You can’t beat free!
Check out Michelle’s debut novel for free on Amazon for July 21st!
Maybe it’ll suck you in, maybe not…but for free, what do you have to lose???
I see so many people talk about supporting local, and/or small businesses…Michelle fits right in there as both!
And if you’re in Ohio–specifically northeast Ohio–you’ll likely recognize some locations that add a personal, localized touch we rarely get here, compared to the usual world or NY/CA stages.
You’ll also find her very approachable and ready to engage, online and/or in-person; whether you’re wondering where the conception of the novel came from, specific details found within, or what her favorite dish is!
(Psssst…! If nothing else, ask her about her own Princess Donut and how Dungeon Crawler Carl has impacted her life!)
OK, that’s my social-media-“pitch” here.
But given that this blog isn’t about ads, promotions, and stuff like that in general…whatsay we make this a bit more personal.
I read.
Not REMOTELY as much as I did—and could—as a kid, but I read quite a bit. And by “read” I’m talking about “leisure,” cuz in this day and age, just “reading” seems to encompass SO MUCH MORE than reading for leisure.
Wayyyy back in the long-ago in junior high/middle school…I got involved with the school paper. I think I may actually have been “drafted,” I can’t quite recall—but I was involved.
Then in high school, I again got involved with the school paper. Between that, and the ‘90s’ depiction of Clark Kent and Lois Lane—as reporters, as people, where it really was that “Clark Kent is who he is, Superman is what he does”—I was firmly convinced that I wanted to be a journalist.
Then 1997—and Princess Diana—happened, and I realized that I did NOT want that, though I enjoyed my involvement with The Searchlight through high school graduation.
College—undergrad—was a whole other thing and while I knew several folks that worked for the BG News, I never did. Somewhere late in the BG years, I came to the conclusion/realization that while I wanted to write, I wanted it to be ME. My writing, my own personality and authenticity. I wanted to share my thoughts, MY story. Me. I wouldn’t want to “stick to the facts and just the facts.” I didn’t want to share NEWS, I wanted to participate.
I wound up getting involved with comixtreme.com writing comic reviews (later it morphed into cxPulp), and that ultimately led me to a good dozen years or so of steadily maintaining my own comiic reviews (and related topics) blog.
But back to cx—in early grad school, I saw a notice somewhere about a deadline for applying to work for the Daily Kent Stater. It was that day, and the idea of at least working for their entertainment department, struck me as a good way to “get involved” during my time as a student. So, long story short, I applied, was accepted/”hired”, and got to do some reviews work that was actually published IN PRINT.
But probably the most lasting impact of my all-too-short time with the DKS was that it introduced me to a young woman who was initially just another face at the DKS, to an EIC, and somehow into the 2020s, she had become and been a friend and we were still in touch all these years later.
So last year, after several years of her sharing tidbits or anecdotes or incidental slice-of-life moments that included this book she was writing…it’s in print! AND electronic! AND (for me) best of all, AUDIOBOOK.
Fast forward through a buncha stuff, and here we are. July, 2026. For today-only (July 21, 2026!) you can get the ebook for FREE! Not a joke, not a hoax, just an author who believes in her work and wants to reach as many people as she can.
So why are you reading this rambling from me on a blog called ‘The Life of Walt’?
I got to listen to the book on release last year. I got to enjoy the book. I’m revisiting the book, knowing there’s even more for me to pick up on another run through.
Michelle had the unenviable fortune to be the source of my first book after the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.
But with her interesting story, localization (The book takes place here in Ohio—and a couple key scenes in particular are places I know myself, I drive through or past!), and authentic characters, she pulled me in. What was this group that Audrey found herself sheltering with? What did they actually mean to her and her life? How were things ready to impact her life, even if aliens had NOT fallen outta the sky?
As I said at the start of this post…check the book out. It may not be for you, but you hardly know unless you give it a try. And for the rest of today, at least, you have the chance to get the ebook for free, removing the price barrier to curiosity.
And even if you’re reading this after July 21st, I still recommend the book, especially if you’re able to get out to one of a number of events Michelle attends as an author and you get to meet her in person, hear some of her stories behind the book and from her life, and get the book from her yourself.
Alternatively, you can visit her site where you can buy the book and have it personalized AND shipped directly from Michelle herself. https://flyingsnakepress.com/
Me?
I’m proud of my friend, and excited to see her author-journey continue and grow!
The Life of Walt 