Aug 31, 2021

Soft Launches and Summer's End

August is nearly over. A few days ago, I shared this tweet, which I think neatly encapsulates the season.

"There comes a day, every summer, where the crows begin to call, the swallows sit, then flit, restless, the starlings flock and swirl and the air feels paused, waiting. This, for me, is the last day of summer. Here, that was yesterday."

twitter.com

As mentioned in my last newsletter, things — or Things, with a capital T — are happening.

Firstly, a brief reminder that the StoryOrigin giveaway, Summer Sci-fi & Fantasy Giveaway is live until the 1st of September so, if you haven’t already done so, hurry and have a look through the 80+ books available there, for free, with their respective author’s blessing.

Secondly, my website, NotATravelWriter.com is live. I launched (or relaunched, technically) this quietly, as there is nothing really new there to share, other than the layout and the imported newsletter archive. Okay, I guess many of the static pages have also been reworked or completely rewritten, but there are no fresh posts, yet. I am pleased with the forward-facing part of the site, how it looks and how it reads, but I am still polishing away in the background, ensuring the site loads faster, on a computer and on a mobile. There is a lot to do, hence the soft launch.

This is what the homepage looks like. Clean and clear.

I’m telling you because, as I have said before, I view this newsletter as an update between friends. If you wish to, take a peek, and, if something doesn’t work for you, do get in touch (just reply to this message, or use the contact form on the site itself). I’ll list anything new I share there with each forthcoming newsletter, just so you don’t miss new material — I’m looking forward to being able to start on my cunning fantasy-travel-blog project, and also hope to directly sell my books from NotATravelWriter.

Thirdly, Tales of The Lesser Evil: Volume 1 has now been published as an ebook, here (in alphabetical order):

Amazon (this is .com, the US store, it is also available on your local Amazon site)

Apple

Barnes & Noble

Draft2Digital (contains several vendor site links)

Again, like the website, this is a soft launch. As I said recently, I’ll also be releasing Death In Harmony, imminently, and the ebook version will initially be exclusive to Amazon, so I can test whether this makes a difference to sales or not. I suspect, and fear, it will. The ebook of Tales: Vol 1 has deliberately been released before Death In Harmony, so anyone who buys or reads the latter on Kindle Unlimited, and wants to read more of my work, can do. Again, part of the plan — this is a business, after all. As much as I’d like to share all my work for free, I simply cannot afford it. Tales is priced at $5.99, £4.99, €4.99 or your local equivalent.

Tales of The Lesser Evil: Volume 1 contains the first four stories in this series. Namely:

Only One Death:

If he does not find a way to save them, Dhinal knows his people will die. Every single one of them.

Dust & Death:

In a land of dust, there are some things best left buried, horrors and secrets which go far beyond fear — testing the very sanity itself.

Death & Taxes:

A teenage assassin and the uncle who trained her, a trio of backstabbing killers, and a man Merie knows for a fact wants her dead. And that’s just the people she works with.

A Clean Death:

An assassin, her apprentice, and one final murder. A city where it is law to wear a mask in public. And someone — or something — hiding in the shadows. Something which wants them to fail. Fatally.

Volume 1 also contains a preview of Death In Harmony, the first 2540 words of this novel, to be precise. Hopefully, enough to hook the reader; it starts quickly and does not really slow down…

No one will take her child from her — it is always best to run but, to defend the innocent, sometimes you must fight.

For those of you who dislike the idea of sending money to Amazon (and I absolutely understand this), as you can see from the links, the ebook of Tales is also available widely elsewhere. It will also soon be released as a print copy, which I am rather excited about.

Death In Harmony — although tied in to Amazon as an ebook — will also be released as a print copy, both on Amazon and also elsewhere, probably via Draft2Digital. More news on these physical books soon…

Finally, I hope you have had a good summer — or, if you are in the southern hemisphere, are seeing the early, rejuvenating stages of spring. I know that, for so many of us, this has been a tough year, but I am hopeful we will emerge from the pandemic stronger, wiser, and kinder. I know it can be difficult, re-emerging from enforced hibernation, trying to remember what is socially acceptable, and what is not (potentially minor controversial aside here: why are those who shout the loudest about losing their freedom when asked/told to wear a mask to protect themselves and others, not also championing the right of everyone to therefore walk around stark naked, should they desire? After all, that’s how we are born into this world. Our natural state. Odd that these freedom fighters are so often those who also demand we cover up, for decency, modesty, the rights of others, etcetera. How, exactly, does that work?).

There will be another missive soon, with further news and (very exciting) happenings. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other.

(Sneak preview of forthcoming marketing image! Featuring a pen I have used since I was eight, and my own, err, fair handwriting. I think handwriting is a fascinating subject of its own.)

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Alexander M Crow @alexandermcrow

Not a travel writer, but a writer who travels: stories, nature, culture, kindness and, secretly, travel writing. A writer's notebook of sorts, often with special offers and news on tales available and to come. A little bit Snufkin.

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