Month: June 2023

So many free books!

One of the things that I added to my resume recently was that, as a self-published author, I had to learn about marketing my books. After all, Amazon won’t do it for me. And, of course, it is not a good look to lose track of which sort of initiative one intends to run and where.

Adverts: Facebook or Amazon? Outlets: go wide or stick with Kindle Unlimited? Newsletter builders: do people even read them? Newsletter costs: the likes of Mailchimp only allow a maximum of addresses on their free accounts, and that does not remove the non-responders or unsubscribers. Author book fairs? Free book initiatives? Price reduction initiatives?

As I have mentioned before, I am autistic. Too much ‘stuff’ will lead to meltdown, So, I need to have this organised. Dates are always key. For example, I will be taking part in ‘ZoeBub’ which is a massive free book initiative, with over 1000 romance books available to download to an e-reader FOR FREE, on one day every quarter. The expectation is that each author will publicise the event both in the run-up and on the day when social media will need to be absolutely wall-papered with notifications and posts.

So for one day, you have to be tweeting constantly? It is one of those things where the more you post, the better the response is likely to be. The website is http://www.romancebookworms.com

That wasn’t so difficult.

But then, you have special offers.

My short story, Cân Y Môr, is in the “Shift You Not” anthology, which is on a special price via Amazon for 99c or 77p. That’s it, less that a dollar or a pound for an anthology. This particular anthology is only available until 5 July, so grab it while you can

That will be all for now. I need to ensure that this information is also in my newsletter and need to send that out, after incorporating all the names from my last newsletter builder.

Legends come from stories. Stories are told of deeds. Deeds are committed by those who have walked the earth. But what if the creatures of those legends still walked the earth, still doing those deeds which have made them legends? Welcome to the world of the Cwn Annwn, Guardians of the Celtic Underworld, in service to Mallt-y-Nos.

Born in Wales as Henry VII took the throne, Gabriel Black serves an ancient goddess. A visit to the Carpathians introduces him to his Mate, Aaleahya. Sometimes he helps humans. Sometimes he cannot help them. Sometimes the losses he must face make him wonder if it is even worth it?

Dare you walk in his world?

The Diaries of the Cwn Annwn is a myth and legend inspired series written by a group of friends around the world. As of 2022, there are eight books in the series with more to come.

Keep your spirits up!

I am the sort of person who was proud to have been in paid employment since I started working. So the realisation that, give or take, it has been a year, gave me pause for thought. That was a big gap in my CV.

Let’s face it. One of the questions either on an application form or if you are granted an interview

Now, I could use some of that toxic popularity that is so popular on well-being pages, like tomorrow is another day or the right opportunity is just around the corner.

What I find does help is to have other plans than finding a job. Sure, money is tight, so living it up is probably not an option. Today, for example, I made some experimental chocolate cookies. I suspect they will be as bitter as anything, as I may have overdone the amount of cocoa, but hey, that’s why the gods invented custard. If you have a garden, spend some time out there. I was really surprised at the amount of birdsong today. Go for a walk. And window-shopping costs nothing.

There will be good days, and there will be bad days. On a bad day, even if you just sit by the back door and daydream, that is a step in a good direction. One step at a time has always been my motto.

That new job will come.

And by the way, stay tuned for a fantastic offer at the end of June …

Continue reading “Keep your spirits up!” →

Characters and where to start?

That sinking feeling when you realise that you committed to writing a story for an anthology and that means working out a pair of new characters, and a story although this anthology has a theme …

Of course, I don’t make things easy for myself, because I also run the risk of falling into the research black hole, one of the joys, for me, of being neurodivergent.

So, what does this process look like? Where do I start? There is a start, isn’t there? Of course, there is!

I am a very visual person when it comes to writing. I need to find the right sort of face which will act as inspiration for my new story. Also, I need to find the right creature that works with the anthology theme. The theme is that ‘even villains deserve love’. I could have made it easy for myself. Casimir, the main man of Cysgodion, definitely filled the role of a villain as far as the characters of “Beta” were concerned. But, by “Cysgodion” and “Merysekhmet”, he seems to have redeemed himself.

Not Casimir then.

The one creature I have yet to include in my stories is the vampire, hence the picture of a vampire bat. But … there is a similar problem to people assuming that all sexy romance must be like FSOG. There are series like The Originals. There are books and movies like Twilight. Then we have Hotel Transylvania and characters saying “Blah, blah blah!”. Vampires have been done to death. So the first thing I had to irk out was how did my vampires differ? Was I going to let someone else choose the definition?

Where would be the fun in that?

But first things first, I needed a face, or rather faces. It would be a M/F romance, as I don’t feel confident enough to diverge from that yet.

First the face, then the cover

My story, my rules. I may well have to include that as a note at the start of the story, because otherwise, I am sure readers might be a bit cross that I didn’t follow ‘official’ lore. I needed my characters to be out and about, so the traditional avoidance of sunlight wouldn’t work.

Lily turnout out to be a high school History teacher. My male character was law enforcement, but in the vampire parallel to the FBI. I haven’t found a face for him, so whilst I have an idea of his name and lineage, I really need that face.

So, as they used to say … “Stay tuned …”.

Bran Cadwgan is one of two Betas of the Cwn Annwn. He believed he would never be granted a Mate by the Goddess as penance for past mistakes, but discovers that he was wrong. Will he succeed in proving to both her family and his Mate that he is worthy of her sharing his life?

Alix Gosselin is the only daughter of the Gosselin Alpha and his mate. She was the “Gosselin Princess” growing up in an abusive home, until she fled first to attend boarding school and then for a career in law enforcement. Her parents had proven that the myth of a mate who would love and treasure you above all else was just that, a myth. Then, she encountered a biker whilst investigating a series of female disappearances in a suspected sex-trafficking ring. Her life would never be the same again. Alix wants to believe the story she is told by her biker, but she knows her father will not let her ‘throw herself away’ on a ‘mere biker’.

Bran and Alix, both have preconceptions to overcome. Both of them will be faced with challenges. Will the growing bond between them be sufficient? Based on the legend of the Welsh Cwn Annwn, and incorporating Jo’s love of myth and legend, Beta introduces a cast of Cwn Annwn, wolf shifter and human characters, weaving romance with the contemporary world. Dare you walk in our world?

https://books2read.com/u/mqN9D8