December 2022

My plans for 2023

Now that I’ve talked about what I got up to in 2022, it’s time to look forward into 2023. I’m incredibly excited about my plans for 2023. There’s quite a lot to come! Publication dates may shift a little, but I expect them to be fairly close to the following. Coming out in 2023 This year, I’m alternating between a series of 1920s books (Mysterious Arts) and books dealing with the Second World War (the Land Mysteries series).

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What I got up to in 2022

It is the time of year where a roundup of what I did seems useful for a variety of reasons. (Come back next week for what’s coming in 2023!) What came out in 2022 I put out four novels, two novellas, and a substantial extra in 2022. That’s a lot! Links here that aren’t the title (in the header) will take you to my public wiki. There you can see more details about people and places.

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Forged in Combat is out!

I’m delighted to share Forged in Combat, a prequel novella for the Mysterious Powers series. It’s the romance of Arthur and Melusina, parents of Roland in Carry On. It takes place mostly in 1882 in the Viceroy’s Palace in Calcutta. Melusina is building her own career as mistress of warding and protection magics. Arthur is following the well-trod traditions of his family in the Army. When Melusina takes on an assignment to help with a tricky safe problem in the Viceroy’s office, they find themselves collaborating – and more than collaborating. Get a copy from your favourite ebook retailer!

Surprise! Giveaway

(This giveaway is over! It ended on Tuesday, December 13th, 2022. Thank you so much for everyone who joined us!) Do you love jewellery? Do you know someone who does? My dear friend Elise Matthesen is an amazing jewellery maker – and also a lover of my books. She’s offered a delightful giveaway, with a short timeframe. One lucky person will win an item from Elise’s shop (based on your answers to question 2). [giveaway details removed] More about Elise Elise won the Hugo Award (a major award in the Science Fiction and Fantasy fandom community) as a Fan Artist in 2020. Her pieces are in the collections of quite a few authors, musicians, artists, and other creative folk. Many of us have a custom of picking up something from Elise for a major achievement in our creative lives. If you’re a fan of Lois McMaster Bujold, as I am, Elise both designed Lois’s award pin collar and makes planet pendants similar to those referenced in the Vorkosigan books at one point. Here’s a few samples of Elise’s previous work. Again, check out the shop for the current delights! I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Elise for more than 20 years, so as you might imagine, I have quite a few of her pieces by now! The necessary giveaway details By entering, you understand that if you are the winner, I will be sharing your email address with Elise to make arrangements about getting the piece you have won. Elise

The naming of characters is a difficult matter

(Look, I couldn’t resist the T.S. Eliot reference, I’m only human.) To be more serious, the names of characters are something I spend a lot of time thinking about. I got a great reader question about it this week, and that makes it a wonderful time to share some of how I do this. To be honest, there’s a lot of staring at my list of names and sighing a lot. But I also have established patterns that help me sort out what I’m doing with the names. (As a note, links to character names in this post will go to their WorldAnvil pages so you can see where they appear most easily.)

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