Welcome, new folks!
Hi, there. I've had a number of people join the mailing list recently. I want to make sure everybody gets their free Frosthelm book, Traitors Unseen. If you haven't gotten it, you can get it free from many sources here.
Freebies on the way!
I'm continuing my series of book giveaways this month with three more, and newsletter readers are always the first to see them. Here are some books you can grab starting Tuesday!
Got Trouble will be free from November 3rd to the 7th!
Stuck as a night manager at a gas station, Glynnis Cary's life is a lot like the hot dogs rolling endlessly in their grease, going nowhere and becoming less appetizing by the minute. But that's all about to change. Her son gets in serious trouble, her husband makes a terrible mistake, and suddenly she's on the run from foreign agents and the law.
Unwelcome Matt will be free from November 11th to the 14th!
Amy Galanis' quiet life as a librarian takes a chaotic turn when she comes home to find a dead stranger in her living room and her slob of a housemate, Matt, vanished without a trace. As the police investigate, shadowy figures appear, forcing Amy to confront a dangerous question: What was Matt up to, and why are so many people out to get her now?
And finally, the book that started all this, Flames Over Frosthelm, will be free from November 18th to 22nd!
Marten and Boog are newly minted Provisional Inspectors in Frosthelm's Inquisitors' Guild. Fresh out of training, they investigate crimes throughout the city. Their case goes awry as the thief they are tailing ends up in a dispute with a sorceress. The thief dies in a violent explosion, and as Marten and Boog investigate further, they learn that the theft was no simple matter. Their case spins out of control as they encounter a vicious noble, a deadly conspiracy, and hints of dark secrets buried for a century or more.
Writing update
I've gotten some writing done on my next science fiction story, but it wasn't as much as I'd hoped for for November. I'm at about 91,000 words, and there are still a couple of big pieces to write to finish up the story of Dewi Hartono, junior coil specialist on a long-range exploration mission. I got distracted by a game design project and some other stuff going on and found it just a little bit harder to get the words out as I tried to hammer everything into place.
Normally in November, I try to either start a new project or pick up one I started a little way in and haven't worked on in a while. In fact, several of my books have been mostly written (at least as a first draft) in November, including Got Trouble, What Grows From the Dead, The Outcast Crown, and The Glorious and Epic Tale of Lady Isovar, all of which added between 50,000 and 100,000 words in a single November. I'm don't want to give up that tradition, but I'm going to modify it some this year. I'm going to do the same intense writing, with a goal of at least 50,000 words total, but I'm going to start out with finishing my sci fi book. It's so close to done that I think it would be foolish to switch to something else and lose my momentum.
After I get that squared away, I'll shift over to a new project, which I think will be one of three things:
continuing work on a new Inquisitors' Guild novel that I started last year
continuing work on a present-day novel with a hint of the supernatural that I started last year
starting something entirely new
So, I probably won't get to 50K on any one project, but hopefully I can reach the same goal with two. Keeping that pace requires two writing sessions per day, and I've already done that for November 1, so I'm off and running. Wish me luck! I'll check in at my November 15th newsletter to see where I'm at. I have a couple of trips planned, so I'll need to either work some on those or catch up on the other days.
Running out of time for the short story anthology
Our Kickstarter for our short story anthology, Rings of Adventure, is complete, but you can still pledge to get a copy of the book in ebook or paper format, or as a series of emailed stories you get every day for all of December. We have 34 stories spanning sci fi, fantasy, horror, romance, and more, and we're at 99 pledges. Wouldn't you like to be number 100? :-)
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 up, I have The Moon Incident by Roy Howard. This is a 100% free prequel to Howard's Federation Rising series, and it's about a catastrophe on a lunar base and the heroic attempts to rescue people and recover. There's no risk and no cost to trying it out, so if it sounds like your kind of thing, give it a whirl.
Next up is Frosting and Foul Play by Diana Freel, an amateur sleuth mystery where a baker investigates a murder in the small town she moved back to to start baking. $4.99 or free for Kindle Unlimited users, plus it has a dog. And cupcakes!
Next up, I have Unicorn Militia, which I suspect is not a bunch of backwoods horned horses in Idaho incensed about their second amendment rights and immunity to income taxes. Ah, yes, I checked, and instead, it's a YA urban fantasy about a girl who bonds with a unicorn and joins a teen militia to fight off a demon invasion. Heavy stuff, especially right after homeroom. $3.99, or free with Kindle Unlimited.
Finally, I have The Dark Sea Beyond by Rye Sobo, whose cover promises both tall ships and dragons in flight. Can't beat that combo. A young storyteller flees aboard a ship to avoid a manhunt. 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon, and only $2.99.
Thanks
Thanks so much for being a part of my newsletter. Please make sure to grab your free books this month as they come by. If you're willing, writing a review of one of my books somewhere (Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph - anywhere) would really help me out.
May the Bloodmother watch over you -
Dave
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