Hey there, world. How are you? I know this year has been… odd, to say the least, but I’m proud of you for hanging in there!

I thought I’d do a quick little update post since Stolen Essence is out now. Speaking of SE, has anyone read it yet? What did you think? Tell me all of the things!

So what’s next? Well, next week, I’ll begin Exposed Essence, book 3 of the Soul Fiend series. I already have the cover for it, and it is another amazing addition from Rainy Day Artwork. It’s already loosely plotted and I’ve got all of my notes ready for the things that I must include. That said, I did take this week off from Zella and the gang for a couple of reasons. Sometimes, it’s nice to write about something else. It helps to avoid burn out with any single world. I’m also feeling a little ‘nobody wants it’ in my head, so that does not make for a workable headspace to really do it right.

Sooooo, I’ve skipped over to a couple of other things just to give myself a little space. One of those things is continuing to work on Wielding, book 1 of the Forged Fury series. I’ve been on and off this story since last year. It’s a dark menage fantasy novel with dragons and swords and fire. Elaheh is a wee bit off her rocker, but her dragons are even more so. It’s been fun to delve into a world where anything goes.

I’m also adding more and more to Xi’an’s story. I really need to come up with a name for this one, but I’m sure it will happen at some point. Should I continue the “theme” that I used in her sister’s story(The Anomaly series) or do a totally different thing? And series name… what to do there? Questions, questions… Whatever I choose, it’s shaping up pretty well. I’m trying to keep it in the same vein as the first series so that those who like Everly’s story can continue on without being too shocked here.

I’ve also been adding bits and pieces to Smokey Shadows, book 4 of The Anomaly series. Now, Everly’s story for this series is done. She will pop up again eventually in a new series that chronicles a whole different adventure, but for now, Everly’s only a side character. That means that this story can be read with or without The Anomaly series and it isn’t required to get the full story within The Anomaly series. I did decide to call it book 4 rather than have it be a stand alone just floating out there in the wild. Why? Because the events come shortly after the events in the main series so it needs to be read after to avoid spoilers. It also includes two of the more present side characters of this series, shows the former MCs here and there, and is within the same general story line. The fight is over(that was Everly’s place to talk about) but the effects still linger and that’s what’s discussed here. Bottom line, this will be a full length novel that shows us precisely what happened to Willy and Cassie.

I have so many stories I’m dying to get to, but these are the three that I’m working on the most. Of course, Exposed Essence will be started in earnest next week, as well. It will pick up directly after book 2 ends, give or take a few hours. My plans for it involves finding the bad guy, discussing the monster more deeply, and revealing a bit more of Zella’s background. The relationships will continue to grow and we’ll see a bit more of a few of the characters. I’m undecided on one part, and I’m not sure if it will work better in book 3 or book 4(Grace’s story). That will be decided when I’m actually writing it. The flow will tell me what works best.

School starts back tomorrow here and my youngest kiddo will be taking over my computer for a few days. We have a new computer coming for him, but until then, I’ll have to hand over my work computer. Hopefully, I won’t need to strangle him too much.