Amy Kuivalainen's Blog, page 2
February 11, 2018
Feb Update
Hi Everyone,
Where did January go??? Got a not so crazy feeling that this year is going to be full on!
Things are going down in the weird writing world of Amy. So far this year I have:
*Completed another re-write of Jael/Mychal book. I have a draft that I've proof read and while it still needs more work I feel like its FINALLY heading in the right direction. Exorcists are bitches to write. It's really one of the stories I've had serious doubts over but it has refused to let me go and that is generally a sign I should keep working on it. Once I finish the next round of changes it will go to the wise beta readers for plot/sensitivity/wtfAmy comments. I have a pretty exciting ending that leaves it way open for more stories.
*I've submitted a final assignment for uni which means that I'm now on a break for a whole semester (at least) and can have some breathing room to get more writing done.
*Today I've cracked out 1500 new words of Chapter Seven of KINGDOM, Book Three of the Blood Lake Chronicles. If you follow my social media you would have seen me lamenting yesterday about how my characters have already messed my structure up. This is pretty typical of this group to be honest. They like to surprise me and make work around them. In saying that its been FUN so far. It always takes me the first 20k words of a book to really find my groove but it is coming together. Hopefully I will get it finished during my uni break time. That's the plan anyway. There is lots of magic and ravens and wolves and cities inside trees and magical swords...all the good stuff.
*I have a New Release Mailing List! Hurray! Draft2Digital has been amazing so far and they also have a nifty feature of creating a sign up list for readers. If you want an email notification of when I release a new book please sign up here. At the most I release two books a year, so don't worry, you aren't going to spammed.
I've recently become obsessed with ( and HIGHLY recommend) the following:
*Ancient Magus Bride - This anime has knocked my socks off. Celtic myth, cool mages, DRAGONS, NORDIC MAGIC...I am so in love. Its like a Studio Ghibli created a whole series. Funimation has the English dub, Crunchyroll has subtitles so pick your poison and give it a shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aCaU...
*Uprooted - Naomi Novik. I know I'm the last person reading this. Its been on my TBR since it was released but I finally got a hold of the Audible version in January. It was on a Friday. Saturday I bought the book. Sunday I finished it. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. Russian Fairytale vibe, beautiful perfect story. If you havent read it, give it a shot. It came along right when my creative well was bone dry and filled me up with magic and wonder and Dragons and forest magic.
That's pretty much all from me. A reminder that WYLT is Free for Valentines Day so if you want a bit of hot gothic fae romance in your life pick yourself up a copy here.
Where did January go??? Got a not so crazy feeling that this year is going to be full on!
Things are going down in the weird writing world of Amy. So far this year I have:
*Completed another re-write of Jael/Mychal book. I have a draft that I've proof read and while it still needs more work I feel like its FINALLY heading in the right direction. Exorcists are bitches to write. It's really one of the stories I've had serious doubts over but it has refused to let me go and that is generally a sign I should keep working on it. Once I finish the next round of changes it will go to the wise beta readers for plot/sensitivity/wtfAmy comments. I have a pretty exciting ending that leaves it way open for more stories.
*I've submitted a final assignment for uni which means that I'm now on a break for a whole semester (at least) and can have some breathing room to get more writing done.
*Today I've cracked out 1500 new words of Chapter Seven of KINGDOM, Book Three of the Blood Lake Chronicles. If you follow my social media you would have seen me lamenting yesterday about how my characters have already messed my structure up. This is pretty typical of this group to be honest. They like to surprise me and make work around them. In saying that its been FUN so far. It always takes me the first 20k words of a book to really find my groove but it is coming together. Hopefully I will get it finished during my uni break time. That's the plan anyway. There is lots of magic and ravens and wolves and cities inside trees and magical swords...all the good stuff.
*I have a New Release Mailing List! Hurray! Draft2Digital has been amazing so far and they also have a nifty feature of creating a sign up list for readers. If you want an email notification of when I release a new book please sign up here. At the most I release two books a year, so don't worry, you aren't going to spammed.
I've recently become obsessed with ( and HIGHLY recommend) the following:
*Ancient Magus Bride - This anime has knocked my socks off. Celtic myth, cool mages, DRAGONS, NORDIC MAGIC...I am so in love. Its like a Studio Ghibli created a whole series. Funimation has the English dub, Crunchyroll has subtitles so pick your poison and give it a shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aCaU...
*Uprooted - Naomi Novik. I know I'm the last person reading this. Its been on my TBR since it was released but I finally got a hold of the Audible version in January. It was on a Friday. Saturday I bought the book. Sunday I finished it. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. Russian Fairytale vibe, beautiful perfect story. If you havent read it, give it a shot. It came along right when my creative well was bone dry and filled me up with magic and wonder and Dragons and forest magic.
That's pretty much all from me. A reminder that WYLT is Free for Valentines Day so if you want a bit of hot gothic fae romance in your life pick yourself up a copy here.
November 23, 2017
Blaise Release and Update
Hey Everyone!
December is going to be a massive book month here in Camp Amy so here is a brief rundown.
If you have been on my social media in the last few days you would have seen me FREAKING OUT about my awesome new cover for BLAISE, book 2 of the Blood Lake Chronicles. One more time with feeling....
December is going to be a massive book month here in Camp Amy so here is a brief rundown.
If you have been on my social media in the last few days you would have seen me FREAKING OUT about my awesome new cover for BLAISE, book 2 of the Blood Lake Chronicles. One more time with feeling....
YUP. I'm feeling it alright.
Here's a description :
‘The stories claim I was born from a union of a demon and nun…well, least they got half of it right.’
Eldon Blaise, magician and misfit, has arrived at Gwaed Lyn to turn Rosa’s life upside down. Not only is he claiming to be the lost son of Eli Vane and his human wife Deryn, Rosa’s ancestor, but that he also used to be none other than Merlin Wylt, the magician of legend who fought by King Arthur’s side.
The curse the Autumn Queen has placed over the Aos Si is breaking, but she isn’t prepared to go down without a fight, and releases the one person that brought the great Merlin to his knees…Nimue.
Her spirit broken from a lifetime imprisoned by the Autumn Queen, Nimue must convince the Vanes to trust her. She wants to be free of the Queen forever, but winning over Merlin is going to be no easy task. She broke his heart, and being together again will bring back a life of pain and passion that neither of them can fight.
To defeat the Autumn Queen and protect Gwaed Lyn, Merlin will have to stop running and become the powerful man he used to be…that includes having the fearless and formidable Nimue by his side.
OMG MERLIN RIGHT!
SO it is up for pre-order on all platforms for a special price of 0.99 so get in while it lasts. Click here for a universal link that will take you to any store you like. It is out on December 14th, I'm so excited to be able to finally continue the Vane family story and mash up some Arthurian mythology in for good measure. I always wanted to write Merlin, every since I was a brat who really loved the King Arthur stories. I'm not going to lie, I fan girled pretty hard researching this one and I'm so blessed I have the opportunity to write my own version of this amazing character.
NEXT!
Second Editions of Ashes of the Firebird and Rise of the Firebird will also be released across all ebook platforms on December 5th, so all you lovely readers who have been pissed that iBooks etc dont have the other books..well they are coming soon! As per the last post, my preorder plans for them didn't work so I'm just going to do a straight release.
ALSO,
In other book news my SECRET PROJECT is currently in structural re-writes (thanks to a structural edit from the awesome Hayley Stone) and will hopefully be tied up by the end of the month so I can focus 100% on KINGDOM, book 3 of The Blood Lake Chronicles. Fun times!
AND,
This December marks THREE YEARS since releasing my first book, Cry of the Firebird. I'm staggered at how quickly the time has flown by. There will be drinks to celebrate because lets face it you need to celebrate every fucking victory as a writer.
Amy out xo
November 7, 2017
An Update and Sexy Second Editions
It's been a while guys...I know. I always feel a bit guilty about leaving it so long between drinks but when you're working, doing uni, writing books and publishing, shit is bound to get a bit hectic.
Right. I've been underground finishing off a great Ancient History unit on the Later Roman Empire, getting inspired and fuelled for a future book I'm researching, and trying to keep my head above water. If you follow my social media you'll know Cry of the Firebird was a no 1 best seller in September in the Amazon store - holy shit guys what a moment. Which brings me to my next topic.
In September, the reason why I managed to sell as many books as I did was my exclusivity period with Amazon finished and I launched Cry of the Firebird across all e-book platforms. I've been getting messages from a whole swathe new readers about the other books and I can safely say, at the beginning of December Ashes of the Firebird and Rise of the Firebird will be universally released. At the moment they are still under exclusivity so sorry, we have to wait. I'm not sure if I am going to do a pre-order for them as there is some behind the scenes tweaking that needs to be sorted before that can happen. Also, I have just (literally in the last 30 minutes) finished sexy second editions of all of the Firebirds and damn, that's a shit tonne of words to edit and format. I'm waiting on proofs of the new paperbacks to arrive but the digitals are up and looking gorgeous. I wanted to do second editions for a whole bunch of reasons. Mainly, because no matter how many editors you use, and eyes go over your work to check and re-check, pesky mistakes still seem to get through. Also, I am an Aussie and I wanted US spelling and Grammar editions as most of my readers are currently in the US. It was a huge undertaking (I'm so dead all I want is vodka and Lord of the Rings movies) but I am really happy with the results and I hope you are too. I'm super blessed as an indie publisher that I can make these changes and be so much happier with the end product.
In Blood Lake Chronicles news, WYLT has also been released universally and I've had HEAPS of messages about WHERE THE FUCK IS BLAISE. I can tell you finally that it's currently with my kick-ass cover designer, Fiona, who is making something truly fucking amazing. This series, this character, is super important to me so I want the cover and story right. It's a tricky time of year for freelance editors and designers which is why I haven't announced a pre-order for it. As soon as I have all the pieces in my hot hands you guys will be the first to know. I am aiming for mid-December but I won't make promises without all those pieces. It is coming soon. Writing on book three, KINGDOM, has started slowly due to the mad fucking rush to get second editions of the Firebird Fairytales completed but it HAS started and damn is it gonna be a ride. Now that most of my publisher's workload is sorted I can put my Writer Hat back on and get stuck into it. It's a lot more Celtic Myth and I'm loving how the beginning is shaping up.
What else?
I have been reading some holy shit amazing books lately. I won't leave reviews for them because there isn't enough time but the ones that have really blown my shit out of the water (and made me get FULL Imposter Syndrome) are as follows:
All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Vampires, Witches, Daemons, Alchemy, Oxford...This series hit EVERYONE of my weaknesses and damn, like if you need your faith restored in incredible vampire books, seriously look no further. It's not a snack though, these books are MEALS. The writing is rich and incredible and you can tell Harkness seriously knows her shit. They are currently making the TV series with a whole cast of power house actors (Matthew Goode holy shit!) and I seriously can't wait.
The Sarah Weston Novels by Magnus
Flyte.Prague, Beethoven, Alchemy, Prodigies and Princes. After suffering from a massive book hangover from the All Souls Trilogy, this duology City of Dark Magic and City of Lost Dreams, was the perfect soloution. It's still keeping with alchemy and magic themes but tying in history and music aswell. It's not as heavy as the Harkness books but they were still a great series. The magic in it is awesome.
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.
Mysticism, Art, lost loves, reincarnations, historical romance, medieval scriptoriums... this book has it all. You know how you have those books that you think 'that looks great I really want to read that' but it takes you forever to get to them? This was such a book. It's been on my radar for years but like most books that fall into this category, it found me when I needed it most. I was suffering from a massive creative burn out and it was EXACTLY what I needed. It is an incredible book that ripped my heart clean out while re-building it at the same time. It's structured like a modern-day Dante's Inferno, that I am ridiculously obsessed with, and it just...no words. Still. It's a hard one to explain but worth the time.
Okay so that's all from me, for now. I will keep everyone posted on the BLAISE front and make lots of noise when all of the Firebirds are available universally. If you are doing NaNoWriMo, you are my hero and keep your chin up.
Amy x
Right. I've been underground finishing off a great Ancient History unit on the Later Roman Empire, getting inspired and fuelled for a future book I'm researching, and trying to keep my head above water. If you follow my social media you'll know Cry of the Firebird was a no 1 best seller in September in the Amazon store - holy shit guys what a moment. Which brings me to my next topic.
In September, the reason why I managed to sell as many books as I did was my exclusivity period with Amazon finished and I launched Cry of the Firebird across all e-book platforms. I've been getting messages from a whole swathe new readers about the other books and I can safely say, at the beginning of December Ashes of the Firebird and Rise of the Firebird will be universally released. At the moment they are still under exclusivity so sorry, we have to wait. I'm not sure if I am going to do a pre-order for them as there is some behind the scenes tweaking that needs to be sorted before that can happen. Also, I have just (literally in the last 30 minutes) finished sexy second editions of all of the Firebirds and damn, that's a shit tonne of words to edit and format. I'm waiting on proofs of the new paperbacks to arrive but the digitals are up and looking gorgeous. I wanted to do second editions for a whole bunch of reasons. Mainly, because no matter how many editors you use, and eyes go over your work to check and re-check, pesky mistakes still seem to get through. Also, I am an Aussie and I wanted US spelling and Grammar editions as most of my readers are currently in the US. It was a huge undertaking (I'm so dead all I want is vodka and Lord of the Rings movies) but I am really happy with the results and I hope you are too. I'm super blessed as an indie publisher that I can make these changes and be so much happier with the end product.
In Blood Lake Chronicles news, WYLT has also been released universally and I've had HEAPS of messages about WHERE THE FUCK IS BLAISE. I can tell you finally that it's currently with my kick-ass cover designer, Fiona, who is making something truly fucking amazing. This series, this character, is super important to me so I want the cover and story right. It's a tricky time of year for freelance editors and designers which is why I haven't announced a pre-order for it. As soon as I have all the pieces in my hot hands you guys will be the first to know. I am aiming for mid-December but I won't make promises without all those pieces. It is coming soon. Writing on book three, KINGDOM, has started slowly due to the mad fucking rush to get second editions of the Firebird Fairytales completed but it HAS started and damn is it gonna be a ride. Now that most of my publisher's workload is sorted I can put my Writer Hat back on and get stuck into it. It's a lot more Celtic Myth and I'm loving how the beginning is shaping up.
What else?
I have been reading some holy shit amazing books lately. I won't leave reviews for them because there isn't enough time but the ones that have really blown my shit out of the water (and made me get FULL Imposter Syndrome) are as follows:
All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Vampires, Witches, Daemons, Alchemy, Oxford...This series hit EVERYONE of my weaknesses and damn, like if you need your faith restored in incredible vampire books, seriously look no further. It's not a snack though, these books are MEALS. The writing is rich and incredible and you can tell Harkness seriously knows her shit. They are currently making the TV series with a whole cast of power house actors (Matthew Goode holy shit!) and I seriously can't wait.
The Sarah Weston Novels by Magnus
Flyte.Prague, Beethoven, Alchemy, Prodigies and Princes. After suffering from a massive book hangover from the All Souls Trilogy, this duology City of Dark Magic and City of Lost Dreams, was the perfect soloution. It's still keeping with alchemy and magic themes but tying in history and music aswell. It's not as heavy as the Harkness books but they were still a great series. The magic in it is awesome.
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.
Mysticism, Art, lost loves, reincarnations, historical romance, medieval scriptoriums... this book has it all. You know how you have those books that you think 'that looks great I really want to read that' but it takes you forever to get to them? This was such a book. It's been on my radar for years but like most books that fall into this category, it found me when I needed it most. I was suffering from a massive creative burn out and it was EXACTLY what I needed. It is an incredible book that ripped my heart clean out while re-building it at the same time. It's structured like a modern-day Dante's Inferno, that I am ridiculously obsessed with, and it just...no words. Still. It's a hard one to explain but worth the time.Okay so that's all from me, for now. I will keep everyone posted on the BLAISE front and make lots of noise when all of the Firebirds are available universally. If you are doing NaNoWriMo, you are my hero and keep your chin up.
Amy x
September 2, 2017
Cry of the Firebird Free!
'Cry of the Firebird' is now Free across all retailers....Permanently!
Check it out here :
https://www.books2read.com/u/bWZ1P0
Check it out here :
https://www.books2read.com/u/bWZ1P0
May 4, 2017
Eastern Gods for Kindle Scribe
Hey Everyone,
Apologies from being away from the blog for so many weeks. My life has been super crazy wrapping up projects and job hunting BUT exciting news!
Eastern Gods , book one of new YA Fantasy series Western Wars, is up on a Kindle Scout campaign for your view and vote! I'm crazy excited about this one. It would be really good for fans who enjoyed Sarah J Maas' Throne of Glass series or MTV's Shannara Chronicles.
This series is the first lot of books I wrote as a teenager. I finished the whopping, originally titled, Eastern Gods and Western Wars when I was about nineteen. It landed at 180k words. I believed in the story, I wanted it out there, and so it has been through a massive reworking and editing for the passed year. Its now split into two books, Eastern Gods and The Golden Queen and I can't wait for you to read them.
I love this series. It helped me survive a really dark period in my life and taught me so much about storytelling, craft and helped create a safe place in my mind where I could hang out. I was reading a lot of fantasy as a teen; loads of Lord of the Rings, Stephen Lawhead and Ian Irvine's View from the Mirror Quartet (please check it out - its so freaking great) and it is these writers and stories that shaped my passion for writing epic fantasy.
This series is a big one, twisted up with family, war, love, faith and magic. It's a hero quest and a coming of age and the secrets that you discover about your family as you grow older. It's about sacrifice and blood and forgiveness at it's most brutal.
Please check it out here, there is a huge sample on the site for you to read too so bonus!
Eastern Gods
Description
Enter a world of forgotten magic, kings, gods and the woman who will dare to defy them.
Prince Haldirian’s safe world is shattered when he captures a spy from the silent and forgotten Eastlands. There is only one scholar of the East who could stop the fear of war spreading, Aláenor of Silandáe.
The first female heir in history, highly intelligent and carrying a warrior swagger Aláenor isn’t what Haldirian has learned to expect from royal princesses.
The eastern spy Hilkiah reveals that he was sent by Mordecai, Emperor of the East and powerful dark magician residing in the city of Rotech. The West has turned their back on magic for centuries and fearing that war is imminent, a spying party is sent back to the East to discover the truth.
Mordecai is burning for payback on the western king who destroyed his life. He needs Aláenor to fulfill his revenge, and he will have her…even if he has to kill the man she loves and destroy her soul to do it.
February 5, 2017
EXCLUSIVE ARC GIVEAWAY
Wylt -Book One of The Blood Lake Chronicles is on an Exclusive ARC promotional Giveaway on Instafreebie!
A sexy gothic romance inspired by a new vampire origin story, tangled with the myth and magic of the Fae.
Rosa Wylt's life plans are disrupted when she is summoned back to Gwaed Lyn, an ancient estate in the Lake District. Struggling with childhood memories overshadowed by the wealthy Vane Family, Rosa is determined to learn of the ties that have kept the Wylt's bound to their benefactors for centuries. Rosa finds more than her own family's history when she uncovers the passionate, doomed love affair of a Vane ancestor... an ancestor that bears an uncanny resemblance to Balthasar, the only Vane that she cannot help being drawn to.
Nothing in the estate is as it seems and Rosa realizes it is called The Blood Lake for a reason...
Click here to claim your free copy now!
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/vEjWe
A sexy gothic romance inspired by a new vampire origin story, tangled with the myth and magic of the Fae.
Rosa Wylt's life plans are disrupted when she is summoned back to Gwaed Lyn, an ancient estate in the Lake District. Struggling with childhood memories overshadowed by the wealthy Vane Family, Rosa is determined to learn of the ties that have kept the Wylt's bound to their benefactors for centuries. Rosa finds more than her own family's history when she uncovers the passionate, doomed love affair of a Vane ancestor... an ancestor that bears an uncanny resemblance to Balthasar, the only Vane that she cannot help being drawn to.
Nothing in the estate is as it seems and Rosa realizes it is called The Blood Lake for a reason...
Click here to claim your free copy now!
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/vEjWe
December 18, 2016
Free Books on Insta Freebie
Hello Everyone
I just want to drop a quick line to let you know that I have two Instafreebie promotions running over Christmas!
Cry of the Firebird
A firebird hatches in the far corners of Russia, where gods still walk and magic slumbers, sparking a supernatural war that will tear the worlds apart.
Inspired by Finnish and Russian Mythology, 'Cry of the Firebird' is a noir paranormal series that brings to life the bloody fairy tales of the North in a new modern setting.
Born on the crossroads between worlds, Anya's magic is buried under grief until one fateful night it causes a firebird to hatch on her farm. Through a twist of dark magic it is sharing its body with Yvan, an ancient prince from legend.
With Yvan's dark magician brother Vasilli and other powerful enemies closing in around them, Anya has no choice but to sober up, follow Yvan into Skazki, the land of monsters and magic.
Find it here: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/Q9gh6
The Eagle Key
In the spirit of "The Princess Bride," "Stardust" and "Howl's Moving Castle" comes a story of adventure, redemption, magic and the ever perilous True Love.
After a hasty wish on the Evening Star, pensioner Martha Brown finds a key with the power to open the heart of all that it touches. When the Eagle Key opens a door to Faerie Martha is spurred to action. Fuelled by her anger at growing old without any adventures at all, Martha packs her bags and heads into Faerie determined to find one.
Saved from a carnivorous rose bush by Greyfeather, a wanted criminal, blatant flirt and scoundrel, Martha agrees to give him the use of the Eagle Key in exchange for helping her navigate her way through the pitfalls of Faerie.
Find it here:
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/zT28x
I just want to drop a quick line to let you know that I have two Instafreebie promotions running over Christmas!
Cry of the Firebird
A firebird hatches in the far corners of Russia, where gods still walk and magic slumbers, sparking a supernatural war that will tear the worlds apart.
Inspired by Finnish and Russian Mythology, 'Cry of the Firebird' is a noir paranormal series that brings to life the bloody fairy tales of the North in a new modern setting.
Born on the crossroads between worlds, Anya's magic is buried under grief until one fateful night it causes a firebird to hatch on her farm. Through a twist of dark magic it is sharing its body with Yvan, an ancient prince from legend.
With Yvan's dark magician brother Vasilli and other powerful enemies closing in around them, Anya has no choice but to sober up, follow Yvan into Skazki, the land of monsters and magic.
Find it here: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/Q9gh6
The Eagle Key
In the spirit of "The Princess Bride," "Stardust" and "Howl's Moving Castle" comes a story of adventure, redemption, magic and the ever perilous True Love.
After a hasty wish on the Evening Star, pensioner Martha Brown finds a key with the power to open the heart of all that it touches. When the Eagle Key opens a door to Faerie Martha is spurred to action. Fuelled by her anger at growing old without any adventures at all, Martha packs her bags and heads into Faerie determined to find one.
Saved from a carnivorous rose bush by Greyfeather, a wanted criminal, blatant flirt and scoundrel, Martha agrees to give him the use of the Eagle Key in exchange for helping her navigate her way through the pitfalls of Faerie.
Find it here:
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/zT28x
December 13, 2016
Price Drop on Firebird Fairytales Boxset
Try a darker kind of paranormal this Christmas Season.
The Firebird Fairytales Trilogy, a Nordic paranormal bestseller, now available for only $0.99 for Christmas.
US: http://amzn.to/2gFRAiw
AU: http://amzn.to/2hsPbod
The Firebird Fairytales Trilogy, a Nordic paranormal bestseller, now available for only $0.99 for Christmas.
US: http://amzn.to/2gFRAiw
AU: http://amzn.to/2hsPbod
October 20, 2016
Free Book Giveaway
The Eagle Key is now FREE !
Claim your copy here :
http://bit.ly/2ezALRZ
Love it? Please leave a review
Amy xo
Claim your copy here :
http://bit.ly/2ezALRZ
Love it? Please leave a review
Amy xo
July 3, 2016
Free Books Forth of July Weekend
Hi Guys
Its my birthday on the 4th of July so I'm celebrating with a swag of Free Book deals on Amazon.
Nab yourself some copies today!
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...
Its my birthday on the 4th of July so I'm celebrating with a swag of Free Book deals on Amazon.
Nab yourself some copies today!
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...
