I hope everyone is continuing to keep safe, and that you and yours are okay. We moved into level 1 here in New Zealand last week, which basically means business as usual but with our borders closed. As of yesterday we’d had several weeks of no new cases, which was broken today by 2 new cases, so not sure how that will impact our new status quo. We’re no longer contact tracing but everyone is supposed to take note of where they’ve been. There’s also an app for that, and QR codes up in every business.

Moving down to level 1 also meant I had to go back to working on site fulltime. It’s been a bit of an adjustment with my energy levels, especially as our opening hours have changed. I’m having to set an early alarm to get some writing time in before work, as I’m now starting at 10 instead of 12, and working through to 6.30, then having to come home and have dinner. Not ideal, but still much better than losing hours or my job altogether.

Everything else that was on hiatus is now back too, with orchestra rehearsals the last to resume last Monday. My bow arm felt the lack of practise while we were on lockdown and ached for a day after the first rehearsal!

I’m very happy that I managed to finish my first draft of Double Exposure a few days before I returned to fulltime work on site. I’m aiming to publish it next year, after Rosebound. The two series will eventually crossover, with cameos of characters before then so I’m alternating writing them so the timeline flows correctly. Keep an eye out for the vampire English Lit professor at Victoria University!

Meantime, between copy edits and organising promo for The Harp and the Sea with my co-author, Lou Sylvre, I’m doing one final read through of Shades of Sepia before sending it off to my lovely formatter. I’ve put Shadowboxing on hold until I have my ducks in a row for my vampire and his soulmate.

So many balls to juggle! And wait, there’s penguins—more about that later.

Coming early July from LaceDragon Publishing:
The Sleepless City Book 1

To be soulmates they first have to survive.

A serial killer stalks the streets of Boggslake, Ohio. The victims are always found in pairs, one human and one vampire.

Simon Hawthorne has been a vampire for nearly a hundred years, and he has never seen anything like it. Neither have the other supernaturals he works with to keep the streets safe for both their kind and the humans.

One meeting with Simon finds Ben Leyton falling for a man he knows is keeping secrets, but he can’t ignore the growing attraction between them. A recent arrival in Boggslake, Ben finds it very different from his native New Zealand, but something about Simon makes Ben feel as though he’s found a new home.

After a close friend falls victim to the killer, Simon is torn between revealing his true nature to Ben, and walking away to avoid the reaction he fears. But with the body count rising and the murders becoming more frequent, either, or both of them, could be the killer’s next target.

Author’s note: This story was originally released in 2014 by another publisher. This edition has been revised and re-edited with the end result being a better, stronger story.

Meantime I’d love to see some of you in my readers group and/or signing up for my newsletter.