Sex in Urban Fantasy

 This blog post is a continuation of a poll I did on my mailing list. Originally, it was all about my Blood Trails series, and me trying to gat a handle on what reader expectations were for whether the coming sex is "on page" or "off page/fade to black."

Sex scenes are a common discussion topic in the urban fantasy genre. There are some authors who will say if you include sex, then it's paranormal romance, not urban fantasy. Which is problematic for me, because if I tried to call Blood Trails paranormal romance, when the romantic interest is only in half the books, and they don't even kiss until after the first half of the series... Well, romance readers wouldn't be happy.

Right now, the way I look at it, if an author writes strong sexual tension, and I'm really feeling the pressure, then I want that sex scene on page (Downside Ghosts by Stacia Kane is a good example). If the sexual tension is more muted, and based more on a "boy, she's attractive" sort of thing (a la Dresden Files), then I'm fine with no on page sex.

However, I do want to educate myself about reader expectations. When it comes right down to it, an author can write sex scenes (or not) however they want, the important thing is making sure the reader knows what they are (or aren't) getting into.

So how do we do that?

I can't put a sexy guy on the cover, or make the heroine sexy on the cover, because that's definitely misleading. My attempt to be forthcoming was to have a super-sexual character in the first books, a gentle warning that if you don't like heavy sexual tension/sex then this might not be the series for you. Was that enough?

Anyway, that was my survey. Blood Trails specific.

But what I'd like to know now is, what signals to you, the reader, that an urban fantasy will have explicit sex? What reassures you it won't? 

How much do you care? Do you shrug and say "whatever, I'll skip the sex if I don't want it, as long as there isn't so much that it slows the plot, who cares?" or do you sigh and delete books that have sex in them as "selling out to the sex gods?"

If an author includes well-written sexual tension and then fades to black, do you quit the series because you feel a promise was made and broken? Or do you sigh and move on, determined to enjoy the sexual tension even if you don't get to read the culmination of said tension?

Comment and let's talk...

IF YOU'VE READ THE BLOOD TRAILS SERIES: Please try to avoid spoilers in any comments. If you mention something spoilery, remember to say "spoiler" first, and if possible, mention what book someone has to have read to in order to read your comment spoiler-free.

When the Words Won't Come - Erin Zarro

It's no secret that many people are off kilter due to the COVID-19 happenings going on right now. My husband was laid off in late March, and he's been completely out of sorts since because he's not used to being home. I've been working through this because 1) I work from home anyway, and 2) Publishing really hasn't seemed to have been hit much (yet) and things have been ticking along as usual. I do realize that could change, and that's scary.

My usual method for dealing with stress or upheaval is to write. One of my novels got me through a divorce. Another got me through a family upheaval, after the initial shock wore off and I could feel again. Countless breakups in high school compelled me to write tons of poetry, most of which became the basis of my second poetry chapbook, Without Wings, which released in 2011. A particularly horrible breakup resulted in some of the best poems I ever wrote.

Any stress in general gives rise to words. And it's been that way for years and years and years.

Until now.

To be fair, we're in a completely new, almost unbelievable situation. We, as a people, at least in my lifetime, have never had to face something like this. There's so much fear and panic and it's every day in the news, on the internet, talking with the family...I can't get away from it. Luckily, work has been busy and has given me a bit of space, so I'm no longer a ball of anxiety like I was before. But for the country in general, it's been a rough few months. Especially the lockdowns. People aren't used to staying home. Well, I am, and I rarely go anywhere, but most aren't like me. They're feeling it. I am starting to feel it. In Michigan, our governor just extended our stay-at-home order till May 15th, but has raised some restrictions.And that brings with it the possibility of things, some good and some bad.

I don't think anyone really knows how to handle this.

This Too Shall Pass

This is not the blog I thought I’d be writing. What a difference a month makes. We find ourselves in very strange times – and very scary. The march of Covid-19 across the world makes it seem as if we’re living in the pages of a book. Except this isn’t fiction any more. This is reality. I suppose we can only be grateful that we still have books to escape into.

With that in mind, I read this article from the Guardian the other day about all those people out there in self isolation who now have the opportunity to write the book they always meant to write. Obviously, time remains a precious commodity for many and, if you have young children at home, you probably have even less of it than you used to, even if you’re not out at work any longer. However, if writing is something you always wished you could do and you do have spare hours in the day, then there’s no time like the present. Writing can be both cathartic and all-encompassing. There are occasions when I’m so wholly involved in a story I’m producing that I can think of nothing else. I feel my characters so deeply that I cry when they hurt and smile when they achieve success (we won’t go into that time when I was dabbling in dictation and, while deep in a sex scene, was interrupted by a friend at the door).

If you’d rather read than write, then this is a great time to hit that TBR list. I have a series that was published last year, imagining an entire city going into lockdown because of an outbreak of dangerous magic. You can check it out here.  If that's too close to home, however, and like me you’re looking for something to take you away from reality rather than remind you of it, there are lots of other wonderful books out there.

Jennifer Estep has just released the third book in her A Crown of Shards series. It’s an “action-packed adventure full of magic, murderous machinations, courtly intrigue, and pulse-pounding romance.” Click here for more details. 

Perhaps you'd rather potter around while listening to an audiobook. If you have Spotify, you can listen to CN Crawford’s Dark King series here.

For those of you who’d like a longer series to really get stuck into, there are eleven books in Debra Dunbar’s fabulously funny and irreverent Imp series. The first three are right here. 

Annie Bellet has also just completed her long running, highly acclaimed 20 Sided Sorceress series. The first book, Justice Calling, is available here, and both it and the second book, Murder of Crows, are currently available for only 99c each.

And if you’re looking for a whole host of different titles, there are plenty of multi-author titles out there, just like Urban Mythic here!

Comment below with other titles you’d recommend, or let us know if you’re starting to write yourself. And in the meantime, please stay safe.

Helen xxx

Happy birthday to me!? - Erin Zarro

Today is my forty-fourth birthday. Forty-four years in this world.

Feels like forever, but it also feels like a blink. Why does time seem to go by faster as we age? There's a theory that if you're ten, for an example, one year is one tenth of your life — so it seems to go by slower. But once you hit, say, forty, one year is one fortieth of your life — a smaller piece of time, so it goes by faster. I'm not sure if that's the reason, but it is an interesting idea.

The thing about being born today is that I'm on the cusp of winter and spring. So, more often than not, the weather isn't so great. I love spring, when the world wakes up from its long slumber. The snow melts, flowers bloom, and birds fly overhead. It's a magical time.

I'm an Aries. Very typically Aries — passionate, fiery, a leader, not a follower. Sometimes I think the fire of my birth sign is actually within me because I can get very passionate and I can burn hotter than the sun when I'm angry. I actually have a phobia/fascination with fire that has intrigued me for years. I can't strike a match, but fire finds its way into my stories. Maybe I was burned in a past life? I've got huge birthmark running from my feet to my thigh and from my shoulder to my hand on the left side only. Things to ponder.

Another interesting fact about me is that I was actually due on my grandmother's birthday, April 12. What makes this truly amazing is that she and I have so much in common — she was a writer/poet, she was chronically ill, and she and I have some of the same personality traits. She passed when I was eleven, so I didn't know her as well as I wish I did, but I still feel a very strong connection to her, even now.

So today we're taking our cat to the vet to get fluids. We've been trying for eight weeks with limited success. Yesterday was impossible. The vet will take her out of the car and bring her back after, so it's pretty low risk. I feel like we failed. :( But truly, she's so damn feisty, even for a senior cat.

The Fifteen-Minute Solution - Erin Zarro

At the end of last year, I promised myself that I wouldn't stress myself out trying to do All The Things. I had some deadlines hitting, and I knew that if I beat myself up over not writing, it'd make it all much worse.For me, things accumulate — I'm not writing, I'm working twelve-hour days, I'm not getting enough sleep, I'm stressed...I have to be so careful because of the fibro and trigeminal neuralgia. I could put myself into a major flare that could take months to recover from.

And who the heck needs that on top of everything else?

So I was pretty much okay and zen about it.

Then...my muse started whispering things to me again.

"You're not writing. You're wasting valuable time."

"You're feeling okay today. How about a few hundred words?"

"That idea I gave you last week would be perfect to dive into! What are you waiting for?"

Ugh. Sometimes — okay, most of the time — she's relentless. And a bit psychotic. I put up with it because when she's good...she's phenomenal. When she's like this...not so much.

The other thing is that if I am not being creative on a regular basis, I fall into a depression. I feel worthless. Life has no meaning. Part of me is missing, like an amputated limb. It is absolutely one of worst states to be in, and I actively try to avoid that.

There's only one way to relieve it. By being creative.

A Plot Squirrel Attack—Diana Pharaoh Francis

I have no idea what I wanted to talk about today. I had an idea, and then it all went away when I was mugged (finally—I've been wandering through the seedier streets of my brain, trying to look at weak and helpless, rubbing bacon fat all over myself so that I'll look tastier to plot attacks, but the plot wolves seem to have been off at a party in somebody else's brain). Anyhow, I've been mugged (swarmed) by some insane plot squirrels left behind when the wolves moseyed off, and they have taken over my brain.

Devon Monk, R.J. Blain, Faith Hunter, and I, are putting together an anthology title Dirty Deeds (up for preorder now!) with four novellas and a couple of stories set in our individual worlds. Mine will take place in my Mission: Magic world. My brain has been swirling around ideas for the novella for awhile, but suddenly the meth-addicted plot squirrels have grabbed the wheel and we're careening backwards down a hair-pinned road through a magical canyon of coolness and fun and quirky plans and OMG I can't get away with that, can I?.

And yes. Yes, I can get away with them. (Cue maniacal laughter).

So just to give you an idea, in this book will be a goat named Elliot that's immune to magic, ghosts, a very diminutive giant, pixies, a love story, a not-so-love story, and a wedding gone seriously awry, plus a curse and some rather compromising situations.

It's going to be so much fun to write! Because let me tell you, that diminutive giant is VERY diminutive. Bwhahahaha!

And now I'm off to go chase the plot squirrels and see where they go . . .

Villains We Love...Even Though We Shouldn't

Spike (Buffy). Rowena (Supernatural). Loki (Marvel).

Villains. They've done bad things, killed people, made a play for world domination. But we love them anyway. Why?

What makes these villains different from the ones we hate? Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter). President Snow (Hunger Games). Marauders (X-Men).

There are some villains that you spend the whole story waiting for them to die a horrible, violent death in a way only a revenge-porn society can crave a terrible end. Villains that make us grind our teeth, just trying to get through their scene so we don't have to look at their stupid, smug face anymore. But there are also villains that we look forward to, maybe even secretly cheer for. The ones we don't want to see fail.

So where's the line? What are the criteria for putting a villain in a "you're bad, but you can still sit by me" as opposed to the "you can die now, thanks," group?

Here are my thoughts:

Villains We Love

1.) Everyone loves a laugh. 

Give me a villain that makes me laugh, and I'm more likely to put him on my side of the cafeteria table. This humor can come from a variety of sources:

a.) Wit. Some villains just have great lines. Loki: "You'll kill me? Evidently there will be a line."
b.) Annoyance. This is one of my favorites. I love it when villains are annoyed. Think Scar (Lion King). "I'm surrounded by idiots."
c.) Delivery. Sometimes the villain just says the something in exactly the right way that it just feels funny and satisfying. King Humperdink (Princess Bride): "I think you're bluffing."

2.) They have a line they won't cross.

A great villain isn't two dimensional, they are the hero of their own story, and they have a valid (if only in their own mind) argument for why they do what they do. If that's the case, then there is usually something they value, some line they won't cross. This keeps them from sliding into pure evil, nothing redeemable to like here.

This line could be certain people they won't hurt (no women and children) or it could be as simple as keeping their word when it's given.

3.) You can see where they're coming from.

Magneto (X-Men) is my favorite for this one. Also Killmonger (Black Panther). These are villains that have done bad things, but you can understand what drove them to it. This is usually a case of do you agree that the ends justify the means.

4.) They're not as bad as...

If you put a villain next to an even worse villain, that that villain becomes less...villainous, by comparison. This is usually about the time the original villain switches sides and fights with the heroes against the bigger bad.

Villains We Hate

1.) Rapists.

Spike was so loved by the fandom that the writers needed to do something to cut through all that adoration and make him a villain again. Hence the sexual assault scene. It was the only think Spike could do that could put a dent in his fan club. I remember reading that James Marsters was really upset about it. He's turned down roles that required scenes like that, and he didn't see that one coming.

2.) Too much smug taunting.

This could be me, but I really hate the evil genius trope. Now, this can be mitigated with one of the above techniques for making a villain likable, but without one of those tropes, I despise series/books/movies where I'm forced to watch the evil genius thwart the hero and wallow in "I'm better than you" mockery. It makes me want to punch them in the face, and fast forward/skip those scenes. (I'm looking at you, Pilant (Bones)).

This can be done well if you combine it with humor. Also, as long as there's some back and forth with success, hero scores one, villain scores one, it can be less irritating.

3.) No personality.

A two-dimensional villain can be satisfying when they're defeated, but they're also just boring. I felt this way about Voldemort (Harry Potter). He didn't make a lot of sense to me, so he just became super-evil guy who tried to kill a baby. And failed.

Your Thoughts?

What villains do you love? What villains do you hate? Why?

Valentine Fantasies

It’s Valentine’s Day! Hearts, flowers, and all things red, shiny and Hallmarked.

Alas, the history of Valentine’s Day is rather gruesome. It’s celebrated on February 14^th as that is the day when Saint Valentine himself was buried, after being martyred in 269. He was a Roman bishop who was reportedly persecuted as a Christian. Legends suggest that amongst his many doings, he performed wedding ceremonies for Roman soldiers who wished to marry under the Christian faith, and cut out hearts from parchment to remind the men of their vows. Valentine’s Day itself didn’t become an expression of love until the fourteenth century and of course now includes symbols such as hearts and gorgeously chubby baby Cupids firing arrows of love.

When I was a kid, my favourite Greek myth was actually Cupid and Psyche. What could be more romantic than falling for the God of Love himself – and being adored by him in return? Poor old Psyche was, like many Greek heroines, too beautiful for her own good. How very dare she… Her mere existence annoyed Venus so much that she sent her son, Cupid, to take revenge on Psyche for daring to be pretty. Cupid fell for Psyche but knew he had to hide his true identity from her. He extracted a promise from Psyche that she wouldn’t attempt to look at him. Unfortunately, as is the way of these things, Psyche’s jealous sisters goaded her into breaking that promise, suggesting that her new lover was a monster. Psyche visited Cupid in the dead of night, sneaking up on his sleeping body to catch a glimpse of him. When she leaned over him with her lamp, however, she dripped hot oil onto his skin. He woke up and fled, leaving Psyche alone and desperate. Unlike other heroines, however, she wasn’t about to just tear out her hair and shred her clothes. She set about winning Cupid back, performing a series of supposedly impossible tasks to prove her love for him. In the end, she prevailed and, of course, they lived happily ever after. Who could resist such a tale?

 My wonderful Scottish grandmother, who was the best Granny in the whole wide world and who beats all other Grannies hands down, sadly passed away a couple of years ago. She used to insist on reading all of my books, even though she’d never have been tempted towards urban fantasy otherwise. The only one I think she truly ever enjoyed was Eros, my own re-telling of Cupid and Psyche but set in modern times. I'm okay with admitting that it’s very far from my most popular book but, because my gran loved it, I love it all the more myself too – which I suppose goes to show how deeply complex and deeply wonderful love is, no matter who it’s for or what form it takes.

So whether you’re currently in an intimate relationship or not, in love, or out of love, I truly hope you’re blessed with love and that you have a fabulous Valentine’s Day of your own.

As probably the last person in the world who’d appreciate hearts, flowers and romance, Coop is convinced that true love doesn’t exist – which is rather unfortunate considering he’s also known as Cupid, the God of Love. He’d rather spend his days drinking, womanising and generally having as much fun as he possible can. As far as he’s concerned, shooting people with bolts of pure love is a waste of his time…but then his path crosses with that of shy and retiring Skye Sawyer and nothing will ever be quite the same again.

 Eros is available on Amazon here.

Starry-Eyed Dreams

My husband and I started remodeling our basement back in October. “It’ll take a month or two,” we said. “No big deal,” we said. "Certainly it will be done before the new year,” we said.

Nope. Here we are in February and we’re not sure we’ll get it done by the end of the month.

This “no big deal” project turned into multiple trips to the dump, thrift shops, and home improvement stores. We rented a large digging machine (and didn’t destroy it OR us! Yay!), installed new windows, cabinets, walls, ceilings, plumbing, electricity, and insulation. We’ve barely begun painting, and a bathtub is still blocking my dresser. 

We have a long way to go.

Even if it doesn't end up being perfect, it will be a huge accomplishment (and massive improvement) when it’s done. We’ll have created a living space that started out as nothing more than a “what if” and a lot of starry-eyed dreaming. That makes both of us happy.

I think writing can be a lot like remodeling. 

For me, writing starts with a little “what-if” and a lot of starry-eyed dreaming. Then comes the plotting, the outlining, the scene setting, and finally, the actual writing. There’s sweat. And delays. And doubt. And nights of “I give up!” followed by mornings of “I got this!”

It takes time and it takes work (boy, howdy, it takes work) but when it’s done...when a story is finished and wrapped up in a beautiful cover, it is a thing of joy!

My current writing project is the next Ordinary Magic novel. It should be out this spring. I have a long way to go, and a lot of work to do before it’s done. But I’m looking forward to seeing what my starry-eyed dream turns into, and even more excited to share it with you!

Alternate Universes, a Novel, and Spending Time in My Own Head - Erin Zarro

Crazy title, but it's appropriate.

This will make sense, I swear. ;)

I have been experiencing memories of things that never happened.

Yeah, it's freaky.

The first time it happened, it was after I had surgery on my foot. I'd remembered writing an email to a client and putting together an invoice. Vividly. Turns out, I'd never sent it, nor did any such invoice exist. And it wasn't hiding in my Drafts folder, either. I thought, hmm, general anesthetic screws with your brain for a bit...maybe it's that, and went along my merry way.

Until it happened a few more times, well past the time the anesthetic would have left my body.

So I did what I usually do in this situation. I researched it.

I found out some interesting things. For one, which blew my mind completely, is that your brain cannot tell the difference between a true memory and a false one. Let that sink in for a moment. There are cases where eyewitnesses to crimes had actually confabulated memories when prompted. They suddenly thought they saw a man walking a dog when they actually saw no dog if asked in a leading manner, for example. That's why eyewitnesses and memories are so complicated in law enforcement.

Introducing Myself—Diana Pharaoh Francis

Hello everyone!

I'm so delighted to meet you! I'm new here to Urban Fantasy Fiends, so I figure I'd better tell you some things you should know about me.

1. I am a dog person. Kind of a rabid corgi person, really, plus I have a heeler. I have an 11 year old corgi boy named Voodoo, a 1.5 year old corgi boy names Crowley, and a 1.5 year old blue heeler named Merlin. (Are you sensing a naming theme)?

2. I am that dog person who takes tons of pictures of them, talks to them, obeys them, and generally spoils them rotten. Incidentally, I do love kitties, too, but my husband is more allergic to them than doggies, and since he's got allergy-induced asthma, we avoid that. I have to get a kitty fix when I go to other people's houses.

3. I knit. Ish. I'm pretty good at some things, and have just now had to rip out the beginnings of one project about six times. Somehow I'm doing something wrong. But to quote Colin Firth, I will conquer this. Pardon me if I don't open my shirt and dive into a lake at this juncture. No one wants to see that. Tonight I try again. But this time I'm going to do the smart thing and put in a life line like I should have before but decided that this time I wouldn't need it. Famous last words.

4.  I write Urban Fantasy, traditional fantasy, and I'm working up some romantic suspense. You can read chapters and see more on my website if you are so inclined. I would be delighted if you did. Watch out, though, the puppies leave toys everywhere.

5. I'm married with a HS kid and a college kid. My entire family are smartasses. We like to play tabletop games, and lately have been playing Dominion and Splendor, both of which are very fun.

6. I grew up on a cattle ranch, and I've lived in CA, IA, IN, MT, and OR. Of them all I like OR the best. MT was great, but winter was looooooong.

7. I used to be a tenured professor in Montana, but dropped the golden handcuffs and moved to OR. I now write full time, with a part-time gig teaching in the SNHU MFA program. I love to teach and mentor and etc., so it give me joy.

8. I love to bake bread. I grind my own wheat, which probably makes me super weird, but you should know that's not really what makes me super weird. I've got so much more weird going on than that.

9. I have a super morbid sense of humor. Gallows humor. This comes out a lot in my books. They tend to be snarky, gritty, romantic, and fun. Sometime I cackle madly when I write. Be warned.

10. I love chai. Starbucks chai, not most others. My order is venti chai tea latte, seven pumps, non fat, no water, no foam, super extra extra hot. However, I've discovered I can make a better one at home with milk, Extra Spicy Oregon Chai concentrate, and Tazo skinny chai concentrate. It's soooooo good. Also, I have never been able to like coffee, but have been making mochas at home with a stovetop esspresso maker, and I'm liking those. Maybe one day I can drink actual coffee.

I don't know if those are the top 10 things to know, but they are certainly 10 things to know. And now, I want to include pictures.

On top, you have Voodoo. On the bottom, Merlin and Crowley. Voodoo hates the puppies and snaps and snarls at them. Except when they are outside.  Then they have fun together. This was a recent trip to the snow, the puppies' first time. Voodoo, of course, lived in Montana, so he's got snow experience.

I suppose I should maybe share a book cover or two, just so you can tell something about what I write.

Again, you can read chapters and learn more on my website, plus there are some free stories there for your enjoyment. Thanks for reading this far, folks!

Story beginnings

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of starting a brand new book in a brand new series – which is exactly where I am right at this moment. I’m a pantser rather than a plotter so I tend to begin with the germ of an idea and then see where it takes me, and it’s so much fun beginning a new idea and creating new characters and seeing where they go.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the idea of sculptures, particularly in generations gone past. You know, those ones who would begin chipping away at a block of marble until the sculpture revealed itself to them. It suggested that there was no choice for the stone to be anything other than what they eventually created and that the man or woman or angel or whatever underneath was just waiting to be brought out.

Writing is like that for me. I might think that the story is going to go in one direction and then it ends up heading in the complete opposite direction because that’s what the characters tell me. I’m not alone in this either. I read something Tolkien said about Lord of the Rings and that (I’m paraphrasing) “no-one was more surprised than me when Gandalf didn’t show up to the inn at Bree”.

I have a sneaking admiration for authors who know exactly where their story is going to take them and who have everything planned out. That will never be me but I think there’s something reassuring in the thought that we’re all different. One thing’s for sure – it’s certainly never boring when you don’t know what’s going to happen next any more than your readers do!

This is what my novel plan looks like!

Making Plans, Jotting Notes - Devon Monk

We made it! It’s officially 2020!

I hope you’ve had a good start to the new year! I began mine--just minutes after midnight--sneaking through the neighborhood with a bunch of silly people, a basket of pink yard flamingos, and a heart full of mischief.

You see, one of my family members didn’t make it to the annual family New Year's Eve bash, so we decided to flamingo their yard. Okay, mostly we did it because I had a basket full of unused pink flamingos burning a hole in my basement. I NEEDED to flamingo SOMEONE'S yard!

The Pink Flamingo-ing of 2020 falls smack-dab under one of my new year’s goals: Have More Ridiculous Fun. Good goal, right?

In the spirit of ridiculous fun, I’ve recently knit: Baba from Baba is You (a video game)

and rat hats. Um...because everyone needs a pack of rat hats? 

My other New Year’s goal is: Get More Stuff Done.

More writing, more reading, more family time, more knitting time, more down time (more ridiculous fun time). I’ve had mediocre results finding that work/life balance in years past, so this year I decided to try a new planner.

I like planners but I’m not one of those people who can run multiple planners and binders. I don’t bother to decorate them or delight in fancy dividers and cute clips. I tackle a planner like a hand-me-down pad of scrap paper. I scribble stuff out, change my mind, write grocery lists where daily tasks should be, jot down recipes, and leave behind coffee stains. Eventually, the planner falls to disuse and becomes a reminder of all the things I haven’t done.

Guilt in a three-ring binder.

Now, before you think I’m completely hopeless, I HAVE successfully used this Brilliant Weekly Scheduler for word counts and to-do lists for two years. I love the size and layout (and the grid paper) but needed something more.

https://shop.mochithings.com/products/18219

Enter the Good Busy Planner. It offers up some self-reflection, fits on my tiny desk, and has room for writing, publishing, and random life stuff I think up/need to keep track of on a daily, monthly and quarterly basis.

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Busy-Planner-Jan-Problem-Solve/dp/B07WC375R9

So far, I like it! Let’s see how long it lasts!

Oh, and if one of your new year's goals is: Read More Free Stuff, I got you covered. The completely free (fun and funny!) Ordinary Magic prequel is available for download right...here:

Download Dues and Don'ts

Happy New Year!!!