May Angels Lead You In - A Chatty Tribute Hijacked by Fictional Characters
You know who grabbed control of the newsletter today. ;)
Hey,
Thank you for the prayers and well wishes. Melinda’s father is home from the hospital, and he’s recovering.
In other news, Stars & Angels Sing published 4 days ago! You can still get the Kickstarter versions from our store.
The 2023 expanded edition includes stories and poems featuring Sarn and his family in their humorous quest to survive the events of Thanksgiving Day, and the book is 30% longer than the original version, including holiday stories that were written later but are part of the overall holiday storyline.
The original version published on our blog 9 years ago. It published for a limited time to just Amazon about 8 years ago.
10 years ago, Melinda’s sister passed away. So she never got to read it.
She also never got to read any of the 20+ books Melinda published over the last 8 years either. But Melinda’s sister did read a draft of Curse Breaker Jousts. Why am I mentioning that?
For two reasons, and yes, one reason is because I want more page time. Since Curse Breaker Jousts is a Curse Breaker book, I’ll be in it. Papa will return as the main character, but I go where he goes, even when he’d rather I didn’t. :)
(This is Ran, of course, the son of Sarn. He’s the curse breaker, not me. I’m his sidekick in the Curse Breaker series, whether he realizes that or not isn’t important because it doesn’t stop me from performing my duties as his sidekick. You’ll have to read the books in the Curse Breaker series to find out how I do that, but I digressed again.)
The other reason is because Melinda wanted to publish Curse Breaker Jousts as the first book in the Curse Breaker series, but her sister said it wasn’t a first book. So Melinda went back and wrote a different story that became Curse Breaker Enchanted. Unfortunately, she passed away before Melinda completed Enchanted, so her sister didn’t get a chance to read it.
But we hope many people got a chance to read Curse Breaker Enchanted this year. We can’t know how many of the wonderful people who downloaded read it, but we hope it was a big percentage.
Way back in August 2023, we asked for your help me give away 3650 copies of Curse Breaker Enchanted by Feb. 22, 2024, one for every day since Melinda lost her sister 10 years ago.
And you did it! We gave away more than 3650 copies since then.
Thank you so much for recommending Curse Breaker Enchanted and sharing it. You helped us meet our goal, and we can’t thank you enough.
Curse Breaker Jousts is still coming, but it needs a rewrite to fit the current events. Don’t worry. The core of the story won’t change. We’ll still go to a joust, and monsters will show up. It’s just everything before and after that needs to change. But we’ll still fight monsters. Well, Papa will. I don’t know if he’ll let me. But you know I’ll try!
In other news, Melinda is now writing Storm the Gates, book 3 of the Rogue Gods Trilogy, and we do what the title implies. We storm some gates! What’s behind the gates? You’ll have to read that book to find out or you can read it as Melinda writes on Patreon.
And you might have noticed this is a drama-free newsletter today. Robin and I agreed to put our feud on hold until next week. So I’ll have more tea to spill then, and I can finally tell you my plan to get the most page time this year!
To honor Melinda’s sister, we’re pulling out two of her favorite excerpts from Stars & Angels Sing:
From the Dedication:
This book is dedicated to my sister, Carolyn Kucsera, 1984-2014, at whose request I am publishing it. May she rest in peace.
May Angels Lead You In I hope Angels bore you hence, back to whence your life did come. Like a dove, I hope you winged, carried on the breath of dawn. May Angels lead you in. Here below we’ve no suspense; one day we’ll hear death’s song strum and we’ll fly to the one kinged long ago in glory drawn. May Angels lead us in.
And our second excerpt from Stars & Angels Sing is from Interlude 6: May Angels Lead You In
Stars and angels sing a brand-new year their songs bring— light and love, they sing. May Angels lead you in… They sing love and light, to create a new year bright with hope in your sights. May Angels lead you in… May your hope burn bright, your heart sing of starlit nights and love on the wing. May Angels lead you in… And should life be done may angels bear you hence to the Holy One. May Angels lead you in…
I hope angels lead you in. Get Stars & Angels Sing now. What’s it about?
In a land where magic is illegal, Sarn must hide his magic and his son to stay alive. For an indentured man can claim nothing, not even his own child.
When his master found out about his son, Sarn’s worst fear was realized. Will his master help him get custody of his son? Or will this tear his family apart?
With nowhere to go and no choice but to obey orders, Sarn must move his son in with his master’s family. They go from living in a chilly cave with no running water, and no idea where their next meal will come from to his master’s warm, multi-room home.
Are they guests? Or are they here to serve?
This change of living quarters didn’t come with a change in station. As their foster family observes Advent, tensions mount as the symbols of a season and a strange holiday grow.
What is Christmas? Why does his master celebrate it? Should he let his son participate in this mysterious tradition?
Sarn has no way to find out except to ask his master about it and expose his ignorance. But this is the best place for his son, and he won’t risk losing it.
Thankfully, Sarn’s struggle doesn’t go unnoticed, nor does his wish to understand the reason behind the season go unanswered.
With help from Santa, an iceman, some determined fairies, and other holiday favorites, Sarn and his son discover the heart of the season and a new tradition. His struggle might just win him the only present he wants for Christmas, custody of the little boy that lights up his life.
This story is told in a series of poems that build upon each other to tell a fantastic adventure of a father and son’s search for the magic of Christmas. Get Stars & Angels Sing.
We’ll be back next week with more about Rogue Rescue and probably another poll because I still have lots of questions, and they need answers.
New Podcast Episodes & Videos
Listen on our podcast in your player of choice. Or Watch it on YouTube.
Fantasy, Lore, & More: Once Upon Thyme - Celine Jeanjean drops by to talk about her take on fairy-tale retellings and her newest book.
Fantasy, Lore, & More: The Chronicles of Chaos - Glen Dahlgren drops by to talk about his epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Chaos, and the last book in the series which comes out on Tuesday.
New Releases, Sales, & Other Book Stuff
Once Upon Thyme: Quirky Fairytale Special Edition Hardcover
Fairytale retelling with a twist: a drunk fairy godmother, a princess seeking a dragon and the meddlesome stablehand trying to stop her.
Searching for new books in Kobo Plus?
Look no further! These bestselling authors have teamed up to offer a delightful selection of books, all available through Kobo Plus. Available for a limited time.
New Release! A family searches for the true meaning of Christmas, then must save it in an epic fantasy adventure told through poems. Get your copy now.
Publishes on Mar. 10, 2024: The hunters become the hunted in book 4 of the Robin of Larkspur series when they’re trapped in a spell. Preorder it now.
Follow the Rogue Gods Kickstarter Campaign to get notified when the trilogy launches so you can get your hands on them. Because she’s coming to a timeline near you, and your life may never be the same afterward.
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