Lesli's Newsletter, April 2026
Happy April!
Hello, and a very happy spring to you!
There have only been a couple of developments since my last newsletter, but they’re pretty good ones, so away we go:
Publishing Developments
The Song of the Butterflies
Now coming to you in February of 2027. When I first received notification of the delay a couple of months ago, I fully expected the delay to be all the way out to November of 2027. Finding out that it’s only a few months of delay instead of an entire year definitely helped ease the disappointment. Next stop: cover design. Expect some news on that front in the next letter.
As a small publishing house, Rising Action does a lot of its advertising on social media, so if you want to be in the know and help spread the word, please give me a follow on Instagram, if you haven’t already. If you have—thank you! Your online support is greatly appreciated.
Now For Some Fun Stuff
Your Ideas, Our Stories
In my last email, I asked you for prompts to help keep my writing muscles flexing, as well as to keep us all a little entertained. Well, you came through—thank you so much! I have a handful of ideas tumbling around in my head now, and I’m writing them out on a first come, first served basis. (At least, so far I am. If a new prompt really grabs me, that may change!) So keep ‘em coming! Just reply to this email or drop me a line via the Contact Me page on my website and let me know what strange fiction you'd like me to come up with next.
FUN FACT: everyone who submits a prompt is automatically entered to win a spot on my ARC readers list. (ARC stands for Advance Reader Copy, and I’ll tell you more about that in the next update. Oooh, mysterious!)
The first short story, Here There Be Monsters, is based on a prompt from fellow author Paul Fraser. (You can learn more about Paul and his books here.) Please click here to read the prompt and the resultant short story. I tried to set up the page so that you could leave comments, but it doesn’t appear to be working. I think I like IT more than IT likes me.
My next story… well, you’ll find out more in the next newsletter, but it’s already written. All it needs is one last review for typos and such, and it’s ready to post, too.
These short stories aren’t beta-read or professionally edited, so they’re not polished, but I hope they’re still fun.
Other Life Stuff
My husband and I have a week-long vacation coming up in May. We’re off to Mexico and I can hardly wait. We’ve never been, so it will be an exploration of a brand-new place, with all the history, food, culture, and people that accompany such an adventure. I’m really looking forward to it; work has been demanding lately and, with the recent retirement of an extremely valued teammate, it’s going to be even harder for a bit. Thankfully, the company I work for is replete with highly skilled and talented professionals, so we’ll get through it.
But vacation is going to be sorely needed by the time it arrives!
In the meantime, we’ll be spending tomorrow having Easter with my in-laws. I absolutely won the in-law lottery, so it’ll be a fun time.
That's It For This Time
Have a wonderful spring! Happy reading!
Lesli
