TOP SECRET Mystery Project Reveal (Patreon)

Hi Patrons! 

Posting to reveal the YA Mystery Project I've referenced a few times.

The Mystery Project, titled Girl Squad Volta, will be the first in a series of magical girl progression fantasy books that I'm currently pitching as "Sailor Moon meets Cobra Kai."

If friendship-centric YA with karate and sparkles doesn't sound like your thing, no cause for alarm. This new series will not affect my posting or publishing schedule as it pertains to my adult fantasy projects. Girl Squad has been a very necessary in-between-other-things project that helps me unwind from heavier content, improves my mood, and restores my productivity.

If you ARE interested in Girl Squad, you can find more info on the book and where to read it below!

Since I'm writing Girl Squad for a younger (and girlier) audience than The Sword of Kaigen and even the YA books that preceded it, I've decided to get it off the ground under the pen name Maya Lin. That way, I won't disappoint the majority of my readership waiting on more adult fantasy in the vein of Kaigen.

This pen name is supposed to be a secret, so please do not share outside Patreon!

Info & Synopsis

Demographic: YA (Young Adult) & older MG (Middle Grade)
Genres: magical girl, portal fantasy, progression, martial arts, adventure, LGBTQ+, academy
For fans of Marissa Meyer, Sailor Moon, She-Ra, Avatar, W.I.T.C.H., Winx Club, and Karate Kid
Release Date: January 2023 / NOW! - More on this below

Synopsis: For fourteen-year-old Wren, finding out that magical beings exist is a big a surprise. Finding out that her best friend and unrequited crush, Laura, is one of those magical beings is less of a surprise. Laura has always seemed supernaturally gifted at everything from schoolwork to karate. But when a dark fairy starts turning the little town of Hartwood inside out hunting for Laura, Wren will do anything to protect her friend - magic or none.

Where can I read the story NOW?

I went back and forth on what I wanted to do with this project prior to its complete ebook & paperback release in early 2023. I knew I wanted to experiment with serialization on a new platform, but I was super undecided on which one (the first chapter was up on Wattpad for a hot second before I changed my mind and pulled it). A couple author friends at GenCon talked me into trying Kindle Vella. Per my friends' recommendation, I've started out with chapters 1-4 on Vella with more to come soon.

The nice thing about Amazon's weird attempt at a serialization platform, if you haven't tried it before, is that it should allow you to read enough to gauge whether to story is for you or not before paying in at all.

Start reading on Vella! 

(I also understand that likes and follows help a story gain visibility, so if you have a click or two to spare on those buttons, they would be much appreciated!)

If you're not into the serialized format or buying Vella tokens (understandable), not to worry! I'll be offering eARCs to this Patreon ahead of the regular Amazon Kindle release. So, no need for you to bother with Vella if it's not for you.

NOTE: I just discovered that Vella tokens are actually not available to readers outside the US (thanks, Amazon, very helpful) which means that non-US readers will only be able to access three episodes unless they have a workaround with a VPN or something. I did not realize this when I was setting up on Vella and I apologize. To make it up to you, I'll be offering an EXTRA extra early ARC to patrons, so look out for that in the next couple months.

I've also isolated a segment of my newsletter subscribers who said 'yes' to YA and 'yes' to a certain set of Girl-Squad-adjacent genres in my last survey, so if I hit you  with this same info via email later, that's why.

If you want to make extra sure you're signed up for Girl Squad updates, you can subscribe to that secondary Maya Lin newsletter here.

I think that's all for this very long update. I hope those of you who are into YA give the story a try and that you enjoy it!