I got to spend time with my mom, who came to visit because my older brother and his wife renewed their vows. Wedding vows. Not nefarious vows for revenge or the ilk. Though I’m on-board if anyone wants to invite me to such a thing. Point being, it was nice spending time with my mother. Sadly, my oldest daughter missed her grandmother's visit, as she was off doing a campus tour in Arkansas. From her excitement, I think I have a razorback in my future.

That said, my truck broke down on the way back, and my wife had to abandon it in Arkansas to get herself back for some work and our oldest back for school. Painful. I've got to figure out how to summon my truck from Arkansas to Texas. :( Where's Mort when you need him?

thank God for good friends with trucks! (8 hours each way...)

Giveaway^2 Contest - We have a winner!

Unholy Priestess took the lead for both books and will be receiving signed copies of my books as her prize. So, my question to you - do we do this again in a quarter? Here's the adjustments I would make: (1) just one book and not two... that made it clunkier than it needed to be, and (2) just two days instead of five. I would probably run the freebie for five days still, assuming I find another group of authors who want to band together again. But the contest would only be two days. Two days was enough. Let me know if you'd be interested in participating next quarter, either for run, or because you want a signed hardback.

I started the process of creating a hardback of Mother of Trees on Amazon. Something goofy is going on in their system, and it won't let me order proof copies, but I'll get there, one way or another.

As for the next book… minus one issue that needs rewriting because I changed an order for a couple of events, the bones of the story are complete. Yet I find I’m still not happy with how the pieces of the story knit together. It is difficult to tell the larger story and make this piece of it also a complete and compelling story.

I hope you all are enjoying the Indie Author section (next section). Let me know if you hate having it. I have appreciated connecting with other author’s efforts and sending them to you.

Indie Author Showcase

The Boy and the Dragon

A Wyvern Wars Short Story

by Erynn Lehtonen

Hidekazu, a keen boy of eight, wants nothing more than to meet a dragon face-to-face.

Although the sacred serpents of the Goddess aren't quite the same, following one into the deep woods doesn't end up with the adventure he planned... in fact, it could change the direction of his life forever.

And not for the better.

The Boy and the Dragon is a prequel short story, taking place about 8 years before the beginning of the Yokai Calling series. Jump into the world of Yumihari today and venture into a land filled with elemental magic, myths, monsters, and mayhem!