Dear ,

January is always an odd month for me.

I feel like a slow train leaving the station and struggling to pick up speed. I have a hard time focusing and can't get a grip on any particular project. Does that happen to you or do you dive full-speed into the new year? This January was even slower than usual, what with the children staying home for an extra week of vacation because of rampant Omicron and me dealing with recurring migraines.

On the other hand, I've also noticed that my imagination is particularly active at the beginning of the year. Maybe it's because of the gloomy days, or maybe it's just me being more relaxed, but my mind went into creative overdrive in the past weeks and I was able to do a whole lot of plotting.

Now if only I could write a book as fast as I plotted, right?

2021 overview

The beginning of the year is also a time for me to look back and check on my writing career. Here is a breakdown for 2021:

• Paperback sales: 13,941 units
• Free ebooks: 6,687 units
• Ebook sales: 3,166 units
• Audiobook sales: 159 units
• KU page reads: 2,267,307 page reads
• IngramSpark sales: 1,500 units (roughly)
• Total for 2021: 32,323 units
• Ben Archer and the Toreq Son was a Reader's Favorite 2021 gold winner.
• Ben Archer and the Cosmic Fall has had an Amazon bestseller tag for over six months now.
• Ben Archer reached bestseller status in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, making the books an Amazon international bestselling series.
• The Alien Skill Series has accumulated over 2,000 reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, with an average rating of 4.5 stars. This is how new readers know they can safely give Ben Archer a try, so thank you for that!
• The Knowledge Seeker was my most successful book launch, with over 1,500 books sold in the first month.

Basically, sales of The Alien Skill doubled from 2020, which is mind-blowing. I take it this is a sign that I can go ahead and write a lot more books, lol!

Thank you, everyone, for allowing me to do something that I love!

Author Interview

I had the pleasure of speaking to Lachlan Pirie about my writing process last week. He runs a YouTube channel with lots of awesome author interviews. Thank you, Lachlan, for inviting me in spite of the time difference between Australia and Canada!

You can check it out here:

https://youtu.be/GXOZWeFr6R0

Free audiobooks

Ben Archer and the Moon Paradox (The Alien Skill Series, Book 3) is now available on Audible.

I have free codes for you!

• Ben Archer and the Cosmic Fall, Book 1: 5 codes US / 5 codes UK
• Ben Archer and the Alien Skill, Book 2: 5 codes US / 5 codes UK
• Ben Archer and the Moon Paradox, Book 3: 10 codes US / 10 codes UK

E-mail me at raeknightly@gmail.com and let me know which ones you want. This is on a first-come, first-served basis.

What's up in the neighbourhood?

Aside from some snowy or icy walks, January was pretty calm. I binge-watched the TV-series Wheel of Time and Alex Rider on Netflix and just finished reading City of Bones. Now I'm starting Nevermoor.

Have you watched or read anything interesting lately?

February 2022 reading list

Second Earth (Arch Mage Series Book 2) by Cami Murdock Jensen

An ancient force threatens every life on Earth. Is one teenager enough to save humanity?

After rescuing fellow planets from annihilation, Agnes Ann Cavanaugh is eager to master her magical abilities. But when a training session goes horribly wrong, she accidentally teleports herself and her instructor into the middle of an earthquake. And after preserving a crowd from certain doom, she’s shocked to discover the cause of the tremors is something deadly and unnatural.

Teaming with her teacher and a pair of elementals, Agnes embarks on a dangerous journey to Earth’s core to seek the source of the destruction. But when her lie-detecting power uncovers treachery from her companions, she fears she may be about to fail the trillions of souls depending on her.

Stellar (Stellar Series Book 1) by Ian Graham

Meet Stellar - urban crime-fighter who tackles injustice with swift and decisive action, carrying the burden of freeing society from oppression, fighting for the weak and wounded.

She is brave.

She is beautiful.

She is just a comic book character... or at least she was.

Macy Davis is an athletic high school student with an eye for Patrick Newell, the young artist who created Stellar. When Macy's best friend, Keri Cartwright, discovers Patrick's comic book heroine, she convinces Macy to masquerade as Stellar because to Macy, Stellar is Patrick's perfect girl. But when Macy dons a homemade costume to surprise Patrick at the Halloween Dance, her debut takes an unexpected twist and the reveal is more than anyone, including Macy, could have ever imagined.

Galactic Fun Park: Book One by Mason Bell

The native critters of Galactic Fun Park thrive with the uptick in park attendance…

… the peace between the competing species stronger than ever.

But will the threat from an overzealous exterminator lead them into chaos?

Theme parks thrive on public perception, leaving management no choice but to hire exterminators. The threat of certain death forces the nocturnal animals into self-defense, but pride within each species weakens their chance of survival.

Could the animals unite for the good of all? And more importantly, would the effort be wasted on humans who doubted an animal’s intelligence?

Explore the hidden side of the theme park world in this fun and fast paced Middle-Grade book.

Behind the Red Door by Kristen Illarmo

A dark future, a world destroyed. Should she act on the visions, or leave the future to fate?

When a day at the park leads to painful visions of Earth sucked into the black hole, Beda must decide whether to trust her husband's solution to stop this unnatural terror in its tracks or to give in to the impulse pushing her to go to Earth to convince them to live for love, not hate. But can she leave her daughters behind to save these people?

This novella explores the back story of Beda Ess, a main character in Without A World Kirasu Rising Book One. Dive in for a short, but enjoyable look at life before the Trash Lands.

Talisman Of El (Arcadia Saga, Book 1) by Al Stone

Mankind's only hope is not human.

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE?

One Planet.

Two Worlds.

Population: Human … 7 billion.

Others … unknown.

When 14-year-old Char­lie Blake wakes up sweat­ing and gas­ping for air in the mid­dle of the night, he knows it is hap­pen­ing again. This time he wit­nesses a bru­tal mur­der. He’s afraid to tell any­one. No one would believe him… because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago — the day before his dad died.

Char­lie doesn’t know why this is hap­pen­ing. He would give any­thing to have an ordi­nary life. The prob­lem: he doesn’t belong in the world he knows as home.

He belongs with the others.

All the best,

Rae Knightly

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