Sun Huntress Announcement!

The year is coming to a close, and before the holidays hit it's time to share some details on the latest in-progress volume of The Moon People saga. Those who read through Daughter of the Night will have already gotten a sneaky look at the title: Sun Huntress.

( Warning - Daughter of the Moon spoilers ahead! )

Taking place five years after the events of Daughter of the Moon, the story finds the great clans of the Moon People in a time of peace. Rumours regarding the mysterious witches who serve Den Mother Adel swirl through the packs. Their power is feared and respected, for everyone knows the tale of foolish Alpha Miral, who met his end when he tried to claim the witches' magic for his own.
But far away from Adel's valley, another female-dominated clan dwells in the swamps near the coast of the great water. Clan Mother Octavia, rival and once-betrayer of Adel's trust, finds herself burdened with a wilful daughter who refuses to find her place among the pack. Her name is Kiren, and she has inherited neither the dark hair nor the level head of her mother.
Tiring of her daughter's behaviour, Octavia sets Kiren a task: both a journey, and a punishment. She is to travel north, seek out Den Mother Adel's witches, and learn the craft of a seer by becoming one of them. But while the great packs may be at peace, ghosts lurk in the lands of the Moon People. The world beyond Kiren's homeland is full of mysteries, and she soon finds herself thrown into a quest fraught with danger, friendship, romance, and tragedy. Though she has been set on the path to becoming a seer, Kiren's journey will teach her of the huntress that lies within her heart.

Much like Daughter of the Night, Sun Huntress will be wear the suffix "A Book of the Moon People", focusing on a shorter side story rather than being a direct numbered sequel. That being said, the novel will also serve as something of a prequel to book three of The Moon People saga (title TBA), which will pick up right where Sun Huntress ends.

So, why another side story? Why a new main character? Well, that's a great question, since Sun Huntress is a novel that wasn't originally supposed to exist! My plan was to go straight from Daughter of the Night into book three, but during the initial planning phase I started to realise something pretty important about the story I was telling. The character of Kiren is intended to fill a key role in book three, and I always knew I was going to spend some time focusing on her backstory with Octavia's clan, detailing her journey north to find the witches, and just generally establishing her as a strong character before introducing her to the rest of the cast.
But that led me to a problem. I noticed that the amount of material I had outlined for Kiren was almost enough to be its own book, and that including it all in novel #3 would mean numerous departures from the main story to follow what Kiren was doing.

I am strongly of the belief that if a novel has to keep cutting between disparate storylines for an extended period of time, then those stories should probably just be their own books (everything involving Daenerys in the first few Game of Thrones volumes, I'm looking at you). So I decided to spin Kiren's introduction off into its own novel and flesh out what I had, making it a semi-optional prequel to book #3 rather than an awkwardly paced part of it.

While Sun Huntress will focus on a lot of new characters, there'll also be some cameos from the existing cast. Caspian, Khelt, Adel, and Netya will all poke their heads in at some point. We'll see a little more of Octavia, and there'll be some fun insights into how her female-dominated pack live their lives.
But perhaps most excitingly (at least for me!), Sun Huntress will see the return of book #1's vindictive antagonist, Vaya, and you can bet your butt she's going to be more than just a cameo. But how has she changed in the six or so years since we last saw her? Maybe, just maybe, she might be a little more than an antagonist this time around.

The Alpha's Concubine is now free!

Yep, the whole book! Now that the series is expanding I have decided to make the first instalment in The Moon People saga free. You can grab copies at the following links:

Smashwords
Amazon
Google Play

As per usual it may take slightly longer for the price drop to filter down through to some other retailers and store pages, but it should be happening soon.

The publication structure of The Alpha's Concubine was always a little awkward, since I had been used to serialising my novels at the time. As the book (and later the sequels) went on, however, I started to regret this decision, as it seemed a little confusing and out of place for a story like this. Since the entire novel is now free, I'm removing the serialised segments from stores so as not to clutter up my catalogue or cause unnecessary confusion. The only exception to this is Part One, since that edition currently holds the lion's share of the reviews for the series on most retailers. I figured I'd keep that one around for the time being until the complete novel (hopefully) gets some more reviews to let buyers know what to expect.

Aside from that, the next novel in The Moon People saga is underway! Expect more detailed news about it in the coming months.

Daughter of the Night Release!

Daughter of the Night is all done and releasing in three days on October 19th, with pre-orders now available at the following links!

Amazon
Google Play
Smashwords
Kobo

Daughter of the great Alpha Ulric, young Adel is both blessed and cursed with a will every bit as strong as her father's. She does not understand why he must send their pack's warriors to fight and die against their greatest rival, Alpha Kotal, but as a youngster and a woman there is little she can do to intervene. As blood and sorrow paint the path of her clan's destiny, Adel's future seems a hopeless one. The young seer longs for power, and the strength to create a better future for herself, but all her dreams of greatness may be less than her heart truly desires, for a chance meeting with a boy from a foreign pack reveals to Adel a different path. Perhaps, somewhere within the headstrong young woman's soul, there lies a sliver of something softer, gentler, and tender enough to steer her away from an inevitable clash of wills with her father.

It's been a breath of fresh air writing this one, and somewhat of a return to my earlier days of writing more bitesize content. Not that Daughter of the Night was a short project, by any means, but it wasn't quite the heavy 150k+ word undertaking of the last two novels in the series. I'm quite happy with the turnaround time on this one, too, given that a pretty sizeable month-long disruption of my writing schedule happened in the middle of it (there's always at least one, it seems).

In the future I plan to focus on more shorter books like this alongside weightier mainline entries in the series. My focus remains on expanding The Moon People saga, with a second shorter side novel currently in the works that will serve as a lead-in to book #3. Those who read through Daughter of the Night may be able to get a sneak peek at the title at the end!

No set schedule for when the next book will be published (hard release dates have never worked out well for me in the past), but expect to hear an update with lots of juicy details before the end of the year. My current expectation is that it will arrive within the first quarter of 2017.

Stay tuned to the blog, follow me on twitter, or sign up to my mailing list for future updates!

Daughter of the Night - Announcement and Cover Reveal!

Those of you who picked up a copy of Daughter of the Moon recently may have noticed a sneaky little announcement of the next title in the Moon People saga tucked away at the end. Well, here's an official reveal, complete with cover, expected release date, and juicy details about what's to come!

Daughter of the Night is a novel I've been planning ever since it became clear that a certain character in The Alpha's Concubine was quickly becoming one of my favourites. Numerous hints as to her backstory have been dropped over the course of the prior two books, and sooner or later the details of these events were always bound to come to light.

Who is this mysterious character? Why, who else but Den Mother Adel! Although of course, Daughter of the Night takes place long before she was a den mother. The novel follows the early life of the aspiring young seer, charting her rise to greatness in the eyes of the werewolf clans, and the relationships that were formed and broken in the process.

Daughter of Alpha Ulric, leader of perhaps the most powerful pack among all the clans of the Moon People, young Adel is both blessed and cursed with a will every bit as strong as her father's. She does not understand why he must send their pack's warriors to fight and die against their greatest rival, Alpha Kotal, but as a youngster -- and a woman -- there is little she can do to intervene. As blood and sorrow paint the path of her clan's destiny, Adel's future often seems a hopeless one. The young seer longs for power, and the strength to create a better future for herself. But all her dreams of greatness may be less than her heart truly desires, for a chance meeting with a boy from a foreign pack reveals to Adel a different path. Perhaps, somewhere within the headstrong young woman's soul, there lies a sliver of something softer, gentler, and tender enough to steer her away from an inevitable clash of wills with her father.

Daughter of the Night, as a more minor prequel, will not be a numbered instalment in the Moon People saga, going instead by the subtitle "A Book of the Moon People". This may well be a format I revisit in the future to tell more smaller stories that support the central narrative, allowing a little more flexibility in my publishing schedule and letting me mix things up a bit. Daughter of the Night, while still being a full novel, is going to be notably shorter than the main instalments in the series, which comes hand in hand with releasing much sooner! Roughly half the novel is written and partially edited already, the cover is done (thanks to Julie of Duong Covers for this one!), and with luck the book should be available to purchase before the end of the summer.

Subscribers to my mailing list may have the opportunity to get their hands on free or advance copies of the novel, so be sure to sign up if you're interested! And if you're not and just want to be the first to know when Daughter of the Night hits the virtual shelves, then sign up anyway! Announcements will be going out to my subscribers shortly prior to the novel's launch, and further details will be posted here on the blog and via twitter as always a little later.

Daughter of the Moon Released!

Daughter of the Moon - The Moon People, Book Two has been officially released and is now available to download at several retailers, or pre-order on Amazon for delivery on may 17th!

No woman can lead in place of an alpha, and in the lands of the Moon People, the word of the pack leaders is law.

Free from their former clan, Netya and her new pack seek to make a home for themselves in the wilderness beyond the mountains, braving the cruel onset of winter as the turning of the seasons draws closer. But with no alpha and few men among their number, the fragile group are vulnerable to threats greater than ice and snow. Alpha Miral, leader of a powerful and uncompromising rival clan, has little tolerance for women playing at the roles of men within his territory, and he will not stand to be dishonoured by the presence of Netya and her pack-sisters.

Fighting for survival in an unfamiliar land, struggling to accept the wolf within her, and beset by premonitions of an uncertain destiny, Netya faces losing everything she has come to love if her clan cannot carve out a place for themselves among their savage kind. What must be sacrificed, and what must she become if she is to live as a daughter of the Moon People?

The full novel can be purchased via the following links:

Amazon
Smashwords
Google Play
iTunes
Kobo

It's been a while, but the second instalment of The Moon People is finally wrapped up and done, paving the way for more entries into the series going forward. The story's far from over yet, and with a little luck the next novel will be arriving towards the end of this year. Stay tuned for more information, and in the meantime, enjoy Netya's ongoing journey in Daughter of the Moon!

Daughter of the Moon Cover Reveal

Ta-dah! Many thanks to the lovely Ravven for her continued work on the covers for this series. I hope everyone's as thrilled about it as I am!

With the cover done and the main writing on the novel finished, Daughter of the Moon is going to be arriving very soon now. I had hoped to get this book wrapped up several months ago, but in typical tradition for me my latest novel has wound up once again being my longest and most plagued with interruptions from the real world.

I don't have a release date set in stone yet, as the book still has to go through some editing and proofing before it's ready grace your e-reader of choice, but we're on the final stretch!

Those on my mailing list can expect an email to notify you immediately once the book is live, but expect an announcement here as well and via my twitter as per usual. Breaking with the way I've handled past releases, Daughter of the Moon will not be serialised, so the entire story will be available to purchase as a complete novel right from day one.

Expect more updates and some juicy information on my next project(s) soon!

Mailing list is here!

My mailing list is now open for sign ups! All you should need to do is click the little link here, enter your email address, and you'll be the first to get notifications of my new releases delivered directly to your inbox!

Those of you who've been waiting patiently for Daughter of the Moon should be receiving my inaugural email when the book goes live, and there might even be the potential for subscribers to get their hands on free/advance copies and other cool giveaways in the future!

New Years Update!

It's a brand new year, and probably high time I checked in with an update on all things authorly!

It's been a quiet past few months for me as I work on Daughter of the Moon, and despite my hopes of getting it released by the end of 2015 the delays of moving house and all the other hassles associated with it have unfortunately impeded my progress a little. You'll be happy to know that progress on the novel is still going well, though, and with a little luck it should be hitting online retailer shelves within the first couple of months of 2016. Hopefully. Unless I get carried away and my ending ends up running on for 50,000 words again. >.>

Fortunately the next release after this one should be arriving in a much snappier time frame, as the length is a lot more manageable than the recent door-stoppers I've been writing. Besides progress on Daughter of the Moon I've finally (I think) sorted out a system for a mailing list that I can operate without giving away my personal details to anyone who asks. This is one of those innate problems with mailing lists that's made a neurotic crazy person like me very hesitant to set one up in the past, despite a couple of attempts, but this time I should be able to get everything up and running so that people can get updates on my new releases without having to manually check my blog and twitter feed. Who knows, once I figure everything out there might even be some neat bonuses and giveaways for the people who sign up!

So as 2016 arrives I'll be chugging away as usual with my stuff. I'd try and spare a word or two about how I've been neglecting my blog posts and want to get back to putting up little musings here, but my writing time's been so occupied with, well, writing that committing to anything here might be a hollow promise. I do have one or two ideas that've been rattling around my head for a while, though. Maype they'll pop up at some point in the coming months in between writing announcements.

Until next time, though, happy 2016 to everyone! I hope the new year brings all sorts of lovely awesomeness and productive endeavours to you all. :)