Devon Monk

My neighbor across the street wants flowers blooming in her front yard from spring until the end of summer. To do so, she’s planted dozens of tulips, daffodil, California poppies, wildflowers, and other random bloomers.

Her yard is bright and colorful for months.

Autumn is creeping in, though—just the breath of it cooling the breeze and tempering the sunshiny days. Her flowers have done their job spectacularly, but now their colors have faded.

I love autumn, I do. But seeing her yard go fallow made me realize summer went by far too quickly. I stood at my gate wondering if I had enjoyed the sun enough. Had I drank lemonade, dipped my feet into lakes, rivers, oceans? Had I taken time to run through a sprinkler, sleep outside beneath a wide starry sky, told the people I love just how much I love them as we laughed and sang old songs?

Had I savored it enough, the sweet summer-ness of summer?

I’m happy to say YES! I did all those things! Summer was wonderful. I mean, Life has still been Life, with happy days and really sad days, hard things and joys. But time moves us all forward, and the seasons are turning once again.

I think this autumn I’ll take a hint from my neighbor. I have buckets of daffodil, iris, and tulip bulbs down in the shed. Maybe it’s time to plant them, a small hope—a promise—of more sweet summers to come.

Worldcon was a very fun experience for me this year! Here I am on day 1, waiting in the registration line. Even though I arrived just after noon on Wednesday, it took an hour for me to make it to the front of the line and there were even more people arriving behind me.

I headed straight to the dealers’ room, and was happily shopping all the tables (So Many books and authors present!) when I heard a familiar voice. Who should I see but…

the fabulous, amazing author (and terrific friend!) Nina Kiriki Hoffman!! We strolled more of the dealers room together and eventually went out for a bowl of chowder at Pike Place Chowder.

I’d just had a bowl of Mo’s Chowder a few days before, and sorry, Mo’s, Pike Place Chowder was the superior bowl.

I can’t quite remember the order of things but eventually Nina and I ended up going to Martha Wells Q&A session:

I thought it was a wonderful Q&A, and that Martha had thoughtful, interesting comments about her writing process, what she’s writing next, and even a bit of what she would take away from the Murderbot show and possibly use in her upcoming work (it’s the costuming, and how the people from Preservation leave obvious patches on their clothing to acknowledge both injuries and recovery.)

I finally caught up with my fabulous roommate (and writer friend) Diana Pharaoh Francis by the evening and if I remember right, we talked for hours and called it a day.

It’s been a minute since I’ve been here. I’ll be blogging more often to keep folks updated, so here we go!

First bit of news: HOUSE IMMORTAL (ebook) is now re-released with a new cover! Book two and three (INFINITY BELL and CRUCIBLE ZERO) also have new covers and are up for preorder!

Good news! I’m writing a new series set in the town of Ordinary, Oregon. It’s funny, cozy fantasy with a dash of mystery. It features new characters, and of course, many of the favorites from the Ordinary Magic series. If things go to plan, you’ll see the first three of those books out this year!

Am I knitting? Yes, of course! I made this cute little car hat for a kiddo who loves cars:

and I also tried my hand at crochet, and made the same kiddo a race track rug:

That’s it for now, friends. More new soon, so stay tuned, and happy reading!!

It’s here! It’s out! Wayward Devils, Book 4 in the Souls of the Road series is available in ebook and print!

Cursed to follow Route 66 for nearly a hundred years, Brogan and Lula Gauge have made a deal with Cupid to find the spellbook of the Gods—a book powerful enough to destroy the world.

But they aren’t the only ones looking for it.

The evil goddess, Atë, has already tried to kill them once to get the book, and now Brogan and Lula must race to find it before Atë finds them and finishes the job.

Luckily, a coven of honkey tonk witches in Shamrock, Texas claims to know where the book is hidden. But their information comes at a great price. Brogan and Lula must help the witches kill an ancient monster. To do so, they will have to form an alliance with an old enemy who wants the Gauges dead.  

Brogan and Lula’s luck is turning, but whether it’s good or bad teeters on a knife’s edge: trust the devils they know, or go all in with the wayward devils they’ve just met.

This book was a lot of fun to write, especially when a few favorite characters from Ordinary, Oregon showed up, as did a certain Crossroads I rather like. I’m SO EXCITED to share it with you all!

Happy reading!!!

(more book and writing news soon…stay tuned!)

The fabulous people over at Graphic Audio have put Brute of All Evil on sale for 60% off. That means you can get this audio, fully performed like a radio play by multiple voice actors and special effects and all the other bells and whistles, for LESS THAN THE PAPERBACK PRICE.

That, my friends, is a terrific deal. Sale will end soon, so get your hands on it soon-ish!