Song of the Week

Kate Bush, “Waking the Witch”

Good morning! I hope you’re well, wherever you are.

There will be a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door up on Patreon tomorrow! Thank you for being patient as I get back to our regular posting schedule. We’ll be back to normal (one chapter on Patreon and one chapter here) next week.

If you’re a regular reader, you are probably aware that I have three ongoing projects (Journey to the Water, The Book of the New Moon Door, and the script for The Well Below the Valley), and I really don’t have time to take on more, but new ideas keep coming up! I may or may not have a space opera, a cyberpunk mystery, and possibly an urban fantasy in the works. I just want to be writing all the things, but my time management skills are not up to the task.

Please send well wishes to the lettuce in my garden, as the next three days are supposed to be over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and if you like what you read here, tell your friends about me! When it comes to books, word of mouth is still the best, even in this digital world.

Thanks for being here, and have an excellent week.

Journey to the Water Interlude Two: The Spirit Wilds

Journey to the Water cover image: three evergreen trees stand on a hillside, shrouded in bluish fog. Subtitle reads: the sequel to Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea.

Table of Contents

Khalim was lost.

The sky was dark, and glittering with stars he did not recognize. A forest of huge trees, older than the earth itself, encircled him with darkness and the smell of green things growing. 

He felt neither hunger nor thirst. That was a small mercy. Though he knew it must be an illusion, his feet pressed into the rich soil, and a cold, damp wind tugged at his clothes. He had acquired, in the center of his tunic, a ragged, burnt hole, through which the chill cut at his skin. It was the memory of the conjured lance of Malang, the war god of Phyreios, who had recognized the god inside Khalim and sought to slay him. Khalim remembered how the lance had burned, and the force of it had taken him off his feet. The cold was far preferable. 

Voices filled the wood, chattering in languages he did not understand, mingling with the calls of birds and the low, threatening growls of unseen beasts. The undergrowth shifted and moved, and shadowy shapes darted in and out of sight like small, quick animals. Khalim thought he had heard someone call his name, some time ago, but he had not heard it again. 

Continue reading “Journey to the Water Interlude Two: The Spirit Wilds” →

Song of the Week

Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”

Believe it or not, with all the Kate Bush I’ve posted over the lifetime of this blog, I haven’t done this song yet! Also, if you haven’t watched the latest season of Stranger Things, go do that as soon as you get a chance. I’m having a bit of a hipster moment (I liked this song before it was cool!), but I’m excited that the show is creating more Kate Bush fans. She deserves it. (Also, listen to the entire Hounds of Love album. As the kids say, it’s 100% bangers.)

Good morning! Due to last week being an odd one and multiple anniversaries in my life this week (one year in our house as of tomorrow, and five years married at the end of the week), there won’t be a new chapter this week. The latest chapter of Journey to the Water will still be up here on Wednesday, so stop back then!

Have an excellent week!

The Book of the New Moon Door: Part Two, Chapter Six

Never

The Book of the New Moon Door cover image: A book with yellowing, wrinkled pages lies open on an old wooden desk, with a sprig of lavender lying in the center.

Table of Contents

Isabel turns to the door. Darkness has fallen over the chapel, and a black abyss stretches between her and where the constable, presumably, is trying to get in. The church is haunted. Maybe the incongruousness of a ghost on holy ground will delay the authorities’ realization of the fact, but the signs are obvious. 

The knock of a heavy fist sounds again. Geray gets up and floats through the black, his form disappearing like a breath on a cold day. A howl of agony shakes the chapel. 

There’s no way they can’t hear this. Isabel shelters her candle, the only light remaining in the church, with both hands. Her fingers ache with cold. 

Geray reappears, accompanied by a chorus of distant screams, both animal and human. “They’re going to knock down your door if you don’t answer,” he says. “They have a battering ram and everything.”

Continue reading “The Book of the New Moon Door: Part Two, Chapter Six” →

New Patreon Post/ The Well Below the Valley, Episode 3

“The Deep has claimed him. Mark my words, it will soon be revealed that [Professor Ragnarsson’s] death was closely tied to the sea and its foul inhabitants.”

Nigel Blackthorne, gentleman occultist

The latest episode of The Well Below the Valley is now available on Patreon. A free preview is below the cut:

Continue reading “New Patreon Post/ The Well Below the Valley, Episode 3” →

New Patreon Post/ Journey to the Water, Interlude Two

Maybe he should have stayed in the citadel. It was safe, and it was small, and hadn’t that been what he had desired all along?

Journey to the Water

There is a shiny new chapter of Journey to the Water available on Patreon! I’ll also be back later today with the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley. If you’re not subscribed, you’re missing out!

Song of the Week

Enya, “How Can I Keep from Singing?” (American hymn)

I’m no longer religious, but I don’t deny the comfort of the old songs. Also, I was a 90’s kid. Enya is where it’s at.

Okay. The Newsletter Poll is now closed. Not too many responses, but they were overwhelmingly in favor of a newsletter, so I will get working on that and it will be available later this summer. There will be a way to sign up with your email.

The next episode of The Well Below the Valley, titled “Convergence,” will be up on Patreon tomorrow! Interlude Two of Journey to the Water will accompany it. The latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up here on the blog on Wednesday.

This past weekend, I went to the Oddities and Curiosities Expo!

The writer, a brunette white woman with a short side cut & a bun, glasses, and multiple layered skirts, carrying a mask and a hat, looks up at a banner reading "The Oddities & Curiosities Expo." The backdrop is dark blue with an Art Deco circular design.
A somewhat blurry banner (I took a bad picture) featuring an illustrated pile of skulls and the title "Skulls! Skulls! Skulls!!!" stands behind a set of velvet ropes.

I’m not super into taxidermy (I haven’t eaten meat for something like 16 years), but there were vampire hunting kits, cryptid paraphernalia, antique and gothic fashions, and so much great art. I’ll have a post up on Instagram today with some more pictures.

Thank you for being here. Have an excellent week.

Journey to the Water Chapter XIV: The City on the Hill

Journey to the Water cover image: three evergreen trees stand on a hillside, shrouded in bluish fog. Subtitle reads: the sequel to Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea.

Table of Contents

I climbed out from beneath the temple floor. The riches of the pirate Abraxas of Lore lay at my feet, and my companions pored over it, dreams of finery and rich foods and expeditions to distant shores passing between them in whispers. My thoughts were only with the dragon harpoon, and how if I had such a weapon in my possession on the far northern sea, perhaps I would have slain the lind-worm as I had hoped to do.

Even the gods could not change the past. I had it now, and it sang to me, a song of dragon flight and the hands of heroes. I was the last of many to carry this weapon. When the dragon who had given it shape had hatched from its stone egg, the world had been young, covered in water and fire. It was with reverence that I replaced the oil cloth covering the harpoon and fashioned a sling out of rope to carry it on my back.

“I don’t need a share of the treasure,” I told Hamilcar. “I only want this weapon.”

He looked up at me and gave an expansive shrug. “If that’s your choice, then, you can have it. Gods know I wouldn’t be able to find a buyer for months.”

“My friend,” said Halvor, “you need to learn the value of money.”

Continue reading “Journey to the Water Chapter XIV: The City on the Hill” →

New Patreon Post/ The Book of the New Moon Door: Part Two, Chapter Six

What are you going to do, Sentinel? Run? Turn yourself in? Listen to me.

Chapter Six

There is a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door available on Patreon! If you would like to support my work, a subscription is only $3 a month, and you get all chapters a week early plus access to exclusive projects like The Well Below the Valley.

You also support me by reading wherever you read my work! I appreciate you.

Song of the Week

Florence + the Machine, “Cassandra”

Happy Monday!

You may have noticed the new banner above. I’m working on my social media presence. The most work right now is going into Instagram, so if you’re on there, you can find me here.

This week, I’ll have a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door up on Patreon, and the latest chapter of Journey to the Water will be up here on Wednesday. The plot is thickening in both, so I’m excited for you to read them! The next episode of The Well Below the Valley will also be on Patreon soon, either late this week or early next week.

If you haven’t voted in the newsletter poll, go do that! Cross it off your to-do list and feel accomplished, and then have a great start to the week. I’ll see you back here later.