Fool's Gold Archives

Copy of Best Foot Forward lying on a bed of sand, covered by an enamelled Horus medallion. The cover has a deep red background with map markings in a dull purple. Two men in silhouette stand, looking up at a point in the top left. An astrology chart with different symbols picked out takes up the left side of the image, with glowing stars curving up to the title.

Up for a 2024 reading challenge?

December 18, 2023 / Reading

Ideas for 2024 reading challenges (with some help about which of my books fit some prompts.)

Best Foot Forward, Carry On, Chasing Legends, Facets of the Bench, Fool's Gold, Forged in Combat, Four Walls and a Heart, Illusion of a Boar, In The Cards, Magician's Hoard, Mistress Of Birds, Nocturnal Quarry, Outcrossing, Pastiche, Sailor's Jewel, Shoemaker's Wife, The Fossil Door, The Magic of Four, Three Graces, Upon A Summer's Day, Wards of the Roses

Cover of In The Cards displayed in a gleaming silver frame, with purple flowers on the right and a purple velvet high-heeled shoes.

Happily ever after, no kids

September 13, 2023 / Mysterious Arts, Mysterious Charm, Mysterious Powers, Questions and answers

Do people need to have kids to have their happily ever after. Some of my characters have kids, but not everyone does! Here’s more about those books.

Ancient Trust, Bound for Perdition, Complementary, Fool's Gold, Four Walls and a Heart, Illusion of a Boar, In The Cards, Mistress Of Birds, On The Bias, Point By Point, Seven Sisters, The Hare And The Oak

Copy of Pastiche on a white wood background, surrounded by golden yellow leaves that pick up on the yellow of the stained glass window on the cover.

Where to start

August 9, 2023 / Questions and answers, Writing and publishing

Thoughts about where to start with my books (and a link to a page all about that).

Ancient Trust, Best Foot Forward, Fool's Gold, Goblin Fruit, Old As The Hills, On The Bias, Pastiche, Seven Sisters, Shoemaker's Wife, Upon A Summer's Day

A copy of Bound for Perdition lying on a piece of aged paper with elegant handwriting. The cover of Bound for Perdition has a man and woman silhouetted in dark brown on a green and brown background, with the woman holding a book while the man gestures. An open blank book and pen are inset in the top right corner.

Summer (any time) reading fun

June 7, 2023 / Reading

Doing a summer reading challenge? Here are my books that fit specific prompts/bingo squares/etc.

Best Foot Forward, Bound for Perdition, Eclipse, Fool's Gold, Magician's Hoard, Mistress Of Birds, Point By Point, Sailor's Jewel, Seven Sisters, The Fossil Door, Wards of the Roses, Winter's Charms

Idea to book: Fool’s Gold

March 15, 2023 / Ideas to books, Mysterious Powers

Fool’s Gold has a slightly different origin than many of my story ideas. Kiya (my friend and editor) had been talking to a friend of theirs who loves a disaster elf. Kiya told me about that. And then promptly said I should do something more with Robin, I hadn’t done a villain redeemed book yet. Which, to be fair, is exactly what Robin is made for. Villain redeemed Robin turns up in two earlier books. He appears briefly in Wards of the Roses, wanting to get more involved with the research that begins at the end of that book. Kate isn’t at all sure what she thinks of him, and Kate has good instincts. Here’s how she describes him then: Kate paused, then cleared her throat. “He did the thing where a man reaches to kiss your hand, a little click of his heels, the precise angle of the bow, and the – gleam in his eye. Not the sort who’d push you into a convenient dark corner for his own pleasure, but the sort who uses his charm to get what he wants.” And of course, if you’ve read Seven Sisters, Robin has definitely been up to no good, and with some potentially dangerous results. He’s so bent on what he’s searching for that he doesn’t see anything else, or doesn’t think about the consequences. The question with Fool’s Gold was how to write a story where he could be an engaging protagonist and have a romance that was satisfying.

Fool's Gold, Seven Sisters

Question answered! Character ages

April 28, 2022 / Questions and answers

I got an email from a reader (hi!) asking a couple of questions, including this one: “In your romantic couples, the women seem to be consistently a little older (or a lot older) than the men. Was this a conscious choice, and if so, is there a reason for it?”

Best Foot Forward, Fool's Gold, Goblin Fruit, In The Cards, Magician's Hoard, Outcrossing, Pastiche, Sailor's Jewel, Seven Sisters, The Fossil Door

Welcome to 2022! More books ahead!

January 6, 2022 / Announcements, Writing and publishing

Hello, and welcome to 2022! I have aspirations and intentions of doing more regular blogging about my books and writing this year, so I thought it’d be great to start out with what I’m hoping to write and publish this year. (As always, my newsletter gets all the news first, including some additional details that won’t be on the blog. Also some extra scenes or short stories from time to time as I’m inspired to write them.) (2021 was an amazing year! The Fossil Door, Eclipse, Fool’s Gold, Sailor’s Jewel, Complementary, and Winter’s Charms all came out thanks to my being home a lot more. I’m expecting my writing speed to drop a bit in 2022, but I also have a lot of things I want to write, so I’ve got some ambitious goals.) (Likely) coming out in 2022: I’m hoping to release 4 books and 2 novellas in 2022. Because of the way I draft and edit, three of the four novels already exist in draft (or will within a week or so, I’m finishing one of them right now.) My goal is to hit the months indicated, but it’s a changeable world out there, so dates may shift somewhat in the process. The Hare and the Oak: A later-in-life romance featuring Cyrus Smythe-Clive (seen in Sailor’s Jewel as Rhoe’s older brother, and briefly in Carry On and Eclipse). When Lord Baddock shows up at the Council Keep looking for help, Cyrus and Mabyn Teague (seen briefly at the end of

Best Foot Forward, Casting Nasturtiums, Chasing Legends, Complementary, Country Manners, Eclipse, Fool's Gold, Mistress Of Birds, Point By Point, Sailor's Jewel, The Fossil Door, The Hare And The Oak, Winter's Charms

Welcome to Fool’s Gold!

November 5, 2021 / Announcements, Mysterious Powers

Fool’s Gold came about partly because my editor said, “You haven’t done a villain redeemed yet. Robin would be a great candidate.” Robin appears in Seven Sisters (and Fool’s Gold does contain references to, and thus some spoilers for the events of that book, though only in fairly broad strokes.) He also appears briefly in Wards of the Roses. Since then, he’s been struggling. Closely monitored by his Aunts for more than two years, he’s finally freed to begin to rebuilding his life and work. He’s eager to get back to paints and inks, art and antiques, even if he’s still frustrated and unmoored by other parts of his life. When he overhears a chance conversation about art forgery, he notices Beatrice. Beatrice has lived with an inherited curse since she was a baby. Visible to her family but invisible to everyone else (or so she thought), she is startled when Robin addresses her. She wants to know more, and besides, Robin has some thoughts about the man who’s courting her cousin. Come enjoy Fool’s Gold for a story about finding your way in the world, family expectations (both good and bad), a perky dragon, art and artists, and much more.

Fool's Gold