Summer Reset
A Sneak Peek Snippet, Updates, and Giveaway!
First of all, a big welcome to those of you who joined this quarterly through the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Giveaway. You joined right in time for another chance to win!
To enter to win a paperback copy of Earthbound, fill out the form at the bottom of this newletter.
Let’s Catch Up…
Since the spring, life has carried on at a break neck pace in all of the best ways. Sports with kids, time with family, and of course, writing! And as of today, I can say that the sequel to Earthbound, Skysworn, is off for first round edits.
If you’ve read book one, I think you’ll understand when I say writing this second book has been a TASK. So many pieces needed to come together and there were days I wondered if I could pull it off. Seeing it now, completed and intact, I am so proud. It’s the story I wanted to tell. Not a repeat. Not a cop-out plot. Skysworn leans into all the mess and intrigue, from book one and we dive deeper. This book will see us all home with an epic conclusion you won’t soon forget.
Advanced Reader Copies will be going out in September so make space on the TBR and sign up for your chance to be included!
Behind the Scenes…
As substack readers you are privy to all the sneak peeks and bonus content, so it’s time to share some insider information. Earthbound featured three POVs (points of view), but in Skysworn, Dareous, Elevated of the Order, is about to take centre stage as our fourth POV. Beta Readers have been absolutely feral (both love and hate) for this character.
Want to see what the fuss is about? Here’s an early flashback from Dareous’ POV, completely spoiler FREE—read on unafraid!
**This is a rough draft…behind the scenes comes with a bit of mess :)**
“Are you ready?” Tehran nudged Dareous’s shoulder.
“Of course, he’s ready,” Knox laughed. “Dare is the only one of us who knows the Book of Oaths cover to cover.”
“The final test is more than just knowledge,” Dareous said, annoyed. The three sat on a straight-backed, wooden bench in a hallway of the Temple of the Sky. “If worthy, we receive our gift from the Sky and take our final oaths.”
Knox seemed to hear the anxiety threaded through his words and put a hand to Dareous’ shoulder. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. Sky knows you are the best of us.”
Tehran snorted and stood up on the bench, jumping for a crossbeam above him. He grabbed the rough wood, and hand-over-hand walked himself into the middle of the hall where he dangled. “If you’re scared, I should be terrified,” Tehran said, with a careless grin. “And I’m not worried.”
Knox rolled his eyes and shared a look with Dareous. “For some, their overconfidence is gonna get them another year as an Acolyte.”
Tehran pulled his knees up to his chest and rotated his shoulders to place his feet on the beam giving the impression he was crouched on the ceiling. “That doesn’t sound so bad. I could do with another year in Capital instead of returning to the Reaches.”
Dareous cocked his head at the statement. “You know where you are going to be placed?”
Tehran clamped his lips shut. “Damn.”
Knox glared at their upside-down friend before answering. “Patrem Solace is returning to his post in Rikken. If either of us are chosen as Overseers, we are to return with him and complete our apprenticeship before assuming the post in his place.”
Discontent pooled in Dareous’ belly. Not for the first time did he envy these two. To be personally trained by an Overseer as accomplished as Solace was gift enough, but to live within a community defied convention. Acolytes typically attended classes and were trained by specialists in the Capital.
There had to be some merit to the traditional classes. Dareous had bested each of Solace’s acolytes in the mental trials. But… He glanced between the two. Tehran still hung from the rafter, sticking out his tongue, while Knox tried to knock him down. The bond these two shared was unlike anything he and the other Acolytes experienced. There were friendships among the Acolytes, but these two were brothers.A heavy wooden door opened and a thick older woman with jowls and a head topped with salt and pepper hair frowned their direction. Tehran swung himself around and dropped to the floor with an impish grin. Knox bit back a snicker.
A sickening chill seeped into Dareous’ bones and he pressed himself into the wall, suddenly eager to disassociate himself from their foolish behaviour. The hard-eyed Acumen didn’t even spare him a glance as she dragged Tehran back into the room with her.
Knox’s eyes followed the two and a flash of worry erased the remains of a smile from his face. A door further down the hall opened a moment later.
"Acolyte Dareous."
Dareous froze. This is it. Knox held out a hand and pulled him up.
"You know what you need to know, Dar. Trust the Sky.”
**To be continued in SKYSWORN**
Real Talk…
Amidst all of the good and the excitement of the past months, I have also been struggling to keep up wearing all the hats of being an indie author. If I do something, I want to do it well, but many times I found myself feeling like there wasn’t enough of me to go around. And the truth is there is always a tension in life to what we want to accomplish and tackle, and what is out of our hands.
The trick I’m finding is knowing the difference.
To this end, I have been thinking long and hard about how I approach marketing and social media. Thus far social media has been the primary way I have been able to reach new readers, but it is also exponentially time consuming. I am not jumping out of my current spaces, I find them deeply rewarding, but I also need to grow and stretch in a way that makes sense for the time invested.
As I work to streamline my content creation/reader connection I am moving into the YT shorts space. It will carry similar content in terms of my book marketing, but I also plan to explore a few more ideas. More than anything I want to create content that feels true to who I am as a creator and supports my other platforms.
Giveaway!!
If you’ve made it all the way here, hurray! I’m so glad to have you along on this journey. Here are the details:
The draw will be held on July 2nd, 2025.
Open to those with shipping addresses in Canada and the US (Those outside are still eligible, but digital copies may replace print).
Winner will be announced on IG and contacted directly.
To ENTER fill out this form:
Extra Entry: Share the Giveaway Post on IG (and tag me @kateestein so I can see it!)
Wishing you a summer filled with warmth and good books,
Katee
Love this sneak peek 😍 can’t wait for Skysworn!!