Beth Alvarez's Blog, page 19

The Westkings Heist Omnibus is now available!

Three books. Three heists. One unexpected adventure.

The Westkings Heist adventure trilogy follows Tahl, the legendary Ghost of Orrad, on his rise to fame… or infamy. Now, the complete series is bundled together for the first time, including two exclusive bonus short stories.

TO STEAL THE WORLD
Safety. Wealth. Respect. Tahl wants nothing else.

Uncertainty. Poverty. Scorn. After being expelled from the Mage Academy, these are all he has.

The thieves guild, ruled by a hidden master, offers everything he craves: Security, power, and prestige. But they want fame, not a nobody like Tahl.

He’s determined to prove them wrong. All he needs is one night. One heist. One chance to prove his worth.
After all, impossible feats are how legends are born.

TO STEAL THE CROWN
Without chaos, Orrad can’t have a hero.

After the impossible heist that put ex-mage Tahl on the map and put the name of the Ghost on the lips of everyone in Orrad, he disappeared. Without a guild to keep thieves organized, the city is consumed by fear, and a never-ending stream of false Ghosts swing from the gallows.

Determined to draw a new guild from the ashes of Bahar Eseri’s empire, Tahl plans to stage his return at the height of the city’s unrest. To prove his identity and claim to the name of Ghost, he must pull off the greatest heist the Westkings have ever known—again.

His target?
The emperor himself.

TO STEAL THE QUEEN
If a single thing goes wrong, this heist could be his last.

Even thieves have loyalties, so when Tahl—the legendary Ghost of Orrad—discovers someone has been stealing from the sweet old woman who once offered him shelter, he’s determined to set things right.

When his personal mission leads to an accidental kidnapping, it draws the attention of Orrad’s queen, who has an interesting proposition: a job for the Ghost. Tahl knows it could be a trap, but with a reward that rivals a king’s ransom, it might be worth the risk—or it might just get him killed.

…plus the short stories Never Gone and Don’t Steal from Demons.
The adventure awaits.

Click here to get your copy now–available as a digital box set, or a single-volume omnibus paperback.

The other goals for 2021

I already shared my writing goals at the end of December, but mentioned I had some other goals, too. While getting books out is definitely my #1 goal, there are two other big categories for things I want to achieve:

1: I want to work on improving the quality of content I offer, and
2: I want to continue to improve our home and quality of life.

I’m already taking steps toward the first one, there–I recently upgraded my overhead camera mount so I can film better videos and work with better lighting, which will improve my visual quality. I’m also working to incorporate more viewer feedback so I know the things I’m sharing are the things people want to see from me. Even though my YouTube adventures have always been more hobby-oriented than book-oriented, I feel like it’s an important way for me to connect with communities I care about, and since my dolls are all characters from my books, they’re sort of tangentially connected, anyway.

I also plan to start using my author Instagram page a little more regularly, sharing pretty book spreads, shots of my planners, cover and character artwork, and quotes from my various stories. If you’re interested, you can follow me over there @bethalvarezauthor and share your thoughts!

This goal also extends to learning to better my craft as an author, and while I haven’t yet determined how I’ll continue to improve (I’m starting to run out of books on the craft of writing…) I know it’s important for me to keep at it, so I’ll find something to study and work on, for sure.

The second goal I mentioned is a little more broad. It means continuing to work on improving my health, hopefully learning to like exercise, and tackling home improvement projects until the end of time. There’s still painting to be done, coming up on two years after we moved in, and we’re about ready to tear out the carpeting in the master bedroom and bathroom (ick!) to replace it with laminate and tile. That’s probably the biggest of the projects ahead of us, but I’m hoping to have it finished before the end of summer. Other possibilities are building a retaining wall in the back yard and laying stone for a new patio, but we’ll see how far we get–sometimes doing flooring is challenge enough.

I hope to do a better job of sharing those projects along the way too, but we’ll see–I’m hesitant to make big goals after how 2020 turned out…

Cover Reveal: Westkings Heist box set and omnibus

In less than two weeks, the whole Westkings Heist series will be available in a new format. With the first two books being novellas, doing print editions wasn’t cost-effective, but now that the series is done? Oh yeah.

The complete Westkings Heist omnibus will be released on January 16, bundling the three books together with two bonus short stories, and it’ll be available in print!

The print version will be a single omnibus edition, one big, fat book with all the stories inside it.  I’d considered doing individual novella releases in paperback, but it didn’t seem very efficient or cost-effective for readers, so a single-volume omnibus makes more sense.

While I really wish I could do a true box set someday, with print versions tucked inside a slip case, the only way to get slip cases made is to have a huge print run manufactured–and I’m not there just yet. Maybe someday, though.

Last of all, a couple people have asked if there will be more adventures for Tahl now that the trilogy has wrapped up.  The less-than-satisfactory answer I have right now is: probably. When they’ll happen or what they’ll be about, I can’t say, though if you’ve read all 3 books, you probably know the direction the series can take from where it ends. The heists are a very complete trilogy, so if anything else comes next, it would have to be a whole new series under a new name, but I’m very open to seeing where the story might take me from here on out.

In the meantime, I have stickers to make, because what’s a book release from me without bonus stickers?

What’s coming from me in 2021

This year, am I right? It’s been a wild ride, and I don’t think I need to say anything else about it. So I won’t. Instead, here’s a look at everything I have planned for 2021. Just books, this time–I’ve got some personal goals, too, but I’ll discuss them later since I’m still planning some of them out. Besides, books are why you’re here. So. Books. 2021. Here’s what we’ve got.

I plan to release four new titles in 2021.

The last two books in the Snakesblood Saga, and the first two books in my next fantasy series, Spectrum Legacy, which I’ve mentioned on and off over the past year or two. The release dates are already planned, but they’re slightly flexible, because if 2020 taught me one thing, it’s that I have to be flexible with my project planning.

Serpent’s Crown, the penultimate installment in the Snakesblood Saga, will be released in February.

This one’s fully edited and in the final stages of formatting and proofreading, but cover art still needs to be completed. Assuming USPS backlogs don’t cause difficulties getting print proofs and the final print copies, there shouldn’t be any  problems getting this book out on time.

Serpent’s Blood, the finale of the Snakesblood Saga, will be released in May.

This one is with the editor now and progressing as planned. It doesn’t need quite as much work as #5, so I see no reasons this will be delayed.

Spectrum Blade, Spectrum Legacy #1, is scheduled for release in August.

This one is still being written, but it’s halfway there, and should be complete before Serpent’s Crown is out. I still have to figure out who’s going to handle cover artwork and who’s going to do editing, but I’ve tried to give myself a bigger buffer of time for producing books this year.

Paragon of Fire, Spectrum Legacy #2, is scheduled for release in November.

I’ll probably aim for an early November release with this one instead of letting it land near Thanksgiving, but it will depend on production schedules, since this one hasn’t even been started yet! But like I said, I’ve given myself a bigger buffer of time to get these books complete. Ideally, I want to fall into a rhythm of writing and releasing 3 or 4 books per year, but we’ll see how things change. What’s realistic right now might not be tomorrow, so that’s why I haven’t yet set concrete release dates for this series.

Keeper’s Kin and Westkings Heist will both get a digital box set release.

Since Keeper’s Kin has just started being released wide, it’s about time it gets wrapped up into one bundle. I’m not 100% certain when these two will land, but it’ll happen some time.

That’s all I have planned for book updates in the coming year, but I think that’s more than enough–especially compared to the breakneck pace I held through all of 2020. I’ll share updates on all of these projects through the year, of course, and if you want the earliest news, the best place to get it is my twice-monthly email newsletter.

Everything else I’m doing in 2021, well… for now, that will be a surprise.

Tea Review: Adagio Cherry Tea

You all know I love berry blends, right? Fruity teas are some of my favorites? And cherries are my favorite fruit. I can eat a pound of cherries in a sitting and still want more. So I expected I’d really love this blend. It’s got dried cherries and rose petals in it! What wasn’t to love?

Unfortunately, this tea fell into a pitfall so many other cherry flavored things do: It smelled great while steeping, but when I had a sip… it tasted like cough medicine to me. The flavor was almost overwhelming when I had it plain. Some of the medicinal taste was alleviated by the addition of sugar and milk, but not enough to really make it enjoyable. The cherry flavor itself was a bit on the tart side and wasn’t aided by the sugar–or at least, not to a level I felt I could enjoy.

On the plus side, It’s absolutely heavenly to smell, and I could see it being enjoyable to drink if I was under the weather and needing the placebo effect of that cough drop flavor.

All that said, this one’s a pass for me, and I’m glad all I had was a single serving sample packet, because I won’t feel obligated to drink any more!

All the things that didn’t get done

At the beginning of the year, I laid out my plan with 3 main goal categories. What fit into those categories seemed pretty straightforward and possible, but my goals definitely didn’t align with what was possible given the course of the year.

Writing takes a lot of time, and by the time we were halfway through April, I knew a lot of things would have to be let go just because I was drowning under the effort of keeping things going. Now, two weeks from the end of the year, I can pretty safely say what is or isn’t going to be done by the end of the year.

On the plus side…

I did pretty well with my publishing goals, all things considered. My goal included writing 3 books and publishing 9 new titles. All the releases I’ll be able to do this year are now out, which means I did manage to get 8 new books out:

To Steal the World (Westkings Heist #1)

To Steal the Crown (Westkings Heist #2)

Serpent’s Mark (Snakesblood Saga #1)

Serpent’s Tears (Snakesblood Saga #2)

To Steal the Queen (Westkings Heist #3)

Serpent’s Bane (Snakesblood Saga #3)

Serpent’s Wake (Snakesblood Saga #4)

Her Midnight Hunter (Keeper’s Kin #3)

…are all new releases. I also wrote a couple short stories and got those out, and ended up polishing and releasing The City of Arches as its own adventure novella.

The other things on the list were getting tons of home improvement projects done and working on my physical health. Both of those were sort of hit and miss.

For the house, I did manage to get the kitchen flooring laid and I repainted the master bathroom.

And as for me, I lost 22 pounds and that definitely had a positive impact on my joint pain.

On the down side…

I’d wanted to have Serpent’s Crown (Snakesblood #5) out this year, but it won’t be until February. I’d also wanted to have Spectrum Blade (Spectrum Legacy #1) done this year, and that won’t happen, either. There just wasn’t enough time, since I have less than an hour a day to work on my books. All things considered, getting eight books (plus Arches, so I guess sort of nine? Hmm…) released in one very trying year isn’t too bad, even if it isn’t where I wanted to be.

The house was also supposed to be finished by now, but it’s nowhere near done. Everyone wanted to fix up their houses in the extra time they suddenly had at home, which meant all of a sudden, you couldn’t even get paint chips or flooring samples to plan improvements, much less the materials to make the changes. So while the living room and kitchen are mostly done, there are a few places that still need work. I’m still waiting for thresholds and reducers in the right color to come back in stock, and they’re so back-ordered that I can’t get them online, either. I’m also not done painting the master bath, and I think finishing painting bedroom doors has been on my list for a year. I got a spray gun to help with that, but as of yet, I don’t have anywhere set up that I can actually do the spraying.

And while I’d love to finish painting the trim in the bathroom, I’ve still got a lot of aches and pains–worse in some places, since I had that weird episode of… I don’t know what, back in the spring, and may not ever find out. Either way, it left my knees crunchy, and aggravating pinched nerves in my shoulders is a permanent ongoing problem. So those things definitely won’t get done this year, and will probably happen slowly over the course of next year, if at all.

I’m already working out my plans and goals for next year, and hopefully they’ll be more realistic for the current level of work I can get done, but I’ll save that for another time.

I won NaNoWriMo

The last time I officially participated in NaNo, I was sixteen. I had an idea for a portal fantasy that I desperately wanted to write. But I’d never finished writing any stories, much less written enough to realistically tackle 50,000 words in a month.

Needless to say, that story never got written–even though I still want to write it. It hasn’t been the right time. And for a long time, that mentality bled over into my view of NaNo, too.

November’s not a good month for it. It’s hard for me to commit to that much writing in that little time. Except, when I sit down and actually do the writing, it’s not that bad. 1,667 words a day sounds like a lot, and when I first tackled NaNo, it was more than what I could easily do. I didn’t know how to outline yet. I didn’t know how to set myself up for success. But when it comes to actually writing, it’s not that hard for me to hit 2,000 words a day as long as I get two hours of dedicated writing time.

Part of overcoming the obstacles that kept me from participating in NaNo again was learning that while 1,000 words an hour is slow for a lot of authors, it’s good for me, and that’s okay. A lot of writers write very rough first drafts. Me, on the other hand… In the past year, I’ve consistently impressed editors with how clean my first draft is. I go slower. I front-load my work. I don’t leave a lot of “fixing” for the future me to handle. I work slow to ensure my grammar is all right, that I’m not starting too many sentences the same way, that I’m fixing typos as I go instead of making editors cringe later on. This is what works for me, and it means I’m slower up front, but save time in editing stages later. But writing a huge number of words in one month isn’t for everyone. Quality’s always going to be most important, and for some people, that means taking time to let a plot grow like a garden, minding delicate tendrils of storyline as they creep up the trellis of your plans. That, too, is fine.

But I have to be honest about this whole situation, too.

I thought completing NaNoWriMo would be exciting. That I’d feel a rush of success and achievement when I hit that 50,000 word mark.

I didn’t.

Nothing changed.

I didn’t finish the book; it’s not even halfway complete. And now I have to put it aside until January at soonest, so I can focus on a few bigger things that take precedence right now.

Serpent’s Crown, book 5 of the Snakesblood Saga, is back from the editor and needs some extra love and care. This book suffered the most from restructuring the series to be 6 books instead of 3, and right now, the central arc of this story isn’t prevalent enough to make it a satisfying installment on its own. 5 books in, people probably expect a lot of setup for the grand finale, but I still need to do something to make it substantial enough to be satisfying on its own.

Serpent’s Blood, the last book in the series, will be back from editing toward the end of December, most likely, and I need to have book 5 done before 6 lands on my desk.

On top of that, Her Midnight Wedding is getting a little refresher this month ahead of the whole Keeper’s Kin series leaving Kindle Unlimited and being made available wide.

And there’s something special coming for the Westkings Heist series in a week or so, too.

December’s a month of wrapping things up, preparing for the new–and that means the new, the NaNo, gets pushed back to January… when I might have time to resume work again.

JanNoWriMo, anyone?

Don’t Steal from Demons: Part Five (A Westkings Heist story)

“Ready,” Nia announced.

Tahl glanced over his shoulder and bit his tongue. He’d elected to wear the simple gray uniform of a soldier out of armor, something he’d liberated from a guard’s house after his romp in Orrad’s fortress-like palace. She, on the other hand, looked little different from her everyday appearance as a barmaid.

“You’re going to need to do better than that.” He fastened the last button of his coat and turned to help her. The dress she’d chosen was ordinary and suited a peasant girl, but she’d done nothing with her black hair. He slid his fingers along her hairline and gathered it all behind her ears to smooth it into a braid.

Nia scrunched her nose. “I can do my own hair.”

“Really? How come I’ve never seen you do anything but tie it back, then?” His fingers were deft and with her hair little more than shoulder-length, it wasn’t long before he’d tied off the braid and coiled it into a simple bun against the back of her head. But he didn’t have any hairpins on him, so he caught her hand and clamped it over the bun to make her hold it in place until he could find some.

“Because I don’t like it being fancy,” she replied with a sniff.

Tahl snorted and pulled the box of treasures out from underneath his bed. “All the more reason to do something fancy, then. The goal is to avoid being recognized, remember?” He fished around in a smaller wooden container inside the box until he produced a few hairpins. He couldn’t recall where he’d gotten them or why he’d decided to keep them, but the container was filled with bits of wire and string and miscellaneous pieces of who-knew-what he’d always assumed would come in handy. More often than not, he was right.

Nia rolled her eyes, but stood still while he worked the pins into her hair.

Satisfied, he stepped back to give her one last inspection. “Ready?”

“No, but if we get shot at again, I’m blaming you. I don’t think I can run or climb in this skirt.” She gathered the fabric in both hands and gave it a swish. It wasn’t an impressive dress, but it was all he’d been able to procure for her on short notice.

Brant forbid she appreciate that it fits, he mused. “Fine. Let’s get to the docks.”

Though she groaned, Nia followed him out of his latest hideout.

He moved, every now and then; he still missed the cozy space above Ebitha’s stables he’d called home for so long, but it was safer not to be in any one place for too long. More often than not, it was Nia getting herself in trouble that prompted his moves. Tahl shut and locked the door behind her, lamenting the packing he’d have to do as soon as this was over.

With his stolen guard’s uniform, no one bothered them on the trek to the docks east of the city. While they traversed the city streets, he found it a boon. Once they passed the gate and he saw how many men in armor swarmed the riverfront, his choice of disguise sent a trickle of sweat down his spine.

“I’ve never seen so many guards in one place before,” Nia murmured. “Not even when you—”

“Now would not be the wisest time to discuss previous exploits,” he said through clenched teeth. He expected her to come back with a retort, but she blushed, instead.

Keenly aware of the cosmetic wax that hid the scar on his face once more, he squared his shoulders and tried to look as if he belonged.

Together, they walked the crowded street, and it wasn’t long before something brushed the edge of Tahl’s senses.

“I think I see him,” Nia whispered.

He nodded and slowed just enough for her to take the lead.

The farther they went, the more the sense of something prickled. A presence, a power unlike anything he’d ever felt before. The prickle turned to an itch and he rolled his shoulders, fighting the urge to scratch.

Nia tugged at his sleeve. “There. That’s him. I’m sure of it.”

“All right,” he murmured. The itch turned to a burn, a heat that rolled over his skin like the air from a baker’s oven. He fought back a shudder and made himself walk on. Magic had never put him so on edge before, but it felt raw, wrong, and the closer they got to their target, the worse it seemed to be.

It wasthe target, Tahl realized. The brown-cloaked figure that stood on the pier and watched cargo be loaded was a mage. That presence grew stronger, stranger, flooding him with a sickening urge to run. Nia must have felt it too, for all that she wasn’t a mage. She stopped at the end of the pier and watched with wide eyes as Tahl forced himself to continue on.

Heat. Power. His heartbeat quickened and his stomach lurched.

Stealing was easy.

Returning something should have been easy.

Instead, he struggled onward, fearful he’d be ill.

The figure shifted, its hooded head canting to one side. It seemed the target had sensed him, too. It grew still as Tahl approached.

Power rolled off the stranger, more wild, more sickening than Tahl ever imagined magic could be. The sheer weight of its presence poured over him and threatened to drive him under.

The stranger turned.

Unable to resist, Tahl sank to his knees and presented the stolen blade on his upturned palms.

“You are not the one who stole from me,” the mark said, his words thick with an accent Tahl had never heard before.

“But I’m the one who’s giving it back,” Tahl said.

A soft chuckle answered. “You’ve learned a lesson?”

All Tahl managed was a nod.

“This was not for you.” Rather than anger, amusement colored the man’s voice. He reached for the blade, and instead of fingers, it was claws that curled around the hilt.

Startled, Tahl lifted his head as that subhuman hand—and the dagger—vanished into the stranger’s cloak. From the depths of the hood that shadowed the stranger’s features, a pair of deep violet lights stared back.

The pit of Tahl’s stomach dropped.

A shout from the ship beside them drew the stranger’s attention and he turned away. With a grace as inhuman as the rest of him, the man swept up the gangplank and disappeared without a word.

All of a sudden, the crushing weight of power lifted, and Tahl’s shoulders slumped with relief. Beads of sweat marred his brow and he swiped them away with the back of his hand. He’d never felt anything like that. Silently, he prayed he never would again.

Hurried footfalls thumped behind him, earning a few curious looks from passers-by, but not even the armored guards on duty watched them for more than a moment. Their luck, it seemed, had changed.

“What was that all about?” Nia asked as she knelt beside him. Her hands curled around his arm, and for a moment, he wasn’t sure if she was seeking comfort or trying to offer it to him.

“A lesson,” Tahl said. He freed himself of her grasp and pushed himself up.

Nia glanced toward the ship as the sailors pulled in the plank and prepared to set sail. “What lesson?”

His eyes glazed and he swallowed hard. “Don’t steal from demons.”

Serpent’s Wake, book 4 of the Snakesblood Saga, is now available!

Today’s release day! Serpent’s Wake, the fourth book in the Snakesblood Saga, is now available.

Getting this book out was a bit of a challenge, but we made it in the end. You can now purchase the book for Kindle or read free with Kindle Unlimited, or get your very own print copy to decorate your shelf.

And if you missed the print preorder, don’t worry! It’s still possible to get a signed paperback copy directly from me by checking out the “shop” link in my site’s navigation.

Book 5, the penultimate installment of the series, is fresh back from the editor and I’m getting to work on it this week.

Also, if you aren’t signed up for my email newsletter and you’re liking these books, I promise you want to be. There’s something special coming in a week, and you won’t want to miss out…

Tea review: Independence Coffee Company Tea is for Texas Earl Grey Créme de la Créme

Phew, how’s that title for a mouthful?

So, two tea reviews in a row! That’s because I have a lot of teas to drink, and I’ve been drinking a lot as I prepare for Serpent’s Wake (Snakesblood #4) to launch this Saturday.

At the end of summer, I received a lovely gift of teas (thank you, Ting!) that came from Independence Coffee Company. As an indie in my own pursuits, I love trying indie offerings in fields outside of fiction, too, so I was delighted to open the box.

I’ve often mentioned that Earl Greys are often my favorite tea varieties. There’s something so soothing about the citrus tang of that bergamot oil, and when it’s coupled with vanilla or cream, I tend to like it even better. So I went into this knowing I’d probably like Independence Coffee’s Earl Grey Créme de la Créme blend, but honestly, I was not prepared.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and apparently that goes for flavor, too. I don’t think I’ve ever had an Earl Grey blend that was as robust or generous in the flavor department as this tea. Opening the bag was enough to make me melt and I’m pretty sure I drank about four cups of it on the first day, which is quite a feat since I’m usually hard pressed to find time to prepare one cup of tea in the morning, but it was so uniquely intense that I had to keep going back.

Like most Earl Greys, it’s fine to drink straight. It’s got a strong black base, though, and since it’s a creme it’s obviously meant to pair with milk. While the addition of milk mellows the bergamot a little, it still offers a very full-bodied citrus that provides a beautiful morning wake-up call. But the milk really emphasizes the sweet cream flavor that makes the taste a luxury and treat–and an absolute delight as a dessert in the evenings when a little rock sugar or stevia is added. Since I’ve been trying to cut back on  desserts like ice cream at night, this is an exceptionally welcome addition to my tea shelf, and I’m pretty sure I’ve now offered a cup to everybody I know. Divine!

Absolutely recommended, and quite possibly my new favorite Earl Grey blend.