—despite asking for it—her resolve holds her in place. “Because you laid claim to me the first day you held one of your shiny daggers to my throat, and I wanted to have a way to show the world I am only yours.”

In other news...it's been a while since I last checked in. I plan to get back to monthly missives since I have a lot happening this year. First up, I'm looking for people who are interested in helping me spread the word (and get a chance to see exciting things like cover reveals and read early copies) about my upcoming Time Travel serial. This will be comprised of three short books that tell a single story. If this sounds like something you might enjoy, please fill out the form here.

My family had a lovely Christmas. Here's our pretty tree that kicked my office out of the living room and into the kitchen for a couple months. I'm now back in my cozy nook, but I thought the beautiful tree was worth sharing.

If you follow me on instagram (@transientdrifter) you might have seen this picture before. I asked people what they thought this building was, and got some fun responses. The grand reveal...

It's the local library here in my town. I stopped by one snowy afternoon with my daughter. We don't have a library card yet, but we loved wandering around in the building and looking at all the fun kids books they have there.

Snow has been the theme for the past couple of months. While it did clear up for a few days, it has returned this week. We don't have quite as much as in these photos, but enough to make walking my daughter to school and taking dog walks a cold and sloppy job. I love when snow makes the world look like Narnia...not so much when it turns to muck.

But just look at this view!

Just couldn't resist sharing this fun picture from before Christmas when my books went on a field trip to a castle in Cheb. The colors here were just so perfect.

If you've made it this far, I salute you...and have some big news! Last week I had a chance to read through an early copy of the next book coming up in the Games of Greed and Ruin series. Both my characters Zenith and Phoenix make appearances in this book, so I was called in to consult on their roles. I love watching my characters continuing to make an impact throughout the series. Of Pastries and Vengeance is already available for pre-order. The release date is April 28th, so be sure to check it out.

And the last big piece of news I have regarding this series is...we've decided to put off the release of the group sequel to One Must Die until Fall of 2027. Now, before you go kicking and screaming about how long you have to wait, I have reasons for this news. See, I've been working on a two part addition to the series. I've been calling it a "prequel" because it takes place chronologically before the rest of the series. But in accordance with the Chronicles of Narnia in which our esteemed Mr. Lewis wrote The Magician's Nephew much later in the series than The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, these stories should be read in the order they were written, not when they take place. My goal is to release the first part in the fall (where you'll get to read the aforementioned swoony pirate scene in context) and the second part in the Spring of '27. So, lots of good things to keep you entertained before the final book releases.

Thank you so much for sticking around to get all the news this month. As I said, I plan to get back to my regular monthly letters, so next time I'll be keeping things short and sweet. Until then, happy reading, and don't forget to sign up to be on my street team!