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You are here: Home / Blog / Admin / Random Book Updates and Too Much D&D.

Random Book Updates and Too Much D&D.

Admin, Blog, Cooking, Fun, Kate Daniels POST A COMMENT April 28, 2023 by Ilona Gordon

No posts and now two posts in one day. Woo!

Today is hopefully the last day of the roof construction. I misspoke in my previous post. We are actually on week 3, not week 2. My temper and nerves are frayed to the maximum capacity, so hopefully this will be coherent.

Business Stuff

Magic Clams (hehehe) is proceeding as scheduled. The copy edit comes back to day, and so far we are still on track for the release.

The audio of Magic Tides is being recorded. The past 6 months tells me that no matter who performs it, the Audio BDH will Hate And Have Problems, HAHP – a new BDH acronym, but it should be coming out on June 13th. Magic Claims will follow soon after.

We will be migrating the site some time early next week. We have simplified some things, made free fiction more prominent and easier to find, and given the site a facelift. More on the changes when we go live. But if you see weirdness early next week, you’ll know why. We will be losing some recent blog posts due to the peculiarities of the migration.

Someone asked if we would bundle our Writing Article blog posts into an ebook for convenience. I don’t have an answer for you on that. The problem with this project is that we would need to distribute it, which means we would need to charge money for it. Which means we’d need to come with $2.99 or whatever worth of content. Not sure we have that right now in blog posts alone.

In other professional trials and tribulations, we’ve been doing prep work for other projects, trying to do all the tasks on a variety of stories that are related to writing but are not writing. Making a fantasy language, even with Vulgarlang app, is time consuming and terrible. Someone do it for me but make it sound exactly the way I want it to sound. Oy. I’m this close to just stealing Welsh and altering the spelling.

Fun Stuff

In leisure news, I’ve almost finished the cross-stitch dragon. Doing backstitching now with mixed success. Lots of frogging. Frogging is a craft term meaning ripping out what you have sewn. It comes from “rip it, rip it” which sounds like ribbit, ribbit, the frog sound in English language. Slavic frogs say kwuh, by the way. No idea how that came about. Clearly there is a frog language barrier.

Gordon and are both playing Solasta: Crown of the Magister, a computer game based on the latest rule set of Dungeons and Dragons, where we lead a party of adventures on a variety of quests. I’ll have you know my 4-person so-classic-it’s-cliché party rules supreme. I’m running a 2-handed Oath of Tirmar Arun Dragonborn Paladin, a Sylvan Elf Swift Blade dual-wielding ranger with ambidexterity, an Einar Hill Dwarf battle cleric, and a High Elf Shock Arcanist Wizard. I gave everyone outrageous stats and I have no regrets. Smiting the undead is the most satisfying thing either. And the game asks me every time, so I feel like a powerful overlord. “Yes, you have my permission to smite this enemy. Proceed.” And then the paladin chops them in half. Muhahaha!

Gordon is running a druid instead of the cleric and some kind of sorcerer. I question his choices.

I know that Baldur’s Gate 3 exists, but I have issues. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about: Baldur’s Gate 3 is the triquel? the sequel to award winning D&D game series, Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate 2. It is on the older side and it featured the same type of play: a party of adventurers doing quests. Baldur’s Gate 3 is being developed by Larian Studios famous for their Divinity series, which I played. Right now it’s in Early Access, which means that you buy the game for the right to preview it and play through part of it before it is released. Basically it’s like paying to read half of an ARC and when the book is published, you get the whole thing free.

So it sounds great, but as I’ve said, I have problems.

First, the price. $60 to beta test the game? Second, it is showing no signs of leaving the Early Access. Third, Larian games tend to take themselves too seriously. What I love most about D&D is the funny interactions between the characters. Give me Minsc and Boo any day.

Image Credit and more info at D&D Wizards

Larian thinks that “No one has as many friends as the man with many cheeses!” is the height of comic genius. Meh. Their character interactions are so stilted, and their plots lean toward tragic and gloomy.

That’s one thing Solasta does right. The interactions between the characters are hilarious. The character models are horrible, however. OMG.

And now I’ve caught you up on some of the things happening with us.

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Comments

  1. Fern says

    April 28, 2023 at 9:49 am

    Cheers to almost having a redone roof, staying on track for the Summer of Kate, and hopefully enjoying at least as much diastole as systole <3

  2. Gsg says

    April 28, 2023 at 9:58 am

    ok, so who else wants a scene in the book of someone eating magic clams?

    • Tink says

      April 28, 2023 at 12:16 pm

      I keep having Disney moments where I picture a bunch of clams sword fighting and for some reason singing, probably because I’m merging Kate-verse clams with The Little Mermaid.

    • Ken Hughes says

      April 28, 2023 at 12:51 pm

      That’s House Andrews, always flexing its mussels.

      • Arlis says

        April 28, 2023 at 2:40 pm

        Snort! I am not sure everyone caught your reply.

      • Jenn says

        April 28, 2023 at 3:54 pm

        Lol. Also … there were magic apples so why not clams … I’m sure there’s some mythology out there…

        • Darknari says

          April 28, 2023 at 4:30 pm

          I googled clams in mythology and first result I got was this:
          “In Chinese mythology, the shen or chen (Chinese: 蜃; pinyin: shèn or chèn; Wade–Giles: shen or ch’en; lit. ‘large clam’) is a shapeshifting dragon or shellfish-type sea monster believed to create mirages.”

          • Jenn says

            April 29, 2023 at 10:31 am

            That’s amazing 🐉

      • Marianne says

        April 28, 2023 at 6:00 pm

        Awesome!

        • Sydney girl says

          April 30, 2023 at 4:47 pm

          Now I really want magic clams!!!

  3. Bev says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:02 am

    Oh happy roof completion day! When we had a garage built years ago I got to be home since I had stopped working for money. I now associate workers on my property with baking goodies. My kitchen looked out on the work area and it’s not like I could go anywhere. You should find a good bakery and buy a nice cake to celebrate once the job is done and the workers are gone. White cake with cream cheese icing goes really well with raspberry sauce!

  4. Bev says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:06 am

    I realize that you bake beautiful things but part of the celebration is not needing to. Good work on the dragon! I still have a stamped Blue Willow table cloth somewhere from the ’70s that I only did a fraction of.

  5. Sabrina says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:15 am

    Italian frogs say cra cra 🙂

    • Moderator R says

      April 28, 2023 at 10:20 am

      Romanian frogs say “Oac oac” 😂

      Incidentally, a general knowledge panel show (QI, if anyone outside of the U.K. knows it) taught me that it’s only a specific breed of frogs that go Ribbit Ribbit. But we think they all do because this species happens to live near Hollywood and it’s the sound used for frogs in movies!

      • Virginia says

        April 28, 2023 at 10:32 am

        Love it, Mod R! This too, for those who want details:

        https://nowiknow.com/why-frogs-ribbit/

        • Moderator R says

          April 28, 2023 at 10:34 am

          Release the quacken! *Collapses in fits of giggles*

      • jewelwing says

        April 28, 2023 at 10:45 am

        There tend to be multiple frog species in many locations, and you can identify them by their calls. In fact that’s how frog surveys are often conducted. Hollywood is pretty dry so maybe there’s only one there, but other locations have plenty. Wood frogs are easy because they sound like ducks. 😀

      • Jazzlet says

        April 28, 2023 at 1:13 pm

        It shouldn’t really be surprising that different frongs have different croaks, when it’s true of birds and cats and dogs and so on, but the power of the Hollywood sound is extraordinarily persistent even when you know that isn’t how your local frogs sound. Not that the ones round here do make much sound, good way to get caught by the local heron!

        And I love QI 😀

    • Mafe M says

      April 29, 2023 at 1:39 pm

      Colombian frogs say Croac Croac

    • VibekeR says

      April 29, 2023 at 2:09 pm

      Danish frogs mostly says kvæk kvæk kvæk
      – and yes, that is a special Danish letter in there, just to make it impossible for the poor frogs to communicate with other frog nationalities 😂

  6. genki says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:21 am

    Japanese frogs say, “kero kero kero kero kwa kwa kwa” (according to a well known frog song there!) Remember Sanrio’s Keroppi?
    So there is a KWUH / KWA connection there somewhere…
    Yes, the animal language barrier goes far but has unexpected overlaps!

  7. Sfw says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:22 am

    use Welsh, we don’t mind – it will be a secret between the 500,000 people globally who speak it on a daily basis and notice 😀.
    Cymru am byth! to those who do.
    The spoken language differs quite a lot between the North and South (and Pategonia), so you have lots of options.

    • Ilona says

      April 28, 2023 at 10:25 am

      It’s so pretty. Caer Bryn is a much prettier name for a city than anything we could come up with.

    • Lee says

      April 29, 2023 at 11:27 am

      oooh! Something I’ve long wondered about, if you don’t mind.

      Years ago, a Welsh friend taught me to correctly pronounce ‘Ll’ but I didn’t think to ask about ‘ff’ which I read in names sometimes (Katie fforde comes to mind).

      Would someone kindly point me to a pronunciation guide?

      • PSMH says

        April 30, 2023 at 4:25 pm

        Sure – double-f= f, single-f= v.

        See https://users.aber.ac.uk/jcf12/project/welshcheat/welshcheat.pdf.

        Welsh is beautifully phonetic – mwynhewch! (Enjoy!)

  8. PSMH says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:27 am

    Hmmm…Welsh but altering spelling…I’m both intrigued and concerned. (Achos dwi’n siarad Cymraeg, felly…)

  9. Patricia Schlorke says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:36 am

    Yay to the roof almost being done!

    Kate had, maybe still has, magic apples, so why not magic clams? They would make great culinary dishes. 🍽😁🤭🗡

    • jewelwing says

      April 28, 2023 at 10:46 am

      And magic clam juice, a vital ingredient in many things.

      • Eric says

        April 28, 2023 at 12:54 pm

        To make a Caesar to raise the dead!

  10. Robyn A. says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:53 am

    There’s a pond across the road from us that’s full of noisy frogs right now. I’m going to have to go out and listen at night to see if their sounds are anything like ribbit!

    Your cross stitch sounds fun. I’m glad to know the term for ripping stuff out. That is a skill I use quite often. Now I have a term for it!

    Eagerly looking forward to Magic Claims! Thanks for keeping us up to date on progress.

    Happy Thank God the Roof’s Almost Done!

  11. Tempest says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:53 am

    Yay! Embrace the Magic Clams! Once you’ve seen the clams they can never be put back in to the shell.

  12. kommiesmom says

    April 28, 2023 at 11:01 am

    Do whatever you want with the spelling – but for pity’s sake give us a hint or six about pronunciation when you decide on a “language”.
    I’d love to get it right, but I hate to put down my book and research how to pronounce the minor character or the passing village’s name – so I don’t. Then if I discuss things with someone, I’m mispronouncing all of it.
    I’d whine about being old, but it has no effect on language acquisition, and the BDH *will* call me on it.
    A list at the end or beginning – I am fine with footnotes – just a little help, please.

    • MicheleMN says

      April 28, 2023 at 8:42 pm

      +1 I’ll second this pronunciation guide request! And I’d appreciate any spelling simplifications. Thanks again for the post, and hoping for a speedy finish for your roof.

  13. JB says

    April 28, 2023 at 11:05 am

    I keep looking at Solastra as a Steam purchase, but I went with Escape Simulator instead. Love me some escape room games!

  14. jing says

    April 28, 2023 at 11:12 am

    A month and a half to go for Magic Clams yey!!!
    June will be an interesting month.

    Looking forward to the audio for Magic Tides and Clams. And as its going to be in 2 POVs, this will be something new to me.

    Fingers & toes cross, GA would also get those books. I enjoy GA more than regular audio.

    Have a great weekend !!

  15. Jessica says

    April 28, 2023 at 11:24 am

    I would happily have my Alexa app read me your books just so I can listen to them. That said I love that they are with real voice actors and I just started listening to Magic Bites from Graphic Audio. I love Curran’s voice (I may have spelled that wrong since I mostly listen to everything). That said nothing will ever be perfect for everyone with audio, but know that the majority of us really really appreciate all your efforts when it comes to audio books. Not a HAHP member here!

    I can’t wait for Magic Tides and Magic Clams 🙂 audio adaptations.

  16. Henry says

    April 28, 2023 at 11:31 am

    I hope your new roof is holding up well against all the storms happening in Central and East Texas.

  17. Heidi says

    April 28, 2023 at 11:36 am

    Thank you for the note about Solasta. My partner in crime and I, along with some out of country friends & former D&D group, play Neverwinter (where I have met Minsc & Boo) as our way to visit-engage-escape reality together. It’s fun to hear good things about another game option; especially that it has a sense of humor!
    I like your classic group for a classic dungeon crawl …. but can recommend a Wizard / Rogue combination to lend additional versatility to a group, should you be planning any changes (and they’re so much fun!)

    • Ilona says

      April 28, 2023 at 11:50 am

      Ranger is better for this campaign. Mmmm, delicious goodberry and spike growth. :)I highly reccomend Solasta as it allows you to mirror your existing D&D character with points. You can replicate them exactly.

      • Heidi says

        May 16, 2023 at 11:09 am

        Thank you for the recommendation … your blog and the Horde always share the best stull.
        Our group will be meeting IRL in a couple weeks and we’ll definitely discuss as an option for our multi-continent group.
        Our Ranger will also love that rangers are ‘better for this campaign’!

    • Shannon from Texas says

      May 1, 2023 at 4:45 am

      Ahh, Neverwinter Nights. Thirty years ago, I started playing that game on AOL (for $6 / hr!). Where do you play it now/how do you like it?

      • Heidi says

        May 16, 2023 at 11:16 am

        Hi Shannon,
        Wow, AOL brings back memories …
        We play “Neverwinter”, through Steam or maybe now it’s Gearbox? It’s a free on-line MORPs? I/we occasionally pay for ‘VIP’ (mainly for the travel post) but played & enjoyed it without spending any money for months. You can play solo or with friends.
        I feel it’s relatively smooth, fun, the usual group of great people and loudmouths (mainly in Protector’s Enclave, the ‘hub’). Decent sense of humor and fun ‘events’ which engage various level players.

  18. Breann says

    April 28, 2023 at 11:55 am

    Yay for a almost done roof! 🥳

    Sorry not everybody is happy with the audio versions. I, for one, LOVE all the GA adaptations. If they say something differently than I thought it, I just figure I was wrong in my head and move on. 🤷‍♀️

    I’ve never really done D&D, but watched the movie last weekend. It was fun. I like the funny bits the best. 😊

    Have a nice weekend! 🤗

    • Eleanor W. says

      April 29, 2023 at 6:37 pm

      I, too, enjoyed the movie. Friends and I played Traveler (think Star Wars/Firefly roll playing, at least that’s the way we played it) in college. My nephew and fiancé play D&D and I’ve had a blast searching shopping sites for house warming accessories with that theme (think customized doormat).

      So wonderful to hear the roof is almost done. Thanks for the updates!

  19. Jeannie Szarama says

    April 28, 2023 at 12:09 pm

    I would just like to state for the record I would love a D&D setting in Kate’s & Hidden Legacy’s worlds. This is clearly because you don’t have anything else to do. 😉

    • Moderator R says

      April 28, 2023 at 12:50 pm

      The answer has always been: if you want to play a campaign based on Kate or Hidden Legacy with your team, go for it! 🙂
      If you want to design and sell one, get in touch for adaptation rights!

  20. Tink says

    April 28, 2023 at 12:18 pm

    For the new site, do you know yet if you’ll be able to port over the newsletter recipients, or will we have to sign up again for the newsletters? (Assuming you’ll continue with the newsletters.)

    • Moderator R says

      April 28, 2023 at 12:24 pm

      The newsletter is handled by a completely separate delivery system. There will be no changes to it, nor a need for the subscribers to do anything 🙂

      • Tink says

        April 28, 2023 at 4:34 pm

        Thanks, ModR.

  21. Emily says

    April 28, 2023 at 12:33 pm

    phew on the end of construction. hope you have a quiet week.

    Last Tapas episode of Innkeeper today is 😢.

    I’ve never been into comics but I bought every episode! It was fantastic.

    Anymore adaptations planned?

    • Moderator R says

      April 28, 2023 at 12:47 pm

      Hopefully there will be news about that in the next week or two 🙂

  22. Kris says

    April 28, 2023 at 12:33 pm

    “Go for the eyes, Boo!”

    • Kathryn says

      April 28, 2023 at 4:11 pm

      Minsc and Boo stand ready!

  23. Kat in NJ says

    April 28, 2023 at 12:44 pm

    Loved the tidbits about D&D! Somehow I never had an opportunity to join a campaign when I was younger, but my daughter and her friends are very much into it so I am living vicariously through their campaigns. It sounds so exciting and so much fun!

    (I always tell her “have fun storming the castle” before her D&D sessions start, but that’s a whole ‘nother thing!)😂

    She’s writing a campaign she will DM this summer and has promised to include a little side character for me so I can actually participate. I can’t wait!

    • Moderator R says

      April 28, 2023 at 12:47 pm

      That sounds like lots of fun! 🤩

  24. Battie says

    April 28, 2023 at 12:52 pm

    Well, a correction here. Not ALL Slavic frogs say kwuh. Polish frogs say koom-koom. And the Polish ducks say kwuh. They probably learned this from other Slavic frogs. Or are they frogs in disguise? Always ready to discuss quirks of Slavic languages; you are welcome ;P

  25. Kathleen says

    April 28, 2023 at 1:12 pm

    Book Bub has mentioned the Innkeeper series as magical house worth reading about.

  26. Kathleen says

    April 28, 2023 at 1:13 pm

    Sorry should have put the URL
    https://www.bookbub.com/blog/fantasy-books-magic-houses?position=seemore&source=multicontent&target=title

  27. Old School Games says

    April 28, 2023 at 1:34 pm

    “Go for the eyes, Boo!” ~ Minsc from Baldur’s Gate 2.

    The ship sailed a while back for the Baldur’s Gate series. The original creators are long gone (IMHO). Larian Studios produced the Divinity RPGs back in the day and I was never impressed with them.

    FYI Dragon Age (one through “three” a.k.a. Inquisition) were spiritual successors to Baldur’s Gate. I thought they were decent, although number two is the least popular of the group.

  28. Mari says

    April 28, 2023 at 2:11 pm

    Just delurking to say I loved the narration for Sweep of the Heart, and have listened to it several times. I’m doing a Kate Daniels reread prior to listening to the new graphic audio, but all this talk about Curran’s voice may get me to move it up on the schedule.

  29. Amber says

    April 28, 2023 at 2:36 pm

    This is completely unrelated, but has there been any recent sightings of the lawn orphans? Enquiring minds want to know. lol

  30. DianaInCa says

    April 28, 2023 at 2:39 pm

    Thanks for the updates and the game recommendation. I passed it on to my kids as 2 out of 3 are currently playing DnD online with other people.

    Have a great weekend everyone

  31. Julia says

    April 28, 2023 at 2:57 pm

    My daughter, the teenage DM, told me to tell you to consider Pathfinder- Wrath of the Righteous as well. She’s very much enjoying it. And will be getting Solesta based on yours and others recommendations!

  32. MariaZ says

    April 28, 2023 at 3:02 pm

    I feel a little bit of your pain with the roof. I put in a claim with my home owners insurance last year on May 4, 2022 and after much wrangling between the insurance company and my roofing contractors my claim has been approved almost 1 year later. Today they delivered the supplies and were loading them on the roof. What the heck was all that banging and thumping they were doing? It is pouring down rain so I was surprised to see them delivered anything. Per the roofers everything will be done by end of day next Wednesday. We will see.

  33. Arezoo says

    April 28, 2023 at 3:03 pm

    Off topic – the last of the tapas innkeeper episodes came out today. I just wanted to say that I loved this adaptation and I really hope it continues. Any news on what it’s continuation chances are?

  34. Laura says

    April 28, 2023 at 3:34 pm

    I was going to suggest that maybe the typical frogs wherever the Slavic frog sound originated were different from the ones wherever English’s “ribbit” originated… But also the same frog can say multiple things, and English also has “croak” as a frog noise (although it’s not unique to frogs, it sounds like it could share an origin with the Slavic word).

    Oh! I just did a little searching, and found this very interesting article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/10/12/why-french-pigs-say-groin-japanese-bees-say-boon-and-american-frogs-say-ribbit/

    One of the things it says is that “ribbit” is specific to American English, and that this is believed too be because early Hollywood movies used the sounds of a Pacific tree frog in their movies.

  35. Andy Lawler says

    April 28, 2023 at 4:14 pm

    I don’t know if you’ve tried the Pathfinder games, but they’re also some good D&D like action.

  36. Amy says

    April 28, 2023 at 4:17 pm

    I love when my favorite things come together: House Andrews and D&D. We’re an older Baldur’s gate family so I appreciate this post. I don’t know anything about Baldur’s Gate 3 except that Matt Mercer voices Minsc. We still play the original from time to time.

  37. Samantha says

    April 28, 2023 at 4:56 pm

    You know we’re going to need a ‘Magic Clams’ 🤣 short story at some point ….

  38. njb says

    April 28, 2023 at 5:07 pm

    Given the storm rolling thru, I sure hope your roof is finished! Happy to hear that Magic Clams (rofl) is proceeding as expected. And ditto the audio book of Magic Tides. As to HAHP, I can’t imagine hating any of the readers. I wasn’t too fond of Natalie Naudus’s rendering of Sweep of the Blade, but it grew on me and her Innkeeper work was nice.

    That said, I’ve now bought three of your Graphic Audio books and have not been able to finish any of them. The readers are great, it’s just me. I can’t stand the background noise even tho I know how much work and thought is put into that. So that’s it for me, I tried. Fortunately I do have less than stellar audio copies of all the Kate Daniels books.

  39. Joe says

    April 28, 2023 at 5:07 pm

    Replaying Solasta myself in preparation for the high end DLC coming out this month. Tactical Adventures supports their game in style. I also have Baldurs Gate III on my shelf and share your disappointment with Larian. I remember Baldurs
    Gates release, so many discs, I had to buy a new computer mine couldn’t play the game, I was driving trucks at the time and got a lap top. smoked it by playing it on my comforter. Best Buy gave me new drive free.

  40. T says

    April 28, 2023 at 5:21 pm

    Ah! I can’t escape Minsc and Boo. That artwork is from the Magic the Gathering/Baldur’s Gate crossover set and the card is stupidly strong.

  41. Elise says

    April 28, 2023 at 5:24 pm

    I love audiobooks and the GraphicAudio versions are *chefs kiss*. I completely forgot my Kate preorder on Audible is ready. I’m so excited since I’m hooked on GraphicAudio.

    My partner is a huge D&D fan and is always trying to get me to play. I’ll have to look into Solesta as something for us to try together. Thanks for the rec.

  42. travis says

    April 28, 2023 at 5:44 pm

    yeah, played BG3 and every plot line for every character is miserable. I feel bad for each of them and think about just building my own and running that to not have to be depressed about their lives

  43. Kat says

    April 28, 2023 at 6:28 pm

    Thanks for the update! I’m so stoked for Magic Claims! 🐚

    Also, I’ve been curious… The Tapas webcomic adaptation of Innkeeper just finished and I wonder. Are there plans for it to continue?

    I had a lot of fun with it and I hope it does, but I totally understand if that’s still unknown.

    • Moderator R says

      April 28, 2023 at 6:30 pm

      Hey Kat,

      I’m so happy you enjoyed the Tapas Innkeeper!
      News should arrive in the next couple of weeks regarding the continuation of the project 🙂. Watch this space!

  44. Tiger Lily says

    April 28, 2023 at 6:59 pm

    Some of our frogs in Ohio say peep peep peep. You can hear them begin to sing at dusk on the water.

  45. Jim says

    April 28, 2023 at 7:08 pm

    I love Solasta! So fun that you’re playing! My favorite author playing one of my favorite games! Nerdvana…

    I actually love Larian games, and I have really enjoyed the BG3 EA. If nothing else, using the awesome character generator to make portraits to use on roll20 token is legit awesome.

  46. Evil Jenny says

    April 28, 2023 at 7:16 pm

    Go for the eyes, Boo!!

    🙂

  47. Di says

    April 28, 2023 at 7:40 pm

    Just for the record my tree frogs here in Oregon do not say ribbit. Their sounds are glorious as they compete – if they escape the raccoons which sadly seem to have eliminated my backyard population.
    I say dammit when I have to frog crocheting, and grind my teeth if it’s knitting.

  48. Meghan Smith says

    April 28, 2023 at 7:48 pm

    Yay cross stitching. This one took me almost two years. It was all those half stitches and the backstitching

    • Debbie says

      April 28, 2023 at 8:17 pm

      Wow!!! That. Is. Gorgeous!!

    • Ilona says

      April 28, 2023 at 8:22 pm

      Beautiful!

    • jewelwing says

      April 29, 2023 at 12:14 pm

      So cool!

  49. Fiona says

    April 28, 2023 at 7:53 pm

    news to rejoice to:
    Baldur’s Gate 3 is leaving early access on the 31st of August!

  50. Cymru Llewes says

    April 28, 2023 at 9:00 pm

    Mod R,

    would you please add https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah_Gullah_Island to the page on Doolittle’s accent?
    Eldest and I watched it on WUNC-TV when she was very little.
    Archive.org says it has Seasons 1 – 4 available if anyone wants to watch it now (and don’t have Paramount+)

  51. AP says

    April 28, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    I have enjoyed all the different readers and both audio and GA versions (Steve West will always have a special place in my heart though😉).

    The only thing that ever bothered me was when the completely wrong word was used (for example, there was a reference to Kate’s father but the word “mother” was said instead). It’s a little jarring when listening and I did wonder who was in charge of comparing the narration to the book but it didn’t happen too often so 🤷‍♀️.

  52. Laurie Blanchard says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:15 pm

    I loved Baldurs gate.when my son was you g we played it for hours, obsessively. He is 32 this year. I should but it for him as a present. Ps. Totally feel you regarding roof replacement. 3 weeks would nake me mental. I’m surprised you guys didn’t move into an Airbnb for a couple weeks. They have been tearing the road apart in front of my house for a week and it’s just heinous.

  53. Debra Hogan says

    April 28, 2023 at 10:15 pm

    I already have a part 3 for Baldur’s Gate, from the same people who did 1 & 2.

  54. Mary says

    April 28, 2023 at 11:19 pm

    Sad about the HAHP- just got started listening to Magic Bites on GA. Haven’t finished it yet, yay! and I love Kate and Curran and the whole beautiful GA world. I love Nora as Dina and I love her as Kate. And I can’t believe it’s over 9 hours. I feel so lucky!

  55. Mikhail Vapnik says

    April 29, 2023 at 12:10 am

    There is no such thing as too much D&D. Also, how is it possible that The Shift is not an RPG setting that I can buy for my gaming needs?! Waaaant! Neeeed!

  56. Charlotte says

    April 29, 2023 at 1:46 am

    In Sweden the frogs say kvack kvack!

    I recently finished the Graphic Audio version of Magic bites and I love it! I’m usually not in to audio books but this kind of dramatized audio I really enjoy. I’m so looking forward to more of them!

  57. Trex says

    April 29, 2023 at 5:43 am

    Chinese frogs says “kwah” too 😛

    • Verslint says

      April 29, 2023 at 5:54 am

      Afrikaans frogs go “Kwaak”. Close

  58. Verslint says

    April 29, 2023 at 5:53 am

    I still have my Neverwinter Nights collectors edition with all the expansions for PC, got it on PS4 as well. Love it to death. I met Minsk and Boo in Neverwinter Online for the first time. Fun game, but needs newer hardware than I can afford to play.

    Baldurs Gate was just before my (gaming) time, so to speak. My parents were insanely strict with us in terms of gaming and book content, so DND was on the verbotten list.

  59. KarenS says

    April 29, 2023 at 7:37 am

    Magic Tides, Magic Clams, it just segues so beautifully!
    BTW, We had a small Hamster stuffy that we tossed at each other yelling,”Go for the eyes Boo!” Can cheese compete with that? No.

  60. Jenny says

    April 29, 2023 at 9:03 am

    *member of quiet majority slowly raises hand while giving side-eye*

    I’m an audio BDH sitting here absolutely fat and happy with all audios. While I am generally easy to please, I don’t think I’m an anomaly.
    Is there some statistical analysis that would show to be done to show that there is a vocal minority complaining? Thank you for continuing the work of audio releases. It’s very important to many of us.

    *slides back into the happy quiet*

  61. Tylikcat says

    April 29, 2023 at 9:50 am

    I’m not much of a video gamer (I’ve spent more time writing code for games than playing, on the serious ones) but during the pandemic I joined a group of mostly west coast friends playing various TTRPGs over zoom. For me it’s all about the snark, the improv, and the bullshitting with friends. (Also, I am just charmed, as the only woman in the group, that all these guys talk about their lives and support each other so well. Often with snark and bullshit.)

    I’m going to come down pretty strongly on the side of no audiobook hate. Every narrator I’ve heard from your guys has been at least Very Good. I would probably listen to Steve West read the phonebook. I loved Renee Raudman, but I’m glad y’all changed things up.

    (It’s not that I don’t have preferences. Male narrators who do all women in a breathy falsetto grate. There is a specific type of stuffy british accent that tends to irritate me. But mostly of it I can shrug off. Especially on 1.5x.)

  62. Christina T says

    April 29, 2023 at 12:14 pm

    Have you played any of the pathfinder computer games? Wrath of the Righteous is more like a crusade and kingmaker is more classic rpg and you build your own kingdom but I loved them both. They are slightly buggy on the console versions but the computer versions are less so and they’re just so fun. Great characters

  63. Adam says

    April 29, 2023 at 1:44 pm

    thank you for a game info. I am checking it right now 🙂

  64. Kelly J Jacobs says

    April 30, 2023 at 9:38 am

    In The graphic audio of Sweep of the Blade I noticed that Maud’s accent would switch from Southern to British.I think that was an accident. Is that HAHP?

    • Ilona says

      April 30, 2023 at 9:44 am

      It’s to differentiate Vampiric vs Human, I believe.

    • Moderator R says

      April 30, 2023 at 9:46 am

      Hi Kelly,

      That is not a mistake, it is a deliberate choice made out of regard for the nuance in the text 🙂.

      Here is what the director explained:

      “ We threaded a tricky needle with this book, given the conventions that had
      been established in the last book (eg, Maud speaking in her natural dialect with both Arland and Helen) and the information introduced in this book (the fact that Maud is fluent in vampire dialects without the aid of speech implants; the need to distinguish
      Ancestral Vampiric from Common Vampiric; the importance of Maud feeling like she can be herself around Arland unless/until he provokes her to “go vampire”). I also wanted to cultivate the idea that Maud speaks her native tongue to Helen unless they’re in public,
      but/and that Helen answers in Vampiric because that’s what she’s grown up speaking, and kids tend to prefer to speak the language of the society around them.”

      For more details, please see https://ilona-andrews.com/2022/sweep-of-the-blade-graphic-audio-is-fixed/

      • Melisa M. says

        April 30, 2023 at 1:44 pm

        Wow these ppl really think of everything!

        I’m not much into audio books but that’s very impressive. If I ever do audio I will 100% do some House Andrews books.

  65. Milissa Hartzenberg says

    April 30, 2023 at 3:10 pm

    I love Minsc and Boo, and played HOURS of Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. The absolute best!

  66. Joan says

    May 1, 2023 at 10:56 am

    I have a question. I’m not sure if this the correct format or not. Is Small Magics available on Audible? If not is there a reason? I would like to add it to my audible collection but did not see it among your other books on Audible. I am a huge fan and spend many hours listening and then listening again to your books.
    Thank you for sharing your wonderfully world view with us.

    • Moderator R says

      May 1, 2023 at 11:02 am

      Hi Joan,

      There is no audio version to Small Magics. One of the reasons would be that the content gets periodically updated, with POV scenes and shorts added all the time, which is easier to do on the text files. I will mention it to House Andrews and their agency that you would like to have access to it in other formats as well 🙂

  67. KaRyk says

    May 2, 2023 at 2:04 am

    I think its going to release this year so its even not worth to spend any money before realease (of any game too imo), gaming industry is totally in shambles and developers always realease messy games that you have to wait for them to fix weeks after…

  68. Kris says

    May 3, 2023 at 9:28 am

    Hey Mod R! I’m trying to find any references to if or when SOTH will be done by Graphic Audio. Did I miss something? I’m loving the GA versions even though I’ve listened to the audible versions many times.

    • Moderator R says

      May 3, 2023 at 9:30 am

      I can’t say too much officially, because the ink hasn’t yet dried on agreements, but there is news there and it’s the good kind of news 😉 .

      Watch this space!

  69. Jamie K. Schmidt says

    May 3, 2023 at 10:47 am

    Minsc! Butt kicking for goodness!

  70. Liz says

    May 3, 2023 at 3:08 pm

    I agree about Baldurs Gate 3 and would add why the hell do they think characters having sex is a selling point.

  71. Susan says

    May 4, 2023 at 2:00 am

    Thank you for all that you do. I was wondering if
    Julie’s story was going to commence any time soon?

    • Moderator R says

      May 4, 2023 at 4:37 am

      Hi Susan,

      At the moment, Ilona Andrews are not announcing future projects unless they are in the final stages of a manuscript and can roll out the preorder. This is in order to manage both workload and reader expectation.
      The current offering is the Wilmington Years, a series in the Kate Daniels world. It addresses some of the things that happened between Magic Triumphs and Blood Heir, and is paving the way for the Ryder sequel 🙂

  72. Joanna says

    May 4, 2023 at 2:01 pm

    I am curious. In the Blood Heir Hugh calls Julie to find out if she is alright. During the call Hugh is concurrently yelling at someone to “ put down that cow” or else he threatens to tell his (the cow lifter) Mom. When do we find out who the cow lifter is ??? I am very curious about said lifter, LOL!

    • Moderator R says

      May 4, 2023 at 2:05 pm

      It’s been confirmed during Q&As, so it’s not such a spoiler: it is Hugh’s son 🙂. You can see more peaks into Hugh’s home life in the Wilmington Years series https://ilona-andrews.com/katie-daniels-books/#wilmington – and of course we will learn more about how he got there when the sequel to Iron and Magic comes 😊

  73. Debbie Day says

    May 14, 2023 at 10:05 pm

    Your in keeper series has been a revelation. I love many offers for the different styles, but this was a brand new exciting concept and I loved every bit of it until I came to the end and I’m waiting for the next books but I don’t see anything about any other innkeeper series. I haven’t found out what happened to Klaus other than that he’s an arbitrator. I haven’t found out what happened to the parents don’t leave me hanging. Thanks, Deb.

    • Debbie says

      May 14, 2023 at 10:06 pm

      Sorry, I didn’t realize auto correct had change some of my words, but I think you can figure out the gist of it

      • Moderator R says

        May 14, 2023 at 10:08 pm

        Hi Debbie,

        The Innkeeper series will continue 😊, we will find out all the mysteries. Atm House Andrews aren’t announcing projects until they are in their final stages and ready for preorder.

  74. Anna says

    May 16, 2023 at 6:49 am

    I’m interested by the cross stitch dragon! Is it an Anne Stokes? Because I’m about to start one that came as a free pattern in a British cross stitch magazine. (I’ve looked to see if there’s some way I can search for previous mentions that might explain more but can’t find one)

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