Hope you had a good Christmas/holiday, and wish you a happy new year – and an even better 2021.
Thank you for your support this year. Enjoy the holidays. Contact a friend or family member. Share memories. Read a book. Eat chocolate. Be kind to yourself. You deserve it.
Virtual hugs to you all, no matter how you’re spending this week.
Not long now. 2020 is almost over…
Hugs to you all.
Patreon supporters of $5 tier (Conspirator) and above can join me for their video livechat reward tomorrow (Sat 11.30am – Adelaide time ACDT)
See you then!
If you would like to join me next month – you can pledge your support here:
Become a Patron!
A big December shout out to everyone especially my top Patreon supporters, Kel Kininmont, William J. Jackson,Joanne Van Raaphorst , and Marion Anderson.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays. Enjoy the holidays and stay safe.
[#imagedescription Video of Karen looking into the camera and smiling as she sends greetings and a shout out.]
I have a limited number of paperback copies available HERE. RRP $19.99
Mrs Hudson and the Forgotten Letter is dedicated to my friend, Mark Calderwood who, sadly, passed in December, 2020. Mark helped with my research on Japanese culture for this story.
If you haven’t read Mrs Hudson’s first adventure, then grab a copy of Volume I (on sale now), with Mrs Hudson’s first adventure, Mrs Hudson Investigates.
Or buy a copy of both (at discounted price) RRP $45. On sale for $40 for both volume I and II. (Limited number available.)
Also features Conan Doyle’s infamous story, The Final Problem.
(Postage to Australian addresses only).
Booktrailer release: A Fey Tale Booktrailer – out 2021!
LINKS:
Apologies for sound. Sorry FB is doing silly things… ? took a few goes to get the live to work.
Thanks to my Patreons – Kellie Kininmont, William J Jackson, Marion Anderson, and Joanne Von Raaphorst for supporting me.
My Victorian steampunk mystery story, set over Christmas 1889 – Tomorrow, When I Die – available individually as eBook, or in the third journal of The Adventures of Viola Stewart, The Illusioneer & Other Tales.
The new (Covid-safe) book trailer dropped today – for A Fey Tale, book 2 in The Aunt Enid Mysteries.
I’ve got a store in the Indie Press section of the online vendors market for InCONceivable – THIS WEEKEND!
for live and recorded panels, a virtual convention marketplace and more!
InCONceibable is a new Online Convention
There’s a brand new Australian-based online convention heading your way. InCONceivable will be held over 14-15 November: 10am – 6pm (AEST). I’ve just got confirmation of my spot as an Indie Press vendor!
You can find my ‘shop’ HERE.
Find out more about the event at: https://www.inconceivableevents.com.au/
There will be guest authors, vendors, artists, workshops and even an online tea party!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InconceivableEvents
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inconceivableevents/
Some people or characters are so iconic, they leave their mark on generation after generation, even while they are still alive. Each decade they renew their place in our affection, until they become part of our personal psyche. We feel we know them. We begin to believe they will live forever.
So, when they venture beyond the veil, our loss is felt deeply. It’s like our favourite, estranged uncle, has passed – the one we will never actually meet. We’ve heard so many stories about them, we feel we know them, that they’ve always been there for us. We love them, despite their faults.
But, like all estranged uncles, you don’t realise how much you miss them until they are gone. A hole is left with their passing. Our existence is changed. We have to accept they’ve gone. And no one can live forever, right?
James Bond, Ramius, Ramírez – these are characters who have helped shaped my imagination and, in a way, my writing. I shall miss your warm Scottish brogue, and your passion for a free Scotland.
Vale Sir Sean Connery.
Today was the official launch of my short story eBook collection, ‘Another Twist of the Nib’, and my second music collaboration project, ‘Spanish Flu’. I discussed inspirations and research I did for the stories, and chatted about ‘ghoulies’ and ‘ghosties’ and things that go bump in the night.
The event ended with a live chat/interview with Richard Ryall, who composed the music to accompany my lyrics for ‘Spanish Flu’. You can find it on my FB page and on my youTube channel.
Gievaways included an eBook copy of ‘Another Twist of the Nib’ and a digital download of ‘Spanish Flu’.
LINKS:
Spanish Flu ©2020 Lyrics Karen J Carlisle/ Music Richard Ryall
November’s Tea & Tidings newsletter is out early… and the flying monkeys are working hard.
There’s a lot to tell! Subcmscibe here so you don’t miss out next month!
www.karenjcarlisle.com/sign-up-email-list/
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#newsletter #authorslife #writerslife #news #events #sneakpeek
I’ve been scribbling again. This time you can find my guest blog post at Penny Blake’s ‘Blake and Wight’ blog, for her Light in the Lantern series.
It’s Indie October over at Mark Hayes’ blog, The Passing Place. It’s not an easy journey for authors. 2020 has seen Covid lockdowns, government budget cuts for the Arts, an apparent paper shortage and print delays. It’s even harder for Indie authors… especially when we aren’t taken seriously.
Follow this link to read my latest guest blog, No, really, what’s your day job?.
The link for today’s video livechat has been posted on Patreon for my generous supporters of Conspirator Tiers and above.
Want to join me next month? Pledge your support HERE. Become a Patron!
I began with Draft 2 Digital, as there have been issues on Amazon’s end for three of my eBooks. I was quite happy to have them chug away and expected not to get any results until the weekend while I sorted the rest…
Well, knock my socks off!
The Draft 2 Digital publication went through without a hitch (I thought Amazon would block the process as there was a small ‘freely available’ excerpt of the final short, The Case of the Murderous Migraine, online for it’s first publication in Deadsteam, 2018). I emailed the very helpful Tara, at D2D, to warn her of the (<5%) excerpt. She made a note of it. (I am extremely pleased with D2D’s customer service, btw.)
well… This time it all went through without a hitch. It went through (thanks to Tara’s note to the Amazon vetters/reviewers). Squee.
Thus began the process of adding Another Twist of the Nib to my Amazon author page. It took a day to be visible to add to the page via Amazon’s author central. Next, there’s usually there’s a 2-7 day wait for it to process and become visible on my author page on Amazon’s website. Blow me over with a feather; it popped up within three hours!
In the meantime, I uploaded to Smashwords (to distribute to Kobo, Apple Books, B&N etc) This can usually be done in half a day (though it takes longer to be approved for Apple Books). Today it was a tad quicker. I then assigned an ISBN and it was all go, go, go!
I popped over to Books 2 Read to check out my links listing… Again, it seemed to be a much faster process this time round (not waiting for Amazon make a huge difference). So you can check out the links listing HERE already!
I’ve now made the eBook listing public in my website page, with both the Smashwords direct and the link listing link, and added the eBook to my Goodreads listing.
A process that took me over a week previously, has taken just 24 hours this time. To say I’m surprised is definitely an understatement.
So, a good surprise. Definitely less stress this time round. (am wondering what I haven’t noticed has gone wrong). But also a tad annoying, as I’d hoped my patrons to have their reward copy at least a week before it was online. My apologies to you all.
Here is the complete list of links:
When you read the eBook, feel free to leave an honest review on Smashwords, Amazon and/or Goodreads if you wish. Every little bit helps.
This post was published via Patron on 7th October.
My latest song, Spanish Flu, is available free to my Patreon Conspirator + tier supporters. Because they deserve it!
Enjoy!
Richard Ryall has set my words to music. The song will be released on their upcoming album (and on my webpage store as a digital single) in October.
You will be able to purchase a digital copy mid-October at: https://karenjcarlisle.com/product-category/music-original/
(NB: The new product page will go active around mid-October, 2020.)
Patreon supporters at the Conspirator ($5) and above will receive their copy in October. (You can pledge to support me here)
This is the new cover, designed to give an art deco/steampunk feel:
Spanish Flu ©2020 Lyrics: Karen J Carlisle/ Music: Richard Ryall.
Performed by The Littmus Steampunk Band
Due to the rescheduling of A Fey Tale, I’ve decided to bring forward my planned publication of a new short story collection, Another Twist of the Nib, from March 2021 to this month!
My second collection, Quarantine Reads, were lighter stories. This time, I’ve decided to aim for late October/pre-Halloween release, so I’ve collated some of my slightly darker stories for Another Twist of the Nib. This will be added to the Patreon rewards for Adventurer Extraordinaire ($10 tier) plus supporters. (You can pledge to support me here)
And, in keeping with the Halloween vibe, the cover is in purples and oranges.
And here’s your Patreon reward sneak peek:
Look for Another Twist of the Nib via my website shop, and online bookstores, late October.
Okay… the bad news first:
I doubt I will have A Fey Tale polished enough for publication before the end of the year. Then there’s the beta reader round and final editing….
Yes, blame Covid, if you like. It sucks. Depression and anxiety suck (the words right out of my head). I’m now aiming for early 2021.
Check your time zones, and set your clocks.
I’ll be chatting about upcoming announcements and secret projects.
The monkeys have flown!
Subscribers have received pictures, video links, sneak peeks and early news!
My Patreon supporters just received a sneak peek of the opening scene of A Fey Tale, the second book in The Aunt Enid Mysteries series.
Want sneak peeks, behind the scenes, and more?
Support me on
Become a Patron!
I don’t only write books. I also do artwork, format text/internal of books , create videos, and design book covers and CD covers.
My most recent cover commission was for the Littmus Steampunk band. They have just released a new album, with some favourite songs (Check out the didgeridoo on Across the Nullabor. ) You can find it on their Bandcamp site.
This is the cover I designed for them.
I’ve finished designing the bookplate for tomorrow’s Geek Markets Live 2.0.
Anyone who buys a paperback ‘direct from author’ before 30th September (posted to an Australian address), not only gets EVENT PRICES but also this exclusive event bookplate – signed, numbered and personalised (if you supply your name) bookplate.
(Patreon supporters got a sneak peek earlier this week)
It’s September, and time for another Behind the Scenes Patreon reward!
Supporters received exclusive vision of recent, and preparations for upcoming, virtual/live events, making of videos, sneak peeks of upcoming announcements, including my latest project to be announced soon.
Only 3 days to go until my next online event appearance – this time the (Canberra) Geek Markets, which are going virtual this weekend. Forget Covid spatial distancing – just join us from the comfort of your own space.
Geek Markets Live will be streaming geeky artists, traders and creators – including yours truely! There will be two livestream sessions. You can watch them live on their website HERE – or via their FB event page – Geek Markets Virtual Market, youTube channel or Twitch.
I’ll be presenting on Session Two – at 2.00-2.15 pm (ACST)/ 2.30-2.45pm (AEST) this Saturday, 26th September.
(This story is available in the paperback compilation, The Illusioneer & Other Tales.)
The Adventures of Viola Stewart series has it all:
murder
mummies
mystery
madness
magic and illusion
and Jack the Ripper…
It’s come to my attention that book scammers may be selling heavily discounted copies of my first book, Doctor Jack & Other Tales, on Amazon.
The ONLY current edition of Doctor Jack is edition 2.
Look for the title: Doctor Jack & Other Tales, with the SUBTITLE: The Adventures of Viola Stewart Journal #1 – and was published by Kraken Publishing in 2016 – available via Ingram Spark.
This original edition was originally titled: The Adventures of Viola Stewart Journal #1: Doctor Jack and Other Tales. This was my first foray into indie publishing and was published in 2015, via Createspace – which is NO MORE. This was removed when Createspace closed down.
The reviews are genuine – left over from the first edition. Amazon won’t transfer them to the second edition.
I’ve found it still selling on Amazon under the original title, supposedly available from CREATESPACE, with 1 left in stock.
DO NOT buy this copy.
This was removed from sale. I get NO ROYALTY PAYMENTS from this copy. I don’t know how they can supply the book when it’s been pulled from Createspace – and Creatspace DOESN’T NOT EXIST any more. Don’t get caught out.
It’s the last day of Adelaide steampunk festival. Click & Collect orders are now closed.
If you want a copy of my books, you can get them from the event – at event prices AND get your exclusive event – signed and and numbered – book plate.
Looks like the technical hitch with the projector is sorted.
My talks on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s visit to Adelaide (100 years ago, this year) and Fairys/Fairy Doors should be at 12.45pm today at the main stage.
Find out about this year’s theme for the Festival.
It’s finally here!
All the steampunky goodness… and I can’t be there.
Not physically, at least.
I did my first ‘official’ live via my FB page (with Dearheart as my conspirator)
Steampunk Festival Day 1 – Intro
Dave leads us through the Railways Museum to see some of today's @Adelaide Steampunk Festival – You can chat to me via our Skype link at my table
Posted by Karen J Carlisle on Friday, September 11, 2020
I Skyped in all day to chat to readers and attendees…
Don’t forget you get an exclusive signed and numbered bookplate with each book.
Disappointed I can’t be there in person… Let me out!
I’m back today for day 2.
