But first, the new book!

Since I already included the back cover description of Runes & Rivets in my Fall Events post, I thought I would do something a little different here. Most of the seven stories in Runes & Rivets have connections to at least one story in my first collection, Sorcery & Widgets, so I thought I would highlight some of those connections and make a few recommendations on reading order:

Captain Sable’s Cats
This one will be easy to guess since there was a story called “Captain Sable’s Crew” in Sorcery & Widgets. “Captain Sable’s Cats” is another of the pirate captain’s adventures when he once again crosses paths with a cat (or two or three). If you want to read them in order, you should read “Captain Sable’s Crew” first.

Brimstone and Brine
This was the first of the Carving Bard’s tales that I wrote, but confusingly, “A Prophecy and the People”, which is last chronologically, was the first one published. You can find it in Sorcery & Widgets. The Bard tales can be read in any order, but you can see the Bard become more and more engaged in her stories if you start with this one and end with “A Prophecy and the People”

Recipe for a Mage
Technically, this one goes between “H2O” and “Changing Keys” (both of which are in Sorcery & Widgets), but as long as you read “H2O” first, you’ll have the backstory for Sonja’s adventure in this story.

Fish and Fools
“Fish and Fools” is another Bard tale, and although it falls between “Brimstone and Brine” and “A Prophecy and the People”, you could read it in any order without spoiling what happens in the main story.

The Bodyguard and the Heir
Without giving too much away, I can’t tell you a lot about the connections in this one, but you will see that it connects to the world of the Carving Bard tales–the fire king looms in the background of both. Because there is only a loose connection, you don’t have to read this one in any particular order.

Shattered Webs
“Shattered Webs” is the only story without any connections to my previously published stories. However, it is the longest story in this collection, so it has room to develop the world and the characters all by itself. This one might connect to a future project because the main character, Spider, originated as a side character in an unpublished urban fantasy novel that I’ve been writing off and on for several years.

New Purchase Options for Runes & Rivets

In addition to purchasing the paperback from Amazon or buying a signed copy from me in person at an event, you now have a few more options for acquiring your own copy of Runes & Rivets:

Ebook Version

I put together the ebook version of Runes & Rivets this past weekend, and it’s now available on Amazon. For the first time, I’m experimenting with Kindle Unlimited. I believe that means you can read it for free as long as you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. The initial period to enroll a book in Kindle Unlimited is 90 days, and since it requires exclusivity, I’m not sure I’ll leave it there beyond that time frame, so take advantage of it while it’s there!

Shop Local – Hyde Brothers

If you prefer to get your books by shopping local (I often do, and in this case, there are bookstore cats!), I just resupplied Hyde Brothers with Sorcery & Widgets and added several copies of Runes & Rivets to their bookshelves as well. You can find both books in the Local Authors section (on the left shortly after you walk in the door), but make sure you check out the whole place (sci-fi and fantasy books are in the basement) because you’re sure to find something else you want to read too!

Regardless of what format you read it in, I would love to hear what you think, either through my contact form or as a review!

FantastiCon – this weekend!

FantastiCon Fort Wayne is this weekend from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (10/28) and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday (10/29) at the Grand Wayne Center (120 W. Jefferson Avenue, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802). You can find the schedule in my previous post or on the show website, and there is a discount on tickets if you buy them in advance. Also, check out their Facebook page where they’ve posted a free ticket giveaway–you can win tickets to attend the Fort Wayne show!

I’m working on my table set up now, but I’ll have books (including the new one!), keychains, mousepads, art prints, magnets, stickers, and of course, tiny crochet animals (more on that below). I’ll also be giving away a copy of Runes & Rivets, so be sure to stop by my table to enter to win!

New Crochet

I’m always working on new crochet items–and I have lots of ideas that I haven’t even tried yet!–but when I realized that this event is close to Halloween, I decided to make some seasonal items, including ghosts, pumpkins, black cats, candy corn, and my own invention–the bumblebat! I’ll have these and more at FantastiCon this weekend:

Podcast Version of Page Turners Now Available

If you missed the Page Turners episode in which I chatted with Cam and TC about writing, books, and crochet, you’re in luck! They released the podcast version of the episode, so you can still listen–enjoy!