Hello guys! Welcome to the first blog post of 2023! I’m so glad that you have the time to read about our latest writing news today. Buckle up, because we have a lot of projects and special events in the works for the months of March, April, and May.
Read An Ebook Week
First on our list is the ebook sale event at Smashwords, which Draft2Digital recently acquired. Despite the change of hands, it seems like we’re still getting the website promos that we’ve come to know and love. As a result, you’ll still be able to grab discounted and free copies from your favorite authors, as well as find new ones to check out.
For this year’s Read An Ebook Week, Knightly Serenade and Leopardized will be available at 50% off. If you know someone who’s interested in fantasy romance novels with a fairy-tale feel, Knightly Serenade might be for them. If a paranormal romance that takes place in an alternate world is more their style, Leopardized might be a great story to get into.
Read An Ebook Week starts on March 5 and ends on March 11, 2023.
The Fairy Tomes
As you know, we launched the first two books of our new fantasy romance series called The Fairy Tomes of Cerulean Cove in December 2022. Well, last month, we got our third novella. Rosa is now available on all major ebook retailers, alongside Orelia and Marina.
The story, loosely inspired by the tale of Snow White and Rose Red, uses the prince’s curse as its inciting incident. The rest is a pure, cozy romance that takes place during a short quest through the forest surrounding the Western Village. You can check out the book description below for more info.
If you haven’t yet, make sure to join our mailing list so that you can grab the Fairy Tomes promo codes. They’re included in the seasonal and new-release newsletters that get sent out. You can use this season’s codes at Smashwords until May 31, 2023.
A fated fairy tale romance.
Rosa loves working as an oracle because she gets to make sure that Cerulean Cove's villagers can live in peace, free of malicious crooks. The suitors that her parents have introduced aren't thrilled about her work, though, and this has made her shy away from romance.
Then a bear stumbles onto her temple grounds, nearly dead from the cold, and transforms into a man. Ursino the merchant now needs the help of a skilled and dedicated oracle like her to retrieve his wares from the dwarf that cursed him.
As they get closer to finding the criminal, they also come close to falling in love.
Open Novella Contest
Now that the third story in Fairy Tomes has been released, we’re taking a short break from the series and focusing on a different fantasy romance novella.
I checked in on Wattpad a month ago and discovered that the Open Novella Contest is back this year. Then I went through the prompts and noticed that one of them aligned with the manuscript I’d been brainstorming about. So with a bit of tweaking, I managed to elevate the plot and finally start working on its first draft.
If you’d like to follow along or help out by giving feedback, you’re very welcome to read Gentle Green during your spare time. I have plans to publish this story in the future, so I appreciate any input you can give. You can read the book description below, which will be updated as the book progresses.
Love makes the impossible possible.
The only things that matter to Sua are the happiness and safety of her friends and family. She's more than content to manage her late father's inn with her pet antula by her side. However, being an innkeeper in a small town isn't always easy... or safe.
Through a twist of fate, someone comes along and distracts her from the threat lurking in the shadows. A new face—one quite attractive, too—becomes the talk of the town overnight. Can Sua trust this handsome stranger to help with the danger she's been secretly trying to address?
Or does the mysterious newcomer already have enough secrets of his own?
Other Projects
We’ll see some shorter works on our other online writing sites throughout the season. For example, World Poetry Day is coming up on March 21, and Earth Day is on April 22. May 15 is the Day of Families. When these dates come around, you’ll see a post on the Facebook page and Pinterest board that leads to our contribution for these events.
Also, now that I’ve cleared up some space in my virtual library, you can expect more frequent book reviews on Bookbub. I’ll be going through the backlog of indie and self-published books from time to time. Hopefully, the reviews will help you discover new stories to love.
Recommendation
Of course, this wouldn’t be a proper blog post without our usual recommendation. Since we’re delving into fairy tales and fantasies at the moment, I’m putting the spotlight on Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson’s stop-motion animated Pinocchio. It’s beautiful, it’s riveting, and it tackles themes in a way that both adults and children can appreciate.
This deeply moving film took more than ten years to produce due to the complexity and cost that go into stop-motion animation. Thankfully, Netflix had the resources to help Mr. Del Toro’s passion project along. And the love he and his talented artists put into the final product shows.
I hope that Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio keeps garnering recognition from the award bodies it qualifies for.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Teaser Trailer courtesy of Netflix (official YouTube channel).
That’s all we have for now. As a reminder, make sure to check your inbox if you’re on the mailing list. Your code will be in the newsletter. And for other quick news, behind the scenes, or just fun stuff barely related to writing, you can head over to our Facebook page.
I hope you have a great day, and I’ll see you on our next blog!
