Review: The Mind Game by MG Harris.

 The Book:

Years have passed since her childhood friend disappeared, but Roni remains consumed by the mystery. Can she uncover what happened to Maxim Santiago?

Podcast fame thrusts 17-year-old Roni into a perilous quest to find her missing friend, who disappeared from Dulles Airport, Washington D.C. She teams up with tech-savvy Kenzie to crack cryptic messages and unearth a dark secret about trafficked kids. Dodging shadowy agents of the ruthless Russian dictator waging a global ‘Mind Game’ on his enemies, they end up in a sweltering Mexican town, a nexus for refugees

They shared childhood memories, but Maxim has changed. He’s older, wiser, perhaps even dangerous. Now he seeks their help to rescue enslaved children guarding a world-shaking secret, but time’s running out. Roni and Kenzie dive into Maxim’s risky mission, testing their friendship amid a struggle for control of a key project that could win the ‘Mind Game.

It's a journey that brings Roni an astonishing self-discovery. Can she trust in herself to help the rescue succeed?

 

My Thoughts:

This is a fast paced action packed teen adventure with a unique concept at its core from the author of bestselling teen series The Joshua Files.

I really enjoyed reading this. It’s a fun romp through some great locations. One of the things this author does so well is bring Mexico to life. The pace never lets up and the pages almost turn themselves.

The story is narrated by teen podcaster Roni and is told in an engaging and chatty style, perhaps to reflect her online persona, yet for some reason that I can’t put my finger on I never really clicked with her. The character of Max by comparison had much more depth and I’m curious to see where his story leads.

This is the first in a new series from this author. I will certainly be looking out to see what comes next.

Review: The Day the Earth Turned: Book 1. Summer by Chantelle Atkins

 The Book

The adults are all dead. Society has collapsed.

Two groups of teenagers emerge on either side of a rural village, traumatised, bereaved and determined to survive.

As tribes form and territorial lines are drawn, can they overcome their differences and find a way to rebuild?

Or will gang warfare end this emerging new world before it’s even begun?

Each of them have their theories about what killed the adults and as the dust settles on the old world, a far bigger, darker, and angrier threat is bursting to life all around them.

 

My Thoughts

A compelling survival story. This is the first in a series of four books which are clearly going to rotate through the seasons and the challenges that this will present. It’s a well written book with a compelling cast of characters and plenty of mystery and intrigue. Be aware though, that this series functions very much as a whole, rather than a series of standalones, so you will need to commit to reading all of them. There are a lot of loose ends and unanswered questions and I’m looking forward to seeing how this new world Chantelle has created all pans out.

Recommended

The Red Rock Promotion Experiment and where I go next.

The results of the Red Rock publicity and promotion experiment are in, and I’ve been analysing the results. Hmmm.

Red Rock was originally published in September 2013 through a traditional publisher and I had all the advantages of having a marketing team and a designated publicist helping me. I have spoken elsewhere on this blog about the promotional activities which we did.

For the re-release I avoided repeating those, although with future books there are definitely options I can pursue. But I did take the opportunity to try out a few other publicity activities largely geared towards the e-book, and focussing on what I could achieve online. This was mainly through the medium of social media. For example:

1. I set up an author Instagram account and make regular posts about my writing

2. I promoted Red Rock on twitter with a cover reveal and in general increased my interactions on that platform

3. I increased my activity in the various writing/author groups to which I belong and talked about Red Rock and what I was doing about re-releasing it

4. I revived my author facebook page

5. I enrolled in a Kindle countdown deal setting the price at 99p for one week

6. I timed the countdown deal to coincide with Earth Day

7. I participated actively in #IndieApril on Twitter 

Of course, there is the disadvantage that most of my immediate network have already read the book (if it is to their taste) so I was really trying here to extend my reach outwards to find new potential readers. I certainly learned what doesn’t work, (pretty much everything listed above) and I found the whole exercise an interesting if rather depressing experiment.

What is clear is that producing a quality product, editing, formatting, cover art, is the easy bit. Finding readers is a lot more difficult without the backing of a publisher. Even those who expect the author to do a lot of legwork can still make a huge difference to sales through their review networks etc.

So where do I go moving forwards?  Well I still intend to self publish my Science Fiction novels, but I’m going to keep aiming at the mainstream market with my thrillers and I will be giving them priority. I have a new novel on the go, but you will be seeing one of my SciFi novels hitting the virtual shelves in the not too distant future. But more on that later. For now I have some writing to do.

Countdown Deal for Earth Day

April the 22nd is Earth Day. A perfect opportunity to promote Red Rock. And also to test out Kindle countdown deals.

So for one week in the run up to Earth day, from the 15th - 22nd April, Red Rock will be available for the reduced price of 99p (UK) and 99c (US).

I will do my best to promote it on social media during this time. Let's see if I get an uptick in sales.

Marketing Red Rock – a plan for promotion

I don’t intend doing a great deal of marketing and promotion for Red Rock. This is a re-release and in my mind it’s already had its day. But rather than simply press publish and leave it there to gather dust, I’ve decided to do a few things to give it a boost. It will be interesting to see which, if any of these, result in an uptick in sales.

1. Author social media accounts, twitter, Instagram, other? In the end I decided to set up an author Instagram account. I then generated a set of promotional graphics using Midjourney and Canva which I will publish to this account at regular intervals.

2. Run a giveaway. (Unfortunately Goodreads only allows this for US authors so I will run it from my author IG account and try to boost on Twitter) The giveaway will be for an e-copy – that way I can run it internationally. It might be good though to have some additional swag or a prize to make it more interesting. The easiest thing for me to offer is a chapter critique.

3. Countdown deals on Kindle Unlimited. I could offer it free or at 99p  to coincide with a special event such Earth day.

4. Review copies. Offer review copies in various ‘groups’ I belong to in the hope that they will enjoy it and give it a boost.

5. Participate in indie author events eg #indieapril on twitter

I will report back on these and what effects they have, which appear to be the most useful, and which don’t appear to make any difference to sales. This will be useful for me when I come to self publish my next book, which won’t be a re-release. The next one will be something new.

Welcome to the Climate Fiction Writers League

I have recently joined the Climate Fiction Writers League, an exciting new venture set up by author Lauren James.

The league has members from all over the world who have one thing in common – we have all seen the perils that climate change poses to our planet and have used this threat in our fiction.

From picture books through to YA, adult SF and contemporary fiction you can find books that explore a wide range of scenarios and environmental issues, any of which could be our future.

The books may carry a message, but not at expense of story, so do pop over to the website and see who is involved, sign up to the newsletter, and discover some wonderful books.

Visit the Climate Fiction Writers League here: Climate Fiction Writers League

And read more from Lauren about why she has set up the League over at Tor: Lauren James Launches Climate Fiction Writers League

Girls in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Maths)

As a female scientist I’m used to being the only girl in a room, or ship, full of men. It’s never bothered me, and in fact I rather like it. I’m also not sure I could handle the politics if I worked in a women only office!

When I first started work, the graduate intake I was part of was very male dominated. But I firmly believed that all this was going to change. I thought I was simply part of the first wave. After all – how can anyone NOT be fascinated by science.

It didn’t happen. For several years the graduate intake was only male. For no other reason than that the female science graduates simply weren’t there. It’s a recognised problem. Girls are not taking the science options in school.

But things are starting to shift. Many technology companies are starting to run STEM days with the local schools, and insisting that both boys and girls are equally represented. It will take time, but it will change.

So I found myself wondering what I could do. One of the things I noticed when I was doing school visits as part of the promotion for Red Rock was that the teachers were often very interested in the fact that I was a scientist and liked it when I talked to the kids about some of the science behind the concepts in the novel.

Plus the main character is a girl – and girls can have adventures too!

So maybe writing about girls in STEM is what I should be doing. After all, it was reading SF that first inspired me into science. Perhaps if I wrote something along these lines it might help inspire the next generation of budding scientists.

And this was the starting point for the YA novel I’ve just competed. The novel I’m about to start agent hunting for. Is there a market for such a thing? Who knows! But I’ve really loved writing it, reading up on the science and thinking “What if?”

When Science and Fiction collide

(Originally posted on the Author Allsorts Blog in January 2016)


When science meets fiction something amazing starts to happen.

As our understanding of the universe expands so do the possibilities. Even before the first rockets launched into space we were already pondering what wonders might exist on distant worlds. Was there life on Mars? Was it hostile?

What better way to explore the possibilities than through fiction. In fiction the limitations in technology that stop us doing something can be easily overcome. There’s no point in telling an author that faster than light space flight isn’t possible. Certainly it isn’t with our current technology.  But in fiction this isn’t a problem. Bring on the hyperdrive, the warp drive, stargates and cryosleep.

In the world of fiction anything is possible.

But science fiction isn’t just about technology and engineering, Any branch of science is fair game, the recent rise in Climate Fiction or Cli-Fi being a fine example. Yes, the science is real, the effects of anthropogenic climate change extrapolated to its logical and potentially terrifying conclusion. Some Science Fiction provides a salutary warning, exploring the dangers as well as the positives.

Of course the science has to be plausible. Your readers need to believe in whatever technology or innovation you’ve come up with, and often those readers will themselves be scientists, or budding scientists. They wants innovations and technologies, scenarios and situations that extrapolate the possible, rather than the ludicrous or implausible. The reader has to think – this really could happen. We could be living in this world someday.

In some cases we already are. (In fact I sometimes feel that we might already be living in one of those dystopian novels that have been so popular of late!) Ideas and technologies that started out in fiction have become science fact. We’ve all seen Jean-Luc Pickard using an i-pad on the Star Ship Enterprise, men have walked on the moon, and we all have computers and use robots to help us with our daily lives. I have one that washes my dishes, and I really fancy one of those little hoover robots!

Science fiction is also the inspiration for the next generation of scientists. I’m not the only person to follow a career in science, influenced by the books I read when I was a child. And the authors of these books were often well renowned scientists in their own right, Isaac Asimov and Fred Hoyle being two that spring to mind.

This is what makes science fiction so special. The ideas and possibilities it allows us to explore. Let today’s science fiction become tomorrow’s science fact! (The good bits that is! I’ll pass on the dystopias!)

Shiny and New

I wasn’t going to write any more Young Adult books. That’s what I promised myself when the novel I was working on ground to a halt after ten thousand words. I was going to concentrate on adult thrillers and reinvent myself!

Fine words that didn’t last long. For along came a shiny new idea, seeping into my conscious, pestering me like a hungry cat that wants to be fed.

So for the past few months I’ve been scribbling away at something new. Something different. And now the first draft is complete. The tweaking and editing begins.

Is it something that will actually sell? Will any agents be remotely interested? Maybe it’s a bit too different? It breaks the mould, doesn’t follow conventions, and I’ve not seen anything remotely similar on the book shop shelves. So maybe there simply isn’t a market for it.

There’s only one way to find out.

I’m glad I wrote it. I love my characters. But soon I will have to leave them and turn my attention back to my thriller – and a different set of characters who are stamping their feet and feeling unloved.

Review: The Misper by Bea Davenport.

“I knew this girl, you see. A sort of a friend. No one thought she really mattered much, but that turned out to be a mistake. Because she blew a hole through my life – and the lives of everyone I knew.”

The Misper is the new YA thriller by Bea Davenport which will be hitting the bookshelves on the 1st March this year. It is published by Conrad Press which is a fairly small publisher, and as I result I fear this book might not get the exposure it deserves.

First impressions – the cover – the cover is great! It hints at the three friends and yet you don’t see their faces – they remain a mystery – a mystery that can only be unlocked by delving into these pages.

For anyone unfamiliar with the term Misper, let me bring you up to date – it is, quite simply Police slang for a missing person. And in the first few pages it is immediately clear that this is the thrust of the story. Someone has disappeared and at first we don’t even know who – not to mention why! Police are everywhere, parents and friends distraught.

Rewind several months and we start to fill in the gaps. Anna is starting a new school, and is instantly drawn to goth girl Zoe. As their friendship develops it soon becomes clear that something is not quite right with Zoe, but before we can find out more in bounces Kerry, an awkward geek of a girl who nobody really likes. Anna feels both sorry for her but at the same time that she is driving a wedge between her and Zoe. They both wish Kerry would go away and leave them alone.

Then Zoe starts dabbling in witchcraft and things take a more sinister turn.

This is a really gripping book. From almost the first page I was embroiled in Anna’s world and the pace and intrigue never lets up. The scary parts are really scary, the tense parts really tense, and I can tell you I won’t be snooping round any graveyards anytime soon.

But what I loved the most was the character of Anna. I really felt I could relate to her, almost as if there was a bit of me in her. I think if I was in her shoes I would have done exactly the same…

I know this is a book aimed at the teenage market, but I really enjoyed reading it too. In fact I read it in one sitting before I realised what was happening – and I’d only meant to read the first chapter!

It’s easy for a book published by a small press to miss out on the recognition it deserves, so all I can say is buy a copy, buy your friend a copy, ask your library to stock it, leave a review. This is a book that deserves to be noticed. Let’s make that happen!

Bea Davenport's Website

Celebrating UKYA

There’s a whisper among the kids and a buzz around the internet. Something exciting is happening in the world of children’s literature. A new phrase is on the tips of everyone’s tongues. It is gaining momentum. It is UKYA.

For too long the Young Adult market has been dominated by the big hit bestsellers from across the pond. It still is and it probably always will be. But there is a huge and often untapped resource of British Young Adult books – books that bring something fresh to the genre, books that are often quite special and quite unique.

And it is these books we want to celebrate – British authors, often a British setting – there are amazing books out there just waiting to be discovered!

And it’s already started.

A really good starting point is the UKYA website. Here’s you’ll find details of a huge range of UKYA books, as well various Top Ten lists. Browse the shelves. Do you see something that takes your fancy? I bet you will!

And then there’s this initiative – Project UKYA. Its new, it’s exciting – a celebration of all things UKYA.

You can also find a number of UKYA authors over at Author Allsorts. Yes I’m one of them. Can you guess which one is my mascot? Look for the green eyes!

And there’s going to be a big UKYA event next year in London. I’ll be keeping an eye out for that!

So let’s keep the buzz going. Let us celebrate all things UKYA!

And while you're here - there's still time to enter the Red Rock Alliteration Giveaway - see post below!