My mailing service went through an update and is being weird, so there’s no public-facing copy of the newsletter. I recreated it here just so there’s a record – hopefully they’ll fix that issue before next time.


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Welcome, new folks!

Hi, there. I’ve had a number of people join the mailing list recently. I want to make sure everybody gets their free Frosthelm book, Traitors Unseen. If you haven’t gotten it, you can get it free here (the site will ask you to sign up for this newsletter, which you’re already getting) or here from Smashwords. It’s also on Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. Please, enjoy with my compliments.



Best, is coming soon!

We’re so excited for Best, to come out in only two weeks!



We’ve had a couple of early prerelease reviews from NetGalley readers and are hoping to pick up a couple more. Here’s what they say so far:

From Allegra Coulson:


I really loved this story. I liked how they slowly opened up and learnt more about themselves and each other. I like that is was set at a college as well as not only the students have difficulties.

From Kelly Pramberger:


Books set on college campuses and stories about professors and students are among my faves. I devoured this story about two professors and the mystery that surrounds the work they are doing. I enjoyed the writing style and the way the book unfolded. Well done!

Here’s the blurb:

A slow burn wasn’t on the agenda…

Flora and Mark are both professors, both mid-career, and both unlucky in love. As the new year starts, they’re assigned to serve on the dreaded Budget committee at Astor College, the small liberal arts school where they both teach. The catch? In the decade they’ve worked together, their animosity has only deepened. Flora thinks Mark is a performative tryhard, while Mark sees Flora as the frontwoman for a snotty Mean Girls clique on campus.

A mystery soon falls into their laps, foisted on them by an anonymous informant. As they investigate possible wrongdoing, they end up having to work together, and despite some undisguised derision, some woefully awful dates with other people, and unknown forces threatening their careers, they pick apart the web of mystery surrounding Astor. In the process, they start to see the good in each other. Or, at least, they each start to find each other slightly less annoying. Most of the time.

Best, is a romantic comedy with a mystery at its heart. Deeply tongue-in-cheek, the book is full of the quirky, rewarding, and deplorable aspects of academic life.

Content warnings: clean romance but with a ton of coarse language. Like, a lot.

We’re releasing Best, on June 30, so it will be out by the time you get my next newsletter. Pre-order is available on Amazon, so you can reserve a copy today. Paperbacks will go live on the 30th as well.

Writing Update

I had the first fifteen pages of my play, A Light Reign, critiqued at a recent meeting of the Greensboro Playwrights Forum, a group I joined earlier this year. The group is about 20-30 people, and they meet monthly. The organizer, Mayah, got eight people with acting experience to read the eight parts in the play, and it was really cool to hear the lines performed rather than just reading them. I got some good feedback from the group, and I may do a different section for a later meeting – they were open to hearing more. I’ve entered the play in nine different places for staged readings, festivals, and competitions. I’ve learned that there are thousands of playwrights out there writing and entering such things, so I don’t expect to succeed, but it’s kind of exciting to try. If you’d be interested in having a look at a two-act farce about a medieval kingdom on the verge of extinction, let me know.

I’m also ramping up to dive back into my next sci fi novel. I spent the last four days reading the 53,000 words I’ve already got to refresh it in my mind and get the style and characters back in my head, and I finished that today, so tomorrow, I’ll dive back in. I can see why I stopped here – the next bit will be pretty complicated – but I think I’ve got some ideas now to push on and get it finished. Most of my sci fi novels are between 100,000 and 125,000 words, so I’m maybe about halfway through. If I can get up and running with this, I’m hopeful I can finish the first draft by the middle of August and then get it out to you in the fall.

An author friend

I got a chance to meet an author friend in real life at my recent college class reunion. Kathy Strobos writes romantic comedies set in New York City, and she and I started our publishing journeys at about the same time and have been following each other’s careers and exchanging notes and advice, although we’d never met in person before. She has seven books out now with more on the way, and you can get one of them for free for signing up for her newsletter. Her books have done well in competitions – one was named a Distinguished Favorite for romantic comedy, and one was a finalist in a cinematic book writing competition – and they’ve been translated into a bunch of languages. She’s as great in person as I expected, and I’d love it if you’d give her books a look.



Some stories to try

I’m part of several author collectives, and we share each other’s work to try to help all of us reach more readers. In many cases, the books we share are are free or discounted. Sometimes, they ask that you sign up for a newsletter like this one. Here are some new books I have to share this month:

First off, I have Cryogenic Clues by Zeph Baxter. This is a new release from May 30th, the third in his series of locked-room space mysteries – a cool idea, like Knives Out in space. Check it out to see if it’s your kind of thing, and for sure have a look at the first two as well.



I have several multi-author groups of books to share. The first is a whole bunch of science fiction books that are all free for Kindle Unlimited users. There are 27 in all from a variety of sci fi genres.



The second is a big bunch of speculative fiction books, including fantasy, sci fi, and paranormal, all of them free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. There are fifty-one here to choose from, so a ton of variety. I’m sure there’s something that will tickle your fancy.



I also have a set of mysteries, thrillers, and crime stories, again all free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. Thirty-seven books in all, with all kinds of themes and subgenres.



And still more mysteries, with another set here, all free for KU subscribers. 58 in all!



Finally, last but not at all least, I have another set of 22 fantasy and sci-fi books and series, again all free for KU subscribers.




Thanks

Thanks so much for being a part of my newsletter. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for upcoming books! I love hearing from people. I’m so excited to share Best, with you coming up soon! As always, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or book ideas, I’m all ears, especially if you want to talk about one of mine that you’ve read.

May the Bloodmother watch over you – 
Dave

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