K.M. Shea's Blog, page 26

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Surprise! It’s free ebook time!

The Luckless || The Desperate Quest

Today (July 10th) and tomorrow (July 11th) both The Luckless and Desperate Quest will be free! This is my thank you to all the Newsletter Champions who voted waaay back in January for the book they wanted me to post for free on Valentine’s Day. Desperate Quest lost by less than five votes, so I promised I’d put it up for free sometime this summer, and that time is now! (And I decided to throw in The Luckless for free as well because it seemed silly to have the second book free and not the first!)

If you’ve been on the fence about trying this series, now is your chance to snag the first two! Kit and Solus did do really well in the Heroine/Hero polls, so if you’re curious why they’re so popular it’s a good time to find out.

The Prince’s Bargain: Cover Reveal!

While we wait for the Summer of Poll’s wrap up–I’m working on compiling the data still–it’s time to kick off The Prince’s Bargain celebration as we get ready for its release this month. Let’s begin with a cover reveal!

 

Meet Translator Mythlan and Crown Prince Arvel!

As it is with my other Elves of Lessa books, the illustration was done by Nibelart, and the font was done by Myrrhlynn. Nibelart did a particularly wonderful job at making Arvel and Benjimir–from Royal Magic–resemble each other. (For those of you who don’t know, they’re brothers.)

And as many of you might have guessed from the background, a good portion of this book takes place in libraries! Yay!

The pre-order isn’t up yet, but the team and I have settled on a July 24 release! Although I wrote this book fairly fast, the editing was something of a battle as I had to do some pretty intense work on–you probably guessed it–the romance. (Alas, my Achilles Heel!) So everything got pushed back as a result.

I really hope it makes you laugh, and I can’t wait to share it with you! Until next time, thanks for reading!

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Life Updates/Re-arranging book releases

Hello Champions! I’m going to rip the band aid off pronto and tell you guys that I’ve had to do some re-arranging to my release schedule for the next year. I’m still releasing all the books that I planned to, it’s just in a slightly different order.

Originally I was planning to tackle Elves of Lessa book 4 next, but I’m actually swapping it for Leila’s trilogy (my next urban fantasy trilogy) which I will now be tackling next month–meaning I’ll start writing it in August–and then I’ll be writing Elves of Lessa #4 in late winter/early spring. I can hear the Urban Fantasy Champions rejoicing, and I am right there with you! But I know some of you are wondering about the next book in my Fairy Tale Enchantress series, which I was originally hoping to launch in December. Sadly, it is probably going to get pushed back about two months as a result of this, but before I get into that I want to give a little life update/explanation for the change.

Currently, I live in a fairly big city, and I’ve been here for roughly five or six years now. Before I moved here, I always lived in the country. As any of my Instagram followers or my Facebook Champions can tell you, I still love the countryside and nature in general. Because of this, I always planned to leave the city in the next few years, but after a rocky few months here in 2020, I’ve decided I am making 2021 the year I’m going to move back to the country. Ideally I’ll be able to make this feat in spring or early summer of 2021. But that means I’m going to be adding a bunch of new stress to my life then.

Thankfully, my family knows everything about my career, are heavily involved in my life, and have no problem lovingly bossing me around, so a few weeks ago my mom–who also beta reads for me and keeps an eye on the website, hi Mom!–gently suggested I rethink my writing schedule in preparation for moving…because trying to write Leila’s trilogy so I could release it on one go like I did with Hall of Blood and Mercy WHILE trying to find a new place to live and get packed was going to be a nightmare.

Annnnd she’s right. There’s no way I’d be able to handle it. So! My new schedule this year is to launch The Prince’s Bargain this month (July) and then write and release Leila’s urban fantasy trilogy–which will hopefully be out in late fall–and finally write Fairy Tale Enchantress book #4. After I edit and launch Fairy Tale Enchantress #4 in February or March, next I’ll complete Elves of Lessa #4, and then possibly–don’t quote me on this yet–Second Age of Retha #4.

I’m really excited about Leila’s trilogy–it’s going to (hopefully) be just as lighthearted/funny and action packed as Hall of Blood and Mercy. And right now I think we could all use a little laughter. So Urban Fantasy Champions, let’s give a cheer!

However, since I’m writing three books instead of one next, Fairy Tale Enchantress #4 is going to get pushed back–probably to February, or March at the very latest. But! I was a little concerned this would worry the Fairy Tale Enchantress  Champions, so I’m going to let you in on a little secret I’ve been hiding, just to assure you that Fairy Tale Enchantress Book #4 is coming! Here we go: I’ve actually already started writing it.

Yep, I am roughly about 1/4th finished with the book. (It’s hard to know because the Fairy Tale Enchantress books have been so long, and I don’t know exactly where this one will be length wise.) I worked on it for two weeks before I started writing The Prince’s Bargain, and I just finished up another week of working on it. I’ll continue to work on it between Leila’s books, so by the time I’m finished with Leila’s books I’ll hopefully be about 3/4 finished with Angelique.

The downside to this is that the Fairy Tale Enchantress books take so long to edit, even if I finish writing it this year it will still be a two-month process to get it edited, and that doesn’t include formatting, and all the other behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into launching a book.

But the important thing is I want you guys to know I’m seriously working on Fairy Tale Enchantress, and it will be the next project after Leila’s trilogy. It’s a real beast of a book–which is why writing it between Leila’s books actually helps. Breaking it up makes it more manageable, so I don’t sit there staring at my word count and dreading that the book is maybe a fourth finished even though I’d be well past the halfway point for one of my regular novels. (For comparison, the previous Fairy Tale Enchantress– Reign of Magic–was 160,000 words. The Prince’s Bargain is 88,000 words. Beauty and the Beast is roughly 65,000 words. Currently I have over 40,000 words finished in this project.)

To show how much I appreciate you guys hanging in here with me, I’m giving you the first few pages of Fairy Tale Enchantress #4 right now as a special sneak peek. These pages are unedited, so they are filled with errors, details I need to check, and will probably look a little different when you do get the book. But hopefully this will assure you that I’m dedicated to writing this book this year, even if its release date is pushed back a little. So, if you want the sneak peek click here for the PDF! (Don’t worry, there aren’t any spoilers. It’s just the first eight pages of the book, so its sets the stage and will let you know just where I’m picking the storyline up at!)

Thank you for understanding, Champions. I can’t express how excited I am for my future life changes, and I’m glad I can adjust my work schedule to make it possible. Enjoy the unedited (let me stress that a few times, hahaha) sample pages, and thanks for reading.

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Summer of Polls: Favorite Shea/Sohma Couple

Our Summer of Polls has nearly come to an end, but I thought I’d close it out with a bang, and hold a poll for your favorite Shea/Sohma couple!

 

This poll has actually been requested for roughly two years, so I thought I’d give it a try this year and see how you Champions like it.

The rules are as follows: You can vote for up to five of your favorite couples, but you only have one ballot and the order of the poll changes every time you refresh the page, so look carefully for your favorites! This poll closes July 5th, so get your votes in by then!

And now…let us determine the favorite Shea/Sohma couple!

 

In about a week and a half we’ll crown all the winners, and I’ll have a special extra to share with you all!

Shea Con 2020

Greetings, Champions! I’m interrupting our Summer Poll Fun to bring you a special message for you from the Discord Champions–they’re holding an event in August, and they’d love for you to come. Here’s the invite!

***

Hello Champions,

We would like to invite you to the very first Sheacon! Sheacon is an online con that will be held on a dedicated Discord server, with planned activities as well as lots of time to discuss our favorite Kitty! We are still planning the exact date and need your help. Please take this Interest Survey so we can plan the best Sheacon ever! (Please take only once)

Interest Survey Link: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLScgj2b5SObozs8Ujo…/viewform

Sheacon is going to have multiple panels and a q-and-a with Kitty! To help get all your questions answered, we are going to collect them before hand so Kitty will have time to review them and have them organized. If you run out of room for a certain category, simply take the survey again. We look forward to your questions. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN4eUh9m9Ullbm6pT6tzDDcToLIewa1pH-HDEOn–XiCOyZw/viewform?usp=sf_link

***

As you can see, we’re going to have a blast! (Some of my Entwined Tales author pals may even stop in.) I hope you’ll join us! There will be more details coming as they continue to hammer out the details, so keep your eyes open. Now, back to the polls!

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Summer of Polls: Favorite Animal Sidekick

Today I’m unveiling a new poll, the “Shea/Sohma favorite Animal Sidekick” poll!

Who will win? YOU DECIDE!

As with the previous polls, you get five votes with your ballot. Read the list carefully because the order will change every time you refresh the page! (We have to keep things fair, you know?) This poll closes June 28th, so make sure you vote before then.

Now…may the contest begin!

Thanks for voting! Stay tuned next week as I have one final poll to share, and then in July we’ll discuss all the winning characters!

 

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2020 Favorite Shea/Sohma Hero

The battle continues! This week, we’ll find out who is the 2020 favorite Shea/Sohma Hero!

Who will win? YOU DECIDE!

The rules are the same as they were for the heroine poll: Vote for your top five favorite heroes, and choose carefully because you can only cast your ballot once! (Take care when reading through the options–the poll order changes with every page refresh!) This poll closes June 21st, so you have until then to decide who to vote for.

Last year Merlin of King Arthur and Her Knights won first, Emerys of the 12 Dancing Princess snagged second, and the surprising “dark horse” Solus Miles of The Second Age of Retha snatched up third! Will they survive against the new favorites who have entered the fray, Evariste of The Fairy Tale Enchantress and Killian Drake of Hall of Blood and Mercy? LET’S FIND OUT!

Thanks for voting! Remember, we’ll discuss who won each poll at the end of the month, but stay tuned for next week as our Summer of Polls continues!

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2020 Favorite Shea/Sohma Heroine

Today marks the day of princesses, warriors, and butt-kickers. Today…is the start of the 2020 Favorite K. M. Shea/A. M. Sohma Heroine poll!

Who will win? You decide!

Here are the rules: you get to cast your ballot once, but you can vote for up to five heroines! The poll order changes with every refresh, so look carefully to make sure you haven’t missed any of your favorites. The poll opens today, and will close June 14th.

Last year Angelique of the Fairy Tale Enchantress series, Kit of Second Age of Retha, and Rakel of the Snow Queen series ruled supreme, but this year we have a new challenger: Hazel Medeis from the Hall of Blood and Mercy trilogy!

Now, may the best heroine win!

 

Thank you for voting in the first poll of our Summer of Polls! At the end of the month I’ll review who won. But in the meantime, stay tuned for the “Favorite Hero” poll next week!

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THE SUMMER OF POLLS

The time has come, Champions.

Make alliances, draw your battle lines, and prepare yourselves. The 2020 Summer of Polls is upon us!

For the awesome Champions who are new to our community, every year I have an annual “Favorite Shea/Sohma Heroine” and “Favorite Shea/Sohma Hero” poll. Typically I hold them at different times of the year, but for 2020 I decided to go all out and take all of June to hold a new poll each week! You’ll get a chance to vote for your favorite hero, heroine, animal sidekick character, and more!

If the idea of having to choose your favorite character sounds awful, fret not! For each poll I’ll give you multiple votes–although you only get to complete the poll and cast your ballot once, so choose carefully!

The polls are fun for all of us, but I do actually use your feedback for work purposes, too. (It helps me decide who you would enjoy getting freebies about, what books I should put on sale, and more!) So I want to give a big thank you in advance for participating!

The polls will begin next week Monday, where I’ll be kicking off the with “Favorite Heroine” poll, so come ready! Until then, thanks for reading!

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Cinderella Retellings

I’ve been doing a lot of cleaning over the past few months (I’m guessing you have too), so I thought it was a good time to give homage to the fairy tale heroine who does the most cleaning: Cinderella.

 

As a fun side note, while I enjoy the Disney movie, I am an active anti-fan of Cinderella’s prince because he is so useless! This is the main reason why I gave the prince in my retelling (Colonel Fredrick) a much more active role. My fairy tale retelling of Cinderella is #3 in the Timeless Fairy Tales series, and you can find Angelique’s side of the story in: Curse of Magic!

But back to the retelling list! I’ll start with some of my favorite Cinderella retellings, followed by tons more suggestions from the Facebook Champions.

Here are my favorite Cinderella stories:

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – Can a Cinderella retelling be more perfect than this story? Tons of fun world building in this book as well (the movie doesn’t give it justice).

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix – Unusual in that it tells the story of what comes after the big slipper reveal. The book cover makes it look like a modern story but it’s actually a typical YA epic fantasy world setting.

The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey  – This retelling isn’t squeaky clean, but it’s a fun reimagining of Cinderella that puts a really interesting twist the typical fairy tale world retellings take place in.

And of course, there is Cinderella and the Colonel by K.M. Shea