A.M. Hodgson's Blog

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m a romantic at heart (well, I mean, obviously), so I decided to write something on a whim.

There are #spoilers if you haven’t read all the way up through #sonata yet, as this takes place in the second half, from Score’s perspective.

For the rest of you? Enjoy.

I’m eighteen.

The thought surprised me. Of course I’d noticed my birthday drawing closer as the months passed, but, given the past two days of my life, I was surprised the thought bubbled up at all.

I rolled onto my side, my rapid heart in my ears as my bare arm slid along Lyra’s abdomen.

She was still asleep. I half-expected it—since surrendering to our match, it almost seemed like she needed to recharge from the time she’d spent denying our connection.

A sigh slipped from her lips, and she ducked her head closer to me, nuzzling my chest with her nose.

I’m eighteen, and I’ve peaked.

The thought was more amused than critical. But in all my wild, curious imaginings, I couldn’t envision anything more sublime than my current reality.

A burst of desire made my stomach flip. I followed my impulse, bringing my lips to the crook of her neck, inhaling the heady sweetness of my match. Lyra smelled like honeyed wine, rose water, and— deeper than those fragrances— something tangible and crisp that I couldn’t pinpoint, but knew in my gut was the scent of kindness.

I let my fingers wander until they twined into hers, slipping against her palm with a fit as sure as any glove.

It was this movement that finally woke her.

She blinked, then a sigh that was closer to a moan fell from her. She pulled back— not enough to escape my embrace, just enough to stare at me— her eyes shifting from a sleepy, hazy gray to an in-love pink.

Peaked.

My lips parted, perhaps to wish her good morning, or to ask her how she’d slept, or to even tell her I loved her— but instead, I lay, mouth agape, wondering how exactly I was fortunate enough that this was my destiny.

“Hi,” she said, fighting her bright grin by biting her lip.

My stomach jumped in response, desire knotting it again. I grunted, pulling her face in mine, kissing her as ardently as I felt. Her hand slid to my neck, her fingers catching the ends of my hair. It was a little long for my taste right now, and the locks curled wantonly between her fingertips.

She broke from me, kissing squarely on my chin, giggling. “You need a haircut.”

I groaned, “I love you.”

She pulled away, focusing on my eyes with those brilliant pink orbs, her lashes casting shadows on her cheeks. “I was talking about your hair, Score.”

I pressed my forehead to hers. “That doesn’t change the fact that I love you.”

She hummed, a blush rising to her cheeks, looking half-pleased and half-embarrassed by the statement. 

“By the time we get out of here, you’re going to really need an expert hair dresser to fix the mess I’ve made,” she said.

My brows raised, and a wave of insecurity washed over me. “Do I need to figure out how to cut it myself, then? Is this— am I not— do I look—“

She laughed, grappling my shoulders and tugging me down to her. She cut my words from me with a kiss, her hands bouncing down my naked shoulders towards my waist.

I broke away, “You don’t have—“

She placed one hand over my lips, silencing me. She smiled serenely, staring at my shaggy hair and running her free hand through it. “Your hair still looks amazing, despite how much I’ve butchered it. I think that every time you trust me to cut it. It’s like your hair flips into the most attractive possible swoosh and swoop for whatever I’ve done to it.”

“Siren genetics,” I said, my rational brain answering before I could stifle it. “Our bodies will try to hide every defect. Siren physicians had to look closely at their charges before—“ I cut myself off, frowning. Talking about the transgressions of our species was a sure way to sour Lyra’s mood.

She remained undaunted by my hesitation. “Before they stole the magic at the Source,” she finished. She looked a little thoughtful, “I suppose they couldn’t just hum their aches and pains away back then.”

I shook my head, “No. Until then, they relied on the Chanters to work as healers for our people.”

She grinned, leaning back on her palms. “So they weren’t simply musicians and poets.”

My heart squeezed. It was so rare to see her smiling when she thought of the sirens. “Not until they were afforded that luxury. When alteration rendered their craft obsolete.”

She grabbed my palm in hers, staring at the lines like a mystic about to read my future. “I wish I could heal.”

“You can,” I protested, “a simple hum can—“

“That doesn’t heal, Score. Not, really. Not without hurting the Realm. I wish I could fix things.”

My jaw tensed. Until Lyra was free, neither of us could really, truly be happy. Despite every evidence of the contrary.

“We will fix things,” I told her, slipping out of bed and grabbing my jeans. “I have to get to work.”

I haven’t peaked after all.

The thought was a spark, igniting a fire in my mind. Did I have any leads? Not at the moment. But the more I read, the more I learned, the more I experimented, the more likely I’d find the solution. Every spell had a counter, if you were clever enough to find it.

I slipped my tee over my head, taking a hard step forward, but she caught my wrist.

I turned to her, surprised that she’d stopped me.

“I have to get back to my research,” I said.

“And you will,” she agreed. She slid off the bed, keeping her hand on my wrist, as if afraid I would flee if she loosed her grip. She stared up at me, unflinchingly naked, her hair cascading over her breasts, the lines of her collar bones elegant. Her half-lidded eyes were so sexy and bewitching, I wondered if I could possibly tear myself away despite my convictions.

She traced my lips with her fingertips, “Even if you don’t find the way, Score… that doesn’t change how I feel. I love you.”

I bent to her, catching her mouth on mine, tasting her, smelling her, my heart swollen and bursting with gratitude and love and affection for this creature in front of me.

I hadn’t peaked. But it could only get better, carving a life out with Lyra. Navigating the future with her. Growing older with her, watching cities rise and fall, exploring the worlds, being with her. Having children— god, children. A family.

No, I haven’t peaked at all.

We had nowhere to go but up.

I’m very, very happy to report that Nocturne will be out tomorrow. Sadly, this page is still the very last bastion of where I actually post news, so if you want to hear this first, I strongly recommend checking out my Instagram or Facebook page.

This weekend, I may even get my author site updated so it reflects I have another book available.

In my defense, I have been extremely busy in general. With Tumblr’s new change of policy, I’ll be curious to see if it continues to meet my needs in the future. While the update doesn’t really affect my content, I am mostly on this place for the community. If the community changes, it might be time to find a new solution.

Stay tuned for future updates.

Recently, I’ve noticed I’ve been getting a couple FAQs that I thought I’d address for the curious out there.

Paperback copies of Caprice will be released prior to Nocturne. This will probably happen in August or September. My editor and I need to select a ‘preview’ scene from Nocturne to place at the end, and it will need to be edited first. I am going to try to release paper copies of Nocturne simultaneously with the kindle versions.

I do not have a formal release date for Nocturne. The beta copies have been sent to my beta readers and I’m still getting feedback/fixing minor errors and attending to those revisions.

… that said, I’m still on track to release Nocturne in 2018, and that is my goal. The heavy, line by line, word by word editing process is scheduled to begin in early August– and that’s pretty much the last step! Once I begin those edits I will likely be willing to give a more specific timeline for release.

And (spoiler) no, it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger this time.

After a very, very, very long wait, I’m excited to give my readers something substantial. I am currently aiming to release Nocturne late 2018.

The full prologue is ahead. Obviously, spoilers.

Prologue

Ash crinkled his nose uncomfortably. A static brush of magic crackled across his skin, itching and burning like a rash.

“My Lady?” he whispered. This place filled him with foreboding— no one was supposed to be here. It was a sin against the Realm. But necessary.

Amaranthe ignored him, keeping her gaze on the quiescent glow before her. A ring of hard stone circled it, carved in ancient elvish symbols that Ash couldn’t read. He wondered if these archaic runes eluded even his Lady’s understanding, despite her impressive knowledge.

Surrounding that, and consequently, them, was a crumbling spire. Beneath Ash’s feet the hard earth carried an acrid scent. Not good for life. Not good for growth. Leafy vines climbed the walls desperately, reaching toward the obscured sunlight, but they were sparse.

He found it difficult to focus. One part magic, one part the sad state of life here.

Elves had no business being in this place, not anymore.

His ankle still throbbed where the siren bitch had cut him. With the pathetic natural energy available, he doubted he’d feel relief anytime soon.

A low blow, he thought, remembering the girl on her knees, lunging for him with her knife. What an inferior creature.

He rubbed his forehead, meeting a bruise. A mark inflicted by that filthy half-breed, a constant thorn in his side. It hurt worse than his ankle. “Arashk!” he hissed.

Amaranthe gasped, the swear jarring her from her rumination. She laced her fingers together, turning to him. “Respect this place. Select your words with care.”

Ash’s face prickled as blood rushed to his cheeks. He buried it, forcing his body to comply as much as he could, but still felt the blush rise to his skin.

“My Lady,” he whispered again. “What is your plan?”

They couldn’t return to the forests— at least, not yet. For a moment, Ash wondered if he’d ever see Kaeylon again.

His Lady shifted, gripping at the tatters of her dress and shivering. Without a word, he removed his evergrass and draped it across Amaranthe’s shoulders. They stopped quaking.

She didn’t notice the kindness. She never did.

His Lady held up their mercury drop, sighing. The vial, once their escape, was rendered useless in this place.

With a sharp whip of her wrist, she cast it into the gleam below. A flare of magic jumped from the pit, stinging his eyes.

They couldn’t return home. If the bulk of her own troops had been driven to madness, driven to work for the traitorous half-blood, what could that possibly mean for the forests themselves? Though the Resistance was fledgling, they’d already proven more stubborn than Ash was comfortable admitting. More resourceful.

“She’ll be here eventually,” Amaranthe answered, smoothing the hard creases of her tattered gown. “So we wait.”

“How long?”

“As long as it takes.”

They could survive here for years if necessary, but Ash wasn’t fond of the idea. He glanced at the stunted vines stretching toward the thin sunlight. It would be an irksome wait.

A nagging question caught in the back of his throat like a lump of hardened pitch. He licked his lips, speaking a bit louder, “Are you certain, my Lady, that the siren will not simply reverse the damage her species caused?”

That had been the rebels’ claim when they’d tried to recruit him. Their words had done little to sway him, of course. His loyalty was unyielding. Despite that, the thought gnawed at him like a termite.

“No one knows sirens like I do,” she said, staring into the abyss again. “They’re creatures with selfish hearts. No matter her current intentions, she’ll falter when she reaches the Source. If we abandon our post, her selfish heart will be the undoing of our worlds. And so we wait,” she repeated, “to administer a remedy.”

The words were so emotionless, they almost provoked a shudder down his spine. He suppressed it, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“And what remedy do you have for her selfish heart?”

From the folds of her dress, Amaranthe produced a metal dagger.

“Remove it.”

I’m still on track to meet my goal.

…

Still not willing to make any promises, though.

I originally planned to release Nocturne sometime in 2017, but after a very full year with little time or energy, I have to concede it just isn’t going to happen.

Rest assured, though, this series is very dear to me and I’m still going to finish it. Nocturne is, and has been for a while, mostly complete. If I wanted, I could probably cobble something together to hit my deadline of December 31st, but it wouldn’t be very high quality. I’d rather not insult my readers or the integrity of my series with shoddy work.

So what has kept me so busy the past couple years?

A pregnancy that led to a new baby, a very full time job (because, unfortunately, writing doesn’t pay the bills), and general stress/exhaustion. For my own sanity, I needed to put my writing aside.

The good news, however, is that I’m ready to get back to my desk and buckle down. My child is finally old enough to (somewhat) play by herself, and my soul is feeling a bit lost without my daily writing. I’m excited to get a chance to work on it again and visit with my lovely characters.

I won’t promise anything, but hopefully I’ll see you in 2018 for the final book in the Rhapsody Quartet, and maybe a little extra special something, too.

knight-of-tuxedo:

knight-of-tuxedo:

WTF SOLAS??!???

WTF THE IRON BULL??!???

Is it bad that I haven’t been on Tumblr in days, but my first thought is, “Ah, I see you’re playing Trespasser..”

Last Saturday was kind of a crazy day for me. I had my event at Auntie’s bookstore in downtown Spokane. Honestly, I was really nervous that no one would show up at all.

I brought about twice as many books as I expected to sell, and had a little notebook on hand just in case I sold more than that amount. I just couldn’t see having a ton with me and going home with a big box of sadness. So my editor and I looked up the amount we should probably have on hand, especially since this was my first rodeo, and I doubled that.

Guess what, guys?

I sold all of them! *technically, the bookstore was left with one copy, but I went home with zero.

I was lucky that I had an amazing graphic designer helping with my presentation. I was told by the staff that everything was really impressive and professional, which basically means I can fake it pretty well. 

And then my event coordinator dropped a bomb on me… I’d been double booked. They had me jotted down for a reading and Q&A at 7pm, too. Was I interested?

(Cue Panic)



This wasn’t something I expected. At all. I glanced at my editor (my inspiration for Pearl– she is truly an amazing force of nature who always gets stuff done) who arched a brow in a way that basically said ‘you’re doing it.’ After that, we had a quiet discussion (between signing my name and talking with fans) in which she gently encouraged me. We flagged the event coordinator over, told her I’d do it, and that was that. I was committed. My introversion was screaming at me– what the heck was I doing? I wasn’t prepared for this, mentally or otherwise. I didn’t even know what I was going to read!

We grabbed dinner during our break with what kind of became my entourage (very good, very supportive, very amazing friends) and decided that the first chapters were the simplest and best for this particular night.

And then it happened– I got up to read. And most of the audience was complete strangers– an anomaly because I’d been told that I’d probably only have friends there to watch me.

I swallowed my fear, read the best that I could, and finished right on time. Then came the Q&A… and I had a blast. Seriously, if this was a decent cross section of the public reading my book, these people are amazing. They asked insightful questions about my process, personal questions, questions about the industry, and questions about my books. 

So to everyone who made it out this weekend and chose to spend their Saturday with me, I’m honored. Thank you all for making my first author event magical.

As you can probably tell, the site has been revamped and merged with my tumblr. This means I’ll likely post more on here. :) I encourage you to poke around; in addition to the cool new features my web developer introduced, there’s a hidden gem for readers. 

I’m also happy to announce a book signing in downtown Spokane, Washington.  Some come on down, grab a copy of Prelude and get it signed! I’ll also take questions*.

I’ve been busy making a bigger marketing push lately, too. I’ve even started an instagram which is really just my excuse to geek out and post Rhapsody related nonsense. Most of the pictures are things that my characters would post or things that remind me of them. I want to be more active about geeking because I’d never have made it this far if I wasn’t Rhapsody’s biggest fan. I write mostly to tell my character’s story and because (as weird as it probably sounds) I want to know how it all ends and works out, too!



As for the bigger question that people have begun to ask– I’m not sure when Nocturne will be released. I have a general timeline in my head, but I’m hesitant to put that out there because I don’t want to have to push it back. It’s a very challenging novel to write for several reasons, so it’s taking quite a bit longer to get to that polished point.

The good news: I am working on it every single day. If I’m not actively writing, I’m editing or writing down new ideas. Just because it’s drafted doesn’t mean it’s close to complete, unfortunately. This whole process is a pretty big undertaking, and I want to make sure it’s just right before sending it out into the wild.

*no promises I’ll answer all the questions, though. :) Especially if they’re related to Nocturne.