Hello friends and fans!
In case you’re wondering, the name of my newsletter “Another Round At The Crow Bar” refers to a bar in my Quantum Series – the one at Atro City Spaceport, which is called “The Crow Bar”. Since most people sitting at a bar like to share anecdotes and funny stories, I figured it would make a good name for my newsletter, and imagine myself sitting at the Crow Bar chatting and sharing news with interested readers and fans!
Welcome to Another Round At The Crow Bar – and my 51st newsletter!
I was quite busy during February – I finally finished the 100k word manuscript I’d been editing for a client, which took some months and was a gargantuan task by the way, so I’m very happy about that! I also finished writing 2 more academic papers after the first one in January, which were around 36 pages each on the subject of misunderstandings relating to New Religious Movements. I’ve again started getting on with some of my unfinished fiction projects – including the long-awaited fourth title in the Galaxii Series – a little more about that further on! 😉
Anyway, let’s get to it and take a look at the usual list of goodies!
Art
Aside from writing I also indulge in painting from time to time – and no, I don’t mean walls! The following paintings are in my portfolio:
You can read more about my art projects on the Art page. What do you think of them? Feel free to let me know!
Music
Yes – I also make music from time to time!
A selection of music tracks I made using eJay and other similar apps between 1999 – 2008 is available on my YouTube channel.
You can read more on the Music page on my website!
DIY Projects
Innovation DIY is where I showcase some of my DIY projects! Pop along and have a look! There’s also a Facebook Page. Between November 22, 2020 and February 13, 2021, articles from this site were also reproduced as a weekly column in the Weekend Post called “DIY On A Dime”! Examples below.
Paranormal
I also have a paranormal blog “Our Ghost Encounters” where my wife and I share our experiences in the paranormal!
Activism
For those of you interested in my activism-related posts and activities, you can follow them at “Sour Grapes: The Fruit Of Ignorance“, where you can view my activism-related (human rights, eco and animal rights) articles and books from 2009 onward. SGTFOI details “The thoughts and experiences of an author and human rights activist”.
Current Writing Projects
So far this year I’ve written three academic papers, and two of them in February, so yes, I’ve been busy! Changing back to fiction writing from academic writing is rather refreshing because for one thing, there’s no need for extensive research or to use references or citations once or twice in every other sentence (i.e. Engela, C. February 26, 2021) – and you can cite me on that!
I’ve been working again on the new Galaxii title I started on last year, which is still unnamed and probably will remain so for the time being. In the meantime, I’m mulling over titles that include the name “Pelenai”, a planet in the story!
Galaxii book 4 introduces a new set of characters into the same general timeline and setting as the first three. It’s set some time after the capture of Meradinis by the Terran Space Fleet and the collapse of the Corsair civilization. Two of the most dangerous Corsair prisoners held in the maximum security prison facility on Kobarr have somehow managed to escape – and who knows what their plans are!
Captain Sonia La Belle has been tasked with whipping the crew of the ailing starship Munray back into shape after years spent under the malingering Captain Polluk – who pulled a Section 80 to get out of the Service. Of course somewhere along the line, the aforementioned escapees will re-emerge and somehow, Sonia and her crew will need to deal with them – but that part of the story is still under construction! I’ll be keeping you updated on that in future. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the first three books in the series.
Editing
I offer my editing services on a freelance basis to interested parties. More about that here.
Marketing – The Dreaded “M” Word!
As an indie author, most of the marketing that gets done, is done by me. This is an unfortunate consequence of choosing the path of an indie author – but the cons of indie authoring are far outweighed by the pros – and I’m certainly not sorry!
One of the main benefits of being and indie author and walking the self-publishing path, is retaining creative control over your works. Also, having the support of a traditional small press (Moon Books Publishing) handling my main distribution channel for eBooks, paperbacks and audiobooks via Amazon and Audible for me, is a great bonus!
What helps indie authors like me most however, is when readers share my posts to help me promote my books! Word of mouth sales make a huge difference – so I really appreciate it when I see you share my book promotion posts on social media!
I thought it would be nice if I could produce a neat, organized catalog of all my books that interested parties could download and browse – a free, distributable and shareable catalog, and so I created “Portfolio 2021!” – a listing of all my currently available titles!
Portfolio is more than that though, because it also contains a biography as well as synopses for most of my titles – and I have a plan to update it regularly, perhaps on an annual basis!
Portfolio 2021 is available as a free download from my website.
The Galaxii Guide To The Terran Space Fleet by Christina Engela
I also posted a new, longer updated version of “The Galaxii Guide To The Terran Space Fleet by Christina Engela” on the 28th, and included a list of new items previously included in articles.
“The Galaxii Guide To The Terran Space Fleet by Christina Engela” is a nice free guide to the Imperial Terran Space Fleet and Space Fleet Academy, featuring diagrams and illustrations of ships from the Galaxii, Quantum and Panic! Horror In Space series.
Box Sets
I now have three different box sets of my eBooks available – one each for the Galaxii Series, Quantum Series, and Panic! Horror In Space! Having the freedom to sell my work directly from my website has some definite advantages – one of them being that I can create bundles or box sets of my works!
You can view them by clicking on the cover images, or by visiting the Shop page. There are advantages to buying a box set of eBooks as opposed to buying the eBooks in my series individually – they’re cheaper! The cost of each box set is 10% less than buying the individual eBooks which make it up, separately! All three books in the Galaxii Series (at $2 each) would add up to $6 – while the Galaxii Series Virtual Box Set comes to $5! Likewise, the Panic Series Virtual Box Set also comes to $5 – while the six-titled Quantum Series Virtual Box Set – instead of $12, is available at $10!
Once you’ve completed the checkout process, you will be able to download all the eBooks in that box set directly from the checkout page, or from the links in the email that will be automatically sent to you! I hope you’ll enjoy these! I have plans for more! Meanwhile, happy reading!
Videos
I’ve nothing new to show you here this time, but feel free to browse through the videos on my YouTube video channel!
Publishing
These are the new titles I’ve published in 2021 so far! The first 3 are academic papers, but I still have a few new fiction works in progress and should finish some during the year!
New Releases:
My second release for 2021 was an academic paper entitled “A Date With The Devil – Occult & Satanic Calendars Debunked” (February 05, 2021).
The aim of this paper is to examine in detail so-called “occult” or “satanic” calendars which have been in circulation since 1986; circulated chiefly by Christian religious figures, organizations and elements within law enforcement agencies and media in the USA, UK and South Africa; and in so doing, to demonstrate conclusively that these calendars have no basis in fact when used to denote or describe the religious practices or beliefs of new religious movements such as Satanism or Neo-paganism; and – once and for all – to define such “occult/satanic calendars” as being no more than a vicious slander, a propaganda tool created and used by modern Christian witch hunters to sustain belief in the myth of “Satanic Ritual Abuse” – and ultimately, as a tool used to persecute occult religions and those who identify with them.
The third and most recent paper I completed and published is “Devil’s Advocate: The 666 Gangs – Why They Aren’t Satanists, How They Distorted South African Law Enforcement’s Perception Of Occult Religions, & The Consequences” (February 21, 2021).
South African authorities, media, the public, and community-based organizations appear to linger under the false impression, still, that “pseudo-satanism” and Satanism are both the same thing, or somehow “linked” or “related”, to excuse the continued inaccurate description of the criminal “666” gangs as “satanic”, “linked to Satanism”, or practicing “theistic Satanism”.
The effects of this confusion will be discussed, to demonstrate how the historic misunderstanding, coupled with the intrusion of religious fundamentalism into law enforcement, affected the SAPS and its Occult Related Crimes unit’s perception of occult religions in South Africa – which has had consequences reaching even to the present day.
Although these are probably not everyone’s cup of tea as the saying goes (it is academic work after all), they address matters which are important to some people. You’d need to read them to decide for yourself – and if you’re squirming in discomfort or hopping up and down about it, you’re probably one of the folks who needs to read it! 😉
I think I’m probably done with academic works for the year, but if I put out any more in 2021, they are likely to be on a different subject.
Audiobooks
I now have 5 audiobooks available on Audible and Amazon!
Coming Soon
In the meantime, here’s a look at the covers for hot new audiobooks currently in the pipeline:
Stay tuned for updates!
Reviews
I have no items to show you in this section this time, but you can see all my previous reviews here.
Currently Available Titles
I now have 30 unique titles available in 4 series (not including books I’ve been the editor for, and my 16 free promotional items)! My books are available in three different formats: EBooks, Paperbacks and Audiobooks.
Communication
Below are links to a few of my most recent posts and articles since my previous newsletter:
(Yes, it’s been another very quiet month in terms of articles!)
If you want to see more articles, just click on the category links below:
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- Elements of Horror
- FAQ Answered
- Fun Facts
- LGBT Heroes
- The Tech Side
- Secret Weapons of the Resistance
- Writing Advice
- Guest Writers
- Newsletters
Interactions
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Fan Mail, Reader Reviews & Honorable Mentions
I have the following awesome items to show you this month!
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- Someone left me a nice review on Audible for “Demonspawn“.
- Power of Positivity shared a quote of mine:
- Tony Aguilar honored my by mentioning my name and a quote in his website “about”!
- Inspiration Feed shared a quote from “Pearls Before Swine” about bullying:
- Wise Sayings shared another of my quotes:
- Quote the life posted an excerpt of “Dead Man’s Hammer”:
I display my Fan Mail, Reviews & Compliments with pride, gratitude and humility. You’re always welcome to have a look.
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Hate Mail & Horrible Mentions
Surprisingly, I still haven’t received any hate mail this month either – wonder what I’ve done wrong? Perhaps I need new haters? They seem to have forgotten me! 😉
- I’m rather proud of my hate mail, and you can review my collection here – but be forewarned, don’t do it while eating or drinking, or you might choke while laughing!
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Interviews
- All my interviews are linked to from this page. If you would like to do an interview with me about my work, please do get in touch!
In Closing
Well, that’s all for this time, folks! 🙂
Thanks again for all your support, sharing, friendship and interaction!
As always, feel free to email or message me via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn if you have any comments or questions!
Cheers!
Catch me on social media!
Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Academia | Minds | Instagram | GoodReads | Author’s Database | Library Thing | YouTube | Pintrest | Stage32 | The Book Marketing Network
All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2021.
You are a very resourceful person. You have contributed alot to humanity. Thank you so much.
Regards,
Andrew.
Hi Andrew,
You just made my day! 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind comment.
Best,
Christina.