I’d been toying with this for a while, a prequel story with Waverly that I could offer as a gift to those who preorder The Killing Beach, but nothing was clicking–and it’s not like I have the time to figure it out.
But a friend brought up The Silent Places in a conversation the other day, and a few hours later–while I was trying to sleep, of course–something just clicked in my brain and I thought…what if.
What if the one person who could figure out what happened at the end of The Silent Places went to the Yukon?
Everything opened up from there and I was up until 4am playing conversations in my head between Waverly and Imogen.
Here’s the blurb:
Private investigator Waverly Jones follows a missing persons trail to a small Yukon village called Red Fox Lake. A local PI agency in Whitehorse has offered her a deal: she can play on their turf, but they need help with a case of their own, talking to a local widow who has had more than one man in her life disappear over the years.
And soon Waverly will figure out that the north isn’t only a place some go to disappear…
Others go there to get away with murder.
So that story is in progress, I wrote a chunk on Saturday and I’m hoping to have it done in a few weeks and then off for editing/proofing. While it’ll be a free gift for anyone who preorders (or orders the paperback), it’ll also be included in the special edition hardcover, so I have to get all this done by the first of May.
Jumping into a new series is hard. I’ve been doing this the better part of two decades, and only a sliver of readership goes from series to series. On top of that, this is a new genre–it’s not paranormal at all. So it’s an uphill battle to build an audience for Waverly.
I am so grateful for those readers taking the plunge with me, however. So this is my thank you, and if you read The Silent Places, I think you’ll particularly enjoy it.
To claim your gift, forward the receipt or a screenshot of your order via email to preorder@skyladawncameron.com or upload your screenshot via the form on the dedicated promotion page here.
When the paperback is available for order (late April/early May), you can also get the story–I’ll do a reminder when it’s available.
The Killing Beach is out May 30. You’ll have until May 28 11:59pm PT to submit your receipt, and I’ll email out the free story on May 29.
The hardcover editions will have an interior illustration like the old Nancy Drew books had–first is in progress, and I’m pretty excited about it.
They’re out of my budget, though. Like, the hardcover is pretty much a vanity project, I don’t sell enough print copies to justify what’s going into it but…I love mysteries. I love PI stories. I love Nancy Drew. And a friend convinced me by reminding me…we gotta have fun with this publishing thing.
So I’ve got a premade cover sale running this month, to help offset the expense of the illustration costs. 20% off with the coupon code SPRINGSALE20 at checkout.
Speaking of sales, Kobo is also having a Thriller BOGO sale this month, and Watcher of the Woods qualifies. Find all the other titles here.
Writer of urban fantasy, thrillers/mysteries, and horror.
Holla!