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 from many sources here. Some bargains on my books coming upI’ve got two promotions coming up that will allow you to get my books for a much reduced price – one for $0.99 (or some kind of equivalent bargain in your home currency) and one for free. Mark your calendars and grab your bargains! From August 7 to August 11, our new romantic comedy Best, will be free. We were chosen for a competitive promotion opportunity through BookBub, so we might see thousands of downloads during the five days of the promo. You can be one of those! This is an enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy set on a college campus that comes with a bonus mystery story also! It was released at the end of June, and we’ve had a great response, including this review from a reader across the pond. I can safely say I’ve never before been praised for profanity in my books, so this is a new one. I would say it’s all Anonymous’ fault, but I wrote half of it, and I think we might have fed off each other here. There was a significant amount of swearing in my own academic career, mostly by others but sometimes by me, so at least it’s true to life. Your other opportunity for a bargain is my cozy mystery, Unwelcome Matt, which will be on sale for $0.99 in the US (with equivalent bargains elsewhere) for a full week from August 10-16 This is the story of a librarian who comes home ready to evict her deadbeat housemate, only to discover a murdered man in her house (not the housemate!). Things gradually spiral out of control, and she needs to solve the mystery on her own to avoid sharing her uninvited visitor’s fate. Here’s a fun review of this one: Writing updateI’m making good progress on my next sci-fi novel, reaching 72,000 words. This is one I’ve started and stopped a couple times, but I’m doing well and think I’m on track to finish a draft this fall, with hopefully a release by the end of the year. It’s about an engineer on a Patrol starship sent back on a long-range exploratory mission to former human colony worlds, which were destroyed by war and have been silent for hundreds of years. It’s set in the same universe as Daros and Kenai, although this one takes place on actual Patrol vessels, so it has maybe more of a Star Trek vibe than the others. I’m having a lot of fun writing it, and I’m really excited to share it with you soon. Some stories to tryI’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, I have Nefarious Gift by R.E. Holding. This looks wild – a story where a guy is forced to join a magic academy only to discover that his ability is to steal life from people. At least he also has a weird girlfriend. Have a look! Next up, I have She Needs Therapy by V. Brandy. This is a romantic comedy with a love triangle. The catch? One-third of the triangle is an unstable international arms dealer, while the other two are hapless normies. I’m not sure they all won’t need therapy before this is over. Next up, I have a sci-fi anthology with stories from fourteen writers: Transform the World. This is part of a series of anthologies where sci-fi authors are asked to write stories that embody hope for the future in some way. It’s free, so give it a look! Next, I have three books from the Retirement Starship Mystery Series by Zeph Baxter. These books are cozy mysteries (a very popular genre) but also sci-fi, and beyond that, with older protagonists. That’s a lot of circles on your Venn diagram. If it sounds like your kind of thing, give them a try! Next, I have three group promos with lots and lots of books. The first is a set of a whopping 140 fantasy and science fiction books and series that are all free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. There is a huge variety here, enough to keep you reading for more than a year. Next, I have four sci-fi and fantasy audiobooks. If you like to read with your ears, there are some great choices here. Finally, I have a set of 23 sci-fi and fantasy books that are all free. There’s a big variety here, and it costs you nothing to download them and try them out. ThanksThanks so much for being a part of my newsletter. As you can see from my posts above, I really love seeing reviews of my books out there. If you’ve enjoyed anything somebody creative has done (and that means anything, not just my books), please let the person know – it will mean the world to them, and it will inspire them to keep creating the stuff you like. May the Bloodmother watch over you – Dave Dave Dobson Books 417 Scott Avenue Greensboro, NC 27403 USA |
Category: Newsletters
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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 from many sources here.
Get What Grows From the Dead free starting Monday! As a bonus for you active newsletter subscribers, here’s a bargain on the way: my most popular mystery, What Grows From the Dead, will be free to download from Amazon from July 20th (my dad’s birthday!) to July 24th. Mark your calendar and grab the free book here.
Here’s the blurb: Morris Drummond is not at his best. Well, he hasn’t been at his best for a while now. But having just suffered two crushing losses, he’s almost at rock bottom, which for him means driving ride-share in his mom’s beat up Chevy, drowning his sorrows in tacos and spray cheese, and avoiding anything related to ambition, self-care, or laundry. Morris is about to learn that he didn’t even know what rock bottom looked like, and it’s all thanks to his mom. A secret she left behind comes to light, and that brings down a lot of unwanted attention on Morris, the kind that looks likely to send him either to prison or to the hereafter. Blood and treachery from long ago rise to the surface, and Morris has only his lawyer Annie, who’s an old high school friend, and a few unexpected allies to call on as he tries to figure out what his mom was up to and why so many people want him out of the picture. A humorous mystery with elements of suspense and thrillers, What Grows From the Dead is set in present-day small-town North Carolina, not far from the mysterious Uwharrie Forest. Content warnings: Coarse language throughout; some gun violence (not graphic). Enjoy a copy on me! I hope you have fun with it. Convention appearance, plus Scalzi! I’ll be at ConGregate in Greensboro this weekend, Friday to Sunday. This is a sci-fi and fantasy convention that happens every year, and this will be my second year. I’m on several panels throughout the weekend, and I’m also doing an improv comedy show with friends from The Idiot Box on Friday right after the opening ceremony. One of the coolest things to come of this is that one of the panels I’m on is with two big-name authors who are guests of honor at the convention. One is Richard Kadrey, who writes the Sandman Slim series of supernatural noir books. The other is John Scalzi, a multi-Hugo-award winning author with a huge following. I’ve enjoyed every book of his I’ve read, including the Hugo-winning Redshirts. I feel a little like a ball kid at Wimbledon, running around between famous people trying not to get in their way, but I am so excited to be on the panel. Here’s the description:  I’ll let you know how it goes! Best, is off to a good start! I’m happy to report that Best, is off to a great start. We’ve sold 44 copies on Amazon plus another seven from my home shop. We’ve had another set of readers read 4373 pages in Kindle Unlimited, an equivalent of another ten copies. Reviews and ratings are starting to come in, and we’re at an average of about 4.5 out of 5 on both Amazon and Goodreads.
One reader had an especially kind review:
Another interested party (my wife) wanted people to know that she laughed out loud at the Mark sections, too. There’s a tiny chance she’s geared towards my humor, though. 🙂 If you’d like to read Best, it’s available on Amazon in ebook and paperback here (free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers) and in paperback through my shop (where you can get a signed copy!) here. Here’s a picture of the paperbacks on my shelf (with a view of my cool family heirloom Oz books).
Writing update I haven’t gotten a ton of writing done since I last wrote you all. I had a cross-country (or cross-half-country) trip with my oldest kid from Colorado to Minneapolis in a giant white van, helping them move to a new post-doc position. That was really fun, and I got to see my dad on the way. Once I got back, I had some other life stuff to handle, and I had to do some reading for the SPSFC, which I’m judging this year. I also got a little distracted working on a new boardgame design, which is always fun for me. Once I’m done with ConGregate, I’ll dive back into my sci-fi novel, and I hope to get a first draft done by the end of August. The upcoming Rings of Adventure anthology (in which I have a story) in is taking shape, and we’re getting ready to launch the Kickstarter at the end of August. All the stories are fantasy and sci-fi, and they’ll be delivered in book form and also advent-calendar style by email, one story a day, during December. If you’d like to keep up with updates and the launch, you can follow the Kickstarter project here. 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 up, I have Slice of Sin by J.W. Weld. This is a free prequel story to Weld’s Last Sin series. It’s a villain’s-eye-view of a hunt for an important boy who should be dead.
Next, I have Burning Oath by Rowan Ashborne. This epic fantasy adventure has so much awesome stuff – prophecy, a capital E Empire, rebels, commanders, some place called the Wildlands, dying magic, and even some kind of demon cat. It’s earned a 4.6 average on 38 ratings at Amazon. Check it out!
Next, I have Freak Forward by C.G. Harris. This is a young adult cyberpunk thriller, with neon, hackers, big corps, a city’s underbelly, and all kinds of delicious tropey stuff. Only $0.99! Have a look.
Next, I have The Control Room by Miriam Khan. This is a romance with some sci-fi and mafia elements, and there’s stuff on a train, which is one of my favorite settings. Khan is offering it for free to people willing to consider posting a review. Now that I’m a romance author I’ll have some more of these to share, although I’ll try to stay away from the naked man torso ones where possible.
Finally, I have The Dead Lands by Cheryl Mackey, the second book in her Destiny series. A wasteland, a war, a necromancer, a quest, immortals and a mysterious book – this has all kinds of cool chewy epic fantasy stuff. Not to mention a flaming volcano axe, which everyone needs.
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. 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. Don’t forget to grab your free copy of What Grows From the Dead next week starting Monday! May the Bloodmother watch over you – Dave
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