And some fun Winnie pug pics
Hello!
It’s a cool June day, here in the PNW. It rained today, too. Right now gray clouds are covering the sky. The windows are open, the pug is happy.
Let’s talk books!
All Things Current Books Out
The Precipice People releases in October!
The High States once promised a world where anyone could pursue their dreams. Now a shift in policy morphs those dreams into nightmares.
Ten citizens stand at the breaking point: A boy with a yellow bike whose curiosity makes him a target. A state agent with shifting orders and a conscience that haunts his soul. A mother who’s certain her family’s status means all her loved ones are safe.
The murder of a local woman during a state-sanctioned enforcement action leaves the citizens baffled. Lies replace the truth. Safe zones promise a trap. And public service programs mask a calculated plan to escalate control—and eradicate freedom.
The fate of the citizens’ lives and of their nation stands perilously on a precipice that’s crumbling beneath their feet. Surviving the fall will depend on how each of them answers one question:
When do you say goodbye to a dying way of life?
Experience the first stage of replacing an unraveling world in THE PRECIPICE PEOPLE—a near-future dystopian thriller for fans of 1984 who wish it had ended another way. Book One of The Epoch Rite of Passage Trilogy.
Also…
I finished Book 2 a couple weeks ago!
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I’m doing a challenge to write nine books in a year. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it when I started; I just thought it would be fun to try. But—can you believe it?!—I’m two books out! 🤞
As part of the challenge, the finished books have to be available online by a certain date. This means that even though the first book of the trilogy isn’t out yet, I have to post the second book (and the third book) to fulfill the requirements of the challenge. I get a pretty nifty prize if I win,1 so you bet I’m going to do my best to fulfill the requirements.
Anyway, all this to say… I probably won’t be announcing Book 2 here in the newsletter until October or so, after book 1 comes out. It just feels weird to me to do it before then, so… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But due to the requirements of the challenge, I have to post Book 2 online here pretty soon. So anyone curious about Book 2 will be able to find it in the next couple weeks. Probably sooner.
Meanwhile, we’ve got four months between now and The Precipice People, so I thought I might revisit some of my other books!
First up…
Girl, Incorrupted: a love-horror story
Daphne James has a plan: get her boyfriend to propose. But on the night she expects a ring, he jokes about marrying a local vaudeville star.
They say L’Aornum Theatre’s headliner is beautiful, talented, mysterious—everything Daphne isn’t. Just the thought of her triggers Daphne’s insecurities. But if Daphne can gain access to the misty, peach-scented theater, she might just uncover the starlet’s secrets.
But the starlet has secrets far darker than Daphne could ever fathom:
She’s an incorrupt corpse.
And she needs Daphne—and Daphne’s ‘almost-engaged’ status—to fuel her plan.
WARNING: This isn’t a love story. It’s a love-HORROR story. Do not read this book if you’re not ready to fully give in to a monster type you’ve never seen before. Tropes will be subverted, corpses will rot, and hearts will be broken. But don’t let me deter you.
Step right up, if you dare…
I love this book. Absolutely love it. I love the characters, the monster—I don’t know any other book or movie that has this kind of monster in it, and I love the metaphor that the monster became—I love the theater. Love it.
I say, on my website, that my books are basically “a touch of fantasy dark to light.” Well, this book would be my darkest book to date.
If you haven’t seen it and don’t mind a little horror—it’s mostly psychological, but there is some on-the-page graphicness—you should check it out.
I also did a look book and some zines for this book, if you want to get a feel for just what kind of horror we’re talking about here. 😈
What I’m Working On Now
I am working on Book 3. That’s all I have to say for now. 😇
What I’ve Been Reading
The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible by Charles Eisenstein – This was good. The kind of thing I wish more people would read.
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer – Another book I consider required human reading. I’m listening to another book of hers right now.
How It Happened by Michael Koryta – This is a murder mystery, kind of a cold-case style. It was good. I’ve read a few of Koryta’s books, and they’re always a little different, which I love.
Holes by Lois Sachar – I read this back when it first came out and read it again for a class I’m taking. It’s good, though the plot’s a little too complex to explain other than to say it’s about boys digging holes to build character at a forced labor camp.
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ICYMI
Get my books from your library
These are links to the info your library might need if they don’t have one of my books and you want them to get it for you:
Leave a review
If you’ve read any of the backlist books and want to leave a review (❤️), here are some quick links to do so:
Visit the Secret Pages
A couple of the books have secret pages with fun stuff, like bookmarks and playlists and whatnot. The passwords are in the Author’s Notes section at the back of the books. You can find the pages here:
The Trilogy will have a Secret Page!
The Corbin Kohl In Hell Secret Page (still adding stuff—might be September before I really get back to this)
(The Metanaut and Glitching the Matrix don’t have a Secret Page)
Winnie Pug Update
Winnie has a schedule that she keeps—and that she insists we keep. I was running late one night, and I went into my room to find Winnie like this…
… pouting because it was past bed time, the light was still on, and she was the only one even remotely ready for bed.
Have you ever seen such forlorn eyes? Such a pouty mouth? And what is light mark on her nose?3
So as I putted around getting ready for bed, I noticed this:
I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to pile her blanket on top of her Shark Tongue4 and her Big Boy—both of which she would have had to drag up her stairs and onto the bed before getting them into position like that.
As you can see, she wasn’t moving for nothing, not even to avoid the camera, and she was very concerned about what I was doing so near her cozy spot. But she abandoned it without a second thought once I lifted the covers for her.
Since you’ve made it this far…
Comment “Two books to go, Meg! You can do it!” so I know you’re with me! =D
Good To Knows
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Thank you for reading! Talk to you again soon!
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I don’t know.
The Shark Tongue is the inner cushion of one of those dome beds—hers looks like a shark.
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