Michaela Riley's Blog

Walking through the storm and claiming your power.

Fredegund the Queen of Vengeance As a writer, I’ve always been drawn to the shadows of history. When crafting the world of The Witch's Rebirth Series, I often look back at the real-world figures whose lives were so chaotic, so ruthless, and so deeply complex that they outshine any fictional villain. If you’ve been following the journey toward Part IV, The Gambit of Queens (where we cross paths with the famous chronicler Gregory of Tours), you’re already getting a taste of Merovingian madness....

Ready for the next release of The Witch's Rebirth Series? The Gambit of Queens launches on Samhain.

Ever wonder if a myth or a legend was actually true? Michaela Riley explores the myths surrounded by her characters and mythological objects in The Witch's Rebirth Series.

Michaela Riley Myths and Legends From the flickering glow of a campfire to the depths of late-night internet rabbit holes, humanity has always had an unhealthy obsession with the macabre. We love a good urban legend, we love a good ancient myth, and we especially love finding out that the two are secretly the same story wearing different clothes. Today we're diving into one of the more unsettling ideas to ever cross from ancient lore into modern horror: the myth of the voice-stealing...

Unveiling the fantasy world of Michaela Riley

If you've ever found yourself lost in the shadowy corridors of historical fantasy or tangled in the dark, witchy webs of supernatural fiction, then you're in for a treat. Today, we're diving headfirst into the enchanting world of Michaela Riley, a name that's been quietly but steadily carving out a niche in the realm of fantasy literature. So buckle up, because this isn't your average author spotlight. We're talking about a writer whose stories don't just whisper, they roar with magic,...

“Honestly, I get at least five a day boasting to have read my books, telling me how much they love them, and wanting to promote them on Goodreads, Listopia, or a book club.” If you are a self-published author, this scenario probably sounds all too familiar. Indie author scams have surged aggressively, capitalizing on the emotional highs and lows of the self-publishing journey. Driven by AI-automated cold outreach, scammers weaponize an author's deep desire for visibility, validation, and...

Standing stones. Teal mist rising off ancient bronze. The cauldron doesn't just sit there waiting to be found like some forgotten relic in a dusty tomb. In the world of Cauldron of Dagda, it reacts to Merona the way an old acquaintance would—with a chilling, familiar weight. "The cauldron recognizes me," she says. "I wish I knew whether that was a blessing." That profound uncertainty is the beating heart of Michaela Riley's dark fantasy series, The Witch's Rebirth. An artifact this powerful...

Faint ancestral faces surface in pale teal vapor, candlelight the only other light in the chamber. As we reach this pivotal moment, the Cauldron of Dagda closes its central artifact arc on its quietest, eeriest note: the cauldron doesn't just restore the dead. It remembers them. "I hear their voices," Merona says. "The question is whether they are calling me — or warning me." That ambiguity is entirely deliberate. This isn't a recycled haunted-object trope played for cheap jump scares....