July 2023
In this month’s newsletter, scroll down to find:
- Finale Reveal
- Author Spotlight with Ash Bishop
- Travel Log: Castles, Bards, and Vigilantes
- Review Corner
- Bookmarks and Playlists
- Interviews and Articles
Finale Reveal
I have VERY exciting news. The kind of news that makes you want to swing from a chandelier, climb a mountain, or wrestle a dragon. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve joined me on my publishing journey- and what a wild journey it’s been! I feel like a lifetime has passed in two years and I’m so immensely grateful for every step I’ve been fortunate enough to take.
If you’re new here, a brief summary is, I’ve been writing a trilogy named The Frean Chronicles and so far:
Contest of Queens came out January 2022 (and won a silver IPPY medal in the audiobook fiction category!)
Queen’s Catacombs came out March 2023
And if you know anything about trilogies, you know they come in threes. I am SO THRILLED to announce that the third book has just been signed by CamCat books! Publishing date will be announced shortly, but I just couldn’t wait to share the title of the final installment:
Queendom Come
*dun dun dun*
Ascending the throne a war too late.
The forces of fear, the Sons of Celos, have set their plan in motion and Jacs struggles to stay afloat beneath the weight of her crown. Her loved ones are missing, injured, or worse, her resources are spread thin across the two realms, and the peace between Crown and Court of Griffins is wavering. With so much at stake, does she have the strength to face Celos and save her Queendom from his army of darkness? Or will her vision of a unified Queendom die with her?
Author Spotlight
What would you do if your horoscope read: murder?
Welcome to July’s book nook! Join me with a repeat offender, Ash Bishop as we chat about his new mystery thriller, The Horoscope Writer (out July 18, 2023). We discuss all things horoscopes, fake news, and how to write a murder mystery, so grab a cup of tea and an alibi and let’s jump in.
The Horoscope Writer
Who is The Horoscope Writer? It’s not Bobby Frindley. He’s an ex-Olympic athlete who has fast-talked his way into an entry-level position at a dying newspaper. He’s supposed to be writing horoscopes, but someone has been doing it for him . . .
On his first night on the job, Bobby receives an email with twelve gruesome, highly-detailed horoscopes, along with a chilling ultimatum: print them and one will come true, or ignore them and they all will.
Working with a skeptical co-worker, Bobby investigates the horoscope writer’s true identity, but the closer he gets to the truth, the more the predictions begin to be about him. Has he attracted the attention of a cruel puppeteer? Or is it possible that, like any good horoscope, it’s all in his head?
Website: ash-bishop.com
Instagram: @ashlbishop
Twitter: @AshLBishop
Travel Log
Short story long,
I have taken a sabbatical from my day job as a Speech Language Pathologist to live in the UK and finish the Frean Chronicles Trilogy!
- Contest of Queens: completed!
- Queen’s Catacombs: completed!
- Queendom Come: editing right this minute! Release date circa 2025
- Mysteriously Titled Pirate novel: in progress (65%)
If you’re interested in following along on my travel journey, I recommend following me on Instagram: @jordanhbartlett
Castles
My dear friend Katie came to visit me in Scotland and we had a marvelous adventure! A definite highlight was that I discovered my favourite Scottish castle (and believe me… I’ve seen a fair few at this point). Dunrobin Castle up past Inverness honestly had it all:
- looks like it belongs in a fairy tale
- views of the ocean
- luxurious gardens (Katie and I *gasped* in unison when we saw them)
- a sun-filled reading parlor
- a resident ghost
- delicious mac ‘n’ cheese in the cafe
Bards
After over a year in the UK, I finally made the pilgrimage out to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s home town. It was so beautiful! The river, the gardens, the cobbled streets, the church! I had a hard time choosing my favourite photos, but I think the most profound ones were of Shakespeare’s grave. He’s lined up with his whole family in the most beautiful church, and the inscription on his stone is something straight from one of his plays. Where I was expecting to read: poet, husband, father or: Queen’s bard and absolute legend it actually reads as a rhyming warning:
Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
I didn’t think Shakespeare could get any cooler, yet he goes down in history as the man with the coolest gravestone.
We also went to see As Your Like It and I simply have one word for it: indescribable.
(Sarah is a bibliophile, friend, and a trusted beta reader of the Frean Chronicles. She’s into all things spooky if you want to follow her on Instagram: @creepinwithcarpenter)
Vigilantes
On our way back from Shakespeare’s hometown, we stopped in at Sherwood Forest to see Robin Hood. Unfortunately, despite jangling our coinpurses, the Merry Men did not see fit to highway rob us, and we were left to marvel at the oak trees (including the major oak).
Did you know that an oak can be considered an ancient tree when it reaches 400 years of age, and that Sherwood forest is home to over 1000 ancient oaks? The Major Oak is estimated to be between 800-1000 years old, and weighs 23 tonnes (about 4 elephants). It’s a flipping big deal. Look at how mighty it is! It even needs crutches so its branches don’t fall off.
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! Here are some lovely reviews from this past month:
Bookmarks and Playlists
I love recommendations and you may be interested in mine, so I thought I’d introduce a new section with the book I’m reading, the songs I’m listening to, and any thoughts I have of them.
Bookmark:
Five stars. An absolute masterpiece. Preorder your copy, I cannot stress this enough, read it.
(Make sure you’ve read the Darker Shades trilogy first).
Playlist:
I will listen to the same few songs on repeat until I’ve drained every last drop of serotonin out of them so these are the three song’s I’ve been wringing out this month:
A Little Bit Happy – TALK — I didn’t think I’d move past Run Away to Mars but this one is just as good. Something about his voice…
What Could Have Been – Arcane Soundtrack — the violin in this song will break your heart and every time the distorted line, “I hope you know we had everything,” hits, I’m transported.
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing – Aerosmith — a new car belter favourite a la Katie. This song is most powerful if you hit each and every ‘yeah.’
Interviews and Articles
I was lucky enough to be interviewed by George Michael on his channel Inside Comics:
Check out my recent article on shepherd.com:
x live magically
featured image: Nicole Lourenco on Etsy
Jordan H. Bartlett 