Holiday News

It seems impossible that Scorch Mark has been out for a month already, but it has. Among the flurry of release events, one of the most entertaining was my interview with Al Warren for NBC’s House of Mystery Radio show. Also high on the entertaining release events list was hearing my words read by Joanna Vandervlugt on SAM Magazine’s Podcast. She reads a teaser from Scorch Mark, in addition to a short story I wrote titled Scaredy Cat. (I keep a full listing of all the publicity on my website https://jpmcleanauthor.com/media/jpmclean-featured-on/)

Other exciting news

Ghost Mark has been long listed for the 2023 Paranormal Awards for Supernatural Fiction, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

To celebrate, I’m offering Ghost Mark for 99 cents this weekend. You can get it from your favourite retailer here. And because I don’t want to leave out the Gift Legacy from all the fun, I’m also offering Secret Sky for 99 cents.

And here’s a thought . . . if you need a hostess gift this holiday season, why not take advantage of the sales and give them something unique and unexpected: the gift of an ebook?

New First-In-Series Collection

You may have seen me on social media promoting the Twelve Days of Page Turners on the Author Talk podcast hosted by Aimee Ravichandran. Each of the fifty authors she hosted during the event rustled up a special offer. My special offer is a First in Series ebook featuring Blood Mark and Secret Sky for just $2.99 Canadian.

It’s exclusive to Author Talk listeners until the end of the year when the price will go up to $5.99 US. If you want to get in on the deal, check out the December 8th edition of Author Talk here.*

(*Because I couldn’t find my special offer in the show notes, I’m including it here.)

Dark Dreams Audio Books in the Works

Almost everyone who interviews me or chats with me at a live event will ask if my books are available in audio format. Audio books have been a big market, and growing, for the past five years. What many don’t know is how expensive audio narration is. My books, which average 105,000 words, would cost $3K-$5K each to turn into professionally narrated audio books. Most ebook retailers (Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play) are now offering free narration through Artificial Intelligence (AI) robots. The AI voices are pretty good. Impressive, really. But they aren’t as good as I’d like them to be for the emotional and high-octane scenes in my books.

So, to make a short story long, I’m narrating them myself, starting with the Dark Dreams series. I’m not a voice actor, and I know my narration won’t be as polished as some of the fabulous voice actors I’ve listened to when researching this project, but I think author narration is a good choice for me and my books. I’ve taken a course on narration, read a ton of material on the subject, and I’ve now set up a small studio in my home. The project will take a few months to complete, but I’ll whittle away at it every moment I can. I’d like to have all three books done before I release them.

Two New Book Stores

I am honoured that two new stores have picked up the Dark Dreams series. You can now find the books stocked at the Mulberry Bush Book Store in Qualicum Beach and at Save-On-Foods in Campbell River.

And finally, Christmas is almost upon us. It’s a time of year people tend to either hate or love. For those who don’t enjoy it, I wish you peace and hope you are able to avoid shopping malls. For the rest of you, have a wonderful holiday. I hope you get to spend some quality time with friends and family, feast on fabulous food, and enjoy the spirit of the season.

Merry Christmas from my home to yours!

Until next time . . .

XO

Jo-Anne