K.A. Gandy's Blog

Hey Lovely Readers,

I. Am. So. Excited! Gah! It’s release month for Marked!!!!  I have been working so hard, y’all. So hard, and now . . . I can finally tell you that ARCs are ready! 

You can find them here on BookSirens:

https://booksirens.com/book/HO00BV8/MJG0QNE

I really hope you love this book, guys! Demy is such a kick-butt heroine with a complex history. I just hope I did her story justice, and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Now, I have some additional exciting news. I know, two in one email; but, this can’t wait, and you’re the first to hear!

AUDIOBOOKS ARE COMING! 

I received an offer from Podium Publishing, and they will be producing audiobooks of Dwindle, Rise, Reign, In The Dust, Finding the Bastion, AND Descendants of Rust, as soon as it’s ready.

Y’all, it has been a whirlwind couple of months of behind the scenes work to get this all closed and done, but now that the dotted line has been signed, I feel such relief. This is huge!

I’ll make sure to share updates as they become available, and if you love audiobooks (or have friends who do!), you guys will be the absolute first to know when I have links to the audiobooks.

Because that wasn’t enough, I have a GREAT selection of Indie books for you this week that are all available right now. I really think you’ll enjoy them, so don’t forget to scroll down and check them out! I always love to see the vast creativity my fellow authors have in the dystopian/post-apoc space, and this month is no exception.

Until release day, friends!

Love and Books,

K. A. Gandy

Hey Lovely Readers,

How’s it going? Are you a resolutions fan, or now? I’m not, but I’m curious if you are—how are they going, now that you’re a month in?

I’m happy to report that the first draft of Marked is written, self-edited, and off to my critique group and the editor, to get all polished up for the March 28th release. I will have a handful of ARCs available sometime later this month or in March’s email, so keep an eye out if you’d like an early copy!

I also wanted to mention the big giveaway I’m participating in this month. When I saw the theme, I had to join because I’m a huge fan of Cassandra Clare, myself! So make sure you enter for a chance to win, if you’re a Mortal Instruments fan yourself!

I’m also going to add a section with Reader Suggestions, since several of you sent me new additions to my TBR pile! Thanks for that, I loved them all! I thought it might be kind of fun for you all to see them, since you might also want to check them out.

Ooh, have you all spotted the BRAND NEW COVERS on the An’Loran Series? I love them, and I’d love to know what you think! Check them out here.

I’ll keep it brief this week, because both of my kiddos are back in sports for the new year, and PHEW is it exhausting. I’m dragging plotting index cards with me from practice to practice, trying to squeeze in work while they play basketball and flip around on gymnastics mats. Mom life, am I right?

Love and Books,

K. A. Gandy

Hey Lovely Readers,

I hope the new year finds you well! We are camping as you read this, so I should be reading and sipping hot tea about now, which is about as close to heaven as you get while on a camping trip.

Friends, I am overwhelmed with all the love for Finding the Bastion. This has been my best release yet (it’s even made it to the top 5 new releases in YA Dystopian fiction!), and I thank you all for making it happen. The reviews are also starting to trickle in, and they are great! I truly have the best readers. My two year publishing anniversary was December 16th, and I’m just awed by how much has changed in the last two years.

To celebrate the new release (and say thank you for your overwhelming support!), In The Dust is now on sale for ninety-nine cents (first time ever!) so you can grab it any time between now and the seventh, if you’d like to have a copy and you don’t already. I like to do that sometimes when I’ve read a book in Kindle Unlimited, so I thought you might as well.

Oh! It has also come to my attention (Hi, Neil!) That you don’t all know my first name. It’s Kristen, hello. Seems a silly thing to have forgotten, when I’ve been sending these newsletters for two years, but there it is. If any of you ever have a question, do feel free to reach out!

I’ve gathered up the usual posse of books for you to peruse below, so after you send ME a suggestion above *hint, hint*, keep on scrolling to see what’s new this month!

Love and Books,

K. A. Gandy

Guys, I am so excited to share this book with you! It’s an epic adventure through sand and enemies to finally find Chace, an elusive mythical domed city, and so much more. The relationship between Nyx and River continues to grow, and we finally find out what happened to Coyote Springs.

There’s so much goodness crammed into these pages. I really, really hope you like it.

I also want to take a moment to shout out a big THANK YOU to all of you who grabbed an early copy, I’m so happy to see your reviews—I hope you’ve enjoyed it! You are a big part of helping my release day be so successful!

That’s pretty much it today, guys. Today’s the day. I’m just trying to soak in the moment. Thank you for being here, and thank you for loving the books as much as I do. You rock.

So much love and all the books, 

K. A. Gandy

 

Helpful LinksIn The Dust (book one)Finding The Bastion (New Release!)Descendants of Rust (pre-order)

Hey Lovely Readers,

This month is going to be a fun one, because not only am I working on writing Marked, but Finding the Bastion comes out this month!!! Make sure you keep reading for another fun teaser scene.

Right after Christmas, it will be available to download. I’ll be working hard to have the paperbacks done at least the week before Christmas, if you were hoping to have a copy to wrap up as a gift. As always, if you’d like a signed copy (of any book, really, not just new releases!), I’m happy to provide those! Just respond to this email and we’ll make it happen.

What does your family celebrate this time of year? We celebrate Christmas, but my sister-in-law’s family are Jewish, and I find some of their Hannukah traditions so fascinating! I’ve always loved to learn about other people’s religions and ways of life, though.

Whatever you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful end of the year and spend it with the people you love most. 

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Until Next Time,

K. A. Gandy

***

 

As we drew nearer, two dirt bikes turned into four, then seven, and finally the rider who’d trailed us the whole way peeled off, making a wide U-turn and spitting up a rooster tail of his own as he fled back the way he came. We weren’t free of a tail for long, as the seven riders quickly formed a perimeter around us and escorted us into the small city.

Much about it reminded me of Coyote Springs, but there was also a lot that was different. The heart of the city was smaller, with tents completely ringing the city here. And they weren’t well maintained, from what I could tell as we drove past. Holes provided a window into the lives of the citizens on the outskirts, and what we could see wasn’t much. Though . . . the bikes were well maintained, if patched together. They had a solid mechanic here, at least. And some sort of working radio tech. I thought back on the irritating conversation with ‘Conda, but quickly shoved it down, dragging my attention back to my surroundings. We were only moments inside the city before the riders forced us to a stop outside of a large striped tent, a red-helmeted rider kicking down the lead bike’s stand and approaching my window.

To my surprise, when the helmet was pulled free, it was a woman shaking a long mane of russet hair loose and gesturing for me to roll the window down so we could talk.

“What are your intentions for visiting the collective?” Her tone was all business, and her eyes were sharp as they skated over me and River in swift appraisal, lingering on River longer than I liked.

“Just passing through and hoping to shake an annoying tail.” I gestured with a nod back to the way we’d come, and her eyes narrowed angrily. “We do have trade goods, though, if you’re interested.”

“How many riders?”

“Four, we took three of ‘em down a few pegs,” I admitted with a shrug. Better to lay all the cards on the table up front. “We appreciated the help ditching the fourth.” It was an afterthought, and she knew it. It was always wise to start on good footing with the locals before trading began, though.

She snorted, and I caught the briefest hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth, but it quickly dissolved back into stern calculation.

“Not sure you needed any help, but we don’t get a lot of trade out here. We’ll be happy to see what you’ve got.”

My mind immediately went back to the threadbare, holey tents, and I cursed my luck that I’d sold all of my good, new ones to the Sidewinders. They were probably ash, now. Depressing.

“I didn’t catch your name.” I lifted an eyebrow in question.

“Sasha. You?”

“Nyx, and River.” I reached a hand over and squeezed his forearm quickly, before dropping my hand back to the wheel.

“Pleasure to meet you both. You can park here, and we’ll show you around.” She turned back towards her bike but paused, adding over her shoulder, “Sorry about the un-welcoming committee. Steve can be a real camel’s hump sometimes.”

“Err, Steve?” I asked.

She sighed wearily, and looked down as if embarrassed before admitting, “He’s my idiot brother.”

“Ooh, that sucks,” River half-cackled from the passenger seat.

I shot him a shut-it-up-so-we-don’t-offend-these-people look, but he grinned back, unfazed.

“She already knows it sucks; didn’t you see her face? Come on, maybe they’ve got something better to eat here than your sawdust bars.”

“Meal bars,” I insisted as I hopped down from the driver’s side and clicked the lock.

“You keep telling yourself that,” he teased with a wink as he joined me outside the Bronco and we made our way toward where Sasha waited for us at the end of the nearest tent row, “and I’ll try to sweet talk someone out of something that’s actually tasty.”

***

Pre-order now, and don’t miss a second of the adventure!

Hey Lovely Readers,

It’s been a busy month. I finished the first draft of Finding the Bastion (book two in the Endless Desert series)! It’s with the editor as we speak, and after going round-and-round between us several times, it’ll be ready to format and put up for ARC reviews! So, keep a weather eye on the . . . wait. Just check BookSirens.

While that is temporarily off my desk, I’m working away at plotting the next story arc for, you guessed it, the Populations Crumble: Resurgence series!

I. Am. So. Excited.

Guys, I have seen the comments. I’ve seen the reviews. I’ve seen you all asking, “Is there more to Populations Crumble? We want more!”

(Pssst . . . you didn’t think I was kidding about reading and appreciating all your reviews, did you?!)

Guys, I hear you. I love this world, too!

Well, there *finally* is. Marked, book one of the new spinoff series is coming in March of 2023. And y’all, it’s going to knock your socks off! I mean, hopefully you don’t get cold feet like me. Because, so long, socks!

We’ll be following a brand-new main character, but also getting solid cameos from all of the main cast of books 1-3. I love Sadie and Patrick too much to mess with the beautiful relationship and family they built; but . . . that doesn’t mean that they don’t have new problems to solve as the leaders, right? Right?!

Oh, and there’s one more itty-bitty thing I forgot to mention *cough, cough*

The first chapter of the new book? I snuck it into the omnibus trilogy edition as bonus content!  If you have KU, it won’t cost you a dime to read it!

What is this first chapter? Oh, you know, just the set up for the spinoff trilogy AND meeting the new main character, Demy. She’s one tough chick, and you’re going to love her! She’s the reason you get four more books, because I was strolling along in the back yard one day, playing with the kiddos and then . . . BAM! Here’s this character, yammering about her back story and really, really wanting her own books.

Uhm, okay!  Let’s do this.

This is getting pretty long, so I better sign off for now.

Until next time . . .

K. A. Gandy

New Release – Omnibus Edition with bonus chapter from Marked!

Hey Lovely Readers,

I am writing to you ahead of our usual scheduled first-of-the-month date, because I have a HUGE eReader-stuffing opportunity for you! It’s only for today, so it simply couldn’t wait.

Whatever you’re doing, you’re going to want to hang on right now and hop over to Romance Bookworms website and grab up all the wonderful free romance books!

Here’s the Link!

This is a one-day, rare deal where authors get together and make their books free at the same time.

Whatever you like, I have a feeling you’ll find it:

YA (My book Dwindle is included!!!! You can get it free today!)

Mystery

Historical Romance

Urban Fantasy

Sci-Fi Romance

Fantasy Romance

Paranormal

Sweet, Steamy, and so many more romance categories are going to be here.

It’s basically a big ol’ “Indie Author Spotlight” which I include at the bottom of all the emails. Except giant.

Anywho, head on over there, and I hope you find some new reads you love! And, if you don’t already have it, GRAB DWINDLE!!!!

Until next time . . .

K. A. Gandy

Hey lovely readers! Just dropping in with a quick snippet from my Work-In-Progress, Finding the Bastion! It is coming this December, and you can find it here if you’d like to pre-order it.

Finding the Bastion

The heart of the city was smaller, with tents completely ringing the city here. And they weren’t well maintained, from what I could tell as we drove past. Holes provided a window into the lives of the citizens on the outskirts, and what we could see wasn’t much. Though . . . the bikes were well maintained, if patched together. They had a solid mechanic here, at least. And some sort of working radio tech, I thought back on the irritating conversation with ‘Conda, but quickly shoved it down, dragging my attention back to my surroundings. It was only moments inside the city before the riders forced us to a stop outside of a large striped tent, a red-helmeted rider kicking down the lead bike’s stand and approaching my window.

To my surprise, when they pulled the helmet free, it was a woman shaking a long mane of russet hair loose and gesturing for me to roll the window down so we could talk.

“What are your intentions for visiting the collective?” Her tone was all business, and her eyes were sharp as they skated over me and River in swift appraisal.

“Just passing through and hoping to shake an annoying tail.” I gestured with a nod back to the way we’d come, and her eyes narrowed angrily. “We do have trade goods, though, if you’re interested.”

“How many riders?”

“Four, we took three of ‘em down a few pegs,” I admitted with a shrug. Better to lay all the cards on the table up front. “We appreciated the help ditching the fourth.” It was an afterthought, and she knew it. It was always wise to start on good footing with the locals before trading began, though.

She snorted, and I caught the briefest hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth, but it quickly dissolved back into stern calculation.

“Not sure you needed any help, but we don’t get a lot of trade out here. We’ll be happy to see what you’ve got.”

My mind immediately went back to the threadbare, holey tents, and I cursed my luck that I’d sold all of my good, new ones to the Sidewinders. They were probably ash, now. Depressing.

“I didn’t catch your name.” I lifted an eyebrow in question.

“Sasha. You?”

“Nyx, and River.” I reached a hand over and squeezed his forearm quickly, before dropping my hand back to the wheel.

“Pleasure to meet you both. You can park here, and we’ll show you around.” She turned back towards her bike but paused, adding over her shoulder, “Sorry about the un-welcoming committee. Steve can be a real camel’s hump sometimes.”

“Err, Steve?”

She sighed wearily, and looked down as if embarrassed before admitting, “He’s my idiot brother.”

“Ooh, that sucks,” River half-cackled from the passenger seat.

I shot him a shut-it-up-so-we-don’t-offend-these-people look, but he grinned back, unfazed.

“She already knows it sucks; didn’t you see her face? Come on, maybe they’ve got something better to eat here than your sawdust bars.”

“Meal bars,” I insisted as I hopped down from the driver’s side and clicked the lock.

“You keep telling yourself that,” he teased with a wink, “and I’ll try to sweet talk someone out of something that’s actually tasty.”

 

Gotta have it on release day? Click Here!

This will be the only snippet from my pen name, Kristen Dixon. If you love small town sweet romance, you can join that newsletter here!

The Bachelor Bargain

“You had a crush on me in school?”

“Yep, you were the whole package. Smart and pretty. Not to mention, brave in a way I could never be. You knew exactly what you wanted, and nothing was ever going to stop you from going after it. I admired that. Still do.” He gazed out the window, lost in memories as we pulled off on the dirt road to the overlook.

I sat in stunned silence as we bumped down the pitted road, even though he drove carefully. That’s what he thought? That I was brave? I didn’t feel it, not anymore. The responsibilities of adulthood had taken their toll on me, and most days I felt stuck. I hadn’t felt brave since the day I’d left for college. Could I be the girl he remembered again? The girl I remembered?

The road split and he took the left fork, heading up the grassy path to the top of the hill. It didn’t take long before we reached the top, and he slid the shifter into park.

“Ready? It’s almost time.”

“Yep,” I answered. “Time for what, exactly?” I asked when he opened my door and offered me a hand down. I slipped my hand in his, the heat from our palms sending an undeniable shiver through me.

“You’ll see. Come on!” Excitement lit his tone, and he didn’t let go of my hand as he grabbed a small cooler bag from the bed of the truck and headed toward the edge of the overlook. He was efficient, pulling out a thin quilt from a side pocket and spreading it out for us to sit on, and then opening the cooler.

“I thought this would be better with appetizers. I hope you still like chocolate,” he murmured, reaching into the cooler and pulling out a Sweet Nothings bakery box. When he popped the lid, the deliciously intermingled scents of chocolate and fruit hit me, and he placed the box full of chocolate covered strawberries between us on the blanket. Next were two bottles of lemonade, tiny meatball sliders, perfect tiny cups of pasta salad, and a few electric candles, which he set out along each side of the blanket.

“This is . . . unexpected. And perfect.” I looked out over the swimming hole below us, the end of the ancient rope swing trailing along the glassy surface.

“I’m glad you think so. I’ve always thought the sunset here would be something worth seeing. Especially with good company.” He smiled, crinkling the corners of his eyes, and I felt drawn into him like a magnet. The brief tension between us earlier was long forgotten, replaced instead by a bubbling happiness in my chest.

“You think I’m good company? Even if I’m not the same brave girl you remember?” I asked, hating the edge of uncertainty in my voice.

“You’ll always be the brave girl I remember. In sixth grade, I was so nervous about being on stage for the spelling bee I was ready to throw up. And you took me by the hand and led me to my seat. You refused to move to where you were supposed to sit, even when one of the teachers threatened to not let you participate. You had this stubborn look on your face, and you stared her down and said, “I’m not leaving my friend. He’s scared.””

I blew out a shaky breath, and my eyes dropped to where my fingers played with a blade of grass poking over the edge of the blue quilt. “I don’t feel it—not anymore. I had such big dreams, you know? And not many of them came to be.”

He frowned and reached forward to trail a finger along my cheek, the touch so soft I might have imagined it. “Tell me about them.”

Gotta have it on release day? Click here!

Hey Lovely Readers,

So much has happened in the past month! Honestly, I’m not sure where to begin. Last weekend I attended Orlando Reads Books for the first time, and it was spectacular! I learned a bunch about the business of authoring, met a handful of new author friends, and so many lovely readers who stopped by my table and chatted books. It was a wonderful experience and I’m already looking forward to next year! We even got to drive the RV down to Orlando, our longest trip to date.

I also finished up the first draft of The Bachelor Bargain for November’s release, and that is now with the editor! I’ll paste in a snippet for you in the next post, so you can get a small preview.

However, before we get to that, I have an announcement. My small-town romances going forward will be moving under a pen name, Kristen Dixon. I had tried very hard to keep everything together, but unfortunately with the way things work with algorithms over at Amazon, that was just no longer feasible.

So, I’ve been working very quietly in the background to get the books updated under the new pen name, and they are now sloooowly starting to roll out! As a result, this newsletter will begin to focus on my Dystopian and Fantasy works, and I’ll be starting a separate newsletter JUST for all things sweet and romantic (< Click there to join it!).

Hopefully y’all don’t mind. I know not everyone reads every genre.

This is getting a bit long, but I just want to say that I really appreciate you all, and your understanding as I am still growing in this author business and finding out the best ways to do things. It’s so easy to feel like I am constantly making mistakes, but we just have to push through that at times. Phew.

Until next time . . .

K. A. Gandy