April 2023

       Our house is finally making progress. My husband cut out holes for the recessed lighting and I finished painting the ceiling and the others walls bright white. To break up the monotony of white, I painted the accent wall where the tv is going my favorite color. I tend to like a darker, deeper green but this is actually quite a lovely shade. The picture doesn't do it justice. If you're curious, it's called Terrarium by Valspar. Once the living room is complete, its onto the next project which is the utility room. We kinda just shoved everything everywhere when we moved in and have done our construction around it... It's been fun (sarcasm). Next week, when I have the weekend off and after soccer for the kiddos, we will be laying the underlayment for the flooring and hopefully flooring by then too. I'm so excited. I've been waiting for this for a long time. I've had flooring out in the mud room for the past year and a half. Everything in the house has been sitting and waiting for things to get rolling. It's absolutely relieving that our house is finally getting done. After the living room, utility room, then the last parts are the bathrooms. Everything after that is just finish work and cleaning.

       Between working on the house and working crazy hours in dispatch, it's part of the reason why I haven't written a blog in a while or sent out my bi-monthly newsletters. For those new to my website or me in general, I sent out 2 newsletters a month on the 15th and 30th. I hate bombarding people with "hey look at me" things, which is why only 2 newsletters a month and they're typically short. Anyhoot, one of our part-time dispatchers decided to go full time and I cannot begin to tell you how big of a relief that is. I can finally catch up with my kids, house chores, on sleep, and bookish related things. Once a month, one of us gets an overtime shift. So, we work 3 days a week now and every other weekend. I'm thrilled. The 4-5 days a week, rotating between days and nights constantly was getting exhausting.

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Click on the picture to go to Amazon!

       I have a new clean and sweet-ish (a few swear words but no f-bombs) fantasy romance series releasing back to back in May 2023. The first one releasing is Aiding Azlyn on May 16th, following a woman who takes in a little boy unknown to her who his real ties are. Once discovering who the boy belongs to, she struggles to protect him from forces beyond her capabilities. This Zerelon series was something I wrote PRIOR to Jordie and the Castre series. I just lost everything on my toshiba laptop that refused to take an update from Windows Vista to Windows 10. I had some of it saved on a flash drive but the majority of everything on that laptop was lost to me forever. I now have a lovely HP laptop and have since gotten Dropbox to never lose precious things again like all my kids pictures from when Teaghann was 4 and Braedyn was 1. Anyhoot, you can pre-order Azlyn's ebook or order the paperback. The blurb is listed below.

​                    *** B L U R B ***

       Someone wants his son dead. The evidence points to the lands in the north, but the greedy king ruling those lands wouldn’t be frivolous enough with his coin to begin a war. Nay, the culprit must come from inside Theron’s land, his keep. But who would want him or his child dead?

       The child in her care comes from the lands in the south. Her former husband desired the coin in his ransom, but after seeing how the coin wasn’t forthcoming, he cast her and the child from his lands. Azlyn vows to protect the boy at any costs, but how can she protect him from evils she doesn’t know?

       Come on an adventure to the land of Zerelon, where everything is more than it seems.

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Click on the picture to go to Amazon!

       The second book releasing in May 2023 is Killing Karlyn on May 23rd, also of the Zerelon series. I wrote Karlyn prior to Jordie and everything else. It feels so dang good to finally get her story out of me and released. I was stumped on her book for the longest time, but I think I finally did her justice. I grew as an author, which each book I learn something and hone my tone more, so seeing this come to light is super refreshing.
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       The finale to the short novella series is called Reviving Roslyn. She is hopefully going to be released on May 30th. I'm currently writing her little story and its so sweet. Roslyn has a stuttering problem, so bad, its almost every few words she's struggling to get out. So she secludes herself in a forest where none can make fun of her or call her diseased. When thieves capture a princess and take her unbeknownst to them, to Roslyn's dwelling, Roslyn finds herself making peace with her imminent death. That is, until the princess's burly brother shows up. This novella follows Roslyn and Zorion as she finds her voice to speak and he discovers what it's like to finally open up to someone.

                    *** B L U R B ***

       Being locked in a dungeon put life in a new perspective for Karlyn. She swore her fealty to the wrong man; further proving her loyalty by taking the brand of her guild. And now, that same man sold her. Leaning against the cell wall, Karlyn realizes her mistakes and vows to put an end to the person who destroyed her life.

       Waylon’s task was to guard a dangerous prisoner, but when he discovers the real reason for her imprisonment, it has him questioning his fealty to his king. Waylon’s choices spiral out of control, landing him in several precarious situations.

       Karlyn and Waylon join forces to right the terrible wrongs by the ones they were loyal to, but when meddling Gods interfere in their plans, will they be able to overcome their differences together or will they slaughter each other first?

       Come on an adventure to the land of Zerelon, where everything is more than it seems.

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Wicked Witch coming Fall of 2023 - actual cover reveal coming soon!

       After the Zerelon series is completed, I will be starting a new slow burn paranormal romance under the pen name - Winter Shade - mainly because spelling - Shanniak - can be difficult. It's going to show Shanniak as a contributing author, so those who know me, will still find me. However, anything paranormal from this point forward will be under the pen name. Already on my website, there is a tab for the new pen name.
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       Well, that's pretty much it for me and updates for this month. I hope you all have a wonderful day & stay safe out there.

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