Christmas in July - a new short story is on its way!

I knew I'd forget something in my last post! I have MORE exciting news, which centers around a little story called "Return to Callidora." I wrote this story, which involves a princess in a dragon-guarded tower, a handsome knight, and a pied piper-type musician, several years ago. It was one of those writing experiences where I just couldn't get enough - I wrote every time I had an opportunity because the characters were so alive in my mind. But as much as I loved it, "Return to Callidora" was a rather unusual combination of Christmas, fantasy, romance, and spirituality, which made it hard to find a home for my beloved story. After many rejections, I sadly decided to set it aside.

A while later, I saw a post about submissions for a Christmas anthology by a new publisher, Mt. Zion Ridge Press. They were looking for stories that don't fall into the typical Christmas story mold - talk about a perfect fit for my knights and dragons! After a new round of edits and polishing, I submitted "Return to Callidora," and it was accepted! Here I am with my contract :)

Now, the anthology, titled Christmas Fiction off the Beaten Path, has a cover! The expected release date is November 15th, and I can't wait! Not only am I excited to share my own story with you, but the anthology also includes everything from historical to contemporary suspense to steampunk, so I expect it will be fabulous! More details to come!

Encircled Cover Reveal!

You guys!!! Encircled is almost here! This book has been years in the making, so it's a dream come true (but also a little unreal!) to see all the pieces finally falling into place. And part of that is revealing its gorgeous cover! In order to make sure we found a cover everyone in the group was happy with, we went through quite a process of compiling pre-made covers, narrowing them down to three with an initial vote, and then voting again to make the final decision. I love that the cover we chose has a fabulous fairy tale feel to it, but also encapsulates the variety of time periods, settings, and genres represented by our set of stories. And it's just so pretty!!! Okay, are you ready for me to be done talking so you can see the cover? Here goes...















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You're almost there!

TA-DA!! See, at least all that build-up wasn't for nothing :) Many thanks to Maria Spada for this lovely design! Here's the blurb that goes along with it:

Experience six of the world's most beloved stories in a whole new light! From historical to futuristic, these retellings will take you to an enchanted forest, a cursed castle, and far beyond. Uncover secrets of a forbidden basement, a hypnotic gift, and a mysterious doll. Fall in love with a lifelong friend or brand-new crush. Venture to unknown lands on a quest to save a prince, a kingdom, or maybe even a planet. With moments of humor, suspense, romance, and adventure, Encircled has something to offer every fan of fairy tales, both classic and reimagined.

This anthology features stories from S.E. Clancy, Jebraun Clifford, J.M. Hackman, E.J. Kitchens, Laurie Lucking, and Tori V. Rainn.

Encircled will release on April 16th - less than a month away! Make sure to stop by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, or Kobo to take advantage of the pre-order price of $1.99 (it will go up to $2.99 later in April). And you can add it to your to-read list on Goodreads! Here are some ways to connect with the other amazing authors I worked with on this project:

• S.E. Clancy: Website │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Instagram
• Jebraun Clifford: Website │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Instagram
• J.M. Hackman: Website │ Newsletter │ Facebook │ Instagram
• E.J. Kitchens: Website │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Pinterest
• Tori V. Rainn: Website │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Pinterest

If you haven't signed up for the Encircled Blog Tour yet, you can find the signup form HERE. Thanks for stopping by, we can't wait to share our fairy tale retellings with you!

Threshold found a home!

In the midst of all the excitement over Common's upcoming release, I received the wonderful news that my Peter Pan-inspired short story, "Threshold," was accepted into an anthology!!! It's titled Mythical Doorways and will release this spring from the Fellowship of Fantasy! I'm honored to be in a lineup of such amazing authors, and I can't wait to share this story with you! And feast your eyes on these amazing covers!! For more information about my story, check out the "Books" tab above. Also, if you want to stay updated on release notifications for the anthology, click here.

In other fun news, I had the opportunity to visit Karin Beery's blog last week to share about some lessons learned since signing my publishing contract almost a year ago. You can find the post here.

Check back for more updates over the next few weeks!