A Place With No Dawn Release Day

Today is the day, my friends! Order of Crows book three releases today. This one is really special to me. The first book in this series is the first book I ever finished writing, the first to get published (which is another blog post if you haven’t followed me until now), and my first foray into building an imaginary world of my own. I wrote what eventually became The Murder Meets at Dusk back in 2009 and, now, seventeen years later, I’m independently releasing the third book.

It has been a journey. A good part of that journey was spent with books two and three existing in varying degrees of unfinished and, at times, forgotten. I can’t say I’ve consistently worked toward this day for all seventeen of those years. It might be sad if I had and it still took me this long. But even through my times of not writing, this story has been with me. It took me until 2022 to revamp the first book, retitle it, and release it indie-style.

So, a quick word about the series. Order of Crows is contemporary dark fantasy, a save-the-world tale at its heart that is somewhat subversive on the trope at times. The main cast, the nine members of the Order of Crows, feels like an extended D&D party who are not always super-shiny. In fact, the main character, Aleister, uses black magic and some questionable paths to his goals. The story is also low fantasy–mostly–in that pretty much any fantasy/supernatural race exists within the real world. Gods, vampires, fey … all of those and more are layered over our world. Also, there are planar walkers and Aleister is one of them. The rest is an epic war the current Order has never seen the likes of. The first two books, The Murder Meets at Dusk and The Song of the Sparrow, are available now on Amazon. Well, so is A Place With No Dawn.

“We Crows grow up knowing the realities of pantheons and lack of, but sometimes I still wonder how it’s all possible. You serve one god. Some serve many. I serve none. Johnny killed one and became him. Legba and Marisa inherited godhood.”

Casper says all of this with a deep-creased frown. He’s staring at his sleeve and rapping his fingers against the tabletop. He has been agitated since they left the circle and came to the diner. Santino studies the younger’s fidgeting for a stretch of seconds before formulating a reply.

He doesn’t answer until Casper looks him in the eye.

“In every religion, the story starts more or less the same way. Humans are the result of the gods, born of them in some way. Descended from them or created by them. Often there were even half-breeds. Even my God chose a human woman—his creation and chosen downfall of man—to bear his son.

“Our gods also descended from something. They were not the first. We, as children of the gods are as different and countless as snow at high altitudes. You say you have no god, but you’re wrong. Chaos is your god, who has existed since before there were names.

“Humans are far more advanced than the race has believed for ages. The gods gave their power to us and we don’t return it. The cycle is broken and the connection is weak. That much is easy to recognize.”

Casper releases a short huff and shakes his head. Rather than distance as he usually does, his features harden. He says, “But that doesn’t mean anything to me. Chaos is not a god, it simply is, there as a tool to be used. It allows me to say nothing is real and everything is permitted, and I can trust that it’s true. So I don’t actually need the gods.”

Santino wraps his hands around his coffee mug, enjoying the warmth against his fingers as he considers Casper’s words.

“I think you’re missing the point,” Santino says gently. “The gods need us, and if we move too far in the direction of not needing them, they’ll fade and everything we know as our world will change. That was what the previous Murder was trying to prevent. How they did so was extreme, but ultimately it was a sacrifice to the powers that be.”

Casper’s eyes rim with tears. The sight gives Santino pause. This is a new level of familiarity to have Casper so up-front with his emotions. Something has definitely needled under his usually-quiet resolve.

“At the expense of their children,” he says with an edge.

“Yes, that’s true, but also to allow us the time and space to grow into our own roles,” Santino answers. He considers reaching across the table to put a comforting touch to Casper’s arm, but he also doesn’t think the gesture would be as comforting to Casper as it might at some other time. It’s obvious Casper needs to work something out so maybe Santino’s legendary patience might do him better than anything just now.

“Right. Our roles, and then the gods would deny us certain things,” Casper says and looks away.

Surprise flickers through the air and Santino’s breath hangs in his chest as he realizes what might be driving Casper’s anger. It’s big and unexpected … to a degree. Santino has seen the fascination in Casper’s gaze, the curiosity, but he maybe didn’t know that it ran as deep as it seems to now. It puts Santino behind a fence he doesn’t see a way to remove without compromising himself.

“Casper …”

“Don’t.”

One Week

Hello, friends! I’m dropping in with a little news and some excitement on my end. In one week, A Place With No Dawn launches and I’ll be published yet again. I know that has been the plan basically since I released The Stolen back in August, but now we’re almost there and it has started to feel surreal. There’s something to be said about the phases of indie publishing, and one of those things is that even after spending months, sometimes years, working on a book, once you get so close to it being a reality it stops feeling real at all.

I also know I said from the start it was a crazy plan. That’s still true. I’m staring at hindsight now, thinking . . . I really did release a book in August, release a joint-venture novella in December, and am dropping another book at the top of March. That’s not to say I wrote any of them that quickly. No, it took much longer and their completion just happened to line up in a way that I could do that. It’s still a lot. I can at least say I doubt you’ll see another release from me for a while after March 2nd. That’s fair, right?

I did register the other day for the Cocoa Village Book Fest. It was my first-ever event last year and, though I had hoped to have an earlier event lined up this year, things have played out so that the Book Fest on April 18th will again be the first of the year. That’s okay. I’m learning to trust the universe in things like this. Also, Mercury Retrograde is in full effect and I’m leaning into the downtime, other than promotion.

I’m going to try to drop another excerpt or character feature some time this week, but I’m not even promising that much. I’m finding the third book hard to feature because there are a ton of spoilers for the first two books throughout it. I do have an idea of my release day sample and I’ll say this. Though Casper is not the main character, No Dawn is making him seem that way. He insists he should get his own book eventually, which I may do, but it would be after I finish writing Crows 4. So, way in the future.

Anyway, I think that’s all the rambling for now. If I don’t see you before then, I’ll definitely be back on March 2nd to celebrate the release of A Place With No Dawn, Order of Crows book three. Happy Sunday, my friends!

A Place With No Dawn Cover Reveal!

It’s time, my friends! Order of Crows book three is just around the corner. I am extremely excited to have made it to this phase of this book. As I’ve mentioned before, there were plenty of times I didn’t believe a third book would ever happen in this series. Now, I’m staring down actual release.

A quick note before we get to the fun stuff. I mentioned in my last post that I’d be vending at the Brevard Library Con on March 1st, but the universe pretty quickly said, “No, you’re not.” So, due to unavoidable circumstances, I had to cancel on the Library Con. I’m sad it turned out that way but at this point I feel it’s wiser not to try to fight the whole universe. Trust that I will update about live events as soon as I have one to update about.

Second order of business, less sad, is A Place With No Dawn will release on March 2nd. I have a few last tweaks for the interior files–because of course I do–then the ebook preorder will go live and the book will be officially scheduled for release. True to life, my days have been fairly busy lately so it’s taking me a little longer than I wanted to have the final files in place. That being said, I want to have everything ready before Mercury hits retrograde on the 20th, because…buckle up.

Alright, with no further wait, I want to thank The Illustrated Author Design Services for once again giving me an amazing cover. Mel, you’re the absolute best! Y’all, go follow her on all the socials and give her some love! Because look at this…

Quick Update

Happy Monday, my friends! Sooooo…I got my cover for A Place With No Dawn and…good gods. I’m in love! Do I want to share it now? Yes. Am I going to? It pains me to say no. BUT it won’t be long. I’ve been eyeballing the calendar and also the encroaching Mercury Retrograde and I think I’ve settled on some dates. I’m currently awaiting the final final proof (because of course I ordered another one with all my changes and the actual cover). I’m also working on formatting the ebook, which shouldn’t take me much longer. So, look for a cover reveal on February 15th and probably release the book on March 2nd.

There’s no avoiding Retrograde for this timeline, so I’m embracing it. And I’ll be releasing during it. I’ve also nailed down my first event of the year, the Brevard Library Con in Melbourne, Florida on March 1st. Did I just cram my schedule full? Yes. Yes, I did. Zero to sixty, as the saying goes. Well, not exactly zero. I have been working on getting Dawn ready, but that’s pretty much all I’ve done this year. Although, if I think about it, I haven’t been counting Dirty Synth, and that’s not right. We put a lot of work into that novella. And, by the way, the physical copy finally went live after some rather annoying cover issues we had.

Buckle up. I’m back in the game. One more week and I get to show you the cover for A Place With No Dawn, Order of Crows Book Three! I’m excited!

That’s all the news for now. Check back on the 15th and share the love!

Title Reveal and Excerpt!

I can’t take it anymore, my friends. If you follow me on my socials you’ll know I kind of already quietly dropped the Order of Crows book 3 title, but today I’m making it official. I don’t have a release date, yet, but I will have a cover very soon, and I’m working on fixing the interior file from my proof. If I can make the release happen in February, I’m going to, but I’m thinking no later than March.

Before I say anything else, I want to say this: I am extremely proud of this book. I know, I always say that when I release a book. And it’s always true. But this one is special. This is my first book 3 of any series, and the Crows series holds a place in my heart that’s separate and above the others. Back in 2010, when the first iteration of the first Crows book was published, I had no plans of there ever being a third book. I thought I could finish the story in two. Well, that was entirely wrong. Eventually, I accepted there would need to be a book 3 and, foolishly, believed it would be a trilogy. Well. Also no. But I digress. In short, this series is my adult life’s work. Because I refused to give up on it, because I put the work in to rewrite and revise all the old words I had written, I am now to this point of releasing book 3 and still actively working on book 4 (which I accidentally titled in the revision of the third book, but that’s another blog post).

So, I’m proud. To everyone who wanted more Crows sixteen years ago, sorry it took so long, but I did get there. If you’re new here, Order of Crows is an ambitious, dark, contemporary fantasy tale of a magical and divine order tasked with protecting the heart of the planar structure. They are faced with a mysterious alliance of otherworldly creatures and forced to learn how to work as a team. This story has a little bit of everything–gods, fey, angels and demons, vampires, and some beings that I simply made up. It’s a grand mix of supernatural and fantasy elements and even has a dash of forbidden love (shhh). The first two books, The Murder Meets at Dusk and The Song of the Sparrow, are available on Amazon or anywhere I happen to be.

Now, without any more wait, I present…

A Place With No Dawn

Casper Lekkas is tired. Not just tired, bone-weary to the point where he can barely stand. Wide eyes look around. It’s storming? That seems like something he would’ve noticed before now.

Where am I?

The wind is howling. There’s dirt flying all around him. Not dirt. Sand? His first instinct is to shield his face with his arms, but then he realizes none of it is hitting him. His arms slowly lower and he studies the scene.

As the sudden fear fades as quickly as it came, he can feel the storm itself. It’s incredible, top-notch pure chaos swirling around him. He reaches out a hand but he still can’t touch it.

What is this place?

He looks down. With a gasp, he sees he’s not standing. There’s no ground beneath his feet.  He’s floating or flying.

Dreaming.

The answer comes to him with startling lucidity, a quality usually lost to him in his nightmares. He has never flown before in his dreams. No, his dreams are always running, stumbling and falling, always just out of reach of the things that hunt him. This one doesn’t look like one of his. It must be, though.

Someone is screaming. Is it him? Trembling fingers brush his closed lips. It can’t be him, so who? Casper can’t see anything past his arm’s length, so he’s not sure.

The raw power of the storm calls to him. His gate opens in answer. The chaos is in his veins and his head. Magic fills him completely, and it feels so right he wants it to never end. Yet he can’t see it on his surface. Nothing comes out of him. The energy just wells up to the brink.

His hand is still reaching for something, but he can’t feel it, just as he can’t feel the skin-to-skin contact of his fingers on his lips. That’s how he knows he’s not awake. He doesn’t care. He’d stay here forever.

Someone is close, he realizes with a start. He jerks back as his eyes focus. Not someone … exactly. It’s a black equine head with long ears and a serious black eye trained on him. Casper can see the sloping neck and midnight mane. The rest of its body is obscured by the storm.

Where did it come from? Was it there moments ago?

It feels like forever of them just staring at each other. There’s some emotion in the horse’s eye, something that feels huge. Casper’s magic goes still.

“Now is not the time. Here is not the place.”

The horse doesn’t speak but Casper hears those words all around him. The hand extended before him reaches a little farther toward the horse. Awe overtakes any other emotion he was feeling.

“Who are you?” he whispers.

Casper bolts upright, gasping. Everything around him is a blur and familiar panic washes through him. He struggles against a restraint that isn’t there. His hand hits something solid. It’s the sound of glass shattering that brings him out of the fog.

It takes a while for him to still himself and, after a few paralyzed moments, he affirms that he’s breathing. The area around him is quiet, dimly lit, empty. There’s a tang in his mouth that he knows is the aftertaste of his magic.

His eyes fly open and the world comes into sharp contrast. He’s on the old couch in what was once an office in the old theater where he lives. There are no windows, nor a clock, so he’s not sure what time it is.

He doesn’t remember falling asleep here. Sometimes he goes for a couple of days before he can sleep. When he does, it’s filled with half-dreams and memories, and, always, the nightmares.

This one was different. 

His gaze rolls around the space. He’s searching for his phone but what he sees is a radius of singed material around him. The couch is dark, melted, and still smoking in one spot. The floor is sooted and the paint on the wall behind the couch has bubbles in it.

He vaguely remembers calling on his magic. It didn’t work, though. Did it? Yet he’s surrounded by evidence to the contrary. The rest of his dream goes spiraling into the unknown.

Ding.

It was the most unobtrusive notification tone on the phone. It’s still annoying. Moments later, his active thought breaks through the habitual anxiety that rises when his phone makes noise. He was looking for that, right?

Book Review: As Below by Lynzee Schott

This is an unsolicited review.

So, this year I have made it one of my goals to start picking up more indie books and to read more in general. I’ve found a lot of cool folks in the TikTok community and there’s no shortage of interesting-sounding books to choose from. One of the first books I grabbed is a dystopian standalone called As Below by Lynzee Schott. It’s also her debut novel.

The book takes place in an underwater bunker community, the remnants of a population that fled the destruction of the world above several generations previous. Our main character, Samara, is twenty-six and questioning everything about Foxtrot’s rote way of life. I really appreciate a main who’s not a teenager, and Samara feels very real. She embodies the resiliency of the human spirit even when encased in what seems like the only way for society to survive. Rebellion always finds a spark in certain hearts, especially when the inevitable corruption works its way through those at the top.

As Below is written in first-person and present tense, which if you know me at all, you know is one of my favorite combinations to write myself. So I appreciate when it’s done well by someone else. The pacing is solid and the tension–well, it’s tricky. At first, it seemed like it wasn’t quite building, but then I was wound tight without realizing it had hit me. The last third or so of the book is a gut-clencher. And the end is a straight gut punch that I didn’t see coming and wasn’t prepared for.

Lynzee has several themes that run throughout the story, like Samara’s “opposite side of the coin” personality with her twin brother, and those themes are consistent, believable, and appropriate. Not only that, the characters are well-done and the twists are twisty. A special nod to the lack of romance, even as a sub-plot. Some authors might’ve been tempted to try to fit it in despite whether it makes sense or not, and this book stands strong without it.

Overall, five stars. I definitely recommend As Below. Stay till the end.

As Below is available on Amazon.

Dirty Synth is Live!

Friends! I have been waiting to make this post. I’ve spent the last few days doing all the final things necessary to load the first Sevina Gate novella onto KDP and hit that big red publish button. Okay, the button isn’t actually red, but … you know. Not the point.

After some discussion, Derrick and I decided to skip all the hype and stuff we’re supposed to do for a release, and just quietly publish our novella. That means we’re no longer being quiet about it. Dirty Synth, Sevina Gate 1 ebook went live this afternoon. That also means it will be available on KindleUnlimited, for those who partake.

Yes, I’m aware of the AI book buddy BS that Amazon has implemented. No, I don’t like it, but authors don’t have a choice to opt out of it, and I’m not willing to pull my titles and start over. It sucks I have to make that call, but here we are. No, I don’t support AI, but at this point, I have to deal with it, at least for now.

Anyway, I digress. This is a day for celebrating. This novella has been a long time coming. A lot of life has happened since we decided to give it a go. It has taken longer than we expected and wanted. But it did happen and we are so excited.

So what is Sevina Gate? First, it’s a novella series. Each novella follows different characters who are all intertwined in the bigger picture. The setting? A world that has been piecing itself together after a mysterious and catastrophic event flooded the planet with violent and chaotic creatures, an event that destroyed technology, society, and the ecology. This story has fantasy elements and races, dystopian vibes, and a touch of a scrap punk aesthetic. Oh, and the stories are spicy. Most of them. That’s not the whole point, though, the story is pretty deep, too.

Y’all, check it out!

What a Year It Has Been

Where do I even start? It’s New Year’s Eve and I can say with a certainty, at least, that this has been a great year for me. It might be the first time in the last several years that I can say that without a moment’s hesitation. Sure, there have been some curve balls, but nothing that took my knees from under me.

I guess the beginning is obvious, back in January 2025 when I decided to get really serious about being an indie author, and to stop relying solely on online marketing and sales. The moment when I decided the mister and I should start up an LLC to funnel everything bookish away from our personal finances really set the tone. And it changed everything. It made the author road real in a way it never was in the four-ish years previous that I had been self-publishing. We decided to take a chance. We took a chunk of our savings and turned that into our business investment. Black Feather Press LLC became an entity. I am eternally grateful for his faith and support, and the belief that it wasn’t a pipe dream or waste of time and money. And, despite all the costs (table fees, inventory, cover costs, etc.) we’re ending the year in the green.

What else? The decision to start a business really stemmed from the decision to do in-person book sales events. We did six events throughout the year, one of which I was invited to attend by the organizing book store. It was certainly a learning experience that will help me choose how we will approach 2026 as far as which types of events worked, which ones we enjoyed, and which ones we probably won’t do again. I look forward to many more such events in the coming year. I’m not going to lie and say it wasn’t scary putting myself in front of readers. It was terrifying each time, yet the feeling of watching my titles walk away with people who put their faith in me at my table is indescribable.

At the end of last year, a door nudged open for me to venture into editing. It was unexpected and the circumstances weren’t necessarily the greatest, but the path has become a viable one. I’m still and always learning all the rules I’ve been disregarding as a writer for years. It’s an entirely different kind of scary being trusted with someone else’s words, but the trust was there and the response to my work was good. Once again, the faith in me has humbled me and I am incredibly grateful.

I published my sixth book this year. Six. Sometimes I forget that this is a pretty impressive achievement, because before you can publish a book, you have to write it. Some people never finish one. Not only did I publish that book, I made some major revisions for the next release and, other than fine tuning and a last edit, it’s almost ready, too. Will I hit my absolutely ridiculous self-imposed goal of publishing the two books within six months of each other? No. But I was close. Am I really losing? Also no.

Guess what? The Sevina Gate novella 1 is in its final stages before release. I can’t claim the progress on that one. Those words have been written for a while, a few tweaks and revisions aside. However, the art is all in place and the cover is finished. I am so proud of Derrick for his progress this year. He had never done official art or made a cover before, and now he has done both. I literally have the proof in my hands. I have one last round to edit the words (it hits differently when it’s in book form), and once we’re happy with the interior, I’ll format the ebook and we’ll release that baby into the wild. Stay tuned for those details. It won’t be long.

If you’ve been following my blogs at all, you know that I decided to take November and December off from most bookish things. I cannot stress how good of a decision that was. After careening through the year doing all the things, it proved to be wise to give the rest of life some room. Life took all the room I gave it and if I had still been pushing so hard, I wouldn’t be ending the year on such a positive note. Even if you believe you’re a terminator, trust me, you’re not. I surprised myself by actually adhering to my own limitations. Other than a few things for Sevina Gate and maintaining an online presence, mostly on TikTok (since I finally embraced the platform), I have done well at my period of rest. That also means I am positioned to hit the ground running in 2026. Tomorrow, I’ll start formatting Order of Crows 3. Then I’ll proof Dirty Synth (Sevina Gate). And probably I’ll write something after a couple months of not doing that, either. I’m ready. Also, I have a new goal for The Nameless to become an audiobook, also thanks to TikTok and finding the perfect narrator.

It wouldn’t be an end-of-the-year post without a copious amount of gratitude. The list of people to thank is long, so I’m not going to try to name everyone because then I’ll miss someone. But know that I see you. I appreciate every tiny shred of support–in person, online, and behind the scenes. I wouldn’t be where I am without my community. Now and always, thank you. I love you guys. If you ever show support for an indie author and you think all those little things don’t matter. Y’all, they do. So much.

Here’s to 2026. May we weather the storms with resolve. May we celebrate our successes in kind. May we love deeply and speak freely. Cheers, my friends.

Excitement for The Nameless!

Hello, friends! I feel like I’ve been MIA around here, which was at least partially expected but still not my intention. The household is mostly mended from being collectively sick but, in true life fashion, we’ve had some other unexpected moving parts to deal with. Nothing bad (maybe surprisingly), just unexpected. So we’ve been fairly busy and, once again, this is an affirmation that taking November and December as down time was wise. I do think I’ll be implementing that as a personal rule from here on out.

That means my author activity has been limited to online marketing, mostly. No events scheduled, no release scheduled (yet), and no editing jobs until after the new year. I feel a more sappy year-in-review post coming–because what a year it has been–but that’s not this post. No, this is for something else that’s extremely exciting for me.

After my awesome experience with collaborating for Human Voices Only (a day for narrators and VAs to stand against AI narration, in case you missed it), I decided to see if the amazing talent, Ash Kelley, who read from The Nameless, would be willing to let me pay him for the full first chapter. He did not disappoint. As an indie, I’m not quite set financially to commission the full audio book, however, I did think it would be nice to keep that relationship open for the future. (If any of you would like to “donate” to that cause, you can support me by buying my books, available on Amazon in paperback and ebook.) I’m really excited to share the results with you here today.

Check out ashkelleyaudio.com and his social links. Go follow. Like. Love. Share. All the buttons. Please.

Because . . . listen . . .

Back From the Brink

Ah, my friends, it has been a while since I posted. Why? Well, let me just say there’s no better affirmation for my decision to take it easy this month than the sickness that hit this house like a speeding train. It has been more than a week since and I’m still not feeling fully human. While the initial symptoms faded as would be expected, I’ve been overly drained and easily tired. I’ve mostly only accomplished going to work and the bare minimum housework required for every day functionality. We slid on out of Mercury Retrograde, but I don’t feel like the pressure has eased just yet. Good thing there’s nothing I have to do, right?

That means it’s time to reassess the horizon. I think it’s a good practice to pause and do so every once in a while. Or for me lately, as often as needed. Probably the next big mark on the calendar is Christmas. It’s a holiday that doesn’t mean much to me personally, but there are still obligations that come with it regardless of how I feel. Mainly, if you have a kid, you kind of have to participate in some regard. So here come all the things associated–tree decorating, shopping, etc. Also a random Thursday off to throw the work week out of whack. Yay?

The only book-related thing I wanted to possibly, hopefully accomplish during this time was to get Order of Crows book three formatted. I have doubts that’s going to happen by the new year, however, I did learn that I will have a little extra time off from work because New Year’s day falls in the middle of the week. So I’m eyeing that time for said formatting. It should be about a day’s worth of dedication to get it done. Having already formatted six books has its perks, no? The only reason I’m pushing to have it done by then is because I need that finished page count for cover purposes.

Once the book is formatted and I’m waiting on the cover magic, I’ll work my way through the manuscript one (maybe two) final time for fine tuning in an actual proof copy. From there, I figure out release logistics. I’m kind of leaning toward less hoopla and buildup for said release. I’m not sure yet. But it’s the third book in a series and that means there are a limited number of people who would be excited for it. The other hand thought there is that it might catch interest of readers who were previously unaware of the series. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about all of that just yet, and I don’t have to make any decisions for now. We shall see.

Bottom line is this: If I do manage to launch this book at the top of next year, I will have published two books in less than a year. Does that really mean that much in the overall picture? No. Not really. But it would mean something to me. There was a long time in which I didn’t think the Order of Crows story would be published at all, and now I have a finished third book. It feels good, y’all.

I think that’s all for now. I might need a nap after this. But I’ll be back soon.