historical fantasy

Sunrise: a summer solstice sample

From The Bones of the Earth As today is the summer solstice, with the longest daylight hours of the year, I thought I’d share with you an excerpt describing one particular summer solstice, 1,427 years ago. Vorona, the shaman, led the villagers in the hymn to Zaria, the heavenly bride of the sun, to pull […]

The Bones of the Earth cover 2023

Just in time for the Winter Solstice: a new edition of The Bones of the Earth Launches 22:27 21 December 2023 Finally! A new, corrected edition of my first-published novel, The Bones of the Earth, is now live as an e-book. Twelve years after its first publication, the second edition has corrected the errors and […]

Initiation Rites cover reveal

A new edition of The Bones of the Earth is coming soon—and of course, that means a new edition of Part One, Initiation Rites, as well. A new edition demands a new cover. Today, I’m proud to reveal the new cover designed by author and designer and thoroughly nice person Samreen Ahsan. Here it is: […]

Witch wearing a hat reading magical, glowing book

To celebrate the spooky season, I’ve put The Bones of the Earth on sale. If you haven’t read it, here’s your last chance to get this edition. A Month of Halloween Books! Whether you love mysteries, horror, fantasy or other genres, there’s something for everyone! Some Free, some 99c, some in Kindle Unlimited…Check back often […]

Thinking of a new way to write

You know I have a lot more ideas for stories than I’ll ever have time to write. So I’ve been thinking, during idle times like going to the grocery store or walking the dog: maybe I need a new way to write long fiction. One that acknowledges that we’re distracted all the time, that our […]

The end is near

I wrote that I will never again say “things can’t get worse.” Because they did, and continue to. COVID-19 cases are increasing again in China, Japan, the U.K. and elsewhere.  And the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine grinds on.  I find this particularly affecting, as I am married to a Ukrainian-Canadian, and I wrote […]

Summer solstice sample

A special celebration from 1,428 years ago The Bones of the Earth, Part 1: Initiation Rites For the first day of summer, the summer solstice, here is a sample from another summer solstice, which I described in The Bones of the Earth, Part 1: Initiation Rites. This scene takes place on the night before the […]

It's been a productive pandemic—I mean, summer

Without belittling the importance of the COVID-19 pandemic, I can say that I’ve had a productive few months. Since March, I have: finished the second Dark Age novel, The Children of the Seventh Son rewritten the second Hawaiian Storm full-length novel, Dead Man Lying outlined a completely new novel, a near-future dystopian thriller. What you […]