Category: Shades and Shadows

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BOOKS! I have books!

As I work my way back into the writing groove, everything feels rusty and foreign. I’ve written a poem a day so far this month, some of them suck, some are okay. I’m attempting to be more present on social media…well, Threads anyway. I’ve tried to maintain a posting schedule here (Wednesdays and Saturdays).

This weekend I hope to work on one of the novels I’ve got started

The world seems so dark right now, that I need to find the light where I can and my characters are the light I choose.

However, I also need to get some cleaning done. And shopping. Somehow Thanksgiving is next week! Oh! And that means that Christmas is around the corner. Do you have readers on your list this year?

I have hardback and paperback copies of most of my novels on hand. I am happy to personalize and sign and mail them out to you!

Hardbacks $20 ($35 for 2, $50 for 3) +shipping
Paperbacks $10 ($15 for 2, $25 for 3) +shipping

If you are interested, reach out to me via email. Let me know which book(s) you want, how you want them personalized, and make sure to include a mailing address. I’ll get back to you on the shipping cost. I can take Paypal, Venmo, cashapp and Zelle for payment.

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what’s your name?

If you know me, you know I suck at names. Characters, places…it doesn’t matter. I have a default five or six names I use that I then have to go back and change. Usually I just use the placeholders while I’m actively writing because when I do name a person or thing for keeps, I usually end up falling down a rabbit hole of baby name sites and foreign language translators.

See, I like my names to have a meaning that corresponds to the character or place. In the Shades and Shadows series, each of the characters has a name that corresponds with their ethnic background and who they are. Every one of them started off with different names than they ended up with. Well, except Zero and Raven. I knew those names going in.

Cue working on the second Blood Witch. In the first book most of the names/people are of Greek or Irish heritage (sort of…it’s complicated). In this book, the people and places are entirely alien, so I’m stuck with making things up. For one race I am loosely basing their language/names on Germany (very, very loosely), the others though are “make it up as I go” and “keep a list for consistency” type of folks.

I can’t tell you how fast writing can come to a screeching halt when I need to name a person or a place. I freeze up. It’s ridiculous!

But now, it’s time to get working on the day job. Happy Monday, Readers! I hope you have a great week.

Cover Photo by Amador Loureiro on Unsplash

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the earth awakens

Hey there, Readers!  I hope this Easter Sunday finds you well and in good spirits.  I haven’t celebrated Easter in over 20 years, but I have many friends and family who still do.  I have a complicated relationship with Easter, to be honest.

Living alone, as I do, and not having kids around has done a lot to reinforce the “out of sight, out of mind” aspect of what Easter was for me as a kid, then a deeply religious Christian, then an aunt with small nieces.  Once the kids were old enough to not really care about the Easter bunny and all the attendant hoopla, the holiday just sort of faded from prominence for me.

However, this time of year is so full of rebirth and the absolutely amazing way that nature wakes, making food grow out of dirt, decorating our environment with flowers and greenery, and that is certainly something I can celebrate.

This evening, I plan on celebrating in my own way, with a tasty adult beverage, and reading the second chapter of Through Shade and Shadow over on my Facebook author’s page.  If you missed the first chapter, it’s loaded up on my You Tube Channel, and I’ve put it here for your happy viewing.

I will link them all in a playlist to make it easier for y’all to watch in a continuous stream.  If the weather stays nice this evening, I may even move this chapter outdoors.

I’m knee deep in consolidating feedback from my beta readers on The Blood Witch, and once I have it all noted down in my printed out copy, I plan to do a slow read through it to mark up with my own notes/additions, etc, before I bring it back to the computer.

I really love these characters, and I can’t wait until I can share them with all of you, though that might be a while, as I plan to do the “query” fun to maybe find an actual agent to represent me, because as much as I appreciate my current publisher, I am ready to move beyond what they can provide.

In the meantime, I’m sure we can find other stuff to keep you entertained.

Did you know I have an Instagram?   To help relieve my own boredom, I’ve started an impromptu photo project with a Porg named Joe and his good friend, the Child from the Mandalorian.  The hashtag #theadventuresofbabyyodaandporgjoe will take you to their shenanigans, though I missed tagging the first few.  (Yes, I really am that dork).

Okay, on that note, I should get my day going.  My edits are staring at me and my coffee’s gone cold.  I should probably think about eating something too.

I hope you have the best day. Stay safe, stay home and wash your hands!  Love you all!

Cover Photo by Sebastian Staines on Unsplash

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the politics of an angry female

I got an email earlier this week from someone who advised me that as an author who wants to “make it big” in the world of books, particularly as a woman, I needed to take the politics out of my books and focus on writing better.

This gentleman told me he had read the Shades and Shadows series and thought it would have been improved by not making the politics so pointedly directed at the darker “underbelly” of the USA.  He told me it was “unseemly” for a woman to display her anger so prominently in her work, and that I should “dial it back” and “focus on the actual plot” which he apparently thought had nothing to do with the politics.

He told me he didn’t mind the prominence of a homosexual relationship, though he thought that too should be “dialed back” and not so “in the face” of the Reader.  He said I should remove all references to Muslims because it was too controversial to say that discrimination against them was wrong.

He closed the letter with what I suppose was meant to be encouragement for me, telling me that I was a “fairly good writer” who could do well as an author, provided I stopped showcasing the “politics of an angry female” and embraced the softer, more accepted kinds of stories written by women, you know, the kind with no politics and no bad words and filled with plots driven by men and the women who need men.

I haven’t responded to this email.  In fact, I nearly deleted it out of hand.  In this political climate here in the United States, how are women not angry?  For centuries, we have been silent bystanders, watching the politics of old men regulate our rights, our bodies, our place in society and allowing ourselves to be marginalized out of jobs, out of careers.  But the world has changed and we have found our voice, we’ve come out of hiding.  We’ve shaken off the dust and stepped out onto the stage.

And yes, we’re angry.  And yes, we’re political.  It isn’t going to change anytime soon.  So, if you’re reading this, Sir of the Email, sorry you aren’t happy with my politics.  I probably wouldn’t be happy with yours either.  Sorry, not sorry.

Happy Wednesday, Readers!  I’m off to poke some more job sites in hope of finding a new job sooner, rather than later.

 

Photo by Gabriel Matula on Unsplash

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to boldly go…

Among my earliest memories, there is Star Trek, you know, the original series that started the phenomenon.  I couldn’t tell you how old I was, but I can tell you about the ugly brown couch with the weird texture that we sat on to watch it, and that I watched it with my father.

I know it came before Star Wars, which came along when I was nine, and I know that it started my love of sci-fi, and more than that, my love of space.

The only thing that kept me from pursuing a life in the sciences was my extreme hatred of math, and the more advanced the math, the more I disliked it. So, I opted toward the science fiction side of space.

But, things like this…this image of a black hole a ridiculous distance from earth…a beautiful, amazing image that took a team of scientists working together for years…things like this make me dream of a different life a little bit.

katie-boumanAnd then there’s this picture of Katie Bouman, one of the scientists on the project as she sees all of that work coming to fruition.  Look at the joy and wonder on her face.  That is the face of someone who loves her work, who has passion for her work and is genuinely in awe of the universe at her fingertips.

Of course there are trolls out there set to destroy the legacy Katie’s accomplishments for little more than the fact that she is a woman, but forget them.  They can’t take that joy, that sense of wonder from this picture.  They can’t hold a candle to the work that she’s done in her young life.  Forget them and let their legacy be one of the silence that comes when one is ignored.

Look instead to this beautiful image, and recognize the scientists, all of them including women and gay men and straight men,  who made it possible.  Imagine what else they can show us!

And, while I’m here, Readers, a quick reminder that Where Shadows Fall is available for your Kindle for free today and tomorrow, so get yours now!

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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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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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!