All sorts of non-authorly things have happened on in C.L. Carhart's world since last Friday, so I'm going to chat (briefly?) about that stuff before yapping about the HNWA Giant Box Set. Which is still set to release on Monday, March 20th, only in my personal bookshop.

Assuming I can get all these cyber gremlins to behave. 🤖

Femme Metal & A Colorful Cavern

How about some weekend fun? My husband and I took a quick jaunt from our home in South Carolina up to Winchester, Virginia on Friday to watch one of our favorite semi-local metal bands perform live. (The band is based in Washington, DC, which isn't that close, but it's close enough. The U.S. is gigantic, you know.)

Novarium played an excellent show, and the two opening bands were, shall we say, interesting. 🤨 It was the first show I've attended since Rammstein back in August, and I'm a sucker for female singers in metal, anyway, mainly because I can actually sing along. (Not true for most male singers, who tend to drop too low on the music scale for me. Also, no, I'm not a "talented" singer.)

If you're curious about Novarium's music, you can find it on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0MhefTBXcleuKP1Tuy9K4f

Yes, the quick getaway was 100% worth it. My husband and I toured Skyline Caverns before we drove home, and we learned about anthodites in the process. The colored lights in the caverns make for a vibrant experience.

Tiny Kitty Needs Loving Vibes

In other news, one of my college friends—who also happens to read my books—recently discovered two abandoned kittens crying for help outside her apartment. Her husband tracked both of them down on Monday, but sadly, the smallest one passed away overnight. The larger one—a boy cat—is doing his best to survive, though my friend & her family will have to nurse him really carefully until he's old enough to eat solid food.

He's a gray tiger cat, and my friend has named him Ash. According to their vet, he's only 2 1/2 weeks old! So if you've got some positive vibes, thoughts, or prayers to spare, please send some his way. Ash is super adorable, and I'm seriously hoping he pulls through. 🐈

Box Set Simmering In The Cauldron

At the end of last week, I sat down to "clean up" & format all the books in my HNWA Giant Box Set—6 full-length novels and 2 short stories.

Well.

Now I've gotten "distracted" by how "messy" my writing was when I published my first series. 😬 Last summer, after I finished writing HNWA, I worked my way through a course on writing craft, something I'd never formally studied before. (My degrees are in history, not writing, which is probably why some readers seem to think my Teutonic Fantasy Realm is real. 😝)

So I've learned a variety of writing strategies that I've put to use in the first 2 novels in my new series—Gift of Fire and Gift of Stone. And now that I'm looking back at all of the books in HNWA for the first time in about a year?

Heh. They need help. -facepalm-

I don't have time to thoroughly "fix" HNWA, because I've got another book to write in my Elemental Bloodlines series, plus another short story. The good news is that whoever grabs the box set from my bookshop will also get any future updated versions for free! (Same with any eBook you buy from my shop. This is why you should buy my books from ME, not a retailer!)

Now you know the "unexpected authorly struggles" that come up when you look back at something you wrote in years past. Yikes. The good thing is, improvement is always possible, which is why I keep moving forward.

So the Giant Box Set will debut on my bookshop next Monday, March 20th. If you've joined my shop's newsletter, I plan on sending a coupon out that day so you can claim the entirety of my HNWA series at a discount. (And it's looking like it'll be 8 books for less than $20, which is a steal!)

Haven't signed up for my shop newsletter yet? Here's the link:

https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=SkLJr7&g=T9DxLS

Secret Story For Box Set Readers

Have I mentioned that if you grab a copy of the HNWA Giant Box Set, you'll also get the opportunity to snag a super secret novella?? 🤩

Some readers made their way through the entirety of Swanie's saga, but still had questions about the mysteries simmering in the background.

• Why did a certain Keyholder have a distant relationship with the elderly Lady Muniche?
• Why did the elderly Lady Muniche NOT pass a Herzestein down to her successor? (After all, that was a major factor for Zehra in Gift of Stone.)
• How much did Swanie's dad know about what went on in the shadows?
• And why, why, WHY did the Lady & the priests let Swanie—an immature eighteen-year-old ice witch—protect the powerful stone that opens time's gateway?

For real. Shouldn't an older, experienced adult have taken charge of the stone?

If you want the answers to these questions, keep an eye out for the link to grab the super secret novella after you've gotten your HNWA Giant Box Set. I won't be sharing a link to this novella anywhere else, because it's chock full of SPOILERS for Swanie's saga. 😱

So if you want to know all the secrets Swanie never found out, grab your box set on March 20th and get ready for your chance to be in the know!

(And a chance to gawk at the novella's awesome cover art. 💖)

🪄 The Spellcasting Hour 🪄

This week's book fair includes a batch of magical tales starring witches, a topic that's right up my alley! The prequel to my Elemental Bloodlines series, Gift of Air, is currently hanging out in The Spellcasting Hour anthology, if you haven't picked up a copy of Ilsa's steamy romance yet. It's a shorter anthology than most, so you'll only have to join a handful of newsletters to download it. 😉 This book fair is stocked with witchy goodness, so make sure to take a look!

✨ Witchy Book Fair ✨

Other Books You Might Like

I've got two intriguing books for you to check out this week. The first one is free with newsletter signup, while the second is a compelling romantic fantasy novel I read a couple years ago when I first dipped my toes into the indie author world. Curious about my own indie reading tastes? Start with Destin!

Sophie Brannigan

Ten years ago, when I was eight, a raven rescued me from a fifty-foot plunge and a life of abuse. For years, the same bird stayed at my side like a best friend and protector. There was something special about him, but I had no idea just how unique he was until I found him in my room one night—in human form and irresistible. His secret comes with a price, though. Am I willing to pay?

Revan Chogan

Since the day I saved her life—both from a deadly fall and an abusive, drunken father—I've secretly hoped Sophie could break my curse. Two hundred years ago, a rival enemy's shaman doomed my tribe to live as ravens in retribution for our transgressions.

One day each month, during Ravenlight, the spell lifts and we assume our original forms. Instead of joy, though, being human is a reminder of what was lost.

✨ FREE On BookFunnel ✨

The Kumasagi, who trains to comfort and guide the souls of the dead, forms an accidental bond with Asta, a woman born from a sacred lake.

Najat has spent years as a senior-ranked diver, harvesting destins as they are born from pods in a sacred lake. Soon he must give up diving in order to fulfill his duties as the Kumasagi, the younger of two powerful mystics who comfort and guide the souls of the dead.

When his brother Jayan returns from exploring the uninhabited lands, Najat falls ill with a mysterious virus. An unexpected chain of events places him in the path of an errant destin—a woman newly born, yet fully grown. The destin instinctively seeks a Holy Amala, the one who can awaken her cognition and help her find her name.

When the destin finds Najat instead, they must both survive a mind-bending confrontation, which leaves them with a deep mystical bond held secret even from each other.

✨ All Retailers ✨

Welp, that's all for me, because I've still got lots of last second things to get in order before Monday, when the HNWA Giant Box Set debuts in my bookshop. Don't forget to sign up for my shop's newsletter to snag an extra discount on the box set! Can't wait for you to join Swanie on her convoluted saga through time.

Talk to you soon,

C.L. Carhart

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This week's book fair: https://bf.clcarhart.com/spellcasters/a7s4icdjo3