Welcome, new folks!

Hi, there. If you've joined the mailing list recently, I want to make sure you get your free Frosthelm book, Traitors Unseen. If you haven't gotten it, you can get it free here (the site will ask you to sign up for this newsletter, which you're already getting) or here from Smashwords. It's also on Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. Please, enjoy with my compliments.

The trophy is here!

I got my trophy for winning the annual indie sci-fi SPSFC competition with Kenai last year. My Kenai beat out 220 other entries to win. The trophy is a sci-fi blaster pistol, which is awesome. For the first two SPSFCs, the trophy stand was been assembled by Hugh Howey (video here), but he's following other interests now, so I'll put together a stand myself. I've ordered a little plaque and a stand, and I'll send a picture when it's all put together, but for now, here's the pistol in my domineering, universe-ruling hand:

It's a great honor to have won last year, and it's really fun to be judging this year. They just announced the finalists, and I have three more books to read for the finals.

Writing update

I'm doing writing on two projects at the moment. One is my mystery, Unwelcome Matt, about a librarian whose life goes significantly off the rails. I've completed the edits from two early readers, and I have a smaller number of edits from a third, plus some notes from my mom, who is a librarian herself. I'm hoping to get that one to my editor by the end of this week after some grinding on it over the next few days.

I also mentioned last time the new project I'm working on with romance author Sarah Estow, which is a two-point-of-view romance between college professors. We're up to seven chapters and over 14,000 words, and we've got a large and growing document full of plot ideas and character details. It's a lot of fun writing this way, and it will be interesting to see how it develops. Writing with a partner means we need to do some more outlining and plotting (and that's also how Sarah typically writes), so I've had to set aside my seat-of-the-pants discovery-based writing and hit my targets. There's still a lot of freedom, though, and I've had fun with some villains and bad luck along the way. We'll have to see whether Flora and Mark ever get over themselves and find each other. I'm betting they will, but I only control one of them, and he currently thinks she's basically a Mean Girl. Flora's opinion of Mark is no better.

Some stories to try

I'm part of several author collectives, and we share each other's work to try to help all of us reach more readers. In many cases, the books we share are are free or discounted. Sometimes, they ask that you sign up for a newsletter like this one. Here are some new books I have to share this month:

First, I have Return of the Star Lords by B.A. Gillies. This is a short story that blends fantasy and sci fi. It's won multiple awards, and it's free for you to download. There's even a God-King, so that's cool.

Second, I have Trail of the Betrayer by Luna Vox and F. Lowberry. A girl follows a shadowy mentor along a path that leads to regret and loss of loved ones. Plenty of magic and weird gods here too.

Third, I have Awakening Horde by M. Zaugg, a LitRPG novel with an absolute banger of a cover. A street thief in a city plagued by huge monsters gets dragged into an elite academy. Great stuff.

Finally, I have Guts and Gears by Jonathan Fesmire, a set of twelve stories set in an alternate history steampunky version of the 19th century American West. An intriguing blend of genres, to be sure.

Thanks

Thanks so much for signing up for my newsletter. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for upcoming books! I love hearing from people. If you've read one of my books and wouldn't mind leaving a review anywhere (Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub, LibraryThing) I'd really appreciate it! Each review helps me reach more readers. 

I hope you and your friends and family are having a safe and rewarding 2025!

May the Bloodmother watch over you - 

Dave