Character Relationship Highlight During the course of her magical training with Fantur Nen, Babe Bump finds herself undergoing a kundalini-style initiation whenever she says--or even thinks--the words "secret salamander," which is an obscure reference in the mysterious Book of Moons possessed by Oyster Olson. Vesta is a shapeshifting, rampaging "cousin" of the Mo'o deities of…
Prequel Coming Soon: Hele to Hermitville
A definition of Hele nvi. To go, come, walk; to move, as in a game; going, moving; a gadabout.Figuratively, to die. nvt. To tie, bind, lash, make fast; noose, snare.—Hawaiian to English Dictionary, Pukui-Elbert (1986) Now that The Perilous Past, fourth book in the series, is published and I can seemingly count on at least…
The Witching Work – Out This Spring!
Publication date to be announced, but "soon." I am so looking forward to the second book being out this year! People who have read the first really want the sequel and I can't wait for them to read it. Stay tuned for more news from me and the publisher, Strange Particle Press (an imprint of…
The Time-Warp Solstice Story
Update! A Guild of Ornamental Hermits Solstice is now available for free via Kindle Unlimited! And here's the video I just made as a teaser for this story: https://videopress.com/v/E7wFnHw6?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true Enjoy this short video! Original Post: My publisher encouraged me to write a short story with a seasonal theme (as in Winter seasonal). I have called…
The Library Game
The other day I tried to donate copies of my book to the local libraries here in Eugene and Springfield. I found out there were various protocols in place, with regard to cataloging and selection, designed perhaps to dissuade wild-eyed local authors from barging in with their books. It was discouraging to see how local…
Showing Off the Book Covers
The 2nd Book The 3rd Book The 4th Book, Work in Progress, 3/4 done The 1st Book, coming soon! Yes, I am plastering these covers all over my website and other social media, but oh my! I am so pleased with them! The cover design is by Frankie Pauncevolt Hill at Digital Parchement Services and…
Rune Illustrations by Paul F.S. Bauer
Today I am sharing two illustrations I commissioned from my youngest son, Paul F.S. Bauer, for The Dire Deeds of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits. There is a scene in the book where the Elves teach divination using the Elder Futhark runes, and I wanted the results illustrated. Paul added the additional design elements based…
July 2020 Progress
I am back firmly in fantasy novelist mode! This past weekend I put some character and plot development changes in place and continued the final edit on Dire Deeds. I revised the list of 29 genders of the Elf world; and sorted and organized files of character "faces" (a form of fantasy "casting" that helps…
“The Queerest Quest” Has Begun!
November 1st (my birthday) is also the start of each year's National Novel Writing Month, fondly known as NaNoWriMo. In NaNoWriMo 2016, I launched my fantasy novel, The Dire Deeds of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits, and continued to write all year. In NaNoWriMo 2017, I continued work on Dire Deeds and then revised and completed…
QQ Excerpt: Lucky LaFey: Character Sketch
Lucky LaFey is a new main character who appears in the third volume of The Guild of Ornamental Hermits series, The Queerest Quest of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits. This third book takes place in Lake County, CA. Lucky LaFey is a drifter. He wears his mileage lightly though he's travelled the roughest of roads. However his…
The Guild of Ornamental Hermits 