AUDIO BOOK STATUS ON VAMPIRE QUEEN'S SERVANT - A RELEASE DATE!

Keira Grace, our fabulous narrator for the audio version of Vampire Queen's Servant, has finished recording this first book of our Vampire Queen series. I had the pleasure of reading all the chapters to sign off on them and WOW. WOW. WOW. Yeah, I'm VERY happy. I think she really nailed Lyssa's essence, just as I hoped she would. In one particularly intense scene, her reading of Lyssa's reaction actually brought me to tears. Since Keira is a female narrator, of course the male voices won't sound like we imagine them for Jacob, Mason, Thomas, etc, but I think she did a great job with them. By the time I hit about Chapter 3-4, I didn't even give it a thought - I was caught up in Lyssa and Jacob's story. It's been a long time since I've read VQS from beginning to end, so I'd forgotten a lot of the little details I loved about the journey they took together in this first book.

One funny note - though Thomas and Brian are both British, in my head, I always "heard" American English when I read them, since that's how I talk. Therefore, when she read them with British accents, it startled me. Then I remembered, "Oh yeah, they're British!" Would you like to hear the retail sample clip for the book? It's about two-and-a-half minutes, and it's from that scene in the Eldar Salon when Jacob and Lyssa first formally meet. Click here.

We have a release date!! The audiobook will be coming out December 15 at over 40 audiobook distributors, including Audible. This is the first time I've done this, and I understand the different distributors have varying processes for getting the books loaded and up on their sites. That's why for this first book, I chose a release date that had a buffer of about six weeks or so.

I'm delighted Keira's already agreed to read Mark of the Vampire Queen, so we'll have continuity in the character voices for Jacob and Lyssa in Part 2 of their story. Next month, I'll have more information on how we'll be marketing Vampire Queen's Servant for its release in this format. I might even have some Giveaway Codes!

Since I'm going to use money from the sales of each audiobook to fund the production of the next, I will appreciate any help spreading the word and enthusiasm about the audiobook, but regardless, I hope you'll love hearing Lyssa and Jacob's story read to you.

NEXT GUEST AUTHOR DAY - JULIA KENT

LEXI BLAKE and her PA, Chloe, entertained all of us at Lexi's September guest author appearance on the JWHMembersOnly Facebook group . Lexi told us why she enjoys writing her very popular Masters and Mercenaries series, answered tons of questions, and offered fun stories about her dogs (Precious came by a couple times to check on our progress, though Frodo was less interested in the goings on). I never realized how many series/genres she has written. If you weren't able to make it, you can see the full video here.

WHO IS NEXT? JULIA KENT is not a BDSM romance author. However, since our guest author list was reader-generated, and my fans are avid readers of a wide variety of romance genres, it shouldn't surprise anyone she made the invite list. She is a feel-good romance author whose stories transport readers to a fun, loving and sexy place. For those who enjoy committed menage, she also has three series with that dynamic - Random, Obedient (not BDSM) and Her Billionaires. Her bio states: "From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire)." Oh, and btw? That book, first in her Shopping for a Billionaire series, is FREE - click here.

So come join us at the JWHMembersOnly Facebook group on October 30, 8pm EDT for Julia's FB Live - plus tune in anytime that day for the drop-in posts she’ll leave for us!

Note: Julia will be our LAST Guest Author of 2021 as we head into the November/December busy holiday months. We had planned to have the wonderful Kylie Scott finish us up with a November FB Live, after she had to reschedule with us from a month earlier in the year. However, unfortunately, she notified me recently she will once again have to bow out. This year has confronted her with a few personal difficulties, and she needs to focus on her books. We've all been there, so our hope is that 2022 is kinder to her, even as we're excited to know she's working on more books for her readers to enjoy!

TITLE OF THE NEXT BOOK, AND DISCOUNTED WITCH BOOK!

I do not know how long it will last, but as of the release of this newsletter, In the Company of Witches, Book 2 standalone in the Arcane Shot series, was being offered by Amazon U.S. at a discount price for the ebook versions - $2.72 (regularly $4.99)! Check it out here. I don't know about non-U.S. Amazon sites, but definitely check if that applies to you.

As noted last month, the next book I'll be writing is Ramona's story, which will round out the original plan to have this series be a trilogy. Ruby and Raina have had their stories told; now, at long last, it's Ramona's turn. Working title (which may become permanent) is Where Witches Dare to Tread.

Though I think it's a decent title, is this what I really wanted to call this story? No. Hell, no. Lol...

When the trilogy was conceived, I wanted to call the three books: Arcane Shot, Arcane Madame and Arcane Chaos. Unfortunately, at the time, A Discovery of Witches was all the rave, so the marketing people at my publisher wanted a "similar sound," which resulted in the title that still makes me cringe: Something About Witches, followed by the equally yuck In the Company of Witches. That one also originally had the Twilight-inspired cover with two teenagers on the front - again, marketing people. I like the current cover (noted below) much better!

Anyhow, because of this, I felt I needed to choose a title for Ramona's story that had the "sound" of the other two titles (I made that same choice with the Arcane Shot/Knights of the Board Room crossover, The Problem with Witches). If it wasn't for ISBN issues and the general confusion I would inflict upon my wonderful readers, I'd change the titles to what I always wanted to call them. But in the end, what matters is what's between the covers, right? So Where Witches Dare to Tread it is (unless something else strikes us better between now and publication time).

I really LOVE these stories, and my readers who've given them a try have expressed the same, both in email and in the reviews they've left. Here was one posted by Romance Books Forum: “Have you ever read a novel that was so good, so right, so perfect that it leads you to hate the novel? Because you’ll never be able to experience that exact book again, you’ll never be able to get to read that book for the first time again. I loved this book so much that I hate it. I hate that it’s over….A fantastic book…wonderful, beautiful, and completely gripping.” 

I'll be working on Ramona's story at the beginning of 2022, with the hopes of having it out by late springtime. In the meantime, if you haven't read the Arcane Shot books, I hope you'll give them a look!

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CONTACTING/FOLLOWING ME

Find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Twitter and Facebook (Author Page), and regularly stop in at the JWHMembersOnly fan group. I'm also on MeWe, if you prefer that platform to Facebook. If you'd like to see the pics that inspire my books, visit me on Pinterest, or check out my handful of videos on YouTube.

Finally, I'd love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!

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DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium noted above and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or social media platform, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!

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Thank you so much for your support of my work!