A look back at 2023

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It’s the time of year where a recap is called for. Check out the post for the books (and two extras) released in 2023, what I’ve written, and improvements to this website and my authorial wiki.

The cover of Old As The Hills displayed on a tablet in a scene of a glowing golden summer sunset, looking out over a pond surrounded by tree trunks. The cover of Old As The Hills has a man with a can and a woman silhouetted on a green ground with a map. She holds out her hand, he is putting something into it, forming a doorway between them. An astrological chart behind them shows the symbols for Venus, the Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn highlighted behind a splash of glowing stars.

Books that came out in 2023

I get a little startled every time I look at this list – it was a productive year for writing, and for publishing! (And I also like to think things keep getting better as well as more.) The novellas are noted, the others are full-length novels. The links will take you to the pages here on my authorial site with more about the book, including the content notes.

This year’s published books include five books in the Land Mysteries series (set during World War 2), two books in the Mysterious Arts series, dealing with various arts, crafts, and skills in the 1910s and 1920s, and a novella set in the 1880s.

Bound for Perdition: the creation of the magical journals in 1917, Lynet and Reggie’s romance. Includes a peek at Temple and Delphina Carillon’s life before everything goes downhill for them.

Nocturnal Quarry: A character focused novella about Alexander’s travels in America in 1938.

Old As The Hills: Gabe and Rathna rise to the challenges of the Second World War, each in their own ways. November 1939 through August 1940.

Upon A Summer’s Day: The answer to a question Gabe is asked at the end of Old As The Hills, thus forming a duology within the series. Takes place from August through December of 1940 (including the first months of the Blitz.)

Shoemaker’s Wife: When Owen returns from the Great War, he and Clara have to figure out how to have a marriage. (Also full of Trellech’s theatres and more than a bit of panto season.) Set in the second half of 1920.

Four Walls and a Heart: This novella has Gil and Magni’s romance in 1882, with a trip to the seaside and a small mystery to solve.

Illusion of a Boar: Four specialists are brought together in the spring of 1944 for a secret mission leading up to the D-Day invasion. Two pairs of chosen siblings, magical innovation, a problem to be solved, and a romance.

Three Graces: Lizzie, Alysoun, and Thesan work together in 1945 in the wake of the end of the war in Europe in this novella. They want to solve an outstanding mystery: what happened to cause the deaths of Temple and Delphina Carillon in 1922.

And a bonus, two extras!

And an extra: Interstitial Moments follows Geoffrey and Alexander’s friends during and in the aftermath of Best Foot Forward. On December 22nd, I also shared As The Ground Shifts, an extra that covers both Illusion of a Boar and Three Graces (focusing on Orion and Claudio, with appearances by a number of other people.

You can find out more about how to get the extras here. (I’m about to redesign how I handle extras, so more to come about that in the near future.)

Things written in 2023

I wrote Four Walls and a Heart, Illusion of a Boar, and Three Graces in 2023. I also wrote three books coming out in 2024, Perfect Accord, The Magic of Four, and Facets of the Bench. More about those in next week’s post about what’s to come in 2024.

I also wrote several extras I’m hoping to get out in 2024, including

  • Arthur and Melusina’s point of view during Carry On
  • A sequence of Geoffrey Carillon trying to find someone he’s willing to marry (between Ancient Trust and Goblin Fruit)
  • Some precursors to Ursula Fortier’s romance, set in 1947.

Patreon and Discord

I launched both my Patreon and our Discord in January of 2023. Both have been far more than I’d hoped for! It’s my readers who make both such a wonderful thing, so if you’re reading this, please do come join us.

Both will be continuing in 2024. Patrons over on Patreon will be getting two extras a month instead of 2023’s one. (I have multiple sets that are precursors to the books they’re related to now, so no plot spoilers involved).

The Discord is full of chat, fascinating links, people sharing their historical knowledge with great glee, and of course periodic photos of pets, crafts, and cooking.

Website and Wiki

I’ve made some major upgrades to both this website and to my authorial wiki this year. I’m extremely pleased with both of them.

Here on the website, I revamped the theme. I’m using a new plugin (Mooberry Book Manager) that lets me create connections between books through tags, lists, and grids. That means I can now share books in all sorts of different ways, and make it easier for you, the reader, to find more books in different ways. Let me know if there are other options you’d like. Check out the pages in the menu under “More information” for a good look at these options.

(If you’re introducing a friend to my books, first, thank you! And second, the Reading Order Suggestions page has ideas on where to start.)

Over on my authorial wiki, it got a brand new theme in the spring. This allowed me to do some nifty things with colour coding to reflect character backgrounds. (In most cases, on their page it reflects their education.) I also added some additional ways to connect between books, maps, and timelines, and additional maps for portals and demesne estates.

You can find a guide to all this information if you’d like more details.

Coming shortly

I’ve got a few more updates coming in the near future (by which I mean “before 2024 starts”). They include how I handle extras and adding some family trees to the wiki.

By Celia

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