My Books Are Not Free

A new movement is developing. One that's rebelling against the entitlement generation in the literary world who believe authors should not be paid for their books.

It's a sick attitude.

No author can earn a decent living giving away their books.

And readers should not expect that they should.

I've already written an extensive blog post on this topic earlier, so there's no need for me to repeat it all here - Keep Calm and Fart Rainbows

Therefore, over 600 of us authors have come together in a Facebook event we've titled, Our Books Are Not Free to protest against this freebie culture.

We're featuring the work of hundreds of indie and traditionally published authors who have priced their books reasonably so everyone can afford to buy them.

NO 99c and definitely NO FREE books.

If anyone can afford to but themselves a cup of coffee, they can certainly pay for a book that took longer to create and gives greater satisfaction.

Writers provide a service.

And readers, if you want that service, you pay for it like you do for everything else!

Over the next weeks, I'll be featuring individual authors and their books.

Check them out. You never know, you might just find your next favourite author.

Tasty Teaser from BloodWish

It's been a while since I've posted a snippet from my current Word in Progress because, let's face it, life interferes. Although I originally planned to release BloodWish by the end of this year, it's more likely to be making its appearance by April/May 2017.
So until then, enjoy.

As I searched through various drawers, my foot kicked against something solid. A black metal-rimmed trunk sat wedged between several pieces of luggage. It was heavy, and as I eased it out layers of dust made me sneeze. That was good, as it meant the previous housekeeper, whose name I couldn’t bring myself to say, hadn’t been snooping into it. She’d taken my mother’s clothes before so I wouldn’t have put it past her to have pried into all of my mother’s things.

The trunk was locked.

What was in there? What was my mother hiding that needed to be kept in a locked trunk?

I glanced around in case the key was lying somewhere close, or maybe hanging from a hook.

Nothing.

Dumb idea anyway, Laura. If you want something hidden you don’t leave the key where everyone can find it! I’d carry it with me, with my set of house and car keys where they’d blend in with the rest.

The house keys I was in possession of now, didn’t contain any extra keys – Kari and I had tested each one. That left only her handbag.

Judy had always kept it in the middle drawer of her bedside table. It was still there when I pulled it open. I hugged the black leather bag to me and inhaled its sweet leather scent as image after image paraded through my memory.

No more tears, Laura.

I began my search, shunting aside the thought that I was intruding.

For a relatively small bag, it contained so many compartments and pockets, but finally, in a side pocket, my fingers grazed a small key-shaped object.

That had to be it.

Attached was a black velvet ribbon, frayed at the edges. Traces of my mother’s perfume clung to it. Again I inhaled and let the memories assail me – if only for a little while.

Back in the closet, I knelt next to the trunk and inserted the key.

It fit.

           With a click, the lid flew open.

Jewelled Bookmark Giveaway

I've always loved doing crafty things, such as quilting, cross-stitch and rug making. But, jewellery making has always been a favourite, and since I can't possibly wear all the things I make (unless I want to look like an overdressed Christmas tree) I'm giving them away.
Lately, I've been hooked on bookmarks (excuse the pun), which I'm calling my Gothic Collection - colour combinations of silver, black and red.
Anyone who purchases ANY of my books (and the first two books - Laura's Locket and BloodGifted - are ONLY 99c each), will receive one. I've made them in such a way that the jewels can be unhooked and worn separately as pendants. Just attach them to a chain or ribbon. How's that for versatility?
Paste a copy of your receipt either here or on my facebook page.

Flash Necklace Giveaway - For Paranormal Romance Lovers.

Over the next few months, I'll be running a series of flash giveaways in anticipation of the release of BloodWish, Bk 4 in my paranormal/gothic romance series. So, if that's your type of book then keep reading as this giveaway is for you.
Each giveaway - whether it be a piece of jewellery, such as a charm bracelet, earrings, necklace, pendant or anklet; a jewelled hooked bookmark or fridge-magnet keyring - will feature a Dantonville Legacy gothic romance theme.
And each one will be a one-off, meaning the winner will receive a unique piece.

Giveaway #1 - a Bloodvial necklace (those who've read my books will know its significance in the story) - starts today and will be open for the next 48 hours.

To be eligible, all you need to do is:

a) Subscribe to my Newsletter and be the first to know of any subscriber-only giveaways, sneak peeks of up-coming releases and sales.

b) Follow me on my Amazon author page.

c) Then go to my Facebook page, tag three friends and share the giveaway.

That's it.

48 hours from now, I'll choose a random winner.

Good luck 🙂🙂

Please Vote For BloodVault in the Summer Indie Book Awards.

I'm thrilled to have my book, BloodVault, nominated in two categories in the Summer Indie Book Awards.
- Best Paranormal Romance Book
- Best Fantasy Book
There are many, many amazing entries, so I need as many votes as possible to keep me in the running.
You can vote EVERY DAY until the end of September.
I'll be so grateful to all those who've read any of my books, and liked them, to please vote.

A Very Vampire Christmas Tradition.

Most countries, and even individuals, celebrate Christmas with a range of traditions. One of the most famous is kissing under the mistletoe. That one's fun. 
While writing Bloodpledge, the second book in my Dantonville Legacy series, I needed a particularly gruesome tradition for Sam and Terens, once former Roman soldiers. So, it couldn't be anything soft and, being vampires, of course there had to be some blood involved. It also had to be unique and based on something very practical. 
I have to admit I had fun devising it. 

Here's the scene:

‘Don’t you think it’s ironic. Nobody speaks Latin anymore, yet Frisian’s everywhere—in modern English? Maybe it’s just as well I didn’t waste my time learning to speak yours.’
Cal guffawed, reached for the decanter and poured himself another glass of wine. ‘How you gonna counter that one, Terens?’

‘Only one way I know.’ Terens rose from his seat and flexed his right arm. ‘Brand new model.’
‘By all means, test it out.’ Sam’s chair scrapped across the floor as he too, rose and began flexing his right arm. ‘Ready to lose some fingers?’ The two stood facing each other, grinning.
Kari rolled her eyes. ‘Oh no, not this stupid game.’
Alec leaned toward me and whispered, ‘Maybe we should go for a stroll around the deck.’
‘Why?’ I asked. ‘What are they going to do?’
‘Their version of an arm wrestle.’ Alec looked uncomfortable. ‘They do it every Christmas.’
‘It’s gross, Laura.’ Kari grimaced. ‘The loser must chop off a finger and hand it over. The one with the biggest collection wins.’
‘You’re kidding! At Christmas?’
‘It’s the only time they can do it—good way to test the strength of the Ingenii blood. Any lost appendage regenerates in an instant,’ Alec said.
‘Sorry boys, you know I can’t stay to watch,’ Judy said. ‘If anyone wants me I’ll be in my room.’ She wished us goodnight and kissed Luc and Marcus on the cheek. The men rose and bowed as she left the room.
‘Think I’ll do the same,’ I said when I saw Terens move one of the candelabras aside and pull a blade from beneath his trouser leg. ‘No way am I going to watch them cut off fingers, even if it is some weird Christmas tradition.’
‘Allez, ma petite, this is not for a lady’s eyes.’
‘I agree,’ Kari said, and skipped to my side of the table. ‘Let’s join Judy.’
I still had Alec’s Christmas present. This was a good time to slip away and give it to him.
‘Meet you there, Kari. There’s something I need to do.’ I mouthed the words, ‘Present for Alec.’
She nodded, and gave me a knowing smile as she left.
I turned to Alec. ‘I accept your offer of a stroll around the deck.’
With his arm around my waist, Alec led me from the dining room just as Sam and Terens took up their position, elbows on the table, hands clasped, steely gazes locked. Two long, menacing-looking knives lay in the centre of the table.
I shuddered and turned away. 

Did I succeed in making you squirm? If you'd like to read the rest, assuming you haven't read Bloodpledge yet, here's the link - Amazon

Until next time, happy reading everyone. 
PS. The pic at the top of the page refers to my fun Christmas event - A Very Vampire Christmas With The Dantonvilles. Come and join in for some fun and games and great prizes to win. Hope to see you there. 

 

Sunday Snippet, BloodVault Teaser

It's time again for another little teaser as I near the end of this third book in my gothic romance series - The Dantonville Legacy. Laura's grandfather, Marcus, is showing her around the ancient theatre in Orange, France (pronouned O-ronje). The original Villa of the Antonii was located near here, the name corrupted over time into the Gallic, D'Antonville (Dantonville in English).
Enjoy!
Just a reminder, this is an unedited extract. It goes to my editor at the end of September.

It took my breath away. Set into the side of a hill, the semi-circular tiered seating faced a massive stage edifice that would have once been covered with slender marble columns and frescoed panels. Only a few now remained, their fading and chipped surfaces a sad reminder of its past glory.

‘Wow!’

‘In its day, it was stunning,’ Marcus said.

How had it survived so long, through the rise and fall of empires and history’s most tumultuous events. If only these walls could speak. I glanced at Marcus’s profile, at the sad little smile tugging at his mouth, as he stared at the stage. He was living history.

‘What are you remembering?’

‘My father first brought me here when I received my toga virilis. I was sixteen. The play … I don’t recall the name anymore, but it had a young actress. She appeared naked on stage.’ He laughed and shook his head. ‘My father thought it was about time I got acquainted with the female sex.’

‘Oh my!’ I laughed with him.

‘Come, I’ll show you something.’ We wandered down to the front rows of seats. At the beginning of the third row, Marcus pointed. ‘Take a look.’

Carved into the stone were letters and numbers, EQ GIII. ‘What does it stand for?’

‘ “Equites Row 3.” This row was reserved for the cavalry unit stationed here.’

‘Front row seats? Why were they so lucky?’

Marcus pursed his lips. ‘Mmm … let me see. We defended the empire, kept the city safe, built the roads and aqueducts….’

‘Okay, okay, I get it,’ I laughed. I’d forgotten Marcus had been a military commander of a cavalry unit. Had he sat here? Had he known some of the men?

‘Move along four seats and look closely.’

Along one side of the stone seating, smoothed over by age was a barely visible scratching: MAR. ANT. PUL. I gasped. It could only be the abbreviated letters of Marcus’s name. ‘Your seat?’

He nodded. ‘I got bored during one pantomime. A few days later I was assigned as commander to the Frisian Cohort in Britain.’

And his whole life changed.

I blinked up at him. ‘Do you wish you never received that command?’

‘No. The only regret I have is that one particular day.’

He fell silent. As the wind howled through the columns, I fancied I heard the whispered voices of long ago—the excitement of the crowd, voices calling out greetings; the shuffling of feet on the stone steps, their centres worn by the weight of thousands over the centuries; the laughter and banter of the soldiers in the front rows. All beneath a statue of the emperor, whose sightless eyes surveyed the crowd from his niche above the stage.

(copyright Tima Maria Lacoba)

Laura's Locket - Pompeii, Vesuvius and Sorrento

My short story, Laura's Locket, was originally inspired by the beautiful coastline of Sorrento, which is the start of the stunning Amalfi Coast in south-east Italy. The last time I visited, I took a group of students with me, for not far from there lie the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum—like two sleeping beauties huddled at the foot of Mt Vesuvius, patiently waiting for the archaeologists shovels to wake them.
The dust of centuries clings your shoes, and from the uppermost stands in the amphitheatre you can almost smell the sweat of gladiators as they fought for the amusement of the crowds, hear the clash of their iron swords and the cheers of the crowd... see the smoke as it rises from Vesuvius....
Walk the streets of Sorrento, and the delectable scents of lemoncelo, roast garlic and pasta pervades the air. It tickles the nostrils and entices the senses, and as you sit in any one of the many cafes that cling to the cliff side overlooking the Mediterranean, the heart begins to yearn for romance.

My heroine, eighteen-year-old Laura Dantonville, did; a romance that would have serious repercussions many years later, and which readers can discover in BloodGifted.

Get it here - universal link

Bring Your Fantasy World To Life

One of my all-time favourite authors is JRR Tolkien. Not only do I admire him for writing the greatest fantasy epic ever (well, in my opinion anyway), but as all Tolkien fans know, he also created the many heraldic symbols of the noble Elven houses—the Noldor. I could imagine him doodling these images while listening to his tut students, or in a lull while marking endless piles of exam papers. His make-believe world was as real to him as the desk at which he sat.
As a university student (many, many, many moons go), I copied his designs onto my notebooks and folders, so while some of my lecturers droned on, I could gaze down at these beautiful pictures and imagine myself in Lothlorien or Rivendell. 

I discovered then, that a fantasy world can be made truly believable by providing readers with tangible evidence of its existence. 

So, taking my inspiration from Tolkien, I created an ancient chronicle as described in my second Dantonville Legacy book, Bloodpledge. My character, Laura, is introduced to her ancestor's journal that documents the origins of her family's frightening legacy.
This is how I describe it in the book: "Resting on an eagle-shaped lectern, like some massive, old church Bible, was a large red leather book. The figure of a golden coiled serpent with blood-red eyes was emblazoned on the front …"

It's amazing what an old journal, a photocopied pic of the serpent ring, some beads and glitter glue can achieve. Open the pages and inside are my own fantasy drawings based on Celtic illuminated manuscripts of the early medieval period. (Apologies to my history professors in whose classes these colourful doodles came to life. But I knew they'd be of use one day.) 

Now I'll be adding to these pages with the recollections of Marcus Antonius Pulcher - Roman military commander, Dominus of the Antonii clan, vampire.

Should be fun.

Have you read BloodPledge yet? Get it here - Amazon (US)  Amazon (UK)  Amazon (AU)  Amazon (CA)

Bloodpledge, Book 2 of The Dantonville Legacy Series, Blog Tour

BLOODPLEDGE BLOG TOUR

Bloodpledge, the second book in my Dantonville series, is now officially on tour. Once again it's with the lovely ladies from Irresistible Reads, who did such a great job introducing my first book, Bloodgifted, to the world. Through them I met some wonderful book bloggers, some of whom have signed up again to promote and review Bloodpledge.
I think I may have them hooked on the series. What author doesn't dream of that?

Each day there will be a different post. Some will feature an extract from the book and information about me, while others will include a review.
So, for anyone who'd like to follow the tour, I recommend checking out the reviews as each of the participating book bloggers are using the same extract. You might get bored reading the same thing over and over, but on the other hand, who knows? You might enjoy that.
Anyways, here's the program:
Those highlighted have their posts up and running. Just click and you're there.
Those in black have yet to do theirs. I'll add their links as their posts are scheduled to be viewed, and since this Blog Tour runs the whole of July, there'll be more to come. Stay tuned!

July 7th - Coffee, Books & Art  - Book Excerpt
July 8th - Bookends - Excerpt
July 9th - Library Mosaic - Excerpt
July 10th - Readsalot - review. You need to scroll down a bit to find it, but here is her Amazon reviews link.
July 14th - My BookMine - Book Excerpt
July 15th - CC Clubs - Book Excerpt
July 16th - Margay Leah Justice - Promotional Post
July 17th - Jen's Reading Obsession - Promotional Post
July 18th - CJ Mackenzie@Goodreads - Review

That's it for now. Happy blog hopping :-)

Bloodpledge Giveaway on Goodreads

To celebrate the release of Bloodpledge, the second book in my Dantonville Legacy series, I'm doing a Goodreads Giveaway. There are THREE paperbacks on offer. So if you'd like to win a FREE copy, go and sign up and good luck!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Bloodpledge

by Tima Maria Lacoba

Giveaway ends July 16, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

"Bloodgifted" is on a Blog Tour.

I'm excited to announce the first ever, official Bloodgifted Blog Tour. It's run by Chic Lit Plus, and today Samantha posted a fabulous review of my book on Amazon. You can check it out on the link above. I was thrilled, for naturally every writer wants their readers to fall in love with their book, and to be as crazy about it as they themselves are.

The Blog Tour runs from March 3rd-24th, and each day a different blogger is featuring me on their website.

Here's the list:

March 3rd - Chick Lit Plus—Review
March 4th - Sweetsbooks—Review, Q&A and an Excerpt from Bloodgifted
March 5th - Christy's Written Word Love - Excerpt
March 7th - Chick Lit Club Connect - Guest Post
March 10th - Wonderland Avenue - Review
March 11th - Storm Goddess Book Reviews - Review
March 13th - Bookworm Bridgette's World - Excerpt
March 14th - Step into Fiction - Review
March 17th - A Novel Thought Review and Q&A
March 19th - Book Reviews By Dee - Review and Excerpt
March 21st - PJ Byer Writer Blog
March 24th - Samantha March—Q&A and Excerpt

Each one of those Q&As asked something completely different, and a few really made me think. One asked me for a playlist, which is something I would never have thought of. Yet most of BLOODGIFTED was written while listening to my favourite pieces of music that set my mind in the right mood for a particular scene. To find which one asked for that, you'll have to check them all out!
So, if you're planning on following the Tour—and I would LOVE everyone to—you'll discover something different about me each day.

I'll be updating this page daily, so you can simply click on the links and it'll take you straight to the site.

Happy Blog Tour!