I’m so happy to announce that I’ve finished the first draft of Riwenne 2! This has been more than a year in the works, which has been difficult because of health issues. But during Camp NaNoWriMo, I not only met my word goal, I finally got to write “the end!”

I’m not ready to name a release date just yet. I will start editing soon and I’m already talking to a designer about the cover, so I hope to have a date and a preorder ready soon. I’m very excited about how this book is shaping up and I can’t wait to share it with you!

I have also gone back to the long-promised prequel, Amena’s Rise to Stardom. The ending still needs a lot of work to iron out some details and then a final edit, but it will also be coming up soon. I plan to publish it for sale on Amazon and also give it as a free gift to my newsletter subscribers. (Right now, the newsletter gets Witch Test from Fae of Calaveras and The Duke’s Daughter from Wyld Magic for free, so there would be one free prequel for each of my main series.)

Third, I have the rights back to “The Girl who Talked to Birds” from the fairy tale anthology last year. So I can publish my own copy. That got me thinking, though, could I write more short stories that tie into the Divine Warriors series and eventually make my own collection? Something to play around with!

There’s lots of exciting things coming soon! I’m just glad to finally be writing again. I have taken breaks in the past because of personal issues and I always feel unhappy when I’m not writing. It’s satisfying to finish something again.

How about we finish with an excerpt?

I opened the front door of the temple sanctuary of Damon. The vaulted hall was full of sunlight, almost blindingly bright. The stained glass windows lining the walls filtered in light in every color of the rainbow, but the clear glass at the peak of the roof let in shining, pure light, washing out the decorated temple with white. I blinked, trying to adjust my eyes, and looked up. The sun was directly overhead. This must be why we didn’t normally come into the sanctuary at high noon—it was bright enough at the ceremonies for dawn and sunset.

I started to walk forward, but then I saw that the temple wasn’t empty. A group of people stood before the altar in red robes.

Don’t let them see you, a voice whispered in my mind. Keep to the shadows.

I darted to the side and slipped behind a pillar, and my eyes immediately felt better out of that overwhelming light. I blinked for a moment, then looked back to the altar. The red robes stood out against the white marble. Junior priestesses wore red, but the color looked wrong somehow, a darker shade almost tinging on maroon. And why would a bunch of junior priestesses be gathering alone? I craned my head, trying to get a closer look at their faces, but they were all strangely wearing hoods. Priestesses always went with their heads uncovered and their hair hanging loose, something that I’d struggled with as a novice, trying to keep my long, curly pink locks untangled.

Then another figure stepped from behind the altar, and I immediately recognized her distinctive robe. White at the shoulders, flowing down into red, and ending in black at her feet, only the head priestess, Mother Lyda, could wear something so elaborate. And her head was uncovered, clearly showing her youthful face and her dark red hair that hung well past her waist.