West of Mars

21/11/2023

There it is! I'm featured at N. N. Light's Book Heaven today, as Populated releases and is part of their Snuggle Up with a Good Book event.

Stop in. Read an excerpt of Populated. Enter to win an Amazon gift card. https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/post/populated-su

(You can use that gift card to buy your own copy of Populated. Or whatever else you'd like! I won't know and I don't judge. Much. It's a work in progress, this not judging thing.)

Title: Populated Author: Susan Helene Gottfried Genre: Women’s Fiction (but with a slow burn romance as a secondary subplot) Book Blurb: Delia Ford is Port Kenneth’s newest social media darling, a young woman with a camera and a habit of showcasing what she views as the best of the city’s peop...

18/11/2023

I might be getting back into this blogging thing.

I've missed it.

Also, it's a really good way to spread information. Like this post is doing. https://westofmars.com/blog/susans-book-talk/short-fiction-for-short-moments-of-time/

Check it out and check out the promotion my Broken but Undaunted is part of. This little collection of short stories has been very overlooked, between Permission to Enter and the launch of the Sheep Farm project.

Broken but Undaunted is part of a promotion featuring short works, perfect for this time of year when time is short. Stop in for the link.

09/11/2023

Book show announcement day! Woo hoo!

You can join the reader's group at Rebels & Readers Author Event for updates and to get to know the other authors. It looks like a great lineup.

And yes, this means I WILL BE THERE, so come visit me! Come buy books in the Sheep Farm series! Find that little surprise on the back covers!

Check it out... this is going to be so much fun. Mark your calendars now for next year. November 2, 2024.

Book shows are so much fun. There's such great energy at them. And books! Who can say no to books?

31/10/2023

I've been having fun all month, meeting new-to-me authors and getting to cheer on my friends (and myself).

This might be our last author... it's Lucy Naylor Kubash, and she's got what another paranormal mystery romance -- paranormal is hot again, y'all and I'm here for it!

Go visit. It's always worth encountering new authors. You never know where the ride will take you...

Lucy Naylor Kubash on Halloween! I love to decorate in and around my house with the bright colors and themes of autumn. Pumpkins, mums, scarecrows, and my favorite owl figures. For entertainment, there are two movies I always like to watch around Halloween; Hocus-Pocus and The Haunting. They are two...

30/10/2023

October is drawing to a close, and with it, we're running out of authors being featured over at Kate Hill's.

We've also got a giveaway going on, so head over and check
THAT out, too. I believe I'm giving away a copy of Maybe the Bird Will Rise, and I know there are also links to Demo Tapes 1, too.

Today's featured author is Amanda Uhl. She's got a paranormal romance for us...

Another genre/category I really like...

Amanda Uhl on Halloween! Well, I just ate a pumpkin cookie with buttercream frosting, so I would say that is one of my favorite fall treats:) Amanda Uhl, author of Healing Kiss (Paranormal Romance) To save her dying sister… Lillian Milano channels energy from the healthy to heal the sick, which ma...

27/10/2023

Today at Kate Hill's Halloween page!

It's author Ella Braeme, and she's got a low-conflict Christmas story for us.

Go on over. Check it out!

Ella Braeme on Halloween! I like to open my doors to ghosts, skeletons, and fairies. The kids put so much effort into their costumes and recite poems or sing spooky songs, and I like to acknowledge it by asking about their characters. There is one group of kids that has come for years. They have gro...

26/10/2023

Today's feature over at Kate Hill's Halloween page!

It's Janis Susan May!

You gotta like anyone with a middle name like THAT. Just sayin'.

She's got a good Halloween treat for us, spooky and with a rich, rich narrative voice. Go check it out!

Janis Susan May on Halloween! Okay, I'm going to make a confession here. We live in a neighborhood with few if any children... and none would come here anyway, as we are regarded as the 'strange people in the strange house' - we have a skeleton on our garden and a mummy in our living room window all...

25/10/2023

Today's fun at Kate Hill's Halloween page!

It's author Crymsyn Hart, who brings us a novel of horror/dark fantasy.

Check it. https://kate-hill.com/halloweenpage/2023/10/25/crymsyn-hart-halloween-decorations-in-the-city-and-shops-of-salem-ma/

Also, don't you love how diverse these authors have been in their/our subject matter? There's something for everyone here.

Crymsyn Hart on Halloween! One of my favorite Halloween things I love to do is head to Salem, Ma in early October and walk the streets with the leaves are falling and all the Halloween Decorations are up in the city and the shops. I also enjoy walking through the woods as the leaves turn colors and....

24/10/2023

Heyyyyy...

Who's that over at Kate Hill's Halloween page?

And are there Halloween GOODIES?

Susan Helene Gottfried on Autumn! I love the weather! I'm in Western PA and the air gets crisp and I can leave my windows open. And the weeds stop growing, so they are easier to yank out. Susan Helene Gottfried, author of Maybe the Bird will Rise (Women's fiction) Tess Cartieri has called Port Kenne...

23/10/2023

Today at Kate Hill's Halloween page...

It's another good friend of mine! It's Katie Zaber!

Check out the excerpt... it's good stuff... I promise. ;)

Katie Zaber on Halloween! Watching the movie Hocus Pocus is an annual tradition that must happen. I have to watch it at least once during Halloween week or else it doesn't feel like Halloween. Katie Zaber, author of What to Expect When You're Expecting Something Different (Paranormal Romance / Urban...

22/10/2023

Author Nola Li Gordon is over at Kate Hill's Halloween page today!

She's got another paranormal romance for you. Can you tell they're hot?

Personally, I really like the paranormal genre. I edit a fair amount of it and love how creative my clients are and how they stretch the boundaries of the genre.

Check it:

Nola Li Gordon on Halloween! I always watch Hocus Pocus and get a bag of candy corn to enjoy. Nola Li Gordon, author of Saved by the Wolf (Sweet Paranormal Romance) Fate is calling. Escape is futile. Jill His voice connects with something deep inside of me, and all I want is to be in his arms. But t...

21/10/2023

Author Christina Lynn Lambert is over at Kate Hill's Halloween page today! She's got a paranormal romance to share with you.

Go on over and check it out.

Christina Lynn Lambert on Autumn! One of my favorite autumn traditions is going to Carter Mountain with my husband. We pick fresh apples and get apple donuts and beer or cider then have a picnic in the field overlooking the side of the mountain and the town below. Christina Lynn Lambert, author of B...

20/10/2023

More fun at Kate Hill's Halloween page!

Today it's author Siondalin O'Craig, who brings us an erotic romance set in Ireland.

Check out the sample and get yours.

Siondalin O'Craig on Halloween! Carving pumpkins! It's one of my best family memories from when I was a kid, and then when I was raising my kids as well. And we always roast the pumpkin seeds! Siondalin O'Craig is the author of: Lantern Jack (Erotic Romance) A remote pub in Ireland seemed the perfec...

19/10/2023

Grief is weird.

I'm not trying to skip featuring the authors over at Kate Hill's Halloween page. I'm just kinda lost about what I did yesterday and what I did two days ago.

So. Today. Go check out J. Arelene Culiner, who has a Western romance to share with everyone today.

J. Arlene Culiner on Autumn! Harvesting sloes to make sloe gin. Of course, I have to wait for the first frost. Then the berries are so much sweeter.   J. Arlene Culiner Desert Rose (Small town contemporary romance) Secrets are the best protection against love Rose Badger is the local flirt, and if ...

17/10/2023

If you haven't heard, a massive family loss interrupted my life for the past week.

I'm going to ask you to go over to Kate Hill's Halloween page and check out the content I haven't posted here. There are some very good books and talented authors being featured and I'd love for you to discover them all.

But now that things seem to be settling down, I shall go back to posting today's featured author.

And today, it's Sadira Stone. I recognize her name, and her excerpt is fun, fun, fun!

Go check her out...

Sadira Stone on Halloween! I adore grown-up Halloween parties! I love them so much that I included them as pivotal scenes in two of my steamy romance books. Decorating, silly snacks, dancing to

09/10/2023

Today over at Kate Hill's Halloween page, we've got author Seelie Kay!

I've known of Seelie Kay for a very long time, as we've both been in some networking groups.

She's featuring a paranormal romance today. Go see!

Seelie Kay on Halloween! Anything pumpkin! I also love Halloween decorations--I used to turn my front yard into a cemetary with talking stones! Bats, spiders, black cats, vampires--I love it all! Seelie Kay, author of First, We Kill All the Lawyers (Paranormal Romance) Someone is killing lawyers, bu...

08/10/2023

You get a two-fer today because I was busy yesterday!

Over at Kate Hill's Halloween page, JL Regen was featured yesterday. And I *like* this excerpt -- it's a contemporary romance that's not about a million dollars!

Go look: https://kate-hill.com/halloweenpage/2023/10/07/j-l-regen-strolling-through-a-park/

And then... if that's not enough, today's featured author is Lisabet Sarai. She brings us a fun romp in the woods... this one's not for the faint of heart, my friends!
https://kate-hill.com/halloweenpage/2023/10/08/lisabet-sarai-rural-new-england/

Lisabet Sarai on Halloween! Autumn has always been my favorite season (though I now reside in the tropics where it's always warm). For many years I lived in rural New England, where fall can be glorious. I vividly recall the crisp, smoky scent of October nights. I loved walking in the woods after th...

06/10/2023

Over at Kate Hill's Halloween page, a West of Mars favorite and friend is being featured today!

Yes, it's Alana Lorens!

Stop in! She's featuring Remnants of Fire, a supernatural thriller.

Alana Lorens on Halloween! A delicious pumpkin roll! Alana Lorens, author of Remnants of Fire (Supernatural Thriller) Looking for a fresh start, Sara Woods takes a job as a news reporter in a small town. Her first assignment for the Ralston Courier is to investigate of a string of deaths, all young....

05/10/2023

Been keeping an eye on the goodness at Kate Hill's page?

I have been!

Today, the featured author is Britt Jones! Go see what's up with her over there.

Britt Jones on Halloween! Love love love, Hocus Pocus!! Britt Jones, author of Undaunted, Hardcore Inc. Book 1 Romantic Suspense, Steamy Instalove Reggie Sackhouse needs to find a killer, before she becomes his next victim. Army Ranger Jed Harmond was briefly assigned to help her investigate the cri...

04/10/2023

Cats! Cats are part of Kate Hill's Halloween page today!

Author Kris Bock is bringing them -- check out the sample! (Also, I'd love to be there to smell the smoky scent of roasted green chile. We got nothing like that here, and I feel deprived.)

Kris Bock on Autumn! I live in New Mexico, so I look forward to autumn bringing relief from the heat of summer. Plus the New Mexico green chiles are ripe and you can smell them being roasted outside of grocery stores. Forget pumpkin spice – the smoky, spicy scent of roasted green chile is the smel...

03/10/2023

October 3. The second day of Kate Hill's Halloween features. I may be posting some here and some at the Group, so be sure to check both all month!

Today, it's Fiona McGier, a writer of erotic paranormal.

As always this week, there's an excerpt, so check it out and if you like what you see, buy buy buy!

Fiona McGier on Halloween! I've loved vampires since Anne Rice's 1st book came out when I was in college. Nothing says Halloween like

21/09/2023

More about the Sheep Farm!

Remember: If you are an authentic voice who has a story to tell about marginalized people of any sort, you are welcome at the Sheep Farm. And I do mean ANY sort!

But either way, go preorder this baby. I love it. I'm confident you will too.

At last! Susan launches the Tales from the Sheep Farm series with the first book, now up for preorder, Maybe the Bird Will Rise.

20/09/2023

You still here, and not at the Groupies group?

Okay, well, here's a link. Go there, and then come on over to the Groupies group, where there's more engagement, more eyeballs, and just MORE.

About the Author: Susan Helene Gottfried owns West of Mars, a boutique editing business for authors of fiction. Lately, though, she’s returned to the publishpoing sphere for the first time

12/09/2023

Baby's first promo!

I'll be giving away an .epub version of Maybe the Bird Will Rise, so definitely check it out, get involved, and have some fun finding great new books.

06/08/2023

Facebook has made this page so hard to access, with extra hoops to jump through for me and cutting off access to you, so this is a reminder to join the resurrected West of Mars Groupies group and join the conversation over there.

I hate all these changes, too, and having to pivot every 30 days or so, but the platforms don't leave us much choice.

23/07/2023

Now that I've seen cover art for Maybe the Bird Will Rise, the first book in the Sheep Farm series, make sure you do two things:

1. Join the West of Mars Groupies so we can interact and so you can start conversations of your own.

2. Sign up for the newsletter! https://talesfromthesheepfarm.com/newsletter/

And if you think you'd like to write a Tale from the Sheep Farm, let me know! My idea of "marginalized" has grown and expanded. Publisher's Weekly says romance readers only want to read about rich people? Bring me the people with dignity who live in poverty and find love.

If someone pushes against it because it's not mainstream enough, this is the place for it.

Get all the news from Port Kenneth and the Mackenzie Sheep Farm! Sign up for the Tales from The Sheep Farm mailing list and be the first to get word of new releases, promotions and sales, and even author appearances and the occasional subscriber-only short fiction and sneak peaks at upcoming release...

18/07/2023

With the million-word project about to begin, it's a good time to sign up for my newsletter so you know when I'm available.

All news. Okay, and some chatter, but it's based in the news.

Choose below if you like to receive news from your editor (West of Mars newsletter) or / and get Susan's author newsletter delivered into your inbox.

20/06/2023

I hide behind my orange S on a red background for many reasons. (One of my favorites was meeting someone I'd only known online and being told, "You're not Susan! Susan's an amazon!")

But... with the Sheep Farm getting ready to launch its first book so you can all join the journey, it's time.

The makeup artist is booked. The farm is going to confirm our date/time based on the makeup artist. The photographer is coordinating all of it for me.

I pretty much have to show up and be brave. Brave in my choice of wardrobe (AACK), brave as I let someone near my damaged eye for the makeup session, brave as I face a camera and hope it doesn't break...

That's a lot of brave.

06/06/2023

Well, I didn't MEAN to take the morning off.

But both floors are up and all the dumb f**kery that goes when you pull up 30+-year-old carpets and the residue of a bad contractor comes to light (literally. Sigh), and so now we know what we're dealing with.

Also, if you need me, this is a good time to get on my calendar. Not only is it filling up fast between now and April 2024, but I gotta pay the contractor!