Fairytale Retelling On The Way 💃
May 17, 2023 3:01 pm
Happy Wednesday (or Thursday) to all you lovely readers of fantasy romance & C.L. Carhart's weird versions thereof. 😍 I've got lots of fun stuff to share with you today, but first I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to the 5 people who replied to last week's newsletter. I guess it's not so "weird" to miss my favorite panther, Nightfall, after all. 🖤 I really, truly appreciate all your good vibes.
Gift of Darkness has been out on the retailers for a week now. It's been exciting to see copies floating off the shelves & reviews trickling in. You may not realize this, but a lot of authors—myself included—get nervous anytime we publish a new book. Will readers like it? Will they hate it? Will anyone actually buy it? Am I the only person this crazy tale resonates with? Aaaaaahhhh! 😱
I'm glad so many of you have enjoyed Doro & Amira's love story already. If you haven't gotten your eBook copy yet, you can nab one by clicking on the header at the top of this newsletter.
Reminder to any Kindle Unlimited readers still hanging out with me—if you try out Kobo Plus for a month (or longer!) you can binge every novel I've ever published, Gift of Darkness included.
So what comes next? What's this "secret project" I'm working on? Well....
Parental Goofiness + Fairytales
Not long after Gift of Darkness hit the shelves, I started working on a novella that's set to be a bonus story in my Elemental Bloodlines series. It's a story I've wanted to write for a long time, because it'll be my first-ever fairytale retelling!
As always, my husband & parents have been beta reading the tale along the way, checking for typos and any content that needs more explanation. Yesterday I sent the latest batch to my dad so he could print it out at work (relatable to any office workers out there, right? 😉). I asked him what he thinks of the first 2 chapters, which is all he & my mom have read so far.
Here's his response:
"As for the first 2 chapters, it sounds like a good start. I can't see how Mr. K & Helena are ever going to get together if that's what's supposed to happen. They are so far removed from each other in terms of Teutonology."
Teutonology. 🤔
And....
Mr. K.
🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
Curious just which fairytale I'm transforming into a magical Teutonic romance? How exactly DO Helena and Mr. K manage to get together, anyway? Find out next week by reserving your copy of Gift of Light from my web shop!
https://clcarhart.com/products/gift-of-light-ebook
I'll be selling Helena & Mr. K's love story on my web shop only until May 31st. Once June rolls around, I have to take the story off sale until it's finished its stint in an upcoming BookFunnel anthology. So yes, that means you'll eventually be able to get Gift of Light for free if you join 15+ author newsletters. Or you can toss a couple dollars my way and get it early. What say you? 😃
🌿 Herbal Update 🌿
You might remember that my husband and I (but mostly me since he's not much of a gardener) set up this year's herb garden in the middle of April. Might seem too early for things like that, but summers long & hot here in South Carolina, and pests are fierce once July & August roll around. So that means if you want to munch some herby goodness, you'd better start in the spring!
Right now we've got a bunch of very happy oregano, some creeping peppermint that tried to take over the planter (we've hemmed it in), pineapple sage (which produces red flowers!), two basil plants, some dill, some rosemary, and an aromatic hybrid, African blue basil. Our dinners have been super savory lately!
Above you can see our pineapple sage and regular basil. Are you growing any herbs, fruits, or veggies this year? If so, send me some pix!
PNR & Fantasy Romance Book Fair
I've found a book fair packed with over 200 magical books splashed with romance, and I couldn't wait to share it with you. Lots of great reads included, so if your e-reader has been getting lonely, it's time to load it up. Shifters, dragons, witches, vampires, angels, and orcs—this book fair's got it all! Take a look.
Other Books You Might Like
My fellow indie authors have crafted 2 mystical stories that might interest you. The first one—a collection of short stories about a female detective and her half-vampire boyfriend—is free with newsletter signup. The second one seems to involve Greek mythology and a love story, but it looks like it's in KU now. (I didn't check the links before I agreed to share this book, so I apologize to readers who don't use Kindle 😣).
HOT NOTE
Homicide detective Shelley Caldwell and her half-vampire lover Jake figure out three murders deemed suicides are connected. But Shelley can’t suggest that powerful paranormal forces are at work to her department—one psych evaluation was enough. So she and Jake investigate, putting him at risk and leaving her with the task of figuring out how to beat the odds when fighting a supernatural force.
HOT CORPSE
When bodies are found—rather skeletons of bodies—Shelley knows the supernatural is involved. Not wanting another psych evaluation, she keeps that aspect hidden as she tracks down the killer in this story.
HOT CHRISTMAS
Shelley has wonderful memories of Christmas, while Jake, born of a mother turned vampire while pregnant with him, has none. They’ve come to a compromise that she can decorate “her half” of every room, but there can be no Christmas tree. Then a case of hit-and-run leaves a dead body and a magical Christmas tree. With her woo-woo instincts ablaze, Shelley can’t resist bringing home the tree, heating up the war with Jake.
Every stupid thing anyone has ever done has been done for power, or love…or love of power. The Gods are no exception.
Athena has been told by the Fates that humanity is on the brink of extinction. Unbelieving in magic or gods, the insidious fear within the humans will drive them to their demise.
Only a priestess sent by the Gods can save them.
Prometheus, creator of the humans and bearer of foresight, is adamant that sending the priestess to Earth will cause more harm than good. He has no intention of aiding the goddesses’ plan; Fates be damned. When he steals white fire, a symbol of the Gods’ knowledge, and gives it to the priestess…the Fates align. Humanity will never be the same again. A new era will begin.
But at what cost to those involved?
🤩 Time To Vote! 🤩
If you've been hanging out on my newsletter for a couple months, you might remember that I've made 15 quarterly goals to help keep me accountable to myself and to you. It's part of my valiant effort to defeat the procrastination monster. (And yep, I've been grappling with that beast while writing Gift of Light.)
The good news is, I've mostly finished planning a quick vacation. 🥳 This year I have too many books & novellas to write to justify taking nearly 2 weeks off for another Great Western Road Trip. (Maybe next year?) So my husband and I are going to check out Colonial Williamsburg instead. I haven't been there in nearly 20 years, and it'll be his first time. We're really excited to dive into history!
That being said, next week I'll be off in the 1700s, so one of my characters will write this newsletter instead of me. Which person do you want to hear from?
Vote below! Each button will take you to a book relevant to that character, mainly because my newsletter client doesn't have a "poll" option. But there are always ways around the roadblocks built by cyber gremlins!
Who should write next week's newsletter?
Welp, I'd better scurry back to my laptop so I can finish the fairytale romance of Helena and Mr. K. 😜 Want to find out all the details before everyone else? Reserve your copy today at the first link below!
And as always, have a wonderfully weird week.
Talk to you soon,
C.L. Carhart
Get Gift of Light:
https://clcarhart.com/products/gift-of-light-ebook
Elemental Bloodlines series:
https://clcarhart.com/collections/elemental-bloodlines-series-ebooks
His Name Was Augustin series:
https://clcarhart.com/collections/hnwa-series-ebooks
This week's book fair: