Saturday 28 June 2014

Hooray!

It's the weekend. To celebrate, for a limited period, I've slashed the price of Tales of a Traveler: Hemlock' by a whole....*drum roll*...dollar!!!

Call me mad. Call me impulsive. You can even call me maybe! That's just how I'm feeling today.

Run wild. My pretties! Have fun.

Friday 27 June 2014

Book two teaser/spoiler...

Hello lovelies. :)

Since I posted an unedited Wolfsbane teaser over on my Facebook page, it seems only fair that I post it here too.

 Let me set the scene a little...

 Anselm comes to visit Martha while she's languishing in her cell beneath Edgeway castle in the hopes she'll agree to move into his chambers with him.(!)


"...But if Vadim is alive, he will come to claim you. Just think of it,” Anselm said with a bright smile. “After all this time, he will finally come to us.”

 Martha’s simmering temper flashed, overriding her fear. “You’re using me as bait to catch a ghost? Brilliant! And when Vadim doesn’t come, what then, fuckwit? How long before you realize I’m telling you the truth and turn me loose, hmm?” 

 “By that time,” Anselm said, gently taking her arm, “you may want to stay.” 

There was no mistaking the meaning in his eyes. Her flesh crawled. “Oh, please tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking? I’d never--” 

 “Never is a long and lonely time away, m’lady,” he said, leading her from the cell. “And as you will discover, my dear, I am a very patient man.” 

 Martha bit her lip. What was the point in hurling insults at him? Let Anselm believe what he wanted. She’d play along for a while. At least if she was out of here she might find a way to escape, or to send a message. 

 As much as she longed for Vadim, she hoped he wasn’t planning a heroic, and ultimately suicidal, rescue attempt. If the earl ever got his evil hands on him-- No. Vadim loved her, but he was much too wily for that. How else had he stayed alive for so long? Anselm wasn’t the only one with a predator blood flowing in his veins... 

 What do you think? Will that do?

Tuesday 24 June 2014

Books and covers...


Over the last few days, I've been thinking quite a lot about book-covers. Only natural, I suppose, since my fabulous cover guy Glendon is currently working his spooky magic on book two.

Judging the contents of a book (or a person) by its cover is something we're all guilty of, right? So tell me what you think of these book covers from the 1970s.

Aren't they precious? It's true. The publishers of Gothic romance were the pioneers of modern-day recycling. Don't believe me? Take a look. Every single one of these covers features:
-a spooky house with a light in ONE window.
-a fleeing damsel (footwear, and wispy, impractical dress optional)

Other optional extras include a sinister, shadowy figure in the background.

My personal favourite cover is the one with a giant, psycho Gandalf peering over the roof of the haunted house. "Run, lady! Run!!!"



Gandalf: " I believe the movie line you seek is: Fly, you fools!"

Me: "Yeah, whatever, big guy. Er, what happened to your pointy hat?"

Gandalf: "Have you any idea how impossible it is to get head-wear in my size?"

Good point! Okay, playtime's over for today. I'm gonna head back to my dungeon.

Toodles! :)

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Let's talk cliffies!

Another fab review from an Amazon customer.  Thank you so much, whoever you are! :)



Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't offer the likes of me the pre-order button. I suppose that's because self-pubbers are a bit of an unknown quantity, and Amazon doesn't want to have a load of pre-orders for a book that might never come.

Yeah, I agree, 'Traveler' does end on a bit of a cliffie. My author chums all know how I hmm'd and haa'd  about that one.

For those of you who don't know, 'Traveler' was originally meant to be a one-off, stand-alone novel. But when I hit the 200,000 word mark and the ending still wasn't in sight, I was forced to reconsider. I mean, who'd take a chance on a doorstep of a book penned by an unknown author? That's why I split it into two.

I do mention that it's a cliffe on my Amazon author page, advising readers with an aversion to these kind of endings to steer clear--although Martha does get a HEA of sorts, however fleeting!

As a reader, cliffies don't really bother me. I view 'em as a soap opera with words. As long as the main story arc is complete, I'm happy to follow the start of a new one.

I'm trying to think of a few cliffie books: The Harry Potter series, Twilight, Outlander, come to mind.

Can you think of any more? How do you feel about them? I suppose it's a Marmite situation. People either love 'em or hate 'em. I'm guessing there aren't too many fence-sitters where cliffies are concerned.

Okay, heading back to my writer's dungeon to work on those revisions. Have a great day! :)

Sunday 15 June 2014

Write Inspiration...


Hardwick Hall is a significant Elizabethan country house near Chesterfield. Built between 1590–1597 for Bess of Hardwick.

And it's a fabulous day out, even in the mizzling rain! The gardens are amazing too!

Wednesday 11 June 2014

I'm curious about something...

When I'm writing a story, I have a very clear picture of the characters in my head. And no matter how much I try--with the possible exception of Forge--I've never been able to Google and find someone who truly resembles them. My question for you today is this: If 'Traveler' was a movie, which actor (or random Google person) best resembles the character, the way you see them in your head? Just to get you started, my Vadim is a patchwork comprising of Ardeth Bey (from 'The Mummy'), Aragorn (LOTR), and Christian Bale. 








I'd love to see my people through your eyes!

Monday 9 June 2014

Cheap as chips...

What a lovely review! I can't think of a better way to start my day.


I do hope the kind author isn't too tired at work today.

If s/he happens to read this post mmmmwah! *big kiss* I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. As I've said many times before, reviews are love! (Sometimes the tough kind, but hey-ho!)

Okay, the Kindle Countdown clock tells me that 'Traveler' is now at $1.99, which is still as cheap as chips considering all the years I've spent with Vadim and co. Yeah, it's a dirty job, but someone had to do it! :)

In 48 hours the price will go up again. Don't miss out!

Saturday 7 June 2014

Tick Tock!

Hey, guys.

Just to let you know that the clock of my Kindle Countdown Deal is ticking.



It won't stay at 99c forever! 

Friday 6 June 2014

Psst!

Okay, my lovelies. I think it must be Friday in most places by now. So here's my news:

From tomorrow, Saturday, for a limited period, my book 'Tales of a Traveler' can be yours for a paltry 99c! That's right. Only 99c!

Best be quick, though. This is an Amazon Countdown Deal. As everybody knows, after a couple of days, the price will start creeping back up again.

There will never be a better time for you to sample some hot, medieval manflesh!

Spread the word. Tell your friends!

Enjoy!

Tuesday 3 June 2014

Carrot dangling...

Hello, my lovelies.

If you haven't yet read 'Traveler', stop by my Facebook page on Friday. I might have a little something that'll persuade you to take the plunge into Martha's world.

:)

Monday 2 June 2014

Once upon a time, night time was the write time.



In the days b.c (before kids!), I would regularly scribble away until the birds got up for breakfast, before hauling myself into my comfy pit to sleep away the hours until lunchtime. I was...The Night Writer.

Nowadays, my creativity keeps the hours of a blackbird. This means, as soon as it's dark, the writerly parts of my brain go bye-bye.

However, because my kids are off school this week and have taken over all of my daylight hours, I thought I'd better try and become Night Writer again.

How did it go? It didn't. Seriously, I've spent the last two hours rejigging two tiny paragraphs, and now they look worse than when I started. So frustrating. That's it! I'm gonna go Google for cute kitty pictures or something. Goodnight all! :)


Happy 4th of July!

Hope you all have a safe, happy, and wonderful day!