Digital Release: Shadow Dance

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

It’s here – finally. Release day for Shadow Dance, volume six in the Hero’s Sword series.

Well, mostly release day.

The book is out in all digital formats (you can find the links on the book page). Here’s the jacket copy:

The election is over and Jaycee lost. Or did she? When she is asked to serve as the eighth grade’s representative to Student Council, Jaycee realizes she can still change things at Tanner. That is, until Kara points out it also means attending the Homecoming Dance.

Seeking a respite from shopping, Jaycee turns to her favorite video game. The Fall Council has convened early in response to the Dark Blade Crisis. Arriving in Mallory, Lyla learns that attending the Fall Council means going to the ball. And wearing a dress.

At the Council Ball, Lyla meets a mysterious stranger from an Eastern estate. Does he hold answers? An explosion at the Council makes finding those answers crucial. As the clock ticks down to Dark Blade’s promised next catastrophe, Lyla and Galen gather the other heroes for aid in their quest to save the assembled nobles.

But can Roger, Starla, and Galen help Jaycee with her biggest challenge: surviving Homecoming?

The print version will be out as soon as I figure out why Adobe Acrobat doesn’t like this file. I’ve had a devil of a time, but I’ll figure it out.

Special offer

Ever left a book review? No? Here’s your chance.

Buy any book in the Hero’s Sword series. Write a review at your favorite retailer and/or Goodreads. Email me (mary @ summaria.net) with your name and where I can find the review and I will send you a free copy of any other book in the series in your chosen format. Yes, even print. Make sure to tell me what book you want in your email and the format. For ebooks, please give me an email address. For print, please include your mailing address (I promise – addresses are for my use only and will not be shared).

And now, some sad news…

This is going to be the last Hero’s Sword book for a while. The reasons for this are mostly out of my control.

My wonderful cover designer, Jen Domani, has taken a new job, one that severely limits her availability for cover art. This means I have to find a new artist: either one that can get close to the existing style or rebrand the entire series. That takes time and money.

Speaking of money…

One of the things it’s hard to come to terms with is that while writing is an art, publishing is a business. It costs a not insignificant sum of money to have these books edited, pay for cover art, etc. That’s in addition to the time it takes to write the story (often weeks of time). And to be honest, I haven’t sold a lot of books. Not selling a lot of books means not making a lot of money – money that could be used to finance the continuation of the series.

So it is with a very heavy heart that I have to make the decision to pause the series for the foreseeable future. There is something I’m not doing that I could be doing. I’m not sure what that is. But I’ve got a lot of smart friends. I’ll figure it out.

So Jaycee/Lyla, Stu, Kara, Roger, Starla and company are going to take a little vacation. I look forward to the day when I’ll be able to bring them back. In the meantime, enjoy the books that are already out in the world.

And please, special offer aside, if you like the book, leave a review. Doesn’t matter where: retailer, Goodreads, where ever. In this digital age, reviews power discoverability, especially with so many books to choose from. So if you’ve liked Hero’s Sword and you want to see the adventure continue, leave a review. Tell a friend.

It really does help.