Armchair BEA 2014: Giveaways!

Today is giveaway day at Armchair BEA, so to celebrate, I am giving away some ebooks. How many depends on how many people want them. And for the next couple of days, the second book in The Keepers’ Chronicles will only be $0.99.

 

Details below:

 

The Phantom Hour:

Mark has listened to his wife’s torments for long enough, and tonight he aims to shut her up for good.

But when the clocks go back, will his actions remain?

Or will the resetting of the hour reset his deeds?

Enter code: US68V until May 31^st here.

 

A Glimpse Into Darkness:

Set in the U.S.S.R in 1964, this short accompaniment to The Keepers’ Chronicles explores the missing years from book one. Lost without her mate, Serenity Cardea is barely clinging to what little sanity she has left. Every day is a struggle, and the only thing keeping her going is the family she surrounds herself with and her duties as protector of the balance between the races.

 

Deep in the Russian wilderness, the Wolves are in trouble. They’ve gotten on the wrong side of a group of vampires, and now their village has been burned to the ground. With Serenity’s help, they are forced to flee their home and start again.

Enter code: LY97K until May 31^st here.

 

Last Chance sale:

With her race saved from the brink of extinction, Serenity’s life could not be better. Married, finally, to Ray, and back in London for the first time in a century, retirement isn’t coming easy. Being a housewife was never in her make up.

But when Lizzy calls to say the Keepers’ records have been stolen, retirement is preferable over the danger they now face.

Targets once more, Serenity’s isn’t inclined to sit back and let her brothers and sisters face the losses she witnessed, but the order to move an entire race comes at a price.

Whoever is behind the threat, they show none of the mercy The Seats once did. No broken families left to suffer the loss of parents, aunts, uncles. This time they’ve gone too far, and when they take the lives of the race’s children, Serenity’s mind is made up.

This time they will be no threats, no mercy.

This time there’ll be no survivors.

Enter code: RR87M to get it for $0.99 until May 31^st here.

 

Some short stories that are free anyway:

 

Isolation:

Every six months, Amber and her friends head off to the beach for a night of drinking and fun.

But their plans soon change with what appears to be a horrific accident.

Things soon turn from bad to worse. And the question that remains is; was the death of their friend an accident?

Or is there someone else isolated with them, picking them off one by one?

 

Survival Instincts:

The happiest day of Leanne’s life turns sour, forcing her to run for her life.

 

The Perfect Gift:

Finding the perfect gift for friends and family is hard enough, but when your friends have such specific tastes, it can be murder.

 

So grab a free short story and get reading!

Armchair BEA 2014: Expanding Blogger Horizons and Short Stories

Expanding Blogger Horizons

 

In which Armchair BEA is pretty much my entire expanding horizons plan! I’m not big on advertising and these fancy affiliate things where people can click through to Amazon and I get money for it. I’m more a let things plod along at a nice pace and see where it goes.

 

But for those who want to expand on what they’re doing, there are options. Advertising on sites, joining NetGallery (Where my new book The Stars Are Falling is currently), offering incentives, and contacting authors. The list is pretty much endless, and doing everything on it will most likely take over your entire life.

 

Short Stories and Novellas.

 

I’m pretty much going to ignore the Novellas part because I’ve never written one, and rarely read them.

 

But short stories is something I know a lot about! I love them. This whole blog began because I wanted somewhere to review short stories, as most bloggers seem to exclude them. I have no idea why, because if you’re ever stuck for something to read or have very little time or want to fill your blog whilst you’re away, short stories are awesome. Quick, easy to read. Quick and easy to write. Cost very little in comparison to some novels. What’s not to love about them?

 

For me, the cost of my short stories depends on the length. If they’re under a few thousand words, then they’re free. If they’re over that, then they’re $.99. I would much rather charge a low price for a short story than a high one.

 

Another advantage of short stories for authors is that they are a great, cheap introduction to your work. A small investment for a new reader to see if they like your style, your stories, and you in general.

 

All in all, I love short stories. And speaking of short stories, here, have a free one! It’s called The Perfect Gift, and it has literally just gone up on Smashwords.

Armchair BEA: Author interaction and More than just words.

Author Interaction:

 

Interacting with other authors is something I have had to do a lot of, not just because of the blogging but because I am also an author. So I have two sides to the story. The first being as a blogger.

It isn’t often that I go out of my way to find authors to talk to, because I (normally) have the review requests page. That way they contact me and I get to look through and decide whether it is something I want to review or not.

Most of the time at the moment, however, I find free or paid short stories online and I read and review them that way. This doesn’t always work out so well. The main factor is that there are a lot of free short stories that really needed a professional hand before being published. And on that note, if something has been in serious need of an editor, then I will say so in my review. Honest reviews are what keep readers informed.

This approach, however, has led to a couple of less than savoury interactions. Nothing directly from the authors, as I think a lot of them are learning to let it go and not interact, but from author’s families. I’ve posted 1 and 2 star reviews in the past and then, a day or two later, several reviews from people with the same last name as the author have come along and ripped my review to shreds in their own glowing 5 star review.

For that, I take the ideal author approach: let it go. There is no point feeding the trolls, and if people are reading the reviews, then they will notice the same things that I do.

 

Now for the opposite side of things. As an author I LOVE to be contacted. Whether it be for an authorgaph or just a review, any and all are welcome. If anyone ever wants to tweet me, they are more than welcome. I will happily chat half the day away with someone about my books. But if you leave me a review, then I will read it, and leave it at that, because once you get into the habit of replying to them it is all too easy to feed the trolls.

 

More than just words:

 

Today we are also talking about multi-media books. Graphic novels, audio books, picture books, ect. And here is my more than likely unpopular opinion on these things.

 

Graphic novels are not something I read, because I spend too much time trying to work out who says what when and looking at the pictures, and for me, graphic novels provide a very spoiler rich environment. If someone dies on the next page, you can see it, loud and clear, and for me, that doesn’t work.

 

Picture books work, however, especially when it comes to books for children and those kids between children and young adult. And I love the idea of illustrated chapter headings, but again, but ‘adult’ books, I’m not sure I want my reading interrupted by pictures.

 

And here is where the really unpopular opinion comes in: audio books. I hate them. I’ve been around audio books since long before they became popular, as I grew up with a couple of partially sighted friends. For them, I thought they were great. I thought it was fantastic that people who couldn’t read were still able to read books.

But for me: no. I tried it once, and I forgot half the book before it was even half way through. I get that people find them easy and convenient, but nothing will ever beat an actual book for me. In part because I forget everything that is said to me, and in part because with a voice in my head reading to me it’s harder to make the pictures myself.

Armchair Book Expo 2014, Introductions and Literature

Introductions

 

1: Describe your blog in just one sentence, and list your social medias.

 

The title says it all on this one: Shot, sweet, and snappy (with the occasional long, sour, and snappy).

For more info, I’m on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Tumblr.

 

2: What was your favourite book last year? This year so far?

 

My favourite book of last year is one I didn’t really enjoy. I know, I know, that sounds really weird, but hear me out. It was the last in the Charlaine Harris True Blood series, and the reason it was my favourite book is because it was the last. I have been reading the books for so long, and when I’m that far into a series, I am committed to reading it until the end unless something goes really wrong. In this case, I was committed until the end, and when the end came, it was with a sigh of relief that I read the last book. So for that reason, it was my favourite book of the year.

 

This year’s book, however, already has a firm first place favourite. The King, by J.R Ward. For one simple reason (Warning: There are spoilers ahead.) Baby Wrath. And of course, the whole lead up to Baby Wrath and everything that surrounded Baby Wrath. Of course, I could have done without most of the first 50 chapters of the book, but so long as that ending doesn’t change, it will remain the best book I have read this year.

 

3: If you were stranded on a desert island what three books would you bring and why? What three non-book things and why?

 

Book 1: Dark Lover, because I can read it so many times and not be bored.

Book 2: Affliction by Laurell K Hamilton, because it was almost more awesome than The King.

Book 3: The Lake by Richard Laymon, because it is a fantastic horror book, and I can only hope I will be half as good as that one day.

 

Item 1: Laptop, so I can write my own books and have an endless supply of entertainment.

Item 2: Solar charger, so my laptop will never run out of battery!

Item 3: The World’s biggest box of matches, because I can fish, I can build, but can I hell build a fire, and I love being warm.

 

4: What book would you love to see as a movie?

 

Either the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (even though I doubt they will ever be able to get any of the Brothers right), or the Anita Blake series by Laurell K Hamilton. The former because I am completely and utterly in love with the series and I don’t see that ending any time soon. The latter because I think they would make a great series of films if all the crap and pointless sex was cut from it.

 

5: Please tell us a bit about yourself: Who you are, how long you have been blogging.

 

I am me! I am crazy and mental and I change my mind often. I read and I write. I love creating, and I love building a character up just to see how much they can take before they break. Short stories keep me going when I’m in a reading funk, and my favourite place to read is my bed.

As for this blog: I’m coming up on its second anniversary this year, and it has been plodding along quite nicely since I began.

 

Literature:

 

What do you think of when you think of literature?

 

When I think of literature I don’t think of a genre or a style of writing or the classics. I think of books. I think of the shelves and shelves of stories that people made up that are just begging to be read. The good ones, the bad ones, every single one that has been passed around between friends and ranted or raved about. The books that inspired generations, predicted the future or got left behind in some hotel room. The ones that were turned into movies and the ones that never will be. To be literature is the world of books and everything that entails. From concept to creation, reading to pages falling out.

Sure, it’s split up between genres and styles and time periods, but at the core of it every single book is made up of the exact same letters turned into words into sentences into paragraphs into chapters and into entire worlds that never before existed.

Armchair BEA Young Adult Lit

I’m skipping over today’s Keeping it Fresh as I haven’t really been going long enough to worry about that, and stepping straight into Young Adult lit.

It seems to be the genre at the moment, whether it is dystopia or romance, and it appeals to both adults, young adults, and children, too. So what are my favourite books, ones that everyone should own?

The first has to be the Chronicles of Narnia. The books are nice and short, detailed, and exciting. I’ve read these since I was small, and I adore the new movies, too. Voyage of the Dawn Treader has always been my favourite book, and movie, too. This is the series that first started my fascination with twists on reality; whole other worlds that could very well be hiding within ours.

Second up has to be the point horror collection. I’ve recently started rebuilding my collection of these, and even though there are well over 100 books in the set, I will have them all again. They’re horror, clearly, but not too dark for even the mildest of composures. I have also been reading these since I was young, hence my need to rekindle my collection of the books.

Third up is the Nightworld Series by L.J Smith. These were my first vampire books. My first taste of the paranormal, and I was hooked. I adore the entire series, even though it has never been finished. There is one book left in the series, and I am hoping that one day it will be released. Hopefully before I am too old to read without binoculars!

Fourth on my list of favourite children’s and young adult books has to be fairy tales. None in particular, but fairy tales in general. They are great for inspiration, fantastic for reading to kids, and some of the older, darker ones make great tales for around camp fires. All in all, fairy tales are the best.

And finally, on the list of young adult and children, Alice in Wonderland. Somewhere on my shelves I have a hardback copy of the story, and one of the things I remember from it is the way the words were laid out on the page. Not just left to right for the whole of the page, but twisting and turning. It caught my eye and had me hooked.

So there you have it, five stories or series designed for the younger audience but will make children of all ages smile. What are your favourite stories from when you were younger or even from when you were older?

Armchair BEA Giveaway, and Last Chance Release!

Today is a double celebration day. Not only is it the giveaway day for Armchair BEA but it is also release day for Last Chance.

So the rules are simple: Join in with the release party anywhere, whether it is commenting here, sharing the buy links to your twitter or sharing the facebook statuses, everything counts. Simply tag your tweets #KCLastChance, comment here, or share any facebook status about the book from my facebook page.

Giveaways will be happening every hour all day long, and include ebooks, signed bookmarks, and even some signed paperbacks.

So what are you waiting for? Join in with the party and win some free stuff!

Armchair BEA Development of a Blog

Short, Sweet, and Snappy started just under a year ago as a way of offering something few others did: short story reviews. When I began my writing career a little over two years ago, I did so with a short story called Consequences, published by Pocket Novel Publishing. Given what I knew about publishing at the time, I set about getting some reviews. Except that I ran into a problem: everyone wanted novels.

Full length stories, 50,000 words or more. But Consequences was only 5,000 words, a fraction of the word count most people set as their minimum. Hard as I tried, one thing I couldn’t find was anyone who wanted to review or was even willing to review short stories. Blog after blog stated in their review terms that they did not review short stories.

Why? I thought. They’re quick and easy to read, don’t need a huge amount by way of reviews, and if you find yourself without much time for reading one month, then they are a great way of keeping the blog going without having to put as much time in as reading novels.

Of course, things didn’t start straight away, and for a long time I wondered whether I would even have the time to run a review blog. However, I set a date, got it set up, and started the blog on August 1^st 2012.

It began as purely a review blog. The occasional guest post from authors, and more reviews than you can shake your ereader at. I downloaded dozens of free short stories from the internet to start my reviews going, and then waited patiently for requests to come in. They did, and still are doing, and day by day, the blog is growing.

Short, Sweet, and Snappy changed again in recent months when I incorporated my personal writing blog with the review blog. This change happened because of two things: the first being that in the months running up to my novel releases, I am swamped. The second being that the blog that came with my website is a bit naff.

So to combat both of these problems—a lack of time and the need for a better, brighter writing blog—I merged the two, so now this blog is a combination of both reviews and writing. It is working well so far, and I hope to keep it going for years to come.

As for moving forward, I am hoping to have a few more giveaways, lots more reviews, and a few more bits and pieces regarding guest posts and my own writing. I have been toying with the idea of a book of the month feature and maybe a flash fiction section, but those are off in the future and yet to be determined.

But for now, I am plodding along quite happily, posting away, and having fun. After all, that’s what this whole thing is about, right? Fun!

Armchair BEA Introductions

Welcome to the first day of Armchair BEA. If you would like to know more about what exactly the Armchair BEA is and why it is you’ll be seeing it all over twitter and blogs over the next few days, then check out their site here. In the meantime, let me introduce you to myself…

Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event? 

Yes. This is my third year now, though my first year was last second and completely unofficial. I stumbled upon the Armchair BEA via my friend Girl-Who-Reads, and the posts she had up on her website. I enjoyed myself so much that the following year, I joined properly. So this is now my third year with the Armchair BEA, and I am looking forward to many more to come!

So here’s the why. It’s a great way to meet new people, see who else is in the blogging world, and generally have a good time. You might also learn a few things along the way, which is never a bad thing!

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 

 

I am me, which doesn’t really tell you anything! I’m an author, lover of all things paranormal, dressmaker, and hat enthusiast. That is me in a nutshell. I’m a whole lot more complicated than that in real life, but the basics are easy enough.

I’ve been an author for about two years now, officially at least, and a lover of all things paranormal since my teens. My dressmaking came about because all the clothes I like are too expensive to buy so I learned how to make them, and hats are just pretty.

And now for the blogging, I blog because I have to. Apparently it is one of those things we authors have to do. Website, twitter, facebook page, blog… and half a dozen other things that I’m sure I’m forgetting. But having to blog and blogging are two different things these days. I started because I had to, but I stuck around because it’s fun.

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.

 

I’m going to the gym. And that thought alone scares the hell out of me. See, the thing is I have always been big, and in recent years the doctors discovered that my thyroid is broken. Now, this isn’t something I let get me down, at all. I feel fantastic, most of the time, but recently I decided that I want to do more than I am doing. So I joined a gym. I have to go for twelve months, and I’m hoping the fact that I can’t stand wasting money will force me into actually going to the gym. So fingers crossed, and there’s something about me that most people don’t know!

Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location.

 

I am blogging from not-so-sunny England. I actually live in Hartlepool, but I’m not going to talk about that, because there isn’t really much here unless you like pirates. What I would like to talk about is Northumberland. It’s a wonderful place that is more hills and sheep than people, and it borders Scotland. I was up there recently for a holiday, and I took my laptop. This view is why:

The whole area looks like that. Hills and trees, ponds and streams, beaches and oceans. Stunning beauty everywhere you look. What more could you ask for? Except maybe a stable internet connection.

What are you currently reading, or what is your favourite book you have read so far in 2013? 

 

This year has seen me getting the last of the Sookie Stackhouse books, and that is my current reading list. However, this is one set of books I can’t wait to finish. You know that feeling you get when you’re reading a series and are so far through it you just have to finish? But it’s gone so far downhill that you’re not sure you really want to? Yeah, I’m getting that with this one. It is almost over, though.

The other books I have been reading this year are the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Lover at Last came out this year, and I devoured it. Worth the wait? For me, absolutely.

I’m also still reading short stories at quite a rate, so they will keep me going for a while!