Celia Roman's Blog, page 3

Spring Break Sale

This weekend only, two novels set in the Daughters of the People story world will be on sale for $.99 each.

The Daughters of the People is an Urban Fantasy Romance series written under my pen name Lucy Varna. They're set partially in the same geographical area (but not the same story world) as the Sunshine Walkingstick Series. Like many more traditional Romance series, each novel in the Daughters of the People Series features a different couple.

The two books that are on sale are Tempered, a stand alone Daughters of the People novel, and Say Yes, a spinoff of Tempered.

Tempered features Hawthorne the Chronicler (aka Hawthorne the Beheader), a fierce immortal warrior whose faith in men was broken two thousand years ago. In Tempered, we meet the charmingly handsome Levi Ewart, Hawthorne's great-grandson. Like his great-grandmother, once Levi popped into my head as a character, he wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote his story. That story is Say Yes, a lovely age gap beach read set partially in North Carolina's Outer Banks near Kill Devil Hills.

I recently reread Say Yes and realized that it can't stand alone; it is best understood after reading Tempered. Tempered, however, can be enjoyed without having to read other books in the Daughters of the People Series first. Since it was a finalist in the 2015 Maggie Award for Excellence, I tend to recommend it as a good starting point for jumping into the series.

Both Tempered and Say Yes will be on sale for $.99 each through Monday, April 22, 2024 EDT, so if you're looking for two great stories to take to the beach this spring, these are it!

Happy reading!

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Where to next?

With Vampire Alley, the final Sunshine Walkingstick novel, almost here and the Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Series completed, I know readers are wondering what's next in the queue.

The answer is...complicated.

Elsewhere, I've discussed my long-time ambition of writing non-romantic Science Fiction and Fantasy, most notably on my personal blog, and that is still my goal. The problem has been figuring out what form those future stories (ha) would take.

Now, my first instinct is to keep writing in existing story worlds until I run out of ideas for them, which would take pretty much forever. I have tons and tons of ideas for future stories in both Sunny and Nessa's story worlds, as well as at least one brand new story world I haven't breathed a word about.

Hey, a gal's gotta have a few secrets tucked away for a rainy day.

But writing those stories would necessarily mean foregoing the other stories I'd like to write. If you don't follow my newsletter or aren't a member of my Facebook group for superfans, here are two of the really superfragalistically neat series I'd like to work on in the next two to five years.

Story World One: The Order of the Thrice-Blooded Moon

This Urban Fantasy is set in the modern day during a secret war between Heaven and Hell. The Order is determined to keep humanity and other earthly creatures ( namely vampires, witches, and werewolves) from being dragged into that war, through the protection of a human called the Divine, the keeper of holy relics.

The first story is tentatively titled Sentinels of the Divine and follows the exploits of the Divine's closest protectors as they search for the new Divine after the previous one's death: Harlow, a warrior witch; Samael, a vampire and founder of the House of Draven; and Kyrnon, an outcast werewolf.

I've been doing a lot of worldbuilding on this one for more than a year now and already have the first scene sketched out. All it needs now is time to flesh the story out further.

Story World Two: Gods & Monsters of Appalachia

This Contemporary Fantasy is set locally in Western North Carolina and centers on the lives of siblings Makenzie ("Mack") and Harlan. The first story is tentatively titled Of Mountain and Bone and picks up about a decade after the death of Mack and Harlan's mom, when their entire world fell apart.

Other characters include a Cherokee police officer named Tam Owle and a young granny witch named Candi Magill.

GMA was partially inspired by a meme I spotted more than a year ago stating essentially that the Appalachians were old and terrifying. (I'll have to track down that meme.) That idea started rolling through my head around the same time that I watched The Peripheral, a TV series loosely based on William Gibson's book of the same name. A large portion of that show is set in backwoods Appalachia, and I wanted to recreate that same "feel."

I've sketched out the first chapter, which includes scenes from Mack, Tam, and Candi's separate perspectives, but am still trying to figure out exactly where the story's supposed to go. All in good time.

"I" vs. "He/She"

Sunny and Nessa are both written from first person perspectives, and that has proven to be quite wearing. They're also quite short, and as I've stated elsewhere, I believe readers are clamoring for longer, more complex stories.

Moving forward, I'd like to shift my focus to complex, multi-character stories written from third person perspectives, like the two story worlds sketched out above, even when writing shorter stories. For example, I'm working on developing a novelette for an upcoming anthology (publishing in October), and while I haven't started it yet, I have reason to believe it will be written in 3PP.

(Just FYI, I'm aiming for a Henry Walkingstick story for that anthology, so we may get a sneak peek into the life of Sunny's dad. Very excited about that possibility!)

Does that mean I will never write another "I" story?

No. It just means that I need a serious break from them. Maybe a long, serious break.

I hate to say this, but it does bear mentioning: some of this decision is about business and some of it is about breaking out of the continual spiral of burnout I've been in since 2015-2017, or roughly around the time I started shifting my focus to this pen name. If you're wondering, yes, my new focus may mean making a fresh start with a completely different pen name.

Whatever happens, my goal is always to bring more fantastic stories to readers. Everything I'm doing business- and writing-wise is in service to that goal.

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The Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Omnibus

We've bundled the four novels in the Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Series into an omnibus. The ebook edition is now available on Amazon for sale or as part of their Kindle Unlimited program.

We're working on creating a paperback edition.

This was a fun series to work on. I hope you enjoy it!

The post The Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Omnibus appeared first on Celia Roman.

Start the Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Series for FREE!

For three days only, get Between a Witch and a Hard Place, the first novel in the Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Series, for free at Amazon.

This sale is for everyone, not solely for those with a Kindle Unlimited membership.

And now that the series is complete, that's an extra-special deal.

If you haven't already, go pick up a copy and enjoy spending some time with a kickass rune witch and her community of other witches, werewolves, and vampires in a private investigator Urban Fantasy Mystery that readers call "brilliant" and "exceptionally well-written."

But please pick up a copy now, as it's only available for free today, tomorrow, and Saturday (March 28 - 30, 2024).

Happy reading!

The post Start the Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Series for FREE! appeared first on Celia Roman.

A Witch Called Justice is live!

The next (and final!) installment in the Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Series, A Witch Called Justice, is now available.

Since our sixteenth birthday, my twin brother and I have taken one hit after another, beginning with our mother's sudden disappearance and ending when she tried to destroy us with her magic.

Now, we're embroiled in a mess of murderous proportions, chasing after a group of rogue witches drunk on their own power, and Mom is at the center of the chaos.

We've got one chance to stop her and her cronies from unleashing their darkest, deadliest spell, one meant to bend every human and supernatural to their will.

But first, we have to find her...and the clock is ticking faster with every step we take.

A Witch Called Justice is available at a wide variety of online retailers: Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and other retailers.

Happy reading!

The post A Witch Called Justice is live! appeared first on Celia Roman.

Paperback available for Black Witch Rising

The paperback edition of Black Witch Rising, the third Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI novel, is available on Amazon.

The original cover designer, Nocturne Art, had to step away from publishing last year. It took me a while to settle on another cover designer, but the new one is also outstanding, not least because she stepped in and took over from another designer. Inessa Sage of Cauldron Press Designs agreed to finish out the covers for this series. You may remember her as the designer behind the cover for Magic & Mystery, the 2021 anthology I organized.

Inessa is also going to create the paperback for the final novel in the series, A Witch Called Justice. I'm pleased to be working with such a great designer!

Hope you enjoy the paperback edition of Black Witch Rising!

The post Paperback available for Black Witch Rising appeared first on Celia Roman.

Free!

For a very limited time only, Between a Witch and a Hard Place, the first novel in the Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Series, is free!

Here's what readers are saying about Nessa and her crew:

"A juicy opener to an extremely promising series." (★★★★★ Amazon review)

"A fast paced, exceedingly well written story, just jam packed with fascinating characters." (★★★★★ Amazon review)

"I loved this story from start to finish!!" (★★★★★ Amazon Vine Voice review)

I encourage readers to shop around to find the best deal. If your favorite retailer isn't offering Between a Witch and a Hard Place as a free download, go to another retailer to pick up a copy: Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and elsewhere.

Happy reading!

The post Free! appeared first on Celia Roman.

The audiobook edition of Between a Witch and a Hard Place is here!

After nearly two years of work and more than a few setbacks, the audiobook edition of Between a Witch and a Hard Place (Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI, Book 1) is finally here!

The audiobook is narrated by the amazingly talented Larissa Crowe, who is already hard at work crafting the narration for Book 2, A Witch and Her Familiar.

The audiobook edition of Between a Witch and a Hard Place is available at Amazon, Apple, and Audible.

Happy listening!

The post The audiobook edition of Between a Witch and a Hard Place is here! appeared first on Celia Roman.

New Release: The Witch King’s Shadow, part of Runes & Royals anthology

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to submit a story for Runes & Royals, an anthology being put together by USA Today Bestselling authors Laura Greenwood and Arizona Tape.

It didn't take long for a story world to pop into my head, populated by some really cool characters.

The resulting story eventually came to be titled The Witch King's Shadow, and I have been dying to share it with you. Here's a little more about it:

Mia Hart has a job to do: hack into Witch King Alaric Monroe’s highly guarded databanks and steal proprietary research for an anonymous, well-paying client. There are just two problems:

Alaric sees right through Mia’s undercover disguise.

And someone is trying to kill them both.

The Witch King's Shadow is exclusive to Runes & Royals, which will only be available for the next three months.

The great thing is that the anthology is completely free to download.

And the bad news is...well, to be honest there's no bad news other than the limited time frame for picking up a copy.

So don't wait. Go grab a copy and enjoy this awesome collection of stories from some of today's top Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance writers.

Happy reading!

 

The post New Release: The Witch King’s Shadow, part of Runes & Royals anthology appeared first on Celia Roman.

$.99 Independence Day Sale!

The Deep Wood, the second Sunshine Walkingstick novel, is on sale for $.99 through July 4, 2023.

I love all the Sunny novels, but to be honest, this is my favorite. The Deep Wood shares so many secrets!

Greenwood Cove (Book 1) is still available for free, so there's no better time to start the series.

Happy reading!

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