Elisa Keyston's Blog

I’m excited to announce that my first book, Arriving from Arkansas, is now available as an audiobook! I was so privileged to work with the talented Alexandra Bitton-Bailey, who really brought the story and the characters to life. Check out the great sample Alexandra made below to get a sneak peek at the audiobook:

https://www.elisakeyston.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Arkansas-Sample-Made-by-Headliner.mp4

You can buy the audiobook now at Audible, iTunes/Apple Books, and Amazon! If you own the ebook on Amazon, it’s also Whispersync enabled, so you can switch easily back and forth between reading and listening at your convenience.

This post was originally shared in my newsletter. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest!

It’s hard to believe that we’re already almost at the end of December and that 2024 is less than a week away. It’s been an incredibly hectic year for me, though that may not have been visible on this end of things, so I thought I would share with you what all has been going on with me!

But first, a glimpse of December color. My uncle got this holly for us 10 years ago when we moved here, and it had “berries” on it at that time—but after TWO YEARS in the ground, we finally figured out that the bush’s “berries” were artificial and just twisty-tied on. After that, a friend told me you needed to have male and female bushes side-by-side in order to get berries, so since this was a single plant, I wrote off the possibility of it ever getting berries. So imagine my shock when I spotted this earlier this week! And these ones are real! Apparently all the bush really needed was time.

Year-End Recap

Speaking of needing time, this year I published the last book in a series on my other pen name that was EIGHT YEARS in the making. When I started writing the series, I was only just beginning to show early signs of my chronic conditions forming, and I had no clue how severely my health was going to affect my writing. (If I had, you can bet I never would have started writing an intricate, plot-heavy time travel saga!)

At the same time I was wrapping up that series, the publisher of The Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge unexpectedly folded, leaving us with a need to scramble to get the series republished ASAP. Even though I’d stepped down as series lead years ago because of my health, I inadvertently found myself stepping back UP and organizing the relaunch. The series is now safely republished, and we’ve got new authors joining in to keep the series going with new books.

Plans for the Future

With how busy 2023 was, what are my plans for 2024? Honestly, resting is the biggest priority right now, because the hecticness of finishing my sci-fi series, republishing Pioneer Brides, and my sister’s wedding (not book-related, but definitely another major event of 2023!) made my chronic symptoms flare up. Whenever I’m in a flare, it feels endless, but I have to remind myself that flares do end. When that may be, I don’t know. But flares do end.

My next writing plan for once I’m feeling like a human again is to get back to work on Northwest Magic. In fact, even though I spent a significant chunk of this year on Pioneer Brides, I actually am not planning on diving back into historical romance, probably ever. For those of you who are here for the historical romance, I totally understand if you’re not interested in contemporary/cozy fantasy, so no hard feelings if you’re not interested in sticking around. But I hope you’ll consider checking out the brand-new Pioneer Brides newsletter where you’ll learn about the new releases in that series.

For those of you who are here for my cozy fantasy books, you’re in luck! The next book you’ll be seeing out of me is Fool’s Gold, the third installment of the Northwest Magic series, starring Matthew’s sister Taryn. You can look forward to the return of both Laney and Cass, as well as furry friend Tucker, fae “friend” Green, and another new, mysterious fae Taryn encounters in her new home in Kings Valley, Oregon. And, of course, there’s romance in the air as well… Watch this space!

New books in The Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge are going to be releasing monthly starting on December 15. The first new book in the series, Onward from Oklahoma by Lynn Donovan, is available for preorder now! Check out the cover reveal for that below.

With brand new books releasing in the series now, we’ve set up a dedicated website with info about our latest releases and a newsletter you can sign up for in order to be the first to know whenever a new book in the series is published. You can visit that website and sign up for the newsletter here!

The Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge

And, without further ado, here’s the cover reveal for the first new book in the series!

Miriam Forgeron escapes an Indian raid that killed her parents, hides in a root cellar, a coffin, and then a livestock car to get to Rattlesnake Ridge, Nevada. When she hands Solomon a letter of introduction that she wrote and declares she has no travel expenses but could use a bath and some clean clothes, he is bewildered by her. So is the mail-order bride at his side who stepped off the first-class car from the same train.

Now it’s a matter of proving who has what it takes to be this man’s helpmeet. When Miriam shows him her abilities at the forge, he is no longer laughing. But will she win his heart? The other bride is beautiful, well-groomed, and socially refined. Miriam was raised as a missionary in an Indian Village in Oklahoma. How can she compete?

Preorder Now!

If you’re not an Amazon reader, you’re in luck! My Northwest Magic series is now available on retailers outside of Amazon, including Kobo Plus!

Alexandra’s Riddle

Cass is a drifter. When she inherits an old Queen Anne Victorian in rural Oregon from her great-aunt Alexandra, the only thing she wants is to quickly offload the house and move on to bigger and better things. But the residents of the small town have other plans in mind. Her neighbors are anxious for her to help them thwart the plans of a land developer eager to raze Alexandra’s property for a high-end housing development. A mysterious girl in the woods needs Cass’s help understanding her own confusing—and possibly supernatural—abilities. And the handsome fourth-grade teacher at the local elementary school has been stirring feelings in Cass’s heart that she thought she’d buried long ago.

And it’s not just the human residents that have caught Cass in their web—because the woods of Riddle aren’t like other places she’s been. There’s magic in the trees. Cass’s presence has caught the attention of the fae that dwell in the woods on Alexandra’s property. They know she has the Sight, and they don’t want to let her go.

Cass isn’t ready to put down roots yet, but Riddle seems to have other plans. She may just find that what she’d been looking for all along was a place to call home.

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Old Flames

Laney isn’t looking for love. She’s perfectly happy with the life she’s built for herself in the little town of Foreston, Washington. She’s a successful businesswoman, the owner of an alterations shop with a clientele across the northwest. She’s the chair of the local Victorian house museum’s annual fashion show. And she has a reputation for a magic touch: the rumor around town is that anyone who wears one of the period costumes she designs in her spare time will be blessed with good luck.

That’s what they say, anyway. Laney knows the truth is a bit more complicated—anything she wills while sewing has a tendency of coming to pass. It’s a supernatural gift from the fae who are said to inhabit the woods surrounding the Paine Estate, and it’s taught her to keep a guard on her notorious redheaded temper. But keeping her temper becomes difficult when journalist Paul Nelson comes to town to do a feature about the museum. With his stunning good looks and swoon-worthy English accent, Paul is charming, irresistible… and just so happens to be Laney’s ex.

Laney wants nothing more than to keep Paul at arm’s length, but when she stumbles across a series of break-ins at the museum, she may have no choice but to trust the dashing reporter who once broke her heart to help her catch the culprit. And when a nearby forest fire threatens the safety of the town—and of the woods—will Laney be able to put her old feelings aside in order to protect the magic of Foreston? Or will that same magic lead to an unexpected happy ending?

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I’ve got some catchup posting to do here on the blog! First order of business: I’m pleased to share the full set of new covers for The Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge!

If you’re a subscriber to my newsletter, you’ll have learned that several months ago, the original publisher of this series closed its doors. The rights to the series reverted to the authors, and we decided to republish the books together with all new covers. Keep scrolling to see the lovely new designs by EDH Professionals!

Books 1-4:

Arriving from Arkansas by Elisa Keyston (me!) Coming from California by Catherine Bilson Moving from Maryland by Christine Sterling Riding from Richmond by Nan O’Berry

Books 5-8:

Traveling from Texas by Patricia PacJac Carroll Drifting from Deadwood by Ramona Flightner Returning from Rhode Island by Catherine Bilson Immigrating from Illinois by Nan O’Berry

As a note to any interested readers, these are the same books as were already published by Sweet Promise Press in 2019. All that’s changed are the covers. Amazon may not alert you that you already have this book in your Kindle library because the product listing ID has changed, due to us republishing the series. Please be mindful and check your Kindle library by title to ensure you’re not buying a duplicate book!

Please also note, Stefanie Bridges-Mikota chose to withdraw her book, Approaching from Arizona, from the series. That title is no longer available. If you’d still like to support Stefanie, though, you can check out her other historical romances here!

The road to getting these books republished was a long and difficult one, and we’re still grappling with Amazon to ensure books aren’t disappearing off the series page (or off Amazon altogether). Please bear with us as we deal with these hiccups and frustrations.

The first four books of the series are available for you to read now! Books are re-releasing weekly on Fridays for the rest of September.

While we’re currently focusing on re-releasing the previously published books, we’re excited to announce that all-new books in the series will be coming soon, from return authors and new ones as well. Be sure to watch this space for further information about the series, including the brand new books that are coming soon!

I know it has been a very long time, but I promise I’m not dead! I have talked about this on my other pen name’s website and social media, but obviously that does no good for any of you who know me only under this pen name.

So, yes, I write under two pen names. Keeping them entirely separate seemed like a good idea at the time, but I have discovered as the years have ticked by that I honestly can’t keep up with that with my health problems. And there’s really no reason to keep it secret, other than the fact that the genres I write under each name are pretty different, so odds are good there won’t be a lot of overlap in interest. But you never know! Some people like to read various genres, while others like to stick with their tried and true favorites.

Anyway, the reason for my utter silence hereabouts is because under my other pen name (if you are interested, it’s Lyssa Chiavari), I am working on the conclusion to a very, very large science fiction series, and the conclusion is turning out to be very, very much larger than I was bargaining for. As in, when it’s all said and done, I am estimating the final book will be the length of roughly four of the novels I write under this pen name. So, needless to say, it’s taking about as long as it would take me to write four novels under this pen name.

I have not abandoned this pen name, though! My writing plan is as follows:

finish that sci-fi: this should be done and published in 2023Fool’s Gold is next, and that should be done and published in 2024, barring health catastrophes

My health is something I haven’t talked about as much on this blog, but I talk about it a whole heck of a lot on my other blog, so if you’re curious, you can check that out. It does unfortunately impact my ability to write as quickly as I would like, which I apologize for, but the books are coming. Slow and steady wins the race and all.

I know many of you are here because of the Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge. I fully intended to write another book in that series, with a title and premise and some outlining done, but with my health problems I’m not sure whether that’s going to be in the cards. I have to prioritize what’s feasible for me with my health, and writing Arriving from Arkansas was a lot more difficult than my other books because it entailed so much research. I am glad I did it because writing historical fiction was something I’d always dreamed of, it just wound up being a lot harder than I thought it would be when I was a naïve history undergrad. If I am able to make it work, I’ll do my best, but don’t expect it any time soon. My focus for the time being is going to be continuing the Northwest Magic series (at least two more novels, most likely three, and very probably a novella as well) and splitting my time with my sci-fi pen name as well. If you enjoy the historical aspects of the Pioneer Brides series, you may wind up liking Fool’s Gold, which will be the next stand-alone novel in the Northwest Magic series. That book is going to feature a mystery from the late 1800s that carries over into the present day, complete with star-crossed lovers and a missing fortune of California gold. And I hope you’ll check out the other books in the series as well, which feature mystery and romance tied to historic Victorian homes!

In the meantime, once that sci-fi behemoth is done on my other pen name, you can expect more updates here. If you want to keep tabs on my progress there, you can find my social media accounts linked on my website. If you’re interested, I also have a Patreon account where I share monthly updates on my writing progress for both pen names, and Patrons get free ebook copies of all my books for both pen names as well. Thanks for your understanding and your patience!

Just a quick note today to let you all know that Sweet Promise Press is offering the complete series of The Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge in “boxed set” form on Kindle for a limited time. The series is broken into two ebook omnibuses, one containing books 1-4 and the second containing books 5-9. Both boxed sets are $2.99 during the preorder period, but the price will increase soon, so be sure to get the books at the introductory price if you’re interested.

Volume 1, featuring my book Arriving from Arkansas as well as Coming from California by Catherine Bilson, Moving from Maryland by Christine Sterling, and Riding from Richmond by Nan O’Berry, will be released this Friday, September 24.

Preorder now!

And the second collection, featuring Traveling from Texas by Patricia “PacJac” Carrol, Drifting from Deadwood by Ramona Flightner, Approaching from Arizona by Stefanie Bridges-Mikota, Returning from Rhode Island by Catherine Bilson, and Immigrating from Illinois by Nan O’Berry, will be released on October 1.

Preorder now!

These boxed sets are only going to be available for a limited time, so be sure to grab your copy or read in Kindle Unlimited if you’re interested.

It’s been a little while, hasn’t it? In fact, it’s been even longer than I meant it to be, because I just discovered that the post I’d queued for January 1 hadn’t posted and I’d never noticed. So if you haven’t seen that one yet, you can find it here!

I don’t really have any major news to share, but I did just want to give you all a little update on what’s been going on with me. I’m sure you could tell by the tone of some of my blog posts last year that my mental health was not doing too well. Between covid and the wildfires, and then early this year an ice storm which left me without power for a week and did a lot of damage to the trees in my yard and community (and if you’ve read my books, you can imagine the effect this had on me), I was not doing well for some time. However, I’ve gotten some help and am feeling quite a bit better mentally now.

I’m not back to 100%, though. I have some chronic health problems which were exacerbated by the stress of the last year, and as a result I’ve been in a really bad “flare” period. I’ve had some good news from my doctors over the last few months, though, and the new information they’ve given me has made me optimistic that once we’re able to get my symptoms back into “remission,” I can get back on track.

While I’ve been too ill to get much done by way of writing, I have continued to brainstorm and outline Fool’s Gold. I’m hoping I can get the book out soon, but that is of course contingent on my flare subsiding. In the meantime, I wanted to share a little sneak peek that I posted in my readers’ group on Facebook several months ago, so you have something to tide you over. Enjoy!

March 5: I wanted to give you all a little sneak peek of what I’ve been working on! Today I did some brainstorming and outlining on Fool’s Gold, the next book in the Northwest Magic series. I’m really excited about this one because it will be where the first two books in the series line up and make sense. I know because of how Old Flames was a prequel there was some disconnect (like I’ve said before, it was originally supposed to be a novella, so its lack of connection to Alexandra’s Riddle would have made more sense), but with Fool’s Gold it will all come together. The story focuses on Taryn, but it takes place after Alexandra’s Riddle, so Cass and Matthew will be in it, and so will Laney. I am still trying to decide if Lily will be in it—if I can make it work with the plot, I’ll try!—but Green is 100% for sure going to be in it and I’m really excited to be bringing his whimsical weirdness back.

I haven’t written up an actual blurb yet, but here’s the basic plot: Taryn’s dream of running her own bed and breakfast is about to come true. She wins an old home in Kings Valley in an essay-writing contest, only to discover that it’s not only completely dilapidated, but also infested with dark fae—creatures like goblins, gremlins, and other less-wholesome faeries. She needs to figure out what is causing them to congregate on the property like this, and how she can undo whatever caused the magic here to become corrupted.

The answer to the riddle seems to have something to do with a local legend about the original owners of the house. In order to break the curse, Taryn will have to use her powers of psychometry to solve a century-old mystery involving forbidden love and lost gold. Good thing she’ll have help from Luke, the handsome local contractor who’s helping her restore the property—although he may know more about her house’s history than he’s letting on…

Anyway, that’s where I’m at right now! Let me know what you think!

Happy New Year! I just wanted to give you some small updates:

Donation Updates

As promised, 100% of the proceeds from sales of Old Flames through the end of 2020 were donated to helping victims of the Santiam Fire, as well as to a fire prevention and awareness organization. If you are interested in where the donations went went, here’s the breakdown:

(Because the need was immediate in September but royalties were not paid for first month’s sales until November, these donations were made upfront based on estimated royalties from previous sale records. I have since confirmed that the amount donated exceeded the royalties taken in, so 100% of the proceeds did go to donations.)

I split my donation into three parts. The first was made to Fellowship Church’s fire relief fund. I opted for this rather than donating to a larger organization because I wanted to ensure that the funds I donated stayed within the community. Fellowship Church was on the front lines from the day the fire broke out, so I knew that if I gave the money to their fire relief fund, I could verify that it was being used to directly assist those in need within my community. The second donation was made to Oregon Humane Society, who has been sheltering pets who were separated from their families in the fire, seeking to reunite pets and owners, and providing veterinary care for the injured animals. And the last donation was made to Keep Oregon Green, a non-profit focused on fire prevention and public awareness, in the hopes that we can work together to put an end to catastrophic wildfires.

Thank you so much for your support of fire survivors through your purchases of the book!

New Logo + Writing Plans

You may have noticed a slight refresh on the site, as well as in my newsletter. I’ve updated my logo from being a butterfly to a cute fairy. I love it!

I also streamlined the website to focus on Northwest Magic, which is my flagship series. Here are my writing plans for 2021 and beyond:

For 2021 and the immediate future, my focus is going to be on Northwest Magic: Fool’s Gold, the third book in the series (starring Taryn, whom we met in Old Flames) and Stormy Waters, the fourth book, featuring Cass’s friend Emma. I also have plans for a fifth novel starring Darcy, and a novella (hopefully this one will stay a novella) called Something Borrowed. Who could that one be about? You’ll have to watch this space to find out!I am also working on a series called Southern Charms, which is a planned trilogy. This one is set in North Carolina and features a sorority of witches who live ordinary lives, run ordinary businesses, fall in love, and also just happen to be responsible for maintaining the balance of the cosmos. You can learn more about it here, and if you’re interested in a little sneak peek, I recently shared one in my readers’ group on Facebook.For the time being, my planned second installment to The Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge, Sailing from Scotland, is on hold. I may revisit the series in the future, but for right now, historical romance just isn’t sparking my imagination. I am really enjoying writing contemporary fantasy romance like Northwest Magic and Southern Charms—hence the logo change—so that’s where I want to keep my focus for the foreseeable future.

Here’s hoping 2021 will be a lot brighter for everyone than 2020 was!

Today is the release day for Old Flames. But it’s very hard for me to celebrate right now. Oregon is on fire. This last week has seen the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in my state’s history.

One week ago today, on September 8, I woke up at 8:30 and thought the sun hadn’t risen yet. It was dark as night, but when I looked out the window I was greeted by the unnerving sight of red. The sky was red. The air out my window was red. Everything was red.

As it turned out, overnight massive wildfires had broken out due to a historic windstorm the night before. Hurricane-force winds more typical of winter weather came along with unprecedented high temperatures and low humidity. Everything caught fire. Everything.

That morning when I looked out the window, a massive fire was raging just 15 miles east of my house. We spent several days on tenterhooks, unsure of whether we would have to evacuate or not. Miraculously, I did not need to evacuate. But many of my friends did. Many members of my community lost their homes. Some members of my community lost their lives.

And that morning, as I looked out my bedroom window at a world on fire, I was very, very cognizant of the fact that I was just days away from the publication of a book where the main character is in the exact same position I was. When I wrote the book, I specifically noted that I invented a fictional town because I didn’t want to wish destruction on any real location. And then, one week before its release, I got to watch that very destruction befall my own community.

I felt déjà vu as I looked out at the orange sky, as I breathed in the horrible smell of smoke, as I watched the evacuation zones grow closer to my house, as I packed my go-bag, as I scrambled to find N95 respirators for my family who needed to work outside in the smoke. And I kicked myself for the little details I got wrong. Like the fact that ash caked the ground, the rooftops, the cars on the street in a way eerily reminiscent of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Or like the fact that even though they were able to send out blaring text messages to alert us about contaminated drinking water, they haven’t figured out how to do that for fire evacuations yet, meaning some people slept through evacuation notices and barely escaped with their lives.

I wrote Old Flames both as a way to raise awareness about this reality of life in the western US, and as a way to process my own experiences with wildfire in 2017, when I had to watch the destruction of my former home of Sonoma County from a distance, unable to do anything but worry. I had no way of knowing, when I finished writing the book in July, what was waiting for me and my current home the very week of this book’s release.

This time, I am here, and I can help.

I will be donating all proceeds from sales of Old Flames through at least the rest of the year to aid for fire victims and to organizations focused on wildfire prevention. This includes Kindle Unlimited page reads, so if you’re a KU subscriber and you’d like to check the book out that way, I will still dedicate those funds to helping the community recover from these fires.

If you would like to more directly help the victims of the Santiam Fire (also known as the Beachie Creek Fire) and the other disastrous fires in Oregon, please check out these resources.

Old Flames is available now for anyone who would like to read it and support the fire victims in this small way.