Category: Indie Author Life

New Release!

Published on by Leigh

I’m so excited to have finished the 5th book in the Relic Hunter Series – the paperback is available now and the ebook is coming in a few days. Prime Day on Amazon really messed up my release because I don’t want to drop the book and have it swallowed up in all the commotion of Prime Day! I’m looking at June 25th as my release date for the ebook – it’s one of my favorite numbers.

I’m pretty sentimental about Resistant Magic because it marks a bit of a turning point in my journey as a writer. I wrote my first book way back in 2012 – it took me about 3 years to write it and I agonized over every single sentence. That was a great learning experience, but I wasn’t sure back then how far I’d go with my writing.

I remember adding up my book sales that year and realizing I’d earned a little over $300 for that book. That was exciting enough that I wrote Destructive Magic, then Unplanned Magic, and a few books in other series that I will be returning to. That’s when life derailed a bit – right as I was finishing up Legendary Magic – so there was a long pause in my writing. The pandemic of 2020 started me back up and I pushed through Jealous Magic and really started taking this writing thing seriously.

I took it so seriously that I’m being published for the first time since I won a poetry contest in 3rd grade. I have a short piece in Louisiana Literature this summer, and that should be out right after I publish Resistant Magic. In fact, I’m also half way done with Fortunes Give & Take – the second book in the Fortunes Series. That will be out this fall, then I’ll return to Ari and the gang.

Writing has often been my salvation – my imagination has gotten me through the normal down times every life offers and it has shown me a clear path forward. I am happiest in my office overlooking my garden, creating new adventures for my characters and connecting with my fans (I stumble to write that because it seems so surreal that THOUSANDS of people have read my work now…and my reviews bring tears to my eyes).

More than a decade ago, I set out to write fun fantasy fiction incorporating my love of history and mythology with a clear intention to entertain and provide a fun escape to my readers. When I think back to how far I’ve come, I am humbled and grateful that I have had the support to accomplish these goals. So as I wrap up one career (the infamous day job) and move toward transitioning to my new career as an author, I want to remind all of you that it’s not too late.

That one small action so many years ago began this journey. I hope you find the courage to take one tiny step on your own fantastic adventure.

The History behind Resistant Magic – Relic Hunter Book 5

Published on by Leigh

Welcome! I’m so glad you’re curious about the history behind my fun fantasy books. This time, we’re off to Rome – with a few side jaunts into the Achaemenid, Byzantine, and Macedonian Empires.

Julian the apostate

Robert the Pious

Theodosius I

Here’s a brief bit about Nusku to get you started! For more extensive information on Mesopotamian deities, here’s a cool site with photos.

For information on jinn – I found so many sites, but my interpretations are totally from my imagination. Just in case you want some jinn info, here’s a cool link.

Achaemenid Empire

The Late Roman Empire

Constantinople

The Mystery of the Missing Chapters

Published on by Leigh

So the worst thing I could imagine happened this week: My latest release was missing a few chapters.

Imagine my horror when I opened my email at 6:00 a.m. and read a message from a reader who VERY KINDLY AND GENEROUSLY alerted me to the problem.

I was horrified! I flipped over to Amazon and looked at the book, hoping there had been a mistake and NOPE – there were really missing chapters. ***Insert the screaming and cursing scene here ***

So like a LUNATIC, I formatted and uploaded another version. That one was complete, but I couldn’t remember if I had made all of the edits on that version and I had only 1 hour before I had to be at work – but I just wanted to stop the bleeding and I knew the version I used as the replacement was nearly perfect because I speed-read through it!

I have NO CLUE how it happened in the first place.

What makes it more confusing is it only happened to some readers!

I have been getting steady reviews on that book, and the chapters that were missing were REALLY IMPORTANT to the storyline – so I’m sure other readers wouldn’t have given me 5 stars if they were missing say…the most important scenes in the book. (BTW, they were also some of my favorite scenes) This is a real head-scratcher for me, because I downloaded it from Amazon when I first published it and just finished re-reading it on my own Kindle – and that version was complete so how and when did it get replaced (because it definitely did)?

I will never solve this mystery but I did go back through the complete version and re-checked every single edit, every chapter, and did it TWICE after I uploaded it again. So I’m sure the complete book is there. I am forever grateful to the readers who emailed me about the error because I would have never known!

I am horribly embarrassed because as an Indie, I feel a certain pressure to be even more vigilant about the quality of my work. I apologize wholeheartedly to anyone who read the version with the missing chapters. I’m horrified (still) and paranoid (more) that something like this could happen again.

I did learn one important thing: those of you who read my books really do care because you took the time to let me know about the problem. I will be forever grateful for that. The missing chapter fiasco ruined my day, but the loyalty and generosity of my readers really made it better. Thank you.

About that Fairy Lore, Wesley…

Published on by Leigh

I received a comment from a visitor named Wesley asking me if I had thought of writing a story that uses traditional fairy lore.

Yes, I was actually on that path with my latest release Jealous Magic. I have a Fae princess and I deal pretty extensively with King Arthur, Merlin, and the knights of the round table in both Legendary Magic and Jealous Magic.

Wesley goes on to share his knowledge of the connections between fairies, demons, fallen angels, and ghosts and really makes some new points that I wasn’t aware of. I love folklore and legends and those two things are always incorporated into my stories.

Culturally, there are differences between the old gods of many religions – but there are also some similarities between the stories that always capture my imagination. In Legendary Magic, I use the Roman conquest of the Celts to draw the different myths together because the Romans – for all their domination and annexation of other lands – were brilliant at syncretism. They folded the gods of other cultures into the Roman pantheon, leaving behind a merged mythology that’s a beautiful blend of all of the cultures in the Roman Empire.

I am working on my 5th book in the series right now, and I am using the same methods to tie Arienne’s Italian heritage into the story. The fae exist through many cultures, and I love finding those similarities and the connections that speak of the blending of cultures that happened millennia ago. I use those bits of information to weave a more global story that reflects our modern age.

This is not to say that my fantasy novels are scholarly works on mythology! It’s good, fun fantasy that I hope inspires the curiosity of my readers to dig deeper into folklore and mythology. I know I will be doing in the near future as I complete the 5th book and then circle back around to Princess Tyballa Nessinger and her ambitious goal of curing Dr. Ezra Froelich of his fading memory. There’s a connection to Merlin in that story, but I need the time to write it! At this moment, time is in short supply but there are so many stories that I want to tell that I get frustrated that I can’t write for twenty hours per day.

So stay tuned, and please contact me with your questions or to share your knowledge. I read all of those contacts and I enjoy that give and take with my readers.

Shameless plug: If you like my work and would like to hear more about what I’m up to, sign up for my V.I.P. list. You can find it on my homepage. I’m not “spammy” and you can unsubscribe any time – but I will be including some of my wild connections between the myths and legends in my upcoming newsletters (and you won’t get those if you’re not on the list!).

Thank you, Wesley for your insightful comment.

Detours into Death Valley

Published on by Leigh

I’m currently finishing up a novella in the Relic Hunter series. I decided this was a good time to send Arienne on a different sort of adventure with Coyote and a few other Native American Spirits.

To get them all to one place together was challenging, but I chose a location and away we went. This time, the story takes place in Death Valley and the Panamint Mountain range. I’ll tell you more on how you can get your hands on this novella in the coming weeks, but for now, I thought you might want to check out some resources that gave me the inspiration for this piece.

https://yankeebarbareno.com/2017/02/20/condor-petroglyphs-death-valley-national-park/
This is a great piece of writing about what it’s like to hike through Death Valley National Park. The writing is poetic and the pictures are great.
The Hidden City of Death Valley
A great legend – and you all know I love a good legend!

https://historydaily.org/does-death-valley-conceal-an-ancient-subterranean-city-the-legend-of-shin-au-av.

Another take on the legend.

Sunday Morning Projects

Published on by Leigh

Have you had a chance to check out my Instagram feed yet? I’ve been busy creating content and putting together puzzles so my feed is visually awesome. I just started my author Instagram last week because at first I was like “How can I talk about my books using just pictures?” – then I realized “You’re also an artist.” so…yeah, I forgot about that part of my life.

The truth is, I spend Sunday mornings – and by morning, I mean the wee-small hours of the morning – creating content and scheduling posts. In all honesty, it’s been incredibly fun and enlightening. It’s easy to talk about my books using pictures – and I have a great time creating the puzzles. It also really puts me in the zone to write (or edit, like I plan to do today).

Right now I have a few projects going on. I’m in the final edit of Jealous Magic, I’m prepping for NaNoWriMo (yes, I still try to do that every year), and I’m posting content all over the place. I think the posting spree is about wanting to keep my art skills sharp while I’m off being creative in a whole new way.

I’ve noticed something interesting, though. Not only is my author account getting more traffic, but my art sites are doing great (despite the neglect). That could be because they’re somehow linked, but it could also be because the more things you put out into the universe, the more things start to gel.

So here’s what’s coming up in October…

More Instagram puzzles about my books (They’re cool, so you should follow me!).

An announcement about how to grab an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of Jealous Magic (I’ll post here, but you can also connect with me on Goodreads and AllAuthor.com).

More Pins for Jealous Magic because I want you to see what I pictured as I wrote the book.

And finally…the release of Jealous Magic on October 30th (Hint: It’s at the pre-release price of .99 cents right now). There’s a lot to do next month, but I’m so excited about all of this. While you’re here, why not sign up for my newsletter so you’ll know about all of the exciting developments and get notified of sales and upcoming projects?

So, I’m off to edit now, but thank you so much for reading my posts every week. I love what I do, and your constant attention to my posts, books, and other ventures really means the world to me.

Why killing one of my characters isn’t an option for me

Published on by LeighLeave a comment

I write fun fiction with characters I love. Sometimes I write those characters into seemingly impossible situations and even I don’t know how to get them out…like now. Dr. Arienne Cerasola has been in a basement for five days now and I have no idea how to get her out, or even what she’s supposed to do in that basement.

I’m tired of being stuck there. In my mind, Arienne and I are staring at each other expectantly, each one of us waiting for the other to make a move. I have options – like take her out of the basement, or never put her in there to begin with – but I really like the basement…but it’s getting a little old. In order to jump start this novel again, I went hunting for plot twists and came across the idea to “kill one of my main characters”.

I will never, ever do that. Ever.

I know, they’re fictional, and I know I could easily kill one of them off…but I feel like that would be betraying my readers. You see, I write FUN fiction. I want to give readers a wild and fun ride, but I want them to always trust that I will bring them back home in the end without a scratch. Killing someone they like would betray that. I’ve felt betrayed every time it was done to me.

There are a few characters that other authors have killed on me, and I don’t think I’ve really forgiven them. I remember being young and reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH…and nearly having a breakdown when the book ended and that was only because the author HINTED at something.

I’ve had the same reaction every time an author kills a character that I love. I keep reading the book because I hope they’re really not dead, but I am generally disappointed. (I’d like you all to note how carefully I’m avoiding naming the characters so I don’t have to put a spoiler alert on this post…but you probably have your own list). My relationship with an author who kills a character I love is forever changed because I don’t really trust them after that.

There’s one author in particular whom I usually love, but I started her latest book and she brought up the character I still haven’t forgiven her for killing several books ago. I have to admit, I read one page after she mentioned the death of the character I loved and I haven’t gone back to the book because honestly, I’m still a little mad about that. Just the mention of his name reminds me that she betrayed me…because I know she didn’t have to kill him. The decision seemed lazy and disloyal.

Even with the betrayal issue aside, I also know life is hard enough. I’ve lost people; we have all have lost people. In this pandemic, we stand to lose more. I won’t add to to body count by killing one of my fictional friends.

I’m not saying that killing a character is always a bad thing, I’m just not the author that does that. I’ve seen the death of a character move the story forward (J.K. Rowling, for instance, but note I said THE DEATH, I do not enjoy a complete massacre and I’m a little mad at her for a few of them). More often killing a character seems like a gratuitous death – like the author saying “see, there’s bad in the world…nobody’s safe.” Real life has taught me that well enough, thank you.

So I will continue to figure out how to get Arienne out of the basement – without offing one of her friends. I will continue to keep my stories light and fun. I like an emotional ride, but I’d much rather write books that make you laugh than cry.

So be warned…things may look dire at times, but I promise I will not kill our darlings.

Life’s hard enough.

Kindle Countdown Deal

Published on by LeighLeave a comment

Right after publishing The Last 6 Weeks of Summer I started to feel guilty. The last time I saw Arienne Cerasola, Evan, and Coyote they had just returned to the summer residence of the Queen of the Southern Tier Fae. I’ve left them standing on the door step of that house long enough, so I’m now writing Legendary Magic – the fourth book in the Relic Hunter series.

So if you need to catch up, you can pick up the first two in the series for 99 cents today. Just click on the images below and you’ll go to Amazon.com.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NO85J4

I just reread all of the books in the series (because I needed a refresher on some of the finer points) and I’ll post what that experience was like in a few days. Writing in a series is fun, because I get to go back and visit old friends. I have loved spending time with Arienne again, and I’m sending her on a new adventure with a whole new outlook. I really hope you’ll join me.

I write fun fiction with smart dialogue. I like those awkward moments in life when you’re sure everything is going to be so awesome and you’re super confident and then you trip over your own two feet and have to carry on anyway. I’ve missed looking at life that way.

I know it’s not always easy to pick yourself back up and just carry on. Those little demons that whisper that you’re not really as good as you think you are can get really pushy sometimes and it’s nice when you realize you really ARE that good – that the demons just talk smack because they can. That’s their JOB. YOUR job is to get up, pick the pine needles out of your teeth and move on doing exactly what you were meant to do.