Happy Saturday 🙂 Just a short post to announce that both Dark Scorpio and Ghoultown are free now through November 1st!
Adventures
So sorry for the radio silence on the blog! I just got back for a vacation in New Zealand and let me tell you…wow. It surpassed my expectations by leaps and bounds. And the story ideas! I have an entire notebook full of them 🙂 Everywhere I went I got an idea for a book…as if I didn’t have enough books going already LOL
Here’s a little peek at my adventure.
I had NEVER been on an airplane before this trip. It wasn’t because I have a fear of them or a fear of heights. A lot of things stopped me from international travel, and I kick myself for waiting so long, but life…was life (no personal details here 🙂 ). But after losing my father to cancer last year I realized that I didn’t want to wait anymore to travel outside the US.
Was it scary for me? I wouldn’t say I was scared, but definitely nervous because, not having flown before, I wasn’t certain what to expect. Everyone I spoke to who has flown told me everything they experienced before, during, and at landing. Everyone had a bit of different story so I knew my experience would differ as well.
How was that first plane ride (from Boston to LA)? Fine 🙂 The flight crew was wonderful and so were my seat mates. My friend that I went with was in the aisle seat across from me. Special shout-out to awesome flight attendant Dave, who was an older gentleman and made my first flight a lot less stressful. And yes, when he learned it was my first flight, he gave me wings 😀
After that, we had two more planes to catch: one in LA and one in Fiji. Both of those flights went smoothly as well. I didn’t sleep much, but on the overnight to Fiji I slept a few hours. Interrupted, but still a few hours of rest.
copyright@ October Weeks
This is Auckland, where we were based for most of the trip. A lovely city, though I will admit that driving in it wasn’t a highlight for me. Which is why, thankfully, my friend did most of the driving. It wasn’t so much being on the opposite side of the road as much as it was the narrow roads and weird (to me!) traffic design. But I did drive a little bit 🙂
This photo was taken from the Auckland Bridge in the morning. It’s one of my favorite photos from Auckland. And the reason I was on that bridge? This:
copyright@October Weeks
I bungy jumped for the first time! It was exhilarating 😀 Was I scared? A little bit, but as soon as Bjorn counted me down, I went. There was no hesitation~ I just jumped. I have more photos as well as a video.
Proof, people. Proof *grin*
copyright@ October Weeks
copyright@ October Weeks
copyright@ October Weeks
copyright@ October Weeks
These are photos from our evening tour and banquet at Hobbiton. For you Lord of the Rings fans, you must do this! If you do any tours of Hobbiton, do the Evening Banquet! The tour was awesome (thank you Sonny and Bethany!) and the dinner was delicious. These photos of the food do not do the layout justice. Suffice to say, you will not be disappointed. Do this!
Being there was a bit emotional for me. You have this great crowd of people with the same love for the books and movies as you do, and then you all sit around talking and sharing stories and geeking out. I swear to you, for that one night, we were all hobbits having a merry gathering and celebrating.
The next set of photos was from our tour that started in Queenstown and went to Glenorchy. We used Pure Glenorchy, and I highly recommend them! Our guide was fantastic and so was the scenery 🙂 Some of the best four hours of my life.
copyright@ October Weeks
You see that acorn shaped tree? That was the location for Beorn’s house 🙂
copyright@ October Weeks
This is Lothlorien ❤
copyright@ October Weeks
And why did I take this photo? Because this is Isengard 🙂
We also went to Te Puia, a Maori village, which was nice. We had a small tour and then had dinner, which they cook in the ground. Afterward, we had some hot chocolate and spent some time by the geysers.
We did so much on this trip but there’s so much more I want to see and do! I would move to New Zealand in a heartbeat and have actually thought about it and researched it 🙂 Definitely have a long list of things I’d like to see and do on the South Island (we stayed mainly on the North Island with one overnight in Queenstown).
I won’t lie~ the almost 42 hr trip back home was an adventure in itself. I got maybe an hour of broken up sleep. Delirium set in about halfway through our eight hour layover at LAX…not even kidding. Then, when we got to Boston, we still had a two and a half hour bus ride back to Vermont that was followed by another half hour car ride home. I eventually took a six hour nap that was followed by eleven hours of sleep. I rolled out of bed around 2pm today. I’m feeling less exhausted, but my inner clock is still slightly off. I’m also a little stuffy. I was supposed to go back to work today but that was not happening. Too exhausted from that journey home so I had a lazy day and slept and chilled.
But it was worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat ❤
At 40 years old, this adventure~ both the leading up to and during~ taught me so much about myself. I’m so glad that I bought those plane tickets and went on this trip. I can’t wait to go back!
Coming Soon…
Happy National Book Lovers Day!
With the recent release of Dark Scorpio (I hope you’re all enjoying it!), I thought it would be a good time to let you now what’s coming down the pipe 🙂
*Sera’s first book: is in the final round of revisions before I send it to an editor. I’m hoping for a December/January release date.
*The Blood Queen novella: second round of revisions and then will be off to an editor. Hoping for an October/November release date. The cover is done (as you have all seen!), so all that’s left is the editing.
*YA Urban Fantasy: is chugging along at a nice pace! I’m so excited for this one 😀
*Dark Cozy: looking for a home at the moment, but I am considering self-publishing it. Book two is already 1/4 of the way written. I plan for this to be a trilogy.
*Tuck 4: is getting there. Taking longer than planned but I get the rights back to the first two books next year and am hoping to have book four done and ready to release not long after I re-release the first two.
*I have two short stories, three novellas, and four novels (including the first full-length book in the Dark Zodiac series) on my plate. All are writing very well!
I am hoping that the next year will be full of releases and some other good news. The cue is lining up~ your patience is appreciated and I’m so excited for you all to read the new stories!!!
Excerpt: Dark Scorpio
Happy Sunday! Here is an excerpt from Dark Scorpio~ out now 🙂
AMAZON ~ KOBO ~ BARNES & NOBLE
copyright@October Weeks 2019
As the autopsy began, she opened her gift so she could see the Pisces and Scorpio signs on the victim. Nothing was out of the ordinary until the heart was removed. “Stop.”
Her breath caught as the image of a scorpion wrapped around the heart and then sank inside.
“What is it?” Sora asked.
“Pick up the heart, Asher, so that I can see it more clearly.”
He picked the heart up carefully and held it over the body.
The shape of a scorpion began to form again on the heart, almost as if someone was burning it on.
Sora cursed in Japanese, and though she didn’t understand a word of it, she caught the meaning well enough: ‘fucking hell and damnation’.
“The first heart did not do that,” Asher said.
As the Scorpio constellation began to sparkle like a ruby in sunlight, Autumn’s eyes narrowed. “That’s because the first victim wasn’t Zodiac gifted—this one is. She marked his soul. That’s why her trail disappeared so fast.” She met Sora’s dark gaze. “She’s using the Piscean energy to hide herself, using his soul to wipe the trail clean.”
NEW RELEASE: Dark Scorpio
I ended up releasing it early LOL
As soon as the book goes live on B&N, I will add that link~ enjoy!!!
AMAZON ~ KOBO ~ BARNES & NOBLE
Cover Reveal: Dark Scorpio
So…that short story I was talking about? This is it! Dark Scorpio will be released next month and is the introduction to a new series 🙂
BLURB:
If they fail to save the city, the world will fall to darkness.
As an agent for the Supernatural Enforcement Agency’s Zodiac Unit, Autumn Kaine is used to the darker side of human nature. She investigates crimes that involve those gifted with the power of the Zodiac. But when she’s called into a case with the local police, even she is taken aback by the brutality of the attack.
That case turns out to be just the tip of the iceberg.
Gifted Zodiacs that thrive on the darker side of their power are starting to kill the signs they are most compatible with, and with each kill the darkness sinks deeper into the Heart of the city. The dark Scorpio Autumn is tracking is the key to stopping the bloodbath- and she is running out of time.
Once the Heart of Pandora turns completely dark, the entire world will turn with it.
Sunday Update
Well, hello!
Just a brief update on where my writing is at 🙂
*I am really close to being done with The Blood Queen. I am aiming for a September/October release date, though that depends on editing.
*Sera’s first book is still being revised. Almost done!
*Tuck 4~ kind of got off the tracks so I have gone back and read-through from the beginning. I think I know what happened and am in the process of fixing it. Still hoping to get it out this year.
*I have some finished, ready to go short stories that I’m planning on releasing soon! They need covers and formatting, but I’m hoping to get the first one out by end of July/August.
I, of course, have a bunch of ideas that have a few chapters each already written 😀 I work on whatever is loudest on Sundays and at the moment that’s The Blood Queen. I know it’s been awhile between releases but there is behind the scenes stuff happening and it’s slowed me down a bit. But rest assured, books are coming and I can’t wait for you to read them!
I’m going to leave you today with a poem from a short story I wrote in high school 🙂 The story would need major overhauling to be published today (I did write it for a senior project!), but the poem isn’t half bad. This came to me in Math class LOL
❤
