Newsletter | August 2018

Hello everyone!

As this month comes to a close so does the collaboration between my brother and I with the cover design for Alarum! I can’t wait to share it with you all but unfortunately that moment will have to hold off for a little bit.

This month’s goals really centered on finalizing cover art and manuscript edits. It’s been a wild time as my life has become increasingly busy with non-book related responsibilities as well (I’ve recently taken a nursery job and wish I could work in a hazmat suit! Haha! The amount of saliva and body fluids that comes out of those kids is traumatizing! I’m definitely a dog person, not a kid person.) and I simply cannot believe that August is just about over! September will be a month of last minute tweaks, fixes, and changes as I get Alarum finalized and ready to be published and I’ll also be creating lots of promo goodies for you all (quotes, teasers, excerpts, bookmarks, and more!).

But highlight October on your calendar because that month will be a flurry of activity regarding the upcoming release of Alarum, the first book in my new series, Walking Shadows. As I’ve mentioned before, this series is a Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic setting with a Wild Western flavor and will include five novels, all of which can be read as stand-alones however the more you read the more subtle connections you’ll uncover (hehe so many clues to be found!).

On some really exciting news…I received my first review for Crooked Raven!! I was absolutely thrilled to have received my first Amazon review for my book Crooked Raven, the first book in the Otherworld Trilogy, and the fact that they gave me 5-stars had me practically floating! It’s turned out to be the most challenging endeavor to a) find people to read my book and b) have those people be willing to write a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

So, as I remind you often (hopefully I’m not too annoying about it though haha), if you’ve read Crooked Raven and have yet to leave a review then please please do so. I’m not just seeking 5-star reviews (although those are obviously wonderful), I’m simply requesting your honest opinion. Please don’t feel intimidated by leaving your thoughts on Amazon. Every review counts and helps me as a writer. Also reviews are the juice that gets a book noticed (the more reviews the more noticed it will get on Amazon, the more noticed the more reads, the more reads the more I’ll be able to keep writing). It’s simple statistics but I need your help!

Thank you so much for being such a lovely group of readers. I love interacting with you all through social media and have especially a lot of fun in my Facebook group Talismonium! If you haven’t joined and would like to be a part of a fun book-reading community then please by all means request to join! One of our newest members is actually an indie author herself! I’ve had so much fun discussing writing and her stories with her! After diving into her Dystopian Fantasy series I was totally hooked. (Check it out if you’re interested! The Purification Era by Angie Grigaliunas).

August hasn’t been the most eventful when it comes to flashy events, but it has been a lot of me putting my nose to the grindstone to make these publishing deadlines, and I’m still grinning from receiving that first book review. I’m also so fortunate to be growing connections with other indie authors who are so welcoming and open with sharing their experiences and advice. One such person who has taken the time to give me marketing tips is Caroline Peckham (If you’re into Paranormal books with a Hunger Games twist then definitely check out her series The Vampire Games).

So that’s about it for me this month. I hope your August went smoothly (I know school has started back up for most) and I hope your September goes even better (I know I’m personally looking forward to the weather cooling off a bit!).