I went on a bucket-list adventure trip, fishing for tuna in Venice, Louisiana. I won’t claim it was on MY bucket list, but when the opportunity presented itself, I was thrilled to enjoy a friend’s bucket-list trip with him.

My oldest daughter’s basketball season ended in the first playoff game. They lost by three points and had a three point shot at the end… so close! Great game. Great season.

All three of my kids are buried in schoolwork and looking forward to spring break. They always forget that I don’t get a week off from work. 😝 Speaking of work, I am hiring a team of engineers in Costa Rica! I re-downloaded Duolingo to up my Spanish-speaking game. While I’m sure they exist, I am yet to find anyone in Costa Rica with a bad attitude. Pura Vida!

Book 2 of Thaumatropic Roots actually decreased in word count over the last couple of weeks. I'm at 34.3k words (35k last newsletter), even though I wrote a couple of new chapters. I think I have at least another couple of weeks of that, where storyline changes create replacements instead of adding to the length. And looking ahead, the pace still isn't right. I thought the changes would fix the pace, but while it bumps up the tension earlier, it doesn't fix the overall pacing problem. For now, I'm just going to forge ahead. And, ironically, writing this newsletter gave me an idea.

SPOILER ALERT for this newsletter. This one is very likely to be gone or completely transformed by the time the book is out. Too much reveal?

“Ask him,” I said. “Does the Warder carry the bone of a dragon?”

Such an unexpected oddity, the shine of our magic, not quite Ancient, but old. It had to have been from Jenat. We’d argued, even fought. Had she perished? Or, like my daughter, had she given a tooth freely?

“He says… he says they have a dragon bone.” My daughter cocked her head sideways. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what he’s saying. I don’t know who ‘they’ are.”

I’d sent lackeys, and then nieces, to retrieve the bone I’d glimpsed. We collect our dead. They’d failed. Then the bone had disappeared. Bones don’t vanish. Yet it had. Still, the ward of Lairras claimed ‘they’ had it. If so, why couldn’t my nieces see it?

Jenat could See. If that bone were hers…

“I want that bone back,” I said.

Cyrli stared off to the west. “He says they need it,” she informed me.

“I. Want. It. Back!” I said, stomping a foot that caused the mountain to tremble. We would have our dead!

I looked down the Dragon’s Fang to find the troll had returned. The troll’s sight would never be able to pick us out atop the mountain, but I could see it just fine. So I didn’t miss the flare of red in its eyes.

“We are not done,” I said. It was a struggle to lift my bulk off the mountainside, but it would be even harder to fly back up. The mere thought drained me. But my commotion had stirred the Father, and getting on his bad side was the last thing I wanted. “Tell him to hurry,” I said wearily. “Our time is almost at an end.”

Changing topics: my editor, Marla Taviano, is releasing the third book in her series. Not fantasy -- she's one of these crazy people that doesn't escape into fantasy. Yeah, I know... I feel bad for her too. Her book releases March 26. I've quite enjoyed her poems, and find the topic of religious pain... um... "enjoyable?"... in poem form. There. I not only decimated her work, but did so with a sentence she'll be driven to correct. Home run. One of her daughters creates the covers for her books. Perfect, right?

whole: poems on reclaiming the pieces of ourselves and creating something new

by Marla Taviano (Author)

What makes this such a stellar read is not only is Marla aware of who she is, but she's finally got to the point where she's unabashedly ready to tell us as well!" —Tyler Merritt, author of I Take My Coffee Black and Creator of The Tyler Merritt Project

When you've spent your entire life defined by your faith, who are you when that faith shatters, leaving you to pick up broken pieces, wondering if anything can be saved? Marla Taviano—author, single mom, and former Christian—set out on a journey to find out.

What she uncovered was that, after deconstructing a toxic belief system and working to dismantle systems of injustice, some things hadn't changed. She still loved people and wanted them to be free and whole—and she wanted that for herself too. It just looked different now. So whole: poems on reclaiming the pieces of ourselves and creating something new talks about looking back to move forward, new thoughts on god, our inner lives, embodied living, and books, books, books.

If you long for the freedom to be your true self, if you ache for healing and wholeness for yourself and a broken world, if you need some lighthearted fun amid all the hard, Marla's got you. This book is a collection of mini-love letter poems to herself and all of us.

Indie Author Showcase

**Escape to Other Worlds: February's Sci-Fi & Fantasy Freebies for Your Reviews (Click the image!)**

Love, Lies & Immortal Ties

by C.J. Laurence

I moved to Whitby expecting my days to be filled with grief and heartache while I watched my father die. But turns out the town has much more to offer a teenage girl like me.

His name is Marcus Davenport. Rich. Powerful. Admired by the locals. Not. Human.

If I were smart, I would have run the other way when I realized what he was. But there’s this undeniable pull between us, a heartbeat that brings us both to life whenever we’re together.

I convinced myself it was fate drawing lines in the sand, the beginning of a love story that would end with forever. But I was wrong.

Turns out the blood running through my veins is tied to Marcus in a way that corrupts everything we feel for each other. It’s no longer something I can trust.

Nothing is as it seems. The paranormal residents of Whitby altered my reality forever, and now I’m caught in a web of dark secrets and deadly deceits.

The future is more uncertain than it has ever been, and I have no idea what’s going to happen between Marcus and me.

Oh, and then there’s Luke, another one of this town’s little secrets…and one huge complication.

If you love paranormal creatures, twists and turns, and sizzling passion, this is the book for you.

The G.L.O.A.T (A humorous adventure comedy novel): The Search for Mokole-Mbembe
by Kyle Jantjies

He’s rash, risky, selfish, greedy and a major gloater… And he’s looking for a dinosaur.

After he realizes that he has never been involved in a real adventure, Bradley joins an expedition team to the Congo to find a hidden dinosaur, however he gets into much more trouble than he bargained for. From cannibals, to crocodiles, to dancing with the pygmies to the tunes of J. Cole and Nick Jonas, while fighting jungle fires with his trusty sword and ninja shuriken, Bradley goes on a crazy adventure to prove that he is NOT the Greatest Loser Of All Time.

If you enjoy hilarious scenarios, quick quips and fast paced action, then this book is for YOU! Click the BUY button to get your copy of The G.L.O.A.T. - The Search for Mokole-Mbembe!

What do the readers say?

“An A La Hardy Boys special if there ever was one! Absolutely spectacular and well fleshed out characters!”
“This book is hilarious! These bonkers people go on a crazy adventure into the jungle and catch on all sorts of nonsense! My husband was wondering why I was laughing to myself!”
“Crazy, wild, spontaneous, fun, hilarious… whatever word you use to describe your extroverted friend is usable here. This book was amazing.”