A Peek at Fall and The Queen’s Gambit

Yesterday, the weather was breezy with a temperature in the low seventies. I wanted to put on a sweater. To be fair, when the temperature has spent the last six months hovering near 100, seventy feels plenty cool. :)

This morning the temperature dropped to fifty and the house was chilly when we woke up. Fall is finally starting to take hold, though the forecast promises that it’ll only last a couple days, so I’m not turning off the air conditioner yet.

The return of Fall means the return of hot tea. There is nothing better than a steaming cup of tea on a crisp Fall day. I may be something of a tea hoarder, though I prefer connoisseur—it sounds better.

Behold, my collection:

My tea shelves.

Now you see why I’m happy to return to hot tea season. :)

A friend got me hooked on Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice which I tend to drink more than anything else. It reminds me of spiced chai, but I’ve found it works best with a little honey and no milk.

It’s caffeine-free so I can drink four cups a day and not worry that my heart is going to explode. And it gets better as it steeps, so I can brew a pot, leave the tea bags in, and not have to worry about it going bitter—laziness win.

If you have a favorite tea you think I should try, let me know. I’m always on the lookout to add to my collection! :)

In writing news, I got the go-ahead to write a serial story for the blog. It won’t be based in the Polaris Rising world, but it will be science fiction with a slow-burn romance.

I’ve just started writing it and I have family coming in this week, so expect the first installment to come out at the beginning of next month. It’s called The Queen’s Gambit and here is the one-line hook:

How far will the queen of the galaxy’s most notorious sector go to save her people from war and famine?

I can’t wait to share Samara’s story with you!

6 thoughts on “A Peek at Fall and The Queen’s Gambit”

    1. Yes, there will definitely be more snippets! I’m limited by my contract on how much I can post, so I’m waiting a little bit closer to release, but you’ll definitely get more Loch and Ada before the book comes out. :)

  1. Regarding the tea connoisseur thing, I feel you!
    My collection looks similar like yours, maybe a little smaller. I have several tea packages at the office, but most of them I have at home. I like to start my working day in the office with brewing a bog pot of herbal tea. Right now it a tulsi-ginger-elderflower herbal tea.
    At home I usually drink tea on the weekend and then it must be black tea. I celebrate the tea drinking, it takes time so this is a weekend drink. No coffee on weekends but tea. I like to buy tea on my travels, so I have tea from Harrod´s in London. Afternoon tea, English breakfast, Earl Grey etc. But my most preferred tea is Assam. With a dash of milk and brown sugar.
    On one of my travels I found myself in this shop in Brussels:
    https://www.universduthe.be/index.html
    Whenever I am in Brussels visiting friends I go there and buy 2-3 packages of some new creations they mixed/made. Absolutely a most go place if you are in Brussels.

    1. That tea shop looks amazing! And I never thought to add *brown* sugar, but that is such a good idea for certain varieties. ::runs to make tea::

  2. Just found you (thanks to Ilona Andrews!!) and I can tell we will be friends! I love your stories and I am ecstatic that you are a tea lover! I am going thru your blog now reading everything and enjoying a cup of tea while reading. Cheers!

Leave a Reply to Jessie Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.