Spring Cleaning, Maintenance & Updates

As usual, I try to do some spring cleaning on my website, delete inactive or spammy-looking accounts and other such tedious and boring webmistress maintenance on the technical side of the site.

New Mailing List Features!

This year, I'm updating my site to handle mailing list directly through my site instead of through MailChimp. MailChimp has been good to me, but as I near the 2000 member mark on my list, the monthly costs are a bit out of my budget right now. I will, instead, be using a fabulous plugin called “Newsletters” by Tribulant Software. These guys are great and their product is much more affordable.

Possible Repeat E-mails – SORRY! :\

HOWEVER, switching over to this new system is not only taking some time (I have to recreate all of those nifty automatic e-mails that go out when you reach those milestones in your VIP Club subscription), but it might create a few hiccups. I am working with Tribulant to be sure there are as little of those as possible, but be forewarned…you might get some repeat e-mails. I apologize in advance!

FREEBIES Will Be Attached!

The good news is, I'll be gaining some really nifty features, like being able to attach your freebies right to the e-mails that go out. No more downloading for you and no more coupons. So those great desktop wallpapers and background images for your phones, as well as the free eBooks members get…you don't have to look any further than your inbox!

This also means that if I have a story I want to put into the Kindle Unlimited program, I won't be violating Amazon's contract conditions anymore. Nice benefit for me and for those of you who love Kindle Unlimited.

New Novella this Winter!

I've just written my own version of the Jack Frost story…but this certainly isn't for children. (To the right is a sneak peek at the characters!) This 25k-word spin-off is from Midnight Eclipse, in that it features one of the Elemental Nurseries – what the vampires Rasheed, Ammon and Mikhail (former Vamsyrian Council Members) call their little prisons for the Elementals. The elder vampires are breeding these witches and mages for their magical powers in hopes of eventually producing a spirit elemental – one who has power over the dead. 

The novella is titled “Frostbitten Hearts” and is the story of baby Jack, all grown up. If you read Midnight Eclipse, you might remember the cusper infant who was born between the two signs of Pisces and Aquarius, giving him the ability to wield both air and water. It is about 25 years after the end of Book 4, and Jack is in love with our heroine, Aideen, who is a fire witch. Unfortunately, the two of them are literally ripped from each others' arms at the beginning, when Jack and many other elementals escape the nursery. It only gets more tense after that! I'll be making an announcement of the cover reveal and release dates once I have more solid information. Right now, look out for its release in November for this holiday season and some excerpts leading up to the release!

Book 5 Updates!!

 YES! I'm working on Midnight Savior! I was pretty stressed about how I was going to fit all those wonderful pieces I've been aching to put into this story, because nothing seemed cohesive: Jack the Ripper, putting Christabelle (Davina's name in this novel) in the path of the killer, working in the prophecy, adding some real twists and turns and surprising elements that I hope will make you gasp, giving Cordelia, her now-husband Peter, and Malloren larger parts, and working in a sub-plot to include not only Angus Campbell…but the new character I introduced at the end of Book 4 – Kahli, the Goddess of Darkness!! Jesse and the ex-Council members will be making cameo appearances, too.

I think most of my die-hard readers know I love many, many layers to my plots and work to ensure everything I mention in the stories doesn't have just one purpose, but as many functions as possible to push my story along and support it…but I also labour not to be too confusing with all these goodies.

This story is set in Victorian London, during the time buy klonopin mastercard Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of the East End – specifically Whitechapel – in 1888. Oh, the research I had to do for this baby! And the things I've learned – and are still learning – about the horrors the people of the East End experienced. What a terrible time to be poor! Charles Dickens, Jack London and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (to name just a few) wrote in detail about the atrocities of the time in their many tales. Jack London, the American author, even went “under cover” as a vagabond to learn first hand about the life of these crowded, dirty and violent streets. I'll have a lot of interesting and even gruesome facts to share in my author notes once this book is out, so don't skip that section. I'll be referencing many wonderful books of the time and some of the shocking facts will be revealed in the story itself. If you think I've put Broderick through hell over the last several novels in the series, wait 'til you see what I'm putting poor Davina through. *groan* Many of you will hate me, but all will turn out well in the end. I do, after all, love a happy ending!

And just as a side-note, I'm going to do my best to use the English spelling of words throughout the novel as much as possible, if not entirely (provided my editor and I don't miss anything). Things like “mobilize” and “organize” will be spelled “mobilise” and “organise”. Delightful spellings like colour and parlour and even saviour, which means I'll be changing the spelling of the title. I think it will go a long way in bringing in the flavour of the setting as well as the time period.

So, when will it be out, I hear you all asking. I can't give you a date yet, but suffice it to say I do hope to get it published before the summer is over. SQUEEEEE!!! And with some recent studying I've been doing of my craft – a writer NEVER stops studying or developing his/her skills – I hope to be writing much faster and will (cross my fingers) pump out FULL-LENGTH novels much faster than at my 1-or-2-books-a-year rate. Don't hold me to that, but I'm doing my damnedest to write my stories as quickly as I can without sacrificing quality all so I can feed you ravenous monsters! LOL I do love how quickly you devour my books! Many of you expressed that you're not too thrilled with the idea of me writing shorter stories, that you'd much rather have the longer novels. I heard you and I am endevouring to deliver!

2015 1st Quarter Drawing Delays

One final note: The 1st quarter drawing has been delayed due to my computer being in the shop. I'm working off my sllloooooooooowwwww laptop these days AND it doesn't have the information I need for all those extra entries you all have earned for the drawing – those people who forwarded on my VIP Club e-mails to tell friends about me. If you aren't a member of my VIP Club, now is the time to join! Not only do you get a bunch of vampire freebies, but if you sign up today, any of the e-mails you forward to your friends will not only earn you extra entries for this drawing (hopefully taking place by Friday) but those same extra entries will count in the 2nd quarterly drawing, so you'll be doubling your entries. that goes for current members AND new members. So JOIN TODAY and start sending out those e-mails to your friends (be sure to copy or blind-copy me on those) and they could also win a chance at the $50 gift card I give away each quarter. Don't worry, I won't use their e-mails to add them to my list. They have to join on their own. I just use them for the drawing.

Thank you all for your patience and constant encouragement! Remember to please review the books you've read – mine or anyone else's. It's a great way to show your favourite authors your appreciation. Until the next post…

Hugs,

Arial 😀