Cody C. Engdahl's Blog

Review of Witched Gone Wicked, by Sarina Dorie

Funny, exciting, and enchanting

After teasing us with the possible existence of the mysterious unworldly institution in the first two books, we finally get to Womby’s Reform School for Wayward Witches! 

Clarissa is a teacher, but because of her inexperience in magic, ignorance of her family’s legacy, and diminutive size, she’s not much different than the students. 

While teaching, she tries to solve the mystery of her birth-mother’s legend, her own powers, and what became of her long-lost love. Along the way, there are plenty of high jinks where the only talent our klutzy heroine seems to have is making enemies. She’s absolutely boy-crazy, but any intimacy makes her untamed powers go completely bonkers. 

There are lots of shocking surprises, references to geek culture, and a satirical play on many of the familiar tropes, which makes it seem almost like a parody. This book is a joy to read, even though I am far from the target audience. It does the most important thing, which is to make me want to live in this world. 

I am truly and unironically a Sarina Dorie fan. 

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Review or Hell House, by Richard Matheson

A fun haunted house novel

An eccentric millionaire pays a scientist, along with two mediums, to investigate a notorious haunted house that was once owned by a derranged cult leader. Two previous investigative expeditions had ended in disaster, in which the participants killed themselves or went insane. The last expedition was thirty years ago, and its sole survivor is one of the mediums on this current attempt. 

The story sets up the classic rivalry between science and spirituality, knowing and feeling, the craftsman and the artist. There are spooky classic haunted-house moments in which the characters debate the cause and meaning. Somewhere between the natural and supernatural world lies the answer they must find before the evil force that rules over the house consumes them all.

This book was written in 1970, but still feels fresh. It’s a fun ride for those who enjoy classic horror.

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October Royalties Report:

Things are picking up after the usual late-summer sales slump the literary world endures yearly.

I’m happy to see I picked up some readers in Australia. I ran Facebook ads for my free novella in all the English-speaking countries and got some new email subscribers in South Africa, Canada, and the Republic of Ireland. Hopefully, we’ll start seeing them pop up in my daily sales dashboard soon.

Here’s the link to sign up if you’re interested: https://subscribepage.io/EngdahlHouse You’ll get a FREE novella from me when you do.

I got some audiobook sales. Some of that might be quite literally from one of my nurses, who said she was going to download some of my novels for her commute to work every day. I swear, I can’t even go through a medical calamity without turning it into a sales pitch.

I’m happy to report that all six novels and my two nonfiction books made money in October, with The French Fiasco leading the way, as it should, since it’s my latest work that’s for sale.

I had no hardcover sales in October, but I don’t expect much of those anyway. The majority of my online revenue comes from ebooks and Kindle Unlimited.

I keep my online and in-person royalties separate, but I should add that I sold thirty paperbacks at a weekend signing event. Those are always fun. I don’t have another one booked until the first weekend in March at the Mid-South Military & Civil War Show in Southhaven, Mississippi, which is just south of Memphis.

The Prussian Prince on Kindle is 99¢ through this weekend, and then it will be 99p in the UK for a week. I’ll run some Facebook ads for that. My Amazon contracts for Rampage, Mexico, and Blood all renew this month, so I’ll be running some ads for those, too.

In between, I’ll squeeze in some ads for the free novella to drum up some more subscribers. I’m at 153 at the moment. I’m hoping to have at least 200 by the time Black James comes out.

In other news, I hit 200 followers on my Amazon author page. It’s exciting, but I have little control over that. I don’t even know who they are. I can only hope that Amazon emails them when Black James goes on pre-order.

Authors: How was your October? What are your plans for the rest of the year?

Readers: Whatcha readin’? I’m finishing up Hell House, by Richard Matheson. I plan on reading another novel in my Sarina Dorie box set next.

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After action report: Morgan on the Rim 2025

I’m gonna go ahead and call Morgan on the Rim 2025 a success.

Morgan on the Rim is an annual American Civil War Reenactment in Ridgetop, Tennessee. It commemorates the fight of Confederate Cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan there. The organizers invited me to sign books and play my fiddle. It’s always a good time.

Friday was “School Day.” We had several buses of kids and some homeschool families visit us.

It’s typically a slow day for book sales, as Fridays are on weekend events. But lucky for me, these two moms bought all six of my novels. I always say, every book sale is a victory. Even one makes an event worth it. So selling twelve in one day is an absolute triumph!

I also got a good spot to watch one of the artillery demonstrations. Here it is!

Honestly, there is nothing quite like experiencing live cannon fire in person. The iPhone microphone condenses the massive sound these things make, so you really don’t get a sense of how terrifying it is from the video. There is a percussive punch you feel in your gut and then a heavy smell of sulfur as the smoke spreads out around you.

Saturdays are always the main event, and I had a steady stream of visitors, many of whom bought books!

What I love about this picture is that this brother and sister both picked out one of my books that interested them the most.

I think they nailed it.

Especially her, I styled Claudette, the main character of Mexico, My Love, as a 19th-century goth-girl specifically to appeal to young ladies of today.

Oh, and Blood for Blood at Nashville is full of badass, totally metal moments that I think that boy is going to love. He’s basically me at that age. I totally write for the twelve-year-old, swashbuckling-obsessed kid I was then, and still am now. I hope I earn these kids as readers for life. I will work as hard as I can and pour all of my passion into making that so.

Later, I got recruited for the reenactment. I guess they didn’t have enough Yankees to shoot.

A woman was waiting for me at my table when I got back. She bought my Civil War trilogy and had me sign one for each of her kids. She didn’t want me to post pictures of them on social media. I took a picture of the books instead so I could remember that I sold them in case I made any mistakes with my record-keeping.

Sometimes you get a few extra sales as you’re packing up for the day. I’m always grateful. It’s a great way to top off the day!

Sunday was cold and rainy, with very few visitors. I almost regretted coming until this young lady showed up and bought Book I of my series and made it all worth it.

Then this guy came along and got Book I & II. I was so excited, I forgot to have him hold them in the picture, so once again I took a picture of two copies for my records.

This next guy didn’t get any books, but I think his mom signed up for the email subscription. I hope they download the free novella.

Here I am, playing him a little tune.

Okay, let’s do the numbers.

Over a three-day weekend, I sold 30 books, got 15 email subscribers, and had 5 downloads of my free novella. I hope I get more as time goes on and people get around to downloading it. I think it’s a great story, and it fits into the overall series very well with maybe some more surprising insights into some of the characters.

Here’s a further breakdown of the sales:

I sold 12 books on Friday, 15 on Saturday, and 3 on Sunday.

I sold 8 copies of Rampage on the River, 6 copies of The Perils of Perryville, 7 copies of Blood for Blood at Nashville, 5 copies of Mexico, My Love, 2 copies of The Prussian Prince, and 2 copies of The French Fiasco.

On a side note, as I was setting my books out, I couldn’t believe I had written them. I’m very proud. If you like them, there’s more coming. I’m currently writing Black James, which is about a character I introduced in Mexico, My Love.

Right now and coming next!

The Prussian Prince is only 99¢ in the US this week. I put out an email on that earlier. Next week it’ll be 99p in the UK. I’ll also email you a reminder on that. Unfortunately, those are the only two countries where Amazon runs those promotions. Hopefully, they’ll start doing them all over the world.

I have some fiddle playing gigs around town coming up. I don’t have any events where I’ll be signing books set up currently until I do the Mid-South Civil War show next March. I’ll send you more details when we get closer, but it’ll be the first weekend.

Anyway, thanks for being a friend,

Cody

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Review of Fletcher and the Great Raid, By John Drake

Perhaps the best yet! This is the fourth in the series. 

The French and a team of British traitors are building a new technology that will lay Britain’s shores open to invasion. Jacob Fletcher joins in a daring expedition, deep in enemy territory to destroy this monstrous machinery before it’s too late.

Author John Drake has a profound understanding of sailing as well as the ships, weapons, and tactics of the time. All of this is explained by Jacob Fletcher, the first person narrator in his Age of Sail, Cornwall dialect, but still in a way that even the most helpless landlubber can understand. This is part of the allure of the series for me as I am as much attracted to learning about the history, technology, and ways of the era as I am to a good, action-packed story. Fletcher’s voice is authentic and inviting, referring to us readers as “my jolly boys” and to himself as “your Uncle Jacob.”  I feel like I’m sitting with an old sea dog as he regales me with his salty yarns of an era gone by.

Jacob Fletcher is an exciting character who shares my own curiosity with the world around him. The story is great fun with multiple exhilarating climaxes that pay off everything in the end. Pay attention because nothing written is in vain as the story builds. All threads are neatly tied off.

The Fletcher Series uses the “found manuscript” trope. Drake claims he won Fletcher’s memoir in an auction and then filled in the antagonists’ parts of the story in third person from letters and news paper clippings. He even makes a character of the scribe who allegedly took the oral dictation from the aging Fletcher under the threat of physical violence if he omits or alters the way Fletcher describes events. This man, allegedly returned to the manuscript after Fletcher’s death and added notes usually mocking Fletcher or calling out his hypocrisy.

This is a great series for anyone who’s a fan of Jack Aubrey, Horatio Hornblower, or even Richard Sharpe. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment!

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Review of Black Redcoats: The Corps of Colonial Marines 1814-1816, by Matthew Taylor

A delicious, adventurous, true tale of American blacks living out their revenge against their oppressors. 

This is the book I was looking for. I was looking for information about the ex-slaves who became Royal Marines and burned down the White House. I was delighted to find an entire book dedicated to the subject, and so much more. Author Mathew Taylor delivers a fascinating tale rarely told.

Black Redcoats covers the origins of the War of 1812, the Chesapeake campaign, and the British proclamation of freedom to all who’d join their ranks. The book is filled with emotionally charged anecdotes and vignettes of real people, making this human story more poignant. 

It also covers the Georgia and Florida campaigns, the end of the war, the fate of the Royal Colonial Marines, and their surviving legacy. Most importantly, this book tells the story of the brave men who threw off their chains and truly fought for freedom. 

The author himself is British and makes no attempt to hide his patriotism and pride in his country’s military heritage. However, I believe this is an objective and fair account of the very human story behind the war. Taylor also points out the British Empire’s own duplicity in offering freedom to American slaves who came to their ranks, while maintaining slavery in their own colonies. He pulls no punches when it comes to criticizing his own country, as he does the United States.

This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn more about this often brushed-over conflict and is interested in true stories about human perseverance and heroism. Bravo, Mr. Taylor.

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Review of Country of the Bad Wolfes, by James Carlos Blake

Gorgeous family drama spanning generations over a hundred years. 

This is one of my all-time favorite novels. This is also my second time reading it. It’s got to have one of the best openers of any novel I’ve ever read. The prologue tells the story of the family’s patriarch: A handsome Irish-English pirate shipwrecked in the New World in 1826, the first of the Wolfes to set foot there.  

The rest of the novel is a rhapsodic, fairytale-like romp full of action and adventure as his descendants carve out their lives in New England, Mexico, and finally Texas over the next eighty-four years. James Carlos Blake is able to weave through the years at a brisk pace, yet zero in on thrilling moments with emotional depth and fully fleshed out characters, all while tying the plot to historical events and even including historical figures like Porfirio Díaz. There are so many moments that brought tears to my eyes, made me laugh, or even made me want to be there.  

James Carlos Blake was one of the best writers of our time. Read this book and you’ll see why. Sadly, we lost him in January 2025. He was 81 years old.

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After Action Report: “The Gathering” at The White House Inn Museum

I always say, playing the fiddle gets you invited to the dance. It was certainly the case for me at the White House Inn Museum’s “The Gathering” last Saturday in White House, Tennessee. 

It was a historical event full of old-timey crafts, reenactors, and me with my fiddle and a table full of novels to sign!

These two pictures were taken by my friend and fellow author, Loyd Elmore Jr.

There he is! Say hi to Loyd. If you want to check out his books. Click the link I added to his name above. If you like Stephen King, you’ll like Loyd too. He writes fantasy, science fiction, and horror. I’ve read his books: Malinville,  Malcolm’s Bridge, and The Space Between the Spaces. I really enjoyed them.  He’s bought every one of my novels off of Amazon. He brought the last three for me to sign. I was happy to do so. I’m honored that he reads them.

Speaking of friends, here’s Bob!

Bob has read every novel I’ve written except for the latest one, The French Fiasco. He picked it up this weekend. I’m really curious what he thinks of it. In it are some twists, turns, and payoffs, especially if you’ve read the whole series. He says I can ask about it when he’s done. I’m looking forward to getting some feedback.

It was a great day. I had several repeat customers and some new ones. Here are some more pictures.

I try to get a picture with everyone I sell a book to. It’s the part of marketing where I show “social proof” of real people buying my books. I also use them to help with bookkeeping. I try to keep track of what I sell throughout the day, but sometimes I get flustered and forget to record it, so looking at the pictures, I can figure out what I sold.

There was a tall, handsome Marine who bought a copy of Rampage on the River. We posed for a picture together, but I can’t find it! I think the person who took it might not have hit the button. It was bright out there and hard to see. I should have checked before we parted ways. I took a picture of a copy of the book by itself, just so I had a record of it to match my log.

Here’s a little “pay it forward” story.

This woman gave me a twenty-dollar bill for a seventeen-dollar book and told me to keep the change. It was very nice of her. Since I keep a tip jar out for my fiddle playing, I figured I’d drop the three dollars in there. 

But this boy came along. Don’t let his size fool you, he’s thirteen! He reminded me so much of myself at that age. I loved reading books. We talked about how much we liked novels about the Vietnam War. 

He wanted to buy my first book. It’s ten dollars, but he only had seven. I said that was good enough. He was like, “Are you sure? That’s a lot less.” I told him it was no problem since someone else had already paid the difference.

Heck, I would have given him the book anyway. A kid like that could be reading my books for the next thirty years or more. I plan to keep writing them for him. I hope I continue to earn his readership. 

Okay, let’s do the numbers!

I had Laura print up this flyer for me. I had it on my table for people to scan. It’s a way to build this email subscriber list by giving away the novella. I hope you’ve read it, by the way. I’ll put the link for you to download it if you haven’t. Don’t forget it’s FREE and I’m really proud of it.

Okay, so here we go:

I sold 13 books,

Got 7 new subscribers,

and had 6 new downloads of the novella.

Not bad for a day’s work.

I also did some networking.

This is Bill Maddox, the blacksmith. He told me about a historical home they’re renovating out by the Cedars of Lebanon State Park. Anyway, he told me that they might need a fiddler for some of their events. I’m happy to oblige. I’ll let you know if I do anything out there.

Also, some of my friends from Morgan on the Rim were there and confirmed that they’re going to give me a table this year. So that’s October 24-26 in Ridgetop, Tennessee. It’s a Civil War event. I’ll be there with my books and fiddle. I’ll put more details out when we get closer. I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, make sure you get your free copy of The Underground Railroad Ball!

August 2025 Sales Report

August is traditionally one of the slowest, if not the slowest, months for book sales. I’m happy that my slow month royalties now rival what I got during the surges of my first two novels in 2019 and 2020.

Subscriptions include page reads from Kindle Unlimited and listeners on Audible. Subscriptions and ebook sales make up 84% of my income.

Still, I’m always happy to see physical copies getting out there in the world. I hope they are lent to potential new readers who’ll come back to buy new releases as I go.

I’m immensely grateful for my readers/listeners in the UK. They have about 70 million people compared to 330 million in the US, but 40% of my royalties come from Britain. They’re big readers and love historical novels. This is why I’m always advertising there.

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Review of Hex-Ed, by Sarina Dorie

Funny, sexy, scary, playful, childlike, and deep. 

I’m surprised how much I’m enjoying the series, especially since it’s outside of my usual Military Historical Fiction genre. I was originally drawn to the whimsical artwork on the covers. What’s inside did not disappoint me. Sarina Dorie is definitely writing her passion, and sometimes I wonder if she’s actually a witch herself.

I was surprised by this second Womby School for Wayward Witches novel, so much so that I had to check the genre. It is not Young Adult Fantasy, as I had assumed, but rather New Adult & College Fantasy, which makes a lot more sense to me now that I’ve read some of the more spicy scenes. They’re still tasteful, but whoa…! Dorie goes there, and it’s a lot of fun!

Hex-Ed picks up a few years after Tardy Bells and Witches’ Spells. Clarrisa Lawrence is all grown up now. She’s no longer a nerdy high schooler, but a college student trying to eke out a normal life after the tragic catastrophe at the end of the last book. She’s been convinced that magic isn’t real and that the things she’s seen and felt were nothing more than episodes of psychosis. 

But all the medication and gaslighting cannot keep the magic away, or the Witchkin and Evil Fae who either want to enslave her, drain her of her power, or destroy her altogether. Clarrisa needs to learn the nature of her strange talents and how to control them before the forces of evil have their way.

Hex-Ed is a fun, short read. The print length is listed at 172 pages. I read it in a week and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Dorie is a funny, witty writer who knows how to build a scene that bubbles over into hilarious chaos. She expertly leads you along with teasing and foreshadowing, rendering this story a real page-turner.  I have the first eight books of the series. With two down, I’m excited to read on. 

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