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Archived Comments

Tiffany

August 11, 2017 at 04:51 PM UTC


I don’t usually read these types of books, but I gave it a try anyways since I know how you write your other books…And it was Awesome! I was greatly entertained by this book and cannot wait for the sequel.

Kitty

August 14, 2017 at 07:59 PM UTC


I’m glad you liked it! I just finished the first round of edits for the sequel, and I personally feel like it’s even better because you get to jump straight into the story with characters you already know. (Also, Solus is in this one a lot more, and he is such fun to tease!)

William Klett

August 05, 2017 at 08:38 AM UTC


Greatly enjoyed Luckless and am awaiting more.
It inspired me to go dust off Dragon Nest, the only MMO I know of with a buffing Dancer class. 🙂

Kitty

August 14, 2017 at 08:02 PM UTC


Ahhh yes, the MMO I used to play, Lord of the Rings Online, just got an expansion that includes High Elves. I had to uninstall it from my computer so I wouldn’t be tempted as I finished up The Desperate Quest (book #2)!

But if you go super old school, Ragnarok Online has a dancer class that can buff. (She’s not as straight up a support class as Kit’s is, but if you played with a bard they had some really amazing buffs they could create if they teamed up.)

Sarah

August 05, 2017 at 05:45 AM UTC


So, I just got really into LitRPGs this last month and I absolutely loved “Luckless”! It is so quirky and fun! Thank you for reaching out to try something different.

Kitty

August 14, 2017 at 07:57 PM UTC


I’m glad you liked it! It’s been a really fun series to work on, and it’s a really nice mental break because it’s so different from the Timeless Fairy Tales series. I feel like I’ll be able to tackle my next fairy tales with some renewed energy!

Sarah

August 04, 2017 at 04:57 PM UTC


I love your new book! It’s absolutely fantastic!! I’ve never read a book in this genre before (or played a game like this) but I really enjoyed it! I think you managed to make it understandable to newbies while still having it be in the genre. It was so wonderful! I love kit. Can’t wait for the sequel!

Kitty

August 05, 2017 at 12:16 AM UTC


I’m so thrilled you enjoyed it! While the story does contain a lot of video game stuff (so I am relieved to hear you still followed everything) a lot of the humor is found in the way I lovingly pick on epic fantasy tropes, so I was hoping people who aren’t into video games would find it funny! 😉

Nina

August 04, 2017 at 05:24 AM UTC


I loved The Luckless! I read it in one sitting, and it was everything I’ve come to love about your books! I can’t wait for the next one in this series. 🙂 I don’t play video games, but this was a lot of fun.
Does anyone know of more books like this one that they’d recommend?

Kitty

August 05, 2017 at 12:14 AM UTC


I give a solid recommendation for Heir Apparent if you haven’t read it yet! That one has less video game jargon to it, so you might find it even more enjoyable!

🙂 I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it, though, even as a non-gamer! Thank you for taking a chance on it!

Nina

August 15, 2017 at 01:48 AM UTC


Awesome, I’ll look at it! Thank you!

Heather

August 03, 2017 at 05:24 PM UTC


Oh my gosh. I think The Luckless might be my favorite book you’ve written. It is so good. And I’m not even a gamer. 😁 I couldn’t put it down. I haven’t read anything in this genre before, so I wasn’t sure what I would think, but that was so good. Please hurry and write the next one. 😊

Kitty

August 05, 2017 at 12:13 AM UTC


I’m so glad you liked it! I had so much fun writing it. Ever since I read Diana Wynn Jones’ “Toughguide to Fantasy Land” which mocks a lot of Epic Fantasy traditions, I’ve wanted to write something like this.
And I’m hoping to finish book 2 this weekend/early next week, so hopefully the wait won’t be long! 😉

Lauren

August 03, 2017 at 06:30 AM UTC


Thank you for letting us know! I love your books for the clean quirky style you write in. So I am super excited to see you tackle this genre. It is one I don’t delve into often because it can quickly go downhill and have stuff I don’t want to read. You are an author I can trust and I love all of your books!

Kitty

August 03, 2017 at 06:34 AM UTC


Ahahah, yeah, I know what you mean. I actually was inspired to write The Luckless because I was…disappointed with how the genre tends to treat female characters. (Also because the genre has such an opportunity for humor that very few authors seem interested in exploring.)

Ashleigh

August 03, 2017 at 06:06 AM UTC


I love fairy tales, but I also love RPG’s. I mainly watch RPG anime, I am super excited to read The Luckless. For those who aren’t sure I as a lover of all genres encourage you to at least try it. Happy reading to everyone! 🙂

Kitty

August 03, 2017 at 06:30 AM UTC


Yay for a fellow anime fan! 😀 I hope you enjoy Luckless–I pulled a lot of inspiration from games and anime alike!

Ashleigh

August 03, 2017 at 11:16 AM UTC


Finished reading Luckless and I can’t wait for the second book to come out. You even got me more intrigued with the royal knight short story. Luckless is now tied with Ready Player One as my favorite RPG/ gamer novel. Btw, I saw a comment on Amazon about Luckless being similar to SAO, but I think it reminds me a bit more of Log Horizen. There are plenty of differences in all three though, and I love each for their uniqueness.

Es Irene

August 03, 2017 at 03:26 AM UTC


Wow! Super excited about this new turn! I love sci-if (my dad and grandpas fault) and recently got into some LitRPG stories. I can’t wait to read this new book!

Kitty

August 03, 2017 at 06:31 AM UTC


Talk about perfect timing! I love the space opera sci fi–like Star Wars–or the more adventure based stuff like Star Trek!

And I’m really excited for Marie Lu’s upcoming “Warcross,” which is apparently supposed to be a LitRPG as well!

Es Irene

August 07, 2017 at 07:54 PM UTC


I’ll have to check that book out!
Star Wars and Star Trek are definitely top on my list (especially since a lot of Star Trek is on Netflix now 😁).
I also enjoy Isaac Asimov books like The Foundation and his robot series.

Lizzy

August 03, 2017 at 02:57 AM UTC


I’m so excited about this venture of your into LitRPG! I happen to be a fan of any sci-fi genre and I classify LitRPG among them. I have really enjoyed the LitRPG books and series that I have read so far and you are one of my favorite authors so this is like the cherry on top. I am so excited to read The Luckless and can not wait to see what else comes from that fabulous brain of yours. You, Ms. Shea, are one of my one-click authors and I expect A. M. Sohma to be no different. Now I’m going to stop writing and go buy The Luckless. Bye! And thank you!

Kitty

August 03, 2017 at 06:41 AM UTC


Awww, thank you for the compliments! 🙂 I hope you enjoy Luckless–I had so much fun writing it!
I’m also REALLY glad you enjoy litRPG. (I was somewhat worried that no one would know what the genre was and everyone would view my A. M. Sohma stuff as being weird. It’s so fun to know we share similar passions!)

Lotiel Mae

August 03, 2017 at 02:19 AM UTC


Sci-fi and litRPG (never knew it had a name) are my favorite other genres aside from fantasy adventure! I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to read this new book. And as the previous person mentioned, I really appreciate you telling us fans about your other pen name ^_^

Kitty

August 03, 2017 at 06:43 AM UTC


I have to say it’s so refreshing to hear from other people who also like sci-fi and LitRPG!! My cover-artist and I have similar reading habits so we gab about this sort of thing all the time, but if I try to bring it up to….pretty much anyone else, they all look at me as if I sprouted another head.

Either way, I really hope you enjoy the Luckless! Kit was a fun character to write–she’s so long suffering even though I really throw her into terrible situations! :3

Megan C.

August 03, 2017 at 02:17 AM UTC


I am so excited to hear about this! This is one genre I’ve always wanted to get into but I’m kind of leery toward. You mostly get crazy fan fiction that is horribly wrong on so many levels. I’m glad I can safely ease my way into it from an author I know and trust.
Thanks!

Kitty

August 03, 2017 at 06:54 AM UTC


I actually had to walk away from my computer I was laughing so hard when I saw your comment. (I even had to share it with my cover-artist, Myrrhlynn, as we both absolutely agree with you, and she found it just as funny!)
I really hope you enjoy Luckless! 😉

Bianca Pierre-Jacques

August 03, 2017 at 12:00 AM UTC


Hello! I had seen that book listed amoung your other books, but I was quite confused with its sudden appearance without you telling us what it is. Thanks for the explanation. I am totally glad you told us Champions your other pen name. One of my other favorite authors is taking a long hiatus on her series, Tales of Goldstone Wood and working on another series. However, she didn’t want to tell us her new pen name unfortuately because she was writing under a different genre from her usual fantasy, fairy tale like style. I respect the author’s decision; however, I was quite disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to read more of her material (unless I happen to stubble upon it, perhaps and recongize it by her distinct style). All in all, I definitely appreciate you telling us, once again. I love your style from the quirky humor, so I don’t want to miss out on it, despite being in a genre I am not quite familiar with or drawn to. However, since you wrote it, I can be sure the quality of the narrative and the characters will be great, despite the unfamiliar territory I might venture through. Thanks for giving it your all in your work!

P.S. I recommend reading Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. The first book (Heartless) is a little rough, but as you progress into the world and othersbooks, the book series takes on a whole different meaning and depth. Filled with dragons, knights, royalty, the classical good vs evil, and a quirky blind cat-faerie bard/knight dude (and so much more), you will find a spot in your heart for this series!

Kitty

August 03, 2017 at 06:53 AM UTC


Hi Bianca–thanks for the book recommendation! I’ll have to check it out–particularly as I LOVE dragons and knights!

I’m happy to hear that you appreciate I shared the pen name! My thought is that while I might not always write something you’ll be interested in, I will ALWAYS write stuff that sticks to my moral code, so it’s really more about organizing the various interests instead of trying to screen something.

I hope you enjoy the Luckless! It’s a story that is brimming with my quirky humor that you pointed out! (Mentally, I think of it as the Magical Beings’ Rehabilitation Center’s video game/epic fantasy equivalent, as I try to call out a lot of the discrepancies.) Thanks for sticking with me through this. If it ends up not being your cup of tea, rest assured that after I finish Luckless’ sequel (which should be within a week) next I’m taking aim at a Timeless Fairy Tale!

Bianca Pierre-Jacques

August 06, 2017 at 05:18 AM UTC


Yaaahhh! Can’t wait!!!!

A Sohma Surprise

Greetings, Champions! I have got a bit of a surprise to spring on you all today.


As you might recall, near the start of summer I talked about working on my “passion project,” and I’m finally ready to reveal it. This summer I launched a pen name: A. M. Sohma. I created the pen name to work as a bit of a divider. My Sohma stories will be more adventure focused and less romance driven, and most of them will be in genres that probably won’t interest many of you–specifically sci fi and a particular genre called LitRPG.

At it’s core, LitRPG is basically a story in which the characters are stuck in a video game, or spend a lot of time in a video game. There’s a lot of gamer jargon, specific tropes are expected, and since the stories take place inside a video game things like levels, character stats, and skills are discussed a lot. All of that is really different from my beloved fairy tales, and I didn’t want to launch it as K. M. Shea, have you guys pick it up because you assumed it would be something you would enjoy, and end up disliking the story. So I decided to launch A. M. Sohma. In fact, A. M. Sohma’s first LitRPG book was released a few weeks ago: The Luckless.

Welcome to Retha, the full submersion video game where you can be the hero of your own adventure. Unfortunately for Kit, it only takes one moment to turn the game into a nightmare.


When Chronicles of Retha experiences a software malfunction, Kit—a disenchanted veteran player—is stuck in the game without a way to log off. Even worse, she’s trapped playing as the most defective character possible, an elf dancer that was meant to be a prank.


Thankfully, she receives word that there is a way out. But the only escape route is to defeat the game’s ultimate villain. Kit, in her joke character, must fight her way through some of the worst Retha has to offer. Her only help is a party of low-leveled players just as powerless as she is, and the occasional act of mercy from one of the best players in the game, the taciturn (and aloof) Solus Miles.


Can Kit and her new friends finish the quest, or will Retha be their end?

 

Here’s the thing. A. M. Sohma’s books are still going to contain all my usual signature things: quirky characters, humor, butt-kicking heroines, clean romance, the works. It’s really just that the subject matter is so different, I wanted to separate the two out to avoid any potential conflicts. I hope you give The Luckless a try, but if video games aren’t your thing, don’t worry about it. I want my books to be entertaining, and if it’s something you don’t like it won’t be able to entertain you!!


If you want to learn more you can check out the A. M. Sohma tab. I’m running a separate mailing list for it that way I can really keep the audiences separate, and just like my K. M. Shea Starter Pack, I give away a free Luckless short story to those who sign up for it.


I’ll talk about A. M. Sohma some more in the next few weeks to make sure that we’re all on the same page, but that’s the basic run down for now. Thanks for reading, Champions! I’ll see you on Friday when I announce the winners of the next round of the Favorite Secondary Characters Poll!

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