I need your vote for the next Gilded Blood full-page illustration!

WOW. Our Gilded Blood Deluxe Omnibus got over 200 followers in one weekend! I can't believe it! I've been chewing my nails to the nubs over this overwhelmingly intimidating project, but you all have given me hope that we just might be able to pull this off! Thank you all so, so much for the support!

If you haven't already, you can follow the project here. Even if you're unable to contribute financially at this time, the more followers a Kickstarter project has before launch, the more KS pushes it in the algorithm once it goes live on September 12th. So please come join and help make this lovely project a reality!

Speaking of which, it's my goal to have two finished illustrations by the time the project kicks off. So I want to know: which illustration would you like to see Uwe create next? (options below!)

• Talia and Zayn kneeling with their arms around each other in the fae realm, surrounded by tall cobalt-blue grass, with the cerulean sun setting in a vibrant green sky.

• Biscuit engulfed in rainbow flames, protecting Talia from a vampire who is trying to attack her. Location: Zayn's ultra-colorful fae-bound office.

• Mermaids rising up from the emerald-green sea, hand in hand. They have green-tinted skin, long black hair, and are draped in garlands of shells and seaweed.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments and I'll do my best to make it happen!

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August Freebie alerts!

KEYMASTER ORIGINS

Soul Gatherers, quondams, Chinese demons, celestial beings... Sounds like your average night for KeyMaster Michael Nicolas and his Færie Ashayla. Despite battling his own demons, when his friend, Anatole, is in trouble, Michael doesn't hesitate to help. But he gets more than he bargained for when he's thrown in the middle of a case of Truth or Dare gone wrong. Terribly wrong. The kind of wrong when a Chinese huapi demon rampages through London on a killing spree. Thank goodness the nine tail Kumiho Jade Fox can help, but can she be trusted? Welcome to KeyMaster Origins, a prequel novella introducing you to some of the key characters in Georgiana Kent's Soul Dominion series. Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments and Annette Marie's Guild Codex series!

Get your free copy here!

ASTRID'S AUGUST FANTASY FAIR

USA Today Bestselling Author, Astrid V.J. invites you to check out some of her favorite indie fantasy books. Each day, she will showcase one author and a book of their choice from a whole range of fantasy subgenres, and what’s more, many of these books will be 99c or even FREE at some point during the month of August.

ATTENTION: You do NOT want to miss this announcement!

Exactly 17 minutes after the final book in the Gilded Blood series was published, one of my readers asked me, "Hey, when are you doing a deluxe omnibus for the Gilded Blood series?" To which I tiredly replied, "I just wrote 4 books in one year. My nerves are so forking shot, the answer to that is NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER 𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅." (Except my response was much more polite than that, I swear.)

More and more requests for a special edition started coming in after that.

But there was already a deluxe paperback out there with partially-colorized chapter headings. Tired or not, I wasn't going to take more money from my readers unless I could make something truly and utterly spectacular for them.

Then, several months later, I saw the most beautiful book cover I had ever seen. I mean, my jaw DROPPED.

After looking into the artist, I thought to myself, Man. If someone as talented as Uwe Jarling could do like 10 full-page, full-color illustrations of key scenes in the books, that alone would make the omnibus worth it.

Well, I reached out to Mr. Jarling and not only can he do it, but he's SUPER excited about the project. And guess what else? He's already started working on two of the illustrations.

And so, after MUCH thought and designing and meticulous financial planning, we ARE, in fact, doing this. Not only that, but I promise you this: if this project funds, this omnibus is going to be the most beautiful, most colorful, most breathtaking book imaginable. In addition to the revamped cover and added illustrations, I'll personally be redoing all of the chapter heading artwork, resulting in 100+ fully-colorized designs. We're also looking into a special printing method that will allow for some of the most vivid colors imaginable. Seems fitting for such a colorful series, after all :)

So....are you ready for this?

The Kickstarter for this omnibus is officially launching on September 12th, but the pre-order link is up now! Even if you're unable to contribute financially at this time, the more followers a Kickstarter project has before launch, the more KS pushes it in the algorithm once it goes live. So please come join me on what is going to be a TERRIFYINGLY wild ride, because I'm going to need all the help I can get with such a massive undertaking. (We gotta raise $15,000 in 21 days. TWENTY ONE DAYS. Are you panicking? Because I'm not. Nuh uh. Nope.)

Just in case you needed a teensy bit more incentive, here's a close up of the first of 10 full-color illustrations that are hopefully to come!

What do you think? The project is still in the planning stages, so I'd love to hear your feedback!

Fort Collins Comic Con made the terrible mistake of inviting me on their podcast.

I recently sat down with Nick Armstrong, one of the organizers of the Fort Collins Comic Con! Not only did he have to mark the podcast as "explicit" thanks to my lack of filter, but I also let slip WAY too much about a certain unpublished book. And no, I won't give you the minute mark to find it 😝

Rachel's writing process is unique. She's a pantser, writing by the seat of her pants, and doesn't plot out her stories in advance. She wrote her first book in just seven weeks, pouring her hyperfocus and undivided attention into the story. Talk about dedication!

Rachel's love for fantasy shines through in her work. She draws inspiration from her favorite fandoms like Sailor Moon and Goosebumps. Her books feature overpowered women who can destroy planets, a trope she adores. Who doesn't love a strong female protagonist?

From corporate job to bestselling author, Rachel Rener shares her journey on the FoCo Comic Con podcast. Don't miss this inspiring conversation! Get ready to be enchanted by Rachel Rener's urban fantasy books that combine science and magic. Tune in to the FoCo Comic Con podcast to learn more about her captivating storytelling!

If you enjoyed this rambling, filter-less interview, I'll also be hosting a panel at the convention entitled Men Writing Women: An author-led panel that [lovingly] examines poorly-written, two-dimensional female literary characters through humorously bad examples (“she breasted boobily down the stairs”), followed by a thoughtful discussion on how to successfully write fully fleshed-out, three dimensional, realistic female characters in fiction writing. Caution: cringe-worthy anatomical terms abound!

To all my local Colorado nerds, I hope to see you there! To everyone else, thanks for stopping by!