ILONA ANDREWS

The dramatized adaptation of Burn for Me, first novel in the Hidden Legacy series, will be released next week by Graphic Audio.

GA expect a similar release schedule for Hidden Legacy as for Kate, with a new installment every couple of months or so. They will be adapting all seven books in the series: Nevada’s trilogy, the Diamond Fire transition novella, and Catalina’s trilogy. They will also include the bonus unpublished Arabella POV blog exclusives: A Misunderstanding and The Cool Aunt.

Without further ado, the first samples from Burn for Me, fresh of the sound design table.

Mad Rogan abandons his hermit orchid and joins the Baylors for a meal:

Neva and Rogan meet Bug – the voice transformation is aweeeesome!

It’s an all-new director and cast, which I know you want to check out – GA have updated the list on the Burn for Me page I linked above.

The new team have had the same level of collaboration and insight from Ilona and Gordon as Nora and her team for the Kate adaptations. Pronunciations clips with HA’s preferences, advice on voice casting, insight on characters, what our favorite scenes are etc. But a reminder here as always that Graphic Audio are their on business, who approach the authors and buy adaptation rights to these works, so all creative and commercial decisions are ultimately theirs.

House Andrews do not commission them for these audio books. The GA dramatized full-cast adaptations will never replace the traditional, one-narrator audio books released by the authors and their publishers.

I have covered in more detail how to buy and the accessibility of the GA app in this post, which you can also supplement with the Graphic Audio Help FAQ on their website.

Audiobooks.com are also running a promotion for 70% the dramatized GA adaptation of Magic Slays until the 1st of May. A chance to complete your collection if you don’t own it already!

Happy listening!

The post Exclusive Samples of Burn for Me from Graphic Audio first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

This is long, so table of contents:

• The Origin of LitRPG
• The Inheritance and how is it different
• What is happening with other series
• A recommendation for a cute comic.

The Origin of LitRPG

As everyone knows by now, I’m a massive Solo Leveling fan. I’ve read the manhwa before the anime was ever announced and then reread it several times. Right now, with the anime release on Crunchyroll (we are up to 2 seasons), it is enjoying unprecedented popularity and some people credit it with starting the Hunter subgenre of LitRPG.

The premise of LitRPG is that somehow the protagonist enters a game world, usually loosely based on an MMO structure. In Massively Multiplayer Online games, players usually must choose a class that defines how they play the game. For example, tanks have heavy shields and armor. They are hard to kill so they taunt the enemy and bear the brunt of the attack while DPS (Damage per second) classes deal damage, and healers cast restorative spells. Players organize into guilds with strict hierarchy.

In the Hunter subgenre of LitRPG our world becomes a video game. Portals open in random locations, leading to dungeons, which, unless conquered in time, will unleash monsters upon the world. Some people mysteriously awaken to magic powers. They are usually called Hunters and they are ranked according to their ability. Hunters band into guilds, and guilds assault the dungeons. It’s World of Warcraft in real life, complete with a system window that announces when you go up a level and shows you your numeric stats like Strength and Agility.

As much as I love Solo Leveling, it didn’t originate the term “hunters.” The first mention of this system in comics actually comes to us from 2012 manhwa called I Am A Noble.

Sorry, Sung Jin-woo, you are not the first. Just the most handsome.

Unfortunately, there are no legitimate translations of I Am A Noble – please do not link pirate sites with machine translations – but there are plenty of other manhwa titles that fall into this genre. Here are some of them in no particular order. I have read all of these, and some are good, some I liked less. You can find them at your usual manhwa places like Webtoon, Tapas, Tappytoon, etc.

• Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint
• Kill the Hero
• The Druid of Seoul Station
• The World After the Fall
• The Worn and Torn Newbie
• The Player Who Can’t Level Up
• Hoarding in Hell

I’m going to link a list here: Hunter/Dungeon/Gates, but there are others, more comprehensive ones.

But the question is, where did this set up originate? What inspired it? Well, World of Warcraft is obviously one of the ingredients. The game came out in 2004, and at its peak, in 2010, had over 12 million subscribers. It also spawned an entire generation of successors. But what else happened near that 2012 mark?

On August 16, 2011 Ready Player One came out. This book was everywhere. NPR, USA Today, CNN, Entertainment Weekly, translated into 37 languages, available in 58 countries… It was a global phenomenon. If you somehow missed it, it’s about an 18 year old kid whose life is awful, so he chooses to live a completely different life in an online game. This book hit like a meteorite. Although, it is not a strict LitRPG in a sense of classes and quests, it was, without a doubt, the driving force behind the development of the genre.

When Ready Player One came out, LitRPG did not exist as a sub-category. So when did LitRPG became a thing? Who originated this term?

The term LitRPG was coined by… a bunch of Russians. I present to you Magic Dome Books. LitRPG is their bread and butter.

From their website:

LitRPG is a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy which describes the hero’s adventures within an online computer game. LitRPG books merge traditional book-style narration with elements of a gaming experience, describing various quests, achievements and other events typical of a video game.

The defining feature that sets LitRPG fiction apart from traditional portal fantasy is its use of interactive gaming language, such as the inclusion of various system messages, players’ stats, items’ characteristics and other elements appreciated by gamers. The narration in a LitRPG novel has to abide by the rules of a game while filling it with conflict and drama as the hero tries to survive in this new environment.This “book meets game” experience proved to be exactly what many gamers-turned-readers were looking for in a novel. 

LitRPG books are not the same as traditional game novelizations. As a rule, LitRPG books are set in fictional game worlds which are entirely their authors’ invention, such as D. Rus’ AlterWorld or V. Mahanenko’s Barliona. Also, their use of gaming elements and attributes sets them apart from traditionally penned game novelizations.

Initially unrecognized by traditional publishing, the genre kept growing, gaining a truly insatiable readership that devoured such cult series as Sword Art Online, Ready Player One and The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. In 2012, Russia became the first country in the world where the genre was officially recognized, receiving its current name – LitRPG – and its own place in libraries and book shops. Since then, dozens of new game-set novels have been published in Russia, some of them national bestsellers such as Play to Live by D. Rus and the Way of the Shaman by V. Mahanenko.

So they tell us right here what these writers were inspired by. Sword Art Online is a series of Japanese light novels that began as a webnovel in 2001, which was picked up for publication in Japan in 2009. This is one of those “overnight successes” a decade in the making. SAO didn’t get an English translation until 2014, but really gained in popularity when the anime adaptation came out. The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor began as a South Korean webnovel from Kakao, which began in 2007 and ran until 2019. It is a massively popular series, which spawned a comic adaptation and its own mobile game.

Both series featured virtual reality. In SAO people were playing a multiplayer game and found that they were unable to log off and in LMS a poor Korean student plays a popular new game to earn some money for his grandmother and ends creating a lot of beautiful art and eventually becomes a central figure in a power struggle over the game.

The third title mentioned is again Ready Player One, which was inspired by arcade games of 1980s. If we were to dig deeper into 1980s, we find…

Well, yes, technically, it is similar. But we are looking for something else. Something where people went through a portal and ended up in a game with specific classes and quests… Something with the portals…

And there you go. The first true expression of LitRPG on screen in 1983. Why Cavalier? Why not a Paladin? Never understood that.

Okay, fine, that was a screen adaptation. But what about the literary equivalent?

This is a tougher call, because again, we are looking for very specific things: classes, portal, game setting, quests, and so on.

I’m going to say Quag Keep by Andre Norton.

In early 1970s Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson were working on a new game called Dungeons and Dragons and they couldn’t find anyone to publish it. So in 1974 Gary Gygax partnered with Don Kaye and formed TSR, which published Dungeons and Dragons in that same year.

Two years later, Gary Gygax invited Andre Norton for a session in the new setting he was developing called Greyhawk. Quag Keep was the result of that session. It came out in 1978.

I had to grab the description from Wikipedia, because the one on Amazon is terrible.

Martin, a player in a game of D&D, touches a figurine of a warrior, and is unwillingly transported into the body of Milo Jagon, a warrior in the city of Greyhawk. Milo/Martin gradually meets others likewise transported to this world. Bound together by forces they do not understand, the players struggle to trust each other. Under the compulsion of a geas, everyone is forced to go on a quest. They eventually confront the one controlling them, the Gamemaster, and battle with him to regain control of their lives. Although they win, they find that they cannot return to “reality”, and must remain in Greyhawk. Rather than splitting up, they realize they make a good team and decide to continue their adventures together.

We do not have the literal system windows of the online game. Other than that, this hits all the points: players are portaled, they have classes, they must accomplish quests, and they band into a party.

But what about Dragonlance Chronicles? Nope, that doesn’t fit. First, it was commissioned by TSR in 1983 to promote the new campaign setting, so Quag Keep predates it, and second, it’s a novel set in Dragonlance with characters original to that world. There are no players.

Sadly, Quag Keep bombed. The critics disliked it, so it is one of the lesser known Andre Norton’s works.

But what about the portal fantasy? When did that start?

I love you, please don’t make me pull Lewis Caroll out. That is another post.

Here is a list from Goodreads. It’s pretty comprehensive, but it doesn’t include pseudo portals like H.G. Wells’ Time Machine or Edward Bellamy’s 1887 Looking Backward 2000-1887. Fun fact: Bellamy was the first to introduce the concept of credit cards in fiction.

When we market books, we have to hit the here and now references. While we might phrase things like “this work will appeal to fans of isekai” or “this work will appeal to fans of hunter LitRPG,” we are doing this to appeal to a new generation of readers because saying things like “This is like Chronicles of Narnia and Princess Bride made a baby with Game of Thrones and then gave it to Locke Lamora to raise” is confusing.

So what about the Inheritance? How is it different?

There are things that bug me about the Hunter subgenre specifically in its current LitRPG iteration. If we really dissect it, a lot of the genre deals with existing within a static system. Your class is set. Your abilities are set. You can get new abilities but only within the system parameters.

Sometimes you gain levels, but only in your class. Sometimes you can game the system and unlock something unexpected due to prior knowledge or chance. Sometimes you cannot improve at all. In Solo Leveling, Sung Jin-woo is the only person able to level up. In that world, if you “awakened” to your powers as Rank B, it doesn’t matter how hard you try, you will stay Rank B. He is the only exception.

LitRPGs generally fall into two categories: either succeed within the system and be the best at playing the class you’ve chosen or disrupt the system and become the best badass there is who answers to no one, while the rest of the people remain in their assigned roles. There is a simplicity in it: you can earn experience, have tangible progress in levels, and be assigned a course of action by the system.

If you were coming from an environment where generations of people have given up on upward mobility without inherited wealth, or a country where the government exerts pressure to keep you in your lane and your designated role, this type of system might be familiar and appealing, in part because sometimes it carries a subversive message.

Setting the social implications aside, if you look at the list of the manhwa I linked above or at Magic Dome Books, you can note something interesting. In the word of Cordelia Cupp, “What’s with all the dudes?”

This genre usually features a male protagonist, typically between 17 and 25. There are occasional older protagonists, but again mostly male. There are occasional exceptions, as always, and there are more women in books than in manhwa, but in general they are harder to find. Recently I stumbled on a LitRPG manhwa, which had a female protagonist. She had the housekeeping talent. I’m sure it was meant to be just part of the current trend exploring the cozier side of LitRPG, but the hero is kicking butt left and right because he is the best hunter who ever lived and our girl is making his bed so he can nap.

A couple of months ago, I saw a tutorial video, where two women were having an awesome time trying to nuke the Matron of Glennwood in the Enshrouded. (If you are interested, here is the link to the video.) I very much enjoyed watching them try to kill her. It kind of confirmed my theory that most of the time inspiration is accidental.

For these reasons, The Inheritance is not a true Hunter LitRPG in the strictest sense of the word.

A Little Housekeeping

Unfortunately, not every story is suitable for the online serialization. Serialized stories need to be fast paced and tightly focused so people don’t get lost. This is why serializing Hugh 2 was very difficult. It was complex and required revisions as it was being written due to the layered motivations of the protagonists. None of the projects we have currently sketched out for our existing worlds would work for serialization.

The Inheritance was conceived and structured specifically for online reading. It was meant to be a serial from the start. We are about 2/3 of the way through, so it’s mostly written. It’s our gift to you this spring because there will be very little content on the blog as we dig into our massive workload.

The Inheritance will be posted probably twice a week and in its entirety. It connects to nothing, it requires no prior reading, and it will likely be a one-off, so there probably won’t be a sequel.

There are no Easter eggs. We would never troll the BDH. Trust us.

After its run, The Inheritance will be available for sale for you to keep, probably as part of Small Magics 2, which will be collecting various free fiction from the website.

We understand that some of you are upset because you would like the free stories to be available in ebook format faster. It takes effort and time to put it all together into a cohesive anthology, and we have to have enough content to justify the price and especially the audio edition. We do not want to short-change those of you who are visually impaired or who prefer your fiction as an audio adaptation. It is difficult to book an audio narrator just for a novella-length work. There has to be significant word count for it to be worth their while. We would want to have the narrator at least booked before the ebook comes out, so we can give you an ETA.

PS. ModR suggested adding recipes our characters cook at the end of Small Magics 2. Is it weird to have recipes from our books in an anthology? It feels kind of weird.

The Top Dungeon Farmer

In conclusion, thank you for sitting through my TED talk. To make up for it, I thought I would show you my current manhwa Hunter favorite. Behold the unbearable cuteness.

The Top Dungeon Farmer. Yes, it is that adorable. Look at those bunnies! He gets a killer monster bear later and it is also adorable. I must say, I don’t care for the cat. Anyway, there are 80+ episodes, most of them free on Webtoons. If you need a distraction where nothing super horrible happens, this might do the trick.

PS. It should really go above where we talked about our world turning into a video game. There is, apparently, a real life condition called Game Transfer Phenomenon. BBC explains more. So who knows, perhaps we will start assigning classes to ourselves some time in the future.

The post Lit RPG: The Origins, The Inheritance, and Other Things first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

April 18, 2025

We are at war.

This war is not about wealth, resources, or a difference of ideology. It’s a war of survival. The very existence of humanity is at stake.

The moment the first gate burst, sending a monster horde to rage through our world, it brought us unimaginable suffering, but it also awoke something slumbering deep within some of us, a means to repel and destroy our enemy. Powers beyond comprehension. Abilities that are legendary.

The war is ongoing. If you are a Talent, your country needs you. The world needs you. Be the hero you always wanted to be.

Take my hand and answer the call.

Elias McFeron

Guildmaster of Cold Chaos

The post The Inheritance Begins first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

It’s no secret that Grace Draven is one of the best writers of modern fantasy romance. I could talk about her books all day.  Her plots unfold against the backdrop of enchanting worldbuilding wrapped in lyrical prose. Her worlds have texture and that elusive fairy tale quality that many writers chase and never manage to acquire.  But for me, it’s all about the characters.

A lot of speculative fiction can be sorted into two broad categories: ordinary character in an extraordinary world and extraordinary character in an ordinary world. The Hobbit, Labyrinth, and Alien are examples of the first, and Sherlock Holmes, House, and the entire superhero genre are examples of the second. 

The Wraith Kings series falls firmly into the first category.  There is Brishen, a prince of the Kai, who is a prince in the name only. There is the heir, and the spare, and Brishen, you go stand over there.  Then there is Ildiko, who is a niece of the Gauri king.  One day these two find out that they are to be married. They are not consulted about this.  They have no power to alter this decision.

To make things worse, they are not of the same kind. Brishen’s people have more in common with the drow, and the Gauri are firmly human in the traditional sense of the world.  The customs, the diet, everything is dramatically different. 

There is something so refreshingly ordinary about watching these two trying to navigate this arranged marriage. They are so relatable, and they take so much care with each other’s feelings. 

There are several books in the series now, and recently Grace added a new novella to it, titled Black Hellebore.

Brishen and Ildiko return in this latest addition to the world of the Wraith Kings.

To protect his people and save his kingdom from destruction, Brishen Khaskem made an unthinkable sacrifice, stripping all but the youngest Kai of their magic in order to transform himself and four others into powerful Wraith Kings who would battle the ancient malice known as the galla.

But victory comes at a high price. The loss of their sorcerous heritage is a bitter consequence for the Kai. When an unexpected enemy threatens the lives of his beloved wife Ildiko and his adopted daughter, the queen regnant, Brishen may pay the highest price of all. What will be the ultimate cost of reviving a dead legacy and regaining a lost hope?

A tale of trust and deception.

Amazon BN Apple

Did you know Black Hellebore was out?  Yes, I didn’t either.

To celebrate this book birthday, I’ve imposed on Grace and made her sit down for this interview with me.

Interview with Grace Draven

Could you tell us how the world of Wraith Kings came to be?  What made you want to write that first book?

Aww, thanks for the kind words, m’dear. I’d easily givel into the temptation of fangirling the storytelling juggernaut that is Ilona Andrews, but I know that isn’t why we’re here. Let me just say, before we go on, that I will never shop in a Costco or a Sam’s Wholesale the same way again after reading Innkeeper.

As to your questions, well you had a hand in that. Remember all those years ago when you declared “You need a website. I’ll make you one?” (Thanks for that, by the way) Well, I figured I’d try to bring traffic to my sparkly new Ilona-created website by posting a first-draft short story of no more than 12k words total to the blog section of the website for folks to read for free. One chapter a week (or maybe every two weeks, depending on my schedule). I remember telling my longtime editor, Evil Editor Mel, “It’ll just be a short story. I’m calling it RADIANCE. No more than 10k words tops.” To which Mel replied in the most doubtful tones, “Riiiiiggghhht.”

A few weeks into this plan, and I told Mel, “I think this is going to be a novella.” To which Mel replied, “Is that so?”

Spring forward a couple of more months, and I announced to Mel, “This is for sure shaping up to be a novel.” To which Mel replied, “You don’t say?”

After Mel (and my then second editor and principal brainstormer, Lora Gasway) edited RADIANCE and I officially published it to the various retailer platforms, I told Mel, “I have some ideas for a book #2.” To which Mel replied “Just send it on when you’re done.”

Once EIDOLON went live, I went back to Mel and said “Sooo, I’m certain this will be a 6-book series.” To which Mel oh-so-patiently replied, “I’m in for the long haul.”

And a long haul it’s been. Ten years, three completed Wraith Kings novels, three more to go, and several Wraith Kings novellas and short stories later, and I’m still on an adventure of discovery with these characters and this world. What a helluva ride.

What is it about Bishen and Ildiko that keeps you coming back to this series?

I’d have to say it’s the hope in a solid, long-term relationship. These two people are, first and foremost, each other’s best friend. When you combine the passion of romantic love with the grace and devotion of platonic love, you end up with magic that has staying power. I’d like to think that’s what these two have. Exploring aspects of their lives through the lens of that connection within a challenging, often violent world stretches my creative muscle and honestly, just makes me smile every time I write these two.

Could you tell us about Black Hellebore?

BLACK HELLEBORE is a revisitation of Brishen and Ildiko after the events in THE IPPOS KING (Wraith Kings, book #3). Brishen is now the regent of the Kai kingdom still reeling from the demonic invasion of the galla, the destruction of their capital city, and the wholesale loss of their magic (except for the youngest in their population). The world isn’t as safe from the galla as the Wraith Kings had hoped, and a desperate Kai with a plan to regain their lost heritage will do anything to succeed, even if that involves destroying all that Brishen holds most dear.

Could we look forward to more Wraith Kings in the future? 

Yes. Definitely. I currently have two works-in-progress going, including THE NOMAS KING, which is book #4 in the Wraith Kings series.

Where do you see this series going?

As I mentioned earlier, this is a planned 6-book series with novellas sprinkled in between. 

Will you branch out to other couples or stay with Bishen and Ildiko?

I love writing Brishen and Ildiko, but the arc of their particular story was started in RADIANCE and completed in EIDOLON. I revisited them again in BLACK HELLEBORE because, honestly, I missed them. However, the remaining books in the Wraith Kings series will focus on other characters already introduced in RADIANCE and EIDOLON, specifically those Wraith Kings who fought with Brishen in EIDOLON. Each one of those kings gets their story, and the third book in the series, THE IPPOS KING, is already out. I really loved telling the story of the jovial yet deadly Serovek, his passion for the formidable Kai warrior woman Anhuset, and their mission of mercy to protect an imprisoned Wraith King.

We are very curious about your writing process.  What is a typical writing day like for you?

Fractured, full of distractions, loud, and the absolute definition of catch-as-catch-can. I write whenever I can carve out the time (which is limited and precious). So that can be at 7:30 on a Saturday morning or 2:00 a.m. in the wee hours of a Wednesday. I mostly write at my desk which is tucked into a corner of the game room which is the pass-through to one bathroom and two bedrooms. It’s also the brawling space for four rambunctious dogs as well as the hang-out for two college kids and any of the friends or boyfriends that drop by to visit. When it gets too wild and loud, I’ll grab a spiral notebook and handwrite in the bathroom, my car, the backyard deck and one time in the laundry room while I was waiting for a particular load of laundry to dry. Tuning out is my super power. The glamor…it never ends.

Taking the story from a concept to a published book is a long and involved process. How does that usually work for you?

I’m a pantser, or a discovery writer (whichever term you prefer). I start with a nebulous plot idea, a stronger character idea and it’s off to the races. Character is always “louder” in my head than plot. I’ll have the spine of a story, but plot for me solidifies gradually, fleshed out and informed by a mountain of research that I do for every single book. When it comes to research for a book, I definitely adhere to Hemingway’s iceberg theory in which the reader only sees the tip above the surface, while underneath is the bulk of the iceberg or the unseen foundation that gives the story its heft and solidity. When I research, I build a house. When I don’t research, I build a house of cards.

I will often draft any and every expert in a particular topic into helping me understand how something is done, something is made, something works. The long-suffering Mr. Draven is on the receiving end of most of this. He’s had to explain to me how to fix the engine of a dirigible, how to use various types of weaponry from medieval to contemporary, and how to sew a pair of leather boots. Those are just a few examples. He blocks scenes with me as well, battling vacuum cleaners with broom sticks and rolling on the floor of the foyer in a simulation of dodging a horse while on the ground (during which my delighted dogs instantly dog-piled him on each occasion). God bless supportive spouses.

Once the story is done, I down a celebratory shot of bourbon or single malt, dance around the living room like a mad woman, call Mel to scream joyously in her ear, and announce to the family that as far as me cooking dinner is concerned…NOT TONIGHT, SATAN!

Then I email the entire mess to Evil Editor Mel for the king of all editorial passes we both fondly refer to as The Full Evil .

Do you have a concept editor and what role do they play?

Evil Editor Mel wears a lot of editorial hats for me, and this is one of them. Typically, she doesn’t see the manuscript until I’m ready for her to do a Full Evil on it, but I will often message with her or call her to discuss some things. And as you’ve experienced firsthand, I’ve leaned into you for help in seeing my way out of a predicament when I’ve wrapped myself too tight around my own axel to see the fix.

And of course, the most important question: what’s next?

I love the Wraith Kings world and writing in it, but sometimes other worlds call to me, so I’ll take a detour on occasion. While I am working on THE NOMAS KING, I’m putting most of my focus during 2025 on writing and completing a fantasy romance titled THE BLADE MAIDEN. This is the first book in my planned Blade and Dagger trilogy and is centered around one of a set of identical twins who act as enslaved bodyguards to a possessed princess. Resigned to a life of bondage alongside her twin, Solunada soon discovers she must save a priest-king and his Otherworld kingdom from annihilation while also trying not to die at the hands of the assassin who loves her.

Oh, and she has a Girl Scout meeting on Tuesdays.

Just kidding.

Grace recently updated her website and because we are friends, I found out that she is reviving her newsletter. Apparently there will be a bonus scene sent out to newsletter subscribers at the end of next week, and it will be an intimate scene, so if you haven’t signed up, now is your chance. Grace’s site is at gracedraven.com and here is the link to her newsletter.

The post Grace Draven and Black Hellebore first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

Sookie, the old bulldog, has to have canned dog food in the wake of her surgery so her mouth can recover. She absolutely loves it. She gobbles it up, and then we suffer.

Yesterday, as I was trying to catch up on a novella we are working on, because we need another release this year, Sookie was in a rare form even for her. It went somewhat like this:

The cave passage stretched in front of me, a narrow tunnel painted with bioluminescent swirls of strange vegetation. It split about twenty yards ahead, with one end of it curving to the right and the other cutting straight into the gloom. 

Fart,

The pale green and pink radiance of the foreign fungi and lichens didn’t illuminate the darkness, but made it seem even deeper.

A cold draft flowed from the tunnel, bringing with it an odd acrid stench.

Fart.

Bear whined softly by my side. Whining seemed entirely appropriate. I didn’t want to go into that darkness either.

Fart.

“We don’t have a choice,” I told the dog.

Something rustled in the darkness, a strange whispering sound.

Faaaaaart!

Bear hid behind me.

“Some attack dog you are.”

Fart, fart, faaaart.

I posted about my woes on Facebook, because I wanted to share the glamor. This morning, Facebook delivered this gem to me.

We knew she was a special dog, but we had no idea that her gas troubles were high quality content. We feel so privileged to share it with you.

The post Quality Content first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

::waves::

LibGen

Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, etc., has developed its own AI, Llama 3. For this AI to be competitive with Chat GPT, they needed a massive amount of fiction. They could’ve licensed it – they have the money. Instead they chose to pirate it. They scraped a massive database of pirated books. Our books are in there. Everyone’s books are in there. Here is a breakdown from Authors Guild.

We’ve received a lot of outraged messages about it. Thank you so much for your support.

What can be done about it?

Not much. We are part of Authors Guild, who right now is engaged in a class action suit. Here is a plan of action from Authors Guild.

Actions You Can Take Now 

There are important actions you can take to defend your rights now: 

1. Send a formal notice: If your books are in the LibGen dataset, send a letter to Meta and other AI companies stating they do not have the right to use your books. Here is a template you can use. 
2. Join the Authors Guild: You should join the Guild and support our joint advocacy to ensure that the writing profession remains alive and vibrant in the age of AI. We give authors a voice, and there is power in numbers. We can also help you ensure that your contracts protect you against unwanted AI use of your work. Join today.
3. Protect your works: Add a “NO AI TRAINING” notice on the copyright page of your works. For online work, you can update your website’s robots.txt file to block AI bots. The Authors Guild offers practical resources to help shield your content from AI scrapers. 
4. Get Human Authored certification: Distinguish your work in an increasingly AI-saturated market with the Authors Guild’s certification program. This visible mark verifies your book was created by a human, not generated by AI. Get certified.
5. Stay informed. Sign up for the free Guild biweekly newsletter to keep updated on lawsuits and legislation that could impact you and your rights. The legal landscape is changing rapidly, and we are keeping close watch. Subscribe here. 

You are not powerless in this fight. Together, we can have and continue to build our collective power in responding to these blatant violations. 

And that’s kind of all we can do. Here is a link to Elizabeth Wheatley’s Instagram post, where she basically goes all of the above probably in a more accessible format.

If I sound meh, it’s because I am past the point of stressing about it. I’ve gone right into the grim acceptance. I pay our author dues to the Guild and that’s about it.

The post AI and LibGen first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

From Mod R:

If it’s Friday, it’s winner time!

The much-coveted prize of last week’s Secret Giveaway was a galley of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying 1), the new fantasy isekai series by Ilona Andrews. A galley is a plain-bound (no illustrated cover, sprayed edges, very likely pre copy-edits version of the Advanced Reader Copy). We do not have an exact ETA on when the galleys will arrive, but one lucky person today will have one heading for them as soon as they are ready!

Without further ado, the winner is:

Amanda says

March 25, 2025 at 4:00 pm

I absolutely love your books but don’t think I’m hardcore enough to be transported into most of them. Certainly not the Kate Daniel’s or Edge worlds, although I think I’d like living at Gertrude Hunt. One of my first sci fi reads was Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and I think as long as I had my towel, I could travel around that universe for a bit.

Congratulations!

I will contact Amanda privately with details and arrangements about the prize, from the modr@ilona-andrews.com address on the email provided with the comment. If we do not hear back from you by Wednesday, April 2nd at 12:00 pm Central, we will chose a different winner in your place, so please keep an eye on the blog and your inbox.

Happy weekend!

Harvest Day

“You have got to be kidding me.”

 Hugh stood on the side passage on the first floor of Bailey. Elara was next to him.  Three of the centurions, Stoyan, Lamar, and Sharif, waited a few feet away. Bale and his century were on duty today.

This spot gave him an excellent view of the great hall.  The last time they’d used it, they’d hosted Rufus Fortner, the head of Lexington’s Red Guard.   

 The tables were gone.  Most of the chairs were gone too, except for the single row against the two side walls for those who had trouble standing. Fall garlands draped the walls, with wreaths of wheat and oak branches encircling the decorative weapons he’d ordered hung on the walls for the Fortner’s visit.  Young maples grew from big barrels, spreading red and orange leaves.

A long red carpet stretched from the doors all the way to the back of the room, where two long banners streamed from the high ceiling, one the black and silver banner depicting a dog bearing his fangs and the other the green and white banner with a cauldron filled with herbs, the symbol of the Departed. Beneath the banners, on a raised platform, stood two thrones carved from wood in painstaking detail.  Apples, pumpkins, gourds, bunches of wheat and herbs, and baskets of fall flowers decorated the platform around the thrones, spilling to the main floor.

On the side, just below the right throne, a huge wooden barrel waited with a stack of paper cups by it.  He remembered the barrel.  They had filled it with beer for Fortner’s visit. He didn’t recall a white table on the side, bristling with skewers.  Hugh squinted at it.  Fruit dipped in chocolate.

Elara’s people flittered through it all, making last minute adjustments.

He had no problem with the maples, the pumpkins, or the wreaths.  Even the barrel.  That was fine. Nobody said anything about the thrones. Or the cornucopia that threw up around them.

“Walk me through this again,” he said.

“We are going to go and sit on the thrones,” Elara said. “The doors will open. People will enter, mostly families with small children. They will greet us with a small gift.  Something the children picked themselves. We will wish them a happy Harvest Day and then they will get a cup of spiced Harvest cider.  They will think of a wish, drink their cider, and then Nadia and Rue will give them a skewer with chocolate dipped fruit.”

“You want me to play Harvest Fest Santa Claus?”

She nodded.

He stared at her.

“You agreed to it,” Elara reminded him.

He had agreed to it. The night after he came back from Aberdine, she’d spent an hour trying to deal with Amelia’s curse. Finally, she touched her fingers to the young woman’s forehead, and he felt a pulse of magic from her.  It washed over him, soothing and cool, and Amelia’s rigid body relaxed. The curse was still there, Elara told him.  She had only slowed it to a crawl, but it was alive and growing, and if they didn’t find a cure soon, it would consume Amelia. His wife had just bought them time.

He was already grateful, and then she invited him back to her suite. They sat at a table on a secluded balcony off her bedroom and she’d served him the chicken she made.

Elara’s chicken tasted like childhood.

Hugh couldn’t recall eating it frequently when he was a child, but something about the combination of flavors and savory herbs threw him right back to that blissfully happy decade before he turned seventeen and began killing in Roland’s name. It tasted like summers in Occitanie, where winds had names, and the long sandy beaches flirted with the turquoise sea. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine sitting at the scarred table on the veranda of the old bastide that used to be his home. He would’ve spent the morning in sword practice, studied after that, then ridden a horse to the beach and swam until his body could no longer move. The house with its stone façade and pale blue shutters would be to his left, the pool and the view of the sea nestled between green hills to his right, and when he finished eating, his father would come to quiz him on things he’d learned that day.

It was bittersweet, and he savored every bite, while she promised that she would get her witches to look into the curse and talked about the Harvest Day preparations. If she had asked him to jump over the balcony rail at that moment, he might have done it.  She’d asked him to be the Harvest King instead. The fool that he was, he said yes.

Now he was standing in the middle of the main hall, wearing an embroidered white tunic, brown pants, and a red Celtic cape cloak. And Elara was standing next to him. She wore a light green gown with ridiculous trumpet sleeves.  It clung to her chest, flowing over her waist to her hips, where it flared into a wide skirt.  Her hair was down and streamed down her back like a white waterfall. A flower crown made with purple asters, bright yellow goldenrod, and red maple leaves rode on her hair. She looked like she had walked out of Edmund Leighton’s Accolade.  All she needed was a sword and some fool to kneel before her.

Nadia, one of the women close to Elara, approached, carrying a wooden box.

“I’m afraid to ask,” he said.

Elara opened the box and took out a flower crown twisted together from golden oak branches, red maple leaves, and clusters of small purple berries.

“No.”

“You promised.”

She was looking at him with her beautiful brown eyes.  He looked at her face for a moment too long and surrendered to his fate.  How bad could becoming a king for one day be?

He bowed his head, and she put the crown on his hair.

“You look lovely, Preceptor,” Lamar offered.

Hugh looked at him for a minute.

Lamar grinned back. Stoyan’s face was perfectly neutral.  Sharif cracked a razor-thin smile.

“Hugh?” Elara asked.

He sighed.

She smiled at him.  The magic was thick today and that smile was regal and witchy.  His eldritch queen, the Ice Harpy, asking him for a favor.

Oh what the hell, why not? “Let’s get this over with.”

#

A three-year-old boy with round cheeks and dark hair clutched a yellow astra flower to his chest.

“Go ahead, Bao,” his mother murmured.

Bao looked at Hugh, looked at the sword by the throne, and made a beeline for Elara.  She gave him a smile, and Bao offered her his flower.

“What a pretty astra!” Elara cooed.

They had seen at least two hundred people in the last couple of hours. Most of the ones under 5 went to her. He got older kids and a surprising number of adults. The Departed believed in Elara with all their heart.  They brought flowers, fruit, and walnuts, deposited their gifts on the cornucopia pile, made their wishes, and drank their cider. And then they lingered, watching others do the same.  The grand hall was full. People talked and mulled about, and he’d spotted more than a couple of his Iron Dogs in the crowd.

The pile of gifts by his side of the throne was growing unwieldy. Fruit, mushrooms, weird rocks from the children.  One kid brought a grasshopper.  A little girl brought a “pretty worm” which turned out to be a scarlet snake and caused a bit of commotion until Sharif grabbed it.  The snake was safely released outside, and the culprit was rewarded with a chocolate strawberry.

He didn’t mind. He understood now why Elara wanted this. The smiling faces, the content conversation, the abundance of food, it swirled together into communal happiness, and it wrapped around them all like a warm blanket.  They were together, secure, and happy. The Departed needed it, but Elara herself needed it more. He could see it on her face.  In this moment, his wife was truly happy. 

A hush fell onto the hall.  He raised his head.

Vanessa stood on the red carpet.

She looked exactly the same: arrogant face framed by dark hair, a body that was almost too ripe, with big boobs, long legs, and tight ass wrapped in a red sweater dress. Back before the wedding, he’d used her as a distraction.  He’d made the terms clear from the start, but it had gone to her head anyway, and eventually she tried to use it against Elara. They had words, as Bale would put it. To call it a fight would be giving Vanessa too much credit. Elara sliced her to pieces with ten sentences. Going back to her job as a paralegal after she imagined wielding power as his mistress proved too much for Vanessa.  She fled in the morning.

She stood on the carpet now, and there was something not quite right about her face.

The two families behind her turned and walked off the carpet to the walls.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bao’s mother pick him up and scurry to the side. The hall was silent now.

An ice-cold power flared to his left.

He glanced at Elara.

Her face was rigid with rage.  Her magic burned around her, a glacial invisible flame, a seed of a hurricane threatening to burst. The edge of it seared him, and only his willpower kept him from recoiling. She was Death.

The Departed stood frozen.

“Take it off,” Elara ground out.

Vanessa grinned.

“Off!”

Vanessa’s scalp split. The skin sloughed off her, like a biohazard suit, curving to the sides.

A slender middle-aged woman bared her teeth at them.  Thin, her features sharp, her light skin coated in a grease streaked with blood, she stared at Elara with triumphant disgust. Magic wrapped around her, a dark, violent miasma.

The last of Vanessa’s skin peeled off, falling to the ground in shreds.  How the fuck…

Elara’s magic convulsed like a furious colossal viper.

In the hall, the faces that were happy just a moment ago turned into cold, grim masks.  The Departed stared as one, and he felt it again, that collective power binding them. The cheer, the happiness, and warmth were gone, snatched away by the Departed. Everything Elara treasured, everything she looked forward to, ruined. It was the wedding all over again.

He felt something stir inside him and realized it was rage.

“Brooklyn.” Elara spat the name like it was poison.

The woman raised a bony hand and stabbed her finger at Elara. “The reckoning is here, niece—”

“Aarh sapawur eseran.”

The blinding flash of agony tore through him. He’d sank so much power into the words, the grand hall quaked.

Brooklyn froze like a statue.  Unable to move, unable to speak.

The entire hall stared at him, shocked.

“Elara,” he said into the silence, keeping his voice casual. “Why don’t you ever bake me anything from those shows you like to watch.”

Elara’s eyes were big as saucers.

He gave her a pointed look.

She cleared her throat. “What would you like me to bake you?”

“I think I would like some rough puff pastry.” That was the only thing he could remember from his trip to the ledge.

“What?”

“I’m a rough man.  I should have some rough puff pastry.” What the hell was coming out of his mouth…

The spell’s hold shattered. Brooklyn stumbled forward.

“Aarh sapawur eseran.”

The pain slashed through his gut like a sword. It took everything in his power not to wince.

“I’m having a conversation with my wife.” He hammered each word out like he was carving it into stone.  “Will nobody rid me of this annoying thing?”

A dozen Iron Dogs congealed from the crowd.  They swarmed the petrified woman. In seconds she was gagged and tied. They tipped her like a tree and carried her out of the hall.

Hugh turned to Elara. “When am I getting my desert?”

“I will make it tomorrow,” she said softly.

“Thank you, love.” He turned to the hall.  “Now, who is next?”

For a moment nothing happened.  And then a family with two children shouldered their way out of the crowd and approached, carrying some pears and a bundle of wheat.

Hugh smiled at them and waved for Irina to start pouring the cider.

The Last Hughday

From Ilona:

Hugh d’Ambray, living his best Henry II life, heh.

This week brought a lot of This Kingdom work. We pulled together a ton of material for the maps, drew the sketch of the world map, noted the major landmarks, then wrote everything out in text, moving from north to south on both sides of the map. Then we redid that same map with the political landmarks. We pulled together the city map, edited it to match the new manuscript and sent that in. Hopefully that is enough for the artist to get started. Then we worked on the cover copy for the publisher insider galleys.

I had forgotten how much work it takes to release a book through the traditional publisher. The fault is entirely mine. I’ve gotten used to self-dictated release schedule, where we determine the deadlines, the number of edits, and the cover copy. When the cover copy goes back and forth 7 times, with several people concentrating on making it the best it can be, it puts things in perspective.

Not that we cut corners when we self-publish, but usually it’s our agent and us and we are mostly on the same page. We don’t have the marketing department to guide us or the expertise of an editor who is very good at what she does.

This week, we have also gotten out first foreign rights offer. I can’t say anything about it except that it is a really good offer. We will need to review the documents today. We always read the contracts.

This is now two separate publishers who have chosen to place a big bet on Maggie.

It’s both exciting and nerve-wrecking. I really hope the book is strong enough to meet the expectations, but that’s not the biggest stress factor. We’ve written this book. It’s done. It’s too late to worry about it. It will do or it won’t.

The second book is due in November.

We’ve sent the “where are we going” summary to our editor yesterday. If it’s green lit, great. If not, we will need to adjust. The first book is almost 200K. This one will likely be of significant length as well. It’s a lot of story and there is still a lot of work left on Maggie #1. Copyedits, galley proofread, etc, etc.

All of this means that we cannot give Hugh 2 the attention it deserves. Especially not while serializing it. If this was a novella, it would be one thing, but this is a novel and it is complex. We will have to bump it back until Maggie #2 is done.

I thought we could knock it out, but apparently we can’t. This is humbling. In a way, it is a testament to the strength of the book – it requires undivided attention. But still, I really, really wanted to get it done before starting on the sequel. Not only we need to finish the story, but we need that extra release, because Maggie 1 won’t be published until March 31 of next year.

The problem is also the hands. A few months ago I developed this fun new nightmare where my hands and feet, and sometimes arms and legs, go numb. There was a lot of nerve pain with a dash of allodynia. I learned to sleep on my back with both hands in braces. There was a variety of possible diagnoses, none of them good, but right now the consensus is that this is a medication-induced side effect. I’m off the meds and getting better so we will see if this improves over the next few months.

It slowed me down quite a bit. At some point I couldn’t even sit in the chair for longer than an hour or everything went numb. You never plan for crap like to happen, but sometimes it does.

Anyway, for these reasons, we are pushing Hugh 2 to the backburner, so we can meet our contractual obligations. We may have a shorter project for you as a serial. We are not sure yet. Mod R has read it and she feels it would be a good serial.

No worries, we will figure out something fun in the meanwhile. Happy Friday!

The post Secret Giveaway Winner and Hughday first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

The full-cast dramatized adaptation of Small Magics will be released by Graphic Audio on July 2nd and the pre-order is live on the GA website here. Audible and all the other usual audio retailers should have the preorder sometime in the beginning of May.

The release will include the full content of Small Magics: extended Curran POV; Jim POV; Questionable Client prequel; the Julie-POV short Magic Tests; the Kate-world story Retribution Clause, featuring Saiman’s cousin Adam; as well as Of Swine and Roses and Grace of Small Magics, set in independent universes.

Nora is hard at work on the Small Magics script and finishing touches on GA Magic Triumphs, and I have an arm-long list of pronunciations clips and questions for Ilona due back to her. But GA Magic Binds came out just Tuesday and I’m still busy replaying the “I won’t allow it” Deimos reveal scene 476 times a day! A girl has to have priorities.

Speaking of audios (but not Graphic ones), the small chapter data issue in the Hoopla version of the Wilmington Years has been identified and fixed by Dreamscape, so it should now synchronize properly. Thank you so much Teresa for signalling.

And finally, I am so sorry to be the bearer of p*tience-requiring news, but to everyone who is emailing in dismay that Maggie the Undying first installment, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, is being released in 5 days and there’s complete radio silence about it on the blog…it’s 369 days, beloved. The date is indeed 31st of March, but the year on the announcement is 2026. Sorrows, sorrows, prayers. We will weather that storm and This Year of W*it Will Not Kill Us!

I won’t allow it! ::Deimos flight::

The post Small Magics and Small Housework first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

We do not have a Hugh for you today. It’s been a very challenging week.

My desk broke, and I bought a new one. I remember when standing desks were $3,000. I bought a height adjustable desk for $100. Then, when I finally decided to decompress and fire up Avowed, it helpfully warned me that I needed to update BIOS, because intel 13/14 has issues. I hate updating BIOS. I usually chicken out. This time I did it, and my system fans shot into the overdrive. For some reason the BIOS update set one of them to dc instead of pwm. Ask me how long it took me to figure that out. Way too damn long.

There are last minute Maggie-related things that had to be taken care of, like maps and extras, Sookie’s surgery, and anyway, life. Gordon came into the kitchen today to help me as I was washing up some pans I left soaking overnight and said, “It’s finally Friday. Long week.”

I thought it was Wednesday, BDH. Maybe Thursday.

Hugh’s book is going very slowly. This is going to sound very woo-woo, but as a writer, you kind of sink into your project. You live it, you’re deep in it. I keep bouncing from Hugh 2 for some reason. This book needs more thinking.

So there is no Hugh. But we got this email from Tor.

Just wanted to check in and see how many galleys you would like to order! Can you let us know how many author and agent copies you’d like us to reserve by Friday, 3/28?

Thank you!

Galleys are very basic ARCs. No frills, no covers, just the story in a super-plain binding. This is the very first batch, the first printing, probably pre-copyedit. We do not have an ETA on when the galleys will arrive, but this is your chance to get one just like our Grand Prize winner of the holiday giveaways.

This will be a US only giveaway. The giveaway will run for one week. Winner will be chosen on Friday, March 28th, 2025.

If you were transported into a book, which book would that be? Doesn’t have to be one of ours. Any book you’ve read. To enter, tell us your answer in the comments. One comment per person. You must enter on the blog. Facebook ands other social networks will not count.

Good luck!

The post A Secret Giveaway first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

Before I tell you this story, I will say that everything ends happily.

Sookie is our elderly Ye Olde English Bulldogge, otherwise knows as the orc dog. She is beauty, she is grace, how can you not love that face?

She is going on 13 years old. Her hips and her knees have arthritis. She moves around solely because of the steady regimen of fivovet, gabapentin, and osti, a joint supplement, which Gordon administers to her every morning via a hot dog. We started her on smoked sausage at first, because Sookie, despite eating rocks and random crap, is a master of spitting the pills out. Hiding them first in her favorite sausage and then in hot dogs is the only way we can get her to take it without shoving a hand down her throat. The morning pill ritual became known as sausage time. Occasionally Sookie will drag herself into the kitchen and sit because it’s sausage time and she would like her treat, please.

Several days ago, I woke up at 4:30 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. After rolling around for a while, I checked my phone and it was a good thing I did, because Kid 2’s house had sprung a leak and she was in a panic. That’s a fun story for another time, but to summarize, it turned out that a 2×4 fell because of a faulty nail and dented her AC pan. It ended happily, but threw me into a sleep deficit for a few days.

A couple of days later, I wake up in the middle of the night again. I check the clock. 4:30 am. What is it about the 4:30? I hear a choking sound, which, as any dog owner will tell you, is code for get up and let your dog outside. I open the primary bedroom’s door, let Sookie out, and flick on the lights, resigning myself to cleaning up some dog vomit.

Blood. It’s like a crime scene from a gory police procedural. There is blood on the floor, blood on her pillow, blood, blood, everywhere is blood.

OMG, our old dog is dying.

The other two dogs are like, “Hey, there is blood. How cool.”

I check on Sookie. She is standing in the yard in the dark. I grab peroxide, drown the worst of the blood on the floor – yay, tile, mop it up with paper towels, so no cats or dogs decide to taste it. Then I wake up Gordon, tell him there is blood, and then we both go to get Sookie in.

Sookie walks very slowly because of her arthritis, so it takes awhile. Finally we bring her in and she takes two steps inside the house and collapses. Her paws are bloody, her chin is bloody, everywhere is bloody. I’m sitting on the floor, with peroxide and paper, my hands in latex gloves, and frantically trying to clean her up to see if it’s a wound of some kind.

There is no wound. The blood is coming from her mouth. It must be internal bleeding.

By now it’s past 5:00 am. The only emergency vet in range is on the other side of New Braunfels. It will take almost an hour to get there, and when we do get there, we will have a long wait. She is 80 lbs of dead weight and Gordon, who normally would pick her up and carry her, can’t do it because of his shoulder.

I’m crying because the dog is dying. Cleaning and crying and cleaning and…

Sookie sighs, gets up, and goes to the kitchen to drink water.

We watch her drink and then she sits by the island.

Sookie: Sausage time?

Us: WTF.

Gordon gets a chunk of chicken and tosses it to her. She snaps it out of the air and eats it.

Clearly the news of her demise was greatly exaggerated.

We decide to wait for our regular vet to open. There is no point in going to the New Braunfels vet, because not only will it take forever to get down there with traffic, but she took food and water which means she will be triaged to the middle of the line, so dogs hit by cars and bitten by rattlesnakes can get life-saving care.

Our vet opens at 7:00 am, I call them, they get us in first thing in the morning.

Sookie has infected teeth. There must’ve been an abscess. It ruptured. How did a cup and a half of blood come out of it, I have no idea, but that was the answer.

Sookie was scheduled for the dental surgery. This was very stressful all around. We weren’t sure if she would come through the surgery okay because of her age, but her quality of life was a factor and unchecked tooth decay can lead to gum disease and jaw infections. Cue a week of tense waiting.

She had the surgery yesterday. 13 extractions and almost $3,000 later, here she is back to living her best life on her pillow.

She is very mad at us. She occasionally groans, and right now she is not in the study with us because she chose to lay in the living room by her lonesome. However, she took soft food and water today so we are on the road to recovery.

In other good news, the final edit of This Kingdom was accepted and we are off to the copyedit. Much rejoicing all around.

Here is hoping for a few days of not waking up at 4:30 am because of some crisis.

The post The Story of Orc Dog first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

Elara bent over the map, spread over the table. The herb patch… The berry bushes… The maples on the north side…

A presence tugged on her. She raised her head. Hugh stood in the doorway.

Alive. Uninjured.

 She let out a mental breath and straightened. “You’re back.”

“I am.” His voice held no bravado.  He sounded, not subdued exactly, but quietly resigned. She braced herself.

“Casualties?” she asked.

“None on our side. Something smells amazing.”

“I made chicken for dinner.”

He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Is it for me?”

“Yes.  You did come back safely.”

“Can it wait?” he asked. “I need your help.”

“Of course.”  What was going on with him?

He invited her out with a sweep of his hand. She left the room, and they went down the hallway side by side.  The Keep was quiet. Soft afternoon light spilled through the windows, drawing long rectangles on the hallway floor.

“What happened in Aberdine?” she asked.

“Falcon blocked our approach.  We had some words and then Bale decorated the road with Falcon’s brains. The rest of the mercs cleared off.”

He still sounded off.

“Is this going to come back to bite us?” she asked.

“Possibly.  The second half of the company is enroute to Aberdine. The woman who is leading it could prove difficult.  It depends on whether she decides to make an issue out of Falcon’s death or if she assumes command and takes what’s left of them somewhere else. If I were her, I’d count my blessings, but some people lack common sense.”

They reached the staircase and started down the steps.

“And if she decides to attack?”

“I’ll crush her.”

There was no force in his voice.  He said it so matter of fact, as if he were talking about taking out the trash.

“Hugh?”

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong?”

He looked straight ahead.

“About ten years ago we came across a corpse town in the Laurentian Uplands in Ontario. Men, women, kids, all dead, rotting in the street.”  

His tone was flat and weary.

“We found one survivor. A skinny kid about fifteen or so. Someone nailed him to a tree.”

Nailed?

“He should’ve died but he was too stubborn to let go. We took him with us.”

“What happened to town?”

“He never told us. He barely talked. Once we fed him enough for his legs to support his weight, I asked him what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to get stronger.”

Hugh sighed. “Some people are born swordsmen. It’s not something you can teach or train. The kid picked up the sword, and he was gone. He’d wake up in the morning and train until he passed out in the evening with a sword in his bed. Bale’s berserkers had adopted him. They all used to watch out for him, because he forgot to eat. He wasn’t the strongest or the most skilled, but he was fast, and he had the killer instinct. When he faced an opponent, the world disappeared. Nothing else existed.”

He fell silent.

“Was he as good as you?” she prompted.

“Almost. With magic down, he’d be a problem for me. Possibly even for Daniels.”

He brought up Kate.  That usually meant he’d gone into a dark place. Roland’s biological daughter was the reason for his exile. They had a long and tangled history, none of it good. Hugh had done horrible things while under Roland’s control and they plagued his soul festering there until they ruptured into open sores. Kate was a wound that never healed.

“How long was he with you?” she asked.

“Eight years,” Hugh said. “We had a winter base near Wichita Falls in north Texas. Pretty country down there.  Mild winter, lakes, rivers. We’d come back to it year after year when not on mission. One day he came to me and said he wanted out. He met a girl and decided he was done being a Dog.”

“But he loved being a swordsman?”

Hugh shook his head. “It wasn’t love. More like compulsion. It consumed him, and when he was with her, he could put it away. She freed him of it.”

“What did you do?”

“What could I do? I let him go. It was his second chance at life. He could be whatever he wanted to be. Everyone was happy for him.”

A cold unease washed over her. “Did you find him in Aberdine?”

“I did. I found him in that shithole of a camp. With people who didn’t deserve him and treated him like an attack dog. Those assholes couldn’t even be bothered with basic shit like guards and patrols. Elara, we just rode right in there. It was dirty and disorganized, a fucking disgrace. And those shitheads thought they could hold a town for ransom, and we would just let them.”

He was disgusted by all of it. The mercenaries had no idea how lucky they were. He could have just wiped them all out, and his face told her he had considered it. They probably deserved it.

“How the fuck did he end up there?” Hugh stopped. “He left with enough money to last him for five years. It should have been enough to take her anywhere and do whatever they wanted. Should I have kept him?”

“He wasn’t yours to keep,” she said gently. “You saved him, you trained him, and then you let him go. The rest was up to him.”

He gave her a dark look. “And he fucked it up.”

On the scales of Hugh’s life, with so much guilt and darkness piled up on one side, this young swordsman must have been a counterweight. Someone Hugh saved. Proof that he wasn’t irredeemable, that the Iron Dogs stood for more than slaughter and destruction. Even while under Roland’s influence, with his life going up in flames, Hugh had let him go. He was a remarkable asset, but his future happiness mattered, and Hugh released him.

Now that happiness lay in ruins. Seeing that broke something in Hugh. She could feel him retreating deeper inside himself, in the place where Hugh faded, and Roland’s warlord took the front line. The memory of a burning maelstrom with fangs she once saw in his soul scalded her. She had to keep him with her, anchored in here and now no matter what it took.

“If you’d kept him against his will, he could have died,” she told him. “You said yourself that Roland wrecked everything you built. As good as he was, he would be near the top of the execution list. At least he’s alive.”

“There’s that.”

“What happened to the girl?”

“I’ll show you.”

They’d reached the third floor. A trace of magic tugged on her. It came from the left, from the direction of the guest suite where they put potentially troublesome visitors. It felt sharp, almost spiky, like a cocklebur bristling with hooked needles. It pulsed in a subdued rhythm, active but muted.

She sped up. They marched down the hallway to the door. Hugh knocked and pushed the door open, not bothering to wait for an invitation.

A young woman with long dark hair lay on the bed. The burr of magic wrapped around her, fused with her body, strangled her vitality, growing from it like a parasite. Her eyes were shut, her skin was pallid, and patches of fuzzy dark growth, rippling with black, red, and purple, marked her exposed arms and neck. It looked like someone had scooped a toxic bacterial colony from some giant petri dish, smeared it all over her, and it took root.

A man in his mid-twenties sat in the chair by bed. He looked up at their approach and his eyes were full of grief.

The magic burr pulsed with power.

“A curse.” The word fell from Elara’s lips. She had never seen one like that.

“Can it be undone?” Hugh asked her.

“I don’t know. But we will try.”

The post Wednesday, Thursday, Hughday… Chapter 5: Part 1 first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

The Magic Binds full cast dramatized adaptation will be released on Tuesday, March 25th. The preorder is available on the Graphic Audio website, as well as on Audible and all the other usual third party retailers.

Of course, we got sample goodies!

What do you mean, ‘do I need cake right now‘? Kate. Beloved. We ALL need cake right now.

The three Queens guarding the line of Shinar – this Mishmar scene always gives me Canada goose bumps.

There is a third official sample on the preorder page I linked above: Kate and Curran visiting Roman about their wedding. Wedding planner shenanigans: engaged!

The next GA Ilona Andrews releases are:

Burn for Me, Hidden Legacy 1 on April 25th. You can also find find it for preorder on Audible etc.

Magic Triumphs, Kate Daniels 10 on May 20th – there is an update to the date here, it was previously set to come out on May 2nd, but the script is just too epic and Nora never lets a project be just good when she can make it amazing. A spoonful of sugar, intense editing, sound design and lots of loving work makes the final battles and psychotic ancient dragons go down! Ehhh, you know what I mean. Neig wishes. Preorder should go live on third party retailers sometime next week.

I’ve seen some concerned comments wondering how much content will be abridged from Magic Triumphs and Burn for Me because the length of the traditional audiobooks and the length of the dramatized adaptation always appear to have several hours of difference.

Having pored over both scripts, I’m happy to confirm the answer is: virtually nothing was cut! Those were in fact Nora’s first words to me when we started discussing Magic Triumphs, and who can blame her? Certainly not us hehe.

The differences in duration come mainly from the fact that animated dialogue has a different rhythm than a single narrator reading. Dramatized battle scenes, for example, rely a lot more on dynamic back and forth and the majority of GA actors are really embodying the snappy deadpan Ilona and Gordon wrote for their characters. Renee Raudman has her own signature cadence, which is the favourite of so many, but I know a lot of readers prefer to increase the speed of traditional audio.

Audio effects and interpretation can also supplant certain descriptive passages and action tags, with no difference to content. We can hear that the actor is laughing while delivering the line, or that the birds are singing while a conversation is taking place, the narrator doesn’t have to specify it to us.

You can read more about the adaptation process in previous interviews with members of the Graphic Audio team here and here.

I have covered in more detail how to buy and the accessibility of the GA app in this post, which you can also supplement with the Graphic Audio Help FAQ on their website.

The post Magic Binds Samples from Graphic Audio first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

Mod R presented me with a list of questions. Let us get to it.

When will the preorder be availlable?

We don’t know. Well, that was easy. The usual MO is to wait until the cover is done because people tend to preorder in higher numbers once the cover is up. Maybe having the cover is proof that the book exists?

When will the cover be available?

We don’t know that either. I’m knocking these out of the park today.

Can you make Tor publish it faster?

Hahahaha. No.

Will there be opportunities for signed books or bookplates?

Absolutely.

Will there be a e-book and audio version or just print?

There will be all the things. Tor is fully behind this release. So here is how this book sold: it went to several publishers on Thursday and on Friday morning Tor came back with an offer so impressive, that our agent called for an emergency zoom meeting to discuss it. They read it that evening, and they really wanted this book. So there will be everything: ebook, print, audio. The whole kaboodle. We’ve discussed maps and extras.

Will there be special editions/ hardcovers/ book boxes, since it’s Tor? We want all the special editions (Fairyloot, Broken Binding, Forbidden Planet and Illumicrate mentioned specifically) 

We don’t know. But our personal feeling is that yes, there likely will be special editions. We are working on some extra scenes, deleted scenes, and so on.

Can you share a cover artist at least? Are you using Luisa Preissler?

We don’t know who the cover artist is. No idea. It probably will not be an object cover, simply because there have been so many of them that it’s hard to come up with a new distinct image. The direction is more toward illustrative rather than graphic. And that’s all I can say.

A note about Luisa Preissler: Luisa recently changed her creative direction. She is taking a break from covers and is working on landscapes instead. She now paints beautiful gouache art. Here is that story in Luisa’s own words and images, and here is how her first gallery went.

(She is teaching a class on her Patreon and I really want to take it. I haven’t yet, because I paint very, very badly. Like hilariously badly. Only my singing is worse.)

So although Hugh 1’s cover is in desperate need of a makeover and we would love her to do both Hugh 1 and 2, we are not sure that she will have an opening in her schedule. We will definitely bring it up, but we might have to go in the new direction.

And now you know why sometimes we do things other than sequels to the beloved series. Artists, writers, and musicians don’t usually stay in one lane. Creativity is a layered, branching expression of one’s inner self. As we go through life, the direction of creativity changes because we are affected by events that happen to us and the world around us. It is the natural evolution of us as human beings.

Will it be translated into French/ German/ Spanish etc?

Probably. Let me tell you a little bit about foreign rights so you will have a cool industry insight.

Twice a year, the publishing world gets together at two major book fairs: London and Frankfurt. The Frankfurt one is held in Germany and it is the largest book fair based on the sheer number of publishers who attend. It usually happens in October. London Book Fair, which is almost as large, is happening this week, March 11-13. It is held in London, to no one’s surprise, and both our agency and Tor will have a presence.

These are not reader-centric events, but rather events where publishers and agents from all over the world get together and talk about upcoming projects and sell and buy foreign (to them) rights.

While we don’t expect to have offers from foreign publishers, because the final edit was just turned in and hasn’t been accepted yet, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, and this was so long to type, let’s call it This Kingdom for short, This Kingdom will be “a topic of conversation.” At least that’s what our agent told us.

To sum up: yes, we expect interest from foreign publishers and we will let you know what is happening with that when we know something ourselves.

Does that mean you are going to London?

No, London Book Fair is not for the authors. But we would love to go to London. And Ireland.

Why are you using comps to announce the book?

We are not. Tor is using comps to announce the book. Comps are mostly for industry insiders to let them quickly identify what the book is about. For some reason, you guys are really concentrating on them, but it is a minor detail.

Will the series be called Maggie the Undying?

Yes. We all loved Maggie as a title, but unfortunately it’s really hard to go to book 2 with it. Something has to beat out the Undying. And then you end up with Maggie the Undaunted or something equally silly.

Is it a series or a standalone?

It is definitely not a standalone. The original plan was for three. The caveat here is that Book 1 ended up being enormous, so Book 2 will likely be equally so, and we may pack the story into two books instead of three. But for now, three is where it is.

Are the 808 pages Word pages or formatted pages and what will be the final length of the book?

So if you take Magic Bites and Magic Burns and put them together, that will be about the right thickness. Typical KD was 90-95K, because the publisher wanted it that way, and this is around 180K.

Is there romance or isn’t there? How spicy is it?

It has strong romantic elements, meaning that you can yank romance out of the book and it would be still make sense. Like Kate books – you can remove Kate and Curran’s relationship and they will still make sense. The romance is slow burn. You will just have to read it.

So is this a twist on the concept from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint?

Oh good question. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is a manhwa, a Korean comic, and a webnovel.

The manhwa is available on Webtoon and the official translation of the webnovel might have been up for preorder some time recently. Not sure about that one.

ORV throws the reader into his favorite book as a character. He starts tugging at strings and influencing events. This is a common trope used by a lot of portal (isekai) manhwa and anime.

The variation on that is being thrown into a video game. If you are in the market for an anime with that theme, there are so many, but I want to mention two here just for fun. First, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! The heroine ends up stuck as a villainess in the dating video game with hilarious results. Vegetables! All the vegetables ever.

The trailer, which is below, doesn’t do it justice. This anime is available on Crunchyroll. Although the trailer is subbed, the anime is dubbed and the dub is pretty good. (Link for newsletter readers.)

Once you watch that, there is this gem in Hidive.

From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated! has the exact same premise, but he is a middle aged dad, which leads to ridiculous moments, such as him telling another girl that her presence in the magical academy could mean only one thing – her parents love her very much and they want her to succeed.

But back to the Omniscient Reader, yes, This Kingdom has the similar premise of a reader being thrown into a book and changing events as they unfold. But Omniscient Reader is structured like a LitRPG, meaning it has a video-game like narrative. The character goes through a sequence of escalating fights with emphasis on classes and skills. It has more in common with Solo Leveling than Maggie.

(That genre is super fun. In fact, we are working on a very derivative novella in that genre on and off in our spare time because it’s been nagging at me and Gordon suggested that we need to download it onto page and out of my brain.)

This Kingdom has zero LitRPG elements. It is all about political intrigue and fantasy kingdoms, which is where the GOT comparison comes from. There are no defined classes or skills, there is no system window, etc. There are heists and murders and to quote Maggie, “Deadly swordmasters, thieves prowling through moonlit streets, dark magicians, ruthless nobles, hideous monsters…” It’s is meant to be an archetypical fantasy.

So a little bit different. A better comp would be the Lout of Count’s Family, which is available on Tapas. Highly recommend. And now we have it in novel form, available on Amazon and presumably everywhere else. Tada!

Lout of Count’s Family

I haven’t read the novel, but the manhwa is awesome. He is the best dragon dad ever.

Since Maggie is getting sprayed edges, is there any news for a Kate hardcover/sprayed edges, uniform box set release?

We don’t know anything about sprayed edges or where they will go or what they will look like. We first saw it on Tor’s announcement.

We’ve brought up the possibility of reissuing KD in hardcover to Ace, which originally published that series. They are not interested in pursuing that at this time. As much as we all love Kate, it’s an older series.

How are you feeling about all of this?

Cautiously excited. For me there is a little bit of a disconnect, because in my head Maggie was a small weird book, and now This Kingdom reads like a medieval thriller. The book has grown bigger and more vivid. But despite the many editorial passes – or maybe because of them – I love the story. I love the world. I love Maggie and her fierce fandom heart. We both hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.

The post All the Questions first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

After a weekend of excitement and prayers for p*tience to last us until the release of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, it’s time to return to our Iron Dogs.

Since House Andrews gifted us with chapters from the first draft of Hugh 2, I thought we should test our memory of where it all began! And if it should happen to prompt us into rereads, we will gladly walk into the fray, like the fearless Devouring Horde that we are.

Disclaimer 1: The newsletter doesn’t like the quiz plugin and sends it out in code. If you read this in email form and want to take the test, click here to come directly to the website.

Disclaimer 2: Please remember, this is just for fun. The Preceptor doesn’t grant or revoke privileges based on your score. If you think a bad result will real-life upset you, please don’t take the quiz. We’ll see you later in the week with more fun and treats.

98

What Iron and which Magic?

Iron and Magic gave us battle, betrayal, redemption, and a marriage of convenience so hot it practically melted the page. But how well do we really remember Hugh’s journey from Roland’s warlord to Elara’s yearning husband and fortress co-owner? Sharpen your swords (and your wits) and see if you can conquer this quiz like Hugh conquers… well, everything.

1 / 11

How did Roland ensure Hugh recovered after Colchis?

Fed him hippogriff bone broth for 3 months. Surrounded him with rhododendrons (Hugh's favourite flower) for 3 months inside a dream of Shinar's water gardens Put him inside a phoenix egg for 3 months. Recited poetry to Hugh for 3 months. "Hugh d’Ambray is your designated nomenclature / A towering warlord, ruthless by nature...."

2 / 11

Who is part of Hugh's closest Iron Dogs entourage at the end of Iron and Magic?

Stoyan, Felix, Lamar, Bale, Rene Stoyan, Lamar, Bale, Sam Stoyan, Lamar, Bale, Felix and Cedric Stoyan, Lamar, Bradwick, Jimothy and Johnaford

3 / 11

What is Bucky?

A crossbreed of Percheron and Andalusian A big, mean sonovabitch that nobody wants Bucky is a unicorn, which makes Hugh a sparkly unicorn princess! This is my truth and I will not be denied it! All of the above

4 / 11

What creatures attacked at Elara and Hugh's wedding?

Mrogs and their handlers Shifters Tikbalangs The humans from Asheville

5 / 11

What did Elara say to Roland when she went to get Hugh back?

TAKE YOUR STINKING PAWS OFF MY PRECEPTOR HE IS MINE, WIZARD ON WEDNESDAYS WE WEAR PINK, FETCH YOU HAVE NO POWER HERE, NIMROD THE GREY

6 / 11

What is the name of the Departed's castle?

Château What If Arundel Baile Harper's House of Horrors

7 / 11

What do her people call Elara?

The Ice Harpy Shawty (with them apple bottom jeans, boots without fur, the whole club averted their eyes, for she was not dark but beautiful as the dawn, an obelisk that absorbs the cold of the stars and Harbinger of the Final Hour) The Lady/ The White Lady Preceptorix of the Metal Puppies

8 / 11

What was Elara supposed to do in exchange for Hugh saving Aberdine?

Eat a whole chicken Be the hero, for once Guard his pipes. It's what the cool kids are calling it these days, I guess... Make crêpes Suzette

9 / 11

Who planned to poison the Departed's well with cholera?

Raphael Medrano Luther, our favourite mage against the machine Senator Victor Skolnik The Remaining

10 / 11

What was in the Iron Dogs' barrels?

Garlic chip cookies made by Roland himself A bacterial strain from the Alaskan permafrost Holy water blessed by Transylvanian priests A venom that was specifically developed against the Immortus Pathogen

11 / 11

What is discovered about the mrogs in Iron and Magic?

That their real name is the yeddimur That they attack settlements at Neig's order That they travel through time from the Holy Roman Empire II - Electric Boogaloo That the mrogs and their handlers depend on their commanding officer LinkedIn Facebook Twitter VKontakte

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.mejs-time-rail { padding-top: 15px; } #ays-quiz-container-9 .mejs-container .mejs-mediaelement video { margin: 0; } /* Limitation */ #ays-quiz-container-9 .ays-quiz-limitation-count-of-takers { padding: 50px; } #ays-quiz-container-9 div.ays-quiz-results-toggle-block span.ays-show-res-toggle.ays-res-toggle-show, #ays-quiz-container-9 div.ays-quiz-results-toggle-block span.ays-show-res-toggle.ays-res-toggle-hide{ color: #000; } #ays-quiz-container-9 div.ays-quiz-results-toggle-block input:checked + label.ays_switch_toggle { border: 1px solid #000; } #ays-quiz-container-9 div.ays-quiz-results-toggle-block input:checked + label.ays_switch_toggle { border: 1px solid #000; } #ays-quiz-container-9 div.ays-quiz-results-toggle-block input:checked + label.ays_switch_toggle:after{ background: #000; } #ays-quiz-container-9.ays_quiz_elegant_dark div.ays-quiz-results-toggle-block input:checked + label.ays_switch_toggle:after, #ays-quiz-container-9.ays_quiz_rect_dark 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The post The Iron and Magic Trivia Quiz first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

A few days ago, when the edits for This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me just landed in our inboxes, I made this candle with the idea that once this, final content edit was done, I would ceremoniously light it.

In all fairness, the candle looked prettier in my head, but I don’t normally make candles.

Well, guess what?

That’s right, the edits are done.

Here is the candle, burning in the study. Hopefully it will smell lovely.

The edit has been sent off and I’m going to take a couple of days to recover.

The post The Candle Is Lit… first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

We interrupt this scheduled broadcast with breaking news.

Text of the Announcement:

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews

Game of Thrones meets Outlander in This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me

When Maggie wakes up, cold, naked, and filthy in Kair Toren, a city in the kingdom of Rellas, she recognizes it immediately. It’s the world she knows intimately from the pages of an unfinished dark fantasy series she’s been obsessively reading and re-reading while waiting years for the final novel. With no idea how or why she landed in this gritty, violent world, she’s determined to survive until she can figure out how to get home with her only tools – an encyclopedic knowledge of the plot, setting, and the characters’ actions, motivations, and fates: information she can sell to the highest bidder – all while staying under the radar so as not to change the very information she plans to barter.

Soon Maggie discovers another surprising “skill”: she cannot be killed (though many will try.) And as she becomes more attached to the motley band she’s somehow gathered – which includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, a dangerous soldier, and various outrageous magic creatures – she abandons all thoughts of lying low for her own good. Instead she finds herself trying to save them, and the Kingdom of Rellas from the cataclysmic war she knows is coming.

And then there is a nice paragraph about us and our writing stuff.

To reiterate:

Series title: Maggie the Undying.

Book 1 Title: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me.

Book 1 Release date: March 31, 2026

Why is this announcement happening now?

Because TOR has learned that the Book Devouring Horde is not to be denied. They were planning to keep the title and release date under wraps until we had the cover, but it was concluded by all that since this book will be presented at London Book Fair next week, BDH will surely find out the details and will blast them all over the internet.

Congratulations, you are mighty!

How dark and gritty is this?

As we are finishing up the edits – page 649 of 808 – actually, not that dark and gritty. The Game of Thrones in the blurb above refers to the epic fantasy nature of the series and the Outlander reference is about the portal nature of the books, where the main character is transported into another world.

There are some tough scenes, but it’s nothing that exceeds our usual. If you’ve read Kate Daniels or Hidden Legacy, you should be fine. There is no on page rape, although sexual assault does happen in this world. The book overall has an uplifting trajectory.

Is this truly a fantasy?

Yes. Knights, assassins, weird magical beasts, swordfights, unhinged mages, the whole thing. This is meant to be a world of epic fantasy tropes.

Is there romance?

Yes. There is a romantic arc, but this is not a romance. This is an epic fantasy. That said, if you are a romance reader, you will likely enjoy this.

Is this one of those stories where it was all a dream and she wakes up and nothing changed and she is back in her own world…

No. I hate the dream thing. Not a dream. We would not put you through an emotional wringer to just then make it not matter.

That’s it. More to come, as our agent likes to say.

PS. Mod R has a fun post which will go out on Monday.

The post Maggie The Undying: Title Reveal first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

We’re all sick of the villains, morally gray characters and the bad things we have to hear about constantly.

It’s time to switch things around and celebrate the best of the best supporting characters — they may not be the main protagonists, but they absolutely make every scene better just by existing. They’re the ride-or-dies, the problem-solvers, the comic relief, and we can trust they’ll never do things with evil intention.

While some heroes brood in the corner, these legends are out there actually getting things done. Vote wisely!

(And if you wish to revisit the results and heated discussion for the previous villain poll, you’ll find it here.)

The selection today:

Grandma Frida is the badass grandma we all wish we had. She can talk to tanks, fix tanks and drive tanks, but she also made her garage be the safe place for everyone to go when they need to pour their hearts out.

Orro is a seven-foot-tall, monstruous hedgehog alien chef who acts like Gordon Ramsay on a Shakespearean monologue spree. He lives for culinary perfection, feeding people until they levitate with joy and storming off into his Dramatic Woods. FIRE!

Leon lived his early teenage years thinking he was the only dud in a magical powerhouse family. Now, he’s an unparalleled killing machine, fueled by dead pan, sci-fi Westerns and the same big heart he’s always had.

Grendel is he a poodle? Is he an omen of death? All we know is he’s fluffy, even in nightmare Black Dog shape. His hobbies include vomiting, rolling in vomit, eating everything not nailed down, stealing our hearts…and being living proof that pets reflect their owners.

Gaston a gentleman of adventure, a spy, a gourmet smooth-talking rascal who could probably convince Death itself to take a vacation. If life were a swashbuckling novel, Gaston would be the one swinging from chandeliers mid-battle while winking at the enemy.

Andrea the sharpshooter ex-Order knight, now queen of the boudas – and she did it all in heels (whilst being a beastkin). She’s the kind of loyal best friend who brings snacks, shoots first, and asks questions if necessary.

Helen: we would fix all her ripper cushions! The adorable bacon menace who stole all our hearts also has a kill list, and is ready to defend her family with her Fangs, as any self-respecting warrior vampire princess would.

Cornelius impressed us with his ferrets, deadly frying pan skills, and pied piper song of grief. He is a proud father, a loyal friend and someone who could call on arcane animals to shred the enemy to pieces while sipping his tea. Terrifying? Yes. Lovable? Definitely.

Luther or Dr Loose Cannon to his detractors, is the scientist-magician-bestie every hero needs. His lectures, unexpected sass, hilarious T-shirts and ability to keep up with whatever post-apocalyptic Atlanta throws at Kate make him a true BDH treasure.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

The post Best of the Best poll – Sidekick Stars edition first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

There might not be a Hughday next week. We have to push through on the editing. But meanwhile we offer extra today.

Totally not my chicken. Stock Image.

Bucky clopped down the road, stamping his hooves into the old asphalt with cheerful abandon. The day was bright and lovely. A clear blue sky, flooded with crystalline sunshine and feathered with white clouds, stretched overhead. The magic hit about ten minutes before they left the castle, and Bucky’s coat glowed an ethereal white.

Hugh watched the autumn woods pass by them, awash with yellow, gold, and scarlet. Behind him, Bale rode on a chestnut Morgan mare, and behind the berserker, the delegation from Aberdine chugged along on their horses, grim-faced and looking like someone pissed in their cornflakes. Five Iron Dogs brought up the rear.

Bishop nudged his gelding and caught up, drawing even with Bucky.

Hugh waited.

Bishop cleared his throat.

“Something on your mind?”

“I know your people are good.”

“They are.”

“I mean no disrespect, but there are at least seventy mercs camped out in our field.”

“You mentioned that.”

Bishop glanced behind them.

“You’re bringing six soldiers.”

Hugh pretended to frown. “You think it’s overkill?”

“You know what I mean. They’ve got this guy, Silas. He’s as good as any of yours.”

Silas, huh? “Did Silas do that?” Hugh nodded at Bishop’s arm.

The lawman grimaced. “No. That was Falcon’s personal goons. He’s got these three guys that follow him everywhere. Not especially good, but big and happy to hurt people. You can always tell the types who are in it for a chance to dish out some pain. They get off on it.”

“Good to know.”

They rode for a bit more.

“We could turn around and get more people,” Bishop said.

“No need.”

“I don’t want any of you getting hurt for nothing.”

“Ah, that’s sweet. I didn’t know you cared.”

Bishop heaved a sigh and dropped back.

Bale chuckled softly.

“You watch yourself,” Hugh told him.

“Poor fella is worried about our safety.”

“He is the chief of police. He gets paid to worry about things like that. Besides, you heard what he said. They have Silas.”

“I heard that.” Bale’s eyes lit up. “As good as one of ours.”

“We’ll have to test that.”

The trees parted, and the road unrolled into the open, with Aberdine rising in the distance. Before the Shift, it was a typical small Southern town, with a handful of street lights and gas stations, a Wells Fargo, a firehouse, a school, and too many Dollar Generals. Now a sturdy wooden palisade, reinforced with steel beams, guarded the few blocks inside the city’s center, with scattered homesteads and farms crowding around it.

Like most modern settlements, Aberdine kept a cleared kill zone between the town and the few surrounding farms and the forest. Coller Road, on which they now rode, cut right through that cleared land, leading to the city gate. The gate was shut. Old tents were pitched on both sides of the road, some military issue, others the civilian camping type. People mulled about, dressed in random gear, unshaven, looking hungry.

Hugh scanned the camp. Sloppy. No guards or sentries posted. No signs for designated latrines, no cook tent, no mess hall. No cleared spots for drills and training.

The wind brought a whiff of shit and other human body odors.

Lovely.

The mercenaries glared at them as they rode past.

“Ooh, so much hostility,” Bale said. “I’m beginning to feel unwelcome.”

The bell on Aberdine’s fire tower pealed, ringing out three times.

Hugh looked at Bishop over his shoulder.

“I didn’t tell them to do that.”

So much for the element of surprise.

A group of men moved in front of the gates, blocking the road. The one in front was tall and beefy, with reddish hair cut regulation short, so close cropped on the temples, he looked like he had a short mohawk. Heavy jaw, almost no neck, small cold eyes. The man stared at them like a gator watching a deer sneak in for a drink in his lake.

The five mercs around him didn’t seem any friendlier. They were cleaner than the rest, better fed, better equipped, with some remnants of military bearing, but there was no doubt of it. This wasn’t an organized, disciplined unit with hierarchy and defined roles. This crew was run like a gang, with the clique at the top making all of the decisions. The best possible scenario. 

Lamar had been right once again.

They were about twenty yards away from the mohawk and his entourage. Hugh stopped. Everyone behind him halted as well.

“You must be the man in the castle,” the mohawk said.

“You must be Falcon,” Hugh said.

Around them the mercenaries drew closer.

“I am,” the leader said. “Now that we know who’s who, what are you doing in my town?”

#

Elara layered mushrooms and chopped parsnips in the bottom of the Dutch oven. She tossed a few sprigs of rosemary, fresh sage, and thyme on top of that, and reached for the garlic cloves. One, two, six, eight…

“Don’t you think that’s enough garlic?” Savanah said.

“No.”

Ten, fourteen. That should do it. She poured about a cup of white wine into the pot, picked up the chicken, and set it on top of the vegetables. She’d already seasoned it with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.

The older witch shook her head. Her dark curly hair was wrapped into a tight bun today. She’d recently bought a new pair of glasses with bright red frames that complemented her warm brown skin, and her hair clip matched the scarlet shade exactly.

“Why do you even bother?”

Elara washed her hands and dried them on a blue kitchen towel. “He’s my husband and he asked for something delicious for dinner.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. “We have a fully staffed kitchen.”

“He didn’t ask them. He asked me.” Elara put the lid on, opened the oven, and heaved the heavy cast iron pot into it.

“You could have made something easy. Why this?”

“Because he’s French and Chicken en Cocotte is the only French main dish I know how to make.”

“What is happening to you?” Savannah demanded.

Elara leaned back. “It’s a bargain. I make this and he comes back safe.”

“Who are you bargaining with?”

Elara waved the kitchen towel around. “Fate, the Source of All Life, everything. Whoever is around.”

Savannah threw her hands up. “What about the budget projections?”

“I have them right here.” Elara pointed to a stack of paper on the table.

“In the kitchen?”

“The budget projections don’t care where I read them. I have fifty minutes until I need to take the lid off and turn the fire up. Plenty of time. Just let me get the potatoes cut up.”

Savannah gave her a resigned sigh. “I’ll brew us some tea.”

#

“It’s not your town,” Bishop said.

Falcon squinted at him. “I thought we had an understanding. Instead, you went behind my back. And this was all you could get? Seven men?”

“Hope it was worth it,” a large dark-haired man offered on Falcon’s left.

Falcon glared at him and turned back to Bishop. “You and I are going to have a long talk after I deal with this. It seems to me you still don’t understand the chain of command.”

“I’ll make this short,” Hugh said. “My wife is cooking a delicious dinner, and I don’t want to be late. Aberdine doesn’t want you here. You have an hour to clear out.”

Falcon smiled. Behind him a couple of his heavies chuckled. “Is that so?”

“It is.”

Falcon squinted at him. “The folks in town tell me you’re some kind of a big deal. Well, that doesn’t mean shit to me.”

Why was it always the hard way?

Hugh let out a bored sigh. “We can kill the lot of you, but it would take a while and I’m getting hungry. Why don’t you pick your best guy, and I’ll pick one of mine. Sound fair?”

The mercenary leader gave him a calculated look, surveyed Bale and the five Iron Dogs behind him, then glanced at the tents. Falcon was not a complete fool, or he wouldn’t be able to hold this lot together. Bishop had left to get help, and now seven soldiers rode straight into Falcon’s camp. The numbers were clearly on his side, yet this new group was unbothered and their leader was now giving him orders.

Hugh could practically feel the wheels turning in Falcon’s head. The merc leader was thinking that the magic was up, so it was likely a factor. He had to suspect that they had an ace up their sleeve, and Hugh had just handed him a chance to see what it was. In Falcon’s mind, they could see what they were up against and even if they lost, they could always swarm them after. They had ten times as many warm bodies.

“Cherry, go get Silas,” Falcon ordered.

The dark-haired man who ran his mouth earlier took off and disappeared between the tents.

A minute passed. Another.

Cherry double timed back, slightly out of breath. A blond man followed him, carrying a katana in the traditional saya scabbard. He wore a black turtleneck, loose-fitting athletic pants, and dark tennis shoes. His hair was cut short, his jaw was clean shaven. He glanced at Hugh, his expression flat, and stopped in front of Falcon.

“Here he is,” Cherry announced.

“They want to put one of theirs against one of ours,” Falcon said. “I need you to explain to them why that was a bad idea.”

Silas turned and took five steps forward. He stood about five ten, with the kind of build that came from living by the sword – lean, spare, but strong, as if he was twisted together from steel cables.

Bale got down from his horse and made a show of loosening up his shoulders and back. “So, you’re their secret weapon?”

Silas didn’t answer. His gaze was fixed on Hugh as if Bale didn’t even exist.

Bale lumbered closer and scrutinized the swordsman. “What is this shit you’re wearing? Must be very high speed.”

The look on Silas’ face turned slightly desperate.

Falcon grinned in anticipation. The man was clearly loving this.

“Get them, Silas,” Cherry called out.

Silas held still.

“Have you got anyone else?” Bale leaned to the side to look past Silas at Falcon and his mercenaries. “This one looks a bit beaten down and half starved.”

“Silas!” Falcon snapped.

Silas didn’t move. He seemed in pain.

“What are you waiting for?” Falcon snapped.

Enough was enough. It was time to put Silas out of his misery.

“I’m waiting for you to put one of your men up for the fight,” Hugh said.

“Are you stupid?” one of Falcon’s men demanded.

“My man is standing in front of you,” Falcon said.

“No,” Hugh said. “These are both my men.”

Something broke in Silas’ expression, as if a wall inside him came crashing down.

The mercenaries stared at them.

“Dog!” Hugh called out.

Silas snapped to attention. “Yes, Preceptor!”

“Kill the next man who steps forward.”

“Yes, Preceptor!”

Silas pivoted around, faced Falcon, and unsheathed his sword.

Bale draped his arm around Silas’ shoulders. “You remembered how. See, I knew it would come back to you.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Falcon roared.

Hugh put some steel into his voice. “Put a soldier up or concede.”

Falcon stared at Silas. “Have you lost your fucking mind? What do you think is going to happen to your wife after we kill these assholes? Do the fucking math –”

Bale charged forward, mace in hand, the muscles on his right arm boiling and ballooning into a massive limb. None of the mercs had time to react. The berserker swung, monstrous muscle flexing. The mace whistled through the air and smashed into Falcon’s face. The mercenary leader’s skull cracked like an egg under a hammer. Chunks of brain and bone exploded, splattering onto the other men.

Bale twisted. Flesh rippled across his frame. His voice was a low inhuman growl.

“Who else wants to threaten my sworn brother’s family?”

He pointed the mace at the largest merc. “Is it you?” The mace moved to Cherry. “You?”

They backed away from him.

On the left, one of the mercenaries in the field by the tents raised a crossbow. On the right a mage was chanting, building up power and winding it into a bow like cotton candy on a stick.

Hugh pulled the magic to him and opened his mouth. “Osanda sapawur daas kair.”

Kneel before me and be silent.

The power words tore out of him, shaping the very matrix of magic. Power pulsed from Hugh, exploding in all directions like a blast wave from a bomb.

Seventy pairs of knees hit the dirt. The entire camp knelt as one. Only Bale, Silas, and the riders stayed where they were.

The mercenaries’ faces contorted.  They were trying to rise, trying to scream, and couldn’t do either. 

Silence claimed the field. You could hear a proverbial pin drop. Above them a hawk swooped, crying out.

This was the ancient power he had inherited from the Builder of Towers. He shouldn’t have been able to use it. Roland had purged him, ripping that gift away from Hugh, and yet there it was.

He’d been practicing for the last month, and the magic was getting easier. Every time he used a power word, it hurt less. He’d timed this one for about 10 seconds, because he wanted helplessness to sink in until it birthed terror. To the mercenaries kneeling on the field, every moment would stretch into eternity. They were panicking now.  He saw it in their glassy eyes.

“One hour,” Hugh ordered. “Get your shit and be gone.”

The magic ran its course. The spell collapsed and the entire camp fell to the ground.

Bale hefted the mace onto his shoulder. “Silas, we looked for you everywhere. Look at you! You got married and none of us were invited. Introduce me to your wife, you bloody ass. I can’t wait to meet her.”

Silas turned to Hugh, his eyes still haunted and desperate.

“Preceptor, there is something wrong with my wife.”

Of course, it couldn’t be that easy. Hugh swung out of the saddle. “Lead the way.”

Elara’s Chicken en Cocotte with Roasted Young Potatoes

Modified from Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street recipe. The original is behind a paywall, but I highly recommend the subscription.

Chicken

• 1 3-4 pounds whole chicken
• 10-12 garlic cloves
• 3-4 parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 lb brown mushrooms, sliced into large chunks or whole if they are small
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 1 sprig sage
• 1 cup white wine (I used 2021 High Planes Rose from Lewis Wines)
• 1 small bunch of parsley
• butter, salt, pepper and smoked paprika

Roasted potatoes

• 1 5lb bag of young gold potatoes
• 1/4 cup of animal lard (if you are not BFFs with Grace Draven who sent me Wagyu beef lard, any lard will do. Duck fat would be great. You can do butter. You can also go with the olive oil for a healthier spin. But Wagyu lard was to die for.)
• A dash of Italian seasoning
• salt, pepper

You need a large Dutch over for this.

1. Heat the over to 350 degrees with the rack in the center. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
2. Throw mushrooms and parsnips into the Dutch oven, arranging them in a single layer if possible. Scatter whole garlic cloves and sprigs of herbs on top of the vegetables.
3. Pour 1 cup wine and 1 cup water over the vegetables. Place the chicken on top of the vegetable layer and put the lid on. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.
4. Remove the pot from the oven. Melt some butter and brush it over the chicken. I ended up using around 1/4 cup of so. Return the chicken, uncovered, to the oven and turn it up to 450. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the temperature of the thighs or breast reaches 175. The chicken will brown and develop a nice crust.
5. Remove the pot from the oven. Using tongs, place the chicken into a deep platter or baking dish, tent with foil. (The original recipe used leeks and returned the Dutch oven to the over for another 10 minutes. I hate leeks, so my vegetables were perfectly cooked.) Discard herbs and half of the garlic. Remove vegetables to a serving platter. Mash the remaining garlic into paste in the Dutch oven.
6. Turn off the oven – super important step I sometimes forget.
7. After the chicken rested for about 10 minutes or so, remove it onto the cutting board. Pour the drippings from the platter into the Dutch oven. Set the Dutch oven on the stove and bring to boil, whisking the sauce. (Because I am a savage and I know my family’s tastes, I whisked about 1/3 packet of powdered turkey gravy into the sauce, but you can skip this step.) Cook until thickened. Mix in finely chopped parsley.
8. Carve the chicken to your preference and arrange it on the platter on top of potatoes and vegetables. Or serve everything separately. (I served separately.) Pour the sauce over the chicken – it will be divine – and definitely serve it at the table.

Potatoes

1. While the chicken is baking for that initial 50 minutes, wash the potatoes and slice them in half. Place the potatoes into a bowl, season with salt, pepper, and a dash of Italian seasoning, mix well, add you choice of melted fat or olive oil, mix again. dump the potatoes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for the ease of cleaning. Arrange them cut side down. You wouldn’t think they would brown with paper, but they do.
2. When you remove the chicken from the oven for the first time and turn the heat up to 450, pop the potatoes on the bottom rack. They will need roughly 40 minutes to bake, but you might want to check them at 30, depending on how small your potatoes are. The cut side should be crispy and the top side should be soft.

Grace Draven made her chicken with leeks, so if you want to ask her about it, here is her website and Facebook.

The post Oh no, not the Hughday? first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

House Andrews are deep in the editing cave for Maggie. How deep? They shared an update yesterday on Facebook:

A lot of work, but of course what we take from it is a very chalant OMG OMG OVER EIGHT HUNDRED PAGEEEEES! WE SHALL DEVOUR!

No? Just me? Hehe.

But that takes a lot of effort. I am their herald today, conveying their apologies that they will not have time for a Wednesday post.

Instead, I’d like to ask you something I’ve been curious about: what do you do in your every day life to add a bit of whimsy to it?

This was a post a while ago on TikTok and I’ve had the most lighthearted few moments reading the comments. For example, someone shared that they meow songs to their cats “so they can hear the lyrics in their own language“. Others that they “put on pyjama sets the night of fresh sheets, so they can have ‘fancy sleep’” or “when it’s time to wash the dishes, I tell them it’s bath time“.

I realised I’ve been doing this since I was a child: whenever there’s a storm out, I fling out my hands (dramatically, of course) and call out “WINDS!” and when the wind intensifies, I feel like a powerful witch. Nowadays, I also look expectantly at Mr Mod R until he acts impressed with my magical powers.

So, what are the small things you do that are perhaps silly, but bring you a bit of joy in a world where it’s increasingly hard to find some?

The post Busy, busy first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

It’s Reader Question Monday. We might have to do a Reader Question Wednesday as well, as we received many questions about Amazon and digital ownership.

You mentioned in the introduction that you usually publish a scene but this time would publish a full chapter. It made me wonder if, when planning a book, you explicitly plan for two scenes to a chapter, which seems to be your usual (though not always). Is it a thought out plan or just your natural writing rhythm?

We don’t plan a book in chapters, not do we stick to any rules regarding how long the chapters are or how many scenes they have. Chapters happen because it feels right to have a natural break in the narrative. We have a rough road map of where we are going, but when it comes to actual writing, we plot in chunks.

For example, the current Hugh chunk is

Aberdine sends people -> Hugh goes to Aberdine – > confrontation with the mercenaries.

Originally, we planned on summarizing the Aberdine delegation arrival and kind of stuffing it as a mini-flashback into the scene that opened with Hugh riding toward Aberdine. There didn’t seem like there would be enough happening during that initial meeting to warrant its own scene.

However, as we started writing it and unpacking all of the emotional undercurrents, it grew into its own chapter. This is the joy of writing: the unexpected discoveries.

Why don’t you let people point out the typos?

Because the comment section degenerates into a nitpicking session and then different writing experts start fighting with each other. This is the first draft; it is fragile and unpolished, and too much criticism will kill it. You are seeing it as it is, with all of its flaws. If you want the cleaned up version, you will have to wait until release. Muhahahaha!

So Hugh 2 is being rewritten? In 2020 it was announced that the release was on hold because it was a dark story and the world was in a dark place. I thought that meant it was done. It’s been five years, so when I look around to see if I missed anything it sounds like it may be in progress?

No. Hugh was never written, but we knew what we needed to write and at that particular time, we didn’t have emotional fortitude to do it. Writing books requires a huge emotional investment, because we, as writers, live through he character emotions so we can accurately portray them on the page.

Life interferes as well. Sometimes stuff happens to knock you off your writing rails. Yesterday we didn’t get any writing done because we email the comments from the site to ourselves and Mod R for moderation, and we have to use SMTP for that, because WordPress just kind of quit sending comments to us. For no apparent reason the SMTP callback is failing.

Despite 5 hours with host support chat, it is not fixed. They tossed me back to the SMTP plugin support, which has yet to respond. I wasn’t in the mood to write witty banter after that. I was just tired and needed some tea.

Why don’t you and Gordon make more videos where you talk about writing?

This is one is a little out of the left field. I’m guessing this must’ve come about because of the keyboard typing video. Being a writer and being an influencer are two different things. Writers primarily market their books by doing yet more writing, and influencers primarily provide entertainment while also marketing a product either directly or through ads. Some people admirably combine both.

We are not that great on camera, and we are not very entertaining. We would make terrible influencers. Neither of us has those particular skills and talents. Thankfully, we are not celebrities by any measure, so that is not required of us.

Our posts are mostly about what we do: things we write, things we cook, build, crochet, and so on. It’s less about being a writer and more about the work itself or the process. We try to maintain that boundary between product and person.

Basically, you get enough of me carrying on on the blog. You don’t need us on your YouTube.

See you on Wednesday!

The post Hugh and the Distressing Lack of Videos first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.