Welcome once again to Tales of the Pale. This is Tarrant Smith and this week I’m giving you a glimpse at book 3, The Dreams of Demons. Don’t be afraid. I promise you’ll love Murmur. In this universe, Demons are much different than what most mortals believe them to be. Demons were created by the gods to fight their battles and carry their messages to different realms. Murmur is one of those demons and has served Lugh since the Great War. And by that, I don’t mean either of the World Wars. Please, settle in and give a listen to Chapter 1 from The Dreams of Demons.
This week’s news is all about Book 4!
The proof arrived amazingly quickly and because I’ve been doing this awhile, I’m pleased to say it was perfect! No changes were needed. Therefore, I hit that scary Publish button so I could order my author copies. The paperback is live and can be purchased now, but the ebook release is still scheduled for November 21st.
A link to the Facebook proof video.
As it stands right now, I won’t have author copies of The Souls of Witches in my possession until November 26th.
I also did a live Zoom interview for The Southern Pen Bookshop’s Between the Pages on Thursday night. I was exceedingly nervous. Here’s a link to that Facebook video.
Now let’s move on to updates on the Pale Characters.
Let me first say that I am not crazy, but the characters I create live on in my imagination, as I hope they will do in a reader’s mind long after they’ve finished reading the book. The following is a glimpse of what is still happening inside the universe I created. (I will try to keep this as spoiler-free as I can for anyone who hasn’t read the books. I should also mention that not all the information I share here will find its way into a book.)
The goddess, Bride, is back on Rhiannon’s Kentucky doorstep. Rhiannon is torn between escaping the glue-gun wielding Goddess of Home and Hearth by relocating to her Pennsylvania farm… or staying put in order to keep Bride from “improving” any more items inside her Kentucky home. Last I’ve heard, Rhiannon has summoned Angus away from a photoshoot with the hope that he can persuade his sister to leave peacefully.
Keely and Zee have set up a weekly poker game with two of the shifters who took over Lugh’s internet security (which was once the sole responsibility of Griffin, my favorite geek). So far, Zee is up a couple of grand. Keely consistently loses way more than she wins, and Lugh is pretending he doesn’t know that Keely bet his Audi when she was out of chips. Luckily, she won that particular hand because Zee folded.
Lastly, a rumor exists among members of the Pale that there is a rogue werewolf in south Florida. The details are still coming in and are sketchy at best. This may turn out to be nothing more than a publicity stunt by the notorious Florida Man.
The little bit extra in this week’s letter.
This is not book related, but it is supernatural in nature. Two of my favorite supernatural TV shows on Netflix have been on my mind lately.
Supernatural will soon be airing its final episode on the CW, which means, they will then be available to view on Netflix. (I’ve only seen up to episode 13!) After 15 seasons, I’m sad to watch Dean and Sam battle to save humanity one final time, but I can’t wait to find out how it is all going to end. Will Chuck win (better known as God)? Or will Sam and Dean do something totally crazy but save us all in the process. And, will Sam take off his shirt one last time? I hope so.
I’ve also been rewatching Penny Dreadful. I often revisit binge-worthy shows when I am enjoying a creative period in my writing life. I pay close attention to pacing, storytelling methods, worldbuilding, and dialogue. If you haven’t seen this particular 3-season gothic monster-fest of a show, check it out. It’s smart and plays with the mythology of all the classic movie monsters in a refreshing way.
And as always, thank you for listening and spending time with Tales of the Pale. Please leave comments and share Tarrant.substack.com with your friends.
Tales of the Pale; Vol 4.