Welcome! Adventure Seekers

Personal Anecdotes:
Well March was interesting! It was bitterly cold since the ground hog (February second) predicted six additional weeks of winter. And then the melting started. Remember the mounds of snow in my previous newsletter? It’s been a bit of a sloppy mess, but oh the warmer weather is so welcome. (Love watching the kids in their splash-able onesies.)

There were a few other unexpected occurrences this month: my mom’s husband was rushed to the hospital with a heart attack, so she needed extra help. Thankfully, Peter is home and well into recovery. There also doesn’t seem to be any long-term damage. We are thankful. And my car has been making some strange noises for a while. I mentioned it to my mechanic (a while ago) but nothing was done. Well, it appears that the top part of the engine wasn’t getting any oil, so guess what?! It needed to be re-built. Thankfully, the parts came in and and everything was covered by insurance.

This past month has felt like a bit of a roller coaster with bad news then good news then bad news then good news. Perhaps the biggest take-away is staying positive and finding the good in everything. My family has been so supportive and all the extra home time has given me more writing time. 

Writing Stuff:
Last month, I also contacted a number of you for feedback. You are the community members who opted for, The English Teacher’s Diaries, when signing up for my newsletter. Thanks for the feedback! It sounds like the book was a hit except that the English teacher forgot to check all her grammar errors. (LOL) No worries. The grammar is the last step before publishing. Anyway, the book did get a clean-up and I entered it in a contest, so a few exciting ideas are percolating regarding release of this series, but more on that in future newsletters. 

Team Building:
Alright community of amazing individuals! This past month I’ve been planning on making some changes and you are needed and invited to join in. This is completely voluntary and only interested individuals need apply. If you’re content being a less active member of the community, no worries, you are still most welcome. 

However, every author needs a few more involved members on their team, so I’m looking for Beta readers and ARC readers. Each of these roles are completely voluntary and require you to help within a specified timeframe. Keep reading to find out: 

Beta Team:
For Beta readers, you would be given a book and then required to respond with suggestions for improvement and edits needed to the manuscript. (Not the same as professional editing, but some people do have the magical ability to catch everything.) NOTE, the early edition of the book you receive will have errors. If you love to pick out the grammar and technical issues, or point out where the plot has problems, then this role welcomes you. You can also provide a review for Amazon and / or Goodreads regarding the final version. (Preferably positive and honest =3 stars or higher) (If you have absolutely nothing good to say about the book, send me an email and let me know that you won’t post a review. There are others who will like it.)

ARC Team:
For ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) readers, you would receive a copy of a book one month before the release date. This will most likely be the almost final version of the book (depending on editing). On release day (or within a few days after release), you would need to write and leave a review on Amazon and / or Goodreads (preferably positive and honest =3 stars or higher). (If you have absolutely nothing good to say about the book, send me an email and let me know that you won’t post a review. There are others who will like it.)

Now, please know that I do respect that life happens, so if you are unable to provide feedback (Beta readers) or an immediate review (Beta and ARC), then I do understand. In these circumstances, please send me a quick email so I’m aware.  

Community:
One other thing about our amazing community is there are members who’d love to buy my books but are unable to because I’m exclusive to Amazon. I’m hoping to expand but KU is very helpful for new authors and Amazon requires exclusivity if using KU. Therefore, I will create a Patreon account. Patreon is essentially becoming a patron of my work. There are different levels and amounts of support you can give for different purposes. Patrons can provide regular financial support or support for each book release. The support cost will be similar to the price of the book. The benefits: you receive all my books before release date in the format you like. For me: I get 95% of the sales (Amazon is 35% or 70% depending on book price). Please note that I’m not asking anyone to become a patron, I’m only offering it as an alternative means of purchase. I will let you know when the account is set up and running. 

Please send an email to me if you’d like to join one of these teams and regarding your preference of involvement (Beta Team, ARC Team, or Patreon), so I can email you and your team directly. If you’re curious and would like more information, then please send an email and let’s chat. Thank you so much for your consideration and involvement!

Short Stories:
Head on over to  my webpage and check out this month’s story:

Magic Lessons This story is part of The Original and takes place in September when Brie returns home. The elders have talked her into working with the teens and their magic. As a doctor, teaching doesn’t come naturally to her. New teacher. Teens with magic. What could possibly go wrong?

By the way, are you enjoying these companion short stories? Send an email and let me know. OR leave a like and a comment on my webpage. I won’t post the comments, but knowing your preferences is helpful. Especially if you’d like more.

Thanks for reading and being a part of the community. My next letter will be out in May. Stay connected by sending an email. It’s always great to hear from you. 

Wishing you the very best!
K. M. Wray

Psst! You’ll be hearing from me again later this month (around April 20th). You won’t want to miss this post!