Thank You and Request

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Hello, friends!

I have been sitting with something that genuinely fills my heart, and I just have to say it out loud: we are almost at 500 subscribers. Five hundred of you have invited me into your inbox, and I do not take that lightly — not even a little.

Thank you. Truly. Whether you have been here from the very beginning or found your way here recently, I am so glad you’re along for this journey.

Reminder: The Fading Light Is Available for Preorder!

In case you missed it last week — The Fading Light is now available for preorder on Amazon, with an official release date of May 25th. I’ll be sharing more about the book, the history behind it, and the characters who kept me up at night in the weeks ahead. You’ll be the first to know everything. And yes, I updated the cover from what I previously shared. 


And if you really want to get to know the characters before May 25th, I’d love for you to join them for a single day — July 4, 1811 in Barrowed Light. Barrowed Light is a free download — a one-day celebration that will introduce you to the world and the people at the heart of this series. Many of the characters in this book will eventually have their own book. Let me know what characters you would like to read more about.


A Gentle, Heartfelt Request

Many of you found your way here through one of my free books, and I hope it brought you a few hours of joy. That gift was given with no strings attached, and it always will be.

But I also understand how overwhelming our inboxes can be. How do you even read it all? I ask myself the same thing. We sign up for things with the best intentions, life gets busy, and suddenly there are newsletters we haven’t opened in months sitting there quietly judging us.

No judgment here. None at all.

As I approach 500 subscribers, I’m also approaching the point where I’ll begin paying to maintain this list — and I want every person on it to genuinely want to be here. So if this newsletter no longer feels like the right fit for you, I’d love to give you a graceful exit. The unsubscribe link is always at the bottom, and using it is truly a kindness — to both of us.

And if you do want to stay — I am so glad. Pull up a chair. There is so much more to come.

🗺️ This Week’s Reader Question

Each week I ask a question, and this week I’m turning the focus to this newsletter itself. I want it to be something you genuinely look forward to opening — so I’d love to hear from you.

This week’s question:

“What’s one thing you’d love to see more of in this newsletter?”

Just hit reply and tell me. I read every single response, and your answers will genuinely shape where this newsletter goes next.


Yours Truly,


P.S. — Only a few subscribers away from 500! If you know a fellow historical fiction lover who’d enjoy this newsletter, I’d be so grateful if you’d share it with them.


The Ancestral Pen
621 Monarch Rd, Sagle
United States of America

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