It's time for a refresh

This week, I bring you refreshing news about books, cover reveals, a peek behind-the-scenes, and a character gets roasted right here in this newsletter! So what are you waiting for?

Hey, another week has passed and so, I am back with more book news.

This is Ran, Sarn’s son from the Curse Breaker series reporting to you live from NY, where my scribe is trying really hard to finish Curse Breaker Jousts. Since that book contains a pivotal event you have been waiting for, I am trying to help her finish it.

So yeah, it’s not done yet. I wanted to come to you this week and tell you that Curse Breaker Jousts is done, but it’s not. Melinda wrote and published chapters 49-52 on Substack and Patreon.

The story is winding toward its conclusion. I swear it is! But it hasn’t reached it yet.

Am I stopping it from ending?

I don’t think I am. Hold on for one moment while I check.

Okay, I’m back. I didn’t find any blocks created by me. What did you say? Did I check if any other characters are blocking the plot from completing?

Well, no because I just checked my scenes. Why would I check other characters’ scenes? Those scenes aren’t mine and I have no control over what happens in them unless I [redacted for spoilers but if you have read Curse Breaker Enchanted to the shadow monster scene, then you know what I was about to say].

Where was I before I got caught up in spoilers?

Oh yes, we were talking about the almighty plot and why characters like myself must obey it. The plot doesn’t really give us much choice about obeying it because it can just push us into situations that we have to do something about. Not doing things is not usually an option.

So the plot needs us characters to do things so it comes to a satisfying conclusion, and everyone is making sure we do those things. Checklists have been created and we’re ticking them off.

I don’t make the rules. I just do what the plot tells me to do. If I don’t like what it wants me to do, then I might disobey the plot. But that’s not what’s happening here. I swear!

After all, that’s our job as fictional characters. We would never trick our unwitting scribe into writing scenes that build story arcs that belong in the next book. Why would you even suggest that?

Did you just say, “Because you did that in the past?”

Yes, we did do that many times before. At one time, it was our hobby. Why would you think we'd do that it again?

We could have learned from that experience. It have could happened.

Why do you look so skeptical?

Did you just say, “because you want more page time?”

Yes, I do want that. But Melinda promised there will be a sequel to Curse Breaker Jousts, so I don't need to hold Curse Breaker Jousts hostage.

Did you just say, “I think we're doing it anyway”?

How can I convince you that we're not doing that?

While you think about that, let's go to some other book news since I don't know how to prove I'm not doing something you think I'm doing. 😉

A long awaited refresh

I don’t know about you, but Melinda has wanted new covers for the Robin of Larkspur series for years. So she’s recovering it.

If you previously bought the books from our shop or Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple, etc then you may see the new covers pop up on your library.

I’m sorry. If you published them from Amazon, we can’t update the covers there since they deleted all our books. Unfortunately, we still have not heard anything from the Alliance of Independent Authors.

They told us last week that their reps met with reps from Amazon at the London Book Fair, and they were waiting to hear back from their reps about our case. But they have not responded to our requests for information. I can only assume that their reps are located in places where phone and internet access is limited, and they must send word by carrier pigeons or smoke signals. 🤷🏻

Back to the new covers because the situation with Amazon is infuriating. We just did what they told us to do in order to recover access to the account. They should not have terminated our account for that.

Okay, enough about Amazon. This email is not about them, but I hope the almighty plot is coming for them. They deserve a hard shove into a situation where they need to take corrective action and rein in their bots.

Okay let’s look at some pretty art while I cool down, and I’ll tell you a funny story about where it came from.

Aren’t they pretty?

The new covers feature art that was made for the special editions of the series, but for some reason, the art never got used anywhere. I know because I checked. (You can check too if you get the special edition ebooks.) The design for the special editions went in another direction, according to my scribe, Melinda. So she put these images aside.

Then Melinda just forgot about them until Robin found them. Why was Robin, the main character of the series, poking around in Melinda’s files?

That's a really good question, and I'd ask Robin but she left! I think she's looking for a new series idea. I don't know if she found it, but I'm watching her now. If she comes around again, she'll have to go through me to get to my scribe. Melinda promised more Curse Breaker books, and I'm holding her to that.

But I digress. So that found art now graces the covers of all the Robin of Larkspur series ebooks and you can get your hands on them now. The paperback editions will take a little while to update since there are hoops we have to jump through for that. But rest assured, we’ll do it, and I’ll let you know when they are updated on retailers.

If you haven’t met Robin yet, she’s tough and stubborn, and she doesn't give up. But I don't either. She's also a warrior so I might be at a disadvantage of I need to fight for my scribe.

Will it come to that? Books are life, so who knows?

If you like ebook omnibuses/boxed sets, then we have 3 different options!

1. Robin of Larkspur Books 1-3, for those looking for a taste of danger.

2. Robin of Larkspur Books 4-5, for the completionist who wants to know if Robin saves her daughter. (New!)

3. Robin of Larkspur Books 1-5, for those who want the whole adventure and nothing but the adventure. (New!)

That’s it for me. I’m going to check for smoke signals and carrier pigeons. Have a great week and read some great books!

— Ran, son of the Curse Breaker and his chief publicist (just don’t tell him I said that)

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