Rachel Rener's Blog, page 6

(Many of) the second batch of omnibuses are a-go!!

Hi, everyone!

This is a short but super important update to let you know the second batch of 2,000 omnibuses arrived on Wednesday and we've already shipped out 250 of them! So if you ordered your omnibus after April 2nd, we'll be working on getting yours out over the next two weeks. (But please wait until July 22nd to email us about your order if you haven't received tracking info by then because we are positively slammed with books and boxes!)

In the meantime, here's a lovely photo dump of what our last 60 hours have looked like!

We moved nearly 10,000 lbs of books on Wednesday!

Girl Power

Pallet Party!!

Quality Control Check

Signing, signing, signing...

Cheers and happy reading!❤️

A Word from our Queen Helper Bee  

Keeping this super short because we have even MORE boxes to unload and pack, but I just wanted to take a minute to say how fun it's been to sleep over at Rachel's house and flirt with Terrance and read The Girl Who Talks to Ashes while sitting next to the author on the couch! 

(I am LOVING this one by the way!!!!)

XoXoX,

Britt 

This is quite possibly the most important announcement I'll make all year

Hello everyone and happy Tuesday! 

Important note # 1: The very bottom of this email includes one of the most significant announcements I'll be making this year, so please be sure to scroll all the way down!

Important note # 2: If you placed an order for a Gilded Blood omnibus anytime after March 28th and have moved in the last 3 months, please make sure to send us a message with your updated address ASAP!

TYIA! 

Now then, I'd like to extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone who came to see me and my lovely booth assistant, Kaylie, at Denver Fan Expo this past weekend. I was honored to see so many returning readers, and overjoyed to meet even more new ones. So for those of you who are just tuning in, welcome and thank you so much for being here!

Today's first piece of awesome news is that the Gilded Blood 4-book Audiobook Bundle is HERE!

You can now listen to 40+ hours of incubi, mermaids, vampires, satyrs, tommyknockers, tattoo artists, Jewish mothers, inked familiars (and so much more) for ONE CREDIT!

Happy listening (and safe driving)!

The second piece of awesome news is that the second batch of Gilded Blood omnibuses should be arriving at my Colorado warehouse any day now! So if you pre-ordered after April 2nd, the wait is almost over!

We're expecting about 10 pallets/240 boxes of books!!

Once they arrive, we'll have about 600 omnibuses to carefully unpack, re-pack, label, and ship, but my goal is to have all the preorders fulfilled by July 22nd. As soon as your omnibus ships, you will receive an email tracking number from both UPS/USPS and my shop. Since we'll be super busy getting orders out for the next couple of weeks, please wait until July 22nd to email us about your order if you haven't received a tracking number by then!

Speaking of beautiful books, look what just arrived - paperback AND hardcover copies of Amethysts & Alchemy! For those of you who preordered signed copies on my website, I plan to ship those on or around July 23rd, one week before the official publication!

If you pre-ordered the e-book version of A&A on Amazon and wish you had gotten a signed hardcopy instead, please don't return your e-book as that can cause issues with the 'zon on my end. Just shoot a receipt of your purchase to Britt (support@rachelrener.com) and she'll give you a special $5-off coupon code to compensate for the e-book. That way you can have both versions AND have a verified review should you be kind enough to leave one! 

 Okay, and now for the most important part of this message.

Two years ago, a very nice man named Robert approached my signing table at Denver Fan Expo with two of his children, Bridger and Brielle, asking if they could get a signed book for his wife, Teila. I remember Brielle as this adorable, itty bitty 6 year old who had blonde pigtails and was all smiles. Her older brother, Bridger, was an equally adorable, yet very shy, 8 year old boy who kept turning the left side of his face away from me whenever he spoke. As we got to chatting, Robert told me that Bridger protected his sister from a dog attack two years prior, saving her life while leaving Bridger with over 90 stitches on his face.

My eyes immediately teared up then, as they are now, as I gave Bridger a huge hug and told him he was the bravest little boy I had ever met.

The following year, Robert and Bridger came to see me again, this time with Bridger wearing a special honorary boxing champion's belt over his shoulder and a shy smile. Robert told me that they were working on making a children's book about Bridger and Brielle, and we chatted a bit about the pros and cons of indie publishing.

This year, when Robert, Teila, Bridger, and his little brother, Wit, approached my table, Bridger was beaming from ear to ear as he proudly gave me one of five proofs for his family's upcoming illustrated children's book, You Can Be a Hero. 

Did I have to bite my knuckle and choke back a sob when I saw his little signature? Why, yes. Yes I did.

I don't have a huge following of millions of followers. But if even a small percentage of my newsletter subscribers shared a kind word or left a sweet review on publication day, I know that would mean the world to Bridger, Brielle, and their entire family.

Thank you so much for being here, for being your wonderful selves, and for helping me support other wonderful people doing wonderful things.

I hope you all have an equally-wonderful week ahead! ❤️

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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!

✨Gorgeous / Free Book Alert! ✨ 

I am SUPER excited to share that my extremely talented friend, Dorothy Dreyer, launched a stunning Kickstarter this week!! I read this duology a few years ago and LOVED it, so you'd better believe I flew to support it!!

Curse of the Phoenix Duology Special Edition Hardcover

An award-winning YA Fantasy with espionage, royal court corruption, and zombies. Two full-length novels in one elegant hardcover.

✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨

Also, if you love thriller/suspense novels, you might just love:

Jade's Journey: A Dual Narrative Collector's Edition Omnibus

Shadows Loom & Mysteries Abound. Will Jade Find Solace or Be Consumed by Darkness? Find out in this 2 book omnibus!

✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨

Lastly, but most definitely not least, my friend Janna Ruth has a freebie this month that looks AWESOME!

Read A DROP OF BLOOD for free today!

Amethysts & Alchemy cover reveal, SURPRISE audiobook release & MORE Gilded Blood Omnibuses!!!

✨COVER REVEAL!✨

Releasing a few days earlier than planned (yay!), I am so excited to share the cover of Amethysts & Alchemy: A Neurospicy, Rivals-to-lovers, Cozy Romantic Fantasy! 

You know how I love mixing science and magic? Well, this one has MINERAL MAGIC!It also has: 

✅ Authentic neurospicy representation✅ A badass alchemist / pharmacist FMC✅ Laura Croft meets Lessons in Chemistry vibes✅ An emotional support pig that steals the show✅ Airplanes, spelunking, and ancient Chinese history

✅ Rivals-to-lovers romance (and OMG does it smolder!)✅ Footnotes for those of us who want alllllll the random facts

I'm also so excited to announce the audiobook will be performed by Lia Langola, whom I discovered via her incredible narration of Elizabeth Briggs' Zodiac Wolves series. Working with her has been amazing and I can't wait for you to hear her bring Delaney Stone to life!

 Preorder your copy of Amethysts & Alchemy  now:

Kindle  |  Signed Paperback & Hardcover  |  Audiobook ( link coming soon!)

As if all that wasn't exciting enough, I also have an EXCLUSIVE NEW RELEASE, available now!

Presenting...

I know it's been foooooorrreeeeeeevvveeerrrrrrrr since the Gilded Blood Kickstarter funded, so you may have forgotten the $50k stretch goal we hit at the very last second: A bonus epilogue featuring Bisskiss and Dee Dee!!! That short story will be included at the end of the omnibus (which many of you will be receiving THIS WEEK!!!), but I'm also so excited to announce that Tara Novie and I have teamed up again to bring you the audiobook version, available exclusively through my shop!

Here's the adorable blurb:

Talia and Zayn drop Biscuit, Mavvie, and their unhatched egg off at Grandma's house for what's supposed to be a quiet, uneventful playdate. But when and Dee Dee are involved, nothing is ever quiet or uneventful. Upon realizing they're out of almonds, the two of them decide to brave the perils of Costco Wholesale, where they come face-to-face with some unexpected (and jumbo-sized) complications....

Listen now!

Speaking of Gilded Blood omnibuses, guess what just arrived on U.S. soil TODAY? 2,000 more copies!!! 

This is a photo of the actual boat carrying the omnibuses!

We expect them to take another 2 weeks to go through customs and ground shipping, but for those of you who ordered after April 2nd, the magenta-pink light at the end of the tunnel is nigh!!

Have a wonderful week ahead and HAPPY READING/LISTENING!

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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!

Surprise! A Brand New Book Coming THIS SUMMER!☀️

Dun dun dun dunnnnn! 

Presenting....

Amethysts & Alchemy

A Neurospicy, Rivals-to-lovers Cozy Romantic Fantasy

Coming July 31st, cover reveal in one week!

I used to eat rocks as a child.

The family doctor diagnosed me with pica, dooming me to years of intensive therapy and extensive dentistry work. It wouldn’t be until much later that I would understand the all-consuming, insatiable craving that spurred me to eat a variety of rocks and minerals wasn’t a mental disorder, but an innate gift that allows me to extract the magic contained inside them: tourmaline for speed, celestite for strength, augite for a powerful laxative effect (that I had to discover the hard way).

Twenty years later, I’ve hidden my abilities beneath a white lab coat, working as a small-town pharmacist who creates proprietary “naturopathic” tonics that treat everything from memory loss to erectile dysfunction. Those tonics, in turn, fund my expensive lifestyle of solo flying around the world to search for more rocks. What more could an airplane-loving, mineral-munching, magical alchemist want?

Unfortunately, my arch nemesis, Heath Spencer, has recently taken it upon himself to single-handedly ruin my life. No longer content with annoying me from afar with his overpriced, tacky rock shop, Heath has decided to further antagonize me by dangling the opportunity of a lifetime right in front of my face: traveling to an ancient copper mine in China, which is home to some of the rarest and most stunning minerals on Earth.

It’s not until after I’m trapped halfway across the world with my least favorite person on the planet that I’m forced to come face-to-face with three terrible realizations: everything I thought I knew about Heath Spencer is wrong, not all minerals are meant to be ingested, and – worst of all – I’m not the only one who’s been keeping secrets.

Releasing in signed paperback , audiobook & Kindle Unlimited this July!

(BTW, this book is a standalone for now, so don't worry about any pesky cliffhangers!)

 

Okay, now that the quartz is out of the bag, I'd like to talk a little bit about why I've decided to take the specific publishing route that I have. 

As some of you know, I was lucky enough to secure a literary agent earlier this year. Most writers will never hear back from a literary agent because agents receive several dozen to several hundred queries a day from aspiring authors. And because authors are no longer allowed to approach traditional publishing houses directly, securing a literary agent is the only way to do business with the major publishing houses. #gatekeeping

As part of only the .00017% of writers* who are able to sign with an agent, I had all sorts of options open up to me this year. And so I felt obligated to see some of those options through. Or, at the very least, see what the grass on the other side of the fence is like.

*The odds of an unpublished author convincing a literary agent to represent their novel, according to Literary-Agents.com, is 1 in 6,000.

But at this stage of my career, I've come to realize there's not much the traditional publishing world can offer me. I love what I do (and, extraordinarily, I get paid decently well to do it). I love having complete control over what I create. I love being able to interact with my readers without any middlemen getting in the way. And I love being able to bring you new stories without making you wait years in the interim.

So there you have it :)

I'm so incredibly excited and nervous for Delaney's story to go out into the world July 31st and promise to keep you updated on everything as we get closer to that date. In the meantime, I'd so appreciate it if you would share the news with your friends and/or mark Amethysts & Alchemy as "To-Read" on Goodreads & Bookbub!

Delaney and Topie, from Amethysts & Alchemy

PS: I have exactly 15 ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) slots for A&A. If you'd like to be on my ARC/Street Team and receive the book one month early, on July 1st, please fill out this form.

PPS: For those of you participating in the Indie Fantasy Addicts' Summer Reading Challenge, a little bird tells me this book just *might* score you some serious bonus points in August. But you didn't hear it from me. I've heard that IFA President is mean and terrifying and poopy!)

(Plot Twist: The IFA President is me.)

Cheers and happy reading!❤️



Come follow me! Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Goodreads | Bookbub | Amazon

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

MAJOR Free Book Alert!!!

TODAY ONLY, you can get 2,000+ FREE romance books on Amazon as part of a collective Stuff Your Kindle Day! Head on over to www.RomanceBookworms.com to learn more!

A Word from our Queen Helper Bee  

Hi Fam! ☀️ Hope everyone is healthy, happy and about to have your best summer yet!

Ok, so I recently finished reading the Gilded Blood Series for the first time and OH EM GEE! I absolutely loved ittt!!! WOW! What a brilliantly fun and hilarious series that had such a fresh take on the fantasy world! If you relate to Talia - same! and we should prob be friends! 

BTW! If anyone knows a real-life tattoo artist with magical ink - hook a drained boy-mama uppp so I can escape into another realm every now and again and maybe meet my own hot incubus fae male ;) JK! I promise I’m happily married lol!

Ok so mayyybeee Rachel and I joke that I do in fact have a hot side piece but I promise it’s not what you think! After a couple of really fun in-person meet ups together, there has been a very mutual love-interest formed between me and Terrance, Rachel’s super smart “Jungle Chicken” as you all know and love. 

Did you know he drives her absolutely bonkers while she’s trying to work? It is hilarious and I try my hardest not to get caught laughing when they start bickering with each other - especially when she threatens to send him to birdy summer camp - yep, that’s totally a thing & now we’ve all learned our something new for today, you’re welcome.

It’s really cute actually though, he says “hello hello” when we’re on the phone and even proceeds to bark like a crazy dog to try to warn me of anyone outside trying to interrupt us from our work. He’s such a good boy.. And maybe even a great fit for that summer camp if they had any openings ;) - probably have to book those in February like the ones for human children so you actually get a spot for the summer break but that’s neither here nor there.

Speaking of those fun in-person meet ups… you guys! We did a test run of packing up the few omnibuses we had here in CO in preparation for our next big order arriving in July and WOW do we have our work cut out for us! I think we’re already planning on bringing sleeping bags to the warehouse for a campout until they're all packed up and sent out, but don't worry we wont bring in a fire-pit for the s'mores - can't risk burning down all the precious books. 

Thank you all so very much for your endless love and support of these BBBs (Big Beautiful Books)! We cannot wait to get them out to you all and see them sparkling on your shelves and in your hands and we truly thank you for your patience in the meantime!

XoXoX

Britt

URGENT: THE GILDED BLOOD OMNIBUSES HAVE ARRIVED IN TEXAS

Hellooooo and happy Tuesday!

This newsletter is positively overflowing with exciting goodies, so please be sure to read to the very end! But first, the announcement we've all been waiting not-so-patiently for....

GILDED BLOOD OMNIBUSES ARE OUT OF CUSTOMS AND OFFICIALLY EN ROUTE TO THE WAREHOUSE! I REPEAT, THE GILDED BLOOD OMNIBUSES ARE ON THEIR WAY AND ARRIVING IN HOUSTON, TX TODAY!!!! 

If you supported the Kickstarter and/or preordered yours before April 2nd, KEEP AN EYE ON THAT MAILBOX! ***Just PLEASE make sure your address is correct by messaging Britt TODAY with any changes or updates!!*** We'll send you tracking info as soon as we have it, likely starting next week!

For everyone else who ordered after April 2nd, our next shipment is estimated to arrive right here in Colorado on July 10th! You can literally track the cargo vessel's ("YM WISH") progress here! Britt and I are on standby with a logistics team and tie-dye hard hats to start shipping out those books ASAFP!

(No, really. We'll post selfies!)

BTW, if you find yourself getting antsy while waiting for your omnibus to arrive on your doorstep, you can now read the entire Gilded Blood series for 50% off (or FREE if you're a KU subscriber)! Also, if you're an audiobook fan, keep an eye out for an exciting announcement later this month!

I know it has been the longest wait EVER and we are so appreciative for your patience and understanding during these months of squirming and calendar-checking! When you finally do get your omnibus, please feel free to tag us in any unboxing videos you may do. We'll never get sick of seeing that gorgeous magenta cover! 

Aaaaaand that's not the only seggsy book coming this summer!

As of this week, 1,000 stunning Bone Whisperer Chronicles Special Editions are officially making their way to America! As soon as I get the cargo ship information, we can stalk it--er, track it across the ocean️ I'm working with my project manager to potentially have a few copies air-shipped here early for Denver Fan Expo (July 4-7), where I'll be a featured literary guest and doing several panels! (Topics and times TBA!) So if you plan on being there, be sure to come by and see me!

The rest of the books should arrive at my Colorado warehouse just in time for me to return from San Diego Comic Con (July 24-27). As soon as they do, I'll start signing, packing, and shipping those beauties out into the world! If you haven't preordered your discounted copy yet, you still have a little more time before the price increases in July!

[image error]

(If you can't see the embedded video, you can check it out on TikTok!)

On the subject of Fan Expo, these are all of the events I'll be signing at this summer. Will I have the pleasure of seeing you at any of them?

As for next year, our list of accepted conventions is already longer than 2024's!  We'll announce those as soon as the organizers give us the green light!

Speaking of 2025 conventions, if you haven't seen the fiasco I recently posted involving Jennifer Armentrout and ApollyCon '25, I HIGHLY recommend you grab a bag of popcorn and settle in, because that entire white whale expedition was WILD. (How I didn't get banned from ApollyCon for life is still beyond me.)

Cheers and happy reading!❤️



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PS: If you made it this far, here's an adorable hamster pic to reward you! His name is Bean and I'm hamster-sitting him for the next month :) Isn't he precious?

PPS: Did you happen to notice my new newsletter banner has one letter in particular that doesn't appear to be from any of my current published books? A little bird tells me a related announcement might just be coming at the end of the month! ;)

And Thus Ends the Shortest Pirate Stint in the History of Pirateering‍☠️

While I was fully invested on becoming a pirate so we could bring that cargo ship here sooner, I'm thrilled to let you know the Gilded Blood omnibuses have arrived at port right on time! If there's one thing this Kickstarter project has taught me, it's that ocean freight shipping is so much more complex and SLOWWWWER than I ever realized! You basically have these massive cargo ships that cross the ocean at like 25 knots (28 MPH/46 KPH), which can therefore take weeks. And then once they finally arrive at port, they can sometimes sit there for days if the port is congested

Now, because Britt, Andrew, and I are getting around a dozen messages a day asking where the heck these beautiful omnibuses are, I've been tracking the boat via satellite to give you minute-by-minute updates! I also took it upon myself to research port conditions at Long Beach, which is currently sitting happily at around 1 day of congestion. All excellent news! Now, here's where it gets hairy again:

After the books arrive at port, we'll lose visibility as the pallets (which are carrying 214 boxes of books!) move through customs, warehouses, trucks, more warehouses, and more trucks. Eventually it gets to a warehouse here and they'll call asking about delivery hours. We get an ETA, but it's a loose one, and there's a long period where we don't have any information about where things are. And we can't call to find out, because it's different parties contacting different companies along the way. We won't know who's bringing them until they call us.

Isn't that NUTS? And yet, somehow, it all works.

Anyway, the current ETA for the books to arrive at Andrew's warehouse in Texas is June 11th. It might be sooner. It could possibly be later. But it'll be somewhere around then. At that point, we'll immediately start shipping them and will get you your tracking information in real time. 

If your address has changed since the Kickstarter/Pledgebox survey or you have any concerns about shipment, please contact Andrew at andrew@merrick-books.com. 

If you preordered the omnibus through my website and your address has changed or you have any concerns about shipment, please contact Britt at support@rachelrener.com.

In the meantime, while we all wait for our BBBs (Big Beautiful Books) to arrive, my entire 4-book Lightning Conjurer series is currently FREE on Amazon. That sale ends tomorrow, so if you've been hankering for a new fantasy series, go grab it quick!

When an amnesiac rediscovers her latent powers, she'll shake the entire world...literally.

Captain Marvel meets Avatar: The Last Airbender in this thrilling saga of empowerment, found family, and a sizzling, slow-burn romance.

️⚡

Be well and happy reading!❤️

✨Gorgeous Kickstarter Alert!✨

Do you enjoy high fantasy with unique settings that move away from the classic medieval backdrop? Do you love fairytales but are curious about lesser-known tales that are rarely retold? Then this is the perfect campaign for you!

The Siblings' Tale Anniversary Edition & Series HardcoversFive-year anniversary, single-volume edition of The Siblings' Tale & hardcovers for the whole series of lesser-known fairytales retold.

BBBs (Big Beautiful Books) and a Public Call for Pirates ‍☠️

(Be sure to read to the bottom to see a special message from the Queen Helper Bee herself, Britt! As my executive assistant, she's got the inside scoop on the behind the scenes madness, plus plenty of piping hot tea about yours truly We'll be including those tidbits at the bottom of my newsletter moving forward!)

Arrrr, Mateys, and Happy Tuesday! ‍☠️

In our continuing efforts to stalk--er, track the cargo vessel OOCL Poland (which is carrying around 1500 Gilded Blood omnibuses), we can see that they are presently on track to arrive at port by the 25th. After that, the books will be put through customs and loaded onto an 18-wheeler that'll be headed for Andrew's warehouse in Katy, TX.

Realistically, I think the books will be shipped in early June by this point, but Terrance, Britt, and I are fully invested in becoming pirates so that we can intercept the books early and get them to you sooner. All we need is a pirate ship and a crew. Any volunteers?

Speaking of Big Beautiful Books (BBBs), look what just arrived - the proof copy for the stunning special edition Bone Whisperer Duology!

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(If you can't see the embedded video, you can click any of these links: IG / TT / FB  )

These are already in production and will be shipped at the end of the month, expected to arrive directly at my Colorado warehouse by early July. I absolutely love the Bone Whisperer Chronicles and would love to see Lilah Quinn's VERY unique story in the hands of more readers. The duology features:

⌛ Sweet romance

⌛ Time-bending seizures

⌛ Creepy mystery with an amateur female sleuth

⌛ Found family (best/funniest father figure EVER).

⌛ Multiple converging timelines (think Holes by Louis Sachar)

⌛ ...and has been hailed as "one of the most ingenious books I have ever read" by The Magic Book Corner and many others!

_______________________________________________________________

By the way, if you love pretty purple books, be sure to stop by my booth at San Diego Comic Con this July, where Megan Haskell and I will be signing this SDCC-exclusive collection of short stories!

(Don't forget, you can find my calendar of events and appearances here!)

Have a wonderful week ahead!❤️

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A Word from our Queen Helper Bee

Hi Fam!

WOW have I enjoyed my first few weeks in Rachel’s world SO much! Not only is she an absolute DREAM to work with, but so is this entire community of readers she has standing behind her! You have been so kind welcoming me into my new role and it has not gone unnoticed. Thank you for all the warm welcomes! Looking forward to getting to know you more as the days go on too.

So, as some of you already know, Rachel is brand new to my world too. I recently dove into her Gilded Blood Series for the first time and just wrapped up reading Inked last week. To say I’m absolutely OBSESSED would be an understatement! I guess it would be weird to work here if I didn’t like her writing though huh?! ;) Thank goodness I can honestly say that will NOT be the case for me. I’m already onto Jinxed and can’t wait to read what happens next! No spoilers please! ;) Lmk if you’re also reading this series for the first time, I’d love to connect with ya.

Alrighty - onto some exciting news! As we all know, Rachel has had quite the laundry list of tasks over the years. Now that I’m here I’m slowly starting to take over those tasks for her so she can get back to WRITING. I know how much she loves being in the DMs and comments with you all and she will still be there, however I will be helping out with answering some of the more generic inquiries. I’m so excited to help in this capacity and Rachel will still be here too reading all your lovely messages.

The # 1 question coming in right now (and rightfully so) is: WHERE IS MY OMNIBUS?

I get it, the FOMO is real, but rest assured we are straight up STALKING the cargo ship bringing them across seas and it is going to be here in just a matter of days! After that we are getting them to our distribution team and shipped out immediately to ya! As soon as they’re in our hands you will automatically receive tracking info for your orders. PLEASE send me an email at support@rachelrener.com asap if you have any changes in your shipping address.

That’s it for now fam. Hope you all have the best week!

XoXoX

Britt

Please Enjoy Some Seggsy Book

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have some fun plans and/or a great book to read for the upcoming weekend!

Britt and I have been receiving a lot of repeat questions this month that I wanted to take a moment to answer, and also give you an exclusive sneak peek at something gorgeous at the bottom of this email!

Q1: When are the Gilded Blood omnibuses shipping / Why hasn't mine arrived yet? / Where's the tracking info?

A: The printer informed us last month that the books should be arriving at port sometime in mid-May, so any day now! Once they get there, they'll go through customs, be shipped on an 18-wheeler, and will arrive at Andrew's warehouse in Texas. At that point, we'll immediately start shipping them and will get you your tracking information in real time. If your address has changed since the Kickstarter/Pledgebox survey or you have any concerns about shipment, please contact Andrew at andrew@merrick-books.com.

Please rest assured that the MOMENT they arrive at port and are on the way, you'll be the very first to know.

Q2: I'm short on funds at the moment and want to know how long the omnibus will be available.

A: I just spent a significant amount of money on a second print run, which will be arriving in July, and we still have plenty of those copies left!

Q3: What's going on with Amethysts & Alchemy ? When will that be published?

A&A is currently on wide submission with several large publishing companies across the U.S. and U.K. I'm waiting to see if we get an offer that will really benefit this new series and allow it to reach a wider audience. However, if we don't get good enough offers or I have misgivings about any part of the process, I plan to release it in the fall. I've also already started writing the sequel, Emeralds & Elixirs!

Q4: Any updates on the upcoming Bone Whisperer Chronicles SE Duology ?

Yes! I just approved the physical proof and the books will enter the printing stage next week! We expect them to arrive by early July. I'm THRILLED with the look and quality of the book. Check it out!

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Q5: You've been doing so much. When are you going to take a nap?!?!

Literally right now

Cheers and have a great weekend!❤️

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An Expanding Team (With Nary a Seggsy Fireman in Sight‍)

Happy Monday!

As many of you know, I’ve been going hard for the 2 years. In addition to writing a complete series in the span of 11 months, I also spearheaded a collaborative anthology, finished the Bone Whisperers duology, produced two special edition books, wrote a brand-new manuscript, secured an agent, and went on wide submission with major publishers.

What you might not know is that in addition to all of that, I also handle all accounting, marketing, graphics design, interior book formatting, outsourcing contract work, website design and upkeep, packing, shipping, inventory tracking, warehouse maintenance, customer queries, publishing, updating book back matter, convention appearances, book signings, reader messages, creating social media content and managing five accounts, monitoring sales and royalties, convention applications, newsletter writing, merchandise ordering, spreadsheet tracking, troubleshooting, tax preparation, office supply orders, financial auditing, and parrot-wrangling.

To simply say I am exhausted would be an understatement. But finding an assistant who ticks all the right boxes is a tremendously daunting task, so I’ve been putting it off (much to the continued detriment of my own mental health and well-being)...at least until now.

*cue angels playing horns* Dun dun dun dunnnn!

Last weekend, something wonderful happened: I was given less than 3 hours to sign books for hundreds of people, which turned into a hellish nightmare that resulted in the hotel deeming me a literal fire hazard ‍ (and yet not a sәxy fireman in sight $@#&! ). This, obviously, was not the wonderful part. What WAS wonderful was a convention volunteer named Britt who just happened to be standing right next to my table. Without ever being asked, Britt turned that unruly mob (said with love) into an organized, ticketed-and-numbered line. She then spent the next few hours passing out my business cards, telling potential readers about my series, and leading them to my website for orders once we sold out of books. In other words, the only fire in the hotel was the one beneath her feet! (And yet, still no sәxy firemen.)

After the convention was over, Britt and I continued talking. In addition to being supremely organized, bright as a bulb, and quick as a whip, she also lives relatively close to me, has a ton of relevant work experience, and loves all things books.

Anyway, long story short, I’d like you all to meet to my official “Queen Helper Bee,” Britt. She’ll be CC’d on website-related emails and will eventually be your general point of contact for all invoices and orders. You might also get to meet her face-to-face as she’ll be traveling to several conventions with me this summer!

Britt will be reply to all incoming mail at support@rachelrener.com.

Lastly, she’ll also be helping out on social media, but rest assured I’ll still be present just as much as before, and she’ll always sign off as “Britt” in the comments so you won’t have to wonder which of us you’re talking to My readers are my absolute favorite part of my job, and I will never stop being here for you no matter how busy things get!

All that said, please help me give Britt the warmest welcome possible! Not only will you quickly find that she’s a delight to talk to, but her presence will allow me to get back to the one thing we all want me to do more of: WRITE!

With that, I’m off to work on the sequel to Amethysts & Alchemy – Emeralds and Elixirs!

(Not the official graphic, this picture just makes me happy!)

Huzzah!❤️

The Hellish Nightmarescape That Was My Weekend

Good morning! 

Last night, a certain prominent (and classy-AF) fantasy author posted about her hellish experience at Readers Take Denver, the convention we attended together over the weekend. I wasn't going to add anything to it, but I've been asked by several readers if I'm okay and so I wanted to address some of the chaos from the weekend.

I don't have much to add to Rebecca's account of the convention. It was an unfortunate and stressful experience all-around, and my heart goes out to all of the readers and authors who were caught in the crossfire.

As for me, I was relegated to the Rising Stars signing, which is meant for new and upcoming authors. (BTW, who TF had the awful idea of splitting the authors into two groups, based on some imaginary and probably favorites-based line delineating varying levels of success? How demeaning!)  It was only 3 hours and yet cost me something like $500 for a table. When I informed senior event staff early on that I am an established author who tends to move a lot of books at signings, and was concerned about time and space constraints, I received a rather patronizing response.

As it turns out, on the day of the signing, I had a line that wrapped around the entire ballroom, and poor RTD  volunteers were scrambling to implement a ticketing system for crowd control. Suffice it to say, I felt TERRIBLE for the chaos I'd caused, but was so incredibly grateful to one volunteer in particular, Britt, who stayed by my side for the entire signing and helped ensure that almost everyone who wanted to see me, could.

BTW, to everyone I met amidst the chaos, who asked for selfies and autographs and even brought me presents (?! ), I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to meet you, and I'm so sorry we didn't have more time to chat. I pray there will be another, better-managed signing where we can do just that.

Some of the amazing gifts I received, which made a stressful day that much better!

Now here comes the part where I have to apologize for my own self-induced chaos, trying to keep the explanation and details as short and succinct as possible (because dealing with this has been one of the most grueling and arduous agonies of my career).

As some of you remember, we ran a successful Kickstarter campaign last October. At the time of funding, I mentioned Readers Take Denver and asked if it would be okay if I make a preorder. I was informed that April 18th was 7 months away and gave us more than ample time to have the books in-hand. So I did, and got around 100 preorders.

Well, February rolled around, and the books still hadn't been printed or shipped yet. My project manager informed me that my only option was to air-freight 100 books to ensure they got here in time. The cost? Over $3000. But I sucked it up and paid the exorbitant shipping fee, determined to keep my promise.

Well, guess what? The books didn't even ship until April 17th, got stuck overseas due to bad weather, and then landed in ALASKA, before flying right over my head and landing in Kentucky, where they chilled for 36 hours before eventually showing up at my doorstep yesterday afternoon, the day after the convention had ended. Which meant I then had to ship 100 books, on my own dime, to everyone who had preordered it for RTD.

The way I SCRAMBLED to unwrap, repack, and ship 425 pounds of books by myself BUT, I somehow managed! This picture represents about a third of the books.

THEN, after all that, it turns out the gold omnibuses weren't even shipped with the rainbow ones. Can you tell how frazzled I was by the time I wrote this email? 



Anyway, all of this is to say I caused some major chaos of my own, and for that I am so sorry.

But what I am most sorry about is the fact that some people will be receiving their books before those who backed the original Kickstarter, and that's so f*cked up and not okay and I'll never be able to adequately tell you how sorry I am for that. While I'm incredibly grateful I was able to keep my promise to those who preordered the omnibus for the convention, early supporters of the Kickstarter should have been the FIRST ones to get omnibuses and I'm crushed that didn't happen. Please accept my sincere for the way things turned out, and if there is anything at all I can do to help make up for it, I am open to suggestions.

In the meantime, the rest of the original shipment of books are well on their way via ocean freight and are expected to arrive at Andrew's warehouse by mid-May. He's on standby to start shipping them out to you as soon as they arrive. Rest assured, EVERYONE who backed the Kickstarter will be getting their books from that first batch. The next shipment of 2000 books are shipping on May 20th, and are expected to get here by July 1st. I'll be personally shipping those out to you, and am already amassing a team to help get them out at lightning speed!

Not that you need to whet your whistle any further, but I want you to know that the books look INCREDIBLE. Even better than I imagined. So while the wait sucks and the logistics were stressful AF, please know that the wait WILL be worth it.

(If you can't see the below video, here are the Tik Tok and Facebook links.

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Also, the slipcover is !

Anyway, once again, I'm sorry, I love you, I appreciate you, and I'm so grateful to have you. Thanks for sticking with me even when things get dicey.

Much love❤️



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Gorgeous KS Alert - FINAL days!

My good friend, Megan Haskell, is in the final hours of her Kickstarter and I would LOVE to see this gorgeous book become a reality! She even hired Uwe Jarling, the same artist who did the interior illustrations for the Gilded Blood omnibus, to redesign the cover. Isn't it stunning?! 

Attacked by assassins and framed for treason, Rie finds herself mired in an ancient battle between the elven realms. Forced to flee behind enemy lines to prove her innocence, her only allies are the fierce carnivorous pixies who travel by her side. Can she uncover the truth of her past before the high elf king takes her head?

Back the Kickstarter here! (Only 2 days left!!)