You know how C.L. Carhart seemed all hyped about writing a batch of novella spin-offs connected to her recently complete paranormal romance series, Elemental Bloodlines? And you know how fate decided to toss her into a deep pit of turmoil when one of her cover artists disappeared without warning?

(Nope. Haven't heard back from said artist yet. Starting to wonder if they're okay or if something unforeseen happened. 😬)

But there's good news all around. A light has illuminated the end of this creative burnout tunnel that has plagued me since midway through last year. And it appears this light is actually a tiny bit...dark? 👀

Should I be surprised?

No, I shouldn't. I ought to know myself by now....

Teutonic Saga Incoming

If you've been hanging out on my newsletter since I first started it back in spring 2022, you might remember that at the time, I was wrapping up the very first series I ever published. That series—titled His Name Was Augustin—took me about a decade to write and improve. To this day it doesn't fit "neatly" into any genre conventions, which has made it next to impossible to market.

Comp titles? What the heck are those? 🤨

"You've read other books that remind you of your own, right????"

Um.

No.

I haven't.

Which is probably why I wrote the thing in the first place....

(If you can think of other authors whose books remind you of mine, please, PLEASE reply and tell me which ones. Three years at this and I still have 0 clue which fantasy or paranormal romance authors write books similar to mine. 😖)

If you've read any or all of the books in the His Name Was Augustin series, you might recall that the entire series followed the same heroine, Swanie. An ice witch who stumbled across a method of opening time's gateway...and then spent about 40 years grappling with her impossible love for an undead Teuton priest.

Whose name was Augustin. 😉

Now if you've read a couple of the books in Elemental Bloodlines, you've likely noticed that I seem to have a "thing" for these undead Teuton priests. Three of them appear to some degree as side characters in Elemental Bloodlines. And we get to meet one of them head-on in the bonus novella, Gift of Light.

When I first published Gift of Light, I received positive feedback overall about its story and characters. But I've got one friend who commented that it seemed the hero and heroine—Konstantin and Helena—got together too easily. After all, would a good father be totally on board with his 18-year-old daughter choosing an undead Teuton priest as her mate? Shouldn't there have been a little more pushback when Helena expressed her desire to step away from civilization to reside in the Black Castle of the Cursed Ones?

Well.

Readers who prefer dark romantic fantasy sagas laden with dangers, torture, death, desperate glimmers of hope, and the ultimate triumph of love over evil without and within?

My next series is for YOU! 🖤

Read Gift of Light Right Now

If you haven't read Gift of Light yet, now's the time to do it while the first book in Konstantin & Helena's saga takes shape. My usual cover artist is working on the cover already, and she's just as stoked about this new series as I am! I can hardly wait to dive back into a saga where we get to know the two main characters intimately over the course of multiple full-length books.

I don't know about you, but I value deep friendships rather than your shallow, "Hi, nice weather today, wow, that shirt looks so good on you! My neighbor has been walking up the opposite side of the street, wonder why???" 🤪

I'm now fairly certain that's the primary source of my lingering creative burnout. I've been writing too many surface-level stories lately, and the part of me that would rather get to know someone over time has been tormented.

It's time we really get to know the cursed, undead priest Konstantin and his living muse Helena as they contend with issues both within and without and ultimately mature into a power couple. 💪 Get a quick taste of what's to come in Gift of Light, linked below!

Get Gift of Light at my shop

[use code ELEMENTAL at checkout for 15% off]

https://clcarhart.com/products/gift-of-light-ebook

Get Gift of Light on Amazon

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C92XCZK3

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C92XCZK3

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C92XCZK3

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C92XCZK3

Universal: https://books2read.com/ebgiftoflight

Get Gift of Light on another retailer

[or read it on Kobo Plus!]

https://books.apple.com/book/gift-of-light/id6450560314

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=8urGEAAAQBAJ

https://www.kobo.com/ebook/gift-of-light

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1143697278?ean=2940160866772

https://www.smashwords.com/books/1412615

Book Fairs Galore

Got a big batch of book fairs to keep you occupied while we wait for the start of the next Teuton saga. Lots of great stories by your favorite indie authors await you in each book fair, along with hidden diamonds you've yet to discover. Be sure to browse each one and fill up your TBR with more compelling books!

Other Books You Might Like

Got two books by other authors for you to check out today, and the best part is both are free with newsletter signup! We've got fae and witches on deck, so grab yourself a fresh new read to escape from our mundane world.

What if your whole life was a lie? And what if the only way to find out the truth was to enter a world you never knew existed?

Alaia, a college professor, is brutally attacked while walking to her car at night on campus, and if she can believe her eyes, her attacker is a demon sent from hell.

Her rescuer is a man in a strange cloak, and with just one touch from him, Alaia's eyes are open to the Fae realm surrounding her and the Guardians protecting the human race.

✨ FREE On BookFunnel ✨

Have you ever been struck by lightning and survived?

Rowena Wickerson is a devoted historian looking for a job that will help her with her graduate studies thesis project. She is on the hunt for anything that will help her research the Civil War Era. Living in sunny California won’t get Rowena what she desires and without an internship or job, she’ll be behind on her thesis and overall schooling.

Packing her belongings, she heads east with Massachusetts in the hopes of finding a job she’ll love while developing her thesis project. A few miles outside of Boston, a storm stalls Rowena in her tracks. Pulling over to the side of the road, she tries to wait out the rain and lightning.

After Rowena’s car is struck by lightning, she is put on a path she never expected.

✨ FREE On BookFunnel ✨

That's all I've got for you this week, because there are so many ideas—both dark and light—percolating in my brain about Konstantin & Helena, and I can hardly wait to see where their saga-length journey will take us all. Don't forget to grab your copy of Gift of Light for a quick peek at the stars of our next Teutonic saga: a young and innocent witch of light, and her equally young but not quite so innocent muse, an undead priest of stone.

I hope you have a wonderfully weird weekend, and I'll catch up with you again next week. Happy reading, wherever your fantasies wander!

Talk to you soon,

C.L. Carhart

Get Gift of Light:

https://bf.clcarhart.com/z0k1vqfsss

Elemental Bloodlines series:

https://clcarhart.com/collections/elemental-bloodlines-series-ebooks

His Name Was Augustin series:

https://clcarhart.com/collections/hnwa-series-ebooks

Romantic Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Paranormal book fair:

https://bf.clcarhart.com/romantic-sci-fi-fantasy-paranormal-series-sale-september2024/w1mzaq6xgu