Life, as always, has been busy in my little corner of the world. My kids are still in skating lessons and swimming outside of school hours until March, and I've been juggling several writing projects in between the other home/life/family things. To go along with that, I started teaching a drawing class at my local art gallery, which has been super fun. AND, I got cast in a play that my local theatre group (shout out to Prairie Players!) is putting on. I get to play a battle axe nurse - should be a blast. So there is never a dull moment it seems. But for today, I wanted to give you an exciting update about my humorous short story collection Let Your Lips Twitch... It is officially released! It's available wherever books are sold, and I couldn't be happier.
In case you don't remember from my last post, here's a reminder of what the book is all about.
Comedy is everywhere if you allow yourself to see it—to feel it. It can be subtle or overt, dark or joyous, adorable or cheeky. Such ageless versatility is beyond compare. Curated with that in mind, author R.A. Clarke proudly presents sixteen humorous stories to the world.
Between these covers, you'll find short fiction in several genres. Each tale is infused with unique characters and comical situations, some rooted in reality, others certainly not. Flip the page and join a jewel heist executed by bumbling thieves at a gastronomy party, meet a lowly soul gifted the fantastical chance to redo an all-consuming moment of regret, or sweat alongside a father as he realizes his daughter is growing up too fast. Turn another page and you’ll enjoy clowning around while meeting Mr. Right, then zoom in on a perfectly focused meet cute, or feel Mother Nature’s wrath as a rebellious fishing excursion goes all kinds of wrong. There is something in this collection for everyone to enjoy, including eight never-before-seen stories. Allow yourself to be entertained and whisked away. Let humour in all its glorious forms tempt your lips to move. Don’t fight the urge. Embrace it. Go ahead and let your lips twitch.
There's my new book, available in ebook and paperback! It contains sixteen stories of varying lengths and humour, and includes eight tales that have never been read before. A few have even placed in or won writing contests. I hope you'll consider picking up a copy for yourself or someone else you think might enjoy it. It would definitely make a great Valentines Day gift. <3
You can buy the book on my website, click the cover image above, or click HERE to purchase.
Let Your Lips Twitch is also on Goodreads, so make sure to add it to your "want to read" list. Here's the link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/67354583-let-your-lips-twitch
And if you do happen to read my book, I'd love to hear how you liked it. Please leave a review!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ AN EXCERPT OF MY SCIENCE FICTION WESTERN NOVEL?
Another fun bit of news I want to share with everyone is that my sci-fi western novel Race to Novus is complete (after five drafts of self-editing) and I've sent it off to an editor for a bit of grammar polishing before I begin querying literary agents this spring. How exciting is that!?
For fun, I thought I'd show you the placeholder cover I used for this project on the NaNoWriMo website, and also share a short excerpt just for you guys. Nothing beats a good teaser, right?
"The riser doors opened again and a wave of brilliant violet light washed over me. The smell of hot metal and exhaust permeated the air as we strode down the ramp onto the docking pad. I hadn't bothered to engage my breather since I'd been assured the atmosphere was safe on Joya. Interestingly, the air seemed denser. It tickled my throat a bit, but not uncomfortably so.
I led Herc out.
At the entrance to the pathway leading into the settlement stood four sharply dressed individuals I assumed to be Governus representatives. A crowd had gathered behind them, comprising a mixture of racers and Egan residents—colony folk. Broad smiles of welcome split the local’s faces. Tipping my cowboy hat, I smiled back. Other racers disembarked from several exit doors spaced down the length of our robust transport vessel, filtering into the fray. A bottleneck formed up ahead where participants stopped to provide their own customary greetings to the organizers. Layered voices and engines of all kinds hummed and growled to life as the procession slowly moved along. Herc’s ears flicked in all directions while he surveyed our chaotic surroundings." Excerpt from Race to Novus by R.A. Clarke (Copyrighted by Rachael Clarke, 2021).
MEANWHILE, IN OTHER WRITING NEWS... I FINALLY STARTED AN AUTHOR NEWSLETTER!
I've been talking about starting an author newsletter for quite some time now and just having been able to make it happen. But I've finally done it. I started one up and I plan to send quarterly messages to my subscribers with all the fun writerly news I have. There will be exclusive updates, teasers (similar to what I shared above), book reviews or recommendations, project/publication updates, and maybe even the odd work-in-progress chapter share or giveaway. I definitely won't be inundating folks with a ton of stuff, but I may send out the odd extra email for certain time-sensitive special events or announcements. Overall, It will be pretty relaxed and chill.
So, due to time constraints I face, I will be shifting my focus over to the Newsletter. That means I won't be blogging as much moving forward (only the odd post, here or there). I would LOVE it if you also subscribed to my new newsletter. That way you don't miss anything. I'm so thankful to have each of you along on this crazy writing journey, so I hope you'll stick with me.
Here's the link that will take you to the Newsletter signup form: https://eepurl.com/ih-3XH
Well, that's about it for my news this time around. To conclude, I'll just say how happy it's made me to see the days getting longer. That means spring is coming soon! Unfortunately, my local groundhog decided to prescribe six more weeks of winter... but that's okay. It's okay! *breathes deeply into a paper bag* I know the warmth is coming soon. It'll be deck weather in no time. ;)
Take care everyone. Thanks for reading, and happy writing.
Rachael Clarke
2023-02-04
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