Dark Valentines and Winter Tales

Feb 02, 2024 6:00 pm

Hello again and welcome to February!

Happy Groundhog Day!

It's been a busy start to the year, but for once, the winter has been kind here in Nova Scotia and not buried us in snow (fingers crossed it stays that way; oops, it didn't). I've been getting the new podcast up and running, configuring the newsletter for the new delivery rules and various other interesting things, so read on (it's a long one this month). Oh, and I have some book sales this month as well.

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First up, the newsletter drama. Google, Yahoo, and the like have implemented new rules for delivering emails to all of you lovely subscribers, so I spent several weeks in January wrapping my brain around techo-speak and getting things aligned. Hopefully, this did not end up in your spam folder and I got everything properly conformed to appease our email overlords.

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The Shadows and Ink Podcast

Our first episode aired on January 15th, with Bram Stoker award winner, Angela Yuriko Smith as the guest. We had a lovely chat as always and you can check that out on Podbean and other podcast apps.

Check out the Podbean website for the episode as well, and where we're available.

Shadows and Ink on Podbean

Episode 2 will be aired this month with author Felix Blackwell and we may have an extra 3rd episode for you as well in February. Otherwise, it will be broadcast on a monthly schedule.

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A Strange Tidbit to Share

So I was on YouTube last week, scrolling through the shorts videos to unwind, and I saw one on unusual maps. As I love maps, I think, yay. Then... it's here's a map of Europe: the countries in yellow never had a Prime Minister, the countries in white never ate their Prime Minister (at this point I'm going, huh?) and the country in red did eat its Prime Minister (of course, my brain goes, what? and I'm off on a Google search down the history rabbit hole). And for the record, the country was The Netherlands, and an angry mob did kill the Prime Minister and his brother in the 1600s, with unconfirmed reports that some body parts may have been eaten or nibbled upon, or taken for souvenirs. Also, this may be the root of a story idea, who knows?

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And now for some book sales...

I'm currently running an anti-Valentine sale for Fairy Tales and Nightmares until February 14th, with the book priced at 99 cents. And the regular price of the book will be going up to 3.99 after the 14th, so now would be a good time to grab it, if you want a copy.

Fairy Tales and Nightmares (Entangled Nightmares #2)

Sometimes happily ever after just means surviving...

Nine fairy tales reimagined within the sinister worlds of horror, history and mythology.

What if the Wicked Queen fell in love with Snow White? Or if Sleeping Beauty’s curse came with a beast? And how far would someone go to avenge their family or escape to freedom?

Gone are the damsels in distress and the heroic princes, this is the grim world of folklore where monsters roam or a princess can be the champion of her own fate. No one is coming to save these characters, but they’ll fight their way out of madness and terror or die trying.

This book upturns your favourite tales and retells them with a horror spin, weaving them into such diverse historical settings as feudal Japan, the ancient Roman Empire, and Celtic Ireland.

Check it Out for 99 Cents!

Also, I thought the book sale would be a good way to kick off a new segment for this newsletter. I'll be sharing little tidbits about my published books: Easter Eggs, research fun facts, character insights, etc.

This month's Inside the Book tidbit

In the Fairy Tales and Nightmares story, White as Snow, Himemi uses a knife, a kaiken blade, for a dastardly deed. Historically, this was a customary blade for women used for self-defence (among other things) and as in the story, was concealed in the sleeve of a kimono.

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Book Sale #2

From February 14th-21st, Places of Poetry will be on sale, also for 99 cents.

Places of Poetry

With words and emotions, footsteps echo down the road...

Come voyage on a poetic journey, to cities and the heartland, across the sea and to the stars.

Find wonders in the shadows and strange things to haunt your dreams. Stare at the moon or stroll through memories. Roam the streets of Paris and London, the canals of Venice, travel to mountaintop villages, otherworldly realms, or the dark corners of the heart. Find poems to appeal to the wanderer in all of us.

Come laugh, come reminisce, come reflect. Find your place in poetry.

Read for 99 Cents (on Feb 14th)

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My Storefront and Story Origin

The direct sales feature I was beta testing for Story Origin is now public, so yay! Here are the links again for both my Lemon Squeezy Store and my Story Origin stuff.

My Storefront

My Books on StoryOrigin

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