K.J. Simmill's Blog, page 83

Darrienia Final teaser

For my final teaser I decided to do something a little different. I thought this image on its own was so fantastic that I didn’t want to add any text, instead I will leave you with this small excerpt.

“The timeless room gave pause to their own mortality, before them countless figures had sat in this very place. The endless athenaeum was dedicated to one sole purpose, the obtaining of power. Within the great towers, every tome, parchment, or carving, of magical craft and prophecy could be found. Some mere facsimiles, but nothing, not even a single aged shred of parchment, would further deteriorate within these walls, nothing that was, except for the living.” Darrienia.

This is one of my favourite images, as the artist took numerous things from the book and included them in the picture.

It is now just days away, don’t forget to pick up your copy here:

Darrienia:

Kindle US $4.99 Darrienia (The Forgotten Legacies Series Book 1)

Kindle UK £3.99 Darrienia (The Forgotten Legacies Series Book 1)

Herbal Lore

US $2.99 Herbal Lore

UK £1.99 Herbal Lore

Filed under: author, charity, Gaming, reading, writing

Darrienia, Teaser Three

Good morning everyone.

Welcome to the third instalment of the Darrienia teasers.

It is now only 12 days to release and 11 days to the charity draw, if you haven’t entered and intend to, make sure you do so before midnight (GMT) on 30th August.

I want to take this chance to thank everyone for their on-going support, I was unsure about doing a donation giveaway event, so I am really thrilled to have raised over 50% of the target.

Don’t forget, both of my books are donating a percentage of their royalties to charity and they are now available for pre-order on all books sites in both e-book and paperback format, I have included the Amazon links below for the Kindle editions, but it is also available on Kobo, Apple ibooks, and over 70 other e-book stores.

Darrienia:

Kindle US $4.99 Darrienia (The Forgotten Legacies Series Book 1)

Kindle UK £3.99 Darrienia (The Forgotten Legacies Series Book 1)

Herbal Lore

US $2.99 Herbal Lore

uk £1.99 Herbal Lore

Filed under: author, charity, reading, writing

Darrienia and Herbal Lore, why I chose the charities I did

Hi all,

I hope you are well on this wonderful overcast morning.

As you know my debut books Darrienia and Herbal Lore are both due to be released on September 1st. Darrienia, as well as the fund raising raffle (see here for details), is donating 10% of author royalties to the UHNM (University Hospital of North Midlands) for use by their NICU (Neonatal intensive care unit) and Herbal Lore is donating 15% to the DMWS (The St John and Red Cross Defence Medical Welfare Service) 

A question a number of people have asked me recently is why I chose those specific charities, so I thought I would elaborate.

Why I chose the UHNM – NICU

I chose the UHMN charity, not only due to it being my local hospital, but because I have experience with the NICU department and feel they are truly deserving of some support. My pregnancy seemed like an easy one, very few symptoms, and everything seemed great. Until he stopped growing at 24 weeks. I started to have to go for regular scans as it became apparent that he was not only failing to grow, but he had problems with his heart and wasn’t moving as much as he should have been. Count the kicks became a nerve wracking part of my every day life, as did ultra sounds every other day. The aim was to keep him inside for as long as possible, but eventually, with his limited movement, and his heart concerns, it became apparent he would need to be delivered early. He was born at 34 weeks by C-section weighing 3lb 6oz, I remember I could hold him in two hands, he was so tiny. After the C-section all I wanted to do was see him. When I was discharged it broke my heart to leave him, but the staff were so fantastic, they were all really nice and offered so much support and reassurance. I remember there are three people there who really stuck in my mind, the first was a lady called Libby, she was fantastic, she really went above on beyond, it was Mother’s day when I was there, in her own time she had gone around every baby and taken a footprint so that all the mum’s could have a personalised Mother’s day card, I still have mine somewhere. Another lady was Julie, she was one of the nurses, she used to come onto the ward we were on to check on us, I was reading Terry Pratchett to Kaine as we cuddled, seeing we had a mutual interest we swapped books and talked about so many things, she really put me at ease. The third person I remember is Rose, I joked at one point that we should call her Resus Rose as she was in charge of showing everyone how to do baby CRP, as well as the normal responsibilities. These three ladies, along with all the wonderful staff made what was a terrifying experience bearable. I felt safe leaving my son in their care. They really instilled confidence.

We were in the NICU for about six weeks, I met a lot of parents who had been transferred here out of the area because this area had the better NICU care, of course with all the transfers this meant they were often full to capacity. They worked hard, and just have a natural ability to put the parents at ease and they were always so loving to the babies, treating them as if they were their own. They were so great I feel the need to give something back. I still drop off chocolates each year at Christmas, but I hope with the raffle and the royalty donations to help support them in other ways too. Even if my book doesn’t make many sales, it is just a small way of saying thank you.

The left picture shows Kaine at a week old, the middle at about 3 weeks and the right one him now

Why I chose the DMWS (The St John and Red Cross Defence Medical Welfare Service)

Unlike the UHNM NIC I have no personal connection to this charity. The DMWS provide practical and emotional support to military personnel, their families and other entitled civilians when they are in hospital, rehabilitation or recovery centres and support patients from all three services, wherever they serve.

I have a great respect for our armed forces and believe that they should get the best care possible, whether they are injured in combat, or civilian life. We owe these people a great debt. These are people who are willing to sacrifice everything they are, everything they have for our country, and they deserve to be treated like the heroes they are.

I am hoping by donating some of the royalties received from Herbal Lore to not only bring attention to this charity, but to the care and support available to those who need it.

You can find out more about the DMWS here

In case you are wondering, the reason UHNM gets 10% and DMWS get 15% is because as they are priced differently the royalties vary, this way each charity receive about the same.

My books are now available for pre-order

Darrienia:

Kindle US $4.99  Darrienia (The Forgotten Legacies Series Book 1)

Kindle UK £3.99 Darrienia (The Forgotten Legacies Series Book 1)

Herbal Lore

US $2.99 Herbal Lore

uk £1.99 Herbal Lore

Thanks for stopping by, don’t forget to join me on Friday for another Darrienia teaser.

Have a great week.

Filed under: author, charity, writing

Critical Failures: Caverns and Creatures book 1 by Robert Bevan

Good morning everyone. I hope you are all well.

Yesterday I finished reading Critical Failures: Caverns and Creatures book 1 by Robert Bevan. Target wise I would say the intended audience was teenage/ young adult males and perhaps South Park fans.

The book itself is not too dissimilar from the concept of the 80s cartoon Dungeons and Dragons, where a group of teenagers are pulled into the fictional world and need to learn to survive using their skills. In the case of Critical Failures, this occurs thanks to a request for a new Cavern Master to run the game. It follows the journey of the characters as they come to terms with their pre-relocation actions and their character’s stats and abilities.

I wanted to read this book as, although I had characters rolled and scenarios ready, I have never actually had the chance to role-play and it is something I have always wanted to do. I thought the premise sounded like fun.  The book itself contains a lot of toilet and adolescent humour, so if that’s your cup of tea it is good for a chuckle. It doesn’t matter if you have any experience or knowledge of role-playing as initially the rules are explained and as things become real there is no need to know when a dice roll is needed, or if a person contains the skills. The author does a good job in ensuring that the story s not hung up on game rules, thus avoids alienating non-players.

For me, I would like to have seen some more character development and some branching off of personalities as experience tempers them, which may come in the second or third book. I get the feeling that book one is more of a scene setter than anything else, but I am sorry to say that although I enjoyed the book for what it was, with so many other fantastic books on my reading list, I don’t think I will be continuing with the series.

Find it on Amazon – Kindle edition:

U.S $4.99 Critical Failures (Caverns and Creatures Book 1)

U.K £3.27 Critical Failures (Caverns and Creatures Book 1)

Filed under: reading

Darrienia Teaser two

Darrienia now available for pre-order

Kindle US $4.99

Darrienia (The Forgotten Legacies Series Book 1)

Kindle UK £3.99

Darrienia (The Forgotten Legacies Series Book 1)

Filed under: author, charity, reading, writing

Book review – For King and Country: The Saga of Thistles and Roses by Karen Gray

Good morning all,

Last night I finished reading For King and Country by Karen Gray. I have to say that so far this year it is one of the best books I have read.

The book itself follows the protagonist Morag as she starts to discover who she is and secrets she has been protected from since the time of her birth. The plot is exciting and well-conceived, not to mention fun. I really enjoyed the character interactions and watching the bonds grow, change, and develop through them. For me, one of the most important thing in a book is character development and interaction, I like to feel drawn into the characters, I like to root for them, and hate for them too. I have to admit, with such a wide array of non-cookie cutter characters I felt truly spoilt. Not to mention the author did a fantastic job in writing a character that really got under my skin.

The book is set in 27th century futuristic Scotland, in a place that is home to many mythical creatures  (although not everyone can see them for what they truly are) and turmoil as kingdoms battle for power, and unknown to her, Morag has plenty of that, a potential she is forced to unlock and embrace in order to survive. I enjoyed how the author includes some typical Scottish dialect, without it being overbearing.  For anyone who hasn’t heard the dialect, (which I love listening to by the way) it can seem quite harsh, yet not only could I read the words with ease, it was written in such a manner I didn’t even have to pause to consider what was being said. The author found an ideal balance between adding a authenticity to the dialogue, and ensuring it remained reader friendly.

To be quite honest, I had a very difficult time putting this book down. I had finished within three days of first opening it, it would have been sooner but commitments meant I have not had as much time as I would have liked. Each night I would climb into bed and start reading, ‘just one more chapter’ I’d think to myself, only to glance at the clock and see it was already 2am, oops. Needless to say this book was the cause of few tired mornings, then again, that is nothing if not the sign of a good book.

I can’t wait until its next instalment, which I believe, according to the final page, is in December. I am marking it on my calendar, and you can bet that it will jump a few books before it on my reading list. I can’t express enough how fun this was to read. As always I have included links to the book below, why not check it out for yourself, you won’t regret it.

Amazon Links

U.K. For King and Country: The Saga of Thistles and Roses (The Warrior Queen Book 1)

U.S For King and Country: The Saga of Thistles and Roses (The Warrior Queen Book 1)

Filed under: reading

Book review: You’re Not Alone: An Indie Author Anthology

Hi all,

I hope you are well and having a great weekend so far. I have recently finished reading You’re Not Alone: An Indie Author Anthology by Ian D Moore and friends. It took me a little longer than normal to finish because I just haven’t had the time to sit and read with trying to get everything ready for September 1st.

The anthology sees a variety of authors, from all around the world, coming together under a common goal, to raise money for cancer research. 100% of the royalties will go to the Pamela Winton tribute fund, which is in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and if that isn’t a good enough reason to buy it, then I think you will find the content of this book more than justifies a sale.

Each story in the anthology is based around the theme of relationships, yet each one is so different. As expected in a book which gathers numerous authors, the writing styles, plots, and expressions are completely different. Within the bindings is something for everyone.

I first learnt of this book on Twitter, one of my favoured authors, Sallyann Phillips, had been asked to contribute, so I knew straight away there would be at least one story I would enjoy. Truth be told though, I started at the beginning and each story was as good as the next, I found myself not wanting to put it down, but having to out of necessity.

Through reading the anthology I have come across a number of authors whose work I haven’t read before, and better yet, some whose work I want to read more of, Ian D Moore, Penny Luker, and Erik Lahti, are a few of the people whose other work I will be seeking out. I suppose that’s one of the best things about a multi-author collection, you can easily discover people whose work you haven’t read before.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, the stories stir within the reader a multitude of emotions and can be anything from amusing to deeply moving. Some are more obvious in their foundation, where as others are more subtle and leave you thinking.

I already have a number of people in mind who will be receiving this book for Christmas, it is such a nice collection that I feel the need to help spread awareness of it.

Why not check it out on Amazon

UK LINK: You’re Not Alone: An Indie Author Anthology

US LINK: You’re Not Alone: An Indie Author Anthology

Filed under: charity, reading