Venice, Magic and Greek Gods

Hey everyone!

It’s been a while, but damn, have I been busy. 2021 has really taken off with a running start and I’m so excited for all the books I plan on putting out this year.

If you are on Instagram, you would’ve seen that this week I’ve started going through all of my structural edits for ‘King of Swords’ and it’s accompanying short story ‘The Lion and the Star.’ I am OBSESSED with this new Tarot Kings world, and I’m really looking forward to sharing it with everyone as soon as I can. In the next few weeks I’m going to start doing some cover reveals with some descriptions for both of these. I’m going to tease on Instagram but do the actual reveal here first, so keep your eyes your inbox!

In the next little bit, I’m going to start doing the cover reveals for ‘The King’s Seal’ too! I’ll also have some dates for the ARCS. I’ve seen the cover for it and it’s my FAVORITE out of all the books, and that’s huge because I’ve loved all the covers.’The King’s Seal’ is also my fave book in the series and I’m so pumped that it’s finally going to get out in the world.As above, the actual reveals are going to be done here on the blog first.

I have been editing like a mad woman so I haven’t had a chance to do a lot of reading but my Greek gods, history and myth obsession is continuing. I’m researching for a future book at the moment involving those things so I’m fixating hard. I have managed to read the below that are Greek Gods at their messed up finest. 

The first one is LORE by Alexandra Bracken. I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this one. I’m really effin hesitant when it comes to YA or NA books, but this really blew me away. Even though the protagonists are about 19, how they act and the story itself felt more adult with no whiney characters or love triangles. The premise is that Zeus has punished the gods with a game called the Agon, which turns them mortal for one week, and at the mercy of being hunted by the bloodlines of Greek Heroes. It was a wild read and a lot of fun. The research in it was amazing, and you know I’m weak for books that really blend history and myth in a modern setting. You can check out the full description here, and I highly recommend.

The second Greek gods book I’m fan girling hard over is ‘Wings of Fury’ by Emily R King. This one is based in an Ancient Greece, in the time before Zeus over threw Cronus. The main character, Althea is determined to protect her sisters and bring down the tyranny of the Titans. The world building is amazing, and has female characters that are bad ass. It’s so refreshing to see the Golden Age from a woman’s perspective and with a woman’s voice. I can’t wait for book 2 that will be out in October (fuck yes to rapid release). You can check this book out here.

Finally, because I’m obsessed with it, I’m recommending ‘The Blood of Zeus’ on Netflix. If you’re someone who is currently pulling a face because it’s animated, STOP THAT. It’s insanely good anime. It’s visually gorgeous and the storytelling is excellent. Like, good enough for me not to hate Zeus…and I fkn HATE Zeus in general. I will warn you though, the violence is graphic and Apollo is so hot it should be illegal.

Okay, that’s all from me because I have to get back into editing, but expect another post with a cover reveal later in the month.

Ames x

akuivalainen

December 2020 Wrap Up

I have to admit, I am feeling a bit spaced out today so you’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little all over the place with this blog. It seems that my usual end of year tiredness has gone to a whole new level this year in true 2020 style.

I had meant to write a full blog about the ‘Cry of the Firebird’ rewrite but was so wrecked from the rewrite itself, that November is kind of a blur. If you are on my Instagram (the only social media I am on regularly) you would have seen that I lost my German Shepard to cancer in the last six weeks too so I’ve been tired and devastated, and not fit for human consumption.

But I am back now and will give you a shorter update on Firebird, because I am still getting a lot of messages about it and books I’m releasing in 2021.

The Cry of the Firebird

Firstly, the new version is going to be released in September 2021. I say new version on purpose because I have, quite literally, re-written this book from scratch in past few months.

Why? There is a lot of answers to this question but the main one is that it needed to be. I wrote this first book nearly twelve years ago, when I was still learning what I was doing. Not only that, I didn’t have the resources I do now, I didn’t even have an internet connection, and relied a lot on the books (some outdated now) from my small town library.  The story and characters are still the same but everything from representation to pacing is better. I’ve always done my best in the research department but there was some fails that I wanted to fix up as well. I’ve learned so much in the past years and I really love this story and wanted to have it be the best possible version it could be. Now I can honestly say that it is.

How? I’m putting this in incase that people are wondering about writing craft. I don’t really believe in giving writing advice but this I have learned, and keep learning every book, that is PLAN YOUR SHIT. The first three Firebird books I was a hard core panster. It wasn’t until I started writing ‘Wylt’ that I discovered beat sheets and how I could plan in a way that was helpful and not hindering.

In my ‘Cry of the Firebird’ rewrite, I busted out my trusty beat sheets and rearranged the story in order to fit them. This is what I meant about pacing earlier. The original story had saggy bits, and so I rewrote the important info in these sections into other ones to help speed the pace along. I used a combination of Jami Gold’s Basic Beat sheet (I use her Romance Beat sheet whenever I write any romance at all) and Derek Murphey’s Plot Dot (I highly recommend checking out anything Derek does on craft, he has a good YouTube and so much resources). Both of these are like plotting for pantsers. I always do a major outline now, and how I get there I can let the pantser out a bit. If you want more info on how to plan and the different ways, I recommend you also have a look at Reedsy’s ‘What is Plot’ because it gives you a really thorough overview, as well as multiple story structure breakdowns you can look at.

As mentioned above, I have a lot of characters in this series and unlike Magicians of Venice, where I only have Penelope and Alexis points of view, the first three Firebird books have many. These I did my best to combine where possible instead of having them broken up into smaller sections. This helped speed up the pacing and also gives the characters more depth. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do more than two points of view in a story, but be careful, it’s easy to become messy.

I am going to be rewriting books 2 and 3 in the new year too, so if I learn more helpful tips, I’ll post them.

The King’s Seal (and other Magicians stuff)

The final instalment of ‘Magicians of Venice’ will be out in June 2021. It’s already gone through editing and I’m hoping to do cover reveals and give ARC dates early in the new year. This book almost killed me, and I mean that in the nicest way. It’s the biggest, most research heavy book I’ve ever written and even though its been a year, I’m still a bit in awe that I managed to pull it off. I love it intensely, I think it’s the best I’ve ever written and honestly don’t know what book is going to top it for me. I really love this series, but this one is my favourite and I can’t wait to share it with you all.

Thank you to everyone who has been messaging me about how much you are enjoying ‘The Immortal City’ audio book! Unfortunately, I don’t know when ‘The Sea of the Dead’ will be out in audio too but as soon as I’m told, you guys will be too.

King of Swords (The Tarot Kings. Book 1)

This is a fun project that I’ve been talking about here and there on social media. I have finished a draft of the first book and I am currently doing some final tweaks before I send it my editor in the new year. A few things I can tell you, it is paranormal romance adventure which means that even though the world has a lot of other stuff going on in it, it is a romance story. There is kissing and more sex and the focus is on the characters coming together. It’s going to be a big world that I want to get right in the first book, but also leave plenty to be revealed in the others. I currently have four planned and they are standalones, but with linking characters so you can enjoy it as a series if you want to aswell.

Why am I writing romance after something like Magicians? Because I really enjoy it, and 2020 has really taken it out of me so much that all bigger projects were shelved. The time I thought I had to work on bigger historical fantasy, I used up with Firebird rewrites. Let’s face it, all my books have romance in them, I just made it more obvious with this series. I wanted a Venice world that I could pick up and write in any time because I’m never going to get sick of writing Venice.

When? I’m aiming to release book 1 ‘King of Swords’ sometime in 2021 where it’s not going to clash with my other two releases. It will very much depend on how the editing process goes as well. I’m also going to release ‘The Lion and the Star’ a short story that features my main two characters meeting before the events in book 1. This will also have a decent sample of book 1 in it too, as I’m not planning on releasing any ARCS (at this stage anyway). This series will also be digital only, so sorry paperback fans. I really want to keep my indie branch as green as possible, and paperbacks are a massive pain in the ass for many reasons. I will have some cool cover reveals and descriptions to share with you all when I have a better idea around release dates.

That’s me done..this blog has gotten out of control so I’ll sign off. I’m doing a lot of planning and soul searching in what I want in 2021, and tending to this blog more is high on the list. I’m going to be doing my announcements here first over social media in the future so make sure you subscribe to get it in your inbox.

I hope you all have a great and safe holiday season however COVID permits,

Ames x

akuivalainen

August Update


Twenty-Seven days to go everyone! I’m so excited that this is almost out in the world. It was a hell of a book to write and I can’t wait for you to go on this next adventure of Penelope and Alexis. If you are into pre-ordering, don’t forget you can grab it from where ever they sell books. The hardcopies are going to be especially beautiful, I saw the proofs and I got all giddy over them – and I’m not someone who collects hard covers.

This past month has been crazy with the epic re-write/ structural edit of ‘The Cry of the Firebird’ (the above is some old and new inspiration for this series). If you are on my Insta, you would have seen me having a few moments of freak out over it. I tell you, trying to edit and restructure a book that you first wrote 12 years ago is quite the task…as in kind of a nightmare. It was good in a way because I saw how far I’ve come as a writer and could use all of that knowledge to bang it into a satisfying story shape. I was surprised how much I still love this weird story – and guys, it really is a weird one. Monsters and gods and mythological creatures galore.

A few of my older readers have messaged me having a bit of a stress moment on how I could be changing this book/series after it had already been indie released – I want to assure you that nothing of the original story is changing, I’m just ensuring that its executed in a better way. All your fave characters and monsters will be there. It’s just cleaned up. As a writer, I am hyper aware of releasing something like Magicians, which is my newest and the BEST of me, and then releasing older catalogue after it. The main purpose of these rewrites isn’t to ‘change’ the story but to pull it up to a standard I am personally happy with. It’s nothing like Magicians, but I am intent on producing the BEST possible version of these books. Also, I’m taking into consideration that the spin off books 4 & 5 have been written in the past two years and I want the tone of the books to be consistent and at their current state they aren’t. They will be though. The first new draft of ‘Cry’ has already gone back to my structural editing team to get their feedback and see what they think, and I’m really happy with how it came together. SO much of the changes is to deepen the characters and their backstory, to add some personal scenes back in that had been cut…and so there will be something new for older readers to enjoy too.

In other ‘Amy’ news, I have quit my day job. If the above editing job has taught me anything, it’s that I’m getting to the point that working a full time day job and trying to build a full time writing career is no longer viable. It turns out, even I have limits. I hate to admit it, but it’s true. I will look at taking some short work contracts in the future if I feel like I need to, but I’m going to try and find a way to work smarter and not harder, to ensure cash flow and not lose my mind by working myself to burn out. COVID has fucked me a bit this year, like everyone, and being locked up since March has used what is left of my emotional storage bank. Something had to go – the day job was it.

What have you guys been reading? I am hanging out for ‘Piranesi’ by Susanna Clarke, that’s due to launch in September as well. She’s a fave author of mine, and it’s been a long time since ‘ Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’ so I can’t wait to see what her magical mind creates this time around.

ALSO, because you know I love my indie romance, Nikki Kardnov is gearing up to release her next sexy Blackwell Djinn novel ‘That Forbidden Life’ is due to come out TOMORROW. I have been dying for Mads Blackwell’s book and I’m trying to clear my writing schedule a bit so I dive head first into it. I really can’t recommend this series enough, it’s such a cool take on Djinn and they are sexy as hell.

Nikki is also doing this really fun Greek Myth series at the moment, called’Games of the Gods‘ that I also recommend, if you are like me and NEED Greek myth retellings in their life.

Speaking of Greek Myth, another series I’m recommending is Alessa Thorn’s ‘The Court of the Underworld‘ series.This is a paranormal romance series that follows Hades (my boyfriend), as he and his Court run a new city called Styx in modern day Greece. It’s not just romance, it has loads of action and kick ass female characters and is all about the ‘villains’ getting their HEA (bonus – its in Kindle Unlimited). What’s not to love about that? ASTERION is book one, and you guessed it, is a re-telling of the Minotaur myth, AND it’s on sale at the moment for only $0.99…so TRY it here.

This blog is getting a bit out of control, but I want to update people wanting to know what’s happening with my new series ‘Tarot Kings.’ I submitted a short story of about 5k words to a 1001 Dark Nights comp recently, and while they didn’t ultimately pick it up I’m still thinking of releasing it later in the year. I’m going to make it a bit longer, because I can, and it would be a great way to have a teaser into this new, sexy, complex world. It would be like a 0.5 King of Swords, as the events in it happen a year before the events of book 1 and have the main characters having an encounter. What do you think? Would you be into that? I’m still mulling over it, because I would want to ensure that you wouldn’t have tooooo long to wait before the release of ‘King of Swords.’ Watch this space!

I hope you are all keeping well and safe and reading lots of good things that make you happy,

Ames x

 

akuivalainen

The Immortal City Cover Reveal Day

*ANNOUNCEMENT*

The Immortal City, Book 1 of The Magicians of Venice, is going to have its official cover reveal on the 9th of April!!! Eek! Cover party hurray!

Also, if any of you are book bloggers and would love to help me out, my awesome publishers, BHC Press, are hunting people to be a part of the Cover Reveal Day. They are also using it as an early call out for ARCs if you are interested in getting a copy. The Immortal City is about a female archaeologist and a magician hunting a serial killer in Venice. Theres murder, magicians, mystery, serial killers, Venice..all the good things in life (also a full description is below). If you are keen to help and get a sexy marketing package and an early ARC click on this link:

https://www.jotform.com/form/90795915…

Full Description:

In the heart of Venice, a woman is sacrificed to a forgotten god, sparking a mystery lost for thousands of years.

Dr. Penelope Bryne is ridiculed by the academic community for her quest to find the remnants of Atlantis, but when an ancient and mysterious script is found at a murder site, she flies to Venice determined to help the police before the killer strikes again.

Penelope has spent her entire life trying to ignore the unexplainable and magical history of Atlantis, but when she meets the enigmatic Alexis Donato, everything she believes will be challenged. Little does she know, Alexis has spent the last three years doing his best to sabotage Penelope’s career so doesn’t learn the truth—Atlantis had seven magicians who survived, and who he has a duty to protect.

As Alexis draws her into the darkly, seductive world of magic and history, Penelope will have to use her heart as well as her head if she is to find the answers she seeks.

With the new MOSE system due to come online, and Carnivale exploding around them, Penelope and Alexis will have to work together to stop the killer and prevent dark magic from pulling Venice into the sea.

 

 

 

akuivalainen

Late September and October Update

Hey Everyone!

I apologise for the update being so late this time around but I have been writing non-stop to keep myself on these deadlines that keep popping up to shout at me.

First of all, if you didn’t see my previous post, I have a new series out next with BHC Press! This is the Secret Project that I’ve been working away on in the background for the last year and a half, and the trilogy is called The Magicians of Venice. I worked really hard to find it a home, and guys, seriously, it’s in great hands with BHC and I couldn’t be happier. I’m so pumped about this project as they are the kind of books I’ve always dreamed about writing; archaeology, magic, Venice, ancient history, romance, creepy Hannibal field kabuki style murders…it really has it all. It’s also given me  a chance to play around with my fave archaeology mystery of all time…Atlantis. Yep, it’s going to great. I’m currently doing drafts and edits of book two so I’m not around on social media much…it’s all head down butt up to knock it into shape. I’ll be posting loads more about it soon but in the mean time, you can go here to the BHC Press website and read more about book one, The Immortal City.

In other news for Blood Lake Chronicles fans, I have just this morning, finished a final draft of Kingdom. It’s going to be sent off to my editors soon so expect a pre-order announcement by the end of the month. This book guys, it’s been crazy hard to get together and I had to delete 70% of the first draft I wrote back in April and rewrite it in the last month. I won’t go into spoilery details but it’s been a hell of job to work with three main character story lines and not have the whole thing dissolve into a mess of faerie you know what. In my mind I’ve kind of been calling it Rosa and Merlin’s Awesome Adventures in Faerie, but you will also see Bleddyn step up and play a big role in this one.

That being said…here is a cover and a blurb for you to oggle! HURRAY!

Bleddyn is a man with secrets, but he can’t outrun his past any longer. With Balthasar and Nimue in the clutches of his greatest enemy, he’ll have to reclaim his birthright as the King of the Unseelie to save them. First, he’ll have to recruit the formidable general Eirianwen to stand by his side, but his ex-fiancé isn’t going to be won over so easily.

Eirianwen never thought she would see Bleddyn again and the woman he remembers died centuries ago. Only he can unite the scattered Unseelie in a final battle against the Autumn Queen, and as much as she hates it, Eirianwen knows she can’t keep fighting alone. Bleddyn promises to get revenge for everything that was taken from her, but when the doors to the past are opened, neither one will be prepared for what comes out.  

Rosa will do anything to get Balthasar back, and when Merlin makes a plan to recruit the Wild Hunt to their cause, there’s nothing she won’t do to secure their alliance. Making a bargain with a god is never a good idea, and her deal with Gwyn ap Nudd might end up costing Rosa more than she’s willing to pay.

Oh yeah…this one has it all happening. I’ve been super excited about writing about Gwyn ap Nudd and the Wild Hunt as they have always been favourites of mine. There is also quite a lot of a good looking, sweet as hell guy called Arthur who tags along for some adventures. You will also get a sneak peak at the end of the Aramis and Soren book I’m drafting between other projects. Also, soooo much fun to be writing.

Speaking of books, I’ve read some great ones in the past month. I feel like I have a never ending battle with my To Be Read pile while I try and draft but these ones have crept through.

Stars of Fortune- Nora Roberts

Full Disclaimer: I only read Nora Roberts paranormal books and I’m always surprised how much her covers never  look like they are paranormal. In saying that I loved this book. A bunch of supernatural strangers thrown together to hunt stars hidden by Celtic Goddess? Yeah sign me up. It has a bevvy of paranormal goodies including a magician and a seer and I won’t tell you what else because I’ll spoil it. But seriously, if you love a good treasure hunt with a supernatural twist, check it out!

The next one I’m going to try not to gush all over you about is Grace Draven’s newest, Phoenix Unbound. Okay, you guys know how much I love Grace’s books but I’m absolutely loving this book. Fire magic? Hot take on fantasy Huns? Gladiators? Dragon myths? There is so much that is awesome about it. Grace writes the best fantasy romance because her world building is always so stunning and believable that the romance compliments the story, but it’s by no means the only thing going on. It’s a great epic fantasy and you can check it out here.

The final book I’m currently working my way through is The Tigress of Forli by Elizabeth Lev.

This is a non-fiction work about the Renaisance Bad Ass Lady, Caterina Sforza. You might recognise her as the woman who takes on the Borgias in the TV series but the truth is always more fascinating than fiction. Elizabeth Lev is a lively writer so it’s by no means a dull history book.  If you are after a read about a woman taking on the patriarchy of  the day, and beating them like a drum, look no further. Grab a copy here.  

Okay, this blog is huge so I’m going to get out of here. A final heads up…The Blood Lake Chronicles box set is going to be free this weekend here on Amazon so if you have been thinking about giving it a go, the time is now.

Ames x

akuivalainen

August Update

Hey Everyone,

It’s been a while since I’ve done an update so I’ll try not to make it too long.

The reason I’ve been so quiet on the blog and social media is that I’m under the pump to get a book finished and edited by November. It’s a part of the Secret Project series that I can’t talk about just yet (announcement will be soon I swear), so I’m up to my eye balls in research and drafts and generally trying to pull it together. For those who are like WTF I thought you working on a Aramis and Soren/ Firebird Fairytales World spin off book… Yes, I am. I’m about 40k words into it but its had to take a back seat while I finalise the other book. I’ve been able to write two books at once before, but the new series is different. It requires more space in my brain and more research to get right so I’ve put other books and uni  on hiatus for a few months. It’ll be worth it I swear!

If you follow my Facebook you would have seen that I’m currently at the Cover Design phase of KINGDOM, the third Blood Lake Chronicles book, and if all goes to plan it should be out in October/November. I’ll make a more official announcement once I have a pre-order page up and passed the final edit/stressing stage. I’m really happy and excited how its come together!

What else?

I’ve managed to be dragged out of my writer cave and have been to two great exhibits in passed month; Wonderland at the ACMI and Vikings: Beyond the Legend. Both were fantastic and seeing how I’m obsessed with Alice (omg the costumes from Burton’s movies were there and I almost died) and Vikings I was in heaven.

 

Also, check my freaking awesome Loki statue I got from the Vikings Exhibit as well as Rune Swag!

I highly recommend both exhibits if you happen to be in the Melbourne area.

Apart from working on the book, I’ve been taking the time (ie forcing myself) to self care and refill the creative well. A looming deadline can really throw out my creative process, work my anxiety into a frenzy and generally stir me up to a point where I can’t focus on actual writing. This particular series is research heavy so I’ve spent some delightful hours on JSTOR, reading articles, following leads and making connections I never would have thought of without taking the time to immerse and enjoy myself.

In the reading department I finally finished my Sarah J Maas pile! I was actually really surprised how much I enjoyed Tower of Dawn. The world building was great and I really enjoyed the fantasy twist on the Huns that Maas created. Also yes, I AM in love Dothraki- Bae of the Skys a.k.a. Sartaq The Winged Prince.  Hell, I even stopped hating Chaol in this one which surprised me. Catwoman has just come out and I’m already about half way through and enjoying Maas’s take on Gotham.

The other series I’m obsessed with at the moment is Thea Harrison’s Moonshadow series. If you like my Blood Lake Chronicles, and you are after more Celtic paranormal with an Arthurian twist I really recommend you check them out. To be honest you could go for any series of Thea Harrison and it would be worth it. I’m working my way through her whole catelogue at the moment and have loved everything (though Moonshadow and Dragon Bound have been my favourite).

OH. And I feel like I should mention here that I demolished ‘Spinning Silver’ by Naomi Novik. I have FEELINGS about this book. Like any book of hers, she just slays me. Her new takes on Russian mythology with this book and ‘Uprooted’ continues to leave me in awe and with serious impostor syndrome. I am shamelessly in love with the Staryk King, but seriously, a Winter Elf King who can do magic…its like it was made just for me to obsess over. I could write essays about this book but I wont. Please read it, and ‘Uprooted’ if you haven’t already.

Okay guys that’s about all I’ve got for you. I’m all head in the books at the moment and very unexciting. Fingers crossed I can break some awesome writing news to you all soon and then you get full enthusisatic Amy about the new series I’m so obsessed over that I’m literally incapable of thinking about anything else at the moment.

Ames x

akuivalainen

Psst -Free Box Set Promo this weekend!

A quick heads up that both The Firebird Fairytales Boxset and The Western Wars Boxset will be Free on Amazon this weekend so its a perfect time to check them out and leave a review! They are also on Kindle Unlimited if you are a part of the program…Check out descriptions below x

The Firebird Fairytales is a fresh Nordic Paranormal Fantasy series that breathes new life into Ancient myth

Cry of the Firebird
Born on the crossroads between worlds Anya’s Gate Keeper magic is buried under grief and rage until one fateful night a firebird hatches on her farm who is sharing its body with the fabled Prince Yvan. With Yvan’s dark magician brother Vasilli and other powerful enemies closing in around them, Anya has no choice but to sober up, follow Yvan into Skazki and hope that she can learn how to control her awakening magic before it destroys her and any hope of keeping the gates to both world’s safe.

Ashes of the Firebird
Branded as Rogues and hunted by the supernatural world Anya and her companions flee to Budapest, a place of new allies where they will be safe. They begin the search for Yanka, Anya’s ancestor and the only person in history with enough power to change the tide of the brewing war. Her relationship with the Thanatos Trajan is made complicated when he accidently feeds off her and trouble finds them when Aleksandra saves mysterious demon hunter Mychal from an attack, bringing new monsters and threats to Anya’s door.

Rise of the Firebird
Travelling from the battlefields of Skazki to the Underworld of Tuonela, Anya and her companions encounter the vicious dark goddess Louhi and gain two magician’s, the mad hero Kullervo and Eldon Blaise – apprentice of Merlin himself. As devastating secrets of history and the heart are revealed, Anya must fight the darkness within her and rise up to be a symbol for the Neutral rebel army that rallies under the banner of the firebird. Ready to restore the balance at any price, the final battle of the three armies will shape the worlds forever.

Free Here 

 The Western Wars is an epic fantasy series with loads of adventure, magic and romance

Eastern Gods – Book One

‘Come to me and I’ll whisper secrets that will shake the worlds. ‘

When a spy from the mysterious Eastlands is caught in his kingdom, Haldirian is sent to the only reliable scholar of the East left on the continent of Elindor. With her help, he’s determined to stop the fear of war spreading, but as the first female heir in history, highly intelligent and carrying a warrior swagger Aláenor isn’t what Haldirian has learned to expect from royal princesses. But Aláenor isn’t as confident as she appears as she’s haunted by the memory of her dead mother and plagued by a man whispering in her nightmares.

The spy claims that Mordecai, dark magician and Emperor of the East sent him to scout their kingdoms for an invasion, but it’s the threat of unknown magic that forces them to act. The West turned their back on magic hundreds of years ago, and they will have no way to stand against it if the mysterious Emperor decides to make war.

Together, Aláenor and Haldirian will journey to the other side of the world to learn the truth, but nothing is as it seems, and the East will reveal secrets to Aláenor that will shatter her world, question her loyalties, and forge her into the queen she must become.

The Golden Queen – Book Two

Scholar. Warrior. Lover. Queen.

Still recovering from her imprisonment in the Red Fortress, Aláenor travels to the northern city of Anan in search of new allies in her war against the Emperor Mordecai.

Anan has more than one surprise for Aláenor, and as she comes to terms with the magic awakening inside of her she will need Haldirian’s support to make it back to the West.

Aláenor has been raised to believe that Mordecai’s family line were traitors, but history is written by the winners and she will discover she has more in common with the enemy than she thinks.

Free Here

akuivalainen

May Update

Hey Everyone,

Do you guys have months that are always out of control no matter how well you plan them? Every year it seems to my May. I had it all perfectly planned then it exploded and I’m running about like a head with its chicken cut off.

First things first…KINGDOM is DONE. Well, the first draft is anyway. Hurray! I’m currently reading through it, making lots of notes where I seem to have forgotten to write needed scenes and adding in descriptions that I left behind. Every book I write is different and KINGDOM has had its own set of challenges including an ending that wouldn’t stop changing. Its on track to still be released at some point this year but I’m not committing to any date until I have a draft I’m happy with.

Speaking of releases, Eastern Gods will be out on the 30th of May. I’m not doing heaps of promo around it because it is a re-launch but the date is set, pre-order pages are  up. The Golden Queen (book 2) is getting its final proofread completed and I should have a pre-order page up for it shortly. Ideally I’d like to release them both on the 30th but I’ll see how I’m tracking. Before I forget…the paperback is not being released for another little while but I’ll keep you updated on it. In their first draft format, these books were written before The Firebird Fairytales series (10+ years ago). This is why the discerning reader will pick up references to a particular magical wood mentioned in Rise of the Firebird that are the same trees in Eastern Gods. Its taken me forever to get to a point that I’m comfortable sharing them but I feel like its time. It’s a BIG world with lots of characters and potential for more stories in the future. It wraps up neatly but I’ve purposely left space for more books because it’s such a fun world to play in. It is aimed at a young adult/ new adult audience but I’ve had lots of adult beta readers enjoy the series so check it out if you like adventurous, epic fantasy with a fun bit of romance thrown in.

I’ve tentatively started writing book 2 of SECRET PROJECT which hopefully won’t need to remain a secret much longer. I’m trying to clear my editing plate before I really sink my teeth into it because this particular series always takes longer to write due to the research involved. Expect announcements in this space soon. Trust me, as soon as I get the green light I seriously won’t be able to stop talking about it.

Stuff I’m Reading: 

If you follow my social media you would’ve seen that I’m FINALLY catching up on my Sarah J Maas TBR pile. I love both of her series and I’ve been about four books behind for a while now. I’ve smashed out the Court of Thorns and Roses series and now about to start the last two Throne of Glass. I’ve said it before but I really wish these books were around when I was a teenager. I got so sick of only reading fantasy books with male protagonists that I decided to write my own series…and The Western Wars series was born. I can’t wait to get stuck into Throne of Glass…Aelin is my fave!

My obsession with L.H.Cosway is continuing this month as I get stuck into this beauty. I’m not a huge contemporary romance fan but I seriously love her books. Not only are they hot (so hot) they are HILARIOUS and all of the characters seem like people you could hang out with that have relatable problems.  I’m a sucker for a man with a stringed instrument so I’m enjoying the hell out this one.

Thats all from me for the moment, but I’ll put up another update if I get any newsworthy news.

Ames xo

 

akuivalainen

February Update

Hi Everyone,

Where did January go??? Got a not so crazy feeling that this year is going to be full on!

Things are going down in the weird writing world of Amy. So far this year I have:

*Completed another re-write of Jael/Mychal book. I have a draft that I’ve proof read and while it still needs more work I feel like its FINALLY heading in the right direction. Exorcists are bitches to write. It’s really one of the stories I’ve had serious doubts over but it has refused to let me go and that is generally a sign I should keep working on it. Once I finish the next round of changes it will go to the wise beta readers for plot/sensitivity/wtfAmy comments.  I have a pretty exciting ending that leaves it way open for more stories.

*I’ve submitted a final assignment for uni which means that I’m now on a break for a whole semester (at least) and can have some breathing room to get more writing done.

*Today I’ve cracked out 1500 new words of Chapter Seven of KINGDOM,  Book Three of the Blood Lake Chronicles. If you follow my social media you would have seen me lamenting yesterday about how my characters have already messed my structure up. This is pretty typical of this group to be honest. They like to surprise me and make work around them. In saying that its been FUN so far. It always takes me the first 20k words of a book to really find my groove but it is coming together. Hopefully I will get it finished during my uni break time. That’s the plan anyway. There is lots of magic and ravens and wolves and cities inside trees and magical swords…all the good stuff.

 

*I have a New Release Mailing List! Hurray! Draft2Digital has been amazing so far and they also have a nifty feature of creating a sign up list for readers. If you want an email notification of when I release a new book please sign up here. At the most I release two books a year, so don’t worry, you aren’t going to spammed.

I’ve recently become obsessed with ( and HIGHLY recommend) the following:

*Ancient Magus Bride – This anime has knocked my socks off. Celtic myth, cool mages, DRAGONS, NORDIC MAGIC…I am so in love.  Its like a Studio Ghibli created a whole series. Funimation has the English dub, Crunchyroll has subtitles so pick your poison and give it a shot.

*Uprooted – Naomi Novik. I know I’m the last person reading this. Its been on my TBR since it was released but I finally got a hold of the Audible version in January. It was on a Friday. Saturday I bought the book. Sunday I finished it. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. Russian Fairytale vibe, beautiful perfect story. If you havent read it, give it a shot. It came along right when my creative well was bone dry and filled me up with magic and wonder and Dragons and forest magic.

 

That’s pretty much all from me. A reminder that WYLT is Free for Valentines Day so if you want a bit of hot gothic fae romance in your life pick yourself up a copy here.

akuivalainen

Blaise is on Pre-Order a.k.a Let me put my words in you

Hey Everyone!

December is going  to be a massive book month here in Camp Amy so here is a brief rundown.

If you have been on my social media in the last few days you would have seen me FREAKING OUT about my awesome new cover for BLAISE, book 2 of the Blood Lake Chronicles. One more time with feeling….

 

YUP. I’m feeling it alright.

Here’s a description :

‘The stories claim I was born from a union of a demon and nun…well, least they got half of it right.’

Eldon Blaise, magician and misfit, has arrived at Gwaed Lyn to turn Rosa’s life upside down. Not only is he claiming to be the lost son of Eli Vane and his human wife Deryn, Rosa’s ancestor, but that he also used to be none other than Merlin Wylt, the magician of legend who fought by King Arthur’s side.

The curse the Autumn Queen has placed over the Aos Si is breaking, but she isn’t prepared to go down without a fight, and releases the one person that brought the great Merlin to his knees…Nimue.

Her spirit broken from a lifetime imprisoned by the Autumn Queen, Nimue must convince the Vanes to trust her. She wants to be free of the Queen forever, but winning over Merlin is going to be no easy task. She broke his heart, and being together again will bring back a life of pain and passion that neither of them can fight.

To defeat the Autumn Queen and protect Gwaed Lyn, Merlin will have to stop running and become the powerful man he used to be…that includes having the fearless and formidable Nimue by his side.

OMG MERLIN RIGHT!

SO it is up for pre-order on all platforms for a special price of 0.99 so get in while it lasts. Click here for a universal link that will take you to any store you like. It is out on December 14th,  I’m so excited to be able to finally continue the Vane family story and mash up some Arthurian mythology in for good measure. I always wanted to write Merlin, every since I was a brat who really loved the King Arthur stories. I’m not going to lie, I fan girled pretty hard researching this one and I’m so blessed I have the opportunity to write my own version of this amazing character.

NEXT!

Second Editions of Ashes of the Firebird and Rise of the Firebird will also be released across all ebook platforms on December 5th, so all you lovely readers who have been pissed that iBooks etc dont have the other books..well they are coming soon! As per the last post, my preorder plans for them didn’t work so I’m just going to do a straight release.

ALSO,

In other book news my SECRET PROJECT is currently in structural re-writes (thanks to a structural edit from the awesome Hayley Stone) and will hopefully be tied up by the end of the month so I can focus 100% on KINGDOM, book 3 of The Blood Lake Chronicles. Fun times!

AND,

This December marks THREE YEARS since releasing my first book, Cry of the Firebird. I’m staggered at how quickly the time has flown by. There will be drinks to celebrate because lets face it you need to celebrate every fucking victory as a writer.

Amy out xo

 

 

akuivalainen