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Month: December 2019

Posted on December 8, 2019March 29, 2020

7 Takeaways from My First NaNoWriMo

If you’re in writing circles or have friends who are, odds are you’ve heard of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the annual challenge in which participants attempt to write a 50K word novel in the 30 days of November. This was my first year attempting the challenge, so I thought I’d share a few things that I gained from the experience!

Continue reading “7 Takeaways from My First NaNoWriMo”

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ljthomasbooks

✍️ Author of YA fantasy, paranormal & science fiction books
📚 Genre-hopping reader
💻 Engineer
✈️ Traveler
📍 Minnesota
🔜 THE GHOSTS OF GUNFLINT BAY

Sharing a list of Bluebeard retellings!! 🗝️🥀 Whe Sharing a list of Bluebeard retellings!! 🗝️🥀 

When I first got the idea for The Bloody Key (something like 12 years ago!), there were very few retellings of this rather macabre fairy tale on the market. Now there are dozens! It makes me so happy that more people are discovering this tale of a rich lord, his young wife, her sister and brothers, and a test involving a key to a secret room! 🏰🗝️🕯️

Have you read any of these? Are any on your TBR?

Oh, and if you're interested in my version, THE BLOODY KEY, it's on sale for $0.99 on all platforms worldwide this week in honor of #IndieApril! 🖤

#bluebeard #fairytaleretellings #fantasybooks #bookrecommendations
I'm SO excited to share the cover of my latest nov I'm SO excited to share the cover of my latest novel THE GHOSTS OF GUNFLINT BAY! 👻 

If you like Gothic vibes, murder mysteries, haunted lighthouses, small towns full of big secrets, slow burn romance, feminine rage, complicated sister relationships, and Great Lakes lore, be sure to preorder now for a discounted price of $2.99! 👻🌊🕯️⚓🌲 (Also, petition for a lighthouse emoji 😂)

🖤 Here's the full blurb! 🖤

Minnesota, 1890. Newly orphaned and nearly penniless, seventeen-year-old Evangeline Greenslade and her sister Lucy leave Chicago, heading north to find their only living relative. They’ve never met their Great Uncle Amos, who tends a lighthouse on Lake Superior, but he’s their last hope of finding a safe and stable home.

Their arrival in Gunflint Bay coincides with the disappearance of the Wiley siblings. Mystery turns to tragedy when Tabitha Wiley is found dead in the lake—by none other than Amos. Rumors have swirled around the hermit-like lighthousekeeper since the suspicious drowning of his sweetheart 40 years ago. Attempting to clear his name, Evangeline investigates Tabitha’s death. As she becomes entangled with the townsfolk, she encounters several suspects and two suitors, each with something to hide.

Thirteen-year-old Lucy Greenslade just wants a friend, someone to confide in about her ability to speak to the dead. When she meets an unusual ghost claiming to be the missing Jonah Wiley, she laments that a friend should finally come along—and he’s not even alive. Jonah claims otherwise, and, hoping to help him rejoin the living, Lucy agrees to aid him in catching his sister’s killer.

Amidst the townsfolk’s growing unease and strange happenings in the lake, the Greenslade sisters fight for their new home. They must uncover the truth about the fateful night the Wiley siblings went missing—and the mysterious death decades ago—without becoming the newest victims of Gunflint Bay.

Fans of Erin A. Craig’s SMALL FAVORS, Krystal Sutherland’s HOUSE OF HOLLOW, or other YA Gothic stories featuring ghosts, murder mysteries, and secretive communities will love THE GHOSTS OF GUNFLINT BAY!

🖤🖤

#coverreveal #bookstagram #newbooks #mysterybooks #ghoststory
Happy Indie April! 📚🎉 To celebrate this month AND Happy Indie April! 📚🎉 To celebrate this month AND The Bloody Key's three year publication anniversary (tomorrow!), this Gothic reimagining of the Bluebeard fairy tale is only $0.99 worldwide on all platforms!! 

If you like YA Gothic books like Lakesedge, Belladonna, or House of Salt and Sorrows, you'll love THE BLOODY KEY! 🗝️🥀

When her sister marries a wealthy lord, Anne is swept off with them to his castle deep in the woods. Dazzled by this new world of nightly balls and dashing suitors, Anne believes her own happily ever after is just around the corner. But then her sister falls mysteriously ill. To save her, Anne must find the cause: her sister's new husband, the prickly housekeeper, the enigmatic gardener, or the ghosts rumored to haunt the castle. 👻🏰

#indieapril #indiebooks #fairytaleretellings #gothicfiction #yafantasybooks
Earth Day 🌎🌍🌏 reading list! Whether you're looki Earth Day 🌎🌍🌏 reading list! 

Whether you're looking for nature-inspires travel writing, non fiction about the environment, cli fi, solarpunk (for a more hopeful future) or eco horror (when the Earth gets revenge), I have suggestions! 📚🌿 Some are favorite reads or ones from my TBR that I'm excited to read. I think next up will be Wild Dark Shore!

Do you see any favorites on here? Let me know in the comments!

#earthday2026 #earthdaybooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #toberead
Forgot to post my little birthday gift to myself 📚 Forgot to post my little birthday gift to myself 📚🎂 - the Sci Fi & Fantasy Book Hookup box from @strandbookstore in NYC! I loved visiting the store earlier this year and I knew they'd help me find great new hidden gems. Can't wait to read both of these!! 🤩

Voidverse by @damienlober 
The Dollmakers by @lynnwrites 

#strandbookstore #bookbox #bookstagram #sciencefiction #fantasybooks
Sneak peek!! 👁️ The cover reveal for The Ghosts of Sneak peek!! 👁️ The cover reveal for The Ghosts of Gunflint Bay is coming soon - sign up for my author newsletter if you'd like to be the first to see it! In the mean time... Here's a preview! 👻 

If you like Gothic mysteries like House of Hollow and Small Favors, you'll love The Ghosts of Gunflint Bay! 

Read for:
⚓ Great Lakes lore
🌊 Haunted lighthouse
👻 MC who can speak to ghosts
💕 Complicated sister relationship
🤐 Small town full of secrets 
🕯️ Historical, 1890 setting
🔥 Slow burn romance 
🔎 Murder mystery

Coming September 29, 2026. Available for preorder now at a reduced price of $2.99. And there will be preorder incentives to come so save those receipts!

#2026books #murdermysterybooks #yaparanormal #bookstagram #coverreveal
Had such a fantastic time at @rewindbookfair today Had such a fantastic time at @rewindbookfair today!! 📚📼 Got to meet some of my favorite authors from childhood, discover new books, meet fellow MN indie authors, and pick up some fun bookish goodies. Maybe I should apply to be a vendor next year 👀 

1️⃣ Today's haul! So many new books I'm excited to read / give! And most of them are signed by the authors 💅
2️⃣ Books I already owned that I got signed today by Kate Dicamillo, Peter S Beagle, and Gail Carson Levine 💕
3️⃣ @rebecca_froehlich and I meeting one of our author heroes @gailcarsonlevine !! Her fairy tales were a huge inspiration to me in writing my own YA fantasy books 🫶

#rewindbookfair #bookfair #bookhaul #bookevent #gailcarsonlevine
10 FREE ways to support indie authors this #IndieA 10 FREE ways to support indie authors this #IndieApril! 🐸🪷

🎨 Flower and Toad, Zhang Xiong (1803-1886), The Met

Have you found or read any new indie books this month?? Tell me about them in the comments!

#indiebooks #indieauthorsofinstagram #selfpublishing #indieauthor
What would you give for things to go back to norma What would you give for things to go back to normal after the end of the world?

This is a little sample of the audiobook for We Survivors, my post-apocalyptic sci fi adventure!

Read for:
🏹 Survival skills
🔥 Slow burn romance
🧬 Weird science
💕 Found family
🚗 A high stakes road trip

#audiobooktrailer #audiobookstagram #booktrailer #audible #audiobooklove
I've been working on learning how to create charac I've been working on learning how to create character art. Meet Anne & Sebastian from The Bloody Key! 🗝️ It's a work in progress, but I'm having fun!

Which background is your favorite? (Poll in comments)

Check out their slow burn romance in The Bloody Key. Perfect for fans of Belladonna or House of Salt and Sorrows. 🖤

When her sister marries a wealthy lord, Anne is swept off with them to his castle deep in the woods. In an enchanted world of nightly balls and dashing suitors, Anne believes her own happily ever after is just around the corner. But then her sister falls mysteriously ill. To save her, Anne must discover the cause: her sister's new husband, the prickly housekeeper, the handsome but secretive gardener, or the ghosts rumored to haunt the castle 👻

Read for:
🥀 Gothic vibes
🗝️ Bluebeard fairy tale retelling
👻 Haunted castle
🏰 Black Forest inspired setting
🕯️ Unbreakable sister bonds
🗡️ Murder mystery
🖤 Slow burn romance

#yafantasybooks #characterart #bluebeard #fairytaleretellings #bookstagram
Indie books 📚 >>>> Apparently I now have so many Indie books 📚 >>>>

Apparently I now have so many indie paperbacks that I can't fit them all in one flatlay! An excellent problem to have. 😊

How's your #IndieApril going? Have you discovered any new books? Let me know, I'm always looking for more!!

#indiebooks #indieauthorsofinstagram #bookflatlay #booksofinstagram
After disease and nuclear warfare decimate the wor After disease and nuclear warfare decimate the world population, 17-year-old Nadia is sure she's the last person left alive. Then she hears a voice on her radio... 

This post-apocalyptic sci fi adventure is free to read on KU and available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook (skillfully narrated by Darby Kennerly on Audible, Amazon & Apple Books). If you like slow burn romance, found family, survival skills, weird science, and high stakes road trips, you'll love WE SURVIVORS 🏹

#audiobooktrailer #audiobookstagram #postapocalypticfiction #postapocalypse #yascifi
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