Review of Witch Condemned by Valia Lind

I never thought I’d kill a man - but now there’s blood on my hands.

All my life, I have done what is asked of me. I studied hard, I trained, I worked to create the strongest spells the coven has ever seen. My one purpose was to make my parents proud.

But then, my best friend is murdered and I am blamed for her death. Except I knew who killed her, so I took the matters into my own hands.

Now, I’m an inmate at one of the notorious supernatural prisons, with nothing but my skills to keep me alive.

This is not a place to make friends. Especially not with the mysterious shifter who’s been assigned to guard me.

But I’m determined to get out. And to clear my name. Because the killer was sent by someone much worse and my family, and our way of life, are in danger.

My name is Cordelia Keller, inmate number 483285, and I’ve got a plan.

Amazon

My Review: 5 STARS

I picked this up because I loved the premise, the cover, all of it screamed out to be that it’d be an amazing read, and from the first page, I wasn’t disappointed. Fast paced, and packed full of delightful world-building, it drew me in and I ended up finishing it in one sitting, and wow that ending almost killed me!! I adore Lind’s way of weaving together plot, characters and everything else in between. The book was a quick read for me, but one I very much enjoyed! Overall, will be reading more in this series and following this author! Highly recommended!

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

Interview with Emily Bourne & Review of In A Mirror

I am delighted to welcome Emily Bourne to the blog for both an interview and my review of her début novel, In A Mirror. Here's a little about Emily.


Emily Bourne is a laidback Aussie lass, until she becomes too hyperactive on her YouTube channel. Emily vlogs her writing experience and uses the platform to engage with other writers about the daunting process. She also engages readers with juicy tidbits about her beautifully flawed characters and emotional scenes from her novels.

Emily writes gushy romance, heart wrenching character growth, and anxiety driven scenes to make the coolest cat sweat. When she’s not writing, she’s on social media as her alias, @queenemilicious, or hanging out with IRL friends with too much coffee… or wine… or both.

And onto the interview!

In your own writing, which character of yours do you relate to most?
Oh, that’s such a tough one. Obviously my main characters, the twins, Brittany and Charli are so much a part of me. I am a Gemini, so I have this kind of split personality and in a way I gave the twins each a part of me. Charli has my reclusive side, and Brittany has my wild, excitable side.

Do you read your own genre? Is it a favourite?
I really love young adult contemporaries (which my book In A Mirror is) but I started writing in the genre because I always felt the books I read were lacking in ‘something’. I wanted more out of them, so I created my own stories.

If you had to describe your style in three words, what would they be?
Chaotic, Fun, Over-achieving.

What was the first story you ever told?
I told this story in my Authortube Newbie Tag video on my YouTube channel. I was about six or seven years and wrote and illustrated a book about ‘Torty the Tortoise’. Torty was a baby Tortoise who had lost her mother and she explored the ocean trying to find her. It’s a reverse ‘Finding Nemo’ and yes, I’m still waiting for Pixar to send me my cheque. Ha ha!

Was writing always your dream choice of career?
Yes, I always wanted to be a writer but I was convinced I couldn’t make any money as an author. I did all these jobs I didn’t love because I thought it was what I “had to do”. I later found out about the world of self-publishing and all the work you can do with advertising and marketing to increase your reach to your target audience. The possibilities are endless if you are willing to out in the work. I am learning more and more each day and so excited about where this career can take me.

Do you have a writing space? Pictures or descriptions!

 Yes, I’ve just moved and am still setting up my space, but finally have a room all to myself. I have my lovely desk and a wall of bookcases where my cat Norman likes to play.

Playlists? Yes or no? And why?
I do have certain music I listen to for each book. For example, Lana Del Rey’s music was fundamental is writing In A Mirror. I love her lyrics. In my book, Charli writes a lot of poetry, so Lana’s poetry was very inspirational to keep me going. Her music revolves around passionate love and tragic heartbreak which fits In A Mirror very nicely.

For other writing projects I’ve listened to Sia, Britney Spears, Billie Ellish, Hallsy, and Katy Perry. For me it’s all about ‘mood’.

Which social media do you see as a must for writers?
It really depends. I always thought twitter, but now as I’ve started using Instagram again (which I thought I would never do) I think it depends on what the individual person finds fun. I enjoy making YouTube videos but so many people tell me they are terrified to get in front of the camera. If you’re terrified, I would say, don’t do it. I think people put too much pressure on themselves with social media. For me I say, block out all the people telling you to ‘build your author platform’. Have fun and be authentic, and the followers will come (eventually).

Where do you hang out most online?
YouTube. That’s where I produce the most content. I use Instagram to connect with other writers through DMs.

Do you have a favourite app for writing?
SCRIVENER! Did my love come through in the all caps? I adore Scrivener. I love it for outlining, drafting, and even formatting ebooks! I also use google dos and word, but scrivener feels like the inside of my brain on a computer screen. I love it. I bought it only two days onto my free trial.

Organised or not?
Define organised, ha ha ha. I just made a merch store to celebrate the release of In A Mirror, and one of my catchphrases on the clothing and other items is ‘organised chaos’. Does that tell you enough? I am organised from my perspective, but others might see it as a mess. (One of my other catchphrases is ‘it’s a mess but it works’.)

What's your favourite book you've read?
Just one? Toss up between ‘One Day’ by David Nicholls or ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ by Arthur Golden. They are the two books on my shelf I’d re-read in a heartbeat.

Morning or evening writer?
I am not a morning person so I naturally write more in the evenings, BUT, if I get up at 5am I find I am actually more productive in the mornings. So I am more productive as a morning writer, but I prefer to sleep in. It’s a struggle!

If you had a hashtag for your books, what would it be?
Well, In A Mirror currently has a hastag #IAMRelease and I have a hashtag #lunaticwritingabook - so I use these as somewhat “branding”. (I use the term branding quite loosely ha ha.)

  There’s more than lies in a reflection… Amid secrets and rumours, follow twins Brittany and Charli Matthews as they fight inner demons, dividing them, in the hell that is high school.

At a party, Brittany gets her first taste of popularity, but when another girl eyes the boy she likes, things take a few wrong turns. Whilst branding herself a loser, Brittany tries to keep her cool and joins the cheer squad and befriends the queen bees. Her obsession with her dream boy intensifies, but as they get closer, he seems to be holding secrets of his own. Brittany must decide whether popularity or the chance at love is what she really wants. But will she ever stop calling herself a loser and be happy in her own skin?

When Charli is at a party, uninvited guests shake up the dynamics with her friends and cause her to doubt the boyfriend she trusted. Attempting to avoid the morons at school, Charli focuses on her studies, hoping to bring her dad home. But she overdoes it and loses who she is. Charli must drop her single-minded approach if she wants to keep her loved ones close. But that means deciding who to trust and who to push away. If Charli puts herself first, will she find where her true happiness lies?

Amazon

My Review: 5 stars
I picked this up as pre-order and have been dying to read it. The story was engaging from page one and I adored all the characters, though I did love Charli more than Brittany, both girls were so different from each other, and it was the kind of book you pick up and then never want to put it down. I was desperate to know what happened, and overall it was a definite 5 star read. Highly recommended and can't wait for the sequel and more books from this author!

You can follow Emily on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and her website.

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

Review of People Like Us by Dana Mele

A sharp psychological thriller that's just right for fans of One of Us is Lying and Thirteen Reasons Why--this story will seduce, mislead, and finally, betray you.

Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she's reinvented herself entirely. Now she's a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. But when a girl's body is found in the lake, Kay's carefully constructed life begins to topple. The dead girl has left Kay a computer-coded scavenger hunt, which, as it unravels, begins to implicate suspect after suspect, until Kay herself is in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. But if Kay's finally backed into a corner, she'll do what it takes to survive. Because at Bates Academy, the truth is something you make...not something that happened.

Debut author Dana Mele has written a taut, sophisticated suspense novel that readers will tear through and not stop talking about.

Amazon

My review: 5 stars
I loved this book! It was the perfect amount of intrigue and mystery, with the added wonder of what Kay will do. It was beautifully written and told the story in the perfect size chunks that left you wanting more and more. Revealing backstory as needed and not delving into things before their time. A classic case of who had the most to lose and even then the ending surprised me. Loved it and will be reading more from this author in the future! Recommended.

You can follow Dana on Twitter and her website.

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

Young Writers: Any Adivce?

YOUNG WRITERS: ANY ADVICE?

As you all know, I've been writing since I was nineteen, at least as a profession. I won't bore you with the details since I've told this story a number of times, but I did send my first manuscript off to an agent before I was twenty. I knew barely nothing about the publishing industry, and there weren't viable options where I could do it myself like KDP and such. I remember a lot of things I did wrong back then, but I also remember a lot of things I did right. I also remember what it was like to want to be a published author and find people at every turn telling me it wasn't something I could do. Their advice didn't come from a bad place, they just didn't want to see me set myself up for failure, and in a way they were right. But in many many others, they weren't.

I was first published when I was twenty-two. Blackout was released in August 2005 and I felt like I'd reached the highest point in my life thus far. Things didn't go well from there, well they did in some ways, but in others they just made me aware of how very unprepared I was to be published and to do all the work that came with that. I'm not going to go into details about that, but I did want to do a piece on being a young writer. I feel like now there's less gate keeping (and that's a good and bad thing) when it comes to publishing, and the industry is more open to change and diversity that it was only a few years ago.

I'm not a big fish, but I do have a fanbase and I do have a lot of experience and background in what I do. I've written over twenty books, with the twelfth due for release on May 16th (you can pre-order here). I may not have won awards or made a best selling status, but I am good at what I do. I get a lot of people sending me emails and such asking what they should be doing to get published since they've been writing since they were young and/or are still young. They want to know how to find an editor and how to go through the beta process, how to find critique partners and how to work out the cost to them in regards to editing, covers and all of that. Because while being indie is my choice, it's not for everyone and on top of that, it does cost. I don't mean to publish the book itself. Any place wanting you to pay them to publish your book is usually a scam and you should back away and never go back. But there are other costs. Editing costs. Covers cost. Proof-reading and formatting costs. And on and on it goes. Even once you're released, marketing costs. I have a piece planned as to whether the indie route is right for you, but for now let's focus on the young writers out there.

Writing, like any creative pursuit, can be something you work hard at to improve. Just as you would practice your scales when leaning an instrument, you practice writing while being a writer. I look back on some of my earlier pieces and thank god they will never see the light of day. A lot of young people I come across on Tumblr or Facebook have immense talent, but there's also this pressure they put on themselves to be published by a certain time. I get it, I do, when I started writing, I wanted to be published before I left secondary school at sixteen. I wrote my first book at thirteen and happily sent it off to publishers without knowing the process. They were kind about it, but I think back and cringe at the very idea. My point is: what's the rush?

You don't have to achieve all of this at a young age for you to be a talented author. There's no reason why you can't wait, keep writing definitely, but also grow as you do it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't do it, but I am saying that had KDP been around, I might've published that first book at thirteen and been crushed by the many many issues with it at a later date. As it turned out, I tore that book apart time and time again before I was actually happy with it. I rewrote, took out chapters that made no sense and had no bearing on the story and made it better. I later got it edited, by a professional, and then it was published. It was a good few years since I finally finished it, but I got there, I grew as a writer. I focused on the stuff I needed to in my life: exams, essays, college and all that fun stuff. I got life experience that helped me make that story the best it could be.

There is a lot of pressure on young people - there was a similar pressure on me at that age too - to exceed expectations. It might even be that your family and friends don't believe that you can actually get your work out there. That's not the best situation to be in. My parents were only really interested in my writing once I started getting published. They were supportive to a point in that they'd ask how things were going. I remember when I decided to increase my goal from ten books to twenty. My mum shook her head and said: Is that a little unrealistic? Yet in December, I finished my twentieth book. I get the want to prove people wrong, and I get the want to exceed, but you don't need to rush to get there, or beat yourself up over it. It will take as long as it takes, and that's okay. You wanna do it right, and if that means taking your time, you're not doing anything wrong and you will get there.

Have you got any advice for young writers? Leave them in the comments!

Follow Joey here on her blog, or on Facebook or Tumblr to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books. 

The Trials Of An Indie Author: Making Connections

The Trials Of An Indie Author: Making Connections

With the popularity of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and blogging platforms; in fact ALL social media, there has come a greater chance for other indie writers to become your friends and become part of groups that exist solely for us indies to promote and work together to get ourselves recognised. Just as those in the traditionally published world will make connections with other authors (indie or not), an indie author needs to have a number of people that she can count on to help her with promotion because you can't do it all yourself.

There seem to be a number of types of indie authors though, including the ones who make the connections but only seem to want to get what they can for their own personal gain, ignoring the idea that they should be helping others too. And there are others who will do whatever they can to help you sell a book or two or more, and will endlessly support you and help you in any way they can. Both of these types are extreme ends of a spectrum and there are many different ones in between. The point of this piece is not to call out those who don't help others, nor to praise those that do, but to say that as an indie author you need to make many connections. Connections can equal sales, recognition and they can help you sell your image, a topic I have touched on before (found here). So here are my tips to making good connections in the indie author world.

#1 - JOIN GROUPS
On Facebook and Goodreads, as well as other social media sites, there are a number of groups that have the aim of promoting and connecting with other authors. I am a member of a few whose purpose is just that. It's usually easy to join these groups and use their resources, but be aware that by asking someone to promote you, you will probably be asked to reciprocate and if you're not willing to do that, then some of these groups will not be the right fit for you.

#2 - TAKE PART IN EVENTS
There are numerous events going on in the indie world, from Facebook page takeovers to the Bunny Hop event that I took part in after Easter. There are also the "like for like" events that will help you to connect with other writers, editors, cover designers and many more people who make up the indie world. Sometimes you'll find that you are liking people who you will never talk to again, and that's okay, but other times you'll find that you're meeting people who really click with you and will help you move into private groups or other events that will help to promote your work. Along with takeover events, there are also the planned giveaways. These can help with getting your work out there and swapping books for reviews. I have taken part in these and can say that while I still don't have hundreds of reviews, they have helped me to make some good connections with other groups and people in the indie world who like my work.

#3 - REVIEW WHAT YOU READ
Sometimes when you pick up a book by another indie author, you won't think to review it because people usually only review when a book has blown them away or is really bad. However, reviews are an important part of being an indie author and as long as you don't attack the author and provide honest and constructive criticism (where needed), then there's no reason why you can't share your thoughts on their work. This also allows you to make friends, and connections. It was through a mutually agreed review swap that I met one of my favourite indie authors, as well as many others. This in turn has led to being asked to take part in events, being invited to groups, and more reviews on my own work.

And finally, #4 - GIVE WHAT YOU TAKE
The whole thing about being an indie author is that you're usually doing it alone without the backing of a team of supporters, at least when you first start out. So when someone offers to give you an honest review, or host you on their page or blog, try to do the same for them. Or pay it forward and do it for another indie author. If you're always taking from the indie community, then eventually the handouts and favours will stop. You have to reciprocate for it to work and to make good connections.

So, those are my tips for making connections in the indie world. Not every author you'll meet on Facebook or Goodreads is indie, some are traditionally published or with a small press and that's just as good a connection too. The idea is that we, as a community, should be supporting each other and not tearing down someone because their sales figures differed from yours. It's all about a give and take and also trying to remember that as far as traditionally published and indie go, it's not an us and them world. Your mileage may, of course, vary.

Follow Joey on Facebook or here on her blog to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books.

Kate Hawkins - Guest Blogger - What Inspires My Writing

GUEST BLOGGER - KATE HAWKINS

 

A few weeks back I asked for some people to do a guest blog post. Here's the first one from an aspiring writer, Kate Hawkins. She's written about what inspires her writing. You can find her blog here, where she writes about the trials of writing Young Adult Fantasy novels. Here's a short bio from Kate herself:

  

"My name is Kate, and I live in north Texas. I am a proud member of Upward Bound, a program under the TRiO banner that helps low-income or first generation college students find scholarships, as well as teaches them how to apply and find financial aid for college. They also give tutorials, teach resume writing, and offer two waivers for each SAT/ACT test.
  

I intend to attend the University of Houston, majoring in their Digital Media program, which encompasses animation, photography, and several other things. Using that degree, I hope to animate things for Disney, Pixar, or Dreamworks and write part-time. My first choice was to move to Japan and animate for Bones, but, it was brought to my attention by a member of the dollars-bbs.org forum that the company would hire someone inside the country with more experience. 

 

I love to watch anime, hence me wanting to work for Bones. I also love to write. In addition to writing, I love reading. My favorite author is Darren Shan (darrenshan.com) and my favorite series by him is City of Trilogy."

 

What Inspires my Writing
Kate Hawkins

Authors get a lot of questions about writing every day. One of the most commonly asked is probably “What inspires your writing?” In reality, there are a lot of things that inspire an author’s writing. It could be anything from something that was aired on the news to an episode of Long Island Medium to something that happened in their day. I think what they really want to know is how to develop the ideas into decent plots.

For me, it’s easiest to jot down what first gave me the ideas. I’ll use the example of one of my works. The original idea came from a D&D session with a few friends. I’d created a clan with supernatural abilities by that time, and I wanted to use those characters for a story. For inspiration, I began reading fanfiction for various series. Many stories later, I’d compiled enough material to begin writing, even if I still needed a main plot; that would come later. Now again, the inspiration for writing comes from anywhere; I just read the fanfiction because I was actively looking for ideas rather than letting ideas come to me.

So, I began jotting down short, vague notes of what I wanted to put into the story. Once I had that, I developed those notes further, and I solidified them so that they made a good base for the start of the story. By then, I’d gotten short scenes and characters developing in my head, which is generally how my stories begin, even if some of the material is for much later in the story. After all of that had run through my head, it was like a puzzle; I had to figure out how to fit the pieces together.

 Your puzzle may be a bit different than mine. It might be a lot harder to fit together than what mine are, and other puzzles could be a hundred times easier. Still, a puzzle is a puzzle, and it’ll fit together one way or another. You’ve just got to figure out the perfect way to turn and flip the pieces, and eventually you get a beautiful image.

To write a guest blogger piece yourself, check out this post or email Joey at bugbooks@virginmedia.com

Introducing Amber Forbes - Advance Readers Needed

Meet new author AMBER FORBES. She is looking for readers and reviewers for advanced copies of her upcoming book. She is asking for people who would be willing to do a review, or even a short quote about her book. In return you would receive a free advanced copy of her book WHEN STARS DIE before it hits shelves, hopefully in the late summer of 2013.

Amber describes the book as one of paranormal romance, with the romance as more of a sub plot. It is a work of young adult fiction. To find out more, you can follow Amber on Facebook, or on WHEN STARS DIE Facebook or even at the above link.

If you are interested in doing a review, you can contact me at bugbooks@virginmedia.com or Amber on thedancingwriter@gmail.com