Good evening, ladies and gents! I have a brief announcement for you.
The Black Parade is almost always a permanently free (permafree for short) title, but a marketing opportunity has cropped up that asks for me to unpublish the novel on Smashwords, which subsequently will take it down from the Nook, iBookstore, Kobo, and a few other smaller retailers. Don’t panic! It’s temporary. The book will go back to being permafree November 16, 2016.
If any of my fans are referring their friends to this novel as being free, please contact me directly at theblackparadeseries@gmail.com and I can offer them a free copy myself. The title will be .99 cents on Amazon once the permafree drops when the title is pulled from other digital shelves. After November 16th, the title will go right back up as a free novel. No other permanent prices changes will be made to the other books. Keep in mind, it has also been entered into KDP Select, so if you subscribe to them, you can read it for free there as well.
Plus, we’re fast approaching my 3rd anniversary of being a published author, and it’ll be the one year anniversary of The Holy Dark. In celebration, it will be free to download all day long July 19, 2016. I’ll make another announcement closer to the date as a reminder for old and new fans.
Thanks for hanging in there through all my crazy shenanigans. I will post about the new boxed set in just a few days, so be on the look out for a fantastic opportunity for some new reads!
Face front, True Believers! Or something like that. Yours truly just trekked up to Atlanta, GA for the first ever State of Black Science Fiction convention! What’s that, you ask? Why it’s a gathering of dozens of black comic book writers, graphic novelists, and screenwriters in one location to fellowship and meet up with the local nerd population about horror and speculative fiction.
I was invited to be on two panels with immensely talented authors: Black Women in Speculative Fiction, seen below, and The Pros and Pitfalls of Small/Self-Publishing.
(Left to right: Nicole Kurtz, Alicia McCalla, Penelope Flynn, me, Cerece Rennie Murphy, and Valjeanne Jeffers.)
“Why, Kyo,” you say, mildly confused. “Whatever are you wearing?”
“WHAT THE SHIT!” I exclaim, for I am cosplaying as Lana Kane from FX’s hit animated comedy Archer.
“Lana. Lana. LAAANAAAAA!”
I mean, I am a tall black woman with anger issues, huge Hulk hands, and a disposition for emotionally distant dark-haired men, so it seemed like the logical choice.
I also had a little table of my own to sell books and chat with readers. I almost felt like a real author and everything.
“Stories about murder, self deprecation, and pretty men! Get ’em while they’re hot, people!”
Further details about the con can be seen on their website posted above and in the Facebook group. It was an unforgettable experience, and if it becomes an annual thing, please stop by and see me! I promise not to shoot you in the foot. Probably. If any footage of the panels pop up, I’ll be sure to post them here for your enjoyment.
In the meantime, gird your loins. I’ll have more news about my upcoming sci-fi crime thriller Of Cinder and Bone coming to a blog post near you. GET HYPE.
Have you been clamoring for more from your favorite author? Of course! But I also have a new book coming out this summer, and here’s your first look at the title and two main lead characters!
That’s right! My new science-fiction mystery novel is called Of Cinder and Bone. Who’s it starring?
Commission by Olieboldador. https://www.fiverr.com/olieboldador
Meet Dr. Kamala Anjali and Dr. Rhett “Jack” Jackson, and their dragon, Pete. These two brilliant MIT scientists live in a world where long ago, dragons existed but they were hunted to extinction in the 1400’s thanks to a worldwide obsession with dragon-hunting. After years of working on their fellowship, they managed to bring one back to life with the eventual goal of resurrecting other extinct species to replenish their populations.
Of Cinder and Bone has a tentative release date of July-August 2016. Stay glued to the blog, Twitter, and Facebook pages to be notified when the official book blurb and cover are ready!
It’s 2016. Are you hungry for more paranormal and supernatural reads? Then look no further!
Check out the Paranormal After Dark boxed set, which includes 20 novels from USA Today and Amazon Bestselling authors (yours truly included) for an unbelievable price of only $2.99, or for free if you’re a part of the Kindle Unlimited program.
Here’s the masterlist of titles and authors:
A Dose of Brimstone by Noree Cosper
End of Dreams by Kim Faulks
Haunt by Hambel Curley
Dark Crossings by Ann Simko
Seattle 2052 by Calinda B. Headspace
The Other F-Word by Susan Stec
Unleashed by Rachel McClellan
Hidden Intentions by Stacy Claflin
The Complete Bloodling Serial by Aimee Easterling
She Who Fights Monsters by Kyoko M
St. Charles at Dusk by Sarah M. Cradit
Wicked by Nature by Madison Sevier
Underlife by Marissa Farrar
Dragon’s Redemption by Eden Ashe
Milan’s Return by Grae Lily
The Breaker’s Code by Connor Kressley
The Medium by M. R. Graham
Wiccan Wars by Heather Marie Adkins
Carpe Noctem by Katie Salidas
A Question of Faith by Nicole Zoltack
This is a limited edition boxed set that won’t be around forever, so please take advantage of that killer price tag, grab yourself a copy, and spread the word! It is greatly appreciated. You can also add it to your Goodreads shelf for a future reading date.
Happy reading, folks! Stay tuned for news of my upcoming new fantasy series as well.
Your friendly neighborhood fantasy author just had an excursion to the land of awesome jazz, rich heritage, and the best damn Southern cuisine imaginable. It was basically Treat Yourself 2016 for me, and when I treat myself, I treat myself. Hence, Captain America snuggling and languishing in my arms.
New Orleans Comic Con is a younger con, but they apparently worked out something pretty incredible to snag not only Captain America himself, Chris Evans, but half of the cast of Civil War, including Frank Grillo (Rumlo aka Crossbones), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), Jeremy Renner (aka Clint Barton/Hawkeye) and the Russo brothers who are directing the film. I had been on Wizard World’s mailing list for some reason and as soon as they sent word that Chris Evans would be in the South (seriously, look it up, A list celebrities avoid the South like the freaking plague, man, and I’d know) I scrambled for a ticket and a photo op. It was the opportunity of a life time to meet an actual superhero (my second one, actually, as I met Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman, in 2013) in the flesh. Plus, I’d never been to New Orleans and I was dying to get a chance to soak in some of the great things I’ve heard about Crescent City.
I flew down Thursday afternoon and stayed with a friend of mine. On Friday, we got up and had breakfast here, at The Ruby Slipper.
I had cheesecake-stuffed French toast with fresh blueberry compote and it was so delicious I’m drooling as I think about it all over again. Heavenly stuff, man.
And here’s my first street car ride!
We headed to the con to grab our badges and check out the dealer’s room, which was huge and awesome. Here are the goodies I managed to swipe for myself:
This fancy lithograph came with the hilariously expensive Chris Evans silver VIP pass. It’s basically just a glossy 11×17 photo of Captain Hotness, but hey, why not? Who doesn’t love a little smolder?
This awesomeness is a fake movie poster made by one of the artists in the dealer’s room. His concept was taking nerd culture things and turning them into the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s style movie posters, and this one is so gorgeous that I had to snag it to decorate my room. It’s just plain lovely.
Below is another one by the same artist, except it’s from Fallout 3 & 4.
Saturday morning at 10am, I attended the Civil War panel, which includes all the guests I mentioned above. Because I’m a huge nerd and this was a lifetime opportunity, I sat by one of the mics and was lucky enough to ask a question. Yes. I spoke to half the cast of Captain America: Civil War. That high-pitched sound you’re hearing is me screaming internally for hours.
Unfortunately, the audio is a bit janky, but here’s the whole panel. I got to ask a question at around the 26 minute mark, and their answers were priceless. I really encourage you to watch the entire video, and if one with better quality pops up, I’ll add it. It was a phenomenal panel, even with some fans asking weird questions, and the cast was beyond entertaining to experience live.
After the panel, I had the two most awesome experiences as a fangirl ever. First, was meeting Hayley Atwell, Agent Carter herself, for an autograph. I managed to hold it together and I told her that I was so grateful for her portrayal of Peggy as this powerful, amazing three dimensional female character and how it’s so important to have this awesome woman on a major network television show. I also told her that I truly hope she enjoys all the wonderful things that have happened and will happen for her as a result of portraying this character, and Ms. Atwell told me she was so humbled by my words. We shook hands and I was able to take this precious piece of personal history home with me to be framed on my wall.
After that, the main event happened. I waited in line in a freezing cold auditorium for around an hour, dressed to the nines and in full makeup, and then it happened. I walked up to Captain America, Chris Evans, for a photograph.
Now, the funny thing is…I’ve met celebrities before. Not any A-list celebrities, mind you, but celebrities like Maggie Q, Shane West, Bill Corbett, James Urbaniak, who are mostly nerd icons. Each time, I’ve managed to hold in the fangirl squeeing and ask them questions, even hold entire conversations.
But not with Chris Evans.
He was the first celebrity to ever make me 100% starstruck and tongue-tied.
Before the hug, I walked over and said hi and asked him if it would be alright for me to give him a hug for the photo. Mr. Evans smiled and said it wasn’t a problem at all, and then he wrapped his arms around me and I basically lost all mental faculties. I actually had a comment prepared–something about how proud I was of what he’s done with the character of Steve Rogers–but after that hug…yep, I was mush. I just mumbled thank you and tottered away on my heels, blinded by how utterly handsome he was. The hug was that good, but then there’s also the fact that before he let me go, he rubbed the small of my back and that’s what precipitated me turning into a pile of goo. My God. What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man.
Oh, and here’s his autograph as well (sadly not personalized, because you had to pay an extra $200 for that and as much as I ADORE Chris Evans, paying over $600 for a photo op and personalized autograph was outside of my comfort zone.)
The rest of the trip wound down after I met Cap. I swung past the famous Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee, which were yummy. We had dinner at this cool seafood place called Mr. Ed’s Seafood Bar and then on Sunday we just walked around town to sight-see and eat at Deannie’s before I headed home. Honestly, the city was beautiful and stuffed with all kinds of feasts for the eyes (and stomach). I’m so happy that Treat Yo-self 2016 went as smoothly as it did, and I will never forget meeting my favorite Avenger in the flesh. It was Item Number Four on my Bucket List, and I’m so giddy I managed it before I turned 30. It was unforgettable.
And for your viewing pleasure, here’s my informal account of meeting Chris Evans, for poops and giggles.
Yep, that’s my year, basically. Me, deliriously happy and trying to cling to my dream.
2015 has been a year of drastic change for me, as cliche as it sounds. I know people say that a lot during these yearly recap posts, but for once, it’s based on fact. I’ve been afforded opportunities in 2015 that I never imagined were possible, and in some ways, it still hasn’t sunk in that I’ve managed to achieve some pretty big goals.
Formally, my 2015 New Years Resolutions went as follows:
Finish writing and publish my upcoming YA high fantasy novel
Publish The Holy Dark as well as a box set for The Black Parade series
Sell 500 paid copies of my books
Try to get to 500 Facebook likes
Read at least ten novels
See what I mean about change? I only accomplished three of three, and only one of them I couldn’t pull off due to my own shortcomings (sorry, Harry Dresden, I got kind of busy…and lazy…) because my situations all changed. The YA high fantasy novel I had intended to finish and publish in 2016 has been shelved because I had a beta reader read it and she found so many complex, deep-settled issues in the unfinished manuscript that I decided it wouldn’t be ready in time for summer 2016. Instead, I’ve decided to shelve it for a year and then come back to see if I can more clearly identify what went wrong and how to dig out all the problems. I didn’t get to 500 Facebook likes, but that’s because I didn’t run any ads or push for it hard enough over the course of the year. We’re clocked in at 469 likes, and since my page activity is pretty much in single digits, I’m not even going to add it as a goal for 2016.
“So,” you ask. “What has changed for you in 2015, Kyo?”
Well, for one, my work started to take off. Most indie authors describe the discovery process as a boulder that you push and push and push uphill like Sisyphus until at long last, you reach the top and it starts to roll downhill. It starts at a slight incline, slowly, and then hopefully gathers speed and momentum until it’s rolling. 2015, for me, was my first incline. Thanks to the Secret Worlds boxed set and curious readers who grabbed The Black Parade as a permafree title, I’ve begun to see sell-through on the series. I wish I could give you an actual number, but Amazon for some reason refuses to put together a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet of both copies sold and money made for the whole year. Instead, it’s broken down by the month, and then by the title itself, and then by 35%/70% royalty, so it would take me at least a couple of hours to read every single spreadsheet and total it up with any sort of accuracy. Instead, I’ll try and go by monthly sales.
My bestseller of the year is estimated to be She Who Fights Monsters. The Holy Dark is right behind it in terms of sales, and it’s actually ahead of it in KU pages read. I typically sold between 35 and 50 copies of SWFM per month, and 30 to 45 copies of The Holy Dark per month after its launch in late April. The Black Parade came in third place since I took it off of its free status during the summer and fall months, so it probably sold 15 to 30 copies as a paid title, and 100 to 200 copies as a free title. My poor short story collection The Deadly Seven is straggling in last place with 20 to 26 copies. (Apparently, I love it more than the readers do. *sob sob*)
I’ve got a Bachelors in English Literature, so forgive me if my math is janky, but here’s a rough estimate of books sold in 2015, according to those rough numbers:
She Who Fights Monsters: 35 x 12 =420 minimum or 50 x 12 = 600 copies sold
The Holy Dark: 30 x 8 (it was published in April, so 12 months minus 4 months = 8 months) = 240 minimum or 45 x 8 = 360 copies sold
The Black Parade: 15 x 7 (it was removed from permafree May 1st, so 12 months minus 5 months = 7 months) = 105 minimum or 30 x 7 = 210 free copies sold; 100 x 5 = 500 minimum or 200 x 5 =1000 free copies sold
The Deadly Seven: 20 x 12 = 240 copies minimum or 312 copies sold
Summary:
The Black Parade: 105/210 copies and 500/1000 free copies sold in 2015
The Deadly Seven: 240/312 copies sold in 2015
She Who Fights Monsters: 420/600 copies sold in 2015
The Holy Dark: 240/360 copies sold in 2015
Total copies of The Black Parade series sold in 2015: 1005/1482
Man, this is why I’m a writer. Math is horrible.
My point beyond all that is that these numbers were not even a bare possibility in 2014. I’ve seen a tremendous up-rise in interest from readers. I’ve also found that I can dig deep and do something that I’d consider completely out of character for myself, like cosplaying as Lana Kane at Atlanta’s second largest convention, and hosting a panel at a convention on the total opposite side of the country. I’ve seen that even if it sounds ludicrous on paper and in my head, apparently I am capable of way more than I give myself credit for sometimes. And that’s a wonderful thing in and of itself.
2015 started off very difficult for me, but as I continued putting in the work and doing the best I could, I finally started to see desired results. That is all that I hope to continue to do for 2016. I want my boulder to keep rolling and gathering momentum. Thanks for tagging along for the ride. I am beyond grateful for all of you who have been there with me. Here’s hoping for a good year for all of us.
That’s right, my friends! After a long, profitable summer and autumn with the authors of Secret Worlds, my first novel is back at its free status again. I apologize if anyone has been confused by it staying at .99cents for so long, but it turns out our set was doing really well so we extended its duration through to the end of the year.
Please spread the word and share the link with friends, family, and new readers whenever you can. It would be a huge help. Thanks and I’ll have more news for you soon!
Happy Halloween, my friends! In celebration of our spooky holiday, I’ve got an all-new, never-before-seen short story for you told from the perspective of everyone’s favorite archdemon, Belial. It takes place between Chapters 10 and 11 of She Who Fights Monsters (The Black Parade Book 2.)
WARNING: This is a horror story. Violence, adult language, minor gore, and sexual references abound. Plus, minor spoilers for She Who Fights Monsters. You have been warned.
Enjoy!
Commission by Sarah Elkins
The list of people whom I have been unable to fuck, manipulate, or murder is very short.
In fact, there is only one person on that list.
One woman, rather.
God always did have a great sense of humor. No wonder I rebelled.
This time last week, your favorite nerdy author had the privilege of attending Dragon*Con: a science-fiction/fantasy convention in Atlanta, Georgia. I attended because I was invited by the talented Milton Davis in order to be a panelist for The State of Black Science Fiction.
I flew in from Orlando, FL Thursday night and then woke up at the crack of dawn on Friday and took the train over to the con. One thing that veterans know about the con is that there’s nothing you can do about the overcrowding problem. Dragon*Con is run out of five hotels in downtown Atlanta: Sheraton, Hilton, Westin, Hyatt, and Marriott. You’d think that’d be enough room, but it’s not. Thousands of people attend every year, and it doesn’t matter how early or late you’re at the con. You’re gonna wait in line forever and you’re gonna be mad about it because the people who run the con refuse to move it to a venue like the Georgia World Congress Center because they are apparently all Mr. Krabs.
As a result, I basically spent most of Friday morning and afternoon mapping out the con and trying to figure out how to bounce between five freaking hotels. I was able to go to a panel run by Corey Castalleno, the guy who makes the creature makeup and effects for FOX’s show ‘Sleepy Hollow.’ I couldn’t stay for the whole thing, but it was actually really nifty seeing the different concept art for the monsters on the show and how he put them together before the final shooting of the episodes. I had to head from that panel to the one I was invited to participate in.
The State of Black Science Fiction is basically an assessment of how black culture has changed over the course of the preceding year. I was joined by Milton Davis (moderator), Balogun Ojetade, Nila Brown, Ed Hall, L.M. Davis, and Gerald Coleman. Milton presented us with questions about diversity in literature, television, movies, and comic books. For instance, he mentioned how the popularity of shows like Scandal and Empire have cast light on black women in Hollywood, and have increased interest in seeing black women either on screen or writing. We discussed how the advantages and disadvantages of the trend, and how we might be able to use it to open the doors into our own work long after it’s gone. There was a good turnout for the panel, too; between 40-50 fans who also were able to ask questions towards the end of the panel.
It was a very enriching experience for me, since this was my first time ever being on a panel. I was able to answer a few questions myself as well as hear some unique opinions and perspectives from writers a little further along the career path than me. I love talking shop with other authors, and it was amazing to be able to interact with readers who enjoy diverse sci-fi/fantasy as well.
After the panel, I had dinner and then took an inadvisable trek to Joystick, which is a tiny bar about 2 miles from the con where the Black Girl Nerds meetup started at 7pm. I was lucky enough to meet the organizer, Jamie Broadnax, and engaged in some great conversation with another congoer and black author along with Milton Davis. It was an amazing environment with some truly witty, fun-loving fellow blerds.
On Saturday, I once again got up early and took the train in for a busy day of hobnobbing. The other reason I decided to attend DragonCon was because Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie, the stars of ‘Sleepy Hollow’, my guiltiest of guilty pleasure shows, attended. Nicole’s autograph session was at 2pm, and so around half-past noon, I went into the Walk of Fame where all the celebrity guests were held, and started to map out what I was going to do. Since the room was already packed to burst and there is actually an occupant limit, I decided to mill around instead of leaving and coming back, which ran the risk of not being let back in.
While I was going from table to table, I happened to run into James Urbaniak, the voice of Dr. Rusty Venture from one of my favorite animated series ‘The Venture Bros.’ I said, why the hell not, and asked him for a selfie.
While the two of us were chatting and I was setting up my phone, someone walked past me behind the table. I turn to say ‘excuse me, sorry that I was in the way,’ and find myself face to face with BILL FRICKIN’ CORBETT, aka one-third of the incredible team of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and later the incomparable Rifftrax. I instead exclaimed, “HOLY CRAP!” and then clapped a hand over my mouth and apologized profusely for setting my backpack on his side of the table.
Mr. Corbett, however, was super-nice and said not to worry about it, and I proceeded to gush like an idiot about how I had JUST been watching the Indiana Jones 4 Rifftrax the night before and how I had gone to the Rifftrax Live of Sharknado 2. Bill laughed and told me he swears they are not forcing him into riffing the third one, and we proceeded to chat about Atlanta and how he was enjoying the con so far. It was by far the most surreal experience of the entire con. The even funnier part is that I wasn’t even supposed to be at that table. I had gone over to that side of the room because I saw Bill Farmer, the voice of Goofy, and I had an hour to waste so I figured I’d see him, but he had maybe four people in line and that was when I bumped into James Urbaniak. How cool is that? I didn’t take a selfie with Bill since I had a limited amount of cash at the time, but that was an awesome freak accident if there ever was one. I am an absolutely enormous fan of Rifftrax, so this was beyond cool for a dork like me.
After that amazing random encounter, I returned to the area for Nicole Beharie and proceeded to stand in line…for a grand total of an hour and a half. It was as grueling as it sounds. One of the big things to note is that not only is Dragoncon overcrowded, but it’s also expensive and poorly run. I was in line waiting for Nicole for an hour and a half, and then ten minutes before she showed up, a staff member told us her autograph was $50, cash only. I checked my wallet. I only had $35. Which meant I wasted all that time and wouldn’t get her autograph because there was no posting that said how much she’d be, and the staff waited until the last second to tell us.
However, an extraordinary thing happened. The group of people I was in line with each donated $5 so that I could get the autograph. And I didn’t ask them for it. I was about to get my stuff and leave, but they volunteered to help out. I was overwhelmed. That is by far the biggest show of kindness from complete strangers that I’ve seen all year. I thanked them profusely and then about 20 minutes later, I was able to meet Nicole Beharie, aka Lt. Abbie Mills from Sleepy Hollow.
Meeting Nicole was everything I hoped for. She was unbelievably sweet, and very gracious. I told her that I was so grateful to have a black woman represented in a fantasy setting, and that as a black author, it was important to me that she portrayed her as so intelligent and strong and human. She scoffed when I told her I consider her a role model and told me, “You need better role models” and then I was also able to give her a paperback copy of The Black Parade. Yes, I know that’s incredibly ballsy and it was probably foolhardy, but I went for it anyway because why the hell not?
After that, I sped my way over to the Magnificent Men of Sci-Fi/Fantasy panel, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I thought it was a panel about the male characters written by the authors on the panel—one of which was Jim Butcher, author of the Dresden Files, aka my favorite series ever—but it was actually a panel about their experiences as authors, not their characters. It bummed me out that it was moderator’s questions only, no audience participation, but it actually turned out to be a really informative and fun panel nonetheless.
Last but certainly not least, I headed over to the photo op area for my much-anticipated photo op with Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie. The anticipation was killing me, but the end result was so very much worth it. I asked them to do a pose, which they thought was hilarious, and so they agreed and this is the end result.
No matter how much that trip cost, looking at this picture is always going to cheer me right the hell up. Tom gives amazing hugs, and Nicole’s “jealous” face was 100% perfection. They were both such good sports and I cannot express how much I enjoyed meeting them.
My last day at the con was Sunday morning for An Hour with Jim Butcher. I had been debating whether I wanted to get up yet again and sacrifice my sleep for being a big dumb nerdy fangirl, but I decided to go for it. What ensued is probably yet another highlight of my entire life. Please enjoy the following.
Yes, that was me holding the camera. Yes, that was unscripted. Yes, Jim Butcher is basically Satan and is the most life-ruining author of all time. And yes, I still love him with all my heart.
After that hilarious panel, I took the train to the airport and then regretfully returned to my normal life.
As stressful and expensive as Dragon*Con was, I’m still glad I went. It was my little island in the middle of a horrific storm that I’ve been trying to weather for the past several months. Even though I still think the con isn’t run anywhere near properly, I would return if invited again. Those interactions make an otherwise dull life worth living.
In celebration of the two month anniversary of The Holy Dark, and my two year anniversary as a published author, I’ve written a short story that takes place directly after Chapter 37 and before the epilogue. With that in mind, major spoilers for the ending to The Holy Dark. If you haven’t read it yet, I would advise you to return to this story once you’ve read it cover to cover.
To everyone who has loved the series and supported me so far, I offer you this story and my endless gratitude. Please enjoy!
Matrimony
“In sickness and in hell–I mean, health.”
“I’m gonna die.”
My new husband, the archangel Michael, cocked an eyebrow up at me. I brandished the two-inch white satin stiletto that had been holding my right foot hostage.
“Seriously, not even Dr. Schols could make this abomination more comfortable.”
He chuckled and knelt, tuxedo and all, in front of me. “Sorry, babe. If it helps, you look incredible.”
He slipped the other shoe off. I resisted a small shudder as his long, strong fingers stroked my ankle and the barest edge of my calf. Judging by the sly look in those sea-green eyes, he’d done it on purpose.
I smirked, keeping my voice low, so as not to tip off the guests currently filing into the reception hall that we were both being a little naughty. “Save it for fight night, handsome.”
