Long and Short Romance Reviews will have an interview with me tomorrow.
I’m a guest on Michelle Miles’s Ye Olde Inkwell on June 19.
I’ll be roasted at Author Roast and Toast on July 13 (yup, Friday the 13th).
The short story “Town Crier” will release this week.
More soon!
I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that the first Jain Lazarus Adventure, HEX BREAKER, is out, from Solstice Publishing. The original publisher went out of business, which meant the book (and the series) went out of print. Once the rights reverted, I took a break to lick my wounds, outlined the entire series, and then started my market research. During the time I tried to find the right publisher, I kept getting requests for the book, and questions as to when Jain, Wyatt, Billy, and the gang would be back.
Solstice Publishing and I came to an agreement, and HEX BREAKER was contracted. The remarkable PJ Friel did the new cover, and my editor was the creative, eagle-eyed, and compassionate Shawna Williams. I couldn’t ask for better support than with these two. I feel really lucky — I got to revisit the book, go deeper into Jain’s POV with the knowledge I now had for the rest of the series, making it richer and more complex.
Solstice contracted the second book in the series, OLD-FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK, and I plan to get third, CRAVE THE HUNT, to them this summer. OLD-FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK is from Wyatt’s POV, and CRAVE THE HUNT alternates from Billy’s and Jain’s POVs. Billy gained such an adoring fanbase that he’s now got his own blog, Billy Root Blogs, where he talks about the books, the stories, and what it’s like to be an actor playing a character who’s a character in a series of novels. Fun stuff, and great fun to write in his POV outside of the narrative. Yesterday’s blog post contains a new excerpt, only found on the blog, not here or on the website or in the media kit. Read it here — then come back and read another new excerpt on this blog, below!
“Town Crier”, a short story about one of Jain’s exploits about ten years before the events of HEX BREAKER will be available the second week of June, followed by a Billy-centric tale, and then the re-release of “The Possession of Nattie Filmore” and “First Feet.”
So what’s HEX BREAKER about?
Hex Breaker Jain Lazarus joins the crew of a cursed film, hoping to put to rest what was stirred up before more people die and the film is lost. Tough, practical Detective Wyatt East becomes her unlikely ally and lover on an adventure fighting zombies, ceremonial magicians, the town wife-beater, the messenger of the gods, and their own pasts.
New excerpt (not found on the website or in the media kit):
Jain bolted toward the screams. Randy and Zig pounded down the path behind her. When they reached the row of trailers, they found Cady, hysterically flailing in Nick’s arms. He held her, trying to calm her down. Billy stood by, shifting from foot to foot, while Clive yelled, “Has anyone called the police yet?”
Vince rounded the corner, followed by several members of the crew, including Dennis and Mike. Cady wrenched herself away from Nick and flung herself into Vince’s arms, sobbing.
“What the…” Zig began.
Smeared across the door to Cady’s trailer and along the wall was a mass of grayish-red matter. Red liquid dripped from it.
“Something’s been killed,” Billy said with a shudder.
“It looks like someone’s head was smashed and smeared against the wall of the trailer,” said Nick.
“Is anyone missing?” Dennis asked.
“I’ll make the rounds and do a head count.” Mike turned and hurried away.
Jain stepped forward.
“Don’t touch it!” Clive warned. “We need to leave it for the police.”
Jain glared at him for a minute and bit back a retort. She leaned close. Billy paled, tried not to retch, and turned away. Jain examined it without touching it and took a sniff. She straightened. “Ground beef,” she declared. “And ketchup.”
Cady lifted her head. “It’s not someone’s brains?”
Jain shook her head. “Just a psycho trying to freak you out.”
“That was a success.”
********
More information on the Jain Lazarus site.
Available on Amazon Kindle and from Solstice Publishing.
A Biblio Paradise 