First, the ebook for Lilith’s Fall is currently FREE on Amazon, for a limited time (7/12/2022 – 7/14/2022). If you haven’t had a chance to check out this sensual scifi/fantasy romance series featuring demon and angel-like aliens in a futuristic world clashing with each other and humanity, now is definitely the time to dive into the first book! You can’t beat the price. š
The second announcement is that I’m celebrating! The Scorpion’s Mate passed 1,000 reviews and ratings on Amazon while I had my head down working on Urialeās Redemption! This is so big for me, as seeing that happen has been a dream of mine since I self-published my very first book.
I sincerely thank everyone who has ever left a review or rating for any of my books. Itās making a difference, not only in the visibility of my books, but also in my motivation to work on the sequels. When my fans are excited about a book, I get even more enthusiastic about writing the next one.
Since I can’t thank you all personally, I figured the next best thing was to do a fun giveaway that is Scorpion’s Mate-themed, so I set this one up for all my U.S.-based readers (I really wanted to do International too, but the shipping costs have gone through the roof, making that not an option at the moment, so I’m looking at some other possible giveaways in the future for stickers, bookmarks, and maybe even prints for my international readers, if this one goes smoothly.)
This picture doesn’t do these items justice! I can never get the lighting and angles right, but these are the things in the giveaway.
I put this gift set together in the last few weeks, and itās been so difficult not to share details until I had it all ready to go. But now, itās ready! Check out the details below:
Two winners will be selected by random number generator from eligible entries to win 1 signed copy of āThe Scorpionās Mate,ā 1 custom cup printed with āThe Scorpionās Mateā graphic (the picture doesnāt do it justice), 1 5X7 art print of Thrax by Sammi Griffin, 1 āThe Scorpionās Mateā bookmark, and 3 āThe Scorpionās Mateā die-cut stickers.Eligible entrants must be 18 years or older to enter, and must be U.S. residents (My apologies to my International readers. The shipping costs are insane!)
Winners will only be contacted via my official email address: susantrombleyauthor@gmail.com, andI will not announce a winner on any site or social media page until those prizes are claimed. No other information will ever be requested by me than what is in the official entry form on my website, and the shipping information I will request via my official email address when I contact the winners.
The giveaway begins on July 12, 2022 at 12PM EST and ends on July 26, 2022 at 12AM EST when the Google form will close to any new entries.
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE THE CHANCES OF WINNING
(This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Mailchimp, WordPress, or Google. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of this sweepstakes and not to Facebook, Instagram, Mailchimp, WordPress, or Google.)
Ever since I published The Scorpionās Mate, Iāve included long, perhaps somewhat rambling, Authorās Notes at the end of each book, in the hopes of giving my readers a little more insight into the inspiration behind the book they just read, some of the themes and intentions, my writing process for that book, and what I might have planned for current characters and future books.
I know that some of my readers and fans will read these notes because they often reply to questions I will ask in them, however, Iām never quite sure whether readers in general are interested in these increasingly longer and more detailed Authorās Notes, and I realized that when I said all that I intended to about a book, I would often end up with pages for an Authorās Note that Iām not even certain the majority of my readers are interested in.
I donāt want to take up pages upon pages of a book with content that doesnāt interest the readers who purchased it, so ultimately, I chose to keep my Authorās Notes much shorter and to the point, basically giving thanks (because seriously, thank you to everyone who reads my books!), and then giving an update on current and future projects in regards to that series, which are all things I would want to know as a reader.
However, I still want to share so much with my fans who are interested in all those things I used to put into my Authorās Notes.
Since I revived my blog with the intention to blog more frequently, I realized I had a perfect solution at hand. I could share those extended Authorās Notes with my fans by posting them as a blog, which will not only go out to my blog subscribers, but will also be available on my website, and indeed, I plan to post the ones Iāve written in the past as well as any new ones for future books, including the Authorās Note that I would have included with my latest book, Urialeās Redemption, which youāll find below.
For those who are unfamiliar with my usual Authorās Note rambling, I basically talk about all that I said above, in varying degrees, and sometimes add some more personal details. I am generally a private person, so I donāt share a lot on social media about myself and my life, however, these Authorās Notes sometimes explain a bit more about me in regards to my inspiration and life experiences, as well as my writing process (which sometimes changes, depending on the book), so even if youāre not interested in the book in question, you might find something interesting in these notes.
However, please be aware that there might be spoilers ahead for the associated books.
Authorās Note for Urialeās Redemption
Sneaky peeky at some incredible artwork I commissioned from Zakuga. š
For those who are new to the Shadows in Sanctuary series, you may not be aware that I promised Urialeās book five years agoā¦and then failed to deliver, much to my own chagrin.
In fact, it was because of this broken promise, boldly proclaimed in all my Authorās Notes for the previous books in the series, that I stopped giving myself firm deadlines for future books. Now, I will only give a potential release date when the first draft is either finished or nearly there.
In every other case, I keep my release plans very vague. I really hate going back on my promises, because my word is important to me. My fans have given me their time and their trust, and I deeply respect and appreciate that and seek to be worthy of it at every opportunity.
So, since Urialeās Redemption changed how I do things, why then, didnāt I write it when I promised I would? Or the next year? Or the next? You get the idea, lol.
The truth is that I tried. Multiple times!
I even wrote half the book, then scrapped the entire manuscript, around fifty thousand words, which represents weeks of work for me. Though this isnāt the first time Iāve had to do this (I tell my Scorpionās Mate saga in that Authorās Note), this time was particularly frustrating, because I had felt confident in the story and had even commissioned a cover in a sadly unrealistically optimistic belief that this would get done in time.
This is the old cover I never got to use. As you can see, it was supposed to be book 4 XD
Alas (I love that word and rarely get to use it, lol), I not only didnāt meet my own self-imposed deadline, I grew skittish at even trying to write Urialeās book again, and quite frankly, pretty much gave up on my villain-to-hero story, even though it has to be my all-time favorite romance trope. (I did do it in two other series, though, so thereās that :D)
The thing was, I loved Uriale as a character and still wanted him to have his own book. His arrogance made him fascinatingly flawed, and there was a certain degree of tragedy to his back story that I wanted to share, because I like to show motivation in a villain, or at least go into why they declined from what they no doubt saw as a heroic position. Uriale was a perfect chance to do that, and ultimately, I hope that I succeeded in his book. I didnāt want either him or Anata to be written as cardboard-cutout villains, but rather as broken souls, giving in to corruption and hedonism to deal with past pain and trauma.
But back then, I was truly struggling with getting Uriale to cooperate with my plots. He has a strong will and a mind of his own, and he knew exactly what he wanted, but I wasnāt in on the plan. XD
Something just wasnāt working in his story, and it wasnāt until I wrote Carnifexās story, in Executionerās Grace, which ended up becoming book 4 instead, that I finally figured out what that was.
Micah.
Urialeās genetically engineered progeny simply wasnāt old enough prior to Carnifexās book to be much of a character in his own right, and he and Uriale had to have some kind of reckoning before Uriale could embrace his son and claim him as his own. The fact that Ellana, (whom I had planned for Uriale from book one, but had changed that plan a couple times), was raising Micah now made it possible to bring them all together once and for all. (And oh, how I love the way it turned out!)
While writing Executionerās Grace, Urialeās story simply unfolded for me, all of it laid bare for me to get my act together and write the book already. Coupled with fans of the series eagerly begging for Urialeās book, I knew I needed to buckle down and get it done.
And whew! It was a ride! Writing Urialeās Redemption hollowed me out, Iām not gonna lie. I was so wrapped up, so fully consumed by the story that when it was done, I crashed like I was coming down from a high, and ended up feeling depressed for about a week after I typed āThe Endā on the first draft of the manuscript.
I finally came out of my after-finishing slump (Iāve had them before, just not as intense) and dived in to tackle the revisions and edits. Again, I was consumed by the story, getting so wrapped up in it at times that I struggled to pay attention to the task at hand.
I love this story, even though I can admit that I hated writing it! It was such a struggle, such an all-consuming challenge to tell Urialeās story after all these years, that I wanted to throw my hands up and quit so many times, but I also couldnāt walk away from the story and characters, feeling compelled to return to my manuscript day after day, for nearly two months.
I knew this particular series had a much smaller fanbase than my Iriduan Test Subjects series, so I wasnāt expecting huge returns on those two months of effort, but it was worth it anyway to give my loyal fans, those who love this series, the story theyāve been waiting for all this time.
I seriously appreciate all of you who have contacted me through social media or email to beg for more from this series. I had let it die after Jessabelleās Beast years ago, and resurrected it only after getting so much encouragement to continue, and given the two books that followed and how proud I am of both of them, I am very grateful that I did so, and I have my fans to thank!
I think Urialeās Redemption is some of my best work, writing-wise. It may not be everyoneās cup of tea, as it is fairly complex and gets a little dark in places, but I could picture this story so clearly, and I felt like waiting five years to write it meant that it got the best of my skills put towards creating it.
Iām still learning and growing as a writer, so Iām not trying to say itās the most amazing book everā¦but, yeah, I am. Itās the most amazing book ever! (At least to me. You gotta love what you create š )
I hope you agree that the book was at least good. In fact, Iām greedy enough to hope that you loved it!
The future of this series is uncertain at the moment. It honestly doesnāt get much attention, though when readers do discover it, they often contact me to tell me how much they love it and how they want more, and for that, I am deeply appreciative! That kind of feedback really inspires me and makes me eager to work on the next book in a series. Though Iām a professional writer, indie as I am, who makes money with these books, theyāre still creative works that take a lot out of me, and Iām also emotionally connected to them (Iām only human, I canāt treat a story that took heart and soul to write like a widget from an assembly line), so when I receive awesome messages or emails that praise the series and beg for more, it has a huge impact on me.
I have many more ideas and even outlines for stories in this series, and I would love to write all of them, though realistically speaking, I couldnāt do it in my lifetime, especially since the possibilities only grow with each new book, so I have to focus on what my fans want next.
That being said, let me know in the comments which characters from the series youād like to get their story! Fan feedback helps me decide what Iāll work on next for a series.
As for what Iām working on at the moment, I was supposed to take a break from writing for a while, because this book wiped me out so much that I felt overwhelmed. However, I started playing around with some concept art sketching of character ideas, and came up with a chameleon hero that I decided should have a story of his own. (I have a TikTok now, and I posted a video of painting this guy there :D)
Loving this character, but he’s so challenging to paint with all those colors!
Since I wanted to make it a lighter read with less complexity than a book like Urialeās Redemption, itās been a much more relaxed experience writing this new book, which will also be much shorter. Iām aiming for a light, steamy read that incorporates a ton of romance tropes, particularly SFR, and hopefully puts them all together in a fun, very entertaining way that my fans will enjoy. Iām really leaning in to the tropey-ness on this one. š I love the romance genre, and I love all the associated tropes of it, as well as the science fiction tropes that also occur frequently in this book.
After I finish this WIP, I plan on actually taking that break, XD before I dive into one of the other two books Iāve been planning for this year, Avaās book, and Kevosās book.
Thank you so much for reading my Authorās Note for Urialeās Redemption, and if you read the book, thank you for taking the time to check it out!
I’m super excited to announce that Uriale’s Redemption is now available in ebook on Amazon! (Paperback version coming soon)
This book is also enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, so if you have that, you can read it for FREE.
This book has been a long time in the making and I really hope fans of the series love this book as much as I do.
Please note that this story is set in a dark and dangerous world in which all characters are in peril. There are some intense combat scenes that might be disturbing to some readers. It’s an emotional roller coaster of a read and far from light and fluffy, but the tone is in line with that of the rest of the series, and you all know I love Happily Ever Afters! š Just sayin.
Forsaken and exiled
Abandoned by the Father of Light and hunted by his Flock, Uriale craves vengeance against the Diakonosāhumans who once worshipped him as a god, and then betrayed him by stealing his power over light.
The chance for that vengeance stumbles into his talons with former Diakonos, Ellana Reese. Sparing her from death in the unforgiving jungle is no mercy on his part. He plans to torture the location of the other Diakonos out of her, but finds his own protective instinct standing in his way.
To make matters worse, Ellana isnāt just any beautiful and fragile human female. She once captivated him as his devoted servant, her words of praise brightening his moments of darkness. Now that sheās in his grasp, he feels enchanted all over again.
A dangerous secret
Ellana once loved Uriale as her god and also harbored a more forbidden desire for him, until he abandoned those he was meant to protect, destroying her faith in him. Now, she must lure him away from her sonātheir sonāthe genetically engineered child the Diakonos created to usurp Urialeās power to give it to mankind. Ellana knows the fallen prince will kill Micah if he discovers the boyās location.
But Urialeās unexpected mercy touches her heart as she realizes that he isnāt a perfect god of a light, but a flawed and scarred mortal of flesh and blood. Her fantasy is finally in her grasp, and his touch heats her blood, but the secret she must keep from him could destroy the love that grows between them.
And the secrets Uriale keeps could destroy their world.