Hello friends and fans!
Welcome to my 30th newsletter!
In Brief:
Hello again folks!
Newsletter time already? Wow – how time flies! June already, and the year is mid-way – and… what’s happened in the last month?
I’m still on hiatus from the new title in Quantum (Underground Movement) and I finished redoing Panic! #1 (Mercury Retrograde), and I’m almost done with Panic #2 (Life Signs)… then I took a break from that to completely overhaul “Space Sucks!” (my collection of short sci-fi stories)… which was re-released last week! I’m one story short of releasing the sequel to that as well – “Space Sucks Too!”, and as soon as I’m done with that one, I’ll be posting updates.
In the meantime, my – well, time – has been taken up by marketing. Yes, I said the “m” word… marketing – that dreadful bane of the indie author! Unless you’ve been at it for some time, you probably won’t have any idea of how time and energy-consuming it is to have to not only post about yourself and your books on various different social media and advertising platforms – while trying not to sound like you’re in love with yourself – but to also have to look for more places to do so! It’s hard work, and it’s extremely frustrating when it produces little or no measurable progress or result! That said, whenever I get to see positive reviews from either professional reviewers or my readers, it’s a very positive, uplifting experience indeed!
You may be wondering what titles or projects I’m still working on, and I’ve included an entry about that later on below to fill you in.
New Releases
All the titles below have been released or recently revised and given the new cover design treatment since 2018 (including The Galaxii Series, and the Quantum Series – 2019).
For more information on my current writing projects, see below.
On A Personal Note
What new projects have I been working on? Oh boy… *shrugs*… where do I begin?
First, there’s the seventh title in the Quantum Series, called “Underground Movement”. Below is the tentative and present version of the cover for that title. After that, there’s “Moon Jockeys”, which should wrap up the current saga of the Deannan Uncivil War. The subject matter for these two new titles is a little heavy and dark – and while the stories themselves aren’t nearly as dark as the amount of research and preparation I’ve had to do while writing it, the emotional effort itself took a bit of a toll on my mental state… in fact, I had to take a break from it last month, and work on something a little lighter!
What better to take my mind off heavy emotional research than a couple of horror stories? 😉 As I mentioned last time, I’ve continued my refurbishing spree by repackaging the Panic! Horror In Space series. As of now, there’re three titles pending in the series. Mercury Retrograde, the first, is already complete – but I intend to release the new version of that along with the second title (Life Signs) once the new version of that is complete as well. The third title will be “Hotel Phalanges”, but that won’t be completed for a while yet.
Following that, there’re the sequels to “Space Sucks!“, my collection of short sci-fi stories. “Space Sucks Too!” is almost complete, and the third title, “Space Really Sucks!” won’t be seen for some time, since after “Space Sucks Too!”, I will have exhausted my compliment of sci-fi short stories and will need to write more! Meanwhile, I still have a handful of horror shorts looking for a home, and may work on a collection for them as well – I’m already looking for a suitable title.
…and after all that, I still have to get back to “Where Darkness Softly Treads” and “Harm’s Way”, the next two titles in the Galaxii Series! 😉
Perhaps after this, you might have an idea why I sometimes seem to be jumping between different projects! wink
- Fan Mail, Reviews & Honorable Mentions
I found the following items to display here in this months issue:
- Some of my quotes seem to be getting around! (1, 2, 3, 4)
- I found this little gem as well, from the Healthcare Leadership Academy: “If you ‘don’t do politics’ … Politics will do you” wrote Christina Engela in her book Dead Man’s Hammer.2016 was a turning point for me because of two key political events. The Junior Doctors’ contract dispute had been tough – industrial action was the only option left when it was clear that the government weren’t listening. Then, in June 2016, the Brexit referendum went a way I had never expected it to.Did I wish the UK to remain in the EU?
Yes.Did I campaign for the ‘remain’ side at all?
No.Had I ‘done politics’?
No.Had I had politics done to me?
Yes!” – Dr. Will Sapwell, the Healthcare Leadership Academy.” - Lee Hall, who did the awesome review of Black Sunrise last month, followed that up with an article “3 Reasons Why You Should Read Indie Books” mentioning his three top picks of indie novels he’d reviewed recently – and yep, you guessed it – Black Sunrise was right at the top of that list!
“Black Sunrise by Christina Engela is the first of 6 space travel/ science fiction books set in the Quantum series.
Last year Christina got into contact looking for a review of ‘Demonspawn’ which I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend – so naturally she reached out again this year in search of more reviews – so I agreed to read all 6 books of the Quantum series!
Black Sunrise, as quoted from my 5 Star review is ‘A fun and enjoyable quirky multi-character story that carries an important message…’ That message which is intertwined with some action, comedy, and overall fun is all about diversity and inclusion. There’s even a talking plant!
Very soon I shall be delving into the second book in the series ‘the time saving agency’ so watch this space for a review!” 3 Reasons why you should read Indie Books! by Lee Hall, 29 May 2019.
I will most certainly be looking forward to seeing the rest of Lee’s reviews of the Quantum Series!
I display my Fan Mail & Compliments with pride, gratitude and humility. You are always welcome to have a look.
- Hate Mail & Horrible Mentions
- I only have one item for you under ‘hate mail’ this month, from June 2, 2019 – just a pity it’s such a dull, unimaginative example and not something a little more entertaining! 😉
I’m rather proud of my hate mail, and you can review it here – but be forewarned, don’t do it while eating or drinking or you might choke while laughing at it!
- Interviews
If you would like to do an interview with me about my works, please do get in touch!
CHRISTINA WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! A few nice words go a long way! Please leave your REVIEWS on Academia.edu, Anobii, Apple iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Bol, Book Depository, Dilmot eBookMall, FictionDB, Fnac, Foyles, Goodreads, !Indigo, Kobo , Lulu, Lybrary, MoboReader, Nook, Smashwords, Takealot, 24 Symbols – or wherever you see Christina’s books – or just send her an email via the Contact form!
In Closing
Well, that’s all for this time, folks! 🙂
I’ve got more marketing to do! Perhaps, if I’m lucky, I’ll still get around to some writing as well!
Thanks again for all your support, friendship and interaction! Until next time, keep reading!
Cheers!
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All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019.