Life has been a bit chaotic, between elder care, prepping my oldest for college, starting a new job this week, and then all the normal bedlam of housework and helping with homework, family virus-share programs, etc. Oh, and writing, which is simultaneously the easiest and hardest thing to hold onto. Hard, because it can't be rationally justified in terms of trying to live a less-hectic life with well-balanced priorities. Easy, because my passion for it pushes me toward finding or making time for it. Sleep? Who needs it. Elliah isn't going to save or destroy the world without me.

I’m realizing I was quite naive about the role at the new job. I've been trying to think of a good analogy, and I think I've got it: I'm a Wood Elf that just signed up to impersonate a High Elf at a company of High Elves, for the sake of helping other Wood Elves succeed (whom the High Elves want to succeed). I mean, that's not how they put it on the job posting, and it sounds kind of exciting when I describe it with elves. But the reality is not so glamorous. The Wood Elves won't like my pretending to be a High Elf. The High Elves won't like my pretending to be a High Elf. I can smell the battle lines, though I don't understand all the squabbles yet, and I'm out of my league.

Up until the start of the new job, I made good progress on Book 3, Secrets of Deara.

Since then, the pace has slowed. I've still made progress. I'm in a round of editing for character arcs, essentially tweaking things, some big and some small, so that the arcs are more clear and the characters are consistent to those arcs.

I also launched the cover creation effort. And I sent out an early draft to my mother--cheers for my earliest and most supportive reader. :)

All books by Steven J. Morris

Indie Author Showcase

A Curse of Thorns and Slumber: A Sleeping Beauty Retelling (Legends Reborn Book 2)

Marie-Hélène Lebeault

A cursed prince. A dangerous dream world. A girl who holds the key to their salvation.

One kiss could awaken a kingdom… or doom it to eternal darkness.

When a reluctant thief with the power to control thorns is forced to break an ancient curse, she must risk entering the dangerous Dreamplane to save a cursed prince—but some magic comes with a price too deadly to pay.

In the kingdom of Solstraea, where the skies are gray and thorns rule the land, a centuries-old curse has imprisoned Prince Kael in an eternal sleep. Only one person can break the spell—Liora Thornhand, a thief with a rare, dangerous gift she never wanted.

Captured and offered a deal she cannot refuse, Liora must venture into the deadly Dreamplane to find Kael’s heart, hidden deep within a magical rose. But as she battles nightmare creatures and faces her own dark past, she learns that waking the prince might cost her more than just her freedom—it might cost her life.

In a world filled with twisted thorns, cursed roses, and dangerous shadows, Liora will have to decide: will she risk everything to save a kingdom she doesn’t belong to, or will she let it fall into eternal darkness?

Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Brigid Kemmerer, "A Curse of Thorns and Slumber" is a spellbinding mix of dark fantasy, romance, and a daring quest through a world where magic is as treacherous as it is beautiful.

A Curse of Thorns and Slumber is the second book in the Legends Reborn series. It is a no-spice fantasy romance adventure. Books can be read in any order.

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May you get lost this week in another world.