I have some exciting news to share! The first book in the Midnight Blade MC series, Savage Wolves, has now been released into the wild, which means my attention has turned to Ruthless Wolves. I've almost finished with the rough outline, which should be done by the end of next week, so I plan on starting the first draft once I'm back from the Author's Behind Bars signing event next weekend (Nov 9th). I have a lot of prep work to get done between now and the signing, so I won't be able to make a start beforehand.

I have a couple of updates about the other rewards. I have most of the postcards and Storyteller's Oracle Cards already, but the good news is, the Booktopia Oracle Cards are now on their way to me as well. I've also been working with my collab partner, Cara, on the pin badges. We want both halves to fit together perfectly, like in the pictures we've shared, so we decided to order both parts together as one order. Both Cara and the manufacturer are based in the USA, so to save on shipping costs and time, the cross collab pins badges will be sent to Cara and then she'll forward mine to me. They've already been sent to production and will hopefully be shipped to Cara soon. Once she's confirmed they're on the way to me, I will post an update.

I've also been in talks with another manufacturer about the Midnight Blade MC logo pin badge. After a little back and forth about the colour of the skull, the manu have sent me these two mock-ups. I love both versions, but alas, there can only be one. I can't decided between the two, so I need your help. Which one do you prefer? Black Skull or White Skull? Vote for your favourite on the attached poll by Sunday 10th November 😊

Much love and happy reading
Georgina x

P.s. I'm going to start numbering these updates so it's easier to keep track of what information is in which update.

I will be taking part in Pintopia with my own Witchy Vibes & Smut Lovers Club Enamel Pins 😊

 

 

Or more like, letters from the future. I hope you all enjoyed the in character updates during the campaign! WE FUNDED!!! And hit some stretch / community goals to boot. I’m working with BackerKit to figure out how to send the survey to get your rewards, which is much more involved and confusing than I first imagined. So sorry that is taking so long to send. Also, my partner Shiloh will be sending out the cross collab reward on my behalf so don’t worry when it’s not in your package! More updates soon, including a date for a livestream! And since the carnies won the trivia challenge, I’ll have something special for you all soon as well.

We are almost at the very end of the campaign which is just crazy to me!

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the current backers and welcome the new ones coming in!

Your help is making this novel a reality and I’m so excited to grow Akeroth alongside you!

We are less than 70 people away from unlocking the Novella and less than £3000 away from getting a full soundtrack made!

If you’re still on the fence then your support before this campaign ends would unlock both of these rewards for everyone. So we can all enjoy these creations together!

Remember that if you want to upgrade your pledge you can do so very easily by heading to “manage your pledge”.

Thank you all!

— A. R. Swain

I am blown away! I truly am! Thank you so much! I am humbled by your love and support. Thank you to all those who have shared on social media or have told your friends! Keep sharing. It makes a huge difference!

With just 30 hours or so away from our finishing line, we have just a few hundred dollars left to unlock all the digital goodies! WE CAN DO IT!

Don't forget about my amazing collab partner! I had a lovely chat with her last Saturday and we have so much in common. She also loves Japanese anime. If you haven't had a chance to check out her project, I highly recommend hopping over there. She is also fully funded. I was impressed with her story when we talked during our streaming event. And she just seems like an amazing person.  PLUS if you back both projects at a physical tier, you get six oracle cards delivered with your goodies. Thanks for taking part in Booktopia! It's been so much fun!

And here's your free ebook for today.

The Curse Of The Arcadian Stone

Thank you so much for this amazing journey and rush to the finish line! Thank you for being here and being apart of the magic!

Time is of the essence, matron, so I’ll make this message quick! Your gold was safely delivered via portal, giving me the resources to survive in Crownhill. For that, I am most grateful.

I will host a magic lesson, as you commanded, once I am home. And yes, yes, I give you permission to record it too.

I’ve been in touch with a fellow traveler, Shiloh Walker, who will share her most popular assassin manual with our coven and any new recruits before I’m scheduled to return home five days from now! *** (Current backers and backers within the final week will get a FREE eBook). It is always a pleasure to support other Sisters of the Sword.

Mark my words, matron, Jacob Mosley will be in his grave before midnight strikes and this ghost town will be freed.

For now, I lie in wait for the opportune hour one week from today. Until then, wait for me.

Your Faithful Servant,

Nicolette

And it's a game where nobody loses...unless you just don't play.

There will be a series of questions and as long as you participate in 80% of the questions, you'll get a prize, a little symbol of Ivy's heritage, to be mailed out with your rewards when it's time.

The questions will be posted in the polls...but be warned. As the poll progressed, people might figure out Ivy's secret.

If you don't want to have the secret spoiled...well, I guess you shouldn't play. However, there are layers to her secrets. Like ogres and onions. Cakes and parfaits. Yes, that's a Shrek reference. And some of that secret, you will never guess without reading the story.

Now...pick your team!

FYI, team names don't indicate *anything* at this point other than that's just the name you like, although, you will see this list again.

A week in the White City, but I’m no closer to rescuing Nicolette. Thankfully, Wolfgang and his men were able to secure some extra firepower for me before I enter the vampire’s blood den. But if I can get more… maybe Webster’s head can be skewered on a pike sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, Ms. Button has brought me my target’s suitcase. It’s filled with some rather… peculiar items, and many volumes of literature. Some more entertaining than others. Most with a hint of romance, and all featuring their fair share of action and adventure.

I’ve thumbed through them for clues, and must say Ryan’s spectacular tale of time traveling to the Middle Ages kept me entertained. Brown’s grotesque horror was almost as thrilling as slaying real monsters, and a much safer thrill.

Sheng is foreign born, but his artwork delights, a dark fantasy filled with maidens and magic I would have killed for as a boy. Finally a heart-pounding romance featuring gangs and werewolves. This one was more to Nicolette’s taste, I reckon, but gave me insight into her desires.

The final item in the suitcase was the most baffling of them all. A metallic feather 🪶 bookmark left at the scene of the crime. A distraction or a clue? I would think it belonged to Nicolette, but Button doesn’t recognize it. Her whole disappearance is a mystery yet to be unraveled. For now, I’ll keep the bookmark and all her possessions handy, and have a werewolf track her scent.

(Backers OR followers who answer all the polls correctly between now and the end of the campaign will enter a raffle to win a metallic feather bookmark created by my collab-partner! Are you Team Carnie or Automaton? The winning team at the end of the campaign will also get a secret special perk!)

After enjoying a few days with the Fae, Paddy learned that they are planning a special ceremony just for him.

“That’s it, then?” Paddy blurted, disgusted. What Alastar was suggesting was more than he wanted to deal with. “You stole me away. Friended me. Trained me, promised me you’d help my family and friends, and now you tell me there are strings attached?”

“Not strings. Wings.”

“Oh, begging my pardon! That’s what I meant. Wings.” Paddy snickered and tossed a stone over the cliff. The pebble bounced against the boulders and disappeared. “So, off I’ll fly and help you win your battle, and then what shall I do with my wings when I go home?”

Alastar didn’t respond.

“What? I don’t go home?” Paddy pried for an answer, but he didn’t get one. Were the Fae suggesting he would change from a human being into a faerie forever? Was that how they kidnapped children? By luring them into something wonderful and then asking them to give up who they were? His admiration for Alastar was diminishing.

The music had begun again, and Alastar’s attention turned to the dancers. The female Fae had joined the soldiers in their jig, and there was much laughing and merriment. The meadow sparkled with joy. Paddy scooted against a lichen-covered rock. The celebration made him homesick. Everyone back home danced. All his friends, relatives, and neighbors would gather in the park, bring their favorite food and drink, and strike up a tune on their harps and uilleann pipes. Why, even this week a cèilidh was planned in Kilbritteny to raise funds for the Volunteers. He would miss the celebration if he stayed here. The money was going to be used to buy guns for the Volunteers.

Paddy moved restlessly. His duty was elsewhere, not with the Fae folk. This had all been a crazy mistake, and it was time to get away.

He hadn’t noticed that Alastar slipped away and joined the others. Nor was he aware when Periwinkle took the Fianna’s place. She surprised him when she interrupted his thoughts.

“Today was a good day, Pádraig,” she said softly. “We worked and played and loved one another. And now the sun leaves us in a symphony of color. What a beautiful sunset!”

Paddy was still in his memories, still wishing he were home with his mother and father and Ailis, and with Michael—his older brother who had left for America after the Great War, and whom he missed terribly. He opened his eyes but failed to see the beauty she spoke of.

“It’s not fair,” he said.

“What’s not fair?”

“Me being here while my friends at home are fighting to survive. Dying.”

“I’m sorry your people are at war,” Periwinkle said, though she didn’t sound sorry. “Humans are unkind to each other. The Fae cannot change their hearts.”

“You’re not a smidgeon better than they are, what with you robbing me away to fight your war when I should be home fighting mine.” Paddy breathed deeply.

“Give this careful thought, Pádraig. What we’ve given you is a far better choice than what you were facing. Should you return now, you’re a fugitive.”

His body stiffened. All the options were laid out in front of him and none of them were choices he wanted. “It’s my family I aspire to be with. That’s all. I just want things to be right,” he said.

Periwinkle took the hem of her robe and touched his eyes with the magic fabric. His worry left him instantly and strength returned to him. “Did Alastar explain your initiation?”

“About wings? Yes. That’s the problem.”

“Once you go through the ceremony, you’ll be with us in whole,” Periwinkle urged. “Then you will have no doubts.”

The dancing had ceased, but many of the Fae folk lingered. Some gathered around him and Periwinkle and listened to their conversation. They seemed to be drawn to Paddy’s sadness. They looked at him with sympathetic eyes.

“You have a home with us, whatever you fancy,” one Fianna said as he sat at Paddy’s feet. “I was a lad just like you. Lived in Limerick. We were well-off for the most part, busy as any family in the city. My sisters were all older and had little time for me. I was hardly a speck of lint on the windowsill until the Fae came and took me away. Scared to grow wings I was, but I couldn’t help but wish to fly, seeing how free the Fianna were. I could never be happier than I am now. I would wager the same be for you.”

“Why would you want to go back?” another boy wondered. “There’s no light in that world. Sunlight, but not the kind of light that lifts your spirits. Here we make our own light,” he said.

“We’re here for you, Pádraig,” a little girl faerie said. Her wings fluttered gently as she sat on his knee. “I hope you choose to stay. You will never have to hide in the thorny bushes again.”

“I like you being here, Paddy.” Tommy came to his side.

Tommy—of all the people in this crazy world, Tommy should have understood why Paddy wanted to go home. He was Paddy’s friend and knew his family. But Tommy was young and an orphan, and maybe he was put under a Fae spell of some sort, because he didn’t understand.

“You’re my friend, Paddy. You made things right for me when I was alone. I’d like you to stay.”

Paddy looked him in the eyes. It didn’t seem like this was the same Tommy at all.

“Let’s let Pádraig have some time to think,” Periwinkle said as she urged the Fae away. “This is a big step for him.”

Just then, a guard called out, interrupting the mood and startling everyone. “Lady Periwinkle! Come quickly! Someone has disturbed the gateway!”

Periwinkle turned her attention to the Fianna rushing toward her.

I’ve arrived. If I’ll survive is yet to be determined. 

Thankfully, my smugglers got what I needed just in time. But it’s only enough to find my target, not carry out my secret mission—eradicating the vampires too far gone to be tamed, under the control of R. W. Webster and his demented carnies.

For that, I’ll have to go underground, and work my connections.

But Chicago isn’t too bad, I suppose, despite the roving werewolf gangs, blood-drunk vampire junkies, and other oddities on the streets.

And while I don’t trust little Ms. Button, the freakshow’s leader, she’s been more helpful than I imagined she’d be.

She’s small in stature, but has a big heart. Button’s also a surprisingly talented artist, as well. She’s provided a sketch of Nicolette that has proven very helpful.

Let’s just hope I get to her before Roadkill kills her first.

Greetings Matron,

By sunrise, I will arrive at Crownhill, ready to face the supernatural entity that resides there. The conductor of this ghostrail is an overly chatty fellow, but I don’t mind the living company much. It’s a welcome change from the chilly reception I’ve received from the living dead so far.

The Frontier remains more mystery than mapped, harsh and unforgiving. You and I both know the first forty-eight hours investigating a murder or disappearance is crucial. And, we are well aware that recruiting friends when facing demonic familiars is of equal importance.

So I’m sending you this letter in hopes that you can send reinforcements my way.

Finally, while I enjoyed the literature you placed in my suitcase, please reprimand Imperial Wizard Pierre swiftly! I know he was the last to possess that grimoire.

While thumbing through the historical document, vulgarities slipped from the pages and gave my fellow passengers quite a fright! I worried they’d meet their untimely ends a second time by the looks on their ghastly faces.

Time is short, and so I must end my musings. Until we meet again, Dear Matron, I endeavor to never allow the Department of Magic and Alchemy to be disgraced. Your faith in my abilities fills me with gratitude  more than you’ll ever know.

Your Most Humble and Obedient Servant,

Nicolette