Hi ALL!

I have been cooking new things, but this is getting a little too long, so I’ll do a recipe next time! 

For the first time in 5 years, I have been making jewelry, The first piece was challenge, but I did it. I’m waiting on supplies because I have 3 more necklaces to play with. I went back to jewelry because I had surgery on March 5 to remove scar tissue and glass and accident-trash from on and under my right jaw and repair a muscle from jaw-mouth area up to my right eye, all of which were remnants from an accident when I was 19. The plastic surgeon wasn’t able to get all the scar tissue (he was stunned when he got in there) but after a five-hour surgery, I look different. I mostly ended up with facelift and neck … neck something. When the swelling goes down, I’ll post pics. My jaw hasn’t looked like this since I was 19.  (Note from Mud—other than the mummy resemblance, she looks gorgeous.)

BOOK NEWS: I have a new compilation coming out the end of this month! TALES in the MIDST. Several of the six stories are from the Jane Yellowrock world, some with Mud and Angie, and one is the final revised Jane Yellowrock and Bruiser: The Elopement that Wasn’t. One is a reprint from Dirty Deeds 2, and one is a reprint from an anthology that had problems with internal matter. 

Some stories were seen in the newsletter, some in serial on the website, and one I think only a few people ever saw it all. I’ll be doing readings from the compilation starting this weekend, if I get my voice back. It isn’t up for preorder yet. I will announce when it goes up. But I thought you might like to see the way the cover turned out. 

The cover is spectacular! I used Rebecca Frank at Rebecca Frank Design and at Bewitching Covers. I work with her often and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her work! She does the Junkyard series covers, so you know she’s good! I used her intake form on her site where I told her about the book, gave her a single paragraph of description, and she came up with a mockup. Her email to me said: “Here’s what I came up with for the cover of Tales in the Midst! I wasn’t sure what you wanted to use for a subtitle, so I just put in a placeholder. If you want to change that, let me know. This still needs a lot of work – the bark texture is a bit messy and will be overpainted, and a lot of the details will still need to be painted as well. But let me know your thoughts so far and we can go from here. 

(MOCKUP of TALES in the MIDST below)

A superstar lineup is included in this urban fantasy collection featuring short stories from New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Holly Black, Kim Harrison, Faith Hunter, and more …

In this short story collection, our heroes get what’s due to them—with a supernatural flair.

But the injustices that have been holding…

This link will lead you to the PRH contest they are holding where you can win this lovely book.

****Labaka flashed his fangs at the new car and pulled a vamp-killer. Dumber than rocks.The driver—tall, dark, and half gorgeous—stepped like a dancer from his vehicle. New guy was Walter, wearing a black business suit, white shirt, and shiny shoes. His presence meant I’d been monitored by security all night, and Walter—the bodyguard who was blood-sworn to the queen to keep her godchildren safe—had left a meeting or a date to come save me. I was in trouble, one way or another.Labaka turned on Walter. Slashing out with a vamp-killer.Walter stepped inside the strike, knocked the short-sword away with a single block. Hit Labaka smack in the nose with the heel of his other hand. As the singer dropped, Walter caught him and slammed his head against his own car until the vamp went boneless. He threw Labaka ungently into his vehicle like a bale of hay.A weapon fired, cracking from the dark. Walter stumbled. Vamped out. Tore into the night. Three more gunshots sounded. Close. Deafening. Six seconds after vanishing into the dark, Walter reappeared, a limp man dangling over his shoulder. “I quite liked this suit,” he said casually, his old-fashioned upper-class British accent telling me more than anything that he was pissed.KeeKee and Lissa were standing inside the club, peeking out the open door, eyes and mouths wide. They knew me from college, knew about me being the queen’s godchild. But it wasn’t like I had ever displayed my fighting abilities or my magic to them. I had no idea how much they had seen.As he walked toward his car, Walter looked me over for injuries, studied the downed opponents, shook his head, and dropped the unconscious man at Berky’s feet. “This one is all yours.”The big bouncer looked from the unconscious man to Walter. “What am I supposed to do with him.”“Give him, give all of them, to the police,” Walter said, sounding eminently practical. “This looks like a terrible bit of gang warfare.”Berky looked around at all the prone bodies. “No, it doesn’t.”“Of course it does,” Walter said. “His weapon is in his suit pocket; his rounds mostly hit the club. The other rounds are inside me, so I’ll hang on to them a bit.”“No silver in them?” I asked too softly to carry. Silver was poison to vamps.“Oddly enough, no. I’m quite curious why.”

Mud’s Corner

Weather in Wisconsin is always a roll of the die. Yesterday, it was sunny, 60, and a nippy wind. Very springlike. Today, mid-afternoon, huge fluffy flakes fell from the sky, and now there are nearly three inches of nature’s dandruff on the ground. I’d play with MY TREES, but they are buried. Besides, I think Shine, my youngest springer, pruned it last fall. Again. It used to weep. Now it’s crying that it’s upright. (Culprit below). Time to plant tomatoes!

Book news first. And there is a lot of it! Then some personal stuff, just for my Newsletter fans.***JUNKYARD RIDERS (Book 5 in the Junkyard Cats series.) NOW, NOW, NOW!!! Audible, E-Book, and paperback are up for sale. You may have to type in Junkyard Riders eBook by Faith Hunter to find it because the audio and the electronic are NOT connected yet. Or you can click on the Amazon links below. All Junkyard Cat’s books are now also available at KOBO, because you asked for it!

Amazon eBook, Amazon Audio, Kobo eBook

PAPERBACK! You can order from the regular sites, but for signed copies, call The Liberty Book Company at 803-327-9028. They will take your order over the phone, and I’ll come by and sign it, as I am still in Rock Hill at least once a week!

Also, have you seen and shared the vids from my professional Facebook site? Please do!!!! I need all the help I can get sharing about Shining Smith, in order to be able to keep writing and sharing this fabulous world with you. Here’s the link to that site, just in case you haven’t been there in a while. Because of my fans (and MUD’s (*blushes—Mud)  hard work!) the book did great, getting down below 140 overall at Amazon, getting to #1 and #2 in subcategories and to #7 or better (I forgot to look on release day) in Sci-Fi/ Fantasy. Squeeee! If you have missed all the hoopla, the blurb is below, but if you already have yours and loved it, please consider leaving a review, and clicking like on the good reviews you find. That helps more than you can know with analytics. Whatever those are…

JUNKYARD RIDERS: Shining Smith returns, taking on the “Dark Riders,” a paramilitary group motorcycle gang searching for Gov. political power, military connections, and alien tech. The Dark Riders are closing in on Shining’s secrets and, while she would rather nest in her new roadhouse, Shining must protect her own, once again taking the battle to the enemy.

Unfortunately, CAIT, the original AI on the junkyard’s crashed spaceship, has its own agenda buried in the ship’s code and choses this time to implement it. There is nothing Shining can do to stop it, except what she does best – plot an offensive, get her people in place, and hope Jolene can outsmart the virtual alter ego.

But the cataclysmic snowstorm crashing in with all the power and subtlety of Mateo in his WarBot suit could be the end of them all.

***Buy Paranormal Payback here

In other Book news — In case you missed it: see below the blurb for another anthology (with the most wonderful Jim Butcher!), called  PARANORMAL PAYBACK.A superstar lineup is included in this urban fantasy collection featuring short stories from New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Holly Black, Kim Harrison, Faith Hunter, and more …

In this short story collection, our heroes get what’s due to them—with a supernatural flair.

But the injustices that have been holding them back might cost them more than they realized. . . .

In “Mister Petty,” a brand-new Dresden Files story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher, a woman hires Goodman Grey to get back at her cheating husband. She’s about to find out that Grey isn’t your ordinary detective—he’s a professional monster. And he’s going to balance the scales.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, “Dying Isn’t Just for the Young” follows an elderly widow reckoning with family scheming to take away her independence in a world infected by a disease of vampirism.

New York Times bestselling author Faith Hunter’s “Razors and Revenge” finds the vampire bounty hunter Shiloh awaiting her judgement at the hands of the Dark Queen, fresh off a brutal werewolf attack and the loss of a dear friend. But Shiloh’s not just a vampire anymore—and the wolfish instincts growing inside her are howling for blood.

ALSO INCLUDES STORIES BY Jennifer Blackstream, * Maurice Broaddus * Delilah S. Dawson * Kevin Hearne * Tanya Huff * Kerrie L. Hughes * R. L. King * R.R. Virdi***NEW BOOK NEWS! Y’all remember all those shorts you got a peek at online, in the newsletter, and as serial releases? Well, a publisher bought them as a single book length unit and the compilation will be out sometime after March in trade and paperback. I have no title, no release date, no nothing except the good news. More on that later.***

Buy Unpredictable Magic Here

NEW BOOK NEWS! Y’all remember all those shorts you got a peek at online, in the newsletter, and as serial releases? Well, a publisher bought them as a single book length unit and the compilation will be out sometime after March in trade and paperback. I have no title, no release date, no nothing except the good news. More on that later.

***

Final book news for the newsletter: Unpredictable Magic will be out in July in all formats!

Some preorder links are up. Go, search, find and preorder! (Or, for Amazon, linked button above—Mud.)***

Me as a writer news:The website is getting an overhaul because it had major security issues and problems far beyond my ability to deal with. Mud conscripted RJ Blain, (yes, the RJ Blain) to help and she and JR ripped it apart and started over on it. Only one page is up but I am thrilled as I can be at it! Check it out, but know it is a work in progress. Also, check out RJ’s work. I especially love her series: Magical Romantic Comedy (With a Body Count). Here is a link to my favorite book in the series. Personal news?As to the grief process, well it’s good stuff / hard stuff—the yin and yang of life, you know? I mostly finished cleaning out mama’s house. My brothers and I each took what we wanted of her personal possessions. She had already given away a lot of it to us, so we could enjoy it while she was alive. Which was really cool. On the 20th of this month, my brothers and I sold the house—to my middle brother. He and his wife are living there already, making it their home. I’m both happy and sad when I’m over there, but life changes and moves on.The weather? Oy. ‘Nuff said. LOL! Love you all,

Mud’s Corner. 

I am freezing. And I am really getting to HATE tech. First, I made a podiatry appointment 6 months ago. Text came up to confirm appointment. I hit the wrong number, no redo, and someone snapped it up. So, either wait 6 more months, or try someone I’ve never heard of before. I can’t wait. Then, I had another appointment I set on the computer. Get to office, and no sign of said appointment. They were able to get me in, because golly, gee…my appointment slot hadn’t been filled. AND THEN I discovered the nightmare of Faith’s website. Granted, I’ve wanted to revamp it for a long time, but there was corruption, and lack of connections, and a HUGE mess. I was chatting with RJ, we have a lot of similiar interests (she just got some antique apothecaries) and I had a meltdown. I am so glad she is both Faith and my friend. She fixed a lot of it, now I have to figure out the rest. Give a minute. Or give me a holler, I always need help.