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🔥 Burning Lies Makes Three 🔥

December 12, 2018 By JPMcLean Leave a Comment

Do you feel like you’re being held hostage by these long cold nights? Why not escape to somewhere exciting? That place is as close as your fingertips—Burning Lies, the third book in The Gift Legacy has been released.

When a terrorist rips apart Emelynn Taylor’s world, she uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to expose the gift and all those who share it. Emelynn joins forces with a mysterious man and an eminent family to fight a deceitful menace. And when the smoke clears, Emelynn must face her worst fears to save those she loves—and she must do it alone.

Read the book reviewers call Another captivating, no-holds-barred read.

[bctt tweet="Read the book reviewers call Another captivating, no-holds-barred read."]

For a short time, the first three books in The Gift Legacy are available for $0.99 each. But not for long. On Friday, the books return to their regular price of $5.99. Don’t miss this opportunity to load up your e-reader for the upcoming holidays. Watch this space for the Christmas day release of Book 4, Lethal Waters. Two brand new books are coming in January 2019.

Get your copy of Burning Lies today:

Kindle → Click here

Kobo → Click here

Apple → Click here

Nook → Click here

To celebrate Secret Sky’s best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Cover win over at Kobo, its special $0.99 sale continues until the end of Kobo’s all-categories cover contest.

Burning Lies was formerly titled The Gift: Redemption. If you own one of the originals, congratulations! You now have a collector’s edition. As always, I’d love to hear your feedback. Just hit reply or contact me via the social media buttons.

Get your copy of Secret Sky from your favourite retailer right here! Or click on the image for more purchase options.

What’s Next?

June 30, 2015 By JPMcLean 6 Comments

Since finishing the fourth book in The Gift Legacy Series, I’ve given a lot of thought to what’s next. Which trail should I traipse down? There are a number of tantalizing story lines in the gift series I could follow up on, and a number of dormant ones that would roar to life with a poke in the right place. But is this the right time to tread that path?

After all, I’ve been on that merry-go-round for a while now. The Gift has been a great ride, but perhaps it’s time to develop the other story ideas that vie for the limited space available in my head? After all, the new characters look interesting—the story lines are suitably dark and mysterious. The promises they whisper are compelling. Maybe it’s time for a change?

I’m sure I’m not the first series writer who has wondered if readers, who enjoyed the initial series, would be interested in a new, unrelated story. Are the new protagonist and story line suitably distinct and interesting enough to hold their attention?

Sometimes I even fantasize that what’s next involves writing both stories simultaneously. But then I trip on my exuberance and remember that for me, multitasking only extends itself to autonomous functions like breathing while pumping blood. Interfering in those processes inevitably leads to capsized canoes, broken unicorn horns and soggy underwear.

If you have an opinion on the subject, I’d love to hear it. Otherwise, I’ll just stand here awhile and savour the crossroads like an early riser at the bakery counter contemplating the tasty options.

Have you ever wonder which tasty morsel prompted The Gift Legacy? It was Secret Sky. You can have your very own copy of Secret Sky on Kindle with one click right here. And if ebooks or Amazon aren’t your preference, other purchase options are available under the Bookstore Tab.

Christmas and Odds & Sods

December 20, 2014 By JPMcLean 18 Comments

Christmas and Odds & Sods. Miraculously, five days before Christmas, I find myself in the position of having some free time. Not sure how that happened. Somehow the parcels got wrapped, mailed, bagged, and tagged; the vacuum and dust mitt performed a slap and dash; the decorations made it out of the crawl space; and the meals planned themselves.

So I’m sitting here on my duff with a glass of wine in hand and the computer in my lap, and it occurred to me that I probably owe you all an update!

But before I get to that, I’d like to take a moment to say thank you. Your enthusiasm for these characters and this story is heartwarming. Writing is often a solitary venture and every time I hear from one of you, it makes my day. Truly. Thanks for that.

Odds & Sods

And so…Book IV, titled Penance*, has been through the first round of beta readers and is now in the capable hands of intrepid story editor, Nina Munteanu. When she sends it back, I’ll incorporate her comments, and then send it out to the second wave of beta readers. After their comments are folded in, it’ll go to the copy editor. Finally, another beta read and then off to the proof-reader. When those tweaks are done, it’ll be ready to publish. It may seem like an arduous journey but believe me, all those extra eyes will make for a much better story!

Meantime, Viona Halim, has been working on the cover art, which will, once again, originate with a photo. This time the photo was taken on Granville Island, where pivotal scenes in Book IV take place. Viona will edit the photo and then paint it to achieve the same ominous “feel” to it that the others have.

At the same time, I’m working on the back cover blurb, summaries, tag lines, book marks and other promotional material. I’m writing press releases for the spring launch and seeking pre-release reviews (wink, nudge, hint-hint). If you are interested in receiving an e-copy of Penance for review, please let me know. Reviews that are posted to coincide with the book’s release are better than balloon rides, rum in your egg nog and snow on Christmas!

Coming Soon . . . Boxed Sets

Also, I decided to offer the first three books of the Gift Legacy in a “boxed set” format for the eBook market. Viona Halim has prepared a phenomenal cover for the boxed set, which I can’t wait to share with you. For the first time, I’m trying my hand at formatting this edition myself. I’m not the most tech-savvy person, so wish me luck. If the challenge proves too much, I’ll have to hire the expertise.

And then, because apparently I should be offering a nugget to entice readers to sign up for my newsletter (which, sadly, I’ve been neglecting), I’ve been writing a give-away short story.

Of course, I’m still jotting down ideas for the continuation of Emelynn’s story in yet another adventure with Sam Jordan, James Moss and hmm, well…not sure who else might make an appearance in Book V, but it’s sure to be exciting. If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them.

All the best, from our house to yours, over this holiday season. Cheers!

If you have no idea what I’m going on about, you need to get a copy of Secret Sky right now! You can order the ebook with one click right here. And if ebooks or Amazon aren’t your preference, you can find other options under the Bookstore Tab.

*Penance is now Lethal Waters

On the Topic of Poor Planning…

April 16, 2014 By JPMcLean 24 Comments

On the topic of poor planning . . . when is a trilogy not a trilogy? When I started writing about Emelynn Taylor and her Gift, I had no idea so many people would love her as much as I do. It’s such a thrill for me to learn that readers want to know if there will be another book.

The answer is YES! I’m happy to confirm that I’m currently working on a fourth book featuring Emelynn…but it’s got me in a bit of a conundrum.

What do you call the fourth book in a trilogy?

The Gift started off as a stand-alone before it grew into a trilogy and now a fourth book is emerging. Clearly my foresight in this area isn’t stellar.

And the ideas just keep coming (some of them fueled by readers!) I can see Emelynn and her covey heading for a heap of trouble, and with the upheaval in the Tribunal, and their secret exposed, there’s no end of potential fodder. That is NOT a complaint; I love writing about Emelynn and I’m quite happy that The Gift Trilogy laid the groundwork for what may follow. The conundrum is what to call it?

Talk about poor planning! Book four cannot, obviously, be part of the trilogy. I could rename it a quadrilogy, but that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it? And what do I do if yet another book comes calling?

I could really use your help. So far, I’ve come up with the Covey Chronicles (yuck), and The Gift Series (yawn).

Your input would be greatly appreciated. In fact, if I use your suggestion, I’ll give you credit in the book as well as my unending gratitude! Give it a thought.