We brought my mother-in-law over and kept her out late to watch our little home fireworks show to celebrate the 4th of July, or, as my new British colleagues called it, Treason Day. I have to admit, it's fun being in a meeting and having someone say, "We haven't done that in donkey's ears," and, "Oh! That's what foxed me! Jolly good!" But Treason Day made me laugh out loud.

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Book 4 is well underway now. I took a different approach this time and wrote the first 4 chapters, then the final 5 chapters. The ending has weighed on me for so long that I just had to get it done. So now I just need the silly midling bits and it'll go out the door. :D

Frankly, the parts I have written are missing things. Bits that it is hard to tie up in action scenes without distracting. It'll be fun and interesting to work that out.

I'm still trying to decide whether it would be wise to include bits of the new book in my newsletter. Most likely, anything I include now, from the first pass, will be different or gone by the time the book is complete. Here's a little piece of a chapter, though even as I read it, I see problems with it. But this is how I start.

Flying over the Blasted Lands, it struck me how verdant the land had become compared to the image in my head.

I’d grown up in the half-ruined shell of the old city, in half-collapsed chambers strewn with the rubble of once-grand-statues and murals blackened by soot and mold. The stone never forgot the war that broke it, nor did the bones buried beneath. And yet from above—cradled gently in Lairras’s claw—I saw something I hadn’t expected: regrowth.

Patches of trees clung to the slopes, too young for history, too fragile for siege. Here and there, brush crept up toward the cavemouths, and moss had overtaken some of the shattered walls. Life had crept back in.

It shouldn’t have. Troll patrols used to scour the Blasted Lands, burning back every green shoot. That was the ritual of holding a border—if not through control, then by threat.

But no fires had swept through recently. That meant something. My memory returned to what drove me to investigate the troll homeland in the first place—taking my son on his first quest into troll territory, to understand why their attacks had diminished. I remembered the look on Hughelas’s face—the mask children wear when enduring the nonsense of a parent—when I’d uttered my concern, “Peace and prosperity have broken out like a plague.”

Book 1 of Thaumatropic Roots should be out on Audible any day now. Should have been out already... unclear what's gotten jammed up. I imagine that isn't particularly relevant for most of you, as you've likely already read that book. But I had at least one person say their husband only listens to books, and she'd told him to listen to Mother of Trees when it came out.

I still struggle with finding new readers. I would really appreciate it if those who have read my books would drop a review on Amazon--it helps others decide whether they want to take the plunge. Just a few short words, like, "Good series," seems to be quite helpful. The link below should take you, admittedly somewhat indirectly, to the books on Amazon in whichever country you reside.

All books by Steven J. Morris

Indie Author Showcase

City & Shadows: Lila & The Dark: Book 2

(The Lila & The Dark Series)

Chris Ross

The shadows have followed them into the light...

A century ago, Lila made an impossible choice—one that bound her to the night and to Elyra, the being once known only as The Dark. Together, they’ve moved unseen, slipping through forgotten corners of the world. But when they emerge in modern-day New Orleans, everything changes.

They’re no longer whispers in the dark. They’re visible. Vulnerable. And something ancient has noticed.

As Lila grapples with the weight of her own transformation, Elyra begins to unravel—haunted by memories that don't belong to her and powers she can no longer contain. The city pulses with hidden magic, fractured truths, and dangerous echoes. An old friend reappears, carrying secrets that may unlock their past—or destroy what’s left of their future.

And in the shadows beyond the city... something stirs.

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May you get lost this week in another world.