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.

Library Time!

I was helping out my parents last week back in my hometown of Ames, Iowa, and one of the things we did was to go to the Ames Public Library. My mother was a librarian for much of her career in various roles in college libraries, and she and my Dad always made sure to take us to the Ames Public Library every couple of weeks as I was growing up. She's an avid reader who goes through multiple books a week, mostly mysteries, and my Dad's a big reader too, so we had many opportunities to go. I have lots of memories of the library, from the dioramas a librarian made each month of scenes from children's books, to the children's section when I was very small, to the young adult part, and then to the adult section, where from junior high on I hung out looking for fantasy and sci fi to read. One of my favorites there were the color fairy books of fairy tales compiled by Andrew Lang (or, as it turns out, really Andrew's wife Nora):

Picture borrowed from (and more info at) Beautifulbooks.info

This trip, I thought I'd look up my own books. I remembered a friend (my editor, Tami) had requested them for the library, but I hadn't ever checked the shelf. It was so great to see the books there, and one was even checked out!

It was really neat seeing my stuff in the hallowed halls where I'd gone so often in search of adventures to read. I hope some kid is finding my books, just as I found a new stack each visit to lug home and read late into the night.

A very special guest book!

While I was in Iowa, my Dad and I worked on a project of his. He's been a history professor and a college administrator, but he's been writing novels ever since I was a kid. He has at least eight finished manuscripts. I've been encouraging him to share them with the world for quite a while, and we got one formatted, edited, and published while I was out there with him. Allow me to present Postscript to War!

It's an amateur-sleuth mystery about an American soldier freshly back from fighting in Europe during World War I, recuperating and recovering from everything that happened to him over there and trying to go back to school. Out of the blue, he's recruited to search for a woman's lost brother back in France, setting up his entry into a dangerous and unknown world.

There are two more books in the series already written, so be sure to look for more in the coming year!

Writing update

I have not been a busy writer this month due to the travel and a bunch of appointments beforehand. I hope to dive back into my sci-fi project for the rest of September and October, but it's looking less likely that I'll finish it before November, when I'll start something new (likely another present-day mystery) for NaNoWriMo. That will likely give me two half-finished books, unless I'm fast in November again, so I'll have some projects to keep me busy through the end of the year.

I am working on getting my books up on IngramSpark as paperbacks. This will be an alternative to the Amazon paperbacks I have for all my books. Ideally, it will allow more libraries and bookstores to order and sell my books. Still working on the details - I just got started with it today - but I hope that will provide some more opportunities for readers.

I'm signed up to judge this year for the SPSFC, an indie sci-fi competition which I love. This is the fourth year, and I've entered twice, reaching the semi-finals with Daros in SPSFC #1 and winning the whole thing with Kenai in SPSF #3 this year.

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 Servant of the Crown, a completely free epic medieval fantasy novel, first in a series of six (and growing). An old soldier stripped of rank finds new purpose guarding a secret heir. Great stuff!

Crown week continues with The Iron Crown by L.L. MacRae, a high fantasy novel. Dragon spirits, ancient magic, scheming inquisitors - who could ask for more? This book was a finalist in SPFBO #7 three years ago.

Next, I have The Feeler by Katherine Okia, a cozy mystery sci fi novel about solving a mysterious murder entangled by many family connections. This is available free as a reviewer copy - you need to commit to posting a review.

Finally, I have a free sample of Wilderness Five by Craig Walton. This is a hard sci-fi space opera story that reviewers have compared to 2001, Planet of the Apes, and Jurassic Park. A mysterious new technology allows evolution to proceed rapidly, allowing rapid terraforming of worlds, but (as you might guess) it gets very much out of hand. Give it a try for free, and if you like it, the rest of it is $4.99.

You can also still get forty free epic fantasy stories (novels, novellas, etc.) in the late summer giveaway I mentioned last time here:

Thanks

Thanks so much for being part of my newsletter! I really appreciate you following along. I'm looking forward to getting some new books in your hands in the coming months.

May the Bloodmother watch over you - 

Dave