Every year I swear I’m going to “take it easy.”
Since coming out of burnout, my brain responded by handing me more story ideas than any reasonable human being should attempt at once. So naturally, after much pacing, overthinking, coffee, spreadsheets, and staring into the void, I’ve officially decided on my 2026 publishing plan:
Four books.
Four very different worlds.
One very chaotic author.
And honestly? I’m excited.
First Priority: Castle Falls Book 5
This one was never really optional. I have to return to Castle Falls this year. Castle Falls has become one of those settings that feels alive even when I’m not actively writing it. The town keeps whispering new secrets at me. New ghosts. New magic. New trouble. And this book introduces a character I have become absolutely obsessed with:
A Bard.
Not the goofy “guy with a lute in the tavern” version. A true Bard. Someone whose music changes things. Someone tied to old songs, dangerous resonance, forgotten history, and the kind of magic people fear because it reaches directly into the soul. The deeper I get into this story, the more I realize this book is about healing, memory, and what music means to people when the world hurts.
I’m also including songs created just for this Bard and his Celtic Group. Absolutely free. Creative Commons. Lyrics are copyrighted to me, but I’d love for anyone interested to grab and make it their own. Just send me copy so I can hear it!
So I’m writing a sing along book. That’s totally normal…for a cozy. Right?
Amaranthine Book 2
This one has been waiting for me patiently while my attention wandered into several dark forests and at least two haunted buildings. But the truth is, I love the world of Amaranthine too much to leave it hanging. It’s the world of the Eldritch Files, and all the old characters are there…and I wanted to show how life changes things. Situations. People. And magic.
Book 2 raises the stakes significantly. Bigger consequences. Deeper mythology. More pressure on the characters. More emotional fallout from the choices already made. And honestly, this is the year I want to prove to myself that I can build long-running fantasy arcs (like The Eldritch Files) instead of constantly chasing new beginnings.
Because beginnings are easy. Book twos are where you find out if the story has teeth. Grrr.
Ravenwood Hills Book 3
Returning to Ravenwood Hills feels a little like walking back into a town where the fog never fully lifted. There’s something deeply comforting to me about Ravenwood Hills even when terrible things are happening there. Maybe especially then.
Book 3 digs harder into the emotional consequences of the supernatural elements. I want this one to feel more intimate, stranger, and more haunting than the previous books. The kind of story where the atmosphere slowly wraps around your throat while the characters are still trying to convince themselves everything is fine.
We got bad divorced husbands, a nasty Angel, and a ghoul!
The Wild Card: The Ghost-Hunting Novel
And then there’s the completely new project. The one that snuck up on me thanks to late nights playing Phasmophobia and The Other Side.
There’s something fascinating about cooperative ghost hunting games that traditional horror movies don’t always capture well: the mixture of fear, obsession, dark humor, and investigation. The way people joke because they’re terrified. The way evidence gathering becomes ritualistic. The way everyone starts brave until the hallway gets quiet.
I don’t want to write a “game adaptation.” I want to capture that feeling. That tension.
That moment where you realize the haunting is becoming personal.
Right now this project is still evolving, but it’s shaping into something atmospheric, emotional, and genuinely creepy—which is exactly where I like to live creatively.
Why Four Books?
Because I spent too long waiting for the “perfect” conditions to create, for me to find the perfect balance between life and writing. Perfect schedules don’t exist. Perfect motivation doesn’t exist. At some point I have to stop asking whether something is going to suck me down a rabbit hole and I forget to eat and start asking whether it matters enough to attempt anyway. And these stories matter to me.
Some are continuations readers have waited for (maybe, or they’ve been abandoned because I tend to choose gaming sometimes because I can shut that off when I’m sleepy and I have a hard time shutting off writing). Some are risks. Some are deeply personal in ways I probably won’t fully admit until after publication. But all four of them make me excited to sit down and write.
That’s the feeling I’m chasing in 2026.
Now I just need approximately twelve additional hours in every day. I mean, I do still work a day job…and I decided to redo my own website. Finish series. And side writing jobs…like Valdemar…and BattleTech…
