The Stories

Currently Writing:

The Unexpected Inspiration series of novels is lighthearted/comedic and lgbt+ fantasy set in an arts-centric culture starring artists, inventors, and carnival performers. I'm currently writing a series-within-a-series quartet (previously a trilogy) of novels with information about them below. I have plans for many more books in this series about different characters, time periods, and locations in that world. I've also written an assortment of short stories about the characters. The novels aren't finished yet, but you can read all the short stories with the links down below!



Colorweaver (Book 1)
Adair Cerulean is an amateur cartographer with the ability to make his drawings have the semblance of life. He is in the process of working on the project that, once complete, would advance him in rank when he discovers it missing! As its new owner seeks out more arcane Weavers, Adair feels a tug from his creation to follow. This pull leads him to a carnival where he meets a healer standing guard over a stricken performer. It turns out that his thief is more than a mere robber and there’s more at stake then just a stolen map. Will Adair get it back and stop the thief before anyone else is hurt?

Sentinel (Book 2)
Adair has recovered his stolen map and acquired a loyal bodyguard who will - with luck and a lack of imps - protect him in the future. Adair’s elation is short-lived when the other artists refuse to accept his choice of sentinel. Conflict with his peers and a realization of magic gone awry lead Adair to restore a fractured friendship. Caught between past and present, Adair must decide how far he’s willing to bend the rules of his class. No one ever actually decreed that carnival performers couldn’t be sentinels, did they?

Unnamed (Book 3)
Adair has been promoted to novice and is now able to practice his cartography wherever he chooses. He and his friends- and their fledgling carnival troupe- are asked by the leader of the carnies to travel around the continent to check for anyone showing signs of magic. This task ends up far less straightforward when the group stumbles across the possible source of the magical glitches happening back home in Concordia. Will they be able to stop this before the disruptive glitches turn into permanent damage to their home?

Iconoclasm (Book 4)
When Adair and his companions find themselves summoned by the Artisans’ guild, they are given a specific assignment. They are to travel north to Montglace, the former home of the twins, on a diplomatic mission to investigate a possible corruption of magic. There’s only one problem: Etri and Sol are fugitives. Can this group of inexperienced carnies-turned-envoys find the source of the elemental corruption before their presence is detected? (This was previously book 3 before this trilogy became a quartet.)

A Sparkler's Glow (novella)
Just your typical “imp comically struggling to adjust to the confusing world of humans meets agender carnival performer with a penchant for fire and snark” love story. All Talan wants out of life is to find his next meal, to stop being so clumsy in his new body, and to learn why humans are so obsessed with shiny flat discs. When he meets Firedrake and discovers that he wants the fire-dancer as a friend and not a source of magic, life suddenly becomes a little more dangerous and far more confusing.


Short Stories:
(These are in the Unexpected Inspiration series and are available to read by clicking the titles.)

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Previous Novellas:

Long before I started Unexpected Inspiration, I spent a few years writing stories about the "Dungeons and Dragons" world my husband and I created. These novellas were my first foray into original fiction and while I've since moved on from elves and traditional fantasy, these stories hold a special place in my heart as the ones that gave me my love of writing. They're available to read by clicking the title links.

Hidden Magic (novella written in 2011)
Meren, an unusual elf girl (and her more unusual centaur brother) take up the task of hunting down a band of orc trespassers. When she stumbles into a pitfall, Meren finds an object: an amulet that gives strange new powers. Little does she know that an increasingly desperate young wizard is looking for the very same amulet and that their paths are destined to crisscross in a weave of chaotic magic...



The Acolyte's Map (novella written in 2010)
A powerful magical artifact has been unleashed! Unfortunately it has fallen into the unlikely hands of a hapless young priest who is now bound by its bizarre curse. This is the tongue-in-cheek tale of a half-elven cleric who is trying to locate and free the unwitting victim from said item's grasp with the help of his mischievous (and not always competent) brethren. Along the way there will be magic, intrigue, mischief, and a talking dog.



Adventures of a Young Messenger (novella written in 2010)
A narrative telling how Cyneric came to become a cleric. This is first-person backstory that I used for playing Cyneric in a "Dungeons and Dragons" campaign.


Short Stories:
(These are about the Messenger characters in "The Acolyte's Map"and "Adventures of a Young Messenger".)


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On Indefinite Hiatus:

I have one more novel started, but it's been on hold since I started Unexpected Inspiration. I may get back to it at some point, but maybe not. This one is in the Messenger series of writing, along with "The Acolyte's Map", "Adventures of a Young Messenger", and the two short stories above.


In the Cards (novel started in 2012)
A caged prophetess, a fiery messenger, a flighty shapeshifter, a paranoid shaman, and a prickly healer walk into a bar... okay, they just wish they had some time to relax. With the "help" of unreliable magic, a few meddlesome gods, and several strange animals, these young clerics are fated to work together to take down an enemy who is hellbent (rather literally) on making their lives difficult.

CONVERSATION

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