October 2023
Happy October! I know it’s not a wild opinion, but October truly is the best month of the year. A month of cozy clothes, warm blankets, and tasty drinks. Also, It means I get to watch Over the Garden Wall again.
In this month’s newsletter, scroll down to find:
- Exciting News: Free Ebooks!
- Who Run the Worlds author panel
- Captain’s Log: Portside Out Starboardside Home
- Book Nook Podcast: Spooky Edition
- Review Corner
Exciting News: Free Ebooks
Who puts the eee! in 200 fr-ee e-books? The Cavalcade Club of course! I’ve joined their three day event along with hundreds of other amazing authors. Between October 13 and 15, grab as many freebees as you can here:
As you can imagine, with 200 titles to choose from, you can definitely spend some time going through them all. I’ve shared a few of my favs below to save you the scrolling. You might notice a familiar face!
In solidarity with this awesome sale, the ebook of Queen’s Catacombs will be $1.99 from the 13th to the 15th as well! How neat is that?
Get yours wherever you get your ebooks, or click the image below to claim your copy, and if all else fails, click here.
Who Run the Worlds – author panel
For those with sharp eyes, you may have noticed two other familiar names in the list of free ebooks. Aamna Qureshi and Brandie June have been repeat offenders in this newsletter and we had a great chat last year with Dana Claire about world building. Here it is if you missed it:
Everything in Moderation
(except books, of course)
Speaking of author panels, I was lucky enough to moderate CamCat’s Mastering the Power Within panel at the School Library Journal’s Fall Day of Dialogue on October 12th. The video will be up within the next few weeks so I’ll post the link in November’s newsletter, but I encourage you to put these authors and their books on your radar now (if you haven’t already).
- Brielle D. Porter: Jester
- H.J. Reynolds: Without a Shadow
- Morgan Shamy: The Stricken
Captain’s Log: P.O.S.H
Larch Hikes and Mountain Vistas
There must something in the air, because lately nature has been pulling out all the stops. Here are some of my favourite pics from recent hikes (the first one’s just from my drive to work!)
Full Bore and to the Horizon
One of the activities I missed most about being in the UK was kayaking. Now, before you flood my inbox with cries of: “but they have kayaks in Scotland!” hold those horses because, I know. Yes, I could have gone kayaking abroad, but I didn’t, so I missed it. Plus, there’s something so wonderful about launching your own vessel into the water.
Meet the H.M.S Flounder. She’s a beaut alright.
It was the most star-aligning day, because I’d driven past this stretch of waterway dozen of times and always thought to myself: man, I want to sail in there. So when my dear friend Kate agreed to go on a water-borne adventure, we packed our vessels into and onto my beetle (Ray), and set out. Did I have a location? Nope. A Google of the area did not reveal any boat docks. HOWEVER, we picked a spot on the map where the road pulled alongside the water, turned off the highway and trundled down an ever-narrowing dirt road. At the very end fortune shone her golden rays upon us for there it was! The most perfect wee boat ramp for us to use! I couldn’t have planned it better! We were the only ones on the water, and didn’t have to tramp through marshland and brambles to do it. What a treat!
Book Nook Podcast: Spooky Edition
Happy spooky season! Tis the season for scary movies, pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, and dry leaf crunching. Why not cozy up in a blanket cocoon with a warm mug of tea and join me as I chat with fellow authors about their spooky novels.
- Ghosts from the past in a haunted inn with Amber Logan and her novel The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn
- Monster hunting with vampires, ghosts, and more with Dana Claire and her novel Hunterland
- Paranormal bullies with Sara Hosey and her novel Imagining Elsewhere
Review Corner
Reviews are so helpful in getting word of Contest of Queens and Queen’s Catacombs out there. If you have time, and if you’ve read the book, I would be eternally grateful if you could leave a star rating and/or a written review on Goodreads or Amazon.
Thank you to all the wonderful people who have left a star rating or review!
Jordan H. Bartlett 