Jen Minkman's Blog, page 3
March 12, 2015
YA Spring Fling Giveaway! Loads of cool books to be won!
Oh yeah! It's time for some spring goodiness. The YA Spring Fling giveaway that I'm also a part of runs from March 20th to April 3rdand gives readers the opportunity to win ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks and swag from some of the most awesome YA writers around.
To be in with a chance of winning head over to Sarah Dalton Books after the giveaway opens.
But wait, there's more: if you sign up to the mailing list before the 20th you’re guaranteed at least one free ebook of your choice! So what are you waiting for? Get a spring in your step and head over to win some free books! :)
Newsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
November 30, 2014
My two-year anniversary as an indie author!
Two years ago, I published Shadow of Time in English after selling the rights to the Dutch book in Holland. I had NO idea what I was doing - I just hit publish on my KDP dashboard and allowed the book to quietly sit there in the Kindle store. It had a crappy cover (or at the very least, it had a cover that didn't tell readers anything about the genre), and it was one book, despite it being over 120,000 words long, plus I didn't have any reviews lined up in December. (They all came in during January!)
Today, I carefully plan my book launches and make sure I have a good cover and at least twenty reviewers ready to post on release day before publication. I'm not often proud of myself, but I can honestly say I'm proud of what I learned and taught myself about indie publishing in the past 2 years, mostly by trial and error.
This is my latest brainchild:
Sound of Sirens (twenty-one reviews on Amazon,3 days after publication)
Now compare this to Shadow of Time as it looked two years ago:
My home-made cover featuring Antelope Canyon! :)
Nowadays, the story of Shadow of Time is sold as a duology in ebook format - it works much better that way and attracts more readers. It also has a very different cover, but looking at this old cover takes me back to December 2012, when it all began! To celebrate my 2-year anniversary as an author, I am giving away a copy of Shadow of Time to one lucky winner (if you already own the book and want to tell a friend, please tell them about this giveaway!). I have it available in ebook, paperback or audiobook format (via Audible). All you need to do is enter the Rafflecopter below, and the giveaway widget will take care of the rest!
Today, I carefully plan my book launches and make sure I have a good cover and at least twenty reviewers ready to post on release day before publication. I'm not often proud of myself, but I can honestly say I'm proud of what I learned and taught myself about indie publishing in the past 2 years, mostly by trial and error.
This is my latest brainchild:
Sound of Sirens (twenty-one reviews on Amazon,3 days after publication)
Now compare this to Shadow of Time as it looked two years ago:
My home-made cover featuring Antelope Canyon! :)Nowadays, the story of Shadow of Time is sold as a duology in ebook format - it works much better that way and attracts more readers. It also has a very different cover, but looking at this old cover takes me back to December 2012, when it all began! To celebrate my 2-year anniversary as an author, I am giving away a copy of Shadow of Time to one lucky winner (if you already own the book and want to tell a friend, please tell them about this giveaway!). I have it available in ebook, paperback or audiobook format (via Audible). All you need to do is enter the Rafflecopter below, and the giveaway widget will take care of the rest!
If the widget doesn't work, please enter here! a Rafflecopter giveawayNewsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
November 23, 2014
For authors: win a book promotion package with The Choosy Bookworm!
In order to enter this book promotion giveaway, just click this link > http://choosybookworm.net/giveaways/christmas-for-authors/?lucky=1804
That's all! Merry X-Mas (and Thanksgiving)Newsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
That's all! Merry X-Mas (and Thanksgiving)Newsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
November 9, 2014
The real island of Skylge
My new book series 'Tales of Skylge' is set on the Dutch island of Terschelling. The first book, 'Sound of Sirens', will be out on November 28th, and I thought it might be nice to give you some visuals of the place. Of course, there are no lethal mermaids circling the island for real (shocker, I know), but a lot of the places in the book do exist, and in this blog post you can see what they look like!
Enna's house. This is where the main character lives together with her brother and father. I stayed in this house during my holiday on Terschelling, because 'De Kleine Vos', as the cottage is called, is a holiday accommodation.
If you walk down the garden path and out the gates, you end up on a cycle path running alongside the dyke protecting the village of Kinnum from winter storms. Most tourists on Skylge cycle everywhere because bike rental is cheap and bringing your car onto the island by ferry is horribly expensive.
Lots of farmers on the island keep sheep for wool and milk, so they are everywhere. They even wandered into our back yard every now and then!
One of the pictures my husband took of the sheep in the meadow close to our cottage. Three years ago, I was still into running and I'd jog along the dyke road for a few miles while being stared at by scores of sheep (you know that starey-eyed look they can give you?). Haha!
When we arrived at the harbor, there were literally hundreds of bikes for rent on the quay. In fact, bikes are popular throughout Holland, but they are especially handy on Terschelling because bringing cars is discouraged, and the island is small enough to tour around by bike in one day.
The view from the dyke near 'Enna's' house. It's low tide here - the best time to go hunting for mussels (they grow on mooring posts) and oysters. Yes, Japanese oysters grow here in the wild! Allegedly they spread due to a foreign trailer ship passing by the island. Since the Japanese oyster doesn't have any natural enemies in this environment (besides humans), they grow like wildfire. They taste really good if you cook them!
This is the middle of the island, the place where Upper Brandaris is in my book. In reality, this is a nature reserve and there's not much here besides dunes, forests and a wide variety of birds. It's beautiful, though. :)
The real town of Brandaris (called 'West-Terschelling', capital of Terschelling). The lighthouse is called Brandaris, though, and was named after St. Brandan. This is where all ships from the mainland arrive (you can see some masts sticking out in the distance).
Griltjeplak, one of the lakes in the middle of Skylge. As you can see, the island really is very flat (as is most of Holland, by the way).
Dead Men's Caskets Lake. This place actually exists. Local legend has it that hundreds of drowned sailors were buried at the bottom because there was no room left in the graveyard. In Sound of Sirens, a forgotten story about this lake pops up in the book Enna steals from Stortum after she breaks into the Skelta's secret headquarters.
And this is the light of the real Brandaris Tower, casting its light over the harbor and warning ships to keep well away from the coast. The waters around Terschelling aren't easy to navigate; many a ship has run aground there.
Last but not least: a picture of me on the dyke path close to Kinnum! I only realized a few weeks ago that this author picture (I have two, but I use this one quite frequently) was taken in front of Enna's house, more or less. Back then I didn't know yet I'd write a dystopian/paranormal hybrid novella set on this exact location. Heck, I didn't even know I'd be a writer! This was the summer I was waiting for a publishing house to say yes (and they did!).
Newsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
Enna's house. This is where the main character lives together with her brother and father. I stayed in this house during my holiday on Terschelling, because 'De Kleine Vos', as the cottage is called, is a holiday accommodation.
If you walk down the garden path and out the gates, you end up on a cycle path running alongside the dyke protecting the village of Kinnum from winter storms. Most tourists on Skylge cycle everywhere because bike rental is cheap and bringing your car onto the island by ferry is horribly expensive.
Lots of farmers on the island keep sheep for wool and milk, so they are everywhere. They even wandered into our back yard every now and then!
One of the pictures my husband took of the sheep in the meadow close to our cottage. Three years ago, I was still into running and I'd jog along the dyke road for a few miles while being stared at by scores of sheep (you know that starey-eyed look they can give you?). Haha!
When we arrived at the harbor, there were literally hundreds of bikes for rent on the quay. In fact, bikes are popular throughout Holland, but they are especially handy on Terschelling because bringing cars is discouraged, and the island is small enough to tour around by bike in one day.
The view from the dyke near 'Enna's' house. It's low tide here - the best time to go hunting for mussels (they grow on mooring posts) and oysters. Yes, Japanese oysters grow here in the wild! Allegedly they spread due to a foreign trailer ship passing by the island. Since the Japanese oyster doesn't have any natural enemies in this environment (besides humans), they grow like wildfire. They taste really good if you cook them!
This is the middle of the island, the place where Upper Brandaris is in my book. In reality, this is a nature reserve and there's not much here besides dunes, forests and a wide variety of birds. It's beautiful, though. :)
The real town of Brandaris (called 'West-Terschelling', capital of Terschelling). The lighthouse is called Brandaris, though, and was named after St. Brandan. This is where all ships from the mainland arrive (you can see some masts sticking out in the distance).
Griltjeplak, one of the lakes in the middle of Skylge. As you can see, the island really is very flat (as is most of Holland, by the way).
Dead Men's Caskets Lake. This place actually exists. Local legend has it that hundreds of drowned sailors were buried at the bottom because there was no room left in the graveyard. In Sound of Sirens, a forgotten story about this lake pops up in the book Enna steals from Stortum after she breaks into the Skelta's secret headquarters.
And this is the light of the real Brandaris Tower, casting its light over the harbor and warning ships to keep well away from the coast. The waters around Terschelling aren't easy to navigate; many a ship has run aground there.
Last but not least: a picture of me on the dyke path close to Kinnum! I only realized a few weeks ago that this author picture (I have two, but I use this one quite frequently) was taken in front of Enna's house, more or less. Back then I didn't know yet I'd write a dystopian/paranormal hybrid novella set on this exact location. Heck, I didn't even know I'd be a writer! This was the summer I was waiting for a publishing house to say yes (and they did!).
Newsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
October 20, 2014
The house of Virginia Woolf
In my family, we have a long-standing tradition of visiting houses that famous writers used to live and work in. We've been to Agatha Christie's house, the Bronte sisters' house as well as Jane Austen's humble abode, and a few days ago it was time for Virginia Woolf's former country home!
The house as seen from the side.
My mom and sister are just walking
up to the gate in this pic.The main house. You can't see it in this picture, but the garden surrounding the Woolf estate is gigantic. The family owned a house in London, but this is where Virginia came to relax and find the peace and quiet in order to do her writing. A cool thing I found out is that you can rent a studio adjacent to the house and get inspired to write your own novel staying in a room next to Virginia's bedroom! And if you think it's way too expensive to be affordable, think again - in the low season, they only charge about 320 pounds sterling for a full week. The studio has a double bed and a charming little kitchen and bathroom. Methinks I will give this a try if I have some spare time and money. I already feel inspired just thinking about it! :)
The main house is not where Virginia sat down to write, though - since everybody in the village was used to popping in for tea and a nice chat throughout the day, she'd hide in her garden shed, called 'The Writing Room'. This is what it looked like on the inside. The desk is original!
It's difficult to see through the window because the light is so bright, but she had a magnificent view of the Sussex hills from her window. Nobody would bother her in here, because all her friends knew that the writing room was off-limits. Her husband would bring her tea and sandwiches in the morning and afternoon by just quickly popping in and out. No talking because he knew it would break her concentration. Leonard Woolf and she founded Hogarth Press in 1917, a small publishing house, to be able to publish new literature that the big publishing houses didn't want to take a chance on. Without Hogarth Press, we may never have been able to read Virginia Woolf's work, nor would T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land have seen the light of day.
This is what The Writing Room looks like from the outside these days. The front section is new, but once you go inside you can see what the shed originally looked like.
In wintertime, the weather would be too severe to do any outdoors writing, so that's when Virginia retreated into her private bedroom to enjoy the heat from the fireplace and draw up a chair to sit there writing on a kneeboard on her lap (you can see the original fireplace in the photo). As you can see, she also had lots of books on her shelves - the woman didn't just like writing, she was also an avid reader! I guess most writers are... I don't think I'd ever have thought of writing a book if I hadn't been fond of reading them.
Newsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
The house as seen from the side.My mom and sister are just walking
up to the gate in this pic.The main house. You can't see it in this picture, but the garden surrounding the Woolf estate is gigantic. The family owned a house in London, but this is where Virginia came to relax and find the peace and quiet in order to do her writing. A cool thing I found out is that you can rent a studio adjacent to the house and get inspired to write your own novel staying in a room next to Virginia's bedroom! And if you think it's way too expensive to be affordable, think again - in the low season, they only charge about 320 pounds sterling for a full week. The studio has a double bed and a charming little kitchen and bathroom. Methinks I will give this a try if I have some spare time and money. I already feel inspired just thinking about it! :)
The main house is not where Virginia sat down to write, though - since everybody in the village was used to popping in for tea and a nice chat throughout the day, she'd hide in her garden shed, called 'The Writing Room'. This is what it looked like on the inside. The desk is original!It's difficult to see through the window because the light is so bright, but she had a magnificent view of the Sussex hills from her window. Nobody would bother her in here, because all her friends knew that the writing room was off-limits. Her husband would bring her tea and sandwiches in the morning and afternoon by just quickly popping in and out. No talking because he knew it would break her concentration. Leonard Woolf and she founded Hogarth Press in 1917, a small publishing house, to be able to publish new literature that the big publishing houses didn't want to take a chance on. Without Hogarth Press, we may never have been able to read Virginia Woolf's work, nor would T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land have seen the light of day.
This is what The Writing Room looks like from the outside these days. The front section is new, but once you go inside you can see what the shed originally looked like.
In wintertime, the weather would be too severe to do any outdoors writing, so that's when Virginia retreated into her private bedroom to enjoy the heat from the fireplace and draw up a chair to sit there writing on a kneeboard on her lap (you can see the original fireplace in the photo). As you can see, she also had lots of books on her shelves - the woman didn't just like writing, she was also an avid reader! I guess most writers are... I don't think I'd ever have thought of writing a book if I hadn't been fond of reading them.
Newsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
September 25, 2014
Las Olas
El primer recuerdo que tengo de mi abuelo es de un momento que compartimos juntos.Estoy sentado en su rodilla mirando hacia el puerto. El abuelo está fumando su pipa. Señala hacia el horizonte. "Mira, Walt. Nuestros barcos están ahí fuera. Y un día, otro barco aún más hermoso aparecerá en el horizonte. Un poderoso barco que nos llevará a todos."
"¿A dónde, abuelo?" Pregunto con curiosidad.
Él permanece tranquilo. "Nadie sabe exactamente", dice al fin," pero eso no lo hace menos fantástico. Un día, la nave entrará. Y Annabelle estará en la proa con los brazos abiertos, invitando a todos a subir a bordo."
La Diosa con el pelo negro ondeando en el viento, tal como está retratada en Muro mayor de nuestro templo.
"¿Y por qué no navegamos hacia a ella nosotros mismos?" Quiero saber.
"Debido a que ella prometió que vendría," El abuelo responde. "Y en esa promesa confiamos. Son solamente los Incrédulos que piensan que pueden hacerlo todo ellos mismos. Ellos no tienen fe en nuestra Diosa.”
Walt vive en Hope Harbor, una comunidad de la isla que ha puesto su confianza en que la salvación vendrá a través del mar. La gente del pueblo espera con paciencia, construye sus barcos para salir a navegar y dar la bienvenida a la diosa, y piadosamente visitan el templo cada semana. Horror stories to scare their children are told about the Unbelievers on the other side of Tresco. Para asustarlos, cuentan a sus hijos historias de horror acerca de los infieles en el otro lado de Tresco.
Pero no todo es lo que parece. Walt tiene preguntas que nadie puede responder, y cuando su mejor amigo y primo Yorrick muere en un accidente, él cava más profundo para encontrar la verdad acerca de los orígenes de la sociedad de Hope Harbor ... y los secretos del templo.
Amazon (coming soon) / iTunes / B&N / KoboNewsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
Les Vagues
Le premier souvenir que j’ai de mon grand-père est un moment que nous avons partagé ensemble.Je suis assis sur ses genoux en regardant vers le port. Grand-père fume une pipe. Il pointe vers l'horizon. “Regarde, Walt. Nos navires sont là-bas. Et un jour, un autre navire encore plus magnifique apparaitra à l'horizon. Un navire puissant qui nous emmènera tous. Et Annabelle sera à la proue, les bras ouverts, nous invitant tous à bord.”“Pourquoi ne naviguons-nous pas vers elle nous-mêmes?” je veux savoir.“Car elle a promis qu'elle viendrait,” répond Grand-père. “Et nous croyons en cette promesse. Seuls les Non-croyants pensent qu'ils peuvent faire tout, tous seuls. Ils n'ont pas foi en la Déesse.”Walt vit à Port d’Espoir, une communauté insulaire qui attend un salut venant d’au-delà des Eaux.Les citoyens attendant patiemment, construisent des navires pour aller accueillir la Déesse, et visitent pieusement le temple chaque semaine. Des histoires d’horreur sont racontées aux enfants sur les Non-croyants vivant de l’autre côté de Tresco pour les effrayer.
Mais tout n’est pas ce qu’il semble. Walt a des questions que personne ne peut répondre, et quand son meilleur ami et cousin Yorrick est assassiné devant ses yeux, il creuse plus profond pour trouver la vérité sur les origines de la société de Port d’Espoir… et sur les secrets du temple.
Amazon France / Amazon.com / iTunes / Kobo / B&NNewsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
La Isla
«Me dirijo al mar. La superficie infinita del agua se extiende por el horizonte, mire donde mire. Nuestro mundo es un lugar pequeño. Estamos solos y no hay nada más de lo que podamos depender más que de nosotros mismos. Confiamos en la Fuerza que se esconde en nuestro interior, como nos enseñaron nuestros antepasados. Si caminara hacia el oeste, me toparía con una barrera… el Muro. Detrás de él, viven los Locos. Al menos, eso es lo que todo el mundo dice. Nunca he visto ninguno.»
Leia vive en la Isla, un mundo en el que los niños dejan a sus padres para aprender a cuidar de sí mismos cuando cumplen los diez años. A lo largo de la Isla, hay un Muro que nadie ha cruzado jamás. Los Locos que viven tras él no atienden a razones… viven de ilusiones. Eso es lo que El Libro dice, lo único que los ancestros les han dejado a los habitantes del este de la isla. Pero cuando un extraño aparece en la costa y Leia se encuentra cara a cara con un Loco, su vida nunca más volverá a ser la misma. ¿Es verdad todo lo que ella y sus amigos siempre han creído sobre la Isla?
¿O es que todo el mundo es, de hecho, un Loco?
Amazon Spain / B&N / Kobo / iTunesNewsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
A Ilha
«A interminável superfície da água perde-se no horizonte, para onde quer que olhe.»«O nosso mundo é pequeno. Estamos por nossa conta e só podemos confiar na Força em nós, segundo os nossos antepassados.»Se seguisse daqui para oeste, encontraria uma barreira – o Muro que não devemos passar. Do outro lado estão os Tolos. Pelo menos é isso que diz toda a gente.»«Nunca vi nenhum.»Leia vive na Ilha, um mundo onde as crianças deixam os pais e se tornam independentes aos dez anos. Essa ilha é atravessada por um muro que nunca ninguém passou. Os Tolos que vivem do outro lado, seres humanos pouco dados à razão – só acreditam em ilusões. É isso que diz o Livro – a única coisa que ficou dos antepassados da população do lado oriental da Ilha.Mas quando um desconhecido dá à costa, Leia conhece finalmente um Tolo cara a cara e a sua vida muda para sempre. Será mesmo verdade aquilo que ela e os amigos suspeitam acerca da Ilha?
Ou serão todos no seu mundo realmente Tolos?
Amazon Brazil / iTunes / Kobo / B&NNewsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
L'Isola
‘Cammino verso il mare, la superficie infinita dell'acqua si estende fino all'orizzonte in qualunque direzione mi volti.Il nostro mondo è piccolo. Siamo soli e dipendiamo solo dalla Forza che abbiamo dentro di noi, è quello che ci hanno insegnato i nostri antenati. Se dovessi camminare verso ovest da qui troverei una barriera, la Muraglia. Dietro di essa, i Folli. O almeno così dicono tutti.Io non ne ho mai visto uno.’Leia vive sull’isola, un mondo in cui I bambini lasciano i loro genitori all’età di dieci anni e iniziano a cavarsela da soli. Lungo l’isola scorre una muraglia che nessuno ha mai attraversato. Non si può ragionare coi Folli che vivono dall’altra parte, credono in cose che non esistono. Questo è ciò che dice il libro, l’unico lascito degli antenati agli abitanti dell’est dell’isola.Ma quando sulla spiaggia approda un uomo e Leia si ritrova faccia a faccia con un Folle, la sua vita cambia radicalmente: ciò in cui lei e i suoi amici hanno sempre creduto sull’isola è la verità?Oppure tutti, nel loro mondo, sono in realtà dei Folli?
Amazon Italy / Kobo / iTunes / La Feltrinelli / B&NNewsletter for New Releases here: http://eepurl.com/x1X9P
