Roh Morgon's Blog, page 2

~ Happy 9th Birthday, Watcher!

Today is the publishing birthday of Watcher: Book I of The Chosen.

It’s been nine years since I pushed past my fears and pressed the Publish button on my first book.

Yes, Watcher is the first book I’ve written. Not just the first book, but the first FICTION of any type I’ve created since elementary school.

Putting it out there for the world to read – to like or to hate – took tremendous effort and a bravery I wasn’t sure I had.

And to my great surprise, most people liked it, and some even loved it.

To be more specific, they loved Sunny, and cheered her on as she struggled to restrain the monsters within her and keep as much of her humanity as possible.

So why did I choose October 4, 2011 to put Watcher on display for all eyes to see?

Yesterday’s Facebook post mentioned the importance of the number nine in Watcher. During the writing of the story, I became aware of how the number nine kept popping up in my life, in coincidence after coincidence (like my zip code, my phone number, etc). And in mathematics and the practice of numerology, nine holds a special significance.

One of its interesting features is that when you multiply any number with 9, the answer results in individual digits that when added together also equal 9 or a multiple of 9. Keep repeating that until you reach a single digit, and that digit will always be 9.

Example: 9 x 5 = 45 –> 4+5 = 9. Or how about this one: 9 x 22 = 198 –> 1+9+8 = 18 –> 1+8 = 9.

Watcher was originally published on 10/04/2011 –> 1+0+0+4+2+0+1+1 = 9

Yes, I chose a “nine day” for my publication date.

Interestingly enough, today’s date, nine years later, just also happens to be a “nine day.”

10/04/2020 –> 1+0+0+4+2+0+2+0 = 9

See what I mean about coincidences, and the weirdness of the number nine?

(For more musings about the number nine and its relevance to my writing, see my March 2010 and my May 2010 posts.

In Watcher, there are nine Council members on Nicolas’ council. And there are multiple other instances of nine throughout the story. For example, Sunny checks the clock nearly every morning when she awakens to determine how much time she has left in the day to conduct human business, and how long until dusk when she can safely go hunting.

In each case, the numbers on her digital clock add up to the number nine.

And on a last note about the number nine, much of the music soundtrack for Watcher includes songs and their remixes by one of my favorite bands. Yeah, you guessed it – Nine Inch Nails.

I challenge my readers that in the event they read (or re-read) Watcher, to make note of any reference to nine or a nine number, and send me an IM or email with the total number of occurrences. We’ll see if you caught them all.

So Happy 9th Birthday to Watcher: Book I of The Chosen.

And Happy Birthday to me as a published author.

~ Give your brain a break

As the world plunges further into chaos, periodically stepping away from it all takes on a greater level of importance. The daily pressures brought on by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic can be overwhelming, and so can the need to escape, even if only for a short while.

One of the best routes to that escape is through books.

A sense of peace descends over readers when they submerge themselves into a book, one that is absent when watching the latest TV or Netflix shows. Perhaps the difference is due to using fewer senses (vision vs. vision and hearing) or the lack of interruptions (no commercials or channel changing).

Or perhaps reading is a form of meditation in which the reader empties their mind of outside thought, yet engages their imagination through visualization – a type of sustained focus that blocks out external stimuli. And though the mind is active, that focus provides a temporary reprieve from daily worries and pressures.

So do yourself a favor and give your brain a break. Open a book to a different world and leave this one behind for a little while. Your mind, and subsequently your body, will appreciate it.

~RM~

~ Monster Excerpt #1

Hope you are all staying safe. If you are on the front lines in this war against COVID-19, thank you for your dedication, your hard work, and your willingness to risk your health to help those stricken by this horrid disease.

As promised, below is an excerpt from Monster, the upcoming prequel to Watcher. This scene occurs soon after Sunny has broken free from her captors and discovers that she’s no longer quite human . . .

~ ~ ~

The smells hanging in the cool night air fascinate me and I make a game of trying to identify them as I jog along a farm lane bordering a vineyard. Each crop field I encounter, whether grapes or alfalfa or almonds, bears its own distinctive scent. Fertilizers and pesticides cloaking the crops and soil add to the tapestry, burning my nose with their chemical odors.

The distraction my little game provides is brief, as once again the hunger stirs deep in my belly.

Something within me changes. A . . . force takes control of my body, and I’m now sniffing the air for a different smell—that of creatures, and the blood they bear. I unexpectedly veer away from the farm fields and head back toward the river.

As I enter the woodlands bordering the riverbank, I pause, puzzled by this strange feeling of another entity inside me, controlling me. And it feels different than one that used me earlier. More calculating, more purposeful. Less insane.

It pushes me onward, and I find myself creeping silently through the forest, tasting the air through nose and mouth.

The scent of blood drifts past, and all thought fades as I hone in on its location and adjust course, then continue gliding through the trees.

Ambling along the riverbank is an opossum.

I move, fast, and before I register what’s happening, my teeth are in its throat and its hot blood is pouring down mine. Deep growls of satisfaction rumble from my chest.

Relief follows the blood’s path into my belly and throughout my body. The hunger and its tension, vibrating through me since my escape, eases with every swallow.

But too quickly the flow fades to a trickle, and with a final hot pulse, it comes to an end.

The other thing inside me—the savage beast—screams, using my voice to vent its rage as it heaves the carcass into the river. Its wrath continues, and it rips a branch from a nearby young tree and flings it into the water as well.

It/I/we tear off through the woods in a mad run. Everything fades to the feel of brush whipping across my body, and the sounds of crunching leaves and snapping limbs beneath my feet, and the violent frenzy consuming me.

* * *

I find myself blindly running along the edge of the woods, with no idea how long I’ve been doing so. It feels as though it’s been hours, and yet I have no real memory of it. Just . . . running.

Drawing to a halt, I survey the area and try to get my bearings. Above me, the sky no longer wears the black of night, and is now clothed in a midnight blue giving way to grey in the east. An unexplainable rush of fear prickles my skin. Alarmed, I step back into the trees and peer outward across the adjacent grain fields. But I see nothing, and uneasily continue my journey along the farm lane.

The anxiety doesn’t fade and, in fact, is growing stronger with each passing moment. Even more concerning is the exhaustion beginning to creep throughout my body.

Which shouldn’t be a surprise, since I’ve been running all night. Yet, this doesn’t feel right. It’s as though my body is filling with lead.

And with another fearful look at the sky, I realize that what’s happening to me is . . . the dawn.

The rising sun and beginning of the day.

Just like in the mythologies.

My mind shies away from the word that encompasses the monsters who drink blood and hide from the day.

Without warning, the other creature inside me takes over and pushes me into the woods. I stumble over the debris-laden forest floor, suddenly driven with a frantic need to find shelter.

But I’m having trouble walking. My arms and legs feel heavy, and seem to be getting heavier and heavier.

I . . . I don’t think I can take another step.

The urge to hide is so strong, though, that I keep moving, stumbling my way through the forest. Panic fuels me, and in desperation, I shove my way beneath a blackberry thicket. The thorns catch on my clothes and tear at my skin and hair as I crawl deeper into the darkened interior, but I don’t care.

I’m so tired, so tired. I just need to rest a moment . . .

My body collapses and a darkness descends over my mind, extinguishing all thought.

~ ~ ~

~RM~

~ Want to predict the future? Read Science Fiction

Science fiction holds a distinct place in literature. For some, science fiction stories are nothing more than adventures into unrealistic possibilities; for others, those stories serve as predictors of a wonderful future, or as warnings for humanity.

As the world struggles to grasp with the ramifications of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic, I cannot help but reflect on the latter. With each unfolding day, I feel as though I’m witnessing the unveiling of a science fiction horror novel in which an uncontrollable virus ravages civilization, resulting in uncountable deaths, economic ruin, and societal collapse.

I can only hope that we can step back from the brink of doom in time, that we realize the only way to survive is to truly understand what is at risk and work together to preserve our families and our communities.

Stay home. Stay safe. Stay well.

On a lighter note, changes in my day job and personal situation have garnered me a little more time and energy with which to work on The Chosen series. Monster, the prequel to Watcher, is progressing, and I’m hoping to have it ready for release this fall. Though I know readers are waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for Seeker: Book III of The Chosen, I hope they’ll enjoy Monster enough to forgive me for the lengthy delay.

Look for a Monster excerpt in my next post.

And again . . .

Stay home. Stay safe. Stay well.

~RM~

~ Great Valley Bookfest – Oct 12

I’ve been invited to participate in the Great Valley Bookfest again! And, as I did last year, I’ll also be moderating an author panel.

~ 2019 Silver Stake Award Winner!

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted, but I’ll save that story for another time.

Winning the Silver Stake for Watcher: Book I of The Chosen is the story I want to share now.

The annual Golden Stake Awards is sponsored by the International Vampire Film & Arts Festival. This year the Festival was held in London; in previous years, it took place in the city of Sighisoara, which is in Transylvania, Romania.

The schedule was jam-packed with films, presentations by authors and filmmakers, and walking tours through London’s historical (and creepy) districts depicted in so many movies and books. Award winning author and editor, Stephen Jones, discussed the genre with Kim Newman, author of the legendary Anno Dracula series.  A screening of the iconic film Interview with the Vampire, celebrating its 25th anniversary, was followed by a Q&A with its producer, Stephen Woolley. Woolley also produced the recent (and well-done) film Byzantium about a mother-daughter vampire pair.

I had hoped to attend the Festival, but just couldn’t fit it with the chaos currently ruling my life. So I’m especially bummed that I missed it, and missed accepting my award.

I’m honored that Watcher was not only selected as a finalist, but won the Silver Stake. When I entered the awards, I had hopes to be at least a finalist, so when Watcher was listed as the recipient of the Silver, I was beyond thrilled.

The Golden Stake (1st place) went to The Promise Keeper by L. Marie Wood. I’ve read an excerpt, and not only is the concept brilliant, but Wood’s sensuous writing is gorgeous. She brings you into the characters’ lives with no holds barred, and I look forward to reading the complete novel.

Aside from constant travel for my day job, I’ve managed to squeeze in some writing time. I’m currently about halfway through Monster (the prequel to Watcher), which I’ve expanded from the short story I’d previously intended to a short novel. I’m hoping readers will enjoy this part of Sunny’s journey as she struggles with her transition from human to monster.

And I have not forgotten Seeker, nor those of you waiting impatiently for it. But Sunny demanded I work on Monster now, and without her cooperation, there is no story.

~ Faith Hunter Blog Tour, Interview, & Giveaway – Part II

If you missed the previous post in which I introduce Faith Hunter and talk about her upcoming book, Circle of the Moon, and her blog tour, please check it out here: ~ Faith Hunter Blog Tour, Interview, & Giveaway – Part I.

As promised, below is the interview with author Faith Hunter.

~*~

Roh: You started out as a thriller writer, publishing over two dozen books under the names of Gary Hunter and Gwen Hunter. In 2006, you released your first fantasy in the post-apocalyptic Rogue Mage series, then went on to your wildly popular Jane Yellowrock and Soulwood urban fantasy series. What prompted your switch to fantasy, and who in the fantasy genre provided your early inspiration?

Faith: Readers go in cycles. Sometimes mystery is hot, sometimes not. Writing mystery was an iffy prospect that brought success and professional heartache in waves. I loved fantasy from the first days of Pern and on into Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. I just never had the right character voice until Thorn St. Croix and the Rogue Mage series came along. That happened at a fortuitous moment when mystery was in a major trough and fantasy was on a crest in reader minds. The mixture of reality, tech, and magic to solve wars or crimes or paranormal dangers was a perfect fit for me.

 

Roh: In the Jane Yellowrock series, the heroine is a full-blooded Cherokee whose past is hidden by amnesia. As the series unfolds, Jane encounters others of Native American descent and begins to learn about—and remember—her people and her culture. As readers, we feel as though we’re privileged to have been allowed a peek into the “real” native world. How do you find the information on the customs, language, and other aspects of Cherokee life portrayed in Jane’s story?

Faith: I have a friend who is a Cherokee elder. I do research. It’s amazing fun and opens a brief view into my own heritage which is Cherokee and Choctaw.

 

Roh: The Soulwood series follows Nell Ingram’s first forays into the outer world after years of isolation as a one-time member of a repressive religious cult. Each new experience is colored by its contrast to her life in the cult. As a writer, are you just following the character’s lead based on her history, or have you done research on the integration of ex-cult members into normal society?

Faith: Both. I wrote the DeLande Saga early in my writing career as Gwen Hunter. The research for that sort-of-trilogy has stayed with me and allowed me to see into the healing minds of people who have been brainwashed all their lives.

 

Roh: At what point in your writing career were you able to leave your day job and begin writing full time?

Faith: The day the ACA offered me health insurance. Financially, I could have stopped sooner but I needed those benefits.

 

Below are several questions from Faith’s fans on Facebook:

From Abby Christina, “Jane Yellowrock and Faith Hunter’s worlds Discussion” Facebook group:

“Ms. Faith, your books are always cleverly crafted, leaving your readers in the dark and then blowing our minds with where you end up taking us. It’s not just the big plot points, but little things as well. It seems effortless. My question is thus, (other than the occasional foreshadowing that allows for a peak into the next book) do you plan things out well ahead of time or do you just go with the flow and see what happens?”

Faith:  I have ideas of where the plot will go. It’s loosely planned out. When I started out with Jane Yellowrock, I knew I could do 3 books, or 6 or 9 or 13. The plots could be expanded or cut based on book contracts and sales figures. And of course, now I’m looking at book 14, so things expanded even more! For Nell, I had 3 books in mind. Period. I’ve had to work with the existing structure and the, “Things left unsaid, the questions left unanswered,” aspect to write on through books 4 and 5 in the Soulwood series. And I am loving where the unanswered questions led me into Circle of The Moon!

 

From Tex Mex, “Fans of Urban Fantasy” Facebook group:

Circle of the Moon (Soulwood #4) is scheduled to be released on February 26. Will we be seeing any characters from the Jane Yellowrock series that haven’t previously appeared in Nell’s story? Any new supernaturals we haven’t met before?

Faith: No and no. For now, the series have shifted apart, though they may come back together again someday. I am being careful about bringing too many new paranormal species into the story. I don’t want to overwhelm the readers with new magic methods, new species of bad guys or good guys.

 

Roh: Thank you, Faith, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat. I wish you the best on your upcoming release of Circle of the Moon!

Faith: Thanks for having me!

~*~

Faith’s next book is Circle of the Moon from her Soulwood series. You can read more about it in my previous post, ~ Faith Hunter Blog Tour, Interview, & Giveaway – Part I.

Circle of the Moon is scheduled for release this week on February 26th, and is available for pre-order from these retailers:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Soulwood-Novel-Faith-Hunter/dp/0399587942

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/circle-of-the-moon-faith-hunter/1128802031?ean=9780399587948#/

Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Circle-Moon/Faith-Hunter/9780399587948

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/circle-of-the-moon/id1390280167?mt=11

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Circle_of_the_Moon?id=yqJdDwAAQBAJ&hl=en_US

~*~

Don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY for the first two books in the Soulwood series!

Five winners will receive the first two Soulwood novels, Blood of the Earth and Curse on the Land!

The contest runs February 11th through March 7th. You can enter the contest HERE.

And if you’d like to check out guest posts, reviews, and other interviews from her blog tour, here is a list of her tour stops:

Feb. 11 The Irresponsible Reader (review, excerpt, giveaway)
Feb. 12 Diane Lynch (review & giveaway), Drops of Ink (excerpt & giveaway)
Feb. 13 Urban Fantasy Investigations (excerpt)
Feb. 14 Gizmo’s Reviews (review, excerpt)
Feb. 15 Angel’s Guilty Pleasures (excerpt, Q&A)
Feb. 16 The Book Crumb Trail (review, guest post)
Feb. 18 Tome Tender (review, excerpt)
Feb. 19 Books of My Heart (review, guest post), www.ken-schrader.com (excerpt, Q&A)
Feb. 20 Scorching Book Reviews (review, excerpt)
Feb. 21 Words I Write Crazy (review, excerpt)
Feb. 22 BTH Reviews (review), musings of a moonlight writer (Q&A), The Reading Addict (excerpt)
Feb. 25 Quirky Cats Fat Stacks (review, excerpt)
Feb. 26 The Genre Minx Book Reviews (review, excerpt)
Feb. 27 Slippery Words (review), Book Junkiez (excerpt)
Feb. 28 Rantings of a Reading Addict (review, excerpt)
Mar. 1 Vampire Book Club (excerpt, guest post)

~*~

Faith Hunter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the Jane Yellowrock series, the Soulwood series, and the Rogue Mage series, as well as the author of 16 thrillers under pen the names Gary Hunter and Gwen Hunter.

Faith’s Jane Yellowrock series is dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats.


The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy/paranormal police procedural/para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and a special agent of PsyLED.


The Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, along with several anthologies and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.

Faith writes full-time, tries to keep house, and is a workaholic. She gave up cooking for lent one year and the oven hasn’t been turned on since. Okay – that’s a joke. She does still make cold cereal and sandwiches. Occasionally, she remembers to turn on Roomba (that she named Duma$$ because it fell down the stairs once.)

Faith researches in great detail, and tries most everything her characters do. Research led to her life’s passions – jewelry making, orchids, bones, travel, white-water kayaking, and writing.

Jewelry-making was the occupation of two of her characters: Thorn St. Croix, the Rogue Mage, and the main character of BloodStone, written by her pen name, Gwen Hunter. She fell in love with the art form. Faith makes, wears, and sometimes gives away her jewelry as promo items to fans and as prizes in contests. See her Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/official.faith.hunter for pics. She works with stones, pearls, crystal, and glass, wire wrapping larger, undrilled, focal stones. Labradorite, Amazonite, apatite, aquamarine, and prehnite are her favorite stones.

Faith loves orchids. Her favorite time of year is when several are blooming. Pictures can be seen at her Facebook page. And yes, she collects bones and skulls. Many of her orchid pics are juxtaposed with bones and skulls —a fox, cat, dog, cow skull, goat, and deer skull, (that is, unfortunately, falling apart) and the jawbone of an ass. She just received a boar skull, and the  skull of a mountain lion (legally purchased from a US tannery) killed in the wild.

She and her husband RV, traveling to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.

And that leads Faith to kayaking – her very favorite sport. Faith discovered whitewater paddling when she was researching her (Gwen Hunter) mystery book, Rapid Descent. She took a lesson and—after a bout of panic attacks from fear of drowning—discovered she loved the sport.

Faith is one of the founders and a participant at the now defunct and archived www.MagicalWords.net, an online writing forum geared to helping writers. And she is a voracious reader.

Under other pen names, notably, Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Gwen, she is a winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for Fresh Talent in 1995 in the UK, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2008. As Faith, her books have been on the New York Times and USA TODAY Bestseller lists, been nominated for various awards and won an Audie Award with Khristine Hvam. Under all her pen names, she has more than 40 books, anthologies, and complications in print in 30 countries.

For more, including a list of her books, see www.faithhunter.net, www.gwenhunter.com, and www.magicalwords.net. To keep up with her daily, join her Facebook fan pages at: www.facebook.com/official.faith.hunter

~RM~

~ Faith Hunter Blog Tour, Interview, & Giveaway – Part I

Yes, there is a GIVEAWAY—from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Faith Hunter!

And there is also an interview with Faith!

But first, an introduction.

Those of you who follow Faith Hunter probably know about her upcoming Soulwood release, Circle of the Moon.

And if you’re not familiar with her work, you should be!

I first encountered Faith sometime around 2009 on the writer’s assistance blog MagicalWords.net, the same year she released Skinwalker, her first book in the wildly popular Jane Yellowrock urban fantasy series.

Since then, Faith has written fifteen more books and numerous shorter works within the Jane Yellowrock and the related Soulwood universe.

If you enjoy multi-layered world building, conflicted characters, and fast-paced action, you’ll love the supernatural inhabitants of this alternative world set primarily in modern-day New Orleans and the rugged hills of Tennessee.

Nell Ingram is the central figure in the Soulwood series. We first meet Nell, a magical ex-member of a religious cult, in “Off the Grid,” a Jane Yellowrock short story. But we really get to know her in Blood of the Earth, the first Soulwood novel.

Circle of the Moon, Soulwood #4, continues Nell’s story. Here’s a little bit about the book:

Nell can draw magic from the land around her, and lately she’s been using it to help the Psi-Law Enforcement division, which solves paranormal crimes. Joining the team at PsyLED has allowed her to learn more about her powers and the world she always shunned—and to find true friends.

Head agent Rick LaFleur shifts into a panther when the moon calls him, but this time, something has gone wrong. Rick calls Nell from a riverbank—he’s naked, with no memory of how he came to be there, and there’s a dead black cat, sacrificed in a witch circle and killed by black magic, lying next to him.

Then more animals turn up dead, and the team rushes to investigate. A blood-witch is out to kill. But when it seems as if their leader is involved in the crime, the bonds that hold the team together could shatter at any moment.

Circle of the Moon is scheduled for release this week on February 26th, and is available for pre-order from these retailers:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Soulwood-Novel-Faith-Hunter/dp/0399587942

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/circle-of-the-moon-faith-hunter/1128802031?ean=9780399587948#/

Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Circle-Moon/Faith-Hunter/9780399587948

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/circle-of-the-moon/id1390280167?mt=11

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Circle_of_the_Moon?id=yqJdDwAAQBAJ&hl=en_US

~*~

GIVEAWAY!!!

Yes, I said there was a giveaway!

Five winners will receive the first two Soulwood novels, Blood of the Earth and Curse on the Land!

 

The contest runs February 11th through March 7th. You can enter the contest HERE.

~*~

INTERVIEW

In addition to the giveaway, I’m pleased to present an interview with Faith as part of her blog tour. You can find it in my next post, ~ Faith Hunter Blog Tour, Interview, & Giveaway – Part II.

And if you’d like to check out guest posts, reviews, and other interviews from her blog tour, here is a list of her tour stops:

Feb. 11 The Irresponsible Reader (review, excerpt, giveaway)
Feb. 12 Diane Lynch (review & giveaway), Drops of Ink (excerpt & giveaway)
Feb. 13 Urban Fantasy Investigations (excerpt)
Feb. 14 Gizmo’s Reviews (review, excerpt)
Feb. 15 Angel’s Guilty Pleasures (excerpt, Q&A)
Feb. 16 The Book Crumb Trail (review, guest post)
Feb. 18 Tome Tender (review, excerpt)
Feb. 19 Books of My Heart (review, guest post), www.ken-schrader.com (excerpt, Q&A)
Feb. 20 Scorching Book Reviews (review, excerpt)
Feb. 21 Words I Write Crazy (review, excerpt)
Feb. 22 BTH Reviews (review), musings of a moonlight writer (Q&A), The Reading Addict (excerpt)
Feb. 25 Quirky Cats Fat Stacks (review, excerpt)
Feb. 26 The Genre Minx Book Reviews (review, excerpt)
Feb. 27 Slippery Words (review), Book Junkiez (excerpt)
Feb. 28 Rantings of a Reading Addict (review, excerpt)
Mar. 1 Vampire Book Club (excerpt, guest post)

~*~

Faith Hunter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the Jane Yellowrock series, the Soulwood series, and the Rogue Mage series, as well as the author of 16 thrillers under pen the names Gary Hunter and Gwen Hunter. She has 40+ books in print.

Faith’s Jane Yellowrock series is dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats.


The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy/paranormal police procedural/para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and a special agent of PsyLED.


The Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, along with several anthologies and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.

Faith collects orchids and animal skulls, loves thunder storms, and writes. She likes to cook soup, bake homemade bread, garden, and run Class III whitewater rivers. She edits the occasional anthology and drinks a lot of tea. Some days she’s a lady. Some days she ain’t.

For more, including a list of her books, see her website at www.faithhunter.net. And to keep up with her, like her Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/official.faith.hunter

And be sure to check out my interview with Faith on my next post, ~ Faith Hunter Blog Tour, Interview, & Giveaway – Part II.

~RM~

~ Tenth Anniversary

This month marks the 10th anniversary of my first foray into writing. I started Watcher in 2009 after waking up from a dream with this lonely vampire woman in my head, then worked the next five months feverishly writing the first draft. The next eighteen months were spent editing and polishing and learning the craft, and I finally published Watcher in October 2011.

The last ten years have been a remarkable series of adventures in this thing called writing. I’ve traveled throughout California, to Utah and Oregon, to New Orleans, and even to Romania in pursuit of knowledge and networking as it relates to this career. Along the way, I’ve met amazing, supportive readers and writers who keep me believing in myself and my ability to tell a story.

It’s their belief that keeps me going, despite an intense day job that keeps me on the road much of the time.

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who’ve accompanied me on this journey, whether you’ve done it by purchasing my books, attending my signings, or simply liking a Facebook post.

I wouldn’t still be doing this if it wasn’t for you and your continuing encouragement.

~RM~

~ December thoughts

It’s impossible that the end of the year is just around the corner! Where did the year go? Are we really a few days away from 2019, and a just year away from 2020?

That’s a frightening thought. It doesn’t seem so long ago that popular science fiction was set in the 2020s, a decade far into the future.

Well, the future is here. NASA has recently landed its eighth spacecraft on Mars, cars with autopilot are hitting the roads, and in our pockets and purses we carry “phones” with processors that eclipse any mainframe computer of a few decades ago.

Amazing times.

So in keeping with my musings on time and the future, I’m posting quotes from three of my favorite genres: science fiction, fantasy, and horror. These appeared in The Chosen Updates December newsletter.

~*~

This first quote is from a famous 1979 science fiction novel which originated as a comedy radio play on the BBC:

“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.” –Ford Prefect, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

~*~

The wisdom of Gandalf  bears a message we should all heed: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”–Gandalf, from Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien.

~*~

And finally, Dracula’s perspective of time was framed by his centuries of isolation high in the Carpathian mountains: “. . .and after all, how few days go to make up a century.”–Dracula, from the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

~*~~*~~*~

As some of you may know, this past summer I started a monthly newsletter called The Chosen Updates which includes, among other things, exclusive excerpts from upcoming releases. If you missed the first few issues, you can visit The Chosen Updates Archive for summaries and links to past editions. And if you’d like to sign up for future newsletters, you can sign up for The Chosen Updates here.

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And on a last note, I’m holding a Final Year-End Sale on The Chosen entire series. Watcher, Runner, The Last Trace, and The Games Monsters Play are all on sale – you can get the whole shebang for less than $4.00! And if you already have the series, be sure to pass this along to a friend.

That’s it for now. In January I’ll re-cap the year and talk about what’s on the horizon for 2019.

Until then, have a Happy New Year!

~RM~