If you've been sitting around wondering why C.L. Carhart didn't email you on Wednesday, well...it's probably because she's been freaking out about her recent BookBub Featured Deal on Gift of Fire. And she's been setting a new batch of Quarterly Goals. And writing—yes, writing at long last!—the fourth full-length book in the Elemental Bloodlines series.

And that fourth book happens to be up for pre-order right now. Help!

https://books2read.com/ebgiftofwater

But now's not the time to blab about that particular book. Today I'm going to discuss my BookBub experience with you, since I'm a little too honest for my own good. Then I'll share my batch of goals for the third quarter, drop some wildflower photos, and link a pair of FREE books I ran across recently.

Are you ready? Let's dive right in....

BookBub Stats

You might remember that Gift of Fire—the first book in my paranormal romance series of standalones set in the Teutonic Fantasy Realm—got chosen for a BookBub Featured Deal that ran on July 7th. That was one week ago, so now it's time to face the wretched truth. ☠️

Did this BookBub turn out better than C.L. Carhart's first BookBub on her debut novel back in 2021? (That one was a learning experience. No, nothing in my Teutonic Fantasy Realm fits into the "time travel romance" category.)

Luckily, Gift of Fire's BookBub ran in the paranormal romance category, which is exactly where it belongs. And despite the preponderance of werewolves and shifters in that particular category 😉, readers have snapped up Gift of Fire like a Wawa hoagie! We've sold over 1,000 copies so far!

Even better? As of July 11th, we cracked a profit! That means we've made more than the $540 it cost to run the featured deal to BookBub's readers.

And every cent that trickles in after this equals profit. No, that doesn't mean I'm abruptly "swimming in dough." Read-through in a series tends to happen slowly and steadily, so I'll be keeping an eye on the progress as the weeks go by. But it's been truly inspiring to see readers making their way through Gift of Stone and Gift of Darkness. It gives me hope that maybe some people actually enjoy reading about weird elemental witches who live in Germany.

So maybe I should keep writing. Can't give up now!

Reminder—Get Gift of Fire Now

If you haven't read Gabi and Lukas' steamy love story yet, this is your reminder to grab yourself a copy before the eBook goes back to full price next Monday. Right now Gift of Fire is only 99¢, and I'm not sure how long it'll be before I run another sale on this particular book.

If you enjoy reading about fiery witches who return home after years away and grapple with prejudice, family trauma, and outrageous expectations, Gift of Fire is for you. It's also for you if you're a fan of workplace romance, especially that moment when your high school bully turns out to be your new boss—and a smoking hot gentleman who might have matured a bit since his teen years. 🫢

Curious? Find out all the details right now in Gift of Fire.

✨ I Need It! ✨

C.L. Carhart's Quarterly Goals

Now that the third quarter has started, it's about time for me to set a fresh batch of Quarterly Goals. The hope is that I'll manage to achieve at least half of them by the end of September. If I do, then I've won the quarter. If I don't? You get to point and laugh. Public humiliation is a major motivator. 🤪

So what am I hoping to accomplish by the end of the third quarter?

• write, edit, and publish Gift of Water
• write, edit, and publish a Gift of Darkness bonus novella
• expand and publish Gift of Light on the retailers
• expand the Winter Flame novella to 10 chapters
• write 10 chapters of Elemental Bloodlines Book 5
• revamp welcome automations for my main newsletter
• set up email flows for my bookshop's newsletter
• apply to publish on Radish
• prepare author Facebook page to run ads
• revamp my VIP reader program
• continue business-related online course
• go camping
• visit 5 waterfalls (already got 3 done!)
• walk the neighborhood at least twice per week
• health-related goal

Oof! That's a darn lot of actual writing on the docket for the 3rd quarter. 😬 Can I manage to crush at least 8 of these 15 goals? Which one sounds the most exciting to you? Let me know in a reply!

Wildflower Pix

During the recent July 4th holiday, my husband and I took several hikes to a variety of waterfalls in the mountains of western North Carolina. I shared a photo of the largest waterfall with you last week, and this week I've got some colorful wildflowers for you to admire. The forests are blooming with summer's radiance right now, and it's such a joy to witness nature's growth. 💚

I'm pretty sure the yellow flower is an evening primrose, but I'm not sure about the pinkish purple one. If you have any insight, please let me know!

Two Free Books You Might Like

So I came across a pair of fantasy romance novels that are FREE on most retailers, and I thought you might want to add them to your book collection like I added them to mine. That's right, both books I've got to share today are free for the taking with no newsletter strings attached! 🤩

Do you have a misbehaving, violent, or otherwise problematic shapeshifter in your pack? Send them to the Junkyard, dumping ground and magical holding pen for unwanted shifters.

Cougar shifter Lena has one goal, and one goal only: to stay out of reach of the vicious alpha of her pride. If that means being exiled to the Junkyard, then so be it.

Carter, a grizzly shifter, let his rage take the reins after his brother's death. His clan alpha can't control him and he refuses to change, so into the Junkyard he goes. When Carter meets Lena, though, his protector instincts kick into high gear...especially when the other shifters in the Junkyard seem intent on harming her.

What happens when Beauty meets Brawler? He has to be gentle to prove his love...but he has to be violent to save her.

✨ FREE On All Retailers ✨

The goddess of vengeance must choose between revenge and love.

Trapped by an ancient curse, Sekhmet has been away from the world for thousands of years. Now free, she faces the ultimate challenge. If she takes the revenge she craves, she'll be trapped as a sphinx forever. Can she manage to resist the thing she was created for?

Daughter of the Sun is part of the Forgotten Gods series and is based on Egyptian mythology. It includes a dash of adventure, a m/f romance, and can be read as a standalone.

✨ FREE On All Retailers ✨

That's all for me this week, so I'd better sneak away into my writing cave so we can find out just where Gift of Water is going to go. This book has a pair of exes who are still friends—gasp!—and lots of woodland adventures. Now I just have to not let myself get distracted while I craft a new witchy love story.

You can pre-order Gift of Water at the second link below, and don't forget to get your copy of Gift of Fire while it's only 99¢.

Wishing you a wonderfully weird week. 💖

Talk to you soon,

C.L. Carhart

Get Gift of Fire:

https://books2read.com/ebgiftoffire

Pre-order Gift of Water:

https://books2read.com/ebgiftofwater

Get Dukes of Magic for free:

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/7yzvslyqb9

C.L. Carhart's book shop:

https://clcarhart.com/