Sarah Bailey's Blog, page 3

Angels, Darkness, Romance and the Like

My latest book, Death’s Angel, the fifth book in my After Dark paranormal romance series is coming out next month. I don’t quite have a publication date yet, but I’m excited about it. This has been a quite a journey to bring this book to life. It finally rounds up the story I introduced in Demon’s Destiny. The Darkness. What is it? And why is it here? I feel like this book changes the After Dark world in a significant way. And we definitely get to see how the rest of our couples are doing.

I can confirm I am going to be continuing this series, but I will not be releasing any new books after Death’s Angel until next year. I have a busy month coming up. My husband and I are relocating to Scotland, which is going to majorly cut into my writing and publication time. I do have a lot of books planned for next year.

I’ve been very busy writing over the past few months. I’ve recently started writing an entirely new series in a new genre for me – dark contemporary romance. I’ve been reading a lot in the genre recently and I got very inspired. These two characters sort of came out of nowhere for me and they’re incredibly intense. I’m so excited about this series. I can confirm there will be three books and I’m currently in the midst of writing the second one.

Here’s a little except from book one:

Prologue
Avery

Lying here, handcuffed to the bed, my eyes blindfolded, ankles bound, I wait for him.
This isn’t a story of love, sunshine and roses. This is a story of betrayal, murder, lust and deceit.
My name is Avery Daniels. I am the heir to my parents’ fortune and their multi billion pound property empire.
The clock in the hall ticks. The only other sound in the air is my breathing. This game is one I play willingly. How I came to be lying in his bed. In the bed of the man who broke me. Who ruined my life. Who stole my future.
It all started one dark night. The last night I saw my family.
The night I met him. The only man to haunt my every moment.
I am the heiress who disappeared without a trace.
This is my story.
Mine.
And his.

Copyright 2018 Sarah Bailey

I’m going to try do a little better with keeping my blog updated in the new year. With the move, it means a huge change in my circumstances. I’ll no longer have a full time day job, so more time to dedicate to writing. More writing time means more books I can release. I’m taking this as a good thing. It’ll also enable me to have a better balance in terms of work and home life. All in all, the move will be a huge positive.

And if I don’t get a chance to blog again this year – Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to all!

Sarah

Vampires, Loss and New Beginnings

I released my latest book, Vampire’s Kiss on ebook on the 30th July (paperback coming shortly).

This was meant to be an exciting time for me. Sadly, something happened the night before. My entire world came crashing down around me. I couldn’t delay the release because I’d already hit publish. I decided to go ahead with it anyway. There wasn’t much I could do. Even though I was dealing with the grief and personal loss, I kept my spirits up and announced it the moment Amazon made it live. And whilst it’s only been a couple of days, I’ve already had my first 5* review and even in my time of mourning, I felt a sense of achievement.

Releasing the second book in a series is nerve wracking. I’d introduced Daisy and Gavin in Demon’s Destiny, but it was only after people started telling me how much they loved Daisy as a supporting character that I became terrified. What if people were disappointed? What if I didn’t bring it? I had to bring it. There was no other choice. The book was already written, but I went over it anyway, trying to figure out if readers would connect to it in the same way that I’ve always done. Even when I was writing this book, I knew I was onto something special. When the words flow out faster than you can get them down, there can be no doubt. But I’m the type of person who worries about everything. There was always going to be a chance that my readers wouldn’t enjoy it.

This book is about passion. I’ve always described it as when fire meets fire. I knew as soon as I introduced Daisy on the scene, she would be the perfect match for Gavin. There was no question about it. He needed someone who would challenge him on every level. Even in Demon’s Destiny, Daisy proved to be a firecracker so when it came to writing her as a protagonist, I was excited as hell. Their story dragged me along at an alarming pace and put me through the wringer on several occasions. There was no question about it. These two were always going to set pulses racing and they delivered. Every. Single. Time. This book was an absolute dream to write. When it came to finish it, I was left an emotional mess. I wanted to give them the ending they deserved and they, yet again, surprised me at every turn.

There are so many things I could say about this book, but if I say any more, I won’t be able to guarantee my no spoilers rule. Even when I post teasers, they’re never ones which give too much away. But there’s a couple of things I’d like to mention, specifically about the songs I chose for this book. I’d like to think that most of them are self explanatory – they’re songs about lust, passion and emotion. There are two songs I would like to discuss in a little more detail, but again, I promise – no spoilers.

Vampire’s Kiss Spotify Playlist

I envision both songs to go with the closing chapters of the book. Firstly Roo Pane’s cover of ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’. I actually chose this song in the run up to release day. When I heard it, it made me think of this special moment. If you’ve read the book, perhaps you can guess what it is. It is the perfect soundtrack to it and makes my heart sing. And secondly, the song which breaks me almost every time I listen to it – ‘I Belong to You’ by Jacob Lee. To say this man’s music is beautiful and awe inspiring is an understatement. Myself and one of my writer friend’s call him our God and we’ve nicknamed ourselves Jacob’s Angels. This song is all about the last moments of the book and it breaks my heart in all the best ways. If I write any more about it, I’ll probably end up sobbing, so just know that this song means so much to me on so many levels, but it’s also Daisy and Gavin’s song (although I could probably also say that about ‘Animals’ by Maroon 5, but for a very different reason and one I’ll leave entirely up to your imagination!).

After all this chat about Vampire’s Kiss, there’s only one last thing I’d like to mention. I’m going to quote a few lines from my first 5* review on UK Amazon because when I read this review, it made my day. It made me certain that I had done right by Daisy and her story.

“I loved the passion between them, every interaction was electric and heart racing. There were moments of fierce possession, endearing moments, emotional moments, oh and, let’s not forget dangerous moments.

All the things needed to get you lip and nail biting as you turn from one page to the next.

Sarah Bailey delivers. She delivers hard in Vampire’s Kiss. The words flowed off the pages beautifully, the pacing was perfect.”

When you read things like that, it really makes everything you went through to get your book out feel worthwhile. To know that I stirred emotion in a reader is all I ever really wanted. My goal when I started publishing was to have at least one person fall in love with my books. I achieved that with Demon’s Destiny and I’ve definitely achieved it with Vampire’s Kiss. Now, I’m just looking forward to getting Witching Night ready for release, getting four and five up to scratch and starting on some new projects. It’s an exciting time for me despite my personal tragedy. I’ll get through this one day at a time.

 

 

Vampire’s Kiss arrived on the 30th of July and is available on Amazon and if you haven’t yet read Demon’s Destiny, it’s also available on Amazon. Both books are in Kindle Unlimited so you can read them for free if you’re subscribed.

Multi Genre Writing

When I first started out on this journey, I wasn’t quite sure what genre I’d eventually end up writing in and sticking to. My first novel was a fantasy romance, as well as my novella. Then I went on to write sci-fi with a heavy romantic element. I might add that I’m not hugely into sci-fi, but this came about from me playing the Mass Effect trilogy. And now, I’m writing and putting out paranormal romance novels.

The round about point I’m trying to put across is that I don’t think I’ll ever be pigeonholed into a particular genre. I think I will always write romances because it’s my preferred genre, but when it comes to sub-genres, I don’t think I can restrict myself to just one.

I have often wondered how easy it is for writers to write under one name and write in several genres. I’ve thought about putting out my sci-fi novels under a different pen name and I’ve not yet come to decision on that one. I’d like to think at some point when you become popular enough, it doesn’t matter what genre you write, but is that just for traditionally published authors? Can I, as an indie author, strive to be just as successful when writing in several genres? I hope so because I know my sci-fi stuff is pretty good (and not because I think so! I’ve had praise from my beta readers). I have a short story published within an anthology that’s set in the same universe, so it can’t all be bad.

My thoughts have come about because funnily enough, I’m not quite sure what I’m going to write next after I’ve finished the fifth book for After Dark. I’d only originally planned to write five, but I never know when the next idea is going to strike. I do have to write the last book in my sci-fi trilogy, so that gives me somewhere to go next. Once that’s done, it’s a question of what to do with it. Do I go traditional or do I self publish it under my own imprint? Will my readers accept the change from paranormal to sci-fi? Or do I find a whole new set of readers? Often I feel as though there are too many variables to think about. Perhaps I should just go with my gut instinct. That’s never failed me before. It’s how After Dark came about after all.

This is quite possibly a topic I could ramble on about for hours, so I’m going to stop there. There’s another reason for today’s blog!

I’m looking for authors to interview and feature on my blog. I don’t mind what genre you write in, but my prerequisite is that you have a new release coming or recently out. I want to give back to the community who have welcomed me with open arms.

If you’re interested, drop me an email at sarah@sarahbaileywriter.com and tell me about your new book.

Demons and Music

Today I thought I’d talk a little bit about the musical inspiration behind Demon’s Destiny. Anyone who’s seen me on social media knows that I often post about music and its influence on my writing. I find it hard to write without music playing in the background. I sometimes play specific songs which I feel relate to the book and at other times, I’ll just play my general playlist (which I constantly update with new music).

I have included the playlist in the back matter of the eBook for Demon’s Destiny, but I thought I’d also share this here along with an explanation as to why I picked these songs.

 

Dusk till Dawn – Zayn ft. Sia

Out of all of these, the one I always come back to is this song. It’s the chorus that gets me every time.

‘But you’ll never be alone

I’ll be with you from dusk till dawn

I’ll be with you from dusk till dawn

Baby, I’m right here’

In a way, I feel like it tells their story from beginning to end. And ultimately, now they’ve found each other, they’ll be by each other’s sides no matter what happens.

Silence – Marshmallow ft. Khalid

This brings me back to the first time they met each other. Ella’s secret has been hidden for too long and despite the violence surrounding their first encounter, she manages to find a sense of peace with him and he finds a sense of acceptance with her.

Inclosure – Alex Vargas

This one is definitely about Lukas’ reluctance to take things further between the two of them and the frustration Ella feels with him.

Somewhere to Belong – Rationale

I’d say this is Lukas’ song. He’s been a drift for so long and he’s been looking for something for so long to ground him. To complete him.

Eyes – Violet Skies

I feel like this is about Lukas’ need to protect Ella. He wants to be the person she can rely on despite all his misgivings. These lines sum it up perfectly:

‘When you bleed, I can feel it like fire

Giving up a a part of me in the flames

So let me be your eyes my love

So that you don’t have to cry’

Get Up and Go – These Your Children

This inspired a specific scene in the book. It’s the first time we have a point of view chapter from Lukas and the ensuing argument between the two of them.

Carry Me Home (Acoustic) – The Sweeplings

The scene this song relates to… I don’t want to post spoilers, but it’s a pretty poignant part of the book. We finally discover the big mystery and it’s this huge revelation for the two of them. It’s just one line from this song which I think, if anyone reads this scene, they’ll know.

Fires – These Your Children

Oh this song again pretty much sums up their relationship. I think the perfect line is this one:

‘Like a moth to the flame, blindly I’m drawn by you’

They are like two moths drawn to each other’s flames and it’s what makes their story so exhilarating.

 

I hope this provides some kind of insight into why I feel these songs relate to Demon’s Destiny and Ella and Lukas. I’ve created playlists for each book in this series and perhaps if this proves popular, I’ll do a blog post about each of them when they come out.

My Publishing Journey

I’m not really a blogger, however, I thought I would write something about my journey to publish my first book at the request of one of my Facebook friends!

Let me take you back to April 2017. Now, before this, I’d been on a reading spree, devouring as many novels as I could through my Kindle Unlimited subscription. Low and behold, my first idea for a novel came along. I didn’t tell anyone I was writing it. I just sat down and started it. 10,000 words later, I realised this had the potential to be a full length novel. So, I sent it off to my aunt, who is a writer herself, and asked her what she thought. Considering this was my first real foray into writing a novel, I wanted to make sure I was on the right track. A few days later, I got an email back telling me I was on to something. What did I do? I kept writing. I finished the book on the 10th June. And let me tell you, it was the most incredible feeling I’ve ever had. Not everyone can sit down and write a book from start to finish. It’s a fantasy romance. I’ve always been very much into romance novels and fantasy is one of my favourite genres. I wrote a book that I would want to read essentially.

I was raring to get started on the next one, however, I had a huge event standing in my way. I was in the middle of planning my wedding for the 4th August. A rather important event in one’s life… marrying their best friend and the love of their love. Writing went on the back burner until a couple of weeks before the wedding when I started writing something else for fun, a contemporary, sexy romance (which I’ve never actually finished, but it was a stepping stone for the next steps). I feel like this taught me some lessons about writing and developing characters.

I’ll fast forward to September because between the wedding and the next idea, things were a bit crazy with post wedding business. My new idea landed in my lap and two weeks later, I’d written a novella, but in the midst of trying to finish this, a new book decided pop up in my head. Now, this idea just wouldn’t let me go. The main character practically demanded I write her story. I started this book around the 20th September and I was done by the 10th of October. 73,000 words in a genre I’d never read in nor ever thought I would write in – Sci-Fi. This time I sent this off to my aunt and also my dad, who is into Sci-Fi. In the meantime, I started writing the second book because this idea had now spanned into a trilogy. Not long after sending it, I had feedback. They both loved it, my dad particularly. He told me he’d forgotten it was a first draft and read it like it was a book he’d bought. This blew me away. I know they’re my family, but they’re also very honest and have never been ones for false praise. This spurred me on to keep writing.

Sadly, I found myself stuck not long after this at 30,000 words on the second book. It wasn’t flowing and I was burnt out. I’d been writing non stop for two months. I had to take a break, as much as it killed me not to write. Weeks went by and there was still no joy on the writing front. I was well and truly stuck on book two. So, I did what any good writer should do and read instead. My honeymoon was here and so I downloaded a fair few books onto my kindle app and off we went. Iceland for Christmas! What a treat! We had our whole trip planned out, tours, things to do and see and I was super excited. I wasn’t going to write. I hadn’t even brought my laptop. This was a holiday for just me and him.

Except that’s not quite what happened. It started off well. I read on the bus to and from our tours and we were having a brilliant time. But in the back of my mind, this idea was forming. The single thought going through my head – What would happen if you fell in love with a demon? – and I couldn’t shake it no matter what I did. So, my ever wonderful and loving husband said to me “Sarah, if you need to write, just do it”. And well… I did. Now, I only had my phone with me, so I had to make do. I wasn’t going to let it stop me. I only wrote when we were on the bus and before bed, but by the time we went home just before new years, I’d written 14,000 words of what would become Demon’s Destiny.

This was going to be it. I knew I was on to something. It was my genre down to a tee – Paranormal Romance. The words flowed and I was on a roll. Having had a chat with both my mum and my aunt about it, I realised this had the potential to turn into more than just one book. I could create an entire world if I wanted to and fill it with whatever supernatural creatures I wanted. And that’s pretty much what I did. The next book idea arrived in my head. I was going to tell the love story of two characters I’d introduced in book one and despite not having not yet fully written book one, book two was flying out of my head at an alarming rate. It wasn’t long until I’d finished it and then I finally got around to completing Demon’s Destiny. It was time for book three.

I’d joined a whole bunch of groups on Facebook when I’d started writing the first book in my Sci-Fi trilogy and I discovered in the wonderful group that is – Inner Circle Writers Group, which was set up by my English teacher from school, that he was looking for submissions for some anthologies he was publishing under his small publishing house – Clarendon House Publications. I decided that I was going to dust off a short story I’d written two years prior and finish it so I could submit to the flash fiction anthology. Not long after the deadline, I found my story ‘Is This All There Is?’ had been accepted. I was over the moon. My first publication! AMAZING! Now, the next anthology I thought I’d try my hand at was Sci-Fi. I already had a pre-made world, so why not write something within it. A week later, I’d written a short story set along side my first Sci-Fi book and submitted it. So, come the beginning of April, my second piece of work was accepted and published along side many other fantastic authors, including my very own father! And I was working on book two of my Sci-Fi trilogy again, slowly but surely, I was going to get it done.

Now, in the midst of all this excitement regarding my first publications, book three of my series was proving to be difficult. My original idea wasn’t working for me and I was antsy. I hadn’t written anything for my series and I needed to. Now at this point, I’d already starting forming the idea for what was book four. I had the male lead and he was going to be brilliant. In a moment of clarity, I knew what I had to do. I scrapped my original idea and started writing what would now be book three. This book flowed and it was perfect. And not long after book three was done, I finished the second book in my Sci-Fi trilogy and the new book four came along. I was on a roll!

It was around this time I realised I had three books. The three books I’d decided I needed before I could start publishing. So, it was time for research. I’d already made up my mind to self publish these books so it was time I made sure I knew what I was doing. In mid April, I set up my own publishing house – Twisted Tree Publications. I sent off to the tax man to say I was starting my business and becoming self employed (although, I currently still hold down a full time job) and I applied for a business bank account. I was going to do this right. I set about working out ISBNs, how to be my own publisher and finding a cover artist for my books. There was a lot to do, but I was going to be methodical and get myself ready to publish.

The next month was spent contacting my chosen cover artist, booking in to do the first cover and working out how to format ebooks and paperbacks whilst trying to get book four written. But I came to a sticking point where I’d got the idea for book five. It was perfect. It was going to wrap up the series in the most beautiful way. And the temperamental male lead was demanding I write him. So, I was like fine. Book four was put aside and I smashed out 15,000 words in a short period of time. Then came the SLAM of the gates of my creativity. I was slightly burnt out with all the writing, trying to organise publishing the first book – formatting was a nightmare, writing the blurb was insanely difficult (but I got some help with that), finalising stuff with my cover artist and commissioning the next lot. Did I let this stop me? No. I pushed on through. I ironed out all the kinks and got myself back on track. Book four finally got written and I was happy.

I started dropping teasers for Demon’s Destiny as well as the title reveal. I was gaining some traction and it was exciting. People were loving the teasers and getting hyped over the book. Then the day came when my first cover was dropped on my lap and I just about almost fell off my chair. I was so excited because it meant that my plan to release book one at the end of June was GO! GO! GO! I immediately got it up on pre-order and did a cover reveal. EVERYONE LOVED IT! I was excited as hell. I’d nailed the blurb too – people were interested and wanted to read the book. I really felt like I’d got this. I set up a few promos with newsletters, learnt about how to use AMS (Amazon Marketing) and I was set. The days were counting down and I’d also managed to start working on book 5 again. Soon, I got the back cover for the book and I immediately got onto getting the paperback ready. I ordered the proof and it arrived two days before release day! Only a few minor amendments and it was ready to go.

Finally, the 28th came. I stayed up until midnight and saw it go live on the UK page. I was so excited, yet exhausted. The few pre-orders I’d got dropped and now, I know a few people are reading my book. It’s a crazy feeling. Words cannot describe how totally amazed I am that Demon’s Destiny is finally out after all that hard work! The most exciting part is this is just the beginning. The next book in the series, Vampire’s Kiss, will be out next month.

Thank you to everyone who’s supported me in this journey! I’m hoping beyond hope my book is a success.