Monthly Update

May the Spring Equinox bring you joy and new beginnings! It certainly is bringing me a new direction–and yet–an old one too. And I’m so excited about it!

It’s chilly here, but we had one day of a few snowflakes and no ice storms (knock wood–we sometimes get March snow) so winter was cold but clear of snow and ice. I feel for those of you who got slammed this winter. I hope you’re doing well.

I’m feeling excited about my upcoming return to Otherworld. The prequel novellas will be fun and give me a way to slide back into the series when I pick it up again next year. I’ve missed my girls, I will say that. And also, re-visiting the Wild Hunt. Two of my very favorite worlds I’ve written (with Whisper Hollow being the third). And before you ask, yes, I’m still trying to get the UK rights for the latter sorted out. It’s not nearly as easy as you might hope for.

Did I ever tell you how I first came to write about the D’Artigo (pronounced Dee’-Ar-tee-go) sisters? (And btw, Menolly is pronounced Men’-oh’lee).

One night I was sitting, watching TV. We lived in a house with windows that STARTED at 7′ up the wall (very high ceilings). Anyway, I was just watching some show–I don’t remember what–when I noticed something up by one of the high windows. I looked up and, in my mind’s eye, I saw three women jump through it and land in front of me. They were striking, reminding me–weirdly–of the Power Puff Girls in that one had black hair, one had blond hair, and one had coppery colored long braids.

They introduced themselves, and then Camille said “You need to write our story.” And that’s how it all began. They vanished, and I went into my office and wrote down what had happened, and Otherworld began to form. Also, for Y’Elestrial, well…some of the cities had their origin in a D&D world I created long ago. If you’re a Moonicorn on my Patreon, you might have read Dark Huntress–an unpublished fantasy I wrote many, many years ago. There were parts of Otherworld hiding there, too, just waiting.

Anyway, there’s your story about the beginnings of Otherworld. Talk to you in a bit!