A Personal Note
Below, there’s a LOT of Bookish News for my fantasy fans. There’s a little something for every subgenre in this post. I started writing my newsletter and realized I have too much to share for an email. So, this blog post is long and full of juicy details in the realm of indie fantasy authorship as well as life.
Life outside of writing and publishing
If you follow me on social media, you’ve probably met my babies (Delaunay and Knox) and now my grandpuppies (Hodgins and Valkyrie), but I thought I’d share a photo of Delaunay and the grandpuppies simply for the awe factor.
In other news, we are driving home as I type this (or maybe to a bar) from closing on our new property. My husband and I finally decided that we’ll stay in Minnesota during retirement. That is with the exception of January through March and maybe into April. But we love the spring, summer, and fall here, so we purchased property and hope to build in 3-5 years. Hard to believe I’m writing about that, but it’s getting close.
Unbelievably, it is September and pumpkin season. Everything seems to be pumpkin-themed. But in case you’re a coffee-junkie like me, I have a fabulous tip for you. I adore PSLs, but I hate the associated calories. BUT…I found a new fave at Starbucks: A cold brew with pumpkin cold foam. If you love pumpkin, definitely give it a try.
Now…on to the bookish news.
Realm of Darkness
Preorder Now Available
Coming October 4, 2022
I’ve joined up with 45+ authors to bring a box set full of PNR and Fantasy to the market next fall. We revealed the set cover on Wednesday, September 8, and the first preorder links for Kobo and Google Play went live.
Here’s the link to the page with all the buy links: Realm of Darkness
The release date is still more than a year away, but I’m thrilled that we’re already ranking in the single digits. I have to chuckle at the category we’re #1 in, because little do they know, they are not getting “short stories” with this anthology. Readers who preorder will get 40+ FULL-LENGTH novels for $0.99. Can you believe that? That’s more novels than I can read in a year for a buck.
The video above is a teaser, but not a complete picture of all the books included. We have 9 finalized covers (reveals coming in the near future) and more to come. My cover is done, and I’m about 1/3 of the way through writing Fight for Darkness: A Wickney Witches Paranormal Romance Novel. Yep, you read that right. My preference is epic fantasy, and I have a novel scheduled for release that takes place in the same world in August 2022. More on that later.
Two more things about this set:
- Check out the giveaway to the left. That runs through September, so click on the image with Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and head over to check it out.
- There is a huge–HUGE–Facebook Party as we get closer to getting the Barnes & Noble preorder launch in October. Join the Facebook group by clicking the banner image to the left, or here.
Once Upon a Name
This little charity project is a collaboration between me and 19 other authors. It will be an anthology full of strange and unusual short stories. Our little fan group on Facebook is growing, and we’re having tons of fun in there. If you haven’t joined yet, check it out: https://www.facebook.com/groups/onceuponanamefans
Current bookish news: We announced our charity this week: Book Aid International. We are delighted they have agreed to partner with us and allow us to include their information with our anthology.
As authors, we believe that literacy is foundational and fully support Book Aid International’s mission, vision, and values:
Our mission
Our mission is to provide books, resources and training to support an environment in which reading for pleasure, study and lifelong learning can flourish.
Our vision
Our vision is a world where everyone has access to books that will enrich, improve and change their lives.
Our values
Our values inform and guide our work. We are committed to:
Equality of opportunity. Everyone should have the opportunity to read, whatever their circumstances. We support people from all walks of life in their efforts to access the books they need to achieve their goals.
Quality. No-one should have to make do with old, out-of-date books which do not meet their needs. The quality of the books we send is the hallmark of our work.
Investment in the future. Capacity building creates long-term-impact. We help increase the ability of local libraries to support their communities by training librarians and teacher librarians in working with children and other key skills.
Collaboration. Working in partnership ensures that our work is effective, responsive and meets communities’ real needs. We work closely with national library services, NGOs, community library networks, local governments and individual institutions.
Book Aid International
ALL, and yes, I do mean all proceeds from this project goes directly to our charity. We are doing a follow-train on Instagram this weekend to connect and engage with readers, writers, and bookstagrammers in the community. I hope you’ll join us. See the images to the right and check my profile (@susanstradiotto) on Friday 10 Sept for the rules.
And, if you haven’t preordered, here are the links:
The Serpentine Throne
Bookish news for my Epic Fantasy series
Before summer, I spent so much time getting my 5-book epic fantasy series ready to launch. It released April-August of this year. The complete story is now out in the world, and I’m hoping people adore it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The concept around dragons came from my middle child, who became obsessed with dragons around the third grade. Once he read Eragon by Christopher Paolini, he never looked back. He now thoroughly enjoys all things fantasy and Game Masters several DnD campaigns on a regular basis. My character (a 3’1” battlemage gnome) just found some dragon eggs in the campaign, and you better bet she’s protective of those!
For a limited time, the prices of this series really, really low for the ebooks. You can buy the whole thing for less than $7 on Amazon (click here) right now.
- Call of the Storm Sorcerer: FREE
- Call of the Syrensea: $0.99
- Call of the Ryu Dragon: $0.99
- Call of the Scorched Empire: $0.99
- Call of the Maelstrom: $3.99
Also, from September 12-October 4, I will be running a Goodreads giveaway for Call of the Ryu Dragon. Sign up to win 1 of 10 signed paperback copies here:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/331744-call-of-the-ry-dragon
September Book Haul
Deals, Promos, and Notable New Releases for the Fall
And the final piece of Bookish News for this month… here are the promotions and some new things released in Indie Fantasy.
Click on the images to go to the promos / buy pages.
