C.M. Gray's Blog, page 5
May 15, 2012
Gremlins in the words...
Like many authors I thought I had teased out all the typos, inconsistancies and wayward comas from my books, only to read with dismay that I was receiving a three star review for lack of editing! Oh my.... I hung my head in shame, I muttered dark thoughts in the general direction of past editors... I pulled my books from the public eye. But now Shadowland is back, shiny as a new pin and ready to be judged by the world once more. Thanks Kris from Final Edit and thanks (really) to the few (thankfully) who pointed out the few faults still there. I guess we only learn from our mistakes and I'm left with a far better book to offer my readers, yippee! The Flight of the Griffin is also getting a big once over and will be back soon...I hope! I miss Pardigan and the crew:(
April 16, 2012
The Flight of the Griffin on Kindle!
The Flight of the Griffin is now available on Amazon kindle!
Living in their old boat ‘The Griffin’ five young characters become the unlikely heroes at the end of time when a burglary sets them on the path to finish the ‘Last great Spell’ - a spell to stop the balance of the World tipping into Chaos...
They become the Magician, Thief, Priest and Fighter when a magical book guides them upon a quest that pits them against magic, demons and ‘The Hawk,’ an evil hunter of men.
Join a race against time to find three crystal skulls that must be brought together, while all the forces of Chaos try everything to stop them!
Buy on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon.co.uk
Sneak preview.....
The floorboard creaked under the sole of his felt boot - a calculated risk whenever entering a sleeping man's room uninvited. A breeze fluttered the loose linen curtain, and the sleeper stirred at the welcome respite from the hot sticky night. The prowler slowly exhaled the breath that was starting to burn in his lungs, every sense tingling, receptive to any change in the room or a sound from the street below. The sleeper, thankfully, continued to sleep. The street under the second-storey window was silent, the night given up to the occasional rounds of the city watch and those set on a darker business, the never-ending cat and mouse game that went mostly unappreciated by the law-abiding citizens of the sleeping city. The summer had been one of the hottest people could ever remember, taxing the energy of the city’s inhabitants to the limit. Several of the more elderly citizens down at the port could be heard explaining that, ‘in their day’, the summers were often this hot, and indeed often hotter. Of course, these were the same group who would entertain the regulars at the portside taverns with tales of goblin hordes, ferocious sea serpents or the time the winters were so cold that the seas had frozen solid. ‘A man could have walked from here to Minster Island without ever seeing a boat or even getting his feet wet,’ was a much-repeated reminiscence. Whatever history really concealed, it was a hot summer, and this, a particularly humid night.Pardigan watched the now softly snoring form and, moving his foot from the traitorous board, crept towards the cabinet that he knew held his prize. It was an elegant cabinet - its construction given over to more than mere function. Gracefully curved legs supported drawers and shelves that were fronted by a scrollwork of intricate designs. He inserted the blade of his knife between the edges of the middle left-hand drawer and felt for the hidden catch. If the information Quint had given him was correct, the false front should spring open. A prickle of sweat tickled his brow and he wiped it absently away. Glancing over to the still-sleeping form, he applied a little more pressure on what he hoped was the catch.Nothing. The merchant stirred, smacked his chops, exhaled wetly and then returned to snoring. Pardigan tried again. Most people hated the fat merchant, known for his cheating ways and vile temper, so he and Quint had set about the business of planning the robbery with great enthusiasm. The break had come quite by chance when Quint had met the apprentice of a cabinetmaker who’d been happy to talk about the merchant, and the cabinet he’d helped his master build for him. ‘The shame of it is that the true beauty of the cabinet will never be appreciated,’ the apprentice had moaned. ‘Such a cunning mechanism my master contrived to conceal the hidden safe-box, nothing of the like have I seen before, nor I fear will I ever see again.’ He had been all too happy to describe and even sketch the piece for Quint who, of course, had shown great interest, marvelling at the skill of the cabinetmaker and, naturally, his gifted apprentice. Several glasses of elder ale had kept his new friend’s throat well lubricated, an investment in tonight’s escapade that they had both placed huge hopes in.Up until this point, the information seemed to be good; the cabinet did indeed look like the sketch that he and Quint had spent so much time studying. Pardigan’s hopes had soared when he’d first set eyes on it as he was slipping over the windowsill. Right up until now, that is as his frustration grew. Because the Source damned catch simply wouldn’t shift - if catch it was. Pardigan was beginning to wonder if the real catch hadn’t been poor old Quint, whom the apprentice had conned into buying several glasses of elder ale on another blisteringly hot day.
Living in their old boat ‘The Griffin’ five young characters become the unlikely heroes at the end of time when a burglary sets them on the path to finish the ‘Last great Spell’ - a spell to stop the balance of the World tipping into Chaos...They become the Magician, Thief, Priest and Fighter when a magical book guides them upon a quest that pits them against magic, demons and ‘The Hawk,’ an evil hunter of men.
Join a race against time to find three crystal skulls that must be brought together, while all the forces of Chaos try everything to stop them!
Buy on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon.co.uk
Sneak preview.....
The floorboard creaked under the sole of his felt boot - a calculated risk whenever entering a sleeping man's room uninvited. A breeze fluttered the loose linen curtain, and the sleeper stirred at the welcome respite from the hot sticky night. The prowler slowly exhaled the breath that was starting to burn in his lungs, every sense tingling, receptive to any change in the room or a sound from the street below. The sleeper, thankfully, continued to sleep. The street under the second-storey window was silent, the night given up to the occasional rounds of the city watch and those set on a darker business, the never-ending cat and mouse game that went mostly unappreciated by the law-abiding citizens of the sleeping city. The summer had been one of the hottest people could ever remember, taxing the energy of the city’s inhabitants to the limit. Several of the more elderly citizens down at the port could be heard explaining that, ‘in their day’, the summers were often this hot, and indeed often hotter. Of course, these were the same group who would entertain the regulars at the portside taverns with tales of goblin hordes, ferocious sea serpents or the time the winters were so cold that the seas had frozen solid. ‘A man could have walked from here to Minster Island without ever seeing a boat or even getting his feet wet,’ was a much-repeated reminiscence. Whatever history really concealed, it was a hot summer, and this, a particularly humid night.Pardigan watched the now softly snoring form and, moving his foot from the traitorous board, crept towards the cabinet that he knew held his prize. It was an elegant cabinet - its construction given over to more than mere function. Gracefully curved legs supported drawers and shelves that were fronted by a scrollwork of intricate designs. He inserted the blade of his knife between the edges of the middle left-hand drawer and felt for the hidden catch. If the information Quint had given him was correct, the false front should spring open. A prickle of sweat tickled his brow and he wiped it absently away. Glancing over to the still-sleeping form, he applied a little more pressure on what he hoped was the catch.Nothing. The merchant stirred, smacked his chops, exhaled wetly and then returned to snoring. Pardigan tried again. Most people hated the fat merchant, known for his cheating ways and vile temper, so he and Quint had set about the business of planning the robbery with great enthusiasm. The break had come quite by chance when Quint had met the apprentice of a cabinetmaker who’d been happy to talk about the merchant, and the cabinet he’d helped his master build for him. ‘The shame of it is that the true beauty of the cabinet will never be appreciated,’ the apprentice had moaned. ‘Such a cunning mechanism my master contrived to conceal the hidden safe-box, nothing of the like have I seen before, nor I fear will I ever see again.’ He had been all too happy to describe and even sketch the piece for Quint who, of course, had shown great interest, marvelling at the skill of the cabinetmaker and, naturally, his gifted apprentice. Several glasses of elder ale had kept his new friend’s throat well lubricated, an investment in tonight’s escapade that they had both placed huge hopes in.Up until this point, the information seemed to be good; the cabinet did indeed look like the sketch that he and Quint had spent so much time studying. Pardigan’s hopes had soared when he’d first set eyes on it as he was slipping over the windowsill. Right up until now, that is as his frustration grew. Because the Source damned catch simply wouldn’t shift - if catch it was. Pardigan was beginning to wonder if the real catch hadn’t been poor old Quint, whom the apprentice had conned into buying several glasses of elder ale on another blisteringly hot day.
April 12, 2012
Flight of the Griffin Cover Finished!
Took me ages to come up with this cover, comments would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
The Flight of the Griffin will be available on amazon Kindle in the next few days.
Back cover Synopsis.
Living in their old boat 'The Griffin' five young characters become the unlikely heroes at the end of time when a burglary sets them on the path to finish the 'Last great Spell' - a spell to stop the balance of the World tipping into Chaos...
They become the Magician, Thief, Priest and Fighter when a magical book guides them upon a quest that pits them against magic, demons and 'The Hawk,' an evil hunter of men.
Join a race against time to find three crystal skulls that must be brought together, while all the forces of Chaos try everything to stop them!..........................................................................................................................................................
Anyone that would like a free copy for review on their blog or for a review on Amazon, please contact me.
The Flight of the Griffin will be available on amazon Kindle in the next few days.Back cover Synopsis.
Living in their old boat 'The Griffin' five young characters become the unlikely heroes at the end of time when a burglary sets them on the path to finish the 'Last great Spell' - a spell to stop the balance of the World tipping into Chaos...
They become the Magician, Thief, Priest and Fighter when a magical book guides them upon a quest that pits them against magic, demons and 'The Hawk,' an evil hunter of men.
Join a race against time to find three crystal skulls that must be brought together, while all the forces of Chaos try everything to stop them!..........................................................................................................................................................
Anyone that would like a free copy for review on their blog or for a review on Amazon, please contact me.
March 21, 2012
SHADOWLAND on FREE dowload at Amazon for 21st - 23rd Marc...
SHADOWLAND on FREE dowload at Amazon for 21st - 23rd March
http://amzn.to/xrUOm5
http://amzn.to/xrUOm5
http://amzn.to/xrUOm5
March 15, 2012
New Cover and Formatting Issues
The new cover for Shadowland - thanks Jussy, much more dark n moody:)
Formatting Issues.
Like many authors I am on a big learning curve when it comesto formatting and promoting my ebooks.
Uploading to the kindle program on Amazon was painlessenough, that was until I wanted to update some of the text and change the cover. All of asudden, I had to become some sort of computer programmer, or so it seemed it tome. I managed to work my way through so I thought I would share a few of thelinks and programmes that have helped me so far on this blog.If you are looking to offer giveaways or send copies of yourebook anywhere, you have to be able to offer several different versions to potential readers and reviewers. I offerpdf, mobi for kindle and epub for most other e readers.To make a pdf from my book, which was written in 'Word,' Ican highly recommend a free programme called PDF redirect. Even for a completecomputer fool like me it was easy to do.Most people are going to ask for a mobi file and the easiestI have so far found is MobiPocket creator, another free programme that doesexactly as it says on the box. I tried several other programmes that did help me createa mobi file, but they all had various issues with formatting, more about formatting in a moment. To finish on programmes, the last I recommend authors checking out is Calibre. Calibrewill change the format into epub or kindle, but do watch out for formattingproblems if you haven't done a perfect formatting job.
Which leads me into formatting - so important, so boring andyet so necessary. KDP at amazon and Smashwords have great articles and there is a great article here showing what needs to be done. Justdiscovering there was a formatting show/hide button in word was a revelation tome! How was I to know that there is all kind of code going on in the backgroundthat means stuff and gives strange commands when you come to make up yourebook. Page breaks for instance, wow, you need to instruct where to break thepage? Yep!
Oh, and how to put in your table of contents! You can findthat stuff here, and you really do need to do it yourself.
So, once we've done all that were finished? ... well did youthink about a cover? I have been very fortunate to find a fellow member of thegoodreads community, Jussy who has helped me turn my lame cover intosomething far more likely to sell a few books – thanks Jussy!So now I have done all that, Shadowland is up and ready tosend out and sell again ... editing is nearly finished on Flight of the Griffin .... but I needto make up a cover ..ahhhhh, here we go again!
March 9, 2012
Silver Knight
Description:
A Struggle AgainstEvil—Love Through the Ages—A Destiny to Fulfill
When seventeen-year-oldDiana recognizes an elderly priest in a video on YouTube, she realizes thatreincarnation is real and that she's been alive before! Every night in herdreams, she views her past lives learning that it's kill or be killed.
Now a bishop at the Vatican whomshe saved in another life calls on her once more. She is needed to help defeatan infestation of demons living within the catacombs of Rome. But when she arrives in Rome, she meetsAlexander – the man of her dreams! Through the centuries she has lovedhim…betrayed him...been killed by him. Will she give him another chance or thistime will she strike first?
Silver Knight takes you onan adventure where demons and heroes from the past blend with history, action,and just a hint of romance.
5 Star Review:"All I could think once I started readingthis book was WOW! My only warning is that once you start reading this storyyou are not going to be able to put it down!" –Readers Favorite (Readmore at: http://readersfavorite.com/review/5699)
Caron Rider's Bio:
I began teaching adults to usecomputer software, hardware, and networking back in the 1990s. After severalyears, my clients became younger and younger until I found myself tutoring highschool dropouts to pass the GED. I found working withat-risk teenagers so rewarding that I changed her undergraduate major toEducation.
Upon graduating from the Universityof South Alabama with a B.S., I began teaching highschool history and I continue to teach history classes online. I now live inrural Missouri with my two kids, two dogs, two cats, and father.
Some useful links:Website: www.caronrider.comBlog: www.caronrider.blogspot.comFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Silver-Series/217988348281222Twitter: Caron_Rider
March 8, 2012
Looking for more reviews for Shadowland:)
In an effort to get a few reviews on Shadowland, I'm giving another five ebooks away FREE to the first five people who contact me.I only ask that, 'if' you like the book, you post a 'small' review on Amazon to help boost my profile:)So will you help me?Let me know by email at cgray129@gmail.comThanks for your help:)
Review of Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Hounded by Kevin Hearne is really is one of those books I wish I had written, or at least come up with the idea! If you're an author then you know what I mean! I liked it so much that it is the first of my special reviews on this blog.
So, Hounded is a well written thoroughly engaging read that really is hard to put down. This lad Kevin Hearne has the craft in his veins!
The story follows an old Irish druid, Atticus O'Sullivan, who actually only looks to be 21 as he has a few disagreements with various fairies(Fay)ancient gods and police authorities!
Living in a 'Specialist' bookshop in Arizona with his Irish wolfhound 'Oberon,' who is a great character that Atticus can speak with in such a way that dog lovers everywhere would wish they had the same connection with their canine friend. The adventures of Atticus draw the reader easily along in a humorous, fantastical yet not at all corny visit to the other side of life's possibilities. His befriends old Irish gods, makes enimies of a few and pulls out a little of his Irish magic to help him through.
I dont know if this were written for Young Adults or adults, I think it is basically for anyone that isn't put off by a little fantasy!
I will certainly be looking to read the next books in the series' Hexed'.
Highly recommended.
February 29, 2012
5.0 out of 5 stars If you liked the Warlord Trilo...
5.0 out of 5 stars If you liked the Warlord Trilogy, 28 Feb 2012 By Vincent - See all my reviews This review is from: Shadowland (Kindle Edition) An excellent and interesting re-telling of one of historys' great stories. Or rather the pre-story of the Arther legend. Well thought out...thought provoking with a good mixture of historical reference/mysticism......if you liked Bernard Cornwall's "The Warlord Trilogy" you'll love this book...
Ok,just had to share this review on my blog .... Bernard Cornwall's name in a five star reveiw about my book, yeayyyy! Thank you Vincent:)
Ok,just had to share this review on my blog .... Bernard Cornwall's name in a five star reveiw about my book, yeayyyy! Thank you Vincent:)
February 24, 2012
Shadowland for review -Five ebooks to give away free!
In an effort to get a few reviews on Shadowland, I'm giving five ebooks away free to the first five people who contact me for one.I only ask that 'if' you like the book, you post a 'small' review on Amazon to help boost my profile:)So will you help me?Let me know by email at cgray129@gmail.comThanks for your help:)
