Adventure!

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An ancient building of weathered stone looms above. Detail of Cliff House. Photo by Deby Fredericks 2026
Detail of Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park. Photo by Deby Fredericks, June 2026.

I’m just returned from an adventure! My husband and I went to Mesa Verde National Park right after the end of the school year. If you aren’t familiar, Mesa Verde is the site of the ancestral pueblos and cliff dwellings. It’s an incredible experience to see their ancient homes, and how much the ancestors were able to build with only rocks, water and soil. We fantasy writers can take a lesson from it, that even a supposedly primitive culture can build remarkable things.

The trip was not without its challenges. Mesa Verde is at a high altitude, in arid conditions, with narrow stairways and ladders to reach the cliff dwellings. Let’s say we aren’t as young as we used to be, so I signed us up for the shortest possible ranger-led hike. It was still almost too much for us.

Also, our rental car was a complete prima donna. I will never, ever buy that brand of car.

Queen Titania’s Court continues on my blog, Wyrmflight. It’s great month of fantastic stories. Don’t miss it!

And don’t forget! Smashwords is hosting their Summer/Winter Sale again this year. From July 1st to 31st, all my ebooks will be on sale for 50% off. If you’re interested in something but have been hesitating, this will be your chance to score a bargain. Watch this space for the appropriate links.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.

New Things Coming

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Smashwords is hosting their Summer/Winter Sale again this year. From July 1st to 31st, all my ebooks will be on sale for 50% off. If you’re interested in something but have been hesitating, this will be your chance to score a bargain. Watch this space for the appropriate links.

Until the end of June, Queen Titania’s Court continues on my blog, Wyrmflight. One of my own books was already featured: Standing Stones & Eldritch Tomes. Check it out!

Summer break has begun for my school district. I’m looking forward to having a bit more time for myself, and carrying on with my latest short story.

That’s all for this week. I hope your writing and reading are going well!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.

Marching On

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Queen Titania’s Court is in full swing, with the latest post being Joyce Reynolds-Ward’s Vision of Alliance. If you like epic fantasy, it’s worth a glance.

Work continues on that short story of mine. The literal last week of school is a very slow time, so I’ve been able to make good progress. Today, though, was our local Pride festival and parade. I joined my union, WEA, in marching. The parade started at noon, but our position was like fourth from last, so we didn’t start moving until 12:45. This required a long wait in the sun. Although, the one time I went to sit on the grass in the shade, some sprinklers came on! (It actually felt good.)

Pride parade is always very colorful and everyone was in a great mood. It was fun once we actually got started.

Happy Pride to everyone!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.

Another Tale to Tell

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First of all, Queen Titania’s Court is in full swing. I hope you’ll take a look at some of the lively posts we have going on over at Wyrmflight.

Now that it’s running well, I’ve been considering what to write next. Every summer break, I’ll have a summer writing project. I’ve been dithering between starting the second draft of The (soon to be re-titled) Warlock’s Army, or a short story. In my past two releases, I’ve had short stories featuring Mistress Henbane and the wise women of Chantain. They are “Mistress Henbane” in Standing Stones & Safety Zones and “The Guardian Stones” in Standing Stones & Eldritch Tomes.

A third story with Mistress Henbane has always been on my wish list. That story has finally begun to unfold, so it’s where I’m focusing my literary efforts for the next couple of months. In this story, the POV is Edward Pierce, a supporting character from “The Guardian Stones” who was pretty much a boor. Now we’ll look at the world through his eyes. Are there hidden depths, or is Pierce just a clod?

I guess I’ll find out when I’ve written the thing!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.

Woman at Work, June 2026

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What’s Happening? Technically it’s still May but this is the June post. The school year is winding down, with 1 week of resource groups and 1 week to manage student data and prepare the room for break. Can’t wait for my two months off!

What I’m Working On. Queen Titania’s Court has taken up all of my brain power. It started yesterday!

What’s Next? I have been poking at the revisions of (soon to be re-tltled) The Warlock’s Army and will begin that as soon as I feel Queen Titania’s Court is properly set up.

Where I’ll be. My next personal appearance will be at Just-A-Con in September.

Fun and Games. Animal Crossing and a new to me game, Clean Up Earth. I’m doing ecological restoration again. Guess it’s my theme in life! My next read is Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. It’s touted as a TikTok sensation, which I admit raises a red flag for me. We’ll see how I feel after reading it.

Happy summer to you!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.

Coming Soon

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Queen Titania’s Court is coming soon! That’s my annual blog event, over on Wyrmflight. All through the month of June, I’ll be featuring the characters and stories of (mostly) Indy fantasy authors.

During this peaceful holiday weekend, I’m busy setting up the individual posts. It’s been a bit tiring and takes a lot of concentration. Still, it’s one of the most fascinating parts for me. I get a glimpse of all these stories from different writers. Some of the themes are familiar, like vampires, yet every approach is unique. It’s equally interesting to see the covers, and the approach other authors take to presenting their books. I always pick up a few tips from looking at Indy book covers.

I hope you’ll take a look at Queen Titania’s Court!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.

Testing

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As a school worker, I’ve been helping to proctor the high-stakes tests we have every spring. It is simultaneously stressful and tedious. Stressful because the computers don’t always work and we have to help them log in to the test. Tedious because, after the stressful logins, there is nothing to do but sit in a silent room, watching students stare at their screens and occasionally type something.

It does allow me time to think about stories, though. In my case, I’ve been thinking about The Warlock’s Army. I did complete the first draft, weekend before last. Later than I’d hoped, but it got done. The annoying thing is, as I worked through the final chapter, I kept coming up with new story complications. Things that should have been introduced in the second or third chapter, if they were going to be part of the story. Which is now concluding.

I do often find, as I’m tying everything up, that I find myself giving a lot of hints toward what the future may hold. I try not to wallow in this too much; those thoughts are for the reader, if they cared enough about the characters. If they didn’t care, that kind of ending must be annoying.

Today, while proctoring, I started listing out some of the things that I need to address in the second draft. The title will be one of them; I can’t really call it The Warlock’s Army if the warlocks don’t form any sort of army! However, the revision ideas sort of mixed with the future-hints from the ending. I hadn’t planned a second book about Jeniana, Cassander and their big family, but possibly there may be one. I’m saving all my notes, just in case.

As a reminder, I’m still recruiting more authors for Queen Titania’s Court. Feel free to pass along the invitation to any fantasy writers you know.

As another reminder, my latest opus is live today. Tell all your friends about Standing Stones & Eldritch Tomes!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.

All Set Up

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Standing Stones & Eldritch Tomes. A row of glowing columns against a gray stone wall. Trees and white buildings behind the wall. A shadowy creature lurks menacingly.

The promised tweaks have been made, and my latest masterpiece is all set up! You can pre-order Standing Stones & Eldritch Tomes from Books2Read!

Standing Stones & Eldritch Tomes

This is a fantasy double feature — a short story and a novelette in one e-book!

The Guardian Stones: Mistress Henbane consults her friend, Ethan Matthias, about a mysterious peist irruption. He’s happy to help. The only problem? Mount Enoch University of the Arcane is an all-male bastion that does not permit women to enter.

The Eldritch Agency: Petra, a goblin exile, has made the Eldritch Agency her home for decades. Then a new Archmage seizes control, scheming to discard the Agency’s traditions of balance and cooperation in favor of domination and conquest. It’s up Petra and the other senior staff to save the Eldritch Agency.

Come along for two fantastic adventures in one!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.

Cover Draft

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Standing Stones & Eldritch Tomes by Deby Fredericks, book cover. A row of glowing stones stands beside a gray stone wall. An ominous creature lurks behind them. Tall white buildings are in the background.

I was going to call this a cover reveal, but it’s still a draft. This (or something a lot like it) will be the cover for my next e-book. The illustration is by my good friend, Betsy Mott. Commissioning cover art can be a bit of a gamble, but it helps when I know the artist well and are familiar with her style.

Like the predecessor, Standing Stones and Safety Zones, this is a fantasy double feature. The first part is a short story which follows one in Stones & Zones. The second is a novella with a much more topical, political tone. Some of you may consider that a bonus, and others a drawback.

I’d like to do a third of these double features. I even have some ideas for further adventures of my short story duo. However, I haven’t got another novella worked out. Those ideas will percolate while I work on the second draft of The Warlock’s Army over the summer break.

Standing Stones & Eldritch Tomes is on track for release on May 15th. However, if you have any thoughts on this draft of the cover, I’d be interested to hear them.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.

Queen Titania’s Court 2026

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In a magical forest, a glowing female figure in fantasy robes advances to a portal.

The silvery gates of Faerie are about to open up! That’s because this June I’m hosting my annual blog event, Queen Titania’s Court. And I’m inviting my fellow fantasy authors to take part.

The setup is that one character from one of your books will be summoned to Queen Titania’s Court. You’ll answer a couple of questions, interview style. This gives you a chance to show off your book in a more fun way than just an ad or the cover copy.

It’s a chance for Indy fantasy authors to shine. Whether you work is epic, contemporary, urban, fairy tale, grimdark or cozy — if it can be categorized as fantasy, this is for you. It’s also my chance to reach out and support the community of Indy fantasy authors.

If you’re interested, all you have to do is e-mail me, CAT09tales -at- protonmail -dot- com. Or if you aren’t a writer, but you know someone who is, please give them to info. I’ll get you all the details. It’s so simple! I look forward to planning this year’s event with everyone.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky.