Cover Reveal: Soultainted

Good morning, threes of fans!

No preamble this morning–I’m launching right in to reveal a BRAND NEW COVER for Soultainted!

Drumroll please…

This is the book that centers around Logan Mac Kendrick, and I think the vibe on the cover captures his conflicted nature perfectly. Here’s the working blurb:

There is no redemption for the soultainted.

For two thousand years, Logan Mac Kendrick has carried that verdict. As Hector, one of the Forbidden, he destroyed with abandon, consuming human souls and ravaging the earth’s landscape. He has spent the centuries since trying to atone for what he was by protecting the innocent and serving the crown, even as the voices of his victims grow louder in his head and the rot spreads slowly through his borrowed flesh.

He knows how his story ends. He just wants to do some good before it does.

But the war for Taura will not let him die quietly. Connor Mac Niall needs Logan’s ancient knowledge. Igraine depends on Logan for support as she continues to shelter unquickened children. And the woman Logan loved before the world broke — the woman whose departure he has grieved for millennia — has returned. Her survival alone is evidence he cannot refute.

Set against a backdrop of romance, political instability, and magic, Soultainted is the fourth in a five-book epic fantasy series titled The Taurin Chronicles.

(I am not in love with that blurb, but for the moment, it works. It will likely change before publication.)

I am certain that revealing the cover of this book instantly triggers questions of updates and releases, soooo…

Soultainted Release Date (I Think)

At the moment, I am deep in content edits on this book–still–but it’s all coming together. I’ve basically taken the book apart like a LEGO kit and am working on putting all the pieces back into the places where they actually belong.

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The good news is that I do, indeed, know where the pieces go.

The bad news is that I need to write some stuff to link them all together.

Bottom line, though? Barring any acts of God, nature, or Congress (ha–who are we kidding?), this book will be out in late November. I have not set a specific date yet, but I am confident enough to narrow down the month.

I’m putting down my marker: y’all will have this book to read for Christmas.

But that’s not all…

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Ian Mac Roy #3: The Confession at Tacitio

Ever since I started exploring the world of Taura through Ian’s eyes, I have nurtured an idea of three Ian novellas that end with Ian heading home to check on Igraine. Given that the first Ian story begins two years before the events of Ravenmarked, Ian has a little over two years to venture around the known world and end up in Taura in Bloodbonded. At the end of The Heart of the Goddess, the Blue Horizon was leaving port to make more deliveries, one of which involved a stop at the academic sanctuary Tacitio.

It’s there that Ian will find his next adventure–and the end will set up Ian’s reunion with Igraine and provide a couple of insights into the events of Soultainted.

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Right now, I am planning to release this novella at the beginning of November to give the most loyal among you a chance to read it before the release of Soultainted. For those who know the lore of Taura, this novella should give some fun little clues to watch for in the novel.

At least, that’s my hope.

Now for the disclaimers…

Hold These Things Loosely

I am learning, as I age, to hold plans loosely.

Our move to Arizona was predicated on the idea that my in-laws would likely need more help as they age. We can certainly anticipate some challenges, but aging is unpredictable and non-linear. Our thinking was that if we were nearby, we would run less risk of making decisions in crisis mode.

That said, we definitely didn’t foresee or anticipate some of the things that have already happened, and we could not have predicted how 2026 is currently playing out.

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I’m not trying to be intentionally coy or obtuse; rather, I’m trying to walk a careful line between keeping my threes of fans informed of my progress while not divulging information that others might not want out for the world to read. So let me just sum things up like this:

My current best case scenario for 2026 gives me more writing and editing time than I foresaw at the beginning of the year, and if all the stars align that way, I will definitely publish Soultainted and The Confession at Tacitio in November of this year.
The mid-level scenario for my schedule isn’t horrible, and with some intention and focus, I will still be able to meet these self-imposed deadlines.
Everything could completely fall apart, in which case I will forge ahead as best I can and update y’all as I go.

I am mindful of how I have looked at my schedule and planned releases in the past, only to renege on my promises because of events (hi, 2016, I see you lurking there).

I am also mindful of the fact that I really need to find more freelancing work in a market that seems pretty frozen and very nervous (understandably so).

It’s possible that something will shake loose in my freelance marketing efforts that will bring a cascade of work that I won’t want to turn down, and that might delay a book release.

It’s also possible that nothing will change in the market, I’ll continue to work with my one retainer client and plod along with my personal projects, everyone will stay healthy and whole in my family, and I’ll come out the other side of 2026 with another published novel and novella to my name and my sanity intact.