K.M. Shea's Blog, page 15

Magiford: Tom and Dale are real

It’s been a week since Fated launched, so now it’s finally time to unleash the Magiford themed/spoiler-filled posts! Warning: if you haven’t read the entire Pack of Dawn and Destiny trilogy yet, don’t read on!

Now, let’s talk bout the two characters you meet in Fated who are near and dear to my heart: Dale and Tom.

Friends–despite supporting different football teams, which is nigh impossible–Tom and Dale are two Alphas who break the typical werewolf stereotypes given their chill personalities, hidden strength, and age. Besides taking down scruffy Alphas with ease and being able to spot Greyson and Pip as mates, you can see glimpses of their great strength in don’t-care-attitudes and their hobbies, namely, fishing.

While wild wolves are not opposed to splashing in rivers, werewolves aren’t super fond of big bodies of water like lakes, but Tom and Dale’s biggest hobby is fishing, something now other wolf besides Young Jack shares with them.

Tom and Dale also take great pride in their almost-junk vehicles, are ardent fish fry connoisseurs, and avid football fans. (In case you aren’t aware the Packers are an American Football team from Wisconsin and the Vikings are a team from Minnesota. There has historically been a fierce rivalry between these teams, but people aren’t always loyal to whichever State they live in. Hence the good natured ribbing between Dale and Tom regarding their team loyalty.)

These two characters are essentially my homage to rural and Northern Wisconsin (and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). Having been born and raised in Wisconsin I wanted to introduce a couple of side characters who really show off the charm of the culture unique to this area–like fish fries, supper clubs, fishing, football, etc. Also…I wanted to share some of the funny stuff/sayings we use here!

I have a feeling many of you think I highly exaggerated Tom and Dale, but in reality I kept them true to the source, and some of their lines are direct quotes from one of my uncles.

But don’t take my word for it! There is a Youtuber who specializes in exposing the humor of this exact way of life, so I wanted to share a few of his videos with you. He is exaggerating the accent a bit, but you might find it helpful to watch so you can understand how Tom and Dale sound when then talk.

This first video pulls double duty and gives you an idea of what it’s like to live in a small Midwestern town. Although in reality Timber Ridge is more cutesy looking then this and has more stop lights since the pack has worked hard with the city (and Mayor Pearl) to promote tourism

 

This particular video is great since it explores the expression “Ope!” which has made an appearance in other Magiford books as well.

 

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Short Story: A Family Tea Party

Champions…………THANK YOU! Pack of Dawn and Destiny is turning out to be my best selling series so far, and you guys have rallied behind Pip and Greyson in a jaw-dropping way! I thought I had two or three days to get the short ready for you. HAH! You showed me!

Friday night I went to sleep, happy that you Champions said you enjoyed Fated and the end of the Pack of Dawn and Destiny trilogy, thinking I had plenty of time to finish editing the extra short story. I woke up Saturday morning to the beautiful and shocking surprise of 200 reviews! Suddenly I had a whole lot of panic because the short story wasn’t corrected, and my typo hunter’s computer was broken.

I figured you all wouldn’t mind if I let it slip until today while I my typo hunter and I texted back and forth trying to figure out an alternative way for her to read it, and then I woke up to THIS. 812 reviews/ratings, on a book that launched Friday. Champions! I don’t even know what to say! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so humbled, so happy, and so appreciative. Thank you for your loyalty, I’m so happy you enjoyed Pip and Greyson’s story, and I really hope it made you laugh.

To celebrate the launch, I have a short story! But, first, a bit of background! Typically I like to do more light-hearted/100% fluff extras, but I’d noticed a lot of people were curious about Greyson’s family, so I decided to do a short about that. Unfortunately, that meant it wouldn’t be as sweet as I typically like.

However…I was going to keep this under wraps because I won’t be able to work on it for about two weeks (I’ve got a few top priority things I NEED to take care of this week, like taxes) so I wasn’t going to tell you all, but, hey, you Champions got Fated over 800 reviews in less than three days so I think you deserve it. I’m going to write a second short story about Chase and Chrysanthe, and this one will be 100% pure sugary fluff.

I’ve been planning to write it since I was about halfway through Fated and I wanted to show you all what happens between the two of them, so I’m pretty excited about it! (Although, if you haven’t read Court of Midnight and Deception yet, this is your hint to read it so you’ll be ready for the short!) But yes, keep an eye out, and in a little over two weeks, you should get to see their story.

Finally, what you’ve all been waiting for, here’s the short story!

A Family Tea Party: Click Here for the PDF!

I hope you enjoy it even if it isn’t pure fluff, and thanks again for all of your support and love, Champions. You’re the best readers an author could ask for!

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Fated: Available now!

Alright Champions, hang on to them hats and glasses, ’cause the final book in the Pack of Dawn and Destiny is here! (Yes, I love Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disney World, and I’m a little loopy from the excitement of everything so I’m making ride references, haha.)

Fated is the final book in the trilogy and ties up Pip and Greyson’s story. I hope the extra time I spent on it was worth it and it finishes the series off with a bang! I will be once again running my usual review special of a brand new related short story once Fated reaches around 100 reviews and I will count Amazon + Goodreads.

Thank you again Champions for being willing to take the time to leave honest reviews. Normally I mention how much they help fellow readers decide if the book is a fit for them (they do help!), but this time I wanted to let you in a bit of a secret. Whenever a new book comes out I’m always really nervous about some part of it will be received so when you take the time to share how the book touched you or what it meant to you it has a much bigger impact on me then you could possibly know. Thank you so much Champions for showing up again and again! I love all of you so much!

Get the final book: Amazon.com | All Other Amazon Stores

There are some fun character cameos, but I’m going to give everyone time to read before we start down that rabbit hole. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading!

P.S. I saved some secrets for this book, and I got to introduce some REALLY fun side characters I can’t wait for you to meet. (You will definitely recognize them when you get to that part, especially if you’ve ever lived in the Midwest.) So what are you waiting for – go get started reading!

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Magiford Quiz Update

With the Court of Midnight and Deception Sale over, and Fated just days away from launching, I figured we need one last ditch distraction until Friday. So! In honor of Pack of Dawn and Destiny, I updated the Magiford Supernatural City quiz! It now includes a new supernatural race, so if you haven’t taken the quiz yet, now is a great chance to give it a try! Click here to take the quiz.

Are you a fae, a vampire, a wizard, or a werewolf? Or something else entirely? Comment below with the answer you get! (In case you are wondering, yep, I’m still a fae!)

Can you guess what sort of supernatural I added? (Who am I kidding, you Champions are great at guessing these kinds of things so of course you know what it is!)

A big thank you to RayJay who drew yet another great word image for the newly added option. If you haven’t played around with the quiz before you might want to try to get the different answers just so you can see all the beautiful graphics RayJay has made!

Click here to take the Magiford Supernatural City Quiz!

Also, if you need help figuring out how to get all the answers for the quiz check out our Discord server.  The Champions on Discord have worked out all the possible answers so they can definitely help you out. I’m sure within minutes of announcing this update, they’ll have the new supernatural all mapped out. The blog Champions are also great at sharing info, so don’t be afraid to ask for help in the comments down below, either!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the quiz!

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CoM&D: The Fae have a gift for you

Fated – the awaited conclusion to Pack of Dawn and Destiny is only a week away, so that means it’s time for another Magiford sale! This time the Queen of the fae Night Court and her friends are here with some special goodies just for you! Crown of Shadows, the first book in the Court of Midnight and Deception series is free, and you can grab the second book, Crown of Moonlight, for just 99 cents.

The free book and sale runs from February 17th through the 21st so act now to snap up this deal!

Leila–a half fae who only ever wanted to live as a human–is unwillingly crowned Queen of the fae Night Court. With her nobles doing their best to dispose of her and an ancient law forcing her to get married, Leila’s top choice for her prospective husband is the fae assassin who once tried to kill her. What a great start to her reign. 

Crown of Shadows: Free  Amazon.com | All other Amazon stores

Crown of Moonlight: 99 cents  Amazon.com | All other Amazon stores

Do you love a marriage of convenience or enemies-to-lovers romance? Then this a snarky kick butt heroine and her brooding assassin hero are exactly what you are looking for! Tricky fae and loyal werewolves abound in this story about a royal queen whose antics are sure to make you laugh.

Even better, many of the characters from this completed series make an appearance in the Pack of Dawn and Destiny trilogy. And their cameo’s are more funny if you know their complete story, so take advantage of this sale to kick off your next binge read–and to distract you from the last bit of waiting for Fated!

Thanks for reading, Champions, and enjoy the sale!

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Fated: On Preorder, Description Spoilers!

I finally have some brain cells to spare so I’m back with Magiford news! The exciting conclusion to the Pack of Dawn and Destiny story is less than two weeks away from launching on the 25th! (That’s next week Friday!) While you’re waiting for Fated to drop, check out the official book description below–unless you haven’t read Hunted and United yet, in which case, run from the SPOILERS!–and make sure you haven’t missed anything fun on the Magiford Freebies and Extra page!

Pre-Order Fated: Amazon.com | All Other Amazon Stores

I thought I hated not fitting in. Turns out I hate having a target on my back even more.

Someone wants me taken out. To accomplish that, they leaked the secret of my magic to all the Packs in the Midwest. Now, almost every Alpha in the region has traveled to my hometown in hopes of convincing me to join their Pack.

And some of them don’t seem to think I should have a choice.

Greyson won’t stand for that—something he makes deadly clear to the other Alphas. What they don’t know is that I’m his long missing mate. But wolves and hunters are enemies, and my hunter magic blocks me from accepting the bond…even though I’m starting to wish I could.

Our incomplete mate bond is a constant drain on Greyson. Its existence puts him in danger—something he stubbornly ignores.

But as risky as our bond is, I have to stay focused on the biggest threat at the moment. 

Whoever shared the secret of my powers wants to destroy our Pack. And we’re about to find out how far they’ll go to make that happen.

I’ve had so much fun writing this trilogy, I can’t wait to pull back the curtains and share with you all some of the behind-the-scenes work that went into it! But for now, I hope you had a fantastic Valentine’s Day, and I’ll see you when the Court of Midnight and Deception sale starts in a few days!

P.S. Big shout out to all the Champions who were wondering if Greyson (in human form) was going to make an appearance on the final book cover. Apparently, I am predictable?!

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day, Champions!

Knightly–from Jane Austen’s Emma is probably my favorite of Jane Austen’s male characters–he gives up so much for Emma! But when I saw this Mr. Darcy themed valentine below, I knew I had to share it with you!

But! On to the fun!

Usually I’d have a free book today that the Newsletter Champions voted for, but because the Court of Midnight and Deception series is going on sale starting in…three days, I decided to delay the free book until June/July-ish when we have less going on as a community

But since Leila’s series isn’t on sale quite yet, I still have a little gift for you–or more like a reminder of a gift–and it’s even Valentine’s Day themed! It’s The Love Potion–Click here for the PDF! This short story is from the Fairy Tale Enchantress, but it doesn’t have any spoilers, so it’s safe to read if you haven’t read the series yet, though I do suggest you wait to look at it until you’ve read book 1, Apprentice of Magic. (It will make more sense then!)

Until Thursday, Champions, I hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day filled with friends, family, sweet treats, and all the people (and books!) you love! Thanks for reading!

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An Update about Me–and Fated!

Champions…it has been too long!

Wow, February is here already! I’ve got good news–I finished writing Fated! The editor JUST finished with line edits–though my editing work isn’t over yet, sadly–and everything is on target for the February 25th release date.

For those of you planning an all-nighter for Fated’s release, Fated is as long as the longest of the Court and Midnight and Deception books as it clocks in at 98,000 words, which is significantly longer than Hunted (about 83,000 words) and United (78,000 words) so factor that into your plans!

I am doubly excited about this month, because I happen to love the holiday of Valentine’s Day! (An excuse to give treats to my friends, family, and everyone I love? Where do I sign up?!) We’re going to start having some Valentine’s fun over on my KM Shea and AM Sohma facebook pages with themed Valentines, so if you need some laughs, check it out.

As for me, I’m doing better! I still don’t know if I have only one oral surgery left or two, and all the dental stuff has not been going as well as I’d like and I get keeping more procedures added on, but the procedures themselves have been less painful than the procedure and surgery I had in November, so that’s a big win! I’m still fighting an abnormal amount of fatigue, and as a result my draft of Fated was messier than usual (which is a concern, because my drafts are already pretty bad from my reading disability so that should tell you something about how terrible this was, ahahahahaaa) and I’m still sleeping too much, but my physical stamina is getting better, so it’s still a victory!

On the only true sour note, I originally thought I’d be done with all the dental stuff by summer. Yeeeaaahh, now it’s looking like hopefully I’ll be done by approximately mid-autumn. So this “fun” adventure will probably last about a year total. That was a real kick in the gut for me. I did not plan for this to go on this long, so we’re probably going to see some delays in my schedule if I keep getting knocked down like this, though I’m going to do my best.

In good news, I’m excited that I’ll finally get a chance to start writing Pack of Dawn and Destiny themed posts and other launch activities I usually would have started well before now, so hang around for some Magiford Fun in February and March!

Until next time, Champions, have a wonderful day, and thanks for reading!

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Short Story: A Lawful Werewolf

Once again you Champions have blown me away with the support you’ve shown Pip’s book 2, United! This book had some heavy moments (since the werewolf change process is not a sunshine and rainbows type of situation) but I’m happy to hear that there were still scenes that made many of you laugh out loud. And how about that cliffhanger?

Hunted has over 100 reviews–again across Goodreads and the Amazon stores. A big thank you to you Champions for leaving honest and really great reviews–I think think this book was one of the fastest to reach the 100 threshold and that’s even with many of you reporting that Amazon wasn’t immediately showing your review.

To celebrate United‘s release, I’ve got a free short story! Important: It contains SO MANY spoilers for United! Do not read if you haven’t had a chance to read book 2 yet. Seriously, even if you read Hunted you should wait on this one, because it stars a character who has a big role in United.

Short Story: A Lawful Werewolf: Click here for the PDF!

 

P.S. The character in this short also makes a very quick appearance in a scene in book 1, Hunted. Did you see it?!?

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United: Available now!

It’s here, it’s here! United – Book #2 in Pack of Dawn and Destiny–is available now to purchase or borrow from Kindle Unlimited! This book has some big reveals for Pip and Greyson, along with the rest of the pack. My favorite, charming, ever so naughty pair of cats makes an appearance as well!

Amazon.com | All Other Amazon Stores

I hope you enjoy it! If you’re still reading this and haven’t already run off to read the book I wanted to let you know I will be running my usual review special for this book. Once United gets approximately 100 reviews (I look at Goodreads and all the Amazon stores) I’ll release a special short story I wrote to celebrate this book launch!

Thank you so much for your honest reviews. They help fellow readers figure out if the book is something they’d be interested in, which is especially useful in large genres like urban fantasy/paranormal romance where it can be so hard to find a story that is exactly what you as a reader like!

Now I’m off–I’m working on finishing up Fated, the last book in Pip’s trilogy! Happy reading, Champions, and thanks for dropping by!

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