Devon Monk's Blog, page 6

Newsletter and Question

September’s newsletter went out today. If you subscribe, do check your email, inbox, or spam to see if you’ve won one of the knit toys. Which knit toys? I’m giving away these three cuties this month, since two of them were not claimed by the previous winners.

Today’s question: What about West Hell? Are you ever gonna write book #3?

THORN is book 3 in the West Hell Magic series. These are hockey urban fantasy books. As you might imagine they appeal to a small, but rowdy readership. They ar...

Devon vs. Robot

Here’s the deal. I need to get this novel done like yesterday, and my daily wordcount has been disappointing. So today, I’m trying to recreate the word count whiteboard at Rainforest Writers Retreat that always makes me try to write more. If you’re unfamiliar with the retreat, a whiteboard is kept in a public space so every writer at the retreat can update their wordcount as the days go by.

Seeing other writers achieve makes me want to achieve too!

My only problem? There’s only me, sititng here a...

New Book Out Now + Update

Last week, I took off to a campground near the beach (south of Ordinary, Oregon *wink*) to get some focused writing time. It was my first time driving our RV solo, AND my first time backing into a camping spot.

I am pleased to announce I didn’t run into any trees or other obstructions–so that’s a win, people.

Despite the perfect weather, and gorgeous beach (I mean, look at that view!) I made progress on a side project. This will be something that starts in January, I hope, and I also...

Squirrel Wizard

I have knitted a squirrel wizard! This adventerous little guy will be given to a randomly chosen newsletter subscriber Monday, August 30th. If you aren’t subscribed to my newsletter, you can do so here. If you are, well, fair warning, you’re in the drawing for a stuffed squirrel.

Who says we don’t have fun here?

His staff is a branch from the vine maple tree in our yard, and his hat is removable. The bag can be opened and filled with what ever squirrelly things one would wish to f...

The Company of Fluffs

At current count, we have three cats more or less occupying our yard. (Do we have a dog? Yes. Does our dog chase cats, or follow cats, or pay any attention at all to cats? No, because our dog thinks she’s a cat, and therefore ignores her own kind.)

One of the cats is black with little white feet. One is a fluffy old orange tabby, and one is white with a gray tail and gray markings and incredible eyes. (Look at these eyes!)

We do not own any of these cats. Two of them (possibly all thre...

The Whims of Flowers

Behold, the sunflowers I did not plant! Note they are accompanied by other wild flowers I also did not plant. See them all thriving alongside the onions I did plant.

Our yard has gone through some big changes this year. We put in new garden beds, took out old ones, and bought a much-needed shed. Another change this year has been the spontaneous sprouting (and growing! and blooming!) of sunflowers.

It is baffling and pleasing. Baffling, because I spent years trying to coax sunflowers ...

Summering Along

Summer came on hot–like 117° (47° C) here, which is staggeringly unheard of in my cloudy corner of Oregon. Of course as soon as it finally dropped into the high 90° I took a wonderful (but also hot: 111°) weekend camping trip to the desert.

Some fun notes: camping in the middle of the desert was gorgeous, even though we had smoke pollution from the big fires raging through our forests. We slept outside under the stars one night, and that, my friends, was one of my bucket list items: sleep unde...

I Did a Crochet!

I am a knitter. I love knitting toys and silly hats, and many, many other things. That said, I am not much of a crocheter.

When I was younger I crocheted “elf” hats–the kind that maybe Santa’s elves would wear. At that time I was also just a beginning knitter, having made a couple scarves. Life happened, my interests changed, and I put down my needles and hooks for about a decade.

What brought me back to yarn was a knitted gnome. I absolutely yearned to make it. So I brushed the dust off my ...

New Book and a Super Penguin

Hurray! NOBODY’S GHOUL, book #8 of the Ordinary Magic series is out now!

One of the fun things about writing a series with this many books is I get a chance to catch up loose threads from earlier volumes and weave them into the story. It also lets me think about un-taken paths waiting to be explored in upcoming books.

In this book, Ryder’s past shows up to complicate things, and so does something out of the gods’ ancient history. The heartfelt conversation between Delaney and Myra about ...

Book 8 of 7

NOBODY’S GHOUL is up for preorder! It releases Friday, June 25 (just in time for a weekend read!) Here’s the cover and blurb:

Police Chief Delaney Reed can handle supernatural disasters. With gods vacationing in her little town of Ordinary, Oregon, and monsters living alongside humans, she’s had plenty of practice.

But trying to handle something so normal, so average, so very ordinary as planning her own wedding to the man she loves? Delaney is totally out of her depth.

When a car...