After months of editing, my cozy fantasy with educated (but moody!) orcs is on pre-order across platforms! So excited to finally have it finished! You can register to receive an extra perk for pre-ordering, as well!

Larch Bloodmoon and Greylocke Krolkag are just a couple of orc-kin Finders, digging through mouldy basements and dusty attics to unearth artifacts for SCAT, the Society for the Contemplation of Arcane Tangibles. It’s a living, and not a very exciting one. Artifacts holding the vestiges of arcane power are mere historical oddities, and the ancient Source of magical power is a long-dead mystery. When magic Withered a century ago, folks adapted, and nobody other than Scholars like their boss really thinks much about magic any more.

Or do they?

When a new elf-kin Finder joins their team, Larch and Greylocke’s routine is overturned as they’re drawn into keeping her secrets. And with the discovery of an inexplicable artifact and rumours of a shadowy cabal bent on resurrecting magic, a dangerous new path beckons … one the Finders can’t ignore.

Get free early access to a Moody Orcs short story with your pre-order!

All you have to do is email proof of your pre-order* (a screenshot works great!) from any retailer to sherrydramsey @ gmail.com (spaces removed) to receive the new short story free! (expected delivery date late April – early May 2026)

*Note: pre-orders cancelled before release will not qualify to receive the short story. Story will be emailed to the address provided.

Here’s last month’s reading wrap-up–it was a great reading month again! You can check out all the titles by finding me on The Storygraph here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/sdramsey. Let’s be reading friends!

This weekend I got to type my two favourite words: “The End.”

Some writers don’t bother typing this when they finish a story or novel, but for me, it’s a rite of passage. Sure, it’s only a draft; a messy, sparse, sometimes incoherent draft that will need a lot more work. But that draft is done, and I’m going to put the stamp on the end of that stage of the writing.

It feels great.

And I just started the sequel.

Now, audiobooks seem to be the clear winner here, but I should say I’m also reading a couple of ebooks. They just take me longer because I tend to read on my e-reader at bedtime, and lately, there are often only a couple of paragraphs in between turning it on and dropping it because I’m falling asleep. I’ll try to do better, I promise! And to all the print books languishing in my TBR pile…I’ll get to you, too, I promise. Just as soon as I’m not trying to do a zillion other things every day.

I have to say I’m having fun with all the different ways to see your stats on StoryGraph. I’m very glad I made the switch! Now I just need a few more friends there…(hint, hint).

I don’t tend to write many reviews any more, but I do always give star ratings. This month I had three 5-stars, three 4.5-stars, and only one 3-star, so it was a good reading month! (Oh, you want to know which books got which rating? I guess you’ll have to click over to my profile and see!)

At My Desk – Jan 18, 2025
The new term has started and we have some snow on the ground (although not much!), and the weather is chilly (but not too bad). So although I’m not a winter gal at all, I don’t have too much to complain about in that department.

Yes, I’m sure it will get worse. But I’m trying not to think about it.

Progress is slow but steady on my cozy fantasy, which is unfortunately NOT titled “I Never Met an Orc Who Chewed Bubble Gum,” as newsletter subscriber Michael suggested. :) However, I’ve tucked it away for future consideration…

The slow but steady progress is due in large part to the 100 Days Writing Challenge, which I’m happy to say is keeping my fingers on the keyboard at least a little bit each day. This is good for me at a time of year when motivation tends to sag with the arrival of long grey days and a serving of seasonal affective disorder. If I had my choice, I’d probably curl up most nights with a mug of tea and Animal Crossing on my Switch, but that wouldn’t be good for me in the long run! Most days I’ve managed to write a good deal more than the minimum goal, which is making me happy.

Have you set any reading goals for 2025? For now I’m mostly tracking mine in StoryGraph, so if you use it, too, let’s be friends!

Several years ago, I released an RPG gaming supplement called Hooks & Histories, offering backstory starters for player characters, NPCs, or even fictional characters. Along with a customizable backstory, each character type comes with a “Qualities & Quirks” section that can add another layer to the character and may be incorporated into gameplay if the player and GM wish. It’s been fairly popular, so I’m pleased to announce that I’ve re-released it with new cover art, and also released a Volume 2 with even more backstories to choose from.

The new cover art is by my talented daughter Emily, whom you can follow on Instagram @may.bringer, or visit her Etsy shop here for original and fan art, stickers, charms and more.

If you’re a gamer, writer, or know someone who is, you can find the system-agnostic game supplements at DriveThruRPG (along with a fun one-shot adventure module I wrote a few years back as well). They’re all at this link.

The gardens have been taking up a lot of my attention…to the point where I think I re-activated an old carpal tunnel issue. So it’s back to wrist braces and trying not to overdo it for a couple of weeks. However, the results are worth it, as you can see if you follow me on Instagram! (where I post a lot of garden pics!)

I caught a cool video of a great blue heron fishing the other day, which you can see over on my Facebook page. He’s very patient and persistent, just like writers have to be. ;)

And The Fifth Force is out in the wild in both ebook and print formats. If you love any of the things mentioned below, you should check it out!

And of course, just today I thought of a fun pre-order bonus idea, which I’m about to try to put together if life and my brain cooperate. Stay tuned!

When a legally blind woman asks Olympia Investigations to investigate the murder of an apparent shapeshifter, Acacia pays attention, even if the local police won’t. Following the scent of the murderer, Acacia becomes deeply involved with the shifter community of Turnabout Landing–which is nothing like what she expects. The trail of accusations and networks leads to vampires, a missing lighthouse keeper, a deadly shifter virus, and the echoes of a past case.

With her assistant Oliver keeping secrets, her relationship with Detective Ellis Ames turning rocky, and Acacia finding herself a target of an unknown foe, she’s barely keeping ahead of a pack of troubles in The Shifter Plague, the first full-length novel in the Olympia Investigations series.

This novel actually started life as a novella, but the more I wrote, the longer it got. ;) Funny how that happens sometimes, isn’t it?

Anyway, The Shifter Plague is on sale right now until March 16th across platforms, for just $2.99. And the Olympia Investigations novella, Toil and Trouble, is just 1.99 during the same period. It’s a great time to get to know Acacia and Oliver!