Author: MCD

I'm a writer. I also bake. And knit. A lot. My novels are available anywhere ebooks/paperbacks/audiobooks are sold online. Find more info on my blog: http://www.madebymeghan.ca

MCD Direct Sales: Oracle audiobooks

These are NOT NEW Oracle Series audiobooks, I’m simply making the trilogy available directly through me. YAY!

If you missed why I’m ‘implementing’ direct sales with audiobooks, please read this blog post.

Oracle Series audiobooks (via MCD):

I See Me (Oracle 1), narrated by Jennifer Grace. Length 8.09 hours. $10 CDN

BUY ORACLE 1 DIRECT FROM MCD

I See You (Oracle 2), narrated by Jennifer Grace. Length 8.59 hours. $10 CDN

BUY DIRECT FROM MCD

I See Us (Oracle 3), narrated by Jennifer Grace. Length 10.11 hours. $10 CDN

BUY DIRECT FROM MCD

All available audiobooks via MCD

Awakening Infinity (Archivist 0)

Invoking Infinity (Archivist 1)

Compelling Infinity (Archivist 2)

Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1)

Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic (Dowser 2)

Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic (Dowser 3)

Coming soon:

Amplifier Series – all 7 audiobooks – July

Reconstructionist Trilogy – July

Dowser 4, 5, and 6 – August 2023

Dowser 7, 8, and 9 – October 2023

SFWA Silent Auction (donate to chat with MCD)

[Yes, I’m supposed to be taking today and tomorrow off – and I am really trying to NOT work – but this is time sensitive (only seven days to bid)!]

I’m donating two sessions to the SFWA silent auction (links below) this year. The proceeds from the auction support SFWA’s advocacy for and professional development of creators working in the speculative fiction genres, including scholarships to the Nebula Conference, the Writer Beware program, and benevolent funds such as the Legal Fund and the Emergency Medical Fund, etc. The silent auction closes June 26 at 3:00pm PT.

Click here to browse all the items on offer (rare books, collectibles, etc): https://www.biddingforgood.com/wbi/sfwaauction 

MCD’s Specific Sessions

Virtual Kaffeeklatsch* with MCD: four readers will join MCD for a chat about her books/universe specifically, and/or a general, casual conversation about about favourite books, chocolate, and other treats!

*Kaffeeklatsch: an informal social gathering at which coffee is served. Virtual = bring your own beverage of choice!

Note: This virtual session will take place by Zoom on July 22 at 4 pm Eastern Daylight Time.

Bid here: Seat 1: https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/item.action?id=342812146

Bid here: Seat 2: https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/item.action?id=342812147

Bid here: Seat 3: https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/item.action?id=342812148

Bid here: Seat 4: https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/item.action?id=342812149

Career session: chat with MCD about indie/self publishing, building the uber fan, and branding. A 30-minute conversation that can be shaped to the winning bidder’s level of experience and current needs. Newbies to indie publishing can get help mapping out a publishing plan, midlevel authors can brainstorm accessible ways to build their platforms or talk about what marketing techniques are working in today’s publishing landscape. Trad pubbed authors thinking of going hybrid with their back list would be a good fit as well!

No critiques offered, just career brainstorming, please.

Note: This virtual session will take place on July 22 at 5:15 pm Eastern Daylight Time.

Bid here: https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/item.action?id=342812151

FUN! FUN!!

Dowser 1 Tenth Anniversary: giveaway

Happy 10th Birthday, Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1)! As part of the ongoing celebration (click here for the schedule of events), I’m giving away a bunch of Dowser Series rarities and one-of-a-kind items!

Are you interested in winning a one-of-a-kind, autographed, proof paperback copy of Dowser 1? A limited-edition travel mug, and a Women’s XXL premium I Do Bite T-shirt? A set of nine Dowser Series recipe cards? Plus a bookplate and sticker?

Yes!??

To enter, comment on this blog post with your favourite quote from the Dowser series!

Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. One entry per person. One winner will be selected by random number generator. Only entries that follow the stated requirements will be valid (i.e. it must be an actual quote, not just a vague mention of a scene, or a copy/paste of a synopsis, etc – yes, I notice. In my opinion, and this is my giveaway, this sort of giveaway should go to a true Dowser Series fan). Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than to contact the winner. No purchase necessary – all my books are available for free via your local library. The comments are moderated. I will approve your entry just as soon as I have a moment to do so.

Giveaway closes MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2023 at 8pm PDT.

Cake in a Cup: The Menu

Okay, this is odd, but because I’m about to post a ‘name a cupcake’ poll in the reader-run Facebook fan group (give me a couple of minutes, please) I needed a link to the list of Cake in a Cup cupcakes. But, apparently, I hadn’t posted a Cake in a Cup menu yet? Strange. Anyway, here it is alphabetically for ease of searching.

The cupcakes marked with asterisks* have recipes in the Adept Universe cookbook [download here]. The linked cupcakes have individual (though likely older and not as well-formatted) recipes on my blog.

Allure in a Cup – lemon yellow cake with chocolate buttercream     

Bliss in a Cup* – fudge cake with peanut butter icing

Blitzen in a Cup* – mocha cake with eggnog buttercream

Buzz in a Cup* – mocha fudge cake with mocha buttercream

Charm in a Cup* – lemon yellow cake with strawberry buttercream

Chill in a Cup* – chocolate mint cake with chocolate mint buttercream

Clarity in a Cup* – apple spiced with honey buttercream

Comfort in a Cup* – banana cake with buttercream

Cozy in a Cup* – banana chocolate chip cake with dark chocolate buttercream

Delight in a Cup* – white cake with lemon buttercream

Delirium in a Cup* – chocolate peanut butter cake with chocolate peanut butter icing

Desire in a Cup – chocolate raspberry cake with dark chocolate buttercream         

Ecstasy in a Cup – double chocolate cake with lemon buttercream

Elation in a Cup* – peanut butter cake with chocolate buttercream

Enchantment in a Cup* – chocolate peanut butter cake with peanut butter icing

Envy in a Cup* – cocoa spice cake and spiced cocoa buttercream

Euphoria in a Cup – fudge cake with dark chocolate cream cheese icing                 

Exultation in a Cup* – chocolate peanut butter cake with dark chocolate buttercream

Flirt in a Cup – blackberry cake with chocolate blackberry buttercream      

Glee in a Cup* – peanut butter cake with peanut butter icing

Happiness in a Cup* – peanut butter cake with honey buttercream

Harmony in a Cup – white cake with cherry buttercream

Heaven in a Cup – white cake with coconut icing

Hug in a Cup* – chocolate cake with buttercream

Joy in a Cup* – lemon yellow cake with buttercream

Kiss in a Cup    – chocolate cake with cherry chocolate buttercream           

Lift in a Cup* – white cake with coffee buttercream

Love in a Cup* – dark chocolate cake with strawberry buttercream

Lust in a Cup* – dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate cream cheese icing

Rapture in a Cup – yellow/chocolate cake swirl with chocolate cream cheese icing

Sass in a Cup* – chocolate blackberry with chocolate blackberry buttercream

Serenity in a Cup* – carrot cake with cream cheese icing

Sex in a Cup* – cinnamon cocoa cake with dark chocolate buttercream

Sin in a Cup – spice cake with mocha buttercream

Solace in a Cup* – chocolate carrot cake with chocolate cream cheese

Sunshine in a Cup* – lemon yellow cake with lemon Buttercream

Tart in a Cup – blackberry cake with blackberry buttercream           

Tease in a Cup* – chocolate blackberry with blackberry buttercream

Thrill in a Cup – white cake with mocha buttercream           

Tingle in a Cup* – chocolate mint cake with mint buttercream

Vixen in a Cup*– chocolate gingerbread cake with salted caramel buttercream

Wonder in a Cup – white cake with dark chocolate buttercream

Do you have a favourite Cake in a Cup cupcake? Let me know in the comments below! My favs are Cozy, Lust, and Clarity!

Dowser Tenth Anniversary – schedule of events

Updated: June 17, 2023 at 3pm PT

The Tenth Anniversary of Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1) is fast approaching, and I wanted to make sure you’re all prepped to participate in the festivities on the day if you are so inclined.

If you want to bake one of the cupcakes featured in the Dowser Series for the Tenth Anniversary celebration, you can find and download a PDF of the Adept Universe Cookbook here via BookFunnel: https://BookHip.com/ZCCLGL

June 18, 2023 – schedule of events

June 17, 9:01pm PT/June 1812:01 ET – Anniversary bundle releases (via BookFunnel)(Kickstarter only).

8 am PT – Dowser 1 Anniversary Giveaway goes live here http://www.madebymeghan.ca – you’ll need to drop a favourite quote from the Dowser Series in the comments to enter to win.

Giveaway: one-of-a-kind proof copy Dowser 1 paperback, travel mug (with old book cover), I Do Bite T-shirt (size: XXL Women’s).

11 am PT – Hot Chocolate with MCD: Live on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/MeghanCianaDoidge). MCD will read from Dowser 1 and answer reader questions and/or just chat with readers. 

Giveaway: 2 sets of nine Dowser Series recipe cards and a bookplate, plus 10 single recipe cards and a bookplate. These are the last recipe cards in existence! 😂 Post pictures of your hot/cold ‘coffee break’ drink to enter the giveaways.

1 – 2 pm PT – Dowser Series Paperback Giveaway (on Facebook). The giveaway and the rules will be posted earlier in the day, but – short version – for one hour (only) MCD will give away Dowser series paperbacks – with the new anniversary covers – via Amazon wish lists.

To enter, you place the Dowser series paperbacks you want on your Amazon wish list, then drop a link to that wish list in the comments on the Facebook post. MCD will contact you for your address and also send you a recipe postcard and autographed bookplate.

Note: Only Dowser 1 – 7 have the new covers (Sorry! We got behind!).

Open internationally. Giving away a minimum of 12 paperbacks.

3:30 pm PT – Flash your Cupcakes: Live on Facebook. MCD will read from Dowser 9.5, and answer questions about the NEW novella. This will be spoiler ridden!

Giveaway: 2 sets of nine Dowser Series recipe cards and a bookplate, plus 10 single recipe cards and a bookplate. Again, these are the last recipe cards in existence! 😂 Post pictures of your ‘cupcakes’ (or other afternoon treat) to enter the giveaways.

5 pm – 6 pm PT – Dowser Series T-shirt Giveaway (on Facebook). The giveaway and the rules will be posted earlier in the day, but for one hour (only) MCD will give away Dowser Series T-shirts (links found here: www.madebymeghan.ca/t-shirts) via Amazon wish lists.

To enter, you place the Dowser series t-shirts you want on your Amazon wish list (including size, etc), then drop a link to your wish list in the comments. NonUK or USA residents that enter will ‘win’ logos as the T-shirts don’t ship to other countries. A few readers have mentioned issues with adding size/colour/type of T-shirt to their wishlists. It works for me, so I’m not sure why some readers are having trouble. If you are having issues, simply add the type/size/colour you want to your comment along with your wish list link.

Open USA/UK (logos for other countries). Giving away 10 T-shirts.

I’m looking forward to June 18! I hope you join me to celebrate ten years of all things Dowser Series!

Sunshine & Lollipops,

Meghan

Kickstarter backers: Please note: I still haven’t heard from everyone I’ve messaged and/or emailed about their private relay email addresses. If you are one of those backers, you not only have missed out on the stretch goal audiobooks (Tier 2 and up) but you WILL NOT receive Dowser 9.5 on June 18. And there is absolutely nothing I can do about it above and beyond begging you to contact me, as I have done on repeat for months.

Extra notes/reminders, pertinent to the Kickstarter campaign:

For those of you who haven’t figured out how BookFunnel works yet here are some (hopefully helpful) links:

To get your book, just log in to the BookFunnel app or my.bookfunnel.com (see links below) using your Kickstarter email.

More info on BookFunnel and how to access your books:

BookFunnel Reader FAQ: https://bookfunnel.com/my-bookfunnel-library/

Get the Bookfunnel App: https://getbookfunnel.com

Log in via the website: https://my.bookfunnel.com/login?redirect=/

MCD Direct Sales: Dowser audiobooks

For those of you who missed out on the Tenth Anniversary Dowser Series Kickstarter, I’ve now made the first three BRAND NEW Dowser Series audiobooks available directly through me. YAY!

If you missed why I’m ‘implementing’ direct sales with audiobooks, please read this blog post.

Currently available Dowser Series audiobooks (via MCD):

Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1), narrated by Erin Moon. Length 7.48 hours. $10CDN

BUY DOWSER 1 DIRECT FROM MCD

Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic (Dowser 2), narrated by Erin Moon. Length 9.38  hours. $10CDN

BUY DOWSER 2 DIRECT FROM MCD

Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic (Dowser 3), narrated by Erin Moon. Length 10.03 hours. $10CDN

BUY DOWSER 3 DIRECT FROM MCD

All other currently available audiobooks via MCD:

Awakening Infinity (Archivist 0)

Invoking Infinity (Archivist 1)

Compelling Infinity (Archivist 2)

Coming soon:

Amplifier Series – all 7 audiobooks – late-June

Oracle Trilogy – July

Reconstructionist Trilogy – July

Dowser 4, 5, and 6 – August 2023

Dowser 7, 8, and 9 – October 2023

MCD Direct Sales: Audiobooks!

As you might have noted with some of your other fav authors, a bunch of indie authors/self-publishers are moving to a direct sales/wide sales approach to selling our audiobooks. Mostly because we can give them to you at a much better price and still make more $$ than we have been making through Audible, etc. Audible doesn’t allow us to set our own prices and offers a very low ‘royalty’ rate percentage on their ‘net’ profit per sale. A quick and dirty example would be that you pay $15/credit, or say $24/outright, to buy an audiobook and I see approx. $2 of that sale.

So I write the book, pay for all the editing/covers/etc (approx $4-7k), pay for producing the audiobook (approx $4k), and I only see $2 of your hard-earned money.

So, as you can see, the math doesn’t really work to either of our benefits.

The solution? Direct sales (delivered to you via BookFunnel), starting with the Archivist Series, then the Dowser Series, and then (gradually as I have time) the rest of my audiobooks.

What does that mean specifically? You can now buy my audiobooks directly through me at a discount – $10CDN for full length novels (so currently approx $7USD/$7EUR) – and listen via the BookFunnel app or their website or sideload the files into your device of choice (please don’t ask me how to do it 😂). I make approx. 90% of the sale after paying taxes and processing fees (aka credit card, etc). BookFunnel does not currently charge for this service (because they are still testing it) but when they do they will charge me $10/month to host all my audiobooks ($25/month if I get real, real famous 😂).

Moving forward I will ‘soft launch’ the audiobooks here on my web site/store, then after about two or three weeks, I will also upload the books to all retailers, Audible, Apple Books, Kobo, etc. So you can totally choose to pay more for the books and stick with your fav platform.

Currently available audiobooks (via MCD):

Awakening Infinity (Archivist 0), narrated by Savy Des-Etages. Length approx 6 hours. $5 CDN.

BUY ARCHVIST 0 DIRECT FROM MCD

Invoking Infinity (Archivist 1), narrated by Savy Des-Etages. Length approx 12 hours. $10 CDN.

BUY ARCHIVIST 1 AUDIOBOOK DIRECT FROM MCD

Compelling Infinity (Archivist 2), narrated by Savy Des-Etages. Length approx 10.34 hours. $10 CDN.

BUY ARCHIVIST 2 AUDIOBOOK DIRECT FROM MCD

Coming soon:

  • Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1): end of May
  • Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic (Dowser 2): mid-June
  • Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic (Dowser 3): end of June

Spill the Tea 2023: virtual event: mystery boxes

Due to passport issues, Hailey and I have pivoted, rather sharply 😂, to a virtual event for Spill the Tea 2023. Whoot! The online event will take place via zoom on June 3, 2023 from 1 – 2pm PDT (4pm EDT).

The event attendance is capped at 100, including authors and moderator. There are two ways to join the guest list – a guaranteed spot with the purchase of one of the Spill the Tea 2023 Mystery Boxes (see more info/links below) or, if any tickets remain, we will invite readers via a first-come/first waiting list.

So to be clear:

  1. One ‘ticket’ to the online event will be included in the purchase of each book box.
  2. Or you can sign up for the waiting list via this Google form. Please note, we aren’t certain how many extra tickets there will be available yet.

We are hoping to ship all the boxes by May 15, 2023 so that everyone has their hands on them for the event itself!

The swag that was supposed to be included in the in-person Spill the Tea tote bags has been divided into two separate boxes (because Meghan is in Canada and Hailey is in the USA). You are not obliged to buy either or both, but please look carefully at the different content. No swap/additions/or combined shipping. Please do not ask us to make changes to, or customize boxes for you. We simply do not have the time/bandwidth, etc.

Meghan’s Spill the Tea 2023 Mystery Box

  • 1 autographed paperback (randomly selected)
  • 1 spell pen
  • 3 Adept Universe character cards
  • 1 Spill the Tea 2023 name tag
  • 1 specialty Chocolate bar (these were going to be part of Dim Sum w/ Meghan)
  • 1 Spill the Tea 2023 Tote Bag
  • 1 Spill the Tea 2023 branded ribbon
  • 1 printed skull napkin
  • 1 ‘ticket’ to the virtual Spill the Tea event on June 3, 2023.

$75CDN (including $25 for USA and CDN tracked shipping). Please contact MCD for a separate quote/listing for international boxes.

ONLY 50 AVAILABLE

Click here to purchase MCD’s Mystery Box

Hailey’s Spill the Tea Mystery Box

  • 1 autographed paperback (randomly selected)
  • 1 Spill the Tea Bookplate (autographed by Hailey and Meghan)
  • 1 Hollis Apothecary branded tea (chamomile, catnip, lavender – one serving)
  • 1 floral teaspoon
  • 1 lavender honey stick
  • lavender sugar cubes
  • 1 lavender lemonade lollipop
  • 1 quartz crystal point
  • 1 wristband
  • Postcard-size prints of Cole, Thierry, and Asa & Rue
  • 1 ‘ticket’ to the virtual Spill the Tea event on June 3, 2023.

$35USD (not including shipping)

ONLY 50 AVAILABLE

Click here to purchase Hailey’s Mystery Box

I will be contacting you to confirm your spot on the guest list. If you cannot make the event please let me know, then I can invite someone off the waitlist!

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Fun! Fun!

An open letter to my editor.

SFG –

To my ever patient, editor extraordinaire:

I’m peeking out from my writing cave to ready you for what is coming next.

I’m five chapters into my current WIP (Conduit Series) and I’ve already heavily leaned into the following trigger warnings: language and violence. And sex will most definitely be added to the mix, I just have to get through the bulk of the setup first.

And, ahem, speaking of ‘setup’, it’s the mixture of genre ‘tropes’ that might be slightly more disconcerting as you ready yourself for your first read. So far, I’ve got: road trip, kidnapping/rescue, attempted rape, gods/divinity/monsters (aka pretty much the same thing), shapeshifters, magical/mythical creatures, biker pack/gangs, magic/tech geniuses, food porn, milkshake porn, lost love, memory loss, coming of age/magical inheritance, reunification (gone wrong), mysterious past, traumatic pass, human/creature trafficking, found family, choice vs destiny, girl gang, fated mates, why choose, second chance lovers, enemies to lovers, etc, etc, and etc.

Apparently, I’m off the rails with this one.

You have been forewarned.

I’ll send chocolate.

With all my best intentions,

– MCD

Amplifier 6: release day postcard & bookplate giveaway

GIVEAWAY CLOSED (I’ve removed the signup form/link and deleted all the addresses, etc). I stuffed 100 envelopes, and I’ll drop them all in the mail on Monday. Remember I’m in Canada, so it might take some time for you to see if you get one!

Happy Release Day, Endings and Empathy (Amplifier 6)

Those of you might remember this same giveaway for Amplifier 5. I thought that it was crazy fun – over 75 winners – so I’m doing it again! And I’ve even managed to design/print the proper bookplates this time – sorry to everyone who got Amplifier 0 paired with the sunflower and not the ginger, as well as Amplifier 1 paired with the ginger and not the rose. I’ll set up a swap in the reader-run Facebook fan group for anyone who gets doubles from this round (or wants to swap for the proper bookplate/postcard pairing).

Okay!

If you want to win a random Amplifier Series postcard and an autographed bookplate* please fill out the Google Form linked below. I will randomly send out postcards, etc, until I either run out of energy, stamps, or postcards. You won’t know if you’ve won until you get mail!

CLICK HERE FOR THE GOOGLE FORM

Caveats: addresses collected on the Google form will all be deleted once the giveaways have all been mailed out. Forms filled out improperly will be disregarded. Open internationally. Up to 75+ winners will be selected randomly. OPEN INTERNATIONALLY.

*Postcards will not be autographed (so they are usable). Bookplates are usually pasted/stuck into paperbacks in lieu of an autograph.

The Amplifier Series is set within the larger Adept Universe but can be read separately. The main series starts with Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1) but there are also two prequel stories (bundled together). Click here for the full/recommended reading order of the Adept Universe.