June '25 Newsletter
Hello readers,
Another month down and we’re now pretty much halfway through the year already?? What is this madness?
May was a long month for me and for once in a long time we had some really nice weather here in the UK. However, the British rain will always return and now we’ve been having a lot of that instead. To try and bring back the sun, I made a teru teru bozu, which is a Japanese good luck charm to bring the sunshine. Teru teru bozu are supposed to look like bald, smiling monks!
On a lesser fun note, unfortunately I’ve been struggling a lot this month too. Being chronically ill is hard work, plus on top of it the nature of being an indie author is really tough. It’s often soul-crushing feeling like we’re yelling into the void (especially on social media), trying to promote our work, but we continue all the same as we love our stories.
On Ream
For this month over on my subscription at Ream, I posted a new chapter for Unbound by the Sea. This time we’re back with Yuna, who decided she really wants peacock tea. What is peacock tea? Well… I’m not so sure either! I know very little about tea, but I do want to find out. This is one of the fun things about being a discovery writer, characters like to throw stuff at you all the time.
Unbound by the Sea is a queer romantasy I am currently writing, set in a land inspired by Asian countries such as Japan, China, and Korea. Interested? Go check it out over on Ream!
Other Projects
May didn’t see much progress on my other projects, unfortunately. Health really got in the way. Though, I have been working on my promoting.
I have posted both Tales of Yamato and Of Spells and Love (which was a Ream exclusive until now) up on itch.io. Itchi.io is mostly known for games, but it’s becoming a growing platform for ebooks too. And unlike other platforms, you can decide to pay more for stories, if you want to. Plus, there are many bundles made with similar books which help promote each author. Watch my social media for when these get released!
You can find me over at https://odessasilver.itch.io
Right now I have two bundles I can share with you. How about some queer books?
Aro Books for Pride (aromantic representation in books): https://itch.io/b/3058/aro-books-for-pride Ends in 8 days!
Swords & Sapphics Podcast presents a Pride Month Bundle: https://itch.io/b/3055/swords-sapphics-podcast-presents-a-pride-month-bundle Ends on 30th of June
I’ve also joined Bookbub if you’d like to follow. I’m still in the process of getting everything sorted (atm my books don’t show) and learning how to use the platform! https://www.bookbub.com/profile/odessa-silver
I have also updated my linktree to link to everything I think is important. Sometimes it can be hard managing all the places as I post my work to many places, so hopefully this will make things easier.
https://linktr.ee/odessasilver
Want to find new authors and/or books to try?
Each month I am sharing books by other indie authors, most of the time free books. I want to help other authors like me be seen by as many people as possible.
For June, I have Fantasy and Sci-Fi books, all free! Come take a look: https://books.bookfunnel.com/free-sci-fi-and-fantasy/9r0s0te84k
I am also sharing a ton of books similar to me, all about mythology, legends, and fairy tales. Dragons, Avalon, Beowulf, and more! Most of these aren’t free, though you might find a new author to follow. Check them out here: https://books.bookfunnel.com/myth-legends-fairy-tales-june/mezgfyk148
Things I am reading/watching/listening to right now
There’s nothing big that sticks out right now, though I have been rewatching some films I really enjoy such as Shang-Chi and Kingdom of Heaven (director’s cut—also it’s fun seeing all the actors I didn’t know back when I first watched it but now do!).
So, what I am sharing today is a youtube channel I watch often. If you like true crime, this might be something fun for you too. Explore With Us (aka EWU) produces videos based on bodycam footage, cameras, and more, sharing all sorts of events in the US. The narrator is clear and each video has subtitles too. They also make sure to either not show, or blur out injuries, for those who don’t want to see/hear that.
https://www.youtube.com/@ExploreWithUs This is their main channel, but they also have a smaller channel just about police bodycam footage too.
Find all my links to social media, books, and other websites here on linktree.
Thank you for reading this far. Want to chat? Comment on the substack post or even send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.
See you again in the next newsletter.
