Today is the release for the Zooey Zombie series’ Fourth book, “Wanted Undead or Alive”! You can get it for $2.99 on Kindle or $9.99 in paperback.
Zooey goes through the motions of her life as she lives trapped in the Undead town of Mattapan, Massachusetts. The Z-shots that keep her from turning back into a zombie work less each time she gets one, and she’s worried what will happen once they stop working altogether. Her best friend, Elizabeth, is working together with the renowned Undead lawyer, Christine Moore from Chicago, to fight for Undead rights. The trials go well until the bodies of two college boys are found in a sunken car in the Boston harbor. Now, the fight against the Undead is stronger than ever as peoples’ fears grow. Zooey remembers fragments of that night, but not enough to be sure she wasn’t the one who murdered them. With the help of her human boyfriend, Miles, Zooey and her friends try to figure out who the real murderer is. But what Zooey doesn’t know is her boyfriend is hiding a massive secret from her, one that would reveal who truly killed the two men. Will Zooey be able to solve the case before the police do and clear her name?
This is a series of quick reads under 200 pages each. These fast- paced mystery/dystopian/zombie/young adult books are perfect for a bit-sized Halloween thrill. If you’re tired of the same old zombie stories then you should give Zooey Zombie a try! The story doesn’t end with the apocalypse. Her story is what comes after, when zombies not too far gone are changed back with a government created shot. These transformed zombies are referred to as the Undead, a new race of human that has to go through a stripping of rights and judgment as fear in society spreads like a disease.
I don’t know how September was for you all, but it flew by for me! It’s been a very hectic time as I settle into my new job as barn and business manager at a local horseback riding school. And now that we are back to school with my nine-year-old and she in involved in riding lessons, guitar lessons, and an afterschool running club, man does the time get away from me! It can be hard to find time to read, but I always make sure to get up a half hour earlier than needed during the week just to make sure I have time to sip my coffee and read my book.
Book Reviews
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
I did finally finish the 7th book in the Outlander series, “An Echo in the Bone.” It feels like forever ago that I finished it, and I haven’t been able to keep up with my reviews, so I will do my best now with this one. This was the first book that the series really added Jamie’s illegitimate son, William, as a main character. A lot of the book was spent following him through the wilderness as he met new Amish characters who eventually became important parts in Jamie and Claire’s life as well. Of course, by the end the two separate stories of William and Jamie collide, and it was a great and exciting story the whole time. It kept my interest and had great intricate details that I still scratch my head and wonder how the author could possibly have discovered it in research. It’s like she’s from the 18th century herself! This series is huge and its a daunting commitment that will most likely take you years to get through. There is one more book that has to come out to complete the series at ten, but if you love Scottish and American history with a little romance thrown in here and there, then you will love this!
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
I am just a few pages away from being done with my first falltime read, The Spellshop. This was one of those rare Instagram or Facebook finds where I saw a post and was intrigued. This usually doesn’t happen to me because I don’t spend a lot of time scrolling through social media. The cover captured me, I knew it had to do with something related to spells, and it was described as cottagecore cozy, which is right up my alley. I bought it in hardback, because I love display beautiful books on my shelves. The edges of this book is dyed a lovely lavender, giving it a nice touch. I’ve never heard of the author, but that never stops me from picking up a book and reading it.
The story is way more high fantasy than I’m used to, but it wasn’t so overwhelming that it took me out of what was going on. When characters are aliens or animals or not human I tend to get distracted by that rather than it adding to the story. If they’re human enough like elves and dwarves in Lord of the Rings then it’s all good, but animal people not so much. This world is imagined. It’s an island world, which was really fitting in with my mood lately. I lived in Hawai’i for a few years in my early twenties and I still get homesick for the island throughout the year. I just happened to enter into my island homesickness phase, so that worked out perfectly.
The main character returns to her home island as she flees the big capitol city when rebels try to burn it down. She’s a librarian and she stole a bunch of spellbooks in an attempt to save them from being destroyed. Now, she’s hiding out until the heat is over, hoping the empire is overthrown in the process so magic can be returned to the people instead of hidden from them. She’s described as having blue skin and blue hair, but its only referenced a handful of times so I found myself forgetting about it altogether and seeing her in my mind as human. She does having a magic talking spider plant as her friend sidekick, which I actually love! I have a spider plant in my office while I’m reading, so I kept finding myself looking over at it to drawn inspiration for the one in the story.
This book is full of friendships and a little romance and a lot of mystery and action towards the end. But if you are not into jam making and gardening, I’m not sure if this book is for you because the main character spends a lot of time doing this to make a living in her run down old cottage in the woods. (So, she’s basically living the life of my dream! lol)
The only turn off from this book is that there were some political viewpoints shoved in there that didn’t need to be. I feel it detracted from the story and felt like a forced agenda, which I’m getting super sick of in my entertainment. I read and watch movies to escape from this world and its problems, not to have my characters deal with it too. At least that’s how I feel about my fantasy books.
I teetered between giving it three and four stars because there were parts that were boring and it didn’t keep me as interested as I would have liked. I didn’t feel that burning desire to pick up that book and see what happened next. And also the forced agendas kind of ruined things for me and soured me on it. Other than that, it was what it said it was, a cozy cottagecore fantasy. If that’s your jam, no pun intended, then you’ll love it!
Next up I’m going to be starting “The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel”. This was another social media find (from the same post as the last book I believe). I love historicals and when its an extension of another classic, what’s not to love?
What I’m Working On
I know for the past few months you’ve heard of nothing but me talking about how I’m working on my first Historical Fiction centered on horses called “When Dealing with Horses”. I was in the middle, quite literally, of running through an edit before the final edit, when I was struck by the falltime bug. I’m a mood reader, but apparently I’m also a mood writer. I suddenly had an overwhelming desire to write another Zooey Zombie book and the story just came flowing out of me. Since these are super short reads, about 100-200 pages total, I figured I could take a break from the Historical Fiction to crank out another zombie dystopian. I’m very close to finishing writing, and then I will go through a few rounds of editing before I publish. You can expect to see it on Amazon and Kindle and Audible at the end of this October!
Zooey is dragged into the underground world of the Undead as her friend, Ren tries to create a drug to turn all the former zombies back into their zombie state…but with brains! He envisions a world full of conscious zombies to overthrow the human race, but this is not the world Zooey wants to live in. When two college boys turn up dead with their brain matter missing, the humans can’t help pointing their fingers at the Undead, hindering the ongoing trials for Undead rights. Zooey and her friends work together to solve this mystery and stop Ren before he destroys the world as we know it.
Links to Free and On Sale eBooks!
Now for the real reason you’re here! Below are links to tons of free and on sale eBooks by dozens, maybe even hundreds, of talented indie authors. Most of the links describe the genre inside. And most of these links expire at the end of the month, so get to downloading! You’ll even find a few of mine in there if you’re interested. I hope you have a wonderful end of September. It’s almost time to break out those Halloween decorations! I’m too excited!
Things have been so so busy with me lately in my personal life that it’s been a little hard to find time for my book work. At the end of July I decided to put my notice in at the Jeep dealership I had my day job at because I was hired to work full time at a nearby horseback riding school and farm as their Business, Horse, Facility, and Social Media Manager! It’s a dream job for me, though it has proven to be more physical than I’m used to in a day. I’m definitely tired at the end of the day like I’ve never been before. But on with the book news!
Book Reviews
I read some really good books this month! First up was “The Lilly of Ludgate Hill” by MiMi Matthews. It is the third book in her Belles of London Victorian Era series, and I absolutely love every book so far!
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
Technically, I read this one in July but since I didn’t have time to put together a proper newsletter for everyone last month, I’m including it in this month. I’ve been on a horse-centered Historical Fiction kick, which is actually a lot harder to find than I thought it would be, so that is how I came to pick up this series in the first place. This is the third book!
I absolutely love MiMi Matthew’s horse and friendship centered series! They have just the right amount of romance to keep me interested and not turn me off by being overly sentimental. There’s always an element of “will they, won’t they” to keep me guessing! You can tell the series is written by an avid horse lover, which is why I picked up the series in the first place.
I loved that this one brought two childhood friends together as lovers. Two who had almost married before but then had to overcome their past hurts from each other to find each other again. The main character had a great amount of independence and sass over her lover that it kept me laughing and say “Yes, girl! That’s right!” through the whole book.
If you love horses, friendship, and soft romance then the Belle’s of London series is for you! I can’t wait for the last book to be released.
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
I find it very hard to find horse fiction for adults that are of good quality, but I am really glad that I found “The Giver of Stars” by Jojo Moyes!
The story centers around a group of women who become packhorse librarians. They go into the rural mountains of Kentucky to deliver books to those too far to come to the library. Books and horses? Yes, please! Each character was so unique and had so much depth to them. I loved getting to know each of the packhorse librarians throughout the story. These women were somewhat outcasts in their town, so the fact that they could all come together and make fast friends was really nice to see.
The romance in the story was second fiddle to friendship and horses, which is just what I like. I really don’t love sappy love stories or predictable love stories. This was anything but! I was really happy with the way each romance story played out.
Reading this story made me want to learn more about these packhorse librarians, who were real women during the depression. I highly recommend this story. It was one of the best books I’ve read in a while.
I am currently reading “An Echo in the Bone” from the Outlander series as I slowly make my way through this gigantic saga. I love these books. The author does such a great job of providing so much detail that you feel like you’re there. I often find myself wondering “how in the heck would she even know that?!” So I can’t imagine the amount of research it takes to put one of these books together. Now that I am on book seven and the two main characters are older, I think in their fifties, the intimate romance scenes have dwindled down and the focus is on the family and history unfolding, which is what I absolutely love! They are in America right at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and I can’t get enough of the drama and detail. I highly recommend this series, although it is a real huge commitment.
Writing In Progress
I am still plugging away SLOWLY on my very own and first Historical Fiction (that is horse-centered, you know…since it’s so hard to find these books!) I am in the editing process and am about 75% of the way done. Then, I will do one final read-through before publishing. I am hoping and planning to have it out this Fall 2024! Keep a look out in the next newsletter for a more accurate release date.
Anastasia feels like her life is falling apart when her lover abandons her and her baby. With her tail between her legs she returns to her overbearing mother’s home in Northwest Indiana to try to start over. Determined to provide for herself and not have to rely on anyone else ever again, she heads to her late father’s horse and carriage dealership, only to find her mother sold it along with all the horses, including her father’s prized stallion! Desperate for money, she begs for a job as one of their salesmen. As Anastasia tries to make her way in a man’s world, she vows never to fall in love again and to only focus on providing a good life for herself and her daughter, but love always finds a way. A handsome banker who does business with the dealership helps Anastasia to reclaim her purpose in this world. He not only tries to win her heart, but tries to win back the life she lost as well. Can Anastasia earn her father’s business back and find his beloved stallion before it’s too late? Find out this Fall in “When Dealing with Horses”!
I’m so excited to get this book out there. Though a lot of it is fiction, a good chunk of it is based on my own experience as a single mother entering the car dealership business as a salesman.
Free and On Sale eBooks for August
Here are the many links to the hundreds of eBooks that are free or on sale for the rest of this month. Most of these links expire at the end of August, but some continue on into September. There are so many talented indie authors out there! So, stock up your eReaders for that cozy fall reading time that’s coming up.
Thank you for reading through my newsletter! I hope you found some great books to read. Whose ready for fall?! I know I am (although we are getting hit with a 95 degree day this week, so it’s not very fall like…) Enjoy your reading!
Sorry, but this newsletter is going to be short and sweet and mostly links to free and on sale eBooks. Life has been a little crazy for me this last month and it’s only going to get crazier next month as I transition from my current job to a new job. I was hired as a Business Manager of a local horseback riding school. It’s a big undertaking to get everything set up on the business end so I haven’t had as much time for my book work. Without further ado, here are the links to your free on on sale eBooks! Many of these links expire tomorrow so get on it and fill those eReaders up quick!
Enjoy the free and on sale reads! Next month, I will fill you in with more reviews, what I’m working on, and sales and giveaways further in advance than the day they expire. Have a great last few weeks of summer, reader friends.
I’ve been playing around with the cover for my upcoming release obsessively. Just when I think I’ve found a new cover I find a new image that is even better! I have it down to just a few and I could really use your help now. Vote for which one you like best for my 1866 American Historical Fiction, “When Dealing with Horses”. A young, free, and spirited single mom moves back into her childhood home with her overbearing and judgmental mother. She find out her mother sold her late father’s horse and carriage business out from under her, so she gets a job as a salesman there. It’s better to work there as an employee than to lose the beloved place altogether. Anastasia does her best to make her way in a man’s world in order to support her daughter but it’s not easy. Everyone’s against her, including her own mother, but Anastasia perseveres to come out on top, no matter who stands in her way.
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE COVER! IN ORDER #1-5
Book Reviews
This was a good start to an exciting series. I loved the characters. At first I didn’t know what they all had to do with each other but in the middle they all came together for one epic adventure to evade danger. This book was right up my alley. I love history. I love Scotland. I love flowing red hair! I loved the main characters and their enemies were truly despicable. There was an element of magic and fantasy that I was not expecting at all so it made me like it all the more. And I really loved that the story itself was so thrilling and kept the pages turning, and that the love stories were side stories and not the main focus. I like a good love story, but I don’t like being beaten to death by it. I recommend reading this book if Scottish Historical Fiction with a touch of Fantasy is something you like.
This second book in the famous and epic trilogy was action-packed and full of adventure compared to the first one. The story is split between Frodo and Sam’s journey and the company’s since they are now no longer together. The descriptions of battles and action are so well done I can see it in my mind perfectly. My favorite part was the end in Shelob’s Lair. It was so well written that I was creeped out with goosebumps at the description of the giant spider and her movements and attacks on Frodo and Sam. I can’t wait to wrap the series up with the third and final book soon!
Currently Reading
This is the third book in the Belles of London series by Mimi Matthews. I am so excited to continue on with this Victorian Romance. Each book follows a different woman from the group of four friends as they navigate London society during the marriage market season. These four women own their own horses and love to ride the Rotten Row together. Each has their own unique story filled with horsemanship, friendship, and love. The fourth book is not out yet, but I’m anxiously awaiting its release!
I was in search of a clean story that centered around horses, or at least involved horses, and a historical fiction makes it all the better. I found this series in a three book box set. I had tried several Christian cowboy fictions with no luck. The characters were way too shallow and girl/boy obsessed for my taste. It was all they thought about! “A Trail So Lonesome” is a great story of a wagon train on the Oregon Trail in the 1800s. I am loving it so far! The characters have depth and secrets that keep the story interesting, and there’s never a lack of excitement on the trail, that’s for sure! So far, this one is an enemies to lovers trope, but the romance element is not overwhelming at all or too sappy, which I don’t like at all. This series is right up my alley and I recommend!
Links to Free and On Sale eBooks by Dozens of Fantastic Indie Authors! (Including a few of my own)
