Rhodi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bent over the Kinetograph to peer absently into the lens. Maybe she’d find the reassurance she needed if she looked at things through a different perspective.
Experimentally, she turned the device toward the window and centered Weldsworth in the frame. The raven was still turning the pages of the book on the sill, engrossed in some recipe or fairytale or perhaps merely the pleasing contrast of black ink against white parchment.
Rhodi swiveled the machine toward the stew pot where it steamed over the fire. Then to the vase of fresh pansies she’d arranged on the kitchen table. Then to the set of old pastel tomes on the bookshelf by Mabel’s abandoned bedroom. Then back past the kitchen toward the mantle over the fireplace–
The gliding frame caught a glimpse of a dark-haired man sitting at the dining room table, sipping tea, dark eyes fixed on her over the rim of his teacup.
With a gasp, Rhodi recoiled from the lens, sending her gaze to kitchen table.
Empty.
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I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s excerpt of Coronation of Shadows!
The path took a sudden turn, then another, winding through the woods like a snake. And it became more overgrown as she went, suggesting it had been a very long time indeed since anyone visited the old woman at the cottage.
Or since Mabel had left.
But Rhodi found herself encouraged, knowing she was getting close. The sweet perfume of wild roses permeated the mist, and then the acrid tang of chimney smoke that surely stemmed from the cozy hearth of Rhodi’s impending destination.
Around another bend she wended, and looming in the ghostly moonlight ahead was the gate, tendrils of fog billowing away from the skeletal wrought-iron frame as if in presentation.
Rosevines dripped from the baroque iron scrollwork, and Rhodi could swear the parting mist traced the elegant pattern of the gate as it drew away.
It was like something out of a dream. A picture from one of her dark fairytales.
And suddenly Rhodi wasn’t so sure she had imagined the lullabies whispering that she should seek this path.
The cottage lay yet out of sight somewhere beyond the gate, obscured by the vaporous night. But she had made it, despite her slew of misadventures.
Her grip slackened on her gnarled weapons, and she took a step toward the gate. Then another.
A rustle of vegetation drew her gaze over her shoulder, and she faltered as quickly as she’d started. Her heart stuttered in her chest, a wash of gooseflesh dancing over her skin.
The dark wolf had followed her, its cerulean eyes glinting like frosted sapphire in a sea of black. It was impossible to tell where the wolf’s body melded with the shadows, its feral-wise gaze suspended in a frame of ferns.
Until it stepped out of its lush cover onto the pathway.
Rhodi backed a step toward the gate. Her throat closed at the sight of the wolf as it materialized in all its daunting glory.
Seeing the beast on level ground put it into perspective. It was nearly the size of a small horse.
And clearly a measly rabbit hadn’t been enough to curb its bloodlust.
Rhodi’s heel clipped a rock, and she stumbled backward. Her heart jumped into her throat as she lurched to catch her balance.
The fumble was the wolf’s trigger.
The shadows of the trees rippled over the beast’s form as it surged down the path, and Rhodi spun on her heel and ran.
The gate rushed closer, the midnight jaws of hell closing the distance from behind.
What if it was locked?
Her flight ravaged through the tangled ivy that had claimed the end of the path, and she leapt for the gate praying it would somehow open for her passage. Her body and sticks clattered into the iron barricade, the bars rattling and rose petals raining around her.
Dropping one stick, she fumbled for the latch, cranking it open and heaving herself against the gate.
It was stuck shut. Either rusted or held prisoner by the overgrown rose vines.
She tried again, throwing herself against the bars – once, twice, thrice–
On the third clamor, the skeletal panel gave way, and Rhodi fell through the gap onto the mosaic of steppingstones on the other side. Whipping her gaze over her shoulder, Rhodi scrambled to get her feet underneath her as, with a snarl, the giant wolf launched toward the open gate.
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I hope you’ve enjoyed this excerpt from my progress on Coronation of Shadows!
Rhodi stared breathlessly up into the void from the bed of ivy that had broken her fall, water trickling off the leaves and dripping onto her shivering form.
At least it had been forgiving, as landings went when jumping from moving trains, and the rain had stopped by the time the train cut through the fringes of Eldridge Forest, but there was nothing forgiving about a sudden and violent fall from society.
Rhodi drew herself up in the lush, rustling foliage, peering around as if she could see anything in the dark. The good news was she’d left her assailant far in her wake, and he’d be hard-pressed to follow her here.
The bad news was she was alone in the woods in the dark, soaked and shivering, with only a vague idea of the route to Ravenbrook Cottege thanks to hearsay.
Take the old road from the north edge of the city. Go left after the bridge. Follow the path through the trees until you come to the spooky gate.
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I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s excerpt from Coronation of Shadows!
There she is! Isn’t she beautiful?! This will be the first book in a trilogy, and I’m so excited to have it on track for a 2026 publication.
Coronation of Shadows is a gothic, gaslamp romantasy featuring a peculiar but smart and capable heroine; a delicious shadowy suitor; gorgeous, lush settings; haunting pasts (and presents); breathtaking magic; dark fairytale vibes; and at least a dash of monster-slaying. Think a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast meets Phantom of the Opera, with just a touch of Silent Hill.
More info to come as I finish writing, so stay tuned!
Well, it seems I’ve all but abandoned this blog, but I want to get back into it, so consider this a revival! Just because I haven’t been blogging doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. In fact, I’m working on a new 6-book series and a new trilogy simultaneously (send help), so I’ll try to get back into posting updates!
I announced the title of one of the books I’m working on across social media, so I’ll drop that for you real quick… drum roll please… Actually, I already spoiled it in the image above. So anyway, I’m working on a gothic romantasy called Coronation of Shadows, dun dun dun! This is the first book in the new trilogy I mentioned. And I’ll also be doing a cover reveal this month, so stay tuned for that.
More info on this and the new 6-book series coming soon! I hope you all are doing well as 2025 comes to a close.
It’s always so much fun sharing giveaways with you guys. This one is for all the readers who love it when Fantasy characters find a family through love, friendship, and adventure! Enter for your chance to win these fantastic Found Family Fantasy books & goodies!
Prizes include: Print copies of The Lies Of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, When The Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker, Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire, Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, and Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones + Six of Crows ”I would come for you…” quote print, Lord of the Rings Fellowship mug, Supernatural ”Family don’t end with blood” sticker, and The Witcher Cirilla bookmark!
Who wants to win some great books and swag?! Fantasy romance fans who love the starcrossed lovers trope will want to jump on this one. Prizes include: Print copies of Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye, Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski, Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, and An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir + a starry book sleeve, The Library candle, Star-crossed Lovers enamel pin, Song of Achilles double-sided bookmark, and Once Upon A Broken Heart art print by RosieThornss88!
Woke up this morning to another 5 star review on the complete set of The Shadow’s Apprentice duology. I cannot express how grateful I am every time readers who enjoy my books bother to leave reviews! It makes all the difference in keeping me going.
In the spirit of feeling like it’s actually a good piece of writing worth sharing, I thought I’d share an excerpt! Enjoy…
How long had it been? How long since she forsook that once-so-committed way of life, turning her back on the breathtaking adventure and eccentric glamour no one else would ever understand?
The naturalness of it came back in an instant, coursing through her veins like it had never left. The hominess of the streets, the comforting embrace of the night, the elation of running as if the hounds of hell were on her heels.
How had she ever sat in a room listening to lectures for hours on end, stifled by dresses and manners and rules?
The dark secrets she kept rose inside her like old friends, picking up right where they left off. Memories of donning the shadows like a cloak and dispersing into the night, bounding through the city as if it were one big obstacle course and leaping between ledges like she could fly. Chasing danger as if it were a scared little rabbit and she a ravenous, insatiable demon.
And then the opposite extreme – dancing on the rooftops under a midnight sky, fluid and graceful and deeply sensuous.
The allure of that life was never something she would be able to divorce herself from, she realized – and had to wonder how long she could hold the restless yearning for it at bay. Had to wonder how long it would be before someone went looking for her at all her usual palace haunts and found her gone without a trace, no word of explanation or goodbye. Just vanished, like she was prone to do, as they all should have expected.
I recently re-wrote and re-published the duology that started it all – The Shadow’s Apprentice, first written when I was just 16 years old, is reborn! You can purchase the books separately (Girl of Rooftops and Shadows, followed by its sequel Game of Towers and Treachery), or you can get both books in their combined form in the singular volume titled The Master of the Shadows, currently on sale for just $0.99! It’s so close to being in the top 100 list in the ‘Children’s Paranormal, Occult, and Supernatural Books’ category on Amazon. I’d be so grateful to anyone who would like to help me get there! Grab it HERE.
Harperpages 