Hey, babes!
I hope you’ve had a fulfilling week! It’s been an interesting shift in perspective and energy for me, for sure.
This is the first week of a new month, and the first quarter of the year is already gone. I’m already making summer plans, thinking about my kid starting school in fall, and wondering if I’ll be able to hit Taos, NM and Yosemite this year like I’d hoped. I’m also looking back on this time last year and feeling simultaneously amazed and dismayed at the difference between now and then, in the way you can only be when you’re recovering from difficulty and heartache.
Last week I shared about the sweet puppies my neighbor’s husky gave birth to, and we talked about whether you had a preference. The results were all over! My kiddo and I have settled on a nice puppy name and I am working my way toward acceptance that I will have a new family member in addition to a tiny human, a spirited young cat, and my imaginary friends.
Right now I’m editing Ember by Shelly Ferguson and K.O. Newman, first book of the Southern Bell Coven series featuring bikers and some sassy Southern witches. I’m loving the way they weave their unique voices together for this book. Shelly writes sweet and slow-burn PNR rom-com, and K.O. writes paranormal motorcycle club romances. Ember is the perfect blend of both worlds.
What’s new in book world?
Currently, my focus is series planning for my release coming out in June. Unsound is a supernatural thriller and dark urban fantasy about vampires and the end of the world. It sets the tone for the rest of the series taking place 70 years in the future, where we see the consequences of the apocalypse and what it looks like when supernaturals are outed to humanity.
I’ve chosen Jacob Summers (@captain_valhalla on Instagram) to cover book two, and Kevin R Davis (@kevinrdavis.official) to cover book three. Jacob’s book is about a salty psychic detective eking out his living in the new world, fantastic noir style. Kevin’s book is about a firefighter with secrets, and the looming threat now facing supes all over. Cover reveals and more info coming.
There are currently eight books planned, all standalone or duologies with complete storylines and one overarching problem each MC must face in their own way. That being said, I’m grinding out the first book that sets all these events in motion.
The curtain has been pulled back. What is done cannot be undone.
When war came to us from the other side of a dimensional rift, it was not a knight in shining armor that came to our rescue. Our darkness–our demons–were our saviors. The supernaturals came out of hiding to drive back our looming apocalypse.
Once revealed, however, monsters like the vampire Dev could not return to the shadows–and they did not want to. The upheaval of war left the political structures of the supernatural world on the brink of collapse. For some, this was the opportunity they had been waiting for. A chance to take their place in the light, and for the power-hungry to carve out territory for themselves in the new world order.
Dev was a Master Vampire of influence, but a critical mistake has ensnared him in a cycle of addiction that leaves him vulnerable in a time of chaos. Katherine’s blood is his drug, and she is an unwilling participant in the machinations of a warring vampire society. As a reborn Matriarch, all she wants to do is live her life in peace, and then depart this world.
Katherine has the potential to turn the tide of the vampire territory wars. Dev has the power to help her rise. They must put aside their selfishness and find trust in order to succeed.
Can they overcome their personal demons and restore order to the vampires before the war spills over, and humanity pays the price?
Promos and Book Fairs
Check out these book fairs for April Defiance and Unsound are hanging out with some other incredible works. Go find something for your TBR!
What’s next?
Deep Sea and Unsound are coming along and I’ve managed to get my head around how I’m organizing my publishing schedule (hint: it involves Trello and prayers).
Some book recommendations that came up for me are The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco and Lovely Bad Things by Trisha Wolfe, so you know what I’m reading the next two months. I’m excited to give them a shot and review. The covers are gorgeous.
I hope this weekend treats you well. I’m going hiking on Mount Rose before visiting some friends, so it’ll be a tiring but fulfilling time.
Be well, babes.
XOXO,
Mariah