Happy start of the holiday season, everyone! I don’t know about you, but the last three months of the year always end up as a blur — really, from my birthday onward. September and October are often busy months, and this year I was on-the-go even more than usual! Then it all just snowballs from there.

A lot of me cannot believe that 2025 is almost over — and a lot of me is really, really ready for it to be. 🙃

News

I know your mailbox is likely inundated with things this weekend, but I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know that From Unseen Fire is on sale through the end of Monday 12/1!

In other writing news: A few weeks ago, I finished the draft of Shattered Souls, the enemies-to-lovers romantasy I’ve been working on for over a year (and that I had hoped to finish, ah, five months ago. 😳)

And as soon as I finished, I knew I had to majorly revise the first act for a big change. It’s a good one! It tightens the action and simplifies some mechanics. I’m almost done with that. At the time of writing, I have eight scenes left, only two of which have significant tangles to work out. The rest need very little adjustment. And then it will be time to print the whole damn thing out and do a hard copy read & revise. I’m hoping to have that finished by the end of the year so I can pass it off to my agent straightaway in 2026!

Random Thoughts

So what’s on for me for the rest of the year? Well, we are entering the next phase of development season at work (and if you’ve got kids who want to go to Camp Half-Blood, registrations for Mythik Camps are open! And if we don’t operate in your city, scroll to the bottom of that homepage, fill out the interest form, and then recruit a bunch of your friends to do the same. 😉)

What I’m super looking forward to, of course, is the big family Disney trip in mid-December. My parents have not been to the parks since 1995. I’m really, really excited to show them all the things that have changed. They have (wisely) left all the planning entirely in my hands (and those of you on Patreon may have seen the 63-slide presentation I prepared over the summer to help them let me know what’s most important to them.)

It’s a new experience for me, though! I’m generally just making plans… for me! Apart from just balancing priorities, energy levels, walking speed, and endurance for three different people, I’m going to have to learn how to manage Lightning Lanes for a group. It’s also pushing me to do some things I wouldn’t usually do, like spending time on sit-down dining and resort experiences. It’s going to get me to some new places, and I’m really jazzed. I’ve also never done Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays is the last of the park’s four Festivals I haven’t yet been to, and I’m really looking forward to both of those.

What I’ve Been Reading

• A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

• The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

• The Last Soul Among Wolves by Melissa Caruso

• A Magic Deep and Drowning by Hester Fox

• The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott

• The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula

• Queens at War by Alison Weir

As always, those are affiliate links from which I will earn a small commission.

It’s been a good couple of reading months! Last Soul Among Wolves is a brilliant follow-up to one of my favorite reads last year, Last Hour Between Worlds. I’m so happy to have finally read The Witch Roads, and I’m looking forward to the second half of the duology. Then A Thousand Nights and The Wrath and the Dawn are among the things I read for work purposes, as we’re doing something with Shahrazad this summer, but I enjoyed both in their own right as well.

Wrapping It Up

Looking ahead to 2026… well, it’s gonna be another busy one! But maybe I’ll save those details for a December newsletter… (though if you caught my latest Video Diary on Patreon, you’ve already got a hint for one big thing!).

May the end of the year treat you kindly and well!