April News

Hello, friends. I hope you are all staying safe and sane in these strange times.

First, ICYMI, my biggest news this month as I finally completed a first draft of Going Forth by Day, the sixth and final book of The Order of the Four Sons series. I shared a new excerpt earlier this month. I have started revisions this week. I'm hoping for a summer release. We'll see how it goes.

If you are looking for reading material, I received word this month that copies of my e-books are now available through libraries affiliated with Biblioboard as part of their Indie Author project. The books availble for checkout are: The Order of the Four Sons series, Our Miss Engel, The Winter Prince and West Side Girl & Other Poems.

If your local library isn't currently participating, Biblioboard has a form you can submit, requesting that your library be added so you can have access to indie titles. 

I had not been written or submitted any new poetry since November since I wanted to focus on finishing the novel. As it nears completion, I am looking forward to getting back to poetry.

I had other pieces that were scheduled to be published this month, but due to COVID, delays in printing were inevitable. Some of the publications are exploring offering online versions instead of print. I appreciate all the editorial and design folks out there working to keep art and literature flowing into the world-- now is the time that we need it most.

And thank you, dear readers, for all your support. Be well.

November News

Hello, friends! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Is there any better time to curl up with a good book than late fall/early winter? I think not.

Here are some new places you can read my work this month:

My poems "Morels" and "The Call Box" appeared in The Rockvale Review.

Three poems, "Hirsute Woman," "High Water Lines," and "Varanasi" appeared in Voice of Eve.

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of Necropolis. It means a lot to me to know that people have stuck with the O4S series so far. If you've read it, I hope you'll consider leaving a review. They're very important to indie authors like me.

And finally, I would like to say that, with the holidays coming up, please check out my Christmas stories, The Ice Dragon and The Winter Prince. What are the holidays without a little magic?

Thank you again for reading! I am grateful for each and every one of you.

May News

Hello, hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! May has been another terrifically busy month.

Over on Poets.Media, Laura DiNovis reviewed my poetry collection, West Side Girl & Other Poems: “West Side Girl is Lauren Scharhag's only book of poems as of yet, but lovers of new and exciting poetry will find themselves hoping that she will feel compelled to assemble another collection, one that is filled with equally visceral language that will continue to send chills down their spines.” 

On Amazon, I also received a new five-star review on The Winter Prince. "Outrageous fun... Within this one magical tale, I reflected on other magical tales that I’d read as a child: Little Red Riding Hood with the woodcutter, Rip Van Winkle, the Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Like these old tales, this one is lovely and fresh, magical and deep."

Big thanks to both these reviewers! I am always so humbled to know someone out there is reading and enjoying my work.

In case you missed it, I have completed a first draft of Necropolis (The Order of the Four Sons, Book V). I am hoping for an August or September release. I have posted a new excerpt for your delectation here. 

And last, but certainly not least, my work appeared in a few more publications this month:

My poem, "eDreams" was on Duane's PoeTree Blog, which marks my third appearance on his site. I'm pleased to be a regular. 

My Lovecraftian short story, “The Seven Wives of Richard Copeland," was released in Schlock's Quarterly anthology, a compendium of the prior months' best work. It's available for purchase on Lulu here. Or you can read it on their webzine archives here.

And finally, my poem, "Whale Songs at 52 Hertz," appeared on Dying Dahlia Review. This poem was inspired by an article I read about the world's loneliest whale. 

Thank you to all the lovely editors and reviewers out there who believe in me. As some writer or other has said, there's no money in writing, and even when there is, there's not much money, so I find so much joy in all of these little victories. Thank you for letting me share them with you. 

November News

Hi, all! Two of my poems, "Cemetery with Whale Bones" and "The Submersed" appeared in Aji Magazine. Read it free here.

"Cemetery with Whale Bones" was inspired by a photo I saw of a cemetery in Point Hope, Alaska:

I've never seen it in person, but now it's on my travel bucket list.

"The Submersed" was about a prison inmate I talked to who used to be an underwater welder. It sounds like a fascinating and terrifying occupation.

Later this month, my poem, "Mama" will appear on Poetry Breakfast. I'll also be featuring guest poet Jennifer A. Payne, who has just released a new poetry collection, Evidence of Flossing. 

Don't forget, all of my titles are now available on Kindle Unlimited. In December, in honor of the season, I'm making The Ice Dragon and The Winter Prince available as free downloads. The Ice Dragon will be free on Dec. 6, and The Winter Prince will be free on Dec. 13.

Thank you, as always, for reading, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Reviews and Interviews

2017 continues to be a good year, you guys. Here's the latest:

In February, the lovely Erika Beebe reviewed The Winter Prince over on her site, Cloud Nine Girl. She writes, "If you're a fan of fairy tales, you'll love The Winter Prince. Captivating, vivid, from the creatures you'll meet to the outstanding dialogue, The Winter Prince will draw you in and hold your attention all the way through the fantastic end." Thanks, Erika!

More recently, I was interviewed by Darrell Laurant over at his website, Snowflakes in a Blizzard. He seeks out books with unique topics that don't fall neatly into genre categories, so he invited me to talk about Under Julia. I hope you get a chance to check out not only my interview, but take a moment to look around. Darrell has definitely unearthed some hidden gems of the indie world-- I know I've downloaded quite a few books featured there already. Keep up the good work, Darrell! 

I have some exciting projects in the works. One magazine has accepted three of my poems. They've asked that I do audio recordings of all three, and even put them to music, so I'm working with Tripp Kirby of The Electric Lungs to make that happen. This just might be the most awesome thing I've ever done. These guys are amazingly talented, and you should definitely check out some of their tunes.

It goes to show you never can tell.

As I am still thoroughly enmeshed in Order of the Four Sons edits, I'm keeping it short this week.

I wanted to share a pleasant discovery with fellow my authors. The lesson is this: you just never can tell what people will want. 

Back in April, I did a book sale/signing at the Writers Place here in Kansas City. To my surprise, my most popular books were my children's books, particularly a little story I wrote five or six years ago called The Ice Dragon. I wrote it partly as a Christmas gift to my co-author, Coyote, and his children, who were still young enough to enjoy fairy tales. But, mainly, I wrote it as a joke. I know I've shared this story on this blog before, but I'll go ahead and share it again.

Way, way back when Coyote and I first sat down to start writing the O4S series, we had a good-natured argument. Coyote, as an old-school fantasy geek, wanted dragons somewhere in the story. I didn't. I thought it was too cliche. Anything but dragons, I said. The argument went something like this:

Coyote: Dragons?
Me: No. No dragons.
Coyote: Just one dragon?
Me: NO! NO. DRAGONS. EVER!

We've stuck to the No Dragon rule in O4S-- zombies, fairies, mermaids, chimeras, undead psychopaths, yes. But no dragons. 

When I wrote The Ice Dragon, I was basically saying, "Here. Here's your damn dragon." Because if you can't give your BFF crap every now and then, I mean, what's the point?

The years went by. I threw The Ice Dragon up on Amazon and Smashwords because-- why not? But I didn't really promote it except at Christmastime because I didn't think anyone would be interested in it outside of the holidays. 

Well, I was wrong. 

There was its popularity at the Writers Place. Then someone bought a whole bunch of hard copies from Createspace-- I assume a bookstore or a library. So I thought, maybe-- maybe people would be interested in this story year-round? 

Last month, I started promoting it regularly, along with my other titles. Imagine my surprise when I got a big response. I sold a bunch of copies-- more than I think I've ever sold in a given month. 

And not only did it sell-- I've gotten some new five-star reviews:

"Absolutely enchanting . . . My 10 year old student absolutely loves this book."

"Brilliantly woven and heartrending, a thoroughly enjoyable expedition. I'm not going to compare it to other books, the style was unique to me. Do buy this book, it's not only good, I dare to say it's important."

I just . . . I can't get over it.

I wanted to share this experience with other writers-- guys, put yourself out there. It will amaze you what people might respond to, what they might connect with, what might touch their hearts. 

As for me, apparently I need to write more children's books. I may even throw in another dragon or two.



In the meantime, it's Fantasy Month over at the Inspired Writers site. I'm one of the featured authors. If you haven't checked it out already, swing by there. You can grab an additional excerpt of The Winter Prince and enter for a chance to win an autographed copy.

May Book Giveaway

April is coming to a close and it's been a busy month.  I just got back from a vacation in New Orleans, a city that always inspires me.  It's where I got the idea from my forthcoming vampire series, and I also got some ideas for a fantasy-romance I'm working on.

Also, today I went to a book sale/signing event at the Kansas City Writers Place.  My best sellers were The Ice Dragon and The Winter Prince.  Apparently, I need to write more kids' books!

I've decided to start doing a monthly giveaway.  I'm kicking it off with an autographed copy of The Winter Prince.

To enter, drop me an email, laurenscharhag@gmail.com, tweet at me @laurenscharhag, or post on my Facebook wall to let me know you're interested.  The winner will be randomly selected on May 1.

I hope to hear from you soon!

Because what says 'holidays' like dragons and trolls?

I confess, I am one of those terrible people who doesn't mind when stores start putting out their holiday displays and neighbors start stringing up lights the day after Halloween.  I also like to listen to Christmas carols year-round.  Feel free to throw things.

But this translates to good news for you guys-- I've put my holiday books on sale.

The Ice Dragon and The Winter Prince are now just 99 cents, from now through New Year's Day!  If you love fantasy and fairy tales, you will love these winter stories, and of course, they're great to read to your little ones.

Buy The Ice Dragon: Amazon, Smashwords, or Createspace.  Read an excerpt here.

Buy The Winter Prince: Amazon, Smashwords, or Createspace.  Read an excerpt here. 

Happy Thanksgiving!  Merry Christmas!  Happy Hanukkah!  Happy Kwaanza!  Happy Festivus!  Blessed Winter Solstice!  Happy-any-holiday-that-I-missed!

New cover art!

Is there anything more exciting than new book cover designs?  I think not! 

Check out the new covers for The Ice Dragon and The Winter Prince:

Just in time for the holidays!  Much thanks to Tatiana at Vila Design for the covers.