Book 4: The Flicker joins the first three books as an ebook available at Smashwords! Like the first three, it’s available pay-as-you-wish, so you can get it for free or pay as much as you’d care to.
This book was also available first to Patreon patrons. If you’re interested in getting extra stories, as well as early access to the ebooks, support me on Patreon!
Book 12 of Chatoyant College, Reemergence, is now complete.
I know there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered. That’s why I may be taking a longer hiatus than usual between books, to figure out what exactly needs to happen in Book 13. I already have a pretty good idea of the major plot, but I’d like to plan some of the details, as well.
I don’t know exactly how long my hiatus will need to be, but I’ll make another blog post before Book 13 starts and you’ll see the first chapter (or the prologue, if there is one) both here and at Wattpad.
In the meantime, I’ll package Book 12 up as an ebook. That will be pay-what-you-wish on Smashwords, just like the others, but Patreon patrons will have access to it before anyone else. If you want that ebook first, become a patron!
I’m also working on turning the earlier books into ebooks as well. Book 4 is already available to Patreon patrons, and will be on Smashwords soon.
Talk to you in a few weeks! (Or sooner than that, if you follow my Patreon–there will be a Perennials story free to everyone this month, as well as the usual monthly patron-only story. I’m posting other goodies for patrons, too!)
Edie stood looking at the dirt for what felt like a long time, but couldn’t really have been more than a few minutes. Nothing changed, except that the sounds of dripping overhead became louder. A few raindrops plopped into the dirt, dampening it. The tree no longer protected it.
Finally, Edie turned and began walking directly back toward campus. She was glad Leila had been prescient enough to give her an excuse for not entering through the front gate; she wasn’t sure she could walk all that way right now. She didn’t know how she felt, but she was so shaken that she didn’t want to have to make her way through the dark forest or face anyone.
Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 57: Gone”
Edie waited; Leila was taking a long time to respond. Anxiety twisted her stomach, but she clutched her umbrella and said nothing. She wasn’t going to rush Leila into a response.
She didn’t want her to leave, of course. But she knew, at this point, that there was nothing she could do to stop her. So she just wanted to understand. And if Leila was just going back to her tree, why bring Edie with her? Why bring her at all, when she’d vanished so abruptly last semester with the expectation that Edie would just forget her?
It was dark in the woods, the only light coming from the moon filtering feebly through the clouds—and perhaps from Leila’s tree itself. It was quiet, the dripping of the trees still the only sound. Edie waited.
Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 56: The Tree”
The rain let up later that afternoon, but the clouds didn’t clear away, so Edie didn’t trust it. She and her friends went to the dining hall for dinner, and then she went back to the front gate with all of her rain gear, even though she was very early to meet Leila. She wanted to be sure she didn’t miss Leila or make her wait.
Leila wasn’t at the gate when Edie arrived, so she pulled out the book she’d put in her pocket, making sure that her four-leaf clover and phone were both where she’d left them in another pocket. She didn’t want to get caught without any protection or a way to reach her friends. She’d also made sure that not only Corrie, but also Dawn, Annie, and Roe knew where she was going. She knew Leila wouldn’t hurt her—she was fairly certain of that—but it was still good to know that if she was gone for a long time, her friends would know what to do.
Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 55: Trust”
When Edie got back to her room, Corrie was still napping. Edie shut the door softly and tried to be quiet about taking her jacket off and opening her umbrella so it could dry a little, but Corrie stirred, then sat up, yawning and rubbing her eyes. “How long was I out?”
“I’m not sure,” Edie said honestly. “I was knitting. Maybe an hour?”
“Okay, that’s not so bad.” Corrie looked out the window and wrinkled her nose. “It’s this stupid rain. Were you just outside again?”
Edie nodded. “Leila was out there. When I got downstairs, she was gone, but she left me this note.” She held it out for Corrie to read.
Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 12: Chapter 54: The Open Gates”
Clare K. R. Miller 