Devon Monk's Blog, page 10

Holidays and other Stressful Demons

I am not nearly done with my holiday crafting (I like to make gifts for family every year) nor my holiday shopping, nor my holiday baking, nor my holiday decorating, AND IT’S THE MIDDLE OF DECEMBER, PEOPLE!  Now’s a good time to panic and start eating a lot of chocolate, right?

But I am really happy that SPARK (book 2 of my West Hell Magic series) is out in digital form, and will be in print soon. 

Another thing I’m happy about? HAZARD (book 1 of my West Hell Magic series) is on SALE for only...

New Release – SPARK

Yes! SPARK, book #2 in my West Hell Magic series, is out now. If you like your urban fantasy with a twist, have I got you covered with this hockey  magic series! Brotherhood, blood, and hockey battles–what’s not to love?

You’ve met the hockey wizard (in HAZARD, book #1) now it’s time to meet his brother, the hockey wolf shifter, Duncan Spark. Here’s the gorgeous cover:

And here’s what it says on the back: 

Duncan Spark’s life can’t get any better, but it’s about to get much worse….

         ...

Cover Reveal – SPARK

You’ve met the hockey wizard, now it’s (almost) time to meet the hockey wolf!

SPARK, book 2 of my West Hell Magic series (hockey urban fantasy) will be out Monday, December 10th–that’s in ONE week!  There are no preorder links yet. But you can join my newsletter, or my Facebook reader’s group to be notified when the links go live.

Hockey wolf shifter? Oh, yeah. This one is FUN! The amazing cover was created by the fabulous Kanaxa Designs. How gorgeous is this?

Duncan Spark’s life can’t get a...

Route 66 – Day 9

And here we are! The final day! (sorry for the delay in posting). 

The day began in Arizona, and we knew we had a lot of miles to cover. We needed to reach the Santa Monica Pier by midnight, so we could catch our plane the next morning. We were up bright and early, ate breakfast at the hotel, and packed a couple bananas, a pear, and bagels in case we didn’t have time to stop for lunch or dinner. 

Just as we were leaving town, we drove past this rabbit statue. 

With the town behind us, this w...

Route 66 – Day 8

Day Eight, last big drive day before California. We begin in Gallup, New Mexico and drove straight on to the border. Good-bye New Mexico!

Hello, Arizona! To get through Arizona, we started with this uncertain road.

It was smooth(ish) and sandy, but it was not very modern. We were casting about for landmarks, and/or help, when we saw this

Thank-you, Mr. Jones, for writing a sign and setting it on the corner! I can only imagine the rancher being so tired of Route 66 people asking for directi...

Route 66 – Day 7

We made it a week! 

Day Seven started with a debate over the cool morning temperature of 51F (10c) and the relative sanity of jumping into 61F (16c) water. We tabled the discussion until we reached the Blue Hole, a natural spring out in the middle of Santa Rosa, New Mexico. The Blue Hole is 80 feet deep (25 meters) and used by scuba divers. No, really.

We walked out to the edge of the diving platform. We had our swim suits ready, but decided a nice stroll along the spring would be bracing en...

Route 66 – Days 5 and 6

 

Day Five

We opened the curtains and were delighted to see it had sprinkled over night. The day started in Tulsa. We went to Cry Baby Hill to see the statue of old road meets new. Here’s a shot of it from atop a route 66 arch:

  

Author included for scale:

Then the skies got darker and it started raining. And raining. Like 6 inches in 6 hours raining. We got flash flood warnings on our phones and our little Jum was throwing seven-foot water spouts on each side as we drove down the narrow, o...

Route 66 – Day 4

We are starting to get the feel of Route 66. How it’s marked (or unmarked), in what condition it is most likely to be found, how tight those corners really are. Basically, if there are no painted lines, no shoulders (or shoulders that are six inches+/- higher than the road) two or fewer narrow lanes, rough concrete with potholes, with a nice helping of gravel, then we know we are on Route 66.

Our motto: If it’s easy, fast, and smooth, we ain’t on the road.

Today started in Springfield, Missou...

Route 66 – Day 3

We hopped on the road brightish and sort of early, grabbed a breakfast, then winged off to our first stop. Meramec Caverns near Stanton, Missouri. There was no chance we’d miss them, since there seemed to be a billboard every thirty feet for miles and miles before the exit to the cavern. Oh, and also a barn:

I was expecting a thoroughly cheesy tourist trap. After all, the fellow who started this thing was the inventor of bumper stickers. He would hire kids to take his stickers advertising th...

Route 66 – Day 2

We started in Springfield at Lincoln Library, Lincoln Museum, and then Lincoln’s Tomb. The museum does a wonderful job presenting bits of history and his life. This was a bucket list item for hubby and I enjoyed it too.

Route 66 isn’t always easy to follow. We found that out yesterday in Normal (darn you Normal! Why were you so confusing!!) and we ran into that today. Namely, when you get off of Route 66, it isn’t always easy to get back on to where you want to go next. I’d love to see some...