March Newsletter

Somehow its April and there is still snow here. I desperately need the snow to go away at this point and for the sun to come out.

Everyone has been posting their spring photos out in the sun and its making me incredibly jealous.

On the plus side however, at least I have been able to enjoy some guilt free couch potato-ing.

REQUIEM OF THE UNCLAIMED

Pitch tally

For the time being this tally is frozen. At least until my netgalley campaign ends.

• Magazines / Bloggers pitched: 56

• Book Boxes pitched: 9

• Influencers pitched: 26

• Authors pitched: 16

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Netgalley tally:

• Requests: 57

• Approved: 48

• Reviews: 4

Boy when they said Netgalley critics were harsh, they were not joking! I wasn’t surprised and although it’s never nice to know someone doesn’t think your book is worthy, I am not really hurt by the reviews.

It reminds me a lot of Rotten Tomatoes ratings. The critics always have an agenda and want to see certain things even if it doesn’t fit your genre, while the audience scores are more people just enjoying the stories where they are at.

I have a rule that if a critic score is low on a movie then I know I will enjoy it. Because, lets be real; I enjoy an action movie with absolutely no reasoning or lessons aside from having fun. Same with my horror movies. As long as the acting isn’t horrible and the sound mix is good then I can usually enjoy myself.

My book will not be for everyone, and that is completely fine. At the end of the day I don’t need to drive home a specific moral lesson with my writing and story telling, I just want people to have fun. The world is too serious and while my writing definitely has some political undertones, it is about escaping more than reflecting.

Book publication updates

• Ebook: KDP is all done & D2D set up is underway (still trying to work through the tax interview issues)

• Paperback: KDP & Ingramspark are done and under review. Currently exploring a distributor that I can use to sell via my own website (unfortunately Canada does not have Ingram direct sell link support yet… L)

• Audiobook: Production underway & the setup is saved in drafts for both Voices by InAudio & ACX

• ARCs: Netgalley campaign is live! I have been keeping tabs on the requests and making sure people get fast responses. I have taken a little pause for the time being on reaching out to individuals for reviews.

My to-do list is getting shorter and shorter with this project and I am beyond excited for June 30^th to roll around.

I even finalized my Amazon listing the other day. I highly recommend taking advantage of the A+ content option. I just find it adds a bit of an extra professional touch.

WIP

Well, my dark fantasy book was placed on the back burner temporarily. Hopefully I will get back to it shortly.

For the time being I have been working on a new launch for 2026.

I had a short story published many years ago now and I loved it. So I had the brilliant idea of resurrecting it into book form. It will just be a tiny book, but that will allow me to sell it at a cheaper rate. A great opportunity to get into my writing for new readers and people who might not have as much cash to spend on books. The cost of living is insane….

For now, I just have the title and launch date to share. Everything else will be revealed in due time.

Caught in the In-Between

July 7, 2026

LIFE

We have officially hit the mobile stage and I am constantly picking up my little guy and relocating him to different places in the house.

It has been crazy to watch how quickly he is developing new skills. It seems like I blink and he has a new skill.

Luckily, it seems like I am still getting lots of time to do my Alyson things. He has been pretty independent and can just chase around his little basketball or play with his toys while I write or read.

Reading has still been a bit of a standstill. I am however still keeping up to date with my comic books.

I recently started a new medication for my migraines and while I think it is helping, it is not kicking in 100% yet and I am limited in what else I can take for pain management. So, a good chunk of my time has been spent focusing on trying to relax and recover. The medication is a type that works better the longer you are on it, and it is really nice to have in the back of my mind. Everyday I get closer to finding relief for these migraines. I am so over them, and really excited to get some of my headspace back!

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Recommendations for the month

• Movie: Do Not Enter

  

  • I knew nothing going into this movie. I knew it was a horror and that was it. (Probably my favourite way to go into movies now, commercials these days just ruin the entire movie for me most times*insert more old person ranting*)

  • It completely surprised me. I loved it. Were there plot holes? Yeah, a couple, but not horrendous amounts. And I could forgive them because the acting was well done and the plot was interesting.

  • Honestly, if any of these things sound good to you then I would highly recommend checking it out. Abandoned hotel. Demonic creature. Vlogging trip gone wrong. Lost treasure. I don’t want to give too much away, this one is way more fun to go into blind.

• TV show: Paradise

  

  • Okay, I am pretty behind on this one as it came out a year ago. But I am really enjoying Paradise so far. It has a really interesting premise and reminds me of Under the Dome but less how did this happen and more who let this happen.

  • I am only about halfway through season one so far, so no spoilers please, but I love the lead. Sterling K. Brown does an amazing job with this character. There is just something about him that is charming while being very stoic and complicated.

Stay spooky,

That blonde goth wannabe who writes