Never Send Roses: Available Now!

Hello, friends! I am delighted to present Never Send Roses, the long-awaited next installment in the Harmony Black series. It’s been far too long, and it’s been a real thrill to rekindle Harmony and Jessie’s adventures. This installment marks the culmination of several ongoing plotlines and mysteries, all steeped in occult espionage action. Here’s the quick synopsis:

“The House of Dead Roses offers murder, espionage, and mayhem to the highest bidder. Agent Harmony Black's war against the infernal cult -- and their seductive, sadistic mistress, the demoness Nadine -- last found her facing off against Nadine's top assassin under the glittering lights of Las Vegas, a battle that left her physically and psychically scarred.

Harmony has no time to heal. Now she's in the Windy City with a new enemy in her sights: the Roses' "mastermind," a poker-champion prodigy with a mind like a steel trap and a plan for a heist that will fill Nadine's war-chest with an infusion of dirty money. He's putting together a crew for the job and Harmony, along with her best friend and partner Jessie Temple, is going undercover.

What seems like a simple takedown soon proves more complicated -- and more deadly -- than anyone bargained for. The target of the heist, a government defense contractor, is keeping secrets of their own. The prize at stake has global consequences. And as Harmony's occult powers continue to mutate, tainted and twisted by Nadine's curse, she's going to have to push herself harder, go further, and delve deeper into her own darkness than she ever has before.

Harmony and Nadine are on a collision course. This time, only one of them is going to walk away.”

Never Send Roses is now out in ebook and paperback. Audio will come later, but it’s on the to-do list. Also, to celebrate, the ebook versions of the two previous books in the series – Right to the Kill and Black Tie Required – are on sale for 99 cents all week.

In terms of other projects, I’ve just finished reviewing the files for the audiobook version of The Wise Men of Gotham, so that’ll be out as soon as Audible finishes their final quality checks. I’m deep into writing Dig Two Graves, the next Daniel Faust novel, and after that I’ll be plunging right into the next Harmony installment, so you can expect to see more of both series in 2024.

Last but not least, it’s a great pleasure to announce that the first two books of the Daniel Faust series will be published in Germany next year (book one in March, two in June), translated into German by Bernhard Kempen. Will there be more? Like everything in publishing, it depends on how many people buy ‘em. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

As always, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your readership. It means the world to me, and I hope you enjoy this new adventure.

Coming Next Tuesday: Never Send Roses

Next Tuesday, November 21st, Harmony Black and Jessie Temple are back in action. Never Send Roses is finally here, and I’m so excited and grateful to share it with you. You can preorder it now on Kindle, and preorders for the paperback should be up by tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. What’s it about? Here’s the blurb:

The House of Dead Roses offers murder, espionage, and mayhem to the highest bidder. Agent Harmony Black's war against the infernal cult -- and their seductive, sadistic mistress, the demoness Nadine -- last found her facing off against Nadine's top assassin under the glittering lights of Las Vegas, a battle that left her physically and psychically scarred.

Harmony has no time to heal. Now she's in the Windy City with a new enemy in her sights: the Roses' "mastermind," a poker-champion prodigy with a mind like a steel trap and a plan for a heist that will fill Nadine's war-chest with an infusion of dirty money. He's putting together a crew for the job and Harmony, along with her best friend and partner Jessie Temple, is going undercover.

What seems like a simple takedown soon proves more complicated -- and more deadly -- than anyone bargained for. The target of the heist, a government defense contractor, is keeping secrets of their own. The prize at stake has global consequences. And as Harmony's occult powers continue to mutate, tainted and twisted by Nadine's curse, she's going to have to push herself harder, go further, and delve deeper into her own darkness than she ever has before.

Harmony and Nadine are on a collision course. This time, only one of them is going to walk away.

I’m delighted to return to Harmony and Jessie’s adventures, and I hope you will be too. Meanwhile, I’m almost done reviewing the files for the audiobook adaptation of The Wise Men of Gotham, so that should be out soon, and I’m banging away at the first draft of the next Daniel Faust adventure, Dig Two Graves. Include some other plans in motion I can’t quite talk about yet and next year should be…busy.

Spooky Month Update

Happy Thursday, all! It’s been a while since my last progress update so I thought I’d pop in and give y’all a quick update on things.

After many unexpected delays and bumps in the road, the long-overdue next installment in the Harmony Black series is on the way! We’re targeting mid- to late-next month for the release of Never Send Roses, Harmony and Jessie’s next adventure. It’s too early for a preorder link (we’re finalizing things across the board) but I’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready.

I wanted this one to be special; after all, my stories lay down a whole bunch of mysteries and long-tail plots, but there comes a time to pay things off, and that’s what Never Send Roses is all about. What can I tell you without spoilers? Okay, here’s one: Harmony’s magic doesn’t work quite like anyone else’s who we’ve met in the First Story universe, and multiple characters (including Harmony herself) have commented over the years about how weird it is. In this outing, you’ll find out exactly why that is, and what it means. That bit at the end of Black Tie Required, with April discovering Harmony’s altered medical reports? That gets answered too. Oh, what’s the deal with Bette and her seemingly parallel, competing shadow agency? That also.

And if you’ll allow me to do my best Columbo impression, just…one more thing.

Ever since their first confrontation, a final showdown between Harmony and Nadine has been looming in the wings. Well, in this book, it’s high noon.

I’m looking forward to bringing you more information (like a solid release date) as soon as I can. Harmony has been dormant for far too long, thanks to Pandemic Brain wrecking my productivity for a while back there, but this feels like me getting fully back on track. My project after this is the next Daniel Faust adventure, Dig Two Graves, and we are officially in full gear here at the office.

I hope you have a great weekend! I’ll be…you know. Over here. Writing.

The Wise Men of Gotham: Now In Paperback

Happy Wednesday! I’m happy to announce that the unintentionally-delayed paperback version of The Wise Men of Gotham is now on sale! Again, totally my fault, sorry for the wait.

Also, delighted to see that Die Hexen von New York, the German translation of A Time for Witches, is out in the wild and finding an audience! And that is…just about all I had in the way of announcements for today, but I know some folks were holding out for the paperback version of Wise Men and wanted to let ya know it’s out there and on the loose. Have a great week and an even better weekend!

The Wise Men of Gotham are here. Now. Right now. Seriously.

Some folks might remember how, back in the day, I'd occasionally just release a new book out of nowhere. No preorders, no hype, no waiting. Why am I bringing this up? Because I just released a new book out of nowhere. I'm pleased to announce that The Wise Men of Gotham, the sequel to The Hungry Dreaming, is now available! What's it about?

"When a daughter of Hekate is gunned down outside a Brooklyn bodega, reprisal comes by moonlight: one by one, the victims of a spreading curse fall into a deep sleep, lost in inescapable visions. And their numbers are growing.

Seelie Rose knows a thing or two about visions. As a fledgling witch and the inheritor of a magical legacy, it's her duty to watch over the dreamscape of New York City. Usually that means battling errant nightmares; now she's facing down alien intelligences, incursions from other realms, and the dawning suspicion that she isn't the only dream-witch in town.

Meanwhile, creatures of the night are turning up dead, and the ghoul princess lurking in Seelie's closet wants a favor. Not the kind she can refuse, unless she wants to be next on the princess's macabre menu. If Seelie plays her cards just right, she may uncover a conspiracy, stop a deadly plot, and survive...at least until graduation.”

This book was a labor of love, and I hope it makes you happy. And we're just getting started! Next up, in a few months, will be the overdue return of Harmony Black (I'll let you know once a date is set) and of course, I'm getting ready to break ground on the next Daniel Faust adventure.

There's one little (well, two) hitches. As usual, the audiobook will come later down the line; I'm going to be meeting up with Susannah in person later this week, so I hope I'll be able to give you an estimate. Meanwhile, the paperback version is delayed by about a week because I am not a very bright person.

(The last step in creating a paperback is to finalize the cover, which has to be sized to fit the width of the novel. I did a quick-and-dirty page calculation that turned out to be laughably wrong -- I thought it was around 400-ish, but the final book is actually over 500 pages long -- and my cover designer is on a trip so I can't wrap this up until he returns. Of course, if I had done it right in the first place…)

Oh, and to celebrate, The Hungry Dreaming is on sale for 99 cents all week. Just tossing that out there.

In a couple of days I'll be getting on a train and traveling to a live pitch meeting. I have never made a book pitch in person, I have not yet memorized my spiel, and I've got so much to handle I'm making lists of the lists I need to make. But I'll get through it. Know how? You. A writer without readers is just shouting into the void. Y'all give me a reason to keep getting up in the morning, and it means everything to me. Thank you.

(Tiny) Production Update

Hey, friends. First up, some readers have been asking and yes, I’m on strike along with the Writers Guild of America (with backup from writers’ unions in Australia, Canada, Israel, Ireland and Italy, and probably a few more.) The strike does not affect novels, so no worries, Harmony and Daniel are still coming back and nothing will be delayed. I did have an option deal underway which is now completely dead in the water, and that sucks but it’s a necessary thing. My dad was a trucker; I do not cross picket lines.

I'm preparing for my first trip in two years, where I'll be pitching a new book to some agents live and in-person, which I've never done before. I have three weeks to prepare. Panic levels: rising.

I'm waiting on edits for some things at the moment and don't have a lot else to share, so here's a random look at my unrelated weekend tinkering: I used open-source software to hook a conversational AI to an animated avatar and a speech synthesizer. I will NEVER use AI in my writing (I have serious philosophical/ethical issues with that and besides, I love writing, it's my jam), but it does make for a cool hobby project.

New on Audible: Any Minor World

Happy Friday, all! (Friday the 13th, even!) I’m pleased to announce that the audiobook version of Any Minor World, narrated by the superb Susannah Jones, is now available. Come with us on a jaunt into one of the stranger corners of the multiverse. Return ticket is not guaranteed.

While I’m here, a minor housekeeping detail: turns out that more people than I thought really liked the old reading-order list on my website. Oops! So I’ve reinstated it along with the newer, more colorful version, and I’ll keep them both updated in tandem going forward.

Time for me to get back to work. Have a fabulous weekend, and I’ll talk to you soon.

New Year, New Beginnings Sale

2023 is here! Hm. That either sounds like a celebration or a warning. Either way, new years always make me think of new beginnings, so kicking off the new year with a book-one blowout just feels right. The US and UK Amazon stores are running week-long deals on a whole batch of ebooks from now until next Sunday morning (1/8):

The Long Way Down and The White Gold Score (both $0.99)

Any Minor World ($0.99)

The Hungry Dreaming ($0.99)

Sworn to the Night ($0.99)

Winter’s Reach ($0.99, or pick up the entire four-book Revanche Cycle Omnibus for just $3.99)

And by random coincidence, one of my publishers is running a sale as well, and is offering the first Harmony Black novel for $1.99 through the end of January.

(BTW, the final files for the audiobook version of Any Minor World have been approved, and it’ll be live as soon as Audible finishes their own internal checks.)

Revised Reading Order (now with charts!)

This space between week-apart holidays always feels like a strange limbo to me; do you ever get that feeling? Anyway, I'm doing some gardening (figuratively) and getting everything ship-shape for the new year to come, starting with revising the long-neglected reading order list for both of my fictional settings.

Instead of just a straight list of titles (boring), I tried to work up a little more visual flair (and to make it clear that no, you don't HAVE to read the entire canon, here are all the books where you can jump right in if something about them catches your eye.)

The first draft illustrated direct links between different series and their books down to cameos and Easter eggs, but the chart turned into an unreadable mess of dotted lines, as one might predict. I'll figure it out for the next revision.

I hope you're all having a good week and staying warm out there!

Down Among the Dead Men: Now on Audible!

Spooky season continues and we’re doing our part over here, just in time for the weekend: the audiobook version of Down Among the Dead Men, narrated by the always-excellent Adam Verner, is now available! Just like I said when the novel came out, I promise I won’t keep you waiting this long for the next one.

Have a great weekend, and stay warm!