December 2025
- Jenny M. Cavender
- 1 hour ago
- 7 min read
December 2025
Author Update: Two Weeks in the Wild
Can you believe Blood of the Forgotten is officially two weeks old? It’s out there. In the wild. Finding its way into readers’ hands and hearts. Honestly, that alone feels worth celebrating.
You can grab Blood of the Forgotten pretty much anywhere books are sold, but a little insider secret from yours truly: the best-quality copies come directly from my website shop. Print quality can vary from retailer to retailer, and while ordering direct does cost a bit more (because shipping is, in fact, a curse upon us all), it also comes with some very exclusive perks.
When you order from my shop, you’re not just getting the book. You’re getting the experience. Think signed copy with character art, a Blood of the Forgotten bookmark, a magnet, bookish goodies, and yes… tea. Sip the tea while the book spills it. I regret nothing.
If you’re new here or still on the fence, here’s a little taste of the story waiting for you:
Demons are real. Hutch McLaren hunts them.
Hayden wakes up with no memory and something dark buried inside her mind. Hutch makes a dangerous deal to keep her alive, planning to use her as part of an impossible assignment. But Hayden is not as helpless as she seems, and she has plans of her own.
What starts as strategy turns into something far more volatile. The bond between them refuses to be ignored, and when the truth comes due, it becomes all or nothing. Survival. Trust. And a choice neither of them can walk away from unchanged.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading, sharing, supporting, and cheering this book on as it finds its footing. Two weeks down, and I’m still standing. And so is this story.
Spotlight & Scribbles
Introducing Gothic Revival by Michael Mullin
Chris, Anne, Fiona, and Lauren were inseparable friends while earning MFAs in Creative Writing. Years later they’ve grown apart and are surprised to receive an invitation to a reunion from the fifth member of their group, Eric, a successful screenwriter.
Eric flies them to a remote lake villa where he reveals his new obsession: their group is a modern version of the famous one from Villa Diodati in 1816, the iconic literary event during which Frankenstein was created.
Chris and Anne are their Percy and Mary Shelley. The free-spirited artist Fiona is like Claire Clairmont. Instead of Dr. Polidori, they have Lauren, a PhD in Victorian History. That leaves Eric, the Hollywood player, as Lord Byron.
Like Byron, Eric proposes they write ghost stories, an homage to their famous predecessors. Laughter, creativity, and reminiscence are soon replaced with deceit, suspicion, and fear. What is the self-proclaimed clairvoyant Fiona seeing and hearing? Why does Eric lie? What does the creepy old housekeeper know about their host? Tensions grow as relationships are tested until a shocking discovery reveals the true intention for the reunion.
Let’s get some holiday themes going, shall we? ‘Tis the season after all!
If you could invite your characters to Christmas dinner, who would get the invite? And who remains very uninvited?
Everyone would be invited except Eric, I’d have to say.
Oof, that’s cold. Sorry, Eric. Better luck next time, mate.
What’s a book you read as a kid that permanently rewired your brain?
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
You heard it, first, people! Where the Wild Things Are will change your brain chemistry! Some of us need a good dose of change.
If someone made a documentary about your writing life, what would the most dramatic scene be?
When I met with Tim Burton (His office called me!) after writing two sequels to The Nightmare Before Christmas.
My friend, that is a huge accomplishment! Congratulations!
More info and where you can find author Michael Mullin:
Michael’s author career began with a twisted fairytale retelling about the unknown 8th dwarf which turned into a trilogy of such tales title TaleSpins. He also wrote Simon, a modern-day retelling of Hamlet. Over the years he has received book awards and industry recognition for which he’s very grateful.
He used to write marketing materials for the merch divisions of Disney and other major studios but gave all that up because he was tired of selling people junk that was destined for a landfill. Before he was a writer, he was a college professor and a preschool teacher.
Michael lives in Pasadena, CA with his wonderful wife Dani and their ridiculously cool dog Finn. Their twins, Sophie and Max, have finished college. He couldn’t be prouder and more amazed. Even though he’s been in California since 1996, all of Michael’s pro sports allegiances remain in his native New England.
Snack Attack:
Because every good reading session deserves a snack that feels indulgent and a little virtuous.
These white chocolate coconut cookies are soft, lightly chewy, and just sweet enough to feel like a treat without sending you into a sugar spiral. Perfect for sipping tea and pretending you’re only going to eat one.
Ingredients
½ cup coconut oil, melted (or butter if you’re feeling classic)
½ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (or white whole wheat for extra goodness)
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup white chocolate chips or chunks
Optional glow-up: add 1 tbsp ground flaxseed or chia seeds for a sneaky fiber boost.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing until glossy.
Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until combined.
Fold in shredded coconut and white chocolate.
Scoop dough onto the baking sheet, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 9–11 minutes, until edges are lightly golden but centers stay soft.
Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a rack… or straight to a plate.
These cookies pair beautifully with a cup of tea and a story that insists on spilling secrets.
3) Writer’s Wisdom: Writing Male MCs Readers Obsess Over
It’s time to talk about male main characters. The kind readers argue about and defend in comment sections. Let’s break down what to avoid, and what actually makes an MMC unforgettable.
3 Things to Avoid
The Cardboard Alpha
If his entire personality is brooding, barking orders, and having an impressive jawline, then we’ve got a problem. Strength without depth is just noise. If he’s dangerous and emotionally closed off, there needs to be substance underneath. Otherwise, he’s just uncomfortable furniture no one tolerates.
The Emotionally Illiterate Man-Child
There’s a difference between guarded and clueless. An MMC who can’t communicate at all, never reflects, and needs a woman to teach him basic humanity gets old fast. Let him struggle, yes. Let him fail, absolutely. But give him the capacity to learn.
The Savior Complex
Protective is hot. Possessive without respect is not. Retire the guy who bulldozes her choices “for her own good.” (I’m looking at you, Tamlin.)The best MMCs don’t just save the day. They stand beside her while she does.
3 Things to Do
Give Him a Code
Whether it’s moral, tactical, or painfully personal, he should live by something. Rules he won’t break. Lines he refuses to cross. And when he finally does cross one? That moment should matter. (Hutch McLaren lives here. He’s not soft. He’s principled. If you just read my dern book, you’d get it.)
Let Him Be Dangerous… Selectively
A great MMC knows exactly when to unleash violence and when to pull it back. He’s not reckless. He’s controlled. The danger isn’t that he might lose control, it’s that he usually doesn’t. That restraint is where the tension lives.
Show His Heart in the Quiet Things
The way he cooks. Fixes something without being asked. Stays silent instead of filling the air. You see, love doesn’t always show up in speeches. Sometimes it looks like staying when walking away would hurt less. That, my friend, is where readers fall apart in the best way.
Writing a compelling MMC isn’t about making him perfect. It’s about making him intentional. Built with flaws and loyalty that costs him something. We want the kind of man who doesn’t just want her… he chooses her, even when it ruins his plans.
Next month, we might talk about morally gray men and why readers eat them up like dessert. Strictly for educational purposes.
4) Verses and Victories
Lately, I’ve been sitting in a strange in-between. The book is out in the world. That part is done. And now comes the waiting and the wondering. The questions that creep in when the noise dies down: Will my writing dream make it? Will this book find the readers it’s meant for?
Or does the dream quietly end here, not because it wasn’t real, but because life requires groceries, which requires a steady income? And the need to show up fully for the little girl who calls me Mom?
Dreams don’t exist in a vacuum, you know. They live alongside responsibility. They live alongside exhaustion and very real bills. And sometimes faith looks less like confidence and more like choosing not to let go, even when your hands are tired.
I keep thinking about Abraham. God called Abraham to leave everything familiar, promising him descendants as numerous as the stars. The problem was, Abraham and Sarah had no children. Years passed, and the promise didn’t look more possible with time. In fact, it looked impossible.
Yet Abraham kept walking.
Faith didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid. Scripture shows us his doubts and his human fear. Faith meant he trusted God’s character even when the timeline made no sense. Even when the promise felt late. Even when it felt risky to keep believing.
That’s where I find myself right now. Choosing faith doesn’t mean pretending the fear isn’t there. It means I have to keep trusting anyway. Trusting that if God planted a dream, He knows how to sustain it. And if the path shifts, that doesn’t mean the calling was a lie. Sometimes it just means the road is longer than we expected (instant gratification is not the same as lasting gratification).
So if you’re waiting too, holding a promise that feels heavy in your hands, you’re not behind and you’re not forgotten.
You’re walking. And sometimes, that’s the bravest victory of all.
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