Age of Deception Small Teaser

To celebrate the completed proofing and formatting of Age of Deception, I've decided to give you a small teaser of what's coming.

Enjoy!

13 days until the book goes live!!

Teaser

Kira's smile was hard. "As I said before, this is a private party. We'd appreciate you leaving."

The leader settled a heavy hand on Kira's shoulder. "How about you be the one to leave?"

"Uh oh," Raider said, alarm snaking through his expression.

He had a right to be concerned. Kira had a thing about uninvited touching, and this Tuann had crossed her invisible bubble in a big way.

"If I were you, I'd take your hand off my shoulder before I break it." Kira was no longer as concerned with playing diplomat. Quickly she calculated the possible consequences of starting a fight, for once wishing Jin would chime in with his thoughts and opinions. He'd studied Tuann law. He'd likely know the possible repercussions.

Quiet fell, spreading throughout the bar as the patrons focused on the unexpected drama. Kira spotted Rheya and Devon among those present and stuffed down the part of her that would like nothing more than to start a bar fight.

"I'd watch your mouth, mongrel. You and your humans are a travesty. They should have put the lot of you down. It would be a mercy." He raised his voice so the rest could hear. "I question Roake's strength if they accept one such as you within their ranks."

Tension filled the air as no one moved.

Kira's lips quirked. "Raider, do you hear yapping?"

He stuck one finger in his ear and jiggled it around. "Yeah, it's kind of high pitched. Sounds like one of those little toy dogs—or maybe a puppy. It's hard to be sure."

ARC Sign Up

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Age of Deception Release

It's almost time! The cover is finished. The preorder is up. A last edit of the copy is currently being conducted.

That means it's finally time to unveil the next book in the Firebird Chronicles which will go live on February 5. Enjoy!

War hero and daughter to two Houses, Kira is just beginning to learn how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Agreeing to accompany her father’s people back to their homeworld, Kira Forrest prepares for the fight of her life. She’s agreed to undertake the Trial of the Broken, a rite of passage every member of her father’s House must pass. It offers a path to independence and freedom that is too tempting to deny.

Not everyone welcomes this lost daughter of Roake. There are those who fear what her presence might bring to light. Betrayal stalks the halls of Kira’s birthplace—its roots embedded deep in the events that claimed her parent’s lives and set her on her current path.

Walking the wire’s edge between truth and deception will test the person Kira has become as she separates ally from betrayer. An old enemy has put into motion a plan that could topple the balance of power in the universe. Letting them succeed spells doom—but the price might be more than Kira is willing to pay.

Click here for Chapter One. Warning--the chapter ends on a minor cliff hanger!

Preorder on Amazon

I will add other store preorder links on my website as they go live.

The Perils of Inspiration

Most of the time I love the way my brain works. The twists and turns, the way random conversations in my head will make me laugh for no reason. It's what makes me, me. It's why I create the stories I do. It's why I'm rarely bored. There's always some bad guy to thwart or battle to win in the stories I tell myself.

It's not so fun when my brain offers up a brilliant stroke of inspiration that if followed would require me to scrap a good portion of the work I've already crafted in Aileen 5. Nearly all of it, in fact.

I'm early enough in the process that this is doable. On the other hand, the last two books where I've tried to "fix" a beginning, I've screwed the book up more. It's left me in a bit of a quandary. I'm frozen in place until I make a decision one way or another.

Some people think writing a book is a straight shot from A to B. It can be. For most of my books, it largely is--but not always. Sometimes, it takes a few false starts and an odd tangent or two to find my way.

Decisions both large and small, especially at this stage, set the scene for the rest of the book. There's a reason my writing is slower at this stage; why I don't achieve the high word count I'm used to. I haven't built enough momentum for the story to carry itself forward. Making a wrong decision will make the middle and back half of the book torturous to write and lead to more extensive rewrites when it comes time to edit.

I don't quite know which direction I will go yet. Perhaps what I've already written can be re-purposed into a short story. Perhaps my brilliant idea only seems brilliant because I haven't started working with it yet. Only time will tell.

Firebird 2 Deleted Scene

I'd planned to do a beginning of year post detailing what books are coming up, but I'm not feeling it today. Here is a deleted scene from Firebird 2 instead.

It takes place right before the last scene of Rules of Redemption in which Graydon completely upsets Kira's plans to ride off into to space. It features a character that will play a big role in the next book.

As soon as I get the cover finalized, I will post the first chapter and the release date of Firebird 2.

Until then, hopefully this tides you over.

Firebird 2 Deleted Scene