So, as much as I anticipate this corner of the year, it sneaks up on me every time. At least, it does in terms of the marketing Iām āsupposedā to be doing to help my book sales. š«£
In August, few people want to hear about Christmas and Christmas books, but all of a sudden, the beginning of October comes along and new Christmas releases happen on a daily basis over on Amazon. Not that Iām complaining. Iām just not ready with my own announcements to add. Sigh. And as much as Iām trying to get into a better habit of sending out author newsletters on a more regular basis (um, the definition of āregularā is debatable š¬), I seem to be slipping up when it comes to sharing updates on my blog.*
Because here we are, nearing the end of October, and I have yet to share my good news with all of you!
To be short and sweet, this summer I worked with an ACX narrator, Lauren Garvin, to produce new audio books for both Tinsel in a Tangle and Tinsel in a Twist! š Lauren has the youthful, peppy, optimistic voice I was looking for to bring my teenage protagonist to life, and she was a pleasure to work with. One of my writing buddies, who’s also one of my lifeās besties and knows I loathe false flattery and empty praise when it comes to my writing, listened to ā¦Tangle back in September and she loved it. I found her listening to ā¦Twist the other week when I went over for our bi-monthly writerās group, and it, too, received her two thumbs up. š„° I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect, since she loved the original audio version of Tinsel in a Tangle, so yay!
For now, the audio books can be found on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. I have no control over the costāsorry! But if youāre like me and you don’t subscribe to Audible, iTunes is the less expensive route. I hope to have the audio books available on more platforms in the coming weeks, but as I said in my author newsletter, itās not as simple as clicking a couple of buttons andāpoof!āthere it is, all ready and waiting. š
Here are the book summaries for those who are new to my blog:
In the arctic town of Flitterndorf, generations of elves have worked alongside generations of Kringles to make gifts for believing children worldwide. Yet never have they endured a tall, blundering elf like Tinsel. Despite her setbacks, Tinsel is determined to prove her worth by nabbing an internship at the Workshop. When her latest mishap destroys gift reserves and puts Christmas in jeopardy, however, she lands a punishment mucking reindeer stalls for Santa’s hotshot grandson, Niklas.
Now if she wants a second chance at that position, she must collaborate with the twinkle-eyed flirt to redeem herself in everyone’s eyes without messing up. For one more calamity will not only bring about the holiday’s demise, but she’ll also be immortalized as the elf who shattered children’s faith in Santa Claus.
So not the way she wants to go down in history.
Itās been almost two years since Christmas elf, Tinsel, joined the Minor Flight Team and started dating Niklas Kringle, Santaās grandson. But during a practice flight, she unintentionally endangers the reindeer and gets suspended from the job she loves. So when Santaās age-old enemy, Krampus, threatens a Christmas takeover, Tinsel seizes the opportunity to win back everyoneās trust and her position. For the key to Krampusās downfall lies halfway around the world in a legendary Silver Reindeer, and Tinsel alone has the talent for reindeer speech.
Once overseas, however, Tinsel runs into Niklasās ex-fiancĆ©e, Gretel (who may still have designs on becoming his Mrs. Kringle), and discovers that not only has the Silver Reindeer disappeared, but so has her talent. Now rendered useless against Krampus, and outclassed by Gretel, Tinsel must devise a new plan to save the futures of Christmas, her love life, and her career, before they unravel faster than a trio of ugly sweaters.
This is so not the most wonderful time of the year.
If my back-cover blurbs havenāt sold you, then take advantage of Amazonās option to download an ebook sample and you can read the first couple of chapters for free. š
As for new writing, Iām soooo thankful to the Lord for blessing me with some new ideas for an old WIP (work-in-progress) that has never quite let go of me, even though Iāve tried to let go of it. Itās sat in the bowels of my laptop for years at a monstrous 150,000+ words (too many subplots and waaay too many extra characters!), but it wasnāt until I decided to set it during the Christmas season and throw in a bit of Santa-magic that it came alive for me once again. My intent is to revamp and streamline it, keeping it around 50,000 words, which is on the shorter end for novels. A Christmas miracle if I can shrink it to 40K and call it a novella!
The other day, I was in a quirky mood and tooled around on Canva for fun and created this working title and book cover. š Itāll be amusing to compare it to the actual book cover, should this WIP make it that far. While it wonāt be done in time for this holiday season, Iāve been chugging along at a decent clip, so hereās praying I might have it ready for the 2024 Christmas season. I’ll keep you posted!
Until next time, enjoy your fall weatherāand I’ll enjoy the snow we got here in Montana earlier today. š
Scattered Whimsy 
Good News, Laurie! Look forward to a new book coming out in 2024! Jay
Sent from Mail for Windows
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