On Writing

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    Bright Blaze of Magic, Black Blade #3, up for pre-order …

    Book #3We’re only a couple of weeks away from the release of Bright Blaze of Magic, the third book in my Black Blade young adult urban fantasy series that will be out on April 26. Woot!

    This will be the third and final book in the series, and it will close out Lila’s story. As of right now, I do not have any plans to write any more books in this series.

    Bright Blaze of Magic will be available in print, e-book, and audiobook formats from all the usual retailers. The book is available for pre-order at the following sites:

    Amazon Kindle / Amazon print / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / Google Play / iBooks / IndieBound / Kobo

    The audiobook will be available through Audible and Amazon, and Brittany Pressley will once again be the narrator.

    And here is the book description. This doesn’t contain any real spoilers for the book/series, but if you absolutely do not want to be spoiled, you might want to skip reading the book description:

    BAD THINGS ALWAYS COME IN THREES…

    As a thief, I’m good at three things: hiding in the shadows, getting in and out unseen, and uncovering secrets. I put these skills to work for the Sinclair Family, one of the magical mobs that run the tourist town of Cloudburst Falls.

    Everyone knows Victor Draconi wants to take over all the other Families—and kill every last Sinclair. What they don’t know is that I’m on to him, and no way will I let the man who murdered my mom get away with hurting all the other people I care about. Especially when I’ve got places to break into, stuff to steal, and Devon Sinclair fighting right by my side…

    The heroine of Bright Blaze of Magic is Lila Merriweather, a 17-year-old thief who lives in Cloudburst Falls, West Virginia, a town dubbed “the most magical place in America.” Tourists come from around the world to tour all the magic-themed shops and attractions, as well as see monsters like tree trolls, copper crushers, and more in their natural habitats.

    Lila does her best to stay off the grid and avoid the Families — or mobs — who control much of the town. But Lila finds herself caught in the middle of a brewing war between the Sinclairs and the Draconis, the two most powerful Families in town.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the conclusion to Lila’s story when the book is released. Happy reading!

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    Dark Heart of Magic, Black Blade #2, to be published in German …

    Estep Black Blade 2Attention German readers: I wanted to let you know that Dark Heart of Magic, the second book in my Black Blade young adult urban fantasy series, will be released in German on May 2.

    And here is the cover for Dark Heart of Magic. I always think it’s so interesting to see how the covers vary from country to country. I really like the white covers that my German publisher, Piper Verlag, has been doing for this series, along with my Mythos Academy series. (Although my favorite German covers are the ones with the flowers on the front and on the spines for my Mythos Academy series.)

    I’m not sure when Bright Blaze of Magic, the third and final book in the series, will be released in German. If I had to guess, I would say probably sometime in the fall 2016, but I don’t know for sure. If I get some more information about the release date later on, I’ll try to remember to share that here on my blog and social media sites.

    And of course Cold Burn of Magic, the first book in the series, is also available in German.

    I hope that all the German readers enjoy Dark Heart of Magic when it is released. Happy reading!

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    Unraveled, Elemental Assassin #15, cover revealed …

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    UnraveldToday, I thought I would share the cover art for Unraveled, Elemental Assassin #15, Aug. 30.

    The cover was once again done by Tony Mauro, and the model for Gin is Alexa Martino. I really like the red tone to this one, and I love the spider rune branded on the saloon doors.

    Unraveled is up for pre-order at the following sites:

    Amazon Kindle / Amazon print / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / Google Play / iBooks / Kobo / IndieBound

    It will be a while before the pre-order link for the audiobook goes online. That is usually posted about six weeks before the release date. The audiobook will be available through Amazon and Audible, and the awesome Lauren Fortgang will once again be the narrator.

    Here’s the description. Beware of spoilers for previous books in the series, especially Bitter Bite, book #14:

    What could go wrong when you’re trying to unravel a decades-old conspiracy? 

    As the current queen of the Ashland underworld, you would think that I, Gin Blanco, would know all about some secret society controlling things from behind the scenes. I might be the Spider, the city’s most fearsome assassin, but all my Ice and Stone elemental magic hasn’t done me a lick of good in learning more about “the Circle”. Despite my continued investigations, the trail’s gone as cold as the coming winter.

    So when Finnegan Lane, my foster brother, gets word of a surprising inheritance, we figure why not skip town for someplace less dangerous for a few days? That place: Bullet Pointe, a fancy hotel resort complex plus Old West theme park that Finn now owns lock, stock, and barrel. At first, all the struttin’ cowboys and sassy saloon girls are just hokey fun. But add in some shady coincidences and Circle assassins lurking all around, and vacationing becomes wilder—and deadlier—than any of us expected.

    Good thing this assassin brought plenty of knives to the gunfight …

    I love westerns, and I always thought about writing a western-type story. So this is sort of my version of that — Spider-style. 🙂

    You can read the first chapter of the book here. Scroll down and click on the Read Excerpt tab. Again, it does contain spoilers for previous books in the series.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the cover art.

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    Making time to read comics …

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    Note: This post will also appear tomorrow at Magical Musings.

    I love to read. I always have, ever since my mom started taking me to the library when I was a kid.

    But sometimes, the very last thing I want to do is read.

    Why? Because most of my reading is done as work on my own books, instead of reading whatever I want to for fun. After spending hours writing, editing, revising, and proofreading my own books day in and day out, sometimes I just don’t want to read. Instead, I’ll veg out in front of the TV or listen to music or do anything else but read. And with my writing deadlines, I often just don’t have time to sit down and read a 350-page book, not even if I break it up over several nights.

    Black Widow Last DaysBut I’ve found something that works for me, a way to keep reading in the limited time that I have these days. The answer? By reading comics collections.

    I’ve always enjoyed superhero stories as books, movies, and TV shows, but in the past several years, I’ve gotten more and more into reading comics. One series that I’m enjoying right now is about the Marvel superhero Black Widow, including Black Widow Vol. 3: Last Days by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto.

    Why do I like reading comics? For starters, they are a great mix of stories, dialogue, action, and art. Plus, there are many, many different takes on just about every superhero character out there, so you’re bound to find a story or interpretation that you like. And depending on the size of the comics collection, I can usually read it in one night, which works great with my busy schedule these days.

    Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoy reading full-length print books, and I squeeze those into my schedule as often as I can. But when I want a quick escape to another world, I often grab some comics from my TBR pile. If you’ve never read comics before, give them a shot. You might just get hooked on them like I have. 🙂

    What about you guys? Is your reading time limited? How do you make time to read? Do you read comics collections?

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    Favorite books in a series

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    Note: This post will also appear tomorrow, Feb. 16, at Magical Musings.

    Bitter Bite, the 14th book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, will be out on Feb. 23.

    Bitter BiteFourteen books. Wow. Part of me still can’t believe that I’ve written so many books in one series. And there are more to come, as I will be writing at least 16 books in the series now.

    When it comes to a long-running series, there are certain books that readers like more than others. In my Elemental Assassin series, it seems like Spider’s Revenge (book #5), Heart of Venom (book #9), and Black Widow (book #12) are particular fan favorites. (Leave a comment on this post if you agree or have another book in the series that’s your favorite.)

    Why do these books seem more popular than others in the series? I think it’s because they all have lots of action, truly nasty villains, and really great dynamics/relationships between my heroine, Gin Blanco, and the other characters.

    Readers like certain books in a series better, and I feel the same way as an author. Some books just flow easier than others as you are writing them. Sometimes, there’s a particular character that you love writing about, or you get to write a story/plot that you’ve been thinking about for a long time.

    When it comes to Bitter Bite, I had a lot of fun writing the villain, and I think the book features one of the best villains in the entire Elemental Assassin series. The cool thing about this villain is that the character comes in and is not only a physical threat to Gin, but also an emotional one as well. So it’s like a double dose of evil, but in a good, entertaining way.

    Bitter Bite is definitely one of my favorite books in the series, and I hope that it will be one of the books in the series that becomes a fan favorite as well. Fingers crossed anyway. We’ll see soon, since the book is out on Feb. 23. 🙂

    What about you guys? What are some of your favorite books in a long-running series? What makes you like a certain book in a series more than others?

    Bitter Bite will available in print, e-book, and audiobook formats from all the usual retailers:

    Amazon Kindle / Amazon paperback / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / Google Play / iBooks / IndieBound / Kobo

    Audible / Amazon audiobook

    The audiobook will be available through Audible and Amazon, and the awesome Lauren Fortgang will once again be the narrator.

    And here is the book description:

    Which is stronger: blood ties or a battle-tested friendship? That’s the question Gin Blanco is asking when a friend’s long-lost relative comes strolling back into Ashland under suspicious circumstances. 

    It’s not easy being queen bee of an underworld abuzz with crooks and killers. Wielding my potent Ice and Stone elemental magic will only get me so far—my real secret is my tight-knit makeshift family, a motley crew of cops and criminals, dwarves and playboys. My foster brother Finnegan Lane is my right-hand man, but when his suddenly not-dead relative comes back into the picture, I’m the one on the outside looking in.

    It’s funny how life works: one minute your best friend is rock-steady, and the next he’s doe-eyed and buying into this whole loving-relative routine to the point of ignoring you. I’d like to be happy for Finn, I really would. But all of my instincts are telling me that beneath the syrupy sweet demeanor and old-fashioned charm, this sudden interloper is planning something. The whole shtick leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. This person might have avoided the grave once, but I’ll put anyone who hurts Finn in the ground—for good.

    You can read the first chapter of the book here. Scroll down and click on the Read Excerpt tab.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the book when it is released. Happy reading!