I did a scary thing... (but if you don't read it, it's like it never happened)

Do you make goals this time of year? I love making goals throughout the year, but there's something so fun about making new goals after the craziness of the holidays are over. 

It's also when all of that stuff that was January Joanna's problems need to get done! I'm really glad I did a lot of staying home and hanging out with my family so that I can handle it all!

I used to hate January. It was always so bleak and dark with nothing to look forward to. I also deal with SAD. But as an adult, I love getting back into the routine--and starting new ones! And, we've had a mild winter so far. I've seen the sun a lot more than is typical for this time of year.

What you can expect from me this year:

This is a scary thing, but I want to share a few of the things I have planned this year. Some are confirmed, some are in the works with soft deadlines, and some are things I hope will happen.

  • January 20 - February 20: In Her Dreams Read-a-thon ←Click here

    • Where: My Ream page. I already have some of the posts and quizzes ready to go!  The last one was so much fun and it's FREE to join and read and be eligible for prizes.

  • Febuary 21-22: StoryCon ←Click here

    • Event in Salt Lake City, Utah

  • March/April: Siren Prophecy Special Editions Kickstarter

    • The other Shifter Academy authors and I have some super fun things planned for this!

  • Mid-July: Completion of Igniting Fae Flames and Stars

    • With my chapter schedule, IFFAS should be finished posting on Ream in mid-July. Perhaps slightly sooner.

  • September: FanX 2025

    • Event in Salt Lake City, Utah (There are some snags with this that may prevent me from attending this year that are out of my control, but I'll let you know as it gets closer and when I know.)

  • Fall/Winter 2025: Igniting Fae Flames and Stars Kickstarter

    • This date will depend on when the Siren Prophecy Kickstarter is fulfilled.

What do you think? Are you particularly excited about one (or more) of these things? Let me know!

New Years Announcements!

Happy New Year! I didn't mean to take such a long break before posting, but I had a lovely time with my family over the holidays. I hope yours were joyful too. 

If you're a follower on Ream, then you know I was posting on that platform over the holidays and shared some exciting things that I'll share with you now!

Title Reveal

First… is a title reveal for book three of Fae Thieves and Crowns! After polling you, my lovely readers, and my readers on Ream… then thinking and thinking over several months… and lots of re-arranging words, I finally found the perfect title for this book! (Which is halfway written if you're curious 😉).

Here it is: Igniting Fae Flames and Stars

Read a Thon

The other thing I announced in Ream over the holidays, is an upcoming Read A Thon in my Ream for all Followers (which is FREE)! This time, we're reading In Her Dreams!

"When was the last time you had cryspes?"

I had the opportunity to be a guest on Hanna Sandvig's Patreon video call last Friday. She and I are good friends, so I knew it would be a good time, but several of her fans were there too asking questions. We talked about baked goods, the holiday season, and our fantasy books. 

Hanna has been sharing recipes with her fans from different books during these Zoom calls and asked me for a recipe. So I looked up the recipe for cryspes which is Amberle's favorite treat in Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns. I sent her the recipe a few hours before the event and she made them right before the call to tell us how they tasted!

It's only about 30 minutes and Hanna recorded it, so you should watch or at least listen! It was so fun.

This is what I sent to Hanna for the recipe (and an explanation about why it's Amberle's favorite):

Fae Thieves and Crowns is two generations before Raven Court but since the fae--even half-fae--live much longer than humans, it’s much farther in the past. The human world is contemporary times during the events of the Raven Court series, but it’s around the 14th century during Fae Thieves and Crowns. We haven’t gone to the human realm in Fae Thieves and Crowns, but there are small hints with the one human in the story, and Amberle’s favorite treat: cryspes.

They’re similar to funnel cakes or fry bread. The original recipe is written in old English, but I found a few translations and an easy recipe.

Cryspes (or cryppys, crisps)

1/4 c. flour
2 egg whites
1 tsp honey
1/4 c. water
lard (or oil)

 Combine egg whites, water and honey and whisk together. Add mixture to flour and mix to create the batter. Drop a tablespoon of batter into lard (or oil) and fry over medium heat until golden brown. Flip to cook evenly. Drain on paper towel and serve.

(Recipe from A Dollup of History)

Vulnerable Post

I'm going to be honest and vulnerable for a moment. If you've been around for even a small amount of time, you know that I love live/in-person events. I didn't always love them because they scared me and I felt too “salesy" but I've come to love them because of the amazing people I've met and connected with over the years. I love talking to people whether they love my books or don't. I've had some valuable conversations and made some incredible friends.

There's also nothing like hearing that a reader does, in fact, love my books, or that my books helped them through a particularly difficult time. That's one of the reasons I write and release my books. In the hopes that they can brighten someone else's day. I was so happy to see the readers who came to see me at the Family Christmas Gift show over the weekend to tell me they enjoyed my books and some of them purchased more. 

But, overall, the show was not great. It was three long 12-hour days with very little sales and honestly not a ton of interaction. The event was packed, but so many people just walked by. Partway through Saturday--the busiest day and the last day--I was feeling so down on myself because there were so many people, but none seemed interested in even hearing about my books. As an author who puts so much of myself into my stories, I couldn't help but feel it as a personal rejection (logically I know it wasn't, but it's harder to tell that to my emotional self)

There were some moments that I wondered why I was still doing this thing. Why I even bothered. I should just throw in the towel, quit writing and focus soley on the house and the kids.

Fortunately, I went home, licked my wounds, and slept a ton for a few days and now I'm feeling much better. It was just a bad show and I can move on from it, but it definitely throttled my pride for a minute. 

 If you're here reading this, thank you!! I don't think I could ever stop writing even if the entire world hated my writing, but it helps to have a handful of readers who think my books are pretty great. And I know a lot of you are counted among them, so THANK YOU!

Catch up...

A lot of things have been happening in my personal life and so I’ve missed posting here on my website for several months. I have been sending out regular emails though, so if you want to make sure you don’t miss anything, get on that list!

joannareeder.com/getmyfreebies

Here are a few highlights from my recent emails:

  • We got a puppy!

  • I’ve been working on fulfilling my Kickstarter

  • I accidentally plotted a 12 book series…

  • and FanX 2024 in Salt Lake City was incredible

Writing Update:

Even though I have 22 books published (some are co-written with other authors) you'd think I would have a tried and true system for writing books. But I don't. Not because nothing works, but because the systems I've used to write all of my books worked great for those particular books. Then I learned something new or wanted to try something different and the next thing worked great for that book/series.

When I began writing Fae Thieves and Crowns, it was an experiment in serial writing and I LOVED IT. Of course, I had to change the structure of the story when I turned book one into novel form, but the drafting of both books one and two as a serial story has worked beautifully.

Mostly thanks to my amazing editor and friend, Kristin Dawson. 

I have loved figuring out the story as I go (though I do have a rough idea in my head and a bullet-point list of important moments that need to happen in each book.)

If you're following the story on Ream or Kindle Vella, book three is about ⅓ into the story. Last week I talked with Kristin because I was getting a little bit stuck due to so many life things taking my energy and attention lately. She suggested I quickly draft the rest of book three instead of doing it the serial way since we are so far into this massive story. 

So I did! I wrote 5,000 words (About 20 pages) with a quick summary of what will happen in each chapter until the end of book 3 and I'm so excited!  

I think this will really help me get this book written quickly and with fewer stumbling blocks. I think it will help me mention things and add things at the right times in the story to make the serial experience that much better!

Listen to Silver Wings and Shadows!

Good news…

I'm writing again! It's been a rough creative year with the move and other personal struggles, but I sat down a few days ago to write the bonus scene for the Stealing Fae Hearts and SecretsKickstarter and it just flowed!

I also have an new episode of Fae Thieves and Crowns almost done!

I hope it sticks and I can get into a good groove of writing again, especially with my kids going back to school next week.

Listen to Silver Wings and Shadows!

I'm really excited for this, because Karyne Norton is an excellent audiobook narrator. For her Finding Fantasy Reads podcast, Karyne read Silver Wings and Shadows (the prequel short story for Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns.)

Click the link to listen for free!

Three Reviews (Shhh... they're not fantasy books)

My kids go back to school in less than TWO weeks! I think it's the earliest they've ever gone back, but they finished just before Memorial Day so it's time. In total, they will have had 11 weeks off which I know is much longer than some areas/countries. 

With the move, we haven't done a whole lot this summer, but we were able to go to one of our favorite places for a week with my family (my parents, siblings, and their kids). 

We spent a lot of time at the beach (lake, not ocean) and the pool. 

It was so nice because I was able to forget about my stresses and relax for several days.

I also read THREE books! Which is nuts because I've been in a reading slump for most of the year. All three are regency romances by Sally Britton:

Maybe I just needed a break from fantasy for a minute. I loved all three of them! Click the pictures or the links in my short reviews to see them on Amazon!

  • The Social Tutor is about Christine who is getting ready for her first season in Bath. She speaks her mind too much and needs to learn how to act socially acceptable, so she enlists a neighbor, Thomas, to teach her. In return, she will give him stud rights to her stallions so he can start a horse farm.


    What I loved about this book is how forward Christine is in her genuine questioning and how it makes Thomas feel so awkward. But she legitimately wants to learn about what she's doing wrong in society so she can be better and have a successful season to snatch a husband. She even asks him to teach her how to flirt. It's such a fun book!


  • The Gentleman Physician is about Julia who travels to her cousin to help take care of her house and children while her cousin's husband is dying of consumption. It feels a lot like Jane Austen's Persuasion because we quickly learn that the doctor of Julia's cousin-in-law is the man she rejected many years prior (because of family issues, not because she didn't love him).


    What I loved about this book was how the romance unfolded during this very difficult time of losing a family member to a horrible sickness. It's not convenient or even socially acceptable for a romance, so the two deny their feelings for much of the book as they are thrown together taking care of this grieving family.


  • His Bluestocking Bride is about Ellen, a spinster (who is only 26, c'mon!), who is asked to marry Marcus (the second son of an Earl) in order for Marcus to have access to his inheritance. Ellen and Marcus have known each other since childhood and Ellen has always loved Marcus. So she says yes, even though he makes it clear that it's a practical match, not a love match.


    There's nothing specific that I loved about this book, other than I just loved it. The characters are great and I just love reading romances about marriages of convenience.

Update: Print Version of Stealing Hearts and Secrets

I have some news! Mostly for the Kickstarter backers, but if you've been waiting for Stealing Fae Hearts and Secrets to be available in print, we're one step closer! 

My map artist (and one of my author besties), Hanna Sandvig, just reached out because she's ready to update the map of Faerie! Once that's done and I get the bonus scene written, I'll be ready to format and get the books printed and shipped out to all the lovely Kickstarter backers. 

After that, I can announce when the books will be available to purchase on other retailers.

 

The Read A Thon for Imitating a Fae Queen is over, but if you hop on over to Ream, I have a special deal going on! Click the button to learn more!

Read A Thon: Imitating a Fae Queen

We’re about halfway through the free read-thon of Imitating a Fae Queen, but it’s not too late to join!

Here are the details:

Where: https://reamstories.com/joannareeder ←Click the link and make sure to Follow. The Read a Thon will be free to all followers and subscribers! 

When: June 17 - July 17, 2024 (Join Ream to see the reading schedule)

What: We'll be reading Imitating a Fae Queen. Each week there will be quizzes, discussions, and giveaways!

Weekly Giveaway Prizes

  • Paperback copy of Exiling a Fae Queen

  • Art print of Aria and Tien by J. Brent Hill

  • Map of Faerie print by Hanna Sandvig

  • Art print of Aria by Leona Sure

  • 4 character cards (Aria, Sterling, Carys, Tien)

  • Raven Court bookmark with handmade tassel

We Funded!

I am overjoyed at the amount of support my Kickstarter has received. If you were one of them, thank you! We funded in 45 minutes and the campaign was selected as one of the platforms “Projects We Love."

We’ve also unlocked our first two stretch goals!

The Kickstarter ends on May 22, 2024. Check it out before it ends!