October Weeks's Blog

The creativity started with a spark this morning…and is still going, though it is cooling down to embers now. I began the day creating new icons for my spiritual/energy healing offerings, and spent a good chunk of time working on that website with some redesign. Then, I opened my laptop and wrote another chapter on Sera’s second book, which was wonderful! The words were flowing.

There is nothing quite like the flow state when I’m writing~ pure magic, that is.

I woke around 5am today, and now, at 6:12pm, I am finally starting to wind down. Having just had dinner and now going to make some tea. But what a wonderful, creative day it was! I may end up writing a bit more before the night is done, since the energy is still warm, but my intuition is telling me that I’m done for the day.

Happy to say that I have added 10k words to Tuck 4! I have hit a flow with the book and couldn’t be more pleased. For the books in revision: I am still adding the needed changes to the computer files, but with a week off from work, I’m hoping to get those completed.

Overall, the writing and revisions are moving along well, and this makes me quite pleased.

Happy to report that I finished the latest revisions for The Scrying House~ now to make the changes on the Word file. I am currently a little over halfway through the dark fantasy/dark academia revisions. They are moving along a quick pace, so I believe I’ll have them done soon as well.

I have fallen in love with these books all over again during this process, and the excitement to share the stories with you is rising as well. I may be a little biased, but…I think you’re going to quite enjoy them!

Last night I got through three chapters of revisions for the dark academia/dark fantasy, and I likely would have done more if I hadn’t forced myself to stop because I needed to go to bed. When I find that flow, it is incredibly hard to put the brakes on because I want to stay in that creative flow. I easily could have gotten through another two or three chapters. I am now eight chapters into this revision and, so far, no major changes need to be made. There is one section of a chapter that I need to rework so the imagery is clearer, and that’s the most that needs changing at this time. The rest is the usual light changes that usually come during revisions.

For the revisions on The Scrying House– I only have two chapters left! I was going to work on those last night but the dark academia/dark fantasy was calling to me louder. This round of revisions was a bit heavier than expected, as I mentioned in a previous blog, but I should be finish this round over the weekend.

While I did get some new words in this weekend for one of my romances, I focused on the latest revision pass for The Scrying House. I got through three chapters, which I’m quite pleased with. Only three more chapters left to go! I also got the blurb written for Tuck 4, and I’m fairly certain this book is going to be on the shorter side: maybe around 60k, but I’m not saying that as fact because then it will turn into 80k. A new story idea came to me as well, so I wrote down the first few paragraphs. It’s in the Isles & West World, and this one will likely be a novella like Hell Ain’t A Bad Place to Be.

I’m not sure if I’ll get too much done in the writing arena today (Sunday) because I have plans, but as I should be home around mid-to-late afternoon, I’m hopeful to at least get another chapter of revisions done.

I hope you are all enjoying Tales of the Black Piper! I can’t wait for you to hear the soundtrack in March~ it’s amazing.

A few days ago, I printed out the dark academia book as well as The Scrying House (Eden Hollow, book 2) to do revisions. Well, last pass revisions on the dark academia and, as it turns out, a round of edits on The Scrying House. I hadn’t expected that last as I was so certain the story was ready for a last round revision before scheduling it with my editor. But as I began the “revisions” it was pretty clear The Scrying House needed one more edit round before last pass revisions.

This is why I still print my books out during edits/revisions. The computer is all well and good for the the second and third edit passes (I always print the book for first round edits), but I can focus much better when I have a pen and at a physical copy of the book in my hand for the first and last passes. Then, I read through the book one more time on the computer before sending it off to either my editor or to whoever I’m submitting to.

These two books are calling me the most, so that’s why they were printed out, but Shards (the second Saint book) will be next.

Today is the day, dear readers! The moment we have all been waiting for: Tales of the Black Piper is now available for purchse in ebook as well as paperback (links below). I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Of Snakes and Sacrifices!

AMAZON ~ BARNES & NOBLE

“I am not the Black Piper . . . but I do know the Piper.

“If you listen closely,” she said, “you will hear stories that will transport you into the heart of adventure, force you directly into the path of danger, and if you are lucky . . . or perhaps unlucky”—she looked at the unmoving dragon behind her and inhaled, only barely losing her grip on her smile—”transform you.” Her attention turned back to the crowd, and her eyes grew mysterious. “In essence, dear people, these stories are not safe.”

This book is an experiment that is one of, if not the first of its kind. Not only does this anthology combine stories from veteran and bestselling writers with stories from novice authors, but each story in the anthology is accompanied by a custom standalone soundtrack* crafted by Hollywood professionals. The experience is meant to be unique, daring, and fun, featuring thought-provoking tales of adventure, humor, and excitement. We invite you on a journey through a road not-yet-taken and sincerely hope you will make it out the other side alive.

FINE PRINT: For total clarity, we don’t anticipate any physical dangers from this work. The Black Piper is not responsible for any death by laughter, emotional anguish, post-reading withdrawals, long bouts of staring out the window pining for adventure, or the need to check your watch for green, glowing time crystals.

We are so close to the release of the Tales of the Black Piper Anthology~ tomorrow is the day! I’m so excited for you to read these amazing stories. Below is a slideshow with one-line teasers from the stories. Enjoy!

PRE-ORDER LINKS

As I reflect on the journey of writing my story for the anthology, I realize that the greatest gift I received as an author was challenging myself to write such a short piece of work in a genre that I don’t normally write in.  I write dark fantasy/paranormal- and romance as well- but I have never written solely fantasy. The story came to me quickly, but I found condensing my original 2k (I think) words into 1k was a real challenge.

When I write horror flash fiction, I find it easy: packing a punch in a few sentences is easy breezy for me within the horror genre. But trying that within the parameters of fantasy, for what I needed for the anthology, was on a whole different level. I am so grateful for that challenge, and for the editor!

Something else I learned while writing Of Snakes and Sacrifices is that I loved the experience of being part a well-planned anthology. The collaboration with other authors and the team behind the anthology as well as sharing the excitement of the project has brought me a lot of joy. So much so, in fact, that I am actively looking for other anthology projects—which is not as easy as it might seem—to submit to.

I know I’ve said this a million times, but I am so damn excited for you all to read Tales of the Black Piper! The stories are amazing, written by wonderful authors, and the soundtrack is equally delightful. I can’t wait for you all to get your hands on the anthology January 15th, and for the soundtrack in March!

I am beyond excited to share that the fantasy anthology I’m a part of is up for pre-order! Below is the cover as well as a little taste of what the anthology is about.

Pre-Order at:

AMAZON ~ BARNES & NOBLE

Release Date: January 15, 2026

“I am not the Black Piper . . . but I do know the Piper.

“If you listen closely,” she said, “you will hear stories that will transport you into the heart of adventure, force you directly into the path of danger, and if you are lucky . . . or perhaps unlucky”—she looked at the unmoving dragon behind her and inhaled, only barely losing her grip on her smile—”transform you.” Her attention turned back to the crowd, and her eyes grew mysterious. “In essence, dear people, these stories are not safe.”
This book is an experiment that is one of, if not the first of its kind. Not only does this anthology combine stories from veteran and bestselling writers with stories from novice authors, but each story in the anthology is accompanied by a custom standalone soundtrack crafted by Hollywood professionals.

~

Writing the flash fiction story for this anthology was a challenge for me as I’d never written fantasy in flash fiction before. Getting so much detail in 1k words stretched me as writer, and for that I am thankful! My piece is called, Of Snakes and Sacrifices, and I cannot wait for you to read it. I will be highlighting a story each day up to release, below is a peek at my story as well as one by Felix Bauhardt.

I’m so excited for you to not only read these stories, but to listen to the amazing soundtrack that accompanies them!