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Two New Book Releases & Specials, Promotion Angst, & Writing Wild Insights

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  Writing Wild by Verna McKinnon New Novel Releases Greetings my friends! It has been quiet, but in my writing den it has been crazy busy. But my labors, fueled by lots of tea and chocolate have achieved some literary goodness. I have two new book lreases this March! Not one, but two, and there is a story behind that. More on that later. I am a very lucky author. I work with two small publishing housesm TANSTAAFL Press and Wolfsinger Publications. So I am a lucky girl to have new publishers release my books. First, let's review my happy new book news! War Poet Release Date March 15 Rogue Bardess Book #2 https://bit.ly/42QsAsI  My second novel in my rogue bardess series is War Poet from TANSTAAFL Press. The release date date is March 15th and I posted the easy link below the cover! I just adore this book cover. The tale of my bard heroine, Rose Greenleaf, continues as she is hunted by strange fey and demons on her first mission as an agent into dangerous territory to resiuce a...

War Poet cover reveal, RadCon 2024 convention Feb 16-18, writing news, and more!

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  Happy New Year! Welcome to 2024! So much going on, but I had to survive the holidays first. My 2024 resolutions include doing more newsletters. Will this resolution become a reality and not a fantasy? Who knows, but I do write fantasy. But let's get started with some fun author updates today. Let's start with War Poet . War Poet Cover Reveal  Yes! I finished War Poet , the second "Rogue Bardess' novel about Rose Greenleaf, a Dwarven bard with a rare magical gift of the glam rhapsode. My publisher, TANSTAAFL Press, will release War Poet around April 2024. I am excited because I love this character and this cover looks the way I imagined Rose Greenleaf to look like. This cover is gorgeous. Plus, the bonus of the shadowy fey characters in the background. I would recommend you read the first book in the series, The Bardess of Rhulon.  FREE Ebook offer for The Bastard Sorceress on Amazon Yes, my publisher is offering a great free E-book offer for my novel, The Bastard S...
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  Fantasy & Science Fiction: Past & Present When I was a teen and started buying my own books, fantasy and science fiction came in all sizes. The tradition now is for an average fantasy novel to be around a 100,000 words. Some fantasy novels out there are doubler or triple that size now. That is  the current mode and expectation. But when I first dove into reading science fiction and fantasy, many of these novels were much smaller, slim paperback volumes. But the tales within were epic! The small books from great authors now legendary:Tanith Lee, Ursula K. Le Quin, Robert E Howard, Ray Bradbury, and more. Everything is so complicated in the publishing world. This is why I love going into used bookstores, which is about the only place to find books these days outside of Amazon. There are some bookstores left, but few work with smaller publishers and carry their books. I understand there is an issue of profit and loss, but that hurts some genuine good authors who are loo...

Tree of Bones Release, Goblin Rant: The Curse of Tropes, & Writing On Empty

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Tree of Bones, A Familiar's Tale, Book 2 It's back! Am so happy Tree of Bones is back again, now published by Wolfsinger Publications. It was just released and am so glad to see it back in print and on kindle. As a reward, there are sweet deals for you! We decided to keep the original cover by artist, Mitch Bentley. Tree of Bones is the second book in my Familiar's Tale series.  Tree of Bones  is now available on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and the WolfSinger Publications website.  You can read the first chapter at Wolfsinger @  Tree of Bones | Fantasy | WolfSinger Publications (wolfsingerpubs.com)   Readers, you get a 15% discount by visiting the WolfSinger Publications website at: https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/shop and using code NR2023.  You can also get a 15% discount at Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1422701 by using code PJ87Z.  Discounts will be available through 8/31/23. Enjoy the fantasy! There is also time to ...

A Familiar's Tale Reborn, War Poet, & Goblin Writing Guides & More

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A Familiar's Tale Reborn Great news! My Familiar's Tale series, which includes Gate of Souls and Tree of Bones , is now published by Wolfsinger Publications. Thanks to the publisher and editor Carol Hightshoe for rescuing my series. The final entry to the trilogy ( Fires of Rapveshta) should be out before the end of the year. To add to the happiness there are some discount codes listed available through Wolfsinger website for Gate of Souls & Tree of Bones.  Gate of Souls  is now up and available as of July 17 and can be found through these links: Wolfsinger Publications website: https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/shop - they can use coupon code NR2023 to save 15% off the cover price. (Valid through 8/15) (Trade Paperback, .pdf and ePub are available on the WolfSinger website)   Also available on:  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1944637230 Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1415416 - they can use coupon code AH37L to save 15% off the cover...

Norwescon 45 & The Bastard Sorceress News!

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  I'll BE AT NORWESCON 45! This year I will be hanging out with my publisher at the TANSTAAFL Press trable in the dealer's room on Saturday, April 8. Feel free to drop by! I am happy to answer author questions & signh books. Hope to see you there/ NORWESCON@ DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport 18740 International Blvd, Seattle, WA 98188 THE BASTARD SORCERESS NEWS! The Bastard Sorceress Free Book Promo Offer  So much news to unpack. First, TANSTAAFL Press is offering  a special free book promo for The Bastard Sorceress free until April 2nd. Take advantage of this book promo and get The Bastard Sorceress today!    Amazon https://amzn.to/3fvHOio This kindle book is free on Amazon March 29-April 2. Enjoy the magic. The Bastard Sorceress reaches bestseller status on Amazon! I'm thrilled to share that my novel,  The Bastard Sorceress, reached bestseller status on Amazon Kindle. I feel grateful because of the promo,my publisher offered, it encoura...

Baby dragons, March word battle, & writer wisdom on marketing

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  Baby Dragons Who doesn't love magical animals? I use them a great deal in my books & stories. Rory, the baby pukis dragon, is one of the stars in The Bastard Sorceress . I find animal characters to be relatable and fun. With dragons, unicorns, perytons, gryphons, and animal famliars of all kinds, I will never run out of story ideas. Rory (pictured above thanks to my publisher, Tom Gondolfi of TANSTAAFL Press) has his very own promo ad where he tells his side of the story. You can buy The Bastard Sorceress on Amazon @  https://amzn.to/3DPq77p March Word Battle   How many words am I writing a day? The word battle can make you crazy. War Poet is flowing. The novel is entering the danger phase for my characters. I mean, there have been challenges. It would be dull without threats to my precious characters. New kingdoms to explore. The Siabur, Fallon Gansis, is closing in on our heroine, Rose Greenleaf. Why does he want her rhapsode' magic? The Goblin War is taking a to...