Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "rafflecopter"

If you missed the last giveaway, don't worry, there is another chance for you to win a signed copy of my new release Coincidences

Author Darcia Helle recently interviewed me about the book, and is running a giveaway on her blog for the next couple of weeks. Here's the link you need: http://quietfurybooks.com/blog/2012/0...

It's a Rafflecopter giveaway, which makes it even easier to enter. For example, if you already follow me on Twitter or have liked my Facebook page, you can enter the giveaway with one click!

Good luck!

Those of you who follow my blog will know that I am also a resident author at the indie writer's forum, Bestsellerbound.com.

Darcia Helle, J. Michael Radcliffe, and I, have set up a spin-off blog, called "BestsellerBound Recommends", which is a blog dedicated to finding and promoting/recommending the best in indie literature.

If you're a reader, I hope you will stop by the blog often as we will be reviewing our favourite indie books and letting you know which ones we think everyone should read. There will also be guest posts by indie authors that will also be of interest to readers.

If you're an indie author, we hope you'll send us submissions. We don't accept purely promotional posts about your books, that's not what the site is about, but we will accept well-written, entertaining posts from you. Check out our submissions guidelines on the blog for information. There are lots of ways we can help you promote your books, for example, if you have a books trailer, we can feature it on the blog, or you can ask us to host a giveaway of one of your books.


There are already a couple of reviews up on the site, Darcia has reviewed Charles Colyott's novel, Changes -- A Randall Lee Mystery, and I've reviewed, Quentin R. Bufogle's book, Horse Latitudes.

To celebrate the launch, we are running a giveaway where you can win your choice of an e-book from myself, Darcia, or Michael. You have until 31st August 2012 to enter!

Here's a link to the blog: http://quietfurybooks.com/bestsellerb...


I hope to see you there!

On Darcia Helle's blog this month, you can win some fabulous prizes! There are two prize packages up for grabs, each with 6 e-books and a Kindle cover! Check it out at the link below:


http://quietfurybooks.com/blog/2013/0...

Prize package 1 includes a copy of my latest novel, Haunted!



Good luck!

It's a pleasure to welcome author Andrew Blackman back to my blog. I interviewed him back in
2011 when I read his award winning debut novel On The Holloway Road. I loved that book, so when I heard Andrew had released another novel recently, I had to get a copy! I'm so glad I did because it's just as great as his first one. A Virtual Love is a 5 star read that I would recommend to anyone who loves a good story. It's all about our obsession with the Internet and what can happen when people take things to extremes.

After reading his latest book, I asked Andrew back here for a chat. He's very generously offered to give away a signed paperback copy of "A Virtual Love" to one of my blog followers. To be in with a chance to win, just follow the link to the Rafflecopter giveaway. It's easy entry and a fabulous prize! The giveaway ends on 30th April, so be quick!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Here's the interview:






"A Virtual Love" is all about how people can pretend to be who they want to be online. Have you ever pretended to be someone else on the Internet, or come across someone who has?

I don’t deliberately assume different identities online, but I find myself doing it anyway. My blog persona is a version of me, but it’s a heavily edited version, designed for external consumption. It’s not just writers who do this either – take a look at any friend’s Facebook profile, and I bet that what you see is not a rounded representation of who that person is. At best it represents what that person thinks is important, and what image they want to construct. Most people don’t set out to deceive or to withhold or to construct new identities, but subconsciously we do it all the time.


Jeff Brennan has a massive following on his blog. If you had a blog with that much influence, what would you blog about, and why?

I would blog about politics, but not in the narrow sense of Westminster food fights between Conservative and Labour. I’d blog about the big issues that affect people’s lives, like war, poverty, human rights, climate change, social injustice. That’s what politics means to me, but unfortunately it often gets reduced to bipartisan name-calling and the endless production of minor scandals, which just distract us from the real issues.

This is an interesting one, because I know that my own view of e-books has changed since 2011. When I asked you what you think of e-books in our 2011 interview, you said: 



"Not much! I have always loved books, and currently don’t see an ebook offering anything that a physical book doesn’t (at least in fiction – in non-fiction or reference I can certainly see that the ability to search by keyword and to include videos or other material would enhance the reading experience). For me, novels are a respite from the world of gadgets and electronic screens. Everyone always tells me how great it is that I can carry hundreds of books with me at once, but I’ve never wanted to do that – one at a time is enough for me!"

Do you still feel the same way, or have you, like me, become attached to your Kindle (or other e-reader)?

I have gained a greater appreciation for the practical benefits of a Kindle in certain situations, but am still a book-lover at heart. Last year I lived in Barbados, and used my Kindle to keep up with the latest releases in British fiction, most of which weren’t available in the local bookshops and libraries. I’m moving around a lot at the moment, and a Kindle is very useful in these circumstances. But if I was settled in one place, and had space for lots of books, I’d choose paper every time, mainly because I prefer the reading experience, and I prefer buying from independent bookshops. I wrote a blog post explaining it in more detail.

When I last interviewed you in 2011, you had just finished writing "A Virtual Love" and started working on a third novel. How much progress have you made with that one, and can you tell us a bit about it?

It’s moving along nicely, although I still have quite a bit left to do. It’s a part-historical, part-contemporary novel. The historical part features a real-life ancestor of mine, who was claimant to the Spanish throne in the mid-19th century but gave it all up to move to England and be a photographer. Then there’s 21st-century story (not based on my real family!) about a man whose marriage is falling apart for reasons he can’t understand. Discovering the story of his ancestor makes him see his own life in a new light, and he starts to make radical changes.

Interesting. I like the idea of a historical part and a modern day part to the story. Can't wait to read it!

"A Virtual Love" is a compelling story, told by multiple narrators. What gave you idea to write the book in the first person from the viewpoint of so many different characters? I think it was quite an original way to tell the story, and worked well.

I saw the main character in the book, Jeff Brennan, as the kind of person who defines himself by what other people think of him. So I thought it would be interesting to reflect that in the narrative structure of the book, and have the story narrated by all the other characters, but never by Jeff himself. I wanted to create the idea of a character who only exists when he’s being observed. I used first person because I wanted each view to be highly subjective, so that the reader questions each narrative and forms an idea of Jeff based on the personal, self-serving and sometimes conflicting accounts of those around him.


"A Virtual Love" shows us that life has changed considerably for most people since the advent of the Internet. Tell us one thing you love about the Internet and one thing you hate about it?

I love the way that it puts the whole world at your fingertips, allowing you instant access to knowledge, ideas and people around the world. I hate the way that this often leads to feelings of dissatisfaction and being rushed. There’s always more out there, more websites to visit, more blogs and Twitter comments and emails to keep up with, more information to gather, and no matter how much time you spend online, it’s never enough. So there’s a paradox of a tremendous time-saving technology that leaves us feeling frenetic and hurried.

True... I'm always feeling as if I'm in a mad rush to do everything LOL


Who designed the cover of your novel?

My publisher, Legend Press, arranged the whole thing. They used a freelance designer, Gudrun Yobst of Yote Design. Gudrun also designed the cover of my first novel, "On the Holloway Road", and I was really happy with both.



They're both great covers.

Have you read any good books lately?

I really enjoyed The Quiddity of Will Self by Sam Mills. It’s something completely different – a literary comedy with Will Self at the centre, featuring murder mysteries, orgies, ritual author worship and bizarre scientific experiments. I also liked The Almost Lizard by fellow Legend Press author James Higgerson. It’s about a TV-obsessed boy who creates fantasy versions of his own life in the form of TV soap operas filmed inside his head, and how the fantasies start to take over his life. Really inventive, well-written satire combined with a compelling character study.

They sound good. More books for my never-ending to-read list!

Where is the best place for people to keep up to date with your writing news?

The best place is on my website. I have a news page where I give updates of all my events and appearances, and I blog regularly – sometimes about my own news, and other times about books in general, or literary events, or aspects of the writer’s life. I’m also on Twitter and Facebook.

Do you prefer Twitter or Facebook, and why?

I prefer Twitter, because it’s easier to meet new people and have interesting conversations. Facebook is more geared to interacting with your existing friends, and I prefer to do that face to face. I think the best conversations about books take place on book blogs and on Goodreads.com, although I don’t have time to go on Goodreads as much as I used to.

You recently had a book launch in London for "A Virtual Love". How did that go?

It went very well. My publisher arranged it, which is good because I’m useless at organising parties! Lots of people came, and my speech and reading went well. I posted some photos here.

Nice photos. It looks like it was a success!

Do you have any tips for book promotion?

Go into local bookshops and buy books (not always your own!). For "On the Holloway Road", my local bookshop Prospero’s Books in Crouch End was really supportive, placing the book prominently in their window display and selling lots of copies – I was on their bestseller list for a while! That was largely because I was a regular customer and they’d seen me in the shop all the time, so when I had a book out, they were happy to help.

I think you're right. We tend to concentrate on Internet promotion rather than in stores. That's a good tip. Thanks.

Do you have any other news for your readers?

I’m happy to report that "A Virtual Love" has picked up some great reviews lately – I’ve compiled them all on a page on my website, which I’ll keep updating as new ones are added.

Well, it's a brilliant book, so I'm sure you'll be adding lots more great reviews there!

Thank you for answering my questions, Andrew, I'm so pleased that the book is doing well for you, and wish you continued success! I'm looking forward to reading the next one!!

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Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!! a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good Luck!

We currently have some great giveaways taking place on the BestsellerBound Recommends blog.

2 e-book copies of The Recluse Storyteller by Mark W. Sasse (8 days left to enter!)



Go here to enter: http://quietfurybooks.com/bestsellerb...




4 e-book copies of Immortal Bound by Jennifer Sage (10 days left to enter!)




Enter here: http://quietfurybooks.com/bestsellerb...

A pair of Victorian-style earrings, by author Moriah Densley! (13 days left to enter!)




Enter here: http://quietfurybooks.com/bestsellerb...


Keep an eye on the blog as we often have giveaways running.

Good luck!

I wanted to let you all know about a giveaway that is currently running on BestsellerBound Recommends. You can enter to win 1 of 5 Kindle copies of my new release, Far Away In Time.

You don't need a Kindle eReader to read Kindle books. You can download a free app from Amazon, and read on your PC, Mac, smartphone, iPad, etc.: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html...

It's an easy-entry Rafflecopter draw, so if you're already following me on Facebook or Twitter, it's just one-click entry!

Here's a link to the giveaway. You'll also find an excerpt from one of the stories there.

http://quietfurybooks.com/bestsellerb...

Good luck!




Our lives are a series of stories, and we are the characters with
the starring roles. The memories, regrets, secrets, and struggles that
fill these pages are at once unique and relatable. These stories
belong to us all.

Eight unforgettable tales reaching out to a place Far Away In Time...