First Chance for Last Roll (of the Die) 🎲📖🃏


Hey there!

As you might remember from my last email, all of the authors included in the Last Roll of the Die anthology are in a bit of friendly competition over who can get the most notification sign ups before Last Roll of the Die launches on Tuesday, August 18, 2026.

And here's the good news—you all came through for me... but the guy in the lead also had a bit of a surge. So I'm still in second place!

Which means we have three days to catch up. Remember, this isn't just me winning a competition for bragging rights. (And it really is just bragging rights—I'm finally showing a bit of my mom's competitive streak. ;)

You'll also win some secret-special artwork I made for Twice Burned, featuring Lake Crescent.

​So here's that sign-up link.​

Twice Burned is one of twenty short stories included in Last Roll of the Die, and follows Danica Burns on a brand new case, investigating a rune-covered body found in Washington State's Lake Crescent.

This deluxe anthology was edited by Mary Stone and J.D. Barker. If you're even a little bit curious about it, if you've thought to yourself "I wonder if this is any good?" or "Just how deluxe is the book going to be?" you can sign up to be reminded when the anthology launches and get all the details that Reader Nation has been working on behind the scenes.

Everyone's luck runs out. The only question is when.
​
​
A hitman whose first job goes sideways in all the right ways.
​
A priest who bends the rules of heaven to stop a killer.
​
A con man whose stolen life comes crashing down when the dead man’s son comes looking for answers.
​
A vigilante who finally pulls the trigger on the wrong man.
​
​Last Roll of the Die brings together twenty thriller stories united by a single truth: no one stays lucky forever. Whether it's a detective forced to unmask his own brother, an FBI agent closing a twenty-six-year-old case, or a woman who inherits a memory that destroys her family, every story turns on the moment luck shifts and the bill comes due.

The house always wins. Until it doesn't.

The anthology launches in three days, so head here to check it out and get notified the moment it becomes available.

That's it for now!

Happy reading,

Jessie

P.S. This isn't the only new Danica Burns story in the works. Yesterday morning, I typed the final scene of my first full-length Danica Burns novel, Ashes to Ashes. The draft is still a mess, but revision is my happy place. :) So I'm now confident that I'll have it out by November! Stay tuned...

Misadventures in the Multiverse

Join 2000+ armchair travelers on a journey to strange new worlds—fictional and non—in this weekly dispatch from sci-fi writer Jessie Kwak.

Read more from Misadventures in the Multiverse
Ashes to Ashes book cover

Hey there! I've been waiting to type these words for ages: Book 1 of the Danica Burns series—Ashes to Ashes—is available to preorder! You can grab your copy here. She burned her family's cult to the ground once. She'll do it again in a heartbeat. A beauty influencer turned cult leader has burned to death in her own group's spring ritual bonfire. Her followers say she Ascended, but local law enforcement is calling it murder, and they’ve invited Special Agent Danica Burns in to consult. Danica...

Hey there! I'm sending out my newsletter a little early because I don't want you to miss out on your last chance to get Last Roll of the Die. I've already sent a few emails about what this shorty story collection is, how high the value and quality are on it, and how you helped me to win the unofficial competition with the other authors at the start! This email is about two simple things: the last roll call for Last Roll of the Die, and what Twice Burned means to me. Unlike many crowdfunding...

Two tall larch trees with textured bark against a bright blue sky

Hey there! I got a very special delivery two days ago, when my mother-in-law (hi Jean!) sent me a copy of Harlan Coben's newest book, Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft. I haven't read a ton of Coben's mystery thrillers, but I've always enjoyed the ones I've picked up over the years—especially when I find one out in our Little Free Library. He's a really engaging writer, and as I settled down with Plot Twist and a cup of tea last night, I can already tell I'm going to enjoy...