There's More to the Story...

First, thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed The Golden Age of Magic so far while it’s an Amazon Prime Member First Reads selection! The book’s official release date is July 1, 2025 for everyone else.

And, yes, the story continues! Those familiar with my novels probably already know that since writing The Vine Witch trilogy, my follow-up books have all been set up as duologies. I try to write the first one as a stand alone as far as the main plot goes, but leave certain situations still pending resolution for the second installment.

The second book in The Golden Age of Magic series is titled The Gilded City of Dreams. It is set in New York City and will be out spring of 2026. If you’re left feeling like something in the first book wasn’t resolved satisfactorily, it just might get more attention in the next story. Hint: Don’t give up on Nick just yet! Sometimes a girl just has to take care of business before pleasure.

Thank you again for reading!

-Luanne

The Golden Age of Hollywood

My soon-to-be-released novel, The Golden Age of Magic, is set in Hollywood, 1927. It is about the movie business but mostly focuses on a seamstress who works in the costume department of a fictional Hollywood studio. I was fortunate enough to travel out to California to do some research for the story. Mostly studio tours and museums, although I did maybe spend a night or two at The Beverly Hills Hotel, since my character—a fairy godmother in training—sets herself up in one of their bungalows for her stay. Research!

I’d been to Los Angeles and the surrounding area a few times before, but this was the first chance I got to indulge my movie buff side. I love the movies. I have since I was a young child. In fact, I was that weird girl who stayed in on Saturday mornings in the summer to watch old black and white movies featuring Jean Harlow, Mae West, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Abbot & Costello, and my favorite: Errol Flynn as Robin Hood. Really, I’d watch whatever came on our local Channel 2 in Denver (this was way before anyone had cable television and abundant choices), and I would sit there transfixed until it was over. I had it bad. I remember one night when I was about ten-years old my family tried to get me to go outside to watch an incredibly rare eclipse of the moon. I said, “Nah, I’m good. I’m watching my cliffhangers right now.”

I think my obsession with movie watching at such a young age was just an early phase of my growing addiction to stories. Movies were a quick fix for someone who hadn’t yet learned to read books on her own. And these movies had drama, acting, and costumes! It was all very alluring to a developing mind that craved the language of story, something I believe is innate to most humans. It’s just that some of us get a bigger high off of storytelling than others.

Below are a few photos I took on my trip last year. So much of The Golden Age of Magic was inspired by the things I saw and read about while I was in L.A.. And while the tours and museums were fascinating and indispensable to the writing of the novel, what I really loved was that everywhere I went I was surrounded by fellow movie buffs who couldn’t get enough. My people!

The Hollywood Museum on Highland Ave.

THE director’s chair.

Who doesn’t love Claudette Colbert?

The Bronson Gate — Sunset Boulevard, anyone?

Costume props at Paramount Studios.

An Edith Head drawing. She was part inspiration for the character Rose.

Warner Bros studio head’s phone book. Look at all the famous names on one page!

Had to do it.

New Novel Coming in June!

Just wanted to let readers know my newest novel, The Golden Age of Magic, is finally making its way through the production process. This one mixes fairy godmother magic with Old Hollywood, 1927. There’s enchantment, murder, and a little bit of love in this coming of age story.

We have a preorder page up on Amazon already, though it’s still in the preliminary stages. The official blurb and cover should be available soon! When I have them, I’ll of course post them here first.

New Review: The Wolf's Eye

One week to go until The Wolf’s Eye release! This is the second book in The Order of the Seven Stars series. For a limited time you can pick up book one, The Witch’s Lens, for no additional cost as part of your Prime membership benefits on Amazon. If you don’t like waiting for the second book to come out, now’s the time to read the series!

And I have to thank The Historical Novel Society for their wonderful review of The Wolf’s Eye!! Full review below.

~

“Set during WWI on the Eastern Front, The Wolf’s Eye makes a strong followup as the second book in Smith’s Order of the Seven Stars historical fantasy series. The magical main character, Petra Kurková, and her found family of fellow witches are assigned the hateful task of tracking down and killing soldiers cursed to transform each full moon into a kind of werewolf called vlkodlak. The central challenge for them is that one of their crew was bitten by a vlkodlak early in the war and fights the curse only with the help of an elixir that he no longer has. That they may need to kill him is especially hard for Petra, who has fallen in love with Josef. With the full moon less than a month away, the magical group is running out of time to find a cure. They return to the hometown city and begin to uncover a way to save Josef, using secrets from Petra’s past.
As with the first book in this series, Smith engagingly develops the themes of friendship, loyalty, and the value of the family you choose for yourself. The bashful and gradual romance between Josef and Petra gives sweetness to this fairly dark book. For those who enjoy the revelation of the “scientific” mechanics of magic, The Wolf’s Eye will be highly satisfying. Despite occasional slowdowns in the plot’s momentum, Smith builds characters the reader actively roots for and throws them into exciting danger that only their loyalty to each other can overcome. An entertaining, intelligent historical fantasy.” - Historical Novel Society

One Month to Go!

Fantasy is one of those genres where multiple books in a series is the norm, but there's always that big gap between finishing the first book and waiting for the next one to drop. I often see an uptick in interest on the first book just before the second releases. I suspect there's a subset of readers who prefer to wait until a series is complete before diving in to the first book. I’m the same when I’m invested in a story. I gotta know what happens next!

The Order of the Seven Stars series will be complete when THE WOLF'S EYE publishes on May 14th. In case you're one of those readers who waits. 😉