December 2018

Chaos erupted behind Valentin. “You dare—” a dark-haired man started, but Valentin slashed a hand through the air, and the man bit off the rest of the sentence.

“Your safety will be our priority,” Valentin said. “Allow me to introduce my bodyguard and advisors.”

“Of course,” I agreed with a smile as fake as the welcome I had received from said advisors.

Valentin swept an arm toward Luka. “You’ve already met Luka Fox, my bodyguard. If your guard needs anything while you are here, Luka will take care of it.”

I nodded at Luka. I wasn’t an expert in imperial etiquette, but I’m pretty sure Valentin had snubbed his advisors by introducing his bodyguard first—a snub I was happy to continue. “This is Imogen Weber, my bodyguard,” I said. “Imogen, meet Emperor Kos and Luka Fox.”

“A pleasure,” Imogen said with a short bow. After a brief glance at Valentin, her eyes returned to Luka before scanning the area. She always kept Luka in sight, and she had the loose, ready body posture that meant she saw him as a threat. Luka’s expression remained impossible to read, but he watched Imogen with steady focus.

…

The Queen’s Advantage: Chapter 2Read More »

I walked through Arx, checking on my people and ensuring that everything was ready for my departure tomorrow. In every room, people stopped to wish me well and advised me to give Emperor Kos hell. They may have liked Valentin Kos as a person, but they still weren’t in love with the Kos Empire, despite full bellies and a return to work.

Arietta Mueller, my best friend and head of security, trailed along behind me, grumbling under her breath. Tall, with blond hair and pale skin, Ari was gorgeous. She was impossible to ignore even when she wasn’t audibly calling attention to herself.

Ari was still trying to get me to change my mind about leaving her behind. She had waged her campaign for the last two weeks with the ruthless determination that made her a terror on the battlefield. She’d even gotten her wife involved, and Dr. Stella Mueller had long ago perfected her intimidation tactics. Unruly patients didn’t stand a chance against her.

Despite everything, I held firm. I was going to be gone for at least two weeks, maybe longer. I owed Valentin four weeks. I was hoping to split it into two trips, but if things were going exceedingly well—or poorly—I might need to stay the whole month this trip. I needed Ari and Stella here to keep an eye on things. I had other advisors, but none I trusted as much as my closest friends.

…

The Queen’s Advantage: Chapter 1Read More »

Your patience has been rewarded! The Queen’s Advantage, the sequel to The Queen’s Gambit, starts very, very soon. :)

Here’s the rough draft blurb:

When Queen Samara Rani decides to repay her debt to Emperor Valentin Kos by rooting out the traitors in his court, she knows his advisors will despise her presence. The unknown traitors hate her because she tricked them out of five million credits, but even his loyal advisors have no use for the queen of rogues and scoundrels.

True to form, Valentin’s advisors want Samara gone, and they aren’t picky about how. When their tactics turn violent, Samara and Valentin race to unravel the web of treachery and lies binding the court before the next attack ends in tragedy.

Finding traitors is not easy when courtiers learn to lie before they learn to walk. To track down the culprits, Samara must delve deep into the underbelly of a court who wants her dead. But the Rogue Queen isn’t so easy to kill…

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Like The Queen’s Gambit, TQA will be posted in a rough draft, serial format for free, then edited and put up for sale as an e-novella. If you didn’t read the edited version of TQG, you may want to check it out.

You don’t have to read the edited version, but there were some changes in the second half that will impact TQA. It shouldn’t be too hard to follow along, but it things seem a bit different than you remember, that’s why.

If you didn’t read TQG at all, you’ll be missing a lot of backstory and world-building. You can probably follow along, but it’ll be more fun if you read TQG first.

I’m hoping to post a chapter a week, but if things get crazy with edits or other contracted stuff, some weeks may have to be half chapters because I write slowly. :)

Happy holidays! I hope you enjoy the story!