Dear friends,

Today is April 29th and I'm preparing my newsletter ahead of time because I'm getting vaccinated tomorrow. I don't know what the side effects will be, so if I end up with a major headache, I might as well get this email ready so I can just press the send button!

I truly hope you will have access to vaccines in your area soon. My thoughts go out to the people in India who are going through a very rough time. Protect yourselves and protect each other: together, we can stop this virus!

April has been an exciting and fulfilling month.

I know you all want me to say, "I'm publishing a new book next week." but it doesn't really work that way. There is so much going on behind the scenes and I want to tell you a little bit about it.

1. Hello, new subscribers!

But before I do that, let's stop a moment to welcome an impressive amount of new subscribers!

There's 2 400 of us now. I hope you will feel at home here.

I send a newsletter every first of the month, with opportunities to become ARC-readers for upcoming novels (you read my book for free before its release, in exchange for a review), I talk about what I'm working on and I offer book suggestions. Those who have been around for awhile will tell you that I tend to botch up my contests and giveaways. But I try my best and winners receive their prizes, I promise!

PLEASE NOTE: my emails may land in your "trash" or "promotions" inbox. To avoid this, please whitelist my email address (ie. instruct your mailbox to recognize my email address so it doesn't get lost in limbo).

2. Audiobooks

To begin with, I'm excited to announce that The Alien Skill is going to be turned into audiobooks!

I've been meaning to do this for over a year, and many of you have asked when this would happen. Well, I can say now that I've listened to some incredibly talented narrators that have made Ben and Mesmo come alive for me.

That said, I thought you might want to be included in the process. As Ben Archer readers I think you, more than anyone, know what Ben and Mesmo sound like.

After much consideration and careful choosing, I would like to present to you the following narrators (they numbered #1, #2. #3 and #4). Have a listen! You'll see, you'll get goosebumps!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HBjoLOxa66Gnw5G4NfunBQcUbQM_tIuZ?usp=sharing

E-mail me with your comments (raeknightly@gmail.com)! Who would you like to see narrate Ben Archer?

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please respect these narrator's work: their samples may not be copied, sold or shared with anyone else. You can find out more about these narrators at the very end of this e-mail, or contact me and I will gladly connect you with them.

3. Book covers, boxed sets and free books

• Stay tuned in the coming months for book cover reveals! Pintado (my book cover designer) and I are working on all kinds of exciting projects. I love getting the book cover for the next story that I am going to write. It makes the characters real to me!

• The boxed set/compilation of Ben Archer (The Alien Skill Series, Books 4-6) will publish on June 17th, 2021.

• Ben Archer and the Cosmic Fall will be FREE on May 12 and 13 on Amazon. I may even drop the price of some of the other books in the series, so keep an eye out on Amazon and on my social media for updates! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0888W8SCY

What's up in the neighbourhood?

Something special happened in April.

You see, two years ago our basement (and office) flooded and we had to put everything away in boxes. We had just gotten through the renovations when we had bed bugs. We had just gotten rid of the bed bugs when my husband was diagnosed with cancer. And while we were dealing with the cancer crisis, Covid happened!

Time passed and the boxes remained...

A few weeks ago, my husband and I pulled up our sleeves and did a major spring cleaning. We finally got rid of the mess! We can actually walk into the office without tripping now. This is a big deal for us and a sign that things are slowly getting back to normal.

Oh, and I filed my taxes.

Yup, I shed a tear.

So, you see, although I'm not announcing an upcoming book just yet, finding a narrator, preparing a boxed set, setting up book promotions, cleaning up the office, filing taxes.... has kept me busy. Although I wish writing was the only aspect of the author business, clearly, it's way more than that!

Here's a before-and-after pic:

May 2021 reading list

Circle of Cranes by Annette LeBox

A lyrical fantasy blending fairy tale elements with contemporary issues

Thirteen-year-old Suyin is a poor orphan who has a strange gift with languages and a mysterious connection to the cranes in her small Chinese village. When a shady human trafficker arrives promising luxury and riches beyond belief in America, the villagers elect Suyin - whom they consider lucky - to go as their benefactress. But instead of luxury, Suyin is forced to work in a sweatshop in New York City's Chinatown. Suyin's future seems hopeless, until her beloved cranes arrive and reveal that she is no ordinary girl - instead, she is the daughter of the Crane Queen. Now her mother's life is in danger, and Suyin must prove herself worthy of her position as the Crane Princess, in order to save her mother and the entire clan of cranes.

For fans of Grace Lin and Laurence Yep, this is a beautiful story of the meaning of family and finding one's true path in life.

The Book of Astoriya: The Land of the Blooming Forest by Deema T. Kheiry

The Lands of Astoriya have been unveiled, a magical journey shall be revealed...

Eleven-year-old Sofie is lost! What started out as an ordinary visit to the Community Library, ended with her thrust into a world that she never thought possible. Armed only with the strange, dust-ridden book that sent her there, Sofie grapples to find her way back home.

But not all is as it seems in the Land of the Blooming Forest. Jasmine, Queen of the Fairies, needs help to save the land from a vicious, relentless enemy that seeks to plunge them all into a world of darkness. And Sofie is their only hope.

Follow Sofie as she fights to save The Land of the Blooming Forest, makes a few magical friends along the way, and discovers the long-hidden secret of Astoriya, and a secret of her own that she never knew she had…

Who Let the Dogma Out (The Elven Prophecy Book 1) by Theophilus Monroe and Michael Anderle

They blackballed me a heretic.

Not like they had a choice. The only alternative was admitting they might be wrong.

Unthinkable!

I didn’t go into ministry to defend dogma.

I just wanted to spread a message of hope.

But now I don’t know what to believe.

Elves are real. I mean, seriously? 

How does getting stabbed confirm to anyone I am the center of ancient prophecy?

Now it isn’t just my beliefs I have to fight.

There are many who don’t want to see the elven prophecy fulfilled.

And they want me dead before I can do something radical.

Like, oh, I don’t know…

How about save the world?

P.S. – Learning to communicate with your cat is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Go up and click ‘Read for Free’ or ‘Buy Now’ and find out how one wayward preacher deals with a past that changes the whole world’s future…

And his cat.

The Magical Empath by Lyra Adams

Read the first five chapters in this free excerpt from the full book. 

The Magical Empath brings together ancient, yet modern time-tested, methods for personal and spiritual transformation. This first in series book speaks to the hearts of empaths, starseeds, lightworkers, crystals, indigo and highly sensitive individuals. 

Whether you recently discovered you are an empath or have known for quite awhile, this book series will become an invaluable part of your library and something you will want to share with other empathic souls. If you feel ready to move ahead and level up in this game of life, let’s get started! 

Magical empathic lives do come true!

Emergence (The Dark Tide Trilogy Book 1) by Dayne Edmondson

Aliens have invaded the Milky Way. 

Captain Martin and his fleet at the opposite end of our galaxy is all that stands between the emerging ancient aliens and certain destruction of humanity. Even with the help of powerful magic, the alien menace may be too much to overcome.

Elsewhere, Agent Hague chases down rumors of a secret cult after an assassination attempt on the president of the Federation's life.

With the emergence of the long-foretold aliens, the Federation stands on the brink of destruction. Can Captain Martin and his allies hold the line? Can Agent Hague uncover a plot within the Federation?

A tribute to Star Wars books of old, and the first book in a new trilogy in the existing Seven Stars Universe, "Emergence" is set nearly two thousand years after "Shadows Fall" and features cameos from many of the longer-lived heroes of ages past.

All the best,

Rae

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Narrators:

#1 Andrew Wehrlen

#2 Anonymous (contact Rae Knightly for email)

#3 A W Dickson

#4 Benjamin Fife