Tuesday, July 27, 2021

 Hi Readers, Supporters and Followers of WILD CONVICTION!

Good news! This morning I submitted the completed manuscript of my novel, WILD CONVICTION, to Inkshares!

(I had hoped to do this a month or two earlier, but several difficult life changes and tragic events slowed my process and progress.)

Thanks for your great suggestions and support to my beta readers and to all who have read chapters and commented or reviewed on my WILD CONVICTION Inkshares page.

I have completed my own series of rigorous editing and made some changes I am happy with, so now it’s in the reading queue for the editors at Inkshares.

The process to publication will take some time, and I am grateful for your continued support and patience. 

I’ll keep you updated with information as I receive it from Inkshares. We are moving toward the day when you can read the entire novel!

Until then, don’t hesitate to contact me and to read the chapter postings on my WILD CONVICTION Inkshares page. 

I just added two more chapters today—Chapter Six and Chapter Seven:  

• Chapter Six mentions more about the famous historical literary figure first mentioned in Chapter Four.

• Chapter Seven introduces a surprise fictional character who adds intrigue and more conflict to Twilight’s life...

To read, go to https://www.inkshares.com/books/wild-conviction.  Click on READ.

And, as I have been promising, I’ll be sending GrandMama’s “actual” letter--with secrets, magic and mystery inside it--to those who pre-ordered and want it but haven’t yet received it. 

This letter is the important Chapter 3, which is not available to read on my Inkshares page. 

I have sent out GrandMama’s "actual" letter to many who have pre-ordered, but then life became very difficult, slowing that process also. But now I plan get back to sending those out to those of you who have been patiently waiting.

Please tell your friends and family about pre-ordering the novel, for GrandMama’s letter filled with secrets, magic and mystery is a "pre-order perk"--sent just to those who pre-order and want the letter. (After receiving each pre-order, I write a thank you email and ask if that person would like the letter mailed to them.)

Remember—for anyone who’d like to add Wild Conviction to their life, they can! By pre-ordering!

Thanks to you all!
Best wishes,
Mary 

Howdy and happy Sunday! Just a quick update on Bane of All Things, as we count down toward that Nov. 16 release date.

A few weeks back, Fantasy Hive, a British e-zine for all things fantasy, graciously featured Tim Barber’s awesome cover design. We talked about how we arrived at this design, what it represents, and what it evokes about the story. Check it out here!

Meanwhile, the ARCs (advance reader copies in digital format) have been available for five weeks now on NetGalley. Scores of advance readers have requested the book and the reviews are slowly starting to roll in. I am glad to say the handful so far have been favourable. These reviews, most of which also post to Goodreads, are critical to draw fantasy fans to the book.

Bane of All Things also continues to populate bookseller websites around the world. It’s something else to see yourbook with your name on it searchable on the websites for booksellers from the U.K. and various other European countries, to Brazil, Singapore and Australia.

Lastly, I finished a few days ago my review of the final corrections by the proof-reader. Everything is well in hand for the final proof to head to the printer by the Aug. 6 deadline. It’s almost an actual real book!

And, very important: If you have print copies coming your way in November, please ensure you have an up-to-date mailing address on file with Inkshares. It’s been a while since you originally pre-ordered (the pre-order campaign ran from October 2018 to April 2019). You will need to log-in to the Inkshares account you created back then and check your details there.

Stay safe and keep reading!

Cheers

Leo

I’m very happy to report that Young Donald has steadily made its way up many Goodreads Lists, and is now:

#1 in "Books Set in High School"

#1 in "Fiction Set in 1960s"

#2 in "Boarding School Stories" (damn you, Harry Potter!)

#2 in "Trump Tell-alls" (even though it’s not a tell-all, I’ll take it!)

#3 in "New Authors to Read" (out of more than 4,000!)

https://www.goodreads.com/list/book/54772271

Thanks to all who voted for the book, and, if you haven’t had a chance to rate or review Young Donald yet on Goodreads, I would be thrilled if you did! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54772271-young-donald

Hello everyone, 

My journey with Inkshares may have come to an end, but it’s not the end of the journey for this book. I don’t want to spoil anything yet, but I’ve got plans ahead. A new beginning has arrived. 

I would like to extend a heartfelt and sincere thank you to all of you who supported me in any way whether you preordered, shared on social media, spread the word, etc. Your support and kindness mean the world to me, and I am so fortunate to have it from all of you. I can’t wait to share this story, and my plan is to do that sooner rather than later. Stay tuned, something exciting this way comes. 

Thank you again, 

Alex  

Oh, gosh, I’ve been neglecting this newsletter thing! Lots of Things happening. Let me share some of The Things…

First, Seaworthy is officially the Runner-Up in the Sexiest Consent category in the Good Sex Awards! It’s such an honor – and I’m so glad it’s that story and that scene; it’s actually one of the first scenes I wrote for Jason and Colby, and it’s very much them. And also it’s the scene I’ve described as “the best sex scene I’ve written in which no one touches anyone” and also “THE TEA IS A METAPHOR”. So I’m just delighted, and still smiling about it! You can find all the winners, runners-up, etc over here: https://goodsexawards.com/winners/

Second, my flash fiction short “Openings” has been selected for the Ink anthology of queer science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction – our release date is August 10! Here’s the Amazon buy link (it’s available other places, like Kobo and such, too): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099QBY988

Third, the contract is all signed with JMS Books for the m/m retelling of “The Princess and the Pea,” which has grown to 47k and is now called The Featherbed Puzzle. It’s got jigsaw puzzles and Terrible Suitors and a lot of soup for some reason and a dark & stormy night and one True Love who is a prince who also rescues homeless puppies and kittens, and a rose garden, and too many featherbeds, of course, and it’s pure fluffy frothy ridiculousness and I had such a good time writing it. I think there’ll be a bonus/spin-off story for Arthur’s best friend. He deserves it.

Fourth, I am over on A.L. Lester’s blog chatting about Magician today! And book playlists, and naming characters, and my firm belief that Gareth would get along with Peter S. Beagle’s Prince Lir from The Last Unicorn. You can come read it all over here (despite my name being spelled slightly wrong in the url; but that’s all right, no one ever gets it right): https://allester.co.uk/kristen-noone-magician/

Fifth, One Night in London – the three-novellas-in-one Regency m/m novel I co-authored with K.S. Murphy and Shelly Greene – is now out in paperback! You can find it at Amazon here (https://www.amazon.com/One-Night-London-Shelly-Greene/dp/B098WDC6CG/ ) or at JMS Books here (https://www.jms-books.com/paperbacks-c-86/one-night-in-london-print-p-3923.html ), where it is on a very small sort of sale – 9% off!

I think that’s everything, unless I can think of a sixth… I’ve been doing a lot of rereading of Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar novels lately – they were so fundamental to my teen years, and I was chatting with someone about Vanyel and Tragic-But-Also-Kind-Of-Happy-Ending? Early Gay Fantasy Characters, and then I ended up doing a massive nostalgic reread. They mostly hold up, if not entirely, I think, but I do see why I started finding some of the later books repetitive. The newest one, though, Beyond, the one that just came out, is actually really good – a return to the strengths of the series, exploring some unanswered questions of the history of that world plus morally complex characters, and it made me happy. So that’s sort of a book rec?

Also I’ve had an academic book chapter proposal accepted for a Very Neat Thing, about which more later. (It’s related to Supernatural, let’s say that.)

I have a LOT of thoughts about KJ Charles and how much I love the Will Darling Adventures (there, a proper romance book rec!) but that’ll have to be a separate blog post, because THOUGHTS, I HAVE THEM. (Pretty much all incoherent delight and pure admiration for the skill, mind you. I love Kim. And Will. And KJC for writing them.)

Love you!

Hi! It’s just over a month away from launch! Eeeeeeeeee!

Inkshares has asked me to remind you all to update your addresses so that your books go to the right place. To do so, log into your Inkshares account and click on the little profile bubble on the top right side of the screen. There, you should see an option for "shipping address." Contact Inkshares support if you need any help!

I’m so excited that you’ll have books in hand soon!!! Thank you!

Happy to have had the opportunity to be featured on fellow writer Sean Taylor’s blog! If you want to read my rambling thoughts, the link is below. Guaranteed to feature wurds, sentincez, and all kinds of gud grammer.

https://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2021/07/ricky-ruszin-people-are-real-monsters.html

As always, more Showtime updates when I have them. 

Ricky

1976... The maple tree where we boys processed things.

It’s rewarding and humbling to see reviews trickling in.

One of the things I constantly asked myself while writing this story was, "Why do this?" I still can’t answer that question for myself. I do hold to the idea that maybe it’s for Mom and Pop, Garnna, Shelam, Carrie, Danny, Joe, and Lamech? Maybe it’s for the Cooper’s and the other characters in my life? I’m not sure. Those of you that have read it know that it’s not a happy story or one of any sort of groundbreaking knowledge. It’s not a self help book, and it doesn’t answer any questions.

As they say, "I can’t call it - I’m too close to the forest to see the trees."

I feel I’ve reached some finish line but I am unable to say I’m happy about it. I am relieved that the heavy lifting is done; I can say, "I’ve finished this work." But, there’s this little torment within me that keeps pushing, "Get it out there - keep casting the line - throw it as far away from you as you can - ship it - leave it in a crack - give it away - drop it by air - squirrel it where someone will find it!"

I’ve been told to, "Share the burden." So, If you are able, if you care to, if you found something in my story that I can’t see, please go to the following links and share your thoughts.  

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55376195-the-bird-s-road

https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-birds-road

https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Road.../dp/1950301354

Thanks for your interest and support.

Sharek