I CHOOSE THE BEAR - A BEAR-SHIFTER ROMANCE

H’lo, my friends and apologies for how long it has been since last we spoke.

I’ve long wanted to regale you with my latest adventures but one calamity after another has befallen me and time passes quickly on.

In the harvest season, I had hoped my adventures with the swordsman would be over by Solstice and that I could devote all of my attention on hunting the Bear.

Narrator: She’s really going through with this. Okay, she’s talking about wrapping up all of the Kickstarter for Blade Song and writing I Choose the Bear, her backerkit project.

My quest was moving along nicely when events that couldn’t predicted beforehand threw my fellow adventurer, Kitasa Colbanari and I off our track.

Storms of snow and ice waylaid us, trapping us in whatever tavern or inn might spare space for us before the fire.

For weeks and weeks, the storms raged and one point, I feared we’d be buried until spring.

Finally, the snow and ice storms seemed to abate. It was still cold, still deadly, but the small inn where we had taken shelter was running low on provisions and I agreed to go hunting.

The weather had warmed for several days and I thought perhaps my task wouldn’t be so onerous.

The ice was melting. Game beckoned.

It was a long (narrator: 2 hours there, 2 hours back), dangerous (narrator: the roads were mostly fine—except at the farm. Those were rough) and cold journey. (Narrator: she drove her car which has heating).

But I returned victorious! (Narrator: damn right. Those steaks are amazing.)

And there, upon my very threshold came the danger I’d feared over the past weeks and months. While battling with an old war wound (Narrator: remember the vertigo we mentioned? Yeah. That), as I went to collect messages from the local messenger’s guildbox (Narrator: she means the mailbox), a deadly foe attacked. (Narrator: she slipped onto some frozen snow. Most of it had melted because the weather warmed up. She found the one slick spot left and it was late enough that the snow had frozen after again and she fell on her damn ass)

Weary, worn and nearly injured, but satisfied that the game hadn’t been stolen by thieves or brigands, (Narrator: her neighbors wouldn’t do that) I made my way back into the inn where I had taken sanctuary.

This new wound threatened to end me.

I will not tell you of my agony over the coming weeks. I sank into the dark, dark places.

For weeks, I struggled, the injury, alone in the dark, dark places, and the damnable plague still trying to kill me.

But I survived.

Word came from home that a beloved family member had also fallen into those dark, dark places. There are monsters there that haunt us, some more than others. Knowing my kin needed me, I hauled myself from the depths of despair and went to offer aid.

Walking through the Depths of Despair doesn’t make one an expert, but having battled that place before, I knew I’d have to render aid. For weeks, we walked those shadowy places but perhaps there is light ahead.

In my stumbling one day to gather my gear so we could organize and finish our journey, Kit and I, I fell again. This time, my reflexes were swift and my catlike grace saved me.

Having gone almost as low as I could go myself, I began to emerge from the Path of Despair. My soul is weary and my body battered. I am easily distracted and when a new fiend struck, I was defenseless.

Narrator: Guess who caught COVID again?

There are days when it is only sheer stubbornness that allows me to push on but push on, I shall.

I consoled myself those long miserable days only with thoughts that I had people awaiting me…and tales from the bard Patricia Briggs.

Today, I feel strong and the healers tell me I am on the road to recovery.

The horrible winter of snow and ice seems to giving way to spring.

But my journey with the swordwoman Kitasa has gone awry and we must travel fast if our patrons are to be rewarded for their kindness and patience.

That journey is almost an end, with only the Speakers and the Lovers of Tea are appeased. My hammer has broken, though…my trust war hammer, it blazed so brightly in my hand!

My injuries have been many. The shadows on my soul are heavy.

I battled plague, snow, ice and my own body to bring you this news.

Soon, I hope to have a story about the Bear to share with you.

Yes…it is spring and I will be going to hunt a Bear.

I hope this tale finds you well, my dearest friends.

Patience is a virtue. Sadly, it's not one of mine. I need to practice it more and be kind to myself, which I kind of suck at. However, I'm in the middle of an ongoing family crisis. I can't go into details and even if I could, I wouldn't. The issues, though, are exacerbating my own mental health issues and that's affecting my work output.

I've struggled with depression for years and typically, I just kick it in the face and go on about my day but right now, I'm having more trouble than usual. I will get through it, however, it's going to take more time than usual. It's affecting my work output which means the story isn't moving as quickly as I'd hoped.

It is moving and when I can find the motivation to write, I find a great deal of solace in the developing relationship between Ivy and Jonas. However, I am anticipating a couple of months delay in finishing the story.

I know this isn't what anything wants to hear, but I have to be realistic. I could push myself to finish and get done by the end of March, but that would result in a book of poor quality and I don't think anybody wants that. I definitely don't.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

There's a snippet for my backers as an apology!

Just an update on where we stand with the book. It's still in progress. 

I'd hope to be done writing by the end of January but it might take through February. 

Hopefully it won't be any longer, but I lost about three weeks or so of writing time in December due to health issues. I started having the absolute worst vertigo ever and it still hasn't completely subsided, although I started PT a couple of weeks ago and that's helped a lot.

I'm back in a more routine writing schedule, but I am behind. I apologize for the delay but hopefully it will all be worth it when you get the book. I'll post an excerpt soon!

The artist I commissioned has done a number of maps although I think I'm the first author they worked for who requested one for a contemporary paranormal romance world.

Metrius worked from a map I basically tossed together from a screenshot on google maps so I could keep track of locales.

I really love the way it came together. Just as a note, this is set in Maine around Moosehead Lake. Some of the towns, like Greenville, are real, but others, I'm making up for the story.

The map, like the illustrations, will be in the Backer-only versions, although I will probably have hardbacks that I'll keep on hand after distribution to sell at events.