the quest for reviews of my upcoming paranormal fantasy THAT THE DEAD MAY REST

 Well, I've done it again -- written a novel. And again, I've branched out into a new genre, or rather a new subgenre of fantasy, namely paranormal. To the surprise, not to say shock, of people who know me, it even involves zombies -- though it takes what I fondly hope is an unusual approach to the subject, as described below.

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After a life of peril and fear, Millie has reached the peace, beauty, and security of the afterlife. But one day, when she is performing her glad duty of welcoming a new spirit, that spirit recoils from her in horror—because her body had become a zombie, and had brutally killed him.

As more spirits make the same terrible discovery, they ask themselves, and each other: is this somehow my fault? When will it end? And finally: what can we do? Is there something we can do to stop this?

And are there people among the living who can help them to do it?

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That the Dead May Rest comes out on October 17, 2025, in time for Halloween. I fancy the cover is seasonally appropriate.

Now that the book is finished and formatted, I've begun the process of telling people about it and hunting for reviewers. Besides posting on Goodreads and contacting various book bloggers (and a magazine or two), I'm trying new approaches.

One is BookSirens. This site is a paid, but modestly priced way to get reviews. Visitors to their page can find books to review, while authors and others can direct people to a particular page -- like this book's. As I write this post, no one has "joined my review team" yet, but it's early days.

The other is Revvue. The Revvue site (link goes to my book's page) rewards authors for reviewing other authors' books. Reviews earn coins, in quantities dependent on the book, and amassing sufficient coins (an amount also depending on the book) allows one to request reviews. It also requires coins to pick a book to review. The author chooses whether to accept a more limited category of review, e.g. Amazon-verified reviews only, or to be less choosy. One lovely reader has already chosen my book for review.

When my publication date gets closer, close enough that it isn't long before reviews can go live on Amazon, I'll take one more step, a bigger one. You may have heard of NetGalley, a site where a great many authors and publishers make their books available prior to publication (and afterward). It isn't cheap to put one's book there, but there are ways to make it more affordable, including joining any of several author associations. I'm a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, and through AIA and an associated group called BooksGoSocial, I can get a substantial discount.

Will all this help me get more reviews for my book? Maybe, and every one helps. 

Different ways of writing villains

I read quite a bit of historical romance, most of it set in Regency England (roughly, though not precisely, the early 19th century period when George III's son, also George, acted as his regent). These novels tend to come in series based on a particular extended family, so one can easily gobble them up in sequence. There are, of course, differences in how various authors treat the historical period, the characters, their romance arc, et cetera. One such difference that has struck me lately is how two authors in particular approach villains.

The villains in Grace Burrowes' novels can be vividly nasty, but sooner or later the reader is likely to learn something about how they got that way. They can (though not all do) even end up moving in the direction of being more sympathetic characters. Such surprising shifts can give the book added depth, with the reader given the chance to leave the book with a broader, more thoughtful perspective. On the other hand,  Mary Ballogh's villains tend to be utterly and consistently despicable. (In the only Ballogh book I've read so far where a villain is eventually characterized as more foolish and shallow than wicked, his father has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.) This makes it particularly satisfying when she provides a devastating comeuppance.

I've also written a villain or two. My sci-fi thriller Playback Effect features a sociopath, and wasn't he fun to write! (What that says about me is for you to decide. . . .) As for my historical romance series -- Cowbird Creek, set in latter 19th-century Nebraska -- there's a significant villain only in the fourth one, What Wakes the Heart. The book description mentions the heroine's "traumatic encounter with the president of her teacher's college," but that understates how persistent his villainy proves. Otherwise, all you'll find is a loudmouth bully here and a self-important, narrow-minded preacher there, along with the occasional family members who do harm by not understanding their relatives better or not being flexible enough to step outside their own world views.

How do you like  your villains? Do you prefer the "love to hate" kind, or the more nuanced?

Historical fiction, including historical romance -- and yes, it's included

 I've finally reached the last of the genres I write. (Will I write in other genres at some point? I can't see myself writing horror, but I wouldn't bet too much that it'll never happen....) Here are my works of historical fiction, including my probably-ongoing historical romance series. As with my other books, you can probably have your local bookstore order them, but I'm including some purchase links.

I'll start with my most recent novel in this category -- one based on a crucial moment in family's history, and yet focusing on a man my father and uncles met for only a few minutes. They never knew his name, let alone how to explain the blatant contradictions they observed in his appearance and behavior. So I set out to imagine some answers.

"A Life of Contradictions, and A Moment of Truth

It is autumn of 1938, in Hitler’s Germany, in the capital city of Berlin, perhaps a month before the devastating anti-Jewish violence of Kristallnacht. Three Jewish boys have received new bicycles — because their family has, with difficulty, arranged to leave Germany, and they will not be allowed to take much cash with them. Two of the boys are experienced bicyclists, but the youngest is less so. On a downtown street, the latter’s lack of skill causes an accident. And the traffic policeman on the scene wears, just visible under his uniform, the brown shirt of a member of Hitler's storm troopers.

"What did the policeman do? The answer is known, because the preceding paragraph describes an actual event. But why did the policeman make the choice he did? What life did he live that led him to make it? And what happened to him, while the boys and their family escaped, lived, and thrived? This novel imagines possible answers to these questions. In doing so, it takes the reader into the heart of the experience of wartime, and the repercussions of such conflict for years thereafter."

You can order this book from Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

On to my Cowbird Creek series, with a short detour: on what basis do I include "historical romance" in the historical fiction genre? Besides the most obvious reasons -- "historical" in the genre label and a setting in the past (not, by the way, an alternate past, which would make it "alternate history"), there's the nature of the writing process. I don't believe there's a way to write good historical romance without plenty of research into the place and time in which the story is set. (One can, to some extent, piggyback on the work previous writers have done, but there are risks in relying on someone else's research too much.) The Decision and my Cowbird Creek books have back matter describing the extensive research I've done for that book. I used to list all my sources, including every website I consulted, but the lists got so long they were increasing the printing costs for the books, so I now ask readers who are sufficiently interested in the sources to get in touch with me.

If you read much historical romance, you probably know that a series in this subgenre typically revolves around either a particular family or a particular place. In the case of Cowbird Creek, that's the fictional small town in southeastern Nebraska that gives the series its name. It's also common for the names of the books in a series to be related in some way, and mine all use the format "What [verb] the Heart" -- starting with What Heals the Heart.

"Can they help each other heal?

"Joshua Gibbs survived the Civil War, building on his wartime experiences to become a small town doctor. And if he wakes from nightmares more often than he would like, only his dog Major is there to know it.

"Then two newcomers arrive in Cowbird Creek: Clara Brook, a plain-speaking and yet enigmatic farmer’s daughter, and Freida Blum, an elderly Jewish widow from New York. Freida knows just what Joshua needs: a bride. But it shouldn’t be Clara Brook!

"Joshua tries everything he can think of to discourage Freida’s efforts, including a wager: if he can find Freida a husband, she’ll stop trying to find him a wife. Will either matchmaker succeed? Or is it Clara, despite her own scars, who can heal the doctor’s troubled heart?"

Joshua and Clara appear in the succeeding books to a greater or lesser extent, and a couple of secondary characters in this book take center stage in those later books. While the books all have a setting in common, and are all romances (including the essential element of the probable Happy Ever After), they also feature different psychological and societal issues. Joshua Gibbs, as the above description shows, suffers from PTSD. The key male character in What Frees the Heart has a physical disability, while the key female character is in a shunned profession. The female lead in What Shows the Heart is in a related profession, and the male lead carries a serious amount of guilt over past actions. (The story also falls within the subgenre of "second chances.") What Wakes the Heart features both sexual harassment and religious differences.

I was hoping to use just one set of purchase links for the whole series, but it turns out the pattern of which retailers carry which of the books is somewhat erratic. So here are the book names and the links for each.

What Heals the Heart: Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Walmart Business, Mighty Ape (New Zealand) 

What Frees the Heart: Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Walmart Business, Waterstones (UK), Mighty Ape (New Zealand)

What Shows the Heart: Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Walmart Business, Waterstones (UK) 

What Wakes the Heart: Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart Business, Waterstones (UK), Mighty Ape (New Zealand)

Well, that's the lot! If you're shopping for books this holiday season, I hope you'll look at some of the books I've highlighted in these posts. Merry holidays!

Two very different fantasy novels

As the holidays rush toward us, I'm reminding folks of the books I've written, hoping one of them might turn out to be the perfect gift. After summing up my science fiction (first my SF with aliens, then my near-future SF) and my picture books, I'm now ready to talk about fantasy. As with all my books, you can probably order copies of these novels at your local bookstore -- but I'm including purchase links as well.

 

 

I've written two fantasy novels, though if there's a subgenre called "afterlife fantasy," the first of them, Wander Home, falls within it. Here's the teaser.

"Death is what you make it. . . .

"Eleanor never wanted to leave the daughter she loved so much. The overpowering urge to wander -- to search, without knowing what she sought -- drove her away. She left little Cassidy in her family's loving care. But Cassidy and the others died in an accident before Eleanor could find her way home. Now, they are all reunited, in an afterlife where nothing is truly lost: places once loved may be revisited, memories relived and even shared. Surely this is a place where they can understand and heal. And yet, the restlessness that shaped Eleanor's life still haunts her in death. Somehow, she must solve the mystery of her life -- or none of them will be at peace."

This book taught me that if you start writing a story with a mystery in it without knowing the resolution to that mystery, the answer won't necessarily appear when you're ready for it. I ended up having to go in a direction I hadn't anticipated. Does it work? So far, I haven't had a review saying otherwise....

You can pick up Wander Home on Amazon, bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, and Thriftbooks.

My other fantasy novel, like my near-future SF novels, has lawyers in it. In fact, the main characters are the father-daughter legal team of Abe and Adira. So where's the fantasy element? Read on.

"Negotiating with the Fair Folk is a tightrope walk over deadly perils. And even the most skilled can misstep.

"The many wondrous realms the Fair Folk inhabit offer tempting opportunities for mortals hoping to benefit from faerie magic. But making bargains with the Fair Folk is a dangerous business, for the fae have a habit of leaving loopholes to snare the unwary. Father-and-daughter lawyers Abe and Adira have made a career out of helping their fellow humans reach such agreements safely.

"Abe and Adira know the rules for dealing with Fair Folk: don't reveal your true name, don't say thank you, don't accept gifts, don't eat fae food, don't tell even the slightest of lies . . . . Oh, and always, no matter the provocation, be unfailingly polite.

"A moment of carelessness, a brief lapse, and a professional defender of mortal interests may be in dire need of rescue."

Far From Mortal Realms would be a good choice for someone who loves picturing exotic and/or beautiful fantasy settings, or for someone who enjoys trying to design a wish that a hypothetical genie couldn't turn against them . . . or for someone to whom parent-child relationships are important. You can get it on Amazon, Walmart, or Thriftbooks.

Next and last list: historical fiction, including historical romance. In the meantime, happy reading!

Hubris in action, aka a guide to American law and lawyers

 

This book -- a great big brick of a paperback, though only $25.99 in general, and currently $20.89(!) on Amazon -- grew out of a series of blog posts. Their topic was how to write courtroom drama and other legal fiction without making the sort of howlers that make knowledgeable readers throw your book against a wall. Somehow, it expanded into an attempt to summarize essentially all of American law and legal practice. The original subtitle (A Writer's Guide to Law and Lawyers) reflected the book's origin, though I realizesd before it actually came out that it could be useful well beyond that context -- as this description shows.

"The legal landscape can be a minefield. Here's a map.

"Most people don't know all that much about the framework of the American legal system,nor about details that haven't touched their lives or become major news stories. That lack of knowledge can be dangerous, in ways one has to know more about the system to appreciate. This book offers invaluable assistance in understanding, and safely navigating, the often treacherous legal landscape.

"Moreover, the legal world -- with its suspense, moral quandaries, and ripped-from-the-headlines subject matter -- provides wonderful material for fiction. Included throughout the book are ideas for stories or story elements based on the content and available for the readers' use, going well beyond the most common homicide courtroom context. This guide will help writers explore these story possibilities, and will assist writers and others who wish to avoid the many pitfalls awaiting the unwary."

This book could be a useful reference for law and prelaw students, newcomers to this country, and anyone else who wants to know more about the legal system surrounding them. In addition, I really want authors writing in the legal genre to take a look at this book and realize how many very interesting stories can feature legal doctrines unrelated to homicide. To cite an example that isn't from one of my novels, Kristine Kathryn Rusch's compelling Retrieval Artist SF series arises from the extremely dry-sounding "choice of law" doctrine, which concerns which country's/state's/planet's law will apply to a particular dispute.

You can get the book on Amazon (where I hope the discount is still there when this post goes up); on bookshop org (where it's also discounted, though not as much); on Thriftbooks (currently even cheaper than on Amazon!); on AbeBooks (in the UK); and on Ebay (also somewhat discounted).

Next time, it's back to my novels! -- specifically, my two quite different fantasies.

Picture books!

 

 These are just two of the five picture books I've written so far.

What do the others look like, you may ask? Well --

  

 

You can make some reasonable guesses at the content from the titles and covers, but here are the details and some purchase links. Note: you can also ask your local bookstore to order them from Ingram Group -- if they don't already carry it!

You Can't Kiss A Bubble, illustrated by Siski Kalla: "What can you do with a bubble?

"Many children – and adults – find bubbles fascinating, even enchanting. And yet they’re so different from most things we enjoy, lasting only a few moments. This little book, with its lovely and whimsical illustrations, looks at both the charm and the transitory nature of bubbles, and reminds us that we can take joy even in the impermanent."

For what it's worth, this is my most popular picture book. You can pick up the paperback and/or the hardcover on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org,  AbeBooks, and Walmart Business.

Continuing in order of publication, next comes When It's Winter, illustrated by Barbara Dessi: "What makes winter special? This picture book celebrates the many fun activities and sensory experiences of the season. Follow a girl and her dog through the play and discoveries of a snowy day, and on toward bedtime.

"The first person narrative will encourage new readers to claim it as their own. The repetition of the phrase 'When it's winter . . .' will encourage children to chime in, and be of assistance to early readers.

Online purchase opportunities include Amazon, Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org, Waterstones (in the UK), and Fishpond (in New Zealand). 

 

Then there's Wind, Ocean, Grass, illustrated by Tomasz Mikutel: "This unique picture book has neither human nor animal characters, but instead features the wind speaking to the grass, explaining how long grasses are both like and unlike the waves of the ocean. Through lyrical prose and breathtaking impressionist-style paintings, the reader follows the wind’s journey over sea and land: the many moods of the ocean, the different seasons of the grassy field. We see glimpses of the birds that live off the bounty of the ocean, and the birds and flowers that live among the grasses.

"Through this nature metaphor, the story, without becoming didactic, teaches children about seeing commonality and celebrating differences.

Pick this up on Amazon, bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, Walmart, Riverwalk Books, and Watermark Books, among other sites.

Next comes a sentimental favorite of mine, due to a lovely evening on which I read it to my (late) brother and some friends of his: Where Fireflies Sleep, illustrated by Barbara Dessi.

"What is sweeter than the special times a parent and child spend together?

"In this picture book, Molly and her father sit on the porch as a summer day moves into evening. They're waiting for fireflies. The reader shares Molly's excitement and delight as first one and then more of the glowing insects appear. Molly has questions about fireflies, and her father does his best to answer. And then it's time to get ready for bed. After Molly is finally tucked into bed, Dad goes out on the porch for one final word with the fireflies."

Where Fireflies Sleep is available from Amazon, bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, and Walmart.

Finally, there's my first nonfiction picture book: A Boy Who Made Music: The Extraordinary Life of Joaquin Rodrigo, illustrated by Tomasz Mikutel. I'm particularly proud that Rodrigo's daughter Cecilia Rodrigo, who runs the Victoria and Joaquin Rodrigo Foundation, loved the book.

"Joaquin Rodrigo was a brilliant Spanish composer, writing music for piano, violin, chorus, and guitar. He was also, from the age of three, almost completely blind.

"This picture book follows Joaquin from carefree early childhood through his life-altering illness, his discovery of classical music, and his successful career and family life. Joaquin's story can inspire children to dream beyond the apparent limitations suggested by circumstance.

"The book's back matter includes multiple activities and enrichment materials."

This book presented Tomasz and me with a dilemma: how do you illustrate the absence of sight? I think you'll like the solution we found.

You can get this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, The Book Loft of German Village, and who knows where else?...

That's it for the picture books! I have many (well, seven) more novels to get to, but next time I'll put on my lawyer hat and talk about my one work of legal nonfiction. Until then!

Holiday reminders, stage two: near-future science fiction

Here's the second in my series about the various kind and genres of books I've written, in case you're shopping for pretty much anybody who reads anything. (The first post is here.) This post is about my near-future science fiction. These novels tend to have courtroom scenes, thus bringing together my (mostly former) profession with my interest in what technology is peeking over the horizon.

I'll start with the most recent of these books, which features the tech we're probably closest to achieving: artificial wombs. Here's the teaser for Donation.

"Whose children are they? Who decides?

"In the near future, abortion is a thing of the past -- but the development of artificial wombs provides an alternative. The federal government controls this technology, and the fetuses consigned to these special incubators.

"Young and unprepared for motherhood, Toni Green panics and agrees to "donate" her unborn child for adoption, the fortunate parents to be selected by the Bureau of Reproductive Safety. But the decision doesn't sit well with her, and as her regrets grow, she consults her mother, a high-powered lawyer, about her options. And thus begins a journey for her, her mother, the chosen adoptive parents -- and Poloma Clark, an administrator at the Bureau whose policies and practices Toni is challenging.

"Poloma, initially tasked with helping the Bureau prepare for trial, finds herself confronted with evidence that the Bureau is exceeding its mandate. If the purpose of this mission creep is to protect vulnerable children, how can she help but join in? But the more she learns, the more her assumptions face challenges that force her to make possibly life-altering decisions."

You can find the paperback on Amazon, and your local bookstore (chain or independent) should be able to order it from Ingram Group. (It's also available from an interesting assortment of other vendors, including Books-A-Million, eBay, AbeBooks, Walmart Business, Mighty Ape in New Zealand, and Booktopia in Australia.)

Continuing in reverse chronological order, here's Who. SF author Richard Weyand says this book scared the [vulgar term omitted] out of him.

"Have they changed their minds? Or have their minds been changed?

"Death is no longer the end. Those who prepare, and can afford it, may have their memories and personalities digitally preserved. The digitally stored population can interact with the world of the living, remaining part of their loved ones’ lives. They can even vote. Except - someone's in charge of the code. Someone who may have an agenda.

"After the young and vital Thea dies and is stored, her husband Max starts to wonder about changes in her preoccupations and politics. Are they simply the result of the new company she keeps? Or has she been altered without her knowledge and against her will? And if Thea is no longer herself, what can they do?

"Blending near-future speculation with courtroom drama, this novel explores the technical, legal, and ethical ramifications of a technology that many see over the horizon."

You can pick up this paperback on Amazon or ask your bookstore to order it.

Next comes the closest I've come to writing a thriller: Playback Effect. It was while writing this book that I informed those following me on Twitter (not yet X) that I had just enjoyed having breakfast with a sociopath.

"In the near future, new technology records the highlights of emotional experience for others to share. Buy a helmet and you can feel the exhilaration of an Olympic ski jumper, or the heat of a lucid dreamer's erotic imaginings. Commit a crime, and you may be sentenced to endure the suffering you inflicted on others. But such recordings may carry more information than the public has realized. What will criminals learn about their victims? When a husband is wrongfully convicted of injuring his wife, how will their marriage change? And what uses will a sociopath find for recordings of the experience of death?"

It's on Amazon here, and also available from Books-A-Million, Walmart, and Thriftbooks, not to mention Australia's Booktopia.

Finally, there's Division, my near-future novel dealing with identical twins. (I'm fascinated with identical twins. I've sometimes wondered whether I started out as one of a twin. My Twin-Bred series arose, in part, out of my reading a story about womb twin survivors, people whose identical twin died in utero.) My legal practice concerned appeals, so I didn't get to write any closing arguments to deliver in court, and I greatly enjoyed writing two of them, one for each twin. How do identical twins -- conjoined identical twins, in fact -- end up opposing each other in court? Read on:

"New technology, new choices . . . but who gets to choose?

"Conjoined twins Gordon and Johnny have never let their condition keep them from living full and fulfilling lives. Gordon looks forward to many years of closeness and cooperation. Johnny, however, faces their future with increasing restlessness, even dread.

"When the boys are in their teens, the new technologies of accelerated human cloning and brain transplants are combined into a single medical procedure. Someone whose body has suffered such extensive damage as to make normal life impossible may -- with court approval -- be cloned and then given a brain transplant into the clone body. With Gordon's unwitting assistance, Johnny realizes that this procedure provides the chance he had never dared to hope for -- the chance to live in a "normal," separate body.

"But Gordon considers their conjoined life a blessing, rather than a curse. He has no intention of accepting separation -- not without a fight . . . ."

Besides Amazon and your local bookstore, you can order the paperback from Books-A-Million and from Blackwell's (in the UK, but with shipping to the US included). 

That's it for my near-future SF novels . . . so far. Next time, I'll take a break from the novels and do picture books!