Welcome back to the Extra Edition newsletter! I’m excited to bring you bonus content each month with a special inside look at my novels and the history behind them.
The Art of Cover Design
Curious how the cover of Stars in the Storm came together? The process was similar to the first three Larksong Legacy novels and the infographic below brings all the pieces together.
Want more inspirational photos from Stars in the Storm? Head over to my Unsplash board.
Happy New Year, readers! Happy 2025! I hope your holidays were joyous and restful. I am praying for all of you in the coming year and I ask that you please pray for me.
What’s in this Edition:
Indie Author Insights – My 2024 Annual Report
One Month Until Release Day – Updates on Stars in the Storm
New in AudioBook – Sparks Fly Upward is now available.
Releasing in January– Other authors’ new releases I’m most excited about.
2024 Indie Author Insights
As an independently published author, I founded Purple Mask Publishing in 2017 with a ten-year goal to break even by 2027. Every year I get closer, but the reality is that I still often have to use my personal funds to pay the bills. Authors don’t write books to make money. We write because we need to, it’s therapeutic, it inspires our readers, and (most of the time) it brings us joy. We write because we have stories that have to be told and hopefully, those stories can help others in some way. And for Christian writers, most importantly, because we strive to bring God glory. For all these reasons, I love what I do even during years without profit, as it was in 2024. Here’s a brief summary of what Purple Mask Publishing accomplished this year:
One Month until Release Day!
We’ve almost made it to another publication day! Stars in the Storm releases on February 9 with Cade and Alice Ann’s story and the conclusion of the Larksong Legacy series. Over the next few weeks, I am incorporating feedback from my beta readers, completing a final read through, and formatting the final versions. I am also loving this series photo (above) by Sarah Everest, who is one of my beta readers and an author in her own right. Check out this fun reel she shared with me.
Pre-orders are now available in eBook at all major retailers and in paperback at my online store. Paperbacks will be available at other retailers on release day.
Good news, audiobook readers! Sparks Fly Upward has now joined the first two Larksong novels on Audible and iTunes. As usual, Tawnya Rollingson knocked Garrett and Martha’s story out of the park with her fabulous historical fiction narration. Tawnya’s YouTube page has videos for all her narrations including this one for Sparks.
We also have a limited number of free Audible codes for all three books in the series. To request one, simply reply to this email.
Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:
The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds by Jennifer Moorman – The 1920s meets Back to the Future as a young woman time travels and discovers that she’s erasing herself from history
The Indigo Heiress by Laura Frantz – An intriguing 1774 romance from the indigo plantations of Virginia to the hills of Scotland
When Stars Light the Sky by Elizabeth Camden – Gilded Age romance set at the dawn of World War I
When the Avalanche Roared by Lauralee Bliss – a fictional account of the 1909 avalanche and train disaster in Wellington, Washington
With This Ring by Amy Clipston – Small town second chance romance
Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
Did you know reviews help both readers and authors? Even one sentence is enough, and every word greatly appreciated. Consider leaving a rating on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your favorite retailer!
As the year comes to a close, here are my Top 10 recommended reads from 2024, listed first by genre, then by author’s last name. I also challenged myself to read at least 10 Catholic authors (read 10) and 10 indie-published books (read 15). Have you read any of these? Which books should I add to my must-read list in 2025?
* equals indie-published book
It was so hard to make a Top 10 list for historical fiction, which is why I moved Time Travel to its own category below. These 10 are the ones that stood out to me as Must Reads. Several are from a series, and I recommend beginning with Book 1. For a full list of my 4 and 5 star historical fiction reads, visit my Goodreads page.
Dual Timeline Civil War and Modern Day: A Million Little Choices by Tamra Alexander, Regency: Lost in Wonder by Liz Chapman, 1890s: The Oystercatcher of Southwark by Erica Colahan, 1920s: *Purest Joys Restored by Jennifer Q. Hunt, Regency: The Christmas Foundling by Martha Keyes, Medieval Fantasy: *Perilous by Susan Laspe, Mid-19th Century: *A Class Inherited by Susie Murphy (Note for my clean readers: I would not consider this book “clean,” but it is a wonderful series.), 1880s:The Lost Melody by Joanna Davidson Politano, French Revolution:To Crown with Liberty by Karen Ullo, 1920s: *Cocktails Before Midnight by Tanya E. Williams
I didn’t read as much Contemporary Fiction, so it wasn’t as difficult to decide on my 10 favorites. These are all solid romantic reads. With the exception of Hannah Hood Lucero’s books, the others are either first-in-series or standalone.
All In Good Time by Carolyn Astfalk, Mind of Her Own by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, One Foggy Christmas by Kortney Keisel, Beau on the Bayou, Crossfire at the Precipice, and Dereliction of the Heart by Hannah Hood Lucero, The Great Date Experiement by Ashley Mays, Love in the Eternal City by Rebecca W. Martin, Bram Baxter Marries the Wrong Sister by Latisha Sexton, Hear the Falling Snow by Storm Shultz
Time Travel and Dystopian are two of my favorite genres, but I find that really great reads are becoming fewer and farther between. I’m happy to say that wasn’t true this year with some really wonderful selections.
Time Travel: In Another Time by Jillian Cantor (Note for my clean readers: I would not consider this book “clean,” but it is a unique story.), Estuary, Riptide, and *Three Wishes by Lisa T. Bergren, When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer, *All These Threads of Time by Sarah Crowne. Dystopian:The Nightmare Virus by Nadine Brandes, Death Panels by Michelle Buckman, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (I recommend listening to this one on audiobook.)
My Catholic reads were extremely varied this year from historical to fantasy to dystopian to non-fiction with all but two being new to me authors.
Contemporary Fiction: *All in Good Time by Carolyn Astfalk, Dystopian: Death Panels by Michelle Buckman, Non-Fiction Inspirational: He Leadeth Me by Walter J. Ciszek and Daniel L. Flaherty, Historical Fiction: The Oystercatcher of Southwark by Erica Colahan, Time Travel: *All These Threads of Time by Sarah Crowne, Non-Fiction Inspirational: Behold the Mystery: A Deeper Understanding of the Catholic Mass by Mark Hart, Historical Fantasy: *Perilous and *Delirious by Susan Laspe, Contemporary Fiction: Love in the Enternal City by Rebecca W. Martin, Non-Fiction Devotional: *Breathe Deeply by Allison Ramirez, Historical Fiction: To Crown with Liberty by Karen Ullo
Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
Did you know reviews help both readers and authors? Even one sentence is enough, and every word greatly appreciated. Consider leaving a rating on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your favorite retailer!
Happy Tuesday, readers! Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly blog challenge hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every Tuesday, multiple bloggers share their favorite books from a selected topic. Today’s topic is “Books to Read During a Storm.” We could interpret this however we wanted. One of my favorite genres for both books and movies is disaster or dystopian stories, and to me, it just feels right to read these during a storm. So here are ten of my favorite dystopian novels. (Quite a departure from the Christmas novels of last week, huh?)
The Nightmare Virus by Nadine Brandes
Death Panels by Michelle Buckman
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Divided Kingdom by Allison Ramirez
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
The Desolate World by Kortney Keisel
Secrets in the Mist by Morgan L. Busse
The Line Between by Tosca Lee
Divergent by Veronica Roth
1984 by George Orwell
Have you read any of these? Is there another dystopian novel you would recommend?
If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to subscribe to my monthly newsletter, which includes updates on my books, behind the scenes information, and upcoming promotions. You can subscribe to updates by entering your e-mail on the Newsletter page. E-mail addresses are never sold or distributed. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Happy Tuesday, readers! Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly blog challenge hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every Tuesday, multiple bloggers share their favorite books from a selected topic. Today’s topic is a Freebie which means we get to choose, so today I chose Fictional novels set at Christmastime.
The Unbroken Song by Jennifer Q. Hunt
Cocktails Before Midnight by Tanya E. Williams
Headwater Holiday by Hannah Hood Lucero
One Foggy Christmas by Kortney Keisel
Let Nothing You Dismay by Jennifer Q. Hunt
Hear the Falling Snow by Storm Shultz
The Christmas Foundling by Martha Keyes
A Light in the Window by Julie Lessman
Christmas Still by Jennifer Q. Hunt
Until We All Share Joy by Heather Wood
Have you read any of these? Is there another holiday favorite you would recommend?
If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to subscribe to my monthly newsletter, which includes updates on my books, behind the scenes information, and upcoming promotions. You can subscribe to updates by entering your e-mail on the Newsletter page. E-mail addresses are never sold or distributed. You may unsubscribe at any time.
