Showing posts with label Amazon books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amazon books. Show all posts

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Golden Stake Awards in the 2017 International Vampire Film and Arts Award.

This year I was thrilled that my book, BloodGifted, was nominated for the coveted Golden Stake Award in the International Vampire Film and Arts Festival (IVFAF). Just to be nominated, let alone to reach the shortlist of the final six, is an honour considering the hundreds of entries the judges receive. And, there was amazing competition from some best selling, brilliant writers of vampire genre including the talented husband and wife duo Karpov-Kinrade of Vampire Girl fame. (*Hint* There's a movie in the works.)
The awards are held in a location dear to every vampire lovers heart: in Vlad Dracul's (Dracula) birthplace, the citadel in Sighisoara, Romania.


I would've loved to have been able to personally attend; to roam through the narrow medieval streets and gaze at the same stone houses that Romania's most infamous son would've been familiar with. Sadly, Romania is a long way from Australia.
Maybe next year.
Instead, I appeared via skype, as all nominees were required to give a 20min. presentation that included a reading from our books.
So here I am, on the big screen giving a brief into about myself then answering questions from the audience.




It was fun and I tried hard not to allow my nerves to show.
Anyways, it was a great experience, and although I didn't eventually take the top prize, my Dantonville Legacy series had international exposure. 
And that's invaluable.

If you'd like to know why BloodGifted was shortlisted for this award, just CLICK HERE and start reading.


Sunday, 26 March 2017

Meet Historical Novelist, Mirren Hogan

Mirren Hogan is celebrating the release of her new book Night Witches. Here's a bunch of things you probably didn't know about her.

Mirren Hogan lives in NSW Australia with her husband, two daughters, dog, cat, rabbits and countless birds. She has a Bachelor of Arts (English/ history), a Graduate Diploma of Arts (writing) and a couple of degrees in education. She writes fantasy, urban fantasy and science fiction, as well as historical fiction.
Her debut novel —Crimson Fire— was released by in October 2016.
Burning Willow Press will be releasing Nightmares Rise – co-authored by Erin Yoshikawa – on April 8.
Mirren also had several short stories published and has co-edited two charity anthologies; for breast cancer research and Plan Australia.




1. What was the last book you read? Calamity by Brandon Sanderson.
2. What is your favourite movie? Back to the Future.
3. Where's your favourite place to write? On the couch.
4. Which book/s have influenced you the most? All of them. Every book has something offer, including ones I didn't like. 
5. Name 4 foods you eat regularly? Cheese, chocolate, pizza, toasted cheese sandwiches.
6. Favourite place to be? Home
7. Favourite TV show? Anything DC or home reno.
8. What is your favourite colour? Blue.
9. Who is your favourite author? I have too many to name.
10. Last thing/person that made you laugh? My dog.



Nadia Valinsky was a student teacher in Moscow until Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Determined to defend her people, she joins the Air Force; where the famous aviator Marina Raskova is recruiting women for three fighting regiments. After rigorous training, and in nothing more than canvas and wood biplanes, Nadia and her friends are sent to the front line, where they'll become the legends history calls The Night Witches.
 

Get it here: Amazon 

                     Nook

                     Kobo

                     Indigo

                     Book Depository

You can connect with Mirren Hogan on her Author Page






 


























Saturday, 4 March 2017

Let Me Introduce Epic Fantasy Author, Niki Livingstone

I'm the author of the Epic Fantasy series, Theia's Moons and the short story A Web Through Time, which will be published in the Anthology, Shattered Time
I also manage the blog, Create.Be.Imagine and just recently began my Book & Art Dragon blog. 
My dad says I began reading as young as three years old and I haven't stopped reading and writing since. 
Today, I live in Utah with my partner, our four children and two over sized cats, but dream of one day living on a beach, where I can spend my days dazzling the world with my imagination. 
I enjoy a whole variety of things, including reading stories that keep me on the edge of my seat, having late night talks with my handsome fireman, creating dysfunctional and funny children, all the while making sure they become functional adults, having happy/crappy time at the dinner table, playing in the dirt in hopes to create a bountiful garden and sitting quietly on my back porch, sipping coffee and watching the sun wake up the world.

 Eyes Wide Shut


Sometimes the ones closest to us are the ones to fear the most.
The battle of the sky people ended years earlier and the dwindled population of the moon Esaki cleaned up their world, slowly beginning to enjoy life once again.
Malkia was chosen as the new leader of her town and with the help of her friends, they built it into their sanctuary, grateful they had another chance at life. However, after all these years, impending danger was drawing near and they had no choice, but to decide to face the barbarians or run for their lives.
Malkia and her people travel through their broken and deserted world to escape the savages, hot on their tails. Their adventures collide them with the mystical creatures from ancient tales, place them in the path of uncertain death, and remind them they were never alone in the universe.
Life is not what it seems and as their eyes are forced open to the truth, the world as they know it crumbles beneath their feet.

Buy links: Amazon Smashwords Nook  iBooks

 

Enyo's Warrior


Malkia's face became flushed with anger, as her rage began to build.

Her father had stepped over a line that could not be erased and as she examined the gruesome scene, she cried out in frustration.

Settling into her new home, Malkia now knows the unvarnished truth, or so she believes. The malicious murders in Domesca's boundaries, Mataya's disappearance, and the sudden change in Dario's behavior have her second guessing what she thinks she knows.
As she is forced to face more evils and life-altering lessons, she wonders if she ever knew any truth about her life.
Embarking on her new journey, she quickly realizes the war she witnessed on Esaki, is nothing compared to the bloodshed and atrocities she will partake in, as Enyo's Warrior.

Buy links: Amazon Smashwords iBooks Nook  

Connect with Niki Livingstone here: Facebook 
                                                           Website
                                                           Twitter
                                                           Goodreads
                                                           Amazon author page 
                                                           Blog
                                                           Instagram
                                                           Newsletter 

Thursday, 2 March 2017

Meet Fantasy Author, Kade Cook

Kade Cook is a semi-retired IT Professional turned author with her book, GREY, a fantastical journey that she began writing in the winter of 2015. 
GREY is now completed and is the first published novel in The Covenant of Shadows trilogy. 
Born and raised as a 'Maritimer' through and through, she will always be at home around good times and kind hearts, proud to be a daydreamer with a story to tell.


All the truths of her life were born from the promise of a lie.
A lie that could change everything.
Gabrian Shadwell studied hard and kept her nose to the grindstone in order to live the successful and full life that most humans strive for. The problem is, she isn’t exactly human.
After protection wards and cloaking spells that were cast to suppress any evidence of magic that may be running through her veins begins scratching it way through the surface, Gabrian fumbles with the unnerving discovery that she now can see hazy energy fragments emanating from her clients bodies. What is even more shocking is that she yearns to devour it. Her all so perfect and straight forward life as a normal mundane human is just a façade and coming to an end. Who she truly is are the things that spine chilling nightmares are made of.
With no possible way to return to the simple life she once knew as an oblivious human, she struggles to concede to the fact that the calm reality of her world has shifted; it is now crawling with Borrowers, Mages and Shadow Walking-beings. But Gabrian’s unyielding thirst for knowledge pushes her to dig her claws in and gain control over her gifts as an energy-lending Borrower as it is essential for her to survive and earn her place amongst them.
Her chaotic journey of self-discovery takes her from the pan and throws her right into the fire when the tainted eyes of the self-righteous Elders in the realm turn against her and the silken tongued devil that lurks within the darkness of the realm seems to be the only thing with an empathetic concern towards her; for a price. Her soft hearted will combats with her logical inner voice about who is really telling her the truth. She tastes the sweet and sours of deception in the air from both sides but still she must choose which force will reign over her freedom and thus deciding how tight her shackles will be to the path that she will walk upon.
It is an inner battle that she must fight in order to uncover the ugly answers that she seeks and along the way, Gabrian will fall face first into an important and absolute truth: sometimes the only difference between a Borrower and a Vampire is hope.

Buy links: Amazon 

                  Kobo  


Connect with Kade Cook here: Website  Goodreads Twitter 

 

Thursday, 23 February 2017

BloodGifted Sale - One Day Only 99c

Have you ever had a dream?
A holiday to some exotic location, a romantic adventure or meeting the love of your life?
Well, my dream is to become a NYT best selling author.
And right now that seems so remote -  a fantasy, like the stories that I write about never ageing.
But, some dreams can come true.
Last weekend, I attended the Books By The Bridge event where I got the chance to meet some NYT best selling authors and they shared with me how they had achieved it.
It takes time and hard work, and lots of sales.
Like my heroine, Laura, who is thrust into a strange new world, I'm asking you to help thrust me into the world of the best sellers.
So, how can you help? If you haven't bought BloodGifted, go buy it today at a one-day-only special price of 99c.

Buy BloodGifted here - Amazon
If you've already bought and read it (you wonderful person, you), please leave a review. Even if it's only one sentence.
Thank you for helping me achieve my little fantasy.
May all your dreams come true.

Tima Maria Lacoba

PS As a thank you to any who purcahse a copy of BloodGifted and/or leave a review, I'll send a gorgeous Dantonville charm bracelet. You can even choose your own colour. Just email me a pic of the Amazon purchase receipt and/or your review.

Monday, 6 February 2017

Meet The Queen of Scream, Suzie Albracht



Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Suzi Albracht. Some people call me The Queen of Scream. I can hardly wait to show you why.

I have been a writer since I was a little girl. However, it wasn’t until I became one of the walking divorced dead that I started to actually do something with it. For me, there was something healing about writing horror. I got to kill my demons in all sorts of unusual ways. I promise you, only on paper.

My style is to take characters who are very much like your friends, family, and acquaintances and put them into normal, everyday scenarios that turn horribly wrong. My goal is to get my readers to become emotionally involved with the characters and to even be loyal to some of them. I also want the bad guys to be hated with everything you got. If you read me, I think you will find I have met my goal and then some.

My books are - The Devil’s Due Collection – The Devil’s Lieutenant, Death Most Wicked, and Scorn Kills. I also wrote a non-fiction book to help Newbie Twitter users - The Super Easy Guide for Twitter Newbies: Cracking the Secret of Getting & Keeping Followers. Currently, I am writing a political thriller and book four for The Devil’s Due Collection.

My Twitter profile sums me up, short and sweet - Write, scare myself, turn on all lights, write more. Play pool, kick butt/get butt kicked, write more horror, double lock door.



The Devil’s Lieutenant is Book 1 of The Devil’s Due Collection.

This is a novel that invites you on a whirlwind ride where you get glimpses into the dark side of humanity – those men and women who are greedy, lust driven, criminal, self-serving, corrupted by hopelessness, and desperate to save themselves no matter the cost. You will meet Mr. Ivanovitch who ruthlessly manipulates people who are dangling at the end of their ropes into contracts that will send them to hell if they fail to live up to their end of the bargain. And you will be introduced to his right-hand man, Carl Royce, the Devil’s Enforcer, a man with a dark soul and even darker heart. Carl has a bloody collection of souvenirs that will show you just how cruel he can be.

Because The Devil’s Lieutenant is a story of good versus evil, you also meet the white knight of the story, Jake Holyfield. A man who is a father, a husband, and a cop. Not a perfect man but one who works at being a good person every day of his life. He would be the first to admonish you for calling him a white knight. Within a few pages, he plunges into the depths of Ivanovitch’s world and doesn’t even know it.

So buckle in… your ride begins with the fateful story of Caleb Hunter, a high-profile defense attorney with a costly gambling addiction. To cover his debts and avoid having his wife and business partners discover his thefts to cover his losses, Caleb makes a pact with the wrong individual. The deal provides him with the means to become solvent again without the embarrassment of being found out. He swears he will never gamble again, but Caleb has not learned his lesson and has made the deadliest gamble of all. He is betting on his lawyer skills to get him out of trouble when he ignores his end of the pact. His debts are paid and the thievery covered up, but Caleb ends up a greasy wet spot on a side street of Annapolis.

Caleb’s death becomes Jake Holyfield’s first homicide case on the job. That case ends up being the first in a series of barbaric murders that frustrates the entire homicide division. There are no clues, no DNA, and no witnesses. As the body count rises, Jake begins to look into alternate methods of identifying and catching the killer. He naively ends up making a decision that will change his life and that of everyone in his life. Now the battle is on.

Are you ready for what happens next?

View the Book Trailer 

Check out Suzie Albracht's books here

 


Sunday, 14 August 2016

Sunday Showcase: Paranormal Romance Author Maggie Anderson



1. What inspired you to write in your genre?
When I was fourteen, our English teacher asked us to read Dracula for a review. As we’d read a couple of Shakespearean books prior, I thought it would be just another unenjoyable book that I couldn’t get my head around. I was WRONG! I was seduced by Bram Stoker’s unorthodox, charismatic character and have loved all things Vampire ever since.

2. If you write a series, how many books can your readers expect?
I do write a series. The Dark Legacy urban fantasy series. At this stage, I’m writing book four and my continue to write more because I love the characters, but I’m taking a break after this book to focus on others I’ve had simmering in my head for a while now.

3. If you had the chance to spend the day with one of your characters, who would it be and why?
If I had a chance to spend a day with one of my characters it would have to be Reece Daniels. He stepped up and took over Dark Legacy, when Andre was meant to be the lead character, and has continued to stand out in all of the books so far. He has morals and believes in treating people right. He also has a lot of courage. Some of which he doesn’t even realize he has.

4. Are there any books or authors you admire?
I love the Alex Cross series of books by James Patterson. They tell a thrilling tale and pull you into the story. I also love the Addison Holmes series by Liliana Hart. They’re quirky and Addison is a likeable, amusing character with a certain amount of bravado when she needs it.

5. What is one of the biggest misconceptions that you think people have about authors in general?
I think people tend to think authors have it easy and make a lot of money from their writing. Some do, yes. The lucky ones. But most of us are doing our best to get our books into the hands of readers and not able to make a living from what we love the most. Being an indie author is hard-going. People think writing is a hobby. I’ve had friends say that to me. It’s not! It’s long hours of researching, writing, promoting, marketing, social networking and more!

6. If money was no object and you could travel to any place in the world for your dream vacation where would you go and what would you do?
I’ve always wanted to visit Machu Picchu. To be able to stand on the landscape of a village thousands of years old would be incredible! I think it would be a spiritual journey, a place to connect with your inner self.

Maggie is the author of several books:

Dark Legacy
Once Bitten
Soul Chaser
Driving Me Crazy
Love's Twist of Fate
A Night of Passion
A Night of Passion: Clean Romance Edition

Her newest release is Soul Chaser, Bk 3 in the Dark Legacy series.

 
In the city that never sleeps, a gypsy has seen Reece’s future. Someone he loves will die!
A romantic Vegas getaway turns into another paranormal nightmare for Reece when Charlotte is kidnapped from the airport. Who has taken her and why?
The PI and his team work around the clock. Time is ticking. Sent on a wild goose chase across Sin City by the unknown assailant, can they find her? Is the unidentified body of a Jane Doe lying in the County Coroner’s Office Charlotte? Are they already too late?
A series of unorthodox deaths forces Sheriff Lozano to enlist Reece’s help. He’s heard rumors about the private investigator and wants to find out if they’re true. Can they work together to solve the mystery of the murders? Will Reece let the sheriff in on what has happened to his fiancée?
As the two cases collide, Reece takes matters into his own hands and enters the subterranean world beneath Las Vegas alone. What has he discovered? And what ancient evil is he hunting?

 

EXTRACT

 
The dark tunnel seemed endless as Reece raced along it, peering over his shoulder wondering if the creatures were still in hot pursuit. He had to find a place to hide until the sun came up. The stark white beam of his flashlight app bobbed against the graffitied walls as he ran, but within seconds the glow faded, flickered and died, leaving him in total pitch black. Reece lurched to a stop and smacked his phone against his hand hoping it would jolt a few more seconds of life into the battery. It didn’t. “Shit!”
His heart rose in his throat and he sucked in a strangled breath, unable to inhale a full ribcage of air. The claustrophobic atmosphere was thick around him and he felt like he was suffocating. How did they find me so fast? He thought he’d have more time.
Manic laughter resonated out of the deep shadows in the underground drains and Reece’s eyes darted around the gloom. They were almost on top of him.
He broke into a panicked run, stumbling over broken concrete, cans, bottles and other rubbish strewn along the fetid, damp passage. He tripped on something soft and landed on top of it, the small amount of oxygen he’d managed to inhale whooshing out of him with the heavy thud. Feeling around, unable to see, and his brain making the connection, Reece felt buttons, material, a hand, a face… a sticky wet crater where the nose had been. Another face… holes where the eyes should have been. Bodies!
Bile gushed up his throat and he staggered to his feet, his heart beating so fast it felt like butterfly wings against his ribs. He spat the bitter liquid onto the ground and rushed into the shadows. He had to find a way out or somewhere to hide before they reached him or he’d be another rotting corpse amongst the body count. 

Want to read more?  Here's where you can find it:

Thursday, 21 July 2016

UK/Australian Spelling vs American

When you read a book, do you pay particular attention to the spelling? Does it bother you that some words seem misspelt? 
And how do you know they are? Depending on which English-speaking nation you're from, you're bound to come across variations in spelling, and even terminology. If, like me, you're used to Oxford spelling (as used in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada) you'd have noticed nothing odd about the word I used in the 2nd sentence. But to anyone from the USA, it looks like an error.
Too often, I've seen authors unjustly criticised (me among them), and receiving low stars in reviews based on the reader's ignorance of cultural variations in spelling and terminology.  
It's annoying and frustrating, let alone unfair. 
I've even gone as far as adding a statement on my Amazon book page explaining my use of AUSTRALIAN spelling and grammar (which is essentially OXFORD standard). Sad but necessary.
Believe it or not, there are countries in the world that do not use the Webster's dictionary. 
I believe it's time we corrected this ignorance and embrace our differences.
Check out the list I've gathered showing the spelling differences between only a handful of words. Others, some of which I included, are those where "z" is used instead of "s" and "l" rather than "ll" and the omission of the letter "u" (they're in the list).   
So next time you come across, what you think is a misspelled or wrong word, check again. It might be you who's wrong.

UK/AU - USA

aeroplane  airplane
ageing – aging
arse  ass
autumn – fall
barrister – attorney
bill (restaurant) – check
bookshop – bookstore
biscuit – cookie
bum bag  fanny pack
caravan – trailer
centre – center
cheque (bank) – check
chemist’s shop – drugstore, pharmacy
chips – fries, French fries
cinema – movies
coffin – casket
colour  color
cozzie – swimsuit
criticise  critize
draught  draft
favourite  favorite
flat – apartment
petrol station  gas station
jam – jelly
jewellery  jewelry
lift  elevator
mobile – cell phone
motorway  expressway
mum  mom
pavement – sidewalk
petrol – gas/gasoline
pimple – zit
postbox – mailbox
programme  program
pyjamas  pajamas
rubbish – garbage, trash
scone – biscuit
solicitor – lawyer
sweets/lollies – candy
taxi  cab
wardrobe – closet
Westfield (shopping centre) - mall

Those who've read my books will recognise some of the words in the list.
Happy reading ðŸ˜Š