What an amazing month it’s been! I’ve re-booted Deep Magic: the E-zine of Clean Fantasy and Science Fiction, spoken to a huge crowd at a local charter school, became a Wall Street Journal bestselling author because of The Thief’s Daughter and will be teaching a fiction writing class for Writer’s Digest entitled “Raising the Stakes: How to Keep Readers Hooked on a Series”. It’s been a busy month!

First off, let’s talk about Deep Magic. This is a passion project of mine. We had a great launch and the reviews coming in are amazing. We’ve pulled together short stories from authors you know as well as those you’ll learn to love. All stories are without sex, gore, or swearing (AKA “cleanreads”). But that doesn’t mean we skimp on the plot, character development, or excitement. We’ve been inundated with story submissions beyond our wildest dreams. It’s hard saying no to so many excellent offerings, but we’re really trying to pick the best of the best.

For my contribution, I donated a story that has been a seed idea for many years. I didn’t think it was big enough to sustain a novel, but it was big enough to almost be called a novella. I’ve loved quest stories since my childhood and this is a spin on that style. I say spin, but I should say ‘twist’. The main character, Rista, is the daughter of a very famous yet humble man who everyone knows as the Beesinger because of his special magic. He’s the unlikely hero from a previous epic quest who saved the world from a deadly villain. When trouble comes knocking on the door of the homestead, he’s away on a journey. It’s up to Rista to rise to the challenge. This story is very personal to me because the two main characters are based on my own coming-of-age teenager (who read the story and offered her input) as well as a family friend, one of the best dad’s I know. I loved creating a new world and a new magic system just for this story. Who knows–maybe this will morph into something new in the future? Check it out in the June Issue of Deep Magic.

Secondly – a shout out to John Adams Academy in Roseville, California! They invited me to come speak to grades 4-6 to a packed auditorium. It was a blast and during their campus event that night, I sold three boxes of books and could have sold more if I had them. What an enthusiastic group of fans. It was a great time and a wonderful experience.

Third – what a launch for The Thief’sDaughter! This book has a higher reader rating than any other book I’ve done and was on the Wall Street Journal bestseller’s list. Best of the all, many readers liked it even better than Queen’s Poisoner, which is rare. I’m thrilled by the reaction and now the building enthusiasm for book 3 coming in September. If you haven’t pre-ordered it yet, please do. Those pre-orders really help with the NYT, USATODAY, and WSJ rankings. You’ll find it here. I don’t know why Amazon is pricing is less than the first two books. But hey, I’ve not heard anyone complaining!

Finally — I was invited to teach a class as part of Writer’s Digest University. It’s an hour-long session on Saturday, June 25th. Even better, they will be archiving the classes so that people who can’t attend the live session and listen to it later and see my presentation and hear me talk about the craft of building tension. Writer’s Digest has pulled together some great authors for this event. Look it up on-line if you’re interested in attending.

Link is here

I’ve also signed on with 47North for my next series, but I won’t be announcing that yet. Sorry for the teaser but…you know me, I like ending on cliffhangers! Stay tuned and while you’re waiting for my next book to come out, pick up a copy of Deep Magic. If you’re already a Kindle Unlimited customer, it’s part of the catalog so you can read it for free.

Happy summer!