Category: books

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did someone say F.R.E.E?

Have you been waiting to pick up the last book in my Shades and Shadows trilogy?  Now is your time.  For the next four days, April 10 through April 14th, you can get Where Shadows Fall for your Kindle device or app, absolutely FREE!

where-shadows-fallIn the exciting conclusion to the Shades and Shadows trilogy, our heroes face off against a powerful enemy, someone who has been guiding the growing anti-Shade sentiment from the beginning and wants to eliminate all of the tribes.

The world descends into ever darker chaos, and Alaric Lambrecht seeks vengeance. No matter the cost.

In Washington, evil takes another step toward true power. In the west, the 8th Battalion advances a terrible plan. The Shades’ refuge is in ashes.

Alaric’s path takes him deep into 8th Battalion territory, and on a collision course with Raven Ivany and Zero, bringing Shadows and Shifters, Sages and Shades all together against a common enemy.

The question is, can they come together to take the fight to the mastermind who is tearing the country apart – and defeat him?

You have four days to get your copy for free!  I would appreciate a review after you’ve read it,  if you don’t mind.  Reviews help sell books!  Selling more books makes authors happy!  You want to make me happy, don’t you?

Want more from me? Visit me!

Weight Loss: https://aweightyjourneysite.wordpress.com/
Current Events: https://myweightinwords.wordpress.com/
Poetry: https://weightywordspoetry.wordpress.com/
Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/nataliejcase

You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (be warned I post a lot pictures of my cats).

 

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come play with me

I have rededicated my efforts to build on my Patreon, and decided that a good way to kick that off is a special offer.  For the next 30 days, through 4/16, all new patrons, and anyone increasing their tier, will get a personalized, hand written postcard from my stash of postcards, some of which date back to before I could read, write or appreciate the value of a good postcard.

You can come join the fun for as little as $1 a month, but to qualify for the postcard offer, you must choose the $3 tier or up.  And what do you get for that money?  Well, let me tell you!

At the lowest tier you’ll get the occasional glimpse into whatever I’m working on at the moment, and as you climb the tier you get access to bigger and better things including fresh-from-my-pen poetry, a look at moments in the life of a writer with an insane muse, flash stories, short stories written specifically for my patrons, first chance to see announcements, video content from time to time and even copies of my books.

All the money that comes in from Patreon is specifically earmarked into my “buy books” fund, which I will use to keep physical copies of my books on hand for signings and events.

So, come visit my Patreon page and join the fun!

 

 

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books, reading and inspiration

A few years back, a friend who is also an author, turned me on to a conference that takes place in Colorado in October. It isn’t a writing convention, but a lot of the people there are authors.  It isn’t a readers convention, though everyone there are readers.

I couldn’t go last year because I chose Italy (and do not regret that decision), but I’m all signed up for this year.

One of the things I love about Sirens, is that on top of all of the conversations, panels, and learning experiences, they provide you a reading list, filled with books written by strong women authors in genres where women are often overlooked.  It is a huge list of speculative fiction that hits multiple genres and sometimes mixes them together.

This year’s theme is Heroes, and the guests of Honor, on top of being kickass authors with heroes in their books, they are diverse and the words they offer bring you to new places.  I started at the top of the list and bought the first three books from our Guests of Honor.

The first one I read was The Bloodprint.  Bloodprint

A fantasy set in a world where religious extremists have taken over and twisted their holy text to keep women out of sight, with no voice or presence, and keeping the men in line with fear.  It’s easy to see the parallels to our own world.  The hero, in this case, is a woman who knows how to use the scripture of that religion to perform magic.  Her journey takes her far from home in search of a legend in hopes of freeing her world.

I loved how different this world was from the familiar fantasy story.

 

 

Trail of Lightning

 

Trail of Lightning was the second book I read, and I devoured it in a single day.

This falls into post-apocalyptic and dystopian type categories, and our hero is a Diné, a monster-slayer with a dark past and powers that burst out of her, giving her speed and the ability to kill.  The world is filled with old gods and monsters, and she needs to come to terms with her past before she can survive to see the future.

This book sucked me in and held me through the end and at the end, I really, really wanted more.  I have already ordered the next book.

 

I love books like these, that fill my head with ideas, that make me think and rethink.  Inspiration struck me yesterday and I spilled over 2000 words on a short story before 5am yesterday after finishing this book the night before.

Want to join me on this reading challenge?  Grab some books and get reading!  Better yet, want to join me at Sirens?  Denver, October.  Dive in.  You won’t regret it.

Photo by iam Se7en on Unsplash

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Gram’s Town

Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve had a love of horror novels.  I found a John Saul book at a garage sale when I was around 14, and having already cut my teeth on Steven King’s Salem’s Lot and Carrie, I was hungry for more.

That book was Comes the Blind Fury.

comes the blind fury

I’m not a huge fan of most horror movies, mostly because it’s the psychological horror that pulls me in, not none stop blood with no real story to induce the fear response.  But books?  Yes please.

It should come as no surprise then that I have had my own horror story floating about in the darker recesses of my brain since about the time I was 17.  It has never really made it to the page, because I had trouble finding my voice.

However, recently I wondered if I could condense it into a short story for an upcoming anthology, and words started to pour out.

Yes, this makes three novels currently in some stage of creation on my computer.  This is me, after all.

I doubt it will be short enough for the anthology, now that I’ve gotten into it, but that’s okay.  It’s fun to be writing something very different from my usual.  The constant rain here is very atmospheric as well.

Speaking of rain, I had to wade through rivers of run off to get into the office this morning, and I should probably dive into the ever present, ever growing pile of work.

Happy Wednesday, Readers!  I hope you find yourself someplace sunny and warm, with kindness as your companion.

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shades and shadows

I spent a lot of hours in the world of Shades and Shadows as I was writing and editing it.  It isn’t a comfortable world, and over the years, the story moved and changed, things got edited out that I once loved because they just didn’t fit the story any more, and everything morphed as the ending became clearer.

It isn’t hard right now to see an America divided against itself, two extremes set against one another.  Meanwhile, the middle gets trampled.  It’s easy to prey on fear.  It’s easy to rile up anger.  And truth gets lost in the rhetoric and vitriol.

Conflict builds, momentum grows and the conclusion comes crashing down in Where Shadows Fall, which is available for FREE right now for your Kindle! Just click here.

You can also enter to win a copy of all three books for your Kindle by clicking here.

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the rebellion will be free

For four days, starting tomorrow (1/10/19), the kindle version of Where Shadows Fall will be free, so if you need to get your hands on this series conclusion, this may be your time!

Recently, Where Shadows Fall received a five star review from Reader’s Favorite reviewer, Liz Konkel.  She had this to say in her review:  “Case crafts an epic and satisfying installment that carries on the darker tone of the series with a lighter feeling and an end that finds hope for a better future. Where Shadows Fall has plenty of darker moments which include war, death, and torture with an honest portrayal of trauma and grief blended into a blunt commentary on social issues and the state of society through the guise of supernatural beings.”

If you pick up a copy while it’s free, I’d love it if you could drop a rating and/or review on Amazon or Goodreads after you’ve read it.

And while we’re at it, I’m running a giveaway of the entire series on Kindle:

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the last stand

I haven’t really talked enough about Where Shadows Fall. I struggled a bit with getting this book done, maybe in part because I knew it would be the end of my living in that world, at least for a while.

The grand finale takes place in Washington D.C., which I think was rather inevitable, given what we know about the man pulling the strings.  I didn’t set out to have a meglomanical bad guy.  In the beginning he was just a guy who believed that Others were evil.  Clearly, I maintained some of that in the overall story however.

To me there is nothing as frightening as a person who believes without doubt, someone who fears that other for no concrete reason but because they have been told to believe. They can’t be reasoned with. No argument will penetrate the protective barrier of that belief mixed with fear and hate.

I always thought that it came from religion, from man’s need to control mankind’s access to gods and the power that came with that.  However, as we can see in America today, it doesn’t have to come from within religion.  It need only wrap itself in the cloth that resembles religion to draw people in.

I find that terrifying.  Maybe that’s why the 8th Battalion became one of the big bads in these books.  It certainly drives the character of Colonel Shallon.  Blind belief is a dangerous weapon.

That is where my thoughts are today, Readers.  I hope yours are more pleasant on this cold, January Saturday.

 

Photo by Ji Pak on Unsplash

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books and writing and selling

It’s an #amwriting Saturday.  I need to cut some time out of my writing time to do some tasks for my publisher to help with promo opportunities.  I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m not very good at promo myself.  I find myself easily frustrated with the whole marketing aspect of being an author.

I write because I enjoy writing, and because if I don’t write, all of these characters and plots still live in my head and may one day drive me mad.  I write because I love to tell stories, not because I enjoy selling books.

Buying books is another story.  I love to buy books.  I love holding a book in my hand.  I love immersing myself in a story almost as much as I enjoy telling a story.

But, I have to accept that the publishing industry has changed and with the glut of books available to readers, promo is a necessity if I ever want anyone other than my friends to read my books.  *sigh*

So, some of today’s writing time will be spent picking out excerpts from my books suitable for social networks, and re-writing blurbs in order to aid my publisher in the promo work they do.  Maybe I’ll find some time tomorrow to do some of my own promo work.  I haven’t really done much since Where Shadows Fall was released.

But the new project is coming along well, and I think it’s going to be good.

I hope your weekend treats you well, Readers!

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in the morning fog

Winter in San Francisco generally means temperatures in the mid 40s to mid 50s and fog.  Sometimes really thick fog.  That does seem to be the case this year.  Even though I live a good 45 minute BART ride outside of the city, my little city can get pretty socked in too.

Fog means dangerous driving conditions, particularly when you don’t know the roads you’re driving on.  For me, I find fog mysterious and beautiful, especially when it hangs low over the mountains or the bridges.  I never do seem to get out into it with my camera however.  One of these days I’m going to get up to the Marin Headlands when the fog rolls in.

Just imagine what the world of horror movies would be like without fog!  It sets a mood, for sure.

where-shadows-fall

If you have been waiting for the paperback to get your copy of Where Shadows Fall, your wait is over.  As of this morning, the paperback is available.  Click HERE to get it.

We’re headed into the busiest time of year, with holiday parties and get togethers, shopping and cooking and chaos of all kinds.  My life is no exception.  I’ll be trying a new-to-me cookie recipe this coming weekend for a company pot luck, and I have my first holiday party tomorrow evening.

Then it’s all a landslide into Christmas for me.

What about you, Readers?  Do you have a special holiday tradition, no matter what holiday you celebrate?

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a complete set

Looking for a gift for someone who loves to read?  The entire Shades and Shadows trilogy is available as a complete set for your loved one’s Kindle (or your own).  For the first time, you can own the complete story from the beginning before violence and xenophobia tear a country apart, through a sort of war that finds our heroes scattered and hurting, to the conclusion.

Come meet our heroes, Shades Mason and Raven, Shadows Alaric and Bryan, Shifters Sahara, Maddie and Evan, and young Zero who is both Sage and Shadow, and so much more, as they try to navigate a world, and a war, fighting for the survival of their tribes.

I am also holding a sale on paperbacks.  I currently have 10 copies of Forever and 11 copies of Through Shade and Shadow (with the original cover) available.  From now through December 24 they are $7 each, or both for $12 plus shipping cost.  Just reach out to me via email at natalie@nataliejcase.com and we’ll sort the details.

I hope to have a giveaway set up soon (amazon is giving me headaches over it). If you have already read any of these, I would appreciate it if you would leave a review on Amazon.  Every review helps us get the books in front of more readers.

It’s writing day, so I am off into a land of fantasy.  Happy Sunday, Readers!