Kalani Shimizu's Monthly Newsletter (Sept 2024)
Sep 15, 2024 8:36 pm
Hello everyone!
Another month has come and gone, and while not quite as exciting as last month, there's been a ton going for me and Riyati regardless! So let's jump right into our updates.
Updates
Riyati
I received the first proof of the Riyati Rebirth Companion Guide two days ago! While I don't have any pictures to show off quite yet, I should have some by next month's newsletter so please stay tuned there. What I can say is it's looking to be around 140 pages, at around Riyati Rebirth's print size. There's 7 pieces of art within, and the book covers characters, locations, events, and an encyclopedia-- including information on terminology, magic, and other odds and ends from Riyati Rebirth.
Unlike Riyati Rebirth, the Riyati Rebirth Companion Guide physical edition will be exclusive to my soon to be opened direct storefront, and I'll be stocking a limited number of signed copies for the interested! There will also be a hardback edition of Riyati Rebirth, and a bundle with both Riyati Rebirth and the Riyati Rebirth Companion Guide sold together for a discount. If this is something you're interested in, I hope to have all of these up and ready for purchase by the next newsletter!
If you're more of a digital kind of person (me too!) and interested in a sneak peek of the Riyati Rebirth Companion Guide, you're welcome to check out my Ream page, where articles are being released Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every week with a monthly subscription of $3.99. This subscription also covers a digital copy of Riyati Rebirth, plus will include additional perks very soon-- including later books in the series, such as Riyati Rebirth's sequel, Riyati Rivals!
Riyati Rebirth is also included in Dax's Birthday Book Bonanza-- a giveaway for signed copies of several indie books running from October 1-31; there'll be three winners, so be sure to check out and register for the site come Oct 1!
Personal
Fall semester started a few weeks ago, and with it, I officially entered my third year of my PhD program-- only two more years to go! It's still a bit surreal that I'm this far into the program, but have learned so much and benefitted a ton from it so far. Hoping the last two years are just as great as the first three have been.
Just this last week, my husband and I adopted our first dog as well: meet Aruna! She's a pitbull terrier mix, around one year old. She's still getting used to things, but overall adjusting very well.
Picture of Aruna eating a rawhide bone
For gaming, I finally finished maxing all classes/jobs in FF14 as of today! Still need to finish trusts out, but definitely about ready to take a small break for other games soon-- need to do my regularly scheduled Xenoblade playthroughs here soon, after all.
Books To Read Meanwhile
It's a bit of a quiet month as far as Riyati content, but I've got plenty of books to share to hold you over to the likely more eventful Riyati October! Starting with...
Fall, Sacred Apple by Emory Glass (ARC/Review Copy)
Kala's note: I was actually a beta for this! Definitely recommend checking it out if you're interested-- very dark and thought provoking, with some great imagery!
The pact is bleeding.
What started as a bountiful covenant between a Republic and the goddess who sustains it now suffers a drought of faith. Should a famine of devotees follow, the Blood Mother will uproot the pact. Civilisation will collapse.
In the midst of these uncertain times, Corbha, a warrior-nun of steadfast faith, eagerly awaits her brother's birth. He will be the first child born at Madhcha Abbey in twenty-four years. If his delivery suggests divine favour, Corbha and her siblings are to punish a trio of disobedient senators. They have propagated the Republic's growing disregard for the Blood Mother and Her Eightfold Orchard. That cannot stand.
For Einaid, a doomsday cultist in hiding, the child's birth raises questions about the abbey and its inhabitants. The answers are scandalous enough to spark widespread dissent should they fall into the wrong hands—and nothing would please Einaid more than igniting the flame that makes Her Orchard burn.
Fall, Sacred Apple is a tragic dark fantasy drama washed in insidious and eldritch botanical horror.
The Skull Collector by Jodi L. Milner (Sample/Reader Magnet)
Every year the Golden Island grants one youth eternal life. Or does it?
A gripping tale about a shaman's struggle between tradition and truth
Immerse yourself in "The Skull Collector," a short story set in a Pacific Islander village where ancient rituals and haunting secrets collide. Follow the shaman as he battles his conscience, sacrificing the youth for a promised paradise on the Golden Island. The line between duty and truth blurs as the fires burn and the lies deepen. Rich with cultural depth and emotional intensity, this tale of honor, sacrifice, and the weight of tradition will captivate readers who crave suspense and poignant storytelling. Uncover the mysteries and dive into this unforgettable journey today!
Revenge Island by Axl Blaze (Sample/Reader Magnet)
A Gripping Psychological Thriller
What began as a lavish private island getaway for a group of wealthy thrill-seekers quickly descends into a waking nightmare of psychological terror
As a group of friends is brutally slaughtered one by one, the remaining survivors find themselves forced to confront not only their sadistic tormentor's depravity but the yawning inner darkness threatening to consume their own fragmenting minds.
Trapped between a desperate struggle for survival and a shadowy force determined to shatter their sanity, they spiral deeper into madness with every calculated torment. Allies become threats, truths mutate into lies, and their only certainty is the island's ever-tightening grip.
Can they escape this inescapable hell with their psyches intact?
Or will the killer's sinister games claim their souls for the abyss, dragging them into a point of no return where even the greatest of horrors await? In this battle for survival, the greatest enemy may be the darkness growing within themselves
Curse of the Obsidian Mirror by Malfera Sinclair (Sample/Reader Magnet)
Only my enemy can save me from this curse . . .
An enemies to lovers fantasy romance adventure!
I told a boy, “No.” He cut me with a relic. Now, a curse is attacking my body--turning it into obsidian!
Things like this don’t happen in the real world–but I’m shocked because they’re happening to me.
Without the help of Puma, a shifter who becomes a mountain lion, I will suffer a horrible death. Except that, during my meeting with the Arcane Alliance, Puma lost his temper and grabbed me. When he did, I stole his powers. Now, I don’t know how to give them back.
I’m angry and frightened. Puma hates me. He’s only helping me stay alive to level up his magic and regain his powers. But to do that, we need an obsidian mirror.
As we journey to find a mirror and a thief, I discover there’s one more serious danger. One I didn't expect in this realm.
The danger of losing myself to love.
The Start Divide by J. Scott Coatsworth (Sample/Reader Magnet)
Some stories are epic.
A diverse sci-fi tale of generation ships, the end of the world, and the start of a new one.
Some stories are epic.
The Earth is in a state of collapse, with wars breaking out over resources and an environment pushed to the edge by human greed.
Three living generation ships have been built with a combination of genetic mastery, artificial intelligence, technology, and raw materials harvested from the asteroid belt. This is the story of one of them—43 Ariadne, or Forever, as her inhabitants call her—a living world that carries the remaining hopes of humanity, and the three generations of scientists, engineers, and explorers working to colonize her.
From her humble beginnings as a seedling saved from disaster to the start of her journey across the void of space toward a new home for the human race, The Stark Divide tells the tales of the world, the people who made her, and the few who will become something altogether beyond human.
Humankind has just taken its first step toward the stars.
Closing
With that, another newsletter wraps up! Be sure to check out the ARC's and Reader Magnets above for some great reads, and I'll see everyone next month with some exciting Riyati news!
-Kala