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July 2023, Issue 17

This newsletter is a bit light this month because I have been in and out of the woods on vacation so internet is a bit spotty. I am a city girl at heart and can only take nature for a few days because the bugs love to bite me too much! For Canadian Authors Association's Toronto branch I have been busy pulling together details for a national writing contest which is accepting entries September 1, 2023. Running a contest is a lot of work and I'm grateful that a great team is working with me. Hope you are all having a great summer!

Best,

-JF Garrard

Artsy Raven Podcast Updates

Click for access to The Artsy Raven Youtube Channel

Click for access to The Artsy Raven on Spotify

Click for access to The Artsy Raven on Apple Podcast

On episode 36 of the Artsy Raven we interviewed Gregory James Light and Rafael Sinclair Mahdavi discuss their careers as writers, artists, teachers and the challenges they have faced along the way. Their joint novel, The Dishwasher Dialogues will be making a debut at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

On episode 37, Vincent Yee talks about how he wrote five books over six months during COVID and even got them featured on the Kelly Clarkson show! His Clara Wu YA fantasy adventures feature four different Asian ethnicities and they only unlock their power if they embrace their cultural heritage.

Design - Poké Zen

Recently on a cottage trip I encountered a family obsessed with Pokémon Go. I have to admit I felt a bit unsafe with the driver wanting to catch Pokémon and was worried my obituary would say I died because we were playing this game! This shirt is for those trying to decide if they want to walk out to play or just use a remote raid pass to battle the bosses!

Click here to see all the designs for sale on Threadless, all proceeds go towards Dark Helix Press to make more books!

Artsy Fun - Creating Map Art

Inkarnate is a program for creating digital maps, ranging from fantasy maps to very detailed city scenes. Since I write fantasy books, I've been playing around this program to help me plan my fantasy world. It's free to use to make maps with basic features and $5/month opens access to more map styles and objects such as castle walls, land textures, etc.

Click here to access Inkarnate (map image example from Inkarnate).

Free Book Giveaways and Promos

(click book title to access free eBook download link or book preview)

Spectres of the Old World Part 1: Mud Monsters & Revelations by K.A. Wiggins (click for preview). Ghost’s world was broken long before his birth. It’s no surprise he’s been struggling to keep the cracks from showing. When he saves a strange girl from sea monsters, the tale she has for them unearths a shocking series of secrets and shallow graves. 

Starcrasher by Rock Forsberg (click to download). Tredd Bounty's life hasn't been the same since he was kicked out of the Navy. And bouncing between shady jobs and risky missions barely keeps a roof over his head. So when he picks up a rich gig to capture a deadly device that could tear the stars apart, he keeps his incredible power at the ready: the ability to stop time itself…

The Blackmail Job by Shane Shepherd (click to download). Jason “Key” Rokku has just been released from prison after 10 years. Dumped back on the moon, Izanami, of his origin planet (Izanagi) he struggles to make it back into society. No one is willing to handle an ex-convict. That is except Apollus Tuck, a businessman who owns a few restaurants across the resource rich moon. Key comes to Tuck's attention when he prevents a kidnapping and as a result Tuck offers him a position as a bodyguard.

Ruined: a Gothic Regency Romance retelling of Jane Eyre (Rakes and Ruin) by M.C. Frank (click for preview). The duke of Ashton sits at the Opera at Vauxhall Gardens, bored out of his mind, and plans murder. He curses the day that brought the little governess, destitute and sad, at his door eight months ago, to upset his careless if a bit meaningless existence. How could he have guessed the terrible, evil secrets she was hiding?

Oblivion's Shadow (Oblivion's Galaxy Prequel) by Dylan McFadyen (click to download). Humanity is on the verge of extinction. Until Tomasz Dabrowski, an astronomer abandoned on a distant space station, detects a mysterious alien signal. Humanity’s long awaited first contact with another intelligence has finally come, at the end of the world. Now, Tomasz has to decide whether to respond to the signal; because there’s no way of knowing whether the aliens will be our saviors… or our destroyers.

Errant Gods: A Dark Fantasy Novel (Blood of the Isir Book 1) by Erik Henry Vick (click for preview). Winner of the 2018 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards Silver Medal for Fantasy. The skein of Hank Jensen's quest is simple: overcome all the obstacles in his path—his disability, his lack of knowledge, demons, dragons, and dark vengeful gods. If he succeeds, the war will have just begun. If he fails, he will never see his wife or son again.

Strands of Time (Aeterna Chronicles Book 1) by Kris Ruhler (click for preview). Seventeen-year-old Kallum has life all planned out: pass his simulation test, snap up a job on the upper rung, and ask the girl of his dreams out. No more working at the bakery. But life has a funny way of ruining plans. Not only does he get reassigned to a hermit, but his hallucinations also make him fear that he’s turning into his worst nightmare: becoming one of the Crazies.

The Boy and the Dragon by Erynn Lehtonen (click to download). Hidekazu, a keen boy of eight, wants nothing more than to meet a dragon face-to-face. Although the sacred serpents of the Goddess aren't quite the same, following one into the deep woods doesn't end up with the adventure he planned... in fact, it could change the direction of his life forever. And not for the better.

Dacia Wolf & the Prophecy: A magical coming of age fantasy novel by Mandi Oyster (click for preview). Dacia Wolf longs to be normal. After accidentally killing her brother years ago when her awakening powers set fire to their house, the now-college freshman just wants to fit in. But when another unintended blaze results in a trip to the dean’s office, the distraught young woman learns she is the subject of an ancient prophecy.

Rox by M.E. Pickett (click to download). A space exploration novelette. Forced into a risky mission to the outer reaches of the solar system, Roxanne “Rox” Weaver is about to confront a horror from her past, and a threat to humanity’s future.

Feeding Frenzy: Curse of the Necromancer by Maaja Wentz (click for preview). Tonya’s new friends, artist Priya, and Digital Ninjas Drake and Zain, want to create the creepiest art installation Loon Lake Cemetery will ever know. Too bad what’s lurking in the graveyard is deadly. Untrained and overmatched by occult conspirators, Tonya will need to develop magical abilities she never knew she had. Can she uncover the mystery behind the epidemic and save her town? Winner of the coveted Watty Award.

Forensics and Dragon Fire: A 'Fantasy & Forensics' Short Novel by Michael Angel (click to download). LAPD Crime Scene Analyst Dayna Chrissie had to solve a royal murder before war broke out between human and centaur. Now Dayna's got a brand new case. When one of Andeluvia's dragon riders is found torn apart by his mount, she's got a golden opportunity to prove her worth to the new ruler and his nobles. When evidence of a darkly plotted murder surfaces, she's got her work cut out for her.

Group book promos

Passport to Paranormal - Get these books fast on Kindle Unlimited! This promotion ends August 1st! Click here for access.

Surf’s Up for a Summer Fantasy Adventure! - Get these books fast on Kindle Unlimited! This promotion ends August 1st! Click here for access.

Christmas in July - Download these books fast! This promotion ends July 31st! Click here for access.