Hello friends and readers! Thanks so much for checking out my author updates!
I thought it might be fun to post every month or so to let you know what I’m working on. I can also answer any questions you have about my process or inspiration! Just send me a note or email!
You can always stay up-to-date as a member of the Circle of Story as well! The updates on this page will be a bit more focused on what I’m working on at the moment while the newsletter updates tend to be a bit more varying and include cover reveals, short story releases, novel previews, preorder announcements, and more.
February 2022
A pattern emerges! *presses forehead to palm*
Apologies for the long delay between updates once again! But I am writing this update with so much good news!
Feather & Flame!
Phoenix Rising has just passed the halfway point, and I have an edit scheduled with my editor in April, so things are moving right along! You can read an excerpt of Phoenix Rising here!
I am so in love with this novel, which is not to say that it hasn’t come with its own challenges. If you enjoy the Age of Azuria series then there’s so much here for you to enjoy, but I’m also tackling things in Feather & Flame that I wasn’t ready to tackle when I was writing Buried Heroes, and that feels really cool!
In my last update, I talked about The Tree of Silver, and that is definitely on the horizon, but it’s hit a small snag that I’m working on before it can really get going. There’s a second serial story I’ll be sharing as well, The Heir of Lilith Trilogy starting with Phantom, the first previews of which should appear in the next few weeks!
The Short Stories I Promised
In my last update, I mentioned two short stories, “The Gathering Dark” which is a prequel story for Feather & Flame and “Blood Wolf Moon” which is a prequel for Age of Azuria. They’re both ready now! Yay!
You can get a free copy of both of these stories by joining the Circle of Story, my (renamed) fantasy reading community!
September 2021
Where does the time go?!
I’m writing this update on the Autumn Equinox (or the Vernal Equinox if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere!) which means that we’re moving into my favorite time of the year! Part of why Song of Parting is set in the autumn, outside of the story reasons, is that I desperately wanted some extra fall in my life in 2020!
Also of note today, I just got the cover preview in from my designer for Phoenix Rising, Feather & Flame Book One, and it is gorgeous! I’ll have preview of it posted in the next couple months!
I’ve also been working on a new project, a serialized story called The Tree of Silver which is set in Eldura, the world that came before Azuria. This fun adventure follows a new character, Erela, who is a young saudad. Her tale begins in the settlement of Delmoir which is also where Rowan’s story in Phoenix Rising starts!
Outside of these larger projects, I’ve finished two short stories that will be available soon, “The Gathering Dark,” a prequel story for Feather & Flame and “Blood Wolf Moon,” a prequel story for Briseras and the Age of Azuria series.
I’m so excited about all of these adventures and stories to share!
July 2021
It’s been a busy summer so far! But I have some really fun updates for you!
Amber Queen is almost here!
We are getting so close to the release of Amber Queen on August 31st! You can preorder your copy from me or from your favorite store!
I teared up at several points reading back through the novel because I’m just so proud of the characters and delighted with their growth and adventures. In book three of Age of Azuria, you’ll find some unique and exciting creatures, new and old villains, and so much action and adventure!
If you’d like to read the first four chapters of Amber Queen, click here for your early access preview!
Exclusive Short Story!
Alongside the Amber Queen, release, I’ve written an exclusive short story for members of the Story Enclave, the reading community for Beth Ball Books.
This story recounts the ending of Hadvarian Heist from Quindythias’s perspective. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that this alternative take introduces a few “modest” tweaks that weren’t in the original account! (There’s always more than one version of any story, right?)
Get your copy of “The Shadow’s Embrace” here!
New Series!
The stories roll on! As I hinted in April, I’m working on a new series—Feather and Flame—which delves into the past of Azuria, back when the world was still called Eldura. This series stars Rowan, an elven druid gifted with the magic of the six elements. The series includes the adventures of other familiar (and beloved) characters as well, specifically Marcon, Quindythias, and Yvayne.
Stay tuned for more updates on this series and the release of the first novel, Phoenix Rising!
April 2021
In March, I finished the first draft of book three in Age of Azuria, Amber Queen, and I’ll continue to have updates about that over the next few months! Make sure you’re joined the Story Enclave for the cover reveal and sneak peeks at the novel!
Story Magic & Patreon
I’m also excited to share that I’ve just finished Story Magic, which is available for preorder now before release on June 1st!
However, if you’d like to support me and my fiction on Patreon, you can get your copy of the novella now! That brings me to one of the other new things for this month—patreon sponsorship! I’ve used patreon for my D&D work, but this is the first time I’ve added it for my fiction. Look for the fae and daimon tiers for early access to book releases and a monthly short story!
World of Azuria Podcast
If you’re looking for more immersive storytelling set in Azuria, check out the World of Azuria podcast, narrated by me! New episodes come out every Tuesday. A few weeks ago, we wrapped up Aurora and have just started Buried Heroes!
Writing Updates
Most of this month, I’ll be working on revising Amber Queen, but I have started jotting down some notes, scenes, and ideas for a new secret project! I’ve included a peek of it for you below.
February 2021
I am slightly overdue for my update, which I hope you’ll forgive me for! Those of you who follow me on socials will likely already know, but for those who don’t, my dad got a really serious cancer diagnosis in November and died at the beginning of this year. I took most of December to help my family and January for me.
There were plenty of days where I struggled to write, but on the days where I could, Azuria was a solace for me, and that’s what I’ve been hoping it will be for you as well during this difficult pandemic period.
I’m excited to share that the release for Hadvarian Heist went well, and I’ve just released Song of Parting too! So make sure to head over to the Beth Ball Bookshop if you haven’t preordered them already!
November 2020
As I write this on Tuesday, November 24th, we’re officially two weeks away from the launch of Hadvarian Heist!
And, with one book ready to make its way into the world, I wanted to share the next project with you too—Song of Parting! I’ve just shared the cover with my newsletter subscribers.
This novella tells Iellieth and Teodric’s story from before Buried Heroes—it’s lovely! The novella is up for preorder now before release on February 9th, 2021.
Print Copies!
I have all of my proof copies in now for the novel, and they came out so beautifully!
Introducing the Beth Ball Bookshop!
I’m also excited to share that I’ve officially launched the Beth Ball Bookshop! I was using another platform for digital book sales, but hosting it here makes it easier to navigate and provides the added bonus of opening up the possibilities for types of books I can offer in the future! I really want to be able to offer signed copies of the print books (post-Covid), and selling them through the shop will allow me to do just that!
October 2020
First update! Woohoo!
Earlier this week, (October 16th,) I announced the preorder for Hadvarian Heist, book two in the Age of Azuria high fantasy series! The novel is currently with my proofreader, and I’ll get it back at the end of this month. After that, I’ll do a final read-through and finish the process of turning it into a book!
Then, Hadvarian Heist will be available worldwide on December 8th, 2020!
This past week I also wrapped up a novella [that’s been kept secret thus far!] and returned it to my editor. Like Aurora, it’s also a prequel novella, but its timeline sits much closer to that of Buried Heroes…
And that’s all I’m saying about it for now! But I’ll have a cover and title reveal soon!
With those two projects taken care of, I dove into book three in the Age of Azuria series—Forest Deep! I had some parts of the novel written already, but I took a bit more of a zoomed-out approach to it this week to make sure I felt confident with where the novel was heading. I work with loose outlines because I really like to discover things as I write—I think that makes it more fun and surprising to read too! But I like knowing the general trajectory.
I’m also working on a novella that will sit between Buried Heroes and Hadvarian Heist and provide some additional context and details around one of the storylines in the novel, but we’ll keep the rest of that a surprise for now too!
I hope you enjoyed this first author update! I’ll be back in November with the next one!