Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from all us characters to you and your family!

This is Ran, Sarn’s son from the Curse Breaker series, and this is our annual Thanksgiving newsletter!

However you spend the day, we hope you enjoy it! As for us, we’re piling into Melinda’s car and heading to her mom’s house for food and fun!

Just a few quick reminders before we get to the holiday stuff.

Chasing Dragons, the 11th book in the Curse Breaker series is coming out on Jan. 6, 2025 in honor of my scribe’s father since that day would have been his 77th birthday. Tell everyone you know so we can make this book launch extra special.

Last night, Melinda dreamed her deceased father called her and told her to take care of her mom. He didn’t comment on the book or its release date but he must be happy it releases on his birthday. He must have forgot to mention that.

Don’t worry, Dad. We forgive you. We know you had a lot on your mind.

But you don’t need to wait until January 6, you can grab a copy from our store and Bookfunnel will magically deliver it to you! (We set up a spell to handle book delivery.)

If you’re looking for a cozy holiday adventure, starring yours truly, then grab Stars & Angels Sing. We celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas in it!

And now, for your entertainment, we’ll go chase a scribe and make her ours!

Yes, we’re heading back to our preview of the completely nonfictional autobiographical story of how we met our scribe and got our stories into your hands. This all really happened just as it’s written.

Catch the Scribe

by Melinda Kucsera

Chapter 3: The Woman in the Leaf, Part 3

Ran twisted around and frowned at the magical fence Papa had generated in his sleep. “Are you having a bad dream, Papa? Is that why you caged me?”

Ran couldn’t see a reason for the shield other than the leaf in his hand unless he was right about those shadows. Ran looked at them again. We're the shadows looking back at him? If they were spawning monsters, Ran couldn’t tell. Would the shadows look different if I had magic?

Ran didn’t know so he looked at the leaf. But the image forming on it was still blurry. The leaf was the only thing out of place, but why would a leaf from the Queen Tree set off Papa’s magic? Maybe the blurry woman on the leaf was in trouble. That would do it.

Ran studied her, but she was just a hazy outline against the soft glow of the silver-veined leaf. How can I make her image clearer, so I can see what was wrong? Ran probed the leaf with gentle fingers. It was heart-shaped, and it overflowed his hand. He held the leaf up to Papa’s hand for comparison, and his hand was a lot larger. That was strangely comforting.

“Who are you? Are you a nice lady? Do you need our help?” Ran asked the lady in the leaf.

She didn’t answer, but Ran didn’t expect her to. Glowing objects didn't talk to him, but sometimes they spoke to Papa through his magic. Ran turned the leaf over, but the woman wasn't on the back. There were just a bunch of pretty loops and swirls. As his eager fingers traced them, they reminded him of the Queen Tree’s bark, which made sense since this leaf used to be part of her. But how did the lady get inside the leaf? Was that lady the Queen Tree?

Was the Queen Tree in trouble? Ran turned the leaf over and over, searching for clues. As he reviewed the little Papa had learned about the Queen Tree, everything started to get a little fuzzy around the edges, and the walls got all bendy. Uh-oh. The leaf must be magical, and it might be trying to take him somewhere. Do I want to go where it’s trying to send me?

The answer depended on whether this leaf really had come from the Queen Tree. Since Ran didn’t know for certain if it had, he leaned into the reassuringly solid and warm wall of muscles of Papa’s stomach. But his fingers tingled, and that tingly feeling crept up his arm. It wasn’t a nice feeling when his fingers started to fade away. Uh-oh. That was bad. “Papa, wake up and help me. Papa!”

***

Next week, we’ll continue with the next chapter. But you can read ahead on patreon right now. Have a great week!

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