I've been absurdly busy lately. Doing what, you might ask? Well, let's see: I completed a six year long project (Slavic Tarot deck; more on that later), created about a dozen new banners and logos and revamped literally every website I run (Facebook, Instagram, Etsy, Redbubble, Pinterest, and of course, this site), added a metric ton of new inventory to my Etsy store (art, jewelry, and those tarot decks I mentioned), submitted an official copyright request for my Tarot art, and last but not least, began working in earnest on the next novel in the Circle series: Hidden. While I have not devoted as much time as I'd wanted to writing over the past two years due to various life circumstances that consumed all of my available time and then some, I am finally able to get back in the swing of things and crack out the remaining chapters. Now that I've started making real progress, I can also establish a realistic publication timeline. Barring any more unforeseen circumstances, I should have Hidden published by the end of 2020! I hope you're as excited as I am!
As for the Slavic Tarot project, I spent the past six years researching and most of the past year drawing the art for a customized tarot deck, which is now available for purchase on my Etsy store (www.etsy.com/shop/acjade). Please ignore the ridiculous shop name for that one...it was created when I was much younger and thought "A.C. Jade" would be a cool pseudonym to use for my books and art. As you can see, I've long since abandoned it; however, I'd have to completely dismantle my old Etsy site (which is finally getting some traffic thanks to the new inventory) to change the shop name....thus, AC Jade lives to create another day.
Without further ado, here's a little excerpt from Hidden. I'll post more as I feel like it, and I promise I'll be better about actually updating this darn blog with my writing progress. In the meantime, enjoy the sneak peak!
The Fifth Spinner paced back and forth in the weaving room. In the corner the Loom stood, waiting, threads tangled on the wooden frame. The setting sun cast an amber haze through the window, illuminating the unfinished fabric. “Something’s wrong,” Laria muttered to herself as she picked up a book from the desk next to the Loom. She flipped it open and squinted at the tiny script, scrawled there by one of her predecessors in an ancient language she’d only just begun learning to decipher. Many of the words were still a mystery to her, but she could recognize enough now, at least, to know that the pages contained no mention of the topic she sought.
An equine snort at the window interrupted her silent studies. Laria abruptly closed the text and looked up to see Micaleth pressing his long, white snout through the open shutters. His horn glittered in the fading sunlight as he rested his chin on the window sill. “Guardian Hal has the rest of the books you requested,” he announced.
“Thanks, Mickey,” Laria replied, forcing a smile.
Micaleth snorted again, shaking his mane. “I still do not understand that name, but since you are the Spinner, you may call me what you wish.”
Laria smiled, genuinely this time. “I’ll look at the books this evening,” she said, turning toward the waiting Loom. She braced a hand on either side of the wooden frame, concentrating on the colored threads, and a soft spark of magic began to course through them. The threads untangled, weaving back together into a neat pattern. Slowly the pattern evolved into a picture, and a distant city spread across the fabric, red and green lights blinking in the twilight as buildings stretched into a mundane sky. “It works fine if I look anywhere else,” she mumbled.
“What was that?” Micaleth asked.
“I’m not sure,” Laria replied, frowning. The urban scene still danced out of the woven threads; Laria almost thought she could hear the horns of the cars singing in the streets. She waved a hand in front of the Loom, and the scene faded. The threads tangled once more.