Hello, friends,
September always feels a little like a threshold month to me. Summer has not quite loosened its grip, but there is already a sense that something is shifting. The light changes. The air starts to feel different. And suddenly all the things that have been quietly taking shape behind the scenes begin moving toward the next season.
That is very much where I am right now.
There is a lot happening with the Rising Tides books, a new release just around the corner, and, unexpectedly, an older story that has decided it is finally ready to come out into the world.
So pour yourself something good, settle in, and let me catch you up.
What’s Coming Next
There is a lot happening behind the scenes right now, and I finally have a moment to tell you where everything stands.
Book 2 of the Rising Tides Mysteries, The Lost Light, releases September 22. The final manuscript is finished, and the ebook and paperback editions are now with Amazon. The audiobook is complete too, and it will release the same day on Spotify and Barnes & Noble, with more retailers to follow, including Audible.
Meanwhile, Book 3, The Siren’s Kiss, is officially through its first draft. It will be released January 19, 2027, and the cover designers are already at work. For now, the manuscript is doing one of the hardest things I ever ask a book to do: sitting quietly while I leave it alone long enough to see it clearly again before the first developmental edit.
And then there is Book 4, Faire Winds, Foul Play, scheduled for April 13, 2027. The outline is in very good shape, the major pieces are in place, and the next step is the fun and slightly terrifying part: beginning the first draft.
And Then I Opened an Old Door…
All of that means I have a small window right now to work on something completely different.
Last week, I pulled an old manuscript out of storage, blew off the metaphorical dust, and took a long look at it.
And I realized something. It is about 95% finished.
So, barring any last-minute literary catastrophes, you can expect Embers of Skye in mid-November.
This is a book I first started writing six years ago, during the COVID quarantine. Since then, I have returned to it again and again, rewriting scenes, changing characters, adding layers, cutting what no longer belonged, and slowly turning it into the book I always wanted it to be.
At this point, it doesn’t need rebuilding. It just needs its final polish. And I am very excited to finally bring it out of the drawer and into the world.
Embers of Skye is a contemporary urban fantasy that begins in modern-day London and travels through the Black Forest, a hidden compound in the Swiss Alps, and eventually to the Isle of Skye.
And if you have read Saltwater Secrets, there is a theme here that may feel a little familiar. Just as Sophie discovers that the strange things she has experienced all her life have an explanation she never imagined, Terra has spent years believing that her childhood “imaginary friend” and the voice she still hears in the back of her mind are simply part of her own subconscious.
They are not.
The voice belongs to a trapped goddess, and she has been trying to reach Terra for a very long time.
The Haunted Bookshelf
This month’s Haunted Bookshelf pick is Pastries and Potions by Tessa Silver.
If magical bookshops, enchanted baked goods, small-town secrets, and cats with entirely too much personality are your kind of thing, this one may need to go on your list.
The story follows Annie Hart, who runs Spellbound Stories Bookshop in the magical town of Quillhaven and mentors young witches along the way. When one of her students suddenly disappears, Annie finds herself pulled into a mystery that threatens far more than one missing witch.
Enter Caleb Rivers, a former celebrity chef whose pastries come with a little magic of their own. Together, they begin digging into what is happening beneath Quillhaven’s charming surface, while darker forces start stirring around them.
It sounds like a lovely mix of cozy mystery, witchy magic, enchanted food, and just enough danger to keep things interesting.
And really, enchanted muffins and smart-mouthed Siamese cats? I am already halfway convinced.
Pastries and Potions, by Tessa Silver
Annie Hart has her hands full running Spellbound Stories Bookshop and mentoring young witches in the magical town of Quillhaven. As a descendant of the legendary Elara Blackwood, she’s got a knack for brewing subtle potions and chatting with animals—especially her two mischievous, ageless Siamese cats, Leo and Luna.
When her most promising young witch-in-training mysteriously vanishes into thin air, peace in Quillhaven takes a tumble.
Meanwhile, Caleb Rivers—an ex-celebrity chef with a surprising gift for infusing magic into his pastries—has arrived, stirring up curiosity at his new café, Mystic Mornings. As tensions rise and whispers of dark magic spread through the town, Annie and Caleb must join forces before Quillhaven’s magic spirals out of control and destroys them all.
The deeper they dig, the more they realize this isn’t just about a missing young witch—Quillhaven’s entire magical foundation, and their lives, are at risk.
If they can’t decipher the truth in time, the town’s magic will be damaged forever.
A whimsical, magical cozy mystery filled with shimmering potions, enchanted muffins, smart and sassy cats, and small-town charm!
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That is all from me for now, but September feels like it is carrying a little extra energy this year.
The Lost Light will be out before I write to you again, The Siren’s Kiss is waiting patiently for me to come back with an editor’s eye, and Embers of Skye has finally stepped out of the shadows after six years and decided it is ready to be seen.
Thank you, as always, for reading, for following these strange little worlds with me, and for making room for a little mystery, a little magic, and whatever comes next.
Until next time,
Tegan
