Beta readers, are you ready?
Dear friends.
There's lots to say, so let's begin! :)
Young Adult Litterature Convention (YALC), London, UK
I was invited by fellow author Rachel Churcher to participate in the 2020 Young Adult Litterature Convention, which normally takes place in London, UK, but was moved to a virtual platform. Rachel brought an awesome group of YA authors together in July and we all gave a live reading of our books on Twitter under the #AtHomeYALC banner.
You can find out more and listen to the authors' broadcasts here: http
Readers who watched the multiple broadcasts were invited to participate in giveaways. Thank you to all those who participated to win a signed paperback copy of Ben Archer and the Cosmic Fall!
The winner is:
Manognya
Manognya: congratulations! I will send you an email shortly. Please check your inbox and/or spam folder.
Cheryl Carpinello's Writing Pages
Cheryl interviewed me on the creativity process for her impressive blog, Carpinello's Writing Pages.
You can read the interview here: http://
Make sure to check out her Blog Archive for many, many more author interviews!
Ben Archer and the Star Rider (The Alien Skill Series, Book 5)
- Blurb:
BEN IS KIDNAPPED.
Thirteen-year-old Ben Archer has decided to reveal his alien powers to the media. Not because he wants to, but because he thinks it will help him get his message out to the world. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned when the media portrays his skill like a circus sideshow.
And not all eyes that are watching are friendly...
When Ben is kidnapped, his alien friend, Mesmo, spares no effort to find him. Mesmo thinks the rebellious Wise Ones and mysterious UFO sightings may have something to do with Ben’s disappearance. But when he goes to investigate, he uncovers an earth-shattering threat instead.
Will the two friends find each other in time to face the return of the Toreq?
- Publishing date:
September 17, 2020.
- Preorder link:
E-book: https://www.amazon.
I'll let you know in my September newsletter if I decide to do set up a paperback preorder link.
- Beta reader opportunity!
Ok, I'm talking to YOU, beta reader.
Beta readers have provided me with invaluable feedback on the Ben Archer stories BEFORE they were published, and I would love to continue the tradition.
However, I have to admit I had a hard time juggling the feedback from 10 beta readers the last time, even though I loved the constructive comments!
Anyway, I've decided to go with 5 beta readers this time. Please mention if you are familiar with the Middle East and Dubai (culture, food, geography, language...) or with horses. This is not required, as I've spoken to sensitivity readers, but your knowledge is certainly welcome.
How can you apply to beta read Ben Archer and the Star Rider (The Alien Skill Series, Book 5)?
- Send an email to raeknightly@gmail.com
- Email title: Application to beta read Ben Archer and the Star Rider
- Subject (copy/paste):
Hi Rae,
I would like to apply to beta read Ben Archer and the Star Rider.
I understand that a beta reader gives constructive feedback on the story (plot holes, errors, inconsistencies...)
I understand that my comments must be returned to the author by August 24, 2020.
I understand that I cannot reveal any details of the plot until after the book publishes on September 17, 2020.
I understand that this story is copyrighted and cannot be copied or distributed for sale or otherwise.
I confirm that I have read all the books in the series.
- I will email the chosen beta readers with a link to the book next week :)
What's up in the neighbourhood?
My "What's up in the neighbourhood" chapter is becoming embarrassingly short.
The reason is, well, er... there's nothing much up in the neighbourhood... My family and I are still self-isolating and will continue to do so for another month or two. Exciting, huh?
Fortunately, we can enjoy the sunshine in our yard, cool off in an inflatable pool and eat yellow plums off of our neighbour's tree to our heart's content. Our blueberries were terribly sour, we only got a handful of peas, but I'm bracing for mountains of tomatoes pretty soon.
Oh! And we saw comet Neowise with our children's binoculars. Did you see it? There are apps that you can install on your phone to observe the stars. Download the app and point your phone at the night sky... It's mesmerizing!
Check out: Star Walk 2, SkyView Lite, Night Sky or Sky Guide.
August 2020 reading list
While you wait for Ben Archer and the Star Rider, you need something to sink your teeth into, right? I bet you'll find something to your liking in the massive reading list below. Take a look!
2020 by Ben Spies
**Award winning teenage author Ben Spies launches his first science-fiction!!**
Earth's orbit is moving closer to the Sun and our planet is heating up at an alarming rate.
The spacecraft sent by NASA to find a new home for the human race has been destroyed by an alien force.
Twelve-year-old Jacob and his mother Susan are fighting for survival while witnessing the horrors of an apocalyptic world. With so many threats to our planet, the enemy may not come from outer-space, but from right here among us.
Susan and Jacob are quickly running out of time. However, hope might be on its way after all... just not from where they expected.
Will Susan and Jacob survive? Or will they fall prey to this dreadful, chaotic world?
Cataclysm Epoch by Paul Heingarten
An alien threat. A desperate populace. One hope to avert a future no one wants.
Forced into a life she hates by the government of Lebabolis, the last human nation on Earth, Ana must comply with her pre-ordained future or undergo Realignment.
But when her brother falls ill, Ana joins up with the resistance in an attempt to flee Lebabolis—only to learn that the true threat lies elsewhere: an alien race known as the Omegans.
All of this was foreseen. A thousand years ago a man living in New Orleans had imagined the future Ana now lives in. He wrote about the resistance, the alien menace, everything.
Desperate to save themselves and the remnants of the human race, the resistance formulates a plan to do the only thing they can think of.
Travel back in time to save the future.
With her enemies closing in, Ana knows this is her one chance to save herself, her brother, and the resistance. Failure is death and the neverending enslavement of humanity.
Freedom by Fire by C.P. MacDonald
His Kingdom and family ripped from him. Forced into hiding and hunted. Will the truth of his past destroy him? Or free him?
Blayne Maxwell is the Royal Prince of Dunadd, yet all he craves is the freedom to be himself. Until a dictator betrays his family, invades his world, and pursues him across planets. Then he discovers the universe is not as simple as he thought, and freedom requires a high price.
Enter a complex universe of Kingdoms, ruthless tyrants, outlaw pirates, and mystical gypsies. With whispers of an unknown threat lurking on the fringes of the three colonized solar systems. An enemy that has been hunting for humanity for hundreds of years.
The TriadVerse is filled with secrets and mysteries... if Blayne dares to search for them.
Mercury's Shadow by PJ Garcin
A civilization changing technology threatens the future of humanity — can a young girl from the outer system stop it all?
Imogen “Chim” Esper is thrust into the center of an interplanetary conflict when her father is injured on a spacewalk on a mining station. Haunted by guilt over her own role in the events leading to the accident and the cold indifference of the Kardashev corporation, Chim struggles to find her place in a society that is poised for revolutionary transformation.
The Kardashev Corporation dominates all commerce and politics in the solar system after coming to prominence in the great expansion led by space mining. Alton Neal, the CEO of Kardashev is hell bent on transforming society by capturing the full energy output of the sun.
Citizens of Earth and the stations throughout the system must band together to protect access to the lifeblood of the system or risk becoming permanently enslaved to the Kardashev Corporation.
The Illegal by Steven Cortinas
Welcome to Legacy City, America’s nightmare. Poverty and pain are the norm, the local cops and politicians are corrupt, the crime families rule with an iron fist, and they are all profiting from a ravenous new drug called “The Trip”, which has been tearing its way through lower-class neighborhoods. Just when all hope seems lost, a real-life vigilante shows up and begins raising Hell one block at a time. His name…The Illegal. As a survivor of Mexico’s Latin X Program, he is an enhanced, obsessive-compulsive killing machine whose rampage forces his enemies to hire the most dangerous assassins in the world. Between the endless parade of monsters after his blood, and the Trip on the cusp of going global, the Illegal accepts that he can’t win this fight alone. A team must be assembled, one that includes a young protégé that’s ready and willing to take up the mantle of the maraca.
Neanderthal King by Matt Ward
What if Neanderthals hadn’t died off? What if they were smarter, stronger, and more capable than we ever thought, and enslaved the earliest Homo Sapiens?
What if all that changed during the Middle Ages?
The once great Rortik empire is in ruins, Thal lands laid waste by the dark king and his fellow rulers. Damned Sapien crossbows... D’rori Orik throws up a last-ditch defense as her children flee, only to be slaughtered by Isaac’s butchers.
But one babe escapes the mad king’s fury.
Raised as the son of a simple Thal herder, Malek’s a rough lad with the temper of his people, a scorn for his rulers, and less than a little creativity. In a word, your average Thal. And life’s pretty good, until Isaac’s crusade resumes and forces Malek into uneasy slavery.
A mysterious gypsy, a whispered prophecy, his master’s murder… Malek’s forced on a whirlwind adventure of banditry, battles, and impending war as the truth of his existence threatens everything.
The Green Boy by Sherif Guirguis & Isaac Michaan
The fate of two worlds rests on the shoulders of a few unsuspecting souls, and it all begins with the journey of a boy who wants to find the truth behind his own existence.
Enter Inner Earth, Agartha, a land where the color of your soul's Aura defines you.
Ethan, a fourteen-year-old young man, discovers he has a green aura, the last of an extinct race. He leaves the secret school of Nafoura in search of the truth of his own origins, in a desperate search to find a home to call his own.
Joined by a girl from our earth, Mara, and an exiled shapeshifter, Darren; Ethan must seek the Chronicler of Agartha, a mythical being rumored to have all the answers.
But there is another who is chasing them doggedly, the woman who killed off the green nation, Ethan's people, and she has placed a huge price on Ethan's capture.
Unaware of the reward for his capture, Ethan rushes forward to his destiny, inadvertently stepping into the web on an ancient prophecy, one that might spell salvation or doom for his and our world.
Will Ethan achieve his goal, or will he doom two worlds in his quest?
Unlucky Charm by Kimberly Gordon
A female cop, hot men with strange powers, and the murder trial of the century
An action comedy with superheroes
Being a Super isn't all it's cracked up to be...
Trouble follows Officer Katherine Carter wherever she goes, and her latest antics are drawing attention from the media, the Chicago Police Review Board, and a gorgeous glowing man with abilities as strange as her own. Her unique physical talents get her into hot water at work as things get steamy with Officer Antonio Valdez, who might just have a few new career options for her, among other things.
Meanwhile, illusionist Hugh Harrison is attracting his own firestorm of unwanted attention. Poisoned by a jealous woman and hexed by another, he faces the trial of the century for making his brother disappear--permanently. No prison can hold him for long, but his health condition slows him down as he tries to find out what really happened and protect an underground community of people who share his extraordinary powers.
Stay safe and keep reading!
Rae