Dina: Welcome, everyone. Please help yourself to the tea and cookies.
Curran: Question – why are these cookies shaped like little beer barrels?
Dina: Our chef watched a documentary on St. Bernard dogs who rescue people from avalanches. Apparently there is an urban legend of them carrying small kegs of brandy to warm up people they dig out of the snow.
Rogan: Explains the bone shaped cookies and the paw prints as well.
Sean: Yeah, he got a theme and just kind of ran with it.
Nevada: Well, it’s not off far off the mark. They are snowed in.
Kate: Look, I know that you are losing your cool here, but just because they are working on something else doesn’t mean you are abandoned.
Curran: Magic Triumphs came out in 2018 and they came back to the series in 2022. Look at the Kinsmen Universe. They had to wait 10 years for the next in the series.
Catalina: To be fair, it’s a very episodic series. Separate protagonists for each book.
Alessandro: Exactly. And they switched publisher for the last one.
Sean: Curran’s point stands: they’ve been only working on this one for about a year.
Arabella: Two years, technically, on and off. It’s not the duration of absence. It’s the intensity. Let’s review: they normally have a side project going along with their main one. There is no side project. There is nothing on the blog. When do they take time from the blog?
Catalina: Never.
Arabella: Exactly. It’s their main marketing tool. They’re so on the ball with it that when they don’t post for a few days, people start emailing and asking if they are divorcing or some horrible emergency occurred. They’ve blogged through the surgery recovery, for goodness sake.
Kate: You are catastrophizing. You do that a lot.
Arabella: Please provide me with detailed examples of when I catastrophized something?
Nevada: You are doing it right now.
Arabella: I don’t think you’re understanding the severity of the situation. You, Kate, of all people, should be upset. They promised your next novella. They haven’t written it. They promised Hugh and Elara’s next book. They are not writing it either. All they do is edit that… whatever it is. Mod R said she has 6 versions of this book. 6. And why is it twice as long as anything they’ve written before?
Sean: Where is Hugh and Elara, by the way?
Curran: Something came up. Some dark druid something or other. They’ve got about a chapter in and so they are waiting to see if anything else gets written. Right now everything is bad and the herbs are dying.
Catalina: Wait, does this mean your panacea supply is in danger?
Kate: We stockpiled both on our side and the Pack’s but yeah, basically. You know how they are. If there is a chance to ratchet the stakes up a notch, they always go for it.
Dina: Yes, it’s never like if you don’t do this, it’s a minor setback. If they were writing a story about baking a pie, the world would be in danger of blowing up if the crust burned.
Kate: To be fair, people expect that from them.
Dina: I’m not disagreeing. It’s just tiring, that’s all.
Catalina: Some of that is due to the editorial feedback. Maggie started out as a slice of life adventure. First, their agent told them to make it more intense and now the editor has asked for even more tension. I have seen the editorial notes. Every time someone has a lighthearted moment, there is a note asking if it’s worth to add one more beat of earnest tension to it.
Arabella: I don’t care. This is beside the point.
Dina: What is the point?
Arabella: Why are they working on that mess when they could be writing something more important? Do they not understand what the people want?
Sean: What do they want?
Arabella: Me! They want me! My trilogy is a pile of money waiting to be scooped up!
Alessandro: Figuriamoci.
Nevada: Oh, here we go.
Arabella: This person they’re writing about doesn’t even have any magic powers. She doesn’t transform, she doesn’t fight with a sword, she is not good at any of the hero things. Who would want to read about her?
Kate: Respect the creativity of people who made you. They have never written a weak protagonist.
Curran: Some dangers aren’t obvious.
Rogan: Good things come to those who wait.
Arabella: I have waited enough! I…
Dina: Welcome to Gertrude Hunt. This is a private meeting, but I will be glad to show to a room.
Maggie: Thank you. But that won’t be necessary. I’m just here for Orro’s cookies.
Alessandro: Awkward.
Dina: Of course. Please help yourself.
Maggie: Is it okay if I take a few? Some for the kids and one for Reynald?
Dina: Please.
Maggie: Thank you.
Arabella: I just want to know one thing.
Maggie: What is it?
Arabella: What’s so special about you? What is your power?
Maggie: Oh. I’m a fan.
Catalina: I’m sorry.
Maggie: I am a fan. I read books over and over. I obsess over the details, like which region the armor came from, how far can a magic horse run in a day, and what are the medieval bras made out of. I know everything about all of you. I have read your books over and over. I know your motivations, your secrets, and your hidden thoughts. Those private doubts you kept to yourself during your woe-is-me moments? The unkind things you sometimes thought about your loved ones? I can quote them from memory.
Arabella: …
Maggie: Thank you for the cookies.
Dina: You are welcome to visit any time. …. Okay, she’s gone.
Sean: Well, that was eerily disturbing.
Alessandro: How did she even know how to get here… Oh.
Kate: I told you.
Rogan: Next time, we need to invite her.
Dina: Oh, don’t you worry. I’ll be sending an invitation with a platter of cookies.
Absolutely Terrific, a HA tea party at the inn. MORE PLEASE
🤣
Thank you!
😂😂 thank y’all for this!
OMG I love this!
Love it!
The only thing it was missing was someone about Mod R 😉
I can’t wait for any new books but actually feel sorry regarding how many people are so impatient.
Illona Andrews provides so many mote extras and tidbits and it is clear they are working hard. They need to enjoy life too!
first?
haha far from it i got distracted by the wonderful story 🙂
One needs to be sharpshooter-quick to snatch the title on a HA post 🤣
Almost Leon quick. 🤣
“You know how they are. If there is a chance to ratchet the stakes up a notch, they always go for it.”
This cracked me up 😂 thanks for the laugh, and for how in one paragraph you turned Maggie into a force to be reckoned with!
I’m sorry it’s all been so… much. I hope the muchness will abate and all will be well soon!
LOVE!!
Mmmm…. now I want cookies.
Thank you! Can’t wait to meet Maggie. Oh, and please keep the lighthearted moments. They are needed to balance out the tension and let the reader catch a breath. Editors don’t know everything. Trust your own judgement.
I cannot be the only person on the planet who likes my high adventure mixed with low comedy! There wouldn’t be so many books out there trying for that blend if I was.
And the editors think the masters of the mix should add more drama? Has it not occurred to them that they will get more comedy as well? And every word will advance the plot at this point.
I live for the funny lighthearted scenes in HA books! They always crack me up
All the light hearted moments are where you quotes come from. Where would we be without ripper cushions.
Love! Thanks
What if Maggie IS Mod R in disguise? Mod R knows everything.
We are very different people … with a shared set of skills 🤣
To quote Liesl from “The Sound of Music” – “Wheeeeee!!” 💖
Thank you for the “tea” and cookies at Gertrude Hunt!! 🫖😉
+1
Wonderful. I love it so much!
These are ALL OF MY THOUGHTS! You people can read my mind😎
Nah, they’re just secretly your fan and know _everything_ about you 😉😉😉😉
Brilliant! 🤣
WHO on this green earth thought it was a good idea to let Arabella and Kate into the same room?!?! 😀
Ilona, obviously. She’s who wrote this one.
I agree. We have lift off in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… 😀
Omg so excited to officially meet maggie in a few years now
I really love all your characters!
So fun and unexpected! Thank you!
Brilliant! Thank you so much. Have a wonderful Monday and good luck with everything.
This is where Steve went wrong. He should have known to go to the Inn.
Thanks! This was awesome. Love the meetings at the Inn!
Was just thinking I was surprised Steve didn’t crash it 🙂
Love it! I know Maggie is going to be wonderful!!!
😂 Great Monday morning gift! ❤️
Loooooooooooool. I love you Guys. Thank you! 😂👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💕
ok, so how far can a magical horse run in a day?
Well, Shadowfax made it across 2 (?) countries in one night carrying Gandalf and a fool of a Took.
Depends on whether or not they have 7 league horseshoes. Or if they run like lightning or like thunder. But a magical reindeer is capable of circling the globe in a single night.
Wahoo!! I’m a HUGE fan of transmigration trope novels especially when the hero/heroine is smart! This means that i am SOOOOO excited for Maggie. Transmigration + House Andrews skill. I will be p*ti*nt.. and not complain about any kind of wait! Mostly because unlike any other House Andrews worlds a transmigration story is a world i could potentially survive in. Well at least it would be if it’s a book i have read! 🙂
Thank you House Andrews!
This is awesome. And I can’t wait for Maggie’s book!
Cookies?????
I think these slices different worlds and characters, all meeting at the Inn—and any ensuing squabbles—are perhaps the funniest things House Andrews has ever written! I adore these! Fluffy Horde thanks you, Ilona and Gordon! Long live the slices!!! 💜💜💜
Oh my gosh. They melded the BDH into a character. We’re all doomed.
I was just going to point out that Maggie must be a member of the BDH!
We shall live on in infamy!
Yay, the Gang all together, and of course it would be at Dina’s Inn!
I heart Maggie even more after this snippet. Way to zing someone with friendliness!
Gleefully wa*ting.
My favorite part of that was Kate and Arabella:
Arabella: “Who would read that?”
Kate: “Bitch, I will politely remind you not to @$%# with my people.”
Thank you so much! I needed I’ve been dealing with a sick niece for the last week and very little sleep. You are a blessing.
Thank you for the little party! (Wanders off muttering “I LOVE Maggie.”
Muahaahaahaa!
Loving this!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 excited for Maggie! hmm….more tension…almost sounds like the editors are getting these books in a good place for film adaptation…
Groovy!
Thank you. Though GA is currently feeding my addiction though when we run out of that. Adding tension will not be a problem 😜💜😊
You are the best!
That was so cute! I love that the characters sound eerily like the BDH hehehe. I promise, some of us can w*it with considerable p**ience. Nevertheless, thanks for this!
okay so Maggie is me, I am Maggie, we are Maggie, Maggie is the horde. Now I must read Maggie
Hmmm. I wonder if Maggie is an acronym of the Horde in disguise? Something Ilona and Gordon use to refer to us when we’re being particularly obnoxious, er, enthusiastic?
More Again Gimme Gimme I’m Eager?
More Again Go Go IA Everywhere?
Thank you!
Smiles, oh yes indeed, just a tad creepy, and so good.
Just … THANK YOU!💝
Love this!!
I’m dying here ☠️
Arabella is just too much. I love her.
Have a good week House Andrews. We got some rain in Texas!
Squeee!!! But of course it’s Orro to the rescue, with cookies even Maggie can’t resist. Let’s all hope that HA doesn’t lose any essential editors during the editorial training gauntlet. The editors are lucky there is a buffer zone between them and the BDH… ok-ok, we’ll kind of behave ourselves. Thank you all HA!
Love the tension between Kate and Arabella! “They have never written a weak protagonist”, indeed!
In Kate’s world, knowledge is strength. She’s spent many years studying, and she goes to knowledgeable people for crucial information. We see her friends do this too. Christopher saves the day… by teaching them how to make panacea. And it’s Saiman’s business model.
Maggie’s strength is right in line with this. Except maxed out!
Hahahah, loved that, thank you!
Thank you! You brighten up our life!
This was so delightful!
Team metal rose is worried about the fact that there was no mention of Julie/Aurelia, Derek or Atlanta.
I love your sense of humor. And also. I got really excited at this, “And why is it twice as long as anything they’ve written before?”
I love a good book I can enjoy for a while. Yay!
Bwah-hah-hah! Behold, the POWAH of the true fan!
Love it. Thank you. Really needed a laugh.
Thank you for this post today. I really needed a good laugh after slogging through stuff at work.
Meetings at the Inn are so funny and wonderful. 😀
Mod R, I thought you would be the referee in this roundtable discussion instead of Dina. 😉
This just made me want to chant “One of us! ONE OF US!” Maggie is one of us…. A fan.
Now I want cookies!
Thanks for the snippet in the Inn! My fave! And with the whole cast of characters!
Go Maggie!
I love you House Andrews. all the feels and the giggles.
What a great surprise and welcome break from everything! Many thanks 🙂
I hope this means that you’re feeling a bit less stressed. I have faith in you both and, even though I am a card-carrying member of the BDH, I am capable of waiting, and I fully realize and support that the priority is your well being 🫂
KAAAAATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This!!! You two rock!!!
😂😂😂😂
Poor baby Arabella. I feel for her – but looking forward to Ms. Maggie 😁😁
How fun. So Maggie seems to fit right in with the BDH, although she does seem rather p*tient. Perhaps we could learn from her example. Lol. Looking forward to her book and now I need to find some cookies.
“I have read your books over and over. I know your motivations, your secrets, and your hidden thoughts…I can quote them from memory.”
Awesome, Maggie is an amalgam of the Book Devouring Horde. I’ve always wanted to help inspire a lead character in a novel.
And kudos to her for keeping that crowd on their toes.
Yes yes! We wants the precious Arabella!! Maggie too…and Kate! All of the books! lol!
I love Arabella and can’t wait for her story! Please have her and Mihail be end game!!
Thank you for the tea party! It was a success since no one had to be restrained by the Inn. I guess the Kinsman and the Edgers couldn’t get away 😉 (and Her Grace probably thought it was too plebeian).
I love them all, but I would probably give an extra hug to Arabella if she were real. It’s hard being the one that’s feeling all the feelings. And it doesn’t matter what comes next, I know I will enjoy it.
Thank you. that was fun for a monday!
Sign of life and humor! This was fun. I hope your editing is going well.
Thank you all – it was great to meet you all in the Inn! Maggie, if you read this – we should have a chat about the speed of magic horses. I know from some trustworthy sources that the not-horse Cuddles will manage 22 miles in roughly 3 hours. I do not have it from a book but some slightly less reliable source that horses will walk between 3 and 5 miles an hour – so Cuddles is way faster. I was wondering about canter but was told that most horses would do max 20 min of canter while mules might be a bit stronger. So we have some room for imagination here.
Oh, and hat was awesome! Love Maggie!
That was such a great read. Love seeing all of them together
Love it!
🩷
LMAO! Maggie just gave some of the scariest people in ANY world pause– I think she’s ready to kick butt!
I love reading your words so much! Thanks for the fun today. With all this election stress, I totally needed the laughter!!
That was an absolute delight. ❤️❤️❤️😂
Fabulous.
that was good fun, thank you. i loved the bantering between all my favorite characters.
and especially enjoyed the light-hearted and fun read, when all this election stuff is so depressing and frustrating.
Wonderfulness
Love it!