#caylen mcqueen

I just wanted to quickly mention the newest book I've released, The Ghost and Miss Hodge. It's one of Caylen McQueen's (my pen name's) books, but I thought it was worth mentioning here, because it has a STRONG connection to School for Spirits.

I thought I'd share the AI covers I made, which I thought were cool... although they were giving more "cozy mystery" than "paranormal/ghost/steampunk romance."

If anyone out there is looking to contact Caylen, my new email address is [email protected]. Twitter/X insisted on deleting my Caylen McQueen account, but I do have a wordpress blog, which I'd love for you to follow.

Ladies, we need to have a chat...about the absence of WHIMSY in current romance novels.

Think about the stories that got us hooked on romance when we were kids. It wasn't "Fifty Shades of Grey," not even close, not by a long shot. It was The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, The Princess Bride, etc.

I get so discouraged when I go to ANY romance category on Amazon, and I see mostly 6-pack abs on book covers. ... REALLY? Is that what we REALLY want in a man? Just abs. Just billionaires? A true divine husband is so much more than that.

I've captured "whimsy" in quite a few books. School for Spirits, to begin with. Ugly Monster Matchmaker is THE ONE. Also, Aurora Abroad, The Wishing Princess, Wizard of the 80's...

We all need to pull back from "man chest" and have a collective think about what connects us to this genre. Is it the man chest, or is it that undeniable, undefinable, perfect kind of man?

Here are four covers. Which one would you read?

This'll just be a quick post to mention that I've released a book under my Caylen McQueen pen name. If you want to read more about the book itself, check out the blog over on wordpress: https://caylenmcqueen.wordpress.com/2024/05/06/the-taming-of-miss-shrewsbury/

I wanted to share some artwork by my friend @pineconeenchanting. This is Katalin and Kingston from The Taming of Miss Shrewsbury!

Like many books to come, Kingston was inspired by Killian Scott, one of my favorite actors. Stewart LeBeau was Booboo Stewart, who's also been my muse before. I specifically chose a pic where he has a mustache because it becomes a joke in the book. ;)

Now that I've semi-retired from writing (for now, anyway), I thought I'd compile a list of my favorite books & characters I've written. Why? I don't know. to inspire myself? To cheer myself up? Whatever the case, I felt compelled.

Books:

The Darker Ages - Just a damn good time to write, and meaningful too. I'm not sure this will ever be dethroned. I peaked too soon.

School for Spirits - I love all the books in this series, almost equally. I love writing in this universe and would be sad to see it end.

Palace of Maids aka Cowboys & Elves - I stubbornly love this one, despite its mixed reception. It's so vulgar and violent -- I think that's why it wasn't so digestible to people. But I love it anyway.

The Ugly Monster Matchmaker Company - the only Caylen McQueen (my other pen name) book on my list. It's just so wholesome, with such a likeable cast. I adore Becky and Groop.

The Wishing Princess - Again, I just really like this cast... especially mad mode Prince Fared and the shady romantic, King Nils. And the concept is unique, I think.

Favorite Characters:

Alfred du Bois. I made trailer for Darker Ages and almost cried when I "saw" Alfred. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlna3EAXJk4 (he is based on Alfred Enoch, btw, and his AI trailer self resembles him so much). I love quippy characters, and I love anti-heroes. Alfred's my favorite of them all.

Carol from Belles & Bullets. Again, this is the only Caylen entry on the list. Alas, she doesn't even appear until Sky Pirate, book 3. I just love her for being completely wacky & hilarious.

Crow from A Farm Boy in Oz. I felt randomly compelled to reread some of her lines the other day. She's still TOO hilarious to me. I'm not even that funny in real life, so I don't know where these humorous ladies come from. Reading her lines, I almost felt inspired to write again. Almost.

Vineet from School for Spirits: Pretty Dead Girl. He's my definition of the adorable nerd. I love him so much.

Daniul, the persnickety asexual OCD mage from The Black Knight Chronicles series. I think he probably has Asperger's or something. (I think I probably do too)

Well, my cat died today. I just buried him in the backyard. 

I also released this book today: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4JXQV3R/  (Caylen McQueen is my pen name)

Both of these events are weirdly correlated. (If you read the book, you’d know why).

I’m in no mood to write a long speech today, I just want to point out that this is the 2nd book (novella???) inspired by the Handsome Killian Scott. In my mind, he was Damien (*cough* that’s his middle name *cough*) aka Lord Brannock.

(Dammit, I wish Secret Invasion was coming out tomorrow so I could numb this pain $^#$^#$ I’ve been crying all day...)