"How to Fix a Flubbed Summon" by L. N. Clarke

Current Tags

witches, magic, sword and sorcery, friendship, fantasy, humor, adventure

Categories

Fantasy / Humor

Affiliate Link

How to Fix a Flubbed Summon

Author's Description

Making new friends as an adult is difficult. Summoning one is even harder when you're a lonely apothecary in possession of a witch's grimoire. Growina Crowe may or may not be responsible for the greatest evil to befall her community in centuries. She won't know for sure unless one of the adventurers flooding her town agrees to take her along. Is it wrong to withhold healing potions and force a friendship?

Why I Chose it

This is cute and it's just a sweet and funny story.

[16 episodes, 4 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If you enjoy feel-good stories with magic and adventure, check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

DON'T MAKE ME CREATE TIKTOK VIDEOS TO PROMOTE MY STORIES! YOU'LL BE SORRY!

"Improbable: The Outlandish Adventures of Miriam Cole" by Rysa Walker

Current Tags

mystery, science fiction, time manipulation, alternate history, adventure, sherlock holmes, gaslamp fantasy

Categories

Mystery / Science Fiction

Affiliate Link

Improbable: The Outlandish Adventures of Miriam Cole

Author's Description

Nine heiresses are missing in Gilded Age New York with no ransom demand. Journalist Miriam Cole's sister was the first to vanish twelve years ago. The only connection? They all attended the exclusive Pembroke School. Now, a bizarre murder has Miriam on the run, questioning the very nature of reality as she joins forces with a handsome ex-Pinkerton agent, a reluctant psychic, Mark Twain, and the NY League of Skeptics. Can Miriam find the girls or will New York City be destroyed in the crossfire?

Why I Chose it

A mystery with a science fiction twist — who wouldn't chose that?

[38 episodes, 5 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If you're a fan of fantastical mysteries, check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

Someone suggested the New Releases section is manually curated, and it's depressing if that's the case. My new story disappeared is less than two days. Meanwhile, the carousel is filled with a bunch of stuff that appears to have been AI-generated (ie, nothing makes sense, the story refers to the "author" and "narrator" but sometimes also random character names — and I don't think this is intentionally experimental fiction), and there's one "story" where the first episode is all one paragraph, has about fifty names, no plot, no coherent narrative, and yet somehow the story has 76 likes.

I guess what I'm saying is that so many people are gaming the system with garbage just to get the bonuses that Vella is probably doomed.

"Fighting Fate: A Science Fiction Romance" by T.M. Baumgartner

Current Tags

scifi romance, paranormal, space opera, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, fated, romance

Categories

Science Fiction / Romance

Affiliate Link

Fighting Fate: A Science Fiction Romance

Author's Description

Bred and raised to become a guardian for a dreamer, Shara fled home after a disastrous bonding attempt, stealing the identity of a permanently indentured criminal in order to hide from the dreamer's family. But her attempt to get off-world backfires, leaving her heading to the one place she never wanted to go, trapped in the company of the one man she needs to avoid

Why I Chose it

I'll be honest — I chose this one because it's mine and it just came out today. But I wouldn't have put it on Vella if I didn't think it was a fun read. I'm a sucker for the forced proximity trope in romance, and I know I'm not alone. Plus, it has space ships, aliens, and buffacows!

[5 episodes, 5 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If SF romance with a forced proximity trope is your thing, check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

I'd like to mark my other Vella story (Dragon Freehold) complete so it would show up in the "completed" carousel and maybe get an extra bump from the exposure. But the completed carousel has remained essentially unchanged for a week, so I suspect it's not automatically updating. What to do, what to do...

"The Frost Dragon's Tavern" by Rachael Dunn

Current Tags

dragons, fantasy, magic, elves, racheal dunn, strong female lead, dwarves

Categories

Fantasy

Affiliate Link

The Frost Dragon's Tavern

Author's Description

Updated every Monday through Friday! Ruth runs the most popular tavern in the city of Tarra's Key. The beer is always cold no matter what. But when she discovers a stash of gold beyond the cellar wall, she has to take it. Her half-elf daughter needs an education at the magical academy and tuition isn't cheap. But the gold belongs to a slumbering frost dragon and they are not known to share. How will this tough, streetwise, single mom handle the biggest, rudest patron the bar has ever seen?

Why I Chose it

This is inspired by D&D, but it's the characters that pulled me in. At the heart of the story we have a single mother trying to figure out how to keep her daughter safe, and — given the daughter's uncontrolled wild magic — how to keep the town safe from her daughter. The writing is solid and I've added this one to my list of stories to follow.

[5 episodes, 5 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If a D&D-inspired tale of a mother trying to keep her daughter safe while dealing with a grumpy dragon sounds like your favorite brew, give this one a try!

Unrelated Griping

Wouldn't it be nice if you could click on the author's name in Vella and automatically be taken to a list of their other stories? Hard to believe that doesn't yet exist.

"Beauty and the Vampire, Book 1 (A Paranormal Retelling of Beauty and the Beast)" by Demelza Brown, Em Brown

Current Tags

vampire romance, dark romance, fairy tale, historical romance, adult paranormal romance, bwwm interracial romance

Categories

Romance / Paranormal

Affiliate Link

Beauty and the Vampire, Book 1

Author's Description

This vampire is worse than a beast... Daliyah, an oppressed indentured servant, yearns only for her freedom. When she finds herself trapped at Castle Blackbourne, it's not just her freedom that's in peril. If she succumbs to Lord Blackbourne's thirst for blood and flesh, her body will be his to ravage and her life his to drain. If you like your fairy tales dark and steamy, enter the darkness of Beauty and the Vampire today.

Why I Chose it

I know, I know, this is at least the third retelling of Beauty and the Beast I've featured, and each time I've sworn I don't like fairy tale retellings.

But hear me out — the characters introduced in the first episode here are so well drawn, who cares if it's a retelling? By the end of the first episode, I care about what happens to the main character. Other characters have made bad choices, but I understand why they did and I even sort of agree with those choices, even while I hate the character (as I'm meant to).

I guess what I'm saying is that the writing on this one is excellent and you should give it a try.

[22 episodes, 22 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If a retelling of Beauty & the Beast with vampires and themes of class and race sounds like a great mix (and it should!), check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

What I've learned from the "Humor" category on Vella is a whole lot of people think they're funnier than they are. So... kind of like life.

"Simple as Time: A Wizard Repairs the Past" by Judy Shank Cyg, William Horn

Current Tags

timereaper, time wizard, holy knights and wizards, tracking evil beast, wizard priest, dragonrider and wizard, plotting time

Categories

Fantasy / Action & Adventure

Affiliate Link

Simple as Time: A Wizard Repairs the Past

Author's Description

Wizard Allen crosses spacetime and the past to track and destroy a timereaper, a nightmare creature that devours events and people who accomplish positive outcomes, including the path that contained his parents. He plots his steps and enlists knights to help him, including one who will create more trouble and assistance than even a time wizard could predict. Dedication, loyalty, and love prove to be more powerful than the best-planned spellcasting. A time wizard rescues the past

Why I Chose it

Though I usually avoid time travel stories (personal preference!), this one has the distinct advantage of being set in a secondary fantasy world, so I'm not expected to automatically know where reality and fantasy diverge. In the first episode, our wizard is assembling a team to fight the terrible beast destroying timelines. You have to love a "gathering the group of people who hate each other" trope!

[Complete at 18 episodes.]

Who Might Like This

If secondary world fantasy involving wizards, (female) knights, and dragons is your thing, check this out!

Unrelated Griping

This isn't really a gripe, but since "what happens in Vella stays in Vella" (ie, there's almost no audience crossover between Vella and books), I've decided to go ahead and release some novels in Vella that I love but don't quite fit with my current brand. I don't know if I'll ever put them in book form, but they fit a serial form reasonably well.

"Red Stone One" by Sam Renner

Current Tags

space opera, science fiction, action, thriller, adventure

Categories

Science Fiction / Action & Adventure

Affiliate Link

Red Stone One

Author's Description

Anchor McClain has piloted the Red Stone all over the galaxy, his band of thieves picking up whatever work needs doing from whoever needs it done. But when an old friend approaches them with a job, it's going to put the team in more danger than they've ever seen and test loyalties that McClain didn't know he still had.

Why I Chose it

I like space opera. This story drops us right in the middle of the drama in episode one. This one is a space western inspired by Robin Hood, which is a nice combo.

[33 episodes, 4 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If you liked Firefly, you should check this out!

Unrelated Griping

Have I really run out of things to complain about? This seems unlikely. Maybe I'm coming down with something...

"Paranormal Island" by Daisy DeMarco

Current Tags

vampire, reality tv, dating, paranormal romance, shifter, love island, paranormal

Categories

Paranormal / Romance

Affiliate Link

Paranormal Island

Author's Description

When Alison Valentina agrees to appear on Paranormal Island, a reality TV show starring 20 hot singles--a combination of humans and paranormals--she quickly falls for a mysterious vampire. Alison, along with other contestants, are flown to a lush, tropical island in hopes of finding love. One couple will win the grand prize of two million dollars. Some will leave with a commitment. Some will leave heartbroken. And some may go home in pieces.

Why I Chose it

Full disclosure: there's only seven episodes in this, and none have been added in a month, so it's entirely possible this story has been abandoned. But I'm going with it today anyhow because it caught my interest.

A reality/dating show on a tropical island where the contestants may or may not be human — what a great premise! The main character has her sights set on the cash prize, which means her goals are very clear, and there's always the possibility of death, despite the agreement each player sign. Excellent setup, all in the first episode.

[7 episodes, none in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

Survivor and The Bachelor with the cast taken from urban fantasy — sound intriguing? Check it out!

Unrelated Griping

Bonuses were released today, which means my Facebook feed is just one useless and annoying "Look! The bonuses are here!" post after another. Maybe I'll just skip it all and be more productive today.

"Onyx Webb: The Ghost Circus" by Diandra Archer

Current Tags

paranormal, ghosts, suspense, supernatural, ghost thriller, paranormal mystery, fbi

Categories

Paranormal / Thriller

Affiliate Link

Onyx Webb: The Ghost Circus

Author's Description

A ragtag traveling circus sits outside a small California town. 200 miles to the north, the myth of the ghost woman, Onyx Webb, is alive and well in the seaside hamlet of Crimson Cove, Oregon. After mysterious deaths occur in both places, the FBI gets involved. When the circus relocates to Crimson Cove, FBI agent Newt Drystad arrives just as the entire town is starting to unravel. It's one thing to stop people from committing crimes, but how do you stop a ghost?

Why I Chose it

Okay, this is one of those stories where I'm absolutely hooked by the first episode, even though I have almost no idea about the plot. The character vignettes are so compelling I'm willing to follow along wherever the author wants to take me.

[13 episodes, none in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

Ready for a mystery starring ghosts? Check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

I've had to give up on the "Recently added stories" section since it's been flooded with bot-written word salad for the past few days. Today's story showed up in the list when I searched "fbi".

"The 7,000 Souls of Alma Drake" by Marie Flanigan

Current Tags

urban fantasy, succubus, demons, incubus, parallel worlds, action adventure, new adult

Categories

Fantasy / Paranormal

Affiliate Link

The 7,000 Souls of Alma Drake

Author's Description

Alma Drake is up to her eyeballs in soul debt to her Incubus, Ian, and she's flat broke in terms of real-world cash. She can't talk about it to any of her friends, and she had to leave college to keep from killing her classmates. To make things worse, her mother thinks she's a junkie. It's been a rough month, so when shadowy figures start chasing her through the night, something's got to give.

Why I Chose it

This is a little grittier than the average urban fantasy novel, but the premise is interesting and the stakes are clear right from the start.

[31 episodes, with 3 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If gritty urban fantasy sounds like your jam, check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

Ah, yes, the bots have hit Vella. Most of the stories in the new release section today are word salad.

The last time I saw this was on Kobo, and the books were easy to pick out because they all used the same horrible typography on the cover, and most of them had "characters" with the same name. After a lot of head scratching, we came up with the theory that they had been created to help launder cryptocurrency — cryptocurrency can be used to purchase books, and the author's royalty looks like legitimate income.

Unfortunately for the Kobo crew, they bought so many copies of the same books that they ended up on the top sellers lists and infiltrated everyone's recommendations. That got their accounts cancelled.

I don't know if that's what is going on with all the new submissions on Vella. Whatever it is, it's annoying if you're trying to find stories worth reading...

"Sacrifice" by Dena Doval

Current Tags

vampire romance, vampire, romance, love, paranormal romance, witch

Categories

Paranormal / Romance

Affiliate Link

Sacrifice

Author's Description

I may have opened a portal to hell. I may have gotten suspended from my own coven. I may have hooked up with a hot-as-hell Vampire King. But in my defense - I didn't intend to do any of those things. They just sort of happened. The consequences though...

Why I Chose it

I love a story that starts with the main character accidentally screwing up in the first episode!

[5 episodes, with 5 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If paranormal romance involving vampires is your thing, check this out!

Unrelated Griping

As suspected, the BookDoggy promotion didn't cause a lot of page reads. That might be due to a variety of things. (Do BookDoggy readers even read serials? How about fantasy as a genre? And who knows, maybe my cover and blurb just didn't grab people.) In any case, it was an $18 experiment that I probably won't repeat any time soon.

"Sapphire Marionette" by Chloe Knight

Current Tags

clones, pyrokenisis, romance, science fiction, fantasy, hawaii, adventure

Categories

Romance / Science Fiction

Affiliate Link

Sapphire Marionette

Author's Description

Sadie grew up believing she was nothing more than a clone to be sacrificed on a battlefield of Nexan's war, until unexpected freedom and a dangerous ally help her question everything, but is it enough to save her people? Or will her justified mistrust destroy everyone she cares about, including her new soulmate?

Why I Chose it

The first episode starts when our main character is woken from cryostasis and given her mission, and from the first, the voice of the main character comes through strongly. This is an excellent example of how to give necessary information without turning the episode into an infodump.

[21 episodes, with 4 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If science fiction romance is your thing, you should definitely check this out!

Unrelated Griping

No complaints today. My scheduled BookDoggy promotion for Dragon Freehold is tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if their audience is open to checking things out in Vella.

"NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services" by Jeff Elkins, JP Rindfleisch IX

Current Tags

funny, ghosts, comedy, horror, mystery, adventure, humor

Categories

Humor / Paranormal

Affiliate Link

NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services

Author's Description

So, ghosts are real and there is an underfunded government agency that help the recently deceased transition into the afterlife. Spiritual energy is running wild in the rural Midwest and when a remote NRDS office settles in, nothing goes according to plan. Follow this cast of NRDS as they work through spirit cases, struggle with small town politics, and try and dig themselves out of tons and tons of paperwork. Because what is a government agency without an insurmountable amount of red tape?

Why I Chose it

Watching grizzled veterans try to deal with paranormal emergencies while also being hampered by rookies and bureaucracy is one of my favorite tropes, and this hits that spot nicely.

[22 episodes, with 4 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If humorous ghost hunters are your thing, check this out!

Unrelated Griping

I may have told the person who rage quit Vella in two separate groups over the span of three days that they need to hire an editor. Because they do. I doubt they're going to thank me for that, but... if you aren't willing to follow conventions like having a consistent point of view or putting your dialog in quotation marks, I don't think you can blame Vella for your lack of success.

I mean, everyone knows I complain about how poorly the Vella launch was done, but if the author doesn't respect the readers enough to do some basic editing, I fail to see why readers should flock to the story.

"The Fields of Bliss (Season One - Summer)" by EA Comiskey

Current Tags

mystery, female lead, vampire, shifter, fairies, small town, fantasy

Categories

Paranormal / Romance

Affiliate Link

The Fields of Bliss

Author's Description

Days after she graduates college, Martin's parents are killed by a drunk driver. Lost and alone, she discovers she's inherited more than she ever expected-a sizable amount of cash, a house in a small town she's never heard of, and a supernatural debt that can only be paid in blood. She's got until the summer solstice to convince the mysterious citizens of Blissfield to save her, but small towns have long memories and her family's dark secrets have not been forgotten. NEW EPISODES DAILY!

Why I Chose it

This one has a nice mix of mystery and exposition starting from the first episode. Plus, who doesn't love a dog as a major character?

[7 episodes, with 7 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If magical mysteries and old family secrets are your thing, check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

I almost missed today's story because it was recently posted and didn't have any likes on it yet, making it hard to distinguish from all the stories dumped onto Vella by bots that also have no likes on them. I think it's worth it for authors to at least give likes to your own first three episodes to show that somebody cares.

"The Bestiary" by Kaye Draper

Current Tags

reverse harem, bisexual main character, urban fantasy, witches/ghosts/demons, fae/necromancer, poly romance, harem

Categories

Romance / Paranormal

Affiliate Link

The Bestiary

Author's Description

I was a just a kid when my family was executed, forcing me to live my life in the human world, far away from the judgment and scorn of the magical world. But when a cursed grimoire containing enslaved magical beings falls into my lap, I can't avoid my family's craptastic legacy of pain and suffering. Now, thanks to the nagging of an annoying ghost, I'm off to free the powerful (and pissed-off) creatures in the bestiary. The danger's a given...but do they all have to be so freaking hot?

Why I Chose it

I love stories that have a structure that lends itself to episodes like Warehouse 13 and its magical item of the week. So a story that starts out with the main character discovering a book trapping magical creatures that need to be freed? Right up my alley.

[21 episodes, with 3 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If reverse harem hot creature of the week sounds like your sort of fire, check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

No griping today. Hard to believe, right?

"Lily" by E. G. Creel

Current Tags

misadventure, dark fantasy, antihero, short episodes

Categories

Fantasy / Action & Adventure

Affiliate Link

Lily

Author's Description

Lily was born with a shadow, and everyone knows shadows are very bad luck. Join in the misadventures of Lily and her shadow with episodes only on Kindle Vella.

Why I Chose it

This story starts with a child being born under such a terrible omen that the baby needs to be killed. Then, of course, that goes wrong and the plot tumbles along from there. The feeling evoked is familiar (but the story definitely isn't one I know) and I finally decided it's because it feels like the book of Russian fairy tales I had as a kid — things go wrong, everyone agrees about what must happen next even though they are very sad about it, but then something thwarts that action to the secret delight of the main characters. In any case, the episodes are very short and move things along at a quick clip.

[Complete at 12 episodes.]

Who Might Like This

Are you a fantasy fan who likes the feel of fairy tales? Check this out!

Unrelated Griping

Apparently Kindle Vella is now available for Android users.

(This is the point as an Apple user where I have to refrain from making jokes about Android users and whether they can read. I guess I should point out my proofreader is an Android user...)

"Elliot True-Paranormal Investigator" by Steven Clark

Current Tags

weird western, ghost story, supernatural, demon fighter, action, mystery, western

Categories

Paranormal / Historical Fiction

Affiliate Link

Elliot True-Paranormal Investigator

Author's Description

Elliot True practices a rare vocation, especially for a citizen of the Old West. He is a paranormal investigator. Traveling the plains with his portmanteau full of equipment, he faces off against ghosts, demons, witches, night creatures, and all manor of beings from this world and beyond.

Why I Chose it

I'm a fan of stories about private investigators, and this fits the bill — a paranormal private investigator story set in the Old West.

[5 episodes so far, with 5 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

Fans of the "lone gunslinger for hire" trope who also love paranormal twists should check this out!

Unrelated Griping

The "Completed" carousel has added a few new stories and the "Christmas ass" story is finally on the second page. There can't possibly have only been 5 stories marked complete in the last week, can there?

The latest Vella "scandal" is stories using other authors' names in their tags. This tracks back to Vella's crappy user interface (quelle surprise!) in which you can't click on an author's name and get a list of all their stories. (Seriously. How could you design a system this badly?) So authors with multiple stories use one of their seven tags as a unique identifier so readers can find their other work — click on the tag and it will show you the other stories with that tag.

Now new stories are starting to show up with other, more popular authors' tags. The good news is this is already against the Terms of Service. The bad news is Amazon is so inconsistent when enforcing the TOS this may last forever.

"Murder, Mayhem, and Macarons" by Kimberly Titus

Current Tags

mystery, humor, millionaire, romance, love, murder, funny

Categories

Mystery / Humor

Affiliate Link

Murder, Mayhem, and Macarons

Author's Description

Alex Davis had barely gotten her feet wet as an accountant in New York City when a travel mixup landed her in the middle of a murder. Her life takes an unexpected turn as she plays detective, as well as accountant, with sexy millionaire, Kent Abrams. But the more she digs, the more skeletons she finds lurking in the shadows. Can she unravel the mystery before her own life unravels before her eyes?

Why I Chose it

This starts with a meet-cute and it's such compelling writing (the main character has a job! that she's good at!) that I was three episodes in without a body dropping and hadn't even noticed. (The murder happens in episode four.) If you had asked me if it was possible to wait four episodes to get to the murder, I would have said no, but this story proves you can do anything if you can get away with it. And it does!

[Story complete at 23 episodes.]

Who Might Like This

Fans of murder mysteries starring characters with amazing chemistry will enjoy this!

Unrelated Griping

Yep, the "Completed" carousel is still the same.

In other stuff: Vella recommends having just an image with no text, which can be an issue for people who already have a full cover done. But I ran into one today that had such terrible typography that I can't believe a professional was involved.

Pro tip: If you like the upper case "L" so much that you just have to use it in your title, just change your title so one of the words starts with L. Don't use the big showy "L" in the middle of the word among lower case letters (twice!). Trust me. Please. This was a source of much amusement.

"She Whispers to the Stone" by Darva Green

Current Tags

dark fantasy, romance, bisexual, magic, newadult, fantasy, lgbtq

Categories

Fantasy / Romance

Affiliate Link

She Whispers to the Stone

Author's Description

Eilwyn shouldn't be alive. Not when magic was purged from Corstylia years ago. Yet she lives, locked away in a castle tower. Few know her secret, but the kingdom is about to find out. Casimir is a prince out for blood, stopping at nothing to avenge his slain family and stolen throne. Their paths are about to cross, and their alliance may be more complicated than expected. Content warning: this series features violence, blood magic, and sex

Why I Chose it

Episode one starts with the main character powerless, but it's clear she once had power and could have it again if she can scheme her way into the magic again. It's a compelling story with strong writing.

[12 episodes so far, 3 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

Fans of gritty fantasy with compelling characters should check this out!

Unrelated Griping

Yeah, the "Completed" carousel is still the same.

In other news, I scheduled a promotion for Dragon Freehold through BookDoggy for next week. I suspect it will be a waste of money, but it's worth the $18 to run an experiment.

"A Shot in the Dark" by Jake Allen Coleman

Current Tags

scifi, action, adventure, mystery, space opera, suspense

Categories

Science Fiction / Action & Adventure

Affiliate Link

A Shot in the Dark

Author's Description

He survived the war, but will he survive Anissa Howe? From the casino district on Larissa to the bowels of an abandoned warehouse, follow Galen Tor as he unravels the mystery of her kidnapping.

Why I Chose it

I'm a sucker for space westerns (think Firefly, but hopefully with less of Joss Whedon's madonna/whore misogyny), so this was an easy pick.

[13 episodes so far, 13 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

Space western fans should check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

The story with the image I have dubbed the "Christmas ass" picture in the completed stories section is still in the sixth slot. Apparently the "Completed" carousel just doesn't get updated...

"The Broken Road" by Pieter Lars

Current Tags

femalehero, monsters, apocalypse, worldbuilding, adventure, psychics, quest

Categories

Dystopian / Action & Adventure

Affiliate Link

The Broken Road

Author's Description

It's been three years since Buttonwillow McKittrick ran away with her mother's guns. Since then she's worked as a caravan guard on the outskirts of Builder territory, trying to find any information she can about the fate of her mother and the other Shapers taken by the Builders. She has all but given up by the time she meets young Jude, a ragged orphan and a Shaper, and she vows to save him from her mother's fate.

Why I Chose it

Confession time: Pieter is in my critique group, so I already knew he was a phenomenal writer. He brings the weird and intriguing to life in a way that few people can, and this story is no exception. I've been nagging reminding him to post more episodes. Anyhow, it may take a while to get everything edited to the point where he's happy with it, but if you like the first few episodes as much as I do, just hit follow on this story and enjoy the new episodes when they get posted.

[4 episodes so far, 1 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

Fans of dystopian tech vs magic stories should definitely check this out!

Unrelated Griping

The story with the image I have dubbed the "Christmas ass" picture in the completed stories section is now in the sixth slot, so either only four stories have been completed in the last week, or once again we have a carousel with no obvious rhyme or reason. I really don't think it's popularity, because the first one showing up only has three thumbs up (and that's probably just the author making sure it doesn't bagel).

For reference:

"Moondancer- A Forbidden Romance" by Evelyn Shine

Current Tags

werewolf, vampire, shifter, romance, steampunk, fantasy, steamy

Categories

Romance / Fantasy

Affiliate Link

Moondancer- A Forbidden Romance

Author's Description

One dance with him changed everything. Kiara's solace resides in the open skies and the dance halls of Paris. Until she meets blood drinker Lucius Marlowe. She's spent years avoiding his kind. But thoughts of the sensual kiss they shared that night linger in her mind. After one moment of closeness with Kiara, Lucius is ready for more. He knows better than to fall for a shifter, his kind have been at war for centuries with them, but the taste of her leaves him longing for the impossible.

Why I Chose it

Steampunk with vampires and werewolves — from the first scene at the dance hall, I was intrigued.

[14 episodes so far, 14 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If you're a steampunk fan who also loves a forbidden romance between a vampire and werewolf, check this out!

Unrelated Griping

There's another story (uh, with no likes for some reason) that describes itself as a "daily devotional without all of the feel-good and emotional garbage which seems to permeate most of the contemporary devotionals", which...

I guess if you're looking for people hoping to make themselves absolutely miserable, that's the best description to go with. I'm not sure those readers are on Vella, but then again, I'm not sure many readers are on Vella. Good luck, you poor miserable sod.

"Jase Dauphin and the Island in the Swamp: A Kindle Vella Middle Grade Ghost Adventure" by Ken Griffin

Current Tags

middle grade, spooky, ghosts, mystery, story puzzles, comedy, funny teenage boy voice

Categories

Teen & Young Adult / Action & Adventure

Affiliate Link

Jase Dauphin and the Island in the Swamp

Author's Description

Twelve-year old Jase Dauphin is thrilled to spend summer vacation exploring his grandfather's spooky, swampy island. There he discovers a hidden cave, a disappearing haunted house that moves around, and his father's old ghost-hunting notebooks. Oh. Right. He ALSO finds bats, gator-filled bogs, and the general presence of ghosts! Soon he and his new friends are waist-deep (literally, in quicksand!) trying to solve the mystery that chased his dad off the island.

Why I Chose it

I don't run into too many middle grade stories. This one sets up the family dynamics in the first episode and also brings in the adventure portion. Who wouldn't want to go live on an island for the summer?

[24 episodes so far, 22 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

For the middle grade action/adventure fans!

Unrelated Griping

The "Completed stories" carousel hasn't changed since they added it a week or two ago, and there's an erotica story with a fairly racy cover that shows up in a prominent position. I'm surprised that isn't more of an issue.

"Kingdom of Lies" by Cat Humes

Current Tags

epic fantasy, romantic fantasy, fantasy romance, slow burn, friends to lovers, fantasy, romance

Categories

Fantasy / Romance

Affiliate Link

Kingdom of Lies

Author's Description

Cursed. Witch. Saint. The firstborn child of the King of Naporia, Ara Palacios, has been hidden away for all her life because of her uncanny resemblance to her mother--the late Queen that saved one King by killing another. But the two are nothing alike. Her mother was a legend; Ara is just a normal girl. When her lies get the only boy who treats her like a normal person tangled up in her life forever, she'll have to embrace the thing she fears the most: that they might have actually been right.

Why I Chose it

The first two episodes introduce the very likable leads and sets up a conflict that is just around the corner. I know I was rooting for these two by the end of the third episode!

[60 episodes so far, 11 in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

If new adult epic fantasy is your thing, check this out!

Unrelated Griping

The "Recently added stories" section was a complete disaster today, but I don't think it was a coincidence that I went through 15 terrible stories in a row. There were similarities in the keywords and the way the stories didn't make sense, so I think either a few people uploaded a lot of trunked stories under multiple names, or maybe a teacher made uploading a story to Vella a requirement for some class. In any case, yikes.

That does bring up another point, though. Because the discovery on Vella is so bad, authors really have to seek out readers from another source. In this case, I found today's recommended story from a post in a Facebook group.

While I was setting up a newsletter promo for one of my books on BookDoggy.com, I noticed Kindle Vella is one of the choices, so it looks like those businesses are getting in the game. I'm not sure it would be worth the $20 — maybe you could make it back in the monthly bonus, but since there's no real info on how that is calculated, who knows? I may try it some month with the knowledge that I may just be throwing money away.