Weird News From the Dream - Dec. 20, 2024
Dear Reader,
Y'all aren't gonna believe this!
Back in September, I gave up and pulled from YouTube the chapters of the Draoithe Saga I had posted. If you want to read about the post, it's on Substack. I had hoped to link the episodes to the corresponding chapters in the miniseries. That has never panned out, but it led me to podcasting on Substack. Once I got the hang of podcasting, I learned the podcast could link up with other platforms like Spotify, Pocket Casts, and YouTube.
Linking my Substack to my YouTube was hard. Nothing worked correctly. I watched tutorials, emailed help desks, made a gazillion adjustments. Nothing.
I woke up on a Sunday and tried again after unsuccessfully trying several times, and it worked!
All the steamy scenes and the intense fantasy violence scenes went behind the paywall on Substack, so they won't feed through and cause violations anywhere. I uploaded all the episodes and set it up so all the new ones would appear. None of the paid episodes fed through.
I thought I had it figured out, but I write for a mature audience. I chose not to sanitize the stories long ago, and I own the fact that the Draoithe Saga is both dark and steamy. It's not a good match with YouTube.
Two days later, the joy all faded. One of the pay walled scenes fed through and caused YouTube an issue. It should not have happened, but tech was never my forte. I appealed the sanctions, but they won't care why or hear any explanation. They will focus only on content they shouldn't have received, so I disconnected the Draoithe Saga Storycast from YouTube. Two days later, the verdict came exactly as I expected.
It's sad, because many people enjoyed the episodes. To all my YouTube subscribers, I'm sorry. I have made the sad decision to leave the story description videos, character introductions, and the quote videos. The rest will host on Substack.
But enough sad news. One of my books won an award.
AWARDS?
Haunted Echoes won an award?!
Pleased to learn one of my books had earned a bestseller status, I wanted to share the news. You won't see this reflected on any single retailer because I'm published wide, and this is an aggregate from all the retailers. It's pretty neat to know people are buying and reading my stories. Thank you all. This award belongs to my readers far more than to me.
Sharing this note segues nicely into the next topic.
Shameless Self Promotion
The Haunted Echoes ebook is available for sale at all ebook retailers!
A gentle reminder: Dark Curse is on sale directly from me. Just use the following codes for either the ebook or the audiobook and take 75% off either or both. Sorry I can't do it everywhere.
75% off Dark Curse Audiobook
Code: Q6QQOSNDCU
End date:
Jan 5th 2025
75% off Dark Curse Ebook
Code: GJ6LIVHEMM
End date:
Jan 5th 2025
And don't forget season 2 of the Draoithe Saga Storycast has begun. If you want to listen to Druid Fox, it publishes an episode every day.
Now that you've seen enough ad cards for a while, let's get back to the post.
Sneak Peek at Dark Oath
The formatting software got an update. Let's just say it had a few issues, and I almost couldn't bring this sneak peek, or any sneak peeks, for that matter. Thankfully, it seems fixed, and I edited a few more chapters. So allow me the legalese and we shall get into a scene.
Warning:
This is a work in progress and
is subject to change at any time.
Read at Your Own Risk!
Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved.
A Part of:
Lavender and Linen
Flame
Flame and Hannah woke and dressed to go to their workout. It became their routine. Trapped indoors until sunset, a couple of hours of a good workout were a welcome distraction to start the day. Afterward, they showered, and she sat with him, drinking her tea while he ate.
The invitation to attend twilight dinner arrived with Blaze and Grace. Hannah grew excited at the prospect of meeting more of the people at Draoithe, so Flame immediately agreed to take her.
Blaze warned them of their king’s delicate circumstances. Their queen was rather territorial about her mate. Draoithe was a different kingdom.
Hannah became alarmed, but Flame laughed.
“It’s the way of shifters. We have the animal mentality. We like to be marked by our mates. If Luke is happy, as Blaze seemed to think he was, then it’s good.”
“Well, it seems barbaric to me.”
She still thought like a human. Time would show her more of the Leaindeail. Immortals had different customs.
Twilight dinner was excellent. Hannah met more of the denizens of Draoithe, including Andrei, Nadine, Lily, and Ryker. When dinner was over, Flame talked with them when Kallik and Mihaela joined them.
I see you took my advice. Was it worth it?
Kallik spoke to him with dream talk.
It might have been the best advice I’ve ever gotten. We only linked, but you were right. It was the only way.
Flame responded with a grin as he grasped forearms with his king. Flame liked Kallik, and Hannah seemed to enjoy Mihaela’s company.
Flame set up borrowing a car from Ryker on Friday. Andrei offered to let him use his Hummer as he rarely ever went out, but Ryker suggested the Mercedes instead, as Luke was holding onto the Hummers for an excursion to San Antonio for the missing elemental sister.
“Dancing out? Are you sure you can deal with the male attention she will get?”
Andrei asked as he flicked his eyes over Nightshade.
“We’re working on cloaking and open allure. She is better at cloaking.”
“What’s cloaking?” Ryker asked.
“It’s inverting the allure. Men don’t do it well. When does a man ever not want a woman’s attention?”
Mihaela piped up.
“Princess, you know how much I hate that. I have only ever desired the attention of my eagle.”
Andrei seemed irritated by being stereotyped as a typical man.
“Well, I for one think it would be nice if Ryker could turn it off when we go out. But the last catfight was fun, even if I was the only actual cat involved,” Lily said.
“You were in a catfight? Over Ryker?”
Hannah’s voice squeaked.
“Ryker belongs to me. He’s my territory. No woman may handle my mate.”
Lily added a serious catlike hiss.
Sandalwood and almonds drifted around her and Ryker, and Lily’s anger dissipated.
Everyone laughed except Ryker, who was kissing Lily. He seemed to like the idea of being Lily’s territory.
When the dinner guests finally took their leave, Flame and Hannah went back to the house. Flame didn’t wish to have to fight an entire club for Hannah, even though he wanted to take her out dancing more than anything. Flame served them drinks, and he sat in the living room to practice her allure, breathing lavender and linen.
Sorry to cut things off like that, but I haven't quite finished editing that chapter. I am nearing the finish line on edits though, and this is a later scene. So, I'm still on track to publish the book before Christmas. Each time I post that, it thrills me. (It also puts pressure on me, but whatever.) I can't wait to get this story complete and into the world as a book.
I think you will seriously enjoy the ending on this one. Dark Oath has one of my all-time favorite scenes. I have work to do, so I need to end this post here. Thanks for stepping into the dream and supporting my creative work. You have my deepest appreciation. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. 
Please remember to be kind when you read and leave your reviews. Welcome to the dream...
Be Careful!
Happy Reading,
Ophelia Kee
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Thank you for your support! Welcome to the dream… Sincerely, -OK
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