Virtual Tourist 12/01/23
Table of Contents
| News/Musings | Story Origin Swap 1 |
| Virtual Tourist – Sherlock Holmes The Awakened | Story Origin Swap 2 |
| Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo | Let it Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow! Group Promo |
| Reviewer’s Corner |
Greetings!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Did you eat too much turkey? 🦃🍗 😝 We tried to be good—and were moderately successful. 😁
This was the first time we got to see family from both sides in a while. Between Covid and my back issues, we’d had to restrain from visiting folks. So it was great to see them all again! All the kids have gotten so big! 😲
News/Musings
You may have noticed the logo of the website has changed! I kept seeing deals on writer logos and decided mine needed a refresh. Something less busy. Did it myself. I shared some working models in FB. I thought I had mentioned it on the blog, too, but I was WRONG! 😱 I also forgot to update the newsletter logo header.
I’ve got everything so together. NOT. 😝
Writing News
Haven’t heard from my editor, so no news to report on The Music of Death Blues and the prequel short The Prince and Dai. Unlike last time, I am not setting up anything related to them until I get those edits back, aside from general things.
I cut things way too close last time and gave myself a ton of unnecessary stress. So, I am going to practice being patient this time around before setting stuff up. Lol. We’ll see how that goes.
Here’s the current blurb for The Music of Death Blues:
A suicide that wasn’t. Racial prejudice pushing a murder to be swept under the rug. Can Daiyu Wu throw back the covers to reveal the killer?
Dallas, TX, 1930. Daiyu Wu resigned herself to life inevitably returning to normal after having dipped her toes into pursuing justice. But a new case falls onto her lap when she hears screeching tires and a woman calling out in pain. The older lady is wary of her offer to help, but Daiyu knows people aren’t kidnapped off the street just to be set free again—something terrible is coming.
As Daiyu feared, things take a turn for the worse—the rescued woman’s youngest son committed suicide. But for a kidnapping and a suicide to occur to the same family on the same day smells of deviltry, but the police can’t be bothered to investigate—so Daiyu has no choice but to get involved or risk allowing a killer to run free.
Can Daiyu and her friends unravel what’s really going on before the murder is closed forever?
The Secret Aftermath – Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero is now at 20,000 words! That’s equal to about 1/4 of a book. Hoping to up the word count rate per week as I am still trying to meet my two books a-year goal. Whee!
I’m also trying a new marketing strategy using Teasers with neat backgrounds. Since most of my paid ad efforts always seem to bomb, I’m trying to find free/mostly free alternatives.
Here’s a sample of one for In the Service of Samurai—my ya Japanese fantasy novel.
Make sure to follow me on FB, Instagram, or Pinterest if you’d like to see them as I roll them out. 🙂
Extra content today:
1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)
2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)
3) Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo
4) Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! We’re Cozy Inside! Group Promo
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉
Wedding or the Torn Rose
StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)
As torn petals of a rose fall, a hero must rise in a race against destiny.
What starts as a fairy tale rescue spirals into an intricate web of dark fantasy laced with intrigue and magic. After the downtrodden merchant Kaine saves the runaway Princess Lydia from an unexpected monster, he feels inexplicably drawn to her. Lydia’s uncanny knowledge of his deepest secrets looms over him, suggesting she knows more about him than he has revealed.
However, there is little time to investigate this mystery. The princess is betrothed to the magic wielding Throatian Kingdom, and Lydia’s father has rewarded Kaine with a job offer he cannot refuse.
As the rehearsal dinner for Lydia’s arranged wedding unfolds, tension simmers amidst foreign customs and whispered conversations. The Throatian Royal family, draped in magic, is keen to forge an alliance with the Darian Kingdom. Meanwhile, Lydia, now fully aware of her royal responsibilities, summons Kaine for a private meeting in the chilling stillness of the graveyard. Her impending wedding signifies more than a pact of sword and sorcery, and something else—dark and twisted—stirs in the shadows.
With time dwindling short, and the ceremony happening the next day, will Kaine unshackle himself from his past to embrace the guardian he is destined to become? Or will the ties binding him to Lydia be torn apart like petals in the wind?
Journey with Kaine and Lydia as they attempt to prevent a war and save a kingdom in the first volume of the Symphony of Crowns and Gods series.
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
Sherlock meets Cthulu! Hadn’t shared pics on this one aside from the first time, so here’s some more.
You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.
Young Sherlock has found an underground base where people have been brought and had their minds altered. Here is one of the disturbing images he finds in the cavern walls.
A large statue of those who live beyond.
The writing is literally on the walls. 😝 (I couldn’t help myself!)
The Alps as Watson and Sherlock head toward the sanitorium.
Looks like a scene from a Hammer Film. 😁 Nice and creepy.
They do have the creepy atmosphere down pat! Lol. A place of hidden evil.
The sanitarium garden – a prison inside a prison for birds.
A mind-invading warning.
Charmed and Dangerous
StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)
Welcome to Crystal Beach, an enchanting town with a dangerous secret.
Peril and uncertainty loom heavy over Crystal Beach as a cataclysmic event threatens to wipe out Mystic Dunes and its residents. Only one witch possesses the power to halt this impending disaster – psychic Sidney Grace. But is she ready to face such a powerful and deadly force?
As time ticks away, Sidney faces a daunting task—convincing the Crystal Beach police that magic and ghosts are real—and that’s not something they teach at Quipley’s School of Magic. Fortunately, Mojo, her magical feline, lends a paw in this battle to save their town.
Can Sidney harness her magical abilities and unravel the mysteries—a strange death, the enigmatic beach creature, and the ghost’s chilling prophecy—before it’s too late to avert disaster?
Join Sidney on her most perilous mission yet in Charmed and Dangerous. Don’t miss this electrifying installment in the Crystal Beach series.
Grab your copy today and immerse yourself in this spellbinding mystery adventure!
Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo – science fiction of all kinds ready for the taking.
Puzzling Mysteries Await You – Group Promo – exercise your little gray cells for Nov 2023.
🌟 Shout out to Reviewers Corner! 🌟
Thanks this month go to:
The JOY of Murder – Louisesk
The Secret Humankind – Angela
A great big THANK YOU to all the reviewers!
(Do you want your name in here, too? All you need is to post a one or two-sentence review at Bookbub, Goodreads, Amazon, or send me a link if it’s posted elsewhere and I will add you here next round!)
They are calling for cold fronts and rain. Stay indoors! Stay warm!
Until next time!
Gloria
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