Greetings, adventurers!

We are just 4 months away from Mushroom and Anchovy’s release. Even as I write this, I feel a little flutter of nerves and excitement in the pit of my stomach. If we are going by a daily countdown, then we have reached a new milestone: we are less than 100 days until release at just 92 days left.

And so, I come to you with a new and very exciting update today. Other than the fact that we have only 1/3 of a year left until release day, I also have a shiny new FINAL COVER to share with you today.

"But Kate? I thought you already had a final cover?" Indeed, I did! After several years of working the floor at a local bookstore, though, I have decided that the cover was not indicative of the fast-paced adventure novel that was within. The previous cover was absolutely beautiful and would have been fitting should the book have been a different genre. This is my fault as I didn’t have a proper grasp on what kind of cover would have been fitting for a book like this. I went with Inkshares’ in-house designer who is known for his quality covers--some of which I have on my bookshelf right now, in fact.

I hope you love the cover as much as I do. In fact, when I first started marketing this book, I had commissioned local artist Mel Sivret to create a bookmark for me, and some similar imagery was used in the final cover!

Anyone still have one of these?!

Books have started popping up for pre-order in independent shops across North America, in addition to big box retailers. I am negotiating with a few local spots about possible in-person events as well, and I hope to have some news about that in the months to come. For now, and as always, thank you for your support!

May your travels be fraught with wonder and just enough peril to keep them interesting,

Kate Butland (K. M. Cooper)

Hi everyone!

I’m here with a loooong overdue update. As I am learning, the publishing process can be bumpy. After my big announcement that House of the Broken Promise was going to be released on July 7th, I got the disappointing and surprising news that the publication date had to be bumped, and not by a little. I can’t claim to understand how all of this works, but publishing goes in cycles, and by bumping the date, Inkshares couldn’t get it back into the cycle until early 2027. Rather than launching in January or February, which are known to be less than stellar release months, I opted to launch in March, when we will all be coming out of hibernation.

We have all been waiting forever for this book, and no one wants it in your hands more than I do! Despite this disappointment (and trust me, it’s been a tough pill to swallow), I have to say that my editorial experience has been amazing. My book is in great hands, and I am glad it will get the attention it deserves when the time finally comes. So, for now, I am living by the mantra that good things come to those who wait.

Feel free to reach out with any questions (or complaints, haha).

The journey continues!

Sonja

Greetings, adventurers!

Dear readers, an announcement: A Pretender’s Murder, sequel to A Gentleman’s Murder, is set for release on 24 February 2026!

Colonel Hadrian Russell before the War had four sons. Now he has four widowed daughters-in-law, who lunch at the Britannia Club every Friday as his guests. Popular and personable, why would anyone want him dead? But he’s shot and thrown through one of the club’s front windows one night, and Eric Peterkin, newly appointed as club secretary following the events of A Gentleman’s Murder, must step in again and investigate.

We’re not doing the whole pre-order campaign thing this time, so feel free to head on down to your local bookstore and have them order in a copy or three. I’m really proud of this one, and I hope you enjoy it even more than our first outing with Eric. Meanwhile, it’s back to the writing for me as I work on a third Eric Peterkin mystery.

And if you’d care to check out what’s going on at Inkshares, maybe check out The Last Beacon by Matt Farley, which starts as a murder mystery (you know I love those) before expanding into ... something else. Just be aware that if you want to place a pre-order, you might have to create a new Inkshares account: a bug in the system is preventing expired credit cards from being updated.

Anyway, until Peterkin 3, adieu!

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for your support during the first couple weeks of the funding campaign. We’re approaching 20% of the goal with three months to go, so we’re in good shape thus far, but admittedly I am running out of friends and family members to contact. So, even though you’ve already helped so much, I’d like to mention a couple of ways you can assist me in keeping the momentum going so this book can end up in your hands and in bookstores nationwide:

Spread the Word: Share a link to The Last Beacon with some friends and family members and let them know a bit about how the funding campaign works (if we’re friends on Facebook, I have a post up that you’re welcome to share).

Pre-Order Another Copy: Obviously, if you’ve already ordered one copy, you’ve gone above and beyond most people, and I’m incredibly grateful for your support. I know disposable income is hard to come by these days, but if you’re able to order another, I wanted to point out that the cheaper, $10 e-book option equally counts toward the 750 goal, and you can place multiple orders.

I’ll periodically keep you updated on my progress as we hit major milestones without overly spamming your inbox. As always, if you’d like to reach out, you can contact me on Inkshares or directly at mtf1008@gmail.com

Thanks again for your support.

Sincerely,

Matt Farley

Hello my lovelies!
It’s been too long and that’s on me. No excuses, no blaming or shaming. It’s taking longer than expected to complete this manuscript. Patrons have passed away already. God bless them. Anyway, life goes on…for an eternity I’ve heard. Could have cashed everyone out by pulling it, but not doing that keeps it alive. And I do have a book. It’s not ready yet. I’m aiming high. Fortunately, I have impeccable support from Joan R. She’s incredible. And David F, he’s read so many versions, guy is imperturbable. And I have all of you. And you have my eternal love and appreciation. I’m not giving up. Dean Fearce