Rachel Rener's Blog, page 6
August 7, 2024
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOBS!
#SorryNotSorry for the subject of this email ;)
For those of you asking to see the infamous Men Writing Women panel that Rachel led at San Diego Comic Con two weeks ago, we put together some rather scandalous clips for you!
"I didn't think we'd have this many people attending Triple-X Bodice-Ripping 101! ...Juuuuuust kidding!"
"I want the people in the rooms on either side of us to have total FOMO about not being in here with us, so on the count of 3 I want everyone in the audience to yell B00BS! - 1,2,3 - BOOOOOBS!"
Rachel making her poor panelists do blind readings of men writing women.
"What, you guys don't store your belongings in your v*ginas? No? Sheesh, I keep entire backpacks up here!" ***squats down as if to retrieve it***
Here's the full text of the above passage, BTW, since the audience was laughing too hard for it to properly be heard:
"I lost my grandma last week and I miss her boobs so much."
And finally, sentient brea$ts:
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Right after this, Rachel yelled at the audience, "Stop having fun! We are not here to have fun, we are here to talk about BREA$TS!"
Thank you so much for coming to our T̶E̶D̶ Boob Talk! If you'd like to catch Rachel on future panels, her upcoming list of events can be found here!
Cheers!
July 31, 2024
Our neighborhood mailman has officially unfriended me
I really like our neighborhood mailman. Sometimes I bring him a cold drink. Other times I help him load up his mail truck when I have more than a few boxes for him to pick up. Sadly, I don't think we'll be friends after today
You see, the special editions of the Bone Whisperer Chronicles finally arrived yesterday, and this is what my living room looked like at 11pm last night after Britt and I spent a solid 12 hours processing preorders. And this wasn't even all of the boxes.
This is what my porch looked like at 10 am this morning (still doesn't even include all of the boxes):
While I so appreciate the Post Office's free mail pick up service, I somehow don't think our local mail(wo)men do (Still, I'm keeping a close eye on my Ring cam and will dash outside to help the moment he arrives. Maybe then we can still be friends?)
I will say, however, that the sore back, cardboard cuts, and even the well-deserved ire of my local mailman is totally worth it. Look at how gorgeous these turned out!!!
For those of you who recall, yes, I did also have a brand-new release drop yesterday. After all of that, I'm not sure how I'm functioning well enough to type up this newsletter. Maybe my chronic and unyielding love for you, my readers?
Yeah, we'll go with that
With a handful of orange flags secured, a slew of overwhelmingly-positive reviews (plus the usual blind 1-star ratings from the same handful of anonymous trolls who seem to lie in wait for all of my new releases), and a whole lot of DMs and emails I am frantically working to reply to, you all have reminded me yet again why I chose this career above all others.
Thank you.
BTW, for those of you asking, the Amethysts & Alchemy audiobook is now available! Lia Langola did such a phenomenal job bringing Delaney Stone to life, she may as well have been the voice in my head while I was writing it!!
Have you ever heard a narrator that was so good you completely forgot you were listening to a performance rather than the main character herself? If so, who? I love discovering new listens!
While I would love nothing more than to take a hot bath with a good book, there's no rest for the weary as I still have about 50 orders to pack and ship today and a teetering pile of notifications to catch up on. Oh yeah, and then I have to pack for World Con in Glasgow, Scotland next week
But I have no complaints.I love you all. I love what I do. And I cannot wait to hear what you all think of your pretty Bone Whisperer duology and Amethysts & Alchemy.
Cheers and talk soon!❤️
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July 30, 2024
Amethysts
Thank you so much for listening to Amethysts & Alchemy! For those of you aspiring "parascientists" out there, you can find the supplemental Mineral Guide below!
In the meantime, as thanks for your support of the series, please accept this promo code for 20% off signed copies of Amethysts & Alchemy! Just use AMETHYST20 at checkout!
Thank you again for being here, as your ongoing support is what makes these stories possible!❤️
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MINERAL CLASSIFICATIONS
Amethysts & Alchemy is HERE!!!!!! (Plus an awesome Bone Whisperer update at the bottom!!)
I am so incredibly excited to announce my neurospicy, rivals-to-lovers, cozy romantic fantasy, Amethysts & Alchemy, is out now in Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook, and Kindle Unlimited (with the audiobook releasing the next few days)!
This book is so important to me - not just as an author, but as a neurodiverse person who has often struggled to find my place in a complex and daunting world. It is my hope that by writing this book, others who have struggled with the same will feel better seen and accepted
But this book isn't just for my neurospicy peers. It also has:
A mineral-based magic system 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
Thank you so much for allowing me to continue sharing my stories with you. I truly hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
PS: If you're a member of Indie Fantasy Addicts, Amethysts and Alchemy is a Featured Read that will score you an extra 60 POINTS this month! And if you're not a member of IFA, what're you waiting for? We're smack-dab in the middle of the Summer Reading Challenge and having a blast!! Come join us!
As if all of that wasn't exciting enough, the Bone Whisperer Chronicles Special Edition Duologies have arrived!!
Britt and I will be packing and shipping these gorgeous babies all day today, so our responses will be a little slower than usual! Also, we have several hundred orders to fulfill, so please hold off on emailing us about status updates until August 5th.
Thank you so much in advance for your patience and support- we can't wait for ALL of these beautiful books to be in your hands!
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July 20, 2024
Behind the scenes secrets and some tempered tea on background drama
For those of you who have not yet received your Gilded Blood omnibuses, PLEASE SEE MY NOTE BELOW (also in red) before sending us shipping inquiries Also, Britt wants to make sure you read her note at the very bottom of this email :)
***
I write you this long-awaited update grimy, achy, and covered in cardboard dust (but happy and grateful to be here talking to some of my favorite humans on the planet).
I stalled like crazy before doing a Gilded Blood Special Edition Omnibus because I never expected or wanted to be on the fulfillment end of things; like most authors, I'd much rather be writing books instead of shipping them. For that reason, I hired a logistics manager to make sure I could stay out of the warehouse and holed up in my office where I belong.
However, unfortunate circumstances* required me to part ways with my logistics manager back in April, under the following terms: they would fulfill the initial 1,500 Kickstarter orders, while I oversaw the incoming additional shipment of 2,000 books.
*Without spilling too much tea, I'll just say we had very different ideas on project management, customer service standards, and scheduling/organization.
Now, your initial thought - like mine - might have been, "Oh, wow, 2,000 books? That's a lot. You'd need a very large closet or a modest-sized shed to store all of those."
Oh, no, my sweet, doe-eyed friend. 2,000 books - especially when each of those books are 3+ inches thick and weigh over 4 pounds - would not fit in a closet, shed, or even a 2-car garage. 2,000 books, which take up 10 full-sized pallets, require a much bigger space than that. Oh, and did I mention the weight? These chonkers are not dainty; 2,000 of them weigh nearly 10,000 pounds. In other words, I couldn't just haul them down to my basement.
So there became the not-so-simple matter of finding adequate space to keep them, along with expensive, heavy machinery to move them into said space.
And let's not forget obtaining enough shipping materials, which also had to come on pallets and cost around $700 JUST TO SHIP from TX to CO. (Uline, ever think about opening a warehouse in Denver? Cause you should totally open a warehouse in Denver.)
This is about a quarter of the shipping supplies we had to get.
After miraculously arranging for space, materials, and temp employees in time for the books to arrive, Delivery Day actually went better than I'd anticipated. The delivery man, Chris, even had an electric pallet jack and generously helped us bring in the heaviest pallets (~2,000 pounds each) on a 100-degree day. We ❤️ you, Chris!
What I wasn't expecting in terms of complications was the level of production damage, which significantly slowed down shipping as we then had to do a QA check of every single book before I could even sign them. In all, around 25% of the holographic rainbow foil books were damaged.
On a directly-related note, we'll be doing a huge Scratch 'n' Dent sale in the coming weeks, so if the omnibus was not in the cards for you financially before, I plan to discount the damaged ones by as much as 40-50%. The imperfections aren't even that bad; I just can't in good conscience sell them at full price. I'll make an announcement about that once we're ready to launch the sale.
To my printer's immense credit, they are investigating what went wrong and will get back to us about potentially replacing some of the 300+ books that sustained production damage.
All complications aside, I'm incredibly proud to say that Britt and I (with the much-appreciated and invaluable help of Lilly Rose, Elizabeth, Amy, my stepson, Josh, and my husband, Aaron) shipped out hundreds and hundreds of books this past week, finishing the second batch even as my previous PM was still sending out final stragglers from the first batch. (Though, in his defense, they'd been recently hit by a literal hurricane.)
If you were in that first batch, and particularly if you were a KS supporter, please know how sorry I am that you had to wait as long as you did. Britt and I have done everything we can to ensure that never happens again.
We made about 20 UPS/USPS drop-offs with my car packed this full.
Deep breathsAnyway. Now that the vast majority of the books are in your hands or well on their way, I want to thank you all so much for your support, kindness, and patience as we maneuvered through this VERY unfamiliar territory and did the best we could. Moving forward, all special edition book orders will be fulfilled directly by me and/or my team. We expect future projects, like the Bone Whisperer Special Edition Duology, to go MUCH smoother and faster now that we've handling everything ourselves and are better prepared to handle large volumes of books
ATTENTION: If you have not yet received your omnibus, DO NOT PANIC. There are a few reasons why that might be:
1) I just dropped off the last batch at UPS/USPS this morning, so your package may not have been scanned yet.
2) The hurricane in Texas and recent tech outage is slowing down deliveries all over the country.
3) You may have ordered your omnibus with another book that has not yet been released, like Amethysts & Alchemy or the Bone Whisperer Chronicles. In that case, all of your books will be shipped together once those preorder titles are available.
4) UPS/USPS may need additional information from you, which Britt will reference in her note at the end of this update.
Speaking of the Bone Whisperer Special Edition, we expect those to arrive any day now. I was hoping they'd be here by today, as I was advised they would be (and therefore stayed home instead of camping with my husband and friends this weekend), but customs are a fickle B and I haven't received updated tracking yet. If they do get here before San Diego Comic Con, I will ship as many as I can before I have to leave for the airport. Otherwise, we'll start shipping them out as soon as I get back.
Lastly, but by far not least: Amethysts & Alchemy.
The early reviews have been steadily coming in and I am floored by the overwhelmingly positive reception. As I've mentioned, I'm pretty nervous about this book because the main character will be too prickly for many, even though her character arc is among my favorites of any of my FMCs. That said, I cannot wait for you to meet Delaney Stone, who is so incredibly important to me, both as an author and a neurodivergent woman. The MMC, Heath, might also be my favorite to date. (Yes, even swoonier than an incubus, if you can believe it!)
Also, the audiobook is done and I'm 23 already chapters in. To say I am in love with Lia Langola's performance would be a massive understatement. She captured Delaney PERFECTLY, as though reading the words straight from my mind. As soon as I have the preorder link, most likely a few days before publication, I'll post it here and on my socials. I cannot wait for you to listen!!
BTW, if you preordered a signed copy from my shop , I'll do my best to get that to you before its official publication on 7/30!
Thank you so much again for being here during what has been an overwhelming period of growth and change. Your positivity and humor has brought a smile to my face even during the sweatiest, grimiest, and crankiest of moments.
I love you all - even you, Karen.
(IYKYK.)
Cheers!❤️
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A Word from our Queen Helper Bee
Rachel is being wayyyy too nice up above you guys! I won’t dive too deep into it but if you guys knew even a smidge of what’s really been going on BTS your jaws would be on the floor with what we've been dealing with. We are so grateful for the lessons we’ve learned over the last few months since I’ve been on board with Team Rachel and we’ll be making some really important changes going forward with our fulfillment processes.
We cannot thank you enough for communicating with us in such a kind and polite manner while you’ve been waiting FOREVER for your beautiful books and even while dealing with some unfortunate mishaps in quality upon arrival due to brutal post-workers (and absolutely not due to “fragile” being stickered or handwritten on your boxes). To the Karens - just maybe, mayyybbeee try talking to us the way you’d like someone else to talk to you if you needed help getting an issue resolved. Idk.. just a thought.. Although if you’re reading this newsletter, you’re likely NOT the problem.
On that note - if you have already received your tracking number but have yet to receive your order and think it may be stuck in transit - OR you haven’t received any info but have yet to receive your order - here are a couple tips to troubleshoot and keep in mind:
Contact your local USPS (not the 1-800 #, but your local PO #), provide them with your tracking # and check to make sure your address is complete and correct. We had a handful of orders come in that were missing apartment numbers or had incorrect zip codes, etc and as much as we wish we could help fix that, once the packages have been sent out to the address you provided at checkout, it’s a matter of having the carrier intercept and resolve.
Once you’ve contacted your local PO and are still in need then OF COURSE please send us an email and we will be happy to help take care of you and get things figured out.
If your order had another item that was also a pre-order item (ie: The Bone Whisperer SE and/ or Amethysts & Alchemy) then your order will ship once we have received all items needed to fulfill your order.
Any other questions about orders, please email us at support@rachelrener.com!
OK! Moving on to WAY more fun stuff!
YOU GUYS! HOLY MOLY GUACAMOLE!!! I just finished reading The Bone Whisperer Chronicles (The Girl Who Talks to Ashes and The Boy Who Lurks in Shadows) and OH EM GEEEE!!!! I am not even kidding - this duo has skyrocketed to my ALL TIME FAVES of books I have ever read in my entire 35 years of existence! I had so much fun buddy-reading this with two other Rachel super fans, Mollie and Brandy (who also happens to be a friend from my local book club) and we really enjoyed sharing our thoughts, theories (and maybe, nope definitely, even tears) throughout our reading sessions. Rachel said I even got a major plot twist right and I was so proud of myself haha!
So on that note, stay tuned for something AMAZING coming this October regarding this fantastic duology! I’m literally texting and calling Rachel daily about our shipment of the special edition for this duo because I NEEEEED IT on my shelf PRONTO! So do you, so hurry up and go snag the preorder!
Alrighty, that’s all I have for now fam! I’m SO excited to hang out and help Rachel at San Diego Comic Con next week while also getting to visit some friends and family while I’m there. Fun fact: San Diego is my hometown where I was born and raised so you already know I’m sneaking in some beach time too, perfect timing for a little summer break finale.
XoXoX
Britt
July 15, 2024
(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
July 9, 2024
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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✨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!
June 25, 2024
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....
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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June 20, 2024
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!❤️
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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
June 11, 2024
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!
(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! ;)
