Time really slips away from you! And the last 6-8 months have been proof of that. So where have I been and why the long silence on my blog.

After finishing Spell of Rowans, mentally I was drained. Being so personal a book it took a lot out of me. I was exhausted.

Right after it published we started preparing for our house of 25 years to sell. This was a long-held plan of ours since both of our kids are now adults (one college graduated, the other in his senior year). Packing, making sure everything we could do on the house was done, and finding a new place to live, took a lot of our focus and I found myself too distracted to concentrate on my next project: the Madame Chalamet, gaslamp series.

The good news is the house sold very quickly and for a good price. We immediately jumped into financial matters, paying off bills, selling our old cars to replace them with newer cars, and putting back the rest of the money for a rainy day. Cats and horses got moved. Three storage units on three separate weekends were filled up.

Unfortunately, the original place we were planning to move to didn’t work out (which in the long run worked out to our favor). For 3 weeks we stayed in hotels and Airbnb’s. Everything continued being in upheaval.

Fast forward to today – we have now been in our new place for several weeks and are feeling settled in. Furniture and possessions were brought from storage, and new furniture bought to fill in the holes of what we got rid of during the move. For example, a very heavy dresser that we couldn’t move on our own was sold off to be replaced with a smaller chest of drawers that would better fit an apartment.

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I’m also struggling under a wave of depression. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it go away but life doesn’t work that way. Depression makes me withdraw from the world and live in my own mind too much.

I’m slowly pulling myself back together, eating better, taking care of myself, and edging myself back into the world of the living. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

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Another reality that I’m grappling with is that my writing career hasn’t turned out exactly how I had envisioned it. The struggle to be seen and noticed is real. My most powerful book, A Spell of Rowans, made a small splash but then quickly vanished in the huge pile of other books being published.

I’ve done all sorts of backflips and headstands and what has become clear to me is that only 1.) writing more books; and 2.) paying for advertising will get me noticed. This is why I’ve backed off of spending time on social media, most of which has been a huge timewaster for me.

While I made some great friends on social media, the harsh reality is that making content on these platforms seriously drains my energy bank. Which means I write less. Which means I don’t get noticed by my fans.

If you want to connect with me online, your best bet is Goodreads, and Bookbub. I will also continue posting info my Magical Worlds fanpage on Facebook and sending out my newsletter to signed up readers (I’ll be sending out an update in just a few days via email, so be on the lookout).

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As a writer, I’ve also come to the realization that what I write in fantasy is out of step with what readers might want to read. I’m not interested in 17-year-olds who save the world, or high school romances, or bodice rippers posing as fantasy. It just doesn’t interest me as a writer or a reader.

Because of that, my fans will be a smaller circle of readers. Options for advertising my books will be harder to find. I could compromise what I want to write, but knowing my brain that really is not an option. My brain would simply dig in and not do it.

I’ve chosen to stay true to myself – and I hope you stick around for the ride.

What can you expect from me as a writer? Here’s a summary of what I’ve written so far, and future projects:

Madame Chalamet – PG rating. A six part, Gaslamp mystery series that deals with Spiritualism, mediums, and ghosts. I’m posting about it in my Fans group at Facebook if you want to know more.

A Spell of Rowans – PG14+ due to some of the darker themes in this book (child abuse, suicide) this is a book for those who like a grittier, read. It is also Magical Realism, a genre that does not explain the magic. It is my favorite book that I’ve written so far. And is probably the direction where my future novels will be going.

College Fae – G/PG rating, suitable for all readers. This was the first real series I wrote. It is still waiting on Book 4, Storm of Songs which I am currently plotting. The first book is free. I’m very proud of this set of books and all that I learned in writing them. The series is more about a coming-of-age than a romance and fits in the Young Adult genre.

Sweet Fairytale series – G/PG rating, suitable for all readers. These are a homage to my love of Regency Romance classics, which (unlike today’s) has a fade-to-black romance. All are standalones and are based upon popular fairytales. I might write more novellas in this series but right now the world has been so dark politically that I am finding it difficult to write fluff stories.

The Wicked Wolves of Windsor and other fairytales – is my short story collection of both light and dark tales. PG14 rating on some of that deal with dark topics.