Hey, babes!
It’s been a doozy of a few days. A holiday Monday and school in-service day Tuesday, along with rotten weather today—kiddo has been home with me all week! So we’re tired around here! But it’s been a great week, as well, and I have some cool things to share with you.
First, though, I wanted to make a confession.
I have some weird book habits as a reader. And I wonder how many of you share them.
#1 I never leave a review with a rating of less than 3 stars. Anything below that, I keep my opinion to myself, or I find a productive and respectful way to engage with the author. I just can’t make myself tank a book that I know someone else pulled out of their soul. A 3-star rating, for me, is “I was able to find the book enjoyable overall and certainly enough to finish, but significant errors or weak story structure detracted from my reading experience. This book should have spent a bit more time in development and editing.”
#2 I don’t buy books based on the cover. To be sure, I own some gorgeous books. But the blurb is the deciding factor for me around whether I’ll buy. Reviews are secondary to that, but it depends on the content of those reviews. For example, Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo got a lot of negative ratings from people who didn’t enjoy the dual POV and time-hopping structure. I personally loved that aspect of the books, and so I found that to be a draw.
#3 I don’t have, or like, Kindle Unlimited. I know that for big readers chowing down on 10-15 titles or more per month, paying full price for a book is not feasible.
You can read e-books from authors published wide at your local library via the Libby app (which is free for you, the reader). The e-book is downloaded to your Kindle or other e-reader when you borrow it. Authors get a royalty from the library’s purchase.
Do you find any of these relatable? Do you drool over a pretty cover, or are you more critical with your reviews?
What’s new in book world…
I’m deep in the writing process on two different manuscripts. T.K. Eldridge and I will have Breaking News out within the next couple of weeks. Deep Sea will be done shortly after that!
Co-writing is such a fun process. Sharing the workload and bouncing ideas off one another creates an energy that you just can’t help but appreciate. Writing is normally quite a lonely activity until you find your people, but co-writing is a whole other animal.
I have a novella release coming up on March 1. Vigil is a dark fae why-choose romance. Fast burn, super high steam, fantasy violence, and MMFMM. It is book one of three in the Dullaghans’ Mate series. Vigil will be available wide on March 1 for 99c on all platforms—except for my newsletter subscribers.
You, my friend, will get access to Vigil for free upon release. The same will apply to Deep Sea, a haunting epic fantasy about mermaids and mystery. Deep Sea will be available wide for 99c until 2 weeks after release, when I will raise the price to 2.99. Paid subscribers to my Substack will get it for free.
Paid subscribers get their own set of benefits—free signed paperbacks and stickers, WIP excerpts, along with first access to my novella releases. Most of the content I provide will be on the free side of the paywall, but those who support my writing and invest get some extra love.
Here’s a sneak peek of the aesthetic for Deep Sea:
If you have ever watched King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, you know the Syrens are a dark, chilling aspect of the gritty fantasy landscape, and I am stunned by their presence every time I watch it. Massive writing inspiration, alongside some of the legends of Jeju Island, where my family is from. Deep Sea is a Little Mermaid retelling (ala Hans Christian Andersen, not Disney), and I hope I’m bringing the right flavor to the tale. There’s no romance in Deep Sea, but it’ll tickle your fantasy bone, for sure.
Bune and Defiance are both out, and reviews are coming in for Defiance (the ARC campaign for Bune will begin at the end of March. I scheduled and didn’t change it. Oh well!). The consensus from reviewers thus far is that Defiance is something different and unexpected.
I may be living under a rock but this shifter twist was new to me and I have read tons of books. The story was refreshing and moved quickly throughout. — Anna704
A great read! A different take on the supernatural than I’ve read before and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The relationships between the characters are so interesting and well rounded. The story line itself didn’t seem like a cliche like so many mate books are. — Natassja on Amazon and Goodreads
The author adds a cast of strong secondary characters and weaves an interesting love story with drama and intrigue as well as the steamy romance. It’s well written with descriptive scenes, moves fluidly, has all the feels and is a terrific read. — Brenda on BB and Goodreads
My favorite review came from Maycee at @queen_bee_reviews on Instagram. You can check out her review here ← and I highly recommend giving her a follow to make sure you catch all her in-depth recommendations and insights. Sara at @larksliterarynest also reviewed, and I think I mentioned last month that her running commentary gave me LIFE.
What’s new in life…
With the kiddo at home for most of the last week, and no school tomorrow, this week has been wall-to-wall busy. Balancing work with cuddles and playtime isn’t easy, but we put together a paint spinner art machine and made some super cool little projects together. As we move into Spring, I’m looking forward to more travel and hiking, and my hopeful travel goals for 2023 are expanding and shaping up. I’m attending a MASSIVE signing in Salem, MA in September, so I’m going to be on the road for that. But I’m also hoping to see Yosemite National Park and go back to the Tetons this year. In summer 2022 I went on a three-week-long road trip, and it was exhausting but epic. I want to cover more ground this year, get in some more advanced hikes, and take better photos.
The Tetons are the inspiration for a project I have coming up later in the year, so I wanna soak up as much of those mountains and Jackson, WY as I can.
Also, who doesn’t want to look at that view in the morning?
Recommendations
I must confess I haven’t done any reading for pleasure since we last spoke, my friend. I know, I know, I said I was going to read something every week—and I have been editing, so, technically reading?
My author friends and I have been putting together some sales for y’all this month, and I wanted to make sure you saw them. A little something for everyone with these collections: February Fantasy is for paranormal romance and fantasy genres. Shifter Smut is, well, exactly what it sounds like. Some reads for y’all that I personally wouldn’t miss combing through to find something for your TBR:
Check out these collections and let me know what you found and loved!
As always, thank you for coming along on this ride with me. Comment, or reply to mariahthayer@substack.com to let me know what you’ve been reading or how you’ve been handling this weather—or if you disagreed with any of my weird book habits at the beginning of the newsletter. I’d love to hear from you!
XOXO,
Mariah