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Ups and Downs

I teach math when I’m not wrangling cats, directing my family, or trying to control what my characters do on page. Though I don’t teach trigonometry, one of the first things you learn in trig, is the sine wave:

No, it's not negative cosine, I created the graph myself, I just did a screen shot from a weird place.

What does this fun little graph, which isn’t negative cosine, thank you very much, have to do with anything? Well, that’s what the temperatures around here have been like week by week. Warm one week, cold, wet and snowy the next. Since I work a battery heated coat this week, I’m looking forward to all my students wearing shorts next week!

This semester, wanting to get a class I teach to have a better pass rate, I’ve implemented a few new policies. One of them is points for coming to class every day. Now, I know we’re in the midst of a lot of different illnesses, and teaching at a university, when one student is sick, they’re all sick. I do have ways students can earn points back if they miss.

That said, my policy for making up points for missing is not a way to turn my class into an online class. I’ll discuss online class in another newsletter. Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a student email me when she hasn’t attended, not with her reason for not being there, but just with the words like, what pages do I need to do? There hasn’t even been a subject, greeting, or salutation to the emails. 🙄🙄🙄

They continued like this. Nothing explaining her reason for missing class, just her obvious absence and this type of message. Ironically, the other thing I added to class was a warm-up that focused everyone for the weekly quizzes.

I’ll be honest, both these changes do seem to be helping.

Anyway, I did email the student explaining that the playlists, copies of the lessons with links to my youtube videos that mimic what I do in class, were for the few times students missed, not to replace class. She replied she had no idea that had been my plan.

Though I am skeptical, I still await her return to class.

And wait…

And wait…

As I wait, I write!

My new book is just over 30k. I would love to say that is the halfway point. I may be beyond the halfway point. I may post bits of chapter one to my facebook author page. Also, until pi-day, March 14th, if you join that page, or get a friend to join and name you as their inspiration on a post, you or they could win all three of the Ember Savita eBooks or audiobooks free! If you want to check it out, here is a link to the post!

The ARCs for Xenagogue have gone out, and three people have left reviews on goodreads. Though I’d LOVE to say everyone has given the book 5-star reviews, I know that isn’t ever going to happen. Despite two 4-star reviews, I’m not unhappy with them. 🥰

Xenagogue comes out on April 11th, pre-orders for the eBooks are up now.

If you’re looking for other books, don’t forget iheartsapphic always has deals available, as well as weekly giveaways and challenges. Check out their website and reader page on facebook. You could always nominate any of my books as your favorite for the year! I would not be completely unhappy with that. 😱🤣🤣🤣

If you’re worried about all the talk on boycotting Amazon, I’m with you. However, KU supports authors more than Amazon. And, honestly, there isn’t many other places for indie authors to sell out books. You can wait a week to pre-order or read my books, but for many authors, not buying books on amazon means they won’t be able to make ends meet.

That’s just my two-cents, for all it’s worth…

Happy March, y’all!

Huckle

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Holiday Updates 📚🦃🌲😍🔥

Hi friends! I know it’s been a few weeks since I’ve written, but don’t worry, I’m here, and I have a lot to tell you! I’ll send another update coming out, probably on Sunday.

First of all, for those of you who celebrate, happy turkey week. If you so indulge, I hope you eat all your favorite foods. If like me, you’re taking on a different type of holiday week, have an amazing time! When I was in the Peace Corps, I remember how weird it was on Thanksgiving week when it was just like any other week. Why would people in Papua New Guinea care about our Thanksgiving!

Well, I’m not working on Thursday, but the family is eating pizza, not anything traditional.

So, what big announcements do I have for you?

First of all, on December 20th and 21st, I’ll be part of The Big Gay Holiday Market, in Madison, WI. I’m so excited to be part of this event! I hope that if you’re anywhere near Madison, you’ll consider coming out to support me and others in the market.

For those of you interested in book gifts for Christmas, there is a stuff your … bookshelf! event. From December 2nd through the 7th, the fantasy site is promoting paperback. It will link each book to stores as well as author websites. The goal is to promote books for gifts.

Backing up through the calendar a bit more, on December 1st, I’ll be doing a facebook author party. If you are on facebook, and want to join The Reading Lounge, you could win lots of fun items.

Throughout the day, different authors will be celebrating Brandee Paschall, who has a new book coming out. They will be sharing about themselves and their books, and most will have prizes. I’ll be doing my bit at 7 – 7:30 Central Standard, so Chicago’s time. I’ll be highlighting all my books, but the giveaway will be Veiled Phoenix … or any of my books the winner s interested in.

So, that’s three big events … are there more? I’m hosting a white elephant this month, but I’m not sure that’s all that important.

To give you some reasons why I haven’t had many newsletters go out, I’ve been doing a lot of events. I’ve gone to Kenosha, I even did a craft fair in a mall in Illinois. That may have been the worst idea yet. People in malls seem to take books sellers as a personal offence. I went with author A.R. Grimes, and we were both baffled.

We took a self created challenge to see how many people we could complement. It was interesting seeing different people’s reactions.

Well, I hope you all are well. Drop a comment if you think I missed anything or you have any questions. Otherwise, I’ll get another of these out mid exam 3, possibly before….

Cheers!

Huckle

Huckle Book Annoucement, book event, book fair, book sale, books, Ember Savita Chronicles, huckleberry rahr, Marketing, New Book, new books, Veiled Phoenix, Xenagogue

Treat or — 📚🔥🔥🔥😘

Did you survive September? Did I?

The start of a new semester is always a challenge. New instructors, new students, new schedule, new classes, new … just new.

Because the weather in Wisconsin is nice, I’m still bopping around doing book events, so it really feels like I’m maintaining two jobs. I tell you, it’s a trip.

Okay, let’s talk books. Veiled Phoenix is out, but you know that, the book has been out since June. As has the audiobook. Moonstone Phoenix is out. They came into the world on September 27th. ACX, the biggest producers of audiobooks has been … special? challenging? exciting? frustrating? All of the above? Probably all of the above.

I actually have a few books held up in their QA maze and I can’t get a clear reason why they won’t release my stories. This isn’t the first time I’ve struggled with them and their odd requirements. I’m wondering if in the future they’ll deny my book because I didn’t perform the correct dance of their people. Don’t worry, I’ve been dancing up a storm!

As for the last book of the Ember Savita Trilogy, Battle Phoenix, I’m still hoping to move the publication date up to before Christmas of 2024. Wouldn’t that be nice? That would leave Pebble’s trilogy for 2025. (Did you notice you could pre-order Battle Phoenix AND all three of Pebble’s books??)

For those of you who have read my friend A.R. Grime’s series, Wyldling Dream, I thank you. The first two books, Wyldling Snare and Wyldling Trial are out and ready to be loved.

Well, Wyldling Armor is out (now?) Depends on when you’re reading this. It comes out on 10/8 (octopus day!). You should read this fantastic follow-up to the first two books, just check out this cover. We get to learn about more of the magic, both good and bad. There are three point of views, and one isn’t a hero! Getting into the mind of the villain is fantastic! More than that, LOOK AT THAT COVER!

If you are in Wisconsin. I’ll be at Studio Moonfall in Kenosha on October 12th. I’ll be there again 26th with A.R. Grimes if you want to get one of her books, signed.

I hope you’re having a great October, my friends, and I’ll have some great news for you in a week! Just you wait!!

Huckle

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Mid-Summer Books! 😍📚🎧

Hi my friends. As many of you know, Veiled Phoenix is out in the world! My mom, who had read the first three Jade books, read it. She said she wanted to wait for Moonstone Phoenix before reading the remainder of the Jade series. So … I guess she liked it! 🤣 That said, I’m hoping to get her to finish Jade’s college years.

When I was in Paris last summer, Andrea Kummer contacted me, saying she was interested in narrating the Jade Stone Chronicles. Getting books narrated is scary, but exciting … and very expensive.

Just over a month ago, I was in Kenosha, at a book fair, and I met Kassandr Novell. She is an up and coming narrator from Wisconsin. She sent me a book she’s worked on. Then, as things go, we got to talking and it turned out, she loved Veiled Phoenix. As of now, she has six chapters left to narrate. I can’t see it taking her more then a few days to get them done. Then ACX has to double check everything.

Yes, it’s true. The audiobook for the Ember Savita Chronicles will not wait for the full trilogy to be out!

Tomorrow I will be part of a facebook book party. A group of authors are congratulating an author whose book is coming out soon. If you’ve never been to one of these parties, I can’t suggest them highly enough.

For several hours, every thirty minutes a new author tells you about themselves, what they write, and offers something for free. All you have to do is interact with the posts and you can win signed books, or eBooks, or all sorts of things. I’ve won a ton of things in the past. They are fun, and always worth it.

When: Tomorrow, July 15, noon to 9pm Easter Standard Time, US. twelve hundred to twenty-one hundred…

Where? The Queens Library on Facebook.

Other fun news. I am part of an anthology. Paw and Pen International have put together their second anthology of cat short stories. The book comes out tomorrow. Both the first and second book are on sale right now for $2.99, but will increase to $4.99 very soon. You should go and check these books out. A lot of great authors have contributed.

If you read book 7 of Jade: Pack Presents, and wondered where those cats came from, the short story is in the second of these two books: Meowgical Tails

The first book, PurrAnormal Tails is also full of great stories.

You should get out and check them BOTH out right away. All the profits go to cat rescue, not the authors or anyone else. It is such a great organization!

Anyway, hope your July is going great!

Huckle

Huckle Uncategorized

Summer Dreaming

May is such a strange time. There are a large number of us still chugging away: work, school, homework, deadlines, and all of it. That said, for some people, finals have come and gone, school’s out, and it’s time to look towards the next chapter of 2024.

I hope no matter what you’re doing, you are finding ways to relax and have some fun.

There are a few things I’d like to discuss. First of all, I have several meet and greets around Wisconsin this summer. Some coming up soon.

Friday, May 17th, I’ll be at Studio Moonfall in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 4 – 7pm. Here is the facebook event.

Saturday, May 18th, I’ll be at Dragon Tale Books in Menomonie, Wisconsin with A.R. Grimes from 1 – 4pm. Meet the Authors-Huckleberry Rahr and Angela Grimes

Sunday, May 26th, I’ll be back at Studio Moonfall for an outdoor book event with lots of authors and other venders.

Besides planning meet and greets, I have been trying to read, write, and well, do some arithmetic. That last is mostly over now, since I am one who finished final last week. I’ve been reading through the edits of Veiled Phoenix, the first of the Ember Savita trilogy. I do believe it will be a trilogy. Once I got done finalizing that book, I read through book two, Moonstone Phoenix. I’ll probably read Battle Phoenix next.

Veiled Phoenix will be live on June 14th!!! If you were wondering.

I have two amazing critique readers who read my books and ask those probing questions that lead to me adding or subtracting words, depending on what they’ve asked. I am supremely thankful for both of them. I was going through Angela’s comments on book two and will be going through Elizabeth’s comments on book 3. Usually Elizabeth is the first to get her hands on my books.

Once I’m done reading through Ember’s books, I’ll go back to Pebble’s series. I need to do much more with her trilogy. I think the first book is probably fine, but books two and three need … more.

As well as writing the books, I’ve been getting the covers made, which is always a fun process. They are slowly getting done.

You can get more info on all of the books on their individual pages on my website.

Anyway, hope you’re May is going well!

Huckle

Huckle audiobook, Backstory - Jade, Book Annoucement, Book Suggestion, books, huckleberry rahr, jade alphas, Pebble Stone Chronicles, Xenagogue

It’s March, and We’re MAD!

Okay, not really. Actually, I’m rather happy to have survived February. It was rather mild, scarily so. I even went without a coat once. As someone living in Wisconsin, that is unheard of. The next day it was below freezing and there was snow, so that made more sense.

I just now … like a few minutes ago, listened to the first chapter sample of Pack Present, the last audiobook being made for the Jade Stone Chronicles. Andrea Kummer get’s better and better every time.

Over the last month, I wrote the first of the Pebble Stone Chronicles! I don’t know that I told you it was being written, but she’s getting her own trilogy.

I’ve updated the website. I realize it’s been awhile … too long. I spend more time writing the worrying about such trivialities. Pebble has her own pages, and I’ve given small blurbs to the books I feel comfortable summarizing. I don’t have covers yet. I’m still agonizing over how they should look. There are so many overhead bits and pieces to publishing a book!

Speaking of books, Veiled Phoenix … oh! I need to get the phoenix books up to the website! Always more to do!!! Anyway, Veiled Phoenix is with the editor. If I can get the cover made for that book, I may be able to get it published before the summer.

If you want more constant updates, I have been keeping my facebook page updated and revving with daily posts. Check it out! https://www.facebook.com/HuckleberryAuthor/

Anyway, if you want to be on the ARC team for Veiled Phoenix, a … you guessed it, a phoenix shifter book, with magic users, phoenixes, and a gender fluid main character, sign up here: https://forms.gle/rxayssoAQNNVvqzU8

An ARC means advanced read copy. I’ll send you the eBook and if you’re comfortable, you leave a review as close to the day the book publishes as you can.

Happy March Madness, my friends

Huckle

Huckle books, Flash Fiction, huckleberry rahr

Happy Holidays

Hi my friends. I hope your December has been festive and full of less sugar than mine. I’ve been practicing different dessert recipes for a few weeks, maybe months, and I’m good and sugared at this point.

I need to figure out a way to desugar myself before I turn into a sugary pastry. Anyone who wants to join me in trying to eat better or exercise, having others join in the torture is always better, just let me know.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

So, last summer Andrea Kummer, narrator extraordinaire, contacted me about the Jade Stone Chronicles. She just finished book 5. I’ve been reviewing the chapters and the book should be available in a couple weeks.

Whereas she lives in Los Angeles, she’s from Wisconsin. She came home for the holidays, and I had the pleasure to meet her. As we spoke about all things book and not book, she told me she’d had some thoughts about my characters outside of the stories I’ve written.

She inspired me to write a short story. I’ll be sending the short story out to all of you in a couple of days.

I’ve been working on my next series as well as trying to map out a Pebble series. We have a new kitten, so it’s hard to get anything done. Maybe I should have all of you vote, the phoenix shifter series or Pebble? It’s a bit of a silly vote since two of the phoenix books are written, but with the list of books I want to write I’m curious about people’s interest in the Pebble series. I mean, I know my family’s opinion!

I hope y’all enjoy these last few days of 2023. For me, it’s been a rough end of the year so I’m definitely looking forward to 2024. The new year brings my birthday month, a new semester, and the hope for new and exciting change.

Cheers!

Huckle

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Happy January!

January is such a controversial time of year. I hear a lot of people who just want to survive the month, but I love it. My birthday is in January!

Photo by Alexander Grey on Pexels.com

Traitor came out in December, and I’ve been furiously working on Pack. I’m so exciting about fifth and sixth books in the series. I was first talking to my son, and then my friend, author A.R. Grimes, and they continued to request a series about Pebble, Jade’s adopted younger sister.

Drop a comment about your thoughts on that! Does Pebble need series? Should she be straight? Gay? Nonbinary? Asexual?

I would LOVE to share fan thoughts and art in my newsletters. If you have anything I could put in the newsletter, please sent it to me so I can add it to what I send out! Fan art was one of my first dreams for my writing, so if you haven anything you’ve been doodling, please share! If you check out the website, fan art was one of the first pages I included. I’ve been waiting for you! My email is on the website, but you can send pictures to wolfhealer217@gmail.com

While you wait for the next book to come out, here is a list of January Fantasy books! These books are all on Kindle Unlimited and all series starters. Check them out!!

Below you’ll find some other books as well!

Cheers,

Huckle

Breaking Glass – Lisa Amowitz

On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, he’s not sure whether they’re real or if he’s losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself.

Starseed – Olivia Hillier

Maya has always seen the shadows. All the others are convinced something is wrong with her, leading her to a mental health diagnosis. Maya is forced into home-schooling and self-isolation.

That was until she met Cay, the only other person who can explain and share her strange abilities.

In a world filled with hidden shifters, dark spirits and unearthly beings. What has made Maya Voss an outcast is the only thing that will save the human race from the evil that is rising around them.

But awakening to Maya’s magic that lies within her is equally as dangerous as it is powerful.

As the dark presence thickens inhabiting the bodies of humans pushing them to do unlawful things.

Can Maya tame her own deep dark shadows to unleash the light within?

Move over vampires, angels & demons. There’s a new race in town. Starseed is the first book in the mythology, shadow & shifter series, and the beginning of a whole new teenage supernatural adventure.

Fans of Michelle Madow, Jen L Grey and Twilight, will love the urban fantasy/ paranormal romance dark magical adventure series by Olivia Hillier.

Bringer’s Ascension – Kelsey Ortiz

Death is only a release.
Pain is only numbness.
Loneliness is only the beginning.

Tormented by visions of the crushed and burned bodies of her guildmates, Raelynn, the only Light Bringer, hasn’t stopped running. Accompanied only by a shadow who protects her from the Brotherhood’s control, Raelynn fights against the fate she’s been told about since childhood. But when her guardian steps out of the shadows, the carefully built walls around herself crumble into dust.

To rid the world of the corrupt Brotherhood, Raelynn must learn to trust herself and to not be afraid of who she was born to be. Now, she has two choices to make: will she succumb to the darkness in her soul or will she give into the temptation of falling in love again?

Huckle book deal, book sale, books, huckleberry rahr, i heart sapphfic, jade alphas, jade epsilon, jade stone chronicles, jadetraitor, Marketing, wolf healer

Did you say a sale?

I don’t often talk about being an indie author. If you want the real story, I’ll talk. Anyone who knows me knows this about me: I like to talk!

One thing I will share is this: as a teacher I can set deadlines, and students have to follow them. As an author, an indie author, I’m held to the timelines of the people around me. I ordered a cover, but I get my covers from a Ukrainian company, and they usually need a bit extra time. I know this, and am okay with it. Beta readers, editors, reviewers, they all take time; and I may want them to be done in a day, a week (or, lets be honest, instantly) but they are people with their own lives, and to get a good critique, they need to be given time.

What does this mean? Well, Traitor comes out the first of December. That is really soon! I have a cover, the manuscript has been sent to the formatter. It is all coming together.

But you said sale! I know, I did. I partnered with i heart sapphfic once again, and Epsilon and Alphas are on sale.

Over Thanksgiving weekend in the states, the 25th to the 29th of November, you can get these two books for half off. But as you can see, there are many other books for sale. Check them all out! Support authors during the holidays, and read some excellent books.

Cheers!

Huckle

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Holiday Reading

It is mid-November and we are at the start of many many holidays and maybe cold weather. Is there anything better to pass the time than reading? I have two great promos that will warm you to the soul!

The first, is all about YA Fantasy and Sci Fi Books. Don’t miss your chance to get these books, including Wolf Healer. I know many of you have Wolf Healer, but if you want to share this link for your friends, that would be amazing. For any of these book, you register with your email, and get the book for free.

The next promotion, is a list of many amazing Fantasy Books available On Kindle Unlimited. Now, if you don’t have Kindle Unlimited, each of these books can also be purchased in other ways, but they do have the option of Kindle Unlimited as well.

In the end, these two promos will give you a ton of fun and exciting reading opportunities!

Read on my friends, and share these links with other friends!

Cheers!

Huckle