Dear Readers,
After several weeks of beavering away behind the curtain, I can now reveal a first for tomorrow and what I’ve been preparing for your enjoyment.
Free!
So, to get to the main and most immediate event, … tomorrow, 23rd March, not Book 1 but Book 5 in the series will be free for you and your friends to download. It will be available on Kobo, Apple Books, Amazon, Google Play, Barnes and Noble and elsewhere, so you can choose your favourite shop. (it should be price matched on Amazon, but if not it will be 99c/99p and free on the other stores.) What is unique about that book?
Why That Book?
Well, recently, the good people behind Freebooksy and Bargainbooksy, with whom you may be familiar and even a subscriber, introduced a new themed event. Out of the shortlist, my eye fell upon this one: Into The Unknown. The brief description fitted Amanda Cadabra and The Hidden Depths like a proverbial glove, and so I have seized this opportunity with zest to bring this stand-alone whodunnit to you who are urban fantasy and cozy paranormal mystery fans, to sample and enjoy with zero investment. Â
And so it comes about that tomorrow is the Big Day, so please help yourself and share the news with your bookish, or even potentially bookish, friends and family so they can join the fun.
Waiting In The Wings
This is a particularly good time to start or continue reading the Amanda Cadabra series. I am hoping to bring you a new book, a trilogy of back-story mysteries about three key, beloved members of the Sunken Madley village community, this spring.
In Production
Meanwhile, regarding the beavering, I have been preparing the new first wave of Amanda Cadabra-themed items for the Amanda Cadabra Magic Shop (should that be ‘shoppe’, do you think?) on the website (where you’ll find some goodies already by Cornish artist Joanna Davies of Above the Tide and seamstress Jo Morris of JoMo Sews who created my beloved witch’s hat) which opened last year. This endeavour has involved the creation of no less than 18 videos! Not to mention much filming to provide the footage.
A Private View
The videos are each just 15 seconds long, and today, you who are subscribers will have been given access to a private view of one of them. It’s not too late if you’d like to come on board. You can sign up here, send me a message through the website or Facebook or hollybell@amandacadabra.com, and I will arrange for you to receive the latest newsletter with the oh-so-juicy details.
It’s in the privacy of correspondence with my treasured subscribers that I give the inside track: more personal details of this writer’s life, as well as previews of new offers, titbits about upcoming books, stories, audiobooks, and other goodies.
Hopefully, early next month, I will unveil the sparkling Amanda Cadabra Collection by L & P Resincrafts, starting with a set of … well, you’ll see.
Appreciation
Those of you who are crafters, or sell anything tangible on Etsy, eBay or others, will know just how much goes into presenting an actual real-life object to browsers and buyers. Never before have I appreciated the effort you all bring to show each item so appealingly, accurately and helpfully. I’ve been exploring and engaging with this brave new world behind the scenes. I think you’ll delight in the results, even if it’s only the videos.
New Short Stories
Yesterday, I sent back the first of two Cornish language short stories to my dear and diligent editor for the last of his checks. This and one other tale will be, with an English translation, going into an anthology of short stories for intermediate Cornish students. There are four grades, and these are designed for those who have completed Grade 2, whether or not they have taken the exam. I am expecting this to be published this year, and will let you know more, in case you’d relish a new Cornish ghost story and a tale of a magical day.
If you’d like to give this rich Celtic language a taste yourself, together with my dear friend and former study partner, Linda, I teach a Zoom class that you would be welcome to join, either now or in September. Details here:
So Close!
Meanwhile, dancing on the horizon on the other side of videos and thank you cards and packaging for the new Amanda Cadabra Collection, beyond the penning of (and putting in numerous corrections to) the Cornish stories, has been this one goal: to return to the Amanda Cadabra sequel of Book 9. This whole time, it has been sitting on the ottoman of my office, drawing me on towards it. And hopefully, by the end of this month, we’ll be together again. Which means that, if all goes to plan, it will be with you this year. More than that I cannot say at this point, but I promise to give you progress reports and teasers along the way.
Last But Not Least: Thank You
This is where I have the chance to say thank you to all of you who supported the New Year’s Day free book offer for Amanda Cadabra and the Hidey-Hole Truth. Every comment, share, like, download, review and word of mouth is deeply appreciated. Thank you for helping to make it a success and bringing the series to more relishers of mystery.
Next Time
Unveiling the Amanda Cadabra Collection here on amandacadabra.com and Etsy, news of the new trilogy, and possibly even Book 9. There may even be a new book offer in the pipeline.
I hope you enjoy the free book tomorrow and, of course, the joys of spring (or autumn colours).
Happy reading.
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
