September News

Hi hi hi, everyone!

I missed last month’s newsletter since I spent most of August miserably sick with Influenza A and then bronchitis afterwards which, trust me, sucked. But I haven’t been sick in over 5 years (even with all the events and travelling I’ve been doing!) so I was definitely due. And honestly? I’m kinda grateful it happened since it forced me to rest in a way that I haven’t been able to do in, well, years. My body and mind were thankful for the time-out, and it was almost a novelty to be burrowed in a blanket fort existing off electrolytes and bone broth soup that, for a few days, I couldn’t even taste. (As if it’s not bad enough to be sick, but to not be able to enjoy comfort food? Devastating!)

6+ weeks later and I still have a lingering cough (mostly just when I exercise now) but otherwise I’m feeling back to normal (yay!), and I’m trying hard to incorporate some of the restful moments of my sickbed into my normal life in an attempt at the heretofore elusive quest for a work/life balance. Wish me luck with that, since I need it!

Anyway!

I’m juggling way too many things at the moment (all VERY exciting but also VERY time-consuming) so I’m going to have to keep this newsletter mostly about the news this month, without all the fun bonuses I often try to include. Sorry about that, but I promise the things that are keeping me busy will be worth it once I can share! (There’s a little hint of a teaser later on!)

Let’s dive straight in!

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THE PRISON HEALER — Deluxe Editions:

Earlier this year I announced that my AUS/NZ publishers are releasing hardcover deluxe editions of all three books in The Prison Healer series, which is so cool! My author copies recently arrived on my doorstep and they are SO SHINY! Omigosh, I squealed when I opened them!!! Here’s an unboxing clip:

Orrrrr if you prefer to skip the above clip (and miss out on the Shine!Factor!3000!) then here are a couple of less impressive (but still gorgeous) pics (just missing the quotes on the back, but you can find those in the clip above):

These beauties are releasing on November 4th, and preorders are available now through all your favourite retailers!

SIGNED and PERSONALISED copies are available INTERNATIONALLY(!!) through Harry Hartog Bookseller until September 30th — you can preorder these here. (For anyone in the US, recent changes to the postal service mean you’ll have to email the store directly at onlineorders@harryhartog.com.au to place your order.)

GLOBAL SHIPPING is also available from other Australian retailers — you can find a list of stores that ship internationally here. (Note that these copies won’t be signed/personalised, just the Harry Hartog ones.)

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SHADOW REAPER — Author Letter and Excerpt

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and as my gift to you, I shared a letter offering some fun details about my upcoming book, Shadow Reaper, and an excerpt. If you missed it, you can find this letter and excerpt (and some accompanying artwork) on my website by clicking here.

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UPCOMING EVENTS:

AUSTRALIA: Next month I’ll be heading to Brisbane Writers’ Festival — this is my last Australian event for the year, since I’ll be overseas in the Nov-Dec period (more news about that below!).

This session is on Friday October 10th at 7:30pm and I’ll be speaking on a panel called “Love in Unexpected Places” with the fabulous Amie Kaufman, chaired by the marvellous Alex Adsett. You can read the event information and book tickets by clicking here.

I assume I will be signing books after the session, since that’s usually what happens! Therefore, some signing-related FAQs I often get:

(1) Judging by my last few events, I’m going to say that a 4-book limit will likely apply

(2) Books can be purchased at the festival bookstore or brought from home

(3) Gifts and/or letters are unnecessary but always a lovely surprise (there’s no weight limit for this event since I’m not flying, but the “nothing illegal or alive” rule remains in effect, please and thank you)

(4) Over-the-table photos are usually allowed, and there’s no cost for these (though please have your phone out and ready).

I’ll also be interviewing international guest Callie Hart (author of Quicksilver) on the Saturday night, so anyone attending that session will also see me then. If you have any questions you think I should ask her, send them through in the comment box here:

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EUROPE EVENTS:

CZECH REPUBLIC:

I’ve previously announced this, but just a reminder that I’ll be at the Humbook Festival in Prague on Saturday November 29th. This will be my first ever international event (and my first ever visit to Europe) and I absolutely can’t wait for this incredible trip!

FRANCE:

I’m so thrilled to share that I’ll also be doing some events in France in early December! Like Prague, it’ll be my first time visiting France (since, again, I’ve never been to Europe!) AND it’s going to be in the Christmas season which means CHRISTMAS MARKETS!!!! My excitement levels are through the roof!!! (Also, one word: PASTRIES!)

I’m still waiting on confirmation of dates and times, but last I heard, I’ll be visiting a couple of different French cities/locations, so keep an eye on my social media (and also that of my publisher Hachette Romans) over the next few weeks for all the details. I can’t wait to meet you all and talk all things The Prison Healer!

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Unfortunately to everyone else in the European region, this year I’ll only be visiting the Czech Republic and France for author-related things (we tried really hard for a few other places, but December is a tricky time for bookstores and events since it’s so busy with the holiday season happening), but I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll have more international tours to announce next year and beyond!

From the non-author side of things, I’ll actually be staying in Europe for a little longer after my events are done and taking a long-awaited (and very-much-needed) vacation — I’m treating myself to a Christmas markets river cruise down the Rhine, with some extra time in the Netherlands and Switzerland on either side. No doubt I’ll be sharing a heap of photos and clips of sparkly things and yummy food and allllll the castles and (hopefully!) snow, so be sure to mute my socials when that time comes if you don’t want to see all my holiday spam, haha.

But that said… it won’t ALL be holiday spam, because there are some RIDICULOUSLY exciting things releasing in December (yep, I said “releasing” — I suggest you start saving your pennies now if you like pretty, shiny things!) so my socials will be a mix of work and play during that time. I seriously can’t wait to share more about the work side of things once I’m allowed! (Trust me when I say YOU ARE NOT PREPARED for all the secrets I’ve been keeping!!!)

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Righto, I’m going to have to leave this here this month, but I’ll finish up with two recommendations — a movie and a book.

Movie:

Thunderbolts. I’ll admit, I went in with super low expectations since I haven’t really connected with Marvel movies/shows in the post-Endgame era (with a few exceptions like Loki, etc.) but this had humour and heart and great character development alongside a good, solid story. From the opening quirky monologue from Yelena having her (somewhat humorous) crisis of identity, to the deeper themes of mental health and trauma and grief woven all the way throughout, it really was a captivating, entertaining, and sometimes emotional watch. Would definitely recommend!

Book:

Direbound by Sable Sorensen. I was told by numerous people that this is essentially Fourth Wing but with Very Big Wolves instead of dragons, and, well, yeah, that’s exactly what it is, haha. I had a fun time with this one, and while I predicted most of what would happen, there was a delightful surprise right at the very (very!) end that I didn’t see coming (which, not to toot my own horn, is quite rare for me, since I tend to see plot twists coming from very early on.)

Please do note that this is definitely an adult romantasy novel, not young adult, and it has explicit content in it (including spicy scenes and some pretty graphic violence), so it’s def 18+ for any younger readers here, or older readers who don’t enjoy that kind of content.

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Okie doke, it’s time for me to start drafting the sequel to Shadow Reaper so I’m going to be head-down, tail-up for the foreseeable future — though I’ll keep jumping in and out of social media to share news when I’m allowed. Don’t forget you only have until September 30th to pre-order signed/personalised copies of The Prison Healer series, and also don’t forget to grab tickets to Bris Writers’ Fest before they’re gone.

Until next time!

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