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Angie & Christie Write Now!

- Valerie Leave a comment
image containing headshot of Valerie plus the covers of four books including Witch You Would, and the Angie & Christie Write Now logo in the bottom right with the Strong Women, Strange Worlds logo

A few months back, I had the pleasure of being interviewed for the Angie & Christie Write Now podcast, and the episode is finally out! Give it a listen when you get the chance.

If you peruse their channel, you’ll find other cool interviews, Q&As and book recommendations from various authors as well. So you can start by listening to me yammer, then dive into the backlist. Backlisten? That’s a word now, I just decided.

Your keen eyes may also detect the Strong Women, Strange Worlds logo in the above image. They’re an organization dedicated to showcasing women and nonbinary authors of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. They host regular virtual live readings, with a few coming up quite soon! Check them out as well.

Witch Is Mine cover!

- Valerie 2 Comments
Emelia and Sebastian inside hearts looking at each other, floating papers and magic sparkles flanking them, text reads Witch Is Mine Coming Soon! liaamador.com

If you’ve been waiting for word on the sequel to Witch You Would, the wait is over! Witch Is Mine preorder links are now up, and so is the extremely adorable cover by artist Jess Miller.

The benefit of writing a sequel, in terms of cover art, is that you’ve already set a precedent. It’s good to maintain the format of what you’ve already got in some way, and change up the details to fit the new book. Cohesion! Continuity! You love to see it.

The challenge, then, is to figure out what to keep and what to change. What exactly do you want to add in terms of different elements? What are the symbols you can pull from the text and plop into the art so readers can judge your book by its cover?

For Witch You Would, I knew I wanted butterflies and a slate, and the rest was up to the artist. For Witch Is Mine, I asked for books and peacock feathers. I also requested a dragon plushie, providing some sample photos of how I’d love it to look. Why these things specifically? You’ll find out when you read it!

Without further ado, check out these two nerds! I can’t wait for you to meet them.

cover of Witch Is Mine, with Emelia on the left wearing a pantsuit and holding a pink fireball, a blue dragon plushie wrapped around her neck, Sebastian on the right holding a book wearing a vest and bowtie, between them a stack of books with papers and peacock feathers flying out of the top open book

You may remember Emelia, Penelope’s sister, from the first book. Here she is, in all her professional yet resting-murder-faced glory! Sebastian is a new character, a stoic cinnamon roll librarian who loves his bow ties. Bow ties are cool, as everyone knows.

Right now, the book is set to release on October 9th, but discussions are in progress about potentially pushing that back to the beginning of next year. I’ll be teaching at Viable Paradise again in October, and for those of us in the US, that time is probably going to be… stressful, to say the least.

We shall see what unfolds! I’ll keep you updated. Meanwhile, join me in gazing raptly at this cover and emitting the occasional excited squeal and kicky legs. And hey, drop a preorder if you’re so inclined!

WriteHive Silent Auction

- Valerie Leave a comment
WriteHive logo, a honeycomb covered in circuit lines and circles, with a black computer chip in the center that reads "WriteHive"

Starting today, aka Giving Tuesday, WriteHive is holding their 2025 Silent Auction fundraiser!

I have three things up for bidding. You can get a 30-minute coaching call with me, where we can talk about whatever writing, publishing or career things you’d like. Or, if you want a signed/personalized book, you can bid on a copy of either Where Peace Is Lost or Witch You Would.

WriteHive is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping writers achieve their goals. They have a variety of events and programs dedicated towards that purpose, including free virtual conventions and a year-round Discord.

All money raised will go directly to funding operations, allowing their volunteers to bring more opportunities to the writing community. You can win signed books, manuscript critiques, bookish merch, and other cool stuff.

Take a peek at the full list of what’s up for grabs here: https://www.32auctions.com/WriteHiveAuction2025

Bidding closes on December 17th, so mark your calendars and don’t miss out!

Chilling Effect is in The Club

- Valerie Leave a comment
Six audiobook covers on a space background showing stars and part of a planet below. Text: Takes Place in Space. The Club | hoopla. The books are Countess by Suzan Palumbo, The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton, Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes, Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood, Wayward Galaxy by Jason Anspach and J.N. Chaney, and Star Shroud by Ken Lozito.

If you’re part of a book club that likes space opera, good news: Chilling Effect is (for now) one of Hoopla’s Book Club Selections!

The Club offers recommended audiobooks, eBooks, and comics and manga that libraries and patrons can use to host book clubs in person or virtually. All recommended titles from The Club are available on Hoopla Instant, so book club members can read or listen all at the same time with no holds or waiting. And starting this year, The Club is also available in Canada for the first time.

You can borrow Chilling Effect as an eBook or audiobook, whichever floats your spaceship. The other books shown in the image at the top are also great, especially Countess by Suzan Palumbo and Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood. Check them out, too!

(This is old news to folks who are subscribed to my newsletter, but I figured it was worth dropping here as well for posterity and anyone who might have missed it the first time around.)

New site, new blog, same me

- Valerie 2 Comments

My son, upside down
When I was a kid, I used to watch TV upside down.

I’d sit on the couch or a beanbag or, in the summer, this big green high-backed chair in my dad’s family room. I might start out normal enough, with the ol’ junk heap on the seat like anybody else, but within minutes I’d have my head dangling over the edge and my bare feet pointing at the ceiling.

Did I enjoy the rush of blood to my head? The novelty of the cartoon sky and ground being reversed? Did I just like pissing off any adults who wandered in and barked at me to sit correctly and stop being so weird?

I honestly don’t remember. I can’t tell you why I did it. It just made sense at the time.

When I started my website a grumble-frumble ago–that’s a highly technical term for “I don’t want to look it up and feel old”–I decided to have a separate site for my blog. It’s still there, and it will stay there for at least another grumble-frumble or so. But I can’t remember exactly why I set things up that way, and while I’m sure it made sense at the time, it seems like a silly thing to do now.

I have become the adult, yelling at my child self to sit properly. Actually I yell at my son to do it, because of course he inherited my penchant for strange behavior, and he’s always messing up the couch cushions.

Anyway, going forward, I’ll be posting new blog content here. I’ll also be revising and reposting some things from my old blog–because sometimes a big green high-backed chair is still worth having, but could use new padding and upholstery.

So welcome to my new online home. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. Watch TV upside down if you must, but don’t come crying to me if you fall over, I warned you to be careful, BUEEENO. Allá tú.