Andrew McDowell's Blog, page 3

Chaos, Crises, and Conflict

The Moonstone Arts Center has released a new anthology featuring my poem, “Judged.” And in case you were wondering, no, it’s not an April Fool’s Joke.

You can order it from their site.

It is the second time they’ve featured my work. Here’s the first, which has five of my haiku poems.

Also available to order online.

Guest Appearance with Angela G. Williams

I would like to thank author and blogger Angela G. Williams for this wonderful guest appearance:

Author Spotlight: Andrew McDowell – Weaving Worlds of Fantasy and Wonder

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Coffee with…

Here I am again on author Sally Cronin’s blog, this time promoting another writer, one who has offered encouragement and kindness for years, Canadian author Sharon Ledwith.

Smorgasbord Coffee Morning – Author Andrew McDowell with Canadian Author Sharon Ledwith

I would also like to acknowledge that Sharon is one of the top six commenters on my blog. Here are the other five, all authors and/or poets in their own right:

Liz GaffreauRobbie CheadleEugiLaMarr WenrichLayla Todd

Thank you all for your feedback!

Poet of the Week

Many thanks to author and blogger Sally Cronin for another guest appearance. I’ve already shared blog posts, as well as book promotions and excerpts, with Sally, and now I’ve had a chance to share the poet side of me.

Smorgasbord Poet of the Week 2025 – #Chess Eight Pawns by Andrew McDowell

If you’re a poet looking to promote your poetry, or an author looking for opportunities to promote your book(s), I highly recommend you get in touch with Sally.

Read an eBook Week

As today is the start of Read an eBook Week, here’s all of my work available digitally, whether in Kindle, Nook, or another eBook vendor. If you’re an eBook lover looking for your next read, I hope you find something that piques your interest. If you prefer print, they are available in print, too.

These are my novels, which feature magic, adventure, good vs. evil, forests gryphons, dragons, unicorns, and much more:

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | BAM! | Books2Read | IngramSparkWaterstones | FoylesAmazon | Goodreads | B&N | BAM! | Books2Read | IngramSparkWaterstones | Foyles

And here are all anthologies available digitally and in hard copy that feature my poetry and/or short stories. This one includes my poem inspired by a real black cat:

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | Books2Read | IngramSpark

This one includes four of my haiku poems:

Amazon | Goodreads

This one includes six of my poems as well as six pencil drawings of mine:

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | Books2Read

This one includes my short story about a monster-sized hammerhead shark:

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | Books2Read

This one includes a poem I wrote inspired by the COVID pandemic:

Amazon | GoodreadsWaterstones

This one includes two of my poems and my fable about a mouse and a frog:

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | BAM! | Books2ReadWaterstones | Foyles

These two include a psychological horror story involving knives and two of my poems, one of which is in the style of “The Raven.”

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | BAM! | Books2ReadWaterstones | Foyles Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | Books2Read

This one includes five of my poems:

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | BAM! | Books2Read | IngramSparkWaterstones | Foyles

This anthology features six of my poems:

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | Books2Read | IngramSpark

And this anthology features one poem of mine:

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | Books2Read

Ratings/reviews are always appreciated. Mystical Greenwood reached 50 ratings on Amazon US last month! If you already have read and reviewed one of my works, and enjoyed it, please recommend it to a friend!

As it’s also Read Across America Day, I encourage all, not just my fellow Americans, to find the joy in reading and share it with as many people as you can, especially the young.

P.S. If you’re interested in opportunities for giving a writing presentation or workshop, submissions are open for the Maryland Writers’ Conference 2025.

Maryland Renaissance Festival

I am going to be signing books at the Maryland Renaissance Festival! I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it. I remember going there a lot as a kid, once with the Tolkien Society in college, and having volunteered there a few times with my Masonic brothers.

I plan to have copies of Mystical Greenwood and Beneath the Deep Wave as well as three anthologies featuring my poetry and/or short stories: Faery Footprints, Fae Dreams, and Into the Glen: Into the Light. You know, I may have written the festival scene in Mystical Greenwood with the Renaissance Festival in mind.

My signing will be on August 30th. It will be done with MDRF’s bookstore Page after Page. Tickets are required for entrance to MDRF and must be bought in advance, online only.  Daily tickets will likely go on sale August 1st. So be sure to mark your calendars or make a note on your iPhones. I hope to see you there if you can make it!

Kindle, paperback, or hardcover link on Amazon, Goodreads, and personal site?

Alle C. Hall is the author of a highly acclaimed novel, and I once had the pleasure of working alongside her in the online magazine JMWW‘s nonfiction editorial staff.

She answers questions asked to her related to writing, publishing, and marketing on her blog, and I recently had one for her that had been on my mind. Here are her answers:

Kindle, paperback, or hardcover link on Amazon, Goodreads, and personal site?

I’d already had paperback links on my website’s pages, but I’ve updated Goodreads to have Kindle editions as the main ones, and I’ve also learned that unless you are the first author listed in an anthology, you can’t set the main edition in Goodreads.

If you have a question of your own, consider reaching out to Alle for an answer.

Guest Post with Jan Sikes

Many thanks to author Jan Sikes for this opportunity to promote my fantasy books as well as discussing knowing when to stop (and no, I don’t mean writing).

Guest post! Andrew McDowell #Fantasy #YA @ammcdow.bsky.social

Fae Speaks

Here’s a new anthology from Fae Corps Publishing featuring my poem “Riverside.”

Barnes & Noble has it in paperback and Nook. Here are some other purchase links:

Amazon | Goodreads | Books2Read

I hope you enjoy it if you read it. The same for my novels and any other anthologies that feature my work.

Inscribed #6

Happy New Year! To kick it off, I thought I’d share my latest additions to the inscribed collection.

At Balticon last year, I acquired Wolf Dawn by Amy Kaplan, We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker, and Dauntless by Jack Campbell.

At the 2024 Maryland Writers’ Brain to Bookshelf conference, I got Bullet in the Chamber by John DeDakis inscribed and bought his book Fake, along with The Belt by Dale E. Lehman, Awakenings by Edward Swing, and The 90s Club and the Hidden Staircase by Eileen Haavik McIntire. I won Unveiling Motherhood by Stephania Thompson in a drawing. I also bought Michael J. Dodd’s novel, Suicide Run to Archangel, at the conference, but I got it inscribed at last month’s open mic.

I received The Dragons of Dorcastle from Jack Campbell when he came to present at the Annapolis chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association last November.

Be sure to check out previous inscribed books:

Inscribed #5Inscribed #4Inscribed #3Inscribed #2Inscribed