The Gigantic Drama of Political Intrigue in Jing

On the day I'm writing this post, I crossed the 63K line in word count. And A Cup of Conflict isn't anywhere near completed.

I knew this was going to be a complicated story. Even though she's acting as Issura's ambassador by escorting Quan Po home for his coronation, Anthea's caught in the middle of differing factions in the Jing Empire. Most of whom have no desire for Quan to continue breathing, much less ascend to the Dragon Throne.

But I'm also almost through what is essentially the Second Act, if this were a play. Which means this will be a 90-100K novel.

Therefore, I'm moving the release date for A Cup of Conflict to July 15, 2025.

I don't like the fact that I lost almost three weeks of writing time dealing with the Selket-damned basement, but that's essentially the 30K words I'm missing. *sigh*

However, I did promise I'd get this series done before I die, and I'm damn well going to do it!

Monday Movie Mania a Day Late - Ballerina

After the insanity of the last few weeks, DH and I went to two movies this weekend. The first was the 25th Anniversary remastered Dogma, which I contend is one of the funniest movies ever made. It's amusing how the re-release didn't attract the Christians to protest outside of the theater this time.

The second movie was the brand-new Ballerina, which is part of the John Wick universe. And frankly, I'll take that universe over this one any day. Why? Because there are rules!


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) Ana de Armas delighted me as the innocent nurse in Knives Out, but here, she seriously kicks as Eve Macarro, a member of the Ruska Roma. (For those new to the series, the Ruska Roma are a criminal organization of assassins to which John Wick formerly belonged to.) However, Eve is a member of a side group of bodyguards known as the Kikimora, who are just as deadly when protecting their charges.

2) It was lovely to see Lance Riddick one last time in the Ruska Roma universe. Charon was always my favorite character, yes, even beyond John, because he cared for John's second dog.

3) Sharon Duncan-Brewster was criminally underused as the Director's second-in-command and Eve's mentor Nogi. Sharon has kicked ass in some of my favoite franchises (Doctor Who, Dune (2021), and Star Wars), and I'd love to see a Nogi-centered film!

4) In addition to Lance Riddick, Kenu Reeves, Ian McShane, and Anjelica Houston were back as their in-universe personas, John Wick, Winston Scott, and the Director.

5) The soundtrack was awesome, especially Evanescence front woman Amy Lee's "Fight Like a Girl"

CONS
1) My only gripe is Norman Reedus has a minor cameo as Cultist Daniel Pine, basically in a similar position as Eve's parents who tried to save their daughter from an assassin's life. However, I am thankful the writer Shay Hatten didn't try to force a romance between Daniel and Eve! (Goddess, I hate that trope! And it sure wouldn't fit in the Ruska Roma universe!)


Overall, Ballerina was a fabulous addition to the Ruska Roma universe and an awesome movie in it's own right. I give it 10 out of 10 stars!

Clarification on Pricing

The price changes I announced three weeks ago DO NOT AFFECT e-books! Only print books!

The rise is paperbacks is solely due to the rising prices for paper and ink for the printer. Again, it sucks, but it's the only way to keep my print books on the market. However, e-books will remain the same:

$4.99 for a full novel
$2.99 for a novella
$0.99 for a short story

If/when I do have to raise prices on e-books, I will give you plenty of notice.

I promise.

The Latest at Casa Harden

If you read my everyday blog Wild, Wicked & Wacky, you know about last week's basement flood. DH and I need to sort and inventory the irretrievably damaged items for the insurance company over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

I'm not sure yet what this will do to the release of A Cup of Conflict.

The writing has been on a damn good roll over the month. It's Anthea, and I swear she squats on my brain until her books are delivered to you. But we're both cursing up a storm at this latest interruption because it was beyond either of our control.

(And the chief justice of Orrin really wishes she could manifest in my reality and electrocute the people who are actually responsible.)

Anyway, for those of you checking the Release Schedule and the Justice Series pages, that's why I haven't set up the preorder for Book 10 yet.

I promise to keep you updated. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't be delayed. It might mean going to a hotel after we've dealt with the damn basement.

Warning!! Price Changes!!

GAH! The tariffs are starting to hit publishers and printing.

Despite the cost of paper going up two years ago, I managed to keep my paperback prices the same. But now, I'm not having a choice. I received a notice from Ingram that several of my books will require price increases because the price of paper is rising dramatically.

It sucks. I don't want to do it, but I don't have a choice. Either I raise the prices, or I cannot offer paperbacks for sale. *sigh*

I get it. A lot of you prefer the tactility of having a book in your hand.

So, if you want a paperback, order it now before the prices go up. My formatter is currently updating the front matter (Angry Sheep Publishing transforming from a sole proprietorship to an LLC) and back matter (i.e. list of books I have available). So, I'll be uploading those as she sends them to me.

In other words, I'll be starting on the price changes next week. This is the first time I've needed to raise all prices since I started publishing in 2011.

If you've been planning to buy a paperback, I suggest ordering now from your favorite bookseller.

A Change in the Release Schedule

I've been working on A Cup of Conflict (Justice #10) for the past few weeks. I've known since Sister Darys was skulking in the background of A Hint of Thief (Justice #9) that she had more than one secret. Doesn't every member of that particular Temple?

She finally deigned to tell me as I was trying to get to sleep on Monday night. Apparently, Thief clergy like whispering their secrets in the dark. Unfortunately, it meant a little reworking of the beginning of A Cup of Conflict.

Yeah, I'm a little ticked that she waited until I was over half-way finished with the novel, too.

What does this all mean as far as the release schedule for the second half of 2025?

The release for A Cup of Conflict has been move to June 16th. And since I'm focused on finishing that book, I'm looking at pushing the Kickstarter for The Books of Apep series to October, i.e. Witchtober.

It makes sense in a way since Aset/Isis is the most powerful sorceress of the Egyptian pantheon. (Not to be confused with the god Heka, who is the personification of magic in the ancient religion.)

The only problem right now is obtaining more gold-plated Isis charms for the bookmarks I'm making while rewatching Supernatural for an hour or two in the afternoons. (Yesterday was "Tall Tales", one of my favorites since it's the first appearance of Richard Speight, Jr.)

The Selket-damned tariffs are also going to interfere with my launch of the 10th anniversary editions of the Justice series next year. I had plans. Big plans. *sigh*

So that's what's going on here at Casa Harden. Thankfully, I have plenty of coffee, tea, and tequila to get me through the summer. I just need some more flavored creamer for the coffee.

Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!

The Enchanted Bakery Is Here!

It's official! The first two stories of The Enchanted Bakery are here!

Chefs, Shrooms, and Sherry

Tabitha Abbot and her adopted sister Everleigh are thrilled to start culinary school. But with three summer internships at the professor’s famed restaurant Finito on the line, a group of bullies in their class led by Sherry Kincaid aim to drive the Abbot girls out of the culinary program.

Tabitha promised their mom no magic at college, but Everleigh didn’t. Tabitha finds herself torn between protecting her rivals from her irate sister and wanting a little witchy revenge herself. Because in real life, there’s no such thing as a fairy godmother to save you from your enemies.

Amazon
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Cakes, Cookies, and Conjuring

When mega-corporation Apollo Coffee & Tea open a store across the street from The Enchanted Bakery, Tabitha Abbot fears it will be the end of her family’s business. Especially when the slimeball co-owner tries to buy her out.

But Tabitha’s adopted sister Everleigh is determined to fight back. While Tabitha nixes any hexes, Everleigh recruits some unconventional help to show that money can’t buy everything, but excellent desserts can sway anyone.

Amazon
Apple
Barnes and Noble
                                                       Google Play
                                                       Kobo
                                                       Smashwords