Kate Avery Ellison's Blog

 Dear lovely readers,

I wanted to take a moment to reach out because I know many of you were expecting a new book from me this month—and I wasn’t able to deliver it. If you had a pre-order, it has been cancelled, and I’m deeply sorry for the disappointment.

The truth is, this past year has been incredibly hard. I’ve been juggling writing, caring for my family, and trying to tend to my own mental health. My grandmother and my cat of 16 years died a few weeks apart, and one of my dearest friends moved away, and... well. There's a lot more, but needless to say, my spirits have been low. Despite my best efforts, burnout and grief have caught up with me, and finishing the book right now just hasn’t been possible.

I know this has been an ongoing struggle over the past few years, and I hate letting you down. Please know that I am still writing—this book will come, as will others—but I need to give myself time to heal and recover my creative energy.

If you’re also feeling worn down—whether by loss, by stress, or by the overwhelming state of the world—please accept a huge virtual hug from me. You’re not alone in this. I’m right there with you.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your patience, kindness, and support.

With love,

 Kate Avery Ellison 

 

Hi lovely readers!

 

I'm writing a new book called An Impractical Education in Magic and Mischief, and I'm pretty excited about it.

(Well, to be completely honest, I'm writing TWO books. But I'll talk more about the second book at a later time.)

It's been a long time since I dove into writing a new series. The last couple of years were pretty tough for my family. My daughter had a very risky, intense spinal surgery and spent time in the hospital, and my son and I were both dealing with some health issues as well. So I took a break from writing, except for finishing the last book in the Spellwood Academy series, Sun Daughter. My daughter's surgery in particular brought up a lot of trauma for me related to her birth and infancy when she was constantly at the hospital and getting medical treatments, and turns out, I can't write when I'm stuck in my trauma, because writing is such a vulnerable process, and when I'm dealing with trauma, I want to be protective.

But I'm doing better-ish, and I'm writing again. An Impractical Education is a slightly cozy, slightly light-hearted (but still with plenty of angst and mystery) book because right now, in these tumultuous times, I need something a little cozy. If that's what you need too, something joyful and cozy and female-empowering, I hope you'll enjoy it, too.

 

 Abriella Moldovik has dreamed of being a mage for her entire childhood, and now, her opportunity is here. She has received her letter of acceptance into the College of Magical Arts. But first, she must apprentice to a mage for a year, assigned by the school. A mishap with her letter's arrival has Abby arriving late to get her assignment, and only one mage is left... one with a reputation.

Sebastian Gallatraix is young, handsome, fashionable... and the bane of the College of Magical Arts' existence. But they tolerate him because of his magical prowess and innovative thinking. Sebastian doesn't have time for apprentices. He has a secret, personal mission that he's devoting most of his time and effort toward, and besides, he was promised by the College that they wouldn't be assigning him any more apprentices to waste valuable his time. So when Abby shows up, he's flummoxed and furious, and determined to get her to quit immediately.

No apprentice yet has lasted under Sebastian's unconventional (some might call them insane) training methods, but this is Abby's only shot at becoming a mage. Will Abby be the first apprentice to outwit Sebastian Gallatraix?

You can preorder the book here!

 

I'm so pleased to announce that SUN DAUGHTER, the last book in the Spellwood Academy series, is finally here!

I wrote this book during a pretty dark period for my family, and I found the process of finishing this series and wrapping up Kyra and Lucien's story deeply healing.

 

 

Kyra Solschild has been given over to Lucien, the prince of the night court, the man she once loved. Will he protect her from Spellwood's occupying force, the army of the spring queen, or will he use her for his own cruel purposes?

Kyra doesn't know.

Can she trust him? Or is Lucien truly her enemy now?

As Kyra struggles to survive captivity and schemes to find a way to esape, the rest of Spellwood mobilizes a resistance against the spring queen's army. Cut off from the outside world, with no foreseeable help coming from the fae courts, the students all societies must find a way to work together and put aside prejudice and fight for their lives together--or be killed.

 

Click here to read or purchase Sun Daughter: https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Daughter-S...

Hi lovely readers!

Quick update here.

If you’ve pre-ordered Sun Daughter, the final book inthe Spellwood series, you may be getting a notification soon that I’ve adjustedthe release date to July instead of June. I just wanted to give a little explanationabout that.

For some background: my sassy, wisecracking, unicorn-loving babygirl has spina bifida, segmental spinal dysgenesis, and some other physical disabilitiesthat she was born with. In April, she had a major spinal surgery and a longhospital stay that included time in intensive care, and it. Was. Terrifying.

I’d given myself a lot of time to write the book before the surgery,MONTHS of time, and time after as well, but I’d underestimated how difficult itwould be for me to concentrate on ANYTHING in the several months leading up tothe big day. And in addition to my daughter’s surgery, I had a surgery to treata pre-cancerous condition that I have. I had a lot on my plate, and I wasn’table to write at all. I felt like every spark of creativity within me had died,and I was so blocked and overwhelmed.

(I think some people might wonder at this point why I was evenattempting to write a book during this time. I have mentioned a few times hereand there that both my kids have disabilities. Between the two of them, thereisn’t really a time on the calendar when we don’t have some kind of majormedical event happening or going to happen in the future. And my condition hasbeen an ongoing thing for several years at this point. So, I’ve written lots ofbooks during many medical situations, surgeries, and interventions, and that’sjust life for me! However, I wasn’t expecting how hard the spinal surgery wouldhit me. It brought up a lot of trauma from my daughter’s birth and it was a psychologicallychallenging time for me.)

Anyway! I have great news and more great news!

The great news is that my daughter’s surgery was a hugesuccess (we are so thankful to her five surgeons who performed this risky andrare surgery) and she has almost completely recovered at this point. We’restill juggling a lot of extra physical therapy and other medical stuff, butwhen you have two kids with special needs, that’s kind of just how life goes,so it’s pretty normal. Also, I’m doing really well, and my cells are all normaland non-cancerous.

The other great news is that I am back to writing, and Ihave all of my creative drive and spark back in abundance. I’m so excited aboutSun Daughter.

I just need more time to get the story where it needs to be,so I’ve moved the release date back.

I’m so, so thrilled and impatient to share this final bookwith you all, and after that, I’m already looking forward to finally starting anew series that I’ve been daydreaming about for months. So, keep an eye out formore info on that as well.

In the meantime, thanks so much for being my lovely readers,and thank you for understanding the delay.

Much love,

-Kate

 Hello beautiful readers!

I wanted to pop in and let you know that the final book in the Spellwood Academy series, Sun Daughter, is available to pre-order now.

 

Kyra Solschild has been given over to Lucien, the prince of the night court, the man she once loved. Will he protect her from Spellwood's occupying force, the army of the spring queen, or will he use her for his own cruel purposes?

Kyra doesn't know.

Can she trust him? Or is Lucien truly her enemy now?

As Kyra struggles to survive captivity and schemes to find a way to esape, the rest of Spellwood mobilizes a resistance against the spring queen's army. Cut off from the outside world, with no foreseeable help coming from the fae courts, the students all societies must find a way to work together and put aside prejudice and fight for their lives together--or be killed.

 

You can click here to pre-order.

 

And check out the beautiful cover!

    I appreciate everyone's patience in waiting for the end of this series. I've been dealing with several major family health issues throughout 2023 and it put my writing on the back burner for some time. Hopefully I can return to writing full-time soon.

 

I'm so thrilled to be able to say that Wintertide's War is available now!

 I had to push the release date back due to some family medical situations, but book #5 in the Spellwood Academy series is finally out in the wild.

You can snag a copy or read it with Kindle Unlimited by clicking here.

 Hi wonderful readers!

Just wanted to let you all know that SCARLET DAUGHTER, the final installment in the Sworn Saga series, is available now! I hope you all love the conclusion to the series!

Okay, I'm going to go take a nap. Whew, I'm exhausted.

 - > CLICK HERE TO READ OR BUY SCARLET DAUGHTER! <-

 Hello dear readers!

If you've been waiting for the next installment in the Sworn Saga, you're in luck. CRIMSON HEART is heeeeeere!

 

CLICK HERE to purchase or read in Kindle Unlimited.

I hope you enjoy it!

~Kate

 Dearest readers,

The wait is over! White Mask is available now!

 
Red Rider has escaped the Sworn capital, and now, she rescues Chosen girls under the code name Red Riding Hood and takes them through the wilderness to a secret city run by the Order of the Crimson. She leaves behind her calling card, a white mask, after every rescue.

Her alias, Red Riding Hood, is growing infamous across the land.

But Red longs for Kassian, who has either forgotten their love or is pretending he no longer loves her for her own protection.

When a Huntsman shows up looking to kill the Silver Wolf, Red finds herself torn between loyalty to helping the Chosen girls and her love for the one she can never have.

CLICK HERE TO START READING!

 Hello, lovely readers!

 

The 10th and final book in my beloved Kingmakers' War series is available now!

 

A kingdom, torn by war.

A prince, truly in exile and at the mercy of a thief-queen and her band of misfits.

Two women, a continent apart, bound together in a similar circumstance. Both have the means to affect the war's outcome.

And an old face with a new offer... one that might be dangerous.

Don't miss the last book in the beloved Kingmakers' Series!

 

Ending this series has been bittersweet. Kingmakers' War was one of my favorite stories to write, and its filled with some of my favorite characters. I've poured my heart and soul into this series for over 6 years (although I've been writing about Kael and Briand much longer than that).

 

I hope you all love the ending to this epic story.

CLICK HERE to buy or read A SPARK OF LIGHT.