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In this issue:
Personal news and writing updates; price drop on Knight's Rebirth; special character interview with Stella from Kara Jaynes' Stars Descend; blurb and art for Daniel Peyton's upcoming sci fi novel; a list of summer reads.
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Welcome to June and summer vacation. Have you or are you going on any fun vacations? My family and I recently returned from visiting family in Florida. One of the highlights for me was getting to visit Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida. (That's me with my baby bump on the fortress walls.) This city and its fortress partially inspired a historical fiction novel about pirates that I wrote. It's currently with an agent, getting prepped to send out on submission. (Fingers crossed!) Getting to see part of the setting for my novel was really cool.
In writing news, I hit a wall, as I often do, in the middle of my WIP, an urban fantasy novel, Down Into the Pit. (Book 2 in my Stones of Fire series.) I wonder if this is because I'm a pantser instead of a plotter. I can see the beginning and end of a story, but it's connecting all the threads in the middle that give me fits. Anyway, the good news is I powered through, inspiration hit, and now the end of the book is in sight! I've got the excited, buzzing feeling I always get when I'm headed towards the end of a book. Hard for me to believe when I finish Down Into the Pit I'll have already completed two books this year, and will be halfway through this series. My plan is still to write all four books and then edit and prep them for publishing. I'm looking at rapid releasing this series late this year or early next year.
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BTW if you have not read my fairytale fantasy Knight's Rebirth yet, I've temporarily lowered its price to free on several websites. Please note that it is not yet free on Amazon. I'm still working on that. However, it is free on
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Angus & Robertson
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And now for the fun part of this email...an interview with Stella, the female MC from Kara Jayne's stunning new urban fantasy series, A Game of Stars and Shadows.
Stella won my heart right away with her willingness to do anything for her younger brother, Quinn. Her pains to provide for Quinn lead her into first conflict, then a complicated entanglement, with the Elves who've come down from the stars to rule Earth, especially their prince, Eldaren. However, there's still the problem of her former boyfriend, Wilder, a drug addict turned deadly vampire...
Intrigued? You should be! This series is definitely worth checking out. Book 2, Shadows Grow, just released.
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Now that I've hopefully whetted your appetite, let's say hello to Stella.
Welcome, Stella, and thanks for being here today. Glad you could get away from the Elves for a bit to visit with me. (Or is that Eldaren I see approaching in the background?) Hmmm...we'd better jump right in.
#1. Do you think the Elves have done more harm than good since they came down and basically took over the earth, or more good than harm?
Stella: Hmm. I’d have to go with the latter. Initially, I was less certain that their motives were good, but despite the fact that they’re arrogant and stiff, I believe they mean well.
#2. So this kelnecky thing, this bond with Eldaren…If you could honestly choose to keep or get rid of it, what would you choose?
Stella: I’d get rid of it. I don’t think space magic of whatever the heck it is, should play a part in falling in love.
#3. Admit it, though, you actually like him, don’t you? ;)
Stella: *blushes* I refuse to answer that. I mean, I don’t hate him. Fine. A little.
Eldaren: Are you blushing? You look very pretty when you’re flustered.
Stella: I am not blushing. It’s just rather warm in here, don’t you think?
#4. Does Wilder being a vampire scare you at all, personally? As in, for your own personal safety?
Stella: Wilder would never intentionally harm me.
Eldaren: Yes, he would.
Stella: *glares* Don’t you have a world to run, or something? Shoo, this is my interview.
#5. If given the chance to travel to Eldaren’s world, would you go?
Stella: No, ma’am. The idea of leaving Earth scares me spitless. I’ve never even left Liberty. I wouldn’t know what to do if I left my literal world behind.
#6. How far would/will you go to help the Elves heal the earth, if you had the power to help?
Stella: I’d like to say I’d do anything to help this Earth. I will do what I can, as long as it doesn’t conflict with my being able to help Quinn. He comes first.
Thanks so much for your time, Stella! Good luck with the prince of the Elves and with saving the Earth!
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Onto some other fun stuff...
Any fans of Christian fantasy or sci fi here? Author Daniel Peyton will be releasing a Christian sci fi novel, Remnant, next month. I'll be showing off his new novel in July's newsletter. For now, here's a foretaste: a blurb, a preorder link, and some character art by the author himself. Enjoy!
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Blurb
The year is 2522. Anna is a Remnant-a secret Christian in a world that has banned any form of religion.
She is also an astro-geologist working with her Robot, named Z, for the Planetary Science Commission.
The PSC has worked for 200 years to find alien life on another planet, and finally, after two centuries, a primitive lifeform has been discovered.
Faced with the reality of evolved primitives on a forested moon, Anna begins to question all she has ever believed.
Anna and Z travel to the newly-discovered moon in search of answers, but a terrible accident leaves them stranded. Faced with dangerous natives and unfamiliar surroundings, Anna and Z stumble upon a conspiracy that has universal implications.
Will Anna discover the truth about the moon and its inhabitants?
Can God still move within a culture that has abandoned Him?
You can preorder Remnant now for $4.99.
Last but not least, here's some fresh speculative fiction books for your summer reading list!
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Special preorder for H. L. Burke's new steampunk novel, Heart of the Curiosity. Debuts 6/27. Currently only $2.99.
The secret lies with the Heart.
Born with a magical knack for manipulating emotions, Leodora's only dream is to ensure her talented little sister dances on the biggest, brightest stage in the Republic: The Curiosity, a grand old theater of tradition and innovation. After escaping a cruel carnival, Leo secures her sister a place in the Curiosity’s chorus line, and herself a job as a professional audience member, swaying the crowd's mood with her magic. The girls have a home for the first time in their lives.
Then a tragic accident darkens the theater. A greedy businessman begins blackmailing Leo, and financial woes threaten to close the show forever. The Curiosity's sole hope lies in a mythical power source hidden beneath the maze-like passages and trapdoors of the theater—the Heart. And Leo’s only friend Paxton, nephew of the theater's stagemistress, is the key to finding it.
While Leo and Paxton hunt for the Heart, the blackmailer’s threats loom larger. Mysterious figures, cryptic clues, and deadly traps hinder the search at every turn. If the friends cannot recover the Heart in time, Leo and her sister will be cast out of the only home they’ve ever known, and the final curtain will fall on The Curiosity.
Enter a world reminiscent of The Greatest Showman, with a puzzle worthy of Sherlock Holmes and National Treasure, in this new Steampunk Fantasy from H. L. Burke.
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Wish You Weren't Here
(The Steel City Genie Book 2)
By Janeen Ippolito
I recently finished the first book in this series. Unique urban fantasy. It was lots of fun, and I'm sure Book 2 will be, as well!
Price is $4.99.
I was done with my Jinn ex-boyfriend—but now I’m the only one who can save his life.
I’m already in enough trouble with my magic going crazy right when I’m opening a storefront for romantic crimes consulting. The last thing I need is interference from Kiran Singh, who failed spectacularly as a boyfriend, and now wants me back with some crappy excuse of helping him track down illegal, dangerous love potions.
Then one of his other exes tries to kill me in a fit of jealous, doped-up rage—and ends up dead herself, with all evidence pointing to Kiran.
My vegetarian vampire mate, Cendric, is convinced Kiran is up to something. But homicide isn’t Kiran’s style, even if he’s starting to show serious psycho-jealousy of his own. Someone else is pulling the strings, and they don’t care how many people die from fake love.
If we can’t track down the real mastermind, my ex is going to disappear.
And not in the way I’d wish.
Buy now and enjoy the Steel City Genie series: snarky urban fantasy with a blue-collar genie, a romantic subplot with heat (nothing graphic), and gleeful send ups of many romantic fantasy tropes, plus otter-shifters and coffee addictions.
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A Discovery of Faeries
(The Immortal Brotherhood Book 2)
By Alesha Escobar and H.M. Jones
Only $0.99!
When Noah Mason’s boss ventures into Faerieland and doesn’t return, he figures he ought to get her back before apocalyptic chaos reigns.
Lady Arabella is the only person on earth who can open and shut doorways to the mythical land of magic and terror, and if her power falls into the wrong hands, everyone’s screwed.
But, he’s not going alone.
The raven-haired Raina Black with her powerful Seer Stone is by his side, joined by Chinonso the Reaper and Thomas the Time Traveler. Unfortunately, they all must tolerate Raina’s double-crossing sister Trixie, as well. After her brush with dark magic, they don’t trust her to be left alone, and her gift with sorcery may come in handy.
In this second installment, the Immortal Brotherhood faces down otherworldly creatures, trying not to bring on the wrath of the Faerie Queen, while also outmaneuvering a secret society seeking to possess powers never meant for men. Throw into the mix a bloodthirsty serial killer with dangerous magic at his command, and the Brotherhood has their work cut out for them.
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Relic Hunter: Divergent Heroes
(Curse Breaker Book 7)
By Melinda Kucsera
Price $2.99
Some things should just stay lost. When they don’t, it’s Zoya’s job to put them down for good.
But that’s easier said than done when that thing is a magical relic. Too bad that relic is in the hands of a young mage who possesses a power he can barely control. And this particular relic doesn’t need much to kick start a process that just might open a portal to hell—if Zoya doesn’t find and contain it first.
Who will prevail—the relic hunters or the relic they came to contain?
That may depend on who controls the boy who accidentally activated it. Get Relic Hunters today!
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Hunted Witch Agency Complete Urban Fantasy Collection
by Rachel Medhurst
Only $0.99 or free in KU!
Witch, Warlock, Whatever…
My name’s Devon Jinx, and, yes, I’m half warlock, half witch. But I couldn't care less about which kind of magic is better. All I want to do is keep my head down and get on with my new job as an investigator at the Hunted Witch Agency.
A recent, shall we say, mistake, has put me in place to inherit the leadership of the warlocks. Which means only one thing. I have a choice to make: Leave behind my life of witchery to become a warlock, or lose my warlock magic forever.
Complicating my choice is the fact that someone is trying to destroy the warlock coven. If I don't stop them, the warlocks will be annihilated. The task seems impossible until Gerard Freshwater, a distractingly handsome witch, explodes into my life. He's determined to make me see that being a witch isn't just the best option, but the only option.
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The Rogue Elf of Urlas: Songs of Shadow
(Half-Elf Chronicles Boxset Book 1)
By J.T. Williams
Only $0.99 or free in KU!
Three novels discounted for a limited time!
Darkness descends upon the elven realm and the only thing Kealin cares about is saving his family... but is he powerful enough to save them all? With his father gone to war...
...and his mother in hiding...
...Kealin must make a decision.
Should he stay and train to defend their Elven land, like his father asked, or head out into the icy waters to try to change fate?
Kealin's choice will set him on a path like none other. Beginning with a voyage across the icy seas with his three siblings, he discovers a power within himself that is not elven at all. It is older, darker, and could be a danger to everyone around him.
Has everything he has been told been a lie?
From a harrowing journey across the frozen North, to enslavement, the riddles of an all-seeing seer, and a battle to decide the future of the elves of the West, an adventure like no other awaits. Kealin searches for his lost family, gaining unforgettable allies like a duo of thieves, wizards, a rebel elven warlord, and even a narwhal companion. But there is something greater hidden within Kealin's journey and that truth might destroy him and everyone he cares about.
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BLIND SIGHT
(Lucille Pfiffer Mystery Series Book 1)
By Tanya R. Taylor
Preorder price $0.99
Lucille Pfiffer sees, but not with her eyes. She lives with her beloved dog Vanilla ("Nilla" for short) in a cozy neighborhood that is quite "active" due to what occurred in the distant past. Though legally blind, she plays an integral role in helping to solve pressing and puzzling mysteries, one right after the other, which, without her, might remain unsolved.
The question is: How can she do any of that with such a handicap?
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A Time of Turmoil
(In the Eye of the Dragon Book 1)
By N. M. Zoltack
$3.99 or free in KU
Tenoch knew peace long ago when the dragons three ruled over the evil, susceptible peoples. Now, however, the dragons are long since dead, and humans rule.
For better or worse.
The king is a broken sloth. The crowned princess doesn’t want the throne. The prince is intellectually delayed. The younger princess is vain and spoiled.
The queen committing adultery sets off a chain of reactions that will leave the world in a time of turmoil. Will peace ever return to the land?
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Sworn To Raise
(Courtlight Book 1)
by Terah Edun
Free. Also free in KU
A fun and riveting young adult fantasy romance for the ages! Orphan Ciardis infiltrates the palace and competes to become Prince Sebastian's Companion -- but with danger around every corner she will have to fight an imposter emperor and unite her people all while falling for him. Check out the series that is the Selection meets Game of Thrones today!
Seventeen-year-old Ciardis Vane grew up in a small village on the edge of the realm.Beautiful, destitute, and desperate she is looking to get out anyway she can. She has worked her whole life as a laundress with no hope of escaping her fate anytime soon.
But then her life changes when a strange woman appears with the key to Ciardis's escape. With an offer to take her to the capital and a life she'd never dreamed of, it's hard to resist. There's only one catch.
She wants Ciardis to become a companion: she'll be required to wear expensive dresses, learn to conduct suitable magic, educate herselfoncourt proclivities, and - in the end - chain herself to the highestbidder. A Patron for life.
Ciardis knows that this is her one opportunity to change her life.
But what she does not know is that she will soon be at the heart of intrigues and power struggles, and that her new life in luxury demands a high price, perhaps even the life of a prince.
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Civil Seer
(Civil Origin Book 1)
by C.M. Cevis
Only $0.99 or free in KU
She's so much more than your friendly neighborhood witch...
Willow returns to her Baltimore with a plan to rebuild her business and settle in to play nice with the other witches in the area, nothing more.
When bodies start dropping across the city and one set of supernaturals begin blaming another, she volunteers to use her powerful abilities help stop the killer, and hopefully stem a war. The last thing anyone needs is an entire city on the hunt for anyone who's different.
But what happens when Willow's promise to help costs her a lot more than simply some blood and a few sleepless nights? There are a lot of things in this world that can break her heart and leave both her and those around her bleeding.
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That's it for now. Have a lovely weekend and a great summer.
Until next time--
Sarah
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