It's that time of year when I open the front door after dark to invite fresh air into the house, along with the occasional stray beetle. Apparently, my girl panther (there's only 1 of those in my family) is of the opinion that beetles taste nigh as glorious as the sticky buns from Wards Pastry.

She crunches them.

Loudly.

Extensively.

And leaves no trace behind.

Far be it from me to deny Spooky her tasty treats. 🪲

Writing Updates

Just finished editing & formatting the box set for His Name Was Augustin Books 1-3. Release day is less than a week away—Tuesday, May 10th—and I can hardly wait for you to dive into that monstrosity!

It's over 400,000 words. 📚 And it's only 99¢ for a limited time.

Did I mention there's a BONUS EPILOGUE at the end of Book 3?

How about a sneak peek? 👀

In the morning light, he turned his steps toward the east, toward the Isar. Perhaps if he could reach the trees on the opposite bank, he may very well be able to flee to where his family had gone, what he should have done from the start. Muniche was lost; the Teuton army had abandoned her and there was nothing he could do to change her fate. So he crept from building to building, street to street, his mind in a daze, his confidence in his Teuton blood evaporated.

And then he saw the cathedral.

That one remaining shrine of God in all of this madness stood tall and proud in the early light from the sun.

But each of the lesser buildings around it writhed with demonic flames.

And those vile enemies had turned their attention to the main entrance, to break down the holy doors and desecrate the sanctity within. He heard them yammering in their abhorrent dialects, their weapons drawn, their teeth bared in anticipation of the blasphemy to come.

The youth stood still for an interval that seemed to stretch into an aeon, casting his gaze around the square before the cathedral, down each nearby street. His fire within felt no trace of familiar blood, naught but the mad demon-tainted powers of the heathen horde. He was the only Teuton left to defend this house of God. It was time.

He broke from the shadows into the square with a wordless howl, his eyes the bright blue of fire, his curved knife raised to the sky, azure flames running the length of his blade and erupting simultaneously from the palm of his right hand. He slashed and clawed through the rear of the throng, hearing cries of surprise, of pain, his opponents giving way before him, taken off guard by the fury of Teutonic fire unleashed without restraint. As he clambered over a body writhing in flames, he may have believed, for a fleeting instant, that he had the strength to kill them all, to win Muniche back from the Saxons, from the heathens, from Wuotan himself.

But then a strong hand closed around his throat.

********************

That's right . . . the bonus content ISN'T written from Swanie's perspective! 😱

And the box set is the only place you can find it. Better get it while it's hot!

✨ I NEED THE BOX SET! ✨

Are You A BookBubber?

It just so happens that fellow indie author C.L. Cannon is running a big giveaway for readers who'd like to follow more authors on BookBub. There are even a few opportunities to follow authors on social media at the bottom of the contest. Each follow grants you entries to win a $300 Amazon gift card!

I've got 57 entries. 🤩 How about you?

✨ Enter The Giveaway ✨

Spooky - The Beetle Eater

Of course I wouldn't tantalize you with a cat story without sharing a photo! Spooky isn't a fan of posing; most of the pictures I have of her are fuzzy. But this one ought to give you a good look at her personality. Yep, that blur behind her butt is her tail staunchly swishing. 💖

That's all I've got for you this week. I need to get my butt back in the chair so I can get Numinous Fortune finished. Swanie just jumped headlong into the Rhine River, so . . . I've got to do some damage control. 😬

Talk to you soon,

C.L. Carhart

Download Arcane Gateway for FREE here: https://books2read.com/hnwaag

Buy Lurid Curse, my latest release, here: https://books2read.com/hnwalc

Get Veiled Magic, a bonus story, here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/jp1vp51i52

Preorder my first box set for 99¢ here: https://books2read.com/hnwaboxset13