Rachel Rener's Blog, page 4

The rumors are true. I'm having Jim Butcher's love child

*

Er, wait, did that subject line say "love child"? I meant to say, Jim Butcher and I will both be attending guests at Dragon Con and Once Upon a Con!! Stupid autocorrect!!!

Well, I suppose while I have you, I may as well take a moment to confirm the other spicy rumor swirling around re: me and my books....

(And let me tell you, it's 100000x spicier than me and Jim Butcher making a beautiful urban fantasy baby ) It's...

A SILVER BLOOD ULTRA-DELUXE SPECIAL EDITION!!!

No, your lovely eyeballs do not deceive you - the Silver Blood deluxe edition is already in the works, mostly because the SECOND I announced a white-hot Gilded Blood prequel was coming, you all immediately rushed to my DMs/inbox to forcefully demand I make a special edition Silver Blood hardcover to match the Gilded Blood omnibus.

What you didn't know is that I was already wayyyyyyyyyy ahead of you, as I know what my readers hunger for! Because of that, we are already *almost* ready to go live. I just need to hold off until we get one more piece of artwork (and like 1000 pre-launch followers so the KS algorithm gods will bless our project with favor!!!).

So please go show that follow button some love, because the second this project goes live, likely on or around April 1st, you will NOT want to miss a certain ultra-limited and SUPER exciting early bird reward tier.

And that is all I will be saying about that. (For now!!)

Now, does this mean you should hold off on reading Silver Blood until the deluxe edition comes out? DEFINITELY not. While the project will likely be going live in 4 weeks' time, you won't have the book in your hands until summer/fall (you know, assuming we fund ).

And in case you haven't heard, a huge number of reviewers are calling this the best Gilded Blood installment to date. So if you haven't yet started Silver Blood, or worse, haven't picked up the series at all, NOW IS THE TIME to grab it!!

Ooh, which makes this the perfect time to tell you that the entire series will be on sale next week!!! Starting Tuesday, and running allllll the way through Friday, Inked will be free, and the sequels will be steeply discounted.

So tell a friend, a lover, a seggsy swamp monster - anyone and everyone who you think will enjoy the Gilded Blood series! Because the more new readers we have ahead of April 1st, the higher chance we have of funding!!!

AND I FOR ONE CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!

Have an amazing, splendiferous, stupendous, and restful weekend ahead!

Cheers!❤️

Itching for MORE snark, shenanigans, and signed bananas? Come join my brand-new reader group, Rachel's Renergades!

If you're reading this on Goodreads or on my blog, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the most exciting updates sent directly to your inbox!

✨ A Note From Our Marketing Mistress ✨

In case you don't know, audiobooks are my jam (okay, that's a grape, but close enough). So I groveled and begged* Rachel to let me tell you this AMAZING NEWS!

*minor exaggeration, but still- I'm very excited about this.

LOOK WHO WON THE SULTRY LISTENERS AWARDS OF 2024

FOR FAVORITE FANTASY ROMANCE!!!!

That's right! Amethysts & Alchemy WON! Thank you SO MUCH for everyone who took the time to vote! I don't know if you all have listened to it yet, but this award was WELL EARNED! This book is so much fun, and Lia Langola absolutely CRUSHED it. I guess Rachel is going to have to get back to writing book 2 now...

Courtney, A.K.A. Marketing Mistress

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Published on February 28, 2025 15:52

Calling all Gilded BIood fans: BISSKISS is BACK!!!

Many of you have asked me if I still get nervous on release days, and the answer is OH HELL FORKING YES. But today, I'm not nervous about Amazon rankings or negative reviews or anything like that.

What I'm most nervous about is my original Gilded Blood fans having no idea there's a new sequel out - or, worse - not wanting to dive into the prequel because they believe they know all there is to know about Zayn and Talia (and Biscuit!).

Please believe me when I say, if you are a Gilded Blood fan, you do not want to miss this sequel. And it would mean the world to me if you would help me spread the word:

SILVER BLOOD: A GILDED BLOOD PREQUEL IS AVAILABLE NOW!

My heart is so full of joy to finally be able to share Zayn's story with you! This is the darkest, most smoldering, and steamiest of the five Gilded Blood books, and has been hailed by many of my ARC readers as the best installment of the series. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll find inside its 400+ pages:

❤️‍ A detailed look at the first 2 years of Zayn and Talia’s burgeoning relationship, including that night (in steeeaaaamy detail!)

The truth about where Zayn was the day Talia brought Roy’s infamous “butt cobra” to life

Biscuit’s—er, Hibiscus’s—precipitating role in the subsequent events of INKED (hint: the bird’s pretty much the mastermind!)

An inside look at Sol’s seedy empire (plus several jaw-dropping bombshells!)

The familiar faces of Talia, Hibiscus, Dee Dee, Korinne, Sol, Salen, plus some brand-new faces to both loathe and love!

‍♀️ Dragons, Mermaids, Boggarts, Vampires, Incubi (duh), squirrels with antlers, and this really weird creature you have to properly tickle for magic beans⁉️

✨ A REALLY FORKING COOL series announcement at the back of Silver Blood that you do NOT want to miss!!!

I know POV shifts can sometimes be jarring in ongoing series, but believe me when I say this might just be your favorite Gilded Blood installment yet!

"I have always HATED prequels! But this one? This masterpiece of smoldering-hot intensity and heart-wrenching angst and belly-aching humor? THIS prequel is going down as one of my favorite books of all time. I am officially a prequel convert!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Zayn’s POV adds a whole new dimension to an already incredible series. It’s the prequel I didn’t know my heart needed." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"If you thought you knew Gilded Blood, thought you knew all there was to know about Zayn and Talia, you were dead wrong. I'm utterly speechless. 1000/10 stars!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (x200)

"Not only is Silver Blood my favorite book of the entire Gilded Blood series, but it might just be my favorite Renerverse book of all time!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Zayn and Talia at their absolute hottest!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"This book, like all of Rachel’s books, came with twists, adventure, and WTF moments. Add in the bonus of a lot of spice and I easily call this her best book ever!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Typically, I have found that sequels and prequels do not hold up to the predecessors. But not Silver Blood - this book came in like the Koolaid Man breaking through a freshly painted wall ready to party!"⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Silver Blood is available in ebook, signed paperback, and signed deluxe color paperback, with the audiobook expected to release this spring! The brilliant and smoldering Tim Campbell will be voicing Zayn, with our beloved Tara Novie returning as Talia!

There will also be one more VERY COOL Silver Blood-related surprise coming this spring, a sneak peek of which can be found in the back of the ebook and paperback!

PARTY TIME!!!

To herald in the much anticipated release of Silver Blood, Rachel's Renergades will be hosting an all-day party with TONS of prizes, including signed special edition books! It's running from 8am to 9pm February 18th! Come join the fun!

We've also got a brand-new, expanded street team over on Discord, and will be keeping the invite link open for just a bit longer before closing the server to the general public. I'd love to have you on my team!

Cheers!❤️

Itching for MORE snark, shenanigans, and signed bananas? Come join my brand-new reader group, Rachel's Renergades!

If you're reading this on Goodreads or on my blog, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the most exciting updates sent directly to your inbox!

View more on Rachel Rener's website »

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Published on February 18, 2025 11:49

Upcoming Silver BIood PARTAAYYY and PhaIIic-shaped fruit!

Hello Renergades!

SOUND THE ALARMS!!!

*WEEEE-yoooooo-WEEEEEEE-yoooooo-WEEEEEEE-yoooo!!!*

We are officially ONE WEEK AWAY from the release of Silver Blood, and I have so many fun things to tell you!

First off, I should start by letting you know that Silver Blood: A Gilded Blood Prequel, is the darkest, most smoldering, and steamiest️ of the five books. This book has MORE of everything- More feels, more laughs, more Biscuit, and most importantly, substantially more ccks!!

No, not that kind of cck

To regale you with a feisty sneak peek, Courtney - my Mistress of Marketing- has hand-selected some context free quotes she thought you might enjoy:

❤️“I know what it’s like to have all your hopes and plans torn from under your feet... To feel like there’s no one in the world who believes in you... So, this is me telling you I see your potential, and I believe in you.” (dawwww )

“'This woman is going to be the de@th of me....'

If only I had known just how true those words were about to become.” (yeppp pretty much)

“Not to mention loud; at one point Talia's voice had grown so shrill I’d feared for the shop’s windows.” (#foreshadowing)

“She bit her lower lip, filling me with the overwhelming urge to lean forward and bite it myself.” (spoiler alert: he does.)

“If a beak could curl into a smirk, that’s exactly what Hibiscus’ did. I frowned. ‘Why are you giving me that look?’ Pointedly ignoring the question, she began casually inspecting one of her claws. I half-expected her to pull an emery board from underneath her wing and start filing her nails.” (Hibiscus: the TRUE MC of the Gilded Blood series)

Oh, and PS, on February 18th, you might want to take a quick peek at the end of Silver Blood for a certain UNOFFICIAL and YET-TO-BE-DISCLOSED (but 100% happening very soon) special announcement about a certain pretty special edition of a certain upcoming release

Oh, and something, something dragons.

TIME TO PARTY!

To help celebrate Silver Blood's release, my reader group (Rachel's Renergades) will be hosting an awesome all-day party full of fun games, trivia, and a crap-ton of prizes on February 18th!

(Seriously, my accountant is giving me the side-eye with all the free goodies I'm planning on handing out!)

So if you like the sound of signed books, swag, and ph@llic-shaped fruit, BE THERE OR BE.... well, somewhere else.

But it won't be nearly as cool.

LAST CALL for Street Team Sign-Ups!

The Street Team application will be closing TODAY, so be sure to sign up if you have not done so already. If you have signed up, be sure to keep an eye on your emails (and add rachel@rachelrener.com to your address book) for more info. We will be launching the group chat sometime THIS WEEK!

On a non-Gilded-Blood note, Amethysts & Alchemy made it all the way to the semi-finals and has been nominated to take home the gold in the Fantasy Romance category for The 10th Annual Sultry Listeners Awards

If you would like to vote (and Lia and I would be so grateful if you did!) you can do so every day up until February 16th by clicking here!

✈️ Now, I'm off to pack my bags for my first event of the season, Wild & Windy West! If you're curious where else I'll be flying off to this convention season, be sure to check out my list of events here!

Cheers and hope to see you very soon!❤️

Itching for MORE snark, shenanigans, and signed bananas? Come join my brand-new reader group, Rachel's Renergades!

If you're reading this on Goodreads or on my blog, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the most exciting updates sent directly to your inbox!

View more on Rachel Rener's website »

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Published on February 11, 2025 08:20

And the (ultra-famous!!!!) voice of Zayn is going to be.......

This message is for all of my audio(book)philes out there. If you are not an audiobookphile, and/or do not want any behind-the-scenes publishing drama / tea / gossip, then keep scrolling. (There will be cool stuff waiting for you at the bottom of this email, like my upcoming street team expansion!!)

As some of you may know, the Gilded Blood audiobook series is traditionally published, which means I have far less control over the process than I do with the Gilded Blood digital, print, and special edition books. I have a say in casting, but little else. Such is the way of traditional publishing.

When it came time to discuss the audiobook for Silver Blood, which would be narrated in Zayn's POV, I knew I wanted to bring the voice of Talia (and Dee Dee, Biscuit, Korinne, etc) back for the female dialogue.

That's called Duet Narration, btw - where the male and female narrators read their own character's lines throughout the book.

This is a VERY expensive and production-heavy way to make an audiobook; therefore, it should be to no one's surprise that my publishing company heard this request and immediately said "No F*CKING Way!!" - but, you know, in polite corporate speak.

(I don't blame them, truly.)

Cue the many ensuing weeks of me b!tching, moaning, bribing, and begging them to have Tara Novie to reprise the voice of Talia.

Suffice it to say, they were not happy with me.

(Again, who could blame them?)

Anyway, long story short: The rights to the Silver Blood audiobook have been reverted back to me, which is a BIG deal and doesn't normally happen in the trad pub industry.

(Hooray for being stubborn/annoying AF, I guess?)

This is 99% good news, with the only downside being the upfront cost is out of my pocket, since I've hired a fancy-schmancy, reputable production company to create the audiobook for me. And yes, it'll be a duet narration (yay!!!!!), which makes it SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE to produce but so much fun to listen to.

Will I ever make this money back? That remains to be seen. But my audiobook listeners deserve the best possible product, and by golly I'm going to give it to them, smart business choices be damned!

It also means Silver Blood will be produced EXACTLY to my standards. Not only will Tara Novie be reprising her role as Talia (and all of the other female characters), but I got to hand-pick my Zayn! Would you like to know who that'll be?

*cue drumroll*

Our favorite smoldering, tortured, husky-voiced, sexy AF incubus will be voiced by none other than TIM CAMPBELL, known for his brilliant narration of several dozen well-known urban fantasy books by Jennifer Armentrout, Elise Kova, J.D. Evans, LJ Andrews, Lola Glass, and so many others!

Tim is a hotty-hotty-hot-hot male narrator in the sordid and exciting world of audiobooks, and I could not be more excited to bring him aboard!

We expect the audiobook to be released in April, and I'll have a link for you the moment it's up!

Speaking of preorders, Silver Blood is officially off to the printers, and I hope to have both color and black and white signed copies on-hand by release day (February 18th)!

As for a certain special-edition (which literally dozens of you emailed me about the SECOND I announced a surprise Gilded Blood prequel), that answer will be revealed at the end of the book. So if you haven't preordered your signed copy or ebook yet, what're you waiting for??

THERE ARE AWESOME SHINY TREASURES TO UNEARTH!!!

(And believe me when I say, you do NOT want to miss that announcement! ‍♀️

Now for some super exciting Street Team News!

As most of you know, I have gone ahead and started a Street Team to help promote the Renerverse across social media platforms. I have carefully hand-picked a select few who have been helping me with this endeavor, and they've been k!lling it!

HOWEVER, we're looking to build a SECOND Street Team, one that will be larger and more accessible to everyone! You won't be getting any physical freebees (sorry!!), the reason being is that we will not hold you to the same *incredibly strict* posting standards / schedule that our main team is held to. BUT you will receive my undying love and gratitude, special coupons, the opportunity to get free ebooks, first dibs at ARCs, as well as gigundo bragging rights!

This Team is going to be a lot of fun- if you would like to join in on all the chaos that is to come, please sign up HERE! *If you have already filled out the application, no need to apply again- just keep an eye on your emails!

Deadline for filling out this application is February 11th - So hop to it!

That's about it for the moment, my friends!

I'll be here for another week or so and then I'm kicking off my very first convention of the season at Wild & Windy West, where I'll be hanging out with awesome-sauce fantasy authors like Leia Stone, C.N. Crawford, Holly Renee, Lola Glass, K.F. Breene, and hopefully as many of you as possible! Let me know if you'll be at W&W or any of the other conventions I'll be appearing at this summer.

(FYI, my full list of events can be found here!)

Cheers and hope to see you very soon!❤️

Itching for MORE snark, shenanigans, and signed bananas? Come join my brand-new reader group, Rachel's Renergades!

If you're reading this on Goodreads or on my blog, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the most exciting updates sent directly to your inbox!

View more on Rachel Rener's website »

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Published on February 03, 2025 21:08

Arctic Duels & Shiny Brand-Spanking-New Books!

I'm going to cut straight to the point (with a few more important announcements at the bottom of this email).

As many of you know, author Annette Marie and I have been FIGHTING TO THE DETH!!!

I mean... having a very reasonable, kindly-worded adult conversation regarding how her STUPID BOOKS (that are actually really, really great) have been TAKING OVER MY DAMN BOOKSHELF!

Apologies, I feel very strongly about this matter. Anyway...

In case you have not been following along with this very public author spat of ours, allow me to regale you.

The day began like any other - on the toilet - but I'll spare you the details and move forward to later that afternoon. I was minding my own business, in my own office, when I realized that the bookshelf that is SUPPOSED to be for my published books, along with my favorite books of all time, are now completely full because Annette Marie's books are taking up all the space. (Rude.)

So, like a reasonable well-adjusted adult, I called her out publicly on social media.

*Cue unhappy author face and angry music.*

After demanding that Annette buy me a new bookshelf, I *very* patiently waited for her to comply with my demands. AND WHAT DOES SHE DO?!

She buys me a new bookshelf...

BUILT FOR ANTS!

*Cue simmering rage and a deep-seated need for REVENGE*

So, I set off on a journey of discovery. I scaled the highest mountain, swam across the deepest ocean and followed the rainbow to find my revenge!

Just kidding, I didn't do any of that this close to the Silver Blood release date (...did I take a shower this week? I can't remember... Ah well, maybe next week).

But what I DID do, was drive to the store and buy some markers, sticky notes, 10 empty boxes, 36 yards of clear tape and a package of cck bookmarks! (Ones of the male genitalia variety, not the bird)

*Cue maniacal laughing and ominous music*

Now, all I had to do was sit back, relax and wait for Annette Marie to finally give up and acknowledge me as the supreme ruler of all author spats.

And also buy me a bigger bookshelf.

But APPARENTLY, the moderators of certain social media platforms would have rather me sent Annette Marie bookmarks of the small, winged bird variety, seeing as her account was flagged for ahem something inappropriate (who knew that graphic, phallic-shaped bookmarks were frowned upon?)

In her displeasure at this turn of events, Annette Marie then decided to challenge me to a DUEL. A LITERAL DUEL.

AT HER HOME.

IN THE ARCTIC FORKING TUNDRA. (a.k.a. Alberta, Canada)

*Cue absolute utter disbelief and increased author rage that she hasn't given up yet*

So anyway, I just got home from Canada. If you're curious to see how our EPIC SERIES OF DUELS / FEATS OF STRENGTH / ICE-CREAM EATING turned out, you can check out the full, unedited video below. But fair warning: it is GRAPHIC. (a.k.a. ph*llic-shaped items were involved.)

Well, now that you are all caught up on the epic saga that is your life when you're just a regular ol' fantasy author, I have a couple of quick things before you run off to do whatever it is you were doing before getting distracted by this email:

✨Gilded Blood special edition paperback omnibuses are HERE!✨

Are you jumping up and down yet? I did. And let me tell you, they are even SHINIER in person

If you haven't nabbed yours yet, they are currently $30 off the hardcover price PLUS an extra 15% off with promo code RR15. Happy reading/drooling!

And, in case you haven't heard, Silver Blood officially has a release date of February 18th! That's right, you are getting it EARLY!

You can preorder yours on Amazon or get your signed copy here.

Stay warm and safe!!!❤️

Itching for MORE snark, shenanigans, and signed bananas? Come join my brand-new reader group, Rachel's Renergades!

If you're reading this on Goodreads or on my blog, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the most exciting updates sent directly to your inbox!

✨A Word from our Marketing Mistress✨

Welp, I think you can officially call me a Renergade now!

Not only because Rachel's books have taken over MY bookshelf (along with my office... dining room table... and craft room), but because they have taken up my free time as well. (And I'm not mad about it- I've almost finished reading all of them since she hired me two months ago)

Working for Rachel has been... um... interesting. I've gotten in trouble with my husband for stealing his leaf blower and had to deal with Rachel calling emergency meetings, asking that I stop everything I'm doing to help her count ccks.

Also, in case you aren't aware, when Rachel spells things phonetically (you know: A as in Alpha, Z as in Zebra), she also likes to say "P as in Pens" with a completely straight face. (Not even kidding you, she did this to me today and she had to repeat the word for me like 4 times because I couldn't stop laughing)

Anyway, this has all been a dream come true. I'm a baby indie author myself and I'm so grateful that I have been given this chance to do all the things I enjoy, and to be able to work full time in the industry I already know and love.

It's been so much fun getting to know a bunch of you, but in case you don't know me, my name is Courtney, and I write both ✨romantasy✨ under my pen name Courtney Rosaleen and dark romance under Rosaline Jay!

I am so excited to have my fourth published book, The Heart, coming out on February 6th! And because I am a little competitive, you should know that my new release has more ccks than Rachel's new release... like... by a lot. So, HA! (Although, it is a Reverse Harem... does just adding MORE men count as cheating?)

Anywho, I'll be lurking around Rachel's social media for the foreseeable future, so if you see me in comments, come say hi!

Courtney, Marketing Mistress

View more on Rachel Rener's website »

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Published on January 29, 2025 17:15

Silver Blood Update, Butt Butter, and Stone Cold Revenge

Hello and Happy New Year!

(Is it still okay to wish a HNY or has that window passed? What’s the etiquette threshold for HNY tidings? Jan 7th? Jan 30th? May 13th of the same year?)

Anyway, HI! It's so great to have you here, particularly since I'll be providing a crucial Silver Blood update at the end of this email, as well as some super fun news about an Inked group read-along! (Oh, and the whole Butt Butter thing too )

But FIRST comes the important business of REVENGE.

As ALL of you should know by now, I'm smack-dab in the middle of a massive public feud with author Annette Marie. You can see the progression of our fight here:

Exhibit A: https://tinyurl.com/RevengeExhibitA

Exhibit B: https://tinyurl.com/RevengeExhibitB

Exhibit C: https://tinyurl.com/RevengeExhibitC

Over 175k people have watched Exhibit "C" on Facebook, and those heathens actually think her TINY ANT BOOKSHELF is funny!!!!

THERE IS NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT A LACK OF BOOKSHELVES AND A DWINDLING BANK ACCOUNT DUE TO YOUR PERPETUALLY GOOD BOOKS, ANNETTE.

Sheesh, write something mediocre for once, would you?

ANYWAY. This brings me to the next chapter in this salacious saga of revenge:

"EXHIBIT D"

☠️

[image error]

Now, I have embedded the video here for your convenience, for I am a compassionate and thoughtful machinist of chaos, but I do respectfully and evilly ask that you also watch it on Facebook / TikTok so you may like and comment and share my ULTIMATE REVENGE with the masses.

NOW FLY, [my brilliant, amazing, unparalleledly awesome] MONKEYS, FLY!!!

Ahem.

Now that the important business of vengeance has been thoroughly covered, I do have some actual important news!

Silver Blood is 97% done, with the first half already off to the editor!! This book is CHONKY, coming in at an anticipated 10k words longer than Synced, the prior record-holder for having highest number of words in the Gilded Blood series. I know it can sometimes be tough to switch POVs when reading a series, but believe me when I say, Gilded Blood fans are going to LOVE Zayn's story. It's not just a rehashing of Inked. It's what happens in the two years before Inked, focusing on Zayn's secrets, struggles, and his all-consuming desire for the one woman he's vowed never to touch - his new tattoo apprentice, Talia.

And when I tell you it smolders, I. Mean. It. Smolders. Zayn falls HARD for Talia, and you'll get to witness that first-hand. You'll also be seeing a lot of familiar faces, like Biscuit er, Hibiscus, Sol, Dee Dee (more hearing rather than seeing to be fair ), Calus, Salen, Saxen, Soren, and.... Simon?!?!?

Did any of you know Sol had a fourth insufferable shithead er, child?

Most excitingly, even though Silver Blood was previously set to release in March, it's currently on-track for an early release - NEXT MONTH!!!

For those of you already asking about a special edition and whether it will match the Gilded Blood SE omnibus, a little bird told me you might find a VERY special announcement about that in the back of Silver Blood, so if you haven't yet preordered your copy, what are you waiting for?? <3

Pssssst.

SILVER BLOOD ARC APPLICATIONS WILL BE GOING OUT LATER THIS MONTH, SO BE SURE TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR INBOX!

In order to prepare for the new release, we're hosting a group read/re-read of Inked over in my reader group, Rachel's Renergades! So if you've been meaning to read Inked or want to experience the story all over again with bookish buddies, now's a great time! (Especially because the end of Silver Blood DIRECTLY overlaps with the events of Inked, and I suspect you'll enjoy seeing those events from Zayn's POV!)

Come join us here!

Okay, last but not least.... Butt Butter.

My lawyers have advised me not to get into the lurid details, lest I be reported to the Federal Bureau of "That Is NOT Appropriate To Put In A Newsletter", but suffice it to say that my team and I spent an inappropriate chunk of our Monday Meeting discussing this totally unhinged and NSFW Reddit post that I inadvertently stumbled upon the night before and then couldn't get out of my head.

What I'm desperate to know, and furious that there isn't an update about, is: WHAT EXACTLY WAS HE DOING IN THE BATHROOM WITH THAT BUTTER?! AND DID IT INVOLVE ONE STEP OR MULTIPLE STEPS? I guarantee it had to do with his butt, but is that it, or was there more to the ritual?!

If anyone knows the answer - not a guess (believe me, I've already imagined all possibilities ) but the actual answer from the OP - please tell me. As much as I really don't want to know, I also desperately need closure

Okay, back to doing actual writing stuff. Have a buttery Thursday, my friends!

Cheers!❤️

Itching for MORE snark, shenanigans, and signed bananas? Come join my brand-new reader group, Rachel's Renergades!

If you're reading this on Goodreads or on my blog, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the most exciting updates sent directly to your inbox!

View more on Rachel Rener's website »

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Published on January 09, 2025 19:04

2024 in Review: Monster Ccks, Author Spats, Broken Filing Cabinets

Happy New Year, friends!!

This is the time of year you'll be seeing a lot of people celebrating their successes, including authors who might be posting about their pages read and sales numbers and so on. While I did enjoy the best year of my career thanks to all of you, I don't particularly enjoy crooning in my successes (while conveniently leaving out my failures). That only serves to make others feel crappy by contributing to toxic social media culture, which only captures us at our best and therefore makes everyone else feel like they are lagging behind. And I cannot stress this enough: you are more than good enough, regardless of where you are in your life or in your career. And while the grass may look greener on the other side, that's often due to toxic fertilizers, an expensive HOA, and/or straight-up photoshop. So try not to fall into that pitfall; your lawn is lovely as it is, dandelions, grasshoppers and all!

So, while I am so appreciative for this record breaking year, I would much rather focus on the things that REALLY mattered in 2024, listed in no particular order:

Meeting and becoming real-life booksties with my favorite author, Annette Marie:

Subsequently having a huge falling out and public fight with aforementioned traitorous author ().

FYI, my revenge is coming VERY soon!!

Having the privilege of building an incredible team, without whom I would have had a nervous breakdown 6 months ago

Hanging out with hardc0re monster-smut writers and getting an up-close and personal view of their um, writing craft.

Getting not one but 3 facilities to house the beautiful special-edition books that came out this year, and only injuring one toe and one shoulder in the process!

Witnessing many of you (literally) wine

and dine said special edition books

Finally being able to make a reader group , only to find out that my readers are WAY more unhinged than me

(signed ,, & 's have become the prize of choice over there, if that tells you anything!)

Learning how to stand up to the trolls and not taking any crap from people who make it their goal to feed off of failure and negativity (and then naming and shaming them so they think twice about harassing other people in the future!!)

One of those people even inspired a wave of brilliant haikus!

Calling an emergency team meeting to count ccks

And then getting THIS line item from Courtney on her next invoice

There were also official holiday parties with n!pple tassles , stuffing fish in my pants , and that one time I climbed inside of a filing cabinet just to be petty .

(And subsequently broke it.)

All in all, it's been an amazing and chaotic year, and I wouldn't trade it, or any of you, for anything! Thank you for being here during such an incredible time of growth, chaos, ups, and downs. I can't wait to see what 2025 has in store for us!

PS: A small batch of Gilded Blood special edition paperback omnibuses have arrived early, so Dani and I will be getting the earliest preorders sent out later this week! If you have moved since placing your preorder, please let us know by emailing orders@rachelrener.com!

Haven't preordered your copy yet? You can get yours for 20% off right here!

PPS: Here's a list of my upcoming 2025 appearances, with Dragon Con just being confirmed yesterday, YAY! Will I have the pleasure of seeing you at any of these?

Have a happy, prosperous, and healthy New Year, my dear Renergades!!!❤️

Itching for MORE snark, shenanigans, and signed bananas? Come join my brand-new reader group, Rachel's Renergades!

If you're reading this on Goodreads or on my blog, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the most exciting updates sent directly to your inbox!

A Word from Rachel's Team

BRITT

As we close out 2024, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey this year has been for me. After 8 years as a stay-at-home momma, I took a leap back into the workforce—and what a leap it was! The most surprising part?

Finding a job that checked every single box on my wish list. Flexible hours? ✅ Mostly remote work? ✅ Travel opportunities (aka scheduled mom-break time)? ✅ But the cherry on top? By what I can only describe as divine intervention from the universe, I landed a role working for an author who has quickly become a TOP FAVE and in my favorite genre - Romantasy! Seriously, how did I get SO lucky?

This year hasn’t been all work and no play, though - I mean, who are we kidding, I work for the one and only RACHEL FREAKIN RENER! Aside from galavanting around the country (and freakin SCOTLAND) with her, I got to attend my very first cabaret show (ofc I gave consent duh) during our “work holiday party”—and let me tell you, it was a blast! There’s just something magical about letting loose, laughing until you can barely breathe, and embracing the silly, unhinged energy that only a dream team can create. - Dani, best box bish ever, I'm so glad we got to share that "first" together and let Rachel spoil us rotten!!

Oh, and did I mention? The cabaret show was themed around A Christmas Carol, and I somehow came home with the most beautiful titty-tassles—paid for on the company card. Say less!

And let's not forget our reader group, fabulous admin team and our newly created Street Team! They’ve been the best kind of wild fun these last few months, making every moment unforgettable.

This year has been filled with so much growth and even more gratitude. From navigating the transition back to work life to discovering just how transferable those "mom skills" are in a professional setting, it’s been a whirlwind in the best way possible.

As we head into 2025, I’m buckling up for another wild ride and looking forward to new adventures coordinating more chaos. Thank you for being part of this journey with me and welcoming me to the Renerverse with open arms! You're all stuck with me now!

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year!

XoXoX Britt

DANI

Hey all, Box Bish here!

As we wrap up 2024, I just wanted to give a few quick thank you's. First, a big thank you to all of you, for making my job so great! I love getting to interact with all of you in the Renergades group, and getting to send these beautiful books out to each of you. I hope you feel the care and love I pack in each box.

To the great team of gals I get to work with between the dream team and the fabmin team, you guys are awesome!!!

And last, but certainly not least, to the one and only Rachel, without whom none of us would be here! Seriously, best boss a girl could ever ask for! (Britt, did we ever spill the tea about our incredible Christmas get-together? Let me tell you, it was certainly something else! Yummy dinner, great company....and where else could I ever find a boss who takes us to a theatrical reading of A Christmas Carol??? I'm not saying that it was a burlesque show, but it definitely was not NOT a burlesque show Nipple tassels on the company card - can't wait to see how that one plays out!

Anyway, with a big hug and all the love, I can't wait to be part of the incredible ride that next year is certain to be!

Dani

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Published on December 31, 2024 15:23

Urban Fantasy Holiday Giveaway

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and WELCOME to our fabulous Urban Fantasy Holiday Giveaway, sponsored by Rachel Rener, Annette Marie, C.N. Crawford, Heather G. Harris, McKenzie Hunter, and Shannon Mayer! We've teamed up to bring you one of the coolest giveaways in the urban fantasy realm: six signed copies of our most beloved books to the grand prize winner, plus six free e-books for all! The contest is open to ALL applicants, worldwide, and the winner will be contacted December 30th.

If that sounds like a Christmas Miracle to you, enter here!(Don't worry, it only takes approx 6.4 seconds!)

Plus, ALL sponsoring authors have offered free e-books for the duration of the giveaway to help keep your day merry and bright! Just click the cover/titles to get the respective e-book for FREE!

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!!!

Itching for MORE snark, shenanigans, and signed bananas? Come join my brand-new reader group, Rachel's Renergades!

If you're reading this on Goodreads or on my website, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the most exciting updates sent directly to your inbox!

~ READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED ~ No KU? No problem! Get the entire series for 50% off !

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Published on December 24, 2024 19:04

Cck Counts

I always tell people there's a fine line between steam and smut, and that line is "cck." Or, more specifically, "throbbing cck."

As such, Amethysts & Alchemy, as well as the first three-fourths of the Gilded Blood series, fall squarely under "steam". Gilded Blood #4 starts getting into steamy-smutty gray territory, as you can see in the below Cck Chart:

Silver BIood, on the other hand, is FIRMLY in cck Territory, with a whopping THIRTEEN "ccks" mentioned at just 69% in, with three instances of "throbbing," including the touchstone phrase "throbbing cck."

Incidentally, Britt, Courtney and I had an emergency conference call to look up the Cck Count of several well-known "smut" books, and thought you might find the results fascinating:

(I gotta say, some of these cck counts really surprised me!!!)

Oh, and speaking of Courtney (who can now officially add "Cck Counter" to her professional resume), everyone please say hello to my newest team member (heh, "member") and Official Marketing Mistress (a.k.a Content Creator), Courtney! She's a published author and has informed me she used the "cck" 69 times in her smutty novella!

Courtney will also be helping Britt run my brand new street team, which just launched this month!

Dani, meanwhile, is keeping busier than all of us this month thanks to all of the holiday orders coming in! BTW, I'm currently doing 20% off ALL BOOKS - yes, even special edition books - in my shop! Just use code "RR20" at checkout and it'll take 20% off every book in your cart!

Okay gang, having finished the important work of getting all those 's counted, I've got around 30k words to write before the end of the month and special top-secret projects to design in the BG, so I'm off for now! Have a Cocktastic Tuesday!!

Cheers!❤️

Itching for MORE snark, shenanigans, and signed bananas? Come join my brand-new reader group, Rachel's Renergades! If you're reading this on Goodreads or on my blog, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the most exciting updates sent directly to your inbox!

A Word from our Queen Helper Bee

Actual call from Rachel today:

"Hey, Britt, stop what you're doing. I need you to help me count c0cks RIGHT NOW."

God, I love my job.

XoXoX

Britt

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Published on December 11, 2024 14:28

THREE Brand-new goodies! (Since when does Xmas come before Thanksgiving?!)

Hi, Friends!! This newsletter is an AWESOME one, featuring THREE new releases just in time for the holidays, so buckle up!!

But first, some bad news (mostly for me, not you):

While the new shipment of books was SUPPOSED to arrive today and I had an entire team assembled at 9am to handle ~7,000 lbs of pallets, the shipping company informed me at 11:55am (5 minutes before the end of their 4-hour delivery window) that they would not, in fact, be coming today. Check out the 4--er, 5--of us just sitting around waiting for books:

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So for those of you who got preorder shipping notifications last night, your orders should be going out tomorrow - my apologies! But in the meantime, just LOOK at how pretty they will be when they do get here (and, more importantly, to you!):

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If you'd like to get in on tomorrow's shipment, you can order both revamped special edition books here!

Okay, onto ALL THE AWESOME NEW GOODIES coming your way!!!

FIRST up: The preorder link for signed copies of SILVER BLOOD is live !!

Many indie authors don't offer preorders of upcoming releases on their direct shop because it messes with their ranking on Amazon; they'd rather force sales there, for as long as possible, to nab higher rankings. While that's probably smarter, I've never been a "smart" author Me, I'm all about getting you guys your books ASAFP so you don't have to wait any longer than you already have to!

All that said, Silver Blood paperbacks are expected to ship in February/March, so preorder your copy now! And YES, they will be the same size and design as the other four books in the series!

**BTW, my inbox is currently awash in exclamation-pointed questions along the lines of: "I KNOW IT'S SUPER EARLY BUT WILL THERE BE A SILVER BLOOD SPECIAL EDITION AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WILL IT MATCH THE GILDED BLOOD SPECIAL EDITION OMNIBUS? INQUIRING / OCD MINDS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW!!!!!!!!)"

To which, for now, I can only reply: Have I ever let you down re: pretty books?

Now, speaking of Gilded Blood and pretty books, if you're in my reader group, Rachel's Renergades, I hinted well over a month ago that I would be turning the deluxe edition omnibus into a paperback to make it more accessible and easier to read.

And guess what? THAT DAY HAS COME!

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Gilded Blood Deluxe Edition Omnibus, we're transforming it into an absolutely stunning paperback edition featuring holographic rainbow foil and sprayed edges, colorized illustrations throughout, and a fantastic floppy-yet-sturdy spine that makes it so easy to hold and read!

The books will get here at the beginning of February, but you can preorder now to capture the lowest price!**

This paperback edition includes:

❤️ All four books of the Gilded Blood series combined into one gorgeous paperback omnibus, signed by author Rachel Rener

A stunning foiled paperback cover featuring Roy's infamous "Butt Cobra" and our beautiful, almond-loving Biscuit

13 full-color illustrations of key moments in the series (sirens, crystal caverns, and baby Biscuits included!

110+ revamped, fully colorized chapter headings (plus detailed character portraits of all your favorite (and not-so-favorite) characters!

Jaw-dropping holographic rainbow foil and sprayed edges

A bonus epilogue featuring Bisskiss and DeeDee! (You can download the audiobook here!

A discounted price to make the complete series more accessible to all!

**From now until Christmas, the paperback version will be at its lowest price AND NL subscribers (that's you!) can get an additional 10% off with coupon code GILDEDPPB.

While these new books are going to be AMAZING once they get here, I know it sucks that they aren't available until this spring. So I've brought you one last dopamine-boosting goodie that's available RIGHT NOW:

Amethysts & Alchemy glowing crystals!

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Hand-collected by your favorite rock collector, Delaney Stone, and her trusty sidekick, Topie! Add to your crystal collection today !

Phew!!!! That was a lot of sexy awesome goodies and announcements

But before I sign off to write burning-hot incubus smut, I wanted to tell you all about a SUPER COOL romantasy giveaway happening right now: