I apologize. Yesterday, I asked for a favour (a vote for The High Priestess) and somehow left out the link to vote. Two days are left for voting, so if you forgive my oversight and would like to support me and my work, please go to the Connections page for The High Priestess and vote for it.
Here are the details (link included):
The High Priestess: Persephone’s Return, book three of my urban fantasy series, Tales from the Unmasqued World, is a finalist in Connections eMagazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards. I’m currently number eight in the top ten and would appreciate your vote to help boost my rankings. All you have to do is visit the page for The High Priestess on the Connections website and click on the Vote bar.
It might take a moment to load. After you vote, it’ll display a “thank you” message, and then a “Thank You” page will load. From there, you can use a menu to view the other finalists or the Top Ten.
Thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate it.
Smashwords is having its Summer Sale, which runs through the entire month of July. All my books on Smashwords are discounted by at least 25%, and my short horror story, “Storm Lake,” is available for FREE. To take advantage of this deal, visit my profile page on Smashwords, select the book you’d like to download, and click on the “Buy with Coupon” button.
Happy reading, and I hope you enjoy the stories!
Now, for that favour.
The High Priestess: Persephone’s Return, book three of my urban fantasy series, Tales from the Unmasqued World, is a finalist in Connections eMagazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards. I’m currently number eight in the top ten and would appreciate your vote to help boost my rankings. All you have to do is visit the page for The High Priestess on the Connections website and click on the Vote bar.
It might take a moment to load. After you vote, it’ll display a “thank you” message, and then a “Thank You” page will load. From there, you can use a menu to view the other finalists or the Top Ten.
Thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate it.
I’m so excited. I have a cover for The Empress: A Promise of Rain, book four of my urban fantasy series Tales from the Unmasqued World. This means the book will be published.
The Empress: A Promise of Rain by Val Tobin
If that sounds like there was a possibility the book wasn’t going to get published, you’d be correct. I figured once it was written I might reconsider, but I wasn’t about to spring for the cost of a cover or for professional editing if I decided not to release it.
When I mentioned this to some of my readers, they said they’d be more than happy to pay me to get a copy of the finished file even if it doesn’t have a cover and wasn’t professionally edited. I’m touched by their devotion. I’d be more than happy to share the file with those readers.
Why would I want to refrain from publishing it? Cost, mostly. Covers and editing are expensive and I don’t make much from my book sales. I figured since the sales aren’t there, I could continue writing, but I’d keep the files for myself until I had the funds from book sales to publish it. I don’t mind reading the unpolished file whenever I wish to visit those characters and that world.
Anyway, long story short, designer Sharon Brownlie of Aspire Book Covers posted a premade cover to Facebook, offering it for sale. Much to my surprise and delight, it was perfect for The Empress. I took it as a sign that the book should be published and bought the cover. So here it is in all its beauty. Thank goodness for credit cards and payment plans.
Readers of the series might correctly deduce that Josh, in his fae disguise, is the male in the background and Dakota is the woman in the foreground. It’s a perfect scene from the story, which at this point has almost 20,000 words written.
I’m expecting to get it finished by July and published in the fall. I’ll post again when it’s available for preorder.
For those of you who buy a book even though the series is incomplete, thank you. Your purchase might be the one that keeps an author from giving up on a series. If revenues don’t justify continuing the series, authors can’t continue writing it. I’m not talking about authors such as Georoge R. R. Martin. He’s got the resources to finish whatever he starts without worrying about how he’ll pay for it. Indie authors have to scrape out time and money to publish their books and they get sometimes just pennies per copy when they sell an ebook. Support indie authors whenever you can. Trust me when I say they treasure every purchase and every review.
All three books in the Tales from the Unmasqued World urban fantasy series are available to download from Amazon from March 27, 2023, until March 31, 2023.
The Fool: New Beginnings, The Magician: Infinity’s End, and The High Priestess: Persephone’s Return are all on sale this week. Download them for free–or borrow them via Kindle Unlimited to read for free.
Each story in the series is inspired by a different card from the tarot’s major arcana. The Fool is the first card in the major arcana (card 0), The Magician is the second card (card I), and The High Priestess is the third card (card II). If you know the tarot, you’ll know that The Empress will come next. I’m working on the first draft of that manuscript right now.
The Fool introduced the Davis family to readers: Kelsey and her son, Josh, and her ex-husband, Blair, who doesn’t really want to be her ex, but what choice does he have? She’s left him to open a bookstore cafe in the heart of the city. Their lives become more complicated when Josh’s school friend Dakota, a half-vampire, disappears, and her vampire father, Philip, shows up looking for her. Supernatural creatures mix with humans in this story of love and loss, hope and despair.
The Magician follows a secondary character from book one, aspiring Mage Chase Spenser. Student and part-time employee at Kelsey’s cafe, his world falls apart when he’s expelled from mage school for releasing a demon during an exam. Insisting he’s innocent, Chase and his girlfriend Jaycie work hard to clear his name. What they didn’t expect are family secrets that threaten their lives when uncovered. Kelsey, Josh, and Philip’s story also continues in this volume. The trio must try to get along because if they don’t, they’re dead–or worse.
The High Priestess is Jaycie’s story. Her unexpected news at the end of The Magician has her reeling, especially since she’s stuck in Hades. Can she save herself or must she wait for rescue? Jaycie’s not exactly the type to wait for a hero to show up–mostly because she doesn’t trust one to get the job done. Kelsey, Philip, and Josh’s peace blows up when reality comes knocking. A foolish decision on Josh’s part exposes them all right when Kelsey and Philip have found a small measure of happiness.
The Empress: A Promise of Rain will follow Dakota Lawson, Philip’s daughter and Josh’s lost love. Philip’s agony over his daughter increases as the repercussions of Josh’s previous decision continue to reverberate.
Escape into a world inhabited by vampires, lycans, fae, and other magickal creatures, where if you can’t beat ’em, you must join ’em.
Kobo has selected You Again and Gillian’s Island for a 30% off March special sale that began March 16, 2023, and runs until March 27, 2023.
To get the discount, use the coupon code MAR30 upon checkout. The sale is available to readers in the following countries: Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
To find the books on Kobo, use the following links to select the online Kobo store in your country (select Rakuten Kobo from the retailer options):
Gillian’s Island (To get the discount, use the coupon code MAR30 upon checkout): https://books2read.com/gilliansisland She avoids people. He’s the ultimate schmoozer. Can their love survive a vicious saboteur who’ll stop at nothing to destroy them?
You Again (To get the discount, use the coupon code MAR30 upon checkout): https://books2read.com/youagain The man she never wanted to see again has returned. Can Ellen give Gabriel a second chance without risking her heart or losing her life?
I have a short story, an article, and a first-chapter sample from The Hunted in this quarter’s edition of Connections eMagazine: Grab your copy of Connections here.
For fans of my Tales from the Unmasqued World series, the short story is a prequel featuring the mysterious lycan introduced in The Fool and identified as Patrick Growley in The Magician.
Note: If you’re interested in reading The Fool, today (May 26, 2022) is the last day of the #FREE ebook promo on Amazon. Grab it at this link while you can.
Thanks, Mom’s Favorite Reads, for once again including one of my stories in your magazine. Those of you who’ve read my Tales from the Unmasqued World series will recognize this flash fiction story as a prequel scene to The Fool, as it includes one of the characters.
Crime and thriller author Shawn Reilly Simmons interviewed by Wendy H Jones. Plus, Author Features, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Short Stories, Young Writers, National Batman Day, and so much more!
An exclusive interview with Jennifer Shahade two-time USA Women’s Chess Champion, poker champion, author and podcaster. Plus, Author Features, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Recipes, Short Stories, Jazz Appreciation Month, and so much more!
The man she never wanted to see again has returned.
A monster hunter confronts her terrifying past while helping a reporter uncover the origins of Storm Lake's creatures.
Three wannabe authors suffering from various mental disorders find themselves on a killer's radar when they interfere in the investigation of a colleague’s murder.
The Valiant Chronicles three-volume set includes The Experiencers, A Ring of Truth, and Earthbound. Three books for the price of two.
A spirit refuses to cross over and becomes earthbound when she discovers the shocking details behind her death.
A young psychic woman fights an attraction to a handsome but skeptical novelist while she battles a power-hungry sorcerer determined to make her his next conquest.
Gillian's Island
A young actress at the height of her career has her personal life turned upside down when a horrifying family secret makes front-page news.
A black-ops assassin atones for his brutal past by trying to help an alien abductee escape her fate.
A rogue assassin returns from the dead to rescue alien abductees and triggers Armageddon.
Indie Lifer 