Kalani Shimizu's January 2025 Monthly Newsletter
Jan 15, 2025 8:41 pm
Hello everyone and welcome to the first newsletter of 2025! This will be a short but important one, so let's jump in with...
Updates
Unlike most newsletters, I won't be dividing this one out between Riyati and my personal life updates, as they're rather intertwined for this newsletter. That said, I would like to announce that I'm starting to review beta feedback for Riyati Rivals, and am happy to announce that May 15, 2025 will be the release date! There's also been some snazzy new logos designed for both Riyati Rebirth and Riyati Rivals; if you have the current cover, it'll be a collector's item soon-- a cover change is incoming in the next month or so. In the meantime, here's a sneak peak of the new series logo, already up on Riyati's official site!
A mockup of Riyati's new logo
Continuing the theme of out with the old, I'd like to announce that I'm altering my pen name going forward. As many are aware, Kalani Shimizu is the name I use for gaming and in streaming. However, the culture of those communities is different than that of the writing and book communities; I felt as though I was potentially misleading individuals about my identity, particularly in that I'm a white woman, and I don't want to take attention away from actual AAPI voices (though of course, that was never my intent to begin with either-- I just used the gaming name I'd become comfortable with over the years). As such, I'm currently in the middle of rebranding from Kalani Shimizu to Kai Zeal; next month, this newsletter will come from Kai Zeal instead, but it's still me! Most socials (and my author/Riyati-based websites) have been updated for this pen name change already (you might've already noticed that newsletter email address has changed to newsletter@aquakatpublishing.com).
Where does "Aquakat Publishing" come in, you might wonder-- and I'm happy to share! Aquakat Publishing is my new imprint, which will publish all Riyati books going forward. I've purchased new ISBN's that are registered to this imprint, and all future Riyati editions (including the new cover/new pen name versions of Riyati Rebirth) will be unified instead of wack-a-mole ISBN's. I have the website as a work in progress at the moment, but I'm hoping to have it up by the next newsletter for everyone to check out.
While the rebranding and updated covers are more behind the scenes content, I'm excited to share them with you as something I've been working on for awhile now.
Upcoming Promotions
This month's promotions are both with Kobo Plus. If you haven't heard of Kobo Plus, it's like a library subscription to Kobo Plus's entire library for a low monthly fee (so think Kindle Unlimited, or Netflix more broadly). It's a great deal with some amazing authors, and I'm happy to share these two specific promo's for everyone to check out.
Strong Women in Fantasy (Kobo Plus)
Runs December 29 - January 28
All books listed in this promotion prominently feature strong women within the fantasy genre; all books are full length (no samples!), and in Kobo Plus's subscription library.
Fantasy with Reluctant Heroes (Kobo Plus)
Runs January 1 - 31
Similar to the above promotion, all books listed in this promotion prominently feature reluctant heroes within the fantasy genre; all books are full length (no samples!), and in Kobo Plus's subscription library.
Books To Check Out
Zakolor by J.R. Douglas
Zakolor thinks he's the son of the village blacksmith, but when his nightmares start coming to life, he learns the harrowing truth-he is actually the heir to one of the most powerful magical bloodlines in Valecium-one that defeated the gods themselves. With his power now unleashed, two sides locked in a century-long war vie to control him.
When the Consortium accidentally kidnaps his best friend Kalbick, Zakolor is forced to join their sworn enemy-the League of Kingdoms-as his only hope of saving him.
But something dark is buried in his magic, and if Zakolor wants to save his abducted friend, he must untangle the mystery of his power before it consumes him.
Closing
While this month isn't as exciting as the past few, it was a needed moment to refine and regroup before the next big adventure with Riyati Rivals happens. (I also took a few days off to rest during the holiday season, and it was super needed after a hectic fall semester-- and the cats appreciated cuddling on top of me.) I look forward to messaging everyone next month as Kai Zeal and hope everyone's had a great start of the year so far!
-Kala (soon to be Kai)