I’m famous! + A Marriage Story for National Marriage Week

Happy February, readers! It’s cold and icy in Missouri, so I’m bundled up in fleece and sipping tea while working on edits. How’s the weather where you are?

What’s in this Edition:

In the NewsSt. Louis Review feature with fellow Catholic authors

6 Days to Publication – Stars in the Storm and National Marriage Week

Releasing in February – Other authors’ new releases I’m most excited about.

In the News

I’m famous! Well, sort of. Last week, our local Catholic newspaper, The St. Louis Review published a feature article on the Catholic Writers of St. Louis group with special spotlights on myself and fellow author, Susan Laspe. There were also recognitions of some of our other members: Denise Montgomery, Mary Hirt, and Donna Volkenannt. The article turned out wonderfully and brought some much needed recognition to the abundance of well-written Catholic Christian novels that are available in the market. Thank you to Review journalist, Jennifer Brinker, and Review photographer, Jacob Wiegand for shining a light on our work!

Read the Article to Learn More.

6 Days to Publication

After many weeks of review (that’s my proof copy above), edits, more review, and more edits, I’m happy to say that Stars in the Storm is finally ready. There’s less than one week until February 9, the release of Stars in the Storm, the fourth and final book in the Larksong Legacy series. While the publishing industry standard is to release books on Tuesdays, one of the fun aspects of being independently published is that I can choose to release a book on any day of the week.

I chose February 9 for Stars in the Storm because this story is first and foremost about a marriage, and Sunday, February 9 is World Marriage Sunday, part of National Marriage Week (February 7-14). Stars is about two people who are walking on opposite sides of life, longing to find a way across the void, and doubting if it’s even possible. It is a story of loss and hurt but also of faith, redemption, and forgiveness. Marriage can be difficult, but with God’s guidance, it can also be one of the most beautiful paths we can walk in this life. I hope that all married readers can relate to Cade and Alice Ann as they pray for their spouses, and those unmarried can find inspiration as they discern and pray for their vocation.

The theme of this year’s National Marriage Week is “Marriage: Source of Hope, Spring of Renewal. Pursue a Lasting Love!” The Catholic Christian organization, For Your Marriage, has provided many great National Marriage Week resources on their website including an at-home couples retreat, Lectio Divina readings, and marriage enrichment videos. (Graphic below is from their website.)

Pre-orders for Stars in the Storm 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.

Pre-Order Stars in the Storm – eBook

Pre-Order Stars in the Storm – Paperback

Catch Up with the Rest of the Series.

Releasing in February

Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:

  1. The Dreams We Knew by Rachel Scott McDaniel – In 1920s New York, the daughter of a crime boss and a detective must come together to solve the murder of a rising star.
  2. The Fur Trader’s Lady by Gabrielle Meyer – A romantic and thrilling historical adventure set in the heart of the Canadian wilderness
  3. Incarnate by Antony Barone Kolenc – While dodging ruthless zealots and evading government plots, Joshua must discover if he was truly cloned from the blood of a Eucharistic miracle.
  4. Grandma Ruth Doesn’t Go to Funerals by Sharon J. Mondragón – Southern and sassy Grandma Ruth likes to meddle in everyone’s business more than Gladys Kravitz likes to spy on the neighbors. 
  5. An Overdue Match by Michelle Griep – Can a librarian and a tattoo artist find love or will they judge a book by its cover?

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!


Until next month, happy reading!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Kelsey

Purchase signed copies of my books: kelseygietl.com

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Purple Mask Publishing

2025 Zumbehl Rd, Ste. 33

St. Charles, MO 63303

Top Ten Tuesday – Authors Read for the First Time in 2024

Happy Tuesday, readers! Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly blog challenge hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Today’s topic is “Authors I Read for the First Time in 2024.” Books below are all highly recommended and authors I would definitely read again.

  • A Million Little Choices by Tamera Alexander
  • All in Good Time by Carolyn Astfalk
  • Death Panels by Michelle Buckman
  • The Oystercatcher of Southwark by Erica Colahan
  • All These Threads of Time by Sarah Crowne
  • The Christmas Foundling by Martha Keyes
  • Love in the Eternal City by Rebecca W. Martin
  • The Great Date Experiment by Ashley Mays
  • When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer
  • To Crown with Liberty by Karen Ullo

Have you read any of these? Which new-to-you authors would you recommend?

COPYRIGHT © KELSEY GIETL 2025

Behind the Cover Design of Stars in the Storm

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.


Until next time, happy reading!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Kelsey

Purchase signed copies of my books: kelseygietl.com

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Purple Mask Publishing

2025 Zumbehl Rd, Ste. 33

St. Charles, MO 63303

New Year, New Books – Pre-Order + AudioBook

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 AudioBookSparks 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.

Pre-Order Stars in the Storm – eBook

Pre-Order Stars in the Storm – Paperback

Catch Up with the Rest of the Series.

New in AudioBook

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.

Get your audiobook of Sparks Fly Upward.

Releasing in January

Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:

  1. 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
  2. The Indigo Heiress by Laura Frantz – An intriguing 1774 romance from the indigo plantations of Virginia to the hills of Scotland
  3. When Stars Light the Sky by Elizabeth Camden – Gilded Age romance set at the dawn of World War I
  4. When the Avalanche Roared by Lauralee Bliss – a fictional account of the 1909 avalanche and train disaster in Wellington, Washington
  5. 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!


Until next time, happy reading!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Kelsey

Purchase signed copies of my books: kelseygietl.com

Follow me on:
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Purple Mask Publishing

2025 Zumbehl Rd, Ste. 33

St. Charles, MO 63303

Top 10 Must-Read Books of 2024

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!


Until next time, happy reading!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Kelsey

Purchase signed copies of my books: kelseygietl.com

Follow me on:
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COPYRIGHT © KELSEY GIETL 2024

Purple Mask Publishing

2025 Zumbehl Rd, Ste. 33

St. Charles, MO 63303

Kelsey Gietl - Author

Historical Fiction with a Dose of Romance and a Dash of Intrigue

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