New books, ARC opportunities, & freebies

Happy Holidays and Blessed Yule Strawberry fans!

           Where did 2024 go? I can’t believe it is time to welcome the new year’s sun on the shortest day of the year. While my family technically celebrates the New Year on Halloween (making vision boards, setting goals, & starting diet/exercise plans,) this time of year is a new dawn—literally. We get up at sunrise to greet the first sun of the lengthening days and give gratitude for all the joys brought by the sun. Advent is also a huge hit in my house. We make a blessing wreath on the dining room table and indulge in calendars without our favorite treats. No, my advent calendar isn’t full of chocolate (I’m allergic to it), I opted for European cheese this year. Add a bag of gluten-free pretzels and I get the perfect mini-indulgent. Do you have an advent calendar? Reply to this email and tell me about it!

Did you add Tied to Ms Krampus to your holiday reading list? Readers are cackling for hours over Gerhard and Liselotte’s unconventional, Christmas romance.

Find Ms Krampus on KU Here!

I’ve been neglectful of social media, cleaning my house, and my family—although my son’s been hitting the books for his first round of high school exams—to finish Book 5: Forgiving My Chuchunya. This book is a wild ride. Every reader loves the “touch her and die” possessive nature of the Chuchunya, but what if that was put to the test? What if a Chuchunya’s fated mate had a boyfriend when they met? It’s obvious to her that the boyfriend isn’t the one for her, but would a Chuchunya do the unthinkable to be with her? When push comes to shove, is that level of possessiveness what a mate wants? We’ve said dushevnayasvyaz is never wrong for 5 books… I loved finding the mixture of youthful spirit and morally grey compass for Gleb. Hannah the astrologist is perfect for him…but will she fit in with a bunch of PhD climatologists and anthropologists? Preorder Forgiving My Chuchunya and find out on January 8^th.

Preorder Book 5 for 99c Here!

If you love fuzzy monsters with mushy hearts, like the Chuchunya, then you will love Possessed by the Leonid King by S.C. Principale. I absolutely adore this cat-alien series. Read my Goodreads review of the best surrogate mother / alien romance out there and then see for yourself why I love this book so much.

Read my Review Here!

Purrrrr-chase the book here!

We started bright and cheery with the Yule sunrise, then chased the sun over the Tundra and into outer space. What’s next is the dark…which is best for horror books. ARC readers are terrified and titillated by Clutching Cthulhu’s Pearls. It’s described as a heart-stopping, pulse-pounding whirlwind that you can’t set down…even if real life is calling. I’m so excited people seem to love Harriett, Phin the Cthulhu Monster, and the diabolical Leopold. This book mixes the book Island of Dr. Moreau with the sorrowful storyline of Phantom of the Opera in a Lovecraftian horror novel with scorching spice.

Preorder Clutching Cthulhu's Pearls Here!

Interested? Pick up a review copy using one of the links, or if reviews aren’t your thing, preorder Clutching Cthulhu’s Pearls on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Sign up to be an ARC reader Here!

Did you grab your free books in the last newsletter? Some of the Monster Brides authors came together to present the 12 Days of Monster Romance with 12 stories/novellas about Christmas. My book, Your Satyr Until Christmas is a grumpy, dystopian Cinderella retelling. When you download the book, it will ask you for your email address. Don’t worry you aren’t signing up for anything new—you are already here.

12Days of Free Monster Romances!

Book Fairs & Recs!

Cinnamon Roll Monster Fair Here!

Hot Monsters Book Fair Here!

Monstrous holiday Reads Book Fair Here!

Mate a Werewolf Villain Here!

Check out the Oh Santa Anthology Here!

Happy holidays to everyone who has supported me along the way. You are my gifts. Without you I wouldn’t have the freedom to create the stories you love, so I guess we’re a feedback loop in the giant bookish organism. I know, nerd alert! You know you love it. In all seriousness, I appreciate everyone who has read one of my new winter romances or who has been on board since Bear with Me all those years ago. Yes, the rumor is true, I announced on my Patreon that Book 6: Holding My Chuchunya was the last of the Chuchunya series. There are other series I’ve been waiting to write as well as the option of turning Clutching Cthulhu’s Pearls into a trilogy…if you like it.

But I just to reassure you Strawberry isn’t going away. The original series will become a Patreon exclusive as soon as their Wild Rose Press contracts expire. In 2026, The Wolves of Strawberry will be a mini-series. Remember Frank and Susie of Smoother Than Spumoni, their reunion after Susie gets her MBA will be book 1. The rest of Rosie’s boys’ fated mate stories will make up the rest of the series. It will be a little darker and hotter than the original series, but I’m sure you will love it. I can’t wait…which is why I’m blabbing about it a year early.

Blessed Be and Let Magic Find You!

         Marilyn Barr