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.

I'm writing you a day earlier than I usually do this month to ensure you have more notice to take advantage of a few opportunities. Read on for free and discounted books!

The Woeling Lass is free

As part of the Narratess book sale (see below), I've made The Woeling Lass free to all. You can grab a copy at Amazon for the next couple of days.

The Woeling Lass is the fourth novel in my Inquisitors' Guild family, although you can read them in any order. Here's the description:

An assassin hunts Inspector Gueran Declais through the streets of Frosthelm, and she is not acting alone. Just as he learns that his family may have been attacked and slain, Gueran is struck down as well. Despite the odds, he lives. Barely. Whisked away from the city for his safety, he struggles to recover from his injuries, learn his family's fate, and uncover the identity of those who want him dead. Far from Frosthelm, he becomes caught up in investigating another bloody attack, one that may or may not have been perpetrated by vengeful spirit of a woman wronged long ago, and one that threatens to expose him to his enemies. The locals are certain, though: the killer had to be the Woeling Lass, her hands cold as the grave and her feet aflame.

Back in Frosthelm, Urret Milton is an apprentice in some difficulty at the Guild. She receives a mysterious note for Gueran, a man everyone thinks is dead. Rapidly embroiled in the effort to unravel the reason for the killings and bring the assassins to justice, Urret struggles to shed her troubles and show that she has what it takes to be an inspector. But all this leads her into far more peril than she bargained for, for which she can't possibly be ready. Her position at the Guild, the security of the city, and her life itself are all at stake.

Massive Indie Book Sale

Want some free and deeply discounted fantasy and sci-fi books? There's a huge sale going on now organized by an author whose nickname is Narratess. She does this a couple times a year, and there are hundreds of authors who participate. You can find all kinds of books at the sale site here, and you can filter and sort to find exactly what you're looking for.

A tale of the salt sea...

I'm excited to share my first paid short story, Tide's End, which came out in today's issue of On The Premises magazine. This is my first foray into the mermaid horror genre, which is a sentence I wouldn't have imagined myself writing four or five years ago. I hope you'll give it a look, and that you'll enjoy the story of a mariner named Jonas doing his best to make it through an awful situation.

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 off, I have Claire Beckett and the Transfer of Power, where a woman with great hair and a bomber jacket to die for confronts the unknown. An urban fantasy detective story and part of a long series, this book centers on a detective who can see supernatural signs and symbols. At 4.3 on Amazon from over 200 ratings, this book and series are established and popular.

Next up is a ten-book set of Kat Drummond books. Kat is a monster hunter, and each story has her tracking down some vile creature or writing some wrong. There are at least sixteen of these that I can find, and you can get ten of them for only $0.99, or 9.9 cents a book, which seems ridiculously economical.

Next up is Defiant Space by Richard Rimington. This space opera novel of a lone ship working to defeat an alien assault is actually available for free through StoryOrigin's review program. You can get a free copy of this book and many others in exchange for providing a fair review. Some of mine are available in this program too.

Next up is Mythic: Shadow of the Spark by Adrian Santiago. This is a sci-fi detective story set against a backdrop of a society seeded by generation ships (human colony spaceships that travel for multiple human lifetimes). If that sounds like your cup of tea, give it a look!

And last but not least, I have Children of Alpheios by Diana Fedorak, a former air force officer who now writes sci fi and fantasy. This book is about the mother of a child with a genetic gift that makes both of them a target of government scientists and puts them on the run on a harsh world. It is the winner of several indie book awards.

Thank you!

Thanks for being part of my newsletter. I hope you're able to find some great deals and freebies through the Narratess sale, that you grab a copy of The Woeling Lass if you don't already have one, and that you'll check out my mermaid story too.

May the Bloodmother watch over you - 

Dave