The Arid Lands Launch Day Deal

 Today I am announcing a very special launch Day deal.

To celebrate the launch of The Arid Lands I am making the kindle edition of Red Rock free for two days only, today and tomorrow, so why not grab yourself a copy.

Red Rock and The Arid Lands have a lot in common. They are both what might loosely be referred to as Climate Fiction although the themes involved are very different, and they may also both be referred to as SciFi thrillers with a dystopian setting.

The Arid Lands was originally written as my second book after Red Rock. However it went out on sub just as the market for YA dystopian fiction collapsed, and because it has a somewhat dystopian feel to it nobody wanted it.

So it sat on my hard drive, but I still loved it. I’ve reworked it to age it up, although it will still appeal to a YA audience. And I’m so happy to make it available at last.

Dystopian fiction is still popular among readers if not among publishers. All I need to do is find those readers.

So if you have read and enjoyed Red Rock, then why not give The Arid Lands a try. And if you enjoy it please take a moment to leave a review, however brief.

Review: Ironheart by Allan Boroughs

The Book

First comes the iron and then comes the snow. And then comes the winter when nothing will grow.

A hundred years after the catastrophic Great Rains, a shattered world cries out for salvation. Haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her father, India Bentley, embarks on an extraordinary adventure to unlock the secrets of a bygone era. Teaming up with the seasoned Tech-Hunter, Verity Brown and an enigmatic military android, India sets out to discover the secrets of Ironheart— a mythical fortress that holds the power to either save or annihilate humanity.

Driven by the urgency of her father's unfinished mission, India ventures into the remote depths of Siberia, braving treacherous landscapes and ruthless outlaws led by notorious oil baron, Lucifer Stone. But as the race to find Ironheart intensifies, the truth that awaits them beneath the icy wasteland proves far more sinister and perilous than they ever anticipated.

In this gripping tale of resilience and sacrifice, failure is not an option. If India falters, the fate of the world will hang in the balance. Prepare to be enthralled as you join India on a journey that will test her limits and ignite a battle for survival against insurmountable odds.

 

My Thoughts

This is an excellent book, pacy and well written. India is an engaging character, but in fact all the characters we meet are well rounded and authentic. I particularly enjoyed the worldbuilding, from the desolation of a ravaged London to the icy Arctic bleakness of Siberia. The book is aimed at a younger audience, but all ages will enjoy this exciting adventure. It is a fabulous romp and I enjoyed it immensely.

Recommended

Review: The Runesong Trilogy Books 1 and 2

The Books:

Hammer of Fate

“No surrender. No retreat.” With twenty enemy swords at their backs and a broken bridge ahead, the last knights of an outlaw order turn to fight. A young woman with forbidden magic joins their final stand. And as blade meets blade, she starts to sing…

Adelais was raised in the far north, learning stories of the old gods and the skill of weaving runes into magic. Now, she is locked in a convent far from home, forced to kneel to a foreign god.

When inquisitors arrive with plans to torture an innocent man, Adelais cannot stand by. She aids an attack to free the prisoner and joins the raiders as they flee into the night.

Her new companions are the last of the Guardians—once a powerful holy order, now ragged fugitives, hunted almost to extinction.

The knights carry a secret treasure, precious and powerful enough to shape kingdoms. Their pursuers, desperate to possess it, will crush any who stand in their way.

Nowhere is safe—in city or chateau, on the road or in the wilds. And even disguised as a boy, Adelais draws attention wherever she goes. Is she angel or demon, priestess or witch?

Adelais must summon all her courage and all her memories of the old gods’ magic as the noose tightens around her and a thunderous final reckoning approaches.

 

Runes of Battle

 Adelais is on the run.

And the kingdom of Galmandie has never been more dangerous.

In every town square, people whisper of a girl who brought down lightning on her enemies. The king has placed a huge price on Adelais’s head and sent troops to hunt her down.

Adelais flees high into the mountains. But winter is closing in and she cannot hide for ever.

Far to the north, there is a chance of escape. Her homeland has risen in rebellion against Galmandie. To reach freedom and safety, Adelais must cross many miles of hostile territory with inquisitors and royal soldiers always close behind.

If she is captured, Adelais will be burned as a witch. But if she learns to control the storm of magic within her, she could be the spark that sets the whole country aflame.

My Thoughts

Quality historical fantasy. I fell instantly in love with the world in which this is set. It’s loosely based on Medieval Europe and the conflicts and strife that affected the Medieval world. But it is also unique in all sorts of clever and fascinating ways. One thing I will say is that the author’s knowledge of this period of history shines through in all the telling detail that he gives.

But no fantasy can be without a good dollop of magic and this is where this story really shines. I absolutely loved the magic lore that the author has created. It’s subtle and yet fascinating. It grows and develops in a beautifully organic way and I think this is what makes this story truly unique. I also loved the characters, especially the lead, Adelais. She is wonderfully written and truly compelling. Then to cap it all are the wonderful descriptions of the countryside and the cities through which they travel.

So far I’ve read the first two. I can’t wait to get my hands on the third. Strongly recommended.

Ten Years of RED ROCK

 It is now ten years since Red Rock was first published.

Red Rock remained in print for nine years until my rights reverted and I self published it so that it would still be available. I’ve enjoyed the process. It’s good having control although I do now realise how much my publisher did with marketing and promotion. They fixed me up as a speaker at conferences and placed Red Rock into libraries (from which I still get a modest income in PLR).

My main market was through those travelling book fairs that do the rounds of schools in the UK, and through these Red Rock sold quite well. It’s a book I am very proud of. I hope my readers, past, present and future, enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

So to celebrate Red Rock’s ten year anniversary I am making it free on kindle for three days only – 12th, 13th and 14th September.

If you would like to grab yourself a copy, now is your chance.

The Arid Lands

This blog has been quiet recently for a number of reasons. Firstly I never have much spare time during the summer months, life takes over and there are so many places to see and things to do. I’m very much an outdoor person and can think of nothing worse than sitting indoors at my computer when the sun is shining inviting me out to play.

But in between all this sunshine and frolics things have been happening and progress has been made. The new thriller is coming on well, and I have decided to self publish my next Sci Fi book, just because I can.

Originally I felt it was important to have a proper release schedule for my self published books in order to increase visibility, but the sorts of schedules that people advise are well beyond my reach, and even if I did save up my books to release in rapid succession, there would still be a cliff edge when I stop.

So I have decided to release them as I am ready, not worry too much about schedules and simply enjoy the process.

So I am delighted to announce that my next book, THE ARID LANDS, a Sci Fi Thriller with a dystopian feel to it, will be released on the 19th October.

I will be telling you more about it over the coming weeks, starting with a cover reveal – watch this space!

Sale of Two Drabbles

In case you are wondering, a drabble is a short story of exactly 100 words. And I'm delighted to share with you that two of my drabbles, 'Afterwards' and 'Oak and Ash' will be appearing at Wyldeblood Press in the not too distant future. I will let you know when they go live.

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.