New Release: One Shot at the Sphinx

Welcome to release day for my new Narvan novella prequel: One Shot at the Sphinx.

Yes, we got through six books in the series and now we're going back to the beginning. Why? Why not?  Ideas don't always come in chronological order.

Having gathered quite the series worth of notes by the time I wrapped up Tears of the Tyrant, I decided there was a story to tell: How Chesser Ta'set convinced Anastassia to come to the Narvan to start the chain of events that becomes the entire series.

These events are alluded to in Trust and Minor Years but now you can get a firsthand accounting in the midst of the action in one easy-to-get-into novella that will neatly deliver you right onto the doorstep of Book 1.

If you like action and intrigue with a side of romance and questionable motivations, One Shot at the Sphinx is now available for your eyeball consumption!

There are even multiple pricing options. Including free. Because you'll want to read this one...and I want you to be able to do so.

The enemy of her enemy might be just the tool Anastassia Kazan needs to remove the Jalvian invaders from the Verian space station she calls home.

Working out a treaty between the Jalvians and the Verian people was the highlight of Anastassia Kazan’s military career. Just when station life seems to be settling into a tolerable accord, a spy from the Jalvian’s enemy shows up to take advantage of her hard work and threatens the precarious peace with his very presence. It’s only fair, as a spy for the Verian army, that she uses him in return.

Chesser Ta’set’s mission to intercept the Jalvian’s next moves is imperative. Without them his people will soon lose the war with Jal and his entire star system will be in chaos. Meeting a human spy with the telepathic skill necessary to slip into his target’s thoughts presents an avenue that will greatly multiply the odds of his success.

All he needs to do is convince her to blow her cover and risk her life for a stranger from a world she doesn’t know.

Print copies are currently only on Amazon for $7.99

Ebook copies are on Amazon for .99

Ebook copies are also on Smashwords for FREE

I will have print copies with me at Alma Con (March 23-24) and thereon after at in person signings. They are currently on the way to me so unless a delivery miracle happens, I will not have any print copies available this weekend.

You get a free book for my birthday month!

This has been the best winter ever in terms of weather. We had real winter for a month. That was just long enough to appreciate winter. Anyway, moving on to Spring! Yay! I can deal with occasional days of snow in between the good ones, but being able to work in the yard in FEBRUARY is pretty damn awesome. Especially when the months that I'm usually trying to squeeze in lawn clean up are filled with book events.

Between the stick picking up duties and bonfires, I'm putting the final editing touches on One Shot At The Sphinx. Which led to sitting down to re-read the series to make sure I have all the facts straight. Oh, the perils of writing a prequel after building the world for six books. And while I'm reading, I got the bright idea to reformat the paperback interiors to celebrate the series being tied up. Is it actually done? It might go on (there are notes for another book) but the core series is complete. I'm not changing the content, just doing a facelift. #projects.

Painting on Laya's Vacation is slow going. The cover is done but I haven't found my grove on the rest yet beyond doing a full mock up of the book. My brain needs to wrap up the series first before it has the power to delve into this undertaking.

Writing on I9 is on hold, also until the series is wrapped up, because it turns out that working on two sci-fi projects at once makes story details easy to entangle. Oops. #dontcrossthestreams

March is my birthday month, so this year, I'm offering sales on some of my ebooks. 

A Broken Race is only .99 Feb 26 - March 4 on Amazon

Not Another Bard's Tale and Dreams Of Stars And Lies are only .99 - March 3-9  on Smashwords

Sahmara is FREE March 20-24

Mid-Michigan Women's Expo 

My one February event was a blast other than a medical emergency with one of the other attending authors the morning of the first day. Nothing like a medical scare to start things off. Thankfully, everyone is ok now and we agree on the need for having an emergency contact list for group events like this in the future. 

18 Authors and so many books

March is full of fun author events. You can find me at:

Hall of Heroes Comic Con - March 2&3

West Michigan Women's Expo - March 15-17

Alma Con - March 23&24

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

This month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question is:

Have you "played" with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI's impact on creative writing?

This month's co-hosts are: 

Miffie Seideman  https://miffieseideman.com/  

Kristina Kelly    http://kristinaseyes.com/

Liza http://middlepassages-lcs.blogspot.com/   

Jean Davis http://jeanddavis.blogspot.com/  

I'm not a fan of AI in writing. I don't use it beyond the common features of Grammarly and Pro Writing Aid. Even then, I don't like the more AI involved features those programs offer. #theresistance

Could AI help me write my synopsis? Sure. Can I write a synopsis? Also sure. Having done it a few times, writing a blurb or a synopsis isn't a terrible chore anymore. I've gotten fairly comfortable with it.

Could AI help me brainstorm scenes? Yep. I could also just sit here and close my eyes and brainstorm scenes. Again, having written quite a few books, I'm fairly comfortable and confident in my ability to keep the writing momentum going.

Could it help me pick out appropriate keywords for ads? Now this I might delve into a little because I'm not comfortable there yet. But that's not quite as much on the 'creative' end of the AI abilities as much as other aspects. Like all tools, AI has its uses. Just be responsible so we don't end up with #skynet blowing us up over bad grammar.