First chapter of the next Myrtlewood Crones book!

Hello my lovelives,

I hope you had a restorative festive season and an easeful start into 2025. Some of you might be waiting for the next book in the Myrtlewood Crones series, The Crone of Arcane Cinders, which comes out at the end of January.

I have only just published the blurb, so I thought it would be nice to share it here too -- along with the first chapter. I would love to hear what you think!

Here's the blurb:

Delia Spark has faced her fair share of drama both on and off the stage. But just as she's getting used to being a powerful fire crone, life throws her a twist that would challenge any mother's heart. Contending with revelations about her family's magical legacy, and her impending divorce from her cult-leader ex, Delia must navigate treacherous magical politics, confront long-buried secrets, and race to find the fire dragon before its ancient power falls into the wrong hands. Accompanied by her brooding immortal warrior, the playful banter of her fellow Crones, and one particularly sarcastic demon cat, Delia discovers that magic lies not just in power, but in embracing the messy, complicated, and sometimes absurd beauty of life. The fifth installment of The Crones of Myrtlewood series weaves together theatrical flair, warm humor, and deep emotion as Delia faces her most personal - and dangerous - adventure yet.

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Chapter One

Delia shuddered as she held the phone. "What is it, Gilly? Whatever it is, you can tell me." 

She'd been waiting for her daughter to reveal the big secret. It had been months of strange behaviour at this point. She didn't want to push it.

But she really did want to know what, in the name of all the Goddesses, was going on. 

“Perhaps you could come outside," said Gillian. "I'm here with the kids."

"You're out front?" said Delia, rushing out without putting her coat on, into the cold night air.

"Nanna!" Two adorable grandchildren burst upon her the moment she was out the door.

"Where's your mum, my loves?"

"In the car," said Merryn.

"Right, you two, run inside and tell Auntie Kitty to get you something delicious."

"Yay!" said Keyne."I want something delicious!" 

"And even more delicious!" said Merryn. "All the delicious things! I want all of them!"

"Very well then," said Delia, hugging the children and relinquishing them to the warmth of the house. She stepped out with some trepidation towards Gilly's car parked on the street outside her cottage, having the sense that whatever this conversation was going to be, it wasn't for the ears of all those inside the house. She could see Gillian's face illuminated by the soft street lights. She looked pensive.

Delia opened the passenger side door and got in, closing it gently behind her. She turned towards her daughter.

Gillian’s lip trembled. "I saw that there were people in your house. I was hoping to catch you alone."

"We're alone now,” said Delia. “To what do I owe the honour of this surprise visit?"

"I'm so sorry, Mum."

"Nonsense," said Delia. "You never have to apologise for visiting your own mother."

"It's not just that... it’s everything..." 

Delia put her hand on Gillian's shoulder. "You can tell me anything, you know that."

"I suppose I do know that. Especially after..." Gillian's voice trailed off.

"After finding out that I'm a witch?" said Delia with a slight cackle. Gillian's face remained tense.

"I suppose it's not funny right now," Delia offered. "Are you having problems with the paranormal?"

"You might say that," said Gillian, her voice heavy.

"Are you setting things on fire?" Delia asked.

Gillian gave her a mortified look. "That’s more your speed, I imagine, what with that theatre incident.”

“You know, they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree,” said Delia. “No, I'm going to stop guessing now. Just going to be quiet till you tell me."

Gillian took a deep breath. "Well, everything was normal up until a few months ago, and then everything changed."

Delia nodded slowly.

Gillian took a shuddering breath. "I woke up one day and I was different."

Gilly’s tone was cold. 

Delia simply waited, having committed to her own silence, but she wanted to ask a million questions. 

Different how? What was it? What happened? Something hurt my child, and if so, how can I get revenge? How can I get justice? How can I protect this person who I love so very much?

"I might as well just tell you, Mum," said Gillian finally. She rested her head on the steering wheel, let out a moan, some words that sounded strangely like "umpire."

Delia's brow furrowed. Was Gillian having an affair with an umpire? Was she trying to become one? This didn't sound particularly paranormal until the dread realisation sank into her belly.

"Vampire," the word formed in her mouth and she spoke it aloud.

Gillian trembled, sat back, tears streaming down her face, they were blood red. 

"Vampire," Delia said slowly, again.

Gillian took a deep shuddering breath. 

Delia shook herself. "How could this have happened?"

Gillian shook her head. "I really don't know exactly what happened. Nobody knows who made me and nobody knows why."

"Why didn't you come to me?" Delia asked. "I've got connections in the magical world. I could have protected you from the vampires."

Gillian shook her head. "No, Mum, no, you couldn't have. Besides, you didn't even know you were a witch back then, and the vampires are looking after me."

"Don't tell me you've joined some kind of blood cult," said Delia. It was a half-joke, but the other half was deathly serious, so to speak. 

"I... I don't know anything much about them, but—" said Delia. “Aren’t vampires are some kind of magical monsters…”

Gillian recoiled.

Delia reached out again. "I don't think that you're a monster, love. You couldn't be. But have you tried maybe reversing it?"

Gillian looked her dead in the eye. "You mean, have I tried simply not being a vampire?" Fangs protruded from her mouth.

Delia pulled back. 

"I’m not going to eat you, Mum,” said Gilly, somewhat crossly. “But this is a strange situation for me, and I'd appreciate you not giving me advice on something you know nothing about. I can't not be a vampire. I just am. It's eternal…It's eternal life, which is a lot to get your head around." 

Delia shook her head. "It’s starting to make some sense now," she said as a wave of grief washed over her. 

What had Gillian lost? The ability to walk in sunlight? The ability to eat Italian food with all that garlic? Perhaps the ability to eat at all? It was a lot to get her head around when she knew so little about it all. She couldn't tell what was real compared to what was just in the books and films. But her daughter had been acting so strangely—she hadn't seen her in the daylight for quite some time. Gilly had eaten food, but it was her own special food that she brought to Christmas, and not the beautifully prepared meal that Delia and Kitty had slaved over for hours.

Delia had believed the story that it was some kind of health problem plaguing her daughter…and perhaps it was just in a more magical way than she'd anticipated.

Delia sighed. "And here I was thinking it was a miracle that you took that witch stuff so lightly."

"Oh, Mum,” said Gillian. “I really need you to be here for me."

"And I will be," said Delia. "I will be. I'm always here for you, and even if this is hard for me and I have to go through my own process about it, I'm going to make sure I hold that back from you."

Gillian squinted at her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to make any emotional reaction to your problem. It's a really weird situation, though."

"Tell me about it," said Gillian.

Delia reached over, pulling her daughter into an awkward hug as close as she possibly could get in between the car seats. 

Gillian sighed and sobbed a little, and Delia regretted wearing her favourite cream silk shirt, but only for a moment, because some things were more important than blood stains… like supporting your crying vampire daughter.

"I didn't know how to tell you," Gillian said between sobs, "because I didn't know how to process it all myself."

"Does this mean you drink blood now?" Delia asked, feeling that her daughter's fangs were uncomfortably close to her clavicle at this particular moment.

"That's partly why I've stayed away," said Gillian. "I didn't want to put you or anyone else at risk. The blood cravings are very strong at first."

"The children are safe?" Delia asked. "I mean, you haven't tried to—"

"Of course not! Actually... I mean, at first they were—oh, I hate to even admit this—things were not so in control when it all happened, but very quickly this wonderful vampire family swooped in and looked after us. They do this for new vampires sometimes. They protected the children and enchanted them so that their blood would not appeal to me at all, so that we could stay connected, even if I can't spend much time with them outside."

"This was the move to Burkenswood," said Delia, as the pieces began to fall into place in her mind.

Delia nodded. "And the new job. That was a lie?"

"No," said Gillian. "I needed something to be getting on with. Fortunately, some of these vampires are lawyers, and they set me up.”

Delia smiled. “You and I are so similar in that way—we need our work to be getting on with to feel grounded. Even joining this local theatre troupe has given me such a feeling of satisfaction. I didn't anticipate it could come from community theatre, and yet somehow I feel more satisfied than I have in years."

"I'm so happy for you," said Gillian. "I... I wish I could say the same, but I feel like so many things are still unresolved for me."

"It's a mystery, isn't it?" said Delia. "I need to know more about vampires so that I don't keep putting my foot in my mouth. What dangerous things do I need to avoid?"

Gillian shook her head. "I'll see if I can get you an information pack."

Delia sighed. "Thank you." She paused a minute. "Wait a minute," she said, squinting at her daughter. "Your new vampire lawyer friends..."

Gillian's shoulders sagged a little. "Yes, I must come clean about that. Your lawyer, Perseus Burk, is an ancient vampire."

Delia shook her head, a wave of confusion wafting through her mind as she pictured the ornate office of her lawyer and his reserved but witty manner. "He does a good job of hiding it, I suppose, and he looks so young."

"Well, there's got to be some perks with being undead," said Gillian with a shrug.

"Undead? Undead? What does that mean?" said Delia. 

"I suppose I'm going to find out,” said Gillian.

“Do you...” Delia started. “I mean, this is probably an insensitive question, but do you...”

“Do I... eat people?" Gillian offered.

Delia’s gut clenched in discomfort. "Ah, yeah, do you? Is it rude to ask that?"

Gillian shook her head. "I don't eat people, Mum. There's blood-enchanted food, and I… at first, I required some human blood from a blood bank…just to help me adapt. Animal blood can be fine too, and in the long term, I won't need any human blood at all."

Delia nodded. That part sounded almost reasonable. She shook herself for thinking so. "Isn't it kind of gross?" she asked. "Is that insensitive too?"

"No, it's not insensitive," Gillian said with a laugh. "It tastes amazing. It tastes like blissful ambrosia." She sighed.

"Well, perhaps I'll keep my clavicle away from you after all," said Delia in a theatrical tone.

Gillian roared with laughter. There was a warmth in the air that hadn't been present before, and perhaps hadn't been felt between them for a long time.

Gillian smiled at her mother. "It's so good to tell you this. And your clavicle's safe with me."

Delia grinned. "It's going to take me some adjusting, but you know that I love you so unconditionally, my darling. You're my only child, and you are everything to me. Whatever transition you're going through, I'm here for you, and I wish you could have told me before."

"I know," said Gillian. "I know."

"Perhaps you weren't ready, and I can respect that," Delia added.

"And you have respected that," said Gillian. "You haven't probed too much. You've given me space, and that was exactly what I needed. It's been a very strange time in my life, and you've looked after the kids—"

"Of course I've had the kids," said Delia. "Anytime. You know I love you, know I love them so much."

"I know, and they love you too, and that's been helpful, because the change has been tricky on them. They don't quite understand what's going on."

Delia nodded. "And you don't want them to either, do you? After all, this stuff is the stuff of nightmares.”

Gillian frowned. "Of course I don't want them to be scared of their own mother.”

“And is it a nightmare?” Delia asked. “Are you scared?”

“I’m terrified,” Gillian admitted. “But it’s not totally a nightmare. It’s also been thrilling and amazing and powerful, and I'd love to tell you all about it, but not right now.”

Delia nodded. “Not right now." 

"I was wondering..." said Gillian, "if the kids could stay with you just for a night or two? I packed their things. They're really excited. It was a bit of a rushed decision, and I didn't know if you'd be busy, so I thought I'd just—"

"Just show up?" said Delia with a smile. "You are welcome to show up on my doorstep anytime, you know that. And of course they can stay as long as they like. Kitty and I will take very good care of them."

"It's not too dangerous with all your magical stuff?" said Gillian.

Delia shook her head. "No. I gather we’re in a calm patch, for now. Where will you be?"

"I've got some work to do," Gillian said effusively.

"Maybe you'll be able to tell me about it someday," said Delia.

"Maybe I will, especially since you've been such a good sport about all of this. I kind of knew you would be—that's why I felt safe in not telling you as long as I did, because I knew that when I was ready it would be okay, you wouldn’t hold it against me that it took me so long. I was still scared to say anything, of course, because this whole situation is outrageous, but I do trust you, Mum, and I love you so much."

"Isn't it funny?" said Delia. "Isn't it funny that we both stumbled into this magical world at the same time?"

"They say there are no coincidences, just different levels of synchronicity," said Gillian. "But I must admit, it is rather odd."

Delia sighed. "And now I've got a bone to pick with my lawyer about not revealing his identity to me."

"Would it have made it any better if he had?" Gillian asked.

Delia chuckled. "I suppose it would have made things an awful lot stranger."

***

Here's the link to preorder:

 https://mybook.to/ArcaneCinders