Thatcher Maugden And The Dream Witch

 

(Images for illustration purposes only.)

The release date for MIRRORMAZE: A Dreampunk Anthology is fast approaching! Thank you so much to all of you who have already pre-ordered a copy! ❤

Today I want to put a spotlight on my short story which is part of this first-ever Dreampunk anthology, Thatcher Maugden And The Dream Witch.

Thatcher Maugden is an Edwardian-era magician who finds himself swept into the Dream World by a Nightmare Demon who tasks him with the duty of piloting a dream-skimmer and ridding the Dream World of any would-be trouble makers, aka lucid dreamers. He's resigned himself to his new surreal career until the day that he stumbles upon a Dream Witch who changes everything.

BONUS FEATURE

So, for those who really like to dig into fictional worlds and who have read my other books, I'm thrilled to tell you there is a connection. The story of Thatcher Maugden not only takes place in the same universe as the ROAM series, but Thatcher also happens to be Ethan Roam's great-great-grandfather! This is not specifically stated in the short story, but it was my intent while writing. Just some fun background info. and world-building extras for you. :)

MIRRORMAZE releases on December 8th and contains short stories from 22 science-fiction and fantasy authors!

Pre-Order Now!

Ebook | Paperback

❤ Dez Schwartz

Happy New Year

(Quote from John Muir // Images found on Pinterest)

Hello 2017!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!  Mine was great and extremely relaxing which was something I definitely appreciated.  Of course, "relaxing" to me is a slightly different definition than most people would have.  I did a lot of research which goes hand in hand with writing.  I also had a chance to sit down and make some long-term decisions and plans regarding the ROAM series which I'm very excited about.  I hope everyone feels refreshed starting out this new year and ready to tackle their creative and personal goals!

The Softcover edition of The Revelation of Dacey Sinnett is almost here!  I'll be reviewing a proof copy soon and if everything looks good then I hope to have them available through Amazon sometime this month.  I also plan to release Fossegrimen (short story) on Kindle early on in the year.

I have two books on Wattpad which are being updated regularly.  HUNTER and The Dead Oaks: Book One.  I'll continue to work on these in the first part of the year and then hope to finish the year out with my (ROAM) spin-off/tie-in DůO.  I can't give too much about it away but I can tell you that it will delve deeper into the Order of Azoth, Hunters, and Techno Mages.  But that's all I'm revealing for now!  I may even begin some other projects but we'll just have to wait and see how scheduling works out.  I also plan to submit some things to a few publications and enter some writing contests.

A book signing event may be in the works.  No date set yet.  Still mulling a few possibilities over.  I will keep you all posted, though!  That leads into an art-related question that I've already been asked.  Will I have any booths at conventions this year like I have the past couple of years?  I have no idea.  I haven't made any plans to and I'm still juggling the logistics of it.  Please keep in mind that everything I do to market/promote my work is 100% me, so it really just depends on time/finances.  I do love seeing you in person, though!  That's why I think perhaps a book signing might be better suited this time around.  You can always find my art online, though!

I already listed a few fun sketch cards in my Etsy shop over the holiday and I plan to list more periodically throughout the year.  I could write an entire segment on my artistic plans and because of that I'll end those musings here and save them for a future post.

 

   

Speaking of art, how awesome are these drawings of Ethan, Benny, & Dacey (ROAM), and Jasper & Wes (The Dead Oaks) from Gaby of Whimsy and Noir!  I absolutely love them!  She also runs a paranormal webcomic and has her own Etsy shop; so be sure to check her out sometime!

If you guys have any fanart or things you'd like to share from these series please send them my way so that I can include them here on the blog!

 

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you all have a fantastic year!

~Dez~

November 2016: Updates

I hope everyone had a fang-tastic Halloween!  I also hope you all enjoyed my short story, Fossegrimen.  If you missed out on it, have no fear.  It's available to read for free on Wattpad and I will also be offering it as a free download on Kindle soon.

Thank you to everyone that has read The Revelation of Dacey Sinnett!  I'm so glad to hear how much you all have liked it.  Getting DMs and comments about which characters are your favorites and why is incredibly fun.  If you have some free time, please leave a review on either Goodreads, Amazon, or both!  It helps the book reach more potential readers on those sites and I would love to get this series into as many hands, minds, and hearts as possible.

This year I'll be participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time!  "Casually" participating, anyway.  I'm not really trying to win any awards at the moment or compete with anyone or whatnot. (Oh dear.  Now I'm starting to sound like Dr. Grady Hunter...)  Mostly, I just want to see what all the fuss is about and I'm using it to track my progress while I write HUNTER.

Speaking of- HUNTER is back on track!  Now that Dacey has been let loose into the world (Print version still to come.), I can get my main focus back to Ethan and Grady.  I think you guys will really enjoy the twist this book will bring to the series as a whole.

What else?  Oh, yes.  Commissions are now CLOSED.  If you follow my social media then you probably know I also do illustrations.  Thank you so much to everyone that ordered from me this year!  I finished up my last commission of 2016 last night and I am done.  Probably for a long time.  While making extra cash is nice, working on commissions is extremely time consuming.  After a lot of deliberation, I've decided not to accept any more for a while with one exception:  I'm still willing to collaborate with other artists so long as your idea fits my aesthetic.  Have some supernatural dapper dudes you want drawn or colored?  I'm there!  Otherwise, I'm outties for now on the illustration game.  Save for working on my own projects, of course.  I've had a number of people request more illustrations of my OCs and even, potentially, some web comic style posts.  So, if I'm going to devote time away from writing to drawing then I'd rather it be for projects in that vein.  I'm sure you all understand.  Mostly, I just want to write!!

Do we feel good and updated now?  Was that a sufficient 'Welcome-To-November' blog post?  No?  You want more?  GOOD!  I HAVE SOME MORE!

I'm looking into putting some progress bar widgets onto this blog so you can keep track of my work.  Still trying to decide exactly how I'd like to go about that so it's just a WIP at the moment.  For now, here's an old school style write up of what's to come.

UPCOMING RELEASES:
Kindle
Short Story // Dark Fantasy, Historical Fiction
'Fossegrimen' - Mid. to Late November

CURRENT PROJECT:
Novel // Paranormal Fiction, Urban Fantasy, LGBT
'HUNTER: Book II of the ROAM Series'
Status: 22,500 words of approx. 50,000

NEXT UP:
Novel // Sci-Fi, Urban Fantasy, LGBT
'DůO'
Status: Outline


That last one probably left you with more questions than answers.  ;)

Thanks for reading!
~Dez~