Free books!

The three fantasy detective novels of my Inquisitors' Guild series are free until March 19th. Grab a copy of these beloved mysteries today, on me. Adventure, swordplay, magic scheming nobles, and valiant detectives abound as the Inquisitors' Guild of Frosthelm solves all manner of puzzles, schemes, mysteries, and conundrums. I don't usually have all three free at once, so this is a great opportunity if you haven't sampled them already.

The SPSFC

I'm busy reading books for the 5th annual SPSFC. After participating with Daros (year 1) and winning the thing with Kenai (year 3), I've been a judge the last two years. It's really fun reading all sorts of diverse and creative indie sci fi. In the coming couple of months, I'll have some reviews to share, because my team is about to announce its quarterfinalists (probably five of them). More info in my next newsletter!

Writing update

As of about three hours ago, I finished the first draft of my first play. It's a farce-ish comedy about a medieval kingdom facing a serious population shortage, along with some schemes to take them over when they fail. No title yet, but I had a blast writing it. I need to read it through again and do a first editing pass, and then I'll share it with Reader Number One (my wife Christina) and then some other folks who've volunteered/been wheedled into submission to take a look. Having never written a play, I don't know exactly what the next steps are, but I will at least get a table read organized with some local actors and comedians and hopefully taped so that I can share it.

Our academic romantic comedy, Best, co-written with the wonderful Sarah Estow, is still in the hands of her agent for review. I'll update you as soon as we learn anything.

I wrote an intro for a short story that got rejected by the anthology I submitted it to, which was a bummer, but the very next day I got an invitation to join an advent-themed anthology. We'll have somewhere around 25-30 stories (e.g. one a day for advent), mostly fantasy and sci fi, with a Kickstarter coming later this year. It should be a fun time. Mike and Ro from Bald and Balding are organizing it, and I know quite a few of the other authors. We have a Discord for it that is full of activity. When there's more news to share, I'll let you know.

After I get the play off to some readers, I'm going to dive back into one of my two current projects, either my third sci-fi novel, which is the story of a research vessel sent to investigate the inner worlds of human civilization, worlds that have been silent since a devastating war 250 years ago, or my fifth Inquisitors' Guild book, which I started last 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 Temple Shadows by Katherine Okia. This is a near-future cozy mystery with elements of sci fi and psychic powers, where a mother investigates the death of her estranged son. Katherine is offering a free review copy to anybody who is willing to write a review.

Next, I have a whole mess of mystery books available to read for free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers (or to check out if you're not in KU). There are 38 books here, all waiting for you to join them on a crime-solving spree, in a ton of different subgenres and themes.

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. I hope you and your friends and family are having a great start to warmer weather (or an end to the heat if you're south of the Equator)!

May the Bloodmother watch over you - 

Dave