D'VAIRE

Letters to Aleksanta was released last week and became the first D’Vaire book to garner one of the coveted best seller banners on Amazon! I have the most incredible readers and I’m so grateful to you for not just wanting to read that fun short story, but for the fourteen books we’ve journeyed through together. I have no plans on letting D’Vaire stop or slow down, so there’s plenty more to come. For my first short story, I got to step into Aleksander’s shoes for more than one chapter as I’ve done in some of the other books. I think that might’ve been what propelled me to spend my summer writing his full-length novel. I wrote Letters to Aleksanta last year around the holidays and I can hardly believe we’re nearing the end of 2019. And, even scarier, the end of a decade. Time truly does move incredibly fast. Those of you that follow this blog know that it was kind of a rough one for me, and as Christmas fast approaches, I grow more saddened by the wonderful woman who I won’t get to...

Precariously Mated isn’t your typical D’Vaire book. The two main characters, Niko and Costas, build a friendship before Fate pairs them. I enjoy making the rules for the D’Vaire universe and at the same time, I like to see how far they can be pushed. The challenge of writing stories that differ is something I am intrinsically drawn to, but there are times that I don’t quite anticipate where that journey will take me. If you’ve had the chance to read Precariously Mated, or at least peeked at the author’s note at the start, you know that Niko shares something in common with me. I believed that creating a character with obsessive-compulsive disorder would be easy or perhaps cathartic, but it was quite the opposite. It made me uncomfortable to reflect upon how much the mental disorder impacts my life and I suppose that’s because I prefer to think of myself as the one consummately in control. When my husband read Niko and Costas’s story, his reaction was quite unlike his response w...

Although I’ve got all kinds of ideas running through my head, I haven’t written anything since I finished Aleksander’s book. (And damn do I miss him and his mate! They are definitely going to be featured in more short stories.) I believe I’ve got most of the outline figured out for the short story I need to complete next, so my plan is to tackle that next week. My goal is to get that wrapped up before GRL so I can focus on my next book when I return from New Mexico. The couple featured are jumping up and down for my attention and I’m looking forward to it. It’s got some elements that are unique, and I do love a challenge. A few months ago, I told you about my best friend’s mother who found out she had metastatic lung cancer. If you’ve heard me talk about her, you know that she’s been a major influence in my life, and I consider her family. The last I wrote I was heading to Minnesota to see her and that she wasn’t doing well. It was a nice trip although very difficult. Her favorite da...

I have always found it strange that people in the world of the Council of Sorcery and Shifters are so interested in me and what I’m doing. It was my father who altered the course of my life by kicking me out of his dragon court, then telling everyone who would listen what he thought was wrong with me. Five dragons followed me out and that was the foundation of D’Vaire. As you know, we spent centuries hopping all over the beautiful land of Europe before Emperor Chrysander made the decision to accept Arch Lich Chander Daray’s invitation to not only join the Council but take it over. We moved to North America and not much changed for us beyond the landscape until Dra’Kaedan knocked on my front door. What those dragons that followed me couldn’t have known was that I kept secrets. One of them was my suspicion that I’d once met Reverent Knight Drystan Gylde-Kempe before he was resurrected. I didn’t know for sure, so I never said a word to him, but when his other half Conley got his memor...

I’ve got a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, so I thought I’d share with you the big gift from the husband. The pictures have been sitting in my office for too long and I need to hang them, but I’ll get there eventually. For now, they’re resting comfortably next to the giant versions of the chibis I ordered on canvases which are also waiting to be tacked up somewhere. The chibis kind of stare at me while I write which is fun, but I also know Dra’Kaedan is up to no good and it’s distracting. 😜 I just ordered what I think is the last of the stuff I want to bring with me to GRL so that’s one thing I can check off my to-do list. We’ve made our hotel arrangements to spend a night in Arizona on our drive out but no final decision yet on whether we’ll stop anywhere on our way home. We may do something completely foreign to us both and wait until we get there to figure it out. I’m still working on the same book. It’s 150k! I can however see a dim light at the end of the tunnel and ...

The fantastic chibi versions of Dra’Kaedan and the emperors at the center of the picture were created by the incredibly talented Jen Fowler of Fofo Art which can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/artbyfofo/. She absolutely brought these guys to life and I love them! This is some of the goodies that will be accompanying me to GRL. A big thank you to every one of you lovely readers! It means the world to me that you're still excited about visiting D'Vaire. What did you think of Chrysander and Ellery’s story now that you’ve gotten to read both halves? I hope you liked it! When you write something that is two books long you spend a great deal of time with the characters so as you can imagine I’m quite attached. Chrysander has certainly been in his fair share of the D’Vaire series and Elf has already made several appearances in the ones that I’ve already written since I finished Drakeling & Elf. I pared down their playlist after I finished their journey. Many of th...

Every October my husband and I do our best to go to Minnesota where we spend a week relaxing in a cabin with my best friend’s mom Cecilia. (It’s just the three of us as Patrick and everyone else has declared it boring – there’s a lot of pajamas, popcorn, and movies.) Let me tell you a little about her and our relationship. When I was 23 or 24, I became estranged from my parents. It wasn’t one specific incidence or fight but a nonverbal decision on both sides that perhaps the only thing that suited us after years of issues was space. Patrick was already a part of my life and my best friend. When he got married when we were both 27, I finally got the chance to meet his family. From the moment we met them, they immediately made us feel like we were family too. Since that day sixteen years ago, we’ve spent countless moments with them. We’ve shared holidays especially Christmas, trips, and Patrick’s mom became our adopted mom. We in fact have called her mom for many years. My relationsh...

I thought it might be fun to get you caught up with what’s going on around in what today I'm calling the D’Vaire Lair. 😜 On Sunday I finished Marked by Lightning which is Prism Wizard Vadimas Porfyra’s book. I haven’t always done outlines but as I started working through Drystan and Conley’s story I found that it aided me in staying on track and remembering every detail and nuance of my characters that I wanted to be highlighted in it. My routine evolved into detailed outlines that are easy for me to check off and while I never stick completely to them Vadimas’s mate nearly had me tossing the damn thing out the window. You think you know a character after spending some time with them and I’ve had Vadimas’s story floating around in my head now for more than a year and a half. He wasn’t always easy to pin down and was quite the chameleon for a while so when I sat down to put together the outline, I had to make sure I understood him. I thought I knew him, but I found out I only k...

Last week you finally got to step into the world of Emperor Chrysander Draconis. From the moment I created him his mate was there, and Emperor Ellery Draconis is one of my favorite characters. Cliffhangers are irritating I know but there was simply no way to put everything in a single novel. The conclusion of Chrys and Ellery’s story is titled Eminently Elf and will be available on July 25th. Although I would love to give you their playlist I’m going to wait until after Eminently Elf is published. I’m always afraid I will give out spoilers that ruin it for you so that’s why I’m delaying that. I promise it’s not just because I’m mean. Next week, select titles in the series will be available in print format for the very first time! I’m very excited to be able to offer Dra’Kaedan’s Coven (D’Vaire 1) and Sentinel’s Dagger (D’Vaire 2) in lovely paperbacks. The goal is to eventually get all of them converted but I don’t have a timetable for that yet. I can tell you that No Ordinary Drak...

Tomorrow you’ll get to see a brand-new cover and you’ll only have to wait two weeks to get your hands on the next book in the D’Vaire series. No Ordinary Drakeling is one of two books that feature Emperor Chrysander Draconis. When I first created the character of the man who oversaw the Council of Sorcery and Shifters it was from the point of view of Aleksander. It was a mean dude who punished Aleksander for being different and as the series went on would eventually be dethroned. As I fleshed out more of the world I was building, I grew dissatisfied with that take because it would require me to focus on matters outside Aleksander’s mansion. I was going to focus solely on the sanctuary (which I know is growing slow as hell, but I’ll never toss anyone in there just to give you a bunch of names or not have a clue where their life is headed). But then freaking Chander came storming through and was insistent that I figure his life out. So, then Alaric was crafted, and you know what happ...

Seven days ago, I released Delaney and Grigori’s story and I wanted to thank everyone who either bought the book or read it through Kindle Unlimited. It warms my heart to know that after eleven books into this series, you’re still picking them up and hopefully enjoying them. I appreciate your interest in every story and I’m incredibly grateful to have you as readers! ❤ Last time I put together a blog, I was bitching because I couldn’t get my mind to settle and I hadn’t written anything in a while. I can happily tell you that I started the seventeenth book on Monday. One of its main characters you’ve already met since he’s related to and has visited D’Vaire on many occasions. This guy was never on my radar as someone who would get a book. He was simply a secondary voice that was needed for another plot.  However, one of my wonderful editors Hope wished that he got a happy ending. I hesitated as I was unsure if it would work, but once the idea was settled in my mind, I found a...

In just a few days, Becoming D’Vaire will be up for pre-order. As I look forward to another book release, I find myself with an interesting issue today. I finished up the Imperial Duke’s story a couple of weeks ago and haven’t written a thing since. I couldn’t get my anxiety to calm down until my house was sparkling clean from top to bottom so it was impossible to concentrate, and I didn’t want to start a new story and have to immediately stop since my best friend was coming to visit. He left yesterday afternoon and we had a fantastic week visiting. So here I am sitting down for the first time trying to get back into the groove of things by starting with the outline for the next guys in my world. Things were flowing really well last night, and I have pages and pages of handwritten notes (which still aren’t typed up!). Today I can’t even decide on names for some of the secondary characters. But I’m not throwing in the towel and these jerks are going to get monikers. It’s incredibly f...

It’s been an exciting week around my house. On Saturday I was lucky enough to secure an author spot at GRL. If you’re unfamiliar with GRL, it’s a retreat for authors and readers which will take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico in October. For more information on the event or how you can join us for a lot of fun, go visit www.gayromlit.com . I’m glad that this year the husband and I can drive there, and I’ve convinced him to attend. If you’ve got some ideas for the types of swag you’d like to see, let me know. I’d love to give some away to my readers who aren’t going as well, so even if you have no interest in attending think about the fun things you might want. Since I can’t go to a retreat like GRL without at least one D’Vaire book in print, I’m happy to announce that certain titles will appear for the very first time in paperback! I’m going to start with Dra’Kaedan’s Coven and Sentinel’s Dagger. My plan is to convert more of them in the future and I’ll have more news on when you c...

So, I can’t remember what information I’ve offered as far as what to expect from me in 2019 so I thought I would get you up to date. At this point here’s what's ahead: Becoming D’Vaire – This is High Arcanist Delaney (the Dark) D’Vaire’s story. We’re editing it right now and I have to tell you I can’t wait for you to read this one. I love all the guys I’ve created but some of them are higher up on my list of favorites and these two are right there at the top. Their book was the first time I finished one and was horribly sad that I had to stop. It was a hangover that I think has taken me the full year since I finished it to get over. I plan to release it in March. The next guy up is Emperor Chrysander Draconis. As you can imagine, his story needed to be rather epic as he’s the one who leads the dragons as well as the Council of Sorcery and Shifters, so he has two books. Unlike the nasty cliffhanger between Alaric and Chander’s two books, I promise you I didn’t leave you cursin...

The Summoner’s Path came out last week and I just can’t let anymore time pass without giving you the playlist that helped me bring Dre’Kariston and Somerly’s story to life. Their path was definitely a windy road but thankfully they found their way to love while only giving their storyteller a few gray hairs. I haven’t been writing these blog posts as often as I did when I first started. As much as I would like to keep you in the loop with all that is going on in my exciting and fantastical life, the truth is I’m kind of boring. My best friend is coming to visit our new house in Nevada at the very end of February, so I’ve been knee deep in painting and picking out furniture. We brought nothing with us from Maryland but our clothes, precious treasures, and computers. So, we had a lot to do with the house and we put it off when we first got here only buying the essentials. (We got some potentially worrisome news in regards to his health last night so if you want to send some random h...