Oh hai there...it's finally August (thank god).

I am switching to a new newsletter provider, so the format of the newsletter is going to look different this time around, but the content is still here. I am sending the newsletter out a few days early to see how it pans out.

I have a lot I want to talk about with you guys this month and some of it is personal, but many of you expressed interest in knowing what happens in my life and I am happy to share (up to a point).

2020 has been a year where anytime I look at a month, I tell myself it cannot get any worst...and then it does. July has been emotionally very rough for me. Without diving into a lot of details, there was a person who I considered to be a friend that and stabbed me in the back. They spread false lies about me to people I cared about and tried to cut me off from the people who I considered to be important. And worst...they did this while I was still grieving the loss of my family with the intent to take my support network from me. This entire experience has cut me deeply on top of coping with the lost of two beloved family members, walking away from Other Worlds, and everything happening with the pandemic.

I am very well aware of what bullying and cyber bullying is, so I see this for what it is. However, there is little I can do about it other than distance myself from this person, their circle of friends, and live my best life. So that is what I am going to do. The entire experience has been brutal, but I am taking the lessons I needed to learn from it and moving on.

Why am I share this with you?

With everything going on in the world between the pandemic, politics, and social injustice, I want to ask you to pay attention to the people around you. This is not the time when we should be turning on each other or lashing out because we are mentally in a bad spot right now. Check in with your friends, ask if they are okay, or do something to let them know you care about how they are doing. If 2020 continues the way it has been, this rest of the year is likely only to get worse, so let take the time to support each other.

So, now that we have my emotional baggage out of the way, let's progress onward!

What's new? How about a Queen of Swords & Silence audiobook? What about a promo code for an audiobook? I woke up last week to find out that ACX went ahead and published my audiobook! Surprise for everyone (especially me). This is a big benchmark I wanted to check off on my bucket list since I started this crazy author journey. I am execeptionally happy to have shared the experience with Lisa, who really knocked the narration out of park. The link above to my audiobook is a discounted code for you wonderful folks. Enjoy.

Okay, Carrow, what about your other work in progress?

Great question. To do a quick summary, they are still in the works. I've been hammering away at a new project for Camp Nano this July called Sewer Magic that I aim to release next year. That bad boy is at 80k words and there are only a few more chapters I need to write because I declare the draft finished. Outside of that story, the rest of my drafts are currently on the backburning while I've hunkered down on a big venture I have been working hard on the last few weeks. More to come on that this fall. >:3

Where is the sequel to Queen of Swords & Silence at?

On my desk. Now that business with Other Worlds's Inc is resovled in regards to which of my works they have rights to, I feel more comfortable with picking up the seires and fleshing that out. Ghost's story is far from over and her universe is my happy place. While I would love to have book two (King of Pucks) out next year, it really depends on how these self-edits go.

I am happy to say that my submission to Violet Gaze Press was accepted, edited, and ready for publication! From what I heard, the anthology with my contribution is coming out this Fall, but you can preorder part one of the One Bed Anthology today.

What is happening with the Bound & Gagged series? A lot, actually. This last few weeks, I finished outlining all the stories and fleshed out more of Lock & Key. My orginal goal to make 2020 the year of Faye Black hasn't come true, but I am determined to write as many of these tales as I can to have them come out in 2021.

But first...I have been enamored with a novella idea that I have been writing furiously these last few days called Fine Print. It's a paranormal romance which follows a demon trying to capture her first soul and coping with how everything goes horribly wrong. It's fun and spicy and I am having a lot of fun with it. If you are interested in beta reading it, email me at browncarrow@gmail.com to let me know!

And onto...

Wow, can we talk about how busy I was on YouTube this past month? I was hella busy. On top of posting a Wordstock video, I also helped cordnate and facilate the Evergreen Writing Oasis Virtual Retreat. It was intense, fast pace, and I really just want to curl up on the floor and not think for a few weeks. A huge thank you to all the speakers and attendees who made it a memoriable experience.

But the big thing to talk about is that July is the month I hit 1,000 subscribers on YouTube! Wow! I never actually thought that day would come, but here we are! I am super flattered and floored that people want to hear what I have to say on YouTube and I hope to keep making good and engaging content for folks.

Here is the panel I hosted for Evergreen Writing Oasis focusing on Marketing for Authors.

Marketing Panel

Tamara and I have been coping with a lot of different things going on in our lives on top of planning and facilitating the Evergreen Writing Oasis retreat. Because of that, our podcast has been on pause with the intent to relaunch it this coming August after we both take a minor vacation. We appreciate your patience while we navate this crazy time.

I kind of went nuts with some of the drawings this last month, but I am still polishing up a few bits of art before I put them up on Redbubble. The featured art for this month is the Ten of Swords, but there are several other I posted in July I hope you will enjoy and consider purchasing.

Requests to add in more merch related to things I say or do is on the list of things to work on in August. If you have any sugguestions you would like me to consider, feel free to let me know! Making items and content you want is important to me.

In my attempt to try and save money, I have done my best to avoid going to Amazon and Etsy. For the most part, I have been successful! But what happened? My husband bought me a VR Gaming Headset as an early birthday gift! Needless to say, I have enjoyed it and have been playing Beat Saber until I can't feel my arms.

But I did go out last week and buy Octopath Traveler for my Nintendo Switch and I pretty confident I am addicted to it. I really enjoy the retro game feel and the storyline each character has.

And with that, we are done! Thank you all so much for being here and reading about what I have to say. I do appreciate it and I hope better times shine down on us this coming August.

Be safe and happy, friends.

--Carrow