C. L. Schneider

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About C. L. Schneider
Born in a small Kansas town on the Missouri river, C.L. Schneider grew up in a house of avid readers and overflowing bookshelves. Her first full-length novel took shape while she was still in high school, on a typewriter in her parent's living room. Though Schneider has been writing all of her life, Magic-Price (the award-winning first installment in The Crown of Stones Trilogy) was her first published novel.
While her main focus is epic and urban fantasy for adults, she dabbles in all areas of speculative fiction. Her stories tend to be dark, conflict-laden tales full of magic and mystery, action and intrigue, antiheroes and villains, monsters and myths, friendship, love, loss and sacrifice—with enough twists to give you whiplash.
Learn more about C.L. Schneider, and the magical worlds she creates, at clschneiderauthor.com, where you can read reviews, excerpts, sneak peeks and teasers, subscribe to her newsletter, and join her Street Team. An active part of the online indie author community, you can connect with her on social media, or visit the News and Events page on her website for a full list of C.L. Schneider's in-person appearances in the NY, NJ, and CT area.
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Blog postI'm so excited to share with you the cover of Slash & Burn, the 4th installment in the Nite Fire Series! The cover is a little different from the first three books but, since this one's a game-changer for Dahila and the gang, it's fitting. Check out the blurb below... Surviving her ordeal on Drimera was only the beginning. Forced to pick up the remains of her life and move on, Dahlia returns to her vigilante ways: hunting monsters by the cover of darkness. Backed by a new team, she vows t1 year ago Read more
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Blog postImmerse yourself in the time-spanning epic tale of Ian Troy in a whole new way! Magic-Price is now on Audible! It has been a fun and exciting journey working with my talented narrator, Daniel Storm, and I couldn't be more pleased with the finished product.
In the beginning, though, I was hesitant. I wanted to offer my stories in all formats, but I was far from an expert. I had no idea what would make a good audiobook. I'd only listened to a handful in my life. When I started gettin4 years ago Read more -
Blog postI win-you win! To celebrate my first published novel winning a bronze medal in the Reader’s Favorite International Book Awards, Magic-Price, the 1st book in The Crown of Stones Trilogy, will be FREE on Kindle—for the first time ever! I’ll be heading to Miami for the awards ceremony this upcoming weekend. Monday starts the free promotion, so consider it the After Party😊
Magic-Price will be free on Kindle starting Monday, 11/20, for three days only. Don’t miss it! http://mybook.to/C5 years ago Read more -
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Blog postI can't believe another year has gone by! Tomorrow (7/1) is Indie Pride Day, and I couldn't be more proud to be a part of it. It's not easy being an indie author, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Tomorrow, 7/1, is a great opportunity for indie authors to take pride in all their hard work by showing off their books and the faces behind them.
In celebration, all my titles are on Kindle Countdown for ONLY .99 from today until 7/7. Load up your Kindle for summer reading with fan5 years ago Read more -
Blog postIt’s almost here! I’m in the final stretch before publishing my next book, which means I’m living on coffee, no sleep, and lots of nervous energy. I’m particularly excited, because after finishing The Crown of Stone Trilogy, I wanted to do something different. And this series is it!
Nite Fire is a fast-paced urban fantasy featuring female protagonist, Dahlia Nite, a shapeshifting creature-hunter from a parallel world—ruled by dragons. If you enjoy such shows as Supernatural, X-File5 years ago Read more -
Blog postAfter having a discussion with a fellow author about what #IndiePrideDay is all about, I realized how passionate I am about the subject, and decided I needed to share my thoughts about today, and what it means to me on a personal level.
As you scroll through social media today you’ll see a lot of #IndiePrideDay & #IndieBooksBeSeen posts. You’ll see pictures of authors with their books, blog posts, events, giveaways, and sales promos. A fair amount of them will be asking you to6 years ago Read more -
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Blog postThis post appeared in my website back in March. For some reason, it never made it here. But it has now :)
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As writers, we create our characters. We care for them. They’re a part of us. They’re bits and pieces of people we know, of people we pass on the street. We come to understand them as well as we know ourselves. Our characters carry our stories into the hearts and minds of our readers. Yet, if we don’t torture them, we aren’t doing our job.
6 years ago Read more -
Blog postLast weekend I attended the Ultimate Comic Book Trade Show & Expo HV at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. The event was organized by iHeart Media with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Highland Public Library, who held a similar, smaller event last summer. Expectations were high for the Expo, and it didn’t disappoint. Though Saturday drew a smaller crowd, Sunday was a steady flow of eager gamers, collectors, readers, and cosplay participants. The fellow authors, ill7 years ago Read more
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Blog postI recently attended an event where I spent the better part of a day with local authors. There were some who were doing a great job of ‘working the room’. They were clearly at ease with making appearances and discussing their work. They were having fun. Others, looked like they wanted to crawl in a hole. Their discomfort was obvious. Their conversations were either stiff and brief, or nervous and overly verbose. I felt their pain.
As authors, a good number of us are far more comfort7 years ago Read more -
Blog postI’m a character driven person. Whether I’m reading a book, watching a movie or a TV show, I can forgive a lot in a story if I latch onto at least one character. It’s how I write. It’s what I look for in my entertainment, and what I look forward to. I want to be so drawn in that I stop thinking about whether they’re good or bad, major or minor, or what impact they may have on the story as a whole. I want to be enthralled by their thoughts and decisions, and immersed in the consequences th7 years ago Read more
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Titles By C. L. Schneider
Months on the open sea, far from the shores of home, they arrive at an isolated chain of rocky islands shrouded in mystery—the Wandering Isles. Their inhabitants, rumored to produce spirits of an exceptional quality, have gone unseen for many years. Assuming the lands abandoned, Ian is unaware of what awaits them: a race of insidious beings unlike any he has encountered before.
Coerced into a nefarious trade by the elusive islanders, reality blurs, as Ian and Jarryd become unwitting subjects in a series of mind-bending trials. Past and future fears, resurrected and melded into their own private hells, force them to face an inescapable enemy—the darkest recesses of their own minds. The only way out is to complete the trade, but will their sanity survive the process?
*The Wandering Isles is the first in a series of novellas that take place after The Crown of Stones Trilogy. While it draws from characters and events from all three books, it can be read as a stand alone introduction to The Crown of Stones universe, or as a continuation of the trilogy.
All good things come to an end. Not if she can help it.
The life Dahlia built in Sentinel City is over, shattered by betrayal and crushed beneath the rubble of a world she’s come to love. But, in the apocalypse, grief is a luxury none can afford. Least of all, the scaled vigilante fighting to protect them.
With half her team MIA, creatures rampaging the streets, and humanity facing destruction, Dahlia struggles to put out more fires than one shapeshifter can handle. All the while, the damaged veil between the worlds is eroding faster. Exits are multiplying, giving the blight free reign to devour all in its path. Relishing in the chaos: the mad scientist bent on seizing Earth for his own devious plan.
In a race against time, Dahlia must find a way to save what remains of this tragic new reality—before the Renewal extinguishes all life on the linked worlds. The dragon inside her is done sitting quietly in the background.
Exit Strategy is the 5th and final book in the Nite Fire Series.
Slated for execution, shapeshifting assassin, Dahlia Nite, flees her world to hide in the human realm. As payment for the shelter they unknowingly provide, Dahlia dedicates herself to protecting humans from what truly lives in the shadows. Moving from town to town, she hunts the creatures that threaten an unsuspecting human race; burying the truth that could destroy them all.
But the shadows are shifting. The lies are adding up. And when Sentinel City is threatened by a series of bizarre brutal murders, light is shed on what should never be seen. The secrets that have kept humanity in the dark for centuries are in danger of being exposed.
Wrestling with a lifetime of her own deceptions, Dahlia investigates the killings while simultaneously working to conceal their circumstances. But with each new murder, the little bit of peace she has found in this world begins to crumble. Each new clue leads her to the one place she thought to never go again. Home.
Flash Point is the award-winning first book in the Nite Fire Series, an immersive mashup of urban fantasy and murder mystery—with shapeshifters, dragons, and parallel worlds.
Time is running out. Change is coming, and the linked worlds will never be the same.
Surviving her ordeal on Drimera was only the beginning. Forced to pick up the remains of her life and move on, Dahlia returns to her vigilante ways: hunting monsters by the cover of darkness. Backed by a new team, she vows to keep the streets safe while training to harness the eye's abilities. But the city has become a time bomb, and every day the clock ticks faster--as the creatures pour in and the blight spreads. Dahlia worries she will never be enough to stop the impending destruction. How can she be the answer to saving them all?
Already stretched thin, Dahlia shies away from investigating the Sentinel's latest murder spree. But the victims' identities confound her. And the fragile thread tying the postmortem mutilations to Ella Chandler is impossible to ignore. Compelled to unravel the truth, what she uncovers only deepens the mystery. Who engineered the sinister plot? Why does everything lead back to that first case--the one that brought Dahlia out of the shadows and into the light?
Slash & Burn is the 4th book in the Nite Fire Series.
Murder, mystery, mayhem, dragons--and mutants!
If anyone can tell the difference between monsters and humans, it's Dahlia Nite. For nearly a century, she's hunted one to protect the other; safeguarding humanity from the creatures that slip through the torn veil between the worlds--creatures like her. But the lines are blurring. As people begin mutating and combusting on the streets, Dahlia realizes a strange affliction has descended upon Sentinel City. The mysterious ailment strikes all walks of life, from the posh, high-end nightclub district to the homeless community. Its victims, driven to random acts of savagery, are drawing attention too fast to cover up.
Assigned to the case, Dahlia and her human partner, Detective Alex Creed, investigate the deaths. But all they have are questions and bodies, and a public on the verge of panic. Working behind the scenes with her self-appointed sidekick, Casey Evans, Dahlia struggles to discover what, or who, is behind the alarming transformations. As the violence spreads and the mystery unfolds, she wonders: are the victims still human? Were they ever?
Chain Reaction is the second book in the Nite Fire Series.
She knows monsters are real because she is one. But how long can she hide the truth?
Secrets are a dragon's best friend. Deception is a close second. Both provide a sturdy armor, allowing half-dragon shapeshifter, Dahlia Nite, to live undetected among the humans. Walking in two worlds, belonging in neither, she wraps herself in a shroud of lies to hide in plain sight. But nothing stays hidden forever.
When dismembered bodies of multiple species are dumped on the riverbank, the case falls to Dahlia and Detective Alex Creed. Backed by Sentinel City's new task force, the pair find themselves urged along by clues that seem too good to be true. Bouncing from one crime scene to the next, they hunt for a clear motive in a murky sea of conflicting evidence. Already on edge from the recent string of unexplained crimes, the city begins to unravel.
Drowning in missing creatures, slaughtered remains, masked men--and the search for her sidekick's missing sister--Dahlia burns the candle at both ends. Seeking answers, she employs her empathic abilities, and uncovers something deeper and more sinister than a simple serial killer's web. As the dots connect, and worlds collide, she struggles to shields her friends from the truth. But secrets can be deadly. And Dahlia's not the only one who keeps them.
Smoke & Mirrors is the third book in the Nite Fire Series.
How do you put the pieces back together when you can’t remember what they are?
Sentenced to prison by his old enemy, King Draken of Langor, Ian troy was tortured, drugged, and made to do unspeakable things. Rescued, as the drugs leave his body, he struggles to reconcile the man he has become with the man he once was. The world he has returned to is equally unrecognizable. In the wake of his fall, friends and loved ones were left to their own grim fates, and the realms are gripped with fear. Draken's brutal reign has sparked a desperate rebellion that Ian now finds himself a part of. His one task: recover and repair the Crown of Stones, in hopes it will tip the balance in the revolution that is brewing.
As Ian pursues the reason behind the artifact's strange loss of power, he strives to understand the growing number of magic-scars adorning his body. He searches for the truth behind his link to the Crown of Stones and uncovers shocking secrets buried for generations beneath the sand. To become the weapon the resistance needs, Ian must assume responsibility for his magical inheritance. But can he curb the destructive appetite that comes with it?
Magic-Scars is the second installment in The Crown of Stones Trilogy.
How far can a man fall before he can’t rise again?
In one fell swoop, the resistance was shattered. Lives were taken. Hope was lost. Peace slipped like grains of sand through his fingers. So did the Crown of Stones. Now, forced into hiding, Ian Troy grapples for a way to save the realm--and free its people--from the sadistic clutches of Jem Reth; Mirra'kelan's new self-appointed emperor. Plagued with the knowledge of a tragic future, he strives to influence events and save those he cares for. But his magic has betrayed him, and Fate has other plans.
Marked by the crown, hindered by the transformation spell contained within, each cast brings Ian one step closer to becoming more beast than man. Each move brings the death and destruction foretold in his vision inexplicably nearer. With Langor on the brink of war, and King Malaq's plan for peace hanging in the balance, Ian returns to the ancient past; seeking an end to the eldring spell and a means to thwart Jem's growing domination. What he finds there sets off a chain of revelations that leads Ian places he never thought to go.
Entrusted with the future of his race, Ian becomes the linchpin for lasting change. But how much burden can one man carry? And how much is he willing to sacrifice in the name of peace?
Magic-Borne is the final installment in The Crown of Stones Trilogy.
Ian Troy is one of the Shinree, a fallen race born with an addiction to magic. Enslaved and drugged to suppress their deadly desires, the Shinree live to serve their masters. After years of forced combat in Rella's long, brutal war, Ian is desperate for peace. With defeat imminent, he defies the queen's orders and wields the Crown of Stones; an ancient relic of untold power. Unaware of the artifact's true nature, he ends the war, but pays a terrible price.
A decade later, Ian is still running from the blood in his veins and on his hands. Curbing his cravings with wine and regret, he struggles to forget. But when a fateful encounter with a pretty assassin brings him down that dark path again, Ian's addiction is awakened—and denial is no longer an option. With the realm he gave up everything to protect once more in jeopardy, Ian becomes embroiled in a violent race for control of the Crown of Stones. As deceptions unfold, the truth becomes clear. To save the realms, he must embrace the one thing he fears most: his own power.
Magic-Price is the award-winning first installment in The Crown of Stones trilogy.
Raiza knows better than to trust a thief, especially one who comes bearing gifts in the middle of the night. But when Tanic shows up offering a truce, and an opportunity for coin, curiosity sets in. She’s learned the hard way that Tanic is never without an ace up his sleeve. This time, she has one, too. But in a game without end, it’s less about winning and more about who makes the better move. Will Raiza finally outfox her long-time thieving nemesis? Find out in this exciting tale of wits and blades, co-written by the author of The Crown of Stones Trilogy.