To be honest, this is just one of my back burner projects, but it happens to be the one speaking to me the most. Here is the premise.

‘Wildenwold.

Ella, reeling from the sudden and unexpected ending to her marriage, is taken hostage by a man said to be an escaped and dangerous psychopath, but is he? He claims to be hijacked from another time. He backs his claim with a demonstration of magic: real magic, not legerdemain. 

Mordred, snatched from a battle with his ultimate enemy, tries to come to terms with a modern world beyond his comprehension. Weakened by what he considers cruel and unnatural treatment in an asylum, his goal is to find a place of wild magic. He needs to recharge his power to return to his battle. Mordred is not just a warrior; he is the sorcerer’s apprentice.

Not only law enforcement seeks these two. Each of them have their own dangerous and unwelcome threats. When the past meets the future, who will survive and how? Unless each of them can adapt to the unthinkable, they have no hope. Nor do others imprisoned in an ancient trap. This is a race against time, both linear and transitory. The winner takes all.’ 

Fifty thousand words in and about halfway there. I must say I am enjoying the research into this story, but this does not mean to say I am not working on other projects. The sequel for Darkspire Reaches is at 20k and going strong. I also have another urban fantasy at about the same stage.

My next book out the door is Shadow Over Avalon with a release date of October 31st and I am into edits with this one. Loving every minute of the process, too. Kristell Ink already have the finished book two in this series and book three is halfway there, though I haven’t opened the file for a coon’s age. I am told Sword of Shadows will be released sometime in 2014.

Sorry I haven’t been around much on the social media lately, but I am busy with the edits and am fighting a cold. So far, I am winning by a gnat’s whisker on the cold. The edits are doing fine and I really have to give my full attention to these. When I get a moment, I need to construct a blurb for book two in the Shadow series. Wish me luck and see you all on the other side. 

I am beginning to see the advantages of a mac over a pc in the course of the editing process. Yes, I would really, really like all the smart keys. It still boils down to keyboard size for me. I have yet to find a mac that will accommodate touch typing.

Ok, so I am a dinosaur, who learned to touch type on a typewriter. Anyone remember one of those?  I avoided Microsoft laptops until the keyboard was of a compatible size. And yes, I have tried out macs and have found them too cramped for me.  Note, I am looking at the screen as I type and not the keyboard. Each finger has a certain stretch and a designated number of letters or numerals.  Cramping causes errors and is irritating as it wastes time. When I write, it is a flow I don’t want interrupted by having to stop and correct a wrongly struck key because it was too condensed. Maybe one day a mac could accommodate me? I hope this will be the case. In the meantime, this dinosaur will continue to put up with the short falls of Microsoft because the keyboards work.

We were unwrapping something covered in cellophane earlier this evening. The VBC sat in the debris on the floor and a piece of cellophane got stuck to his tail.

We watched the clockwise chase, and then, when this failed miserably, the anticlockwise chase. Eventually, the aggravated and now weary cat sat down and found he could reach the offending item attached to his plume by static. He then stamped on it and had to pick it off his foot.

No, this is not a turgid retake on everything that happened before. This is a take on what happened afterwards, when the king returns. He has come back to meet the most terrible threat humanity has ever encountered. Failure isn’t an option, since it doesn’t just mean personal demise: It means slavery for the entire human species. Who will win and who will lose in this epic encounter? Find out on Halloween, when things that go bump in the nights take on a whole new dimension.

Available now on all the Amazons for pre-release orders, or from me, if you would like a signed copy of the paperback.

Diet is still working good and I have the joy of watching the numbers on the scale decrease, despite a slight lapse at my grandson’s shower.

I do miss bread, but I don’t want the scales to reverse direction, so will stay strong. I suppose it helps enormously that I don’t have a sweet tooth. Ironically, this diet allows me one square of dark chocolate a day. Most times I don’t bother with this, but it could make a difference to someone with a candy craving. I also don’t have a problem giving up milk. The coconut silk is a very nice alternative and is much the same as a specialty creamer. Given that cereal is also off the menu, it only goes in my coffee. Cheese is on the list, so I am not in danger of a calcium deficiency. Looking forward to wearing stylish clothes again. Yay!

This weekend marks the end of a very eventual year. Three daughters married, one book published, two stories published in an anthology and a wonderful new grandson. My cup runneth over. My thanks has to go out to my publishers for accommodating my spinney moments caused by joyful personal events.

With my gorgeous grandson’s shower this weekend now successfully completed, I can go back to normality, although I will be taking time out to visit my treasure and his momma.

I have work projects I need to accomplish and yes, I know I owe. I will be ramping up to full speed ahead, beginning with the publication of my second book, Shadow Over Avalon on Halloween. This is a very appropriate timing because do I ever have nasty things that go bump in the night in this books.

If anyone would like a signed author copy from me, then let me know, here, on facebook, or my personal email and I will see it happens. The price from me will be 20% off the RRP, plus the postage to wherever. I will include a postcard of the cover and a bookmark for these special orders. I also have a few author copies left of Darkspire Reaches available with the same deal.

That moment when one receives an update from Ancestry.com and finds one’s last remaining uncle passed away in June. Yes, I am in touch with family. I send them xmas cards and we have talked on email. In fact we talked in early spring of this year, when I found out my uncle was going downhill. But I found out through an update. Under normal circumstances I would have bought a card of condolence for each of my cousins and written out a letter of sympathy for their loss. As is, I sent an email expressing my belated sympathy for the loss.

On a more cheerful note, I was playing with my professional picture on Microsoft Picture Premium Plus. I really don’t like my freckles and was trying to Photoshop them out. When I reduced down the picture I found I had made myself look like a parrot. LOL. I think I will change the thing to sepia instead.

I have been working on edits for a project all day and waiting for UPS to deliver something my husband ordered from Amazon. It was supposed to be delivered today. Mmm, right. We found out they had left it in the depot so it is coming out tomorrow. I hope the courier comes early as I really, really need to get to the post office as there is something I urgently have to send.