Tansy Rayner Roberts's Blog, page 3

Patreon Special Offer: Unreal Alchemy

Unreal Alchemy is a collection of Australian magical university share house stories about the lives and loves of witchy students and a geeky rock band were first published as the Belladonna University serials on the Sheep Might Fly podcast, and Patreon-exclusive ebooks.

Hebe wants her sister’s band to stop writing songs about her life. Sage wants to kiss boys and make music. Jules wants Sage. Holly wants to be famous. Juniper wants Holly to notice her. Ferd wants his magic back. Viola wants her best friend to stop ditching her for some geeky rock band!

Welcome to Belladonna U, where Australian student witches study the Real and the Unreal. On a Friday night, they drink hard and play hard down the local pub. 

Roll the dice. Fight the troll. Let’s make magic.

The first four Belladonna U stories have been re-edited and packaged with a gorgeous cover by Wolfsparrow Covers. Unreal Alchemy will be released in April 2020 for General Sale, but my Patreon subscribers will get their copy sent out in February!

How Do I Get the Special Offer?

All subscribers pledging at $15 or higher by 12pm, 28 January 2020 will receive a signed paperback edition of Unreal Alchemy posted in February, two months before the book’s general release. Your name will be printed in the book as a thank you for your support.

Pledging at the $15 per month level, you also receive:

a unique mini-manticore story sent to only to you in this calendar yeara ‘we’re all manticores here’ badgeall the ongoing $5+ rewards, including several Random Acts of Post sent to you per year, the quarterly Backstage Pass newsletter, and access to a pile of ebooks and bonus stories.other early paperback releases in the future, a few times a year – in 2020 this will include Holiday Brew and Tea & Sympathetic Magic

All subscribers of pledges from $1+ will receive the ebook of Unreal Alchemy at the end of January.

You can unsubscribe or reduce your pledge at any time.

Check out my Patreon today!

TansyRR on Patreon 2020

I’ve had a Patreon for seven years now. This subscription page allows readers and fans to support artists as they work on ongoing projects, with small monthly pledges.

The pledges add up! Running my Patreon is a big part of my creative life, and brings in a steady part time income to my household. Past projects include Musketeer Space (a novel originally written as a web serial), the Castle Charming novellas, the essay book The Fictional Mother, and a whole lot more.

The main project now funded by my Patreon every month is the Sheep Might Fly podcast, about to post its 200th episode. I read my own stories aloud in as weekly serials, including many original novelettes and novellas. Catch up on past podcasts with my recently updated links page here.

I also deliver interesting subscriber content to my subscribers including Random Acts of Post, unique and exclusive stories, newsletters, art and more.

What’s Happening in 2020?

So much! I’m launching a Special Offer on Monday to give my Patreon subscribers a chance to get early copies of my next book release, Unreal Alchemy (Belladonna U #1), which was originally written as podcast serials and Patreon exclusive stories. But that’s only the start…

Unreal Alchemy Special Offer (launching in 3 days!)On the podcast: Tea & Sympathetic Magic (Teacup Magic #1), Kissing Basilisks (Belladonna U), The Frost Fair Affair (Teacup Magic #2), Echo & Narcissus (Dragon Circus #2)3 x Bonus Stories for $2+ subscribers4 x Backstage Pass newsletter for $3+ subscribers 3 x Random Acts of Post for $5+ subscribersexclusive audio story by a guest readerpaperback releases later in the year for Tea & Sympathetic Magic and Holiday Brew (Belladonna U #2)manticores







How Can I Pledge?

You can subscribe to my Patreon here. Each reward tier unlocks more goodies and content.

The basic $1 level means you keep the lights on for the Sheep Might Fly podcast and my ongoing writing… and you receive early ebook releases of all original stories and books produced for the podcast. You also get all past releases, including my epic space opera novel Musketeer Space, the Castle Charming novellas, and more. And you get to read my Mocklore serial about magical soap opera, Soapy Ballads.

At $2 you get all that plus the bonus stories/novellas including many that are still exclusive to Patreon subscribers, and 3 new ones each year. You can also score an invitation to the Galactic Suburbia Slack.

At $3 you get all that plus a quarterly newsletter of writing musings and sneak peeks of work that isn’t published or finished yet.

At $5 you get all that plus I send you something cool in the post, three times a year. Past examples have included enamel pins, zines, a hand-drawn crossword, bookmarks, mysterious postcards, holiday cards, etc.

At $10 you get all the $5 rewards plus occasional naming rights of characters in my stories — currently, you can name a fancy warlock in the Belladonna U universe!

At $12 you get all the $5 rewards plus a unique mini-story written for you about the mythical creature of your choice and personalised with your name (or that of someone you choose).

At $15 [NEW LEVEL!] you get all the $5 rewards plus some special manticore-themed bling (currently: a manticore story and a badge) and access to special offers for paperback books.

At $20 you get absolutely all the rewards from the lower levels.

Check out Patreon today to choose your reward level! You can change these or unsubscribe at any time.

Thanks for reading. Your support means the world to me.

A Very Big Finish Christmas

I often set myself Christmassy reading challenges, but this year I decided to try an audio challenge instead. I’m listening to all of the Big Finish Christmas special audio plays! (re-listening in many cases)

I’m not including any that belong to story ranges I haven’t listened to before (Dark Shadows has quite a few but I’ve never quite made that leap) or ones that I haven’t got up to yet in a continuing narrative (Better Watch Out & the Fairytale of Salzburg in the Ravenous 2 Box Set).

For those who wanted to see this, here’s my list:

Big Finish Christmas Stories for Tansy’s Challenge:

Doctor Who – Blood on Santa’s Claw & Other Stories (2019)“Walking Backwards For Christmas” in Bernice Summerfield: A Treasury (2018)Sherlock Holmes – The Adventure of the Fleet Street Transparency (2017)Doctor Who – Static (2017)Doctor Who – Short Trips: O Tannenbaum (2017)Doctor Who – Short Trips: The Hesitation Deviation (2016)Doctor Who – Short Trips Rarities: The Little Drummer Boy (2016)The New Counter Measures: Who Killed Toby Kinsella? (2016)The Confessions of Dorian Gray: The Spirits of Christmas (2015)The Confessions of Dorian Gray: Frostbite (2014)Iris Wildthyme & the Claws of Santa (2012)The Confessions of Dorian Gray: Ghosts of Christmas Past (2012)Charles Dickens – The Signalman & Other Ghostly Tales (2010)Doctor Who – Eighth Doctor Adventures: Relative Dimensions (2010)Doctor Who – The Companion Chronicles: Find and Replace (2010)Doctor Who – Eighth Doctor Adventures: Death in Blackpool (2009)Doctor Who – Eighth Doctor Adventures: Human Resources (2007)Bernice Summerfield: The Heart’s Desire (2005)Doctor Who – Flip Flop (2003)Doctor Who – The Chimes of Midnight (2002)

THAT’S TWENTY!

I’ll be describing the stories on Twitter as I go (@tansyrr) and will do a roundup on my newsletter sometime later in December!

Dead Queen Walking, and Dance & Macabre

Thanks so much to everyone who bought a copy of Keep Calm and Kill the Chef, especially those of you who came along to the book launch at the Hobart Bookshop. I just found out that Chris & Janet, much loved booksellers, are retiring and selling the shop, so I am glad I got in one more book launch before they go.

Now, looking ahead to the rest of 2019, I have TWO more releases still to come!

Dead Queen Walking is the fourth and final novella in the Castle Charming series.

Once upon a time, Ella of Charming made a wish to become a fairy tale Queen, and won her happy ever after. But that was before the child was stolen, before the spinning wheel curse, and the lost decades fighting monsters in a dream world while life went on without her.

Now her sons are all grown up, her husband is a tree, her daughter is missing after a magical meltdown… and none of her Royal gowns have enough pockets for all her weapons.

Welcome back to Charming, a kingdom full of hot mess Royals, the Hounds who love them, and beanstalks that bite back. Will Kai and Dennis sacrifice love for duty? Will Ziyi finally make amends to the family she abandoned? Will Camilla’s magic doom them all?

No pre-order links up yet — you can currently listen to the story as a serial podcast on Sheep Might Fly. And you can find the first 3 stories in the series on Amazon, Smashwords, or on my Patreon with your first $1 pledge.

My Patreon subscribers will receive an early release of the ebook of Dead Queen Walking in November 2019, and it will be released for general sale in December.

And speaking of Patreon! Later this month, I’ll be releasing a Halloween story as one of the 3 bonus ebook releases that every $2+ subscriber gets to download each year.

“Dance and Macabre” – a story about two cold-blooded detectives in a city of monsters, plus a bonus short play and a poem to go with it!

If you pledge to my Patreon for $2 you will not only be able to download “Dance and Macabre” when it drops on October 31st, you will also have instant access to a huge pile of Tansy ebooks, including last year’s Regency magic novella “Tea and Sympathetic Magic,” this year’s superhero story “They Keep Killing Astra,” and so much more!

The Great Deletion Catastrophe of 2019

One of an author’s most valuable resource these days is their mailing list. It’s a collection of emails of subscribers who have chosen to receive regular updates from you — who want to read what you drop into their email inbox every week, or month.

So uh. I just deleted mine.

All 3000 of them.

In the process of paring out those subscribers who might be less than enthusiastic, to make my list more effective, I managed to completely crash and burn the entire thing.

Yep.

I did that.

I still can’t believe I did that, but I did, and there’s no getting it back.

So… if you were a subscriber to my “Tea and Links” newsletter, and enjoyed getting a monthly update from me about what books I’m making, what tea I’m drinking, and other special offers, chat, etc. PLEASE re-subscribe via this form.

If you haven’t subscribed before, there’s a free novella in it for you! Also, one of my recent releases will be free to download for the Kindle next week, and being on my mailing list is the best way to be sure you don’t miss out.

TansyRR on Patreon 2019

It’s been an exciting fortnight on my Patreon! First I finally made the big change to rename the page from Musketeer Space (my original Patreon project) to the more all-inclusive patreon.com/tansyrr

Then I launched my Special Offer for a beautiful enamel pin designed by Kathleen Jennings, to celebrate 5 years as a Patreon creator.

Here it is:

There’s only a few hours left of this special offer, but if you get in before 11am AEST on Thursday 18 April, you can still go on to the list for your very own magical hedgehog in a teacup!

I thought it would be helpful both for current and new people interested in my Patreon to have a timeline of what’s coming up for all my subscribers for the rest of the year!

TansyRR on Patreon in 2019

APRIL – Special offer for enamel pin closes, Bonus story for $2+ pledges, “Dragon by Subscription,” Backstage Pass for $3+ pledges.MAY – New serial begins on the Sheep Might Fly podcast – “Castle Charming: Dead Queen Walking.” Special Patreon-first audio release (TBA)JUNE – ENAMEL PINS POSTED OUT!JULY – Backstage Pass for $3+ pledges.AUG – Patrons receive ebook of “Dead Queen Walking” first.SEPT – New serial begins on the Sheep Might Fly podcast – “Dragon Circus: Echo & Narcissus.”OCT – Backstage Pass for $3+ pledges.NOV – Christmas serial begins on the Sheep Might Fly podcast – Patrons get to choose from a selection of story options!

Also currently unscheduled but definitely coming this year: two more bonus stories for $2 pledges! One of which will be the sequel to “Tea and Sympathetic Magic…”

There will be 2 more Random Acts of Post sent out to $5+ subscribers, not counting the enamel pin!

Every fortnight, Patrons can read a new chapter of the Soapy Ballads serial novel.

And of course… some extra goodies I haven’t even thought of yet. PLUS new subscribers get to download over 20 ebooks of fabulous stories, essays and a Certain Musketeer Novel.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

You can check out my Patreon page and pledge options here.

When You Wish Upon a Patreon

I have a brand new short story that’s going to be sent out to my $2+ Patreon supporters next Sunday — they get three of these a year!

While putting the ebook together, I also made a list of all available ebooks that new subscribers get to download from my Patreon with their first pledge. It’s a lot! Currently there are 5 (about to be 6) stories exclusive to those at the $2 level, and all of my supporters at any tier also get another FIFTEEN ebooks, including short fiction, a full novel, and three essay collections.

For $2+ patrons:



Dragon By Subscription (dropping 14 April 2019)Tea & Sympathetic MagicGirls Who Read AustenCharm or DareThe Alchemy of FineCaesar & Cleopatra: A Playlist







For all patrons:



Super Spy Science Secret Santa (previously at $2 only)Halloween is Not A VerbGentlewomen of the PressThe BromancersUnmagical Boy StoryFake Geek GirlLet Sleeping Princes LieJoyeuxPlease Look after This Angel The Fictional MotherDance Princes DanceGlass Slipper ScandalIt’s Raining MusketeersRay Guns for LadiesMusketeer Space (full novel!)

Don’t forget that my Patreon Special offer of a special exclusive enamel pin designed by Kathleen Jennings is only available to those pledging at $5+ before 18 April — 11 days left to get this great bonus reward!

Why Support a Patreon?

All of my Patreon supporters pledging at $5 or higher by 18 April this year will get a very special bonus reward: this adorable enamel pin designed by Kathleen Jennings, inspired by my Regency magic novella Tea and Sympathetic Magic.

Yesterday I blogged about what rewards you get if you pledge to my Patreon… and why the platform works so well for me as a creator.

Today, I want to share some quotes from my supporters. When I asked for some quotable comments about why you enjoy subscribing to my Patreon, I didn’t expect to be quite so flattered and inspired by your thoughtful responses!

“I am so grateful for your Patreon, your uplifting stories, playful narratives, and endearing and loveable characters truly make my day whenever I read your work, or listen to your podcast.”

Ju, Patreon Supporter

“I came here for the Fake Geek Girl stories and stayed for so much more!”

J, Patreon Supporter

“I loved the SheepMightFly stories and love audiobooks to listen to on my dog walks. I spend my money on BigFinish audios and realised I could do the same for the flying sheep too!

Of course when I started to be a Patreon I realised the world of ebooks and all the backstories I’d half heard in the undertones of the podcast. I love the varied worlds of TansyRR and the serialised Mocklore story we get through emails. I’ll enjoy every bit of it and know I’m helping them stay accessible to those who can’t afford to pay what I can.”

Bob, Patreon Supporter

“I enjoy the occasional Random Act of Monster. Even the manticores.”

Aifin, Patreon Supporter

“I like being arts adjacent – I don’t have the drive to write a great novel or draw a web comic or create a lasting work of art. But I can point to the stories you create and go “I helped make that!” Plus the people I support on Patreon have given me hours of enjoyment – I supported your Patreon after being entertained by your Sheep Might Fly podcast. The access to the Galactic Suburbia Slack has been a delightful bonus, connecting me to nerds of all fandoms.”

Natalie, Patreon Supporter

“For the price of a coffee every month, I get my hands on stories about some of my very favourite things: witches, mythological monsters, superheroes, friendship. Not to mention the insightful essays on history, pop culture and feminism! And I actually hate coffee, so that’s money twice as well spent.”

Faith, Patreon Supporter

“Tansy Rayner Roberts writes excellent stories. But then again, a lot of people write excellent stories so why do I support her Patreon above all other authors? It’s mainly because I love watching her innovate her way through the topsy turvy life of a 21st century creative. She is constantly trying new things, thinking of different ways of getting stories into the hands of people that will love them and taking advantage of everything the internet age has to offer.

“Supporting her Patreon means not only getting access to excellent stories, but also getting to see behind the scenes as one of the key players in the Australian speculative fiction field work up close. Inspiring for lovers of good fiction and those that are interested in what it takes to make a career out of writing in the modern world.”

Mark, Patreon Supporter

“I always want to be the person who writes deep, meaningful comments on content they enjoy, or sends their favorite authors letters, or says sweet things at a con or a tour stop. And inevitably I don’t do it, because I get all tangled up in awkwardness and anxiety and the desire to say something perfect. Patreon gives me a way to feel like I am offering tangible proof of my support and admiration that’s more personal than, say, picking up a book from a brick and mortar, but doesn’t put the pressure on me to actually put my feelings into words. Plus I love seeing behind the scenes things from my favorite artists! I’ve definitely learned things I can apply to my own process from getting peeks into how they work.”

Molly, Patreon Supporter

Sign up to support Tansy on Patreon today for the Special Offer enamel pin reward and so much more!

Patreon Special Offer 2019

I’m delighted to announce a huge Special Offer that I’m running on my Patreon between now and 18 April.

All pledges at $5 or more this month will receive an exclusive enamel pin, designed by Kathleen Jennings, posted out to them in June 2019.

I commissioned this adorable piece of art to celebrate five years of being a Patreon creator, and restructuring how I work and live as a writer.

What’s so great about Patreon?

For me, running a Patreon has been a way to get back in touch with what I most want to write, and putting those stories directly in the hands of my most loyal and excited readers. The project started out with the production of my 18 month serialised novel, Musketeer Space, and now funds a free podcast with new and previously-published stories. I also write bonus stories that my subscribers get to read a year or more before anyone else, and love to share other bits and pieces whether it be micro-stories, manticores, essays etc. I am currently rewriting a long-lost novel manuscript from my Mocklore series, one chapter at a time, and only my subscribers get to read it as I go.

Having steady, reliable income coming in every month has made a huge difference to my confidence as a professional writer, and is a huge help to my family — writing income is notoriously erratic, and every bit of stability helps.

What do I get if I pledge $5 to your Patreon?

For a start, I’ll send you a “Tea and Sympathetic Magic” enamel pin based on the image you see in the banner!

But also:

Download access to a huge stack of stories, novellas and books including my sprawling space opera novel Musketeer Space, every title in the Belladonna University and Castle Charming series, and so much more.Six bonus Patreon-first stories only available to those at a $2 tier and higher. This includes last year’s Regency Magic novella Tea & Sympathetic Magic (the inspiration for the pin), and a brand new story dropping this month.Backstage Pass: a quarterly ezine with sneak peeks at my behind-the-scenes writing process, snippets from upcoming works (or those in progress) and more.Access to the Galactic Slack, a fantastic, highly inclusive discussion forum for fans of the podcast Galactic Suburbia and its hosts.Start reading Soapy Ballads, my Patreon-exclusive Mocklore serial.Ongoing $5 subscribers all get 3 Random Acts of Post, sent out to them through the year. These might be postcards, letters, zines, recipes small gifts, or anything else that inspires me.

What if I only pledge at $ 5+ for one month, then stop?

I will still send you the enamel pin! You’ll also get access to all the downloadable content including this month’s new goodies like the bonus short story and a new Backstage Pass for April 2019.

Don’t make any changes until after 18 April, to make sure you’re registered for the Special Offer, but you can then choose to lower your pledge for future months, or even unsubscribe completely.

What if I pledge at less than $5?

I won’t be able to send you an enamel pin BUT there’s still lots of great content to access whether you sign up with a $1, $2 or $3 pledge. I appreciate all my supporters so much, and you all contribute to the success of this Patreon campaign.

MY PATREON PAGE

Any Questions??? Ask them here!

Award Eligibility Post

It’s a thing. Let’s skip past the apologies for allowing the post to exist.

2018 was a big year for me! In fact I have already been nominated for some awards (woo, the Aurealis Awards are more efficient than me, let’s not all faint in shock).

My fantasy novella “Merry Happy Valkyrie” and the glorious science fiction anthology Mother of Invention, which I co-edited with Rivqa Rafael, have both been nominated for the Aurealis! Also nominated, a splendid story by Lee Cope, “A Robot Like Me,” from MOI.

For the convenience of those wishing to know these things for Ditmar nominations, the fabulous Rivqa has posted a list of our Mother of Invention stories, making it easy for you to tell easily which of our stories are Australian.

Mother of Invention is also eligible to be nominated in the Best Collected Work category of the Ditmars, and our gorgeous artwork by Likhain is eligible for Best Professional Artwork.

Rivqa also outlines the categories for which we are eligible (and not eligible) for those nominating for the Hugo Awards and Locus Poll!

My SFF fiction published in 2019 includes the following:

“Let Sleeping Princes Lie,” Sheep Might Fly podcast (2017-18), self published (2018) – novella approx 26,000 words

“Charm or Die,” Patreon exclusive (2018) — short story approx 5000 words

Cabaret of Monsters, self published (2018) — novella approx 27,000 words

“Girls Who Read Austen,” Patreon exclusive (2018) — short story approx 1000 words

“Halloween is Not a Verb,” Sheep Might Fly podcast (2018) — novelette approx 14000 words

Merry Happy Valkyrie, (Twelfth Planet Press 2018) — novella approx 22000 words

“Tea and Sympathetic Magic,” Patreon exclusive (2018)  — novella approx 17000 words

“Purrfect Criminal,” Welcome to Pacific City (SFFWorld 2018) — short story approx 5600 words

The beautiful new editions of the Creature Court trilogy: Power and Majesty, The Shattered City and Reign of Beasts, were originally published between 2010-2012 and are not eligible for 2018 awards HOWEVER the glorious art by Kathleen Jennings combined with the design by Cathy Larsen absolutely is eligible for professional art awards, so please keep them in mind.

Also don’t forget to nominate podcasts for the Hugo and the Ditmar! Mine are Galactic Suburbia, Verity! and Sheep Might Fly.