Free Promotion

Today's blog is a reminder of the 5 day special FREE promotion of Love Eternal, which is available from Amazon Kindle.

I wanted to offer one of my books free to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee and Love Eternal seemed like a good choice, as it is a story that spans hundreds of years and includes special guest appearances from the likes of Henry VIII...

On September 6^th 1975, Alyssa Grey was killed by a man who claimed to love her. When she is reborn in 1986, her life is already mapped out for her, as she is drawn back to her one true love, the man for whom she is the only source of life he can have. ..

The world is about to change for Alyssa, as she enters her final year at university, where she is studying a degree in Tudor history. Moving out from the house she shared with her ex-boyfriend, she moves into Elton House, with her best friend, Emma and house-mates Lydia and James, who immediately make her feel welcome. But the grandson of the owner of the house, Jerrod Elton is hostile and awkward, so why does she feel so attracted to him? As Alyssa’s love life becomes increasingly complicated, with Nick (the ex) vying for her attention until a very uncomfortable final break-up, Jerrod watches on in the background. And then Alyssa meets Mac, a man who seems oddly familiar and makes her stomach turn somersaults every time she looks at him.

But Mac is dangerous. He is an Eternal, an immortal being who must feed on the light of souls in order to survive and he recognises Alyssa as a Life Soul, another immortal being who is the life-source of Eternals. Mac begins to control Alyssa’s every move, telling her what to wear and what to do, gradually chipping away at her confidence until she is left too frightened to end the relationship that she knows is destroying her.  Every time he kisses her, she is left feeling drained and faint, but she doesn’t understand why.

And meanwhile, waiting in the wings, is the man who could offer her true love...

Get your FREE copy of Love Eternal now from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Eternal-ebook/dp/B0078DBZDS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1338489016&sr=8-4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Eternal-ebook/dp/B0078DBZDS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1338489051&sr=8-4

http://www.amazon.de/Love-Eternal-ebook/dp/B0078DBZDS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1338489100&sr=8-3

EXCITING NEWS

I have really exciting news. Over the Jubilee weekend, Love Eternal will be available to download FREE from Amazon! Love Eternal has one of my favourite characters in it; Jerrod Elton and is a love story that crosses time, from the days of Richard II, through to Henry VIII and into the modern day. There are appearances from famous monarchs and writers, as well as a plethora of characters that I hope you will all enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I have also just published one of my earlier works to Kindle, A Question of Faith. This was a story that I wrote when I was a student and took the form of a fable based on Joseph of Arimathea's relationship with Jesus. It is a work of imagination, based on stories I have heard about Joseph and a place that has fascinated me from a very early age; Glastonbury. I was born in Somerset and somehow I think Glastonbury has got into my veins because whenever I visit, I feel like I have come home. There is something particularly awe inspiring about climbing the Tor and seeing the patchwork quilt effect of Somerset below you. There is so much mysticism and beauty in this town, from stories of Arthur to Joseph who is the main character in A Question of Faith. It was truly a work of the heart and I hope people will gain something from reading it.

Available now from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/A-Question-of-Faith-ebook/dp/B0086ESY1O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1338133375&sr=8-5

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Question-of-Faith-ebook/dp/B0086ESY1O/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1338133435&sr=8-7

The Elite

I am pleased to announce that The Elite is now available from Amazon! My proof reader has said that she found it to be the best of the series so far; I hope everyone else will feel the same way. In The Elite, we will see each of the characters further develop their relationships. Jack arrives in America to beg his uncle to go to Electissimus to aid in retrieving his sister from the Vampire King. Adam becomes darker and more suspicious of everyone around him, as his position is threatened by a possible war with Africa and the UK. His dark moods lead to frenzied organised hunts and the fatality of someone he may regret the loss of. Ethan and Diana make their way through Europe towards Electissimus, meeting two covens of Witches along the way and a new Witch, with incredible powers who will help them gain access to the palace. And Robert is torn between finding the girl he has driven away and whom he realises he cannot live without and going to the Vampire King to free the niece he loves.

The Elite is available now from amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Elite-Light-Dark-Blood-ebook/dp/B0085XOUZA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1337965827&sr=8-6

It is also available from amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elite-Light-Dark-Blood-ebook/dp/B0085XOUZA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1337965876&sr=8-6

The Elite: Proof-reading

I am so pleased to have finished the final draft of The Elite! It has been a lot of fun reviewing the original drafts and editing and improving, then adding new ideas. I never ever use the first draft of a story when I send it to be published and I always spend a lot of time re-reading what I have written because I find that sometimes an idea I really liked in draft one doesn't necessarily fit with the finished product. Or sometimes a new idea occurs that would fit really well and I need to find a way of seamlessly adding it. Sometimes, as was the case when I was editing chapter 32 yesterday, the only way is to delete everything and start again with that blank page.

When I wrote Love Eternal, I redrafted that story eight times, because in the original version, I felt that Jerrod was too like Mac for it to work; there was too much of a dark side to my hero and I needed him to be a much better person. In The Light, The Dark and The Blood all of the characters are quite dark but necessarily so for the content of the story. Sometimes it is a lot of fun to write the darker characters and to create a mindset for them.

In The Elite, we will see Robert once again struggling with his inner demons and the effect of Cathy returning to him in The Girl. He has the added pressure that his niece has been taken to Adam at Electissimus and he must make the decision to leave the sanctuary of his home to rescue her. This is a big decision because Robert will be forced to face the demons of his past if he returns there and he isn't sure if he is strong enough.

Beth meanwhile is held by Adam in his palace and has only Maria to turn to for friendship and hope, but the Witch who has become the mate of the Vampire King is suffering from confusion and doubt herself. Ethan and Diana are on their way to face the destiny they have been raised to while Jack is heading to Uncle Robert's.

I must admit, I love writing the interactions between Robert and Jack. Even though Jack is the eldest of the Hart siblings, he has a boyish nature which seems completely at odds with his uncle's personality and when Robert gets frustrated with him I can't help but be amused by it :-)

The Elite is a dark story and will take the reader further into the world that Adam and his people have created. It will also be the build up for the final book, The Vampire, in which we will confront Robert's past with him and see exactly why he sees himself as he does.

Watch this space for the release date of The Elite.

The Vampire King

Hey all, it's the end of the week, thank goodness! I am looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend. Going to see Phantom of the Opera tomorrow night and hoping to do some writing as well!

I am currently working on The Elite, Book Three of The Light, The Dark & The Blood. The Elite will delve further into the mystery of the Vampire King, Adam, who rules the majority of the world, though the fact that he didn't gain Africa has caused him some anger. It has been fascinating looking into the background of Adam, beyond what we saw in The Girl. Losing his sister clearly caused him a great deal of grief, but she is not the only woman he has lost in his life time. One woman whom he loved dearly and lost was a lot closer to Robert Thorn, which adds a new dimension to the story that I hope readers will enjoy.

In truth I struggle writing truly bad characters, because I do not believe anyone is inherently evil. This may in part be due to what I do for a living. I work with children with BESD who are often viewed as being "naughty boys" but who often have very challenging backgrounds and sometimes medical difficulties to try and manage as well. Often they have not been given a chance in life and it is my job to give them this chance. I see Adam in much the same way as my children; someone who has faced much adversity and needs someone to love him. But will love be enough to cure him of his ills? In The Elite, we will see if the Witch that gives him love is able to change him from the cold, calculating Vampire King into something more caring; perhaps even more Human.

I quite enjoy exploring Adam's past; seeing what has shaped him and what has made him the Vampire he is. He is fascinating because he has lived for thousands of years and seen much that might have made someone wise and knowledgeable. Adam is certainly knowledgeable, but everything he knows is tinged with darkness. And he has a thirst for violence and blood which even Maria, his Witch cannot sate. When Beth Hart arrives at Electissimus, he is fascinated by her and reminded very much of the other woman he loved; coincidentally another Witch....

Watch this space for more information on the release of The Elite :-)

Bit of a rant...

I'm sorry to say that today's post will be a bit of a rant! Is anyone else out there bored of reading all the negative feedback directed at Fifty Shades of Grey? And actually the very bitter, aggressive and immature feedback a number of people are giving to stories that have been published as fan fiction in general? It amazes me how narrow minded and frankly nasty some people can be about it. For those of you that have never read fan fiction, it is basically a format whereby authors publish their own stories but use the names of characters from existing stories. Many of the stories published are very original and bear little if any resemblance to the fiction they are associated with. This is not a bad thing though; it gives people a chance to imagine characters they love in different scenarios and gives writers the opportunity to build their audience and to gain feedback on their style of writing. Let's face it, how would you know if your work is good if no one looks at it?

The Fan Fiction community on the whole is a supportive and friendly one, but there seems to be a core of people who are out to demean and criticise writers for no reason other than the success of their stories. Why? I can only assume it is a case of huge envy. There are some massively talented writers on Fan Fiction who write stories that are equally as good (and sometimes better) than the ones they categorise their stories in.

Reading is something people generally do for pleasure, particularly when it is fiction. I think it is fantastic that someone who started life as a writer on Fan Fiction has become a New York Times best selling author. I say congratulations E L James! Who wouldn't want to have her success? She has written something that appeals to the mass public and people have obviously enjoyed it (hence it being a bestseller) and yet there now seems to be this core of people jumping on the bandwagon to slate her and her work. I just don't get it :-s

I believe that fan fiction is a great platform for new writers (or writers who have been writing forever but been shy of sharing their work (yep people like me!)) for getting your writing off the ground and hopefully eventually published. If you have a talent, why shouldn't you make money from it? After all no one is forced to buy a book or an e-book and lets face it, in the current financial climate, we all need an extra income if we can get it.

So to all the authors out there who started life as a writer on the fan fiction sites, congratulations on making it into mainstream publication! It is testament to your talent that you have been published and people are buying (and in the main loving) your work! As for the naysayers, I grew up being told "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all". Perhaps we could all do with thinking about that; the world would be a much happier place without all the bitterness, aggression and lets face it blatant envy.

On the plus side, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me on my own writing journey. You keep me going :-)