"Filled to the brim with love, lust, humour, sorrow, anguish, tenderness and hope, Arcane Chaos has cemented itself into my heart." --GoodReads Review

Silas and Ramona's story is now out in the world! I'm so glad to finally complete this trilogy for all of you. It took me places I didn't expect myself. Every story does, really; as soon as I get out of the characters' way, they usually show me amazing things. I hope you'll find the same experience when you take the journey with my Chaos witch and her Reaper. If you haven't grabbed your copy yet, you can download it from any of these vendors:

Amazon * Amazon Worldwide * Apple * Kobo * Nook * Google * Print

No plans for audio at this time.

A BEE KEEPER, A TERRIFYING OFFICE MISHAP, AND THE EARLIEST SPARK FOR SILAS'S CHARACTER... Last issue, I told you I'd be offering some fun background stories about the book as part of the release week celebrations on the social media platforms. However, for those of you who aren't on any of those platforms, here's a recap so you're not left out of the loop!

WHAT SPARKED SILAS'S CHARACTER? The movie Meet Joe Black with Brad Pitt was what inspired me to start cogitating on the idea of a Reaper hero. The concept of Death as a person, having desires and interests, a personality and curiosity about the world, stayed with me a long time. Being a writer, I started asking questions. How would a Grim Reaper feel about the souls he/she/it Reaps? What kind of self-awareness, desires or wants would they have? The scene that Brad’s character has with the Jamaican woman in the hospital, and his romantic chemistry with Claire, heavily influenced that thought process.

DID YOU SAY BEEKEEPER? Yes, I did (grin). While Meet Joe Black had me thinking about a Reaper character, I didn’t have a picture of Silas in my head yet. That came from a local news segment about bee keeping back in 2015, featuring a sexy, nerdy beekeeper, an ASU professor named James Wilkes. I immediately thought, this is my Grim Reaper! In my MS Notes at the time, I wrote this: “James Wilkes, Ashe County, wire rimmed glasses, old salmon colored ball cap, lean face, long fingers.” You’ll find a little homage to that news segment in Arcane Chaos (grin).

So why did the beekeeper bring Silas into being? Despite the tremendous power a Grim Reaper wields (or maybe because of it), I envisioned Silas as a quiet, thoughtful person, not quick to rouse, but quick to defend, because he’s very protective of his souls (as well as of the witch who catches his attention). Rather than thinking of a Grim Reaper as a scary thing to confront on the threshold of death, I envisioned that being as a steady, soothing presence, because transitioning out of one’s physical body can be a traumatic experience. Also, because evil is always waiting to take advantage of soul energy, he’d become a fierce, scythe-wielding warrior when that soul needs protection on the journey through the Veil.

A TERRIFYING OFFICE MISHAP: Remember Chaucer in A Knight’s Tale saying “all human activity lies within the writer’s scope?” If I have a frightening or upsetting experience, as soon as I get through it, I’m immediately analyzing how I can use it in a story. Not DURING the scary experience, mind you. Post-trauma reflection produces better writing results, since while the event is happening my “writer’s scope” usually stops right at “oh, fu#k” and “help!”

There is a scene in Arcane Chaos that happened to me (don’t worry, nothing spoiler-y coming). It probably qualifies for one of those “ride along” emergency shows, specifically the calls that fall under the “how on earth did this happen” category. A couple years back I was doing some office temp work, and one of my tasks was packing up the CEO’s office for a move. He had a heavy horseshoe desk arrangement. To unplug his computer, I had to reach behind his desk up to my armpit. When I did, I leaned against the desk. In the blink of an eye, it shifted just enough to pin my arm. I couldn’t obtain the leverage or angle to free myself.

In the book, this happens to a secondary character, and reveals a change in one of the plot conflicts. Since how he gets free is also how I got free, I won’t tell you anything more (wink). However, it is one of my favorite scenes in the book, so when a writer says we really don’t regret much of anything that happens to us if we can survive it, there’s a reason, lol – it becomes fuel for the next story or great scene.

Hope the above has added to your anticipation and/or enjoyment of Arcane Chaos, and if you haven't yet read the first two books in the trilogy, remember the first book in the series, ARCANE SHOT, will remain a permafree gateway into the series! Here are all the links to that free full length novel, plus a BookFunnel link if your vendor doesn't show that price. You can also view the full series list on Amazon here.

IS A BDSM ROMANCE WITHOUT A BDSM-CENTRIC STORY STILL BDSM ROMANCE?

This is something I've been thinking about during the writing of my last 2-3 books, so I wrote a GoodReads blog post on it. I'd love to get my readers' input on the topic. Click here to take a look.

CONFERENCE NEWS - WHAT BOOKS SHOULD I BRING TO SASS?

We are only weeks away from SASS, and I am very excited. It looks like about NINETY authors will be present at the signing, so there will be oodles of book browsing to do. There will also be a plethora of giveaways for the charity raffle. I've contributed a mermaid theme basket, PLUS this lovely stained glass bondage girl, created by gifted artist and author Kathy Clark (NightWriter93). And don't worry, you'll get another chance to win this lovely lady in the fall. I commissioned a SECOND one to give away as part of Skye and Tiger's book release celebration!

Now, if you are coming, HAVE YOU TOLD ME WHAT BOOKS YOU WANT ME BRING? Remember, with 50+ books and six series, I can't pack all of them, particularly older titles, but if you tell me you want something, I will make sure it's in the box! Just email me at storywitch@storywitch.com and tell me what book(s) you'll be seeking. If you want to be pre-invoiced for them so they can be signed and waiting for pickup, just let me know that as well!

Be sure to join the Facebook Group to stay on top of all the details for the conference. If you don't do Facebook, visit the Eventbrite page, which includes a link to contact the organizers if you have further questions. If you live near Norfolk, you can also buy a ticket to just the Saturday July 30 signing and come see all of us that day! See everyone in a few weeks!

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