My 2019 Reading Favorites

I read 79 books in 2019, which is lower than last year. Considering that I read a lot of my own books (either in editing or in preparing to write something new in a series) that number is actually more like 67. In looking at my spreadsheet where I track my reading, I see long weeks where I didn’t read anything at all. That’s the tradeoff for me as a writer–either I’m reading or I’m writing, but I’m rarely capable of both at the same time.

But I read a lot of really great books this year, enough that I rated only eight books three stars or fewer. I’m getting better at picking the ones I know I’ll love. I also didn’t read a lot of recently published books, which makes me sad, but since I own almost 1200 books I’ve never read, there are a lot of years to catch up on.

I used to do a complicated “best of” summary, with a bunch of categories, but I’m finding that’s less appealing these days. So here are my favorites for the year, listed alphabetically by author (links to my full reviews below):

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry, Fredrik Backman. I picked up several of Backman’s books at the thrift store (I am addicted to thrift store book shopping) and pulled this one at random from the shelf. It’s simply delightful. I love the way it addresses storytelling and fantasy, and the way the various characters’ lives are intertwined fascinated me.

Inkling, Kenneth Oppel. This beautiful middle-grade fantasy hit all the right buttons: excellent characterization and character interaction, a clever plot, and witty dialogue. Add to that just the right balance of humor and seriousness, and you have a winner.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn, Dana Simpson. The introduction by Peter S. Beagle draws a connection between this adorable graphic novel and the work of Bill Watterson, and he’s so right! This reminded me in places of Calvin and Hobbes while still remaining itself. I really need to read more of this series.

The Haunting of Maddy Clare, Simone St. James. This ghost story would be unremarkable if it weren’t for its setting (post-WWI England) and the wonderful characters. It was a four-star read for me until I finished it and realized I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I have a number of St. James’ books lying unread on my shelf, and I need to read more of them soon.

Airs Above the Ground, Mary Stewart. I binge-read most of Stewart’s books this year, and while Nine Coaches Waiting remains my favorite, this was a close second. It’s thrilling and romantic, and Stewart is a master of description.

Exit Strategy, Martha Wells. Despite Martha Wells being one of my favorite authors, I put off reading the Murderbot series until this year. Exit Strategy is a stand-in for the series as a whole, but it was also my favorite of the four novellas–or maybe I just continued liking each of them a little better than the last. In any case, I highly recommend this series!

A few more notable mentions:

My best re-read this year was Flora’s Dare by Ysabeau S. Wilce. I’d forgotten how much I loved the book, which is quirky and irrepressible YA fantasy, and it made me wish for more novel-length fiction in Wilce’s world of Califa.

The best first novel was Mary Stewart’s Madam, Will You Talk? The title is weird and off-putting, and it’s maybe a little strange to celebrate a first novel published in 1955, but it astonishes me how good Stewart was right out of the gate.

I normally also like to celebrate my favorite of the books recommended to me, but this year almost all of my notable books were recommendations. But I want to mention one more book I really enjoyed that was recommended to me, which is Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin. I am not a fan of Jane Austen retellings, because I don’t get anything out of them I can’t get by re-reading a Jane Austen novel. But this was only loosely based on Pride and Prejudice, and I found the characters and their relationships fun and refreshing.

I hope 2020 will be another stellar year for reading!

12 Days of Fantasy for Christmas 2019!

It’s that time of year again! I’m thrilled to be a part of this blog tour with 9 other fabulous authors, and I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know them and their books. Also part of the tour is a giveaway for an Amazon Fire tablet and a $50 Amazon eGift Card, perfect for stocking up on holiday reads!

ENTER HERE

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On Tour with Prism Book Tours

12 Days of Fantasy for Christmas We’re excited to be sharing books from ten fantasy authors with you this holiday season! Each day a different author and book or series will be featured. There is also a fabulous giveaway! If you’re a fantasy fan, join us on this tour! Tour Schedule (Posts go live on the day they’re scheduled.) December 1st: Launch December 2nd: Rebecca Belliston – Heart of Red, Blood of Blue December 3rd: Morgan L. Busse – Flight of the Raven December 4th: Jes Drew – Tales of Parallel Worlds December 5th: Ronie Kendig – Brand of Light December 6th: Alisha Klapheke – Fate of Dragons December 7th: Jessica Leake – Through the White Wood December 8th: Belle Malory – Electric Skies December 9th: Melissa McShane – Burning Bright December 10th: Jennifer Silverwood – Blackbriar Cove December 11th: Melissa Wright – Shadow and Stone December 12th: Grand Finale Books on Tour

Blogs Participating ACME Teen Books – Kids and Teens Too! Andi’s Book Reviews Angel’s Guilty Pleasures Baroness’ Book Trove Beauty in the Binding Better than Rubies Candrel’s Crafts, Cooks, and Characters Christy’s Cozy Corners Daughter of Increase FaithLaneAuthor Hallie Reads Heidi Reads… J. L. Mbewe Jessica Belmont Jorie Loves A Story Library Lady’s Kid Lit Locks, Hooks and Books My Life Loves and Passion Nicole’s Book Musings Paper Ink & Lizard Paulette’s Papers Reading Is My SuperPower Remembrancy The Rustic Reading Gal Wishful Endings Tour Giveaway 1 winner will receive an Amazon Fire Tablet and a $50 Amazon eGift Card Open internationally (as long as winner is eligible to receive prizes) Ends December 16, 2019 ENTER HERE

SHADOW PROPHET special offer

Today I’m featuring something new–not my own book, but one by fellow author Andrea Pearson. She’s a great writer who’s published so many exciting books, and today she wants to share an opportunity for you to pick up her new book and win some free stuff! But I’ll let her tell you about it…

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Hi, everyone! My name is Andrea Pearson, and I’m super excited to share my newest book with you! Shadow Prophet is about a man who is being blackmailed into murdering the woman he loves. It’s a fast-paced, nail-biting story—a true escape from every-day life and concerns. (Because how many of us aren’t trying to get out of murdering people we love? Er… please don’t answer that question. :-D)

I’m positive you’ll enjoy this story. To help you get started, I’m sharing a teaser from the first chapter below. Everyone who downloads Shadow Prophet between now and October 20, 2019 will be gifted some AWESOME stuff, including free novels, exclusive stories, and commissioned illustrations. Details on how to get your bonuses are in the author note at the end of Shadow Prophet!

Here’s the description for Shadow Prophet:

Bound to destroy the woman he loves…
 
Abel hasn’t seen Lizzie in at least seven years, and his experiences since then have changed him significantly. He’s sure he’s moved past his earlier crush, that he’s immune to her carefree and bubbly personality, but the moment his eyes land on her, he knows he’s still in love. Instead of a joyful reunion, though, he only suffers agony at being in her presence again. Because he’s being blackmailed into murdering her.
 
If you enjoy high-stakes fantasy action and fast-moving paranormal stories, you’ll love Shadow Prophet, book one in an addictive fantasy romance series. Grab your copy now from one of the following retailers:

Amazon.com   ~   Apple   ~   Kobo   ~   Nook
 
Or click here for your specific retailer and region/country.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this book! Here’s that teaser from the first chapter to whet your appetite:

Shadow Prophet

Chapter One

I refused to look in her eyes as I pulled the knife from her now-still heart and wiped the blade, her blood staining the fresh white cloth I’d brought for this purpose.

She hadn’t struggled.

None of them had yet, though I wasn’t sure why.

My heart thudded dully against my ribs, making me choke on unwanted emotions. I wouldn’t allow myself to think, to feel. Not yet.

Before her magical powers could flow away, I removed a vial from my backpack, holding it against her temple while chanting words I’d memorized months earlier.

A silver-blue, steam-like gas flowed through her skin like smoke from dry ice. With gentle waves of my other hand, I encouraged it to enter the vial, then put the cap on and carefully tucked it back into its protected pouch for later retrieval.

Five down.

Two to go.

The last two would be the hardest.

I still couldn’t believe I’d ever done the first.

Finally, with my jaw clenched, I looked at her face, so stricken now in death. It had been happy, excited even when she’d granted me access to her apartment. I reached over and closed her eyelids, hating that I was the last thing she’d seen.

I’m so sorry. I cleared my throat and shook my head. Plead my case when you get there. I hope you’ll understand.

I took a shuddering breath before lurching to my feet and stumbling away from the body.

No one would miss her, not for a very long time, regardless of how powerful she was or how well known or loved.

He had seen to all those details a long time ago.

I made sure my things were packed away before pulling my phone from my pocket and sending a quick text to the number I’d saved in my device a few days earlier.It’s ready.

Grab your copy of Shadow Prophet to continue reading!

Amazon.com   ~   Apple   ~   Kobo   ~   Nook

Click here for your specific retailer and region/country.

The long journey to THE BOOK OF MAYHEM

Today (April 16) is release day for book three of The Last Oracle series, The Book of Mayhem (previously titled The Book of Death, more on this name change later). It comes nearly ten months after the second book in the series, The Book of Peril. This is a really long time between releases for me, and led to people wondering why the delay. Here’s the story.

Last year, I was having trouble with the company that published some of my books (the Extraordinaries series and The Last Oracle specifically). Royalties were late, emails I sent were ignored, and I was gradually becoming more concerned about the state of the publisher. In July or August, I submitted two books for them to accept or reject: The View From Castle Always and The Book of Death. While I waited on their decision, my relationship with them continued to deteriorate. I ultimately decided not to publish Castle Always with them, but agreed to review the new contract they claimed would resolve many of the issues.

Unfortunately, the contract didn’t satisfy me, as it contained no clauses that would hold the publisher’s feet to the fire when it came to meeting deadlines. So I told them I would not be publishing The Book of Death through them, but would release it under my own publishing imprint.

But I had a lot of other books I was dealing with, in particular the new Company of Strangers series, and I was still writing The Last Oracle series, and releasing the third book in a series under a new imprint is complicated. You have to make sure people understand it’s still the same series, even though the cover art and design are different, and I didn’t have a new cover artist lined up. (Cover design is not my specialty. I do the covers for Company of Strangers, but those are based on a template a very talented designer produced for me.)

In October, I reconnected with a friend who is also an award-winning cover designer, and having seen her work, I knew I wanted her to take over for The Last Oracle. I’d also decided if things with the publisher weren’t resolved by November 1, I would start proceedings to get the rights back for the five books they’d published. The plan was to start designing the cover for The Book of Death in mid-January, and to rebrand the first two books to match right after that. This was important because The Last Oracle is nine books long (they’re all written!) and I needed to confirm that this designer was on board for the whole series.

November 1 came and went with no change to the problems I had. A few weeks later I started nagging the publisher about rights reversion. I knew several authors had already received theirs, which reassured and worried me: reassured because that suggested they weren’t likely to fight me on it, worried because it confirmed my suspicions that the company was circling the drain and I needed to get out fast.

It took them two months to respond and send me the rights reversion letter. I’m still tangled up with them in terms of back royalties and the insanely complicated situation with the audio rights, but I had control of the two series and I could move forward.

I received the rights reversion around the same time the cover design process started. At this point, I was planning on a late February release for The Book of Death. The designer and I were both so excited–she’s a fan of the series and loved the idea of being involved in its creation. We talked initial plans and she went to work.

And then I didn’t hear from her for a month.

When she finally got back to me, I understood why it had taken so long. We’d originally wanted to do a design without a model on the cover–finding suitable poses for NINE BOOKS is incredibly hard, and I prefer the abstract style anyway, like the US covers for Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series. But the designer takes her work very seriously, and before she started designing, she did research on contemporary fantasy. And what she found was that most covers in that genre feature a model on the cover.

This was a major bump in the road, because the designer wasn’t as experienced with working with human figures, but we were both willing to give it a try. I pushed the release date back a month, and waited again.

This time, when she got back to me, she was discouraged. None of the designs she’d tried worked well, and it was looking like she might not be able to do it at all.

But I really liked her work, and the idea of finding someone else to do the covers–someone who would be around for all nine–was wearying. So we made some new decisions. She would go back to the original idea of an abstract design with a central image, and if she couldn’t make it work within a certain time period, we’d call it quits. I pushed the release date back again and settled in to wait.

But it turned out this was the right decision. She came up with the new design almost immediately, along with rough sketches for the first two books (for branding purposes). The problem was, the cover for The Book of Death looked like a horror novel. It was beautiful, and it was clearly the right approach, but everyone I showed it to agreed it said “horror” instead of “contemporary fantasy.” Which is when I realized the problem wasn’t the design, it was the title. The Book of Death was never not going to sound like horror no matter what we did to the design.

With the new title, The Book of Mayhem, slapped into place, the final cover turned out perfect. The designer used the thorny branch as the focal image (when you read the book, you’ll see why it’s appropriate) and that was it. I had a cover.

At that point, I had to choose whether to release the third book immediately, or wait until I could relaunch the series. When I looked at the calendar and realized how long it had been since The Book of Peril, the choice was clear. And today, the payoff from the ending of The Book of Peril is finally available to readers. I hope The Book of Mayhem is worth the wait.

A Year in Reading: 2018 Wrap-up

2018 was a good year for me with writing and publishing. I published six books, wrote four (and one that was a failure), did some short fiction, and generally had a great time. I also did more reading than I expected, finishing 100 books! Some of those were my own as I did final read-throughs pre-publication or read back through a series in preparation for writing the next book, but most were new to me. Here are the six that stood out above the rest, in alphabetical order by authors, with links to my full Goodreads reviews:

The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill: This middle-grade fantasy was simply delightful on all levels. By times humorous and deeply moving, it’s the sort of book that satisfies all ages of readers. It was assigned reading for the fantasy workshop I took in April, but it was on my radar before that–and I’m glad the workshop pushed it up on the TBR list. It has so much to say about family, both the ones we’re born into and the ones we make for ourselves, and I found myself in tears more than once.

Crush, Svetlana Chmakova: I’ve been a fan of Chmakova’s graphic novels for years, but I think her Berrybrook Middle School books are her best work yet. In this third volume, gentle giant Jorge, defender of the weak, is caught up in an unexpected crush on Jazmine–but the story goes so far beyond that into issues of honor and respect and body autonomy without being preachy that it blew me away. I recommend the whole series, starting with Awkward and Brave.

‘Salem’s Lot, Stephen King: I am not a reader of horror, and Stephen King’s writing is generally too harsh for my tastes, so I wouldn’t have picked this up if not for the aforementioned fantasy workshop. So I think I loved it more because I was not expecting to love it at all. I read it in two sittings and was never frightened, though it was extremely tense in places. It helped me discover that I only like books about vampires when they’re evil villains; I’d always thought I just didn’t like vampire stories. Probably my love of Dracula should have told me different, huh? But ‘Salem’s Lot was just fantastic.

The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu: Another fantasy workshop book, and here I’m solidly in the minority. Most of the other attendees hated it, but I fell in love with the characters enough that I have no interest in continuing with the series. That really does make sense, I promise. The story ended with everyone happy, but also with hints of how that happiness was going to be destroyed, and I don’t want to see that. The book reads very much like a tapestry, with little gems of stories shining here and there, and it’s also the first epic fantasy I’ve enjoyed in a long time.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows: I’d been meaning to read this for a while, ever since my daughter fell in love with it, but it got lost in the pile (I own over 1200 books I haven’t read). Sometime last year my daughter found out I hadn’t read it and was horrified, so I sat down right then and read it. It’s not a typical World War II novel right up front, and it’s an epistolary novel, which I’m a sucker for, so there was very little chance I wouldn’t love it. I didn’t know anything about the Nazi occupation of Guernsey, which made the whole thing feel very fresh, and the romance is adorable.

Nine Coaches Waiting, Mary Stewart: I have a Goodreads friend who loves this book, and it had been years since I read anything by Mary Stewart (and that was the Arthurian saga, not her thrillers). It’s an older book with older sensibilities, but it suited my mood precisely. I was even okay with the instalove, because it made so much sense that the main character would not only fall in love at first sight (essentially) but also that it would turn out to be the real thing. It was beautiful, and I intend to read more Mary Stewart in the coming year.

So that’s my 2018 in books. I’m looking forward to a new year with more books to read and write!

Hearts and Swords BIG Promotion!

 

 

 

 

 

I’m part of the Hearts and Swords ebook sale at Miranda Honfleur’s site May 11-13. Most books are either 99 cents or free on Kindle Unlimited. This is a great opportunity to buy romantic fantasy books and maybe find a new favorite. Check it out!

12 Days of Fantasy for Christmas blog tour

I’m taking part in a FABULOUS fantasy book tour for the first 12 days of December! Each day features a different author, so this is your chance to find new books and win a great prize. See the schedule below, and happy reading!

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

 

12 Days of Fantasy for Christmas
We’re excited to share books from 12 fantasy authors with you this holiday season! Come back here or check out one of the participating blogs each day for a different author. There is also a fabulous Fire Tablet and ebook giveaway! If you love fantasy, you don’t want to miss this!

 

Tour Schedule
December 1st: Sarra Cannon
December 2nd: W.R. Gingell
December 3rd: Nikki Jefford
December 4th: K. D. Jones
December 5th: M. L. LeGette
December 6th: Belle Malory
December 7th: Melissa McShane
December 8th: Sara C. Roethle
December 9th: R.K. Ryals
December 10th: Jennifer Silverwood
December 11th: Melissa Wright
December 13th: Grand Finale
 

Books on Tour



 


 


 

 

Tour Giveaway


1 winner will win a FIRE HD 8 TABLET from Amazon along with the following ebooks:

– TRITON’S CURSE by Sarra Cannon
– MASQUE by W.R. Gingell
– AURORA SKY: VAMPIRE HUNTER by Nikki Jefford
– A WHITE SO RED by K.D. Jones
– THE TALE OF MALLY BIDDLE by M.L. LeGette
– THE TWELFTH KEEPER by Belle Malory
– SERVANT OF THE CROWN by Melissa McShane
– THE XOE MEYERS TRILOGY by Sara C. Roethle
– TEMPEST by R.K. Ryals
– CRAVING BEAUTY be Jennifer Silverwood
– THE DESCENDANTS SERIES by Melissa Wright
– REAWAKENED by Morgan Wylie

Open to US residents or those who are eligible for the Fire Tablet in their area (those who are not, can receive cash value through PayPal)
Ends December 17th

Sneak peek at THE BOOK OF SECRETS

My next book, THE BOOK OF SECRETS, is coming out in January. This first book in the new series The Last Oracle is the story of a young woman whose new job as clerk in a mysterious bookstore turns out to be more than she could have imagined. Here’s a look at the first chapter:

The Book of Secrets, Chapter One

Bookstores were supposed to smell of old leather and dry paper. This one smelled of onion, of musty dry air trapped for centuries underground, smells that hung in the frigid air like invisible curtains. Aside from my own breath, the store was perfectly still, without even the whoosh of passing traffic to remind me of the world outside.

I took a few steps toward the bookcases, peering around them for some sign of Mr. Briggs. Should I wait for him, or did he expect me to follow while he answered the phone? I’d had exactly three job interviews in my life, not counting the one that had gotten me the job at McDonald’s the summer I was sixteen, and I had no idea what the protocol was. My shoes, sensible pumps, tapped quietly across the cracked yellow linoleum, spangled with silver stars that time had worn to gray blisters. Still no sign of life.

I straightened my skirt and took a seat on the folding chair next to the door. I stifled a shriek when my bare legs brushed the freezing metal. The chair wobbled when I shifted my weight, and I held still, afraid it might dump me off. I really didn’t want to touch the floor. It wobbled again, and I shot to my feet. Maybe standing was the better option.

The wooden counter to my left was curved plywood stained walnut-dark, topped with a sheet of glass cracked like the linoleum. A stack of remaindered pop psychology books declaring I could Master My Potential! weighed it down at one end, and the antique cash register took up the other. It looked more like an art piece than anything functional, with brass filigree decorating its sides and back, and a Victorian valentine complete with lace appliqued to the top. It was hard to believe it was anything more than a conversation piece, but I’d seen Mr. Briggs use it when handling a sale ten minutes ago, so it wasn’t a joke.

It had been a surprise when someone actually bought a book. I didn’t think anyone was brave enough to squeeze between the shelves. They were packed so tightly that if two people tried to negotiate the same aisle, one would have to back up to let the other pass. The highest shelves were well beyond the reach of an ordinary person, at least eight feet tall, and I hadn’t seen a stepladder. And the books… it made me shudder to look at them, crammed in any old way, flat on their faces or standing at attention, with more books piled on the tops of the bookcases. The idea of this going on for several hundred square feet gave me chills.

I went to the nearest bookcase and examined the titles. There was no theme to their organization: a cookbook sat next to a book on the Prussian military campaign in 1805, which was next to a novel titled Translations in Celadon. I removed a book and sniffed its spine. It smelled just as it ought, of dry paper and dust, and that reassured me. The store might be strange, the organization nonexistent, but at least the books were sound. I’d half-expected to smell mildew or cigarette smoke.

I heard a distant voice, barely more than a whisper. “Hello?” I said. “Mr. Briggs?” The whispering stopped. A draft of frigid air brushed my ear, making goose pimples rise up on my arms. The voice spoke again, but I still couldn’t understand it. I turned around fast, suddenly nervous that someone had managed to come in without my hearing them. No one. Either my imagination was piqued by my unusual surroundings, or the store was haunted. By the onion-scented ghost of a former owner, no doubt.

Heavy footsteps sounded, and I quickly put the book back and sat in the chair. “Sorry,” Mr. Briggs said. He was a short man with a paunch and a yellowish, jaundiced cast to his skin, wearing gray slacks and a blue and gray argyle sweater vest over a white button-down shirt. A pair of very old-fashioned half-moon glasses perched on his blond head, apparently forgotten. “A long-time customer. We try to keep them happy, of course.”

“Of course,” I said, wondering at “we.” Mr. Briggs, as far as I could tell, ran the shop alone. It was why I was there. “Do you do a lot of business online?”

“Not online,” Mr. Briggs said. He pulled a metal stool that looked like the distant cousin of my chair around from behind the counter and sat, drawing his feet up to rest on the lower rung. “We deal strictly in the catalogue trade. Most of our customers don’t use the internet at all.”

“I see,” I said, though I didn’t, really. “So… phone calls, order forms…?”

“Exactly. And walk-in customers. We don’t get as many of those these days. The neighborhood hasn’t exactly gone downhill, but much of the foot traffic has been diverted west. People have to make an effort to reach us, which is probably to the good.”

No organization. No customers. No desire for customers. And the place smelled strange. I clasped my hands in my lap, atop my purse. I ought to leave, thank him for his time and say I didn’t think I was a good fit. But that would be rude. “I wasn’t quite clear on the job description,” I said. “What would my—the duties be?”

“Cash register, of course,” Mr. Briggs said. “Stocking new inventory. Filling catalogue orders. Light cleaning. Then there’s the opportunity to move up to customer relations. It’s not very demanding work, but you’d start at fifteen dollars an hour and work your way up from there.”

Fifteen. That was almost half again what I could make at the Pick ‘n’ Pack, which was my only other job lead so far. “It sounds interesting,” I heard myself say.

“Then it’s settled. How do you feel about starting now?”

I gaped. “Ah… don’t you want to interview me?”

“No need. Your resume is exactly what we’re looking for.”

“But…” I felt, perversely, as if I should talk him out of it. “My resume is practically empty.”

“Which means you don’t have any bad habits to unlearn.”

“That can’t be a solid basis for hiring someone!”

“It isn’t.” Mr. Briggs took his glasses off his forehead and settled them firmly on his nose. “But our other criteria won’t matter to you.”

“I think I have a right to know what my qualifications are.”

“All right. You’re punctual, you’re quiet, and you know how to type. Do you want the job or not?”

I wobbled on the chair again. “I do.”

“Then I’ll show you where you can put your things, and you can get started.” Mr. Briggs stood and moved the stool back behind the counter. “Do you have any questions?”

I had so many questions I felt choked with them. Naturally, I came out with the most irrelevant one. “Abernathy’s. The store. Who’s Abernathy?”

Mr. Briggs smiled, making his cheeks puff up like a blond chipmunk’s. “An excellent question,” he said, and moved off into the stacks without saying anything more. I stood unmoving, confused, for a few seconds before remembering I was now an employee and shouldn’t stand around gaping.

Mr. Briggs showed me the tiny room, barely more than a closet, that in any other store I would have called a break room. It contained a small folding table and a couple of those freezing metal chairs, a wooden coatrack with two of the pegs sheared off, and a miniature refrigerator and microwave. I reluctantly hung my coat on one of the remaining pegs—the place was still bitterly cold—and followed Mr. Briggs to the room opposite, which turned out to be his office. Stacks of cardboard boxes full of glossy catalogues stood waist-high against the far wall, tilting haphazardly against one another.

Mr. Briggs sat in a rolling office chair and leaned over to open the bottom drawer of the tan melamine and chrome desk. “This is the employee agreement,” he said, coming up with a single sheet of paper. “We’ve never seen the point of a lot of paperwork. Read it first, if you want, but it’s fairly basic. Then you sign here and here.” He pushed the phone, putty-colored and older than I was, out of the way to lay the paper on the desk.

I read the document, which was handwritten in green ink. Abernathy’s wasn’t interested in my address, my Social Security number, my mother’s maiden name, or anything else. There were just a few paragraphs outlining the job description Mr. Briggs had given me, a few more paragraphs in which I asserted that I wasn’t a felon or a drug dealer, and then, bizarrely, a line that read I, _______ , swear to uphold the standards of Abernathy’s without fear or favor, and to seal its secrets in my heart, for as long as it remains in my charge.

“What does this mean?” I asked.

“It means you won’t disclose confidential information about our patrons,” Mr. Briggs said. He had his eyes fixed on the document, not on me, and his fingers drummed restlessly on the melamine. I hesitated. “Is there a problem?”

“… No. No problem.” I signed with the leaky plastic ballpoint he handed me, then gave pen and paper back to him and watched him countersign on the line below my signature.

He folded the paper in thirds and rolled backward to put it away in the top drawer of the filing cabinet. Then he unlocked the desk’s middle drawer with a small brass key and opened it. “Mailing list,” he said, handing me a sheaf of paper. “We send out a catalogue three times a year. You’ll type the labels, address the catalogues, and have them ready for me to take to the post office tomorrow morning.”

“All right,” I said. The list was ten pages long and the addresses written in a cramped, faded hand. “Where’s the computer?”

“No computer. We don’t have any need for them.” Mr. Briggs indicated a smaller desk behind his own. On it was an electric typewriter in a pebbly beige case. I’d seen ones like it before. In a museum. “There are labels in a box in the filing cabinet. Let me know if you need anything else.”

When he was gone, I took a catalogue from the topmost box and flipped through it. The glossy, slick cover had a blurred photo of the storefront under the name ABERNATHY’S. Someone stood next to the front door, possibly Mr. Briggs, though the photo was blurry enough it was impossible to tell.

Inside, there was no table of contents; lines of tiny print spread neatly in two columns across gray recycled paper. I ran my finger down the columns, accidentally smearing the cheap ink. I didn’t recognize any of the titles, which weren’t in alphabetical order. Some catalogue. I dropped it back into the box and regarded the antique typewriter with a sigh. All right, it wasn’t all that antique, but forty years old was still old enough to qualify. I wasn’t even sure I knew how to use it.

I found the labels and some blank white paper in one of the drawers of the filing cabinet. I practiced for a bit with the paper until I had the hang of the thing, then inserted the labels and started typing. For all the handwriting was crabby and small, it was easy to read, and I soon fell into a rhythm that let my brain wander pleasantly, far away from this store that smelled of onion.

My parents would be thrilled I’d gotten the job, though they’d be just as thrilled if I was working at the Pick ‘n’ Pack. What they wanted was for me to be employed, period, so I’d move out of their basement and become a responsible adult. Not that they were as blunt about it as that. They’d been generous in letting me pay rent and some of the grocery bill, and never nagged me about my future. I was lucky, really.

I came to the end of a sheet of labels and inserted a fresh one. My mind wandered away again. I was twenty-one years old; you’d think I’d have some idea what I wanted to do with my life. But I’d graduated from high school without making much of an academic splash, had made it through a couple of years of community college before the money ran out, and now… Well, this wasn’t the best job in the world, but if I could stick it out, maybe get a raise—did Mr. Briggs offer benefits?—I might, at some point, come close to having a clue about my future.

I heard whispering again, and turned around fast, knocking the list to the floor. Nothing. I got up and opened the door. The hall outside was empty. I shut the door again and shook my head. I was being stupid. Just because the bookstore and Mr. Briggs were a little weird didn’t mean I had to let my imagination come up with more weirdness. I was level-headed and not superstitious, and I was wasting time.

The mailing list had fallen splayed-out on the floor. I leaned over to pick it up, and a wave of dizziness struck me. For a moment, the room was outlined in flickering blue light. Then it passed, and I sat clutching the list in both hands. That had been strange. I bent over and sat up again, but felt nothing but a brief pressure as the blood rushed to my head and away again. The room looked perfectly normal. Shrugging, I spread out the mailing list again and resumed typing. I could ask Mr. Briggs… and have him decide his new employee was mentally unstable. It could stay a mystery.

By the time I reached the end of the mailing list, I was starving. I checked my watch. 1:17. I hadn’t brought any food because I hadn’t expected to start work immediately. There was a market around the corner. Mr. Briggs had to give me some sort of lunch break, right?

Mr. Briggs was gone when I left his office. I checked the break room and knocked tentatively on the washroom door; both were empty. I quickly used the toilet, which was as ancient as the typewriter, probably had one of those 3.5 gallon tanks that weren’t legal anymore, washed my hands, and ventured into the bookstore proper. Most of the bookcases were knocked together out of plywood and lengths of unfinished yellow 2x8s, though there were a few proper cases of polished, chipped oak and two blackish-brown units that came from IKEA. I sidled between them, unwilling to call out Mr. Briggs’ name into the silence of the store. The hush was so profound I imagined the books were sleeping.

Just as I’d begun a reverie about putting books down for a nap and imagining what kind of lullabies they would prefer, I heard the door open, then slam shut with such force it rippled through my skin. That couldn’t possibly be Mr. Briggs. I hurried to the front of the store, feeling a sidelong sense of responsibility at being, as far as I could tell, the only Abernathy’s employee on site. Then I felt embarrassed at my reaction. It was a store. People were supposed to come in and browse, Mr. Briggs’ odd notions to the contrary. Even so, I probably shouldn’t give anyone ideas about shoplifting.

The man was standing next to the counter when I emerged from the maze of bookcases, as if he’d been waiting for me. In his three-piece pinstriped suit, handstitched leather shoes, and heavy gold watch, he looked as out of place in Abernathy’s as a computerized cash register would be. He was studying his watch, but looked up when I arrived, and I felt caught by his dark-eyed gaze, pinned to the nearest case like a captive butterfly. “Who are you?” he said, somewhat irritably.

“Helena Davies. I started work this morning.” I immediately wished I hadn’t sounded so defensive.

Irritation gave way to surprise. “Nathaniel hired you? Impossible.”

I swallowed a sharp response. The customer is always right, especially when he could probably buy this whole store twice over. “Can I help you with something?” I said, hoping he’d say no, because the only help I was capable of giving was directions to the toilet, which wasn’t for public use.

“I doubt it,” the man said. “Who are you?”

I regarded him more closely. He was good-looking, with fashionably styled dark hair, and no more than thirty, but he had an air about him that would have better suited an octogenarian with a Napoleon complex. “I don’t know why you’re so sure I don’t belong here, but I’m certain I signed an employment contract,” I said, trying not to think about how irregular the paperwork had seemed. “Maybe I should go get Mr. Briggs.”

“You do that,” the man said. “Nathaniel must be in the basement. Why don’t you bring him here, and I can convince him to be sensible.”

“I don’t know—” I shut my mouth. I felt I’d already told this man too much. “Please wait here,” I said, and backed away. Turning my back on him made me nervous.

I hadn’t realized there was a third door beyond the office and the break room. It was flat plywood, stained dark like the walls of the short hallway, with an iron knob that looked like a black knot against the wood. I opened it to find stairs descending into perfect blackness. A string swayed in the faint breeze of the opening door, and I tugged on it, lighting a single dim bulb that didn’t do much more than set shadows moving.

The steps were raw wood, splintered on the edges except where hundreds of feet had worn them smooth. They didn’t creak under my weight, to my surprise; I’d almost expected the cries of the damned with every step. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a light switch. I flipped it on, and a couple of fluorescent bulbs flickered into life. They cast a brilliant light over the small, cold basement with its dark concrete floor. I looked down, and screamed.

Mr. Briggs lay face down a few feet from the foot of the stairs. Dark blood spread across the back of his argyle sweater and pooled beneath his chest and head. I stumbled forward and knelt beside him, scraping one knee on the cold concrete. His eyes were closed, and I fumbled at his throat for a pulse. I didn’t know how to find a pulse. I didn’t know how to do any of the things you were supposed to do to see if someone was alive. I leaned far forward, holding my hair out of the way, and put my cheek near his mouth. No warmth, no breath.

Someone thundered down the stairs. “Move back,” the strange man said. I scooted back, tugging my skirt over my knees, and watched the stranger crouch over Mr. Briggs and repeat the same movements I’d made. Finally, he stood up and put his hands on his hips. “Nathaniel,” he said. It sounded like a reprimand. As if Mr. Briggs was in trouble for being killed.

“What are you—we have to call the police!” I reached for my phone and came up empty. I’d left it in my purse—no pockets in this skirt. I felt my breath coming in quick, ragged pants and forced myself to stay calm.

“That would be a serious error,” the stranger said. “Starting with the fact that you’d certainly be their first suspect.”

I gaped at him, panic welling up again. “Are you crazy? Look, I don’t have any blood on me, I hardly touched him! There’s no reason to suspect me!”

“You were alone in the store with him, you are a new employee—you might have killed him to get at the contents of the cash box.”

“Then why would I stay around to call for help?”

The man sighed. “I’m not saying they’d convict you. I’m saying they would make your life hell for a while. Is that what you want?”

I looked at him, at his height and the way he stood, and felt more chilled even than the basement could account for. “I… think I’ll risk it.” I took a few casual steps toward the stairs, never letting my eyes leave his face.

“I didn’t kill him,” he said, exasperated. “I don’t have any blood on me either, do I? And I think whoever stabbed Nathaniel in the back would be at least a little bloody.”

“How do you know that’s what happened?”

He pointed. “There’s a gash in the back of his sweater. You can see where the blood collected there first and made the fabric curl. Look, whoever you are, you can’t be stupid or Nathaniel wouldn’t have hired you. Somebody came into the store and killed Nathaniel, and you’re damned lucky whoever it was didn’t realize you were here, or you’d have joined him.”

I sat down heavily on the second stair from the bottom, my vision clouding over. “They had to know I was here,” I said. “That typewriter isn’t quiet.”

“It’s not important,” the man said. “What matters is we need to get someone to take care of Nathaniel’s body. Someone who isn’t the police.”

“That’s insane. We have to tell the police. People don’t just ‘take care of’ dead bodies.”

“The police will draw far too much attention to this store. No, we’ll handle this matter privately. I’ll need your permission to—”

My permission? What do you mean, ‘privately’? I’m calling the police.”

The man focused on me then, his attention an uncomfortable knuckle digging into the base of my neck. “What’s your name again?”

“Helena. Helena Davies.”

“And you’re certain Nathaniel hired you today?”

“Yes.”

“Well, Helena Davies,” the man said, his lips curving in a sardonic smile, “you’ve just inherited this bookstore.”

 

News, news, and more news

Here’s some updates on upcoming releases and ongoing projects:

  • I’m no longer offering the Convergence trilogy for free, but the first book, The Summoned Mage, is available for FREE at all major online retailers. Links are on the page here.
  • The next Crown of Tremontane novel is the first book in the Willow North trilogy, Pretender to the Crown. It will be published September 19 and is now available for preorder at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, the Apple store, and others.
  • The next Extraordinaries novel, Abounding Might, will be published October 3. This one will be available through Amazon only (this is something my publisher does, sorry!).
  • The first book in my new series The Last Oracle, The Book of Secrets, will be out in mid-January. This is a contemporary fantasy about a young woman who takes a job at a bookstore and discovers it’s hiding a world of secrets.
  • I’ve started writing a new series! The book, titled Company of Strangers, is old-fashioned adventure fantasy with wizards, warriors, thieves, and strange magic. 400 years after wars both magical and mundane devastated the world, men and women called scrappers take jobs to locate ancient relics and explore lost ruins. The young wizard Sienne, trying to escape her past, takes a job with a team that is anything but unified. But what they find is far more than an ordinary ruin, and forces them to work together or face death. I’m afraid I’m the only one who will like this, but I’m having fun writing it!
  • And in other news, Burning Bright is a semifinalist in the 2017 Kindle Book Awards!

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT about Sesskia’s Diary

I started writing Sesskia’s Diary as an experiment in epistolary form. It very soon grew out of control. While I was publishing one or maybe two entries twice a week, I was writing well ahead of schedule. The diary is now complete, and I’ve just been posting excerpts on that twice-weekly schedule. The plan has always been to publish the whole thing as a book, or several books, as soon as it was all up on the blog.

But I’ve run into a problem. I’m impatient, and I want everyone to be able to read the story. The slow pace of the blog schedule means if I keep to twice a week, I’ll finish in a couple of years. Even going to a daily schedule is going to take forever.

So I’ve made the hard decision to stop publishing Sesskia’s Diary on the blog and offer it for sale as the trilogy Convergence, with the individual books being The Summoned Mage, The Wandering Mage, and The Unconquered Mage. (Currently Sesskia’s Diary is in the middle of The Wandering Mage.)

I realize this may come as a disappointment, since I’m now going to be charging for what I was offering for free, so I’m making a special offer available for readers of Sesskia’s Diary. Write to me at [email protected] with the subject line Sesskia’s Diary, and I will send you the ENTIRE Convergence trilogy, which contains bonus scenes from Cederic’s point of view. Convergence goes on sale in one week, so you’ll have it in advance of publication.

Thanks to those of you who’ve been reading along. I hope you enjoy the conclusion of Sesskia’s adventures!