Table of Contents
1) News/Musings
2) I Made a Boo Boo!
3) StoryOrigin Swaps 1 & 2
4) Virtual Tourist - New World
5) Book Review - A Most Malicious Murder
6) Books for Reviews
7) Strong Women - Strange Worlds
Greetings!
Looks like fall is here!
Temperatures dropped for a couple of days, but look to be back to 90 degrees plus! ☀ Ugh!
My sinuses are raging! (Not that that's anything new.) 😋
News/Musings
TikTok has been around for years, but I never paid much attention. My father will sometimes send me links to posts there—mostly about cats. 🐱👤 A writer friend mentioned it recently, and ever since then, I'd been thinking about it.
Now, I have taken the plunge! Yes, I have my own TikTok page. As of today, I have made and uploaded five videos. They are all one minute or less. We'll see what kind of a disaster this turns out to be. LOL. 😁
If you want to take a look, my TikTok is tiktok.com/@gloriaoliverauthor
You may have seen them pop up on Instagram or Facebook. It's weird how it converts them. For example, for Instagram, it makes it square. The captions on TikTok don't seem to come over. Should be fun seeing all the weirdness and playing with options.
I made a Boo Boo!
In the last newsletter, I made a Boo Boo with regards to the info on one of the StoryOrigin swaps. For S. V. Fanrsworth's Woman of the Stone—I'd added it was only available in print. This is NOT true! DOH! 🤦♀️
There are ebook versions of the book at Kobo and B&N. The author just made the decision not to have the ebook at Amazon. When I saw it didn't have one there, I assumed it didn't have any anywhere else. Mea culpa! 😓
However, there is some good news. The ebook is currently on sale for 99 cents!
Summer also has a new release coming up for a space opera. She said she is happy to give people the first-in-series ebooks in exchange for honest reviews. If you wish to see all her works, check out her website.
Extra content today:
1) Two book info swaps from StoryOrigin. (Including the Woman of the Stone.)
2) One opportunity for books for reviews.
3) Review of Melanie Fletcher's A Most Malicious Murder - Melanie is part of the Future Classics Writers' Group I belong to. I'd been waiting for this puppy for over 10 years!
4) Info on the next Strong Women - Strange Worlds virtual readings.
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉
StoryOrigin Swap 1
Woman of the Stone by S.V. Farnsworth
Emerald Stone broke her word only once.
As the consequences catch up with her, it may cost her life, has already taken her virtue, and for certain will exact a toll on her freedom.
Tasked by the Creator with a quest to reunite the ancient Modutan Empire, she escapes in search of a peace that can only be found on the other side of a war. If she survives the politics and peril of the journey, she will discover that oaths of the heart are not so easily broken.
StoryOrigin Swap 2
Once Upon A Name - Tales of the Strange and Unusual
What’s in a name? Names have power, names have magic, names can set the course for a great destiny.
Once upon a time, twenty author friends accepted a challenge by a fairy tale name generator. Now, twenty new characters have adventurous tales to tell.
In this clean YA anthology, meet goddesses, empresses, countesses, wannabe sorceress apprentices, female leaders of wolf packs, and guardian frog sidekicks. Search for missing persons with a hunter turned detective. Swoon over the gypsy sultana who must prove she is fit to rule. Cavort with our demons, wraiths, and demigods and lose your soul to the Bone Marsh. Root for a genie’s freedom or bite your nails as you pray for the witch to get the spell right. And yes, feel your heart palpitate at unexpected romance.
Escape into our strange and unusual collection of short stories written by award-winning and up-and-coming authors. Join us in far-off lands and learn. . .what is in a name.
All proceeds will be donated to charity in support of reading and literacy.
New World
New World is an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online Game). Hubby and I are both gamers, but finding a game we can play together is sometimes a bit of a challenge as we tend to look for different things.
We'd heard about this one six months or more ago and it's finally out!
The premise is that you are one of many people shipwrecked on the supernatural island of Aeternum. You can forage, craft, and battle. Unlike most MMO's this one does not have classes, so players can mix and match armor, abilities, etc. It has both PVE (Player vs. Environment) and PVP (Player vs. Player). Hubby and I both dislike PVP, so it's great that only those who enjoy that style of play can opt to do it.
We've been enjoying the game overall so far. The only frustrating thing has been the maps. Not very user-friendly. Slowly getting a clue on that. 😋
More pics here.
Part of the introduction story. A survivor has sold the ship's captain a map to Aeternum.
My character on the doomed ship. The man to her left is the captain. The box contains a relic to guide the ship to the island. The perpetual storms around it have other plans. Bwahahahaha.
After nearly drowning, the character awakes at this shipwreck-strewn beach. You can see Vikings, Conquistadors, and people from other ages and countries have come here seeking power.
All is not well here. There are evil supernatural forces at work. If you are infected, you become an undead servant to the Blight.
As you can see, the graphics are quite nice. Where the Blight and contagion are held back, the island can be quite beautiful.
A view of the island of Aeternum. Definitely no longer in the normal world.
The ship's captain, once he's consumed by the blight.
View from the beach at Monarch's Bluff, my starting town. Trying my hand at fishing.
Book Review
A Most Malicious Murder
Alternate History and Cozy Murder for the win!
What if Edgar Allan Poe had not died in 1849 and turned his life around? Then finds himself on tour in England trying to drum up subscriptions for his brainchild, The Stylus magazine? His first stop is Oxford for a talk at Christ Church, one of the largest colleges at the University. Yet, a nasty encounter and a pushy publisher lead him to cave to his alcohol craving imp's wishes, despite his promise to his second wife not to imbibe. A lapse he comes to doubly regret when he awakens in the wrong room of the hotel but a foot or two from a murdered maid.
Melanie Fletcher does an outstanding job of weaving what has been to what could have been. The details are vivid, and she expertly shows the amalgamation that is Oxford and its varied challenges. Including Charles Dodgson before he became the famed Lewis Carroll adds a nice layer, as we see the author in his still formative years.
The two men, different in temperament, country, and age, must find ways to deal with one another and accept what each brings to the table in order to clear Poe's name and catch a murderer. With the viewpoints shifting from Poe to Dodgson and the killer, readers will get an immersive view of events.
A Most Malicious Murder is a sensory delicious and fast-moving read.
Books for Reviews Exchange!
Ghosts and Ghouls and Things That Go Bump in the Night! Books in exchange for reviews for the month of October! 👻 You can see all the participants here.
Strong Women - Strange Worlds
The next Strong Women - Strange Worlds virtual readings are set for Thursday 10/21/21 at 5 pm EST. Check out the graphic below for the participants. Here's the pre-registration link.
They have a BIG surprise coming for December 12th. More details soon!
Can you believe 2021 is almost over?!?!?! 😱😱😱😱
Gloria
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