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Silver Song is available for pre-order!
Silver Song will be available in digital and paperback on July 7, 2026. Pre-orders are open!
Kay Zempel
2 days ago1 min read
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Work in Progress: My Darling Necromancer
A meeting between a mysterious stranger and a necromancer
Kay Zempel
Feb 186 min read
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Are the books anti-intellectual or are you?
Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-black-t-shirt-lying-on-yellow-bed-4866040/ Content warnings: language, sex, and rape The title is rather clickbaity, but it does sum up the crux of an argument that has take root in my brain recently. Every few months or so, someone will pop up on the internet with the same hot take: romance novels, and their readers, are either degenerates or stupid or both. Are there problems in romance as a genre? Definitely.
Kay Zempel
Feb 166 min read
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Short Story: The Red Mug
A short story about the small moments in romance
Kay Zempel
Feb 133 min read
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Personal Curriculum Update
In this post here , I outlined my fall personal curriculum. At the end of month one, I looked at my husband and told him I made a mistake. I planned too much for the curriculum that I made and designed for myself. For fun. He laughed and said that he was not surprised that I, an overachieving, reformed perfectionist, overloaded myself. Werewolves Let's start with what was worth my time. I started this section on werewolves by reading Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison. I wo
Kay Zempel
Nov 4, 20253 min read
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Happy Birthday to Moon Dance
The Moon Dance ebook is out now! You can find purchase information here . TW: suicide, depression I started writing Moon Dance as I came out of a severe suicidal episode. I had quit my job after a lengthy medical leave and we had decided to move across the country from California to Washington state (yes up and down is still across the country!). For much of the process of writing and rewriting Moon Dance I was processing my own grief, trauma, and mental illness. A year ago
Kay Zempel
Oct 31, 20251 min read
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Moon Dance is now available on Barnes & Noble and Bookshop
Good news for folks who want more options than Amazon for purchasing Moon Dance ! It is now available for pre-order as an ebook on Bookshop.org and as an ebook and paperback at Barnes & Noble . The ebook will release on 10/31 for all retailers while the paperback will release on 11/4.
Kay Zempel
Oct 27, 20251 min read
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On Endings and Beginnings
On closing a chapter of life and the beginning of a new one
Kay Zempel
Oct 8, 20253 min read
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Book Review: Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon
I need to start this review with a little bit of context for you. I was vaguely aware of Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarian 's before...
Kay Zempel
Sep 29, 20253 min read
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Dance Me to the End: Part Three
Dance Me to the End is set in the Magic Revealed universe. It is completely free. I'm posting it as I write it, so it is unedited, but...
Kay Zempel
Sep 26, 20254 min read
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My Personal Curriculum: Fall/Winter-ish 2025
Creating a personal curriculum of study for the fall
Kay Zempel
Sep 19, 20256 min read
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On Being a Creative
On being a creative and what creativity means
Kay Zempel
Sep 17, 20253 min read
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Dance Me to the End: Part Two
Dance Me to the End is set in the Magic Revealed universe. It is completely free. I'm posting it as I write it, so it is unedited, but proof-read.
This is Part Two.
Kay Zempel
Sep 3, 20253 min read
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Dance Me to the End: Part One
Dance Me to the End is set in the Magic Revealed universe. It is completely free. I'm posting it as I write it, so it is unedited, but proof-read.
This is Part One.
Kay Zempel
Aug 21, 20254 min read
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"The Dark Beside You" and the end of an era
In the process of writing my short story, I reflected on what it meant to leave my own career as a university professor.
Kay Zempel
May 15, 20252 min read
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Book Review(s): Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh
Words cannot express the chokehold this series has on me still after reading. So much so that I have been in a reading slump since I...
Kay Zempel
Aug 20, 202411 min read
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Why Disability Representation Matters (Especially in Romance)
July is Disability Pride Month. This month-long celebration began the year the Americans with Disabilities Act (you may know this as ADA) was signed, in 1990 (1). This is an important month for me as I'm disabled. Now, I know in the disabled community, there are many more person-centered words to describe the experience. I use disabled as it is the legal term defined by the ADA to avoid any ambiguity. I also find disabled more encompassing of a variety of experiences. However
Kay Zempel
Jul 6, 20244 min read
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Library Chess
Any long-time user of Libby knows to use the "Available Now" filter when looking for their next read. I typically use my library holds...
Kay Zempel
Jun 26, 20241 min read
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Disability Short Story: The Waiting Room at the Ketamine Clinic
I have clinical depression which is being treated in part by ketamine infusions. This is based on my experience
Kay Zempel
May 28, 20242 min read
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Let's Talk About Sex: Does it Belong in Fantasy?
Are you team open door or team closed door?
Kay Zempel
May 28, 20244 min read
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