Cynthia Sally Haggard's Blog: Cynthia Sally's Blog, page 34
July 11, 2021
Thwarted Queen 99-cent E-book promo AND 14%off Audio promo ends TODAY 11 July 2021!
Visit your favorite retail store to find out:
BookBubNook USChirpPlease note that the link to Barnes & Noble Nook from the BookBub site does NOT give you the 99c deal as promised. I have no idea why this is so, but I have provided the CORRECT link above for those of you who wish to participate in this deal on your Nook.
July 10, 2021
Thwarted Queen 99-cent E-book promo AND 14%off Audio promo ends TOMORROW 11 July 2021!
Visit your favorite retail store to find out:
BookBubNook USChirpPlease note that the link to Barnes & Noble Nook from the BookBub site does NOT give you the 99c deal as promised. I have no idea why this is so, but I have provided the CORRECT link above for those of you who wish to participate in this deal on your Nook.
July 9, 2021
Why not add your comments & questions to a recent interview I did with Smashwords?
I usually start with research as I need facts to hang my ideas on. Then I begin writing.During the first draft, if I don’t know something, I make a note and continue writing as it’s important to get that first draft down while the ideas are fresh.
Second drafts are for editing, revising and incorporating research. Then I send the manuscript off to my structural editor. I also use beta readers and my advanced reader group for ideas and suggestions.
Third drafts are for re-writing, before I send it to the copyeditor.
After that, (and a few more tweaks) it goes to the proofreader.
Then it’s time for marketing. I like to give myself plenty of time as its important to get the book launch right. I think six months is about right.Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
I’ve been reading for years, ever since my mother taught me how to at the dining-room table, when I was 3 years old. But the first book I ever read that made me sit up and take notice was Tolstoy’s “War & Peace” which I read cover to cover when I was 16. I was enthralled by the novel but even more with his essay afterwards, in which he talks about the meaning of history.
After making the usual newbie mistake of trying to do it myself, I found a fabulous cover designer. However, I’m very hands-on as I’m picky about the way my book looks, so I will often spend quite a bit of time looking for the perfect image. The great thing about working with a talented person is that they think of things that would never occur to you!
“The Masqueraders” by Georgette Heyer
“The Magpie Murders” by Anthony Horowitz
“The Death of Roger Ackroyd” by Agatha Christe
“The Runaway Jury” by John Grisham.The reason why I love Masqueraders, Magpie Murders, Roger Ackroyd and Runaway Jury is because they are about main characters who are devilishly clever, and I love seeing how these very smart people solve difficult problems.
In the case of Land Beyond the Sea, I enjoyed reading about two men previously unknown to me (Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Bailan d’Ibelin) who used their considerable gifts to help others.What do you read for pleasure?Historical novels (naturally) fantasy and mysteries
What is your e-reading device of choice?I like my iPad mini. It’s just the right size to fit into my handbag and the screen is large enough for me to read. Also is beautifully engineered like all of Apple’s products.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?I grew up in England, in a family that didn’t have university degrees, yet they spent a great deal of time discussing the English language. And so I was taught to read at an early age, and I spent most of the first 21 years of my life with my nose in a book (when I wasn’t practicing my violin.)When did you first start writing?I didn’t find my voice until I was 43 years old. But my late start meant that I knew who I was and was much better equipped to stand by my artistic choices, than I was when I was younger, when I tended to defer far too much to others.What’s the story behind your latest book?
The theme of “Farewell My Life” is about crumbling, dissolving and nothingness; about how comfortable lives can unravel much more quickly than most of us want to know. The theme of my book comes from my own experience of being a child from a broken home.
In one sentence: because I want to keep ALL of my rights.
In the beginning (like everyone else) I wanted to acquire an agent and publish with one of the big publishing houses. I spent the entire year of 2010 taking my first novel “Thwarted Queen” around to 45 agents. I received 45 rejections.
One agent from a top New York agency even had the effrontery to ask for an exclusive and then kept me hanging for THREE MONTHS! When she finally deigned to get back to me, it was only to say that my novel “didn’t knock her socks off.” When I asked for more detail (was it the characters, the plot, the prose that she did’t like?) she replied that she couldn’t tell me. I told her that I objected to her behavior, to her dismissing my incredible hard work with her vague comment. I never wasted my time looking for an agent since that debacle.
It didn’t help that around that time I learned that another author (Anne Easter Smith) was going to publish her fourth novel about my protagonist Cecily Neville. Realizing that no agent was going to touch my novel with a barge pole, I went Indie. “Thwarted Queen” went on to sell 38,000 copies and recently won an IPPY Gold Medal for Audiobook, with Diana Croft as the narrator.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?I am new to Smashwords so it is too early to say.What is the greatest joy of writing for you?Discovery. I never know what my characters are going to do or how the story will end. Discovering this myself as I write is pure magic!
What do your fans mean to you?My fans mean everything to me. The fact that someone would actually buy one of my novels, read it and make comments never ceases to amaze me. I am very grateful for their support.
What are you working on next?
Mockup for a possible cover design for a novel set in 1800 BCE…
I am working on a trio of novels that all relate to the folk tale “Twelve Dancing Princesses.” One of them has the working title “The Warrior.” I hope to come up with something more interesting once I’ve written it!
Who are your favorite authors?Jane Austen (of course)Tolstoy
Nabokov
Voltaire
Bertrand RussellWhat inspires you to get out of bed each day?My writing and my busy busy life as an Author-preneur.When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
I exercise. Monday is Pilates, Tuesday weightlifting & ballet, Wednesday walking or biking, Thursday Pilates & Ballet, Friday swimming and the weekend for relaxing. I wind down the day by knitting and watching the telly with my husband.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?Historical Novel Society recommendations.Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?Yes. It turned into my first novel “Thwarted Queen”!July 8, 2021
Elly Griffiths’ THE STONE CIRCLE (RUTH GALLOWAY #11) narrated by Jane McDowell
This is one of Elly Griffith’s most atmospheric books. The rain pounds down, turning the outside into a fierce waterfall. It patters gently against the window panes as Kate listens to a story. The sun’s radiance picks out water droplets after a storm. Three women, three sisters walk on the beach while the waves suspire gently behind them. Then there is the mist (or fog) which hangs around an ancient stone circle, covering up everything in a thick, cotton-wool cloud, so that people emerge and dissolve, their figures becoming ancient and symbolic.
As usual there is the tragic murder of a young person, a missing baby, and more unexplained deaths to puzzle the clever minds of DCI Nelson and Ruth Galloway. In this volume, events move along. Kate grows up, she meets her sisters and her new half-brother. Things seemingly go back to normal, and yet there is change in the air. Perfect for a moody evening’s read. Five stars. #ellygriffiths #thestonecircle
July 6, 2021
Elly Griffith’s THE DARK ANGEL (RUTH GALLOWAY #10), narrated by Jane McDowell
Frank is back! At least that is how a cliffhanger of an ending brings THE DARK ANGEL to its close.
If anything, this volume is even more dramatic than Elly Griffith’s usual standard. It is written in a braided narrative with the foreground events concerning Ruth’s visit to the hilltop town of Fontana Liri in Latium, near Rome. She has been asked by the local archaeologist, one Angelo Morelli, to examine some ancient bones that probably date from Roman times. As usual, Angelo and the visit are not quite what Ruth expects.
The background events happen back in Norfolk, where a man who burned his house down with his wife & daughter inside has done his time, and is now out of prison. Naturally, he is bent on revenge. Who is top of his list? Why, DCI Nelson, who put him in prison all those years ago.
The Nelson marriage, once a formidable bastion against all outsiders, experiences increasing strain as Nelson hops on a plane to check to see if Ruth & Kate are safe after an earthquake, while Michelle returns to the arms of her lover, Tim Heathfield.
Another compelling & hard-to-put-down volume. Five stars!
July 1, 2021
Thwarted Queen 99-cent E-book promo AND 14%off Audio promo runs from 1 to 11 July 2021!
June 30, 2021
BookBub is featuring “Thwarted Queen” in a 99-cent e-book promo AND 14% off audio promo starting TOMORROW!
Does this sound familiar?
A Strong King goes on a fishing trip with his best friend, but something goes wrong and he dies. Suddenly. He leaves behind an alarming wife and two not-yet-grown sons, 12-year-old and an 8-year-old.
No, this is not “Game of Thrones,” 
but my first novel “Thwarted Queen” which gives you the real story behind Season One, of what happened when Edward IV died suddenly on 9 April 1483.
Intrigued? Visit your favorite retailer on 1 July to claim your special offer!
Thwarted Queen won 2021 Gold Medal IPPY Award for Audiobook with the talented Diana Croft.
Cynthia Sally's Blog
- Cynthia Sally Haggard's profile
- 129 followers
