Category: Indie Author

Book Review: Reformed by H.L. Burke

Book Review: Reformed by H.L. Burke

I’ve never read super-hero fiction before, but I’ve watched plenty of superhero movies and TV shows, so I thought I’d give this book by H.L. Burke a shot.

Normally I like to pair my book reviews with tea, but this one deserved a little margarita action; read it and you’ll find out why!

Reformed is the first book in the Supervillain Rehabilitation Project series. I had been hearing a lot about it, and with Book 4 coming out next month, I decided now was the time to read it!

It only took me three days, because I couldn’t put it down.


Here’s the blurb:

Once a villain, always a villain?

Optimistic and idealistic superhero Prism is determined to redeem her father’s legacy by rebooting his supervillain rehabilitation program. To do so, she sets her sights on Fade, the relapsed supervillain who was the reason the government canceled the original program in the first place. However, when she petitions for Fade to be released into her custody, she finds out things might not be as simple as she thought.

Convicted of an unforgivable crime, Fade received a choice: surrender to trial and possible execution or endure a memory erasure so he could start fresh. Now with no recollection of his time before incarceration, Fade doubts he has the ability to be anything but the villain the public believes him to be.

A series of attacks by a mysterious power-swapping villain points back to Fade’s past and the crime that cost him his freedom and memory. With her father’s legacy and her own reputation on the line, even Prism has to wonder: can a villain truly be reformed?


The pacing was excellent, and the writing is such quality that it just flows so naturally making it wicked easy to binge.

With alternating perspectives between former villain Fade, and optimistic hero Prism, there was always more intrigue to keep you guessing until the very last paragraph.

My only critique is I guess I enjoy more description, and with the fast pacing and a lot of dialogue, I could have used a bit more scene setting/ character description.

The characters were wonderful, and the superhero hierarchy and powers really well done.

Lots of snark, plenty of feels, and really great characters in a unique story!

2020 Recap

2020 Recap

Wow. 2020 was insane.

But it was insane for me in LOTS of GOOD ways! I’ve grown so much as an author this year, this whole blog post is about all the exciting things I’ve accomplished, because why not celebrate the good things? Post contains affiliate links.

I always like to do a “looking back” post this time of year around my birthday.

I’m an optimist. But I struggled a lot this year, too, like everyone else in the world. Being pregnant during covid was an interesting journey, and I don’t think any of us will ever forget this year. But I don’t like to focus on the bad stuff.

I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.

Winston Churchill

So first, here are some of my non-publication achievements:

– I learned how to cut my toddler’s hair! And nobody got hurt. Now if I only wanted to brave my own hair without messing it up…

My Etsy shop did almost 400% better than 2019 (yep, 400%). If you didn’t know, I sell handmade papercut bookmarks. And I came very close to making 1,000 sales before I put it on vacation mode for maternity leave. Next year!!

– I had a baby!

– I gained several more wonderful editing clients and grew my freelance editing portfolio.

– I created tea blends to go with the Arcera Trilogy, and The Alchemyst’s Mirror

Now for the publications. I’m pretty wowed by this list, I’m not going to lie.

I published the Arcera Trilogy ebook boxset February 26

Published Writer’s Notebook March 29

This notebook has been very popular, and I can officially say I sold hundreds of copies this year. I’m excited to see where it goes, and am currently trying to pursue some new sales venues.

Published The Storm King June 9. Still have book # three in the works, but not sure when exactly I’ll have time for it.

Meadowcity Audiobook Released June 17

The Fifth City Audiobook Released July 31

Published Teen Writer’s Notebook August 17

Published Guided Writer’s Notebook September 19

Published The Alchemyst’s Mirror October 27. This has been my most successful fiction release to date. I’m already working on a sequel.

Published The Clockwork Ice Dragon November 10

A Rift Between Cities Audiobook Released December 5

Looking ahead

I’ve got a few things planned for 2021. I’m hoping to release 2 new books in the Everturn Chronicles. After that, well, who knows!

I hadn’t actually planned on releasing all of the books I did in 2020, and you can see how that turned out. I think originally it was just going to be the Writer’s Notebook, and The Storm King. But I had a golden moment in time with my toddler’s sleep schedule where I could write and do work during his nap and while he was in bed mornings and evenings.

Fortunately, as I was already a stay/work at home mom, my schedule didn’t actually change much this year. I just had less places to go/things to do with the toddler during his waking hours. I can’t wait until we can get out and about again, now with his little brother, too!

Let’s all try to remember the good things about 2020, and not the bad.

<3 -Liz
The Storm King cover reveal

The Storm King cover reveal

Can you believe June is almost here?!

I don’t know about you, but time is moving differently nowadays, and it’s hard to keep track anymore. But nevertheless, THE STORM KING will be released on June 9th, and today I’m sharing the cover with you!

It’s also now available to preorder for Amazon Kindle: Preorder here.

Huge thanks to everyone at Deranged Doctor Design for this stunning cover! I can’t decide if I like it more than The Starless Girl, but it’s close.

Stay tuned for more updates and excerpts from The Storm King!

Coming May 1st~ Reformed Blog Tour by H.L. Burke

Coming May 1st~ Reformed Blog Tour by H.L. Burke

The new book from one of my favorite indie authors, H.L. Burke, is a departure from her usual fantasy and steampunk genres, but promises to be just as awesome. The first in a superhero series, Reformed is coming out May 1st, and is currently available for preorder for only 99 cents!

And check out that cool cover art!

Once a villain, always a villain?

Optimistic and idealistic superhero Prism is determined to redeem her father’s legacy by rebooting his super villain rehabilitation program. To do so, she sets her sights on Fade, the relapsed super villain who was the reason the government canceled the original program in the first place. However, when she petitions for Fade to be released into her custody, she finds out things might not be as simple as she thought.

Convicted of an unforgivable crime, Fade received a choice: surrender to trial and possible execution or endure a memory erasure so he could start fresh. Now with no recollection of his time before incarceration, Fade doubts he has the ability to be anything but the villain the public believe him to be.

A series of attacks by a mysterious power-swapping villain points back to Fade’s past and the crime that cost him his freedom and memory. With her father’s legacy and her own reputation on the line, even Prism has to wonder: can a villain truly be reformed?

About H.L. Burke

Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and was always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.

An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.

Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.

She is the author of a four part fantasy/romance series entitled “The Dragon and the Scholar,” the Award Winning (2016 Realm Award for Young Adult Fiction) Nyssa Glass Steampunk series, and MG/Fantasy “Cora and the Nurse Dragon,” among others .

Sign up for her monthly newsletter at www.hlburkeauthor.com

Preorder Reformed here

Follow H.L. Burke on:

Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Website

Writer’s Notebook Cover Reveal & Pre-Order

Writer’s Notebook Cover Reveal & Pre-Order

The new project I’ve been working on, the Writer’s Notebook: A Guided Journal to Plan Your Story, is set to release on May 12, 2020. And I finally have the finished cover to show you!

Even more exciting…it’s now available for Pre-Order!

Amazon Barnes & NobleBook Depository

Have you ever wanted to write a book? Or are you an experienced writer, starting your next story?

Get your thoughts on paper by writing all your story ideas in this pre-organized journal.

This notebook is part blank journal, part guided story planner. There’s plenty of room for you to customize your notes, and enough guidance to help figure out your plot, characters, and publishing goals.

It’s your writer’s notebook. Now, go write your story.

It was a tough decision to finalize this cover. I had two very different designs to choose from. I tested the opinions of many writers I knew, and the response was overwhelming–the cover you see before you was the winner! Perhaps I’ll use the rejected cover for a later variation of the notebook (because I secretly love it).

But wait, you say, it’s only in paperback

True, the retailers will only have the paperback version. There WILL be an electronic version available, but since it’s going to be a PDF, it will be available through my Etsy shop once it’s released on May 12.

Since this is a journal intended to be written in, there is no point in making it a traditional ebook. Therefore, I’ve created a PDF which is capable of being used on one’s computer or tablet much the same way as one would use a paperback journal. Users will be able to write on the pages, and easily navigate from one section to another. And if you have a tablet and a stylus, you can even write on it by hand.

Boskone 57 Schedule

Boskone 57 Schedule

Now less than a month away, Boskone 57 is coming up quick!

Join me at Boskone (February 14-16, 2020) in Boston, MA for an exciting science fiction and fantasy convention. It’s going to be a fun weekend filled with discussions of books, science, art, games, music, and more.

I can finally share my official con schedule, which is below! Check out the entire weekend’s schedule here.

Friday, February 14th

2:00 PM (free to the public)
Marvelous Magical Systems
Liz Delton, Tonia Thompson (Moderator), Gerald L. Coleman, Clea Simon, Mike Squatrito Jr
Harbor II · 50 min · Panel
Magical systems are like the laws of science. They have rules. Rules that must be followed or the magic won’t work or the magic will be released in unforeseen ways. Let’s look at what it takes to create a magical system that feels real and plausible. We’ll also review some of the best magical systems in literature and consider why they work so well.

I’m really excited for this panel, because I love writing about magic. When I first started, I watched a bunch of videos of Brandon Sanderson talking about how to create magic systems, and it’s one of the coolest aspects of world-building in my opinion.

Saturday, February 15th

10:00 AM
Authors New to Boskone! Group Reading
Melissa Caruso, Sara Codair (Moderator), Liz Delton, Cameron Roberson, Gregory Wilson, Isabel Yap
Griffin · 50 min · Reading
Each Boskone invites a number of fresh faces: authors attending their first Boskone as program participants. This special event highlights several. Each writer will read for 5 minutes. It’s a great way for you to get a taste of some innovative talents — and bring your questions for the Q& A at hour’s end.

1:00 PM
Fabulous Bookmarks!
Liz Delton
Galleria – Dragonslair · 55 min · Children
Author Liz Delton works with Dragonslair kids to build one-of-a-kind bookmarks to take home and track their own reading adventures!

Of course, I totally jumped on the opportunity to work with kids to make bookmarks. Everyone knows I have too many hobbies and love crafting.

3:00 PM
The Golden Compass: 25th Anniversary
C. S. E. Cooney, Christine Taylor-Butler (Moderator), Robert V.S. Redick, Liz Delton, John Langan
Harbor I · 50 min · Panel
The first volume of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy, a 1995 novel called Northern Lights in the U.K. and The Golden Compass in the U.S., ensorcelled the imaginations of tens of millions of readers worldwide. The quests of curious, clever, courageous young Lyra bring encounters with Dust and destiny, daemons and angels, armored bears and parallel worlds. Is this YA or adult fare? Did Pullman set out to slay religion, or merely C. S. Lewis? What do the later movie and TV adaptations add, or subtract?

Really looking forward to the opportunity to speak about The Golden Compass. I just finished watching the recent HBO adaptation a few weeks ago, and will be picking the book back up soon in preparation for this one of a kind story.

See you at Boskone!

Book Review: Coiled by H.L. Burke

Book Review: Coiled by H.L. Burke

What a magical book!  I was really excited to read this book, because it’s a retelling of a Greek myth–but it’s entirely unique, and very well-told.

I recently interviewed H.L. Burke on my blog as part of her Coiled release blog tour, and the book will be available on June 15, 2017.

A twist on Eros and Psyche, the story of Laidra and Calen is at times heartbreaking, heartwarming, and full of intrigue, adventure, and even an Olympian-style quest.

Laidra is cursed with hideousness that worsens whenever she heals someone, while Calen is cursed with the incredibly debilitating–and rather inconvenient to say the least–problem of turning into a giant snake when he is seen by another person.

There’s beautiful symmetry with the two curses, and ugly humanity rears its head in different ways when their respective families are confronted with just how to handle their cursed children.

I enjoyed this read from beginning to end, and though I thought I could see where it was going one moment, was pleasantly surprised by each turn of events. I thought the tale was expertly woven, and–importantly for me–no cringe-worthy romance: I loved watching Laidra and Calen’s relationship develop right from the start.

Burke’s characters always have real depth to them, especially in this book. Even the gods and demi-gods, though by definition are stuck within a certain role, each has quite a personality and lends their voice to the story.  I always love the humanization of mythological gods.  On the side of a vase the gods look all perfect and pristine, but when they get involved with mortals, they’re squabbling and plotting right down in there.

I would highly recommend for a pleasant YA read that will give you a good adventure, love, curses, intrigue, and even a magical beast or two!



Available on Amazon, Kobo, Nook and iBooks.


Also check out the Facebook Launch party happening June 23rd!

In-Person Author Event: How To

In-Person Author Event: How To

Last Updated July 2019

From indie authors to traditional–unless you’re JK Rowling–a big part of being an author is figuring out how to sell more books. Marketing, social media, etc…. I have found that for me, my biggest return on investment is in-person book events.

I’ve learned a lot of the logistics of doing book events in the past several years, and I want to share with other authors, so here goes!

I also most often sell bookmarks and other fun bookish craft items as well.

1. The Basics

To do a book event you absolutely need two things in hand:

Books
and a way to accept payments

Whenever I’m on my way to an event, and I’m experiencing that last-minute “what did I forget?” moment, I just ask myself: Do I have my books and my change? If the answer is yes, I pull out of the driveway.

The books: The hardest part is knowing how many books you will need, because you never know how many books you might sell. This is something you will only learn from experience–I have sold anywhere between 1-30 books at a single event, but for the most part average 10. Just try to prepare as best you can. Purchase them through your print-on-demand services (KDP or IngramSpark) if you’re an indie author, or through your publisher.

Budget how many books you can afford to have in your inventory. Books don’t go bad, but you’ll probably also be reporting them as inventory on your business taxes.  You’ll also need to physically lug them to the event, so you might want to invest in some sort of cart.  I have this one. And, of course, you’ll need to store them in between events.

Accepting payments: Part one of accepting payments is to first look into your state’s tax laws, and any other laws pertaining to selling items.  Obtain any permits or licensing before doing an event. I won’t give you any advice on taxes.

Part two is the actual payment.  You will want to have change on hand for cash purchases, so calculate how much you will need beforehand and go to your bank and get as many 1’s 5’s or 10’s you might need.

Accepting credit cards is exceedingly easy these days, and is likely to get you more sales than if you only accept cash.  PayPal and Square both make card swipers you can plug into your phone.  Generally, you’re getting hit with a small fee for each transaction, so make sure to factor that in with your recordkeeping.

2. Finding Events

A few hours at the local Hartford Public Library’s Author’s Table

The first event I ever attended was at my alma-mater: they were hosting an art show, and were looking for alumni who were authors to be part of it.  I happened to get an email about it.  The second event I attended was at a local library, with several other authors doing book signings–I found out about it from a newspaper clipping someone found for me.

The point here is that you can find events through almost any channel.  These days, I find most things through Google, or Facebook to be honest.  Join mailing lists, groups, and search for “local author event” or fairs in your area.

Libraries and book stores are the first places that probably come to mind for a book signing–Getting people to attend a single-author event, however, is a whole ‘nother topic.  But feel free to branch out depending on your target market. I’ve even done flea markets, craft shows, anime conventions and renaissance faires. Those work for me because I write fantasy. Ask yourself, what events do you think your readers attend?

There is the table fee to consider. How many books do you need to sell to cover it? Are the event hours worth your time? If you know any other authors in your area, try partnering with them and sharing a booth to split the cost if it’s high.

3. The important part: Logistics

3 days at ConnectiCon in Hartford

The amount of things you may or may not need will depend on the type of show, and how much or little you want to bring.  Places like libraries and bookstores will generally provide tables and chairs, at the very least, whereas at an outdoor craft show you might need a pop-up tent to go with your setup.

No, you don’t need all of these things below. But maybe you want some of them. Figure out what’s important to you, and make your own list that you keep for each event so you can check things off while packing!

Here’s a list, in no particular order, of things I suggest to have (besides your books & change):

  • Table
  • Table Cloth
  • Folding Chairs
  • Tent/Tent Weights if needed
  • Tarp for outdoor events (useful for saving books in the rain)
  • A backdrop, if you want to get fancy
  • Business Cards
  • email list sign-up sheet
  • Other promo materials, if you have them (postcards, bookmarks, etc.)
  • Pens
  • A way to track sales, even if it’s just a designated piece of paper or notebook
  • A receipt book, in case someone wants one
  • Stands to prop up your book(s)
  • Signage: banners, posters, flyers, stands, etc.
  • Pricing- stickers for the books, or small signs indicating prices
  • If it’s going to be a long day, bring food, snacks, water, caffeine, etc.
  • A spare battery, to charge your phone.
  • Various supplies: tape, duct tape, rubber bands, binder clips, Purrell wipes, tissues, hand warmers, scissors.  (Can you tell I used to be a Stage Manager?)

4. Event Day

Pop-up shopping event at a local indie bookstore

Now, you’ve been getting ready for this day for a while now, and it’s finally here!   First: be early.  Whether it’s the library, or the several thousand people market, there are many reasons to be early, and you certainly don’t want to get stuck in traffic, parking, or be late setting up.  I like to pack my car the night before, if I can.  Second: do you have your books and change?

A few HONEST tips, for once you’ve set up:

  • Try to look approachable. Smile, if that’s your thing. Stand, if that’s your thing. Don’t play with your phone a lot. Be aware of how you seem–would YOU want to approach your table?
  • Take pictures of your setup, or event signage, and put it out on all of your social media channels to let everyone know you’re there. Hopefully you have also shared and posted that you’re attending this event a good amount before the actual event as well.
  • Prepare an “elevator speech”–a quick, 30 second synopsis explaining your book.
  • Don’t be disappointed.  Not everyone likes to read, or not everyone may like your genre. Or someone who might love your book might not be able to afford it. So hand out lots of business cards or postcards.
  • Make friends with the other vendors/authors/staff. Useful for when you need to leave your table to go to the bathroom/get food/go to your car.
  • Don’t pack up early.  This is a big pet peeve of mine because it drives customers away from all the vendors.  Besides, you might miss out on those sales! Even when I’m packing up, the last thing I pack is the books. I’ve had other vendors buy books from me when it was breakdown time.

5. Weather

If you do an event outside, plan to deal with the weather.  There are some things you can do to prepare, but sometimes there is nothing you can do.  If you have a tent, you can get walls to attach to it, to keep out rain and sun.  You can also get weights to keep your tent from leaving the ground (highly recommend!).  You can wear rain boots.


There is a lot that goes into doing an in person event, but I have to be honest, that feeling of signing your book and handing it over to a reader is awesome. Isn’t that why we all do this?

I will be honest and say that I am better with words coming out of my hands than my mouth, BUT sometimes you just need to get yourself out there if you want to get your books into more reader’s hands!

The renaissance faire is probably my favorite event!

Do you sell at markets and events?  What kinds of things do you bring?