Speculations for January 2026: A new release date, audiobooks nearly here, and baby polar bears...

Well, not unlike last year, 2026 is off to a surreal start. Some people doing awful things but also amazing people doing wonderful things. Alignment all the way from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil on full display. My twin sources of refuge, lifelong, have been speculative fiction and nature. Besides reading and hanging out with fellow writers, I walk everyday in the country where the wind blows in the tree branches, hawks and falcons glide over the fields, and I cross tracks with myriad large and small creatures walking the same trails. I hear the coyotes yip and howl just over the hill, and watch the seasons turn. I also live where there's not much light pollution (in fact, there are two actual dark sky areas within a couple of hours from here). At night I can see the outline of the Milky Way, and have been enjoying the visible moons of Jupiter this month and the bright crispness of the winter sky. We're still circling the sun and the universe still spins and we're a tiny spec within it. I find a measure of peace in all these things.

This, from one of my all-time favorite time-travel movies:

So for 2026, I offer this:

Where the Shadows Dwell: NEW release date Feb 18

Due to holiday slowdowns, book three of The Perilous Gods has been pushed back a couple of weeks to Feb 18th. My next newsletter will be sent when the book releases, so watch for the ebook giveaway then!

Additionally, the audiobook for book one, While the Gods Sleep, is due to release on Feb 3rd. I couldn't be more excited about both things!

Pahtal and his brother, Imul, have scraped a life together in pre-civil war Guatemala by finding and selling ancient relics from the Maya ruins. Their latest expedition uncovers a potentially life-changing find, a valuable tablet, etched with glyphs, hidden within the mouth of a sculpture of Nohochacyum, a god of creation - and destruction. But when they attempt to retrieve their prize, Imul is crushed beneath the stone carving.

Overcome with grief and guilt, Pahtal blames his state of mind for the uncanny events he begins to experience.

From an eccentric new lodger, to kitchen objects that move on their own, to encountering demons and creatures straight out of the ancient stories, Pahtal soon realizes that releasing the tablet has released the gods etched into its surface. Worse, two of the gods are determined to continue their ongoing war. A war prophesied to bring about an end of times.

Whatever the cost, Pahtal must find a way to imprison the gods once more... before the world burns.

​https://geni.us/whshadowsdw​

(Only a couple of seller links are live so far. More will add soon.)

​https://www.audible.com/pd/While-the-Gods-Sleep-Audiobook/B0G26RK2K7 as performed by Jonathan (TODD) Ross -- a wonderful audiobook narrator of more than 400 books, who also has credits as a film actor.

(I've probably jinxed myself by anticipating the sample preview for so long, 'cause it still hasn't appeared...)

What? You want a side by side breakdown of the three books?

Alrighty , here you go...

Reviews help books get seen!

If you've read books one or two (and especially if you enjoyed the read!) a review on Goodreads or Amazon (or your review site of preference) would be appreciated SO VERY MUCH. When the Winds Sing, especially, got less attention, sandwiched between the other releases. While it was the book that sold the whole set to my editor and the reviews it's gotten have been lovely, more reviews would help new readers to find it, help people already looking at it to decide if it's worth getting, and prompt the sellers' algorithms to show it to a wider audience.

See you next month!

Meanwhile, have a Cute Animal Video

My social media feeds are filled with nature photography of wild and beautiful places, rescue organizations showing happy animals (sans the tragic backstories), and wildlife videos. I highly recommend it. So to wrap up, have 30 seconds of baby polar bears.

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L. D. Colter has farmed with draft horses and worked as a paramedic, Outward Bound instructor, athletic trainer, roller-skating waitress, and concrete dispatcher, among other curious choices. She’s an author of contemporary, epic, and dark fantasy novels, a WSFA Small Press Award finalist, and a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award for science fiction and fantasy. Her website can be found at ldcolter.com​