End of the Year Sale: "A Nocturne In Red"

Hey, hey!

The Smashwords End of the Year Sale begins today and runs through January 1. 

Now is your best chance to snatch up my novella, "A Nocturne In Red" for 75% off! That means this quick read (normally priced at $4.99) is now only $1.24 for the next two weeks. Find the download button at this link:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1480370  

Is this novella for you? Grab it and give it a go.

Blurb:

Sanjen Laurelius, a lute-wielding bard, is a rising star.

He's also wanted by the emperor.

When he calls upon his special brand of song-magic to fight off a rampaging harpy, he finds himself the object of unwanted attention: a powerful officer in the emperor's service hires Sanjen to find the cure for a curse that has transformed a favored concubine into a bloodthirsty monster. But Sanjen's past is catching up with him. Can he find a way to save the victim of the curse before his employer discovers his true identity—and returns him to the emperor in chains?

End of 2023 BOOK Sales

Home for the holidays? Need a new something to read while basking in the warmth of a crackling fire? Something short that won't bog you down once the downtime is over? Novellas are the way to go. And it just so happens, I have one for fans of the fantasy genre.

I’m excited to announce my novella, "A NOCTURNE IN RED," will be promoted on Smashwords as part of their 2023 End of Year Sale starting on December 15! Be sure to check back for more updates and links about the promotion and support your favorite storyteller(s)!

What's better than books on sale? Nothing!

Look for this cover:

Until then, "NOCTURNE" is available at AMAZON and these EBOOK DISTRIBUTORS.

Sanjen Performs Everywhere

It's time to move on from Kindle exclusivity. I weighed republishing my stuff through IngramSpark or Draft2Digital, and decided to go with D2D. At least, with my darling guinea pig novella, "A Nocturne In Red." (The process was so simple that I'll likely do the same with all the others a little at a time.)

As of this week, Sanjen's first adventure is available, not just at Amazon, but everywhere D2D distributes books. I cannot express how excited I was to be able to download my book from Apple Books. Yes, I was my own first sale there. 😋

So now my beloved messed-up bard is "booked" at Apple, Kobo, and Scribd, and will soon perform at Barnes & Noble and all other venues too. If you want to follow his rising career and fall under the spell of his magical music, this is the link to all his current bookings:  https://books2read.com/u/3y6r0V

Crossing fingers that greater exposure widens his success with fans.

Here's the cover to look for:

Blurb:

Sanjen Laurelius, a lute-wielding bard, is a rising star.

He's also wanted by the emperor.

When he calls upon his special brand of song-magic to fight off a rampaging harpy, he finds himself the object of unwanted attention: a powerful officer in the emperor's service hires Sanjen to find the cure for a curse that has transformed a favored concubine into a bloodthirsty monster. But Sanjen's past is catching up with him. Can he find a way to save the victim of the curse before his employer discovers his true identity—and returns him to the emperor in chains?

Genre: somewhere between dark and epic fantasy

Length: novella (a quick weekend read)

Content warnings: drug use, gore, language, allusions to sexual content

A Nocturne for Novellas

I forgot to post about my latest release. So here goes.

"A Nocturne in Red" is available at Amazon for e-readers and in print. It's the inaugural story of Sanjen of Shar, a lute-wielding bard, who gets into all kinds of trouble. Last August, The Society of Misfit Stories was awesome enough to publish it for a few months,but since it's no longer available through their site, I decided to throw it back out there myself. 

I'm hoping the tale is the launching point for many stories featuring this troubled character. Sanjen is full of personality and inner demons--and what won't he do to protect those he loves? Read the first several pages at Amazon or at my site.

Along with the story, I've converted my hand-drawn maps of Tanerra with Wonderdraft. Behold, Sanjen's world:

Click for a full-size view.

Creating Legends

Seems I like writing about misfits whose destiny forges them into living legends.

First came Thorn Kingshield in the Falcons Saga--the easily embarrassed, always-late, scatterbrained scholar who ends up becoming quite the earth-shaker and storm-maker. Literally.

Now comes Sanjen Laurelius, a lute-player with a past, who possesses the singular talent of being able to manipulate his environment through the magic inherent in music. In his first (written) adventure, A Nocturne in Red, Sanjen is hired to save the City of Mages from a rampaging harpy. And in his second?

Lute, detail from "The Ambassadors" by Holbein, 1533

As soon as Nocturne was published by The Society of Misfit Stories in August, I started writing Sanjen's next adventure. He has no idea that participating in a bardic competition will lead to a complete shift in his destiny, and in the destiny of an empire.

Encompassing a far larger scope than Nocturne, the new tale (title undecided) currently clocks in at just over 60,000 words. So now the decision is whether to shorten it to make it more comfortably fit the word count of a novella, or to expand it and turn it into a full-length novel. Or to just say screw it, and let the story be the length it naturally is.

Anyway, legends... I have big plans for Sanjen. He no longer gets to remain the obscure tavern performer. His stage is about to expand exponentially.

Good thing characters can't read the minds of their creators. They'd run screaming in terror, right over the edge of the page.

"A Nocturne in Red" Published!

At Books2Read

"Can a bard with a secret addiction and even more secret identity overcome his own problems long enough to save a cursed woman who has been transformed into a bloodthirsty monster?" 

The Society of Misfit Stories has published my novella, "A Nocturne in Red." I was so confident that someone would snatch this one up. The story is just too much fun.

Apparently the publisher listed it at Books2Read, which links all the venues where the novella can be found: iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Smashwords, and Angus & Robertson. Most of the venues are selling it for 99 cents. At this time the story is available only digitally, though I hope it will be included in the Society's anthology/collection. If it is, I'm so buying the hardcover copy.

Specs for "A Nocturne in Red" --

Length: 17,500 words
Genre: fantasy
Audience: not for children
Main Character: Sanjen Laurelius (but that's just an alias)

There's so much I can do with this character. This week I'm outlining and brainstorming a new story (of undetermined length) that will focus less on Sanjen's turbulent past and more on his precarious present. I know (mostly) how it begins. I know (a little) how it ends. Now just to figure out the middle bits and start recording what Sanjen has to say. To what lengths will he go to keep his empress safe and his own skin intact?

(I haven't posted much this year. Plans for a lifestyle change took all my passion and focus. Then heartbreak sent me reeling, so blogging became a last priority. That's my excuse anyway.)

Nocturne SOLD!

Omigosh, I am so happy. "A Nocturne in Red," my fantasy novella featuring the lute-wielding bard Sanjen Laurelius, will be published by The Society of Misfit Stories. They have a rather high acceptance rate, and I knew someone somewhere would want the story (it's just too much fun), and I'm thrilled they took it. Even better, I had no other markets lined up to send the thing, so my relief is palpable.

It's been awhile since I had sold something (or had something to sell). This is a great pick-me-up. Will follow up with scheduling info and release in the months ahead.

Nocturne Promo cover, by me