Introducing Key to All Doors – Available Now!

Every time I release a new book, I try to think of something significant to say about it. Something that will make people as happy about the fact that you can finally read it as I am about the fact that I wrote it. Over the years, I’ve introduced a lot of characters, settings and even custom-made myths. A lot of these details come out of my writer’s notebook and would never see the light of day if I didn’t share them on my blog.

But there’s a lot more that goes into the creation of a novel than just the idea generation. There’s even more than just the writing and editing too. Much like raising a child, writing a book often takes a village. As I’ve mentioned before, I work with a fantastic cover artist. She helps me bring my work to life when it’s finally ready to share with the world. And before that happens, while the book is still in its polishing process, it’s helped to its final sheen by a team of beta readers.

I’ve mentioned many of these things in passing a time or two. But given how big a project the Aruvalia Chronicles has proven to be, I think it’s time to offer proper mention to all of the people who have helped me make the book a reality.

No One Writes in a Void

When I first conceived of the Celestial Serenade, it came to me in a dream. The characters in the dream were, ironically, not the characters that ended up in the book. Instead, the characters I created for the book were based on the characters I originally saw in the dream. Though they drew inspiration from the characters I initially saw. And though those origins informed a lot of their final story arcs, they were all entirely new creations.

Several of the characters I saw in that dream appear directly in the Aruvalia Chronicles in their unaltered forms. And I will admit that not all of those characters were originally created by me.

Don’t worry; none of the characters in question came from previously published work. Instead, they were all characters who belonged to my friends. In fact, they were characters I had interacted with before via role play (both written and tabletop).

Collaboration can be both exciting and terrifying for creatives. The murky nature of intellectual property rights means that a person will ill-intentions can easily make another artist or writer’s life miserable. And many friendships have been ruined by creative differences.

So it was not without an extreme amount of caution that I approached the owners of these other characters to seek permission from their use. (I sought permission for the inspiration too, but that’s quite a bit less of anask than using someone else’s brainchild.) Luckily, I was quite close with the people who owned the characters in question. (One of them is my husband). And after some serious conversations, I felt comfortable proceeding with the project.

Character Contributors

Which are the borrowed characters?

Well it’s not a secret, although it’s hard to document. The most prominent borrowed character in the Aruvalia Chronicles is Crescent. He was originally the brainchild of my dear friend Itswuf. In fact much of the relationship between Domerin and Crescent was developed between the two of us prior to the initial outlining of the series. The telling of the Aruvalia Chronicles story would be impossible without Crescent, so I’m insanely grateful for Wuf’s contribution to the world’s lore.

Crescent isn’t the only brainchild of Wuf who appears in the Aruvalia Chronicles either. He also created Doctor Sesha Liatos, Domerin’s primary physician. (Another reoccurring character.) He also added a couple other contributions to the story – but I can’t share them just yet. They’d be spoilers.

I mentioned that my husband also allowed me to delve into the depths of his brain to borrow a few creations. From him, I acquired Gregory Barrow. (And yes, he was the inspiration for Liam Barrows… I was quite obvious with that one, wasn’t I?) Greg is Domerin’s primary work partner, and he becomes another staple of the series. The friendship and work dynamic between Domerin and Greg would be difficult to achieve with any other character, so I’m extremely grateful my husband allowed me to include Greg in the story.

My husband is also the original creator of the Warden – an extremely powerful sorcerer whose help Domerin must seek in order to complete his mission. The Warden comes with a lot of interesting and challenging character quirks that I have been determined to get right.

Without these contributions, the story simply would not be the same. And I strive to make sure every word written about these characters lives up to the vision of their creators.

My Beta Reading Team

I devoted an entire release to praising Molly, my fantastic cover artist. And everything I said about her work on that series applies to this one too. She has taken some random item descriptions and turned them into some seriously beautiful images.

I would be remiss if I didn’t shout out the other dedicated team that helps me prepare my books for release: my beta readers.

Every writer knows beta readers are hard to find. And a good beta reader is worth their weight in gold. Over time, lives change and people get busy, so my beta team changes from series to series. I usually start out with a much larger group for the first book because people get busy and have to drop off. But I appreciate everyone who gives me feedback whether it’s on one chapter or an entire series.

For Aruvalia Chronicles, I have 4 dedicated betas. Wuf is one of them. (He’s actually beta read every book I’ve ever published!) Another is my mother-in-law, Donna, who also diligently reads all of my series. My dear friend Lillian, another author, has beta read both the Celestial Serenade and the Aruvalia Chronicles.

New to my beta team for this series is ExiledFae, who performs second round beta reading (new for this series.) After I’ve gone through the first round of post-beta changes, ExiledFae lets me know if the tweaks are up to snuff (and catches whatever typos I’ve still managed to miss).

I don’t want to leave anyone out, so I’d also like to give a shout out to some of my past series beta readers. Flutterdye has read the majority of my series, though time hasn’t permitted her to work on the Aruvalia Chronicles. My good friend BardOwl has assisted with Everyone’s Child, and my friend Beth helped me out with the Mystical Island and Dream Things True series. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank Layla, another writer friend, who doesn’t have a lot of time but offers feedback whenever she can.

Without these people, none of my books would end up as clean and polished as they do – so I’m eternally grateful!

Key to All Doors is Available Now!

When dark creatures awaken
A warrior must intercept
Even if the chances of victory are slim

The heir to Aruvalia’s throne has been kidnapped. The key to her recovery is a magical artifact that can open any lock. But in order to find it, Domerin must delve into the depths of a dungeon ordered sealed by the crown due to the dangerous nature of its contents.

Unable to open the path to the dungeon on his own, Domerin must first seek the aid of a powerful and deadly sorcerer known only as the Warden. But the favors of powerful mages are never cheap, and Domerin isn’t sure he’ll survive the request – let alone the path that comes after.

As Domerin and Clara embark on their perilous journey, they traverse landscapes both wondrous and dangerous. Each step is fraught with magical anomalies and creatures that challenge their resolve, testing the limits of even Domerin’s battle-hardened skills.

But the biggest threat to their success might come from an unanticipated source. For the moment Domerin opens the dungeon seal, he’ll be labeled a rogue agent – an outlaw. And when Domerin goes rogue, it will fall to his partner – the stalwart ex-military officer Gregory Barrow – to make him answer for his transgressions.

Grab your copy now!