by Sarah Noffke
“Thank you, Paris. I’m happy to be here with you, and I look forward to more adventures, starting tomorrow.”
“Yes, tomorrow…” Paris Beaufont whispered into her pillow, falling into a dreamless sleep that would prepare her for all the adventures to come.
The Story Continues with The Mysterious Child
Coming April 16, 2021.
Pre-order today to have your copy delivered as soon as it publishes!
Sarah’s Author Notes
February 24, 2021
Thank you! A huge thank you to you the reader for taking a chance on this new series. I hope you enjoyed book 1. If you didn’t, please call Mike at 555-555-5555. Do you ever wonder if that number gets a ton of calls since people are always using it as a made up number? Anyway, thank you.
So if this is your first series with us, welcome. If it’s not, thank you and welcome back. You regulars know how my author notes go. MA has just opened them to read and probably groaned, thinking, “Great, Noffke has written another novella of author notes for me to respond do.” I have, Bird Killer and I expect you to respond line by line.
For those new to us, I call Michael Anderle, Bird Killer because this one time he was a young lad and killed a bird. Then he grew up and told me about it. He now has two regrets, that I’m aware of. I have been nicknamed Tiny Ninja by Mike and the readers, so when I sign off as that, please don’t think I really think of myself as a ninja or tiny. I’m small. About the size of an elementary school child, but I curse like a sailor to make up for it. Really confuses adults sometimes. They are like, where are your parents and why haven’t they taught you any manners?
See! See how I just derail this part of the book into my own senseless ramblings? You’ll get used to it. Mike, you’re still following along, right? You haven’t skipped to the end so you can just respond to the last part and pretend you read the whole novella, right? There will be a test. The square root of pie is banana. Get that wrong and there will be repercussions.
Speaking of pie, Paris throwing pies at the villains throughout the books was unexpected. I actually asked my alpha reader, Juergen, if that was too slapstick. He said no. He’s the boss.
So let’s talk book. I loved writing this first installment. Like it was this fun little break away from reality everyday when I got to visit Happily Ever After College. The characters soon became my friends and I found myself longing to skip all the adulting everyday and get back to writing.
It should be noted that I don’t go outside much these days and interaction with real humans is limited due to restrictions. Just saying. It’s been almost five months at the writing of this since I’ve seen my boyfriend, who from this point forward, I will only refer to as the Scotsman, because we all get nicknames in the author notes. Anyway, my point is that I write because I have to. I literally feel like I was chosen for this profession whether I like it or not. But in this instance, it was such a nice escape for me.
Most days I love writing. At three o’clock in the morning, when the story won’t let me sleep…well, I still love it. But some days, it’s exhausting. I also write because you lovely readers have told me of the escape that it gives you. That’s kept me writing on the really hard days when I’d rather turn off my brain and watch Netflix. But for this book, well, I wrote it as my escape. I needed it. And as someone who isn’t a romantic, I found it so easy to relate to Paris. She would rather clock a giant for being a bully than listen to a sappy ballad. I’ve never punched a giant, mostly because I couldn’t reach their face, but also I don’t really do rom coms or romance very much. So it was easy to write Paris, who didn’t understand romance but would stomach creating true love for others if it made the world a better place.
At the start of a new series, the world building and characters takes a while. So how did I come up with the characters? Well, I watch a lot of British television. Lately I’ve been obsessed with The Great British Baking Show. It’s relaxing and unlike American television, the Brits aren’t overly competitive. They are supportive of each other and there’s less sensational drama. Anyway, Chef Ash and Wilfred were inspired by real world contestants on the show. You can’t beat real.
Now Hemingway, well, he’s probably inspired by my Scotsman. How did I come up with his name? You ask so many good questions. Names in this series are supposed to have symbolic meaning. So we have Paris who has never been to Paris. Hemingway who has never read one of the famous author’s books. Faraday who is scientific minded. Penny who is poor. Professor Butcher who is evil. Willow who is adaptable. You get the idea. Things with the names will come full circle but I won’t give you spoilers.
Christine is inspired by my hair stylist who is one of the coolest and funniest people I know. She told me once that people always mess up her name calling her Christina or Christy or Christa. She regretted telling me that because what I never called her since? If you guessed Christine then you get one-hundred worthless bonus points. Why my friends tell me anything, ever, I’ll never understand. But I get it. I get Diana and Diane messed up all the time.
Mae Ling, who came over from the Sophia series, is what I call my sister, who isn’t an old Asian lady. But a few years ago, my sister, whose actual name is Beatrix, after the author, but I call her Bea when I’m not calling her Mae Ling, pranked called a boyfriend of mine. He’s obviously not my boyfriend now, which is why I was like, yeah, that’s fine, let’s pretend we’re fifteen and prank call people. My sister was probably about fifteen at the time because she’s twenty years youngers than me. Anyway, she calls the boyfriend, blocking her number and says, “This Mae Ling and you have nail appoooointment with me.”
He was like, “What?”
And in her really bad accent she says, “Your nail loooong. You come in for appooooooointment.”
He hung up.
I broke up with him. And that’s why my sister is named Mae Ling and inspired the crafty and mysterious fairy godmother.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the book. I know I loved writing it.
Without further ado, I turn you over to MA. So Bird Killer, please tell all the loyal readers, what’s the square root of pie?
Much peace and love,
Tiny Ninja
Michael’s Author Notes
March 9, 2021
Thank you for both reading this story and trudging through the mindless ramblings of a ninja who never grew up.
Or very tall.
Oh, and the answer to the question is the song from a famous pop star who spelled the word out.
You are VERY welcome to those who now have the song stuck in your head. I’m writing these damned notes while dancing around and typing out the beat right now.
And Sarah wonders why I would skip her author notes? Even a teensy little bit?
For those who know who I am, please just drop below to #ABitMoreStuff. For those who don’t, I add this part to the author notes for book 01s I’m a part of so there is a bit about who I am.
A Bit About Me
I wrote my first book Death Becomes Her (The Kurtherian Gambit) in September/October of 2015 and released it November 2, 2015. I wrote and released the next two books that same month and had three released by the end of November 2015.
So, just at five years ago.
Since then, I’ve written, collaborated, concepted, and/or created hundreds more in all sorts of genres.
My most successful genre is still my first, Paranormal Sci-Fi, followed quickly by Urban Fantasy. I have multiple pen names I produce under.
Some because I can be a bit crude in my humor at times or raw in my cynicism (Michael Todd). I have one I share with Martha Carr (Judith Berens, and another (not disclosed) that we use as a marketing test pen name.
In general, I just love to tell stories, and with success comes the opportunity to mix two things I love in my life.
Business and stories.
I’ve wanted to be an entrepreneur since I was a teenager. I was a very unsuccessful entrepreneur (I tried man
y times) until my publishing company LMBPN signed one author in 2015.
Me.
I was the president of the company, and I was the first author published. Funny how it worked out that way.
It was late 2016 before we had additional authors join me for publishing. Now we have a few dozen authors, a few hundred audiobooks published by LMBPN, a few hundred more licensed by six audio companies, and about a thousand titles in our company.
It’s been a busy five years.
#ABitMoreStuff
So, I tried to use my outdoor pizza oven (it’s made of sheet metal and sits on a rolling cart out back) for the second time yesterday. Maybe the third?
I can’t remember. I’d like to suggest it was the second time because it went less than stellar.
My idea to use wood charcoal (not Kingsford) to keep the heat going did work well—up to a point. A point that the temperature gauge said was 950 degrees.
A portion of my pizza was burnt.
This little pizza oven is pretty small and barely holds a 12” pizza. I’m responsible as the Pizza Chef Guy to turn the pie a bit every little while. The major problems are: the pizza oven loses too much heat, and when I do this, the pizza glues itself to the pizza stone, making turning it a challenge.
One step forward, three steps back.
I figure I will try purchasing some cheap pizza pans to slide into the oven so I can turn the pizza more easily. At least until I learn how to pre-heat the pizza oven correctly. There HAS to be a way to cook on the stone.
I have learned a valuable lesson: cook pizza outside on beautiful days. That way, if you burn a third of the pie, have a soggy crust, and leave a mess, at least you enjoyed mother nature.
Enjoy the supernatural shenanigans of Paris Beaufont while I go use my Google-fu on how to cook a pizza without…problems.
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael
Acknowledgments
Sarah Noffke
I have so many people to thank who make this all possible. Firstly, thanks to Mike, who really pushes me to be a better writer, coming up with the best ideas, not just the really good ones. We work together pretty well, I’d say. I wonder what he’d say… Anyway, MA gave me the opportunity to write with LBMPN a few years ago and it’s been life changing. He’s very supportive and really cares. Thanks Bird Killer.
A huge thank you to the LBMPN team who work tirelessly so that I have less stress. Thanks to Steve and Kelly for making my life easier and being on top of everything. Thanks to Tracey and Lynne for fixing all my editing mistakes. A big thank you to the JIT team whose feedback at the 11th hour before publishing is invaluable. Thank you to my alpha readers Juergen and Martin. Thank you to everyone who makes getting the books to the reader possible. I really can’t do this without you. And you make it so much more fun.
Thank you to my daughter, Lydia, who inspires my stories over and over again. She’s my muse and we are always discussing story. She’s an avid reader and listens to the Liv Beaufont series at night and reads the Sophia Beaufont books with me before bed. She also reads other authors, which I guess is okay. But my point is that she’s supportive of me in so many ways. I need to stay immersed in this universe and remember all the details. There are 12 book in each series so there’s a lot to remember. And Lydia loves my stories and then also supports me by listening and reading them so I can keep crafting. But also, she puts up with me when I go all psycho pants during a big crunch of a deadline. I will be the first to admit that I’m pretty intense a day or two before a book is due. And she always just smiles and says, “Mommy, you can do it.”
Thank you to my family, the Scotsman and all my friends. You all are always so supportive of me and for that, I’m infinitely grateful. I really couldn’t do this without the encouragement of those I love. On the really tough writing days, the Scotsman points out all the things that I don’t see, like my dedication to the craft or how much readers are enjoying the books. I don’t know what I did to have the most loving and thoughtful people in the world in my corner, but I’m going to do everything to keep them and hopefully keep making them proud.
And finally, thank you to you the reader. Without you I wouldn’t be able to do what I love. Your support means so much to me and my family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Love,
Tiny Ninja
Books By Sarah Noffke
Sarah Noffke writes YA and NA science fiction, fantasy, paranormal and urban fantasy. In addition to being an author, she is a mother, podcaster and professor. Noffke holds a Masters of Management and teaches college business/writing courses. Most of her students have no idea that she toils away her hours crafting fictional characters. www.sarahnoffke.com
Check out other work by Sarah author here.
Ghost Squadron:
Formation #1:
Kill the bad guys. Save the Galaxy. All in a hard day’s work.
After ten years of wandering the outer rim of the galaxy, Eddie Teach is a man without a purpose. He was one of the toughest pilots in the Federation, but now he’s just a regular guy, getting into bar fights and making a difference wherever he can. It’s not the same as flying a ship and saving colonies, but it’ll have to do.
That is, until General Lance Reynolds tracks Eddie down and offers him a job. There are bad people out there, plotting terrible things, killing innocent people, and destroying entire colonies. Someone has to stop them.
Eddie, along with the genetically-enhanced combat pilot Julianna Fregin and her trusty E.I. named Pip, must recruit a diverse team of specialists, both human and alien. They’ll need to master their new Q-Ship, one of the most powerful strike ships ever constructed. And finally, they’ll have to stop a faceless enemy so powerful, it threatens to destroy the entire Federation.
All in a day’s work, right?
Experience this exciting military sci-fi saga and the latest addition to the expanded Kurtherian Gambit Universe. If you’re a fan of Mass Effect, Firefly, or Star Wars, you’ll love this riveting new space opera.
*NOTE: If cursing is a problem, then this might not be for you.
Check out the entire series here.
The Precious Galaxy Series:
Corruption #1
A new evil lurks in the darkness.
After an explosion, the crew of a battlecruiser mysteriously disappears.
Bailey and Lewis, complete strangers, find themselves suddenly onboard the damaged ship. Lewis hasn’t worked a case in years, not since the final one broke his spirit and his bank account. The last thing Bailey remembers is preparing to take down a fugitive on Onyx Station.
Mysteries are harder to solve when there’s no evidence left behind.
Bailey and Lewis don’t know how they got onboard Ricky Bobby or why. However, they quickly learn that whatever was responsible for the explosion and disappearance of the crew is still on the ship.
Monsters are real and what this one can do changes everything.
The new team bands together to discover what happened and how to fight the monster lurking in the bottom of the battlecruiser.
Will they find the missing crew? Or will the monster end them all?
The Soul Stone Mage Series:
House of Enchanted #1:
The Kingdom of Virgo has lived in peace for thousands of years…until now.
The humans from Terran have always been real assholes to the witches of Virgo. Now a silent war is brewing, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Princess Azure will soon be crowned queen of the Kingdom of Virgo.
In the Dark Forest a powerful potion-maker has been murdered.
Charmsgood was the only wizard who could stop a deadly virus plaguing Virgo. He also knew about the devastation the people from Terran had done to the forest.
Azure must protect her people. Mend the Dark Forest. Create alliances with savage beasts. No biggie, right?
But on coronation day everything changes. Princess Azure isn’t who she thought she was and that’s a big
freaking problem.
Welcome to The Revelations of Oriceran. Check out the entire series here.
The Lucidites Series:
Awoken, #1:
Around the world humans are hallucinating after sleepless nights.
In a sterile, underground institute the forecasters keep reporting the same events.
And in the backwoods of Texas, a sixteen-year-old girl is about to be caught up in a fierce, ethereal battle.
Meet Roya Stark. She drowns every night in her dreams, spends her hours reading classic literature to avoid her family’s ridicule, and is prone to premonitions—which are becoming more frequent. And now her dreams are filled with strangers offering to reveal what she has always wanted to know: Who is she? That’s the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. But will Roya live to regret learning the truth?
Stunned, #2
Revived, #3
The Reverians Series:
Defects, #1:
In the happy, clean community of Austin Valley, everything appears to be perfect. Seventeen-year-old Em Fuller, however, fears something is askew. Em is one of the new generation of Dream Travelers. For some reason, the gods have not seen fit to gift all of them with their expected special abilities. Em is a Defect—one of the unfortunate Dream Travelers not gifted with a psychic power. Desperate to do whatever it takes to earn her gift, she endures painful daily injections along with commands from her overbearing, loveless father. One of the few bright spots in her life is the return of a friend she had thought dead—but with his return comes the knowledge of a shocking, unforgivable truth. The society Em thought was protecting her has actually been betraying her, but she has no idea how to break away from its authority without hurting everyone she loves.