Hello everyone. I’ve just started to take a closer look at Bookbub. I ran a promotion with them for my first book, Babe Driven, when I was first published in 2013 and hadn’t a clue what I was doing! I think BookBub must have been pretty new then too and I was very lucky to have my application accepted.
I have just tried with another book and been told to apply again in three months and to think about applying for my backlist to be included. It’s kind of exciting to think that your book could be accepted, as it’s a wonderful lift for any book to receive. It does cost a lot for the promotion, but the readers your book might catch the eye of, could become true fans of your work . For me, with the first promotion I ran, it was well worth the investment, as Babe Driven swung in and out of the bestseller lists for its first year, getting as high as #323 overall in all of the paid kindle store. It got to #1 on most of its free book runs. Babe Driven is currently back in the bestseller lists, years after its first publication, and it’s great fun to see one of my indie books finding new readers. To be honest I love seeing all of my books finding new readers!
Back to BookBub. I have updated my author profile and BookBub sends out hints to have a greater presence there. One of their tips is to recommend books, as this sends your profile to lots of timelines and can help you to gain more Bookbub followers, who are all book lovers like me. It’s also a good way of sharing news of books you enjoy and helping those authors be seen.
If anyone here is on BookBub and would like to link up and follow each other there and share news of latest releases and books we read, then that would be great. I’m still learning more about it and I’ll share any updates here on my blog.
Hello everyone. I’ve not been blogging much lately, as I’ve been trying to finish my latest manuscript. There are always so many things to fit into each day that I was finding my days full of anything but writing. I gave myself a stern talking to and now have almost 70k words of my latest book written. I still have the end of the story to write, but I can see the finish line. They storyline is getting tense, so I can’t wait to get back to it each day to help my characters find their resolution.
How do you cope with the ups and downs of your writing career if you are a writer? Do you jump into a story and feel emotional when a storyline leads you that way? As a reader, do you relate to the characters of a book of they are upset or excited?
I’m hoping to have the first draft of this manuscript ready to send to my editor in a couple of weeks, and then a new story will begin. It’s a whirlwind of writing, editing and fresh starts, as well as finding time to read fabulous new books. There are many great reads out at the moment that I can’t wait to open the first page of and making time to relax and enjoy a great read is, in my opinion, important for a writer too. Have a fabulous weekend. From Lizzie.
Today it’s my pleasure to introduce you to popular author, Sandra Danby. Sandra now writes fiction full-time. Her short stories and flash fiction have been published online and in anthologies. Sandra is now writing ‘Sweet Joy’, third in the ‘Identity Detective’ series, set in London during The Blitz. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association ‘New Writers Scheme’.
Meet Sandra
I’m originally from East Yorkshire and, though I’ve lived in and around London for a long time now, my heart belongs to my seaside home. In fact I feel the call to return becoming stronger and stronger as I grow older. My family still lives in the same place and my oldest friend too, so I visit often. The black-and-white photograph is from a booth at Butlins Filey, taken on a Sunday School outing when I was ten. This was a big deal as our usual outings were to educational places such as Castle Howard. I’d been longing to go to Butlins as I’d heard about the dodgems. Note, this photo was taken in August but I’m wearing an Aran sweater, knitted for me by my mum.
Being a Northerner is deeply ingrained. I drink [very] strong tea, gallons of it every day. When it gets colder, I put on a jumper. The central heating is never turned above 18°C by me, but when I’m out my husband zaps it up to 23°C which feels tropical to me! And I make great meals from leftovers. Given all of this, it was no surprise to my family that Yorkshire features so strongly in my second book, Connectedness.
And so does my second spiritual home… Spain. For the last ten years, we’ve lived part of the time in Southern Spain near Málaga. Once I’d decided that the heroine of Connectedness should be an artist it seemed logical to make her a Yorkshire woman. And as Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga, it was quick hop and a step to take Justine to art college there.
About ‘Connectedness’
TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, ARTIST JUSTINE TREE HAS IT ALL… BUT SHE ALWAYS HAS A SECRET THAT THREATENS TO DESTROY EVERYTHING
Justine’s art sells around the world, but does anyone truly know her? When her mother dies, she returns to her childhood home in Yorkshire where she decides to confront her past. She asks journalist Rose Haldane to find the baby she gave away when she was an art student, but only when Rose starts to ask difficult questions does Justine truly understand what she must face.
Is Justine strong enough to admit the secrets and lies of her past? To speak aloud the deeds she has hidden for 27 years, the real inspiration for her work that sells for millions of pounds. Could the truth trash her artistic reputation? Does Justine care more about her daughter, or her art? And what will she do if her daughter hates her?
This tale of art, adoption, romance and loss moves between now and the Eighties, from London’s art world to the bleak isolated cliffs of East Yorkshire and the hot orange blossom streets of Málaga, Spain.
A family mystery for fans of Maggie O’Farrell, Lucinda Riley, Tracy Rees and Rachel Hore.
About the ‘Identity Detective’ series
Rose Haldane reunites the people lost through adoption. The stories you don’t see on television shows. The difficult cases. The people who cannot be found, who are thought lost forever. Each book in the ‘Identity Detective’ series considers the viewpoint of one person trapped in this horrible dilemma. In the first book of the series, Ignoring Gravity, it is Rose’s experience we follow as an adult discovering she was adopted as a baby. Connectednessis the story of a birth mother and her longing to see her baby again. Sweet Joy, the third novel, will tell the story of a baby abandoned during The Blitz.
That’s a question many authors get. It makes me think there must be a little shop somewhere, hidden away down a dark alley, that sells ideas. Or an online shop that only those in the know have the web address for. Hang on, there’s a story developing here, isn’t there? About a magical shop…? I wonder what else it sells beside ideas…? And who owns it and why…?
That’s the answer really. Not the shop, but the question. Ideas can come from absolutely anywhere. It just takes one innocent sentence, thought or question and I’m off into a new world looking for the story. I’ve got an early and part written draft of another book which came out of a comment on social media. Someone said they were a sucker for any book cover which included a winged man. So, an angel? What might an angel really look like? I headed for some of the descriptions in the Bible. Hmm, three sets of wings? Why would they want threepairs of wings? How many Archangels are there really? What’s the difference between Archangels (capital A) and archangels (little a)? Somehow, twenty thousand words got written almost before I stopped for breath. But that story will have to wait until the full Choices and Consequences series is published.
As for the idea for Choices and Consequences, that started with a dream. If you haven’t read book 1, Strand of Faith, this is a Spoiler Alert. I dreamt the scene at the end of Strand of Faith where Prospero wraps his cloak around Leonie and proposes to her. (No, I have no idea what that says about my unconscious mind!) It was very intense in my dream and I needed to find out what happened to lead up to it, and what would happen next. Slowly, I started to ask questions, find answers and fit the pieces together. As I did so, other things in the world around me influenced what those answers and pieces were.
Surprisingly, one of those influences was a hymn. I am absolutely tone deaf. If I start singing, those around me wince. My only defence is that the Bible says make a joyfulnoise, not make a tunefulnoise. I can do joyful. Despite being tone deaf, I enjoy listening to music, but because I’m tone deaf, the influences are more about the lyrics than the tune.
Underlying the whole foundation and world building of Choices and Consequences, and particularly House St Peter (where the first two books are set) and House Tennant is Graham Kendrick’s Beauty for Brokenness, also sometimes known as God of the Poor. It was written in 1993 for the 25thanniversary of the charity Tearfund. It was influenced by a visit that Graham Kendrick made to India in 1992 and his perception of the contrast between Indian poverty and Western affluence. I wanted to build a world that tried to live up to those lyrics.
I can identify any number of other influences. Certainly my hobbies and interests affect my characters. Leonie loves reading and chocolate chip cookies because I do. Prospero is very musical because I’m not. Herbs are used extensively in medicine and cooking because I enjoy growing them. Most of those are just details, fleshing out the world and the characters. As far as the plot goes, well, we live in Lancashire, but our eldest was born in Yorkshire. I’ve always been fascinated by the War of the Roses, which at the time was known more as the Cousins’ War. And I’m involved at our local Youth Theatre which was putting on a version of Romeo and Juliet. But you’ll have to read the full series to find out just how both of those impact on the story!
Find out more about Rachel’s books:
Thread Of Hope
The enthralling sequel to the compelling Strand of Faith.
What if your secrets are so dangerous they could destroy the one you love?
Is honesty always the best policy?
Leonie may have run away but Prosperowill find her. He loves her and he wants a future with her by his side whatever the consequences. Only when he does find her, he ought to tell her who he really is, outside the monastery. That’ll make her run again. Dare he risk it? But if he doesn’t tell her, someone else may…
Marriage to Prospero is what Leonie wants most and the one thing she knows she can’t have. If he found out what she was really like, what she’d been, what she’d done, he’d despise her and she couldn’t bear that. Better to leave now than live a lie – but it’s harder than she expected. If only…
Gabriel is starting to discover the secrets inherent in Leonie, secrets that not even she knows, secrets that will tear the world apart. And the secrets he is keeping are tearing him apart. How can sacrificing those he loves possibly achieve peace when everything he discovers risks the death of millions?
During the book tour Strand of Faith will be at 99p, Thread of Hope is priced at £2.99.
Strand of Faith details…
A girl. A monk. An unthinkable sacrifice. When the choice is between love and life, how can anyone decide?
In a post-apocalyptic future, a girl and a monk, both with extraordinary mental powers, have compelling reasons not to fall in love. But their choices will have consequences for the rest of the world.
After the troubles of his youth, Brother Prospero has found comfort and fulfilment in the monastery. Then he discovers something that forces him to reconsider his whole vocation. How can it possibly be right to leave a life of worship and service for human desire? And if he does leave, will the pressures from his past destroy him?
Orphaned and mistreated, Leonie has found sanctuary and safety at the Abbey. When she comes into contact with Prospero everything spirals out of her control. Everyone she’s ever loved has died. She can’t do that to him. But how can she walk away from the first place she’s truly belonged?
Abbot Gabriel is faced with an impossible choice. He can do nothing and watch the world descend into war. Or he can manipulate events and ensure peace – at the cost of two lives that he is responsible for. Is he strong enough to sacrifice those he loves?
Rachel J Bonner is the author of the four book Choices and Consequences series, the first of which, Strand of Faith, is due out in November 2018.
Getting a degree in engineering, followed by a career in accountancy is probably not a conventional path to becoming an author, particularly in paranormal romance. Rachel says that, although accountancy isn’t anything like as boring as everyone thinks, writing is a lot more fun. When not writing, she can be found walking in the beautiful countryside near where she lives, which has influenced much of the scenery in her books, or shooting things with her local archery club. Target shooting only, honest. Nothing to worry about.
She also enjoys swimming, eating chocolate chip cookies and growing aromatic herbs, especially thyme and rosemary. It’s no coincidence that her heroine likes the same things.
Giveaway to Win Signed copies of both Strand of Faith and Thread of Hope, plus bookmarks and business cards that match each book, and one of the Holding Crosses that the monks and nuns have.(Open INT)*
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
Happy new week everyone. I hope you all had an amazing weekend.
I drove to Norfolk at the weekend, stood in freezing cold field for five hours watching sports and then drove the two hours home again! I tried to find a little corner to sit and write in, but it was so cold outside that there were about ten people in my tent after five minutes. Needless to say I found a little coffee shop and drank about four pints of coffee to keep warm. I also scoffed at least twenty little biscuits after eating a salad, as they were so small, that I felt they didn’t count for calories. 🙂
I’ve now updated my first three books and will have paperbacks going live over the next week. Babe Driven already has a beautiful new paperback version and Finding Gina and Love’s Child will be available in paperback soon. It’s exciting to have all of my books in more than one format. This also now means I can complete my latest work in progress and I can’t wait to write the last pages of this story. The main character is fiery and has a lot to deal with, so I’m happy to be able to bring her tale to a satisfying conclusion.
It’s my pleasure to introduce you to author Ros Rendle today. Ros is a fellow member of the Romantic Novelists Association.
From Ros:
I am Ros Rendle and I tell fibs for a living. Well. . . don’t all writers? It’s the best job there is, living in many different worlds and meeting the people of my dreams, ensuring they do what I want and having happy endings.
I used to be a head teacher, writing policy documents, essays and letters, although also telling the odd story that young children seemed to enjoy. Now, writing for adults, the challenge is more demanding but very satisfying, especially when people give honest and positive reviews, I win awards, and manage to get an Amazon best-seller sticker.
When we moved to live in France, I had time to explore my imagination using many of the local colourful people and situations as stimulus. Support from the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ scheme gave me the impetus I needed to succeed. Sense and French Ability was my first published novel, followed quickly by Peace of Time. My publisher has these two are on a price reduction currently.
A series, about three sisters during times of major 20thcentury conflict, are also on Amazon and gaining good reviews. These are Flowers of Flanders, Flowers of Resistance and a novella, Delphi’s Dilemma. I collect Fumsup lucky charms that were given to soldiers in WW1 for a speedy and safe return. In Flowers for Flandersone sister tells another a malicious lie which will affect the course of all their lives. When Michael goes to war, Rose gives her Fumsup to Michael. To discover whether it works at all and whether he comes back to her or her sister, you will need to read the book.
Julie Ryan’s roots are in a small mining village in South Yorkshire. After a degree in French Language and Literature, wanderlust kicked in and she lived and worked in France, Poland, Thailand and Greece. Her spirit enriched, her imagination fired, Julie started a series of mystery romances; thrillers set in the Greek Isles. She has also written a Christmas rom-com and her latest work, Finding Rose, is a contemporary novel with a strong historical element.
A prolific and well-known book review blogger, Julie does her writing and reviewing from rural Gloucestershire, where she lives with her husband, son and rescue cat. She manages to write a book a year although without their help, she would probably write more quickly. She is a book addict and will soon need either a bigger house for her collection or a new husband!
When not writing or reading or eating chocolate, she can be found treading the boards in the local amateur dramatic society – Oh yes she can!
Finding Rose – blurb
When three sisters, Ginny, Sally and Molly are brought together at their father’s hospital bed, they are forced to confront not only the prospect of a future without him but also the secrets of the past that have kept them apart.
Their father, Eddie Matthews, drugged up on morphine, seems to be rambling but could he, in fact, be reliving previous lives as a Tudor monk and as a soldier on the Front in WW1? Struggling to speak he reveals that he has a secret and urges his daughters to ‘Find Rose’. Can the sisters put aside their differences to fulfil his last wish?
Today’s Introducing guest is author and fellow member of the Romantic Novelists Association, Emily Royal. I absolutely love the photos she has sent me for this post, especially the first one where she seems to be being kissed by a snake! I was also interested to learn that Emily used to be an airline pilot. Read on to find out more…
Over to Emily:
Emily lives in rural Scotland with her husband and two teenage daughters, together with their menagerie of pets including hamsters, chickens and 12 snakes. Despite popular opinion, her snakes are all friendly and include Twinkle, an attention-seeking boa constrictor and Burma, an unimaginatively-named Burmese Python, who loves to come out for cuddles. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, currently serving on the committee, and graduated from their New Writers’ Scheme.
Emily’s debut novel The Sins of the Sire, was published by Tirgearr on 13 March 2019 and is a gritty, dark and sexy historical romance set in the Highlands of Scotland – a tale of vengeance and atonement set during William Wallace’s rebellion against Edward I. It’s the first in her Dark Highland Passions series and she’s currently writing the next book in the series. The Sins of the Sire is available as an e-book and is free on Kindle Unlimited.
Her second published book will be a standalone Medieval Romance, published later in the year by Wild Rose Press. Another dark and sexy historical, the book has themes of Outlander, Game of Thrones and The Handmaid’s Tale.
Emily currently works as an actuary after having indulged in a brief dream of becoming an airline pilot almost 30 years ago when she left university. Her job enables her to travel, so she accumulates air miles as a passenger and uses her time waiting around at airports for drafting. She also has the opportunity to be creative with her job which has enabled her to teach and present lectures at various companies and institutions around the world, including a university in Beijing where the students were very interested to learn about romantic fiction, as well as actuarial science!
Emily is a sucker for a dark story, particularly if it contains a tortured hero, and she cites Gollum as her all-time favourite literary character.
It’s my great pleasure to introduce you to award winning author Elly Reddingtoday. Elly is a fellow member of The Romantic Novelists Association and she’s here to tell you more about her work.
From Elly:
I’ve always lived with a dream or two bubbling away in my head. Whether it was tap dancing with Fred Astaire, or dashing through a forest to escape from villains, my imagination has always sent me to a world where almost anything could happen. Only it would have been very lonely, if I’d been there all by myself. So, I created a hero, or at least I thought I had, to make my dreams come true.
Only what happens when things go wrong? When the love of your life turns out to have feet of clay?
“True Colours” is the first in my trilogy of second chance romances. It tells the story of a very determined young lady, called Kate. She’s been through the mill, or any other contraption you might care to name. After all, it’s not every day that you discover your fiancé within groping distance of a pair of heaving breasts that aren’t yours. And she’s done the sensible thing, she’s sent him packing. Only now Saul’s back. And this time, it doesn’t look as though he’s going to take ‘no’ for an answer…
I was thrilled when ‘True Colours’ won The New Talent Award at The Festival of Romance. Since then, it’s been awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion, Chill with a Book Readers’ Book of the Month, and received third prize in The Independent Author Book Award “Words for the Wounded”.
My career has spanned from nursing to owning a specialist medical translation company. When not writing romantic fiction, I enjoy family, friends and conversation; art, travel, and trying not to fall over my own feet in – you guessed it – tap dancing. Oh, and I’m finally learning how to swim…
I’m absolutely thrilled to showcase this talented author today. She’s a wonderful lady and I met her when I became a member of the #RRBC book club. She shows endless support to others and it’s my great pleasure to tell you more about her latest work today.
Thank you, Lizzie, for having me on your blog today to help celebrate the release of my first poetry book, “Just Her Poetry Seasons of a Soul.”
Finn Facts:
My grandson declared after watching the Disney movie, “Moana” (and seeing the grandma come back as a stingray) that I would be a dolphin. Which is: D-L-F-I-N-N.
I try to write poetry in as many places as possible, including while riding on the back of a Harley. I haven’t figured out how to write underwater when I’m snorkeling—yet.
Blurb:
Take a journey with D.L. Finn as she blends her love of nature with her deepest emotions. Sit with her on the forest floor observing its tranquil beauty, or stroll along the ocean’s shore admiring the vastness of its horizon. Here in these peaceful moments you’ll be able to experience her thoughts and feelings in the light—and in the darkness. This is a thought-provoking collection of poetry that invites the reader into all the seasons of a soul.
Excerpt from NATURE Spring and Summer
SIT ALONE
I sit alone on our deck
Blanketed in the sun’s warm rays,
The bird’s chirps and trills
Fill the silent space.
Our big black cat
Looks for his prey,
And chases away the bees
Who wander into my presence.
Our dogs lazy on their backs
In the backyard with their paws in the air,
Like a yoga pose
Welcoming the warmth.
Distant pond frogs sing their loud chorus
A lone cloud floats by,
Reminding me of the winter past
And storms yet to come.
But right now it is time to bask
In what spring has brought,
So, for this moment
I sit blissfully alone.
Author Bio:
D.L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to the Sierra foothills in Nevada City, CA. She immersed herself in reading all types of books, but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy. She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, being surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed. Her creations vary from children’s books, young adult fantasy, and adult paranormal romance to an autobiography with poetry. She continues on her adventures with an open invitation for her readers to join her.
