A book birthday, an award and

an international bestselling series!

Dear friends,

I don't even know where to begin... All I know is I want to CELEBRATE with you!

You'll understand why:

1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN !

(Photo by Daria Obymaha from Pexels)

The very first edition of Ben Archer and the Comic Fall (Book 1) published on March 18, 2018 - that's a little over three years ago! Ben has come a long way since then and I'm really proud of him!

2. Ben Archer and the Toreq Son (Book 6) published on March 4th

It was only appropriate to round off the series by publishing Ben Archer and the Toreq Son (Book 6) - the final book in The Alien Skill Series - three years after book 1. The Toreq Son published on March 4th, 2021, and has already sold over 400 copies! It got the #1 New Release tag on Amazon and reviews have been trickling in:

• "5/5 stars because this the best sci-fi series I’ve ever read."
• "This final book in the Alien Skill Series will have readers at the edge of their seats sweating."
• "Fantastic Finish!"
• "Engrossing from the very beginning."
• "The best volume in the entire series."
• "The world building and the character development was amazing!"
• "Such a wonderful world Rae has created! I want more!"
• "You can't help but think, "Oh, this can't end well!" yet it does."

Thanks, everybody! Your words fuel my imagination.

3. Ben Archer and the Alien Skill (Book 2) is a SILVER MEDAL winner

I just learned a few hours ago that Ben Archer and the Alien Skill (Book 2) is a SILVER MEDAL winner in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2020!

For this award, children’s books were read and judged by children in 10 UK primary and secondary schools. The books were marked according to EDITING, THEME, STYLE and COVER. Every book that was awarded OVER 30/40 was a finalist. 31 finalists in the Teenage category were announced on March 1st, so I'm really proud that Ben Archer made it this far all the way to the top winners!

I recommend you check out the The Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2020 winners. You'll find many highly recommended books for all ages:

https://www.thewsa.co.uk/winners2020/

4. The Alien Skill Series is an international Amazon bestselling series

The publishing of Ben Archer and the Toreq Son boosted the whole series on a worldwide scale! The books lit up with Amazon bestseller tags in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Ben Archer is taking over the world... yeah!

5. The Alien Skill Series Spring 2021 Contest

"That's all very well," you say after having read all the above. "But enough bragging. We want to celebrate!"

Alright. Let's get to it, then!

• Answer the simple questions in this Google Form and enter for a chance to win Alien Skill books:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdP1csYrKAExzWUyIeKXsrfc73qJMe02IWijk23RjucWH45BA/viewform?usp=sf_link

• And while you're at it, you can listen to the music list I set up on YouTube, with tracks that have kept me company throughout my writing process.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSoJ7KB0riLmHuq2XQsH05zqwGJpB8LaC

• You can also watch a small Alien Skill book trailer I made here:

https://youtu.be/AcQRtJP5Sl4

• My good friend and life coach Séverine Naessens interviewed me on her podcast "High-Achieving Parents". You can listen to it here:

https://highachievingparents.com/rae-knightly

• And lastly, I had set up a Google link where you could suggest character names for upcoming books, but for some reason I cant get it to work. If you have any name suggestions that you'd like me to consider, you can email them to me at raeknightly@gmail.com WARNING: keep in mind the name could end up belonging to an evil, ugly villain...

What's up in the neighbourhood?

March was a fantastic month, not only because The Alien Skill Series is complete (*big, satisfied sigh*) but because my husband and I had time to do some serious spring cleaning at home. You see, our basement flooded a couple of years ago, just before my husband was diagnosed with cancer, and ever since then, I was writing in an office filled with boxes and bags and important documents that were piling up in a corner. I felt like I was writing in the back of a moving truck. Well, that's all cleared now: the boxes have been emptied, the urgent documents have been dealt with and we might even finish our taxes on time (yay...).

Also, the doctor is very satisfied with my husband's recovery and next week he is getting the COVID-19 vaccine. I'll get mine in May, so things are moving along nicely!

I haven't been able to take many pictures since we don't get out much, so instead I'll leave you in the good company of our new cat, Cheerio.

April 2021 reading list

Up the Creek! (Milligan Creek Book 1) by Kevin Miller

AMAZON BESTSELLER

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KX5MY25

When four friends set out on a canoe trip down Milligan Creek during spring runoff season, little do they realize their voyage through small town Saskatchewan is about to turn into one of the wildest experiences of their lives--if they survive! Facing raging rapids, frigid "icebergs," spinning whirlpools, roaring culverts, and their own recklessness, soon the boys find themselves in uncharted waters with no clue how they're going to get home. With night falling fast and no one to rely on but each other, the boys must figure out how to work together or risk falling victim to the merciless powers of nature--and their parents' wrath!

The first book in the Milligan Creek Series, "Up the Creek" has sold over 30,000 copies and has spent 17 weeks at the top of Amazon.com's Canadian literature best-seller list.

A Mermaid in Middle Grade: Book 1: The Talisman of Lostland by

A.M. Luzzader

AMAZON BESTSELLER

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088QR3MPH

A Magical Mermaid Fantasy Adventure for children ages 8-12

A young mermaid. A sea witch out for revenge. Can Brynn Finley become a sea guardian and help humans in danger when she just barely started the sixth grade?

Brynn Finley is the only mermaid in class who hasn't been able to learn mer-magic. Without it, she can't be a guardian of the sea with her parents and friends. On her quest for answers, Brynn encounters a loveable sea turtle, a pair of selkie sisters, and Phaedra, the great and terrible sea witch. Soon Brynn is over her head in trouble, and she must learn to ask for help if she's going to follow the merfolk oath to be a protector of the ocean and a guardian of the sea.

The Mermaid in Middle Grade series is a middle-grade fantasy adventure series and coming of age books appropriate for ages 8-12 and all who enjoy middle grade books. 

Educational topics: Ocean and marine life, environmental conservation, honesty, friendship, mindfulness, bullying, middle school, and interpersonal skills.

Sapience by Alexis Langten

https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/d6b18f98-85af-11eb-bf75-974444ac95ed

What kind of life will we find in the depths of Europa’s oceans? What kind of life will we allow an AI with human level intelligence? The ten stories in Sapience: A Collection of Science Fiction Short Stories explore these questions and many more.

In the near future, humanity builds a colony on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. They tunnel into the ice to explore the dark oceans beneath the moon's surface, searching for signs of extraterrestrial life. What they find will change them forever, setting humanity on a path to the stars. But the old conflicts and hatreds of Earth are not so easily escaped. Will human colonists on distant planets and moons create a paradise or a horrifying dystopia?

Cursed: The Girl Who Shook the Earth by E. C. Farrell

https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/8aadde52-8673-11eb-ad6a-1fa4c5464e72

I’m just another girl who survived foster care. Nothing special. Oh yeah, except for my earth shaking magic…

But I’ve kept it under wraps, working in a restaurant, minding my own business. Until a frightened boy runs into the dinner shift followed by three fanged psychos.

Imagine my surprise when I find out I’m not the only one at the restaurant with magic. Together, we save the kid and send the fanged trio packing. Turns out, the kid is a very rare, pureblood vampire.

Which would be cool if his father, Masera, wasn’t a power-hungry megalomaniac.

Now, fear has my magic spinning out of control, and I’m wanted by both Masera and the paranormal government.

With the help of Ash, my vampire coworker who is too pretty for his own good, I’m trying to get control of my magic. I would much rather be cuddling up in a coffin with him, but I doubt I’ll get the chance.

Because if Masera gets to me before I’m ready, I can kiss my not-so-normal life goodbye…

All the best,

Rae