the Author

Category Archives: Elantra

Posted in Cast, Elantra, Essalieyan, Jody Lee, life.

As those of you who follow my Patreon know, at the begin­ning of July, I had a drive-by argu­ment with a chair in the living room, and lost. I managed to break not one, but two, toes. I have been off work at the book­store, but in theory will return on the 10th of August, the day on which I can take off the boot on my foot. Previous toe breakage did not require a boot. But I could stand on the foot in both prior cases. By the end of the day of the 2‑toe breakage, I was reduced to crawling because I couldn’t actu­ally put any weight on the foot at all. Which meant, when we went to the hospital, I went in bare feet; I couldn’t put even a sandal on. … Continue reading 

Posted in Elantra, covers, Mira, Kathleen Oudit, promotions.

I have the full cover for the new novel, Shards of Glass. I assume most people see the front cover at various retailers, so, as usual, post the cover when I have the full version. The cover design was done by Kath­leen Oudit, who I adore. I’ve stopped calling this the Magic School book because it turned left almost imme­di­ately. I don’t usually have to start the CAST novels multiple times; I sit down, I start. Maybe I’ll start a second time if the first attempt doesn’t hit the right tone, but the CAST novels have a tone. This book had to be started many times, and the even­tual begin­ning of the book was not the one I’d envi­sioned on any of the prior attempts. It’s not neces­sary … Continue reading 

Posted in Cast, Elantra, Essalieyan, writing, Mira.

Very early February, granted. I have finished Shards of Glass and have submitted it to my editor at Mira, which means it’s not tech­ni­cally finished until revi­sions have been requested and completed. This gives me a needed mental break from a book that was almost two weeks late, so I can return to it with a less panicked and more objec­tive frame of mind. When I say “more objec­tive” this is on the scale of writer neurosis, so keep that in mind :). While I wait on edito­rial input for two books, I have started the ramp up to writing two books; I have more of a head start on the West novel, but will take at least a week to reread all of Sun Sword and make notes. I tend, in real life, to forget … Continue reading 

Posted in Cast, Elantra, Mira, Publication.

November 29th is publi­ca­tion day for Cast in Eter­nity! …A day I had marked in my calendar as: “Optometrist appoint­ment: 12:30” T_T. It’s been that kind of month. Phys­ical books have made it to the store at which I work, and ebooks — I think — went out at one minute after midnight. So, fingers crossed, any preorders have been met, and anyone who prefers phys­ical books should be able to find it in stores. (As usual, the phys­ical books have a much wider avail­ability range, because the books have to get from a ware­house to all the corners of North America — or beyond! — before the 29th.) Links for ebooks, audio­books, etc. can be found on the book’s page (linked above). While I don’t link libraries, if budgets are tight, libraries should have the books … Continue reading 

Posted in Audio books, Cast, Elantra.

I have spent the last day doing my taxes (in Canada, the dead­line is the end of April. Except appar­ently when that falls on a weekend, in which case it’s the first Monday after the 30th). But, I have bits and pieces of news. My new editor is Leah Mol, new to the Mira team. Like me, she’s a Toron­tonian, so I got to meet her in person. I am feeling vastly more comfort­able now. First: I have been invited to be a Guest of Honor at the UK’s East­ercon in 2024, which will take place in Telford, between the 29th of March and the 1st of April. Second: The audio­book for Riven Shield is now avail­able.  It’s narrated by Eva Wilhelm, as all the West novels are, and (some) of … Continue reading