Busy busy busy!

What I've been up to lately, and a sneak peek at my latest project

Jul 7, 2023

Welcome to Story Cauldron, where I post my fiction and occasional articles about storytelling in real life.

Image of a woman with a riot of faerie creatures all competing for her attention. Image by author using Midjourney.

So first things first… it’s been a while since I’ve shared anything on Story Cauldron. I hadn’t realized how long it had been, but Substack sent me an email checking to make sure I was breathing and nudging me to post again. (Not in so many words, but you get the gist.)

So I figured an update was in order. Plus I figured I could share a sneak peek at my latest project.

What I’ve been working on

In addition to my day job (sadly, I still have to make money somehow!), I’ve been busy working on a ton of things, but there are two projects in particular that have sucked up a lot of my time.

First of all, I’ve been hosting monthly history talks called Unseen STL History. These public history talks are directly related to my Substack Unseen St. Louis. (Check it out, even if you don’t hail from St. Louis. It’s a lot of fun and I post recaps with audio and video every month).

Second, I’ve been trying to read more. I got into a dry spell where I was doing so much writing and online work that I hadn’t made much time for reading (fiction and nonfiction). My favorite recent discovery is a YA trilogy by Caroline O'Donoghue that starts with All Our Hidden Gifts. The novels feature an Irish girl named Maeve who discovers a deck of tarot cards and realizes there’s a connection to a weird religious cult in town. The story is fresh and had me hooked from the first chapter. It also seemed quite like my Favor Faeries series in progress in terms of tone, issues, and the way the magic unfolds slowly and builds across multiple novels.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, I’ve been frantically trying to finish my fantasy novel The Hidden Moon. This novel is the second book in my Sarducia series and is the long-awaited sequel to By Moonrise that I published a while ago. (If you haven’t read it yet, you can purchase it as a print or ebook from Amazon.)

Like By Moonrise, this novel has taken a long time to piece together. As many know, I’ve worked on a number of projects in the meantime (including my Favor Faeries novels and my standalone circus novel In Cirque We Trust I wrote last fall) as I wrestled with the story, especially with how to finish it up.

However, the end is finally in sight! I’m working through final edits and will be turning it over to a handful of beta readers soon, and then as quickly as possible after that I hope to have the book out for everyone to read.

Read on for a sneak preview at the end of this post.

What’s next?

I’m hoping to be done-ish with The Hidden Moon this summer, with publication this fall. It’s an ambitious goal but I’m shooting for it all the same. Following that, I will finish book two of the Favor Faeries series and either plunge into books 3 and 4 (both partly written) or I may finish up In Cirque We Trust, last fall’s NaNoWriMo project. I’m still deciding what NaNoWriMo will bring this year, but I think it will likely be a return to the faeries unless the sequel to The Hidden Moon speaks to me more (I’ve realized that I want to take it in a different direction, and although the ending is basically done, I need to redo Acts I and II, which is fortunately much easier for me than endings!).

The good news is that I have learned a lot about how to put together a novel, and my goal is to start turning these things out a bit more rapidly in the future.

What I’ve learned

It’s really easy to bite off more than you can chew! I am constantly busy with one project or another. I’m trying to find a way to offload some things and restore a bit of balance to my life, which is essential because I do a lot of “free work” while my bank account suffers. So if I’m only sporadically here, take that as a good sign that other things are happening in the shadows!

The Hidden Moon - sneak preview

Cover of *The Hidden Moon* by Jackie Dana

The Hidden Moon takes place a few days after the end of By Moonrise and follows the story of Rynar, who suddenly finds himself adrift without a position or purpose. With the death of the king Vosira Bedoric, Rynar is no longer Aldrish (the king’s advisor), and he struggles to figure out where he belongs. Ultimately he decides to go undercover in a religious cult and gets more than he bargained for.

Here’s the first chapter and change. Hope you enjoy it and it makes you look forward to more!

Chapter One

Things hadn’t turned out the way he had expected.

As an icy breeze swept across the Loraden city square, Rynar pulled his cloak tight across his chest with one hand, and held his hood in place with the other. A massive bonfire burned in the center of the square, but it was too far away to warm him.

Although he longed to join his colleagues at the fire, he had no choice but remain on the edge of the crowd, keeping his presence hidden.

He wasn’t supposed to be here at all. Too much had happened over the past few days, and Sarnoc Vaj had ordered him to remain at Altopon, studying dusty manuscripts, so he wouldn’t cause any drama as Arric took the oath to become Vosira.

But Rynar had worked too hard to miss this event.

So in defiance of his orders, he would watch history being made, and keep an eye on Kate, as he had for most of her time in Sarducia. Never mind the fact that they were currently not on speaking terms. After the ceremony—and once things had calmed down a bit—he was sure she’d give him another chance.

The oath ceremony should have been a solemn and auspicious occasion, but it would always be remembered for the disruption instead.

As the ceremony began, everything was orderly, at least as far as Rynar could see. Despite the risk of being recognized, he pushed through the crowd to get closer to the center, where Sarnoc Vaj and soon-to-be Vosira Arric took their respective positions.

He was impressed by Arric’s appearance. In the back of his mind, Rynar could still hear Bedoric complaining about how his younger brother refused to wear the attire befitting a royal prince. But tonight, Arric had finally decided to embrace his role. He wore a short-sleeved woolen tunic of blue chased with glysar threads, which lay over a second tunic, this one long-sleeved and golden. His dark hair, recently cut short, had been combed until smooth and shiny, with streaks of silver covered with dye, and he was once again clean-shaven.

But Rynar also noticed that Arric’s shoulders were hunched from exhaustion, and he noticed at one point that Arric struggled to stifle a yawn. It seemed unlikely that their new Vosira had slept much in the days since his brother’s death. More surprising was how pale he appeared, and how stiff were his movements, as if walking itself took a bit of extra effort. Rynar wondered if this was the aftereffect of the potion the Sarnoc had used to bring him close death, in order to win his freedom from Bedoric’s tower prison

Standing near the front of the crowd, Rynar could just make out what was happening over the howl of the freezing wind.

“We gather here tonight,” he heard Vaj say, his voice resonant and clear, “in the presence of the people of Sarducia, of Loraden and the countryside, and under the gaze of the gods themselves, for a very solemn occasion.” Vaj turned his head to scan the crowd, and as he did so, Rynar quickly turned his head, tugging on the hood of his cloak, so he would not be seen.

Vaj continued. “Arric, son of Parmon, brother of Bedoric, presents himself to become Vosira of Sarducia. According to the agreement set forth between his ancestors and my own, as Sarnoc I have the power to accept or reject your claim on this land.” Vaj turned slightly to address Arric directly. “Are you willing to face the judgment of the gods who reign supreme over us all, and abide by my decision as to whether or not you have been deemed worthy?”

Rynar sneered at the bold question, uncertain if it was formulaic or of Vaj’s own invention. It put Arric in a difficult position since no Vosira truly accepted the judgment of Sarnoc.

As he expected, Arric hesitated, visibly swallowing as he tried to form an answer. Finally, he replied, his voice cracking. “I am.” And it looked to Rynar like he meant it. There was none of his brother’s cocky swagger. Astonishing.

One of the laliri, the Sarnoc apprentices, stepped forward to present a shallow glysar bowl with a smooth lid. “The one who is to lead those of Sarducia must be resolute and brave,” Vaj intoned, “willing to accept the judgments of the land above all else. Are you willing?”

“I am.” Again, the words came after a moment’s hesitation, as if Arric was taking his time to consider every word before he agreed.

Vaj stepped to the bonfire. From the edge, he pulled an unpolished wand from a sacred rafin tree, unburnt at one end and glowing red at the other. “Mark the test of fire!” He held the wood aloft, tracing a circle in the air between the two men. As intended, the wind fanned the embers, causing the stick to burst into flames. Many in the crowd gasped at the dramatic gesture. Then he lowered the blazing wood to Arric, who held out his hands in a ceremonial gesture. Rynar had never seen this ceremony before, but he knew Arric just needed to cup his hands over it to symbolize his acceptance. A simple gesture, nothing more.

But then Arric clapped his hands shut over the flames. As the heat burned into his palms, searing his bare flesh, those near enough to witness the act cried out in surprise. No Vosira in memory had actually touched the fire. From the way Arric’s body moved, Rynar could tell that the sudden pain coursed along the man’s arms and through the rest of his body, and he thought he saw Arric’s knees start to buckle. Then, just as quickly, before he could fall, Arric’s legs were solid again. Again he was strong; the pain had been conquered.

“Well done,” Rynar whispered to the wind. He had his doubts about this man, but was impressed by the sincerity Arric had shown so far.

Sarnoc Vaj began to speak the words of the Oath that preceded the placement of a glysar torc around Arric’s neck, the mark of rank and unremovable until death.

But before he could finish, a loud noise disrupted the event.

A group of men and women with dark smudges on their faces raced towards the bonfire. They started a loud, rhythmic chant that rose over the crowd and drowned out the words of both men. As if on cue, around the square, some women began to keen, their cries painful and shrill, as if babies had been pulled from their breasts. Others pounded on drums. The combined effort was loud and disturbing.

As all this happened, confusion and panic reigned as the crowd churned around him, and Arric’s guards tried to hold the line.

(To be continued in The Hidden Moon…)

Thanks as always for reading. I’d love to know your thoughts about my novel excerpt and any advice you may have for the perpetually over-committed, so please leave a comment.