Suzanne Rogerson's Blog, page 58
August 9, 2016
#Audiobook #bookreview – Try not to breathe by Holly Seddon #thriller #suspense
Try Not To Breathe by Holly Seddon
Audio book
Blurb
Alex is sinking. Slowly but surely, she’s cut herself off from everything but her one true love – drink. Until she’s forced to write a piece about a coma ward, where she meets Amy.
Amy is lost. When she was fifteen, she was attacked and left for dead in a park. Her attacker was never found. Since then, she has drifted in a lonely, timeless place. She’s as good as dead, but not even her doctors are sure how much she understands.
Alex and Amy grew up in the same suburbs, played the same music, flirted with the same boys. And as Alex begins to investigate the attack, she opens the door to the same danger that has left Amy in a coma…
My review
I really enjoyed this thriller of a book. The format reminded me very much of Girl on a Train, which I have also recently listened to. Each chapter switches between Alex, Jacob/Jake and Amy’s view-point. There are occasional chapters from other VP’s (Jacob’s mum) but it’s these three that are the main focus.
I quickly became sucked in by the story and found myself snatching every moment I could to listen to another chapter. I found the characters believable and really wanted Alex to get justice for Amy.
The narration was great.
This book lives up to the hype around it and left me guessing (wrongly) at Amy’s attacker most of the way through. I certainly wasn’t expecting the big reveal at the end, and I’m usually good at working out the clues before that point.
I recommend Try not to Breathe to those who enjoy a great thriller / suspense novel. I can’t wait to read more of Holly Seddon’s work.
My rating 4 stars.
#Tuesdaybookblog – Visions of Zarua is available via #KindleUnlimited #fantasy
When I first published Visions of Zarua I wanted to reach as many book markets as possible. So I published with Kindle and Smashwords (which covers markets like Kobo, iTunes, Nook).
However in the months since publication I’ve only sold half a dozen copies through these platforms via Smashwords. Even running various sales, and a half price sale throughout July has not helped. Kindle has produced much better results so I decided to unpublish with Smashwords and try out KDP Select.
It’s just gone live this morning, so I’ll give a progress report in a few months on how this is working. I’m really hoping it will boost sales and that having access to extra marketing opportunities will allow me to step back from my own efforts and finish my next book – I’m miles behind schedule for publishing this year!
I’m also looking at the option of an audiobook. It would be a very expensive audiobook to buy, but not for readers who are monthly subscribers to audible etc. I’ll update on this as I go along.
Maybe these new platforms will lead to bigger and better things. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
In other news;
Visions of Zarua is still in the running for Mark Lawrence’s #SPFBO 2 (self published fantasy blog off). Some of the reviewers have already whittled down their list to a few, so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in my group of 30 authors.
As September draws closer, I’m eagerly awaiting the results of the Creative National Writing competition. Visions of Zarua has been shortlisted and several prizes will be awarded. I have everything crossed hoping it gets placed amongst the winners.
***
I think I have just about exhausted all the marketing opportunities for indie authors – goodreads giveaways, blog tours etc. As much as I want to let go and focus on other projects, it’s hard to see Visions of Zarua disappear amongst the millions of other books available. Does anyone out there have any other marketing suggestions? Are there any avenues I’ve missed?
August 7, 2016
Weekend wanderings around Malta & Gozo #photo #travel
For a long time, I’ve been too scared to fly. But when my parents offered to take us on a family holiday I put aside my fear and went for it. I chose a destination that interests me, Malta.
The worse part for me was take off, but then I was surprisingly relaxed and even enjoyed the view.
Views from our hotel -DB Seabanks.
The hotel was clean and cool, and the all inclusive food was excellent with plenty of opportunities to be more adventurous with food choices. The staff were friendly, and it was a great location for the beach / sea just across the road.
Trip to the Blue Grotto
This cool looking rock shelter
A look at the Maltese wildlife and fauna
Bee in a cactus flower
Lovely lizard
Biggest cricket I’ve ever seen
I didn’t spot much in the way of wildlife or fauna. Malta is a very hot and dry country. We were told it hadn’t rain for a while and even some of the cacti looked in need of a drink. Along the roads there were lots of beautiful shrubs / trees with vivid pink flowers, but I didn’t get to find out what they were.
A day trip to Gozo
We enjoyed a boat trip around the Azure window (apparently it’s been made famous by the Game of Thrones series, which gives me the perfect excuse to re-watch it for a glimpse of the amazing natural phenomena.) I wish there had been more time to get some shots from land as well.
Gozo was gearing up for its Fiesta celebrations
The Cittadel and the view from the highest point in Gozo
A view of the island of Camino and the Blue Lagoon.
The main reason I chose Malta / Gozo was its history and the architecture.
From the small, every day buildings…
To the magnificent churches like Ta-Pinu.
I’ll finish with some shots of other buildings seen from afar.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my brief tour of Malta and Gozo. There is so much more to see, maybe I’ll be lucky enough to go back one day.
Note – Photos taken on my Sony Xperia camera phone and faithful old Lumix (some picture quality is poor due to being taken through coach windows).
***
I’d like to dedicate this post to my parents and take the opportunity to thank them for taking us away with them. They’ve helped me get over my fear of flying, and now I know there is a whole world out there waiting to be explored.
August 6, 2016
#Bookreview – The Wedding Proposal Sue Moorcroft #Romance
The Wedding Proposal by Sue Moorcroft.
Genre: Romance
Blurb
Elle Jamieson is a private person, in relationships as well as at work – and for good reason. But then she’s made redundant and with no ties to hold her, Elle heads off to sunny Malta.
Lucas Rose hates secrets – he prides himself on his ability to lay his cards on the table and he expects nothing less in return. He’s furious when his summer working as a divemaster is interrupted by the arrival of Elle, his ex, all thanks to his Uncle Simon’s misguided attempts at matchmaking.
Forced to live in close proximity, it’s hard to ignore what they had shared before Lucas’s wedding proposal scared Elle away. But then a phone call from England allows Lucas a rare glimpse of the true Elle. Can he deal with Elle’s closely guarded past when it finally comes to light?
My Review – in brief
I was first attracted to this book because of the location. I’m very interested in Malta and have just returned from a holiday there – my first trip abroad in over 15 years. I originally read this book hoping it would help me get excited about the country as I was very nervous about flying.
I’m happy to say that not only did this book do the country and friendly people justice, it really gave a feel for the island and the culture as well as the heat. There were lots of little details that added to the reading experience and brought Malta alive for me.
The characters were believable and the conflict between them was plausible. I really enjoyed this story and will definitely read more of Sue Moorcroft’s work.
I recommend to those who enjoy romance with a touch of steaminess, and that’s not just the Maltese temperature!
4 out of 5 stars.
July 28, 2016
August 2016 is Write An Amazon Review Month! By @TerryTyler4 #AugustReviews
On Monday 25th July, book blogger Rosie Amber wrote this post encouraging readers and writers alike to post a short review on Amazon for any book they’ve read and enjoyed ~ following this up, Terry Tyler is starting this initiative along with other writer-bloggers including Rosie, Cathy from Between The Lines, Barb Taub, Shelley Wilson and Alison Williams.
The idea is that, from August 1st, everyone who reads this uses their Amazon account to post just one review on one book that they’ve read (but feel free to carry on if you get in the swing!). You don’t even have to have read it recently, it can be any book you’ve read, any time. The book does not have to have been purchased from Amazon, though if it is you get the ‘Verified Purchase’ tag on it; however, if you download all your books via Kindle Unlimited, as many do these days, they don’t show the VP tag, anyway.
Remember, this isn’t the Times Literary Supplement, it’s Amazon, where ordinary people go to choose their next £1.99 Kindle book. No one expects you to write a thousand word, in-depth critique; I don’t know about you, but I’m more likely to read one short paragraph or a couple of lines saying what an average reader thought of a book, than a long-winded essay about the pros and cons of the various literary techniques used. Yes, those are welcome too (!), but no more so than a few words saying “I loved this book, I was up reading it until 3am”, or “I loved Jim and Vivien and the dialogue was so realistic”, or whatever!
Why should you write a review?
They help book buyers make decisions. Don’t you read the reviews on Trip Advisor before deciding on a hotel, or any site from which you might buy an item for practical use? Book reviews are no different.
If the book is by a self-published author, or published by an independent press, the writers have to do all their promotion and marketing themselves ~ reviews from the reading public is their one free helping hand.
The amount of reviews on Amazon helps a book’s visibility (allegedly). If you love a writer’s work and want others to do so, too, this is the best possible way of making this happen.
It’s your good deed for the day, and will only take five minutes!
Off we go, then! A few more pointers:
If you need any help with writing your review, do click on Rosie’s post, above.
A review can be as short as one word. The shortest one I have is just two[image error]
You don’t have to put your name to the review, as your Amazon ‘handle’ can be anything you like.
No writer expects all their reviews to be 5* and say the book is the best thing ever written; there is a star rating guide on Rosie’s post.
Would you like to tell the Twittersphere about your review? If so, tweet the link to it with the hashtag #AugustReviews ~ and thank you! I will do one blog post a week featuring these links: The #AugustReviews Hall of Fame (thank you, Barb!).
If you have a blog and would like to spread the word about #AugustReviews, please feel free to copy and paste this blog post, provide the link to it, re-blog it, or whatever ~ many thanks, and I hope you will join in to make this idea a success[image error]
David Gemmell – 10 year anniversary of my writing hero’s death #fantasy
This is just a brief post to highlight the wonderful work of David Gemmell. He was my inspiration to start writing fantasy and I’ve loved all of his books, without exception!
Whenever I’m asked who my favourite author is, the answer will always be David Gemmell.
I remember when I learnt of his death. I’d just found out I was pregnant with my second child and was contemplating the impossible task of typing up the scribbled first draft of Visions of Zarua before the baby’s arrival. David Gemmell’s death really affected me. No more Druss, Waylander, Skilgannon, Connavar or Jon Shannow… the list of wonderfully flawed heroes goes on and on.
I was so pleased to hear that his wife, Stella Gemmell, had agreed to finish the book he was working on when he died. The last book in the Troy Trilogy – Fall of Kings. I read the book with tears in my eyes for the great story teller that was lost, but also because that last book was brilliant and I knew I would never get to read any more of his work.
I read that he died at his desk. I don’t know if it’s true, but I like the romantic notion of dying whilst doing one of the things you love best.
I have a long list of books on my TBR pile, but to honour the great man I shall make this my next read.
If you want to read a heroic fantasy story you could pick up any one of Gemmell’s books. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Visions of Zarua in a picture montage #epicfantasy #fantasy
I had such fun putting these photo quotes together for my blog tour. It took hours and lots of reworking to get them right.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this little recap from my blog tour. Links to all the reviews and interviews etc are on the Blog Tour page.
As always, here are the links to pick up your copy of Visions of Zarua, or to see what other reviewers have been saying.
Visions of Zarua’s photo montage #epicfantasy #fantasy
I had such fun putting these photo quotes together for my blog tour. It took hours and lots of reworking to get them right.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this little recap from my blog tour. Links to all the reviews and interviews etc are on the Blog Tour page.
As always, here are the links to pick up your copy of Visions of Zarua, or to see what other reviewers have been saying.
July 27, 2016
5 days left to buy Visions of Zarua $2.00 #Smashwords #fantasy
For the whole month of July I’ve been running a 50% sale with Smashwords. 1000’s of books are discounted so it’s worth having a look at the sales page.
Here’s Visions book page. You just enter the code SSW50 and the discount will be applied. Smashwords is good for buying ebooks from different retailers / different formats i.e. kobo, nook, iTunes and of course kindle (mobi, pdf etc.).
For me, this is a last attempt to drum up some interest in Smashwords before I enrol in KDP Select. It will be interesting to see if the KDP scheme has any impact on sales, so I’ll keep you informed of my findings.
In the mean time, here’s the blurb…
Two wizards, 350 years apart. Together they must save the realm of Paltria from Zarua’s dark past.
An ancient darkness haunts the realm of Paltria.
Apprentice wizard Paddren is plagued by visions of a city on the brink of annihilation. When his master Kalesh dies in mysterious circumstances, the Royal Order of Wizards refuses to investigate.
Helped by his childhood friend, the skilled tracker Varnia, and her lover Leyoch, Paddren vows to find the killer.
The investigation leads Paddren down a sinister path of assassins, secret sects and creatures conjured by blood magic. But he is guided by a connection with a wizard from centuries ago – a wizard whose history holds the key to the horror at the heart of the abandoned city of Zarua. Can Paddren decipher his visions in time to save the Paltrian people from the dark menace of Zarua’s past?
Also available via
There are some brilliant reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. If you are intrigued, why not check those reviews and see what you think.
***
A quick question for all you indie authors out there, have you switched to KDP select and what do you think? Would you recommend it?
