January 2024
Happy New Year, one and all! I hope 2024 finds you safe, healthy, and happy. I’m currently writing this wrapped up in blankets in front of the fire, doing my best to ward of the -30 degrees C snap we’ve got outside. It’s just too cold… so have a cuppa tea with me and let’s stay warm together.
In this month’s newsletter, scroll down to find:
- Rose Petal Princess
- Queen’s progress report
- Queens on tour
- Book Nook- Shadow Weavers and Non-Believers: author talk with H.J.Reynolds
- Captain’s Log: Four Legged Friends and … Foes?
- Review Corner
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Rose Petal Princess
The response has been amazing to this little book and now I’m able to keep the price at the reduced rate!
$10.00 CAD and free shipping worldwide!
Woohoo!
So if you would like a signed copy, please contact me here and I will get one on its way to you lickety split.
I would recommend this collection for 9+ year olds as the themes and stories are a tad on the dark side… (mwahahaha)
Queen’s Progress Report
A lot has happened in the last few years and a lot is on the way so I thought I’d give you a bit of an insight into the timeline I’m working with so you know when to fasten your seatbelts!
- Queendom Come
- Edits: as of this week it has just finished one round of edits so I am looking forward to gets those back (each book typically gets 3 rounds of edits with each round focusing on a different aspect of the novel).
- Cover: We’ve also gone through the first round of cover design selection and I’ve sent back my feedback so we should have a cover within the next few months if all goes to plan!
- Release Date: early 2025 with an official date announcement coming soon.
- Le Tournoi des Reines (French translation of Contest of Queens)
- Release Date: October 16, 2024
- Mysteriously Titled Pirate Novel
- Progress: Manuscript finished and currently editing and sharing with beta readers so that it’s good enough to send off to the publisher
Queens on tour
For all of you who are unaware, Queen’s Catacombs comes out on paperback March 12, 2024! This is very exciting if you’re a person like me because paperbacks fit much better in purses, and then they all match on your shelf just so. In celebration, I’m going on a bit of a tour across four towns/cities so if you’re in the area and would like a paperback copy, some free swag, or to show your support, please come on down and say hi!
Canmore – Fireside chat with local authors at Canmore Public Library
February 13th at 6:30pm
Banff – Author night at Banff Public Library
March 8th at 7:30pm
Also, from February 20th – March 8th we’ll be running a colouring competition thought Banff Public Library, so get your submissions in before the draw on March 8th!
Calgary – Author signing at Slowburn Books
March 13th at noon
Invermere – Author signing at Four Points Books and Collaboration with Invermere public library and highschool.
dates TBD
Book Nook
Welcome to my Book Nook, a monthly podcast I created where I chat with authors about their upcoming releases and we nerd out over their literary brain children.
Grab a cup of tea and listen in as I chat with H.J.Reynolds about her debut novel Without a Shadow. Without a Shadow is a desert fantasy with shadow magic and those desperate to wield it. We chat about magic, science, and how to capture the moral greyness that is being human.
Without a Shadow officially hits the shelves April 9th 2024
Without a Shadow
You can only teach your shadow one trick
Adlai Bringer remembers going to the desert market with her father: The colorful tents, the wink of gold, and her father’s shadow, black as night, as it moved of its own accord and stole whatever trinket she wanted. He called it the Shadow Game.
After her father disappears, Adlai keeps going back to the market determined to find some trace of him and stealing what she can with her shadow. Until one day she picks the wrong mark—someone who knows her little trick and tries to take her shadow for himself.
Everything Adlai thought she knew about her shadow is turned upside down, and her father’s disappearance takes on a new light as she’s forced to flee the city or risk being hunted. From the desert to the Shadow World to even more unlikely places, Adlai knows one thing for certain: her shadow is a gift worth killing for.
Captain’s Log
Four Legged Friends
Dogs are the best.
As the new year ticked over and I started getting stuck into 2024, I had the privilege of hanging out with my brother’s dog, Billie. I know everyone says their dog is the best, but Billie really is the best. She came out skating with us and was getting the hang of some ice hockey moves.
I spent a few days out in Invermere and the entire lake froze solid. We had a few gorgeous days where we could skate for miles and miles before the snow set it. There’s nothing quite like it.
Coyotes are great at a distance.
This curious little guy followed me on my morning walk and made me realize I really need to brush up on my coyote knowledge. He seemed more playful than menacing, but I’ve seen the Road Runner cartoons and I know not to trust a coyote’s smile!
Nature: Breath’s Taker
I have a feeling 2024 is going to be a great year, and I hope it’s going well wherever you are. There is a lot to be thankful for already, and I hope you’ve found some moments of magic. If not, please borrow one of mine. My mum always said sharing was caring.
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! I got some great reviews this month, and another person with beef around Connor’s name… Maybe there’s a Connor Society I forgot to speak with before christening the character? Who knows!
x live magically
featured image from: https://wiccanow.com/
Jordan H. Bartlett 