Release News: Iron Souls Three

Posted by on Apr 12, 2018 in My Books | 1 comment

Heart of Iron: Iron Souls, Book Three will release on April 30th, but it’s available for preorder now. Check out the cover, blurb, and other details below. Having seen Grayson’s future, Briar is ready to meet his past… Captain Briar Rose has eluded the law, outwitted the soulless, and defeated a fully devolved ferromancer. Now she faces her biggest challenge yet. She must convince Esme, one of the females of the ferromancer race, to teach her how to use her own ferra magic. But nothing in the ferromancer world ever goes as Briar plans, and dealing with Esme is no exception. Briar anticipated the woman’s arrogance and condescension, but she didn’t expect a lab full of macabre samples. It seems Grayson had left out a few details about Esme’s past, and the more Briar learns, the more she wants to punch the woman. But fisticuffs—warranted or not—aren’t an option. Not when Esme is her lone hope for finding some answers. It won’t be easy, but Briar must find a way to make this partnership work. Otherwise, she will never master her unique talent, or use it to save Grayson from his fate. Read an excerpt here: Heart of Iron Preorder a copy:...

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The Story Behind Iron Souls

Posted by on Feb 25, 2018 in Iron Souls, My Books | 17 comments

From alchemy to magical metallurgy… My new steampunk flavored fantasy is a bit different from the urban fantasy I’ve written before, but those who have given it a chance seem taken with the unusual setting and unique magic system. I’ve had quite a few folks ask about the inspiration behind this story, so I thought a blog post was in order. An Epic Journey On a Slow Moving Boat Back in 2010, I discovered steampunk and decided I’d like to try my hand at writing one—once I finished my Final Formula series. My first consideration was where to set the story. One of the defining features of steampunk is the Victorian setting, but I wasn’t comfortable writing a story set in London. I wanted to keep it closer to home. But what was going on in Ohio during the late 1800s? Then it hit me. What if the story was set on a canal boat? As with my Final Formula story, I was once again taking the familiar and giving it a magical twist. The overgrown bed of Ohio & Erie Canal is just a few miles from my house, and with today’s modern roads still following its path, I travel along it everyday on my way to work or into town. Though it ceased operations after the flood of 1913, there were people alive when I was a child who remembered the boats. The old timers even called the road into town the towpath. But I needed more than a setting, I needed some characters and a conflict. With my story set on a canal boat, I decided to make my main character a boat captain. The conflict would deal with the railroad because the two transportation systems were in competition, and since I was shooting for steampunk, I needed some gadgets and advanced tech, which is where the magic came in. What if I had a race of people who could create a magical alloy that gave them a technology more advanced than the steam power of their day? And what if one of them was working for the railroad? Voilà! Ferromancy was born. But had I written a steampunk story? By definition,...

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Iron Souls Two: Release Date

Posted by on Feb 11, 2018 in My Books | Comments Off on Iron Souls Two: Release Date

Soul Singer: Iron Souls, Book Two releases on February 26th, but it’s available for preorder now. Here’s the cover, blurb, and link… Captain Bridget “Briar” Rose only wanted to stop the railroad’s expansion and save the canal life she loves. She didn’t intend to make herself and her crew outlaws, or stumble into a magical world she knew nothing about. And she certainly didn’t mean to damn a man, but that’s exactly what she did to Grayson, a brilliant railroad engineer who turned out to be much more than he seemed. To set matters straight, Briar is on her way to Cleveland to meet with a woman who may be able to help Grayson. But getting there won’t be easy. Wanted posters are everywhere, an old…friend is stalking Grayson, and he’s attracted the attention of the Scourge—the executioners of the ferromancer world. If she’s to keep Grayson safe, Briar must pretend to be his keeper. Which won’t be easy. Not when she knows so little about his world and her own newly discovered magic. Can she fool those who know that world so well? Or will Grayson pay the price for her failure? Read an except here: Soul Singer Preorder a copy here:...

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New Year, New Series

Posted by on Jan 19, 2018 in My Books | 7 comments

Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. Is it just me, or does each year seem to pass a little more quickly? But a new year is a chance for a new beginning and this year, I’m taking that to heart. I’m excited to be launching my Iron Souls series and I hope you’ll join me on the ride. A canal boat ride, that is. In case you’ve missed me rattling on about it, Iron Souls is a steampunk-flavored fantasy set on an Ohio & Erie Canal boat in the late 1800s. The first book, Ferromancer, was released in a multi-author bundle last year, but the book is now mine to send out into the world on its own. Speaking of new things, I’m going to give Kindle Unlimited a try. It requires exclusivity with Amazon for 90 days, so that’s the only place this series will be available initially. I know that everyone doesn’t buy from Amazon, so I’m going to make each book available on Smashwords (where you can purchase the book in the format you need) for a few days prior to releasing the book on Amazon. Once the entire series is out (I’m planning a five book series), I’ll publish the books in all the usual places. Thanks in advance for your patience while I give this new publishing avenue a try. That said, Ferromancer is already live and currently available on Amazon and Smashwords. I plan to move it into Kindle Unlimited in February, and will be releasing the second book the same month. I’ll share a release date for book two as soon as I have one. Meanwhile, I’ve already started posting snippets over on my Facebook page. UPDATE – Ferromancer is no longer available on Smashwords, but it is available in Kindle Unlimited. Here’s the cover, blurb, and retailer links for Ferromancer: Captain Bridget “Briar” Rose wants for nothing. Each day is a new adventure, living the life she loves, running cargo on the Ohio & Erie Canal. That is, until her cousin decides to sell the family boat to finance a new business venture. He wants to build locomotives for the...

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Whispers on the Wind – Release Day

Posted by on Aug 11, 2017 in My Books | 5 comments

Releasing today: book one of my Final Formula spin off series!   Whispers on the Wind takes place between the last chapter of The Fifth Essence and the epilogue. As you will recall, Doug offered his family home as Era’s first renovation project for her new business. In this book, you’ll see how that’s going–and meet Doug’s brother.  🙂 Read an excerpt here: Whispers on the Wind Available at: Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple...

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Spin Off Series Cover Reveal and Release Date

Posted by on Aug 10, 2017 in My Books | Comments Off on Spin Off Series Cover Reveal and Release Date

If you’ve been following along, you’ve heard me talk about the Final Formula side story I’ve been writing that features two characters from the main series, Era and Doug. I had planned this single novel to be one last romp in my Final Formula world before I jumped into something new, but things didn’t go as planned. There turned out to be a lot more story in my little side adventure than I realized and it became a series in its own right. So without further ado, here’s the cover and blurb for Whispers on the Wind, the first book in my Death’s Legacy Series. Era Brant couldn’t have asked for a more perfect project to launch her interior design business. The Nelson mansion has many hidden wonders: cherry support posts, natural stone floors, and an abundance of paranormal activity. As an avid ghost hunter, Era is drawn to the house for more than just its nineteenth-century charm—especially when she gets a little ghostly help with the proposed architectural plans. As the new Deacon, the leader of the Old Magic community, Doug Nelson is catching a lot of heat about letting Era and her New Magic contractor renovate the home of their Community’s founder. But Doug’s troubles don’t stop there. His brother Declan has returned home after a messy divorce and befriends Era. Doug was hoping the renovation project would be a chance to get to know Era better. He doesn’t need his brother butting in. Era doesn’t know what to make of Declan, but when he admits that he’s been communicating with the mansion’s ghost since childhood, she finds a new ally. With his help, she might be able to figure out what this ghost wants. But giving a ghost what it desires can be a risky venture, and as Era knows, dealing with the Nelson dead takes that risk to a whole new level. Read an excerpt here: Whispers on the Wind Release date: Friday, August 11th Yes, you read that right. Tomorrow. Which will be crazy because Ferromancer released on August 8th in the Dominion Rising Boxed Set. Yes, the lady who took over eight months to write The Fifth Essence...

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