Happy New Year! I hope the start of this new year is treating you kindly. I know it is not for some people (thinking about the massive wildfires in California as I write this), and my heart goes out to you. I hope you get support and healing, and the rest of the year is kinder.
For my part, January is its usual crazy start to the new year, but it's mostly good stuff, so I will take that!
This month, I have a new Joan of Kerry story out! And a short story from the last Haunts and Howls collection has released as a standalone story. The third Stories from the Café story is up at The Café now as well!
~~~
JOAN AND THE GOBLINS is available now at my store and will be available at other vendors on March 18th. The preorder for wide purchases is up now, or you can pick the book up at KatSimonsBooks.com now, if you're the impatient type.
Bogs, goblins, and a monster more ancient than a dragon…
Joan and her dragon companion Rory find themselves on the
hunt. For goblins. A group of annoying goblins who have stolen something they
shouldn’t have touched. Something that could raise a monster so deadly and so
ancient, even Rory doesn’t have a name for the creature.
Goblins without a king are goblins causing trouble. Goblins
trying to be the king cause chaos that could get the entire island of Ireland
destroyed. Joan and Rory must stop the would-be king and his companions before
it’s too late. Before the deadly monster comes looking for its stolen treasure.
Because even a hero, her dragon, and her legendary sword might not be enough to stop this ancient threat.
~~
Also new this month is the standalone eBook of Black Water Hawthorns, a creepy, weird fairy story from the 2024 Haunts and Howls collection HAUNTS AND HOWLS AND FAIRY DALES. If you're a print reader, I recommend picking up the collection, but if you'd just like one or two of the individual eBook stories from the collection, those are rolling out this year.
Beware the darkest waters, for monsters lurk in their depths…
Ph.D. student Deirdre’s late nights of study have left her
exhausted and punch drunk. But she’s so close to the end, so close to finishing
her thesis she can taste it. Even the stories of missing people around the
Dublin campus can’t deter her. Especially when those tales all have logical
explanations. The nervous, jumpy energy on campus worries her a little. But
she’s got too much to do to think about the mysteries.
Until a strange dizzy spell bends her world. When she
recovers, everything still mostly looks like her college campus in Dublin
Ireland. But everything has shifted a bit sideways. Everything looks a little
strange. Threatening. And when the red-eyed creature out of myth and legend
appears, Deirdre knows she’s either lost it…
Or she is no longer in the ordinary world.
Following a strange creature into a strange realm never ends
well for hapless humans. Yet Deirdre finds herself doing just that. Hoping she
can find her way home. Before the black water monster lurking among the
hawthorns catches her. And traps her forever.
~~
Finally, be sure to check in at THE CAFE at KatSimonsBooks for the latest free reads! From the 15th, Agnes at the Café is available. And a new story will post on February 1st.
For those who'd like to catch up, I've decided (thanks to a recommendation by some fellow publishers) to make the individual stories available for sale from KatSimonsBooks. The full collection of short Café stories will still come out every six months with the previous six months worth of stories. And that collected edition will be available in eBook and Print editions. But if you've missed a story and don't want to wait, or prefer reading on a device of your choice rather than off the blog, or just like a particular story and want your own copy, you can purchase individual eBooks of the stories once they go live in The Café.
~~~
Next month, be sure to look out for another standalone eBook from last year's Haunts and Howls collection, as well as a new Dragon Thief story! AND news on the upcoming Dragon Thief Kickstarter!
More on all that in February.
Until then, Happy Reading!
