Canary: Out of the Shadows

The final book in my Canary series.

Canary: Out of the Shadows

The gods have joined the game—and they want Ray erased.

Every secret bleeds into the open. Every choice exacts its price. Her father’s name is no longer a mystery—it’s a weapon.

As the war reaches its breaking point, Ray must decide what kind of monster she’s willing to become to end it.

The board is burning. The gods are watching.

And this time, Ray plays for keeps.

Ray has never been anyone’s chosen child. Her mother went mad. Her grandmother is Hecate—the goddess of witchcraft and death. And her so-called family? Half-gods with too much power and too little mercy.

But the real secret isn’t in her bloodline—it’s in her father, the ghost no one talks about. The one even the gods fear.

Ray’s very existence is the catalyst in a game spanning three worlds. And the players will stop at nothing until she’s erased from the board.

It's March

Wow. Not November? Because I swear to all that's good and holy I've lived three lifetimes in these three months. Not in a good way.

Will publish "Canary: Out of the Shadows" today. Entirely excited about it. 

I wrote the Canary series as a trio. I never meant to take it further or continue with the characters.

Small problem. I LOVE these characters. I loosely based my protagonist on Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". The will to survive. The compartmentalization. The need to protect, though damaged.

Serena, Lace, John, Stella, Dale, Nessa, and my favorite mutant mortal--Cody. That boy grew on me and Ray at the same time. 

And that's it for me. When the book is finished. When I type "The End" and date the last page, the characters don't go quietly into the night. They still live inside me. Another wonderful thing about being an author. To paraphrase Patrick Swayze to Demi Moore in "Ghost"...you take them all with you. It's quite beautiful.

Is it maddening?

If Chris Evans isn't telling you, I've nothing left to say.

That's why I reference my Mind Cabin. But a nice one. Not one of those serial killer hideouts.

And that's where my characters stay and play. They book their respective room, and we calculate when is the best time for them to visit me.

Does this always work?

See Chris Evans gif again, please.

Truth is, I don't know if I'm ready to let the Canary crew retire silently to their rooms. I'm not sure yet. I wanted a crossover, maybe, but that doesn't vibe yet, either. 

Writers are weirdos.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

Canary covers

Oh me oh my.

Sometimes, one forgets what they are doing. I am that one.

I designed the cover for "Out of the Shadows" before I'd written most of it.

Now, I'm excited to put this entire project together.

But, if you hadn't seen them, here are the three covers. Designed by me and Canva.

That book that didn't end

I have never, in my entire lengthy writing career, wrote a book that I simply couldn't blow right through. Characters, premise, and everything in-between came to me.

There's always one.

Canary. My wonderful Urban Fantasy series. I love it so much. I love Ray, my protagonist. Like LOVE. Books 1 and 2 came right along. Then 3, the finale, took months. I don't take months. This is not the norm. And I'm not quite sure where the block or blocks came from. Hold up. It's all coming back to me now. (Thanks Fibro and Celine).

It was the fight above and below. Because the fight below actually came in stages. And my OneNote (praise the technological lordt) made it a bit easier for me as I listed out all the elements and then put them in order of important and timing. Really smoothed me out. But took a couple of weeks. And I, in my literary hubris, thought the battle above would be a piece of cake.

headdesk

No, Crystal. It most certainly wasn't. Because I already had the baddies picked out (LOTS of research) to mesh with the battle below because everything is connected.

Then I had to take the baddies talents and proclivities into my soul when matching with the fighter. Then...blend in other fighters to help the good guys. 

It was fucking overwhelming. And I let that get to me. Like...two to three months worth. It was daunting as hell. 

But, finally got to it. Then I had to sew everything a bit, as I already had the scenes after the battle. Had a checklist for each open scene or problem I had throughout the entire series. Then...went through them one-by-one and fixed those. I think it was some unholy number like 35. Because I remember looking at the list and cursing myself. 

It was giving a row of 50 hook and eye closures where 35 were undone. As in a corset. Then I hooked each individually and tightened up the story.

Ta damn da!

And that, my friends, is one of the reasons I do what I do. Ah, the pleasure of the finale. Then, of course, I'm twitchy and immediately start or continue on something else. Because of course I do.

Speaking on Canary: Out of the Shadows, it's going through edits today, and I'll publish it this week. Uber excited about it!

Pretty sure I wrote an entire new story whilst in the bog of Canaryville. And let's hope that never, ever happens again.

😌

Why am I like this?

You'll never guess what happened last night as I was trying to drift off to sleep. Never ever. Never. 

*ahem*

ANOTHER book idea. 😒

Dear. Lordt.

Good news? My creativity has decided to make a guest appearance.

Bad news? Um...I already have at least three projects...*snort* AT LEAST...to work on.

But am I completely enamored with this idea? Fuck yes, of course I am. 😑

Great premise. Awesome characters. 💃💃💃🖕

The timing is exquisite, right? With all this free time and nothing else to do. 😶😂

So here I am this morning. Sitting at my desk. Fans on high because Oklahoma is trying to bake me. Brain actually firing on the creative side. Water at the ready. And...unsure of what to do.

Start on ANOTHER effing book??? Because I know I could easily bang out at least 4,000 words on it today?

Or work on "Out of the Shadows" which may or may not work out, depending on if I can get in the groove on it or not? 

This some bullshit.

Wish me luck. Just going to throw myself in a trench and see where I land.

Did I mention I have TWO book conferences in August???

I'm a hazard to myself.

*******

Age old question for writers...

...plotter or pantser?

Let me tell you. I'd read tea leaves, if they told a good story. 😂

But seriously, I've tried to plot a story. It's not for me. I don't even wish it were for me. And I'll tell you why. I write by clicks. When I write, it's like a massive set of dominoes that's been set up. I start when the first domino falls.

If ever a domino doesn't fall, I've lost my click. I'm off the path. I stop. Find my way back. Begin again. Push the domino down and continue. 

I've added elements in a novel that I consciously didn't know where in the hell they came from, only to have them swoop back in, to perfectly make sense two-hundred pages later. When that happens?

Oh. You can't tell me NOTHING. 🥳 

I admire those that plot. You have your entire story all worked out. Plot points. The whole she-bang. You're amazing. 

I honestly don't think I could do it even under threat of harm. 🤔

Case in point, I have a scene, a HUGE SCENE, in "Out of the Shadows" that I've written three times, in three different ways.

If you guessed I'm writing it today, in a new and different way, you'd be correct. This version is going in the final manuscript. It fits better. I'm constantly trying to improve on what I do and how I do it. My brain is constantly running 100 meter sprints like an idiot, and I can't get the damn thing to stop. And I'm also working on other projects that my grey matter deems important at two something in the morning because WHY NOT? 😶

I don't like the word "pantser" because I feel that's not representative of me and who I am as a writer. Never much liked pigeonholes, anyway. So, I'm going to say I'm a mood writer. Because THAT has everything to do with what's coming out of the brain and through the fingertips.

Maybe I'm a moody writer.

Maybe this is going downhill fast.

Always writing*

It's all coming back to me now...

...well, not all. 

But as I tried to sleep last night, it wasn't chaotic thoughts, per usual, that filled my head, but dialogue.

Blessed dialogue. More specifically, dialogue from Canary: Out of the Shadows. 🥹 

I nearly got out of bed to jot it down, but I didn't. The two scenes were dynamic enough, I knew I wouldn't forget them. 

It's like being in the silence so long and finally hearing a whisper. 

It was...everything.

I haven't touched a Word .docx in probably a month. I'm too author-fragile right now to check. It'll only reinforce the issue more, and I am merely flapping my wings a bit over here. Getting the wind under them again. Feeling how smooth it can be. Remembering.

Going to hop over to OneNote and put the dialogue and scenes in. They're Ray being...Ray. 😄 

Poor woman doesn't know what's on the horizon. None of them do. 

But dark things have waited so long for a chance to play. 

Back to writing*