Doooo you need to do some more damage to your TBR list? Of course you do! A proper TBR should always be getting longer and longer and longer and longer and longer, and here’s an affordable way to do that.
From now through the 15th, there’s another Queer Indie Book Promo courtesy of MN Bennett. My vampire book is on there–A Heart of Ice–along with dozens of other books, all listed at $0.99 USD. So please, poke through and find something that looks good to you. We’re coming up to the season of staying inside and cuddling up with books in the northern hemisphere, after all!
With all sorts of different genres, there should be something for everyone.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and I hope you find some incredible books in this sale! Thank you for supporting indie authors, you mean the world to all of us!
I am so sorry to have not gotten my next book out yet. I started a new job this spring and it has been crazy hard, without any set hours or schedule, I am really not getting enough sleep to be creative. Editing is happening, it’s just very, very slow, I’m so sorry.
This does set back book two about the vampire prince, which I was hoping to finish over the summer and put out in early fall, but it looks like that one will probably have to be midwinter,
Thank you, Readers
Every time one of you emails me with kind words, whether it’s about the whale book, a story about a cat, or Prince Keseij, it means the world to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Writing can be a strange art, where it’s hard to know how much it means to people, so when I hear from you? It makes my day and always kicks me into writing gear again.
Thank you for everything, all of you. It’s a silly little thing to write a blog post about, maybe, but you make me smile every time. Thank you ❤
Beautiful last day of the year…
Today was chilly and mostly sunny, with mist blowing through periodically. In the afternoon, the sun was low and shining white-gold through the mist, the trees looked all dark and mysterious… what a peaceful day to end a difficult year on.
I’m working again on the editing for this next book, and am hopeful I’ll get it out before summer. It’s a little different than anything else I’ve written so far–or feels that way to me, at least!–and I’m really enjoying it. Looking forward to sharing it with all of you!
Another first draft completed!
I just finished the first draft of a book I’ve been working on for just shy of three years. It’s epic fantasy, it’s queer, and I love it. I’ll probably end up cutting a lot off of it, because the word count is astronomical right now, but man it feels good to finally have finished that thing!
It took me one full bottle of Writer’s Blood ink, half a bottle of Yama Guri ink, and almost a full bottle of Platinum Carbon Black.
I might need to reconsider this whole ‘writing first drafts by hand’ thing… but still! Right now is just for celebrating, am so excited to hopefully get this one out early next year!
Readers: where do you want to buy books?
There’s a lot of talk these days about people moving away from Amazon entirely, when it comes to the book world. As a tiny self-published author, I need to be where the readers are–but where do you guys want to be? I am open to moving onto platforms like Kobo if that’s something people feel strongly about.
Shoot me an email and let me know your thoughts–if you’re sticking with Amazon in the coming future, if you would really rather avoid Amazon, the whys and the why-nots. I’ll listen!
What comes next?
I know it’s been a while since I’ve put anything new out, I’m so sorry! I’ve been working on an absolute chonker of a fantasy book. I’m hoping to get it out by early summer–wish me luck! Hope to see you all there!
Feisty Felines is out!
Book Trailer | Amazon Link
I am but one of the many authors in this anthology and hope you’ll check it out! When my author copy arrived, I actually started crying, it just felt so impactful and wonderful somehow.
If you enjoyed The World’s Last Whale, you might like my story in this, So Burn Us Both. It’s from the point of view of a witch’s cat, who has been loyal to her all of his many lives. When he realizes they are finally at the end of their story, he gives her one last act of loyalty and support.
If you like the whimsical and fantastical, or want something that might end up as a really fun read for Halloween (we’re so close! It’s August, so technically the spooky season is only a few days away, right?), maybe consider picking this book up.
Look at that, it’s adorable, I love it so much!
A really sweet surprise!
I just learned that Snow Before Sunset was chosen for a ‘Sapphic Saturday’ read by someone and that absolutely made my day. What a sweet thing to do! Sometimes, it’s the little things like that which can mean the world to tiny authors like me.
Thank you, author Katy Manz!
Content Warnings for Snow Before Sunset:
Snow Before Sunset is a quiet, relatively slow-paced survival story about two women who end up caught out overnight in the mountains during a blizzard. While there are some romantic elements (the two have been interested in each other for a long time, but have only just begun flirting) it’s not really a romance. There are some injuries and some mild swearing, but otherwise there is no NSFW content. More content warnings are below, but will also contain spoilers. If you are only looking to find out if there is a happy ending and don’t want any other spoilers, though: yes. The characters survive. No one dies in this story.
Writing Style Content Warnings:
-Workplace romance. It is consensual, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be uncomfortable for some readers.
-Use of the word ‘queer.’ I believe strongly in reclaiming this word; it is not used in a negative light.
-Swearing. It is infrequent, but in that regard the book is not completely clean
-The eventual rescue happens off-page; I thought it felt better for the pacing tbh
-Head hopping: there is some head hopping from one chapter to the next, but for the most part it stays focused on Margot
-There may be some typos. I do my best to try and catch everything, but some slip through.
Injuries:
-Dehydration. Character ignores warning signs of her dehydration and it begins impairing her judgment.
-Character falls a significant distance
-When one character realizes the other is badly hurt, they attempt the rescue themselves rather than inform anyone else that there is an emergency
-Ignoring survival instincts (characters are imperfect people who make very human choices) leads to accident and injury
-Characters are caught in small avalanche and sustain multiple (but not immediately life-threatening) injuries: broken bone, concussion, injured back
-Buried alive. This happens in snow, and they escape, but may be a potential phobia for some readers.
-Hypothermia. Character has significantly impaired mental function/clarity of thought due to hypothermia, and struggles to physically continue moving and make it to safety.
Food Related:
-Alcohol. Champagne is consumed on-page, but not to excess.
-Food. Characters are aware they may be eating their last meal and struggle to enjoy the flavors
Sensuality:
-Kissing without asking first. Although it is very well-received, a character initiates their first kiss together without asking for permission.
Mental & Emotional Struggles:
-Body image issues. A character frequently has doubts about her own level of fitness and unfortunately relates these to a sense of her self-worth.
-Past emotional trauma. A character discusses past relationship pain and confesses that she felt like the other woman only wanted her because she was the only other openly lesbian woman in town
-Self deprecation. This is frequent throughout the story, a recurring problem Margot significantly struggles with, becomes extreme at times and she puts herself down
-Helplessness. Characters feel helpless and overwhelmed at times when facing the reality of the storm they cannot escape. They do not give in to it, but I know some readers prefer to steer clear of that kind of emotional content
-Dread. Characters face the possibility of their death being very imminent.
This is just overall a quieter story than usual for me, and it’s a short little novella. It’s been bouncing around in my head for a while though, and just finally needed to come to life. I hope one or two of you will enjoy it! And I hope that these Content Warnings posts are helpful. Thank you for checking them out!
