Song of the Week

Keane, “A Bad Dream”

Good morning!

Fun fact: this song contains lines from W.B. Yeats’ “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death.”

I’m getting some things lined up for new projects this week, so if you haven’t yet, be sure to read the first episode of The Well Below the Valley so you’ll be ready for new episodes!

Also, Journey to the Water has arrived at Studio Moonfall in Kenosha, WI, if you’re in the area and want to see it on the shelf. The address is 5031 7th Ave. I’ll be there in March to host an Author Night, and I can sign your copy then.

A couple of petitions for this week:

Via Amnesty International: Join the call to end genocide in Gaza

Via Win Without War: End US complicity in Gaza and beyond

Via Cedar Key Progress: Reject Trump’s mass deportation plan

Thanks for stopping by!

Year in Review, Part the Second

Happy New Year!

Looking back at last year’s Year in Review, I had a lot of big plans for this year. Most of them didn’t happen. I did finish and publish Journey to the Water, finally, squeaking it in before the end of December. I also attended an astonishing SIXTEEN events and markets, which continues a terrifying pattern in which I quadruple the number of events attended each year (one in 2022 and four in 2023). Other plans, like finally fixing up my Patreon and working on the Tarot of the Gates, did not come to fruition.

Continue reading “Year in Review, Part the Second” →

Year in Review, Part the First

As is tradition around here, I have gathered all the Songs of the Week for 2024 into a single playlist (making sure that they’re all included, because sometimes I forget to add them and sometimes YouTube eats them). Enjoy!

The last bit of holiday travel has impacted my schedule, as you can tell from this post coming out on Tuesday rather than Monday. I’ll have the second part of the Year in Review up tomorrow, and the newsletter will also go out tomorrow. If you aren’t signed up for the newsletter and would like to be, put your email in the box at this link, and then check your inbox for a confirmation.

Thanks for being here. I hope 2025 treats you well.

Song of the Week

Regina Spektor, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (Beatles cover, from Kubo and the Two Strings)

Good morning!

In case you missed it, Journey to the Water is now out in the world! You can find it wherever books are sold, or visit the “Buy my books” page to save yourself a few clicks. You can also read the first chapter as a preview if you’re on the fence.

Also, today is the LAST DAY to get 20% off the paperback of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea through this link.

I’m taking off for holiday festivities, so I’ll be back next week with the traditional Year in Review posts. I hope you have a nice, cozy week, and whatever holidays you celebrate are gentle to you.

A couple of petitions for this week:

Via Civic Shout: Reunite separated migrant families

Via Amnesty International: End genocide in Gaza

Via Win Without War: Immigrants are our neighbors, not our enemies

Thanks for being here!

Journey to the Water is now out in the world!

Today’s the day! Thank you so much for your support and patience. I hope you enjoy the book!

Read the first chapter!

After a thousand years of tyranny, the holy city of Phyreios is free. Its freedom comes at the cost of many lives, among them the healer Khalim, beloved by many but none more than Eske of the Bear Clan, the warrior from the North. Now Eske is alone, and a new king, a god in Khalim’s guise, presides over the city’s survivors. Of Khalim himself, nothing remains but a memory and a riddle: in order to follow him, one must travel beyond the edge of the world, breach the gate of bone on a day without a sun, and cross the river of memory, deeper than the sea.

Armed with his strength, his wits, and a good tale or two, Eske sets off across the known world, encountering priests of forgotten gods, great beasts of ancient times, and sorcerers of uncanny power. He will perform any task, make any sacrifice, for the chance to see his beloved again.

Inspired by Robert E. Howard’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN and Ursula LeGuin’s EARTHSEA novels, JOURNEY TO THE WATER concludes the epic story begun in BEYOND THE FROST-COLD SEA.

Amazon (paperback & ebook)

Barnes & Noble (paperback & ebook)

Bookshop.org (coming soon!)

Thriftbooks (paperback only, usually discounted)

Kobo (ebook only)

Apple Books (ebook only)

If you don’t see your favorite place to buy books, let me know! I’m on most platforms and am working on getting my books into brick-and-mortar stores.

And when you finish it, be sure to leave a review! It’s the best way to help new readers find my work.

Tomorrow!

Text in front of a foggy hillside with trees. I had walked the tundra and the steppe. I had crossed the mountains of the North, starving, mad, and alone. This would be no different. Journey to the Water: available tomorrow!

Eske’s long travails are finally coming to an end on Friday, December 20. I am so excited to finally get this book into your hands! Thank you ever so much for your support and patience.

After a thousand years of tyranny, the holy city of Phyreios is free. Its freedom comes at the cost of many lives, among them the healer Khalim, beloved by many but none more than Eske of the Bear Clan, the warrior from the North. Now Eske is alone, and a new king, a god in Khalim’s guise, presides over the city’s survivors. Of Khalim himself, nothing remains but a memory and a riddle: in order to follow him, one must travel beyond the edge of the world, breach the gate of bone on a day without a sun, and cross the river of memory, deeper than the sea.

Armed with his strength, his wits, and a good tale or two, Eske sets off across the known world, encountering priests of forgotten gods, great beasts of ancient times, and sorcerers of uncanny power. He will perform any task, make any sacrifice, for the chance to see his beloved again.

Inspired by Robert E. Howard’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN and Ursula LeGuin’s EARTHSEA novels, JOURNEY TO THE WATER concludes the epic story begun in BEYOND THE FROST-COLD SEA.

Get the paperback of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea for 20% off through December 23 (Monday)

Read the first chapter of Journey to the Water

Song of the Week

Stromae, Pomme: “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” (from Arcane)

It’s Monday! First up: Journey to the Water releases on Friday! That’s four days from now!

If you haven’t yet picked up your own copy of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, you can get the paperback for 20% off (and pay your writer a little bit more) at this link. The sale is on through the 23rd (next Monday).

I’ve said it before, but it can’t be said enough: I appreciate your patience as I’ve been working to get this book out. I hope it’s worth all the waiting.

Also, if you Kickstarted the Figuratively Speaking Mermaid Tarot and you haven’t received your deck, please reach out to Brooke via Kickstarter. A few folks still haven’t confirmed their shipping addresses.

Petitions I’ve gathered for this week:

Via Our Revolution: Call for a ceasefire now (link now fixed!)

Via Ekō: Suspend the EU Israel Association Agreement for human rights violations

Via USCPR: Stop the forced famine in Gaza

As always, thanks for being here, and have an excellent week.

Seven days until Journey to the Water + Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea special promo sale

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: A Novel
Buy Now

Journey to the Water releases next week Friday (December 20)! While we’re waiting, I’ve created the special link above, which will allow you to buy the first book (paperback) directly from the printer for only $12 (20% off the list price). This promotion will run through December 23.

You’re still welcome to buy from other retailers, and Amazon sometimes has better prices on paperbacks from resellers, but this link will pay me about twice my usual compensation for retail. (If you’re curious, I make the best money by buying inventory in bulk and hand-selling books.) Plus, you get a discount.

I wanted to do something special to make sure everyone looking forward to Journey has a copy of Frost-Cold Sea, so here we are! Join me next week as I count down to release day.

Song of the Week

KALEO, “Broken Bones”

Good morning!

First things first: Journey to the Water comes out in eleven days! You can check out the cover, back-of-the-book blurb, and first chapter under the “Buy my books” tab above (under the Menu if you’re on mobile). After I’m done writing this, I’ll make sure the sidebar is updated as well.

I’ll mostly be counting down to release day until it happens (December 20), but afterward, I’ll be talking about new projects and things going on with me. This will also include why this book took so very long. In the meantime, please get hyped with me for the release!

Here are some petitions I’ve gathered since last time:

Via Amnesty International: End genocide in Gaza

Via Mercy Corps: Protect civilian lives amid conflict and crisis

Via Ekō: Tell Chevron CEO to stop fueling genocide

Via Our Revolution: Tell President Biden and Congress to stop enabling Israel’s wars

Have an excellent week and stay warm (or cool, I have an occasional visitor from the other hemisphere) this week. May we all one day be free.

Two weeks until Journey to the Water!

And my files are in!

I had to fight with IngramSpark all morning (Photoshop says my images are 300ppi, but Ingram disagreed), but everything is submitted and awaiting approval and addition to the catalogue. I’ll probably have to order a hard copy, just to make sure the cover looks okay, but for the moment, my part is done.

Journey to the Water will release December 20!