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.

A sale coming up with plenty of freebies

On April 5-7, there will be a huge sale of indie books from all sorts of authors, all speculative fiction (e.g. fantasy, sci-fi, horror). Some will be discounted, and a lot of them will be free, including my Flames Over Frosthelm if you haven't read that one yet. This sale happens twice a year, is curated (no AI books, no garbage), and is really popular in the indie community. On Friday, have a look at https://indiebook.sale for all sorts of deals. The books will be sortable by price, category, and all kinds of descriptors, so it's easy to find things you like.

Progress on the new novel

My latest novel is in the hands of Reader Number One (my wife, Christina). She's making her way through it and leaving me plenty of notes (see the sticky tabs). She's about a third of the way through, so I should get it back pretty soon. After that, I implement her suggestions, and then it's off to my early reader folks.

Don't be fooled by the stupid first draft title - I was preparing the print file in the wee hours of the morning and needed to put something on there. I do need to settle on an actual title, but I'm going to consult with my cadre of early readers on that.

Hopefully, by my next newsletter, I should have a cover ready to share with you too, and the book soon after that.

A new story

I just finished and submitted a new epic fantasy story for an upcoming anthology from the Indie Fantasy Addicts Facebook community. I've had a lot of fun with that group. They do summer reading challenges in teams, and they ran their first online convention last month. This will be their fourth anthology, and I had a story in the third, From The Arcane, once I learned about these projects. This upcoming one will focus on magic or combat schools in fantasy, and with that prompt, I wrote a story that I hope will be a good fit. The twelve or so stories that are included are selected by volunteer readers who get the stories without any identifying information, so it's about as unbiased a process as you get.

I have enough stories out now that I could probably start thinking of doing an anthology of my own short fiction if I wrote a couple more. If anybody would be interested in that, let me know. I still have rights to all of them. If you're interested, you can find most of them (other than the most recent) here.

Dinna mess wi' Todd

I've been having a blast with the play I'm in, Unnecessary Farce at The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem. I play Todd, a Scottish hit man with an anger problem, and it's great fun. There are still tickets for the final weekend April 3-6 if you're anywhere near me and want to laugh at a bunch of skilled actors (plus me) playing very silly roles. I even play the bagpipes for a little bit.

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 Forgotten Rebellion by A.J. Park. This is epic fantasy, and it's got a ton of cool stuff - a princess, a renegade, a mystic, stolen memories, a war, a perilous quest, and more. Looks great. The link below gets you a free sample to read, and the full book is three bucks on Amazon.

Next, I have Saviour of the Crown by Paul J. Bennett. You get a free letter U in this title with absolutely no obligation! This is the 14th book (wow) in Paul's Heir to the Crown series. This is a popular series - the first book has over 2500 Amazon reviews, which is four times more than my most-reviewed book. There are dwarves, knights, war, legions - all kinds of great stuff here.

Next, I have Footsteps into the Unfamiliar by Kate Haley. This is a FREE collection of short stories set in the world of Kate's War of the North series. We have gods, heroes, footsteps, and of course both orange and blue fire, so it's a given that something is cooking.

Next, I have Merlin's Crucible by James Robertson. This is a story about Merlin (the wizard of King Arthur fame) that's part of James' Next Life series, an eclectic mix of stories about historical and fictional characters from all different times. This is FREE to grab if you're interested.

Finally, I have Until the End by Luna Fox and F. Lowberry. This is the first book in one of their several dracomancer series. Dragons, spells, and Kalindra the armored redhead. Can't go wrong with that.

I also have two groups of books to share. First, I have a set of 60 books of all kinds of genres available for free for Kindle Unlimited customers. There is fantasy, sci-fi, romance, mystery, thriller - all kinds of indie books. There's sure to be something you'll enjoy.

Finally, I have a set of fantasy books all available free for Kindle Unlimited readers. This has 42 different books and series to choose from, mostly epic fantasy but with a lot of variety. Have a look!

Thanks

Thanks so much for being part of my reader community! I'm so glad to have you here. I have some exciting new projects in the pipeline, and I hope to have a new mystery (NOT called Death Couch) ready for you later this month.

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

May the Bloodmother watch over you - 

Dave