Happy June, readers! I hope you are all having a good start to summer! Or winter for my southern hemisphere readers 🙂 Here in Missouri, my family is finishing out the last few days of school and preparing for summer retreats, vacations, and lots of good craziness with everyone being home again.
What’s in this Edition:
WIP Updates – More details on my Work in Progress
New Audiobooks – Stars in the Storm and Coming Up Next
New Photo Community – My photos on Unsplash.com
Releasing in June – Other authors’ new releases I’m most excited about
WIP Updates
This month, I finished the main bulk of research for my next novel and am now diving into drafting. I would much rather edit than write, so please pray for me as I slog through the first draft. Here are a few more details of what I can share so far about the story:
- Set in the 1910s, specifically 1913
- Set in a fictional town, but one you may be familiar with. If you’ve read For a Noble Purpose, this book is set in the same town of Hawthorn Ridge, Missouri with a new cast of characters.
- Much of the book takes place in Hawthorn Asylum. While originally founded by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the institution is now overseen by a superintendent and a board of directors. The sisters continue to serve the patients as nurses and spiritual advisors.
- Avila Kohlfeld and Matthias Ward are the Female MC and Male MC respectively. Avila’s father leads the asylum as Superintendent and Matthias works in the asylum’s morgue.
- The villain is…wait, I’m not going to tell you that.
- Unlike Larksong Legacy, this novel doesn’t contain a speculative/ light fantasy element; however, it does include a touch of the religious supernatural. It is inspired by the near-death experiences of St. Christina the Astonishing and St. Teresa of Avila among others.
- Bonus – There’s a cameo appearance from one of the characters who appears in Over the Atlantic and War Across Waters. Send me your best guess!
New Audiobooks!
Good news, everyone! Stars in the Storm, the final book in the Larksong Legacy series is now available in audiobook, which means you can now listen to the entire series start to finish. More good news, I’ve signed a contract with my narrator, Tawnya Rollingson, to begin production of the War Across Waters duology in August with release scheduled for early 2026.
Check out the trailer below for Stars in the Storm. I love the music Tawnya chose and the rolling background waves.
Ready to listen? You can find links to purchase all four books on Tawnya’s website as well as a select number of free promo codes.
Get your Larksong Legacy audiobooks.
New Photo Community
As a cover designer, I love that there are sites where I can source free photos for my clients – and do so legally. (Note: You should never save a photo from a random web search and use it on a book cover. That’s illegal and in bad taste. Always check the licensing agreement and copyright rules before using a photo, even on Canva.)
Unsplash.com is my absolute favorite of these free photo sites. Unsplash provides a place for photographers to gain visibility of their work, get hired for future work, and has a huge database of excellent photography for anyone else to choose from. Meaning I can keep my cover design fees at a manageable cost for the average indie author. The one exception to this is photos of people for commercial projects. These must always be purchased to ensure that each model has given consent related to use of his or her image. (Another note: If you purchase a stock photo, especially for a book cover, I highly recommend buying the Expanded License. It is more expensive, but will cover all your legal bases.)
Between cover designs, newsletters, and marketing projects, I’ve sourced countless photos from Unsplash, and it only seemed right to give back to others. Therefore, you can now find many of my own photos on my Unsplash profile. These are all completely free for use, although a note of credit in your project(s) is greatly appreciated. My thanks in advance!
Releasing in June
Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:
- Perpetual Rainbows by Jessika Caruso – A young woman must navigate disease, death, first love, and friendship as she decides how much she is willing to risk for the Continental cause.
- A Name to Remember by Hannah Hood Lucero – YA romantic military suspense about a gold star daughter and the misunderstood bad boy in town. He’s hiding from the disgrace of his name. She’s running from the legacy of hers.
- Secrets of the Revolution by Megan Soja – A young woman will do whatever it takes to preserve her family’s legacy, including joining a dangerous ring of patriot spies…and falling for a revolutionary printer with a brave heart.
- A Class Liberated by Susie Murphy – The seventh book in the Irish historical romance fiction series, A Matter of Class. Please note that this series has more mature content than most of the books I recommend, but is extremely well-written.
- Awakened by Roseanna M. White – In a world on the brink of war between the mer and the land-dwellers, friendship, faith, and love demand the ultimate sacrifice as both kingdoms seek to unlock the prophesied magic waiting to spring the magic of wind and sky.
Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
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Until next month, happy reading!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Kelsey
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Purple Mask Publishing
2025 Zumbehl Rd, Ste. 33
St. Charles, MO 63303
