One year ago today I published Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival. It’s a small book but I’m very happy with how it turned out.
To celebrate the one year anniversary I wanted to share some of the fan art I’ve gotten over the past year.
First up is Daisy Dunlap by Claire B. You can see Daisy’s been through a rough night. This image also includes her Daisy Daffodil doll.
Claire also took a stab at Tom. Look close and you can see his green thumb.
This next drawing is from Nathalie S. One of my earliest readers. She depicts Daisy in pencil. Clearly at the beginning of the night before it got scary.
But just incase his cuteness fools you she also made one with very clear text.
Have you read Daisy Dunlap And the Cartoon Carnival yet?
I’ve been describing it as mascot horror but wholesome. Think of Five nights at Freddy’s, Bendy and the Ink Machine, and Poppy Playtime. Daisy Dunlap is all the mystery and fun without the dead kids in the animatronic suits.
Today Is two things. Thing one is the cover reveal for H.L. Burke’s newest superhero book. It’s also exactly one week before the big Realm Makers Expo in Grand Rapids Michigan.
Realm Makers is an amazing faith based writing conference. I go every year and it’s always a blast. This year though they are hosting a fan expo simultaneously with the conference. I won’t have a table there but my books will be available through the Realm Makers bookstore. I’ll Also be walking around so if you see me don’t be afraid to say, Hi!
Scroll to the end for a fun thing happening at the Expo!
You know who else will be at Realm Makers?
H.L. Burke! The author of the ever expanding SVR superhero universe.
Check out the awesome new cover for the 8th book in the Superhero Romance Project: The Supervillain’s Bodyguard.
A funny, heartfelt new superhero romance that takes you cross country on a race for survival. Featuring a brand new match up, this time of a normie guy and a superpowered gal.
Read it as a standalone or catch up with the series in Kindle unlimited .
Show off your puzzler skills and enter to win epic prizes at the inaugural Realm Makers Expo!
The Fiction Fairies have scattered challenges throughout the Expo. Fun puzzles for you to solve.
Every puzzle you solve enters you in a drawing to win TWELVE epic puzzles! Solve every puzzle to increase your chances and receive special rewards along the way.
To Play:
Find participating booths on the Expo floor.
Solve the puzzles.
Scan the QR codes and enter your answer and contact info.
The winner will be drawn Saturday at 5pm so the prize can be collected on Saturday or Sunday.
Book 2 in the Young Adult Superhero series Supervillain Legacy Project, GAME CHANGER, IS HERE!!!
This story continues the tale of Oliver, Ruby, and Curran, the Camp Sable teen team, but this time the stakes are a lot higher and actual lives are on the line. https://amzn.to/4jtttOX
Growing up is hard. Growing up with superpowers? It’s … a lot.
What would you sacrifice to save your father? At only seventeen, Oliver Ortiz-Shelby has led his friends to victory in the Sable Games, marking him as the most promising superpowered youth in the country. With superhero teams offering internships, colleges promising scholarships, and the general admiration of his peers, his future is brighter than ever—until a supervillain attack threatens to upend everything. When a banquet hosted by an up-and-coming superhero and politician turns into a firefight, innocent lives are lost. The top suspect? Oliver’s beloved father, reformed supervillain Switch.
Oliver knows his father would never return to the villain life, but with evidence mounting against Switch, even his friends begin to doubt him. Realizing the authorities have made up their minds, Oliver decides he has no other choice. He’s taking matters into his own hands, even if it means leaving everything he’s worked so hard for behind.
Looking for your next Superhero obsession? Get GAME ON Free 6/26-6/30. An underdog teen team story featuring epic superpowers, friendship, and family bonds. Get book 1 FREE then grab book 2’s New Release to have it waiting when you’re done. https://amzn.to/3G2Wq5S
NEW RELEASE! The Supervillain Rehabilitation Project Universe EXPANDS with an epic new novella, written by Amber Gabriel, published by H.L. Burke.
STRETCHED THIN
Pulled between crime and the law, the Rubber Bandit is about to snap.
It’s hard enough keeping a job as a former supervillain without every gang initiate, cocky teen, and local tough trying to pick a fight with the notorious Rubber Bandit.
Elam Bentley has worked at the bar as a bouncer for 3 months. His criminal background makes spotting a fake ID easy. When an under-aged, super-powered teen’s escapades cause havoc, his employer reluctantly has to let him go. Unemployed and still under scrutiny from the local superhero team, what is he going to do?
Though Elam would love to see the look on his superhero nemesis Byte’s face, there’s no way he’s joining the Department of Super-Abled. At least that’s what he thinks until recently promoted Detective Fang asks him to go undercover.
Feeling he owes Fang, Elam agrees, but because he is a Sable, he has to go through DOSA to do it. Can he suck it up and do the job, or will the temptation to return to criminal life be too strong?
This newest Novella in the SVR universe is the first one written by someone other than H.L. Burke.
Amber Gabriel has contributed to the SVR lore before as an author in the DOSA Files anthologies. Now she takes her character, Elam, from those stories and gives him room to grow as a person.
Amber does a fantastic job of mirroring Burke’s style and tone from the original SVR series while still making this book her own.
The plot line and final resolution of the story are so perfectly suited to the world building that I am surprised it hasn’t already been done. 10/10 perfect addition to the SVR universe.
Want More Rubber Bandit?
If you want to read more about the Rubber Bandit you can find him in the following books. *indicates an Amazon affiliate link.
So remember that Kickstarter I was promoting? Well the fruits of that endeavor are now available. If you have read and enjoyed volume one then go grab the next two.
On a personal level I’m very excited because DOSA Files volume II features a sequel to my volume I story. If you loved getting to know Violet Revelt in the Realm Award finalist story “Letting Off Steam,” then you won’t want to miss the continuation of her story in, “London Bridge is Falling Down.”
Shifters! Flyers! Lightning! Fire! Choose your power and join the fun. 17 Epic Superhero Stories await. Volumes II & III available now! Technically… the MCU has about 34 movies. The DOSA-Verse has 21 (current) books and 29 short stories. Just sayin’.
Did you know Volume I of the DOSA Files includes THREE Realm Award finalist stories? One of them is mine! We have to wait until July 18th to learn who the winners are, so until then I’ll just enjoy the honor of being a finalist.
Check out this ELECTRIFYING new cover for GAME CHANGER, H.L. Burke’s upcoming Superhero book release. Book 2 in the Young Adult Superhero series Supervillain Legacy Project.
This story continues the tale of Oliver, Ruby, and Curran, the Camp Sable teen team, but this time the stakes are a lot higher and actual lives are on the line.
What would you sacrifice to save your father?
At only seventeen, Oliver Ortiz-Shelby has led his friends to victory in the Sable Games, marking him as the most promising superpowered youth in the country. With superhero teams offering internships, colleges promising scholarships, and the general admiration of his peers, his future is brighter than ever—until a supervillain attack threatens to upend everything.
When a banquet hosted by an up-and-coming superhero and politician turns into a firefight, innocent lives are lost. The top suspect? Oliver’s beloved father, reformed supervillain Switch.
Oliver knows his father would never return to the villain life, but with evidence mounting against Switch, even his friends begin to doubt him. Realizing the authorities have made up their minds, Oliver decides he has no other choice. He’s taking matters into his own hands, even if it means leaving everything he’s worked so hard for behind.
Game On is in the running for the Readers’ Choice category of the REALM AWARDS! Have you read it yet? You can get the ebook FREE May 2-6! Grab it, read it, if you like it, give it a vote.
This is the last of the self promo posts for a while but I wanted you to know some exciting things happening this weekend. First off: Remember that social platform I told you about?
I’m going to participating in a Q&A event in the Realm Sphere. The Q&As are only available to subscribing members but there is a 30 day free trial.
My time slot is Saturday at 3pm eastern time. Once you make your account and sign up for you subscription then you just get on the realm Sphere at the correct time. If you are a subscribing member then you should see the live banner at the top of the scree. Click on that to join.
This has been the week of exciting news! First on Monday I got the news that my short story “Letting Off Steam,” is one of the finalist for the short audio category of the Realm Awards! This is the first time I’ve ever finalled. I am excited to see if I win the award but at the same time looking at the three finalists makes me want to point somethings out.
First thing I want to point out is that the entries list the narrator and the publisher of each submission. The author gets no mention. Anyway even though “Letting Off Steam” is listed under the name of the talented narrator Rena Gail. I promise that I wrote it.
The other thing to point out is that these are not all short stories.
Sing to Me of Rain, is a novella by E.B. Dawson and narrated by Lila-May Murdoch.
The Prophecy’s Chosen Heir, is a middle grade novel written and self-narrated by Trista Shaye.
My little steampunk superhero story is on the longer side of short but it’s still under ten thousand words. Make of this what you will.
The DOSA Files has two other finalists.
“Rethink” by H.L. Burke and “Playdate” by Jenelle Leann Schmidt both finalled in the short story category.
This little superhero anthology is really getting it’s time in the spotlight.
Today I got the Second Announcement:
Daisy Dunlap and the cartoon Carnival is one of the Reader’s Choice nominees. That means that you can help get it to the top by voting for it.
However there are some catches:
You can only vote once. Any duplicate entries will be disqualified.
Only vote for books you’ve read. Be fair to the authors.
List your Top 3 favorites. If more than one book stood out, we want to know.
Voting happens in the RealmSphere.
What this means is that you need to create a free account in the RealmSphere (a social media platform where authors and readers can get together and discuss books, writing, or anything creative really.)
Once you create your account make sure you know which three books you’re voting for before you start voting. Because. you only get one entry. There are 25 books that got nominated and you may recognize some of them.
THE TOP 25 NOMINEES
A Stolen Heart, by Selina R. Gonzalez
Blood of the Stars, by Karyne Norton
Daisy Dunlap & the Cartoon Carnival, by C.O. Bonham
Falling Through the Black, by E.A. Hendryx
Flashpoint, by C.M. Banschbach
Game On, by H.L. Burke
Guardian, by Cathy McCrumb
Hearts of Stone and Steel, by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
Hybrid, by Candace Kade
Ignite, by Kara Swanson
Lightshed, by Crystal D. Grant
Memoria, by J.J. Fischer
Mortal Queens, by Victoria McCombs
Page Magic, by Dawn E. Dagger
Protector, by Megan Schaulis
Saints and Monsters, by Ellen McGinty
The Chaos Grid, by Lyndsey Lewellen
The Immortal Abyss, by Katherine Briggs
The Nightmare Virus, by Nadine Brandes
There Bleeds the Light, by Andrea Renae
Thread of Dreams, by Emily Barnett
To Weave the Wind, by Sharon Rose
Waters Break, by Sophia L. Hansen
What Comes of Attending the Commoner’s Ball, by Elisabeth Aimee Brown
Winter’s Maiden, by Morgan L. Busse
Now that you have your RealmSphere account, you can come hang out next week at the Realm Makers, Spring Book Fest. It’s April 24th through the 25th.
There’s going to be fun, games, giveaways, and author Q&As.
And don’t forget: to vote for a book you need to have read it.
Have you read Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival yet?
A while ago I dropped a quick teaser about Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival being available in audiobook on Audible but that it would be available on other platforms soon.
Soon is now! You can find Daisy Dunlap on the following wide platforms for less than the audible asking price. (Because I can’t set the price on audible but I can on the others.)
And of course Amazon where you can also find the ebook and paper versions of the story: https://amzn.to/4216XY0
The Audio Book is read by the talented Rena Gail who has read books for authors such H.L. Burke and W.R. Gingell. To see more of her work check out her website here: https://www.renagail.com/
About Rena Gail Narrations
Rena Gail is a talented audiobook narrator with a passion for bringing fictional characters to life. With years of experience in the industry and a passion for continuous learning, Rena has honed her craft and is dedicated to immersing listeners in their favorite books. She takes pride in her work and strives to deliver high-quality performances every time.
Join me on Facebook on Monday, April 7th, while I take over the group Fellowship of Fantasy Indie book Club to talk about Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival. There will be fun games and maybe a giveaway or two. https://www.facebook.com/groups/FellowshipofFantasyBookClub
An new SRV Universe Novella Written by one of the anthology authors.
A video call with multiple authors from the DOSA Files 1,2, and 3.
Exclusive chapter header Illustrations for both Anthologies.
The next stretch goal is Audiobooks but we need about $330 to reach it.
Why back the Kickstarter?
Wholesome superhero stories
New Preorder added for Game Changer the sequel to Game On.
Support indie authors
Written by amazing voices.
No AI art used.
If we reach the goal, the Audiobooks will be narrated by talented human narrator Rena Gail.
Four of the stories from the first anthology were long listed for the Realm Awards so you know the ones in Vol, 2 and 3 will be great.
Being Long Listed for an award just means you’ve moved on to round two where they whittle down the list even more. This is still a big deal because the Realm Awards is pretty competitive.
Oh did I mention that one of the four long listed stories was mine! I am trying not to get my hopes up but it’s so exciting. We’ll know soon who’s making it to the final round.
