Periphery is Available!

My newest novel, The Battle for Periphery, is now available on Amazon! A hearty cheer for the
creator of my cover art, Erin Ruffino, and the cover designer, Aaron La Porta! They've done an amazing job at bringing Emerson's adventures to life!

Here is the description:

Emerson wears the cloak of an Amaranth, the garment of a much-revered warrior clan. Since he was a boy, he has been content wandering the realm, but now he is having second thoughts. The idea of settling down in a home of his own is growing on him, and he feels called to build a home in the forest. It's all working, until a princess points a loaded bow to his head.

This Amaranth has shown up just when she needs him the most: a war rages. The palace, the royal family, the very kingdom of Periphery is in danger, and she is determined to make him abide by his Amaranth creed. Their chance meeting leads Emerson on a quest to save a kingdom and a home, but it will also unveil secrets that will change everything he knows about his past and the futures of those he has grown to care for.

Powerful forces are in motion. A mystical tree calls to him, a prophecy plagues his dreams, and a shadowy figure has released a vital spark of light into the night sky.

What will the kingdom's deepest secrets reveal? And can Emerson face the secrets within himself?

I hope you enjoy it! Remember to leave a review! They really do help us Indie authors!

  

     

Periphery in Sight!

Small celebration today!

I just finished the draft of Periphery, my next young adult novel, which is a fantasy adventure. The tree in the photo at the right was the inspiration. I will read it through once more before it is sent off to my team of Beta readers. If I can get it to them within the next month, I will be able to begin work on the sequel, tentatively titled The Amaranth. Depending on the efficiency of my Beta readers, Periphery could see publication within the year. That would be exciting! Summer could entail work on both projects to make sure they flow together. Now if we could get the Covid pandemic under control and author visits would start up again, the world would be a wonderful place! I miss talking with young readers, but with another novel on the near horizon, we’ll have a lot to talk about when the time comes!

Meeting Fellow Authors

Good time at the Local Author Fair this afternoon at the Audubon Library in Amherst, NY. There was a great group of local authors present, and I had the chance to chat with many of them. I also had the pleasure of sharing a table with another Young Adult author, Sandi Van, whose debut novel Second in Command came out in February of this year. It’s written entirely in verse, and I can hardly wait to read it. Check it out on Amazon.

In between browsing customers, many of the authors circulated, and we talked about marketing, publishing, illustrations and covers, and writer’s groups. Many echoed my feelings that belonging to a writer’s group is one of the most vital parts of a writer’s life. So much valuable feedback can be gotten if an author has trusted fellow writers they can depend on.

I hope to make this fair an annual event on my calendar!

New Release!

Please join me in celebrating the release of my next novel – Eye of the Peacock!


What is it about? Well, it’s about a teenager, Aubrey Harrington, who just wants to get the community service hours she needs to graduate from high school. She never thought that taking the volunteer tour guide job at the local mansion would change her life forever. When she falls – or is pushed – down a flight of stairs, Maeve Somerton gives her a hand up, but the help comes with a price. Maeve thinks she was murdered, and now Aubrey must help her.

Spiraling back in time, Aubrey feigns being Maeve’s school chum to try to solve a mystery among strangers. Meanwhile, Aubrey also lays comatose in a hospital, and as her condition worsens, her family and friends wonder if she will ever come back to them. Caught in a twist of time and existence, Aubrey finds herself more ghost than alive in a world in which she was never meant to be.

Will Aubrey be able to solve the mystery of Maeve’s death? And even if she does, will she be able to find her way back home?

So what is the genre? Once again, there’s a lot going on. A little supernatural, a little time travel, a little historical fiction, but it combines for a fun read! Click on the image in the right column to order!

In Memory

A sad day in the literary world.

Ursula K. Le Guin died today at the age of 88.

Not only did I absolutely love the way her name rolled off the tongue, but I also loved her way with young adult fantasy fiction. One of her shorts from The Wizard of Earthsea series was a regular in my classroom. Ah, good ol’ Mr. Underhill and his secrets!

If you are a fan of Tolkein, reading at least the first book in this series would be a great nod to Ursula Le Guin’s memory. The New York Times quoted her as saying, "The writer’s 'pleasant duty,' she said, is to ply the reader’s imagination with 'the best and purest nourishment that it can absorb.'"