Promo Post: Torn by Gilli Allan

Torn by Gilli Allan

Release Date: 14th December 2014
Publisher: Accent Press

Genres: Contemporary Literature

Jess has made a series of bad life choices and all have let her down.
Escaping London, she sets out to recreate herself in the idyllic countryside, and this time she wants to get it right!
She wants to lead a responsible, tranquil life with her young son Rory, but soon discovers stresses which pull her in opposing directions – conflict over a new bypass, between friends, and worst of all, between lovers.

Educated, experienced, and pragmatic, James is a widowed farmer whose opinions differ from, and enrage, Jess. His young shepherd, Danny, is an uneducated and inexperienced idealist. Jess is attracted to them both, and realizes if she wants her idyllic countryside life to survive, she must choose her Mr Right. The only problem is.........which one is he?

About Gilli Allan

 

Love may be a central theme, but the books I write are not conventional romances. I try to write honestly, refusing to romanticise the downsides and the pitfalls in modern relationships. I am now published by Accent Press, but it's been a long and tortuous road to get to this point.
Although my career was as an illustrator, I suspect I've always been a writer. Long before I was capable of committing more than a few laborious sentences to the page I routinely developed long and complex stories in my head, peopled typically with fairies, princes and princesses and the sons and daughters of red-Indian chieftains. I began writing the 'book I wanted to read' when I was ten, inspired by my older sister. She was writing a Regency romance, but through my own teenage I began many rather gloomy, contemporary, stories - never finishing any of them. Doubtless I was compensating, through my romantic fantasies, for my lack of a real love life. I left school at 16 with just enough exam passes to go on to Art College - I now realise that I am on the mild end of the dyslexia spectrum - and eventually got a job in advertising.

When I stopped work to have my son, I started writing again. The first two novels I ever finished were immediately taken on by a new independent publisher, Love Stories, but it failed to achieve the marketing, promotion and distribution necessary to achieve success for itself or for its new authors. It folded after a few years and since those days the world of publishing has changed dramatically. After a period in the wilderness I decided to self-publish my novels TORN, LIFE CLASS and FLY or FALL, but I have now been rescued by Accent, for which I thank them. 

For up-to-date info about GILLI ALLAN:
http://gilliallan.blogspot.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GilliAllan.AUTHOR or https://www.facebook.com/gilli.allan.1
GoodReads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1027644.Gilli_Allan
Twitter - @gilliallan.

        

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Promo: The Lebrus Stone by Miriam Khan

The Lebrus Stone by Miriam Khan 

Release Date: (28 Nov 2014)
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press 

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal

Welcome to The Lebrus Stone promo tour!

Celebrating the book's recent release, author Miriam Khan is introducing her paranormal romance read to the masses via a series of blogs. Perfect for fans of YA, readers are loving the book's haunting cover and calling the story "vivid" and "compelling."

Why not take a look for yourself:

Synopsis: "When eighteen-year-old orphan, Crystal Valdez, accepts an invitation to the small town of Blacksville, West Virginia, she hopes to have a summer to remember and a chance to learn more about her parents, to also get to know the family she never knew existed. But the Lockes begin to act strange and erratic; eerie movements in the night fuel her vivid and gruesome nightmares. To complicate her summer further, she becomes attracted to the menacing yet handsome Cray Locke: her none blood related cousin. He seems determined to keep his distance. The only bonus to her trip seems to be the housekeeper and gardener. And when a local informs Crystal of the secrets buried at Thorncrest Manor, the kind consisting of a forbidden relationship and a war between hidden worlds, and witchcraft, she must decide whom to trust. Even if it means leaving behind those she has come to love."

Click Here To Buy This Book - UK

Click Here To Buy This Book - US

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVt_asn59II   

 Excerpt:

I lay back and tried not to over think things to calm the storm in my head, but a knock on my door moments later interrupted it. "Come in!" I called out, sitting up to retrieve my book. Syd entered, carrying in what looked like a sandwich and a glass of her homemade lemonade. I could have done with a hot soup. But I blew a sigh of relief it wasn't one of the Lockes. "Isobel said to make sure you had some lunch by now," she said, placing the tray on my bedside cabinet. "Thanks, Syd." "Any reason why you're hiding in here?" she asked as she sat on my bed. I tensed. Being told I was hiding annoyed me, but I wasn't annoyed at Syd, just at myself. I had come too far in life to start acting like a coward, especially over something clearly in my head. I fingered the dog-eared cover of my book. "I think I just need a quiet day to myself. It could be some type of…delayed jet lag." It could be partly true, I thought. It had taken two flights to get from Salt Lake City to Blacksville; six hours in total. I smiled, pleased with the conclusion. Exhaustion could have been why I had such a freakish dream. "I see," Syd said, seeming unconvinced. "Well, do you think you'll be joining the Lockes for dinner?" "Do I have to?" No matter how much I was becoming fond of Syd, she worked for the Lockes. They could try and make her tell me what do. "No." She chuckled. "But I think you should try to interact. Cray's alright, by the way. A little scratch like that won't do a boy like him any harm." Boy like him? So, I had hurt him. My chest tightened. "Oh, don't look so beat up about it, honey. The boy is as tough as old boots." She chuckled again. "And luckily for you, he's not as vain about his looks as you would think. He won't hold what happened against you." She patted my hand. I gulped. "Has he…said something?" "No. He left early this morning. He didn't say where he was going, and Isobel never dares ask these days. He's a very private person, as you've probably noticed. She respects that. We all do." She looked lost in thought for a moment, then smiled in her sad little way, and asked, "So, are you ready to talk about what happened last night?" My mouth felt too clamped to begin "I have to say, not many girls would have left home to meet so many strangers. I admire your courage." Her comment only made me sound irresponsible. I gritted my teeth. "I don't feel very courageous," I admitted. "I feel pretty stupid right now." Thanks for the added comment to make me feel even more naive, I wanted to add. "I don't think five months was long enough to think this through," I said. She nodded. "Maybe. But everything happens for a reason. You followed your heart. It's all you can do in life. It's your only real compass." I wanted us to keep talking. When Syd wasn't nicely pointing out my flaws, she had a way of calming me until I felt optimistic about my trip again. But she had dinner to prepare, so she reluctantly left me after insisting I get ready to face my evening with the Lockes. Something about her was becoming familiar. It could have been the warmth in her eyes and how they reminded me of Selma. She had always been as hospitable and over helpful. I still missed her. Talking to Syd was like getting back something that had been cruelly taken away, too. It wasn't just my parents I'd lost, but my pride, self-worth, my best friend, at times my composure. It had been an uphill struggle this past year or so. But I was finally feeling on top of things…I think. I sure wasn't going to let it keep me down.

Coming to Blacksville was my new start as the new and improved me. I really had to keep believing that.

Author Bio:

Miriam is from Cheshire, England and a family of six siblings. Her love for creativity led to acting at her local theatre before being a lead vocalist in rock bands. During those years, she often found solace penning her thoughts and feelings through lyrics or poetry. She chose not to continue singing in 2006, and two years later she woke up with the idea for The Lebrus Stone and began typing, revising and editing it for the next six years. She is now eager to see what readers will think.

Author Links

Facebook | Goodreads | Blog | Smashwords

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Writing Competition with Silverwood Books!

FANTASTIC WRITING COMPETITION!!

Yesterday we met the lovely Helen Hart from Silverwood Books. In her interview she mentioned a fantastic writing competition. Well, as promised, here is more information about the competition. Good luck to everyone who enters. 

Fancy winning a publishing deal?

We catch up with Helen Hart, Publishing Director at SilverWood Books. Helen's company SilverWood (www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk) is working with Kobo Writing Life (www.kobowritinglife.com) to offer a new writing competition. Helen says, 'Our competition is open to self-published or unpublished writers, and we're really excited by this. There aren't many competitions that support self-published works, so I jumped at the chance when Kobo Writing Life suggested we work together on a competition. We announced the opportunity at our recent Writing & Self-Publishing Open Day, hence the name."

Writers working on a novel will be interested to know they can enter just a synopsis and their first chapter, and be in with a chance of winning (although they will need to have completed the novel, of course!). The SilverWood editorial team will review entries and compile a shortlist of 8 for the judging panel, which includes television presenter and author Dr Sanjida O'Connell, Kobo Young Adult fiction bestseller Shayna Krishnasamy, and Helen herself.



The winner will receive a copy-edit, professional cover design, and publication as an ebook published by Kobo and short-run paperback printed by sponsors Berforts Information Press. Dale Burgess, Sales & Marketing Manager at Berforts, says: "After working with SilverWood Books since 2010 on a range of print projects, we're delighted to be supporting the writing competition with them." The lucky runner up will receive a Kobo Aura H2O, the new waterproof e-reading device.

The Judges
Dr Sanjida O'Connell is a television broadcaster and the author of 8 books including, Sugar: The Grass that Changed the World. She says, 'I'm looking forward to being immersed in someone else's imaginary world, being absorbed by their use of words and transported by their story.'

Shayna Krishnasamy is a writer of literary and young adult fiction, and a Kobo bestseller. She's currently participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), trying to complete 50,000 words of a new novel in just 30 days. Shayna says, 'I love reading the work of new writers. I'm really looking forward to discovering a new and original voice.'

Helen Hart has been a published author since 1999. One of her Young Adult novels, written as Maya Snow, was shortlisted for the Solihull Children's Book Award 2010. She says, 'I have a feeling the standard is going to be high in this competition, and that it's going to be a challenge to choose a winner!'

 To find out more about the competition, please visit http://kobowritinglife.com/2014/09/20/open-day-writing-competition/

To enter the competition and submit your manuscript, click this link: https://vrcoordinator.wufoo.com/forms/the-open-day-writing-competition/

 

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Author Interview: Meet Helen Hart.

Author Interview with Helen Hart

Brook Cottage Books is absolutely thrilled to welcome the lovely Helan Hart to the blog. Helen very kindly agreed to be interrogated  interviewed. Helen is such a great supporter of other authors I thought it was about time she took the hot seat!


Tell us about SilverWood Books.

SilverWood Books is an author services company that produces high quality professionally-designed books and ebooks. We’re a small, specialist team providing self-funding authors with professional publishing services and on-going support. Our list is reasonably selective and includes a number of traditionally published authors including former BBC Radio 4 broadcaster Sarah LeFanu, Oxford University Press editor Alan Hamilton, former Defense Secretary Sir John Nott, and Whitbread and Guardian nominated children's author Ann Turnbull.


What type of books do you write?

Mostly Young Adult historical novels. For many years I wrote for the ‘ideas factory’ Working Partners, where I wrote several of the Vampire Plagues/Vampire Dusk series, and the Sisters of the Sword series (set in 10th century Japan). More recently I self-published a pirate novel for teens, The Black Banner, the tale of penniless Becky Baxter who runs away to sea and finds herself on a pirate ship – very Pirates of the Caribbean!


You were a judge in the Bristol Short Story Prize in 2010 & 2011. Was that a difficult job?

Good question! Yes, it was difficult but mostly because the standard of entries was so high. It was a challenge for the judging panel to decide which stories of the 40-strong longlist should be put forward to the shortlist and ultimately the top three… Mind you, with our Open Day Writing Competition coming up, I think it was good practice! (The Open Day Writing Competition is being run by SilverWood Books and Kobo Writing Life, with support from Berforts Information Press. The winning novel will be published as a paperback and ebook. Find out more: http://kobowritinglife.com/2014/09/20/open-day-writing-competition/)
(you can find out even more about the comp on tomorrows blog post)
 
Do you have any advice for budding authors?

Quite early in my career I was given an excellent piece of advice: “Don’t get it right, get it written.” Every time I find myself a bit stuck, I think of that and it prompts me to stop over-thinking and just put the words on the page. It doesn’t really matter if what you write for your first draft isn’t that good… at least you have something which you can work with and edit. After all, you can’t edit a blank page. So just get some words down and don’t worry about quality. That comes later!


Did you always want to be a writer?

Always. As a child, I loved making up stories and spent a lot of time scribbling new adventures for my favourite children’s book characters. It was such a thrill for me when the manuscript for The Black Banner caught the attention of a literary agent. Sadly she didn’t sell that particular book, but it led to all my other books which did get published – and paved the way for my role at SilverWood and all the work I do supporting our authors.


Lastly, list 3 of your favourite books.

Now this is where things get tricky. There are so many fabulous books out there that it’s almost impossible to choose three. But here goes:
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Memoirs of a Master Forger by William Heaney
The Keep by Jennifer Egan
Can I also mention my current read On Writing by Stephen King – while not an actual favourite book, it’s a must-read for writers!

Helen Hart is Publishing Director at author services company SilverWood Books. SilverWood supports self-funding writers to produce high quality professionally-designed books and ebooks. Helen is the author of 9 novels (HarperCollins, OUP, Scholastic), a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors, and an Indie reviewer for the Historical Novel Society.

Web: www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk

Email: helen@silverwoodbooks.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter: @SilverWoodBooks

or catch up with us on Facebook

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Guest Post: Rich James discusses Fearbreeders!

Fearbreeders: Chronicle of End Days by R James

Series: Fearbreeders

Genres: Fantasy, Horror

Guest Post: Rich James discusses his new eBook!

Or, more to the point, I want to discuss the part you, the reader, play in my new YA fantasy eBook. I want to show you how you can along with my characters help them face up to and defeat their personal and real-word demons … and they can in turn help you face up to and defeat yours.
That’s a lot of bang for your buck for a YA fantasy novel! My new eBook, Fearbreeders tells the story of three young, hip “psychic channelers” fighting all sorts of monsters, ghosts and ghouls in the modern world. As the story progresses, the kids realise that, in fact, the monsters they are fighting are the physical manifestation of their own worst fears, given shape and form by their psychic powers. They realise that to overcome these deep-seated fears, they’ll need to first take a look inside themselves. Only once they’ve defeated their personal demons will they be able to defeat the very real evil they inadvertently created…
I developed the idea as much in response to the creative process as the idea I was creating. Think about it: the creation of effective villains in books and other entertainment is achieved by making the antagonist a representation of something inside the hero that the hero doesn’t like about him or herself, and doesn’t want to confront. (All you story-savvy readers out there already knew this, of course!) Usually this means creating a villain and instilling in him, her or it these negative hero traits and then letting the hero do battle with the villain. Thus, in a metaphorical sense, when the hero defeats the villain he or she is overcoming the negative traits within him or herself.
That’s how villains have worked since Aesop and Homer – and it’s why it feels so good to defeat a well-constructed baddie! My core innovation was to simply make the manifestation of these fears literally real. At first, when I broached this idea with friends and other writer colleagues, the general consensus was that if I made the characters’ fears literally, physically, tangibly real then it wouldn’t be much of a story. After all, if your worst fear literally walked into the room right now and struck up a conversation with you, you’d immediately recognise it for that it was, correct? I mean it would be so obvious, right? … Right…?
Wrong. And that is my point. We as human beings developed the fear response in order to transfer our fears to the external world as a sort of predictive survival mechanism. That is why the scariest fears are actually those hiding in the places we don’t dare look: and those places exist not in the outside world… but inside of ourselves.
So go on, download my book and take a peek at that dark place inside yourself where you dare not look. Trust me, it’s a lot easier if you don’t have to face it alone, hence why I write what I do and reach out to others. Have fun!   
Here’s the jacket blurb… 
What if your darkest fears were made real? What would they look and sound like? What form would they take? Would you want to hear what they have to say? More terrifyingly, what would you say to them?
For twelve-year-old psychic channeler, Billy Bickster, his worst nightmares come true – literally – when he discovers that the terrifying monsters pursuing him and his two friends in their dreams are real. Worse, glowing green with demonic red eyes, these creatures – known as “Fearbreeders” – are actually the summation of the children’s darkest, hidden fears.
Welcome to a new world of entertainment! Click on the in-text links as you read, and explore the same sites the internet-savvy characters in the book are using to solve this puzzling tale. But be warned: take up this challenge only if you dare find this evil before our heroes do… otherwise you risk it finding you through your eReader and the internet.

Author Bio:

Rich James is a novelist, blogger, editor, speaker and teacher living in east London, England.
He can usually be found people watching on the streets of east London to get inspiration for his weird and wonderful fictional creatures and monsters – after all, who would deny Leytonstone High Road is Middle-earth with a McDonalds drive-thru?

As well as his fiction novel writing, he has a passion for writing for theatrical mediums, which inspired him to combine these mediums to develop his cross-media eBook concept.
A produced radio play writer, he is currently contracted to write several sci-fi episodes for an up-and-coming radio serial being produced by a London-based audio production company. This provided the inspiration for the sci-fi elements in his fantasy series concept, Fearbreeders.
Concurrent with his London-based audio work, his high-concept commercial Hollywood screenplays are currently doing the rounds of agents and producers in Hollywood. Having achieved high distinctions on “The Blacklist”, the preeminent site for unproduced spec screenplays in Hollywood, his work is currently being developed by a veteran LA producer – the same respected writer/director who is also interested in commercial theatrical adaptation of theFearbreeders series.

Find him on Twitter @thefantasynovel

Author Website: http://thefantasynovelist.wordpress.com/

Link to Author image: https://thefantasynovelist.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/grey-scale-bmp-right1.png?w=200&h=271

Link to book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fearbreeders-Chronicle-Days-Rich-James-ebook/dp/B00PJ2X0EM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415976433&sr=8-1&keywords=fearbreeders

  

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Young Author Spotlight: Vartika Singh Sikarwar

My Adventures to the Secret Door by Vartika Singh Sikarwar 

Release Date: 2014
Publisher: Rochak Publishing

Genres: Children's Fiction

Brook Cottage Books is thrilled to welcome the youngest writer we've ever had on the blog! Please welcome 15 year old Vartika Singh Sikarwar from India who is going to tell us a little bit about her book and herself!

About My Adventure To The Secret Door

My adventure to the secret door is a story about a 13 years old girl Amaya. She used to live happily with her family.She always used to think of adventures. She has a lovely pet boxer dog. One day something very strange happened to her, when she woke she found that she was in another world. That was a very unusual world. She was both very scared and excited about it. Once she got what that place is about and after the meeting the princess of that place she actually 
started her wonderful adventure that exists behind the secret black door. But, she didn't know whether she was alive or Dead......
Read and find about her thrilling adventure!!!!



About Me

I am narcissist. But I am not selfish. I love to read, write and sing. I wrote my first novel when I was 12. But I got published when I was 15. (It was a little hard time). I just love to connect with new people through their writing. Two women in my life who inspire me most are My Mom, and J.K.Rowling. There are the great source of inspiration in my life. I Just Love both. I am working on my two other books, along with getting on with my school life.

Links
https://www.facebook.com/MyAdventureToTheSecretDoor?fref=nf
http://cyberwit.net/publications/678

 

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Promo Post: Norty or Nice by Amanda Ward

Norty or Nice by Amanda Ward 

Series: Weekend Getaways Book 151

Release Date: 13th December 2014
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing

Genres: Adult Fiction, Erotic Fiction

What happens when Santa’s ‘nice daughter’ Natalie decides she’s had enough of mucking out reindeer stalls and attempts living life on the ‘norty’ side?

Answer…her guardian Rudy decides, once and for all, to take Natalie Claus in his more than capable—hands. To show her that she can be the naughty girl she desires to be, but only with him. When she discovers the beast inside of him, will she run away or harness him to her?

With a tinkling of bells and plenty of snogging under the mistletoe, Rudy unleashes a side to Natalie that she has never felt before. Join this couple on the ride of their life as the good girl finally finds her naughty side.

Love and laughter await Natalie on the sleigh ride of romance, but is everyone who they appear to be?


Excerpt One
“I wish just for one Christmas, I could be the naughty one and get away with it like my sister does!”
As she said her wish out loud, a shooting star crossed the sky, landing with a whoosh and hiss in the cold snow. Natalie pulled up her long red dress and trudged through the deep piles to where a small crater had melted a well through the snow. Using her rarely-used power of frost, she cooled the piece of metal lying there with her breath and watched as her magic turned it from something grey and unformed into a glittering frost necklace, interspersed with red jewels. Natalie picked it up and placed it around her neck. A feeling of recklessness surged through her. With a click of her fingers, Natalie Claus disappeared.
Natalie was single-minded as she attempted a confident walk over to where the object of her planned seduction stood. She smiled to herself, wondering if anyone there realized that the virginal daughter of Father Christmas was walking amongst them, let alone that the bad one was. Natalie looked back at where her sister had been.

Excerpt Two
“She’s gone again,” Natalie whispered under her breath. Pulling herself together, she wobbled slightly on the high heels and concentrated on putting one foot in front of another without falling over. Heel, toe. Heel, toe...Hello? Natalie’s head snapped back and she looked up, up and up. He towered over her, the hint of a smile on his full lips as his amber gaze met her green sparkling one.
“Can I help you?” His voice was deep and rough. The sound of it sent jolts of excitement through Natalie’s untried body.
“Yes, you can,” she said in a breathy soft tone. The man leaned down so he could hear her speak. As he did, Natalie seized her chance. She reached up on tip-toe and placed her lips on his. At his lack of response, Natalie pulled away. She turned on her heel. Rather wobbly and mortified, she fled as fast as her short legs would let her, grabbing the bottle of champagne from the bar.
“Look at me, Nat, look at me!”
Her head snapped back. His eyes were dark brown, hinting at suppressed anger.
“I am not a thing,” he told her. “I am your lover and your mate. You and I have been destined to be together since you were born.”
“That’s rot,” Natalie spat back, trying to get out of his arms.
“Really? Look at this, then.” Pulling her to a mirror, he pointed out a small red heart shape above her breast. On Rudy’s chest, there was an identical mark. “This only happens when two mates become one. Which you and I did just now.”
“Impossible. It’s wrong on so many levels. You aren’t human,” Natalie cried.
“I am human. I am your protector, your lover. The other half of you,” Rudy insisted. “I take the form of a reindeer to protect you. The heart that beats here…” He took her hand, pressing it against his chest. “…It’s human, like yours is. I just come with something extra.” When he loosened his grip on her, Natalie stole her chance.
“And I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life mucking out your stable?”
Clicking her fingers, Natalie Claus disappeared in a glimmer of snowflakes.


Bio:


Amanda Ward lives in Bedfordshire, England with her husband, three children and two insane cats. The expression ‘What you see is what you get’, sums her up perfectly. She is the author of the novel Without Saying A Word with Books To Go Now and The MisAdventures of Pann Haggerty with Secret Cravings Publishing.  She is a member of the Romance Novelists Association (RNA).  There is always some moment waiting around the corner to be written into a novel.

Her interests include a passion for history, romance novels, cooking, and science fiction.  Of course not forgetting the great and wonderful Doris Day musicals. 

A perfect afternoon for Amanda would be a pot of tea, plenty of biscuits with a Doris Day film on the telly. Shared with great friends and her amazingly tolerant mother in law.
Find out more about Amanda and her manic life at www.amandajward.weebly.com

Contact Links:
AMANDA WARD - REFRESHINGLY ROMANTIC; QUINTESSENTIALLY QUIRKY!! - WELCOME
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/manda.j.ward
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Augustmum
Blog:
http://kooks-kooksnook.blogspot.co.uk/
Google+
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MandaWard71/posts
Email
mrsajward@hotmail.com

        SECRET CRAVINGS PUBLISHING 

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