Christmas in July--Time for Me to Give You Something!

Read inside to see if you won!

June was my month of back-to-back travel, zig-zagging across America between Phoenix, Milwaukee, Chicago, with some brief stops back home. After a brilliant time meeting fans and readers at conventions and talking with booksellers and librarians at conferences, I’m really looking forward to a month that’s will see me back at home in my own bed every night.

That said, no real rest for the wicked! I’ve spent a whirlwind amount of time working on a new project, working on several old projects, and putting together some fun bonus projects! And be sure to read to the end of this newsletter to see if you’ve won an ARC of Night of the Witch so you can claim it PLUS enter another giveaway!

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Night of the Witch News

One of the reasons for all my travel in June was to share Night of the Witch with booksellers and librarians! Between Children’s Institute and the American Library Association, we signed well over a thousand advanced copies of the book, and we’re already starting to get early buzz!

What’s the point of doing all this travel prior to the book’s release (in October!)? It’s all about getting early reviews and exposure to bookstores and librarians, all of which (I hope) will create a perfect storm of people recommending the book to others and then they read it and then they share it with others.

If you’re not a bookseller or librarian who was at one of these two big conferences, never fear! Beween conferences, Sara and I dropped by the Sourcebooks offices, and we signed every single ARC they had. All those boxes? Signed by us both! And they’re being made into some truly epic influencer boxes in the future, so make sure you let Sourcebooks know on social media if you want a copy!

Visiting the Sourcebooks offices was so much fun! I loved getting a chance to sign their author wall and to put faces to names!

And then Sara and I found the Sourcebooks booth at ALA, and our book was on the banner!

We signed every single book in our early Saturday morning signing, and we literally gave out every ARC except for one solitary display copy. They kept pulling boxes out from under the tables and we kept signing them! In less than about forty minutes, we ran out—I’ve never seen a line go like that, it was several hundred books, all passed out as quickly as we could sign them. And because they were all librarians, the queue was so orderly, haha.

Meanwhile, you can also request a digital copy of the book via NetGalley if you’re someone who enjoys getting early copies and doing advanced reviews. In fact, when I checked the NetGalley linked, I was shocked…

Of all the science fiction and fantasy books, Night of the Witch was Number ONE most requested title. And when I looked a little further, we were in the top five of all books that were most requested!!

I am so honored that so many people are finding this book and reading it! If you’d like to give it a shot, NetGalley is free and only requests that you commit to reviewing the book if you get it early. (Also, it is moderated, but please know that I have zero control over who gets picked to read or not.)

One last bit of Night of the Witch news before I shift gears—but remember to go to the end of this newsletter to see if you’re a winner of an ARC or a box of bookish goodies!

Sara and I are happy to share that our witches are going to Spain! Editorial Hidra will have this Spanish translation available super quickly, the day before Halloween and just a few weeks behind the English release!

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Global Quest on Your Mobile Device in a New App!

After months of beta testing, Storyloom recently launched its mobile app! You can now read these stories on your iPhone, Android, iPad, or whatever else you like to read.

This is, to me, the way these stories are meant to be read, and the graphics in the mobile app look so much better! Clicking through choices is even easier on your phone. And the good news is: this is still free!

They are moving to monetizing options at some point in the future, but the entirety of The Global Quest is totally free.

I designed The Global Quest to really showcase two things I love—riddles and travel. In the story, Ellery gets a series of clues that lead her on a treasure hunt around the world. There are lots of twists and turns, and the interactive nature of the game makes it even more fun—you get to try to solve the riddles on your own, and you get to choose the emotional path of the romance of the story.

I really think this story is a lot of fun, and I hope you check it out! And while the video game version is going on right now, you may be seeing a book version of this story in the future ;) So check it out now!

Don’t forget! Read to the bottom of this email for a giveaway!

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What You Missed on Patreon This Month

All members of my Patreon to make potion jars this month! I mailed out cute little clear “jars” that had a sticky interior and a clear backing. Patreons could peel apart the jars, slip inside pressed flowers, notes, or anything else flat, and seal it back up for their very own potion bottles.

Since Museum of Magic and Night of the Witch both have flowers used in spells, this gift seemed especially appropriate! July’s mailed gift will come from a partnership with artist Hallie Bertling and will include both a sticker and a special art print!

In addition to the next four chapters of House of Hex, the book I’m writing alongside readers with the chance for them to vote on the story path, patreons in the writer tiers got a group critique of a query sample, a post about crafting anti-heroes and how they’re different from regular heroes, another post about when to put aside a book even if it feels like it’s working, and more!

I’m particularly proud of a new workshop video with handout that describes the relationship between plot, world, and character. This workshop was something that I think a lot of writers already inherently “know,” but by breaking it down and analyzing it further, I hope it helps provide new perspective.

Tiers on Patreon are as low as $2 a month for readers and $5 a month for writers (who get the workshops and writer-focused elements). I’m currently sold out of the critique levels, but Patreons get first dibs when those coveted slots open up (and I’ll likely be adding more in the fall).

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What I’m working on now…

• House of Hex, a YA fantasy with witches and witch bottles, sequel to Museum of Magic. Available on Patreon and Kindle Vella.

• New adult science fiction project: with my agent. (Previous adult sci fi project…perhaps on hiatus.)

• Night of the Witch 2: with our editor.

• Adult fantasy novel: at around 60,000 words, working on the structure.

• Global Quest: YA adventure, choose-your-own-path story, first arc done, halfway through the second arc.

• Side gigs!

  • Weekly posts and videos about writing at Patreon

  • SNHU as an online adjunct in the MFA writing program

  • Accepting critique and coaching jobs with Wordsmith Workshops—in addition to doing Word Lab! Also, we’re starting live and in person retreats again!

  • Actively doing in-person school, library, and book fair events—book me for panels, signings, and workshops for both adults and teens on writing! If you’d like to get an idea of some of the programming I do, I describe it a bit here.

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Giveaway time!!!

I’m giving away TWO things, just for newsletter subscribers! Thing one is an advanced reader copy of Night of the Witch, signed by me! Thing two is a box of goodies all revolving around Museum of Magic.

To win the advanced copy of Night of the Witch, I did a random draw of all my subscribers, and then thanked goodness that the list was numbered so I didn’t have to count more than five thousand different email addresses. The random number Google gave me was subscriber 5630.

And in my list, the email address that’s listed at 5630 starts with CO:

I’ve emailed this person to offer them an advanced reader copy of Night of the Witch. If your email starts with “co,” be sure to double check to see if you won.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

I recently found a few more items for the influencer boxes I mailed out to bookstagrammers to celebrate the paperback release of Museum of Magic. These have all the goodies inside except for the cookie, which I only got in a limited quantity. So, if you’d like to win a the box of goodies, all you have to do is (1) be a subscriber to this newsletter and (2) make a comment saying you want it. That simple! I pick a random person from all the comments by Wednesday, so be sure to do it before then!