Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Those of you who’ve been following me on social media for a while may remember where I talked about some changes in my life and what I had planned career-wise at the time. In that post, I said I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue the American Witch trilogy, which is a spinoff in the Elder Races universe. After much thought, I’m making that official.ÌýAmerican WitchÌýwill be a standalone. I know there are some unresolved plot points inÌýAmerican Witch, and my plan is to wrap those up in future works within the original Elder Races series. I’ve already done a cover reveal on the story I’m currently working on,ÌýOutlaw Magic. Several plot points raised inÌýAmerican Witch–and also raised in the Rhyacia novella duology featuring Dragos and Pia–are being developed further inÌýOutlaw Magic, which I hope to haveÌýready for release in 2023.

We haven’t put out a pre-order forÌýOutlaw Magic,Ìýbecause with my personal cleanup after hurricane Ian, together with finishing writing that story, and booking editing while also dealing with everyone’s upcoming holiday schedule means, I’m not quite sure how the dates are going to work out yet. But rest assured, as soon as we have that firm release date, we’ll set up the pre-order and be very excited about it, so we’ll be sure to splash it all over social media.

You’ve been waiting very patiently and I’m tremendously grateful to finally announce that the next character to get their own story will be�.

BAYNE!

I’m equally excited to reveal the cover art and title for Bayne’s upcoming book, OUTLAW MAGIC!

I think this cover model is perfect for Bayne–he’s just adorable!–and I hope you like him too. I’m still in the early stages with this story. Look for more details, including pre-order information, in the coming months.

THE ADVERSARYÌýIS AVAILABLE NOW FOR PURCHASE ON MY WEB STORE!

If you don’t want to wait for the official July 26 release date, you can purchase THE ADVERSARY now through my web store .

You can still read the story on your favorite device, you’ll just have to load it onto the device first. Not familiar with how to load stories onto your device? We have a “how toâ€� section at the top of the page.Ìý.

Or pre-order THE ADVERSARY at any of these vendors:

Ìý´¥ÌýÌý´¥ÌýÌý´¥Ìý

We will not be selling the ebook at Barnes and Noble for the time being (the paperback is available there). You can read why byÌý.

And now, the continuation of THE ADVERSARY!Ìý

Please remember that when I post unedited draft work, it’s all subject to change or deletion. Anything you read will very likely contain typos and grammar issues that will be addressed during the editing process. For that reason, please don’t post this in other places.ÌýHappy reading!

~Thea

THE ADVERSARY, Chapter One (continued)

She rubbed her face and fell back to the sickened wondering if this latest catastrophe would really be the end of them. But this colossal, deadly creature was her firstborn boy, and she couldn’t help but be glad that Liam was no longer around to witness whatever the sentinels were doing to his father’s body.

As she struggled with conflicting emotions, the white dragon floated low over the trees, dropped with precision into the clearing a safe distance away, and shapeshifted into a human male who raced over to her.

Liam had inherited Dragos’s dragon form and tall, powerful build, along with Pia’s blond hair, blue eyes, and smoother, more graceful features. The result was a strikingly handsome young man. His shadowed features were sharp with concern. “Mom!�

She rushed to meet him. His hands came down on her shoulders, and she threw her arms around his neck. “I’m all right.� The lie was so outrageous she discovered she could say it quite calmly. “It’s okay.�

He hugged her tight. “I didn’t know what to think when Eva said you ran off.�

“I wasn’t in control of my Wyr side. I had to leave before I did something stupid.� His clean, familiar scent hit every mom button in her body, flooding her with feel-good chemicals. Despite herself, she relaxed a bit and leaned back to take a good look at him. Stress and worry etched his features and made him look harder, older. “How are things going back there?�

He shook his head. “I don’t know. Once we got…�him� subdued, Graydon and Rune made me step away.�

That made her feel a little better about leaving so abruptly. “He’s your dad. That’s what they should have done. It’s what I would have done if I’d been more in control of myself and able to hang around.�

His well-shaped mouth acquired a stubborn line she knew very well. “If I have any hope of leading a demesne successfully, I need to be involved with the tough decisions and difficult scenarios. But Rune said this wasn’t the time to push it.�

Was that regret or relief? His expression was too complex to decipher, and with a small pang she realized the simplicity from Liam’s childhood was gone.

She forced herself to concentrate on the present. “It’s going to be hard enough for them to do what they have to do without having to worry about how you’re handling it. They’re close to him too.�

His arms tightened around her. “I know. That’s why it didn’t feel right to walk away. They should have the support of someone at their back. But right now nothing feels right, so I did as Rune asked and stepped away.� His shadowed blue gaze focused on her. “What can I do for you?�

She lifted one shoulder while she did an internal check on the streaks of panic that had been running for hours like wildfire along the edges of her mind. Yep, they were still there.

But running away wasn’t going to help evict the entity that had possessed Dragos, and they had no guarantee that—thatâ€� (say the damn word, even if it’s only in your mind)…Ì�tortureÌýwould force the entity to reveal any of its secrets or relinquish its hold on him.

“I need to go back,� she said. “I wasn’t in control before, but running away isn’t going to free Dragos or fix anything.� After an adrenaline-fueled day, her thinking felt frustrating and sluggish. She forced herself to concentrate point by point. “Niall’s okay. All the children are in a safe place. I don’t know where they were taken, and that bothers me. I can’t picture where he is or who’s looking after him. But none of that is rational.�

“Let’s find out when we return,� he said. “I would also feel better if we knew where the little stinker was.�

She squeezed his hand as she bit her lip. “Hard as this is, I have to say no. I can’t stand back and let other people fight for Dragos’s life. Can you?�

Fire flashed in his gaze. For a moment he looked intensely dragony, hard and ruthless and entirely predatory. “No.�

“Right.� She gave him a grim nod. “But that decision comes with risk. If that thing in Dragos manages to break the restraints we’ve placed on it, one way it could hurt us badly is if it found out how to go after our children.�

It was his turn to study her. It felt odd to have her son give her such a candid assessment. Not that long ago, he had been prone to chewing through his diapers when he turned into his dragon form.

But she lifted her chin and accepted his scrutiny. She had just seriously slid off the rails, and she wasn’t entirely certain she had made it wholly back onto the track. Maybe having somebody scrutinize her decisions and behavior wasn’t such a bad idea.

He heaved a sigh. “I don’t like it, but I agree.�

“So we go back. We find out if the sentinels have made any progress, and if they haven’t�.� Her voice trailed away as she remembered the terrible sound Dragos had made.

Liam’s hands found their way to her shoulders again. He replied in a very steady voice, “We have to assume they haven’t. Mom, it hasn’t been very long.�

“I know. We should assume they haven’t gotten anywhere yet.� Her own voice shook. Goddammit, Giovanni, pull yourself together. Don’t fall apart in front of your own son. More strongly, she said, “We need to get a team together and go back into that hellhole to see what we can find out.�

He frowned. “You mean the one you and dad went into when the sinkholes appeared, under the construction site for the music hall?�

“Yes. That’s where Dragos got—hell, Liam, this sounds like something out ofÌýThe Exorcist, but I don’t know what else to call it. That’s where he was possessed.â€� Her eyes narrowed as she thought back. “I think there might be something in that space our intruder didn’t want anybody to find. He made a point of posting a guard around the hole to keep people out. It was the first thing he did when he came out of the hole.â€�

His attention sharpened. “What did he say, exactly?�

She tried to summon up the exact words but drew a blank. “I don’t remember. I was too busy reeling with shock and trying to figure out what to do. But I remember he didn’t want anybody going down there. Our intruder is not a philanthropic guy. He made it sound like the site isn’t safe—which of course it isn’t—but I don’t think he would give a damn if anybody fell down the hole and got themselves killed. If we’re going to defeat him, we need to find out why he wanted to keep people away and to learn everything else we can about him, and that means taking a team of our best magic users down to inspect the scene.�

“Okay,� Liam said. “We’ve got a plan. It’ll be good to have something useful to do.�

__________________________________

Copyright: 2021 Teddy Harrison LLC

All rights reserved

THE ADVERSARYÌýIS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON MY WEB STORE!

Although THE ADVERSARY won’t release through the vendors until July 26, you can purchase it NOW ! You can still read the story on your favorite device, you’ll just have to load it onto the device first. Not familiar with how to load stories onto your device? We have a “how toâ€� section at the top of the page.Ìý.

Or pre-order THE ADVERSARY at any of these vendors:

| | |

We will not be selling at Barnes and Noble for the time being. You can read why by .

And now for the first snippet of THE ADVERSARY!

Please remember that when I post unedited draft work, it’s all subject to change or deletion. Anything you read will very likely contain typos and grammar issues that will be addressed during the editing process. For that reason, please don’t post this in other places.ÌýHappy reading!

~Thea

THE ADVERSARY, Chapter One

Walking away from her mate was the hardest thing Pia had ever done. He was still there inside his body, trapped by someone—someÌýthing—that was in there with him.

Her hands shook and her vision blurred. Onlookers stood scattered in clumps across the beach, staring with fear and puzzlement written across their faces. She couldn’t look at any of them.

Then something happened behind her. No doubt the sentinels were obeying her order, because Dragos let out a muffled groan.

No. That wasn’t Dragos. It was the imposter, the thief of everything.

It wasn’t Dragos.

But, oh gods, it sure sounded like him.

The Wyr were two-natured, human—or at least human-like—and animal, and the animal that lived inside her turned savage, clawing at her to whirl and attack those who dared threaten and hurt her mate. It didn’t understand logic or strategy, or that Dragos was presently infected by a dangerous entity.

After a brief struggle for control, she broke and ran as fast as she could away from the scene.

ÌýEva called out from behind her. “Pia—â€�

“Not now!� In case anyone chose to disregard her, she picked up speed until she flew across the sand.

Soon she left the lights and sounds of the people behind, and the moon lit her way. There were winged Wyr who were faster than Pia when they took to the air, but nothing on land could catch her when she put her heart and soul into it—as she did now, trying to outrun the horror of that muffled groan.

She had no idea where her baby had been taken. Niall had been hidden away for his own safety, along with the other children in the settlement.

She had no idea how to help her mate. All she could do was run while her heart felt like it was tearing into pieces. When she was far enough away from everybody, she turned from the beach and plunged into the forest. There, surrounded by intense solitude, she burst out of her human form and let her animal take control as it tried to outrace a reality that felt like a mortal wound.

Finally, exhaustion helped quench the instincts raging through her body, allowing rational thought to surface again.

Get yourself under control, fool, she told herself. He’s not dead. Where there’s life, there’s hope. You can get him back. YouÌýwillÌýget him back.

She stumbled to a halt at the edge of an empty, moonlit clearing, head hung low and sides heaving.Ìý

This wasn’t the lowest part of her life. She’d been desperate and overcome with despair more than once. But this ranked pretty far down there, and if she wasn’t quite as despairing as she had been at other difficult times, the terror of the present moment more than made up for it.

Multiple voices sounded nearby, their clarion tones sculpted by a foreign language.

Panic slammed her.ÌýNobody had ever discovered her in her Wyr form before. Startled into rearing, she looked around wildly for the threat. All her life she had been so careful. She could have sworn she’d been careful this time, but she must have miscalculated badly.

The clearing was no longer empty. A strange creature stood several yards away. It stood as tall as Dragos but was far more slender, and it was so radiant that Pia had to squint to look at it.ÌýIt was winged—not just with two wings but with many that swirled around its figure like white, undulating flames—and its eyes were piercing with unearthly radiance.

All the sick horror from the day fell away, to be replaced with wonder.ÌýEven though she had never seen a creature like this with such clarity before, she recognized it immediately.

It had to be one of the creatures that had been haunting the settlement, nicknamed the unseen.ÌýNo longer barely perceived or translucent, this one was fully present and as grounded in the clearing as she was. Was it really a seraph, one of the mythical creatures that Bel had described from Elven lore?

Her fight or flight imperative tried to take control again. Nobody but Dragos, Liam and Niall, and the gryphons had ever seen her in her Wyr form. There were others who knew what kind of creature she was, far too many others for keeping such a dangerous secret safe, and she knew that sometimes that fact kept Dragos up at night.Ìý

But nobody else had actuallyÌýseenÌý³ó±ð°ù.

Despite her impulse to bolt from the clearing, the creature’s noble, inhuman face seemed so� what was the word? Not gentle. It seemed too stern to be gentle. But it did seem, somehow, to be kind, and Pia’s panic couldn’t quite take hold.

It spoke, and multiple voices sounded clear like deep bells rung from a high mountain. While she couldn’t understand the language, all the voices said the same thing.

It walked toward her, sweeping its many wings back and holding out empty hands as if in offering or in supplication. Even though its posture was non-aggressive, she took a wary step back. It looked like it might want to�.

°Õ´ÇÌýpetÌý³ó±ð°ù?

Umm, that would be a hard pass. She was no tame pet to meekly succumb to a stranger’s ministrations. With a snort, Pia lowered her horn in warning. The creature approached more slowly and softened its speech. How could so many voices come from a single throat? She stamped the ground and retreated further.

It stopped advancing. Then several shining arcs dropped to the ground like meteorites, and more of the radiant creatures landed in the clearing. Suddenly there were too many for Pia to confront while feeling so exposed in her Wyr form.

She tore into her human form at top speed. As she solidified from the shapeshift, she opened her mouth to ask the creatures if, by any odd chance, they understood American English, but when her human gaze cleared, she stood alone in an empty, moonlit clearing.

Spinning, she checked every direction, but the shining creatures had vanished.

Why would they disappear when they had just arrived? Glancing at the clear night sky, she walked cautiously over to where the first creature had last stood. Something invisible brushed along her arm, and she flung out both hands as she leaped back.

Was it still here? If so, why couldn’t she see it like she had before?

“Who are you, and what do you want—and why did you disappear?� she asked. “Can you hear me? Do you understand what I’m saying?�

She heard nothing but the whispering of wind in the trees.

The whispering…�

She strained to listen harder. Was that whispering far-off multiple voices, calling out in a foreign language?

The moonlit clearing darkened. She looked up.

The shape of a massive dragon blotted out the moon’s pale glow. Relief and joy rushed up her body, as if she had been a darkened candle and fire had set her alight.

�Dragos!� she screamed, jumping and waving. “Down here!�

Dragos’s eyesight was so keen he could spot a mouse from high in the air, but he had to be looking for it. She wasn’t sure how that would translate to the intense shadows in a woodland scene at night. How could she catch his attention?

Dragos!ÌýShe shouted telepathically.

Silence.

Sharp edges cut at her thinking. Why couldn’t he hear her and respond?

Was that even Dragos?

Even as she realized it couldn’t be Dragos—her first reaction had been based solely on adrenaline-fueled hope and not reality—the dragon tilted into a wide turn. As his giant wings drove down, moonlight gleamed on massive white wings.

Disappointment hammered down, even as a certain kind of relief welled.

Not Dragos, then, but Liam.

__________________________________

Copyright: 2021 Teddy Harrison LLC

All rights reserved

This blog post is very long (sorry!) and it contains several updates. Maybe you don’t want to read everything, or you don’t have the time to read it all. Here’s an index, so you can jump to whatever part is relevant to you.

* * * * * * * PRE-ORDER LINKS FOR THE ADVERSARYAvailable 7/26/21

From NYT bestselling author Thea Harrison comes the explosive conclusion to The Unseen!Ìý

When Dragos and Pia move to the Other land of Rhyacia, they hope starting a new life will bring safety and freedom to their family, especially their young baby, Niall. And at first their new home seems perfect� but looks are deceiving.

Beneath Rhyacia’s idyllic façade an ancient, malevolent force lurks, waiting for the right opportunity to break free of its cage. When that opportunity comes, it strikes with devastating accuracy.

While Dragos has never backed down from a fight, he’s also never encountered an enemy like this one before. How can he fight a foe who doesn’t have a body? A foe who can invade and turn his own mind against him?

How can Dragos protect his family, when at any moment one of them may become the enemy?

As Dragos and Pia race against time to fight this unseen menace, they must also acknowledge a terrifying truth—when anyone can become the enemy, no one can be trusted.

An adversary who can trap the dragon poses a threat to everyone in Rhyacia, and that means no one is safe�

***This book does NOT end on a cliffhanger***

Available for pre-order through:

| | |

It will also be available through my . It will not be available through Barnes & Noble at this time. You can read why .

WHY I TOOK A HIATUS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

By now, if you follow me on social media, it’s no secret thatÌýI’ve been taking a hiatus from work and social media for health reasons.ÌýThe last few months, I’ve gone through the worst autoimmune flare up I’ve ever been through.

Honestly, I’m not comfortable with this section and have, in fact, rewritten this blog post several times. In the end I’ve decided to keep this, because it offers the reality behind such a lengthy delay and explains why I’m making a significant departure from previously stated plans and promises.

Did you know your body can react to traumatic things roughly 90 days after the event? If you didn’t, neither did I until this year. One of my doctors believes this is what happened: when I moved across country alone during the pandemic, I didn’t have the physical reserves with which to handle it and my autoimmune system kicked into overdrive.

During this flare, my symptoms have been the most challenging they have ever been, including intense fibromyalgia-like pain, severe chronic fatigue, brain fog, blurred vision, and visible hair loss. Regarding the hair, I’ve started taking Nutrafol and am hopeful to get some regrowth. If I don’t, I’ve mapped out where the local wig stores are located. I may end up with a better hair style than I could have possibly imagined!

During this period, writing was impossible. Any kind of work schedule was impossible.ÌýAt times, I wondered if I needed to send my pets to family members and file for disability.

To complicate things, I worked with my doctor to try a few medications that would mitigate the symptoms. Much to my dismay, I reacted badly to almost everything. At one point I asked my pharmacist, “Is this really a thing where people can have adverse reactions to so many medications?� She said, in her experience, yes: if a person has a sensitivity to one type of medication it may be more likely they have a sensitivity to others.

Oy vey!

I’m currently on a waiting list locally to consult with a rheumatologist who specializes in autoimmune diseases, so there may be other medications that s/he can recommend. Only time will tell that tale. For the moment, my current doctor and I have tried everything we could think of, short of going to narcotics.

Cue superhero entrance: since prescription medications haven’t been a viable recourse—and I can’t take NSAIDs—I turned to Delta 8 THC and bought some THC gummies. After eating gummies regularly for a week, I had a significant reduction in pain and inflammation.ÌýGuys, THC is a miracle! At least it has been for me. It’s also legal to purchase Delta 8 THC and have it shipped cross state lines.

The gummies don’t fix everything, but they help enough that my relief and excitement is inexpressible. The only thing is, I have to be careful how much I eat or take, because I can get loopy and then I need to take a nap� which is also a hindrance to writing or holding down a regular work schedule.

During this difficult experience, I’ve had some personal movement on several things andâ€�..Ìý

I’M CHANGING MY SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

While keeping things light, positive, and funny on social media is a GOOD plan and nobody wants to wallow in negativity, least of all me, social media blurs lines and provides a skewed sense of reality.

Instead of seeing happy, upbeat posts as one small part of life someone is choosing to share, some people see it as a whole life laid bare. If nothing negative is shown, it means nothing negative exists. Posting a photo of a beach scene (which I’ve done) might literally be the only good thing that has happened in a month of difficulties (which it was), but some people see that photo and they equate it to the entirety of one’s life.ÌýThey don’t differentiate between social media and reality.

Because if someone can post a great photo of a beach or repost a funny meme, where’s the book they’ve been waiting for?? “You can post on FB, Instagram and Twitter, but you can’t write the book?� This is flawed thinking—even delusional thinking and definitely entitled–but that doesn’t change the fact that for some people this thought process exists. My assistant Gretchen has gotten emails that are basically demands—demands for content, demands for information, demands for access to my life.

While I know most readers would never dream of emailing someone in such a manner, my decision to take a step back from social media isn’t coming out of nowhere and isn’t only motivated by health issues.

Starting in June, Gretchen will be posting on social media once a week. We’ll focus on stories, either my backlist or news about new publications. I’m tossing around the idea of writing a blog post once a month. We’ll see.

And now for an update on publications.

MY SINCEREST, HEARTFELT APOLOGIES

I need to apologize to you, the reader. Last year with the best of intentions, I offered to create a set of four linked novellas about Dragos and Pia. I thought it would bring readers pleasure.ÌýAnd I was thinking of the way I used to be not that long ago, when I was a writing machine, before the autoimmune disease came into my life and demanded its own time table and its own events.

While I couldn’t know at the time how difficult things would get, I never should have offered this. I never should have set that expectation. This was, without doubt, the biggest misstep I’ve made in my writing career, and for that I am deeply, sincerely sorry.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry for creating an expectation that I was not able to fulfill.

It’s too late to take it back. The only thing I can do is correct course, not make the same mistake again, and move on. Readers will either continue to read my stories or not as they wish.

For that reason, The Adversary closes the storyline I started with The Unseen.ÌýThere will not be a set of four novellas, just two, and there will be no more cliffhangers.

MOVING FORWARD

I’m going to be blunt: I’ve had a shitty couple of years filled with major disruptions. Despite that, I do have optimism for the long term.

I don’t know if I can access the rest of the American Witch trilogy. Right now when I think of that story line I feel nothing but the scorched earth these last few years have been for me. No storyline, no characters clamoring for me to get back to them. Nothing but memories of autoimmune disorder, brain fog, anxiety, and physical pain.

It hurts to admit this, and I’m terribly saddened by it, but I may have to call an end to that project.

It’s a terrible thing to disappoint readers. Once again, I’m deeply sorry. I’ll know more over the next few months after we finish the publication ofÌýThe Adversary.ÌýI’m not sure what I’ll be working on next, but we will provide an update when it becomes appropriate.

REPUBLISHING MY OLD AMANDA CARPENTER STORIES

Over the next 18 months or so we’re going to repackage and publish the electronic version of my old Amanda Carpenter stories. Please keep in mind, Harlequin has the rights to the print version.ÌýWe will only be able to repackage and publish these electronically.

This will be a labor of love for those relatively few readers who want electronic copies but don’t yet have them, because they will most likely not earn back the money it will take to produce them. We’ll pop them out over time as our schedules allow. We hope to publish one a month, but we’ll see how the process goes.

In the meantime, here are pre-order links for my first novel, A Deeper Dimension. It is being re-released June 8, 2021.

From New York Times best-selling author Thea Harrison comes a vintage contemporary romance, as originally published under the pen name Amanda Carpenter in 1984.

An independent woman. A successful businessman. A partnership neither expected, and passion neither can deny.Ìý

Diana Carrington embodied independence. With no one to rely on but herself, she learned how to navigate the world alone, thriving despite the obstacles in her path.
Ìý
Securing a position at Mason Steel was her big break into the corporate world. She expected the work to be challenging. She didn’t expect the biggest challenge to be Alex Mason, the charismatic owner of the company and her new boss. Alex demanded the best of himself and his employees, and Diana was determined to surpass his expectations.
Ìý
When unscrupulous business rivals threaten his business, Diana gets to know the man behind the exacting business persona. Alex makes her feel things she’s never allowed herself to feel before. But with the threats to the company mounting, Diana stands to lose far more than her hard-earned independence. Someone wants to hurt Alex, and they aren’t afraid to use Diana to get to him.

Available for pre-order through:

| | |

It will also be available through my . It will not be available through Barnes & Noble at this time. You can read why .

So that’s all I’ve got right now.

* Dragos and Pia are getting ONE more novella, The Adversary. There will be no more cliffhangers and I am deeply sorry for not being able to fulfill the expectation I created.* More stories in the American Witch trilogy may be off the table. I’ll know more about that in the next few months.* The old Amanda Carpenter books will be repackaged and rereleased as ebooks over time, starting June 8, 2021.* Major updates will be posted on the blog, in the newsletter, and on FB, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

With the pandemic, everybody has been going through a rough time. Everybody has been hurting for one reason or another. I do not consider myself unique in any way.

I do hope you are all coming out of this terrible time with some hope and optimism, that you have been able to celebrate getting fully vaccinated, and that you are able to hug your family and friends again.

As always, thanks for your time. Be well.

Xoxo ~ Thea

If you do not follow me on social media, you may not be aware that I’ve been taking a social media break. I am extending my break for health reasons. All work, including my writing and publication schedule, is suspended temporarily. Have patience, stay safe and well, be kind to each other, and wear a mask. I’ll be in touch again when the time is right. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. Just keep shining your light.

xoxo,Ìý
Thea

I wanted to give you guys an update on the audiobook industry, Amazon, and how it impacts self-publishers. Audible’s predatory practices have come under some scrutiny and fire.

One example of this is author and friend Grace Draven who has posted that she is putting off producing book in audio format for now while she does research to figure out how best to move forward.

Producing audiobooks is tremendously expensive. It can cost an author something like $6,500 just to get an audiobook produced, and Audible’s return policies and reporting system have been a gigantic blow to content creators. I would like to remind readers that very few authors can afford to live on the proceeds of what they make from their writing career.

*It isn’t difficult to reach a place where they feel they can’t continue in a profession when they can’t put food on the table or pay rent.* And when that happens, they often stop creating.

ACX, the self-publishing arm of Audible, sent out an email about how there have been many concerns voiced about Audible’s return policy, so they’re going to give authors an extra 5% royalty for December. I’d like to be clear about this: that 5% royalty for a month is absolute bullshit. What would NOT be bullshit is for ACX/Audible to implement policies that are not predatory and actually pay content creators a fair royalty.

Writers, like a lot of other people in other professions, are looking for ways to survive, and predatory practices like this one, along with the massive problem of ebook piracy � which is theft � can make it extremely challenging to create new content and pay bills.

Narrator Sophie Eastlake and I co-produce the self-published Thea Harrison audiobooks that have been released through ACX/Audible, and she and I have talked before about the logistics of trying to move away from their stranglehold on the market. We haven’t yet figured out a way to do it. But I think we need to have another conversation.

What does this mean for future Thea Harrison audiobooks? The short answer is, I don’t know yet. I don’t know if there will be delays or how we will address the current challenges in front of us.If you would like to read the long version of “Audiblegate� you can do so here:

Here’s a cute meme for making it through all the text.

I wasn’t going to write this or go public with details, but this morning I changed my mind.

Earlier this year I asked readers if they would like more Dragos and Pia as comfort reads and got a resounding YES in reply. So after some thought, I set up a scenario that would mean readers could get at least part of the story as quickly as possible—a set of four linked stories. I wrote the first so that the reader could enjoy as much of Dragos and Pia interacting together as possible.

So that’s what I did. Readers got over 100 pages of Dragos and Pia together, and it was funny and it was fun. But because I had constructed the story the way I had, it ended on a cliffhanger.

I told the story the way I thought it should be told, and I’m aware that some readers haven’t liked the change. And that’s okay. Writers get to write what they write. Readers get to feel what they feel. And my good intentions for writing the four novellas went on the skids, because, man, it’s 2020.

This has been a very bleak, black year for many people.

It has for me as well.

In retrospect, I wish I hadn’t set up the four linked novellas, but it is what it is. Moving forward, I think I should only go public when I have completed stories.

You live and learn, right?

Here’s what happened. Earlier this year, I couldn’t hold my phone long enough to play an internet game called June’s Journey. Once at Target, I had to confess to the cashier that I was “a little bit disabled� that day and I needed help out to the car. I was in too much pain to make it across the parking lot by myself. I lost months at a time in disabling flareups. I’m not writing that to complain. I’m telling you what happened.

It’s an autoimmune disease. It is what it is. Sjogren’s Syndrome and the high, dry altitude in Denver don’t mix well. And I was stressed enough with life, the pandemic, and the civil unrest that I could hear from my little rental in Denver, that I wasn’t able control my comfort eating. I was eating the Standard American Diet which, as it turns out, is poison for me anymore.

So I took time off and moved, and I took precautions so I wouldn’t catch COVID, and now I’m at the other end of things in an area of the country where I don’t know anybody, and there won’t be any holiday gatherings with family, and I will have to figure out an all new survival strategy for how to cope with isolation, all so I could get some semblance of my life back.

Today, with the return to sea level and the implementation of an extremely limited diet (no standard American diet, no stress eating, no standard keto diet, no coconut or almond flour any longer, no more baking), I was able to take a 50 minute walk on the beach. I’m still getting very tired, but I wrote 3,000 words a few days ago, and I plan on writing more after Election Day tomorrow (November 4th). There is still all kinds of room for improvement, so I’m excited to see what the next 12 months will bring.

I was so thrilled on my walk I went a little too far, so I was limping when I got back to my car. Tomorrow I plan on walking again, but I may do a gentle stroll for a shorter period of time.

This year has been hell. But this morning was fucking awesome.

The scene on my walk early this morning.

The rest of the linked novellas are coming, and more stories will be coming after that too. None of it has happened as fast as I had intended or wanted, and some people won’t like it. Because there’s always somebody who doesn’t like something.

And it is what it is.

I know times are tough. Believe me, I know. I know readers want new stories, but please don’t email spurious complaints to my assistant Gretchen. We’re not a mega-giant corporation like Walmart or Amazon (and even then there’s a human being on the other end of the phone in a customer service department). We’re just two people. She hasn’t complained. She’s a complete professional, but she’s going through the pandemic and the tough times too.

We’re all in this together. You never know what battles someone may be fighting, so remember: if you’re not sure how to be, always be kind.

Thanks, as always, for your time.

~ Thea

The German translation of , , is now available!

It is available through most major ebook retailers. The paperback version is processing and should be available within the next few days. Get your copy today!

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Achtung deutsche Leser �

Die deutsche Übersetzung von , , ist jetzt verfügbar!

Es ist über die meisten großen E-Book-Händler erhältlich. Die Taschenbuchversion wird gerade bearbeitet und sollte in den nächsten Tagen verfügbar sein. Holen Sie sich noch heute Ihr Exemplar!

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Bitte entschuldigen Sie etwaige Ãœbersetzungsfehler. Ich habe den Google-Ãœbersetzer benutzt.

Hey guys, quick update here. I’m sorting out some unexpected personal issues. They are serious (but not life threatening!) enough that they’ve had to take precedence over everything else. If I worked for another employer, I would have had to take a leave of absence from work. I will not be back on social media in any regular or meaningful way until after they are resolved, hopefully mid-October. 2020, man—the gift that keeps on giving. But don’t worry on my behalf. Everything will be fine.

I told you once that I hoped to get The Adversary out in either August or September. Unfortunately, now that will be pushed back to probably the beginning of November. This is NOT a promise. This is a best guess and an intention. Yes, it’s later than I had wanted or expected. No, there wasn’t any way to foresee this. Yes, this is why we have not yet put up a pre-order for the story. Fingers crossed I can resolve my issues quickly and safely enough that I can beat this latest projection.

Like many events that have happened to us in 2020, this situation is beyond my control, and the only way to get around it is to go through it. Hang in there. I’m sending you all good thoughts.

See you soon,

Thea