Hey friends! God, it’s been a long time hasn’t it?

I hope the few of you who read this will bear with me as this may end up being a longer than normal update post!

So, for a long time I was doing weekly blog posts. Every Friday, I’d update the world and the four readers of this blog just what the hell was going on with Steve. I then drifted away from that when I was releasing ‘Wound Upon Wound,’ my weekly serial novella.

Now, I’ve completely dropped it, as I’ve been doing a lot more social media posts with my book reviews/Kendall Reviews post and my daily author shouts.

I’ve decided to do a longer post here to update a bunch of stuff.

HANG ON!

1) The Window In the Ground arrives!

Yup! She’s here! Released through The Writing Collective, this coming of age, folklore story has so far been well received, which warms my heart. Because it’s arrival was not without sorrow.

But let’s back track.

How did it come to be? Simples! Auryn, Amanda and I went for a hike at Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary which is about twenty minutes from where we live, a few years back. It was Spring time and when we came over a hill, there was a purely green section of grass off among the snow filled field that made it look like someone had been shoveling the snow off. We actually went back and hiked there this past weekend and I took a photo of where the Window was spotted. The area is really grown in now, so I’ve used added a circle to show you where it was originally spotted!

It was a beautiful day, but we were shocked at just how high the water levels still were, the water almost even with the boardwalk for most of the hike.

It was fantastic to get out there and see the area again, but also to revisit where I’d first spotted the window. When Spring rolls around again, we’ll have to go back and make sure the caretaker is still shoveling the snow off.

I mentioned the sorrow part of the release earlier.

Sadly and unexpectedly, a few days before the release, my father in law, Paul passed away. It was and is still a devastating thing that has happened and we’re trying to navigate the waves of grief as best we can.

On release day, my wife saw a few “happy release day” posts of the book and asked if I had a book out on July 1st. When I said I did, she said I should still celebrate it and the accomplishment and that Paul would be proud. So, we discussed options and ultimately decided to donate all profits/proceeds from the book to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. So far, since release date, we’ve donated $200 which is just amazing. Thank you to everyone who made release day so special.

If you haven’t snagged a copy yet;

(For those wondering/buying for the donation aspect – each ebook equals $2.03 donated, each paperback equals $2.05 donated, so both are almost identical for supporting the charity!

2) Author shouts!

I’m just going to give a quick blurb about doing this. I love doing these for a few reasons. It gives someone an unexpected smile. Social media can be absolute garbage at times, so I figured it’d be nice to pop onto a platform and see a few nice words! It can give someone an unexpected boost. I’ve had a few authors say that the random shout came at just the right time while they struggled in a section or whatever. How awesome! It can get a few new sales. New readers are always amazing, but old readers who may have missed a release are also amazing. I try to do my four square covers over a section of an authors releases. New, old, anthologies, etc, just a way to show their scope!

I’ll continue doing this for as long as I can. At first I was doing three a day, but have adjusted to one a day, to make sure I can keep sharing some love and positivity.

3) Self promo.

Good lord. I’ve actually started doing some self promo. It makes me nauseous on the best of days and down right ill most other days, but I guess I need to do some self promo and celebrate my books as well!

4) What I’m working on.

Ok – here’s a bit on every single thing I have on the go!

Scott: A Wagon Buddy Tale. Copy editing notes are done, I just need to go through and make final tweaks. This will be released end of year. Most likely November.

Cathedral of the Skinned: Sermons of Sorrow Book Two. Bogged down at the moment. I’ve been mentally questioning every single thing about the first draft. Too much of this, not enough of that, blah blah. It’ll get a kick in the arse shortly.

Book Three of the Father of Lies Trilogy. 25% done draft one. Cover art done. This is going to be deep, dark and brutal. Father is a disgusting creature/character. Expect to be repulsed. I’ve also created something unique as a giveaway for this. Sodergren has heard the plan and thought it was awesome. I’ll be doing a compendium release for this that’ll also include a novella which will essentially be a four book set then.

456 Blatchford Drive. I can’t think if I’ve actually shared the cover of this one yet? Either way, here you go!

This one is done draft one. Almost done draft two. Set over a bunch of decades, this is a folklore, haunted house story. As of this time, I’m still planning on making this an ultra limited “fan” release. I’m still thinking only 10 hardcovers and 20 paperbacks and that’s it. But we’ll see. I’ll keep you posted!

Mastodon. Another one long in the burner. I completely rewrote the entire novel over the course of being laid off at the start of COVID arriving. I’ve decided to let this sit for a bit before I return for draft two. I’m still processing how I want to move forward with this book. But expect a 2021 release date as of right now.

September collection. Haven’t mentioned anything about this publicly until now. I’ve mentioned it to a few people behind the scenes. Expect a cover review soon on Kendall Reviews. This features a foreword and art by my friend, the amazing Miranda Crites. Think you’ll really dig this!

TNN. Co-written with my friend, David Sodergren, this is a fantastic western horror that we collaborated on. We’d talked about doing this for some time and then just banged out a 1st draft over the course of a week or so. Expect more details at some point here, but we’ve both been content with it arriving next year.

I think that’s everything? Maybe? haha! Not 100% sure honestly!

5) Review Requests.

You may have seen it on my site here, but I am officially closed to review requests at the moment. I’m playing catch up (like many!) and I’m trying to get through a lot of amazing books I’ve bought over the last few years that I haven’t been able to get through. Saying that – if you are someone I’ve reviewed before, still reach out. And if you are very much struggling to get traction/reviewers, do message. I’ll see what I can do.

 

Until we meet again,

Steve