Author Life with a Duck Parade

 Hello friends!

Well, birthday month has begun! I gave it a solid kick off by visiting my doctor, where I got some super fun blood work done, and medication renewal. Whee! And to those who don’t know me, that was sarcasm. I am weird, but not so weird that I enjoy blood work. Hah! Unfortunately, it was scary as the nurse made a bit of a mess, and they described me as “juicy” after. Which is absolutely demented sounding, but they were very sweet about everything, so I let that slide.

I had also been planning a camping trip for this summer, but then I remembered I live in Texas, and summer camping was absolutely miserable here. I might have to wait until Autumn, but that is kind of a crap shoot since our Fall is pretty hot most of the time. Of course, at this rate, if I wish to camp in a tent, and not get a cabin somewhere instead, I’ll probably need to camp in February lol. Sigh.

Anyway, Oh! I did have something really cute happen the other day. My dog, Maple, who rarely barks, though she argues because she is part husky and that is what they do best, started barking early the other morning. I didn’t want her to wake the baby, so I ran across the house and into my room to find her looking out the window. When I looked, there was an entire family of ducks waddling across my front yard! Their “momma and daddy” ducks weren’t very large and had bright orange beaks, and their between them were maybe ten tiny little ducklings, their heads barely popping up over the grass, trucking it across my front yard. I ran to get my phone and take a little video. My 1-year-old granddaughter, Ellie, loves ducks, but alas, they were gone by the time I got outside. Those little things were so fast! They weren’t in any of my neighbor’s yards either. All I found was confused looking little outdoor cat looking like he did not know what just happened. (Thankfully, no signs of kitty involvement in the missing ducks were detected)

Oh, another nice thing from this weekend. The food has been excellent! The other night I made a creamy tomato, basil and garlic chicken which I served over pasta that was delectable. I’ll add the recipe. It’s a crock pot meal, so super easy on busy days. And the other was done by my wonderful husband. He grilled chicken, sausage, onions, red bell peppers. Made some bacon, cut up green onion, roasted garlic, and made two different sauces, and basically set up a fantastic pasta bar for us to enjoy. It was really nice, however, that much pasta has probably added another 10 pounds on me lol.

Anyway, other than that, I’ve had a fairly quiet weekend. Lots of shopping and day dreaming about camping. I think this Savannah dust that has hit us has me under the weather but obviously that isn’t anything serious. Just annoying lol.

Anyway, to all of my lovely readers, the best way to take part in my birthday month would be to order one of our books! If you get a physical copy, leave a review. <3 and E-book pre-orders for both are only 99 cents! That would be amazing! ;)

“Beyond the Realms” box set: https://books2read.com/u/4XkyqN

“Ties of Friendship” box set: https://books2read.com/tiesoffriendship

Character Spotlight from "The Fae Chronicles"

Hello Readers!

Today I thought I’d introduce some of you to Aynne, a character from “The Fae Chronicles.” Despite not playing a huge role in the book itself, she’s still very important, especially to Cian. She will play a more central role in what I hope is to become a bit of a series for me. I loved writing this story, after all. I quickly grew to love the characters and created back stories for most of them to where I cried when some of them died. I know, weird because I wrote it, but still. Sometimes, as a writer, you get very attached to the characters you create. I can be quite protective of them even, and I get mad at myself when I have to let something terrible happen to one of them. But, I suspect if I just wrote rainbows and sunshine, it’d be a terribly boring plot!

That said, let me introduce you to Aynne. She’s a wallflower that prefers to be in the background of everything. She’s shy and elusive, even to the point of being antisocial. But she’s also very empathetic, kind, artistic, intelligent, and well read. She has experienced significant loss and tragedy in her life, losing both of her parents in battle where they fought alongside Cian’s father, Atlas, a man that they trusted, considered a friend and would have followed into battle anywhere. Because of this, she understands Cian’s grief on a much more deeply personal level than most of his peers can. Despite Cian being unaware of their connection, he had always felt drawn to Aynne, who shows up for him just as he is feeling lost in mourning and needs someone who understands his pain. Unfortunately, she cannot save him from falling to the darkness, but she just might be strong enough to pull him out.

From Chapter 7:

“I lost both of my parents, too. When I was a little girl. We never really knew what happened to them, but they were heading to the Unseelie courts to help organize a diplomatic meeting between the King and Lord Kai, but according to the northern kingdom, they never made it. Their bodies were found within our borders. My mother still carried me in her womb. It was your father who cut me out and saved me. He placed me in the care of the King’s sage. He saved my life and gave me a suitable home.”

Something stirred in Cian. “My father did that?”

“Yes. The sage had adopted me and raised me as her own. She once told me about your father, who she said briefly considered taking me in himself, but knew the sage had always wanted a child of her own, so he brought me to her instead. She said you were born two days later. Losing your father was a heavy one, as is the loss of your mother.”

Cian looked into her eyes, feeling that familiar drop of falling into them, like he did when he was still just a schoolboy. In them, he found a connection, a tether that can only bind two people who have experienced substantial loss, and before he had time to realize what he was doing, he held his hand out to her, beckoning her to come to him.

To know if she succeeds or not, you will have to pick up a copy of our anthology "Beyond the Realms" which my story is featured in right now. You can preorder a copy in ebook format for 99 cents or if you can't wait the paperback is now available. Grab your chosen copy by this link here: https://books2read.com/u/4XkyqN.