Rachel Rener's Blog, page 7

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!!)

✨Coming this Summer - A Brand-New, Jaw-dropping Special Edition!✨

Hello and Happy Friday Eve to all!

Even though I just got back from Europe and am still super jet-lagged, sleep-deprived, and hastily preparing for Readers Take Denver (!!!), I had to take a moment tell you about some incredibly exciting news: a brand-new special edition hardcover book, coming this summer!

(And speaking of gorgeous books, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this email

for an exciting update on the Gilded Blood Special Edition Omnibus!)

Many of you have recently discovered me because of the Gilded Blood Series, my newest and most commercially-popular series. And many more of you have been around since my debut series, The Lightning Conjurer, came out in 2018. But, like so many middle children, it's my in-between duology, The Bone Whisperer Chronicles, that's gotten the least attention even though it's probably my most unique, complex, and well-reviewed set of books to date. In fact, the sequel/prequel, The Boy Who Lurks in Shadows, is the book I'm most proud of in my entire writing career!

"Imagine The Ghost Whisperer starring Nancy Drew with a dash of A Wrinkle in Time and a pinch of Dr. Who - it's one of the most ingenious books I have ever read!"

-⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Magic Book Corner

So, if the series is so unique and special, why hasn't it sold as well? In hindsight, I think it comes down to three things:

Genre: It's much easier to market a book that falls squarely in a single category. But The Girl Who Talks to Ashes and its sequel/prequel, The Boy Who Lurks in Shadows, can be categorized under Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Time Travel, and even Horror (sort of). And that kind of genre-bending speculative fiction is really hard to sell to a wider commercial market.

Speaking of "Horror," this duology is NOT particularly scary. (I'm a massive baby and can't even handle reading horror stories, let alone writing them!) But there are some darker themes in the books that might initially scare off self-described wimps like me, while simultaneously being WAY too tame for typical horror buffs. In the end, most readers have said that there was just enough darkness to balance out the sweetness - kind of like a chocolate bar with 57% cacao instead of pure, sugary-sweet milk chocolate ;)

The "Young Adult" tag: this duology centers around Lilah Quinn, a sixteen year old girl with a strange form of epilepsy that affects the age of everything - and everyone - around her. And while it's perfectly suitable for high school-aged readers, there are also much deeper themes around parenthood, life, loss, grief, and death. There's also plenty of light, hope, and humor to balance it all out and make it applicable for folks across all stages of life.

Anyway, failed attempts at marketing aside, if you're interested in discovering a story unlike anything you've ever read before, allow me to present the newly-designed, gold-foiled, signed, limited edition BONE WHISPERER duology, coming this summer and available now to preorder!

"Creepy, suspenseful, genuine, goosebump-inducing, sweet, charming, raw - it is all of these things and more. This is going on my list of absolute favorite books of all time!" -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Goodreads review

Willow, a young and reluctant new mother, is terrified of her infant, Lilah – namely, her peculiar form of epilepsy. Every time Lilah's eyes glaze over, terrible things happen: flowers shrivel, food goes to rot, and even Willow's long, auburn hair turns stark white. Soon, it all becomes too much to bear. In the middle of the night, Willow and her mother dump the baby at the fire station two towns over and are never heard from again.

The next morning, Chief Stanley Quinn takes Lilah home and cares for the toddler as best as he can. With medication, her epilepsy remains under control... For the most part.

But as a teenager, Lilah isn't always keen on taking her pills. When she sneaks away to a rock concert with the cutest boy in school, a breakthrough seizure triggers an accident, landing both of them in the hospital. After Stanley breaks down and confesses everything to his adopted daughter, she decides to track down the young girl who gave her up sixteen years ago – the young girl who is now presumed to be dead. As Lilah's commitment to finding her birth mother becomes a quest to solve a long-forgotten cold case, she must learn how to control her peculiar ‘gift’ before she kills someone...

Again.

"Creepy, suspenseful, genuine, goosebump-inducing, sweet, charming, raw - it is all of these things and more. This is going on my list of absolute favorite books of all time!" -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Goodreads review

Preorder the limited edition BONE WHISPERER duology today!

Speaking of gorgeous special editions, 1,500 gleaming, shiny, magenta-pink Gilded Blood Special Edition Omnibuses and slipcases have been loaded onto a cargo ship and are headed our way!! As much as I'd love to monitor every step of their shipping journey, this is what Andrew says about overseas cargo shipping:

"The documentation I'll have will basically be a vessel name, and it could be coming here or to Long Beach or somewhere else on the west coast. Once it arrives, we lose visibility as it's moving through customs, warehouses, trucks, more warehouses, 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. It's a crazy system, but it does work."

(Ah yes, just what an author with anxiety and control issues loves to hear...)

Remember, if you supported the Kickstarter and/or preordered the omnibus before April 2nd, your book will be shipped next month! If you pre-ordered after April 2nd, your book will be included in the second wave of books and should be delivered in June/July. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to message me or Andrew (andrew@merrick-books.com)!

Thank you so much for being here, reading 'til the end, and - most importantly - helping me bring all of these stories to life! I quite literally could not be doing any of this without you!

Cheers!❤️



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A peek into the madness (and VERY important preorder update)

(Be sure to scroll to the bottom for some additional exciting updates!)

Hi everyone! And a very special welcome to those of you who are just joining this colorful little corner of the internet! ❤️

So, these past few weeks have been wild. A couple of my social media posts went unexpectedly viral, bringing in a wave of new followers and activity. You remember that modest little Gilded Blood Kickstarter we did for $50k at the end of last year?

Well, we've now raised, uh.... checks 6-page spreadsheet .....$175,000

(To say I'm stunned, flabbergasted, and completely blown away would be a huge understatement.)

Because of that, the initial 1,500-book print run I already ordered and paid for - which was supposed to last me the entire year - isn't going to last beyond this week.

What that means for you: 1,500 books have already been printed and are being bound and glued as we speak. They'll most likely be shipped out sometime next week, and usually take 3-4 weeks to arrive via cargo ship. Andrew and I are already working on adding another 2,000 books to our order, which should start printing soon. Those will be shipped separately - an added cost for me, but it means we won't make those who supported the Kickstarter and/or preordered early wait any longer for their books.

TO SUM UP:

Those of you who have already placed preorders: you're good to go, and your orders are expected to arrive sometime in May, as expected!

Those of you who have NOT yet preordered the omnibus: all preorders made after today (April 2nd, 2024) will be placed in the second print run, which should arrive in June/July.

Regardless of when you order(ed), you WILL get your books. Some will just come a month or two later than others.

Speaking of virulity (viralness?), going viral is a WEIRD experience. You make this post, expecting your usual tribe of 100 or so to jointly share a chuckle with you and then move on with their lives. But then you start seeing comments coming in by the dozens, and next thing you know, you've gone to an hour-long appointment only to come back to several hundred conversations happening on your page, most of which continue to be light-hearted and positive.

At this point, FB/IG/TT will start showing your post to people who don't even follow you, most of whom have been hand-selected by the algorithm to be interested in your content. But the algorithm, as we all know, makes mistakes.

That's when the trolls come.

Now, as a public-facing figure, I'm told not to engage with trolls, to just let them spew their vitriol all over my page and move on. It's the smart and PC way of handling things.

Well, as we've all witnessed, I'm not always very smart or PC

Was my reaction the correct one? Probably not. But did it bring me great satisfaction during a very stressful and overstimulating 24 hours?



You betcha.

Last-But-Important Updates:

I'll be announcing a VERY special passion project involving the Bone Whisperer Chronicles in the next week or two, so keep an eye out!

And finally, I've been invited to be a guest at RARE Edinburgh (one of the largest romance conventions on the planet!) alongside some of my favorite authors, including Annette Marie, Rebecca Yarros, Julie Hall, Leia Stone, Tessonja Odette, Tate James, and Heather G. Harris. (I'm not dying, you are!!!) So if you'll be in or around Scotland this September, let me know!

(And yes, you did read that right. I'll be flying to Edinburgh, Scotland immediately after Dragon Con in Atlanta. Will future Rachel be happy with Present-Day Rachel? Not a chance. But hey, that's a problem for Future Rachel, not me! )

Will you be attending any of the above events? If so, let me know which ones! I'd love to meet you!!

Cheers!❤️



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Major Gilded Blood Omnibus Update!! (Including Delivery ETA!)



Salutations!

I have some super exciting news about the Gilded Blood Complete Series Omnibus! But first, I'd like to take a moment to honor my wrist, which just hand-signed 2,000 title pages (which will then be sent back to the printer to be sewn into the omnibuses). To give you an idea of what 2,000 pages looks like, this is about a tenth of that:

Crazy right? And I thought the paperwork for my mortgage was bad

Anyway, the Big Check™ has been signed, which means the books are officially off to the printing queue! Once they're printed and boxed, they'll be loaded on a cargo boat to cross the ocean, arrive at a U.S. port of entry, undergo customs inspections, then be ground-shipped to Andrew's Texas warehouse. I imagine the books will see a lot of cows and corn on the way, so that'll be fun for them! (Good thing the covers are faux leather!)

As for an ETA, it's always hard to give delivery estimates when printers, cargo ships, customs, and cross-country trucks are involved, but we're currently looking at May for an estimated U.S. delivery date! (For those of you who preordered your books for Readers Take Denver, don't worry, we've made special* air freight accommodations to make sure we have those omnibuses ready for you.)

*a.k.a. very, very pricey

BTW, if you ever wanted to know what 2,000 chonky books look like, Andrew sent me this picture from his warehouse when I casually mentioned storing the omnibuses in my basement. (These aren't my books, to be clear, but the same number of comparably-sized books.) Each pallet is about 4' x 4' feet and weighs roughly 1,200 pounds. So....yeah. No storing in my basement, methinks

I absolutely cannot wait for these books to arrive and thank you sincerely for your enthusiasm and patience. We set out to make the prettiest darn collector's edition possible, and by golly, I think we did just that!

(BTW, if you haven't seen the omnibus video that's been making waves on Booktok, check it out here!)

In the meantime, thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful week ahead!

Cheers❤️

By the way, I've just been invited to be a featured guest at Dragon Con 2024 ! If you'll be there, let me know! (FYI, an up-to-date calendar of all of my upcoming appearances and events can be found here .)

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Pssst! Some of you have been asking me for romance book recs, so I wanted to tell you about one of my favorite websites, Red Feather Romance! Anytime I'm in a reading slump or searching for my next read, I immediately head over there. They also send you alerts on discounted romance eBooks based on your favorite tropes. If that sounds right up your romance-loving alley, give them a go and let me know what you think! (You might also see a familiar book or two floating around on their website and newsletters )

Look. What. Just. Arrived. (Serious Warning: Pants WILL Be Sullied.)

The Gilded Blood Collector's Edition Omnibus proofs have arrived and...I have no words.

So, for now, a video will have to suffice:

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/85042f_d8aa3643626f4c43b57685b8c36e2013/360p/mp4/file.mp4

The full-resolution video can also be viewed on FB, IG, and TT.)

Y'all, I am officially ded.



If you haven't already: you can preorder your stunning, jaw-dropping copy here.Now please excuse me while I go take a cold shower.

Happy Leap Day... OR IS IT?!

Hmm...

Did you know that salaried workers are forced to donate 8 hours of free labor to their companies every February 29th ? For those of you who find yourselves working for FREE today, I feel your pain! My boss NEVER pays me overtime and doesn't ever give me a single day off, even on nights or weekends. (That asshole boss is me, BTW - such a jerk!)

Anyway, in honor of those of us who are grinding away for free today, I'm running a weekend flash sale! Inked is just 99 cents from now through Sunday, while the rest of the series is steeply discounted.

Speaking of unpaid labor, I am hard at work on the FINAL chapter of Amethysts and Alchemy and plan on finishing it by or before the weekend. EEEE!!!! Some members of my sensitivity team have told me that Delaney is their favorite character of mine YET. Swoon! I cannot wait to share this book with you. It's by far my coziest and most unique to date!

Have a wonderful day, and remember - if your boss asks you for any special favors today, let them know you'll get to it February 30th Cheers!❤️

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

PS - we recently stocked some fantastic new goodies in my Shop, and all newsletter subscribers get 10% off their entire order with promo code RRNL10 !

PPS - I'm waiting on Gilded Blood Omnibus proofs to arrive any day now and will post a video the second they arrive!!!

,,,,Kickass Kickstarter Alert!, ,,

My friend Katie Cross has launched a deluxe, illustrated edition of her award-winning, best selling YA Fantasy book, and I thought you should check it out!  

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Monroe has prepared for this moment her entire life.

She's joining the quietly famous magical school Miss Mabel’s School for Girls. The only place where she can save her own life. Winning a spot to work directly with Miss Mabel is downright dangerous—particularly with Bianca's secrets to keep close.

Bianca comes face to face with enchanting spells, simmering potions, and the brutal pangs of homesickness.

Unfortunately, Miss Mabel has her own evil plans. If Bianca loses, she’s at the very center of them. Bianca’s only hope lies within the power of her grit, intelligence, and sheer determination.

Back the project right here on Kickstarter!