Raye Steinman's Blog

Hello all. Happy spring to everyone, I do hope the pollen in your area is better than mine. It’s a sinus nightmare here.

Thank you for being patient. I feel I have a bit of explaining to do, so this update is going to be a bit longer usual. I understand that it’s not exactly groovy to ghost my readers.

BOOK 2 & OTHER WRITINGS

The biggest reason I’ve had nothing to say during these long months has to do with the sequel to Ahvram’s story, Void, book 2, the next installment, another fun term for a second book in a series. I had originally intended to have Void out by November/December of 2023, obviously as we sit well into spring and 1 day before April 2024, that hasn’t happened.

To make a complicated story simple, my editor ended up being in a situation where they consistently could not get to my manuscript but would promise to get to it next. They were supposed to begin towards the end of fall 2023, however as the start date approached I was told they were unable to start just yet, and the date would move. We went back and forth in conversation constantly, and in February, they admitted they didn’t have the capacity for my manuscript and handed it off to another editor. This new one has promised they are working on Void, and hopefully I have it in April/May.

I understand this is a disappointment to those wanting to read Void. Personally, it has been devastating for my creativity. Since fall I have been shying away from writing because I have been far too upset to continue Ahvram’s story. Part of me wants to simply publish Void as it is, but I want it to be polished and for my usual bad writing habits to be corrected before it’s released into the world.

Happily, I have found myself in a better place creatively recently, and I have returned to working on the series.

All that is to say, I am hoping to have Void out sooner versus later, and I will endeavor to keep updating here. Until then, thank you for sticking with me, and thank you to those who have reached out regarding my stories. You have no idea how much you mean to me.

Thank you~

Thank you to everyone who has stuck around and waited for me to return. My life has been a topsy-turvy mess of change, and a lot of my time to devote to here and writing got flung out the window. But, my schedule has cleared, I’ve made the time for writing, and I’ve got some announcements.

Book 2 & other writing projects

Null book 2, officially named Void, is off to professional editing as of this week. I’m hoping to have it fully published before the end of this year.

While I can’t show you much of Void yet, I can share with you some of the Queen’s backstory. The first 2 chapters of Songs from the Wildlands, Siobhan will be posted under the Extras section of the website. Follow this link to start reading!

Here’s a taste to get you started.

This world was not meant to survive her. Or, more aptly, she was not meant to survive in this world. Like a delicate flower planted in the wrong soil, she was expected to fail. Her chances of flourishing were limited. No one expected her to thrive. But like a weed, she broke through the soil, set her roots, and dug in deep.
Siobhan would not be strangled by the earth. She refused to die when she was told it was better that she did. She clung to this life with both hands, burrowing in her fingers so hard that the loose soil was forced together and tethered to her.
She refused to live up to the expectation of her own demise.
It was a hard thing to do as a child, but Siobhan was never known to be a weak girl.
But, sometimes on nights like these, where she sat in her garden during a light rain, eyes shut and face to the sky, she could remember what she used to be.
She used to be soft.
She used to be sweet.
She used to be someone else.
Amongst these verdant greens and blossoming flowers, she could shut her eyes and let her mind drift. The war had ended some years ago, and her life was new now. It was not bad, but it was not what she would have expected nor wanted for herself.
As insects buzzed by her ears and the leaves shook with the breeze, she could remember who she was before she had to fight the world.
Before she had to break this City and make it something she could survive in.

songs from the wildlands, siobhan

As always, thank you for reading and for sticking with me. I hope this spring is good to everyone!

Happy Holidays to all who celebrate, and for whatever you celebrate! I hope that those who received gifts got something they enjoyed, and that you were able to spend time with those you care for.

Most of December has been quiet in my world. Work was a bit more hectic during the holiday season, and I’m greatly looking forward to the new year. With that being said, I have some announcements!

Book 2 & Other Writing Projects

Null book 2 is still in edits, as I’ve received feedback from some beta readers and have a bit of reworking to do. Fingers crossed that I figure out a good schedule and can have it in your patient hands by the summer.

But! I’ve not been doing nothing during this interim! I have started a series called Songs from the Wildlands. The first part of this story will feature Queen Lynx before she became the queen we know and love (and fear, just a little). I’ll give more details as I get closer to releasing the first part. For now, enjoy this little niblet~

This world was not meant to survive her. Or, more aptly, she was not meant to survive in this world. Like a delicate flower planted in the wrong soil, she was expected to fail. Her chances of flourishing were limited. No one expected her to thrive. But like a weed, she broke through the soil, set her roots, and dug in deep.
Siobhan would not be strangled by the earth. She refused to die when she was told it was better that she did. She clung to this life with both hands, burrowing in her fingers so hard that the loose soil was forced together and tethered to her.
She refused to live up to the expectation of her own demise.
It was a hard thing to do as a child, but Siobhan was never known to be a weak girl.
But, sometimes on nights like these, where she sat in her garden during a light rain, eyes shut and face to the sky, she could remember what she used to be.
She used to be soft.
She used to be sweet.
She used to be someone else.
Amongst these verdant greens and blossoming flowers, she could shut her eyes and let her mind drift. The war had ended some years ago, and her life was new now. It was not bad, but it was not what she would have expected nor wanted for herself.
As insects buzzed by her ears and the leaves shook with the breeze, she could remember who she was before she had to fight the world.
Before she had to break this City and make it something she could survive in.

Songs from the WIldlands, Siobhan

Unbroken Glass & Metal Scraps was released in October! This is a short novella taking place between books 1 and 2 of Null. It’s free to read on Kindle Unlimited. Grab your copy and start reading now!

Thank you for sticking with me, and for anyone in cold climes please stay warm during the winter! Happy New Year in advance. I hope 2023 is good to all of us.

Hello all and Happy Holidays to anyone who celebrates anything during November. I’m home with the family getting ready for Thanksgiving, and boy do we have a feast to prepare. Mom was sparing with her invites this year, we’re only serving 15 people. Whether you’re celebrating, cooking, or just sitting at home, I hope you’ve had a great month! Here’s a few things in the works on the writing front.

Writing Updates

If you haven’t heard, Unbroken Glass & Metal Scraps was released in October! This is a short novella taking place between books 1 and 2 of Null. It’s free to read on Kindle Unlimited. Grab your copy and start reading now!

Book 2 is in it’s mid editing stages. It should go through another round of edits from yours truly before I send it off for my editor. Big thanks to my beta readers: Sarah, Christopher, and Leslie. Your input has been invaluable.

As I had stated on my FB page, I have been attempting to draft Book 3 during NaNoWriMo. It’s been an off and off process recently due to some family emergencies. Never fear, there is definitely a plan for B3, it’s just still a skeleton.

Hawke’s short story is also in the works. It too had to take a backseat to my family stuff. I hope to have the short story written and up here on the website sometime during the new year.

As always, thank you for everything. If you have author questions that you want to see answered here, ask away. If you have fanart of any sort, I’d also love to see it!

Thank you all, and have a great rest of November.

The Null novella, Unbroken Glass & Metal Scraps is live! Get your copy and start reading today.

Dedicated to Sarah, a pretty good sister all things considered.

Hello all! As the title of this post implies, I’m delaying the release of Unbroken Glass & Metal Scraps until Sunday, October 9th.

Some of you may or may not be aware, but I live in St. Petersburg, FL. Tuesday Hurricane Ian hit our coast as a category 4 hurricane with devastating winds and a nasty storm surge that flooded areas all across southwest FL. Happily, my home was spared much of the devastation. However, the hospital I work for obviously couldn’t close during the storm. I lived and worked in the hospital for the last 2.5 days and worked 12hr shifts, so suffice to say I’m a little exhausted. All the time I had for final edits and formatting was eaten up by my duties at the hospital. I am currently working on getting all of that done now, but I don’t want to rush and put forth something subpar.

Thank you for understanding. If you want to help with those impacted by the hurricane, here are some links:

Feeding Tampa Bay, World Central Kitchen, Florida Disaster Fund

Hello all! I apologize for the long radio silence. In the real world, quite a lot changed for me this summer. I started a new job! It has been a bit of a challenge to balance my new responsibilities with writing, but now that I’ve been at it for a few months I think I can safely say I now have a handle on my schedule. Now I can return to writing more frequently.

Sequel & other stories

As an apology for making everyone wait so long, here is the official cover reveal for Unbroken Glass & Metal Scraps!

Thank you to Jaclyn Weber for another beautiful cover!

Just a few months after Ahvram is taken from the Syndicate and installed in the Child Queen’s court, an all but untraceable burglar graduates from theft to murder. In order to help her catch the criminal, spy master Tzulie enlists both Ahvram and his brother, junior guard Dominic, to help her.

While investigating the most recent break-in, the brothers realize their enemy is specifically targeting ex-Syndicate businesses. Their murderer is either someone who used to work for their organization or someone with a vendetta against them.

With their target turning violent, it’s a race against the clock for the trio to capture the thief. But a criminal this skilled doesn’t take kindly to being pursued.

Unbroken Glass & Metal Scraps will be available 10/2/2022 for $0.99 on Kindle, and free on Kindle Unlimited. I hope you all enjoy Ahvram, Dominic, and Tzulie’s wild ride.

A huge thank you to Lauren for allowing me to borrow one of her characters for this story. Your input and help has meant the world to me.

favorite character poll

The results are in, and the favorite character poll winner is Cyrus the Hawke! Which means he’ll be getting his own short story that will be up here on the website for free. Congrats to him! (He always knew he was going to win.)

Hawke’s story is still in the works, but be on the look-out for when it hits the website.

As always, thank you all so much for reading and enjoying my stories. I can’t wait to get more out to you in the next few months. If you haven’t already, please rate and review Null on either Amazon, GoodReads, or BookBub.

Questions? Send them my way!

Bring on the fall, pumpkin spice, and comfy sweaters. Ahvram and Hector’s favorite season is autumn, by the way.

It’s finally summer! I hope you all are enjoying the warm sunshine wherever you are.

Sequel & other stories

For everyone who’s been waiting so patiently, the Null novella is in it’s final form. I hope to have it published in August. Right now we’re waiting on some final tweaks and edits to be completed. I can’t wait for you to get a copy and enjoy this murder mystery with Ahvram, Dominic, and Tzulie!

favorite character poll

The results are in, and the favorite character poll winner is Cyrus the Hawke! Which means he’ll be getting his own short story that will be up here on the website for free. Congrats to him! (He always knew he was going to win.) Second place was a tie between Ahvram and Hector.

Thanks to everyone for participating in that little bit of fun!

As always, thank you all so much for reading and enjoying my stories. I can’t wait to get more out to you in the next few months. If you haven’t already, please rate and review Null on either Amazon, GoodReads, or BookBub.

Questions? Send them my way!

Enjoy your summer and stay cool everyone~

It’s officially spring, so by the end of this month I’ll be off on summer vacation. That means I’ll have more time to get some new stories done. For now, we’ve only got a few quick updates.

Sequel & other stories

Exciting news everyone, the Null novella is officially finished! It has already been sent out for beta reads. It’s a short adventure with Ahvram, Tzulie, and Dominic set after the events of Null. I’m hoping to have it up for sale by the end of summer. When I have a date, you’ll be the first ones to know!

favorite character poll

So far I’ve been made to look like a liar for claiming the favorite is tied between Hector and the Hawke. At the moment the Hawke is winning with Ahvram holding on to second place.

I’m ending the poll June 11th, and whichever character wins their own short story! Make sure to cast your vote~

As always, thank you all so much for reading and enjoying my stories. I can’t wait to get more out to you in the next few months. If you haven’t already, please rate and review Null on either Amazon, GoodReads, or BookBub.

Questions? Send them my way!

Have a fantastic May, see you in June~

March has been a particularly slow month for me. I hope you all have had an easy time. Here’s your update!

SEQUEL & OTHER STORIES

NULL book 2 is officially in beta reads. I’m hoping to have them back by the end of the month so I can continue to the next draft.

The NULL novella is 80% done in its first draft. Here’s a snippet from the most recently written scene.

After several hours of dead sleep, both Ahvram and Dominic awoke to the midday sun. Ahvram grumbled as he tried to hide his head under his pillow, and Dominic began cursing as he sat up and stretched.“I blame you for this bullshit,” Dominic told his brother.“It’s not my fault,” Ahvram whined. “I wanted to read my book, not go on a wild chase all over the city. Go blame someone else.”“Well if I blame Tzulie she’s gonna beat my ass.”“I can fight you just as easily.”“Yeah, but I can win against you,” Dominic smirked.Ahvram’s answer was a strangled series of frustrated sounds.

Lastly, here is the newest art from Jaclyn Weber, a lovely portrait of Hector Durellion.

I think Hector’s horns are the hardest part of him to draw. I know myself and Jaclyn have gone back and forth on their design many times.

Did you know? Out of the readers I’ve talked to, Hector and the Hawke are tied for favorite character! Respond below with your favorite and let’s see if anyone can dethrone the gents.

That’s all for now! Don’t forget, if you have fanart or questions, please feel free to send them my way. Send in your question here.