Greetings from C.L. Carhart's indie author world!

I'm back again at the outset of February because I promised that I would start sending weekly emails this month. This is me keeping that promise, and trying vaguely to figure out what readers like YOU want to know! 🤔

Writing Updates

January has been rather hectic in more ways than one. I have to admit that I may have signed up for too many commitments between now and when my next book, Lurid Curse, comes out on March 10th.

I barely got a chance to work on Lurid Curse (which is about halfway done), because I agreed to write a short story for a paranormal romance anthology. 😱 If you've read any of my stuff before, then you might know that I . . . struggle with brevity. 😣 Short stories are OUT of my comfort zone!

In spite of this, I managed to throw together a cute little tale set in my Teutonic fantasy universe. The blurb is below, along with a link in case you'd like to download the anthology. Zephyrs of Destiny is the second to last story!

My sister was a witch.

The clergy feared her protection spells. They shunned my family and compelled my father to curse her. Now she’s dead, and it’s my duty to honor her memory.

Of course my outcries angered both the clergy and my own people.

The only way I can escape my sister’s fate is to bind my heart to a Teuton priest—a member of an ancient caste that views women as naïve fools too weak to wield magic. Obviously, that goes against my personal beliefs. Someone has to continue my sister’s work, and it might as well be me. I won’t let some mage with a master’s complex hold me back.

Then Horst walked into my life . . . .

Zephyrs of Destiny is a suspenseful paranormal romance set in the Austrian Alps shortly after the Second World War. Join Ilsa in a fresh fantasy realm replete with elemental witchcraft, spiritual bonds, secret hideouts, and slight vampirical twists!

✨ Grab Fates and Mates Here! ✨

Fun Photo

I took this picture in the summer of 2018 while my husband and I vacationed in the Austrian Alps. Ilsa takes a journey similar to this one toward the end of Zephyrs of Destiny (though the cars likely looked a bit different in her era 😉). Such a spectacular view!

But what about that "onboarding sequence?"

Well . . . I have to apologize about that. I haven't written it yet. Nor have I written the exclusive short story I plan to offer once I get it set up. 🤦‍♀️ Lurid Curse is my main priority right now, so we'll have to hope (yes, you & me both!) that I'll manage to put the onboarding sequence together by the end of February.

That's about all I've got for now. Hopefully by next week I'll have some positive news about Lurid Curse! If you happen to download Fates and Mates to read Zephyrs of Destiny, I'd love to get your feedback. 🤩

[And don't worry. I'll share the link to Fates and Mates a few times before it vanishes into the ether at the end of April.]

In the meantime, check out "Talas" by Sojourner, a song that kept resurfacing on my playlist while I worked on Zephyrs of Destiny. I hope it inspires you! 💖

Talk to you soon,

C.L. Carhart