A Change in the Release Schedule

I've been working on A Cup of Conflict (Justice #10) for the past few weeks. I've known since Sister Darys was skulking in the background of A Hint of Thief (Justice #9) that she had more than one secret. Doesn't every member of that particular Temple?

She finally deigned to tell me as I was trying to get to sleep on Monday night. Apparently, Thief clergy like whispering their secrets in the dark. Unfortunately, it meant a little reworking of the beginning of A Cup of Conflict.

Yeah, I'm a little ticked that she waited until I was over half-way finished with the novel, too.

What does this all mean as far as the release schedule for the second half of 2025?

The release for A Cup of Conflict has been move to June 16th. And since I'm focused on finishing that book, I'm looking at pushing the Kickstarter for The Books of Apep series to October, i.e. Witchtober.

It makes sense in a way since Aset/Isis is the most powerful sorceress of the Egyptian pantheon. (Not to be confused with the god Heka, who is the personification of magic in the ancient religion.)

The only problem right now is obtaining more gold-plated Isis charms for the bookmarks I'm making while rewatching Supernatural for an hour or two in the afternoons. (Yesterday was "Tall Tales", one of my favorites since it's the first appearance of Richard Speight, Jr.)

The Selket-damned tariffs are also going to interfere with my launch of the 10th anniversary editions of the Justice series next year. I had plans. Big plans. *sigh*

So that's what's going on here at Casa Harden. Thankfully, I have plenty of coffee, tea, and tequila to get me through the summer. I just need some more flavored creamer for the coffee.

Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!

Back From Vegas

DH and I are fine. We left Las Vegas last Friday, long before the asshole opened fire at the UNLV campus on Wednesday. We're still exhausted from the trip, and I'm playing catch-up on things.

Like giving the dogs a bath. Bella and Blaze came home with a funky smell from the other dogs at the puppy hotel despite being groomed yesterday.

In the meantime, the Justice books are on sale for one more day because I didn't get around to taking them off sale early this morning.

Pestilence in Pumpkin Spice will be $0.99 until the end of the year.

I need to get the Millersburg Magick Mysteries to the Kickstarter backers. (I re-edited the last two while DH drove.) I also need to finish this year's Christmas story before my cataract surgery next Wednesday.

Y'all will have Chapter 3 of A Cup of Conflict next Wednesday!

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Life is terribly short.

Back from My Mini Vacation

I joined a friend in Chicago for a couple of days this week. For both of us, it was work-related stress relief. She was taking a certification course in downtown, so I drove over to meet her. While she was attending her class, I wrote in our hotel room. We both got plenty of exercise walking around Michigan Avenue, searching out some good food. Plus, it was so nice talking to a person I've known for decades.

In the meantime, the Millersburg Magick Mysteries Kickstater camapaign successfully funded. Tomorrow, I'll send out the surveys. All rewards, both digital and physical, will be sent before Thanksgiving. If you missed the campaign, contact me through the tab at the top of the website, and I'll accommodate you.

Halloween Harvest, in which my story "A Place at the Table" appeared, is part of the 2023 Halloween Storybundle. We're supporting Maui Strong, an aid organization that is helping the residents of Lahaina, who lost everything in wildfires earlier this year.

The second and third books of the Millersburg Magick Mysteries series will be released over all retailers the next three and a half weeks.

Also, the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse series will be released on all retailers on November 8th.

That's all the news for now. Next week, I'll be posting more samples of Death Goddess Walking.

Have a most excellent weekend, everyone!

Last Week for the Millersburg Magick Mysteries Kickstarter Campaign!

The Millersburg Magick Mysteries Kickstarter Campaign is down to its last six days!

Get all three e-books, plus Amish, Vamps & Thieves (Bloodlines #4) which introduced several of the Millersburg adults, for only $10. Yep, that's half the price you would pay if you get all four books from an online retailer.

It's pretty simple. Kickstarter handles the transactions, so you're not giving me any credit card numbers. If you pledge for a physical reward, I'll need your snail mail address, but that's it. Between Kickstarter's rules and my own personal policy, no one else sees your personal info.

These YA books would make lovely holiday gifts for your young person.

Millersburg Magick Mysteries closes on Tuesday, October 17th, at 11:59 PM EDT. Check out this campaign before it's too late!

Millersburg Magick Mysteries Kickstarter Campaign Funded!

I'm amazed and grateful my second Kickstarter funded in less than a week. I'd barely started promoting it. So a huge "Thank You" to everyone who's backed the campaign!

If you haven't checked it out yet, here's the link!

It's Officially Live!

I hit the publish button last night. The Millersburg Magick Mysteries Kickstarter campaign is officially up and running!

I really hope everyone will check out the campaign. It was nice to delve back into a world that's a lot of fun. Plus, I've got the covers for the next three books, so I'll have some fun over next summer! 

The campaign will run until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 17th.

Pre-Launch Page for Kickstarter Is Live

It's happening! My campaign was approved earlier than I thought it would. I now have an active pre-launch page! Hopefully, my pink hair in the video isn't too shocking. LOL

Yes, I'm giggling gleefully! I can't wait!

Change of Plans

I'd planned to send the first three paperbacks of the Millersburg Magic Mysteries to a couple of friends' daughters for #AllHallowsRead this year. Plus, I've been having fun with some bead work and found some cute sugar skull charms to go with the theme, so I decided to make the girls Dia de los Muertos bookmarks to go with the books.

As I'm working on the bookmarks, I realized the series and the sugar skull bookmarks would make a perfect #Witchstarter campaign! This will now be my second Kickstarter campaign!

It's gong to be short and sweet. Two weeks. $100 goal. Only the Millersburg Magick Mysteries ebooks and paperbacks and the Dia de los Muertos bookmarks for the main rewards. Maybe some stickers for the first stretch goal.

I'll post here and on the www.suzanharden.com website at the end of September before the campaign goes live.

Note 1: All Hallow's Read was started back in 2010 by Neil Gaiman as a book-giving holiday for us non-Icelanders. Iceland has Jolabokaflod, which makes me want to move there!

Note 2: Witchstarter is the name given to October Kickstarter campaigns with a magickal theme.

Almost There If I Can Breathe

Yesterday afternoon, I finished packing and labeling the last dozen Kickstarter boxes to be shipped. However, I didn't make it to the post office today.

Northwest Ohio is under an Orange-Level air quality alert from the wildfires in Ontario and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The photo above from the Australian wildfires a couple of years ago gives you an idea of what our supposedly clear blue sky looks like right now.

I've been dealing with itchy eyes and a stuffy nose since I ran a bunch of errands yesterday morning. I'll need to dig out my pandemic masks before I take the last boxes to the post office tomorrow morning.

I really, REALLY hope we get the rain forecasted for Sunday.

Still Shipping Boxes

I'm so glad the Death in Double Mocha paperbacks arrived a week early because shipping out boxes is taking a little longer than I anticipated. We're getting there though. The goal is to have the rest to the post office before the holiday weekend.

Running my first Kickstarter campaign was definitely a learning experience. I've got a whole list of things I plan to do differently next time. And I need to anticipate any unusual surge in pledging!

But the good news is the pile in front of the fireplace is steadily decreasing. And the first boxes have arrived at their backers' addresses.

I hope everyone is enjoying the contents of their backer boxes!

Still Packing Boxes

It's been a batcrap crazy week at Chez Harden.

Genius Kid and Grandpuppy arrived around 11 pm on Monday night. It's time for my spring doctors' appointments, so I had two this week. And I'm still trying to pack Kickstarter reward boxes.

Preferably without canine help despite Bella and Grandpuppy's gracious offers.

In the meantime, here's the revised schedule for the Flag City Phantoms!

A Busy Weekend Ahead!

Three boxes filled with Death in Double Mocha arrived this afternoon. Yep, they arrived a week early to my shock and surprise.

That means between cleaning the house before GK arrives for leave late Monday/early Tuesday and spotting for the booth during the Flag City Phantoms Saturday night, I need to pack up 70 Kickstarter reward boxes.

I'm so not complaining! The movies I wanted to see in March and April are rolling into streaming so I'll be watching those while packing, taping, and slapping mailing labels on those boxes.

Yay! I can't wait!

P.S. If you backed the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse Kickstarter, and you need to change your mailling address, contact me through the Kickstarter Messenger or the Contact Form here on my website ASAP!

Quiet for a Reason

I've been a little busy. The Death in Double Mocha e-book went out to the backers of the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse Kickstarter campaign who ordered it.

Also, I'm finishing up Queer Eye for the Super Guy for release next week.

Once that's done, I desperately need to weed my flower beds. The dandelions are going boinkers this spring.

I will have some news next week. (I hope.)

Are Things Finally Back to Normal?

With much relief, I sent Death in Double Mocha to my formatter around five a.m. this morning. Now that I'm awake and had some caffeine, I'll get some breakfast and turn back to Queer Eye for the Super Guy.

There's a sense of satisfaction in completing a project, which helps me mood. Plus, DH has two lacrosse games tonight (he is the timekeeper for the city's high school teams, so I have a few hours of quiet time. And I love writing Jeremy!

Plus, there's the stretch goal short stories to finish for the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse Kickstarter campaign.

But I'm definitely ready to move on to a project that's not related to the fucking pandemic or last year's familial loss. While the next one will be a Justice Thalia story, it's too short to publish a snippet on the blog.

So there's either something from the Books of Apep or the sooper sekrit project I've been doodling with as a palate cleanser to post here. (I never thought I'd write paranormal women's fiction, but there you go.)

Or I might set up a Patreon for the sooper sekrit project.

I do plan to set up an online store at some point this year. Elaina Lee designed some cute Soccer Moms t-shirts for me.

Yeah, I think things are finally getting back to normal at Angry Sheep Publishing. And for that, I'm very grateful.

Status Report for September 2022

This week is a little nuts. I'm behind again.

There was another death in the family, for a total of three in the last eight months. I'm so done with funerals for 2022. Then we dealt with some major moving of furniture over Labor Day weekend.

No, DH and I did not move to a new living space. It was a matter of removing the pieces of furniture from the in-law's home the siblings wished to keep and taking said furniture to said siblings' homes. All of the work is dedicated to getting the house cleaned out and on the market.

I've spent the last couple of days typing at a furious pace to catch up. E-books will be out on time, but I'm not going to get the last of the paperbacks completed and shipped next week as I had hoped. All I can do is to keep chugging away at my to-do list.

All of the personal mishaps has made me rethink my next Kickstarter. I'll spend the winter and spring writing the next quadrilogy before I launch the campaign. It will be better for my nerves.

What a Kickstarter Ride!

The Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse campaign on Kickstarter ended last night with 237 backers pledging $7,639. Yep, that $7K more than my original goal of $600!

For everybody who contributed, THANK YOU SO MUCH! (Yes, I'm shouting. I've also been happy dancing around the house.)

I've had to place orders for additional amounts of physical reward items. I assumed 50-100 backers based on my mailing list and social media reach. My initial planning didn't take into account all the additional backers from Brandon Sanderson's promotion of my Kickstarter. I've already been in contact with one of the backers who pledged for the "Name a Character" package. I need to contact the other two folks this afternoon.

So far things are running fairly smoothly. My biggest worry is we'll have another paper shortage when it comes time to print the trade paperbacks.

For those of you who want to purchase Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse, I've started entering the pre-order information on the retail websites. I'll update the Soccer Moms series page as links go live.

In the meantime, I need to write, write, write as I wait for my packages to arrive!

Next week, I'll go back to my regular format--posting sample chapters from A Measure of Knowledge.

Until then, take care and stay safe!

Status Report - April 2022

Things have been a little crazy at Casa Harden during March. The highly successful Kickstarter campaign for Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse was the highlight.

However, my FIL fell in his apartment on the date of the official launch. Broken hip, broken hand, and nasty cut on his forehead were followed by surgery on the hip and a nasty antibiotic-resistant staph infection. To top off the issues, the staff at the rehab center rushed him to the ER when his heart enzymes went wonky. Twice. Needless to say, the situation has put a crimp in both mine and DH's work schedule.

What does that all mean?

Things are still on track for Soccer Moms, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed it remains that way. The slippage came with A Measure of Knowledge. I could finish it in time for its original April 15th release date, but editing and formatting would be haphazard at best.

So, to make sure everything is done properly, I moved the release date back to May 15th. I apologize to everyone who pre-ordered the book, but I want to make sure you get a quality product.

In the meantime, there's two days left on the Kickstarter, and there's lots of new stretch goal rewards!

Thank you, everyone, for your generosity and your patience.

Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse Went Viral!

So much has happened since my last post when I announced the Kickstarter campaign for Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse had met its goal.

Brandon Sanderson outed himself as the contributor who donated to my publishing campaign and 316 others by posting a video. He was kind enough to mention Soccer Moms by name and listed a link to it on his video's YouTube page. If you haven't seen it yet, you can play it below.

Brandon's record-breaking Kickstarter had already gone viral, so me and a bunch of other writers were swept along in the second viral round with his video.

And Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse proved so popular, it received the coveted "Projects We Love" sticker from the staff of Kickstarter!

Saying I was shocked would be an understatement. The support of Brandon's fans for my campaign blew me away. And they have pushed me out of my comfort zone. To the point where I'm going to put out my first audiobook. Possibly three audiobooks if we reach two more stretch goals.

So if you've been on the fence about checking out Kickstarter, now's the time to do it. There's five days left for my campaign. With a minimum of a dollar pledge to my campaign, you can get a bunch of free e-books, exclusive stories, and yes, at least one audiobook.

And if you have a few extra dollars, you can get paperbacks and neat swag ranging from stickers to an exclusive canvas tote!

You'll be able to download the digital rewards from BookFunnel, and you'll be able read/listen to them on almost any platform you desire. (Which was important to me personally. I really hate the closed garden approach of the big tech companies, including Amazon.)

Click here to check out my campaign!

And a huge thank you to all of you who have already backed Soccer Moms of the Apocaplypse!

Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse Made Its Goal!

Monday afternoon, I was happy-dancing through the house. Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse hit its goal of $600! And there's still two weeks to go!

What does that mean? All backers will get the e-book version of the prequel novella Apocalypse? Not Now!, which will ONLY be offered through the campaign. All backers will also get an e-book copy of Practical Witches.

With each stretch goal met, backers will get an additional book!

If you want early access to Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse and some extra books and swag, go check out my campaign!

Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse Kickstarter Is Live!

Apparently, I did everything right as far as prep work because the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse Kickstarter went live last night!

A lot of people I've talked to who have done Kickstarters said that it takes two-three days for the folks at Kickstarter to approve a campaign. so I'll have an extra couple of days to meet my goal.

Soccer Mom of the Apocalypse is a brand-new, four-novel series about four suburban women who are tapped to be the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

You can get these books early through my Kickstarter Campaign.

Plus, backers will get the prequel novella Apocalypse? Not Now! with the minimum pledge of $1.00. The novella and other swag will never be offered again.

Check out Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse now!