Category: books

Magical musical murder with A.C. Merkel

~ Will Forrest ~ Leave a comment

One of my favorite things about indie publishing is the diversity of storytelling! Not just DEI-style diversity where every voice is represented, but real diversity of stories, where we can tell any story we like. Today’s Spotlight is on A.C. Merkel, who blends fantasy with political consciousness and rock and roll to tell a story like no other!

HER NAME IS MURDER

“We can’t waltz forever, Grant.”
“We can damn well try.”

Magical musician Murder LaVoe is tired of running. She’s been running for almost 500 years. When you don’t age, people take it personally. She has returned 40 years later to her favorite borough in New York City.
Her hope?
To finally settle down and hide her secret by taking the identities of falsified heirs.
A public attempt on the life of her Rock-N-Roll alter ego, Lady Dreamscapes.
A chance meeting of subservient immortals in need.
threaten to take away the life she holds so dear. Can NYPD detective Grant Noble III solve her mysteries in time to save her?
Or is it him that needs saving?

A.C. Merkel is the author and creator of The Lady Dreamscapes series and Witch Vs. Witch, infusing magical tales with a musical heartbeat 💓 🎻 🎸 🌈

A maze of monsters with Sarah Cook

~ Will Forrest ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the next installment of the Indie Author Spotlight, my ongoing series highlighting the latest in independent storytelling. Today’s featured author is Sarah Cook.

Promotional graphic for Sarah Cook's book A Maze of Monsters of Men, showing the book's cover against a backdrop of stars.

Set in 1900, A Maze of Monsters & Men sees two rival archaeologists, and ex-lovers, leading opposing expeditions to Crete. However, whilst on the island, they are both called to labyrinth seated at the heart of the mountain… And a minotaur who is willing to love them both.

Sarah Cook is a historical fiction author who writes about the Victorians in all sorts of japes. Her debut novel Diary of Murders is a dark erotic murder mystery. She plans to finish the series whilst also releasing an upcoming Victorian sports romance and a dark fantasy.

“You open your safe and find ashes.”

~ Will Forrest ~ Leave a comment

As authors, we are constantly on the receiving end of all sorts of advice about how to promote our work, much of which rely on magical thinking and/or spending a lot of money (or both.) Selling books in person, selling books at a discount, selling yourself as a brand, but for pure return on your investment, nothing beats giving away free books.

I’m not handing out paperbacks on the street, but I’m not the only one who believes in the power of free. Attract abundance by being abundant. Give books to everyone who wants one: that’s how you win fans for life.

Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.”

― Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

Readers win too, because *ahem* book tastes are subjective. I honestly don’t expect everyone in the world to enjoy what I write. I would rather you read my free stories and decide that my work isn’t to your liking than make you pay money for a book that you end up hating. Costco has it right: give away as many free samples as you can. Your fans will find their way to you.

Visit my Free Reads page for bonus material from my series and some standalone shorts. I’ll be adding to the page in the next few months as I build up to the release of a series I’ve been working on for ten years. Mary Mac and her band of merry perverts have some deep lore, y’all. I have stories for years.

E.M. Denning: soft & steamy

~ Will Forrest ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the first edition of the Indie Author Spotlight!

I’ve been running this on my author newsletter for the past few years, but I thought it would make a fun feature here as I try to relaunch this page. So let’s say hi to my first victim–I mean awesome indie author: E.M. Denning.

A promotional graphic for E.M. Denning's story 'Up in Flames'

UP IN FLAMES

A grieving man trying to cope after the best day of his life becomes his worst.
A firefighter determined to keep his head down and stay in the closet.

E.M. Denning has more than twenty romance novels under her belt and has become an author you can rely on to bring you emotionally endearing, soft and fuzzy, steamy stories. She is well known among her friends for her love of naps and sarcasm. She spends her free time reading as many romance novels as she can get her hands on.

Next: Historical Japes with Sarah Cook

The Indie Author Spotlight – a brief introduction

~ Will Forrest ~ Leave a comment

One of the best things about independent AKA self-publishing is the variety of stories we are telling. Publishing companies are under pressure to sign *profitable* authors, but when has the profit motive ever produced the best art?

The best stories are happening underground. Indie publishing is all about helping each other. My book might not be your next favorite, but I bet you’ll love something by one of my friends. I have been profiling fellow authors on my newsletter for a few years now, and thought this blog would be a good platform to expand the reach of this feature. Anything to get me off ordinary social media…

I’ll be back in a few days with the first installment of this new series. Or join my readers club if you want to find out more about my books: http://willforrest.com/newsletter/

Why do they hate us?

~ Will Forrest ~ Leave a comment

So, it’s like that, is it? You really want to read this book that badly, huh? All I did was casually post the meme that inspired it and my Threads blew up. At least compared to my normal bookish content.

I don’t expect any of my other book promo posts to do this well. The mysterious entity we refer to as the social media algorithm (but which is really a bunch of underpaid staffers supporting their billionaire employer’s fascist ideology) doesn’t want to see us win, and will crush your reach if it senses even the slightest chance that you’re going to reach people organically.

Good thing I had a review copy link ready to give people. Even so, I wish I had set up pre-orders, because not everyone wants the responsibility of a review copy. JK there is zero responsibility. I just want people to read the damn thing.

So if you like queer romance full of disaster gays making bad decisions and learning to get over them, adorable twinks who don’t understand how many people want to cherish them, and the trope I like to call Oblivious-to-Lovers where two best friends (who occasionally bang) realize that this is what love looks like for them: I got you, babe.

OMG yes I want to read this book.