Category: Updates and News

  • The Heroine’s Journey: A Powerful Alternative to the Traditional Hero’s Arc

    From ancient epics like Beowulf to modern myths featuring Link or Luke Skywalker, heroes have long dominated storytelling. You might be familiar with the Hero’s Journey—the classic narrative where a lone hero battles monsters, claims a prize, and returns transformed. But what about stories where victory isn’t about conquest, but about connection, healing, and integration?…

  • The Casquette Rose is Available

    My latest book, a Louisiana gothic thriller/faustian tragedy is now available for purchase across the web (and in select Louisiana bookstores). This is a much darker book than anything I have written, and it is, in many ways, the most personal book I have written.  It’s the second novel I’ve written that connects to the…

  • Wolf in the Sanctuary eBook Sale!

    I’m excited to announce that my book, Wolf in the Sanctuary, will be available as part of a promotion on Smashwords for the month of July as part of their Annual Summer/Winter Sale! This is a chance to get a digital copy of my book at 50% off the listed price (at Smashwords only!), along with…

  • What Happened to Those Dark Fantasy Short Stories?

    Earlier in the year, I teased a series of dark fantasy short stories in the vein of The Witcher meets Dark Souls, a series I called Tales of the Veiled Rose. That’s been put on hold, but it is still coming. But it is on hold for two reasons. The first is dark content burnout. Carmilla’s Gambit and Wolf in the Sanctuary both…

  • Carmilla’s Gambit – 7 Days Out

    Two book releases in the next three weeks. Carimlla’s Gambit enters the world next Tuesday, 3 June, and Wolf in the Sanctuary howls from the bayous on 10 June. I’ve put my dark fantasy Patreon, Tales of the Veiled Rose, on hold for now. In fact, I’m going to be taking a break from Sam…

  • Horror, Heart, Humor: Essential Elements in Carmilla’s Gambit

    So, this is going to be a busy marketing month for us here at Cursing Raven Books. In addition to the Tales of the Veiled Rose dark fantasy novelette series patreon, both Carmilla’s Gambit and Wolf in the Sanctuary release next month. And while I do not want to spam post, I will be posting…

  • Wolf in the Sanctuary Release

    BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, May 3, 2025, On 10 June, former folklore, rhetoric, and literature professor turned independent author and freelance editor Robin Schadel brings her home state into her passion for creating worlds and spinning tales where the fantastical and folkloric move side-by-side with the mundane world. “Stories have always been my life,” Schadel says…

  • Werewolves in MY Bayou?

    Hey, this is a multi-part update on a few projects. Wolf in the Sanctuary Update The first is on the Louisiana gothic horror novel I was working on earlier. That novel is both drafted and revised, and now it’s off to my editor. We’re looking at an early summer release of Wolf in the Sanctuary.…

  • A Paranorma-latte Romance?

    A Paranorma-latte Romance?

    Hey, I’ll be quick. I’m working on getting everything set up for release of the first Veiled Rose short, but I do have something fun and light to share in the meantime! Over the past week, I wrote a short paranormal romance/romantic comedy called School Spirit: a Paranormalatte Romance under my Elisabeth Shade pen name.…

  • The Veiled Rose Dark Fantasy

    So, I’ve mentioned a few times in passing on these posts and throughout my various social media profiles that I’ve been working on a series of dark fantasy short stories in the vein of the Witcher meets Dark Souls but a little more high magic. Now, I’m prepared to begin the formal introductions to what…