I'm Still Kicking!

I know, I know. I haven't written a blog post in over two months. A lot of life rolls happened.

It started with a traffic accident a few days after my last post. Thank goodness, the other driver wasn't injured, but I heavily bruised my left hand, including a torn vein. It looked pretty bad, but no broken bones, thank Goddess! Unfortunately, the injury limited my time on the computer for a week.

I'd also planned to launch a Kickstarter campaign for The Books of Apep series with gorgeous specialty hardcovers. On top of my hand injury, Tribblehead launched a full-in tariff war with China where a lot of specialty books are printed, and the Kickstarter Union went on strike just to keep the benefits they currently had. I thought I'd be able to move the campaign from the beginning of the month to the end of the month. It soon became clear that I might not be able to deliver any rewards in a timely manner, so I never launched the campaign.

*sigh*

I've been planning this dang campaign for the last two years. On the positive side, I will try again in March now that the strike is settled and trade between China and the U.S. is flowing again. But to go into all the vagaries of Kickstarter will require a whole explanation of its own, which I will post later this month.

Then DH and I have had to scramble because because our home insurance was cancelled. State Farm didn't like that our sump pump has backed up twice in four years. We know the cause (not us!), and DH is looking into legal action against the neighbors who will NOT fucking maintain their pond. When the pond overflows it turns our yard into a lake. Complete with mallards teaching their ducklings to swim.

On top of that, our antique car insurance policy was cancelled because I've been involved in two accidents over the last thirteen months. The sad part is I don't drive the older cars, and the vehicle involved in the two accidents isn't on the antique policy. The decision only harms DH because he likes to take the collectibles to car shows.

With all the craziness, I didn't make it to my cousin's in October like I planned. Instead, I drove down for her birthday the week before Thanksgiving. It was nice to get away from the stress at home for a little while.

But while I was gone, one of my sisters-in-law (SIL #2) fell and broke her humerus (the upper arm bone) of her dominant hand. It made things difficult, so SIL #4 stayed with her the week of Thanksgiving, then I drove to Indiana and stayed with her last week. SIL #2 is doing much better now.

In between the major issues, I've been alternating writing with unpacking moving boxes. Yes, these are the boxes from when we moved into this house five years ago. The place is slowly taking shape and finally starting to look like a home.

So, that's where we are Casa Harden. It hasn't been one of my better years for writing, but I'm looking forward to finishing my partly written projects and getting them out to all of you. 

Including the last three novels of the Justice series.

Keeping my fingers crossed that 2026 will be a much smoother year.

A Sad Time

Per an e-mail I received from the trustee, the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust is officially shutting down on December 31, 2025. By shutting down, I mean the trustee is pulling every single copy, both electronic and paper from all retailers.

The Trust lasted for twenty-six years, but the folks working for the Trust have reached their own twilight years. I don't blame them one bit for wanting to spend their last years working on their own projects.

What does this means in regards to me? My first trad publishing contract was with the Trust for a short story called "Justice" in Sword and Sorceress 28. I sold three more stories to editor Elisabeth Waters that appeared in Volumes 30, 31, and 32. I'm proud of those stories. Back in 2013, I wasn't prepared for the popularity of the main characters of "Justice". Life's funny though, and I just released the tenth novel in the Justice series, A Cup of Conflict.

If you'd like paperback copies of Sword and Sorceress Volumes 27 through 34, or e-books of the currently available volumes, please get your copies before 2026 rolls around.

Release Day!

[Edit to Add: Google Play is now live!]

Finally! A Cup of Conflict is live on every ebook retailer except Google Play! (It shouldn't take too much longer if you prefer that store.) It took nearly two years to write this tome, but I guess it needed to cook a little longer in the back of my mind.

And no, I haven't forgotten those of you who prefer print. The trade paperback should be available in two-three weeks.

But it's done, it's here, and I hope you enjoy it as much as my alpha reader!

BLURB
Chief Justice Anthea chose her party carefully when Queen Teodora charged her with escorting Crown Prince Quan Po home. However, more betrayals await her in the ancient capital of Jing as she dances between diplomatic niceties and saving the human race from extinction.

But her most dangerous opponent plots from within the city to destroy the last scion of the imperial family. An enemy who blames both her and the prince for everything he’s lost. Someone who would feed the entire World to the demons in order to win.

Magic and mayhem have never been devious. Or this shocking.

Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Kobo
Smashwords

How Embarrassing!

Since I left corporate world, I've been able to make my own schedule. If one of the dogs needs a trip to the vet's, I don't have bosses or clients getting bitchy about me taking an hour or two to make sure the pup is treated for whatever needs to be dealt with.

On the other hand, I don't really pay enough attention to the calendar since I'm not counting days until a break in my schedule.

This is my long-winded way of saying, I forget yesterday was Labor Day until DH said something about sleeping in.

WHOOPS!

It also meant my support contractors had plans for the holiday.

DOUBLE WHOOPS!

So, I needed to  to move the release date for the ebook back three days to September 8th.

*FACEPALM*

The paperback may be a couple of days later. I want to make sure my cover artist has fully covered from another round of COVID-19 before I harass her.

And yes, folks. No matter what the government is trying to pretend, COVID-19 is still an issue. Infection rates from two new variants, Stratus and Nimbus, are climbing.

Stay safe out there! And next Monday, you can curl up with a hot beverage, a furry pet on your lap, and plow through A Cup of Conflict.

It's ALIVE!!

Okay, maybe A Cup of Conflict is not shambling across the countryside and terrorizing the villagers. But damn it! It is finally done and edited!

That's the good news.

The bad news is I'm going to push the release back another week. In updating the Glossary many of you have requested, it's now 25 pages all on it's own. So, I will spend tomorrow paring it down to the relevant information for this particular novel.

Why? This book in paperback will be roughly 400+ pages all by its lonesome without any of the front or back matter. I'm not adding another 25 pages because some of us already suffer from arthritis, and I'm not causing further pain to anyone who prefers the paperback version. And that doesn't even get into the paperback costs!

Seriously, the heft of a massive book is why I love having the ebook edition of The Lord of the Rings.

So a copy has been sent to my alpha reader. I'll spend this morning paring down the Glossary, and I'll send the appropriate files to my formatter this afternoon.

We're getting there, my readers! We're getting there!

A Justice Update

I didn't put up any pre-orders for A Cup of Conflict yet because I'm still editing. Damn, this is a long book!

I wish I could blame my slowness on Genius Kid being home on leave, but I can't. However, I can blame part of it on Darling Husband and the puppies because as soon as I put in my earbuds, one of them wants something.

At least the hubby doesn't need to be walked, though it's good to wear him out so he's not too rambunctious.

Anyway, this books may not have a pre-order after all, but I will have it uploaded to retailers by August 29th. 

First Draft Is Done!

Yes, that's right! I finished the first draft of A Cup of Conflict Saturday afternoon while my Cincinnati chili quietly bubbled in the crock pot.

I should have finished it on Friday. GK got home from his deployment a little after two p.m., but with the jet lag, he was curled up in bed by four p.m. after consuming a couple of slices of leftover homemade pizza.

Instead of joining him, the Grandpuppy curled up on the living room couch and napped. The Attack Tribble did the same on my lap at I sat on my recliner. And DH headed out to the high school soccer stadium. (The season had started the night before.)

I thought, "Awesome, I can finish the book while it's quiet!"

It must have been too quiet though. I fell asleep as I was reading through the chapters I'd written on Thursday. Apparently, between getting up early for the last three weeks to get this book completed and the Friday morning hot yoga class, my poor old body said, "Enough!" I was out cold until DH came home.

But I made up for it on Saturday and finished the first draft. The initial version came in at 117K+-words. But the time edits are done, it will probably be over 120K.

Yesterday, I diddled a bit with A Barrel of Vintner. (Please don't ask me when it'll be released!) But today and until further notice, edits will happen.

I hope to have a bit of time to start setting up pre-orders later this evening.

All-in-all, I've relaxed a bit with the first draft completion. The rest as they say is a piece of cake.

The official release date is AUGUST 29,2025!