An occasional newsletter from a writer of weird things...Musings on writing, reading, and various piffle, but always a cute animal video.

​Musings, Book 3 Release Giveaway, SFF Freebies, and Pimpa the Prairie Dog

Musings:

Many authors and creators this year have posted about the disparity of important and worrying things happening all around the globe while they promote and celebrate achievements in their own little sphere. Well, I'm feeling it too -- especially being in the unusual position of having three books drop in the past five months, with audiobooks hot on their heels. Thirteen years of work coming to fruition all at once. It's been an exercise in holding two opposing truths at once while I Muppet flail at each new phase of publication, then deal with the emotional whiplash when I return to Earth.

An author I admire and follow is Jonathan Carroll. (If you haven't read The Land of Laughs I highly recommend you buy it now and read it immediately.) If you happen to have FB (yes, FB, 'cause ... IDK, 'cause I've been on it for years) he wrote a lovely response to a reader who'd just lost a spouse. I liked what he had to say and think it applies to other situations too. If you have FB, the full post is here: Jonathan Carroll​

tl;dr for those who don't want to or can't access it, the post concludes with this:

"In general be like a magnifying glass concentrating sunlight on one spot. Make your little spot smoke-- with joy, passion, chocolate, and whatever else will fill the room with the aroma of things loved at a burning point."

My newsletter and public posts are the places I hold that magnifying glass over the things that bring me happiness. They're where I talk about writing, books, movies, animals -- and whatever else strikes my fancy ... things loved at that burning point.

I hope some of them make you happy too.

Where the Shadows Dwell Is OUT NOW

So, here's something that makes me immensely happy... Book 3 of 3 in my Perilous Gods set is out today. In a publishing environment where traditional publishing is harder than ever to break into and even authors with deals can get orphaned if their editor leaves mid-stream or the imprint closes or any of a dozen other misfortunes happen, I'm kind of stunned that the set I began in 2013 when I started writing While the Gods Sleep is, as of today, fully realized and out in the world.

Pahtal and his brother, Imul, have scraped a life together in pre-civil war Guatemala by finding and selling ancient relics from the Maya ruins. Their latest expedition uncovers a potentially life-changing find, a valuable tablet, etched with glyphs, hidden within the mouth of a sculpture of Nohochacyum, a god of creation – and destruction. But when they attempt to retrieve their prize, Imul is crushed beneath the stone carving.

Overcome with grief and guilt, Pahtal blames his state of mind for the uncanny events he begins to experience.

From an eccentric new lodger, to kitchen objects that move on their own, to encountering demons and creatures straight out of the ancient stories, Pahtal soon realizes that releasing the tablet has released the gods etched into its surface. Worse, two of the gods are determined to continue their ongoing war. A war prophesied to bring about an end of times.

Whatever the cost, Pahtal must find a way to imprison the gods once more… before the world burns.

To celebrate, as promised, I'm giving away two Kindle ebook copies of Where the Shadows Dwell

To enter, just fill out the Google Form linked below. It asks only for your name and email where you receive this newsletter. (Sorry to limit this to Kindle ebooks, but last time it proved to be the most effective way to gift books.)

​ENTRY FORM​​

More Free Stuff

The BookFunnel giveaway February Fantasy & Sci-Fi Freebies is still running. Check out the link here for a 160-author giveaway of everything from novels to novellas, to short stories, to sample previews like mine.

Cute Animal Video

Whew, finding cute animal videos that aren't AI is getting tougher. Here's one I know is real because I posted one of Pimpa's videos a few years ago, long before the rise of Artificial Everything.

​BTW - Did you know that prairie dogs are a keystone species?​

Pimpa, the Prairie Dog Rescue

If you enjoy Speculations, feel free to sign up at the link below or share the link with someone else:

Until next time, happy reading!

L. D. Colter has farmed with draft horses and worked as a paramedic, Outward Bound instructor, athletic trainer, roller-skating waitress, and concrete dispatcher, among other curious choices. She’s an author of contemporary, epic, and dark fantasy novels, a WSFA Small Press Award finalist, and a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award for science fiction and fantasy. Her website can be found at ldcolter.com​

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