Dear friends,

It feels like a long time since we last spoke. Maybe it's because so much has happened since.

Covid-numbers are down, summer has arrived and we are slowly opening up to seeing friends and family again. I truly hope this will be the case for everyone soon. Times can get tough, but with patience things improve again.

Congratulations to those of you who have finished your school or college year (teachers included!). I wish you all a wonderful and well deserved break!

1. Book cover reveal

I really can't keep this to myself any longer.

I've had the following image as my phone screen for months. This is the brand new cover of my upcoming book:

"EXOSTAR"

Here is the book cover:

EXOSTAR is the name of the first book in THE LOST SPACE TREASURE SERIES. I hope you like it! What do you think? Let me know at raeknightly@gmail.com .

For now, I am merely giving you an exclusive sneak peek of the book cover. I'll have a preorder link available in my August newsletter. Don't get your hopes up too quickly, though. This book will come out in 2022. It is geared towards young adults, so should be slightly longer than the Ben Archer books. This means it takes me longer to write. That said, you know my writing style by now and this science-fiction story will be accessible to all ages (clean with lots of adventure and story twists - Star Wars style).

What is EXOSTAR about, you wonder?

Well, both Ben Archer (The Alien Skill Series) and Exostar (The Lost Space Treasure Series) actually take place tens of thousands of years AFTER the events in The Great War of the Kins (available for free on my website when you subscribe to my newsletter).

If you have read this novella, you will know that a little five-year-old girl was placed in cryosleep inside a mysterious spaceship filled with treasure that escapes a dying planet.

It is time we learned her fate...

2. Ben Archer "Boxed Set"

In June, I published the second boxed set in The Alien Skill Series. To celebrate this, I did a huge giveaway of the first boxed set.

The results were astonishing. I had over 5000 downloads and reached #43 in the overall Amazon free store! Readers are now all set to enjoy the complete Ben Archers on their Kindles all through the summer.

What's up in the neighbourhood?

Do you remember I told you I was going to take a ferry to Vancouver Island, just like Ben Archer in Ben Archer and the World Beyond? I've been sharing some videos on TikTok (@raeknightlyauthor) and Instagram (@raeknightly) and I've also added a few videos on YouTube .

Vancouver Island offers such a wide variety of outdoor adventures; from kayaking, swimming in the sea, wildlife observation, walks through ancient forests, island hopping etc. It did me and my family a world of good to turn the page on our 15-month self-isolation and 20 months of cancer treatment.

Here are some pictures, including some of Tofino, which I visited in 2017. It's easy to picture Ben Archer and the World Beyond taking place here, don't you think? :)

July 2021 reading list

Storm Surge (Weather Gods, Book 1) by Melissa Gunn

It was just another rainy day in autumn when Freya's house fell into the sea.

Freya isn't your average suburban school kid– she's a demigoddess. But even a demigoddess can't hold back the sea. After a violent storm, Freya and her family are set adrift in a world where the weather comes with attitude, and rising sea levels are as much about personality clashes as climate change. School isn't a walk in the park either, not when Freya's classmates could be demigods, trolls or weres. All Freya wants to do is keep her cat fed and her family together. A friend wouldn't hurt either. Over the years she develops her own powers, but will those be enough to achieve her modest goals - or will her world wash away once again?

Past Mistakes (Emily Voss, Book 1) by Nick Lavitz

Emily Voss scrapes a living performing exorcisms in New York city. Despite occasional encounters with actual demons, most of her work is little more than fakery. She takes the money anyway and drowns her guilt in a glass of whisky at the end of the day.

Called to investigate strange occurrences in an ageing hotel, Emily comes face to face with something that's going to take more than a kilo of salt and a few latin phrases to deal with.

Delaying Action by Peter J. Foote

Could you allow thousands to die, to save millions more, knowing it would haunt you for the rest of your life?

That's the decision facing Captain Hammish and the crew of the Long Night as they race to stay ahead of the civilization-destroying menace known as The Swarm.

With an asteroid headed for a devastated Earth in one direction, aliens who use warm-blooded creatures as breeding vessels in another, and a mutiny on his spaceship, Captain Hammish must act fast if he's going to save humanity.

Hive by Jeremiah Ukponrefe

The Collective military has spent its years destroying the last remnants of The Hive, an alien force which devastated the old world, bringing forth the apocalypse , and ushering a new age of warring factions.

Alexander King is a Collective soldier who during a mission monitoring the outskirts of Zone 6, discovers evidence that The Hive's presence is stronger than commonly believed. With his new information it becomes vital that the Collective acts fast, for if they don't the world will be brought to it knees again in a second wave of destruction that will end humanity forever.

Astonishing, complex, and character driven. Hive is the first in The Arcane Volumes which will leave you begging for more.

Write Like Hell: Kaiju Anthology Vol. 3

Twelve tales of monstrous beings, twelve different approaches. Write Like Hell: Kaiju is an anthology of stories focused on terrifying creatures, and the humans who must face them. From Viking sagas, to sci-fi thrillers, you’ll find a host of imaginative and compelling fiction within these pages.

All the best,

Rae

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