C M Debell

@cmdebell

She/her. Writer and reader of stories. Fantasy forever. Lymond ❤️. Freelancer by day. SPFBO9 semi-finalist. Free book via my newsletter linktr.ee/cmdebell

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C M Debell@cmdebell· 26d

The #StuffWithFantasy summer sale is on today (17 July) - more than 100 ebooks for 0.99, including The Many Shades of Midnight. Check it out here: stuffwithfantasy.com/event/69fc11... #booksale #indiefantasy #booksky

Collage of front covers of fantasy ebooks in the Stuff With Fantasy Summer Solstice 0.99 sale on 17 July 2026

C M Debell@cmdebell· 28d

It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'change'. Here's a snippet from a conversation between Alyas and Cassana from one of my favourite stories in In Midnight's Shadow, a collection of stories that fills in the background to The Many Shades of Midnight. #writingsky #bookqw #indiefantasy 🪐📚💙

Front cover of In Midnight's Shadow by CM Debell and extract for Book Quote Wednesday prompt 'change'.

“There were things he wanted. I knew that. I didn’t think he wanted them so much that he would take everything else because he couldn’t have them. But I no longer trust my judgement where Raffa is concerned.”
That surprised her. “What things?”
He didn’t answer, but his eyes slid to the tree from which he had hung the Isyr blades that had been his father’s.
“Would you have given them to him?”
“I would have killed him.” The admission was stark, unadorned. Perhaps the most honest thing he had ever said to her. It was her first glimpse of the hold the blades had on him; it wouldn’t be the last. She had no idea then what it was they did to him, or the strength of will it took to remain himself. She didn’t understand all the ways they had already changed him or the price they would take.
I would have killed him.
If she had known, would she still have let that go unchallenged?

C M Debell@cmdebell· Jun 24

It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'drive'. The Many Shades of Midnight is all about a priceless mineral called Isyr. Unfortunately, it also has a tendency to drive people mad. 🪐📚💙 #bookqw #indiefantasy #writesky #writingcommunity

Front cover of The Many Shades of Midnight and short snippet for book quote wednesday prompt 'drive'.

He didn’t reply. He just sat there in silence, one hand unconsciously curled around the hilt of the Isyr sword as though he would dearly love to use it. So that was one thing they shared. She had never understood how he could wear those blades all the time. It had driven her half-mad at first with jealousy. But then she had seen what they had done to him, bit by bit, and knew it was a gesture that carried a heavy cost.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Jun 17

It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'never'. This story, from In Midnight's Shadow, fills in an important piece of backstory for the characters in The Many Shades of Midnight. 🪐📚💙 #bookqw #indiefantasy #writesky

Front cover and quote from In Midnight's Shadow by CM Debell for Book Quote Wednesday.

Ailuin watched the Lankaran come. Alone. Arms held up and out, away from the bright blades that hung at his hips, their hilts catching the first rays of the dawn sun in a blaze of light.
Isyr.
Only one man wore blades of Isyr steel. Even Ailuin, who had never travelled beyond his beloved mountains, knew that. Only one man, and he was dead. Travellers had carried the news from Avarel earlier in the year, just one more snippet of gossip out of Lankara’s great capital, another small tragedy in a world that wrought them on itself as though it did not know how to live without suffering.
Gerrin-Raine Sera was dead. By his own hand, according to rumour. Now his son was here, wearing the blades that had made his father famous the length of Ellasia. And he said he wanted peace.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Jun 10

It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'group'. This is an excerpt from The Siege of Druine. It's a prequel novel to The Many Shades of Midnight, and it's about, well, a siege... 🪐📚💙 #bookqw #indiefantasy #writesky (Also this book is available free via my newsletter)

Front cover and excerpt from The Siege of Druine by CM Debell for Book Quote Wednesday word 'group'.

“Evarius!” The rebel leader looked up at Alyas, who pointed to the carnage by the collapsed toll gate, where the dead and dying lay together in a bloody sprawl of limbs. “Collect your wounded. You have one hour.”
“They won’t,” Aubron muttered as Alyas stalked away. “Look at them.” His tone was scornful, disgusted, but his eyes and hands were busy with his crossbow, because looking at them meant looking at what they had done to them, and no one wanted to do that.
He was wrong. As Keie and the rest of the horsemen waited across the entrance to the pass, small groups of survivors crept forward, searching for friends, for men they had trained with and fought beside, taking the living and sometimes the dead. And when they were done and only the unclaimed dead remained, Esar sent a party to drag the bodies into the pass, where they rolled them into the gorge with a quick prayer to Yholis. It wasn’t ideal, but they couldn’t leave the corpses to rot beneath their walls.
Then he went looking for Alyas.
“Go away, Esar,” his brother said when he found him.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Jun 3

It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'several'. Here's a snippet from The Many Shades of Midnight. Things are starting to unravel. 🪐📚💙 #bookqw #indiefantasy #writesky

Front cover of The Many Shades of Midnight and quote for Book Quote Wednesday - the word is 'several'.

Esar took a cautious step forward. He looked from the bodies to Alyas. “Are you all right?”
Alyas blinked. Some of the fury faded from his eyes. Some. There was still something not quite right about his expression, and several people in this room were very dead. Not that Esar had a problem with that in general, but five on one was a bit much, even for Alyas.
Alyas took an unsteady step, one sword point pressed into the ground. He looked at the bodies like he was seeing them for the first time. His hand was shaking, which was oddly reassuring. Killing tended to do that to you. Or it should.
“Alyas,” Esar said sharply. When dark eyes snapped to his, he said again, “Are you all right?” Because nothing else about this was.
“Esar.” And then, finally, his face eased. “I knew you would come.” His voice sounded normal, steady.
“You didn’t wait for me though,” Esar observed. “What did they want?”

C M Debell@cmdebell· May 27

It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'morning'. Here's a snippet from In Midnight's Shadow, which is collection of short stories and novellas about the characters in The Many Shades of Midnight. #bookqw #indiefantasy #writesky 📚💙

Quote from In Midnight's Shadow for Book Quote Wednesday: 'morning'.

Esar woke her in the morning with a gentle shake and a mug of hot tea. Alyas was asleep beside her, head pillowed on his bent knees. He didn’t stir as she stretched stiff muscles, nor when she reached out to take the tea and brushed his arm with hers.
Esar looked from her to his brother, still sound asleep, and shook his head. “You do have the magic touch, don’t you? Can I persuade you to stay? Keie thinks you’d be good with a spear.”
“Keie’s wrong.”
Esar grinned. “I don’t know about that. When he wakes, tell him Agazi’s gone to collect your ransom.”
He returned to the fire and Cassana drank the tea, which was too hot and unsweetened, and tried not to disturb the sleeping man by her side. But he roused eventually, woken by the sounds of the camp being dismantled, coming awake with a start, hands reaching on instinct towards the blades by his feet.
Then he turned his head and saw her and his expression changed, morphing from confusion to something close to panic that hurt her heart to watch.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Apr 10

Starting tomorrow until 13 April, 280+ indie SFFH ebooks will go on sale for 0.99 or less. Time to break your TBRs. Find the sale here when it starts on 11 April: indiebook.sale #Narratessindiesale #indieapril #booksale 💙📚🪐

Collage of front covers for books participating in the Indie Book Sale, Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror, 11-13 April 2026

C M Debell@cmdebell· Feb 27

Post a pic you took, no context, to bring some zen to the feed.

A purple and orange sunset over the water at the beach in Miyajima, Japan.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Feb 9

The Many Shades of Midnight is free on Kindle via a BookBub deal through 11 February. If you like gritty, character-driven political fantasy with environmental themes, you might enjoy this. books2read.com/u/brev8w

BookBub promo graphic for The many shades of Midnight by CM Debell
Front cover of The Many Shades of Midnight.
text reading: $3.99, NOW FREE, Available for a limited time from Bookbub.com

C M Debell@cmdebell· Dec 26

The r/fantasy charity megasale starts today. More than 650 books are on sale for free or 0.99 and a proportion of the proceeds goes to the Mary Cariola Centre. The Many Shades of Midnight is 0.99 in all markets. Shop the sale: megasale.yrliu.com

Graphic for the r/fantasy megasale
Text: 2925 Holiday Megasale
More than 300 authors! Over 659 books free or 0.99
To benefit the Mary Cariola Center

C M Debell@cmdebell· Dec 10

It's book quote Wednesday, and the word is 'blue'. Blue is an important colour in The Many Shades of Midnight. It's the colour of Isyrium, the mineral that underpins the whole economy of Ellasia and is used for everything from heating and lighting to jewellery and clothing dye. #bookqw 💙📚

Front cover of The Many Shades of Midnight by CM Debell and quote for book quote Wednesday prompt 'blue'

If Alyas had hoped for a relatively private first audience with the king, that hope was dashed as soon as the doors opened. Anyone who could claim the status to be present was crammed into the room, some of them still red in the face and adjusting their elaborate court clothes as though they had run here from whatever they had been doing as soon as they heard he was back. And they watched him with expressions that veered from outright hostility to naked disdain.
But that wasn’t the worst thing. Not by a long way. Worse than their contempt was the woman who sat to the left of the king’s empty throne, her blue court dress studded with Isyrium and her dark hair piled high on her head. Ovisia Galea, king’s advisor and head of the Orleas Syndicate, and a most vengeful-looking enemy.
“Sayora,” Alyas greeted her as if they were merely continuing their last conversation and he did not have the full assembly of Avarel’s court glaring at his back. “How delightful. Are you going to try to arrest me again?”

C M Debell@cmdebell· Nov 20

#WIPSnips 21 November 'special' Here's one of my favourite instances of 'special' in The Many Shades of Midnight. #writingcommunity #writingprompts #writesky #writingfantasy #indiefantasy

Quote from The Many Shades of Midnight for #WIPSnips prompt 21 November 'special'

“I must admit, I expected more of you, Your Grace,” the syndie called. “Letting your company die to save yourself.”
Esar used his greater size and weight to block the door. “They know what to do,” he insisted.
“Would they do the same for you I wonder?” mused the voice in the courtyard. And the first Isyrium flask went flying—not towards the wing where the company had been lodged, but towards the captain’s office where they were hiding. Esar heard it smash on the roof above, followed by the thud and whoosh of a fire arrow. “Fuck.”
The captain screamed and scrambled over his desk to claw into Esar. Alyas retained enough sense to snatch the half-finished confession from the desk and tuck it inside his armour as flames started to eat through the roof and the smoke billowed in.
“It looks like we are going to find out, doesn’t it?” the smug voice said, and Esar decided he was going to give that man his special attention when they got out of this.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Nov 19

#WIPSnips 19 November 'third' All my WIP uses of 'third' are spoilery, so here's one I found in the story Ailuin's Peace from In Midnight's Shadow. #writingcommunity #writesky #booksky #indiefantasy #shortstory

Quote from In Midnight's Shadow for WIPSnips prompt 19 November 'third'

Alyas was sitting down when Esar returned the trophies he had taken from Corado, which was a good thing, judging by the way his face paled when he counted them and realised there were only four.
“Are you sure?” he asked for the third time.
Esar, who wasn’t at all sure, said, “I had my hands full with you, if you remember. Which you probably don’t. I didn’t see any others. Why?”
The leather cords with their strange pendants were draped across Alyas’s knee, two made of copper and another two of silver. They were carved with designs similar to the painted whorls the Lathai wore on their skin, each one unique. Personal.
“I can look,” he offered. Had he missed one? But if he had, someone would have picked it up by now and they’d never see it again. Alyas could hardly order its return. Matters were too delicate for that to be tolerated. And if Corado still had it, it was too late. Nicor had left with him hours ago.
“Why?” Esar asked again. “Why does it matter so much?” He could understand that Alyas wanted to return them with the bodies, but the torture and death of the prisoners was a far greater obstacle to his hope of salvaging the negotiations than one missing amulet.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Nov 15

What fictional creature/villain traumatized you as a kid? The Hound of the Baskervilles. My older brother used to sneak into my bedroom when I was asleep and put this book by my bed so I would see it when I woke up in the night 😂

Front cover of the Ladybird Horror Classics version of The Hound of the Baskervilles

C M Debell@cmdebell· Nov 12

It's Book Quote Wednesday and this week the word is 'girl'. Here's a quote from In Midnight's Shadow - a terrible plan has gone terribly. #bookqw #writingcommunity #indiefantasy 📚🪐💙

From cover and quote from In Midnight's Shadow for Book Quote Wednesday prompt 'girl'

“Who’s this?” Esar asked, struggling into a sitting position.
The girl maintained an unfriendly silence. There were bruises on her face and ugly marks at her wrists. It was Alyas who said, “This is Della.”
Esar closed his eyes as the thudding in his head reached a new pitch. He gave up trying to sit. “And what’s a Qidan girl doing here?” There were enough northerners with the company that he could recognise Qidan blood when he saw it, and he didn’t expect to see it in a syndicate cell in Hantara. Whoever this girl was, she didn’t belong here. Neither did they.
Alyas said, “She stole from the wrong people.”
“Lot of that going around,” Esar muttered. “Where are we?”
“A syndicate safehouse, I assume. How’s your head?”
“It hurts. How’s yours?”
“Hurts,” Alyas admitted. “Are you all right?”
“No,” Esar snapped. Because he wasn’t. “Told you this was a trap.” The worst kind of trap, so bad he didn’t even want to think about it.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Nov 5

Here's a quote from The Many Shades of Midnight for the #bookqw prompt 'colour' A plague is turning people into monsters, and it's spreading. #writingcommunity #writesky 📚🪐💙

Front cover of The Many Shades of Midnight and quote for Book Quote Wednesday prompt 'colour'

“We were in Flaeres,” Cantrell said, surprising him again. “Chasing rumours. Did you know Ado has been cut off?”
Brivar shook his head. Ado was far to the northeast, hugging the farthest edges of the vast Qido Empire. It was small, poor, and of little consequence to the rulers of Ellasia since its wealth in Isyrium had dried up a century ago. What it had to do with Flaeres he didn’t know, and he was sure from Cantrell’s tone that he didn’t want to.
Cantrell stared through him. He was talking, Brivar suspected, for much the same reason as Brivar was pacing. “Qido has closed its borders with Ado. Nothing gets in or out. No one knows why, or if they do, no one will say.” He blinked, pressing his knuckles to his eyes. “They came out of nowhere. I have never seen their like. Blue from their heads to their feet, naked. The colour of midnight. There were beasts with them, and it was almost impossible to tell one from the other—which was human and which was not.” He lapsed into silence, his gaze drifting. Then he said, “They went straight for him. I don’t know why. We barely got him out of there. I still have nightmares about it.”

C M Debell@cmdebell· Nov 4

#WIPSnips 4 November 'steel' In The Many Shades of Midnight, Alyas has a matching sword and dagger made from Isyr steel, an extremely valuable metal. If weapons were characters, these blades could be my MC. They cause so much trouble. #writingcommunity #writesky #writingfantasy

Quote from The Many Shades of Midnight for #WIPSnips prompt 'steel' for 4 November

A yawn overtook him, and he turned to pace back across the cave. His gaze snagged on the paired blades hanging on the wall, the elegant hilts the unmistakable cool blue of Isyr steel. Unable to help himself, Brivar ran his fingers over the cold metal, feeling the legendary silkiness of the steel that never lost its edge. They were weapons fit for a king—rare, priceless treasures. Irreplaceable. It had been impossible to mine pure Isyrium for decades. The rough ore that was mined these days was processed by the syndicates and used to power Ellasia’s burgeoning new industries and the work of its temples, but the purity required for Isyr steel was lost to the past. Wars had been fought over it. Even now, possession of it dictated relations between nations.
Cantrell, looking up, said bitterly, “Beautiful, aren’t they? Worth as much as the whole of Lankara. They were his father’s, a gift from the Emperor of Qido. Much good they did him.”

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 31

#WIPSnips 31 October 'monster' Happy Halloween! A mysterious plague is turning people into monsters in The Many Shades of Midnight. #writesky #writingcommunity #writingfantasy

Quote from The Many Shades of Midnight for #WIPSnips prompt 31 October 'monster'

Dark shapes moved among the dead. There are no monsters here, Corado had said. Well, there were. He was looking at them.
“Yholis, that’s Gregan,” the foreman sobbed. “That’s my brother.”
Esar shot him an appalled look. ‘Gregan’ was on all fours in the carnage, his skin mottling from white to blue to black like the corruption of a wound gone bad, spreading its poison through him, changing him. He had once had a name; now he wouldn’t even recognise it. All around him were other changed things, men, women, children—Yholis have mercy, there were children here—and weaving between them the smaller forms of dogs, rats, and wild creatures from the plains. And everywhere they went, whatever they touched, they left it starting to sicken and die, changing like they had changed.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 24

#WIPSnips 24 October 'total' From my historical fantasy - the beginning of a falling out that will have devastating consequences. #writingcommunity #writesky #writingfantasy

$Quote from Red Dragon Rising for the #WIPSnips prompt 'total' “I have never,” said Aymer d’Carle with a touch of exasperation, “made any secret of where I stand on this matter. Perhaps if you had listened a little more attentively over the last few years, you would have realised that.” It was too honest. He knew it at once from the way Carwel’s expression shuttered, anger disappearing behind the cool composure that always preceded his most vicious moods. “Oh, I know perfectly well where you stand, dear brother. In opposition to me in all things. Isn’t that so?” Aymer considered his brother-in-law, a man he had once called a friend. A man who, even now, he could appreciate for his decisiveness and quickness of mind. It was a shame that he paired those good qualities with a total disregard for anything save his own interests and a refusal to accept any checks on his power. A refusal that had alienated many of his great lords and seen the whole country suffer under the burden of his frequent wars, not just in Llyn but also in his territories across the sea in Laeros. “Not in all things,” he said. Had he not fought beside Carwel in every one of those wars? Had he not, at his brother-in-law’s request, governed for a time some of those fractious territories and attempted to curb their rebellious nature? Had he not incurred crippling debts in doing so, debts the king had yet to settle? “Just in this.”$

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 22

It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'self' Alyas sends a would-be revolutionary packing in The Many Shades of Midnight. #bookqw #writingcommunity #writesky

Quote from The Many Shades of Midnight for Book Quote Wednesday 'self'

She stared at him, confused and disappointed. “We don’t want violence, but they won’t listen to anything else.”
“It won’t matter what you want,” Alyas said, opening the door. “If you threaten their power—really threaten it—they will fight to defend it, and it will be violence and death whether you want it or not. And they will win.”
Tersa walked out. Brivar made to follow her but a pointed look from Alyas pinned him in place.
“I thought you would help,” she said as she passed him.
“You thought wrong. Can I trust you to see yourself out? It would be most inconvenient if I have to take you home to your parents and explain that you damaged my property because you believe owning it is a crime.”

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 20

#WIPSnips 20 October 'field' Slightly cheating with this one but it works - this is from my historical fantasy WIP. #writingcommunity #writesky #booksky #writingfantasy

Quote from Red Dragon Rising for #WIPSnips prompt 'field'.

“Pretty eyes?” Aymer shifted his gaze to the Cynrith delegation, where Prince Darraion was indeed watching him. Smiling slightly, smarting from his own brush with defeat, Aymer lifted his cup in ironic salute, but the Llynish prince didn’t return the gesture, eyes flicking sideways to Carwel. Eyes that appeared perfectly unremarkable to Aymer, but he was not an impressionable young girl who read too many love stories.
“You can put that out of your mind,” he said firmly. “The Prince of Cynrith is the last man alive you should pin any romantic notions on.”
Mathild gazed innocently at him over the rim of her wine cup. She was nineteen, old enough to have been married a year or more had he been of a mind to accept one of the many offers for her hand. But he was not; she was only nineteen and so innocent still. In some things. “Because he’s Llynish?”
“Yes.” Aymer did not lie to Mathild, or to any of his children, and he had no desire to be one day forced to go to war with his daughter’s husband. The matter of Llyn had reached a temporary pause but it was not settled. “Men like that don’t live long lives or die pretty deaths, and that is not nearly as romantic as you think it is.”
It was, he realised, seeing Mathild’s expression go dreamier still, not the right approach for a girl who drank in stories of heroic battlefield deaths like strong wine. Well, she’d get over it. Come tomorrow, Cynrith’s prince would disappear back into his inhospitable heartland in Gytha’s Spine and was as like to die by a brother’s hand as a Mornish sword.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 10

#WIPSnips 10th October 'prize' I have this one! It's not a WIP, but here's a snippet from In Midnight's Shadow. Alyas is proposing to steal a famous treasure from a temple and Esar just knows this is a Very Bad Idea. #writesky #booksky #writingcommunity #writingfantasy

Quote from In Midnight's Shadow for WIPSnips 10th October prompt 'prize'

“That was the easy part.” Alyas unfolded a sheet of parchment. “Getting hold of this was much more difficult.”
It was another sketch. Though ‘sketch’ didn’t do it justice. In the centre of the page, surrounded by crabbed notes, was an illustration of the Empress Ivane casket, colours and details picked out by a skilled artist. Esar scanned the notes, what he could read of them, then the faded signature in the corner. Not any artist. The artist. Eirik Hagan. One of the most famous Isyr craftsmen who had ever lived and the man who had made the box.
He met Alyas’s eyes with a sinking feeling. “Where did you get this?”
“Same place I got the Isyr. The Temple of Yholis. Their library is a treasure trove.”
Esar dropped his head in his hands with a groan. “You robbed Yholis so we can rob Ithol? Have you lost your bloody mind?”
“I didn’t steal it,” Alyas protested, retrieving his prize. “I borrowed it.”
“Do they know you borrowed it?”
“If I’d asked, they might have said no.”
“Then you stole it. And I don’t want to know about the rest. We’ll have no friends left by the time this is over.”

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 8

#WIPSnips 8 October 'dungeon' Considering that I write fantasy, I couldn't find 'dungeon' in any of my books, written or in progress. I did find this snippet from a historial fantasy that I am wrestling with that has kind of the right vibes. #writesky #writingcommunity #writingfantasy

“It sounds,” she said, “as if you’re trying to convince yourself.”
There was a long silence. Darri’s voice, when he finally answered, held a note of despair. “Not even in my worst moments. How could I? They are my brothers.”
And Reis he even loved, probably more than the boy deserved. But if Reis was conflicted in his loyalties, that was hardly his fault. None of these three were truly to blame for where they found themselves.
“Then it is what you do with them that is keeping you from the sleep you need?”
“What are my options?” The frustration was evident in his voice. “I cannot simply forgive and forget, go back to how things were.”
“Nor should you, I think. Especially Iro. But—”
“But Iro has spent too much of his life in a cage already? Do you think I don’t know that? He is what we made him. Should I be surprised that he hates me?”
“We?” Merionn shook her head. “Darri, that was none of your doing. There are many people Iro could hate for what was done to him and to your father. Maelys, Carwel, perhaps even Edelyn. But you were a child. It was not your fault, and you could not have changed it.”
“I was a child then. Not now. Now it will be my hand on the key and no other’s. And so help me, Merionn, I mean to throw that key into the deepest lake in Llyn.”

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 7

#WIPSnips 7 October 'safe' I have lots of 'safer', 'safety', 'safely' in this WIP but so far only this one use of 'safe'. #writesky #writingcommunity #booksky #writingfantasy

Quote from Northern Steel for the prompt 'safe'

“Hengyr told me… that he knew you were alive. Tais, I didn’t know, I swear it. I didn’t know.”
Hengyr. Her husband. It made it worse, somehow, hearing her say his name. “What would you have done if you did?”
He couldn’t keep the bitterness from his voice and Istra looked away, unable to meet his eyes. What did he expect? He had seen where she lived, the luxuries she enjoyed that he could never give her, never give his daughter, not even if he lived a hundred lifetimes. Of course she wouldn’t have exchanged that for more of the same hardship she had tried so long to escape. It was just one more thing he couldn’t blame her for, but Yholis, it hurt. Because he might not have been able to give them much, but he would have given them everything.
“Do you love him?” he demanded roughly, turning the knife on himself, as if he wasn’t bleeding enough already. “Did you love me?”
“Why? What can it matter now?”
“It matters because we have a daughter! You might be able to forget that, but I can’t. I couldn’t, not once these last five years. I need to know, Istra.”
She stared at him, exasperated. “Did I? I don’t know. You were safe, kind. You were there. Did you love me? Or was I just a distraction from Cat?”

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 6

#WIPSnips 6 October 'miss' When your characters have enough problems without a crown prince who should know better popping in for a visit. #writingcommunity #writesky #booksky #writingfantasy

Quote from Northern Steel for the prompt 'miss'

Very deliberately, she set the bottle on her desk. With some force.
Krado blinked at her in surprise, oblivious to the tension. “Really, Cat. I don’t see what the fuss is about. No one knows I’m here—”
“That’s the bloody problem! What do you think your guards will do once they realise you’re missing? Gods, they’ll tear this city apart.” And anyone who got in their way.
“But they don’t know,” he said patiently. “They think I’m in seclusion, contemplating the state of my soul or something. They won’t find out for, oh, hours.” An airy wave of his hand served to underline the vagueness of this estimate.
“They won’t find out at all,” she snapped, “because you’re going back. Osk—”
“No.” Krado leant back in the chair and crossed his legs at the ankles with a casual smile that nevertheless conveyed the immovable force of the imperial will. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 4

#WIPSnips October 4 - 'hunt' I don't have 'hunt' in this WIP, but I do have 'follow' in this scene, and it has the right vibes. #writingcommunity #writesky #booksky #writingfantasy

Grey Coat stuck with Tais as he left the temple square, and the familiar prickle settled between his shoulder blades. He wasn’t imagining it. The man was following him.
He assessed his options. He wasn’t far from the edge of the Silks. The sensible course would be to let the gate guards deal with his shadow. He had been intending to take the blades to Vir anyway, and he would have bet a month’s pay that it was only because of the Isyr that he had a shadow in the first place.
On the other hand, he was tired and fed up, and beating answers out of someone suited his mood far better than prudent retreat. So, he changed course and headed not to the Silks, but towards the streets around the garrison. He would be on familiar turf there, and Yholis help any thug caught threatening a former soldier on their own ground.
Grey Coat wasn’t stupid, however. As soon as it became apparent where he was heading, his shadow stopped skulking. He also multiplied, another man appearing out of the side streets to keep pace with Tais as Grey Coat closed in from behind.
Tais stopped. They weren’t going to let him reach the garrison. Well, fine. His hand was tight around the hilt of the Isyr sword, and he was itching to use it.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 3

#WIPSnips today is 'hibernate'. I can't find a hibernate but sleep, or lack of it, is something that comes up a lot in my Tales of Isyr series. Alyas has a problem with sleep, but he can sleep when he’s with Cassana. #writesky #booksky #writingcommunity #writingfantasy

“You’re poor enough company after one sleepless night. I’ve no wish to experience your claws after two. So let me stay awake for you, and I promise, if you need me to, I’ll wake you.”
It wasn’t hard to imagine what he was afraid of. Or why, when he couldn’t stay awake any longer, he had found a place to hide away. What must his dreams be like for him to fear them that much?
“Cassana.” Barely more than a breath, it was the first time he had ever called her by her name, and it ached with exhaustion. His hand found hers and twined them together in the darkness.
“Sleep, Alyas,” she murmured. She squeezed gently and felt him, finally, relax against her. She was so tired it hurt, but she could stay awake if it meant he would sleep. Which he did, almost as soon as he surrendered, and did not, as far as she could tell, suffer the nightmares he so obviously feared. And as his breathing evened out, her own eyelids slid closed.

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 3

The Stuff With Fantasy Free Fall event starts today! 200+ books are free until 5th October. Check out the sale at stuffwithfantasy.com/event/68930d... #freebooks #stuffwithfantasy #indiefantasy

Collage of front covers of fantasy books in the Stuff With Fantasy Free Fall book event from October 3-5th 2025
www.stuffwithfantasy.com

C M Debell@cmdebell· Oct 2

#WIPSnips I don't have 'salmon' in any of my books, but I did manage to find a fish in this WIP #writesky #writingfantasy #writingcommunity