sunrise cloud towers over green farm fields at the side of a highway

Welcome to my new website!

It’s a work in progress. Kinda like me and definitely like many of my book projects.

QUICK LINKS TO MY BOOKS

My Latest Shiny Distractions

  • New on Audio!

    RELEASING JUNE 11

    All the same romance, crafting, big feelings, and found-family shenanigans, now in a listening form. It might release sooner on some platforms. I don’t control that. I’ll keep y’all posted, though.

  • Brown wrapped package with "coming soon stamps" and a label. The label reads "Relics From A Traveling Show" by K. M. Herkes I worn stencil text.

    Story Collection

    RELICS FROM A TRAVELING SHOW

    This is where I’ll put a blurb once I’ve written one. And I will write one, I swear. Also, I’ll announce a release date once I’m done editing. It’ll be 2024 for sure. Late summer? Fall? Somewhere in there.

  • a pirate's treasure chest overflowing with jewels, pearls, nets and gold coins.

    A Tiny Box Of Chaos

    WORK IN PROGRESS

    New Rollover Files stories are still happening! There’ll be 2 books, eventually—another mosaic novel and another chunky novel. When? Not sure. Maybe next year if things stay on track.

The Blogs

  • air bubbles rising through clear blue water with a glow of sunlight above

    Brain Bubbles

    My blog in its current incarnation. Not much here yet, but give me time.

  • Dawnrigger Archive

    Posts 2013-2023, imported from dawnrigger.com, some of which were imported in turn from Blogger. Broken links, lost images, and weird formatting artifacts abound, but the words are not lost.

  • a rainbow of glitter seen in close-up

    The Quarterly Catchall

    The archive of my Offical Author Newsletter, which has changed names and formats several times, but seems to be settling down at last. Old news is sometimes interesting, and there are cat pics.

A Bit About Me

a headshot of K. M. Herkes mostly hiding her face behind a large tabby Maine Coon cat

I write about worlds that are only two flaps of a butterfly's wing away from reality, and while the twisty plots are full of action—things blow up, burn down, and dissolve into puddles of goo—the outcomes hinge on acts of compassion and cooperation.

The characters you'll meet in my stories know the cost of hope and the weight of despair. They find safety and shelter with one another, fitting together at their broken places to become stronger together. Their big victories grow from small acts of kindness and understanding.

Nitty-gritty details about my professional background can be found on my official About page. If we meet in real life, you'll find I am short, squeaky, and energetic, with a thirty-percent chance of loud. Other attributes are subject to change without warning.

My personal emblem is a phoenix, symbolizing my periodic reinventions of myself, and my motto is Spes Semper Vincit, which I choose to translate as Hope Over All or Hope Always Wins In The End.

bubbles in clear blue  water seen from below as they rise towards a sunlit surface.

Follow me on Patreon

Get exclusive stories, regular progress updates, and extra cat pictures.

a rainbow made of glitter, seen in closeup.