Hello all you lovely people.
It is a ‘sit in the garden with your laptop and soak up a bit of sun’ kind of day! Unfortunately, my garden completely sucks right now and until we start work on it next month, it’s not really a great place for me to be able to get stuck into my writing. I can however, focus on a bit of promoting and a good blog post while I am out here. So, here we are!
Over the last month, my eyes have been opened to the world of self publishing and the endless void that is the internet. One of the first things I did after publishing Gifted was to up my Twitter game. I have always been absolutely useless when it comes to Twitter, I am definitely more of a Facebook kind of girl, but my better-half insisted I gave it a go and I am so pleased that I did. I stumbled across an amazing bunch of people when I discovered Twitter’s writing community. They are a mix of authors, old and new, who write in every genre you could ever imagine, and they have been absolutely amazing in offering advice and support when I have needed it the most. Overnight, I earned myself over 400 followers through the writing community and it has continued to grow ever since. We help each other out where we can and as a way of giving something back, I downloaded a couple of books and left them each a review. But I am now so busy with working my way through book 2 of the Gifted series (so that it can be ready in time for this summer, eeekkkkk!!!), I am struggling to find the time to read. So, I figured I would try to give something back in a different way, by calling on the help of all you lovely people!
I have called out to the writing community in my search of a wide selection of self published books in various genres. I received dozens of replies and as much as I would have loved to put every single one in this blog post, it just isn’t possible, so I have picked out five of my favourites for now, and I will do another similar post in the next couple of weeks. I am hoping that you might consider having a read of one or two of them and leaving them a little review. For anyone self publishing, reviews are priceless and paramount. There is no better feeling than waking up in the morning to find a new review for your book on Amazon. Unfortunately, Amazon seem to be finding issues with every review I receive at the moment, so I am losing reviews faster than I am gaining them. But please know that I truly appreciate every review and I have been managing to get a screenshot of each one before they disappear. So, let’s get this show on the road…
A Russian & An Italian Walk Into A Bar
Having the love of my life choose addiction over me, and later divorcing a man who never truly desired me, my heart was scarred beyond repair…or so I thought.
When a devilish Italian seduced me into a phone relationship, I found myself tempted by his devious kink and curious to explore a world of adventurous sex with other men just to please him.
Along my road to self discovery, emotional healing, and sexual liberation with my Italian, a Russian ensnared my affections. He enticed me with his quiet, sexy personality, and his eagerness to please me.
My mind was torn between satisfying my sexual kinks with my Italian and fulfilling my physical needs with the Russian. My heart wanted them both.
Could I allow myself the freedom of entwining the two enticing realities for my own pleasure?
With the help of a couple of hot-blooded men, and a roller coaster of lust filled nights, I hoped I might just get the future I deserved!
This is definitely a book for the ladies! Forget 50 Shades and pick this one up instead. I read this in one day, simply because I could not put it down. And the author, Kelson J, is currently working on book number 2, which is a relief because the ending was a real cliff-hanger. I can’t wait for the second book to be released.
I have bumped into Kelson J a few times in the Twitter universe now, she has a cat, she drinks wine and she’s a great writer. What’s not to like?
Kelson’s book is free on Kindle Unlimited, £0.99 on Kindle and £10.43 in paperback.
You can buy this book here if you live in the UK or here if you live in the US.
(Not) Alone
(Not) Alone is the story of Henry Hovishky, a recent college graduate who is exploring life one step at a time. Already in his young career, he is the winner of multiple awards and recognitions. He is soon to be married to the girl of his dreams. His best friends are more than friends, they’re family. His family supports him and raises him up.And yet, he can’t help but to feel alone. How can someone who seemingly has everything be so alone? Everything seems to be great in his life on the outside, but this story shows the truth of Henry’s life. He struggles with depression, anger issues, severe anxiety, and bipolar disorder. With so many successes in his life, he still fights an uphill battle every day.
I chose to add this book into my blog because it highlights something which is so important. In honour of Mental Health Awareness Month, the author has listed this book on Amazon for just $0.99 on Kindle, $9.99 in paperback and free on Kindle Unlimited. His aim is to get people talking and start a conversation, together.
Unfortunately, this book is not yet available in the UK unless you are ordering a paperback copy, however, it is available to buy in the US and you can do that here.
The Dancer
Penelope D’Silva is a dancer, loved worldwide for her innovative interpretations of classic theatre. She is a perfectionist, content only with being the best. Performing to packed theatres live every night, the recordings syndicated globally – she is incomparable.
But her new live show, The Lady, is faltering, with empty seats and dwindling audiences marring each performance. The advent of 3D projection technology is changing the nature of theatre. Performance is evolving, as audiences flock to the CineTheatres.
As every artist must, D’Silva must innovate, raise her standards, or lose her audience – to herself.
It’s another Yorkshire writer! In the whole universe of Twitter, I managed to stumble across another author from my wonderful home town of York. This story was inspired by the author’s time working at York Theatre Royal. It is currently available to buy on Kindle at the reduced price of £0.25. Yes, that’s right, just 25p!
You can download The Dancer here.
Children of Anshar
Children of Anshar is a dark and epic fantasy novel following the perilous adventures of prince Sargon and his childhood friend Issur the charioteer; high-born nobles who become refugees after the great city of Dur Pilesar is overthrown and its royal family massacred. As the two friends struggle for survival and vengeance, they discover the strange and enigmatic race of Lamissaurs, man-bull hybrids who once served the kings of old; and the Semiramians, a civilisation of warrior-women without equal in war. With such allies and their own extraordinary powers, the two friends discover that there are very few enemies who can stand against them. Except of course, the greatest enemy of all: themselves.
Everybody loves a good freeby, and this one is free on Kindle for the next five days! Who can resist a good epic fantasy novel, especially when it’s free? You can also buy the paperback for £12.99.
Children of Anshar is available both in the UK and the US.
Battle Cry
Following a catastrophic patrol during the British Army’s bloodiest year in Afghanistan, Jess, an army medic, finds herself embroiled in the issues faced by two of her colleagues. Despite her attempts to fight her feelings, she finds herself drawn closer and closer to her Section Commander, Rix, with almost fatal consequences. Can their love survive the almost insurmountable obstacles that they face, and is it stronger than Army regulations and PTSD? Battle Cry tells the story of how love can grow from the most unexpected of places, and how the longest lasting, most life changing battle scars are not always those we can see.
Technically, this one is not self published. It was actually published through a small indie publisher, but I loved the sound of it so much that I wanted to put it in here anyway. I also particularly love the cover, and I am a total sucker for a good book cover!
Battle Cry is free on Kindle Unlimited, £1.99 on Kindle and £8.85 in paperback.
You can buy this book here.
And finally, I had to put my own in here. Mostly, because I love to look at it so much!
Rainey thought she had the perfect life, perfect family and perfect home. But Rainey’s family have a dark and disturbing past, and when Rainey adds the final piece to her perfect lifestyle, the past catches up with her, and her reality comes crashing down around her.
When her family is taken away, Rainey is faced with hunting down those who are responsible. But will she lose herself when she unearths the haunting truth of her mother’s former life?
Rainey will soon discover that perfect is not always what it seems.
Gifted is, of course, available to buy now on Kindle and in paperback. The first edition will only be available for the next few days as I am preparing to release the second edition. You never know, the first edition might just be worth something one day!
Gifted is free on Kindle Unlimited, £2.99 on Kindle and £9.99 in paperback.
You can buy it here.
Get reading and keep on staying safe!
Love Love xx
