P D Ball’s Story Newsletter No.12
Dec 28, 2023 12:52 am
P D Ball’s Newsletter No. 12
Hello! Happy Holidays!
I hope this letter finds you well! And I hope you’re relaxing from work and enjoy the holidays with family and friends.
This letter is packed with a bunch of links, probably too many – sorry! – and one mega-sale that is worth checking out. Books in the sale will either be free or 99 cents (pence if you’re in the UK) and part of the proceeds go to the Mary Cariola Center, which supports children, teens and young adults with disabilities.
Contents:
First Words: Tardiness Apologies
Progress
Indie Ink Awards (I’m nominated!)
Giant End of Year Charity Sale
One Authors To Check Out
Tardiness
I have to apologize. I was unable to send out newsletters and get much writing done for health reasons. The first is because I had eye surgery to prevent a detached retina, which made it difficult to see properly for about a month. I’m actually very lucky, though!
I had a routine eye exam scheduled that I was just about to cancel as I was making good progress on my writing and didn’t want to stop the flow. But then little black floaters started appearing in my vision. Everyone has the nearly-clear ones, these are dust or bacteria moving across the outside of your eye. It turns out the black ones are inside the eye and are possibly blood cells leaking into the virtuous humor (the fluid inside your eyeball). This can mean, as it did in my case, that tears in the retina have appeared. If the fluid in the eyeball gets out and in between the retina and its supporting tissues, it can detach, leading to blindness. As you can imagine, I kept that eye exam.
The doctor who examined my eyes scheduled an immediate laser surgery for that day. By sheer luck, a talented eye surgeon works one day a week at this clinic and it just so happened to match my appointment So, I was strapped into a machine where you can’t move your head and zapped about 160 times over the course of a few minutes. The lasers are aimed around the tears to create scar tissue, which expands and closes them. It mostly doesn’t hurt, but about every seventh zap feels like someone has stuck a vacuum against your eyeball. Not super fun! I was involuntarily sweating and uncomfortable, but got through it (and I refused to disclose the conclusion to Cayce Book 5, no matter how many times the doctor demanded).
At first there were no issues, though my eye was sore and unhappy. About a week later, I couldn’t see nearby objects like I used to – I’m near-sighted, that’s usually my forte. That made computer screens blurry and very difficult to look at. Apparently, the surgery can harden your lens, so focusing becomes more difficult – just like how aging works and the elderly often need reading glasses.
I tried new pairs of glasses, but they didn’t work out well. Meanwhile, I plodded along as best I could, but certainly not at my usual pace. Fortunately, it completely cleared up about five weeks after the surgery. Another stroke of luck, for I’d feared I’d just have to get used to this condition. Now my eyes are basically back to normal.
Unfortunately, my mother then had health issues and I had to return to Canada to help her recover, which she did, but I couldn’t do much more than edit while there. This trip was also six weeks long and it slowed down the progress of Book 5 to a halt, I’m sorry to say. However, my mother is getting better and back to her normal self, I'm delighted to say.
I’m now back home just in time for the holidays, and busy catching up on writing.
Progress
The above issues meant that I’ve completed editing the first half of Book 5, which is great. So, the second half is now what I’m working on. If you liked the length of Book 4, you’re in for a treat! Book 5 is going to be roughly the same size.
As it’s the conclusion, I’m doing my best to give the main characters their due and not rush the story. And maybe throw in a few surprises. Perhaps I’m being a little too careful here, but I want you to read a great story.
Indie Ink Awards 2023
These awards are given to highlight indie books and anyone can sign up for an account to check out new titles and provide their input on books they’ve read.
They Call Me Princess Cayce has been nominated for two awards: wittiest character and Trans or Non-binary Representation. You’re certainly welcome to vote for these awards! Or check out other books in the categories you like:
Wittiest character: Indie Ink Awards 2023 - Wittiest character - Indie Story Geek
Trans or non-binary representation: Indie Ink Awards 2023 - Writing the Future We Need: Trans or Nonbinary Representation - Indie Story Geek
All categories: Indie Ink Awards 2023 - Indie Story Geek
Giant Charity Sale
This year’s charity sale supports the Mary Cariola Center. The center supports young people with disabilities succeed in life.
The event has over 200 participating authors, including myself, who are either providing their books for free or 99 cents. To check out the sale, go to the link below. It has all the covers. Then, head over to the Megasale Google Sheet and find the series you like. Links there will take you to the books.
YouTube Review of They Call Me Princess Cayce
A wonderful YouTuber has reviewed my books! TheBoredGoddess reviews books differently than you’ve seen before. She performs a reading of a select piece in character, dressed appropriately. The review itself comes after the performance
TheBoredGoddess puts a lot of work into this. She researched the kinds of dresses Cayce would likely be wearing, and then had people help her put it on. Cayce’s dresses come from the 14th-16th century medieval Europe and, because she’s a princess, required a lot of layering. So, might be worth checking out!
Spotlight On A New Author
https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/00ada43a-8693-11ee-9c5c-ffca250ed52d
What starts as a fairy tale rescue spirals into an intricate web of dark fantasy laced with intrigue and magic. After the downtrodden merchant Kaine saves the runaway Princess Lydia from an unexpected monster, he feels inexplicably drawn to her. Lydia’s uncanny knowledge of his deepest secrets looms over him, suggesting she knows more about him than he has revealed.
However, there is little time to investigate this mystery. The princess is betrothed to the magic wielding Throatian Kingdom, and Lydia’s father has rewarded Kaine with a job offer he cannot refuse.
As the rehearsal dinner for Lydia's arranged wedding unfolds, tension simmers amidst foreign customs and whispered conversations. The Throatian Royal family, draped in magic, is keen to forge an alliance with the Darian Kingdom. Meanwhile, Lydia, now fully aware of her royal responsibilities, summons Kaine for a private meeting in the chilling stillness of the graveyard. Her impending wedding signifies more than a pact of sword and sorcery, and something else—dark and twisted—stirs in the shadows.
With time dwindling short, and the ceremony happening the next day, will Kaine unshackle himself from his past to embrace the guardian he is destined to become? Or will the ties binding him to Lydia be torn apart like petals in the wind?
Journey with Kaine and Lydia as they attempt to prevent a war and save a kingdom in the first volume of the Symphony of Crowns and Gods series.