N.R. Walker's Blog, page 31

*** COVER REVEAL *** (and a little excerpt)

Here it is! The gorgeous cover to my next release, Blood & Milk.  Eeeeek!

I’m super excited (and extremely nervous) about this one. I wasn’t going to publish this book at all, but after an extensive beta-group read for race/cultural sensitivities from people all around the globe, and after a heartfelt plea from my Kenyan beta to please please publish it, the original release date of June 23rd still stands.

The blurb is unedited, so I won’t share that just yet.

Damu (pronounced Dah-mu) is on the cover, he is Maasai. I can’t wait for you all to meet him!

I’ll be posting more on why this book almost made the cutting room floor, and ultimately why it didn’t. I’ll also be sharing an interview with a lovely Kenyan-born lady who helped me with some of the finer points of research on Maasai lives and culture, and who gave me the final push to say yes to putting this book into production.

Blood & Milk is the story of Heath Crowley, an Australian man who finds himself living with the Maasai in Tanzania.

Here’s a tiny little (unedited) excerpt:

I stripped down too, completely naked and not caring for modesty, and dove into the water. It was cool and fresh, and felt heavenly against my skin. I didn’t realise how gritty I’d become. Sure, I’d dived into the water a few times in my time here, but never fully naked.

It was sublime.

Underwater, I raked my hands through my hair letting the water sluice through the strands to remove any grit and sand. Daily face washes, shaving and teeth brushing served its purpose, but a proper bath was unbeatable.

I’d forgotten what a shower felt like. And as amazing as the water felt, I didn’t miss running water. I didn’t miss electricity. I didn’t miss anything.

Except Jarrod.

I broke the surface, gasping for air. As usual, the memory of Jarrod squeezed my heart and crippled my lungs.

Damu laughed at me, oblivious to my struggle to breathe. And strangely enough, his laughter, his smiling face, calmed me. I exhaled with a rush and laid back, allowing myself to float, feeling my lungs expand and contract with every inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, until my panic attack passed.

Damu floated beside me and without a word between us, with a peace that soothed me, we floated naked in the water under the Tanzanian sky.

Good Morning Monday! An outtake and a Kindle Unlimited Update.

Wow, these Mondays are coming around fast! Another busy week has gone by, and an even busier week ahead for me, but I remind myself that busy is productive… and exhausting and enough to drive me crazy LOL but here I am!

First, to celebrate getting the rights back to, and the re-release of Starting Point, I have added an outtake to my blog. You can read it HERE or find it in the Menu under Outtakes[image error]

Now for the Kindle Unlimited update. I have had quite a few readers contact me in the last few weeks asking if any of my older books will ever be added to KU. To be honest, I hadn’t thought of it, I don’t know why.  About a year ago, I added my Blind Faith books to KU, given they were first released in 2012, and found them being read/borrowed/bought with a vengeance – which was fab! I can’t deny they found me new readers.  So after these readers asked me about putting some other books on KU, I decided to add my Cronin’s Key trilogy to KU.  They’ve been a little stagnant on other sites for a while, so here’s hoping they’ll find their way onto some Kindles they might not have otherwise.

I’m still debating adding my Red Dirt Heart Series to KU. Given it was released two years ago (OMG can you believe that?) it makes sense to broaden their readership.  If I do add them to KU, I’ll have to do it soon – the ninety day cycle will end a month or so before I leave for the US, so I’ll be suuuuper busy with other things then and won’t really have the time to worry about re-adding books back to all other platforms.

At this point, Cronin’s Key will only be doing one cycle (90 days) on KU then will go back to other sites. This will depend on their success of course. If the KU market makes it viable for them to stay for a second cycle, then they will.

So, as of right now and for the next three months, the only place you can find the Cronin’s Key trilogy, is Amazon.

That being said, I’ve nominated my Spencer Cohen series to NOT do another cycle on KU. So, as their 90 day KU cycles expires, they’ll be added to all other platforms.  Spencer One is June 14 (or thereabouts) Spencer Two is July 19, and Spencer Three is August 21.

And now for some translation news!  Cronin’s Key 1 will be out in French later this month!   And, Red Dirt Heart will be out in Italian later this month also!! *twirls* Red Dirt Heart will also be out in French later this year! I will post links when I have them[image error]

Until next week…  

Good Morning Monday! Podcasts and Cover Reveals…

It’s Monday again! Man, this year is flying. Can you believe we’re already in May? It’s just crazy.

And what a crazy week it’s been too!

I did my first ever podcast interview! Eeeeek!!  Man, I was so nervous, but Kris at Romance Out Loud was just ever so lovely and professional. You can listen to the whole episode HERE  and according to some people on Facebook, apparently I have a funny/cute accent LOL.

In the interview, I talked about how music influences my writing and how each main character has a song that reminds me of them.  Then a lovely reader on Facebook (*waves to Dawn*) asked me what some of them were, so I thought I’d share them with you all.

Please note each link will take you to YouTube:

Isaac Brannigan – Better Than I Know Myself, by Adam Lambert

Thomas Elkin – New York State Of Mind, by Billy Joel

Cronin (particularly from CKIII) – I See Fire, by Ed Sheeran

Matthew Elliott – Hurricane, by Thirty Seconds to Mars

Spencer Cohen – Hallelujah, by Jeff Buckley and also Scars, by James Bay

Trent Jamieson  (Learning to Feel) – The Red Strokes, by Garth Brooks

Harrison Haddon  (Exchange of Hearts) – Fantaisie Impromptu, by Chopin

Charlie Sutton – Underneath, by Adam Lambert  and also Bow River, by Cold Chisel  and also  The Meadow, by Alexandre Desplat (instrumental – I know it’s from Twilight New Moon, but I could always picture Charlie riding on Shelby through the desert to this song)

And I can’t really think of/remember what songs remind me of the Three’s Company boys, or Taxes and TARDIS.  Not that they wouldn’t have had a song, but I just can’t remember it.  When/if I remember, I’ll let you know.[image error]

Now, onto some new and exciting news!! I have a cover reveal for you!  The very lovely and talented Reese Dante has made me a fabulous new cover for Starting Point. I had the rights return to me recently, and have had it re-edited. There is no new content. It will be available at all retail sites in the next day or two. I’ll provide links when I have them!❤

Here’s the cover. Isn’t it just beautiful?

Okay, so that’s it from me for today!  I hope everyone is well and happy. Until next week…

❤

Red Dirt Heart is coming to audio!!

I am so incredibly excited to announce that Red Dirt Heart will be my first ever audio!! As you may or may not know, being an Australian author who self-publishes, I was never able to use ACX (the audio division of Amazon) to get my books into the audio market.  I mean, I have 30+ books, and NONE in audio. Even my books I have with a publisher will never be put into audio… but that’s a whole other conversation for another time.

Anywhoooo, I tried to outsource it myself, but got nowhere.  I queried publishers in strict audio rights options, but they never even replied – not even a ‘sorry, but no’.  I contacted several narrators who I thought might be able to help, but again, they never replied.

It was/is incredibly frustrating and I was ready to give up on it all together.

But then, with the help of RJ Scott and Love Lane Books, I had a spark of hope. Another author friend Nic Starr put me in touch with a narrator who could wrangle the Aussie accent, and things started to move forward.

RJ Scott’s presshouse, Love Lane Books, will be the platform on which this gets released, and the lovely Joel Froomkin has graciously agreed to give Charlie Sutton a voice.

I will post more when I know more, but for now, I’m so thrilled to say this is actually – finally – happening.  

Good Morning Monday! What’s new this week?

Well, the release of Spencer Cohen Book Three came and went, and I’d love to thank everyone who has read and reviewed!  The responses and reviews have been lovely, and it makes my heart happy to know people love Spencer and Andrew as much as me. And a huge thanks to everyone who posted, shared, tweeted, liked, loved, commented on all forms of social media.

These boys got to #1 in SEVEN countries (US, UK, Germany, France, Brazil, Canada and Australia) !!  And that is an incredible achievement, and proof that I do have the best readers in the world!  I wouldn’t be able to do what I love, if it weren’t for you! And there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t appreciate you!  

Like I’ve done with the first two books, I’ve created a soundtrack on Spotify for Spencer Cohen Book Three. You can find it HERE.

So, in other news for this week, I’m due to have the rights of Starting Point returned to me tomorrow!!  At the moment, it is only Starting Point that returns to me, and my other titles with Totally Bound/Pride Publishing will stay with them for the duration of their contracts (approximately two years).

I’m also SUPER excited to announce I’ve engaged Reese Dante to redo the covers. Reese did the very original cover for Point of No Return (back in the old Silver Publishing days) which was my all-time favourite for that book, and given this series has had three covers already, I wanted to get back to the original theme. And what better way to accomplish that than to ask the cover artist who did the original art work.  I can not wait to share the new cover to Starting Point with you all!!  I’m sure you guys are gonna LOVE it!!❤

I finally managed to wrangle the first draft of Blood & Milk, and now I just need to fix it. Like really fix it. LOL  It’s a hellamess, but I’m so excited and relieved to finally give these boys the ending they deserve. It finished at 85,000 words. Not sure where that will end up – I’d imagine I’ll need to add and delete quite a bit. I’m still on schedule for a June 23rd release.

I hope everyone has had a fabulous week!  Can you believe we’re already at the end of April??  This year is just flying!  Stay tuned for the cover reveals of Starting Point and Blood & Milk, AND some rather exciting audio news!!!  :)

Until next week…  

Enter to Win a signed set of the Spencer Cohen Series!

In conjunction with Alpha Book Club, I’m  giving away one SIGNED paperback set of “The Spencer Cohen Series”  & 4 eBook Sets of the series! 5 Winners total!!! Each winner will get the ENTIRE    5+ star series!!!!

Amazon Global Book 1 – http://bit.ly/1Si0k9r

Amazon Global Book 2 – http://bit.ly/1YLQwoz

Amazon Global Book 3 – http://bit.ly/1NlHf63

Check out Alpha Book Club reviews:

Book One:

http://alphabookclub.org/…/…/spencer-cohen-nr-walker-review/

Book Two:

http://alphabookclub.org/…/spencer-cohen-book-two-n-r-walk…/

Book Three:

http://alphabookclub.org/…/spencer-cohen-series-book-3-n-r…/

TO ENTER: 

All you have to do for a chance to win is ENTER HERE – please be aware the link will take you to Facebook.

$25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

Spencer Cohen Book Three is out today!!!   And to help celebrate, I’m doing a $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

To enter, you need to go to ENTICING JOURNEY BOOK PROMOTIONS where you’ll find the rafflecopter.  It’s that simple.

BLURB:

Learning to be in a committed relationship has been easy for Spencer. In fact, too easy. Andrew has fit into his life seamlessly. Spencer’s let go of his insecurities and hang-ups, and he and Andrew are enjoying where things are headed.

For the first time in years, Spencer’s life is unbelievably perfect.

Andrew overthinks everything. So when Spencer gets a phone call from Australia, he’s certain Spencer will push him away.

But instead of driving them apart, maybe it will solidify what they already have. Maybe Spencer will depend on Andrew more than ever. Maybe the Spencer Cohen story will come full circle, and maybe, just maybe, Spencer will have the happily ever after he never thought possible.

❤

Universal link: myBook.to/SpencerBookThree

Some Release Day Reviews

“I highly recommend this series. You really can’t go wrong, it has everything you need in a book and more – 5+ Stars to this amazing series and to this book!” – Alpha Book Club

“Overall, this has become one of my favorite series…” – Reading Addict Mom’s Blog

“N.R.Walker read my mind and soul and gave me Spencer Cohen. I’m giving my second beyond five stars rating of the year, and I rarely do that ever.” – The Written Voice of Is

❤

Good Morning Monday! It’s release week for Spencer Three!!

I was away last Monday, hence the no-post. Hope I’m forgiven.  ;)

So what’s been happening this last week?  Well, more tennis tournaments and travelling, five days of no writing at all, then trying reeeeeally hard to finish my WIP.   Well, I didn’t finish it, but I’m super close. Currently Blood & Milk is at 75K words, and I estimate there’s another 5K to wrap up the final scenes. But, this coming week is a release week for me, so there might not be the focus on writing that I’d like.  My MIL is also staying, the kids’ are on school holidays, and my house is always hellabusy.

Did I say release week??  Why, yes I did.

Spencer Cohen, Book Three is out this Thursday!! I can’t wait for you all to read the conclusion to Spencer and Andrew’s story.  

The universal pre-release buylink is http://mybook.to/SpencerBookThree

That link should take you to your regional Amazon page. If not, the following links will get you there:

US  Amazon

UK Amazon

AUS Amazon

CA Amazon

DE Amazon

Blurb:

Learning to be in a committed relationship has been easy for Spencer. In fact, too easy. Andrew has fit into his life seamlessly. Spencer’s let go of his insecurities and hang-ups, and he and Andrew are enjoying where things are headed.

For the first time in years, Spencer’s life is unbelievably perfect.

Andrew overthinks everything. So when Spencer gets a phone call from Australia, he’s certain Spencer will push him away.

But instead of driving them apart, maybe it will solidify what they already have. Maybe Spencer will depend on Andrew more than ever. Maybe the Spencer Cohen story will come full circle, and maybe, just maybe, Spencer will have the happily ever after he never thought possible.

What else is happening this week?   Well, writing madly, of course. As well as promos and giveaways to celebrate the release of Spencer Three (I’ll post more on that later), and I’ll be away from home for two days this week as well. Is it any wonder I don’t know what day it is? LOL

Oh, I’ve also approved the proof of Spencer Three in paperback, so that will be live soon as well.  And I’m working on the Spencer Cohen Book Three soundtrack on Spotify to share with you all as well.❤

And, in more exciting news, my family and I are busy trying to plan our five week across-country trip to the US to include GRL in October!!  It’s incredibly exciting, and I can’t wait to share more details as we get them!!

Until next week…

The Sense of Sight – RJ Scott’s Autism Awareness Blog Hop & a Free Book!

I’m honoured to be part of RJ’s Blog Tour for Autism Awareness,  highlighting the Five Senses.

An interesting fact you may not know about autism is:  People with an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) who are hyposensitive to smell may have no sense of smell at all, and fail to notice extreme odours (this can include their own body odour). Some people may lick things to get a better sense of what they are.

When I found out this blog tour would revolve around the five senses, my first thoughts went to Isaac Brannigan from Blind Faith. He was one of my first characters I ever wrote. A very stubborn, impatient, and wonderful man, who just happens to be blind. Writing a character with vision impairment wasn’t easy, and I learned a lot in my research when I decided the character in my head had a story to tell.

Sight is a fundamental sense that a lot of people take for granted. Having it taken away is a life changing event, and one Isaac Brannigan had to overcome. To write his story, I researched a LOT, I spoke to people with vision impairments, I joined forums, I read and read, and I learned.

People who are vision impaired live full and rewarding lives and I was, and still am, in complete awe of how these people live their day-to-day lives without missing a beat. Careers, children, public transport, shopping, reading, sports, arts, everything full-vision people do every day, and take for granted, every single day. They adapt to their environments, make adjustments and push forward. It’s incredibly inspiring!

Do me a little favour, and imagine this:  a normal morning routine for some…

Wake up at 6:30 a.m.  Shower, dress for work, including hair and make-up, or shave your face (whichever is your normal morning routine).  Wake the kids up, get them breakfast, pack school lunches, get them dressed, do their hair. Get them on the school bus, while praying for good weather. Rain makes everything more difficult…  Catch your bus, pay your fare, and hope there’s a seat. Maybe you could take a cab. It’s easier but more expensive to do on a daily basis. Get to work, manage the revolving doors, then the stairs, or elevator, find your desk, log in to your computer and check emails…

All this and it’s not even 8:30 a.m.

Sounds like a normal, but hectic, morning, right?

Now imagine doing it blind.

Imagine doing every one of these steps without using your sight.  Does your shirt match your pants? Are you wearing two different coloured shoes? Who else was watching your kids get on that bus? Who else was watching you walk off alone, unassisted?  Did you catch the right bus? Did you pay the right amount? Did the bus driver short change you $10? How would you know?  Did you get off at the right bus stop?  Are you even in the right suburb?  HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?

Scary, huh?

Downright frightening, if you ask me, yet people with vision impairments do it every day.

A lot people disliked Isaac Brannigan. Said he was too brattish, too short-tempered and one lovely reviewer said he was “too blind.”  Yep, not even kidding.  I also had two separate people contact me, who have/had blind spouses, and said I absolutely nailed the characterisations, the frustrations, the outbursts, the longing for independence but fear of it at the same time.  And that, that acknowledgment to my research and dedication to character, has been a highlight of my writing career.

I will admit without shame, that I love Isaac. I love his faults, and I love his strengths. And what I’m doing is making Blind Faith FREE on Amazon for four days. Starting today (April 7th) until April 10th, you can download Blind Faith and meet Isaac, Carter, and of course Brady the wonder dog.  :)

The universal link for Blind Faith is HERE!  Go forth, click and read!

Thank you for taking part of RJ Scott’s annual autism awareness blog hop!  You can check out all the other awesome authors taking part HERE❤

Good Morning Monday! What’s new with me…

Soooo, I was a fail at posting my Monday post last week. I was away from home and had no internet access, so it was just not possible.  Not that I had much to report on anyway, just a crapload of kids’ tennis, and I have to admit the break was lovely, and much needed.❤

But this week, work resumed and I’m so pleased to say that Blood & Milk has passed the 55K words mark. I’m guessing it will end up around the 70K words in total. I have some tough scenes coming up to write, but I’m truly looking forward to giving these boys their full story.

This week I will be getting ARCs ready for Spencer Cohen, Book Three to send out. I’ve finalised the paperback copy and am waiting on the proof to arrive (postage is ridiculously expensive and slow – ugh).  But I’m super excited for everyone to read the conclusion of Spencer and Andrew’s story, and I just hope everyone feels I’ve done them justice. Everything is still on schedule for release day on April 21st.

The next two weeks are also a super short one for me. I leave again on the Thursday for five days of no internet (more kids’ tennis) so I’m trying like crazy to get everything done and organised before I leave. Ideally, I would have LOVED to have the first draft of Blood & Milk done by the time I leave, but that is just not going to be possible. I don’t want to rush this story, and to be honest, this first draft will need a butt-tonne of reworking so I’m giving myself some more time to get it right.

I’m taking part of RJ Scott’s awesome annual autism awareness blog hop. My post will go live on the 7th (this Thursday). I’m also making Blind Faith FREE from the 7th to the 10th, and the link will be in that blog post, so keep an eye out! If you haven’t read my Blind Faith book, then will be the time to grab it!

I have some voting/awards nominations right now, which is lovely and humbling. Thank you to those who nominated me❤

Spencer Cohen, Book Two is also up for Book of the Month at Open Skye’s Book Reviews. Feel free to check out the other books and vote for your favourites.

The Spencer Cohen Series is also up for nomination for March’s Best Reads at JGB Readers Choice Awards.  It’s a true Grinders Group love-fest, because Felice Stevens is up for January, and Riley Hart is up for February