After the final battle against Eventide, Vain and her friends find themselves scattered across decades and universes. With a new threat rising to power in the Hotel, it’s only a matter of time before they become gears in the machine of destruction again—unless Vain can figure out who to blow up next.
The Elevator opens its doors for one final adventure.
All roads lead to war.
Nonbinary Ruarnon is determined to prove their worth as heir to Tarlah’s perfect King. But when their parents are abducted, Ruarnon must rule Tarlah in the face of unreliable allies, a brutal expansionist neighbour, and binary male warriors who doubt the lead of a bookish enby youth.
Neighbouring King Kyura faces opposition, as peace-loving ruler of warmongering subjects who dream of expanding their empire. Ruarnon is vulnerable in the absence of their allies, but when Kyura rejects calls to conquer Tarlah once and for all, assassins threaten his family and mutiny threatens his reign.
Trapped in Ruarnon’s world, Linh is desperate to return to her family in Australia, and isn’t above using her host’s belief that she’s a figure from local myth to achieve it. But her gateway home lies on the far side of a brewing war, and her only transport is Ruarnon’s absent allies, sailing to Tarlah’s aid.
A new breed of creature threatens them all: a plague of monsters sailing towards Kyura and Ruarnon’s lands. Linh’s monster observations could save Kyura and Ruarnon’s people, ending the war between them, and clearing Linh’s homeward path. But the price is dear; Linh must risk her life aiding Ruarnon.
And to secure peace with Kyura’s unruly subjects, Ruarnon’s ultimate test as heir risks betrayal and Tarlah’s bloody defeat.
COVID-19 is no laughing matter and yet, I chose humour to convey my emotions about it.
Why can’t the bad things we’ve done in the past, stay in the past?
Ana will do anything to hold on to her husband. Tony is the love of her life–the Heathcliff to her Catherine, the Rivera to her Kahlo, the Sid to her Nancy. Without him, she’s nothing.
Tony is smart, driven, and accomplished. He takes pleasure in being Ana’s champion. He knows he is the one man who can save her from herself.
But their marriage is put to the test when their estranged daughter, Chloe, texts Ana to say she wants to come home–mother and daughter share a secret so dark that if Chloe ever revealed it, it would destroy Ana’s marriage.
Readers who enjoy Gillian Flynn’s antiheroines and Colleen Hoover’s heart-wrenching romantic thrillers will love Sweet Baby Mine. Rife with intergenerational patterns of mental illness, addiction, and trauma, Sweet Baby Mine is the powerful tale of the impact secrets, lies, and betrayals can have on a marriage. While the plot is devoted to both Ana and Tony, American expats living in Paris, the inner journey belongs to Ana as her daughter’s return sets off a painful chain of events that forces her to confront her demons, find her voice, and realize sometimes love can be found in the unlikeliest of places.
After spending most of April (and part of July) working on a draft, please allow me to introduce… Luminary!
After five weeks of blood, sweat and tears (mostly tears), and wrestling with the dreaded Imposter Syndrome, the latest draft is complete.
wastanley.com 