The Lord of the Wood releases in one month, so I’m kind of like

but also I’m kind of like. mmrff. unghfff. because I’ve been exhausted since losing my day job, like my body is like “oh thank god, finally the chance to rest!”

and I have to keep reminding it, no, baby, I’m very sorry but there’s still…stuff to do.

on the plus side, I have basically no events until release week now (except a discussion with Emily Jane tomorrow in Ann Arbor about her new book, Mr. Yay, and WriteHive Con, which we’ve already recorded). so I’ve been spending a lot of time since the Big Ohio Book Con either horizontal on my couch or playing with the new kitten we found in our garage at the end of May.

(Halloween is thus far considerably less enthused than we are about having a new kitten in the house.)

I’ve also been drawing Peter Shaughnessy from The Keeper of Lonely Spirits as a sopping wet cat being begrudgingly adopted by Samira and David, because “sopping wet cat of a man” is how one Tumblr mutual keeps describing him, and. it’s pretty accurate. and the mental image is hilarious.

goodreads giveaway

my publisher is running a giveaway for 10 copies of The Lord of the Wood over on Goodreads, now until publication!

click here to view the book’s page and enter the giveaway.

preorder The Lord of the Wood

click here to preorder the paperback or ebook from Bookshop. click here to preorder the audiobook from Libro.FM.

the cozy fantasy of TJ Klune meets the creeping horror of T. Kingfisher in this magical novel about a man who enters a deadly enchanted forest expecting it to endanger his life, but not his heart…

clockmaker Arthur Throckmorton lives a quiet life with his sister and her children, only dreaming of adventure. so when a wealthy client offers him a job that involves traversing Shiftleaf—an enchanted forest that claimed his father decades ago—he reluctantly accepts. the forest is treacherous, but the money will change his family's lives.

the journey quickly turns perilous. fleeing monstrous birds, Arthur stumbles upon a hidden vale where he meets the Lord of the Wood—a figure from his father's many stories. instead of the fairy prince Arthur always imagined, Ira is a morose man, slowly transforming into a beast, his power over a dying forest waning.

Arthur enjoys the safety of the vale, and Ira's company. but he yearns for his family. to safely return home and rescue Ira from a cursed and lonely existence, Arthur and Ira must reach the heart of the wood to heal the forest. except the farther they venture from the vale, the more beastly Ira becomes. if they can't complete their mission before he turns completely, Arthur could lose the man he's falling for—and never see his family again.

for more preorder links, click here.

upcoming events

here are July’s events, mostly clustered around release day for The Lord of the Wood!

WriteHive Virtual Conference, July 10-12

a free, virtual conference featuring a variety of authors and topics. I’ll be on two panels:

• Cozy Stories and Why They Matter, Saturday, July 11 at 7:00p.m. EST

• Representation Matters: Bridging Creative Gaps, Sunday, July 12 at 10:00a.m. EST

while this event is free, registration is required. click here to register, or click here to view the full conference schedule.

Gathering Volumes, July 21

join me on release day to celebrate the launch of The Lord of the Wood! I’ll be at Gathering Volumes in Perrysburg, Ohio, from 6:30 to 8:00p.m. EST.

the event is not ticketed and no registration is required, but preordering a copy of the book ensures the story will have enough for everyone. click here to preorder from Gathering Volumes.

Black Cat Books & Oddities, July 23

join me the Thursday of release week at Black Cat Books & Oddities in Medina, Ohio! this is the store that brought you the Big Ohio Book Con, which I attended this year as a moderator, so I’m looking forward to visiting the shop itself during release week.

the time for this event is TBD, but I’ll post on socials closer to the day of the event plus update my website when I can! click here to preorder from Black Cat.

virtual launch with Kamilah Cole, July 24

join me and the lovely and delightful Kamilah Cole (An Arcane Inheritance) to celebrate the release of The Lord of the Wood from afar! U.S. attendees will be entered to win a copy of The Lord of the Wood and An Arcane Inheritance (must be present to win). the event will run 7:00 to 8:30p.m. EST.

this virtual event is free, but registration is required. click here to register.

Booksweet, July 25

join me and author Darren Cools (Light in the Canyon) at Booksweet Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a final launch event the Saturday of release week!

I’ll be at Booksweet from 6:00 to 7:30p.m. EST. click here to preorder from Booksweet.

odds & ends

recent reads

• Mona Tewari’s debut Burn the Sea, a fantasy novel inspired by the real life Rani Abbakka Chowta and the Portuguese attempt to invade coastal India in the 16th century

• as research for a WIP of my own, Ian Mortimer’s The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England

recent watches

• I keep meaning to get to the movie theater and haven’t done it yet, but I DID watch the first season of Heated Rivalry while visiting my parents earlier this month

recent listens

• Ethel Cain’s Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, another rare case of me listening to a recent album that other people are also aware of and listening to

• …and in a much more on-brand move, Andrea Bocelli’s Romanza because it was a dollar at the antique store I visited during the Big Ohio Book Con, and I love “Con Te Partirò”

  • you see, I’m never “not listening to what other people are listening to these days” in a hipster way, just in an “I am out of touch with pop culture and usually I’m listening to music everyone else was listening to twenty years ago” way

recent birds

• I saw some Mississippi kites when I was in Georgia, which just goes to show that I really need to get down to my parents’ house at times that are not Christmas so I can see even more birds!

until next time!