Concealing Fate has arrived! Faults of Fate is coming soon!

Amazon

So I missed Concealing Fate's release day but it's here! For Kindle and in Paperback, if that is your jam! Huzzah!

I'm pretty excited about this one, and I loved writing it, so I hope you'll enjoy reading it, too. And displaying it on your bookshelf, maybe, because I know I will be!

Anyway, the real impetus of this blogpost is that I wanted to offer some notes regarding the reading order now that there are I don't even know how many novellas in this series--5? Yeah. Maybe that's getting a smidge out of hand but I offer no apology because playing with this series and in this sandbox and with these characters is too much fun and I refuse to give it up, like it or lump it!

*cough*
Reading Order. Right.

So, Concealing Fate is technically a prequel to the present timeline of Forged by Fate, the first book in the Fate of the Gods trilogy. (And we've discussed how the present timeline is maybe not as present day as it could be at this point, but such is life and the lag between writing of publishing.) And if you're NEW to my Fate of the Gods trilogy, I would definitely say, go ahead and read Concealing Fate first!! It will give you a little bit more grounding for the relationship that you are dumped into the middle of in Forged by Fate's opening chapters, and a little bit more insight into the character of Garrit DeLeon--and getting the chance to write half of Concealing Fate from his point of view was at least 50% of the appeal of writing this novella at all.

BUT.

If you've already read the main trilogy, I think it makes more sense to read Enduring Fate first, before Concealing Fate, because as a PAIR, chronologically, that's how they work. The events of Enduring Fate take place in the life just before Eve's Present Timeline--and having that past fresh in your reader mind going into Concealing Fate gives added context for the choices she makes in how she engages with Garrit.

NB to New Readers: If you have not read Fate Forgotten (Fate of the Gods #2), Enduring Fate will spoil it!

Goodreads

Which brings me to Faults of Fate, the forthcoming novella paperback collection.

I'm assuming that those of you who are buying Faults of Fate are long time fans and readers. So I collected these two novellas in chronological order rather than New-Reader Reading Order. Enduring Fate, followed by a bonus scene that is kind of a peek at what inspired its events--which might otherwise feel spoilerish if read beforehand--and then Concealing Fate, which will lead you back into Forged by Fate, if you're that kind of re-reader (I know I am.)

It's quirky and weird, I know, and the way the timelines are all interwoven, it makes the reading order a little more dodgy than another series might be, but such is the nature of this particular beast, and I hope you'll all keep following along anyway, because it's been a wild, wonderful ride, and I don't think I'm done yet.

In Conclusion, a New Reader Reading Order:

    ↬ Concealing Fate (Prequel Novella, collected in Faults of Fate)
1) Forged by Fate
    ↪ Tempting Fate (collected in Facets of Fate)
2) Fate Forgotten
    ↪ Taming Fate (collected in Facets of Fate)
    ↪ Enduring Fate (collected in Faults of Fate)
3) Beyond Fate
    ↪ Finding Fate (Epilogue Novella, exclusively available in Facets of Fate, the first Fate of the Gods Collection.)

NB: you can buy Concealing Fate and Enduring Fate independently for kindle. At this time, I have no plans to make Faults of Fate a digital release--and it will be the only paperback edition of Enduring Fate I put out. If you'd like to read the bonus scene that is available in Faults of Fate's paperback, it's on Patreon, and it will only cost you a dollar a month to access it, PLUS you'll get to read a bunch of other fun stuff, too.

And for those of you RETURNING after already reading the primary trilogy:

1) Forged by Fate
2) Fate Forgotten
3) Beyond Fate
4) Facets of Fate (the first Fate of the Gods Novella Collection)
    ↪ Tempting Fate (Mia and Adam, Present Timeline)
    ↪ Taming Fate (Ryam DeLeon and Eve, 15th Century)
    ↪ Finding Fate (Marcus, Near Future Epilogue)
5) Faults of Fate (the forthcoming PAPERBACK Fate of the Gods Novella Collection)
    ↪ Enduring Fate (Eve and Thor, 1914-1920)
    ↪ Concealing Fate (Garrit DeLeon and Eve, Present Timeline Prequel)

Questions or Comments? Hit me up below! Or via email, even, I'm happy to chat!

---

Amazon | Barnes&Noble 

Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Honoring Aunt Lottie

When my grandmother was sick, too ill to remember me or really to even know me at all between one visit and the next, it was Aunt Lottie who fussed over how tall I’d grown or how old I’d gotten, who was eager to hear about what I’d accomplished and express concern for my health or struggles, and even gave me small gifts to mark my special occasions growing up. It was Aunt Lottie who helped me find just the right necklace to wear with my senior prom dress, sitting around the dining room table on the hill, and Aunt Lottie for whom, as her namesake, I always tried to look my best, even when I didn’t care enough to make the effort for myself or anyone else.

It was Aunt Lottie who, when I brought my boyfriend home for the first time, sat him down at the kitchen table at Cousin Bobby’s and alternated between stuffing him with good food and interrogating him, to be certain of his character. Aunt Lottie presided over my bridal shower, and gifted me with a token of my grandmother’s—a forgotten handkerchief she’d kept all those years, so I would have something of hers to carry with me on my wedding day. And it was Aunt Lottie who, while everyone else told me how lucky I was to have my husband, instead told Adam (her handsome viking) how lucky he was to have me, enjoining him, always, to take good care of me.

Aunt Lottie had a sharp tongue, and wielded it like a knife, at times. She was outspoken and critical in her opinions, never hesitating to tell us how it was or if we were doing something wrong, something she disliked. But as a result, winning her praise—a compliment instead of a well-meant critique—was basically the highest honor you could hope to achieve. I think her example, not necessarily of criticism, but the fearlessness with which she always spoke her mind, influenced all of us, gave us permission in our own lives and relationships to be (perhaps in my own case even recklessly) forthright.

And while in her last years, it may not have been so clear, Aunt Lottie loved us. Loved the family over which she presided as matriarch, and took an avid interest in all our lives. Loved when the separate branches of our family tree recombined, and wanted desperately for us to share the closeness she had with her cousins—even going so far, once, at Uncle Lewis’s funeral, I think, to grab me by the arm and tow me across the room, exasperated by the fact that we (myself and my siblings who were present) weren’t properly intermingling with her grandchildren, determined that we should be made to talk!

It’s been in that spirit, knowing how important those family gatherings were to Aunt Lottie, that I have always done my best to come home. That I found a way, with the help of my family, to be there for her funeral. And maybe I haven’t always been great at mingling with everyone, but I’ve tried to do my best to be open, to be inclusive when the opportunity was presented, and to keep Aunt Lottie’s admonishment, that day, in my mind.

We’re family, Carosellas and Wincowskis, both. Pasquarellis and Trolios and branches I don’t even know. We’re family, and for my part, in honor of Aunt Lottie, I want you to know—my door is always open, my table will always have an extra place and room for more chairs to be squeezed in, and no matter how far we drift in this life, you will all, always and forever, be welcome in my heart, hearth, and home.

---

Amazon | Barnes&Noble 

Amazon | Barnes&Noble