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It’s a cold morning here. Temp is 25F. I’ve had to take the humming bird feeder in every night so it won’t freeze. I have a heater for my bird bath, which the birds really appreciate. (I was walking from TH2 to the main house, and looked over, wondering if the heater was still working. Why yes, yes it was, as I could see steam rising from it.)
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Despite the cold, we have some Oregon grape that’s blooming.
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This might not seem like such a big deal, but it is. We planted a bunch of Oregon grape along one edge of the upper meadow, to act as a privacy fence. (It’s an evergreen, so once it grows, it’ll always be a good blocker.)
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Blaze planted three of these plants early in our relationship. While I was living in Seattle, there was one Oregon grape plant that we harvested from, primarily because it was well over six feet tall. I grew plants from about a dozen of those grapes, then planted them in that same area when I moved out here in 2018.
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A couple of days ago, I walked by and realized that one of the plants that Blaze had put into the ground was starting to bloom. None of these plants have been mature enough to do this before now. (Though this picture doesn’t show it, many of the plants that I grew from seeds are almost this tall. Hopefully they’ll start to bloom soon as well!)
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I started a new novel this week, the second of the Hell Hound series, this one called, “Roommate From Hell.”
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I’m kind of amazed at how easy it’s been to write this book. The main character has so much voice, so many opinions about everything. And she’s snarky. There is also some banter. The difference between the two for me is that snark happens when the characters don’t respect each other, whereas banter is when they do.
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The first novel in this series (“Hound From Hell”) was written almost completely into the dark. I had no idea what I was doing, where I was going, what I was going to write next. It might have been the last novel that I’ve done completely into the dark that way.
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Back in 2022 my brain kind of broke. I was having so many problems writing. I felt as though my “what happens next” gear had disappeared. I couldn’t shift into that mode any more. I had to know a lot more about what was happening with a story before I could write it.
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Now, my brain has healed. At least some. I don’t know if I could write a novel completely into darkness anymore. This one, I’m writing it into dimly lit hallways. I have a vague sense of what’s going to happen next. I know the scenes that occur. Don’t necessarily know what’s going to happen in those scenes. And my characters are always surprising me.
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I don’t want to say that I’ve suddenly become an architect. I haven’t. I’m not doing anything like plotting. Just thinking a little bit farther out about how the novel will go.
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For example, for my last novel, I had a vague idea of how the ending would go. What actually happened was different, surprising, and lovely. Plus, there was a scene early in the novel that felt completely random to me. It wasn’t until I was almost at the end of the book that I realized that that scene was the genesis of problem for book three. In addition, the solution for one of the big problems in book two came from a throw-away line from book one. So writer brain is still working, doing that level of planning, without me realizing it.
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Writing the second book of the Hell Hound series, I just wrote a scene describing a group of people and the magical abilities of each (with a ton of snark, just saying). Why do they have these particular powers? Not a clue. Just that writer brain told me it was necessary. This group of people are going to be pivotal come book four. Writer brain was just planting the seeds.
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And this comes back to something I learned a long time ago: trust the process. For a lot (most) writers, they know how to write. They know how to put a story together. They just need to get out of their own way and let writer brain take the lead.
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Surprise Book! Surprise Sale!
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I decided to just go ahead and publish this book, book one in The Portal Keepers series. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger. My goal is to make all three of these books kind of stand alone.
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AND because you're on my newsletter, you can pick up this novel from the Knotted Road Press store now, for $2.00 off! So instead of $4.99, it's now only $2.99 if you use the coupon code:
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New magic. Check. New life. Check. New Friends? Maybe. But more than anything else, Sam needs new family.
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Sam's dyslexia prevented her from being trained as a witch. So she does manual labor as a carpenter instead, and enjoys her status as the black sheep of her rich, powerful family.
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However, everything changes when she abruptly inherits her grandmother's magical power.
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It begins with being able to see that one of her coworkers in the shop is a creature from the netherworlds—a creature who now wants to kill her for her power.
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And this beast is only the first...
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In Too Deep is the first novel in "The Portal Keeper's Trilogy," a new action-packed urban fantasy from master craftsman Leah R. Cutter. Delve into the lives and trials of the portal keepers, and follow Sam as she discovers family beyond her blood relations.
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And remember use the coupon code PortalKeepers to get $2.00 off the book! Good until the end of February.
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Chocolates and Truffles and Bon Bons, O My!
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Shar Opalbender hates her life.
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Okay, maybe that’s a bit strong. Emo, even.
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Despite her Dwarven heritage, and her family’s expectations, Shar finds no joy in faceting, setting, or polishing gemstones.
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What better way to prove herself to her family (and herself) than to enter, and win, the Realms’ renowned contest, Chocolates Galore!
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And maybe, just maybe, with some magic, luck, and a little help from her friends, Shar also can discover the true meaning of life.
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If there is one beyond chocolate.
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Come enjoy this lovely cozy fantasy with low stakes, delicious chocolates, lots of breaking of the fourth wall, and utter silliness.
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AJ's latest vision starts with a dozen people being yanked out of sight by a noose around their neck. It ends with just a single body, hanging from a beam in an open loft.
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What the heck? Did she just witness the work of a serial killer? Or a cult?
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The victim turns out to be more nefarious: a Catfisher, that is, someone who impersonates other people on the internet for attention and possibly money.
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The reality TV show that exposes catfish turns their attention to AJ. As a successful psychic, she must be a fraud. Right?
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Between being pushed for information by one of the show’s host, the machinations of her mother on the Milltown chamber of commerce, and trying to keep her relationship with Roland moving along, AJ has her hands full.
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Particularly when a second, only somewhat reformed catfish comes to her for help after being threatened...
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Witch Mirror?— a cozy paranormal woman’s mystery—continues the adventures of AJ, the quirky characters of the charming Pacific Northwest burg of Milltown, and leaves AJ with questions about magical powers and her path forward, with her family, friends, and lover.
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Let the water—and the magic—flow.
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A tough man in a tough town. He likes Ike, but not many other folks.
Los Angeles in the 1950s hides some weird and menacing things in her shadows. If you have the need, and can pay his daily rate plus expenses, maybe you can hire the man, for whatever strange things need handling, from hunters of forgotten gods to aliens that walk the streets in disguise.
The first six Gunderson stories, collected together and on sale for the month of January.
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