The year is just about over.
Freebies: a dystopian Christmas short story, plus an anthology of shorts, just for you because you're awesome. And there's a new wifey romance out, too.

I'm largely unprepared for the year to come to a close, as I've done so little to get to this point.

The year has flashed past, a comet highlighting my general inability to get stories out. Or is it that I'm simply feeling that way because...well, yeah. Because I didn't get any stories out. I have no idea what happened. Time is slippery, like wet goo, and although it left a mess on my hands, it hasn't left me with anything much of actual production.

That said...

I won three awards this year. One of which was for Dark Haven, and that's always a nice feeling. I released a lesbian romance novel under my other pen name, and people seemed to like it. And I finally released my mainstream project, which felt like a big milestone, even if it hasn't done particularly well in the outside world.

But when you're a writer not writing for a good chunk of time, it feels a little... undeserved, maybe? I don't know what the right word is. Maybe I'll feel better about it when my next Brey book comes out in 2025.

(You've read to this point, so you deserve a random, flash fiction dystopian Christmas story available only to my readers. Get it here.)

And here it is, just for those of you who read this blog and keep up with me. You're the first to see the cover of Ship of Dreams, a sapphic steampunk novel featuring airship, pirates, treasure, and an opposites attract romance filled with sarcasm and critical choices. It was tough going, I admit, but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I hope you'll grab a copy when it goes on sale on February 1st, 2025.

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London-on-High, 1898. Captain Temp Strud is all about secrets: her own and those that belong to her ship’s passengers. When a high-stakes mission to retrieve a world-changing ancient artefact goes wrong, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with the Devil’s Urchin pirate captain, whose reputation is as fierce as her smile is disarming. Temp needs Minty’s cunning, and Minty’s freedom is in Temp’s hands. But as danger looms and rivals close the gap, secrets and betrayal threaten to derail their quest. One wrong move could cost them the prize—and their lives. With the fate of the world on the line, can the two captains get to the famed Golden Apple before their enemies unleash devastation beyond imagination?

Thanks for sticking with me. And thanks to all of you who have emailed/text/DM'd me over the course of the year. Your enthusiam keeps me enthusiastic.

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Brey Willows