Verses Of Poetry Carry Us Into Other Realms 🌷
Feb 26, 2025 8:01 pm
You read the title of this newsletter and thought to yourself, "Wait a minute. I thought C.L. Carhart writes books, not poems. What's going on here?"
Well, you got it right that I can't create rhythmic verses or rhymes to save my life. That was one part of the creative writing class I took in college that whipped my tail. A haiku? Iambic pentameter? Do I look like a musician to you? 🙃
Luckily there are other indie authors whose muses lead them to lay down poetry to carry us away from this boring world into realms of mystery and beauty. And sometimes the darkest trenches with only a tiny glimmer of hope shining above. Ready to add something other than romance or fantasy to your e-reader? Check out the Indie Poetry Sale, which ends on February 27th.
**Fair warning that the majority of the eBooks in this sale are on Kindle only (at least the links lead only to Amazon), so those of us who read elsewhere will have to find poetry in other ways. I might have to comb through Smashwords for a bit of poetic inspiration this week....
🌷 Forbidden Gift Is Out 🌷
If you missed last week's big announcement, here's a reminder that after seven long months, a brand new novella from the Teutonic Fantasy Realm has hit the retailers and my book shop. Forbidden Gift tells the story of Gisela Laumi, a witch of metal whose rotten uncle ships her off to work at the magical brothel in Wels, Austria. Because obviously if you've just turned eighteen and you have no romantic prospects, you'd better buckle down and have babies with all sorts of Teuton males to ensure the magical population doesn't go extinct.
All right then. 🤨
Reviews are starting to come in for Forbidden Gift, and I've been pleasantly surprised by readers' response to Gisela's story. Here are a couple.
If you haven't snagged your copy of Forbidden Gift yet, you can do that at any of the storefronts listed below!
C.L. Carhart's book shop
https://clcarhart.com/products/forbidden-gift-ebook
Amazon
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DR3M2YVT
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DR3M2YVT
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DR3M2YVT
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DR3M2YVT
Universal: https://bf.clcarhart.com/5t5i9q9zq7
Other retailers
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/ebook/forbidden-gift
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/book/id6739717992
Google Play Books:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=jNM5EQAAQBAJ
Barnes & Noble/Nook:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1146733536?ean=2940184777832
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1666970
As always you can read it with a Kobo Plus subscription, or order the eBook from your local library. One library has already ordered it through OverDrive/Libby, so Forbidden Gift is starting to find its way into the public sphere.
If you've ever wondered why I won't just make my eBooks available in Kindle Unlimited, that last sentence above is a huge reason. Since Kindle doesn't allow indie authors to enroll in KU while distributing their eBooks elsewhere, none of my books would be available for libraries to order if I enrolled in KU.
Though I don't get a whole lot of library sales or borrows (probably since I'm not a super-popular author), it always makes my heart happy whenever I see that a library has purchased an eBook. Because that means it's now available to a huge swath of readers, some of whom can't afford to read eBooks in any other way. So please don't forget to mention your favorite indie authors at your local library, and ask your librarians to add our eBooks to their collections too! 😊
February Book Fairs
This month has nearly flown the coop, so if you've yet to browse the variety of book fairs listed below, now's the time to get that done. I've included the Indie Poetry Sale down there too in case you missed its link above. Lots of riveting reads await us all, so let's dive in!
Other Books You Might Like
Got two books by other indie authors for you to check out today. The first one is free on BookFunnel with newsletter signup, while the other one seems to be a villain origin story available on all retailers. 💀 Have to admit, my dark heart might be curious about that second one....
Widowed witch meets hardened hunter. Her past will drag them into danger.
Annie doesn't need anyone to rescue her from the things that go bump in the night, but when the Carter brothers barrel into her life, she might have what she needs to find her husband's killer.
Thrown into a world of magic and monsters, Annika Turner pursues the creature that changed her life with relentless determination. When her only lead is killed in front of her by a pair of Hunters, she seizes the opportunity to learn from the battle-scarred brothers. Annie gets more than she bargains for when she falls for one of them.
Rhys and Owen Carter take a detour to a small Arizona town to stop a werewolf. The headstrong witch they save from the creature brings chaos into their lives when they decide to teach her. It might be the best idea ever or the worst, but they can't let Annie face the monsters on her own.
In the shadow of a prince's betrayal, a kingdom falls.
Eldrick, poised for glory as the Elf Prince and heir, veered tragically into darkness, captivated by the forbidden allure of dark tillium, the most potent of elven magic. His relentless pursuit of dominance not only estranged him from his royal lineage but also transformed him into the catalyst of his realm's despair. Through his actions, Eldrick gave rise to the Elden,a faction of elves lured by the allure of power, wreaking havoc and instilling fear across the kingdom.
In the wake of this darkness, Prince Gaber and Princess Clara, Eldrick's siblings, are thrust into a battle for the soul of their kingdom. They stand not only against the tangible threat of their brother's making but also against the widespread shadow that threatens to engulf their realm. Their journey is fraught with challenges as they strive to mend a world torn apart by betrayal and war.
Jericho, a dragon shifter whose destiny once seemed intertwined with the elves, now faces his own crisis. The chaos unleashed by Eldrick's fall has thrown the delicate balance of alliances into disarray, affecting even the ancient pact with the dragons.
That's about it for me this week, but I hope you can find your own escape into another realm through any of the books and poetry I've shared today. Looking forward to getting your feedback on Forbidden Gift, as my writerly attention has begun to shift toward the months to come. There might be another novella brewing on the horizon.
Without doubt there's a big, chonky Book 1 in a brand new series emerging from the depths of my soul. 🤩 We'll find out more about that soon.
Wishing you a wonderfully weird week in the meantime, and give all your furry (or scaly or feathery) companions a pet on my behalf. 💖
Talk to you soon,
C.L. Carhart
Get Forbidden Gift:
https://bf.clcarhart.com/5t5i9q9zq7
Indie Poetry Sale:
https://kemreads.com/indie-poetry-sale
Sci-fi & Fantasy on Kobo Plus (and everywhere else):
https://bf.clcarhart.com/kobo-plus-february-2025/vqvmfvo2xt
Newsletter freebies in a variety of genres: